The CH-53 Mission to Recover a Downed Night Stalker Helicopter | Ret. Lt. Col Isaac G. Lee

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

Social Sciences, History, Science

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2026

⏱️ 208 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A downed U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan.
Forty-five knot crosswinds.
No power margin.

In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Isaac G. Lee, a retired U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 heavy lift pilot with seven deployments and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Isaac flew more than 140 named combat missions, became a Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI), commanded a Marine helicopter squadron, and led one of the most dangerous recovery missions of the war — lifting a downed Night Stalker aircraft near the Pakistani border with almost no margin for error.

We talk about:

Flying CH-53s during the Iraq invasion
Losing an engine in a hot landing zone
Brownout landings with zero visibility
Working alongside Army Apaches and special operations units
The surge years and nonstop named operations
The mental shift required to survive repeated combat deployments
The cost of leadership on families at home

This conversation goes beyond tactics.

It explores responsibility, identity, the "robot mode" many combat leaders adopt, and what happens when you finally step away from the machine.

Isaac shares the deeper story behind his memoir Hangar 4, a candid look at Marine Corps aviation, brotherhood inside Hangar 4, and the transition from warfighter to civilian leader.

If you care about Marine Corps aviation, CH-53 helicopters, Iraq and Afghanistan combat stories, or leadership under pressure, this episode delivers.

🎙 Guest: Isaac G. Lee

Isaac Lee is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. CH-53 pilot, Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI), and former squadron commander with seven deployments and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He is the author of Hangar 4 and founder of Ready Room Consulting, where he teaches leadership drawn from two decades of Marine Corps aviation.

🔗 Connect with Isaac:

🌐 Websites https://isaacglee.com https://readyroomconsulting.com

📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/isaacgleewriter

📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IsaacGLee

🐦 X (Twitter) https://x.com/isaacglee

🎵 Book Soundtrack Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4x13aD07eDCCwF5TaSNyfT?si=mKzXXaHZTNCtyHss-MPTvA

🎙️ Host Information — AJ Pasciuti | Combat Story AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.

🔗 Find AJ Online:

📕 Book (Darkhorse): https://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/

📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/

🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/

🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ:

👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) - Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs

👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU

📺 Additional Features & Media

👉 Urban Valor Podcast Feature: https://urbanvalor.com/episode/marine-snipers-eliminate-enemy-sniper-reclaim-stolen-us-sniper-rifle/

👉 DVIDS – Infantry Marine Course Feature: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	There was a downed aircraft recovery team that was on site that was supposed to be prepping the aircraft for us.
0:08.0	Well, when we got there into the objective area, I quickly realized that plan wasn't going to work.
0:13.0	Because the aircraft had rolled over on its right side, but there were just pieces of fiberglass all over the landing zone.
0:18.0	And so I knew I can't go hover up here and land because I'm
0:22.3	going to suck all those pieces of fiberglass up into my rotor system and then we're going to have two
0:25.8	downed aircraft we had to change the plan in the zone so picked up get over there hooked up hovering
0:31.3	was was terrible I had no reference so it's basically just flying off with my crew chiefs
0:35.2	told me I'll never forget my crew chief yelled he's like holy shit it's basically just flying off with my crew chiefs are telling me. I'll never forget, my crew chief yelled. He's like, holy shit, it's working.
0:39.3	Welcome to combat story.
0:44.3	I'm AJ Peschutie, a retired Marine, force recon, scout sniper, and Marine Gunner with 21 years of service,
0:50.3	multiple combat tours, and a lifetime of lessons learned in the arena itself.
0:55.0	On this show, I sit down with warriors from every front line to uncover what combat truly
1:00.0	feels like and how it shapes the way we see life, each other, and ourselves.
1:05.0	This is Combat Story.
1:07.0	Today on Combat Story, we're joined by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac G. Lee, United States Marine Corps,
1:13.6	retired, a Marine Corps combat aviator who spent two decades in the cockpit and deployed seven times, including four combat tours in the Middle East.
1:21.6	Isaac is the author of Hanger Four, a combat aviator's memoir, a candid look at the grind behind Marine Aviation, the training pipeline,
1:29.3	the ready room pressure, and what it's like flying combat missions in the CH53 community,
1:35.3	where the heavy lift mission mattered every day in Iraq and Afghanistan.
1:38.3	But what really stood out in this conversation wasn't just the aircraft or the deployments.
1:42.3	It was leadership. Isaac's
1:44.5	humility and the way he consistently credits the people around him and his steady commitment to
	...

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