Hey, just to let you know before we start the podcast, there is a little bit of swearing in this episode.

And he had his hand over, like he lifted his hand up over his face like Dracula. And as soon as he did that, you know, all the bells and whistles in my head go off.

And before, like, I jerked to raise my weapon.

And before I could yell, shit Frank, I got like, shh, and then it was

just a huge explosion.

At the time, you know, adrenaline's pumping, I don't feel anything.

I was like, holy shit, dude just blew himself up, like, get to cover, and then get ready to fight.

Hi, and welcome to The Spear, a podcast by the Modern War Institute at West Point.

I'm John Amble, editorial director at MWI.

We launched The Spear to create a platform to explore the combat experience.

Each episode includes a single one-on-one interview with a guest who walks us through a particular event and their role in it.

A battle, a firefight, a mission.

It's a first-person account of combat.

We chose the Spear as the name of the podcast to capture two ideas.

First, that combat is that unique experience that takes place at the tip of the spear.

And second, that in our modern wars, it isn't just combat forces that can find themselves fighting.

Any part of our military, any part of the spear, combat or support can be forced

by circumstances to become that sharp fighting end.

In this episode, MWI's Captain Jake Moraldi talks to Captain Brandon Thomas. In the summer

of 2013, Captain Thomas was a troop commander deployed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan,

and he has an incredibly powerful story to tell from that deployment.

During one mission, they came across another American force in need of assistance.

...