My First Combat Deployment | U.S. Army In Afghanistan

This is the 3rd video of my “life as a Soldier” series. Here I talk all about my first combat deployment, which was to Afghanistan during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. I wanted to talk about this with you as if we were on a ruck together and hypothetically you ask, “hey man, what was your first deployment like?” Well… 12-months in the desert, limited communications with home, and constant day-to-day operations. I hope you guys get something out of the video! Definitely go check out the first two videos two for more context/
Chapter 1: Joining the Army - • Why I Joined the U.S. ...
Chapter 2: My First Duty Station - • My First Duty Station ...
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***All views and opinions on this topic are my own, and are not representative of any of the US Army’s official policies.
#usarmy #soldier #military

[@elbowdestruction9691]

Sir, I can’t thank you enough for these videos. They are very educational for me, as a new 11B in the 82nd. The last video you made, just made helped me to understand that as long as you just keep going, everything will be fine. This video, you talked about going on deployment and being away from your wife and 4 kids for 12 months. And man I can’t even begin to think about how hard that must have been on you mentally. I’ve “Been away” from my wife for 8 months. But the whole time I had some level of communication. Usually on the weekends during Infantry OSUT, you get your phone for like 30 minutes or an hour, or even 2 hours depending how your drill sergeant is feeling. And then during there was HBL during Christmas, and I got to see her at my graduation at both Infantry and Airborne. And on the 31st, I’m finally going to go back home to get her and all my household goods, and we’re gonna live together again at long last. Anyways. These videos help me to look at how my future is possibly going to go and it really helps me to just calm down, and ride the lightning. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I can’t wait to hear more. It’s been super beneficial to me.

[@EngineerfifeninerO]

Can’t stress enough early career development. Do all little shit. Correspondence Courses, easy awards out there you can get. Say yes to classes! Civilian education!

[@elbowdestruction9691]

@@EngineerfifeninerO Everyone’s been telling me to go to every school the army has to offer. So yeah if they offer it, I’m going to say yes!

[@DysentaryGary22]

@@elbowdestruction9691shoulda talked to the ranger liaison at airborne

[@TheTSFChannel]

​@@elbowdestruction9691 Don't wait for them to offer. Plan your career out and pursue those blocks you need to check. Read other platoon MOS manuals like the 19D and 19K books to understand the similarities and differences between other companies in your battalion. Chances are you'll be teamed up at the company level at some point and it behooves everyone, even the Privates, to know wtf is going on. You'll find leadership tries, but they have more important shit to do than explain every little thing. And at the end of the day, remember that "character is action." Be, Know, Do. It's not BS.

[@elbowdestruction9691]

@@TheTSFChannel thank you for the reply, it really means a lot to me that a ton of people have actually been where I am and can give me solid feedback and advice. As much information as I can possibly get about doing my job, I’ll take it. I just want to do my job. And do it right.

[@jefejeffwell1113]

Hey bro, big news. I’ve been waiting on a waiver for over a year and a half. Kept hearing “no,” but kept trying anyways. It was finally approved last week and I’m getting ready to head to MEPS for my contract and last physical! Thanks for the content to help keep my mind focused on what needs to be done. Get Gritty, boys!

[@GrittySoldier]

That’s awesome news brother congrats!

[@emmanuelawosusi2365]

​@@GrittySoldier thanks for the great story

[@wasntethereum]

Didn't realize you got a purple heart holy moly! I can't wait for the next video in this mini series of yours!

[@eaglet6703]

The good ol Army strong era. Missed it

[@corygodfrey7881]

I really appreciate your humility and perspective in looking at lessons learned and not ego or comparisons. You motivate a lot of us in the military.

[@GrittySoldier]

Glad to hear it man 👊

[@emmanuelawosusi2365]

​@@GrittySoldier how do I become a army ranger

[@ogreacts7220]

​​@@emmanuelawosusi2365 tell your recruiter that's the career path you want. Score at least a 105 GT score on the ASVAB and make sure you get whats called an option 40 contract. Best of luck. Rangers Lead The Way!

[@tabitha4048]

I appreciate your openness and honesty, and the details you mentioned!! And your understanding of the experience of your wife while you were away was touching. I hope y’all the best and that you’ve grown as close as possible through all of those experiences! Thanks for this video

[@HARDERNOTSMARTER8985]

Outstanding!

[@Brett33]

Just discovered your channel a couple of days ago. Thank you for sharing your story.

[@johnleong4096]

I love this series, eagerly awaiting the next one!

