A Green Beret's First-Hand Account of Operation Viking Hammer | Ep. 254 | Pt. 1

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

Society & Culture, Personal Journals, Documentary, Politics, News

4.9 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 93 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dive into this epic conversation on the Mike Drop Podcast with Green Beret legend Mark Giaconia. A 20-year Army veteran who traded infantry boots for Special Forces grit, Mark opens up about his raw reaction to 9/11—burning with jealousy as Fifth Group charged into Afghanistan, only to carve his own pinnacle in Iraq's brutal ops. But before the GWOT glory, he takes us back to the forgotten chaos of Bosnia in the late '90s, where peacekeeping turned into high-stakes intel gathering: embedding in remote villages, renting houses amid fresh war scars, and dodging tense standoffs with Serbian cops who grabbed their weapons at the sight of an American. From concealed pistols and civilian rides to wild encounters—like spotting a Beirut bombing fugitive in a roadside eatery or monitoring Russian convoys on the brink of World War III—Mark's stories pulse with the raw edge of undercover life in a powder keg. We geek out on metal shredding (check Patreon for the deep dive), philosophy from Socrates to Nietzsche, and his time-travel wish to homestead in colonial Connecticut. Whether it's surviving Ranger School's 200+ day grind, losing 40 pounds in the suck, or bonding with locals over slivovitz amid genocide echoes, this episode hooks you with unfiltered warrior wisdom, historical twists, and the unexamined life's brutal truths. Don't miss Mark's insights on human nature, founding principles, and why the Balkans' hospitality hides a world of shadows—perfect fuel for any Mike Drop fan craving real talk from the front lines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	149 at McDonald's gets you a mini-Orio McFlurry.
0:04.0	149 on a big night out gets you
0:07.0	Sorry, no trainers.
0:10.0	McDonald's save a menu.
0:12.0	Actually get your money's worth.
0:14.0	From 11 a.m. price and participation may vary.
0:18.0	Fees apply to delivery, subject to availability.
0:20.0	I was in a sniper sustainment training.
0:22.6	The TV was up on the wall in the corner in the sniper hooch, and we saw it on the news.
0:29.6	Probably like every other special ops guy, that moment, was we want to go kill whoever just did that.
0:36.6	I guess we realized that fifth group is going to be the ones who actually go.
0:40.3	And like, of course, we were insanely jealous.
0:42.3	Because people got to realize, like, when you're a Green Beret or a Navy Seal or whatever, and shit like that goes down,
0:48.3	that's like a green beret that doesn't see war as like a guy who never was allowed to play in a game.
0:55.0	Little did I know that we would have our chance too, but for us on my team it was Iraq.
1:00.0	Well, it would be definitely the pinnacle of my time in Special Forces and one of the biggest ops ever, I think, in the history of the Green berets actually, I think.
1:20.3	Drinking and driving will change your whole world.
1:25.9	The next time you're out with friends, consider what would happen if you got pulled over after drinking.
1:30.2	Like the legal fees, or the time in in court or a DUI on your record. Your decision to drink and drive could change someone else's world too
1:36.4	if you hurt or kill them in a crash. Instead, what if your decision to call a sober ride
1:42.0	change your world for the better.
1:44.5	Drive sober or get pulled over, paid for by NHTSA.
	...

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