As a younger man I used to think I’d be the hero smoking all the bad guys and coming out fine. Now that I’m older I realize there’s a solid chance I’d be like the first guy off the boat in saving private Ryan. Perspective is a hell of a thing
@@SALUTE-INT-S agreed, I’m simply stating how my perspective on the randomness of combat has changed with my age. And I’m not saying older men would be unwilling to fight a war they believed had a just cause, just that younger men tend to think “it won’t be me”
@@akanji8285Exactly, you can be a super soldier that can has been training his whole life for this moment, and get blown to bits by a 155mm shell. It doesnt matter if youre a good fighter or not, its all luck, with a bit of skill involved
My buddy was a Ranger, taking down an insurgent compound in Iraq. He was in the middle of tossing a frag into a spider hole about 5m away from him when the guy in the spider hole popped his gun up and sprayed. One bullet hit a grenade on his belt and detonated it. He ended up losing both legs and his right arm, even though the frag he threw ended up killing the insurgent. Sometimes it doesn't matter how badass you are, the other guy gets lucky (right before his luck runs out).
Oh Jesus that's so scary! 😱I'm almost afraid to ask, but god forbid was his privates also injured or god forbid "lost"? Since as you said the grenade detonated on his belt and it is dangerously close to the groin and one of my worst fears in life is getting injured down there.
We were drilled every damn day with " You enter every fight as if your enemy is smarter then you, stronger, faster, and has more intel then you. When your ego joins the gun fight, your kids are gonna meet their new Daddy at your funeral"
There’s no better mentality to enter a deadly engagement with. My pmi in boot camp taught the same thing even in mct all my instructors were all grunts who deployed and mentioned the same things in regards to ego.
What many people don’t want to accept is that every single enemy combatant is also a human being. Human beings are the most ingenious creatures ever to exist on this planet. If they are determined, they will find a way.
Someone wise once said, "Get into a fistfight, expect broken bones. Get into a knifefight, expect to be stabbed. Get into a gunfight, expect to be shot." Warriors are to be respected. War is to be despised.
I remember as a kid going to my step dads air cav reunions. We went out to range in Gettysburg where they had things organized so that people could see what automatic weapons were really like. There was a line of 3 kids (probably ages 10-14) with instructors behind them while they fired AKs and he leaned over and said "see, it doesn't matter if it's a trained marksman or some scrawny little kid when bullets start flying in your direction. If you're hit, you're hit. It doesn't matter who pulled the trigger or how accurate they were." I'll never forget that lesson. That shit stuck with me
That's why America would make a great insurgency in defense of our nation. So many guns in the hands of the untrained given a crash course on ambush deployment and simple tactics and weapons management we could block and even push back any invading force from moving freely. Red Dawn really did portray the American spirit quite well. WOLVERINES!!!
I was the guy that got hit in his first gunfight. Lucky for me, it was only a graze. Still took me off my feet. Unlucky for me, the graze was across my cheek. I was terrified. Guy next to me smacked me across my face, trying to shake me out of it. Lol he hit me so hard my nose bled. Back in the fight after that. 03 was fucking crazy, brah.
I was in Fallujah and I can attest to the fact that gun battles in the daylight truly suck because you can see the magnitude of what is coming at you! Night fights can definitely be unnerving but somehow don't see as bad. You see your friends shot up and bleeding out screaming in pain and for corpsman! It was pure terrifying hell!! Thank God I made it home relatively intact, just some PTSD. I was one of the lucky there!
Falluja was hell. A lot of my time in Baghdad was just dodging ieds. By the time y’all took falluja back they switched from direct ambushes to daisy chains and trip wires. I’d honestly rather just have a fight. At least there would be an enemy to engage instead of calling 9 line and never having a good nights rest again.
Just "some" PTSD? I mean...man, you make it sound like all you had was a bruise and that was it. Dunno whether to laugh at the phrasing or admire your balls of titanium.
*Better tobe paranoid and stay strapped or clown your enemy and realize later that u the one about to get your cheek clapped* - Sun Tzu circa 1992 Compton, LA
I’m Marine Recon retired, I’ve never been in actual firefight , I’ve done countless live action drills with real bullets coming down range , THAT is hairy enough to make you understand the fog and confusion of a firefight , the reason US forces fight so well, is we fight like we train, and pretty much, muscle memory kicks in, and you engage
The main thing that surprised me from daytime battle is you don't really see tracers unless you are right on the bore axis of them (hopefully outgoing). I had a tanker trying to direct me onto a target saying "follow my tracers" (from the tank coax gun) and I couldn't see where he was shooting. When I told him that, he said stand by...and fired a HEAT round. Definitely saw where THAT went 🤣 (and then proceeded to dump everything into the building).
You can see them when they barely miss the back of your head go past your ear. Very confusing cause had no idea they had anyone behind us but I guess in the mountains they are usually on at least 3 sides Shit sucked. The day I got shot there was 13 of us leaving a village on a goat trail cliff one way and wall on the other they had 180 to 200 against the 13 of us only 7 of us lived we all got shot. Kyle white got the Medal of Honor for that battle
My Father was pinned against the seawall on Tarawa with hundreds of dead Marines floating in the surf behind him. They moved on in daylight and it sucked. He went on to carry a flame thrower on Iwo, the Marine I'm named after died there. It was all two way, day and night. Peace is where sons bury their fathers, war is where fathers bury their sons...Herodotus
I am a vet. I am older now. I never, never, never, ever forget the sacrifice, dedication, and shear fortitude required to complete the objective and survive. We like to think positive, but Sir you remind us that combat is not always, and rarely is, accurate. THERE ARE NO GUARENTEES. Good stuff here. Please keep it up.Thank you.
Craziest thing that humbled me up when I was younger was a show on The Military Channel...don't recall the name but they took special forces guys and put them in a scenario. One was a big tanker ship at dock where an unknown amount of hostils had taken the crew hostage. Only thing that stands out to this day, there was a helicopter platform maybe 40'x40' with a set of stairs down one side. One of the Seals was clearing the deck, goes to clear the platform and moves up the stairs, well just prior to that one of the hostels had just moved up to the platform. Mind you the hostels were also Special Ops guys acting, they spooked each other simultaneously and both panic fired, 20 ft away from each other both these 2 highly trained and prepared men completely whiff. That always stuck with me. No matter what amount of prep, training, drills, you can still get caught off guard, you can't predict every situation possible. Cause the second you think you're good enough...you're not.
I believe you're talking about the show Special Ops. It was with Wil Willis who is a green beret and the people he went up against were from all the branches of the military. I used to watch that show too. I remember an episode they did at Linda Vista hospital in Los Angeles. They all kept hearing voices and noises throughout the hospital not knowing that the place was extremely haunted.
@@frankiehitman2610 Haunted PA? Guess they never cut the comms. There must be a blooper reel somewhere. Keeping your cool can be a big ask when people are doing dumb stuff just for laughs. I don't think that kind of entertainment would last very long without some side bets to keep it going. Sounds like a charity fundraiser
To be honest the majority of the time we fought during the day it was just both sides basically full autoing at one another based more off sound than anything. We got in a perfect L shaped ambush in Kandahar on Halloween 2009. The best I could see was the occasional muzzle flash. Then we got so close to them we could hear them yelling to one another. PKM was suppressing us from a grape hut and that's the thing I was able to actually see the best. The one confirmed kill I ever got was taking out a guy who was casually trying to walk away an hour or so after shooting an RPG at us. During that particular firefight I never saw any armed combatants but they definitely saw us.
@@sectorseven07 in the years I've been home, Like Most vets I've had trouble dealing with things, Earlier this year I sat down trying to figure out why, Only thing I can come up with was,I miss it 💯,I miss that bond you get with the guys,I miss that adrenaline rush and being feared by the enemy, What I wish would stop is not being able to drive past a piece of trash that blew out of a truck on the road,or Constantly scanning roof tops at the stores for guys with a cell phone,Or always having to have my back against the wall so I can see everything coming at me,Or not being able to take my kids to their ballgame because dad might freak out and knock out a loud mouth father, Again. But I enjoy y'all's products and videos, And thanks for replying
I had a Grandfather that was in the 17th airborne at the Battle of Ardennes (Bulge). About 80% of his company got wiped out, but he survived. I asked him one time how it was he survived, and so many others did not. He replied..."I kept my head down". I guess that meant he stayed under cover 100% of the time, unless he was ordered to move.
Well nobody is John wick and in nature the most successful hunters are all silent, patient and hidden, that's why special forces are so valued. Tiny squads of men and women that could never beat an army, but that army doesn't know where they are or that they're even coming, special forces are so unpredictable and they just prod the opponent making other ground forces lives a bit easier, you can only hide from something you've seen and know about.
My grandfather was also in the airborne forces at Ardennes. (I think he may have been in the 17th as well. He got folded into another division during his tour, so I can't always remember without looking it up.) One night his company was dug in and the Germans (a lot of them) came up behind and just started pulling them out of their foxholes and executing them. They were so outnumbered all they could do was just sit tight and hope the Germans didn't find too many of them. They found every single foxhole except for the one my grandpa was in. He and the guy he was dug in with were the only two men who survived in their company. Kept in touch the rest of their lives.
It's nothing more than math and physics, if the enemy has more combatants dumping rounds at you and your men, being in cover increases your survival. However, they can also maneuver on you if you aren't checking their movements. If your side has fire superiority, then of course being out of cover doesn't have as much danger. It's effective propaganda to encourage the infantryman to not hide in cover a lot, that's combat ineffectiveness, it reduces the unit's overall firepower if soldiers are scared to aim and fire at the enemy. There is no kind of training that can help you figure out when you should stay out of cover to aim at the enemy or to take cover. Only through combat will you learn cues on when it is safe for you to hide or fight.
@@jackdwyer4584Holy shit war is so unforgiving. I’m a descendant from US army and also German. My grandmother and her brother both served german military during WW2. My American grandfather married her post war in Germany. Her brother was a pilot and was KIA. Lots of stories before their death.
Christopher...I would bet that if your grandfather had taken the time to explain himself, he would have said something like, "Well, I kept my head down when I could, but me and my buddies fought those rotten bastards tooth and nail. We were all freezing, but we couldn't stop shooting back, or I wouldn't be here. I just got lucky, I could've been shot a thousand times. I was no hero (although he was), but maybe I saved a few of my buddies. I know they saved me." I guarantee you your grandfather didn't keep his head down 100% of the time.
