Ambushed in Kosovo: My First Real Gunfight

About this video

Ritland recounts his first experience under fire during a 2001 deployment to Kosovo. He describes a joint patrol with Russian VDV forces that led to a firefight with Albanian insurgents (UCPMB) at a woodland encampment near the buffer zone. Ritland reflects on the confusion of combat, questions whether the insurgents knew they were firing on Americans, and recalls the earlier death of a Russian soldier that heightened tensions.

Key takeaways

• Ritland describes his first combat engagement in Kosovo in 2001, when his team and Russian forces raided an Albanian insurgent camp and came under fire
• He recounts returning fire with a Mark 19 grenade launcher while positioned in a Humvee turret, an intense moment he reflects on decades later
• Ritland speculates the insurgents may not have realized they were firing on Americans, possibly mistaking the joint patrol for Russian or Serbian forces

Episode details: published August 30, 2025 · 78K views · 12:18 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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