Navy SEAL & 160th Aviator (MH-47 Pilot) | 17 Combat Deployments | Mike Rutledge

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2023

⏱️ 163 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/COMBAT and get on your way to being your best self and HELP the show.

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Today we hear the Combat Story of Mike Rutledge, a Navy SEAL turned to 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) aviator who completed 17 combat deployments over a 30 year career.

This is a special episode for me personally because I went to flight school with Mike (as we discuss in the episode) and I still remember being in awe when I saw this other flight school candidate wearing a trident on his uniform.

Mike had a very unconventional route to becoming a special operator in two branches, and flew along some of the greatest pilots of our time, including Al Mack, who you’ll recall from a previous episode of Combat Story.

Among the multitude of mission during his 17 deployments, Mike found himself on a mission in 2007 when we thought we were going to capture Bin Laden. That was, of course, a dry hole but generated lessons learned that were used in 2011 in the final raid.

I hope you enjoy this wide-ranging and humble perspective into the world of someone who went from being a SEAL to a 160th aviator as much as I did.

Find Ryan Online:
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- 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 Mike Rutledge Online:
- Learn more about Mike https://www.westpointcoh.org/interviews/a-career-filled-with-detours-from-seal-to-night-stalker

Show Notes:
00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Guest Introduction (Mike Rutledge)
02:08 - Interview begins
02:30 - Office Statue
04:37 - Being a SEAL in Aviation classes
08:50 - SEALs in 160th
13:15 - Challenges growing up
16:56 - Experience with father
21:53 - Being bullied as a kid
25:50 - Being a parent
29:00 - Joining the Navy
49:38 - Regrets on path
01:00:42 - Going back to Guam
01:03:50 - First time outside the wire in combat
01:11:11 - Deciding to go into Aviation
01:23:50 - reminiscent on the SEALs
01:28:28 - First flight mission
01:39:22 - Things that go wrong
01:45:48 - One mission from Mike's perspective
01:53:48 - Processing crew rest
01:55:19 - A tough infil/exfil
02:00:47 - Close calls
02:10:38 - Perfection in the mission
02:14:16 - The most courageous thing
02:19:19 - Transitioning out
02:24:50 - Continuing being a pilot
02:26:35 - raising pilots
02:31:16 - Sentimental items
02:33:35 - Do it all again
02:39:47 - Listener comments and shout outs

Transcript

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0:00.0	I was considered like we fly helicopters and relatively speaking well this is
0:06.4	pretty easy because I know how much it sucks on the ground of course you always
0:09.2	have to ask me but I'm not sure I'd have the metal to do what these guys are
0:13.3	doing and so I was always absolutely in awe which sounds funny I was in awe of
0:18.1	the customers even though I was one at one time because what I would see them do
0:22.5	every single night the American public has absolutely no idea what they
0:27.7	endured over a six-hour period just to get just to get to a target only to be
0:32.6	dealt with no kidding overwhelming fire guys getting shot left and right they
0:37.4	were ex-fills where we had to bring these guys out whether that's under fire
0:41.6	or whatever but so on the most gut-wrenching difficult things we had to do
0:45.5	is flying helicopters with guys dying on the back welcome to combat story I'm
0:50.0	Ryan fugit and I serve war zone tours as an army attack helicopter pilot and
0:53.9	CIA officer over a 15-year career I'm fascinated by the experiences of the
0:58.6	elite and combat on this show I interview some of the best to understand what
1:02.9	combat felt like on their front lines this is combat story today we hear the
1:07.9	combat story of Mike Rudlidge a Navy SEAL turned 160th Special Operations Aviation
1:13.5	Regiment or Sora Aviator who completed 17 combat deployments over 30 year
1:18.5	career this is a special episode for me personally because I went to flight
1:22.1	school with Mike as we discuss in this episode and I still remember being in
1:25.8	awe when I saw this other flight school candidate wearing a trident on his
1:29.6	uniform Mike had a very unconventional route to becoming a special operator in
1:34.7	two branches and flew along some of the greatest pilots of our time including
	...

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