[@bman012clutch4]

I really enjoy listening to your videos. Keep them coming!

[@man20van]

Love the content Sir! I love hearing people’s stories from their careers.

[@tonyk1amt806]

Loving this series, thanks for sharing your history, looking forward to the next chapter and hearing about your Purple Heart.

[@cgsai2008]

Thank you for posting this video and keeping it 💯 real. This was one chapter of your career but it seems like the growth you experienced really sprung you forward. Keep up the great content 👍🏽🇺🇸.

[@masonh6651]

Please keep making stories like this great to listen to.

[@robinj7558]

Thank you for sharing- I think the content you provide has so many shared parallels to us who are serving, have served and those looking come in. I also think it cld help those who do not know what we really do in the Army.😊

[@asherseiling8101]

I love how you have taken a whole new approach to these types of videos about the experience in the military, instead of making it trendy and seeking viewers. You tell the stories in a way meant to illustrate your life experiences, and for others to learn from them.

[@carsongrover9924]

Your videos are very educational, motivational, inspirational and you make a great military mentor

[@druxytv]

I just wanna tell you the thumbnails are always so good. Makes me want to click every time and the content always makes me stay for the whole video. Appreciate you for the stories, keep up the good work!

[@GrittySoldier]

Really glad man I put thought into them!

[@kyleparkinson1413]

You are seriously the GOAT gritty! I look up to you a lot and your videos have made me a better man. I just enlisted and ship for boot camp on May 30th and was wondering what I should do to be in best shape for it?

[@snooproach8500]

I’m really enjoying the switch up of content. 100k is just around the corner!🤘

[@GrittySoldier]

😂 we’ll see. Thanks for the support 🙏

[@thetaforceone9738]

It would be interesting to see how many subscribers are civilians with no military background, Veterans, or currently active.

[@pvtsturgill911]

Man you're so good at making military content that I can't remember sitting in my car after a long day of running after getting food for my girlfriend and I and watching this and intrigued to every second! I'm going to meps tomorrow and this gets me even more hyped for basic training at fort Benning!!

[@charlesh777]

You are doing such a wonderful service with your videos. Especially to those who may not have been deployed to a combat zone. Service is obviously a big part of who you are. I am a combat infantry veteran of Vietnam. We would be out on missions for 2 to 4 weeks at a time. Like you said, lots of boring time punctuated hot action. Years ago, I read a book that related combat missions to boredom followed by being in a fatal car crash every 3 days. Very, very true. Thank you for your service...and continued service.

[@commosection]

Always interesting to see how you developed into the leader you are today after watching your videos for over a year now i must admit the way you have developed came from a different perspective then i thought. I guess that's why you never judge a book by it's cover.I'm 60 now but in life you can never have to much knowledge about life. I have applied many of your fitness videos into my own fitness regiment not to pass Ranger school but to just survive another 10 plus years :) , From my time in the military i found myself like a sponge to good leaders officer/NCO types who were great motivators and challenged me TO BE ALL I CAN BE.In the 80's and 90's lets face it most leaders i wouldn't follow them into a bar. So keep up the good work. I just wish we had the internet and people like you to guide us back when i was in.

[@warrenreid6109]

Thanks for sharing your story.

[@wallacemcnish7681]

Another great video, thanks for posting

[@PeterKNoone]

Awesome story. It sounds like you grew a lot on that first deployment. So cool that got home to see the birth of your daughter. I can't imagine not having been around for my 2 girls entering the world. Subscribed!

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

21:19 That's right! Which and old saying is "Behind every great man there's a great woman." for stuff like this which thank you both!

[@curtisdavis8594]

Thanks for sharing!!! 😊

[@achilles2536]

You’re the best bro, thanks for starting these

[@GrittySoldier]

🤜 🤛

[@papsterwap]

Amazing video. Please continue your series and go through your challenge coins or achievements along the way!!

[@GrittySoldier]

🫡

[@jessecollins5072]

Thanks for another excellent video, sir. I think a good future topic would be your green to gold journey.

[@GrittySoldier]

I’ll do one for that 👍

[@duncanharding8836]

Really excellent video, can't wait for the next one! Could you talk more about some of your leadership experiences on deployment in some of these? I think that would be great to hear more about.

[@GrittySoldier]

Absolutely

[@Rnx-lt9hw]

40 pull ups at airborne PT … did I pass ? 😂. Stay safe and thank you to you and your family!

[@Javi-du7lb]

we need the ranger school & RASP origin story too gritty!!!

