Iraq, Afghanistan, ISIS, & Ukraine: One Fighter’s Journey Through Modern War | Ryan O'Leary | Ep. 409
The Team House
dee takos
4.7 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2026
⏱️ 205 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode also dives into the future of warfare, the limits of regime change, corruption inside war zones, and what Western militaries still fail to understand about modern combat.
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"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"
00:00 — Start
01:25 — Growing up in Iowa and joining the Army National Guard
03:25 — Iraq deployment: FOB security and disillusionment with the war
04:20 — Afghanistan in RC Pactia: first firefights and combat patrols
05:45 — Ambushed on day one and surviving RPG attacks
08:50 — Why Afghanistan felt minor compared to later wars in Kurdistan and Ukraine
09:35 — Going AWOL to fight ISIS with the Kurds in Iraq
11:40 — Watching U.S. airstrikes outside Erbil as ISIS closed in
13:20 — Joining the Peshmerga with almost no process or paperwork
15:00 — Fighting across Iraq with Kurdish and Iranian Kurdish units
16:20 — The Kurdish-Iraqi civil war around Kirkuk explained
18:40 — Taking tank fire from Iraqi Abrams tanks during the fighting
21:10 — Mortar teams, ATGMs, and chaos on the Kirkuk front
24:00 — Kurdish independence, Kirkuk oil, and Iran’s role in the conflict
27:00 — U.S. weapons ending up with Iranian-backed militias and PMUs
29:00 — Meeting Iranian Kurdish fighters and deciding to work with them
32:10 — Living in the Qandil Mountains with Kurdish insurgents
34:20 — Kurdish separatism, Mahabad, and dreams of independence
39:10 — Life with Iranian Kurds: morale, culture, and surviving in the mountains
41:45 — Learning insurgency warfare from the inside
43:20 — Why insurgencies are nearly impossible to defeat
47:55 — Could Iranian Kurds actually help overthrow Tehran?
53:20 — Why regime change in Iran was always unrealistic
01:02:00 — Early Ukraine war experiences and how drones changed everything
01:14:30 — FPV drones, trench warfare, and why modern combat is now transparent
01:28:00 — What Western militaries still don’t understand about drone warfare
01:40:30 — Surviving artillery, drone drops, and constant surveillance in Ukraine
01:55:00 — Why infantry movement is becoming nearly impossible on the modern battlefield
02:07:00 — Foreign fighters in Ukraine: motivations, strengths, and problems
02:18:00 — Corruption, logistics, and the reality behind the Ukrainian war effort
02:31:00 — Lessons from Iraq, Kurdistan, and Ukraine for future U.S. wars
02:42:30 — China, Taiwan, and how drones could reshape the Pacific battlefield
02:54:00 — Why small units and adaptability matter more than ever
03:05:00 — The psychological toll of nonstop drone surveillance and attrition warfare
03:15:30 — Final thoughts on the future of warfare and where conflict is heading
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey folks, welcome to episode 409 of the Team House. |
| 0:03.7 | I'm Jack Murphy here with today's guest, Ryan O'Leary. |
| 0:07.6 | Ryan is an American military veteran served in the National Guard deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq, |
| 0:13.6 | and then has lived the life of maybe we can call you a professional adventurer, Ryan, |
| 0:18.4 | serving with the Peshmerga, the P.A.K, some of the Kurdish groups over in northern Iraq or Kurdistan. |
| 0:26.5 | And then spent another curious journey, took him to Ukraine, where he's been ever since. |
| 0:32.8 | So Ryan has lived the life, I think. It's pretty incredible. And we really appreciate you joining us and hearing about these varied experiences that you've had. |
| 0:44.2 | Yeah, hey, I'm glad to be here, honestly. I don't think like the war in Ukraine, because it's on like it's fourth year, it doesn't always get like the notice it should. And I don't think people really |
| 0:54.1 | understand like the new drone warfare that's going on here. Yep. I think some some countries like |
| 1:00.3 | Israel are experiencing it now with Hezbollah and then, you know, you're seeing it pop up in Africa |
| 1:05.2 | and also popped up in Syria. So I think there's a lot of misunderstandings with what drone warfare entails. |
| 1:12.6 | Yeah, I know I'm looking forward to getting into that with you a bit. |
| 1:16.6 | But I want to start off sort of at the beginning. |
| 1:18.6 | If you tell us a little bit about yourself, about where you came from and why you joined the military. |
| 1:25.6 | Yeah, so I'm originally from Iowa, like small town in Iowa, |
| 1:31.5 | joined the Iowa Army National Guard at 17, |
| 1:36.3 | went to basic training AIT, all that good stuff for infantry. |
| 1:40.5 | The reason I joined is I had like my grandfathers were in the military. |
| 1:46.0 | I had some uncles in the military. And like it's not really that way anymore, but like growing up when I'm 39 years old. |
| 1:53.0 | So like growing up we still have this like, you know, somewhat of a patriotic duty. |
| 1:57.0 | A lot of my classmates from high school joined. |
| 2:00.0 | I don't think you see that much anymore, |
... |
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