Marjah Marine Infantry Squad Leader Ryan Rogers Part Two

About this video

Former US Marine Corps squad leader recounts in harrowing detail his unit’s seven-month deployment to Marjah, Afghanistan in 2010. He describes intense firefights, the loss of two Marines under his command—including one he had just cleared to advance—bunker assaults, civilian casualties from misfired ordnance, IED threats, and the emotional toll of leading men through sustained combat operations. The speaker reflects on the moral weight of war, the difficulty of leadership in chaos, and the lasting psychological impact of sending men into danger.

Key takeaways

• Ritland’s guest (the Marine squad leader) recounts losing Marine Matias Hansen after ordering him forward during an assault, describing the guilt and responsibility he felt when Hansen died shortly after evacuation.
• The speaker describes accidentally killing 14 women and children with a misfired Hellfire missile intended for enemy fighters—a trauma he says haunted him more deeply after he became a father.
• According to the speaker, effective small-unit leadership in sustained combat requires compartmentalizing emotion, maintaining composure for the sake of the team, and resisting the urge for revenge in order to stay disciplined and humane.

Episode details: published January 29, 2024 · 57.8K views · 1:25:04 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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