Today, we hear the Combat Story of Firat Batman, a Swedish citizen from Kurdish roots who spent years with the YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting one of the most vile terrorist groups of our time: ISIS.
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I found Firat when his friend, another Swede turned freedom fighter named Mike, reached out. Mike’s introductory email sums up Firat perfectly:
“I am writing you for a friend of mine who would never reach out but his story is amazing. He spent years fighting ISIS in Syria with the YPG. He is not a war tourist!! He left Sweden for Syria after ISIS murdered his cousins and uncle in Syria.”
Firat fought alongside coalition forces on the front lines liberating cities from ISIS control. He did this, however, with very few resources, training, ammunition, funding, and support. What he witnessed in terms of ISIS brutality is horrific and has left its scars.
He has an amazing story that will inspire anyone who wonders how you can change your life and do something about the evil things in this world.
I hope you enjoy this Combat Story as much as I did. If you enjoy Combat Story, I hope you’ll subscribe so we can keep producing these.
This is the first in a two part interview with Firat to make sure we spend sufficient time in his multiple deployments.
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Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
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Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
1:01 - A word from our Sponsor (LoanSteady)
2:27 - Guest introduction (Firat Batman)
4:01 - Interview begins
4:35 - Early family life living in Sweden with Kurdish background
10:03 - Being an immigrant and having family in Syria when ISIS formed
14:34 - The personal experience that draws you into the military
21:53 - A memorable ride to the airport to deploy
29:59 - Writing a letter to your mom in case you don’t come back
33:56 - Arriving in Kurdistan, the land of his people, for the first time
39:05 - Going straight to the Syrian border after just arriving in Iraq
56:34 - Initial training experiences
1:15:13 - The first time he was told to bring his weapon and be ready
1:21:18 - First time in contact and what it was like to see ISIS remains
1:27:18 - Lead up to his first major operation
1:34:14 - First conflict with ISIS
1:46:33 - The carnage ISIS left behind
1:57:39 - What it was like going back home to Sweden for the first time
2:01:40 - Listener comments and shout outs