GRP 95- The Reality of War: Perspective of SAS Trooper and Victoria Cross recipient Mark Donaldson

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GRP 95- We know you’ve all been anticipating part two of the conversation we had with Mark Donaldson. Mark is a veteran of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and recipient of the Victoria Cross. The VC is Australia’s highest award given for valor in combat. In this segment Mark talks about running operations with U.S Army Special Forces Green Berets in Afghanistan. It was on one of these operations in which the battle took place where Mark went above and beyond the call of duty.
    
Mark walks us through that operation in vivid detail. The most important piece of this conversation is when Mark gives us the reality of it all when saying yes, he’s been celebrated for his actions that day, but for many it was the worst day of their lives. There are second and third effects for the family and friends of the warriors who were wounded, or killed during the chaos and confusion of that battle. It wasn’t said to dampen our moods, but to add perspective to what is generally looked at as something glamorous.

0:00-Episode overview
1:43- 2008 SAS deployment to Afghanistan, running operations with U.S Army Special Forces Green Berets.

6:20-Battle in which Mark was awarded the Victoria Cross

52:15- The realities of war, and remembering the Victoria Cross from the perspective of the men on the ground. 

Follow my co-host and my pages on social media. Links below.

Global Recon:
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HP Lefler:
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Chantel Taylor:
https://www.instagram.com/mission_critical

https://www.instagram.com/altern8rv

Music provided by Caspian:
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GRP 93-Victoria Cross: The story of Mark Donaldson an SAS Trooper

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GRP 93- It’s with great reverence that I introduce our guest for this week’s podcast. Mark Donaldson is a retired Australian Special Air Service Regiment trooper and recipient of the Victoria Cross. The Victoria Cross is Australia’s highest award for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valor or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. It’s the Australian equivalent to our Medal of Honor. 

We discussed Mark’s early life and motivation for joining the Army as he experienced a traumatic event with the loss of his mother at the age of 19. We discussed how one can turn a tragic event into a motivating force. We discussed the mindset required to train for and get selected into a Special Operations unit like the SAS, and how that same mindset can help surmount obstacles in life. We discussed leadership, the bottom-up approach, and the changing strategy and role for western forces in Afghanistan. This is part one of the interview. The second part will be released within the coming days. 

Three U.S. Army Special Forces Green Berets have been killed in action this week while on patrol through western Mali, in Niger. We’d like to send our deepest condolences to the friends, teammates, and family of these fallen warriors.

0:00- Episode Overview

6:36:00- Motivation to join the Army, and later the SAS. Using the loss of a loved one to drive you forward in life.

15:51:00- “The best way to honor my mates is to come back and live a good life”-Australian WW1 veteran

28:19:00-The mindset required to make it into Special Operations and surmount obstacles in life. Training for selection. 

57:06:00- The bottom-up approach. Leadership and team building. “I’m the guy on the ground I decide what I drop”-British Special Boat Service JTAC to brigade command over the radio
1:09:00- The evolution of the strategy in Afghanistan and the changing role of the special operations units. 

This episode is sponsored by Abes Baumann a law firm that provides legal services and fights for the rights of disabled veterans. To learn about what they can offer you visit http://www.abesbaumann.com/vets

Follow my co-host and my pages on social media. Links below.

Global Recon:
www.Globalrecon.net

https://www.instagram.com/igrecon
https://www.instagram.com/blackopsmatter

www.twitter.com/igrecon

https://www.facebook.com/GlobalReconPodcast/

Chantel Taylor:
https://www.instagram.com/mission_critical

https://www.instagram.com/altern8rv

Music provided by Caspian:
www.caspianmusic.net

GRP 76-Who Dares Wins: The Story of SAS Assaulter Jason Falla

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GRP 76-We have a special guest on for this week's podcast. Former Australian SAS trooper Jason Falla who is also the owner of a tactical training company called "Redback One" came on to talk about his journey in the Australian Special Forces world. He spent the first 6 years of his career with the 1st Commando Regiment before then going to SAS selection and finishing out the remaining 6 years of his military service as an SAS an assault team member and patrol medic of a water operations troop in 1 Squadron, 1st SAS Regiment. Jason shared a deployment story with us, and we discussed his post-military career where he worked as an instructor for what was at the time known as Blackwater. He now runs a successful tactical training company which employs former Tier 1 special ops guys working in several facets. We also covered some Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) as both Chantelle and Jason were Combat Medics respectively. Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

