GRP 171-Death Waits in the Dark: Six Guns Don't Miss: My Conversation With an MH-6 Little Bird Pilot

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Joining me for this week's podcast is retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gregory Coker. Coker wrote the book "Death Waits in the Dark: Six Guns Don't Miss!" and has donated 100% of the profits to organizations that support veterans. He flew helicopters in the Army for over 20 years and spent 15 of those years in the world's most elite helicopter unit, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He flew the MH-6 Little Bird, an attack helicopter with thousands of hours spent flying in and out of combat.  

Coker was shot down in Iraq, supporting an assault force during a daytime operation. He remained with the assault force after he and his co-pilot made it out of the downed aircraft, where they were engaged in a six-hour gun battle. We discussed this operation in detail and some of the aerodynamics of controlling a helicopter as its crashes. Blades for Brothers is partnered with Shied 91, a 501c3 non-profit started by Greg, to craft blades and help veterans learn how to bladesmith. Greg had experienced a traumatic brain injury from combat, and we discussed this, plus veteran's mental health issues and much more. Tune in. 

Main Takeaways

• Blades for brothers

• Early Army career

• Flying Apaches in Korea

• Joining the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as an MH-6 Little Bird Pilot

• Deploying into Afghanistan in 2001

• Getting shot down in Iraq

This episode is sponsored by 4 Patriots, a survival food company. You can visit www.4patriots.com and use the code RECON for 10% off

Get a copy of Greg Coker's book: Death Waits in the Dark

Follow Greg on social media: www.instagram.com/bladesforbrothers

Connect With John Hendricks

www.globalrecon.net

www.instagram.com/igrecon 

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspian.band

GRP 87-Combat Concussions: The cause and effects of blast wave injuries on veterans of combat arms

 

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GRP 87-We have a very special and powerful episode for you guys. Back on the podcast is retired SARC Dan Brown, and retired Army Special Operations veteran Kevin Tretter. Dan served with Force Recon and the Marine Raider Battalions as a highly trained Corpsman. Kevin started out as a Combat Engineer 12 Bravo then went into Special Forces as an 18 Charlie Engineer Sergeant. He got picked up by a special unit to serve as a heavy breacher. He then went back into Special Forces in the Commanders in Extremis Force (CIF) which is the counter terrorist arm of the Green Berets.

During his time in the CIF he survived a helicopter crash in Iraq eventually retiring after 20 years of service. This episode is important because we discussed Traumatic Brain Injury in a deep and honest way as both Dan and Kevin have brain injuries due to the culmination of training in tight spaces with live rifle fire, explosives, airplane jumps and combative training. They have both received blast injuries in combat. We talked the negative effects of having physical brain damage, and how the government protocols for diagnosing PTSD and TBI are flawed. Discussed the positive effects of Cannabis on healing brain injuries. We talked about some problems and solutions with veterans who don’t need care for TBI or PTSD taking advantage of the government and sucking up resources from service members who need the treatment.

0:00-Intro

4:48-Kevin Tretter’s background. Combat Engineer 12 Bravo. 18 Charlie (Engineer Sergeant) with 3rd Special Forces Group. Worked as a Heavy Breacher with a special unit within the Army Special Operations Command.

8:08- Tretter joined the Commanders in Extremis Forces. Survived a helicopter crash in Iraq.

9:25-Understanding the compounding struggles of all of the concussions. Prolonged exposure, retirement, and realization

14:20- Medical Marijuana and creative output.  

20:20-Issues with memory and placing memories in proper chronological order.  

25:08-Difference between sports concussions and concussions received by blast waves.

27:00-New York Times article on PTSD being misdiagnosed most likely being TBI. Area’s of the brain damaged by TBI.

32:29-Doctors misdiagnosing TBI, and not factoring the cumulative effects of the blast waves on the brain.

44:05-Servicemembers who claim PTSD falsely, sucking up resources for induvial who need it.  Solutions to fixing this issue.

1:02:28-Changing our approach to care for TBI. Potentially changing the name to Post Blast Wave Concussion Syndrome.

1:25:51-Finding a sense of purpose. Getting back to the basics. Utilizing creativity.

1:34:02-The positive effects of Cannabis on the brain, and the politics behind keeping Marijuana illegal when it heals.

Below are links for some of the articles referenced by Dan Brown during the podcast:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-more-physical-than-psychological.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/military-misconduct-ptsd.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html

Hemingway's Brain

http://whqr.org/post/coastline-hemingways-suicide-incorrectly-attributed-alcoholism-and-bipolar-disorder#stream/0

Brain/Vestibular Therapy in Dallas

http://cerebrum.com/

CBD/Canabis for Seizures sited research studies within article

https://www.projectcbd.org/article/medical-marijuana-seizures-sulak-saneto-goldstein

Penn State Neuroscientist and Engineers find link between Seizures and Migraines

http://news.psu.edu/story/332549/2014/10/30/research/link-seen-between-seizures-and-migraines-brain

Hormone therapy for TBI

http://waftbi.org/

Introduction audio is from the NRA series “Patriot Profiles” with Army Special Operations veteran Scot Spooner speaking: https://www.nratv.com/series/patriot-profiles/episode/patriot-profiles-season-3-episode-11-forward-march

Kevin Tretter:

https://warriorwoven.com

https://www.instagram.com/warrior_woven

Dan Brown:

The Dangerzone Podcast on Sound Cloud, ITunes, and YouTube.

https://www.instagram.com/danielthebarbarian

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

GRP 23-Operators, Special Forces Selection,

Below is an excerpt from the episode. From Mike Glover the show’s co-host, and Kevin T who is a 20 year Special Forces veteran:

So me and Kev were Snipers on the same detachment. That was Iraq 08, we were in the CIF at the time. Kevin was in a helicopter crash. We were on the same team, you guys were doing an op. I was on the HLZ, and seeing you guys off. I remember making a joke in typical SOF fashion just shooting the shit. I remember saying hey don’t frap in, don’t crash. Literally I think 10 mins later I was heading to QRF, and my SGM was telling me to get everybody ready because we had to go QRF these guys because they just got in a helicopter crash.

So they had two helicopters, NAFSOC’s MH-60’s which is their version of it. There set up kept us alive. Their door gunners kept us in where typically we would have had our feet hanging off the sides. Two helo’s infilled into a FOB (Forward Operating Base) the second helicopter hopped a power line. They thought we were taking incoming, and you felt it just the noise how intense it was. Got heavy on the stick and literally nose was just down into the lead helicopters tail rotor which dislodged it, and severed one of the team members in half and caused quite a bit of destruction around it.

That night we lost one of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Force guys and I think everybody was wounded except for one of our teammates who was next to the sniper who got cut in half that same propeller swatted him on the ass, and knocked him over. I think everybody took shrapnel, yea we were covered in blood and diesel fuel just crawling out of there.  

Send questions to podcast@globalrecon.net

Kevin T’s Instagram: SofRunner

Mike Glover’s Website: www.fieldcraftsurvival.com

Mike Glover’s Facebook: FieldCraftLLC

Mike Glover’s Instagram Accounts: SofSurvivor , FieldCraftSurvival

Mike Glover’s Twitter: IgSofSurvivor

John Hendricks website: www.globalrecon.net

John Hendricks Facebook: FB Recon

John Hendricks Instagram Accounts: IgRecon, GlobalRecon_INC

John Hendricks Twitter: IgRecon

Music provided by Caspian: www.caspianmusic.net

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