In 2003, just days before the U.S. invaded Iraq, a US Army base in Kuwait—Camp Pennsylvania - was hit with a deadly insider attack. In this weeks Urban Valor episode, Army Sergeant Major Bart Womack recounts the terrifying night a fellow soldier threw grenades into tents full of sleeping American troops. It was the first insider attack of the Iraq War, and it came from within their own ranks.

But that wasn't the only time Bart faced death. He also survived a tense firefight in the Korean DMZ, where North Korean forces opened fire on his patrol during one of the most dangerous standoffs of the Cold War era.

From a DMZ shootout in Korea to a fatal betrayal in Kuwait, this is the true story of an American soldier who witnessed war before it even officially began.

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Video chapters: 
00:00 - JSA Gunfire & Tension in Korea
01:06 - Early Life & Accidental Recruitment
03:16 - Basic Training and Airborne Decision
05:40 - Korea Assignment & Sports in the Army
07:18 - Becoming a Drill Sergeant at 23
09:35 - Female vs Male Trainees in Boot Camp
13:28 - Assignment to the Joint Security Area (JSA)
16:15 - Thanksgiving Firefight & Chinese Defector
20:22 - Casualties & Aftermath in the JSA
23:12 - The Old Guard & Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
29:22 - Ranger Instructor: Choosing Training Value
33:26 - 101st Deployment to Kuwait, 2003
38:31 - The Night of the Attack Begins
41:15 - Searching for the Enemy Within
45:42 - Friendly Fire Incident Explained
51:24 - The Apprehension of Sergeant Akbar
56:13 - Discovering Personal Near-Death Experience
1:02:11 - Akbar’s Diary & Radical Motives
1:09:00 - Final Thoughts & Emotional Reflection
1:17:38 - Message to the World: Embedded Enemy
1:33:38 - How to Help: Fight for Purple Hearts

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