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