TOPGUN Instructor and Graduate | F-16, F-18, F-22, F-35 Aviator | Combat Aviator | Combat Ground FAC | Echelon Front Instructor - Davide Berke

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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!

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 a Marine aviator, David Berke, who is a TOPGUN Graduate and Instructor, in addition to being rated in the F-16, F/A-18, F-22, and F-35.

David has a remarkable story of multiple deployments, including dropping rounds in Afghanistan just weeks after 9/11. Beyond his distinguished and almost Hollywood-like time in the cockpit, David also volunteered to serve as a Ground Forward Air Controller where he was assigned to lead Marines in Iraq alongside the Army and Navy SEAL teams, including that of Jocko Willink’s in the middle of the fighting in Ramadi in 2006. Despite all the aviation accolades, David’s experience on the ground provided a unique experience that he never could have anticipated.

Jocko and Leif Babin reconnected with David and brought him onboard to help lead training and leadership development at Echelon Front, which trains leaders at all levels at companies in every conceivable industry. David effectively hung up his uniform as an instructor in the aviation domain (to include serving as the head trainer at TOPGUN) to instructing the next set of business leaders with Echelon Front.

This interview is an insightful, humble, and very real perspective of what it’s like to lead from the air and the ground while support soldiers, Marines, and SEALs. This was a really special episode from such an accomplished veteran and I hope you enjoy this whirlwind discussion as much as I did.

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Find David Online: - Echelon Front https://echelonfront.com/dave-berke/ - Extreme Ownership https://echelonfront.com/extreme-ownership/ - Twitter https://twitter.com/davidrberke?lang=en - Instagram @davidrberke https://www.instagram.com/davidrberke/?hl=en - Learn more about David https://echelonfront.com/dave-berke-media/

Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro  00:58 - Guest Introduction (Ryan Rogers) 02:22 - Interview begins 02:38 - Callsigns 05:08 - Favorite aircrafts 09:07 - Childhood 15:42 - Would have done if not Military 18:20 - Family reaction to joining 21:04 - Leading up to enlistment 28:14 - Marine path to Aviation 32:27 - Who gets selected for command roles 34:34 - Last f18 out of El Torro 37:05 - Going to Top Gun 41:40 - 4Patriots 42:59 - Afghanistan after 9/11 47:30 - Night landing on an aircraft carrier 52:55 - First deployment after Top Gun 56:40 - Teaching at Top Gun 59:57 - Experiences that make a Top Gun instructor 01:05:46 - After Top Gun deployment 01:12:06 - Difference between ANGLICO and FAC 01:18:48 - A challenging operation 01:27:02 - Near death experience 01:39:22 - Hard to leave behind 01:42:46 - Echelon Front 01:47:20 - Most courageous thing 01:49:25 - Sentimental item 01:50:58 - Do it all again 01:53:11 -  Listener comments and shout outs