Combat Story - Podumentary - Erick Miyares

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2025

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

🎖️ From Marine Sniper to Army Special Operations Veteran | Erick Miyares’ Unbelievable Combat Story 🇺🇸. In this powerful episode, we sit down with Erick Miyares — a retired Special Operations soldier who began his journey in the U.S. Marine Corps and went on to serve in the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group and an Army Special Missions Unit under U.S. SOCOM.

Eric takes us deep into the realities of war, from the jungles of Central and South America to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. He opens up about taking a life, losing brothers, living with post-traumatic stress, and finding healing and purpose after decades in the shadows.

This is more than a combat story — it’s about resilience, identity, and redemption. Eric’s transition from elite soldier to PhD student in Cyber Psychology shows how warriors continue to serve even after the battlefield.

🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The truth about life inside Special Operations

How elite warriors process trauma and rebuild

What it’s like to order a kinetic strike — and live with it

Lessons in discipline, humility, and healing from a 30-year veteran

The mindset of those who operate in the world’s most dangerous environments

💡 About Eric Ez Miyares:

Retired U.S. Army Special Operations veteran

Former Marine Corps sniper

Served in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond

Now a PhD candidate in Cyber Psychology, studying cognitive resilience

Advocate for mental health and veterans’ reintegration

💬 Support & Resources:
If you or someone you know is struggling with post-traumatic stress, reach out for help. You are not alone.
👉 Visit VeteransHelpGroup.com or call (855) 231-6144.

🎙️ About Ryan Fugit:

Ryan is the creator and host of Combat Story, a podcast that captures the firsthand accounts of combat veterans, and Restricted Handling, which explores authoritarian activity and international security through conversations with world-class experts. Check out the Retricted Handling podcast at www.restrictedhandling.com

🔔 Subscribe for more interviews with military veterans, intelligence professionals, and leaders shaping the future of national security.

Find Erick Miyares :

📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erick-miyares/

Find AJ Online:

📸Instagram: / ajpasciuti

📘 LinkedIn: / angelo-pasciuti

🔗Personal Website & Book Pre-Order (“Darkhorse”): https://www.ajpasciuti.com/

👉Combat Story Podcast (Part 1 – USMC Sniper & Force Recon in Fallujah):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aqn

👉Combat Story Podcast (Part 2 – Sniper vs Sniper Battle):
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast

👉Urban Valor Facebook Feature:
/ 602000529075284

👉DVIDS Video on Infantry Marine Course:
https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leaders

Find Ryan Online:

🎙️ Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory

🔗Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combats

🛒 Email [email protected]

📸 Instagram @combatstory / combatstory

📘 Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial

Check out the Retricted Handling podcast at www.restrictedhandling.com

📖 Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial

✔ Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus

🎵 Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle

📘 Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction: Meet Eric Ez Miyares
01:00 – Marine Corps beginnings & escaping the streets of Miami
02:00 – Lessons learned from the Corps: discipline and humility
03:00 – The weight of pulling the trigger and ordering strikes
05:00 – Facing death in the Middle East and processing fear
07:00 – Living with Post-Traumatic Stress (without the “D”)
08:30 – Opening Pandora’s Box: therapy and healing
10:00 – Rediscovering purpose through resilience and service
11:00 – Sacrifices of family life during decades of deployments
13:00 – Cognitive fatigue and the toll of 20 years at war
14:30 – Finding brotherhood, connection, and purpose after combat
15:30 – The dual life: operator and intelligence professional
17:00 – The veteran bond and the humor that keeps them going
18:00 – The lighter side: local food, culture, and MRE memories
20:00 – Healing, time, and reflecting on legacy
21:30 – Lessons learned and why he’d serve again
23:00 – Closing reflections on purpose, family, and discipline

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, my name is Eric Miatis.
0:15.0	I initially started in the Marine Corps and then ended up retiring in the Army.
0:20.0	In the Marine Corps I was with a eight with eight tow company, fourth Anglico and 323 state platoon.
0:27.6	And then the Army I actually spent only in two units.
0:29.6	I was seven special forces group and an Army Special Missions Unit under United States Special Operations Command.
0:36.6	Yeah, I went to Panama, Colombia, Ecuador,
0:41.4	and then in the G-WAT did Afghanistan, Iraq, and several other countries throughout Asia and the
0:47.8	Middle East that unfortunately I can't disclose. I came in in 1991 and retired in October 2020.
0:55.0	So I'm actually a student.
0:57.0	So I'm a PhD student and I just got back into a cybersecurity computer role.
1:04.0	Yeah, my PhD is in cyber psychology.
1:07.0	So I'm actually studying the cognitive impacts of high assurance work, for example,
1:13.6	cyber operations and intelligence professionals. Yeah, my family didn't have much of service. All I knew is that my
1:20.6	biological father in Cuba served in the police. And then my ultimately became like a father figure. He had served in the government and in the police and then my ultimately became like a father figure he had served in the government
1:30.6	and in the military. I joined because I wanted to give back to the country that welcomed my
1:38.1	family from Cuba with open arms and so I wanted to transition from my family into a new family and that's
1:45.5	what the Marine Corps presented to me I think what I would have thought that I
1:51.8	would have gotten out of the service was the discipline the becoming part of
1:56.9	something bigger and in particular joining the Marine Corps the way I was recruited
2:02.3	and the way that they were recruiting in Miami that was very influential. I needed to get
2:06.4	off the streets of Miami because at that time it was few options and I didn't like those
2:11.7	options so I wanted to serve. It taught me humidally and that you got to continuously work on those skills you learned in training.
	...

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