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Special Operations Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan | Ranger Movie on Amazon | David Waterhouse

David WaterhouseFebruary 25, 2023
Special Operations Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan | Ranger Movie on Amazon | David Waterhouse
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About This Episode

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more! . . Today we hear the Combat Story of David Waterhouse who was part of 2nd Ranger Battalion for six deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. David had the honor of serving alongside his fellow Rangers for years and the challenge of being on the ground to recover the bodies from the wreckage of the Operation Red Wings crash that we all know from the Marcus Luttrell Lone Survivor story.

David and his friend Sean Spencer cataloged David’s combat experience in a documentary now streaming on Amazon Prime aptly titled “Ranger” in which David recalls his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The description notes that this is seen through the eyes of a Special Operations soldier and a first hand account that documents the brutality of combat, and the raw nature of killing and death. It's a journey of innocence lost and the scars of war etched into the minds of service members.

As David and I discuss in this episode, the documentary, like so many Combat Story episodes, tell the story of David but, at the same time, tell a story so familiar to so many veterans and family members.

David and I get pretty deep on the concept of the brotherhood that exists between veterans and some of the scars this experience can leave behind and I hope you enjoy this Combat Story as much as I did. . .

Featured Guest

David Waterhouse

Chapters

  • 00:00Intro
  • 00:42Guest Introduction (David Waterhouse)
  • 01:52Interview Begins
  • 02:00Making the Ranger Documentary
  • 06:04Talking about outside the wire stories
  • 08:40Wearing the Red Socks Cap in Ranger
  • 10:32People who have reached out
  • 16:20Bullies and joining the Military
  • 22:39Knowing what you want to do
  • 30:51Sterotypes of Second Unit
  • 32:27What were your wants from the Military
  • 34:12Friendships in the Military
  • 38:15First time downrange
  • 56:20The first deployment
  • 01:04:12First gunfight
  • 01:09:32Craziest Operation
  • 01:12:41Composure during Combat
  • 01:18:18Fastrope onto target
  • 01:24:00Redwings 2
  • 01:35:17Advice to former self
  • 01:37:30PTSD
  • 01:38:46Life after war
  • 01:45:24The last mission
  • 02:00:38Transition out of the Military
  • 02:02:04The Ranger movie
  • 02:02:56Sentimental items
  • 02:05:53Would you do it all again
  • 02:05:53Listener comments and shout outs