Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more! Today we have the second round of our two part Combat...
Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!
Today we have the second round of our two part Combat Story with Mike Edwards, a former Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC) operator and longtime Ranger with 18 combat deployments.
Mike was one of the few to serve in the Omega Program, which the Washington Post described as "units comprising CIA personnel and troops with JSOC…using co-mingled bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen" and "mostly designed against specific high-value targets." Effectively, Omega was some of the best and most elite operators and intelligence officers paired up downrange to bring the full weight of both JSOC and the Agency.
Mike served alongside former Combat Story guest Rodney Brown, a former Navy SEAL and member of the Navy's Special Warfare Development Group (or DEVGRU which is often referred to in the press as SEAL Team Six). In this episode, Mike describes an operation taking on an entire Taliban camp with Rodney that Rodney also described in his interview. Be sure to go back and listen to Rodney's and Mike's account of this same operation to get a more complete picture of the event from two vantage points!
If you missed round one I would highly recommend listening to hear about Mike's start as an 11M and transition into Ranger Regiment, his combat jump into Iraq, and how he earned a Purple Heart and Silver Star.
Once again, special thanks to our brothers Jack, Dave, and Dee at the Team House for introducing us to Mike! And with that, please enjoy this second interview with Mike Edwards.
For more information on the Omega program, check out the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/06/06/seal-team-6-the-cia-and-the-secret-history-of-u-s-kill-missions/) or Wired Magazine (https://www.wired.com/2011/09/cia-killing-machine/).
👇 Show Notes:
00:00 - Introduction
00:57 - Guest Profile: Mike Edwards Round 2
02:33 - Start of Interview
02:41 - Route to Regimental Reconnaissance Company
06:43 - Tough Ops. in Rangers
07:51 - Training and Selection for (RRC)
12:30 - Difficulties During Selection
20:14 - Skydiving and Freefalling
23:31 - Human Tracking
28:23 - Relationship with Rodney Brown
37:30 - Mike's MI-47 Helicopter Crash
41:54 - Interrogations
44:08 - Difference Deploying With A Child
46:39 - Mike's MP7 Op.
58:06 - Challenges With Mental Health and Religion
01:04:40 - A Tough Op.
01:12:15 - Battlefield Interogations
01:17:20 - Most Courageous Act
01:20:58 - Post Service Recovery
01:23:46 - Religious Community
01:26:54 - Exedous Relief
01:30:01 - Plans for the Future
01:34:18 - Sentimental Items
01:36:00 - Would You Do It All Again?
01:36:38 - Listener Comments and Feedback
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- Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
🔗 Find Mike Online:
Project Exodus Relief Afghanistan https://www.proexodusrelief.com/
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