[@parawill7074]

GWOT was very complicated from a combat perspective. Gritty pretty much sums up the typical deployment because Iraq and A-Stan were combat deployments, but we weren’t fighting a war. The vast majority of the conflict was based around stability operations under combat conditions. Timing also determined the amount of combat you actually got into because the enemy had their periods of not doing any heavy fighting. You don’t pick and choose when and where your unit goes, so every unit will have a different experience despite having served in the same AO at one time or another. I was in the Army 8 yrs prior to 9/11 and I can say that the training we did over those years prepared me for the rough living conditions in Iraq in 2003. It was more of a mental grind than actual combat and when combat came our way, we were thankful for it because we trained for it for so many years and needed to experience it.

[@survivetolife]

Good stuff. Thanks!

[@gregballendine5099]

Thanks for sharing Brother

[@GrittySoldier]

👊

[@29mcg]

You’re a big inspiration to me, gritty!

[@GrittySoldier]

Im glad the information is useful man. 🙏 🫡

[@JohnnyTsunami566]

Same man! I plan an joining this summer. Bro is a machine and the target of where I hope to be someday.

[@29mcg]

@@JohnnyTsunami566 same here man. Best of luck to you!

[@michaelmoschitta174]

So glad you got to see your baby being born. I will never forget the same.

[@GrittySoldier]

⚔️

[@GU_671]

Great video & very informative , I appreciate the content you give to us , wether were planning on joining or are already in , you give good insight on all things military , I have a question though , which branch would be best , marines or army , I’ve always preferred boots on ground , but I hear a lot of bad things about joining the marines , how different units have toxic leadership , or how you don’t get paid as much , & especially the longevity of your body going through it for consecutive years , but army to me seems less stressful & focuses more on teamwork than leadership , I’ve always wanted to do a combat job , but I’m stuck between the two branches , any advice ? thank you once again for pumping out videos for all of us to learn from 👌🏽🔥

[@jonvro4022]

Not speaking from experience, but the marines seem to have way less opportunities than the Army. The Army has way more courses, schools and cash bonuses. Plus from what I’ve read, the Marines have a bottleneck at E-4, and the chances of you ranking up beyond that is low. Plus currently there are no war that the US is committed to so garrison life of any combat MOS’ is pretty rough.

[@GrittySoldier]

I think the army has the most diverse options of career opportunity and potential experience. I might just be bias, but I’m Army all the way.

[@MBwelding]

Funny how different things where back then we didn’t have basically anything they seem to have now and families really had to suffer through it I was fortunate my wife’s dad was 35 years in the marines and active when I met her and we started a family so we both were being deployed back to back so she was pretty well adapted to the situation but she had issues developed from that and it’s taken allot over the years for her to deal with it but like you said it was pretty boring most the time with burst of let’s get it on you’ve done well sticking through it though I kinda wish I did looking back now

[@kt-4383]

8:49 In relation to this topic. In my month in Kirkuit, we had bathrooms in our CHUs (we were attached to an AF EOD unit), but they flooded everyday even if you didn’t use them. 😂 12:30 Kids were pretty much cool, we would get grenades thrown at us once/twice a month but they did almost no damage to our vehicles. 16:15 Sounds like EVP. They were really deadly in Mosul.

[@defions4208]

My dad was in Khandahar in 03-04 was a 12 month deployment that rolled over into a 17 month.

[@noahray3673]

I think the proudest moment for me was my Dad pinning my wings on me at Airborne school

[@michaelstewart6652]

Ever consider doing group meet up runs or something around the fort Bragg area ? You’re pretty popular around base I could see it being a big turn out

[@GrittySoldier]

Actually yeah I have thought about it. I think we’ll do something like that soon. Maybe when I get some Gritty Soldier coins made 😉

[@thiccforlife]

Hey Sir, I am a 17 year old senior, graduating this year. I have always wanted to join the military since I was about 4, and for a long time I though about being a marine. I have been watching videos though about how the Marine Corps is not what it used to, and I saw in the comments that the 75th Ranger Regiment is what you thought the Marine Corps would be. What are your thoughts on this, and what would you recommend for me? I definitely want to serve in some capacity, and I would love to be a ranger. What is your advice for me? As always thanks for your service, you are a hero. God Bless and thanks for your time!!