🤣🤣👍.Had the same experience. I was wearing a Sniper International Competition t-shirt. A boy who was with his father asked me. I want to be a sniper, what should I do? I told him to complete his education and then think about being a sniper. His father gave me the thumbs up
Worked in emergency medicine for 18 years, both on an ambulance and in a trauma center. It never fails, "whats the worst thing you have ever seen?" Ill just stare at them for a minute, then politely tell them I wont answer their question. For some its just an innocent curiosity but others just want to hear the glory. But there is no glory in the "worst." When you CANT save that baby thats weeks old, its fucking horrible. TV and movies dont want to show that stuff. They are always going to SAVE that kid. That bystander is always going to pull a (miraculously concious) victim out of the blazing car or house, with no respiratory protection and they both live. Its just not fucking like that 🤷
@@christophercollins868 "whats the worst thing you have ever seen?"I don't give a shit I would say, I saw Forced abortion in a gypsy house dead baby in a plastic bag, puke and shit everywhere that was heavy
When I was in basic at Ft Sill back in the early 80’s we went to the range at night once. They gave us two thirty round mags with every fourth or fifth a tracer. We were all lined up in foxholes. When they gave permission to fire we got to shoot across a valley at whatever we wanted to shoot at, and as fast or slow as we wanted. Between mags I stopped for a second to watch. All I could think was that I would sure as hell not want to be on the other side with all of that coming at me. Have never forgotten that. It made a big impression on me as to what it might be like to be in a battle.
I went to high school in North St. Louis and survived muggings, had a cocked pistol pointed at me and having stray bullets zipping past me so close I could hear them. I was too young to realize how dangerous it all was. I still can’t believe I survived all four years unscathed. Sadly I’m sure many of my classmates are dead now. Thanks for your service guys! You should quit drinking alcohol. Nothing good ever came from it.
I could not fathom the memories and emotions going through these two guys while watching that regardless of how unrealistic it may be. Guys are a special breed.
Way back when I was considering this path, I remember reading a SEAL story about a firefight where the dude got shot in the hand and in the heat of the moment he bit down and pulled on what he thought was the bullet sticking out the back of his palm, but turned out to be one of his hand bones that shattered in two. That, and the freezing cold water made it a nope for me.
Reading comments. And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your service and I hope you all are safe and well and have a blessed Holidays. 🇺🇸❤️🙏🏻
On the point of the two way gun range. A buddy of mine who served and fought in real life combat told me some stories. One of which was another squad they ran with, and his squad called the other one the lead slingers because they'd always have a tone of ammo and they'd burn through it so fast. Calling them lead slingers started as a jab at them for spending more time shooting and missing instead of taking good aim and firing. But turns out, that squad was a damn highly effect squad. More shots down range just seems to mean more chances to hit a target then one shot with decent aim.
That's one reason why the new Sig service weapon seems like a step in the wrong directions. It shoots bigger rounds, but the mags hold less and you carry less.
@@grogdizzy5814 You're a fool if you think conventional infantry units will ever be issued those. They'll be using m4s and m16s until judgement day comes. The STANAG is going no where.
@@JarthenGreenmeadow I hope not, but Sig got the contract and the Army hasn't really been making great decisions lately. Remember those awful digital ACUs that they made conventional infantry units wear?
I grew up in Fresno during the early and mid 90s, peak of the gang wars. I didn't have a choice but to learn how indiscriminate bullets are. After having a bullet lodge into me and my brothers' bedroom wall, and my Dad's Toyota pickup getting swiss cheesed, my Parents finally saved enough to move us away. Unfortunately, other people weren't as lucky.
@@luislongoria6621 We lived in these trashy apartments with dozens of other families. I'm sure a significant amount of the teens were part of some kind of gang. The shootings we experienced there were mostly drive bys, although sometimes a gun fight would break out.
I think Terminal List did really good with first action scene. Two of the operators got killed once the fighting started, and the enemy's return fire was affective. Overall, it's just a super tense scene that looks super real.
Retired GB here. Sean is absolutely correct, daylight gunfights are the worst. Sean highlights multiple reasons why that is. I’d like to add one more dynamic as to why daylight gun battles suck so bad is because generally speaking the enemy doesn’t leave the battlefield, he generally stays and fights, keeps shooting on what Sean says is the “Two way range.” Two way range is absolutely right, and here’s the clincher gunfights are violent engagements measured at the speed of bullets, you’re not dodging them like in The Matrix. Fact: The longer the gunfight lasts the greater the odds you are catching a bullet. The best way to survive a gunfight is to end it as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. Or break contact and call for fire and/ or air support. Daylight gunfights suck PERIOD.
@@Breaker2005 generally, especially regarding Afghanistan the enemy does not have night fighting capabilities, mainly night vision that allows them to operate and see at night. If they do have night vision it’s usually maybe 1 or 2 guys that got their hands on some night vision gear. But the vast majority don’t have it. Americans however, especially SOF, every man has night vision, and we have many types of night vision, like FLIR, thermals, enhanced latest generation NVGs, this is a huge advantage for us over the enemy at night. We can see them but they can’t see us. Our night fighting technology gives us a huge advantage over them. But during the day you don’t use night vision and they can see us too, so they stay and slug it out with us. For Taliban forces daytime is for gunfights, nighttime is for laying in and emplaning IEDs.
Civi here . My biggest fear would be running out of ammo before the enemy and then it being broad daylight and having no cover or concealment to be able to break contact and retreat. Your there till the other is dead. I suppose that goes hand in hand with don’t underestimate the enemy and a failure to plan is a plan for failure
@@thanglongnguyenvu3815 a two way range means people are shooting down it from both sides. It’s a firefight On one side you have the soldiers who are shooting at the enemy down range. And then the enemy is also shooting back at the soldiers. A one way range would basically be target practice or shooting an enemy that isn’t shooting back
Call of duty is much harder, you dont know what sacrifice is if you hadnt carried a team in TDM. IDGAF how many tours you did, come talk to me after you drop a nuke in nuketown little boy.
Yup. I remember the Rainbow Six game, there was nothing like it.. Very realistic in the sense that you take a shot and you're dead, or at least incapacitated. Same the other way around. Not sure why more games aren't like that. I think with VR someone will make something similar. But honestly I don't want to play it now that I'm older, I don't think these games are healthy since the graphics are too realistic now.
Agree. I can tell you in Vietnam, my first two firefights I was scared shitless. I’m man enough to admit I don’t know wtf I was shooting at. It took me til me 3-4 firefight before I could get my adrenaline to the point where I could even concentrate enough to control my fire. I always laugh when I’m at the range, and guys get pissed caused they’re 1moa off at 100 yards lol. It’s a different ballgame when someone is shooting at your ass. Moas go out the door, you’re just trying to hit mass. Combat sucks. People die. But what’s the worst is when guys get their guts blown open and the screaming. Enjoy the range. Don’t ever wish for combat unless you’re insane. 1st Cav C troop 1/12 68-70
@@SALUTE-INT-S of what I saw and experienced in firefights, most were 50 meters or less. Every ambush was close range. Most times you could not see them except a blur or behind cover. A lot of spraying and praying. Most were over in 4-5 minutes but that was enough. It felt like 4-5 hours. Everything was dense cover over there, no one fought in open fields. A few had shotguns which were great for the cover. We’re there kills at longer range? Absolutely. But none that I saw. Percentage of kills? No idea? All we had was a body count when we could find them. You never knew when you were walking into an ambush, you just prayed you weren’t hit, and could lay down enough fire to drive them off. The most surprising thing to me was the noise. Guns going off were deafening along with the screaming. Movies can’t show you that. My ears ring to this day. Hope that helped
@@SALUTE-INT-S your guess is as good as mine. I would imagine the casualties rate would be less. But you have to remember, most fire fights were over so fast, there wasn’t a lot of time to call in accurate suppressive fire. We’re there longer fire fights? Of course. But vast majority at least for me were 4-5 minutes, a little longer. The noise once return fire began didn’t help. When you have 20 guys returning fire to an enemy maybe 20-40 meters away, hard to tell direction. And you’re not going to stick your neck up to check believe me. After 3-4 firefight you begin to learn how to react and how to tell where fire is coming from. You never forget the snap of a round going by your head or hitting the ground next to you
Yeah. I'd say a real big con to a firefight during the day is that it's so much harder to see the enemy. It's like being a bat. Usually the enemy is set up someplace far enough where, maybe across a valley where you won't be able to quickly locate or maneuver on. It becomes a mix of seeing where the rounds land and hearing where it's coming from. Direction and distance quickly formulates in your mind as you scramble for cover. Hearing the rounds snap overhead or really far away helps you figure out when you can move and for how long. At least with night time, it's much faster to identify where the rounds are coming from and conceal behind cover. During a late night firefight, I was running to my battle position and saw a tracer rounds splatter the earth just 5 meters in front of me. Stopped real hard and hugged the nearest hesco, haha. Personally, hearing a mortar fly overhead was the worst because there was just enough time until impact for me to wonder if it'd find it's way to me. Sorry for the long story. Just brings back a lot of memories.
All facts. Not to mention the T-ban don't just hit you on impulse. They have Soo much tactical patience it's scary. They always waited till we were almost done with our patrol and tired.
My Senior DS and 1SG in basic hammered on this concept a lot during our FTX. Your enemy isn't always going to be impulsive and fire at you as soon as they see you, if they're smart they'll map your routes and just wait until you've got no energy left before engaging you.
The craziest moment I had in combat was in Shkin, Afghanistan (OEF IV). I was with the 10th Mountain Division 1/87 infantry. Our task that day was to disrupt enemy rocket/ mortar fire hitting our FOB. Short story short what turned out to be a 13-hour firefight about 3 hours in one of the guys in our platoon (who had been in Operation Anaconda a few years prior) took off his k-pot, sat down lit a cigarette. I yelled at him between shots "What are you doing?" he just looked at me and said cool as fuck "I'm taking a break" all of us around just looked at him and laughed and kept on fighting 👌 RIP PFC Evan O'Neill KIA Shkin Afghanistan 2003 ... I'll see you on a distant battlefield brother "Vires Montesque Vincimus"
Well said bro. Daytime firefights and ambushes in urban IRQ were infvckingsane too, darting in and out of windows, alleyways, popping up on rooftops then darting away, pure chaos from all sides.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary I can only remember going under a city once, but we did a whole recon from it & you could infil like that... people don't realize...
@@nunyadambusiness6902 For sure, I remember a year or two before I was in Sadr City and Baghdad there was a big sweep of the existing sewer tunnels and municipalities, found some caches down there but I didn't hear much else on it. More commonly, the terries would just bury caches around the area or stage them in safe houses or random places, their network was wild.
