#2--Connor O'Brien

*The challenges of getting Weapons Co, 1/8, to HKIA*Weapons’ initial taskings and missions*The challenges of operating North and East Gates*Operating in support of the LAR company at East Gate*Frustrations working with allied and partner forces*Gunnery Sergeant Zachary Kapinus interacting with the Taliban at East Gate*The famous picture of Gunny Kapinus lifting a baby over a barbed-wire wall*The ethical and moral challenges of extricating people from the crowd without creating more chaos*Creative ways to extricate American citizens from the crowd*The desperation of Afghan civilians*Watching Marines kick out civilians who did not have the proper paperwork*The frustration of many Marines toward Afghan men who chose to escape instead of fight*How Jon supported Weapons Company with his presence and by inserting himself wherever he could help*An example of commander’s intent at East Gate*How Jon and his key leaders created an atmosphere of expected behaviors, professionalism, and toughness during pre-deployment training*Command and control at HKIA, including personal cells as the primary way to communicate*Jon’s experiences on the night of 27 August*The ramp ceremony of the 13 KIA servicemembers*The benefit of allowing Marines to use their cell phones*1/8 in Kuwait at HKIA*Coming home to Camp Lejeune*Working with other units and nations’ forces The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA experience*Where Jon excelled as a commander and where he could have done better*Lessons learned from HKIA*The one thing Jon wants other servicemembers to know about Weapons Company'S actions at HKIA

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.*Jon’s experiences as a weapons platoon commander with 3/7 in Afghanistan. *His mindset and training approach for Weapons Company for the 24th MEU workup *Building trust as a weapons company commander with the battalion commander and operations officer*Building trust within his company *The company’s operations and training before HKIA *Indications and warnings that Weapons Company would deploy to HKIA *Getting the news that the company would go to HKIA *Jon’s fire support planning for HKIA *His understanding of the situation at HKIA before arriving *His first two days on the ground *Tactical foraging and requisitioning *The fall of Kabul *The breaching of the airport and the clearing of the runway *Being a commander without troops during the clearing *Jon’s reaction to the news that Coalition forces would work with the Taliban

In this episode, we discuss: *The timeline of major events of the Battle for the Irpin *Three occasions where the Russians nearly won the battle   *The role of Ukrainian volunteers and civilians   *The role of small unit leaders   *The artillery fight    *The challenges of researching and writing operational military history   *James and Ben’s research approach  *The lack of government support in the US and UK for on-the-ground conflict research   *The value of stories to the military profession   *How the battle study can be used for training and educational Links "The Battle of Irpin River" by James Sladden, Liam Collins, and Ben Connable https://chacr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BAR-187-compressed.pdf "Battle Studies: The Need for Primary Source Research" by Ben Connable and James Sladden https://chacr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CHACR-Briefing-Ukraine.pdf "On the Ground: Field Research in Ukraine" by James Sladden https://issuu.com/chacr_camberley/docs/idb-ukraine

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.   *What a combat engineer platoon does as part of a battalion landing team   *What it was like joining BLT 1/8   *Building trust between Everett’s platoon and BLT 1/8   *Everett’s advice to platoon commanders looking to build trust between units   *His platoon’s training plan for the 24th MEU workup   *Responding to complaints from Marines about a high-tempo schedule   *The platoon’s experiences on the 24th MEU prior to heading to HKIA   *When the possibility of deploying to HKIA first came on Everett’s radar   *His reaction and his Marines’ reactions to learning they would go to HKIA    *Being labeled “the lead combat engineer for HKIA”   *The tough decision to leave Marines behind on ship   *The value of crossing training   *The first few days on the ground at HKIA   *Reactions to the news that the Taliban would cooperate with the Coalition   *Working at Abbey, East, and North Gates   *The last phase of the withdrawal   *Creativity and problem-solving at HKIA   *Radio communications during the NEO   *Everett’s advice for lieutenants who may find themselves in situations like at HKIA   *The training he received at Marine Corps Engineer School   *Enemy contact at HKIA   *Dismantling several of HKIA’s guard towers   *Command and control at HKIA   *Maneuver warfare concepts applied at HKIA   *What Everett was doing the day of the Abbey Gate Bombing   *Talking to his platoon about the Marine losses at HKIA   *What Everett observed in his Marines after the NEO   *Returning to Camp Lejeune   *Everett’s advice on talking to people who have experienced a mission as harrowing as HKIA   *The value of professional reading   *The role and value of mental health checks and mental health services   *The role of cell phones at HKIA   *Cleaning up various parts of HKIA   *The role of discipline    *The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA mission   *Everett’s pride in the performance of his Marines *The most challenging decision he made at HKIA   *Where Everett excelled as a commander and decision-maker and where he could have done better   *The lessons he took away from HKIA, particularly as they apply to FD 2030 and the future Marine Corps   *The role and value of decision games to train and educate Marines for missions like HKIA

