In this episode, retired US Air Force Col. Kim Campbell joins to share a story from 2003. A career A-10 pilot, her squadron was deployed to the Middle East at the beginning of the war in Iraq. During a mission, she and her flight lead in another A-10 responded to a call for air support from a US unit engaged with Iraqi troops. On her last rocket pass, she felt and heard an explosion—and knew immediately that she had been hit. Listen as she explains what happened that day and how she responded when she suddenly found herself flying a heavily damaged aircraft.

In this episode of The Spear, MWI's John Amble is joined by Major Tyson Walsh. In 2013, during a deployment in Afghanistan, he was working out alone late at night on the heavily fortified Bagram Airfield, the largest US and coalition base in the country. It's the last place he expected to end up in a fight—he didn't even have his weapon with him. But that's exactly what happened. Listen as he tells one of the most intense stories we have featured.

Command Sergeant Major Alex Kupratty enlisted in the Army after a year at the Virginia Military Institute and was immediately assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, where he spent most of the next twenty years of his military career, culminating in the position of command sergeant major of the Second Ranger Battalion. He is now the command sergeant major of the Fourth Infantry Division, and he joined the podcast on the eve of the recent Army–Air Force Football game. In this episode, Command Sergeant Major Kupratty discusses the value of interoperability, partnerships, innovation, and the officer-NCO relationship to the modern combat experience.