[@jdkgcp]

Speaking of kids throwing rocks, in Tunisia (for our foreign jump wings) and training the Tunisian "special forces" (giant air quotes there on the word special) we were doing a platoon acclimation run and some kid chucked a rock and smashed my Bravo team leader straight in the head (stitches and everything). I was the Alpha team leader at the time and immediately ran after him. I was fast..in my world and to my knowledge nobody could out run me even in boots. This G-damn kid ran so fast he blew his own flip flops off. So I stopped and he was a few hundred meters ahead of me and he stopped and turned around and looked at me. I took one of his flip flops, held it up so he could see it and chucked it down the hill side. I took the other flip flop and held it up, put it in my pocket, turned around and walked away. Kid started balling his eyes out.

[@kamikazeestrategic5107]

Shipping to basic June 5th joining the national guard cause I’m a junior!

[@chuckwagon7354]

Every time I fire up one of your vids you are rucking. You must be half way round the world by now. Your footwear spend must be huge 😁

[@MAC-ws8fz]

"Gritty", it would be nice if you identified the state and area in which you made the video.

[@youtubewatcher9469]

Alright, these vids are great and all, but I’m going to say what we are all thinking: Where are the pics of you wearing those JNCO jeans?

[@matthewflores6561]

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@user-ox9yv6ql7b]

Love you from India 🇮🇳

[@jodyfree953]

100!!

[@jeffk6941]

Some people think deployments used to be all beards and ballcaps. Alot of folks had a similar experience to you. And, not enough can be said about the spouses who held it down at home with little to no contact for weeks on end. I couldn't have done what my wife did.

[@rexw2203]

Yeah man...this 'getting older' thing is...the worst. Retired E-6 from USAF, 1991-2013. Names and details get very 'fuzzy' but I never forget the faces. Having to deal with physical and mental degradation/degrade. My run getting VERY slow and joints starting to fail. It's been great tuning in an listening in to other points of view on military service. My father was US Army from 1965-1969 and he taught the Artillery Forward Observer Course at Ft. Sill(Silly) so the US Army is close to the heart for that reason. I love how everybody's just GOT to refer to it as the D-FAC or "dining facility" and we used to call it the "chow hall"...can't call it THAT now I guess. XD. And...yeah...the boredom of being deployed. For my part in being deployed with the USAF for Southern Watch was constant boredom and long...long days. It made you complacent and sometimes even to the point of harming you mentally/emotionally. Until that ONE TIME...we lost 19 people in one moment of one day. Six of whom were brothers that were from my section. I'd know them by their voice on the phone or seeing their silhouette walking across the flight line just from their walk. THOSE names and faces are forever SEARED into my psyche.

[@austinshannon4197]

I only have 136 left in the army IRR.

[@unclebones]

Hi, one query from "over the pond", British Armed forces complete standard 6 month Combat Tours/Peacekeeping only exceeding this if the Tour is of a low kinetic value. Why have the US Armed Forces considering its vast size, always completed 12 month deploymenrs? Agreed, our tours used to cone around fairly often, at its peak, Training 18 months, then on tour for 6, etc.

[@richardexton816]

So I have a question, what would you say to a E-2 going to ranger school straight out of OSUT with no leadership skills with very little army knowledge in general?

[@ghostferatu6241]

What happened to the 100 miler?

[@lance8730]

Never let some body in your Formation

[@lance8730]

Worst day 10 people died.

[@brohughes]

The Coast Guard is cool... But i am moving from the CG to Army so what do I know 😂

[@derikvonrecum1397]

What is your Branch now as an officer?

[@austinshannon4197]

136 days I meant

[@ChowhallmsqdcUSMC]

Have you been to musa qaleh district afghanistan

[@charlesridgeway7670]

You had to be in 5-2 SBCT 2009-2010.

[@danielvillarreal6610]

When you mention having all your weapons and equipment on it reminds about what I read from dumb American journalists who describe “heavily armed” US soldiers. I call them out on that and ask them to please distinguish between “heavily” and “lightly” armed (and I guess “mediumly” as well!), because I think that they’re either trying to be sensationalist or they’re frustrated action novel writers. I cite my own Army experience and training and inform them that I’ve never heard of a combat order anytime, anywhere, in which the Commander or Leader says “Men, we’re going heavily armed!” Maybe that means each soldier is carrying 2 M16s.

[@marc2638]

Of.all the things you've done being married to the same woman still is the one I'm impressed with most lol which is awesome BTW

[@ride-time]

How did the wife take the news that you wanted to reenlist? 😅

[@GrittySoldier]

She was ok with it, we knew it was a good way to take care of the family. 👍

[@michaelcelovsky3136]

Is a pushup program possible? You have a good pushup video but I feel a structured plan without any room for guessing or leniency will really help.