Let's not forget (to the guys who've never been in the Shit) Those guys on the other can SHOOT TOO. I think too many people grew up watching the A-team and things like Arnold in Commando, the hero never gets shot and believes "Hollywood" magic. Merry x-mas guys
I think that's why a near peer fight would be so insane and it's being shown with the fight between Russia and Ukraine. People get bodied so fast when the enemies accuracy, gear, and training is as good as yours. And if they have NVG gear and what not night assaults without proper air support is a nightmare because they can see your lasers and gladly use that information to deadly effect.
And usually when we're talking fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, they've been shooting since before they had pubes. So they're REEEEEEEEEEALLY fuckin' good at it. Way better than your just touched a rifle for the 1st time in basic training ass.
I love that you called out other movies for not showing the 2-way range aspect of a gunfight. Also, the aftermath of a gunfight is oftentimes highly underplayed,
Very good video. So many gun owners in America get obsessed with tricking out their AR setup, thinking they're now untouchable. I've never been in a gunfight but I've always understood that the art of war is about tactics more so than the individual soldier or his weapon. Our nation was founded because the colonists understood this idea during the revolutionary war. We won by using our terrain to our advantage and implementing superior tactics on the battlefield, while the British were too rigid in their ways of thinking. Again I've never been in a gunfight, but based on my understanding it is best to keep a low profile and never attack head on, because like you said, it's a 2-way range. And based on the sheer odds of hundreds of bullets flying, one is bound to hit you.
I remember being in a guard tower outside Kandahar in 2 in the after noon and clear skies. I was taking sniper fire from the village, called in that I was taking fire and didn’t know where. My plt sgt, ssgt, and Team leader all came to my pill and we could hear the rounds go past our head but could not find where it was coming from. The dude ether ran out of ammo or knew he couldn’t be there that long bc 5-10 min it stopped. Sent a element into the village and couldn’t find anything.
I'm going to put money that it was an 8 year old learning how to shoot for the first time. because if that was a Chechnyan sniper, best believe you wouldn't be breathing.... because... apparently they like to shoot the throat.
It's unfortunate that it literally takes active War to speed up innovation, but had this event happened 10+ years later, they at a minimum would have had their own armed Reaper flying over top of them their entire mission, ready to engage a flanking machinegun nest that was blocking safer escape routes. These guys are legends under the circumstances.
well it was a recon mission. Now they never have 4 man recon SEAL missions because of this. These events change history and the way the military operates.
You would think that. But look at the SF team in Niger that got taken out. They're not always able to secure ISR for missions and if they do, there's always blocks of time ISR is not available, and then there's also unpredictable weather, etc.
@@ik5852 doing a Recon mission with 4 guys is dumb to begin with. In Marine Recon we'd never go out with just 4 guys especially without a single crew served weapon (Machine Gun). We always had 6, two of which were operating area fire weapons (SAWs and 240s). That, and we'd likely have had another team inserted a kilometer away to be able to provide support if needed. That, and we wouldn't just rely on satcom. These guys didn't have a single HF radio with them.. for a Recon mission that is horseshit.. with HF you can literally talk halfway around the world as long as the right antenna is set up. What else? Moving during the daytime: huge no no for Recon missions. Movements should be at night..daytime is where you harbor up in a Bush and lay low.
@@ik5852 Next time they'll hobble the goat herders with zip ties after releasing them to go home *after* the team has hiked halfway back to their exfil site so there's no chance the Taliban will be able to catch up to them.
First, thank you both for your service. Thank you for helping us who have not had to be in harms way understand a tiny bit of what is was like for you. Your comments are so clearly based on your first person experience. I had seen the film you were commenting on and thought it had more realism than some others I've seen. Thanks for explaining was accurate about it.
I remember I played airsoft once (yes absolutely nothing like real gunfights, only slight similarities) in my late teens, with a couple of friends (Marines) & I was creeping 3 minutes into play, pop! pop! I'm out, (didn't know where it came from) fuck that's it?! I just started! Happened a few more times later. If that's in a game, I thought, I can't imagine how crazy dangerous it is in real life. High respect to the service men & women, who put their time, life & body on the line doing this.
real deal warriors talking at last! thank you, gentlemen, glad I found your channel. Everything I've heard matches my own experience with far less sophisticated, trained and equipped enemy in Africa, but an AK on full auto is a fearsome beast on any continent. And let's not get started on PKM - that 7.62x54 round is something else. If they know the terrain and set up the killing field properly, you're f*cked. Plenty good memories of good times with brothers in arms. Strength to you, keep up the good work. Salute!
America is screwed, our combat vets draw their experience from a turkey shoot against a bunch of sub-90 IQ'ed Afghans right before we go into war against European men and Oriental men. America loses this one, wholesale.
My best friend is JTF2 special forces. I was also supposed to go this route with him. I chose to go travel and surf. Although i believe my friend to be a true warrior and the staple of what a man should be. Years of tours in Afghanistan have left him psychologically and spiritually broken. Many of his peers have committed suicide or just can't acclimate back int domestication. It fucking breaks my heart. And thte needs to be better support for you warriors coming home. Deepest respect and love.
Six firefights in Afghanistan for me… Only one was at night. The daytime fights were weird. It felt like they could see us but we couldn’t see them. Luckily they weren’t shooting very well.
I know I'm just a stupid Civvie, but whenever I used to watch those "helmet cam" doccos on National Geographic (or maybe even Restrepo), the thing that always got me was you could not see anybody. Maybe it's because the camera footage is not the greatest quality but I couldn't see anything from the baddies; no flashes, no movement, no bullet strikes either around them or around the Americans. Somebody once told me that the Tallywhackers would engage at the absolute maximum range of their weapons to avoid being seen.
@@Grimdarkog thanks! It's exactly what I say about folks in Ww2 who see a mk IV panzer and call it a Tiger Tank-- IF you spend time staring at the tank, you'll probably end up being killed
bruh, you were really lucky... my second deployment had like at least a WEEKLY firefight....sometimes even up to 5 days a week. they did give like 2 weeks off... but then again... that's because somebody gave the order to merc 50+ civilians that were peeking an LZ.... whoever gave that command is probably still in the brigs to this day.
@@cpK054L Well, I don’t really count the times we had our front gate blown up by a VBIED, or the green-on-blue shootings, or the guys throwing grenades over our walls, or shooting RPGs from the hills into our FOB, or “ROCKET-ATTACK” alerts because I don’t recall any US personnel getting injured by that stuff. But I was in and around Kandahar in 2013-2014. It was hot sometimes but not like the years before. Six was bad enough that I wasn’t really looking for more. Actually, the last firefight I was in was the night one. I only had a month left in Afg.
So true…if you see someone you probably get shot. Hardest part is determining where shots are coming from. 16 years in a combat zone Im 100% happy with never being in a gun fight ever again….just watching RUclipss on Ukraine fights makes me glad im a civilian again. “Careful what you ask for” is the best advice you can get.
I was in the Kyber Pass visiting the Kyber Rifles, we were being shown around when we heard gunfire. We went to the wall and looked in the direction of where the noise was coming from the officer said that it was two tribes having a go at each other. Then we saw two explosions and I asked the officer if those were mortar rounds, he replied yes and that’s not good. Next thing we know rounds started impacting the wall and it was time to get inside, bullets were flying all around us as we sprinted across the parade ground . We made it inside and how none of us were hit was a miracle. So there we having tea listening to the three way battle outside. As for the shooters we didn’t even see them.
At or around the 2:20 mark, something is brought up about people asking if they enlist what are their chances of getting into a gunfight... the response of "be careful what you wish for" is about the best I have heard. No false bravado, no BS, just the absolute reality of the person asking the question having no idea what they are seeking out. I will end this by saying I was "nobody special", in that my time was spent in relative peace of my 12 years. It took me a long time to realize how lucky I was to be that guy without a CIB, Combat Patch... trust me, I itched for it. I "wanted it" like most of the 18-20 something year olds around me at the time. Hell, I saw enough shit go wrong during training where people died or were seriously injured to realize pretty quick that actual combat would not be a forgiving environment, and surely not the romanticized one so many seem to believe in. If I even begin to talk about those training accidents, I get that imposter syndrome kicking in... because it was just training. Deaths and injuries were real, but I cannot imagine it is the same as being on the 2-way firing range except that maybe you expect it to happen there more than in training. Still, completely different animals. I did my time, I got out, and then the world fell apart a few years later, and I thank God for the young men and woman who stepped up and faced that Hell on earth for me. Guess this old farts point is, yes be damned careful what you wish for in life. Welcome home to all my Brothers who did see that Hell on Earth, thank you, God Bless you! You have no idea how grateful I am to you for what you did for us.
This proves the concept of accuracy by volume. That's why we always trained to establish fire superiority to suppress then maneuver. Then again I was an Army grunt in the 90's so things might have changed a bit. Not sure if it's better.
Fuck this hit home. We were in a long distance engagement, had a opium dealer in custody so my team was falling back with him in custody. As we were peeling back I thought I finally had a bead on the shooter, saw a silhouette right by what looked like a bale of hay. Went to get my sights on and a round dropped 2 feet in front of my face and blasted me with dirt. I fucking had him but as that happened my team leader was peeling behind me and told me to move. I knew the guy had me just as I had him so I listened, got up and moved. Still regret it to this day, I know I could have gotten him but who knows if he would have smoked me first.
@@nunyadambusiness6902 Where he was shooting at us from was in the Georgian AO. We had already gotten into shit for pushing a gun fight into their area a month prior. So our hands were tied plus we had a detainee.
@@IamDabaste damn... that's when it really sucks... I remember when Georgia went down, but we were in Asia, so we missed it... 🤷 I'll never forget that chic walking out of the jungle & coming at me with that damn machete... Didn't even know she was a teenager till it was all over & that stays with you... some things Camp McCall can't prepare you for...
I was fully prepared to go and die or live more so live when I was put on the deployment list and told that we were deploying but what I wasn't prepared for was hearing about people dying losing friends. Coming home is another thing too. I know a couple of my battles came home and we're just distraught and very isolated and they would eventually end up taking their own lives
While in Ramadi we got pinned down near the 4 story..I'll never forget that battle! Cover was demolished and visibility was diminishing fast! This scene sent me right back!
Due respect to all ex nd present servicemen frm India🇮🇳 To get a perspective abt counter insurgency in other parts of d world u may hv a chat wid Indian army personnel (sm of them hv years of exp in kashmir, north-east besides being deployed in freezing Himalayan heights like Ladakh, Siachen). Wd love 2 see them in ur show.
Good stuff guys. When we were in Iraq (2005) we always worked at night. If we were still out, or on the road when the sun was coming up we were not happy.
If they open up on you, it’s because they have achieved a tactical advantage, either height, cover, surprise, numbers or fire power. Oftentimes it’s all the above.
Been in a few. My last fight, I was gut shot when the very first round was fired. My buddy had his legs cut out with 3 round. We both hit the ground at the same time. There is no warning, no whistle or starting guns with blanks. It's on like donkey Kong and now.
