We were the DIVERSION... And We didn't Know it

About this video

Ritland’s guest recounts a mission in Afghanistan’s Kunar River valley where his team responded to a downed Buffalo helicopter on an island. After hours of travel and firefights from both riverbanks, he realized his unit was serving as a diversion when medevac helicopters flew past toward another location, revealing the real operation was happening elsewhere.

Key takeaways

• The guest describes responding to a downed helicopter that had crash-landed on an island in the Kunar River
• He coordinated air support including A-10s and P-3 aircraft during a complex, hours-long mission with enemy fire from multiple positions
• The guest realized his team was functioning as a diversion when medevac helicopters bypassed his position, revealing the actual operation was occurring elsewhere

Episode details: published August 28, 2026 · 61.1K views · 1:13 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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