The Battle of Takur Ghar: When a Navy SEAL Mission Became a Fight for Survival
On March 4, 2002, a nighttime insertion into Afghanistan’s Shah-i-Kot Valley turned into one of the most desperate battles of the early war...
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Stories of Special Forces Operators
We chat with some of the bravest and toughest people in the world. Listen to some of the most incredible stories and people that you can hear.
Episodes
20 of 242 episodesThe Battle of Mirbat: When Nine SAS Soldiers Faced an Insurgent Army
On July 19, 1972, a small detachment of British Special Air Service soldiers and their Omani allies found themselves defending the coastal t...
Operation Red Wings: What Really Went Wrong in Afghanistan?
In June 2005, four Navy SEALs entered the mountains of Afghanistan’s Kunar Province on a reconnaissance mission targeting a Taliban-aligned...
Introducing Operators Eyes : Special Forces Tactics Meet Hollywood's Most Intense Scenes
What would an experienced Special Forces operator notice when watching the gunfights, ambushes, and tactical confrontations in Hollywood’s b...
Operation Dead City: How Special Forces Would Contain an Outbreak
When a pathogen turns an urban population into vectors of lethal contagion, military doctrine ceases to be about conventional engagement and...
Tier-One Architecture: Deciphering the Distinct Doctrines of CAG, Green Berets, and SEALs
Within the modern United States Special Operations Command architecture, civilian culture routinely blurs distinct elite units into a single...
Introducing The Debrief: Seven Blood Samples new special forces fiction series
In 2009, six operators raided a compound in Afghanistan, and all six came home. Seventeen years later, a lab finds a seventh American blood...
Phantom Columns in the Green Hell: Orde Wingate’s Chindits and the Agony of Deep Penetration
In early 1943, Brigadier Orde Wingate led three thousand British, Gurkha, and Burmese soldiers deep into Japanese-occupied Burma to test an...
Seconds on Target: Digital Forensics in the Breach
When an assault force clears a compound, the most dangerous phase of the raid begins the moment the shooting stops. In modern asymmetric war...
Bravo Two Zero: Did the SAS Fight the Battle That Made Them Famous?
In 1991, eight British SAS soldiers entered Iraq on a secret mission that became one of the most celebrated survival stories in military his...
The Teutoburg Ambush: How Terrain Defeated Roman Military Power
In 9 CE, Germanic forces used difficult terrain, surprise, and coordinated attacks to destroy three Roman legions. Their leader, Arminius, u...
The Hidden Supply Chain Behind America’s Special Operations Forces
Special operations forces depend on sophisticated aircraft, surveillance systems, precision weapons, and communications equipment, but what...
Navy SEAL vs. Olympic Water Polo Player: The Physiology of Elite Aquatic Performance
What happens when the physiological demands of a Navy SEAL combat diver are compared with those of an Olympic water polo player? Both must d...
The Secret World of Combat Divers: The Soldiers Who Attack from Beneath the Sea
Some of the world's most dangerous military missions begin beneath the ocean's surface, where elite combat divers approach enemy territory w...
Viking Berserkers: Ancient Warrior Psychology and the Limits of Fear
Long before modern military training, Norse legends celebrated warriors who seemed capable of fighting without fear. The berserker tradition...
Do Special Forces Operators Really Have GPS Chips Implanted in Their Bodies?
Hollywood often portrays elite soldiers carrying secret tracking devices implanted beneath their skin, allowing commanders to locate them an...
Operation Eagle Claw: The Special Forces Disaster That Changed Everything
In April 1980, the United States launched a secret mission deep inside Iran to rescue 53 American hostages held in Tehran. Operation Eagle C...
Inside Delta Force Selection: What Does It Actually Take to Get Selected?
Delta Force is one of the most secretive special operations units in the world, and simply reaching its selection process generally means a...
Operation Entebbe: The 90-Minute Raid That Changed Hostage Rescue
In 1976, more than 100 hostages were being held thousands of miles from Israel at Uganda’s Entebbe Airport. Israeli planners faced extraordi...
Green Beret to Civilian: Rod Graham's Journey After Special Forces
In this episode, Green Beret veteran Rod Graham sits down to talk through his time in Army Special Forces and what came after leaving that w...