CS#58: Delta Force Operator | Ranger | Black Hawk Down | Musician | Silence and Light
Combat Story
Ryan Fugit
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 January 2022
⏱️ 121 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
[NOTE: We're launching on Patreon soon. Register to get notified at https://www.combatstory.com/patreon]
Brad gave up a promising musical career to serve, first with Ranger Battalion and then finding his way into Delta Force. His first combat experience was in Mogadishu in what we know as Black Hawk Down as part of 3rd Ranger Battalion in a true baptism by fire.
Since leaving the military, Brad returned to his passion: music. He gathered a group of veterans who now make up the band “Silence and Light” and saw far more success than they expected on their debut album and are releasing their second album in the near future.
Since Brad can’t help but go all in on everything he does, he and the band donate their profits to two veteran-focused charities: Marine Raider Foundation and Warriors Heart.
It’s not often you get to sit down and hear directly from someone who spent years at the Tier 1 level and survived Mogadishu so I hope you enjoy this Combat Story and brief glimpse into that world as much as I did.
Find Brad Online:
Instagram @bradthomas_official
Silence and Light Website
Ryan Online Information
Ryan’s Linktree
Instagram @combatstory
Facebook @combatstoryofficial
Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
Email [email protected]
Learn more about Ryan
Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
#military #veteran #deltaforce #specialoperations
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
0:49 - Guest introduction for Brad Thomas
1:54 - Interview begins
2:09 - The prevalence of musicians and artists in the Elite Units
4:40 - What sparked Brad’s interest in music as a kid
25:18 - Joining and knowing he wanted to be elite
38:05 - The path to Ranger School
45:48 - Going outside the wire for the first time in Mogadishu
54:25 - Reaction to the Black Hawk Down movie and what it was like for Brad
1:09:04 - Going back out the gate again
1:16:18 - The days following October 3 in Mogadishu
1:23:30 - Transition after Mogadishu
1:33:59 - Going back into combat after Mogadishu
1:37:28 - Funny story about goofing around with the team
1:39:59 - What Brad is doing now with music
1:55:24 - What did you carry into combat?
1:56:40 - Would you do it all again?
1:59:05 - Listener comments and shout outs
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You knew that things were going to be handled the right way. There was a target that we hit. |
| 0:05.0 | It was a fairly rural target and we took a little bird onto the roof. |
| 0:10.0 | And by the time a teammate of mine and I got into the breach point we had already heard |
| 0:19.0 | about eagle down, black hawk down and QRF and route. |
| 0:25.0 | And that was Tom on the radio and we hadn't even begun to clear the target yet. |
| 0:30.0 | Welcome to Combat Story. I'm Ryan Puget and I serve Warzone Tourers as an Army attack helicopter pilot |
| 0:36.0 | and CIA officer over a 15 year career. I'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite and combat. |
| 0:42.0 | On this show I interview some of the best to understand what combat felt like on their front lines. |
| 0:47.0 | This is Combat Story. |
| 0:49.0 | Today we hear the combat story of Brad Thomas, a former Ranger and Delta Force operator |
| 0:54.0 | who fought in multiple theaters from Somalia to Bosnia to Iraq and Afghanistan, |
| 0:59.0 | including 12 years at the unit in the pre and post-911 era. |
| 1:03.0 | Brad gave up a promising musical career to serve, first with Ranger Battalion, |
| 1:07.0 | and then finding his way into Delta Force. |
| 1:09.0 | His first combat experience was in Mogadishu and what we know as Black Hawk Down |
| 1:14.0 | as part of Third Ranger Battalion in a true baptism by fire. |
| 1:18.0 | Since leaving the military, Brad returned to his passion of music. |
| 1:22.0 | He gathered a group of veterans who now make up the band's silence and light |
| 1:25.0 | and saw far more success than they expected on their debut album |
| 1:28.0 | and are releasing their second album in the near future. |
| 1:31.0 | Since Brad can't help but go all in on everything he does, |
| 1:34.0 | he and the band donate their profits to two veteran focused charities, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ryan Fugit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Ryan Fugit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.