You guys are spot on under fire pray I was an airbourne ranger 20yrs and combat vet it's unexplainable unless your their never under estimate your opponents I used my training and experience saved my life and my bros
Old Military Saying "Aimed Shots Miss.. Random Shots Kill..." AND "It's Not The Bullet With Your Name On It Ya Gotta Worry About.. It's The One Marked.. To Whom It May Concern..."
my squad got the combat action ribon for our unit and our first firefight was with the old baath party. they were hiding while pointing ak's and rpk's and yet the rounds were so close one round passed through a buddies blouse but missed his arm. we suppressed fire and hit them with 203's and an AT4.
Haha your first few are scary as Fuk and normally over fast !!! After a while the numbness sets in but the fear of what you can’t control is always there !!! Good communication and the support of your brothers always makes for a better time what makes it better is when your around your brothers stateside standing around a fire talking about the good times and bad times .. but the smell of your first gun fight never leaves !!!! 😂
What I noticed about combat is the amount of noise, the dust and smells were intense, burning tires plastic and the sweet smell of decomp was almost over powering. After 32 years my ears are still ringing and I can still taste it in the back of my throat.
Gents, Good show. Enjoyed your comments on being engaged in a firefight during daylight. During my time in SOG all of our firefights were in daylight, before the US has good NOGs. J. Meyer, RT Idaho.
I concur! It's like fighting ghosts. You're lucky if you see a runner. Damn near impossible to hit and you're fucked if they ain't armed. Thank God their marksmanship sucks balls. They still get lucky though...
Great video. What I "love" even more in Hollywood movies is when the good guys get pinned down and shoot back. Then one of the good guys gets injured and another one (most of the time the lead actor) gets more angry and stands up, and starts moving towards the enemy and starts killing everyone. Good job holding your killing and accuracy back until really needed....
Pretty sure the Brits have been in Afghanistan WAAAAY before NATO turned NA5 Even in Sangin, I saw a British unit have their wall of KIAs in PB Jamil dated 1991.
I was deployed to The Stan during Restrepo with the 173rd in 07-08. Being in a bowl, shooting UP at targets give you a pucker effect like no other. The Tali have been at war for fucking years....They're no slouches, and daytime fighting neutralizes all of our nighttime advantage.
Always take the advice with a block of salt from the _tacticool_ gurus on RUclips - even if they were in gunfights. Read Wikipedia's _Survivorship bias_ . There's a host of reasons that could explain why they lived, and the tactics/strategies, etc. that THEY think kept them alive might not be what did it. If I had to guess, time-tested is probably one of the best ways to know if something will work. Empiricism.
Or just throw everything, and I mean everything at the problem, AKA World War II. We won, they lost, end of story. To the snow flakes out there, grow up and be thankful.
@@cpK054L It could be that the zealous advising of _tacticool_ gurus are their way of coping with survivor's guilt. Instead of facing the possibility that they were just lucky, they have built up a personal mythology; that they used some specific way to "win", but in reality it could have been a multitude of reasons.
@@RodCornholio DOUBT. my unit went combat ineffective, and i've had to watch my fair share of people turning into dust. I'm pretty sure the skull fracture that is causing my headache to this day was when that guys tibia bone literally flew into my face. But I'm not here judging tacticool videos in fact, I'm discovering it's just like a lot of veterans who went through this. it's difficult to talk about, because a lot of people don't really understand what you are really talking about. Hell, my own wife doesn't even understand, nor does she want to. All I can tell the VA is, yeah... my nightmares increase with stress I don't want to describe them because they legit freak even me out to where it wakes me up, ... and nothing really spooked me when I was in the military. They're most likely just grifters like Detroit Urban Self-Defense
@@cpK054L "my nightmares increase with stress" ... I believe I know exactly what you mean. If I have no stressors in my daily life, I feel normal. If I have too much stress, the nightmares from Vietnam start and sometimes get so bad that I wake up when the bayonets stick into me. ....
I love the arrogance/ignorance of the people who think that these guys (Taliban, Mujahideen… ) who’ve been at war since the late ‘70s are gonna be incompetent. It’s their backyard and the weapons they have might not have the latest LPVO or $3500 IR laser but it’ll still kill you, especially when some 50yr old guy’s been practicing with it since puberty. Love Beers & Breakdowns… maybe we can get a Xmas day doubleheader???
So true, the average person deosnt take the time to inform themselves of this though, they decide to regurgitate false info told to them by other unimformed people
Nothing glamorous about a gunfight,I wish now that I never enlisted,I regret the 9 years in Iraq and Afghanistan in the RAIDER'S everyday I have to find a reason not to Walk outside and feed my brains to the squirrels,It's not Hollywood,it doesn't make you a man, But combat will change your life forever,Not in a positive way either,But maybe it's just me but even after being home since 2016 I can still smell the death and gunpowder hear the screams of grown men crying and praying it's a horrible feeling to take a life and anyone who says it doesn't bother them is a liar
@@Graderman3587 it's necessary, and temporary. once it'll be beyond, you'll think about how everything in the past seemed dark, and laugh about it. there's plenty of cool ass jobs that need smart people for it - and with cool jobs there's cool people in as well.
@@decespugliatorenucleare3780 I realize war unfortunately is a necessity, And I hope by me staying the 9 years that I did that maybe I saved a few young men's lives and spared them,Far as work I raise cattle and I have a small business building roads and parking lots, Plus I have a FFL license and a little store, But far as a social life not really,I pushed my wife and kids away because I didn't want to hurt them,I felt like I was holding them back and making them miserable,I never thought I'd be this guy,The guy that can't be around a lot of people or sleep through the night without waking up soaking wet from sweat I got home in 2016 and everyday gets worse, like today I couldn't even leave the house because I'm in one these moods where Im angry but don't know why
100% true, everything you said. I tell people all the time. You do NOT want to be in that scenario and if you are, damn it you better be ready. You better find and take cover as quickly as you can to gather yourself and make a plan.
82nd airborne veteran here. Yeah it's basically chaos. I mean why is the SAW the focus of the squad and the MMG the center of the platoon? Because the more lead you have in the air the higher the odds of surviving and winning.
As a younger man I used to think I’d be the hero smoking all the bad guys and coming out fine. Now that I’m older I realize there’s a solid chance I’d be like the first guy off the boat in saving private Ryan. Perspective is a hell of a thing
Agreed. After a little growing up, I realised I'm not as lucky and I'd be one of those guys getting shot too
Hope you find your fire again someday. Sorry to hear life and your peers give you such a shit self perspective.
@@SALUTE-INT-S agreed, I’m simply stating how my perspective on the randomness of combat has changed with my age. And I’m not saying older men would be unwilling to fight a war they believed had a just cause, just that younger men tend to think “it won’t be me”
@@akanji8285Exactly, you can be a super soldier that can has been training his whole life for this moment, and get blown to bits by a 155mm shell. It doesnt matter if youre a good fighter or not, its all luck, with a bit of skill involved
That guy never got off the boat, drilled through his head and he was gone while still on the metal.
My buddy was a Ranger, taking down an insurgent compound in Iraq. He was in the middle of tossing a frag into a spider hole about 5m away from him when the guy in the spider hole popped his gun up and sprayed. One bullet hit a grenade on his belt and detonated it. He ended up losing both legs and his right arm, even though the frag he threw ended up killing the insurgent. Sometimes it doesn't matter how badass you are, the other guy gets lucky (right before his luck runs out).
At least he got him back 💀💀
@@flawless_Cowboy at least lol
Oh Jesus that's so scary! 😱I'm almost afraid to ask, but god forbid was his privates also injured or god forbid "lost"? Since as you said the grenade detonated on his belt and it is dangerously close to the groin and one of my worst fears in life is getting injured down there.
A lot of cqb, opponents will hit each other / kill each other
Jeezus that's rough. Please thank your friend for his service and sacrifice.
We were drilled every damn day with " You enter every fight as if your enemy is smarter then you, stronger, faster, and has more intel then you. When your ego joins the gun fight, your kids are gonna meet their new Daddy at your funeral"
There’s no better mentality to enter a deadly engagement with. My pmi in boot camp taught the same thing even in mct all my instructors were all grunts who deployed and mentioned the same things in regards to ego.
What many people don’t want to accept is that every single enemy combatant is also a human being. Human beings are the most ingenious creatures ever to exist on this planet. If they are determined, they will find a way.
@@willymac5036 100% agree
Dude 👀 i remember a MSG Fawbush line when i hear it. 🤙 if you know you know
How the US thinks while also being that enemy.
Someone wise once said, "Get into a fistfight, expect broken bones. Get into a knifefight, expect to be stabbed. Get into a gunfight, expect to be shot."
Warriors are to be respected.
War is to be despised.
I hope you dropped the mic after that sermon.
War is to be despised but it's looking inevitable.
ALMIGHTY Supreme God Kabeer
❤
@@anon_laughing_man Closer today than ever before as well...
I remember as a kid going to my step dads air cav reunions. We went out to range in Gettysburg where they had things organized so that people could see what automatic weapons were really like. There was a line of 3 kids (probably ages 10-14) with instructors behind them while they fired AKs and he leaned over and said "see, it doesn't matter if it's a trained marksman or some scrawny little kid when bullets start flying in your direction. If you're hit, you're hit. It doesn't matter who pulled the trigger or how accurate they were."
I'll never forget that lesson. That shit stuck with me
Thank you for this story. My son is not yet old enough to handle firearms, but I'll be using that as part of the lesson plan now.
That's why America would make a great insurgency in defense of our nation. So many guns in the hands of the untrained given a crash course on ambush deployment and simple tactics and weapons management we could block and even push back any invading force from moving freely. Red Dawn really did portray the American spirit quite well. WOLVERINES!!!
A gun is the great equalizer.
I was the guy that got hit in his first gunfight. Lucky for me, it was only a graze. Still took me off my feet. Unlucky for me, the graze was across my cheek. I was terrified. Guy next to me smacked me across my face, trying to shake me out of it. Lol he hit me so hard my nose bled. Back in the fight after that.
03 was fucking crazy, brah.
I bet that scar is tight
@@mantis_toboggan_md a mark to bear with pride, to serve israel
@@decespugliatorenucleare3780 What in the hell are you even on about? We're American.
@@mantis_toboggan_md 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes, yes you are...
@@DasOrmur Do you have anything worthwhile to say?
I was in Fallujah and I can attest to the fact that gun battles in the daylight truly suck because you can see the magnitude of what is coming at you! Night fights can definitely be unnerving but somehow don't see as bad. You see your friends shot up and bleeding out screaming in pain and for corpsman! It was pure terrifying hell!! Thank God I made it home relatively intact, just some PTSD. I was one of the lucky there!
