Thrown Into an Ambush at 18: What Combat REALLY Feels Like

About this video

A former Army Special Forces soldier recounts his first combat deployment to Iraq at age 18 with a conventional infantry unit. He describes his first significant ambush engagement, where his convoy was hit with RPGs and small arms fire while on patrol. The guest shares how this initial combat experience felt chaotic and slow-motion compared to later engagements after receiving more training. He also discusses his path from conventional infantry through recruiting duty to eventually joining Special Forces.

Key takeaways

• The guest describes his first combat experience as chaotic and feeling like slow motion, noting he felt far less effective than in subsequent engagements after receiving better training
• The guest recounts being ambushed two months before the end of his deployment, engaging targets with his M4 while green tracers came from multiple directions, though he never confirmed if he killed or wounded anyone
• The guest’s father, who had Special Forces experience, gave him simple advice for selection: just don’t quit, emphasizing that skills can be taught but a no-quit attitude must come from within

Episode details: published December 3, 2025 · 21.8K views · 20:34 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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