Randall Parkes - Warrior to Mentor
About This Episode
Welcome to Combat Story. Today, I’m joined by retired Marine First Sergeant Randall Parkes—a parachute rigger in Recon, founding member of MARSOC, Drill Instructor extraordinaire, and now a leader in both real estate and defense tech—plus everyone’s favorite podcaster, the man who started it all.., Ryan Fugit.
Randall’s career spans from enlisting in July 2001 to a remarkable 20 years of service that took him to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa on four combat deployments. As a founding member of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, he helped shape the early years of Marine Special Operations and was named MARSOC Support Marine of the Year in 2011. He later became a Parris Island Drill Instructor, shaping the next generation of Marines, and commanded 97 Marines and Sailors during a CENTCOM deployment in 2017.
In his final active-duty role, Randall returned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, capping his service before retiring on September 30, 2021. Since then, he’s launched The Parkes Realty Group with his wife Heather—selling over $40 million in residential real estate—and now serves as Mission Operations Deployment Lead at Anduril Industries, helping drive innovation in modern defense technology. His academic credentials include a bachelor’s in Business Management (magna cum laude) and an Master of Business for Veterans, an innovative and one of its kind program from The University of Southern CA.
Randall’s combat stories are intense, unfiltered, and at times deeply personal—so much so that this is only part one of his Combat Story. We’ll be sitting down with him again in the future to share his incredible role in saving lives during the chaotic fall of Kabul, a moment that speaks volumes about his leadership, grit, and unwavering commitment to others.
Let’s dive in—here’s part one of our conversation with Randall Parkes.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randall_in_sandiego/?hl=en Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/randall-parkes Official website: https://theparkesteam.com/agent/randall-parkes
Official website: ajpasciuti.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/ Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/ Personal Website & Book Pre-Order (“Darkhorse”): https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
Chapters:
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction
- 00:48Introduction to Combat Story
- 01:12Meet Randall Parks
- 02:59Randall's Early Life and Military Beginnings
- 04:09Joining the Marine Corps
- 13:31Bootcamp During 9/11
- 33:41First Deployment to Iraq
- 47:30Loaded for Battle
- 47:52A Close Call with a Civilian
- 48:45Cultural Differences in Handling Disabilities
- 49:13A Sergeant's Tough Love
- 49:37The Reality of Deployment
- 50:57IED Encounter and Aftermath
- 57:58A Model Marine's Worries
- 59:10The Impact of Movies on War Memories
- 01:00:10Returning Home to Personal Turmoil
- 01:04:51A New Assignment and a Change of Plans
- 01:07:21Joining MARSOC
- 01:10:42Deployment to Afghanistan
- 01:21:47Facing the Taliban's Mortar Attacks
- 01:29:58Spotting the Enemy
- 01:30:33Engaging the Mortar Team
- 01:31:39Aftermath and Reflections
- 01:34:32The PX Gunny Story
- 01:43:58Returning Home and Getting Married
- 01:44:53Drill Instructor Duty
- 01:48:51Challenges and Successes as a Drill Instructor
- 02:04:55Final Thoughts and Reflections
