Combat Story (Ep 25): John "Shrek" McPhee | Delta Force | Green Beret | Ranger | SOB Tactical

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Today we hear the combat story of Sergeant Major (ret) John “Shrek” McPhee AKA “The Sheriff of Baghdad,” who spent 20 years in the Army’s Special Operations community, from Ranger Battalion to Group to Delta Force.   

He is one of the handful of operators to have served in multiple theaters from Bosnia and South America to Iraq and Afghanistan. John’s one of a smaller group of operators to successfully execute raids in combat by himself during hundreds of solo operations.  

After leaving the military, John created SOB Tactical that helps people, law enforcement, and special operators improve shooting skills and security. He also hosts a channel called Booze N Views that talks about current events and new whiskey!   

John brings me to tears with laughter in this episode, which is just a byproduct of John’s sense of humor and way of life. I hope that like me, your jaw hurts from laughing by the end of this interview. Enjoy.  

From the website: SOB Tactical is a word of mouth based business. As such we stand ready, willing, and passionately able to serve anybody important to you. Giving them exceptional service, products, training and treating them in a very special way.

Find John Online: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sobtactical/ SOB Tactical - https://sobtactical.com/ SOB TV - https://watch.sobtactical.com/ Booze N Views - https://watch.sobtactical.com/booze-n-views Show Notes: 0:00 - Intro 0:49 - John McPhee’s bio. 2:46 - “Talking s&*% should be a PhD in school.” 5:16 - Growing up as the little guy. 10:46 - Military history in the family. 11:40 - “I’ve always been incredibly mechanically inclined.” 15:04 - Why the infantry? That was not the intended route. 17:59 - “You can’t follow my path ‘cause I didn’t have one.” 19:07 - “I want to win.” 23:48 - “Never seen anyone run like that.” A guy John couldn’t shake. 27:34 - Combat Story #1: Jumping into Iraq and why static line jumps are so bad. 30:29 - How not to lie to people. 39:22 - Feelings on the Q Course and the route to Delta. 41:47 - How hard was Delta selection? It’s a great response! 49:48 - Where does the nickname “Shrek” come from? 52:00 - Combat Story #2: The Battle of Tora Bora. 55:37 - “Chaos is my jam…” 1:06:23 - Combat Story #3: Solo operations with The Unit. 1:11:33 - Combat Story #4: Craziest thing I’ve ever done. 1:16:44 - How you get soldiers, including the elite, to decompress after multiple hits each night. 1:18:39 - What’s a “hall pass?” 1:25:26 - Tell us about the “Pornstache.” 1:28:04 - Sheriff of Baghdad aka SOB Tactical. Where the name came from and what type of training and work SOB does. 1:37:04 - Booze N Views. https://watch.sobtactical.com/booze-n-views 1:42:17 - What did you carry with you on missions? 1:44:09 - Would you do it all again?