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Today we hear the Combat Story of Patrick Kinsella and his five deployments with 1st Ranger Battalion to Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Not only do we get to hear of Patrick’s first hand combat experience, which includes nighttime raids on HVTs and Mi-17 crashes, but he also gives us a glimpse into one of the most interesting and relatively unheard of group of special operators in the war: the Afghan Army’s Female Tactical Platoons (FTP).
Patrick spent years fighting in Afghanistan but found his time training and leading the brave women of the FTPs to be the most rewarding. The FTPs were Afghan women who volunteered to go through special operations training and selection programs, from basic marksmanship to fast roping to explosives training and more, and who would go out in the darkness with US Special Operations Forces on target.
Patrick continues to support the women of the FTPs who were evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021 to help them find a place in the US and share their incredible stories. We’ll share some resources to help these women who sacrificed so much for us to make a life here in the US now.
I hope you enjoy this selfless Combat Story about so much more than just one man as much as I did.
If you’d like to support these brave and selfless women of the FTP, you can go to www.sistersofservice.org.
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Instagram @pkins175 / pkins175
Sisters of Service:
sistersofservice.org/
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Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
0:57 - Guest introduction (Patrick Kinsella)
2:17 - Interview begins
6:26 - Growing up on military bases and an early love of wildlife
9:52 - Becoming interested in joining the military and choosing the Army
20:47 - Funny story of Patrick’s first operation downrange with 1st Battalion
29:02 - What the Ready Room was like where he was located
31:08 - Combat Story #1 - An ambush at an Iraqi checkpoint and feeling like someone was watching over them
39:49 - First deployment to Afghanistan working with a Delta team and the scariest thing that happened to him in his military career
52:08 - Combat Story #2 - A gunfight and a chase with dogs employed in Afghanistan
1:02:55 - The call to get out and knowing when you are not going to re-enlist
1:04:41 - Afghan Army’s Female Tactical Platoons (FTP) - Patrick’s experience fighting alongside and then later recruiting and training the women
1:17:10 - Why this experience was so rewarding for him
1:24:08 - How people can help and make a positive impact on these women’s lives today
1:29:05 - What did you carry into combat?
1:30:33 - Would you do it all again?
1:37:07 - Listener comments and shout outs