What really happens when a U.S. Marine fighter pilot faces off with a Russian MiG-29 at 8Gs? In this week’s episode of Urban Valor, we sit down with Major Ed Rush, a decorated Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot with nearly 2,000 hours of tactical flight time and over 50 combat missions under his belt.

Raised by a legendary basketball coach and an NBA referee, Ed’s journey took him from a high-pressure family legacy to the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode, he shares how a lie at a bar landed him in the Marines, what it feels like to be shot at during takeoff, and the second-by-second breakdown of an epic simulated dogfight against a Russian MiG-29.

Ed didn’t just fly F/A-18s—he became the #1 dogfighting instructor in the Marine Corps, helped shape the F-35 training program, and later launched a successful entrepreneurial career by applying fighter pilot tactics to leadership and life.

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Video Chapters: 
00:00 Surviving 8G Combat Against a MiG-29  
00:18 Meet Ed Rush: Marine Corps Major & F/A-18 Pilot  
01:00 Growing Up in a Family of Legends  
09:29 A Lie That Changed His Life  
16:32 First Steps into the Marine Corps  
30:20 Flying the Legendary F/A-18 Hornet  
44:40 Breaking Down the MiG-29 Dogfight  
59:14 The Most Dangerous Moments in Combat Flying  
1:08:41 Balancing War & Fatherhood  
1:15:10 From Warfighter to Online Entrepreneur  
1:24:13 Ed Rush’s Advice on Finding Purpose After Service  

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