We often think of endurance in terms of the physical, how much can we endure before

we're out of our depth.

But things like psychological and emotional endurance contribute so much to our experiences.

David McConnell's 20-year military career was a test of his physical endurance, but it

wasn't until he retired that he learned about the other kinds.

What is true bravery?

What makes a hero?

A hero?

It's a test 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.

An original podcast from In-Congruity Media.

This is Anthony Russo and this is War.

David McConnell enlisted in the military because he wanted to be a cop in the civilian world

and he knew prior service would give him a leg up.

He chose the Air Force simply because it was the first branch that promised to make

him an MP and he served for a few years' stateside before being deployed to the Philippines.

All violence and tension had been heating up on the island nation and when he arrived

in the early 1990s McConnell got his first taste of what it was like to be part of an increasingly

unpopular US presence.

While I was up in South Dakota we had four people assassinated over at Clark Air Base.

So the Air Force geared things up to start sending more security police over there to be

...