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Global Recon

GRP 137-Deeds not Words: A discussion with a Canadian Tier 1 Sniper

Global Recon

John Hendricks

Government

4.8592 Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2019

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

GRP 137-Deeds not Words: A discussion with a Canadian Tier 1 Sniper Joining me for this week's podcast is Jeff Depatie. Jeff served in the Canadian Army before going to selection for their Tier 1 Special Forces unit JTF2. Serving for over a decade as an Assaulter, and Sniper Jeff saw combat across the globe. During the emergence of ISIS, the JTF2 were some of the first western forces on the ground, engaging ISIS on the battlefield. We discussed the common ancestor of American and Canadian Special Operations, the "First Special Service Force," or "Devil's Brigade." The FSSF was a joint unit between the two countries, taking on some of the most dangerous missions during WW2. Canadian Snipers hold several of the world's longest kill shots ever recorded included a 3500-meter hit. We discussed the dynamics and culmination of years of cross-training with the British SAS and American Special ops that led to the skills Canadian long gunners now possess. Jeff now runs a company that puts civilians through a special forces selection type of experience and uses a method he calls "Post Traumatic Growth," or PTS. They utilize PTS to arm people with tools to get through challenging situations in life. You can check out Jeff at: https://thespecialforcesexperience.com 0:00-Intro 9:10- The Devils Brigade and the history of Canadian Special Forces. 23:08-Canadian Special Forces Snipers hold the longest sniper kill in history. 37:50: The Special Forces Experience

Transcript

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0:00.0

Casey Selsky is here. He fought with the FSSF at the Battle of Anzio.

0:05.0

They were among the first allied soldiers to enter Rome and liberate it from the Nazis.

0:10.0

He's here today with one of his 11 children, the former mayor of Alito, Illinois, Mayor Lee Selksky.

0:16.0

When Casey came home from World War II, like a lot of the genuine heroes of war,

0:23.3

he didn't have much to say.

0:24.9

He left the war on the battlefield.

0:27.4

40 years later, his family coaxed the stories out of him.

0:31.3

And 50 years after his return from World War II, Casey and Lee traveled back to Europe,

0:37.2

back to the places where he'd fought,

0:39.4

to visit the towns that the force had liberated.

0:42.4

Near the Anzio Beachhead, an Italian man realized finally who they were.

0:47.4

The man dropped to his knees crying and thanked Casey Selsky.

0:51.8

Then he pointed to a plaque, written in Italian and English, trying to explain what this was all about to his own son.

0:58.5

This is one of the soldiers, he said, who saved our village.

1:02.0

It was 50 years after the war had ended.

1:05.3

Casey Selsky turned to his son Lee and said,

1:07.8

All these years, I wondered what I was doing here.

1:10.5

Now I know why we fought.

1:13.0

The first special service force is.

1:22.0

The first special service force were all volunteers. The astonishing fact is not how many of them didn't finish,

1:29.4

but how many survived. They operated under cover of darkness deep behind enemy lines,

1:35.2

using unconventional warfare tactics and support of other units. Every mission was a suicide

...

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