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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 wideranging and humble perspective into the world of someone who went from being a SEAL to a 160th aviator as much as I did.

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Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle

Find Mike Rutledge Online:
Learn more about Mike https://www.westpointcoh.org/intervie...

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