Today on Combat Story we have our second interview with 32 year veteran and retired Special Forces Sergeant Major Randy Surles, who entered the Army in 1987 and retired in 2019. In round one we covered Randy’s jump into Panama where he broke his leg and had to crawl for seven hours to safety, his transition into Special Forces from the Ranger Regiment, and attending Lancero school in Colombia, which you can think of as a more dangerous Ranger School (entirely in Spanish!).
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In this episode, we dive into his time leading Green Berets in the post-9/11 era in Afghanistan where he saw mulitple combat deployments. Randy now helps veterans write their own memoirs as a ghostwriter with the aptly titled website The Military Editor. With that, please enjoy our second interview with Randy Surles.
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🎵 Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes:
00:00 Intro00:34 Introduction to Combat Story00:53 Randy Searles' Military Journey01:49 Lancero School Challenges02:38 Jungle Survival Training12:10 Mission in South America17:34 Early Deployment to Afghanistan41:19 Adapting to New Equipment and Strategies42:16 Unexpected Challenges and Base Management44:56 IED Encounters and Tactical Adjustments49:20 Leadership and Tactical Raids54:30 Hostage Rescue in Colombia01:10:51 Military Editor and Skill Bridge Program01:19:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
