A Former Operator on Building the Groundwork for 100 Capture-or-Kill Raids

In a conversation posted to Mike Ritland's channel, a former operator who spent four years running an Advanced Force Operations program in Afghanistan and Pakistan describes building the groundwork for more than 100 high-level capture-or-kill missions, every one of which he says reached mission success. He also opens up about the Afghan interpreter-turned-teammate who saved his life multiple times, and the toll it took when ten allied local nationals were captured and killed after being betrayed from within their own ranks.

Key points

• The mission: From 2003 to 2007 he built operational groundwork, local national networks and contingency plans so command could execute high-value capture-or-kill raids.
• The partnership: His interpreter Aziz became a full operating partner, saving his life on three occasions and joining him on cross-border missions and recovery operations.
• The loss: Ten Afghan teammates were captured and killed after one of their own flipped to the Taliban, a loss he describes as breaking him after already losing American teammates.
• The breaking point: Physical and psychological symptoms, including numbness and dissociation, led him to finally seek help despite fears of losing his clearance.
• The aftermath: He now works with Mighty Oaks Foundation, a peer-to-peer, non-clinical recovery program that has run resiliency programs for 250,000 active duty troops and graduated 4,000 from its ranch programs.

Quick take

This is less a gear or tactics video and more a firsthand account of what sustained, high-tempo special operations work costs the people who build it from the ground up. For readers interested in the human side of the soft community, the video is worth the watch.

Watch the full video: Mike Ritland