From Fort Bragg to Desert Storm: The Origins of the GWOT

About this video

A former soldier recounts his experiences from joining the military through Desert Storm and into Special Forces. He describes deploying to Saudi Arabia with the 82nd Airborne in 1990, the uncertainty surrounding the mission, and his unit’s role sweeping west to secure the Talil airfield in Iraq. After returning, he attended Ranger School, completed Special Forces Assessment and Selection, and spent the 1990s with 7th Special Forces Group conducting training missions in Central and South America.

Key takeaways

• The guest describes the confusion and lack of information during the initial Desert Storm deployment, with soldiers not understanding why they were going to the Middle East or what their objectives were
• The guest recounts minimal combat engagement during Desert Storm, as Iraqi forces at Talil airfield had little will to fight after extensive bombing campaigns
• The guest explains that in the mid-1990s, Special Forces teams working in Central and South America had restrictions on their operations and primarily conducted training missions with host nation forces rather than active counter-narcotics work

Episode details: published December 14, 2025 · 6.2K views · 22:17 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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