Falluja was hell. A lot of my time in Baghdad was just dodging ieds. By the time y’all took falluja back they switched from direct ambushes to daisy chains and trip wires. I’d honestly rather just have a fight. At least there would be an enemy to engage instead of calling 9 line and never having a good nights rest again.
what would help is not invading into other countries, maybe than you wouldnt need to mourn the fallen murderers you left behind
@@HauptstadtLiebe dude, soldiers don't make political decisions.
@@HauptstadtLiebe war is the way of the world buddy, pick up a history book
Just "some" PTSD? I mean...man, you make it sound like all you had was a bruise and that was it. Dunno whether to laugh at the phrasing or admire your balls of titanium.
The biggest mistake one can make on a battlefield is underestimating the opponent.
another mistake is flinching at shadows that aren't there
Ya I'm sure these spec ops guys wouldn't know a thing
*Better tobe paranoid and stay strapped or clown your enemy and realize later that u the one about to get your cheek clapped* - Sun Tzu circa 1992 Compton, LA
I stay Cherry, baby
Sun Tsu-the art of war
I’m Marine Recon retired, I’ve never been in actual firefight , I’ve done countless live action drills with real bullets coming down range , THAT is hairy enough to make you understand the fog and confusion of a firefight , the reason US forces fight so well, is we fight like we train, and pretty much, muscle memory kicks in, and you engage
That’s why all capable citizens should train.
The main thing that surprised me from daytime battle is you don't really see tracers unless you are right on the bore axis of them (hopefully outgoing). I had a tanker trying to direct me onto a target saying "follow my tracers" (from the tank coax gun) and I couldn't see where he was shooting. When I told him that, he said stand by...and fired a HEAT round.
Definitely saw where THAT went 🤣 (and then proceeded to dump everything into the building).
You can see them when they barely miss the back of your head go past your ear. Very confusing cause had no idea they had anyone behind us but I guess in the mountains they are usually on at least 3 sides Shit sucked. The day I got shot there was 13 of us leaving a village on a goat trail cliff one way and wall on the other they had 180 to 200 against the 13 of us only 7 of us lived we all got shot. Kyle white got the Medal of Honor for that battle
Thanks for keeping it real. Far too many people have no clue and think getting shot at is like a movie.
My Father was pinned against the seawall on Tarawa with hundreds of dead Marines floating in the surf behind him. They moved on in daylight and it sucked. He went on to carry a flame thrower on Iwo, the Marine I'm named after died there. It was all two way, day and night.
Peace is where sons bury their fathers, war is where fathers bury their sons...Herodotus
Iwo Jima was insane. (opinion)
Amazing
Very appropriate quote. Thank you.
I am a vet. I am older now. I never, never, never, ever forget the sacrifice, dedication, and shear fortitude required to complete the objective and survive. We like to think positive, but Sir you remind us that combat is not always, and rarely is, accurate. THERE ARE NO GUARENTEES. Good stuff here. Please keep it up.Thank you.
Craziest thing that humbled me up when I was younger was a show on The Military Channel...don't recall the name but they took special forces guys and put them in a scenario. One was a big tanker ship at dock where an unknown amount of hostils had taken the crew hostage. Only thing that stands out to this day, there was a helicopter platform maybe 40'x40' with a set of stairs down one side. One of the Seals was clearing the deck, goes to clear the platform and moves up the stairs, well just prior to that one of the hostels had just moved up to the platform. Mind you the hostels were also Special Ops guys acting, they spooked each other simultaneously and both panic fired, 20 ft away from each other both these 2 highly trained and prepared men completely whiff. That always stuck with me. No matter what amount of prep, training, drills, you can still get caught off guard, you can't predict every situation possible. Cause the second you think you're good enough...you're not.
I believe you're talking about the show Special Ops. It was with Wil Willis who is a green beret and the people he went up against were from all the branches of the military. I used to watch that show too. I remember an episode they did at Linda Vista hospital in Los Angeles. They all kept hearing voices and noises throughout the hospital not knowing that the place was extremely haunted.
@@frankiehitman2610 Haunted PA? Guess they never cut the comms. There must be a blooper reel somewhere. Keeping your cool can be a big ask when people are doing dumb stuff just for laughs. I don't think that kind of entertainment would last very long without some side bets to keep it going. Sounds like a charity fundraiser
To be honest the majority of the time we fought during the day it was just both sides basically full autoing at one another based more off sound than anything. We got in a perfect L shaped ambush in Kandahar on Halloween 2009. The best I could see was the occasional muzzle flash. Then we got so close to them we could hear them yelling to one another. PKM was suppressing us from a grape hut and that's the thing I was able to actually see the best. The one confirmed kill I ever got was taking out a guy who was casually trying to walk away an hour or so after shooting an RPG at us. During that particular firefight I never saw any armed combatants but they definitely saw us.
I was in Kandahar in 09 that was a bloody place,I hated Kandahar everything was combative 🤣 just like the movie said even the dirt was hostile
@@Graderman3587 Yeah I was there from May 09 to July 10 and it was pretty intense. What unit were you in?
@@sectorseven07 1 RST MARINE RAIDER BATTALION MARSOC DET 1 mos 0372i spent 16 years in the Marines 9 of that was in Iraq and Afghanistan
@@Graderman3587 Nice
@@sectorseven07 in the years I've been home, Like Most vets I've had trouble dealing with things, Earlier this year I sat down trying to figure out why, Only thing I can come up with was,I miss it 💯,I miss that bond you get with the guys,I miss that adrenaline rush and being feared by the enemy, What I wish would stop is not being able to drive past a piece of trash that blew out of a truck on the road,or Constantly scanning roof tops at the stores for guys with a cell phone,Or always having to have my back against the wall so I can see everything coming at me,Or not being able to take my kids to their ballgame because dad might freak out and knock out a loud mouth father, Again.
But I enjoy y'all's products and videos,
And thanks for replying
I had a Grandfather that was in the 17th airborne at the Battle of Ardennes (Bulge). About 80% of his company got wiped out, but he survived. I asked him one time how it was he survived, and so many others did not. He replied..."I kept my head down". I guess that meant he stayed under cover 100% of the time, unless he was ordered to move.
Well nobody is John wick and in nature the most successful hunters are all silent, patient and hidden, that's why special forces are so valued. Tiny squads of men and women that could never beat an army, but that army doesn't know where they are or that they're even coming, special forces are so unpredictable and they just prod the opponent making other ground forces lives a bit easier, you can only hide from something you've seen and know about.
My grandfather was also in the airborne forces at Ardennes. (I think he may have been in the 17th as well. He got folded into another division during his tour, so I can't always remember without looking it up.) One night his company was dug in and the Germans (a lot of them) came up behind and just started pulling them out of their foxholes and executing them. They were so outnumbered all they could do was just sit tight and hope the Germans didn't find too many of them. They found every single foxhole except for the one my grandpa was in. He and the guy he was dug in with were the only two men who survived in their company. Kept in touch the rest of their lives.
It's nothing more than math and physics, if the enemy has more combatants dumping rounds at you and your men, being in cover increases your survival. However, they can also maneuver on you if you aren't checking their movements. If your side has fire superiority, then of course being out of cover doesn't have as much danger.
It's effective propaganda to encourage the infantryman to not hide in cover a lot, that's combat ineffectiveness, it reduces the unit's overall firepower if soldiers are scared to aim and fire at the enemy.
There is no kind of training that can help you figure out when you should stay out of cover to aim at the enemy or to take cover. Only through combat will you learn cues on when it is safe for you to hide or fight.
@@jackdwyer4584Holy shit war is so unforgiving. I’m a descendant from US army and also German. My grandmother and her brother both served german military during WW2. My American grandfather married her post war in Germany. Her brother was a pilot and was KIA. Lots of stories before their death.
Christopher...I would bet that if your grandfather had taken the time to explain himself, he would have said something like, "Well, I kept my head down when I could, but me and my buddies fought those rotten bastards tooth and nail. We were all freezing, but we couldn't stop shooting back, or I wouldn't be here. I just got lucky, I could've been shot a thousand times. I was no hero (although he was), but maybe I saved a few of my buddies. I know they saved me." I guarantee you your grandfather didn't keep his head down 100% of the time.
I've had a lot of younger guys ask me how it is to be a gun fight and I always tell them the same thing. You don't want to know.
Fake machismo vibes
🤣🤣👍.Had the same experience. I was wearing a Sniper International Competition t-shirt. A boy who was with his father asked me. I want to be a sniper, what should I do? I told him to complete his education and then think about being a sniper. His father gave me the thumbs up
Worked in emergency medicine for 18 years, both on an ambulance and in a trauma center. It never fails, "whats the worst thing you have ever seen?" Ill just stare at them for a minute, then politely tell them I wont answer their question. For some its just an innocent curiosity but others just want to hear the glory. But there is no glory in the "worst." When you CANT save that baby thats weeks old, its fucking horrible. TV and movies dont want to show that stuff. They are always going to SAVE that kid. That bystander is always going to pull a (miraculously concious) victim out of the blazing car or house, with no respiratory protection and they both live. Its just not fucking like that 🤷
In my career, Ive seen one truly heroic moment that would have been beautiful on TV. But it still resulted in both victims dying.
@@christophercollins868 "whats the worst thing you have ever seen?"I don't give a shit I would say, I saw Forced abortion in a gypsy house dead baby in a plastic bag, puke and shit everywhere that was heavy
a breath of fresh air to hear people give the enemy their due credit, thank you
When I was in basic at Ft Sill back in the early 80’s we went to the range at night once. They gave us two thirty round mags with every fourth or fifth a tracer. We were all lined up in foxholes. When they gave permission to fire we got to shoot across a valley at whatever we wanted to shoot at, and as fast or slow as we wanted. Between mags I stopped for a second to watch. All I could think was that I would sure as hell not want to be on the other side with all of that coming at me. Have never forgotten that. It made a big impression on me as to what it might be like to be in a battle.
I went to high school in North St. Louis and survived muggings, had a cocked pistol pointed at me and having stray bullets zipping past me so close I could hear them. I was too young to realize how dangerous it all was. I still can’t believe I survived all four years unscathed. Sadly I’m sure many of my classmates are dead now.
Thanks for your service guys! You should quit drinking alcohol. Nothing good ever came from it.
You should eat a D
I could not fathom the memories and emotions going through these two guys while watching that regardless of how unrealistic it may be.
Guys are a special breed.
Way back when I was considering this path, I remember reading a SEAL story about a firefight where the dude got shot in the hand and in the heat of the moment he bit down and pulled on what he thought was the bullet sticking out the back of his palm, but turned out to be one of his hand bones that shattered in two. That, and the freezing cold water made it a nope for me.
