I was in bed and the first rocket went off and hit the building next hour.

So I got up like any normal tick, got up, put my equipment on, and got to the door.

And I opened the door and look outside, and all I see is muzzle flashes.

We got a call on the radio that someone was hit in the Shura building, which is about 50 meters or so from the aid station.

So Chris Cordova, the PA, threw me my aid bag, and I ran out.

We had a lot of A&A casualties flowing through.

That's when First Sergeant Burton came in and said that there was enemy in the wire.

Hey, welcome back to the Spear, a podcast by the Modern War Institute at West Point.

I'm John Amble, editorial director at MWI, and The Spear is our platform to explore the combat experience.

In this episode, MWI's major, Jake Moraldi speaks with Master Sergeant Shane Corville.

Ten years ago, in 2009, he was a medic deployed at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan.

On October 3rd of that year, he woke up to the sound of gunfire.

And in the long hours that followed, Cop Keating would become the scene of one of the most

intense battles of the most intense battles

of the entire war in Afghanistan. This is a really powerful episode, in part because his

perspective, being a medic during a fight in which half of the soldiers at the cop were wounded,

is something that is almost indescribable without hearing it firsthand. But also because Master Sergeant Corville and Major Morali, who spoke to him for this episode,

know each other.

In fact, they were both there that day.

Major Morale was part of the quick reaction force that was sent to the cop to help.

I really hope listeners enjoy this opportunity to hear a combat medics combat story.

Before we get to it, though, just a couple notes.

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