A rock and propel grenade hit this tree, essentially exploded and I was in the fireball.

I remember just there is this white flash in this incredible heat.

When your first combat tour and your first deployment as an officer coincides, there's a lot of learning on the fly.

Everything that you learn or that you do on that first deployment will influence the rest of your career for better or for worse.

Besides finding out just how much you can endure and whether you'll crack under the pressure, you also get to find out whether you really have everything it takes to be a leader.

The guys who are up against are for real and this is not going to be easy.

This tour is not a game, this is not an adventure and we're definitely not in training anymore.

What is true bravery? What makes a hero a hero?

Tested by the worries of what's happening at home thousands of miles away and the reality of what you're facing here and now.

When your life is in danger every second and it's either killed or be killed.

From wondering, an incongruity media, this is Anthony Russo and this is War.

The

Worms

Ray McPadden had spent 15 long difficult months in Afghanistan leading a 10th Mountain Division platoon and learning the hard way why the Car and Gal Valley enjoyed the reputation it did.

Once he made it to Iraq, the clarity of the raids and the elegance of their execution made perfect sense to him.

While we don't really think of the Army Rangers as having it easy, it took joining the premier raid force in the world for McPadden to find his calling.

The battalion was doing in Iraq, it was very different from what was going on in Afghanistan.

It was in Central Iraq, Baghdad, North to crit.

They were going after bad guys who were living in houses and compounds every night.

We had a lot better intelligence, it was a very different battlefield and physically it was much easier.

We'd roll out in striker vehicles every night and go hit targets and then go back to base and hang out and guys would work on their tans.

I remember we were in a striker and General McChrystal, who was I think in charge of the joint special operations command at the time, was right across from me in the striker.

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