Miss those topic videos and podcasts from Buck. Haven't seen one in a while. Thanks again for this content guys, it really helps.
Reading comments. And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your service and I hope you all are safe and well and have a blessed Holidays. 🇺🇸❤️🙏🏻
On the point of the two way gun range. A buddy of mine who served and fought in real life combat told me some stories. One of which was another squad they ran with, and his squad called the other one the lead slingers because they'd always have a tone of ammo and they'd burn through it so fast. Calling them lead slingers started as a jab at them for spending more time shooting and missing instead of taking good aim and firing. But turns out, that squad was a damn highly effect squad. More shots down range just seems to mean more chances to hit a target then one shot with decent aim.
That's one reason why the new Sig service weapon seems like a step in the wrong directions. It shoots bigger rounds, but the mags hold less and you carry less.
@@grogdizzy5814 No more shield fire.👎
@@grogdizzy5814 You're a fool if you think conventional infantry units will ever be issued those. They'll be using m4s and m16s until judgement day comes.
The STANAG is going no where.
Suppression fire has many many benefits. Fewer bullets flying in your direction gives you more room to manoeuvre and implement tactics.
@@JarthenGreenmeadow I hope not, but Sig got the contract and the Army hasn't really been making great decisions lately. Remember those awful digital ACUs that they made conventional infantry units wear?
I grew up in Fresno during the early and mid 90s, peak of the gang wars. I didn't have a choice but to learn how indiscriminate bullets are. After having a bullet lodge into me and my brothers' bedroom wall, and my Dad's Toyota pickup getting swiss cheesed, my Parents finally saved enough to move us away. Unfortunately, other people weren't as lucky.
How well do you know your parents or your neighbors? There's no such thing as random gunfire even when the guy with the flag doesn't get hit
@@luislongoria6621 We lived in these trashy apartments with dozens of other families. I'm sure a significant amount of the teens were part of some kind of gang. The shootings we experienced there were mostly drive bys, although sometimes a gun fight would break out.
What part of Fresno?
I think Terminal List did really good with first action scene. Two of the operators got killed once the fighting started, and the enemy's return fire was affective. Overall, it's just a super tense scene that looks super real.
Just watched it following your comment and hell yeah super intense!! Feels real AF
@@Adri-242 Amazing show! I started gym again after that.
@@aegonbreakspear9102 haha awesome!! 🔥💪💪
The opening scene where the two dudes just stand in a tunnel staring at a mounted machine gun? Lol. That part got me good.
Retired GB here. Sean is absolutely correct, daylight gunfights are the worst. Sean highlights multiple reasons why that is. I’d like to add one more dynamic as to why daylight gun battles suck so bad is because generally speaking the enemy doesn’t leave the battlefield, he generally stays and fights, keeps shooting on what Sean says is the “Two way range.” Two way range is absolutely right, and here’s the clincher gunfights are violent engagements measured at the speed of bullets, you’re not dodging them like in The Matrix. Fact: The longer the gunfight lasts the greater the odds you are catching a bullet. The best way to survive a gunfight is to end it as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. Or break contact and call for fire and/ or air support. Daylight gunfights suck PERIOD.
Why is there an emphasis on daylight? Are nighttime gun fights more bearable?
@@Breaker2005 generally, especially regarding Afghanistan the enemy does not have night fighting capabilities, mainly night vision that allows them to operate and see at night. If they do have night vision it’s usually maybe 1 or 2 guys that got their hands on some night vision gear. But the vast majority don’t have it. Americans however, especially SOF, every man has night vision, and we have many types of night vision, like FLIR, thermals, enhanced latest generation NVGs, this is a huge advantage for us over the enemy at night. We can see them but they can’t see us. Our night fighting technology gives us a huge advantage over them. But during the day you don’t use night vision and they can see us too, so they stay and slug it out with us. For Taliban forces daytime is for gunfights, nighttime is for laying in and emplaning IEDs.
Civi here .
My biggest fear would be running out of ammo before the enemy and then it being broad daylight and having no cover or concealment to be able to break contact and retreat. Your there till the other is dead. I suppose that goes hand in hand with don’t underestimate the enemy and a failure to plan is a plan for failure
Can I ask what a "two way range" is? The dude in the video did mention it but I still don't quite get it.
@@thanglongnguyenvu3815 a two way range means people are shooting down it from both sides. It’s a firefight On one side you have the soldiers who are shooting at the enemy down range. And then the enemy is also shooting back at the soldiers. A one way range would basically be target practice or shooting an enemy that isn’t shooting back
Thanks for taking us all back to reality about warfare. People be thinking it’s like Call of Duty out there.
Call of duty is much harder, you dont know what sacrifice is if you hadnt carried a team in TDM. IDGAF how many tours you did, come talk to me after you drop a nuke in nuketown little boy.
I don’t know, I seem to die plenty in call of duty from seemingly random fire.
Yup. I remember the Rainbow Six game, there was nothing like it.. Very realistic in the sense that you take a shot and you're dead, or at least incapacitated. Same the other way around. Not sure why more games aren't like that. I think with VR someone will make something similar. But honestly I don't want to play it now that I'm older, I don't think these games are healthy since the graphics are too realistic now.
Agree. I can tell you in Vietnam, my first two firefights I was scared shitless. I’m man enough to admit I don’t know wtf I was shooting at. It took me til me 3-4 firefight before I could get my adrenaline to the point where I could even concentrate enough to control my fire. I always laugh when I’m at the range, and guys get pissed caused they’re 1moa off at 100 yards lol. It’s a different ballgame when someone is shooting at your ass. Moas go out the door, you’re just trying to hit mass. Combat sucks. People die. But what’s the worst is when guys get their guts blown open and the screaming. Enjoy the range. Don’t ever wish for combat unless you’re insane. 1st Cav C troop 1/12 68-70
@@SALUTE-INT-S of what I saw and experienced in firefights, most were 50 meters or less. Every ambush was close range. Most times you could not see them except a blur or behind cover. A lot of spraying and praying. Most were over in 4-5 minutes but that was enough. It felt like 4-5 hours. Everything was dense cover over there, no one fought in open fields. A few had shotguns which were great for the cover. We’re there kills at longer range? Absolutely. But none that I saw. Percentage of kills? No idea? All we had was a body count when we could find them. You never knew when you were walking into an ambush, you just prayed you weren’t hit, and could lay down enough fire to drive them off. The most surprising thing to me was the noise. Guns going off were deafening along with the screaming. Movies can’t show you that. My ears ring to this day. Hope that helped
@@SALUTE-INT-S your guess is as good as mine. I would imagine the casualties rate would be less. But you have to remember, most fire fights were over so fast, there wasn’t a lot of time to call in accurate suppressive fire. We’re there longer fire fights? Of course. But vast majority at least for me were 4-5 minutes, a little longer. The noise once return fire began didn’t help. When you have 20 guys returning fire to an enemy maybe 20-40 meters away, hard to tell direction. And you’re not going to stick your neck up to check believe me. After 3-4 firefight you begin to learn how to react and how to tell where fire is coming from. You never forget the snap of a round going by your head or hitting the ground next to you
Yeah. I'd say a real big con to a firefight during the day is that it's so much harder to see the enemy. It's like being a bat. Usually the enemy is set up someplace far enough where, maybe across a valley where you won't be able to quickly locate or maneuver on. It becomes a mix of seeing where the rounds land and hearing where it's coming from. Direction and distance quickly formulates in your mind as you scramble for cover. Hearing the rounds snap overhead or really far away helps you figure out when you can move and for how long. At least with night time, it's much faster to identify where the rounds are coming from and conceal behind cover. During a late night firefight, I was running to my battle position and saw a tracer rounds splatter the earth just 5 meters in front of me. Stopped real hard and hugged the nearest hesco, haha. Personally, hearing a mortar fly overhead was the worst because there was just enough time until impact for me to wonder if it'd find it's way to me. Sorry for the long story. Just brings back a lot of memories.
All facts. Not to mention the T-ban don't just hit you on impulse. They have Soo much tactical patience it's scary. They always waited till we were almost done with our patrol and tired.
My Senior DS and 1SG in basic hammered on this concept a lot during our FTX. Your enemy isn't always going to be impulsive and fire at you as soon as they see you, if they're smart they'll map your routes and just wait until you've got no energy left before engaging you.
@@brutal2826 that's how they got one of ours killed... watched how he looked for IEDs... then had one planted on a doorframe, just for him...
@@cpK054L im sorry man i hope your ok
2:45 I used to tell my guys " stay in place behind cover" if you try and maneuver you may run into a round.
The craziest moment I had in combat was in Shkin, Afghanistan (OEF IV). I was with the 10th Mountain Division 1/87 infantry. Our task that day was to disrupt enemy rocket/ mortar fire hitting our FOB. Short story short what turned out to be a 13-hour firefight about 3 hours in one of the guys in our platoon (who had been in Operation Anaconda a few years prior) took off his k-pot, sat down lit a cigarette. I yelled at him between shots "What are you doing?" he just looked at me and said cool as fuck "I'm taking a break" all of us around just looked at him and laughed and kept on fighting 👌 RIP PFC Evan O'Neill KIA Shkin Afghanistan 2003 ... I'll see you on a distant battlefield brother "Vires Montesque Vincimus"
a pfc doing this is badass as hell😂
How do you have ammo to sustain a 13hour firefight?
@@johndang887 The guy that took a break was a Specialist. His name is Jon Salle 👍
Well said bro. Daytime firefights and ambushes in urban IRQ were infvckingsane too, darting in and out of windows, alleyways, popping up on rooftops then darting away, pure chaos from all sides.
Don't forget manholes & drainage pipes...
@@nunyadambusiness6902 True, we didn't encounter too many people hiding in those when I was there but I've seen and heard other times where they were.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary I can only remember going under a city once, but we did a whole recon from it & you could infil like that... people don't realize...
@@nunyadambusiness6902 For sure, I remember a year or two before I was in Sadr City and Baghdad there was a big sweep of the existing sewer tunnels and municipalities, found some caches down there but I didn't hear much else on it.
More commonly, the terries would just bury caches around the area or stage them in safe houses or random places, their network was wild.
@@lukewarm7744 If you want to have an actual discussion, don't be a troll and spell my name right-- otherwise, you can kindly foxtrot oscar.
Let's not forget (to the guys who've never been in the Shit) Those guys on the other can SHOOT TOO. I think too many people grew up watching the A-team and things like Arnold in Commando, the hero never gets shot and believes "Hollywood" magic. Merry x-mas guys
Fax they shoot back and just as good as you think you are, they are too, they are generational warriors
@@johnjr578 yes of course, you must never underestimate anyone in theater, have a warrior’s respect for your opponents ( as corny as that sounds).
