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Global Recon

GRP 95- The Reality of War: Perspective of SAS Trooper and Victoria Cross recipient Mark Donaldson

Global Recon

John Hendricks

Government

4.8592 Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2017

⏱️ 78 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

GRP 95- We know you’ve all been anticipating part two of the conversation we had with Mark Donaldson. Mark is a veteran of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and recipient of the Victoria Cross. The VC is Australia’s highest award given for valor in combat. In this segment Mark talks about running operations with U.S Army Special Forces Green Berets in Afghanistan. It was on one of these operations in which the battle took place where Mark went above and beyond the call of duty. Mark walks us through that operation in vivid detail. The most important piece of this conversation is when Mark gives us the reality of it all when saying yes, he’s been celebrated for his actions that day, but for many it was the worst day of their lives. There are second and third effects for the family and friends of the warriors who were wounded, or killed during the chaos and confusion of that battle. It wasn’t said to dampen our moods, but to add perspective to what is generally looked at as something glamorous. 0:00-Episode overview 1:43- 2008 SAS deployment to Afghanistan, running operations with U.S Army Special Forces Green Berets. 6:20-Battle in which Mark was awarded the Victoria Cross 52:15- The realities of war, and remembering the Victoria Cross from the perspective of the men on the ground. Follow my co-host and my pages on social media. Links below. Global Recon: www.Globalrecon.net https://www.instagram.com/igrecon https://www.instagram.com/blackopsmatter www.twitter.com/igrecon https://www.facebook.com/GlobalReconPodcast/ HP Lefler: https://www.instagram.com/4runner.freyja Chantel Taylor: https://www.instagram.com/mission_critical https://www.instagram.com/altern8rv Music provided by Caspian: www.caspianmusic.net

Transcript

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0:00.0

Who dares wins? This is the motto of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, one of the world's most elite counterterrorist units.

0:09.2

For this episode, we're going to play part two of the conversation that we had with,

0:15.2

Special Air Service Regiment Trooper and recipient of the Victoria Cross, Mark Donaldson.

0:22.1

The Victoria Cross is the highest award that can be awarded to a soldier in combat for an Australian.

0:30.6

Mark talks about running operations with the Army Special Forces Green Berets in Afghanistan,

0:36.6

and then he talks about the operation

0:39.0

for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

0:44.3

For this conversation, I was on with my co-host, Shantel Taylor.

0:48.5

My name is John Hendrix.

0:49.6

This is this week's Global Recon Podcast.

1:34.1

Thank you. this week's global Recon podcast. I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I've read it. Yeah, yeah.

1:35.4

So I guess,

1:37.4

I'm probably just to give it some context.

1:42.6

You know, 2008 we got a lot more kinetic and targeted and

1:47.3

and that led us to we would have one of those funny trips or it was a bit of like tit for tat you know

1:53.6

a bit more engagement bit more contact with the bad guys and we'd lost one of our guys through an

1:58.5

iED strike and and you know a couple of guys wounded and some other things and I'd been blowing up in an IED a couple of weeks before

2:06.6

this three weeks before this as well and and we went we'd sort of cleared out that sort of top

2:14.5

guy from from from our province anyway and it was the next

2:19.5

the usual thing right the poison chalice so the next guy was coming in and we wanted to get on

2:23.1

top of that quickly and that led us up to the this area of ruzgan which was kind of as john

2:28.9

was talking about before it was under control of the oda teams uh and there was an awesome team up

...

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