In this episode, we discuss the following topics. *Josh’s joining 1/8   *Differences in morale and culture between units in the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions   *The current culture and unit pride in 1/8   *Recent controversies involving Third Battalion, Sixth Marines   *The challenges and benefits of leading HKIA vets in his squad   *Winning the 2nd Marine Division Annual Rifle Squad Competition and Marine Corps-Wide Rifle Squad Competition   *How winning the competition affirmed Josh’s identity as an infantryman   *Struggling with imposter syndrome   *Josh’s experiences during his deployment to Haiti in support of Continuing Promise 2022   *What makes an ideal squad leader   *Josh’s use of military simulators like Squad and Arma 3 for training purposes   *Josh’s expectations for his: Junior Marines Fire team leaders Fellow squad leaders Platoon commander Company commander   *The one thing he’d like current and future squad leaders to take away from this podcast

In this episode, we discuss the following topics. *Josh’s experiences with squad leaders up to this point in his career *How these leaders influenced him   *His experiences going through the reconnaissance training pipeline and serving with 3rd Recon Battalion *His decision to leave the recon community and the shame he felt as a result   *Josh's deployments with the 31st MEU   *The “golden nuggets” of leadership he took from his first squad leader   *How Josh approaches corrective actions   *The benefits of having a strong NCO and squad leader core within a unit   *Creating such a core and the challenges to doing so   *Josh's thoughts on what makes a “real” deployment   *Why many Marines don’t see MEUs as "real" deployments   *Josh's advice for squad leaders on making the most of MEUs   *His experiences supporting operations on the US-Mexico border   *His advice for fighting complacency during monotonous missions

In this episode, we discuss the following topics. *Andres’ operational experiences before joining 2/1   *The organization and strength of Weapons Company, 2/1, at the beginning of its deployment with the SP-MAGTF-CR   *The company’s deployment prior to heading to HKIA   *When the Afghanistan mission first appeared on the company’s radar   *Managing Marines’ expectations in the run-up to deploying to HKIA   *Preparing to leave for HKIA   *Weapons Company’s first day at HKIA   *The company’s initial taskings   *Andres’ reaction to the news that Coalition forces would work with the Taliban   *The challenges of commanding a dispersed company    *Andres’ experiences at Abbey Gate before 26 August   *Interacting with the many Coalition forces at Abbey Gate   *How often Andres used the tools and concepts in MCDP-1 and MCDP 1-3   *Receiving messages from individuals and interest groups in the US asking for help evacuating people, and how these affected operations *Some of the challenges Andres and his Marines experienced at Abbey Gate   *Two specific instances where Andres and his Marines helped evacuate Afghan children *What Weapons Company and Andres were doing on 26 August    *Weapons Company’s role in the demil process at Kabul   *What Andres observed in his Marines and himself after returning to Kuwait   *His advice on how to talk to leaders about harrowing experiences   *The use of cell phones at HKIA   *Andres’ interactions with US State Department officials at HKIA   *The logistics challenges of HKIA   *The discipline of Andres’ Marines at HKIA   *The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA experience    *Shifting between a combat mindset and a humanitarian mindset   *The most challenging decision Andres made at HKIA   *Where Andres performed well as a decision-maker and leader HKIA and where he could have performed better   *What lessons he took away from HKIA and how those might apply in the context of FD 2030   *Tactical decision game as tools to prepare Marines for operations like HKIA Link "Witnesses to the End" by Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 7 Nov 2021