I think that's why a near peer fight would be so insane and it's being shown with the fight between Russia and Ukraine. People get bodied so fast when the enemies accuracy, gear, and training is as good as yours.
And if they have NVG gear and what not night assaults without proper air support is a nightmare because they can see your lasers and gladly use that information to deadly effect.
And usually when we're talking fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, they've been shooting since before they had pubes. So they're REEEEEEEEEEALLY fuckin' good at it. Way better than your just touched a rifle for the 1st time in basic training ass.
To all the veterans on here, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
I love that you called out other movies for not showing the 2-way range aspect of a gunfight. Also, the aftermath of a gunfight is oftentimes highly underplayed,
Very good video. So many gun owners in America get obsessed with tricking out their AR setup, thinking they're now untouchable. I've never been in a gunfight but I've always understood that the art of war is about tactics more so than the individual soldier or his weapon. Our nation was founded because the colonists understood this idea during the revolutionary war. We won by using our terrain to our advantage and implementing superior tactics on the battlefield, while the British were too rigid in their ways of thinking. Again I've never been in a gunfight, but based on my understanding it is best to keep a low profile and never attack head on, because like you said, it's a 2-way range. And based on the sheer odds of hundreds of bullets flying, one is bound to hit you.
I had no clue I've been able to share the mat with a Green Beret much respect Sean see you soon !
Thank you for this video and for your service to our country. Much appreciated!
I could tell how focused you guys were watching that scene. Watching that has got to wake up some deep feelings and memories.
Combat trauma is the coolest trauma.
@@Veldtian1 it's actually not....
Much respect! Thank you for your service and thank you for giving us the reality of conflict. Sobering!!
I remember being in a guard tower outside Kandahar in 2 in the after noon and clear skies. I was taking sniper fire from the village, called in that I was taking fire and didn’t know where. My plt sgt, ssgt, and Team leader all came to my pill and we could hear the rounds go past our head but could not find where it was coming from. The dude ether ran out of ammo or knew he couldn’t be there that long bc 5-10 min it stopped. Sent a element into the village and couldn’t find anything.
I'm going to put money that it was an 8 year old learning how to shoot for the first time.
because if that was a Chechnyan sniper, best believe you wouldn't be breathing.... because... apparently they like to shoot the throat.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience......I wish your whole team a merry Christmas.
It's unfortunate that it literally takes active War to speed up innovation, but had this event happened 10+ years later, they at a minimum would have had their own armed Reaper flying over top of them their entire mission, ready to engage a flanking machinegun nest that was blocking safer escape routes. These guys are legends under the circumstances.
well it was a recon mission. Now they never have 4 man recon SEAL missions because of this. These events change history and the way the military operates.
You would think that. But look at the SF team in Niger that got taken out. They're not always able to secure ISR for missions and if they do, there's always blocks of time ISR is not available, and then there's also unpredictable weather, etc.
@@ik5852 doing a Recon mission with 4 guys is dumb to begin with. In Marine Recon we'd never go out with just 4 guys especially without a single crew served weapon (Machine Gun). We always had 6, two of which were operating area fire weapons (SAWs and 240s). That, and we'd likely have had another team inserted a kilometer away to be able to provide support if needed. That, and we wouldn't just rely on satcom. These guys didn't have a single HF radio with them.. for a Recon mission that is horseshit.. with HF you can literally talk halfway around the world as long as the right antenna is set up. What else? Moving during the daytime: huge no no for Recon missions. Movements should be at night..daytime is where you harbor up in a Bush and lay low.
@@ik5852 Next time they'll hobble the goat herders with zip ties after releasing them to go home *after* the team has hiked halfway back to their exfil site so there's no chance the Taliban will be able to catch up to them.
@@joeberger3441 Good on you Devil Dog. Thanks for saying what needed to be said.
First, thank you both for your service. Thank you for helping us who have not had to be in harms way understand a tiny bit of what is was like for you. Your comments are so clearly based on your first person experience. I had seen the film you were commenting on and thought it had more realism than some others I've seen. Thanks for explaining was accurate about it.
I remember I played airsoft once (yes absolutely nothing like real gunfights, only slight similarities) in my late teens, with a couple of friends (Marines) & I was creeping 3 minutes into play, pop! pop! I'm out, (didn't know where it came from) fuck that's it?! I just started! Happened a few more times later.
If that's in a game, I thought, I can't imagine how crazy dangerous it is in real life. High respect to the service men & women, who put their time, life & body on the line doing this.
Nice listening to real soldiers and reading comments of real soldiers. I'm not a soldier but listening to real warriors is humbling.
Buck reminds me of an NCO I knew who was *_SOLID_* and really *_CARED_* about the Paratroopers he was responsible for
real deal warriors talking at last! thank you, gentlemen, glad I found your channel. Everything I've heard matches my own experience with far less sophisticated, trained and equipped enemy in Africa, but an AK on full auto is a fearsome beast on any continent. And let's not get started on PKM - that 7.62x54 round is something else. If they know the terrain and set up the killing field properly, you're f*cked. Plenty good memories of good times with brothers in arms. Strength to you, keep up the good work. Salute!
Nice to hear this from someone who knows what they’re talking about. Thank you both for your service.
America is screwed, our combat vets draw their experience from a turkey shoot against a bunch of sub-90 IQ'ed Afghans right before we go into war against European men and Oriental men. America loses this one, wholesale.
You guys ate amazing. Thank you for your service and thank you for disclosing reality. Much luv and blessings boys. Real heros.
Are * not ate. Bit I'm sure you eat amazing too😂
Sorry phukin fone keeps wixing up my merds.
My best friend is JTF2 special forces. I was also supposed to go this route with him. I chose to go travel and surf. Although i believe my friend to be a true warrior and the staple of what a man should be. Years of tours in Afghanistan have left him psychologically and spiritually broken. Many of his peers have committed suicide or just can't acclimate back int domestication. It fucking breaks my heart. And thte needs to be better support for you warriors coming home. Deepest respect and love.
Six firefights in Afghanistan for me… Only one was at night. The daytime fights were weird. It felt like they could see us but we couldn’t see them. Luckily they weren’t shooting very well.
I know I'm just a stupid Civvie, but whenever I used to watch those "helmet cam" doccos on National Geographic (or maybe even Restrepo), the thing that always got me was you could not see anybody. Maybe it's because the camera footage is not the greatest quality but I couldn't see anything from the baddies; no flashes, no movement, no bullet strikes either around them or around the Americans. Somebody once told me that the Tallywhackers would engage at the absolute maximum range of their weapons to avoid being seen.
@@nickmitsialis any war you see you wont see the enemy because thats how you avoid getting shot
@@Grimdarkog thanks! It's exactly what I say about folks in Ww2 who see a mk IV panzer and call it a Tiger Tank-- IF you spend time staring at the tank, you'll probably end up being killed
bruh, you were really lucky...
my second deployment had like at least a WEEKLY firefight....sometimes even up to 5 days a week.
they did give like 2 weeks off... but then again... that's because somebody gave the order to merc 50+ civilians that were peeking an LZ....
whoever gave that command is probably still in the brigs to this day.
@@cpK054L Well, I don’t really count the times we had our front gate blown up by a VBIED, or the green-on-blue shootings, or the guys throwing grenades over our walls, or shooting RPGs from the hills into our FOB, or “ROCKET-ATTACK” alerts because I don’t recall any US personnel getting injured by that stuff. But I was in and around Kandahar in 2013-2014. It was hot sometimes but not like the years before. Six was bad enough that I wasn’t really looking for more.
Actually, the last firefight I was in was the night one. I only had a month left in Afg.
Real talk! Keep it coming!
The fact Marcus helped out with the movie is what made this movie as great as it is.
I remember in training (Miles Gear and Blanks) in the woods half the time I could not even tell what exact direction the rounds were coming from!
Wish for video(s) about firearms fight at night with NVGs soon.
lol not when I was in.
I'd rather use thermals.
NVGs would have gotten me an instant 100% VA disability rating.
Nice to see an honest vid. Always thought Green Berets were top tier. Respect from the UK 👊
So true…if you see someone you probably get shot. Hardest part is determining where shots are coming from. 16 years in a combat zone Im 100% happy with never being in a gun fight ever again….just watching RUclipss on Ukraine fights makes me glad im a civilian again. “Careful what you ask for” is the best advice you can get.
I’ve seen the video about their classmate. Heart breaking video to watch
I was in the Kyber Pass visiting the Kyber Rifles, we were being shown around when we heard gunfire. We went to the wall and looked in the direction of where the noise was coming from the officer said that it was two tribes having a go at each other. Then we saw two explosions and I asked the officer if those were mortar rounds, he replied yes and that’s not good. Next thing we know rounds started impacting the wall and it was time to get inside, bullets were flying all around us as we sprinted across the parade ground . We made it inside and how none of us were hit was a miracle. So there we having tea listening to the three way battle outside. As for the shooters we didn’t even see them.
Lost in translation. Anyone can learn a language from a book
Good vid - really important insights. Thanks for this brothers.
At or around the 2:20 mark, something is brought up about people asking if they enlist what are their chances of getting into a gunfight... the response of "be careful what you wish for" is about the best I have heard. No false bravado, no BS, just the absolute reality of the person asking the question having no idea what they are seeking out.
I will end this by saying I was "nobody special", in that my time was spent in relative peace of my 12 years. It took me a long time to realize how lucky I was to be that guy without a CIB, Combat Patch... trust me, I itched for it. I "wanted it" like most of the 18-20 something year olds around me at the time. Hell, I saw enough shit go wrong during training where people died or were seriously injured to realize pretty quick that actual combat would not be a forgiving environment, and surely not the romanticized one so many seem to believe in. If I even begin to talk about those training accidents, I get that imposter syndrome kicking in... because it was just training. Deaths and injuries were real, but I cannot imagine it is the same as being on the 2-way firing range except that maybe you expect it to happen there more than in training. Still, completely different animals. I did my time, I got out, and then the world fell apart a few years later, and I thank God for the young men and woman who stepped up and faced that Hell on earth for me.
Guess this old farts point is, yes be damned careful what you wish for in life. Welcome home to all my Brothers who did see that Hell on Earth, thank you, God Bless you! You have no idea how grateful I am to you for what you did for us.
Thank You, you still wore a uniform and trained just like the rest of us, it just wasn't you time.
This proves the concept of accuracy by volume. That's why we always trained to establish fire superiority to suppress then maneuver.
Then again I was an Army grunt in the 90's so things might have changed a bit. Not sure if it's better.
