Combat Story (Ep 29): Jeff Morris - Infantry Company Commander | Author | Legion 8 | OIF x 2 | BSM V
About This Episode
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Today we hear the combat story of Jeff Morris, a former Army Infantry Officer who commanded soldiers in Iraq over two brutal deployments fighting on some of the most well-known and infamous streets of Baghdad.
NOTE: Stay tuned after Jeff's Combat Story to hear a Combat Story from one of our listeners!
Jeff was an Infantry Platoon Leader on Haifa Street in downtown Baghdad from 2004 to 2005 with 1st CAV where his Platoon of 34 men were awarded 27 Purple Hearts. He describes a significant battle that he was a part of on September 12th, 2004, in which two Silver Stars were awarded and he received a Bronze Star w/ V Device.
He was then a junior but highly respected Infantry Company Commander in east Baghdad during the Surge from late 2006 to summer 2007, again with 1st CAV, where he lost eight men during fighting that saw almost every Bradley and M1 tank assigned to his unit destroyed by EFPs.
Jeff went on to document these experiences in his book, “Legion Rising: Surviving Combat and the Scars it Left Behind” and established the Legion 8 Foundation to honor the lives of the eight men lost under his command. The Legion 8 workout is also a Hero Workout of the Day (WOD) done at hundreds of CrossFit gyms around the country.
He has previously been featured on other podcasts, including Mike Drop with Mike Ritland. I hope you enjoy this inside look at the burden of command in Iraq and Jeff’s combat story as much as I did.
Show Notes
BSM V
Chapters
- 0:00Intro
- 1:01Jeff's bio
- 4:26The book, “Black Hawk Down.”
- 7:07The desire to be a SEAL
- 9:18“You’re not only freezing in the water when you get out. You’re rolling around in the sand, and you got to run.”
- 11:36“If it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it.”
- 13:00Jeff’s childhood
- 16:59The desire to serve the country
- 18:46“After I stood up for myself and took that challenge on, I wanted more.”
- 19:30The fastest guy in school
- 22:22“Boys do what they want to do. Men do what they have to do.”
- 23:57Getting into the Military
- 26:029/11
- 27:30Memorable Moments
- 28:37“You can’t go and create a leader of men and women in 14 weeks.”
- 31:03The role of a Platoon Leader
- 33:48The Mechanized Infantry of Haifa Street
- 35:48The Bradley Military Vehicle
- 39:03Missions
- 40:40Battle of Haifa Street
- 43:52“When you see a nine-year-old kid throw a grenade at you or one of your buddies, do you shoot him? What if you don’t shoot, and then the next day, he’s back?”
- 45:34The largest and longest stay behind the mission
- 49:24The beauty of war
- 51:15The brave young soldier
- 53:00The breezeway grenade
- 54:19“There’s a fine line between valor and stupidity and just plain luck.”
- 56:25Communicating in Battle
- 58:53September 12, 2004 (The Haifa Street Incident)
- 1:00:41Coming back to base
- 1:02:01Jeff’s Second Deployment
- 1:04:46Quotes from other podcasts about Jeff
- 1:05:55Building Camaraderie
- 1:09:57Motivating people on the mission
- 1:11:43“We can’t pick and choose which and how we get to fight. This is the hand we’ve been dealt.”
- 1:12:50How having a child changed Jeff’s way of thinking
- 1:14:05The difficult mission
- 1:16:01“You know in that environment that you’re probably going to lose somebody.”
- 1:18:24Losing comrades
- 1:21:21Taking the dangerous route
- 1:24:18“I’m making decisions that are putting other people’s lives at greater risk.”
- 1:26:26“I’ve never had a positive thing happen in my life that came from me sitting around, waiting for somebody else to make a decision.”
- 1:29:12The Catalyst to turn things around
- 1:31:54“There’s no background music playing in combat.”
- 1:33:39A conversation with a Vietnam War Veteran
- 1:36:37The Man in the Arena
- 1:38:00Would you go back and do all that again?
- 1:41:48NEW FEATURE: A New Listener's Combat Story from Yonel Yogi Dorelis
