160th Gun Pilot, Saddam Capture, Jessica Lynch Raid, Vehicle Interdictions, Danger Close Shooting, AH-6 & MH-6 Pilot, DFC, Silver Star, CW5 Steve Lapping (Round 2)

Go to www.HelloFresh.com/50combatstory and use code 50combatstory for 50% off plus free shipping to get delicious and healthy meals that you can make at home with your family in no time and add some variety to what you serve! Our family has used Hello Fresh for years! ======= Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear a second round Combat Story with long-time Night Stalker from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), Steve Lapping. Steve spent 31 years in Army Aviation, including two decades in 160th at the tip of the spear flying the MH-6 and AH-6. This second round interview is chalked full of combat scenarios that Steve found himself in across 15 combat deployments, this time focusing primarily on his time flying guns for 160th. We talk vehicle interdictions, weapon malfunctions, danger close shots near women and children, a Dukes of Hazard-like chase, weaponeering, and more!  Steve also shares his experiences on the Saddam Hussein capture (including something I’d never heard before about the aftermath of that operation) and the somber experience covering ground forces as they recovered the remains of Americans who didn’t survive the Jessica Lynch capture. Many will recall our first interview with Steve, which was a clear favorite for so many listeners and seen or heard by over 200K people, as we touched on Steve’s childhood, decision to join the military (that story’s a great one where the advice he receives comes from an unexpected role model), and his combat experiences in Objectives REINDEER and LEADVILLE, which included a DFC.  One thing that impressed me so much about Steve beyond being a CW5 and the unbelievable number of years he spent “rowing the boat” as he puts it (which is a reference to being at the very tip of the spear), is his humility and how he put his family as close to first as the mission will allow, wrapping up a storied career with the same wife and his children still by his side.  With that, please enjoy this (second) wild ride from the cockpit of one of the baddest aircraft on the planet (no bias of course!) with Steve Lapping. ======= Find Ryan Online: - Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory - Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combats... - Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory - Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial - Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial - Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus - Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Find Steve Lapping Online: - Learn more about  Steve: https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/71550  ======= Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro  00:53 - Guest Introduction (Steve Lapping) 02:39 - Interview begins 05:12 - Connection with Pete Blaber 08:55 - Training in calmness 10:21 - Good and bad leaders 13:42 - 9/11 17:10 - The Black Swarm 20:55 - Little Birds and A-10's 26:05 -  9 Lines 27:46 - Sadam Hussein Capture 36:20 - Sadam Hussein post-mission  38:06 - Hello Fresh Ad 39:50 - Danger close shots 54:43 - First time pulling the trigger on a live target 01:02:12 - Training to take a life 01:12:48 - Layers of Management  01:15:24 - Jessica Lynch 01:26:18 - Ground Force and SAS mission 01:38:28 - Ticket on the airfield 01:42:49 - Jumping into trees 01:48:50 - Sentimental Items and do it all again 01:50:00 - Family relations during deployments 01:54:01 - Listener comments and shout outs