Jason Falla: The Australian Special Operations Task Group rolled out after 9/11 into Afghanistan. We were primarily tasked with reconnaissance and surveillance. We had a large area of responsibility.  We had an incident where one of our vehicles struck an anti-tank mine. Our patrol commander was in a bad way. It turned into a situation of being in a minefield. SGT Andy Russell lost a lot of blood. We called a MEDEVAC with American PJ's jumping in. Unfortunately, Andy died on the way to the hospital. We re-postured and made sure we dished back what we got there.

Our next major operation over there was during Operation Anaconda we were the SAS patrol up there. We got a call that a U.S. helo had been shot down. A special operations component was in a break contact situation. We had to re position ourselves and get eyes on the crash site and provided situational awareness, and interdiction of enemy forces. It was a long arduous march in full kit up to an OP. We had an American Combat Controller attached to us. He started bringing in aircraft. We had B-52's coming in fast air, we were calling in predators hot with AC-130's going Winchester. We asked for a Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) and an American voice came back " Well, I’m following a trail of cold dead bodies"

Jason Falla:

Web: www.redbackone.com

Instagram: Redbackone

Facebook: Redback One

Twitter: @RedbackOne

Global Recon:

www.globalrecon.net

IgRecon – Instagram

BlackOpsMatter- Instagram

Mission_Critical – Instagram

IgRecon- Twitter

Chantel Taylor:

Instagram: Mission_Critical

Facebook: Battleworn

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspianmusic.net

GRP 55-SAS Major DR. Dan Pronk, TacMed Australia, RIP Scott Cooper Dayton

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GRP 55-First and foremost I want to send my condolences to the family of Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Cooper Dayton, 42. Dayton is the first American service member to die to fight the Islamic State in Syria was a decorated and highly experienced Navy explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

On with me for this podcast is Australian SAS Major Dr. Dan Pronk. Dan did multiple deployments and was the regimental medical officer for both 2 commandos and SASR (Special Air Service Regiment). Dr. Dan completed his medical schooling on an Army scholarship and served the majority of his military career with Special Operations Units, including four tours of Afghanistan and over 100 combat missions. Dr. Dan was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service for his conduct in action on his second tour of Afghanistan. We discuss bleeding control, how to treat internal bleeding, and prolonged field care. Major Pronk is the Medical Director for Tac Med Australia which provides training for civilians, military, and police tactical units in Australia. Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

John: One good thing to come out of this Global War on Terror is the advancement of medical treatment.  There are various methods and procedures that have been effective at saving lives on the battlefield. One thing you said that interested me was a way to slow down internal bleeding. Can we talk about that a little bit?

SAS Major DR. Pronk: Medical literature goes back and forth on how useful this drug is. The name of the drug is Tranexamic acid or referred to as TXA. It's not a new drug, but its only in the last decade or so that people have been looking at it in a new light. The biggest cause of preventable death on the battlefield was people bleeding out so hence the use of arterial tourniquets.  The Soldiers might have stepped on an IED and got horrendous bilateral lower leg amputations if you can put a tourniquet high above that wound and cut off the blood flow to that leg you can prevent him from bleeding out.

If it's a little bit higher maybe in the groin or the armpit, it's what we call junctional bleeds. It's too high on a limb to a tourniquet. So that's where your quick clot and hemostatic dressing come in. You can cram that into the wounds and the chemicals in those dressings can speed up the clotting process and stem the bleeding.  Once you get bleeds inside the body, the chest, the abdomen, the pelvis areas where you can drop a huge amount of blood but can't get a tourniquet or quick clot on is difficult to control. The key there is to get that person to a surgical facility quickly.

TXA or Tranexamic Acid the concept of it is when your body starts bleeding chemicals in your body will identify it and try to stop that bleeding. It's an evolutionary process that stops us from bleeding out. As soon as your body starts forming clot chemicals will break down the clots. TXA inhibits the system that breaks down clots. TXA stops the system of breaking down the clot.

Dan Pronk:

http://www.tacmedaustralia.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/TacmedAustralia/

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspianmusic.net