This episode doesn't feature a combat story. But the conversation with FDNY's Chief Joseph Pfeifer is strikingly similar to the story we've heard in past episodes about combat. Like those, it covers crisis decision-making and leadership under stress. On 9/11, Chief Pfeifer and his firefighters were just blocks away from the World Trade Center when the first plane hit. Listen to him talk through the emergency response and how FDNY leaders navigated an incredibly challenging day.
In 2009, Sgt. 1st Class Sean Ambriz was on his first deployment in Afghanistan. When a platoon became pinned down by enemy fire, he...
In 2007, Patrick Melton was a military police soldier on his first deployment in Baghdad, when his combat outpost was hit by a barrage...
In 2010, Col. Jonathan Neumann commanded 1/17 Infantry Battalion, deployed in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Near the end of the deployment, the battalion received intelligence...