Oct 16, 2021
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 hear the Combat Story of Tony Brooks, a former Army Ranger with 2nd Ranger Battalion who fought in Afghanistan early in the war and in Ramadi, Iraq.
Tony’s first mission was significant, being tasked with the recovery of downed chinook helicopter, Turbine 33 and The Lone Survivor, Marcus Luttrell in the mountains of Afghanistan.
His book, Leave No Man Behind, is all about this experience as the primary search and rescue element that catalogues the mission from hitting the ground, recovering bodies, and hunting for every last man to bring them home.
In this episode, we also touch on the impact of a legendary man, soldier, Ranger, and American - Pat Tillman - who had a tremendous influence on Tony (and myself for that matter).
After the military, Tony went on to become a licensed chiropractor. He married the woman he refers to in the book as ‘the Unicorn’ who he met as a private while stationed at Fort Lewis.
I hope you enjoy his Combat Story, and the mission to bring everyone home, as much as I did.
#rangers #specialoperations #operationredwings #veteran #veterans #combatstory #tonybrooks #2ndrangerbattalion #rangerbatt #rltw
Find Tony Online:
Book Leave No Man Behind https://www.amazon.com/Leave-Man-Behind-Unrelenting-Afghanistan/dp/1635767350
Website https://www.drtonybrooksauthor.com/
Instagram @drtonybrooks https://www.instagram.com/drtonybrooks/
Facebook Dr Tony Brooks https://www.facebook.com/DrTonyBrooks/
Find Ryan Online:
Follow on Instagram @combat_stories https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial
Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
Email ryan@combatstory.com
Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - Guest bio
1:40 - Interview begins
2:06 - Pat Tillman - One of the greatest Americans of our
generation
10:35 - Finding Purpose
13:19 - Why go to the Rangers?
17:00 - The Unicorn and the long play
20:00 - Parents played it neutral
23:50 - First time in Afghanistan
30:33 - Context for Operation Red Wings
37:15 - How did you feel going into your first mission?
40:07 - Fast roping onto target
49:25 - First objective - get to the crash site
58:20 - Recovering body parts
59:22 - Finding a wedding ring that meant so much more
1:06:27 - Next mission post-crash site recovery
1:13:50 - A screech you’ve never heard before
1:17:06 - Next mission is BDA
1:24:04 - My first experience of war was “sh*@”
1:26:28 - Finding Marcus Luttrell
1:32:13 - How close was the movie scenery (Lone Survivor) to
reality
1:39:14 - Hilarious story of one of those “guys” in the unit
1:46:15 - What did you carry with you into combat?
1:47:31 - Would you go back and do it all again?
1:48:30 - How does Tony think about recent events in
Afghanistan?
1:50:45 - Listener comments