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Combat Story

CS#55: [Part 2] Counter-ISIS Ops | Surviving Suicide Bombers and Airstrikes | SDF & YPG Life | Firat Batman [Part 2] | COMBAT STORY

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

Social Sciences, History, Science

4.81.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2021

⏱️ 104 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!

Today, we hear the second part of the fascinating Combat Story of Firat Batman, a Swedish citizen from Kurdish roots who left his relatively quiet and safe life in Sweden to join the YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to fight ISIS.   
[Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Loansteady LLC. A small-by-design lender, Loansteady believes in bringing a much-needed dose of humanity to the mortgage process. They are waiving all lender fees for Veterans in 2021. Visit http://www.loansteady.com/combatstory to request a rate quote or start an application. Loansteady LLC, All rights reserved, NMLS# 1701910, (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/), Equal Housing Lender. For more licensing information, please visit https://www.loansteady.com/licenses-and-legal]  
We left off in Part 1 when Firat returns to Sweden from Syria following his first deployment just after experiencing the carnage of walking through a town that had been recently abandoned by ISIS, including the blood stains on the walls where groups were executed and rooms that reeked of dead bodies left to rot.  
In Sweden, Firat, like many veterans, has difficulty assimilating back into regular life and hears of a friend who passed away fighting in Syria.   
This second round is all about Firat's subsequent journeys back to the frontlines and the experiences fighting an enemy that would rather blow themselves up then surrender. I hope you enjoy this Combat Story as much as I did.
Find Firat Online: Instagram @tactikurdbruh
Find Ryan Online: 

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Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
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Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial

Show Notes

0:00 - Intro
0:50 - A word from our Sponsor (LoanSteady)
2:19 - Guest introduction (Firat Batman)
3:18 - Interview begins
4:29 - Emotions after coming home from first rotation
10:21 - News of losing his friend expediting his return to the fight
16:23 - What it was like to go back to the frontlines
19:28 - Difference in mindset coming back vs the first time
32:06 -  Combat Story #1 First engagement after coming back
39:19 - Hearing guys dying or close to it via radio
49:17 - Moving between lines to bring support and treat people medically
1:00:33 - Combat Story #2 Intense engagement while bringing support to others
1:15:50 - Funny story about talking to enemy from shelter across the line
1:18:48 - A direct experience and description of ISIS armies
1:21:25 - The only 2 people captured by ISIS and survived
1:27:40 - Protecting people you love from going into combat
1:3524 - What did you carry into combat?
1:37:01 - Would you do it all again?
1:41:41 - Listener comments and shout outs

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

two of these dash guys left

0:03.6

and

0:05.2

one of them he dragged one guy out and we were just standing behind the wall still and we were looking through his little hole because no one dares to go close to these guys okay

0:15.8

and our translate arabic guy was screaming to him because there's no way in hell you gonna come close to us like that

0:22.8

and

0:24.4

this dude

0:25.8

straight up just runs towards us and blows himself up

0:31.7

welcome to combat story i'm Ryan fugit and i serve warzone tours as an army attack helicopter pilot and CIA officer over a 15 year career

0:39.7

i'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite in combat on this show i interview some of the best to understand

0:46.0

what combat felt like on their front lines this is combat story as regular listeners know we love stories of

0:52.9

commitment sacrifice and perseverance i choose guess carefully to find these traits

0:57.7

and i take a similar approach to choosing sponsors for the show

1:01.2

which is why i'm proud to share that this episode is sponsored by loan study

1:05.4

company that fights to get you the best position on your home loan

1:08.8

i've known moe and haiden the two owners of loan study for over 10 years and watch them grow the

1:14.4

company from a four person group grimed in a small office it's a multi-million dollar company doing

1:19.9

business in dozens of states through hustle hard work and sacrifice i also know they do right by

1:26.0

veterans offering some of the best margins on VA loans you can find i personally referred to

1:31.5

family members to loan study in the past year and both had great experiences and i plan on using

1:37.2

loan study and the coming year myself if you're in the market for a home loan interested in refinancing

1:43.5

or taking cash out for a project or home improvement particularly while rates are at near

1:48.8

historic lows check them out for a special offer for our listeners before the end of 2021

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