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Today we hear the Combat Story of Mark Wales, a former Australian SAS (Special Air Service) officer who spent 16 years in the Australian Military, including six years in the elite SAS. He led special operators as a Troop Commander and completed 10 deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, Lebanon, and the Solomon Islands.
After separating from the military, Mark battled depression and stress disorders but found a way to power through and turn his life around. Mark would go on to earn an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School of Business and then worked at McKinsey & Company.
He has since written the book Survivor: Life in the SAS, was on Australian Survivor (where he met his wife) and competed in the Bear Grylls’ World’s Toughest Race: Eco Challenge Fiji 2019, which I highly recommend watching on Amazon with your family. During this episode, we compare the experience on Survivor and Eco Challenge to SAS Selection.
And since all this isn’t enough, Mark also founded Kill Kapture, a tough-luxury ecommerce brand and is now a sought after keynote and motivational speaker.
I hope you enjoy Mark’s honest, self deprecating, and relatable Combat Story as much as I did.
#combatstory #SAS #specialoperations #markwales #deltaforce #jsoc #australianSAS
Find Mark online:
Website - MarkWales.com.au markwales.com.au/
Book - Survivor: www.amazon.com/Survivor-Life-...
LinkedIN: / mark-wales-69a90736
Instagram: @mark.a.wales
Kill Kapture: Website www.killkapture.com/pages/our... | Instagram @kill_kapture
Find Ryan online:
Follow on Instagram @combat_stories ( / combat_stories )
Email ryan@combatstory.com
Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Mark Wales bio
1:42 - Interview begins
2:32 - Combat Story (in a way): Going to a brothel at 14 years old
4:37 - Growing up in Western Australia
8:19 - What is the pipeline for an officer?
16:42 - The view of 9/11 from an Aussie's perspective
18:08 - Training on how to throw a grenade
21:13 - The mission in East Timor
24:35 - Combat Story #1: Mark’s first patrol in East Timor
27:27 - Being deployed to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands
30:20 - The road to SAS and Selection
31:24 - “Every day that I survived, I was like, ‘Wow. I survived another day.’ ”
32:21 - SAS Officer Module
35:04 - Difficult moments during Selection
36:53 - Mark’s self-described weaknesses
39:39 - “It’s about 30% Physical, 70% Mental, and then your personal characteristics and values you bring.”
42:45 - First time being deployed to the Middle East
45:45 - For a team of six SAS guys, how do they feel about doing executive protection?
47:04 - Two more rotations to Afghanistan
49:25 - Combat Story #2: Tracking an HVT in East Timor
51:40 - Combat Story #3: SAS Troop Command in Afghanistan
53:41 - “One of the things we do better than anyone is going to enemy territory and finding out where they are while completely undetected.”
56:03 - “This is super dangerous. We could feel it.”
59:34 - Royal Gurkha Regiment
1:02:18 - “Don’t feel like that was your fault. That stuff can happen no matter how well you plan things.”
1:02:36 - The language of the "unconscious body."
1:03:43 - “One of my greatest strengths is the ability to look at people and know what they are thinking based on the tiny things they’re doing.”
1:05:00 - Combat Story #4: Dangerous experiences in Helmund Province
1:09:35 - What was that like for you coming out of the military?
1:10:16 - “I knew I was so exhausted, and that really damaged me.”
1:11:34 - Applying to business schools in secret
1:13:04 - “[The military's] a hard place. I wouldn’t call it the ‘friendliest’ workplace in the world.”
1:13:44 - How hard was it for you, mentally, to make the break?
1:14:50 - Reinventing the new path
1:16:02 - Combat (Reality Version) Story #5: Getting on Australian Survivor
1:16:40 - Survivor vs SAS Selection?
1:18:13 - What was it like getting kicked off Survivor for someone who never fails?
1:19:20 - Combat (Reality Version) Story #6: Completing World's Toughest Race Fiji 2019 Eco-Challenge
1:20:52 - “That happened to a lot of teams, and it was brutal.”
1:22:00 - Eco-Challenge vs Selection
1:23:40 - Kill Kapture
1:24:24 - What did you carry into combat?
1:26:17 - Would you do it all again?