Latest Episodes
Joint SOF in Name Only
In the summer of 1993, Greg Banner was a newly appointed company commander in 10th Special Forces Group. Halfway around the world, ethnic tensions...
Marine Platoon in Baghdad
In the previous episode of The Spear, Karl Blanke shared a story that featured the actions of one of his former Marines, Lance Corporal...
A Machine Gunner on the March Up
In 2003, after completing the march up to Baghdad in dramatic fashion, and after an all-night gunfight to seize one of Saddam’s palaces, the...
Platoon Leader in Vietnam
Few books have had the impact on generations of young soldiers as Jim McDonough’s Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat. First published...
Spectre in the Air
In August 2007, a US Army Special Forces team came under fire while passing through a valley in Afghanistan. The call for support went...
Attack at Hiep Hoa
A newly minted Special Forces officer in the spring of 1966, Mike Eiland landed in Vietnam and joined 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). A...