82nd Airborne Medic in Iraq | Special Operations Combat Medic (SOCM) | Playwright ‘Bent Compass’ | Colin Sesek

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Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more! ======= Today we hear our first Combat Story from an 82nd Airborne soldier and medic, Colin Sesek. Colin would go on to serve in Special Operations but started his career as a medic fighting in Iraq during the surge and we’ve had so many fans asking for a Combat Story from a conventional soldier in the 82nd Airborne and Colin does not disappoint.

While downrange, Colin participated in infantry operations and raids while also wearing his medic hat managing mass casualty events, significant trauma incidents, and even treated insurgents who were wounded on the battlefield. 

After leaving Iraq, Colin went on to write a play titled Bent Compass that is touring in the US and Canada about a soldier changing as a result of the war and conflict he’s experienced that I got a sneak peek of and I know our listeners will really appreciate. 

This was a really fun episode and I hope you enjoy Colin’s perspective from the conventional and SOF sides of the house as much as I did.

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Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro  00:54 - Guest Introduction (Colin Sesek) 01:50 - Interview begins 02:43 - A conscientious objector 09:10 - Going the Medic route 12:19 - Black Hawk Down generation 15:09 - Bent Compass Play 19:03 - Recruiter Office stories 21:41 - 4Patriots 23:00 - Medic training 24:05 - 82nd Airborne Division 36:24 - Deployment 41:34 - First time outside the wire 42:57 - First contact 44:24 - Time in Iraq 46:10 - Combat medic 57:16 - Deciding to engage 1:01:08 - Memorials 01:06:09 - Most courageous thing 01:08:03 - Almost going outside the wire 01:20:28 - The VA 01:28:30 - Bird Flu 01:32:18 - Hardest thing to do downrange 01:37:59 - Conventional to Special Forces perspective 01:42:24 - Bent Compass 01:50:02 - Sentimental items 01:50:45 - Would you do it all again 01:52:45 -  Listener comments and shout outs