82nd Airborne Medic in Iraq | Special Operations Combat Medic (SOCM) | Playwright ‘Bent Compass’ | Colin Sesek
Combat Story
Ryan Fugit
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2023
⏱️ 115 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Today we hear our first Combat Story from an 82nd Airborne soldier and medic, Colin Sesek. Colin would go on to serve in Special Operations but started his career as a medic fighting in Iraq during the surge and we’ve had so many fans asking for a Combat Story from a conventional soldier in the 82nd Airborne and Colin does not disappoint.
While downrange, Colin participated in infantry operations and raids while also wearing his medic hat managing mass casualty events, significant trauma incidents, and even treated insurgents who were wounded on the battlefield.
After leaving Iraq, Colin went on to write a play titled Bent Compass that is touring in the US and Canada about a soldier changing as a result of the war and conflict he’s experienced that I got a sneak peek of and I know our listeners will really appreciate.
This was a really fun episode and I hope you enjoy Colin’s perspective from the conventional and SOF sides of the house as much as I did.
Find Ryan Online:
- Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory
- Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combats...
- Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
- Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial
- Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
- Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
- Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Find Colin Online:
- Bent Compass https://neilbrookshire.com/bent-compass/
- @BentCompass https://www.instagram.com/bentcompass/?hl=en
- Learn more about Bent Compass https://www.kivitv.com/news/bent-compass-tells-the-story-of-a-combat-medic-from-boise
Show Notes:
00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Guest Introduction (Colin Sesek)
01:50 - Interview begins
02:43 - A conscientious objector
09:10 - Going the Medic route
12:19 - Black Hawk Down generation
15:09 - Bent Compass Play
19:03 - Recruiter Office stories
21:41 - 4Patriots
23:00 - Medic training
24:05 - 82nd Airborne Division
36:24 - Deployment
41:34 - First time outside the wire
42:57 - First contact
44:24 - Time in Iraq
46:10 - Combat medic
57:16 - Deciding to engage
1:01:08 - Memorials
01:06:09 - Most courageous thing
01:08:03 - Almost going outside the wire
01:20:28 - The VA
01:28:30 - Bird Flu
01:32:18 - Hardest thing to do downrange
01:37:59 - Conventional to Special Forces perspective
01:42:24 - Bent Compass
01:50:02 - Sentimental items
01:50:45 - Would you do it all again
01:52:45 - Listener comments and shout outs
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | machine gun fire. Just started cooking off. I'm sitting there next to the Ford |
| 0:05.5 | observer and the captain because there's machine gun fire and maybe because of |
| 0:08.6 | all that training I went through. So, but I didn't even discuss in a decision. It |
| 0:12.0 | wasn't like, oh, I need to raise my weapon. It was, I touched a hot stove and it |
| 0:17.1 | was like a reflex. So I'm sitting there, once I can, I'm sitting there taking a |
| 0:19.6 | knee. I hear gunfire and the next second my weapon is up. And I just remember |
| 0:24.7 | thinking all of my weapons in front of my eye. I was pulling the trigger and it's a |
| 0:28.3 | stress reaction. It's called auditory exclusion. I didn't even hear the gun shot. |
| 0:32.7 | I watched the muzzle flash. Welcome to combat story. I'm Ryan Fugid and I serve |
| 0:38.2 | war zone tours as an Army attack helicopter pilot and CIA officer over a 15 |
| 0:42.6 | year career. I'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite and combat. On this |
| 0:47.3 | show, I interview some of the best to understand what combat felt like on |
| 0:51.1 | their front lines. This is combat story. Today we hear our first combat story |
| 0:56.0 | from an 82nd airborne soldier and medic Colin Sessick. Colin will go on to |
| 1:00.7 | serve in special operations, but started his career as a medic fighting |
| 1:04.1 | interact during the surge. We've had so many fans asking for a combat story |
| 1:08.3 | from a conventional soldier's perspective in the 82nd and Colin does not |
| 1:13.0 | disappoint. While downrange, Colin participated in infantry operations and |
| 1:17.0 | raids while also wearing his medic hat, managing mass casualty events, |
| 1:20.9 | significant trauma incidents, and even treating insurgents who were wounded on the |
| 1:25.1 | battlefield. After leaving Iraq, Colin went on to write a play titled Bent |
| 1:29.0 | Compass that is touring in the US and Canada about a soldier changing as a result |
... |
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