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Today we hear the Combat Story of Brian Slade, a former AH-64 Apache pilot and serving Air Force Search and Rescue pilot with multiple combat deployments both taking and saving lives.

Brian moved out of his house at the age of 15 and learned to make it on his own and carries the same conviction and passion in almost everything he does. He’s written a book called “Cleared Hot: Lessons Learned about Life, Love, and Leadership While Flying the Apache Gunship in Afghanistan and Why I Believe a Prepared Mind Can Help Minimize PTSD” that goes into greater detail about his combat experiences.

Brian showed me the gun tape from inside his cockpit after his front seater was shot in the leg, he lost an engine, and lost flight controls and it was amazing, bringing back the feel of the aircraft and the borderline chaos of radios during a gunfight. 

We spend time in this episode on how to remove the weight and burden of what Brian aptly calls the ‘insidious backpack’ that many of us carry from experiences down range or just at home, which is part of a larger effort he’s supporting called Trauma to Triumph to help others deal with this burden.

Brian and I definitely geek out on aviation lingo, aircraft, flight profiles, and emergency procedures and I hope you enjoy this discussion of chaos in the air and overcoming the associated burdens on the ground as much as I did.  

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Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro  00:53 - Guest Introduction (Brian Slade) 02:15 - Interview begins 02:54 - Difficulties in highschool  05:32 - Combat lesson learned through sports 17:47 - Father figures 21:45 - Trauma from a young age 23:58 - Road to enlistment 26:38 - Transition to flying Apache's 30:33 - Hovering and Apache Pilot training 39:27 -  Brian's time in the National Gaurd 41:23 - Afghanistan deployment 44:50 - Power Margin of the Apache in Afghanistan  46:17 - First tough engagement 57:03 - The relationship between air and ground forces 59:15 - Kinds of trauma 01:06:42 - Toughest moment in the pilot seat 01:14:20 - Guntape 01:16:26 - Toughest moment resumed  01:33:41 - Transfer to the Air Force 01:38:01 - Retirement coming 01:39:29 - Any sentimental items 01:41:40 - Would you do it all again 1:42:44 -  Listener comments and shout outs