Attached to Canadian Special Ops in the Bloodiest Deployment in Afghanistan 2006

About this video

Ritland interviews a guest who recounts his military deployments, focusing on a 2006 Afghanistan deployment that he describes as his most kinetic. The guest shares his experience with Operation Medusa in the Panjwai Valley, working alongside Canadian Special Operations Forces, and describes a friendly fire incident involving an A-10. He also recounts responding to a fatal car accident involving children while stationed in the UK.

Key takeaways

• The guest attributes his most combat-intense deployment to Afghanistan in 2006, where he worked as a JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) attached to Canadian Special Operations Forces during Operation Medusa in Panjwai Valley
• According to the guest, he witnessed a friendly fire incident when a Canadian JTAC called in an A-10 strike that hit friendly forces due to a procedural error; the guest reflects that he might have prevented it had he kept his radio on
• The guest credits Canadian Special Operations Forces as the most professional unit he worked with, praising their ability to understand operational-level impacts and their inclusive approach to attached personnel

Episode details: published February 16, 2026 · 327.7K views · 22:01 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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