(Note: This is the first half of a longer podcast. Also, we experienced sound quality troubles recording this episode, so we apologize in advance!)
In this episode, we discuss:
*What’s changed and what’s stayed the same in the Marine Corps since Nick enlisted in 1999
*The enduring phenomenon of “Old Corps” vs “New Corps”
*The role that social media plays in perpetuating this dichotomy
*Social media’s general effects on the Marine Corps
*Nick’s experience at recruit training and the School of Infantry-West
*His views on the oft-repeated fleet phrase “Forget everything you learned at [insert school or course name].”
*Nick’s thoughts on the gap between what’s taught in formal schools and what’s practiced in the fleet
*What drew Nick to the infantry
*Nick’s time as a rifleman in Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, before 9/11
*His experiences training under severe resource constraints
*Corporals Jose Pagan and Sergio Alvarado, the fireteam leaders Nick took to war in Operation Iraqi Freedom-I
*The story of how Nick became a rifle squad leader
*Nick’s thoughts on going to war with a two-fire team squad
*His experiences on the first day of the war
*Nick’s first firefight and the events behind the decision-forcing case (DFC) Sandstorm
*Nick’s harrowing decision of having to leave behind a fireteam to guard an immobilized amphibious assault vehicle
*The events of the battle and decision-forcing case Devil’s Ditch
*Nick’s proudest moment as a Marine leader
*The events for which Lance Corporal Joseph Perez would receive the Navy Cross
*Nick’s squad in the Iraqi town of Diwaniyah and the disheartening events that colloquially became known as “Operation Donkey Freedom”
*Nick’s training in and experiences with crowd control in Iraq
*The qualities that make a great squad leader
*The differences between Nick’s first and second tours in Iraq
*Nick’s transition from squad leader to platoon sergeant
*His expectations of his platoon commander and squad leaders
*The serious discipline problems that Nick witnessed in his platoon, both stateside and in Ramadi, Iraq, and how he addressed them
*How these experiences shaped Galvan as a leader
Links and Notes
If you’d like to get in touch with Nick, please send us an email at thewarfightingsociety@gmail.com.
Lance Corporal Joseph Perez’s Navy Cross citation
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/3633
“Crowd Control”, Nick’s essay (Chapter 8) in Marines at War: Stories from Afghanistan and Iraq
https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=796398
Update: At the request of the author, we have removed “The Platoon Sergeant” essay.