Fuck this hit home. We were in a long distance engagement, had a opium dealer in custody so my team was falling back with him in custody. As we were peeling back I thought I finally had a bead on the shooter, saw a silhouette right by what looked like a bale of hay. Went to get my sights on and a round dropped 2 feet in front of my face and blasted me with dirt. I fucking had him but as that happened my team leader was peeling behind me and told me to move. I knew the guy had me just as I had him so I listened, got up and moved. Still regret it to this day, I know I could have gotten him but who knows if he would have smoked me first.
Rolling retreat? & DON'T forget to toss out the APS mines behind you...
@@nunyadambusiness6902 Where he was shooting at us from was in the Georgian AO. We had already gotten into shit for pushing a gun fight into their area a month prior. So our hands were tied plus we had a detainee.
@@IamDabaste damn... that's when it really sucks... I remember when Georgia went down, but we were in Asia, so we missed it... 🤷
I'll never forget that chic walking out of the jungle & coming at me with that damn machete... Didn't even know she was a teenager till it was all over & that stays with you... some things Camp McCall can't prepare you for...
@@nunyadambusiness6902 The Christian boys summer camp?
@@timmutton6192 wtf are you even talking about?...
I was fully prepared to go and die or live more so live when I was put on the deployment list and told that we were deploying but what I wasn't prepared for was hearing about people dying losing friends. Coming home is another thing too. I know a couple of my battles came home and we're just distraught and very isolated and they would eventually end up taking their own lives
A popular saying with my guys was that (as an Australian) the Ghan's spray and prey, but they prey really fucking well.
While in Ramadi we got pinned down near the 4 story..I'll never forget that battle! Cover was demolished and visibility was diminishing fast! This scene sent me right back!
Due respect to all ex nd present servicemen frm India🇮🇳
To get a perspective abt counter insurgency in other parts of d world u may hv a chat wid Indian army personnel (sm of them hv years of exp in kashmir, north-east besides being deployed in freezing Himalayan heights like Ladakh, Siachen). Wd love 2 see them in ur show.
I guys r so delusional and arrogant. The Indians aren't going to do anything any better. You're lying if I say they will
@@ricodsanchez6792 i agree some are. But most r hardworking. Go check for urself
Good stuff guys. When we were in Iraq (2005) we always worked at night. If we were still out, or on the road when the sun was coming up we were not happy.
If they open up on you, it’s because they have achieved a tactical advantage, either height, cover, surprise, numbers or fire power. Oftentimes it’s all the above.
Been in a few. My last fight, I was gut shot when the very first round was fired. My buddy had his legs cut out with 3 round. We both hit the ground at the same time. There is no warning, no whistle or starting guns with blanks. It's on like donkey Kong and now.
When your buddy catches one in the chest and you hear it and he falls over they're shooting at you.
IMO lone survivor is the most on point movie I’ve ever seen, beyond saving private Ryan. Great films. Great content gents
Your profile pic is epic
You guys are spot on under fire pray I was an airbourne ranger 20yrs and combat vet it's unexplainable unless your their never under estimate your opponents I used my training and experience saved my life and my bros
As opposed to non-airborne ranger.
Old Military Saying
"Aimed Shots Miss..
Random Shots Kill..."
AND
"It's Not The Bullet With Your Name On It Ya Gotta Worry About..
It's The One Marked..
To Whom It May Concern..."
my squad got the combat action ribon for our unit and our first firefight was with the old baath party. they were hiding while pointing ak's and rpk's and yet the rounds were so close one round passed through a buddies blouse but missed his arm. we suppressed fire and hit them with 203's and an AT4.
I don't want to get in a gunfight I just want to be prepared
lol. nothing will ever get you prepared.
you will never be prepared my guy...never
@@cpK054L already been down that road
@@Troupe_Master already been down that road what they domt tell you is state side firefights you have to do so much more to justify your actions
thats y force on force training is awesome because it drills into ur sub conscious to take cover every time ur hit. pain reinforcement
Haha your first few are scary as Fuk and normally over fast !!! After a while the numbness sets in but the fear of what you can’t control is always there !!! Good communication and the support of your brothers always makes for a better time what makes it better is when your around your brothers stateside standing around a fire talking about the good times and bad times .. but the smell of your first gun fight never leaves !!!! 😂
What I noticed about combat is the amount of noise, the dust and smells were intense, burning tires plastic and the sweet smell of decomp was almost over powering. After 32 years my ears are still ringing and I can still taste it in the back of my throat.
Wish for video about Captains in 12 men A-teams.
Some guys get to lure the enemy out in the open ahead of the main force. That's where your PT comes from
Gents,
Good show.
Enjoyed your comments on being engaged in a firefight during daylight. During my time in SOG all of our firefights were in daylight, before the US has good NOGs. J. Meyer, RT Idaho.
I concur! It's like fighting ghosts. You're lucky if you see a runner. Damn near impossible to hit and you're fucked if they ain't armed. Thank God their marksmanship sucks balls. They still get lucky though...
Adding context, 03' Iraq invasion, 05'-06' Bagram AFG and 08'-09' Herat and Paktika Province AFG, 2 PH and unfortunately a mas cas incident.
Great video. What I "love" even more in Hollywood movies is when the good guys get pinned down and shoot back. Then one of the good guys gets injured and another one (most of the time the lead actor) gets more angry and stands up, and starts moving towards the enemy and starts killing everyone. Good job holding your killing and accuracy back until really needed....
Like as a Brit grunt? Firefights daily’s for 6 month in Helmand, this shit confused me
we were under LT Col. Richard WESTLEY HERRICK 06 😎😎
Pretty sure the Brits have been in Afghanistan WAAAAY before NATO turned NA5
Even in Sangin, I saw a British unit have their wall of KIAs in PB Jamil dated 1991.
I was deployed to The Stan during Restrepo with the 173rd in 07-08.
Being in a bowl, shooting UP at targets give you a pucker effect like no other.
The Tali have been at war for fucking years....They're no slouches, and daytime fighting neutralizes all of our nighttime advantage.
Always take the advice with a block of salt from the _tacticool_ gurus on RUclips - even if they were in gunfights. Read Wikipedia's _Survivorship bias_ . There's a host of reasons that could explain why they lived, and the tactics/strategies, etc. that THEY think kept them alive might not be what did it.
If I had to guess, time-tested is probably one of the best ways to know if something will work. Empiricism.
Or just throw everything, and I mean everything at the problem, AKA World War II. We won, they lost, end of story. To the snow flakes out there, grow up and be thankful.
no.
you survived.
that's it. there is no magic.
there are no tactics.
that's where the guilt kicks in.
@@cpK054L It could be that the zealous advising of _tacticool_ gurus are their way of coping with survivor's guilt.
Instead of facing the possibility that they were just lucky, they have built up a personal mythology; that they used some specific way to "win", but in reality it could have been a multitude of reasons.
@@RodCornholio DOUBT.
my unit went combat ineffective, and i've had to watch my fair share of people turning into dust.
I'm pretty sure the skull fracture that is causing my headache to this day was when that guys tibia bone literally flew into my face.
But I'm not here judging tacticool videos
in fact, I'm discovering it's just like a lot of veterans who went through this.
it's difficult to talk about, because a lot of people don't really understand what you are really talking about.
Hell, my own wife doesn't even understand, nor does she want to.
All I can tell the VA is,
yeah... my nightmares increase with stress
I don't want to describe them because they legit freak even me out to where it wakes me up, ... and nothing really spooked me when I was in the military.
They're most likely just grifters like Detroit Urban Self-Defense
@@cpK054L "my nightmares increase with stress" ... I believe I know exactly what you mean. If I have no stressors in my daily life, I feel normal. If I have too much stress, the nightmares from Vietnam start and sometimes get so bad that I wake up when the bayonets stick into me.
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Everything you said I this video is the TRUTH
☀️⚡️⭐️
I love the arrogance/ignorance of the people who think that these guys (Taliban, Mujahideen… ) who’ve been at war since the late ‘70s are gonna be incompetent. It’s their backyard and the weapons they have might not have the latest LPVO or $3500 IR laser but it’ll still kill you, especially when some 50yr old guy’s been practicing with it since puberty.
Love Beers & Breakdowns… maybe we can get a Xmas day doubleheader???
So true, the average person deosnt take the time to inform themselves of this though, they decide to regurgitate false info told to them by other unimformed people
1870s bro
Very true once my dad was ambushed with his troop many of his friends died and he was wounded 😢
Nothing glamorous about a gunfight,I wish now that I never enlisted,I regret the 9 years in Iraq and Afghanistan in the RAIDER'S everyday I have to find a reason not to Walk outside and feed my brains to the squirrels,It's not Hollywood,it doesn't make you a man, But combat will change your life forever,Not in a positive way either,But maybe it's just me but even after being home since 2016 I can still smell the death and gunpowder hear the screams of grown men crying and praying it's a horrible feeling to take a life and anyone who says it doesn't bother them is a liar
Thanks for sharing brother. Much truth.
there's much good to be done in the world: don't go away. even just a dog who might need a good man to take care of him.
@@decespugliatorenucleare3780 it's tough
@@Graderman3587 it's necessary, and temporary. once it'll be beyond, you'll think about how everything in the past seemed dark, and laugh about it. there's plenty of cool ass jobs that need smart people for it - and with cool jobs there's cool people in as well.
@@decespugliatorenucleare3780 I realize war unfortunately is a necessity, And I hope by me staying the 9 years that I did that maybe I saved a few young men's lives and spared them,Far as work I raise cattle and I have a small business building roads and parking lots, Plus I have a FFL license and a little store, But far as a social life not really,I pushed my wife and kids away because I didn't want to hurt them,I felt like I was holding them back and making them miserable,I never thought I'd be this guy,The guy that can't be around a lot of people or sleep through the night without waking up soaking wet from sweat I got home in 2016 and everyday gets worse, like today I couldn't even leave the house because I'm in one these moods where Im angry but don't know why
100% true, everything you said. I tell people all the time. You do NOT want to be in that scenario and if you are, damn it you better be ready. You better find and take cover as quickly as you can to gather yourself and make a plan.
Damn I love how honest you tell it! No B S you tell how it really happens ! Mad respect
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. Great video!
I just watched a video on the MAC Channel about people who are ready for "it to kick off".... None of us are ready, I pray it never happens.
You're as ready as you're going get. With or without gear
If there’s one thing tallies know how to do and how to do well, that’s fight. Fair winds and following seas to the sailors that were lost.
82nd airborne veteran here. Yeah it's basically chaos. I mean why is the SAW the focus of the squad and the MMG the center of the platoon? Because the more lead you have in the air the higher the odds of surviving and winning.
Wow finally some real talking about things the way things are...