 In this episode, we discuss:   *Mr. Smith joining 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, in Vietnam and assuming command of his platoon    *His staff NCOs, especially SSgt Richard Jackson and Gunnery Sergeant Alan Sora, and other Marines and Sailors who deeply influenced him   *Coping with the loss of subordinate leaders and advice on dealing with such losses   *Combat decision-making   *The challenges of returning home from war and transitioning to the civilian sector   *The Ken Burns’ documentary series The Vietnam War   *The US strategy in Vietnam    *The role veterans played in building and expanding FedEx   *The cutting-edge technologies FedEx has used, emerging technologies, and the future of warfare   *The central role of logistics in war   *Leading FedEx through the Arab Oil Embargo Crisis of 1973 and advice for leaders dealing with crises   *How Mr. Smith’s approach to leadership has evolved   *The value of reading for leaders   Links The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Vietnam, 1966-1967 by Father Daniel L. Mode https://a.co/d/aCfeUeQ   The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0753XH4H2/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r   For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith by Gail B. Shisler https://a.co/d/7IWlQ8l   Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam by H.R. McMaster https://a.co/d/1xKTIl1   Call Sign: Chaos by James Mattis and Bing West https://a.co/d/08lP0kg Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari   https://a.co/d/7rsFs5g

In this episode, we discuss: *Connor's time with Marine Security Forces *Corporals Course *Serving in 1/7 as a squad leader and overcoming the stigma of Security Forces NCOs *The Advanced Infantry Marine Course *Connor’s deployment to Darwin, Australia *Keeping Marines in a forward-deployed mindset *What excited Connor most about being a squad leader *What concerned him most *Some of the mistakes he’s made as a squad leader *The atmosphere and culture he tried to create in his first squad *The training and PME programs he implemented *Balancing the demands of bureaucracy with preparing Marines for combat *Connor’s expectations for his junior Marines, fire team leaders, fellow squad leaders, platoon sergeant, platoon commander, and company commander *What makes an ideal squad leader *Balancing one's personal life with dedication to the profession of arms *What makes a squad leader from hell *The most important thing squad leaders do besides leading Marines in combat and preparing them for it *Connor’s experiences as a platoon sergeant in 1/8 *The one thing Connor would have liked to have known about his platoon before becoming its platoon sergeant *The current culture and atmosphere in 1/8 *Connor’s philosophy of leadership and how it’s evolved *His thoughts on TDGs and their facilitation 

In this episode, we discuss: *Matt's decision to join the Marine Corps *His experiences at boot camp and the School of Infantry-East   *His experiences with squad leaders up to this point in his career *How well the Marine Corps is preparing him to be a squad leader *The Advanced Infantry Marine Course   *Matt's experiences as a team leader, assistant patrol leader, and acting squad leader *What makes an ideal squad leader *What makes a squad leader from hell   *Matt's philosophy of leadership *What excites him most about being a future squad leader   *What concerns him most   *His ideas for training his future squad *The kind of atmosphere he wants to create in the squad   *The current culture and atmosphere in 1/8   *Matt's thoughts on maneuver warfare  *Balancing the demands of bureaucracy with preparing Marines for combat   *The one thing Matt would like to know about his future squad before becoming its leader   *His expectations for his junior Marines, fire team leaders, fellow squad leaders, platoon sergeant, platoon commander, and company commander   *The value of tactical decision games (TDGs)   *1/8's summer 2023 TDG tournament