meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Mike Drop

Operation “Viking Hammer” Was Never the Real Mission? | Ep. 281 | Pt. 1

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

News, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Politics

4.96.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 73 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Retired Green Beret, Mark Grdovic shares the largely untold story of what came to be known as "Operation Viking Hammer", a 2003 U.S. Army Special Forces mission in northern Iraq that targeted the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam prior to the main invasion. Working alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, 10th Special Forces Group conducted a coordinated assault on entrenched enemy positions in mountainous terrain near Halabja, following Tomahawk strikes. The operation dismantled Ansar al-Islam’s stronghold and secured the Kurdish region, enabling follow-on coalition operations deeper into Iraq. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

My name is Sherlock Holmes.

0:02.0

It's an unusual name.

0:03.0

Introducing Young Sherlock, a new Guy Ritchie series.

0:07.0

What game are we playing today?

0:09.0

Discover the origins.

0:10.0

It's cleaving. Those days are surely behind me.

0:12.0

Of crime's most iconic mind.

0:14.0

There has been a break-in.

0:17.0

Astoned. You should be a detective.

0:19.0

Starring Hero finds Tiffin, Donald Finn and Colin Firth.

0:22.6

If you start wearing a hat like that, I will no longer be friends with you.

0:25.6

Young Sherlock, new original series, watch now only on Prime Video.

0:29.6

The reason I don't call it Viking Hammer is because we never called it Viking Hammer.

0:33.6

That was a name that was crafted after the operation by folks who didn't conduct the operation. Sentcom would say to me, your mission is to work with the Kurds. Like, no, my mission is not to work with the Kurds. My mission is to stop Saddam from going south. My method is to work with the Kurds. From my perspective, though, we need to convince the city that there's more soldiers here than there really are. So we're like hey contact the other Iraqi unit over there and tell them we can kill all of them at any time, but we're choosing not to. That was a lucky strike. You know, we can't kill all of them at any time. But we're like, send the message that we can kill any of them at any time we want. We're trying not to. We don't want to. We want them to take the surrender message. You could feel the Iraqi panic because units were actually starting to back up to each other.

1:14.6

Kirkuk was the first city in the north taken. It was taken completely without coalition of American forces and it was handed over in pretty good condition.

1:22.6

Can you walk us through how it went on your end?

1:25.6

Yeah, so like... When hunting isn't about hunting at all,

1:36.3

Team Dog features comprehensive and customizable meal plans

1:40.3

with dry and raw food options to meet your dog's unique nutritional needs, including digestive sensitivities, allergies, or selective eating.

1:50.0

Did you know combining 75% dry food with 25% raw food delivers robust, nutrient-dense meals for your dog?

2:00.4

Be your dog's hero with team dog

2:06.9

ladies and gentlemen as always it's both an honor and a pleasure to welcome my next guest

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mike Ritland, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mike Ritland and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.