Cody Alford’s First Day in Fallujah — Took a Round to the Helmet and Kept Fighting

About this video

Cody Alford, a Marine who deployed to Fallujah in 2004, recounts his first day in the city when he was shot in the helmet and temporarily lost consciousness. He describes the intense combat his unit faced, including daily gunfights, heavy casualties, and the emotional toll of taking lives at age 18. Alford also discusses how he processed trauma years later through psychedelics, revealing he carried unprocessed trauma from the deployment without pinpointing specific incidents.

Key takeaways

• Alford recounts being shot in the helmet on his first day in Fallujah (March 26, 2004), experiencing an out-of-body experience and temporary unconsciousness before returning to the fight
• Alford describes the intense operational tempo in Fallujah, where his unit became a stationary “anvil” with insurgents being pushed toward them, resulting in daily combat for seven months
• Alford explains his experience taking a life up close affected him differently than distant combat, leaving him feeling empty rather than scared or remorseful, and that he didn’t process combat trauma until years later using psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT

Episode details: published November 6, 2025 · 16.4K views · 22:03 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.

← Previous: SEAL Team 6 Deployment in Jalalabad: Inside Look · Next: Mike Glover on Dealing With Loss & Managing PTSD →

All Mike Ritland videos · Mike Ritland profile · Mike Drop (official site)