Urban Valor: the podcast

A U.S. Air Force officer comes face-to-face with armed Taliban fighters on a remote road in Afghanistan... and watches in disbelief as the senior officer beside him unlocks their armored vehicle and opens the door. What happens next is one of the wildest Afghanistan war stories we've heard. In today's Urban Valor Podcast, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Spargur shares his...

In this Urban Valor Podcast, former Army Sergeant First Class Vincent Morales shares his unbelievable journey from growing up around gang violence in Kansas City, Missouri, to fighting through some of the most dangerous experiences of the Iraq War, including the Battle of Mosul, the 2004 Mosul dining facility bombing, and devastating roadside IED explosions. Vincent opens up about losing fellow so...

At just 18 years old, US Marine Corps veteran Manny De Anda witnessed the unimaginable during his deployment to Fallujah, Iraq. After a devastating explosion involving a 7-ton military truck carrying female Marines, Manny and his fellow Marines were among the first to arrive on scene. What he witnessed during that Iraq War deployment would stay with him for the rest of his life. In this episode of...

In today's Irban Valor Podcast, Octavio talks about combat in Iraq, repeated IED attacks, losing Marines in his unit, being engulfed in flames, the medevac and ICU experience, learning to walk again, adapting to life with severe burns and a hand amputation, and the impact his injuries had on his wife and children. Octavio also opens up about what happened after the uniform came off...struggli...

Marine veteran Alex Hernandez survived an RPG blast while fighting in Fallujah, Iraq — an attack that severely wounded his tank commander and left Alex covered in shrapnel and blood. In this episode, Alex tells the story of going from a kid in East LA with no clear direction to joining the United States Marine Corps after 9/11, becoming an M1 Abrams tank mechanic, deploying to Iraq, and finding hi...

Marine Staff Sergeant Tony Storey served 21 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including combat deployments to Somalia and Iraq. At just 21 years old, he led Marines into Somalia during Operation Restore Hope, survived a bullet striking the sandbag beside his head, and later endured a monsoon that flooded his fighting position with human remains. In this episode, of Urban Valor, Tony shares what it w...

Army Major Mandy Feindt says Navy jet fuel contamination from the Red Hill water crisis poisoned her family — and when she spoke out, the military came after her. In this episode of Urban Valor, Mandy breaks down what happened after her family moved onto Ford Island in Hawaii, began getting severely sick, and later learned they had been exposed to contaminated water connected to the Red Hill fuel...

Marine veteran Peter Caro joined the U.S. Marine Corps expecting to become a mechanic. Instead, he was sent to Iraq as a Motor Transport operator during a time when IEDs were killing drivers across the battlefield. In this Urban Valor interview, Peter shares what it was like serving in Fallujah, driving dangerous roads in Iraq, surviving IED attacks, taking enemy fire, and dealing with the PTSD an...

Navy SEAL Andrew Arrabito sits down to tell the REAL stories behind serving in United States Naval Special Warfare from 2002 to 2012, including time with SEAL Team 5 and SEAL Team 1. In this episode of Urban Valor, he breaks down what BUD/S was really like, the mindset required to survive SEAL training, life as a new guy in the teams, and what combat looked like during deployments overseas. He als...

Marine Corps Sergeant Major Jean-Paul Corville served 22 years in the United States Marine Corps from 1991 to 2013, earning the Bronze Star with Valor and rising to the rank of Sergeant Major. In this episode of Urban Valor, Corville shares Marine Corps boot camp stories, infantry life, combat in Iraq, leadership lessons, disaster response in Japan, and the decision that ultimately changed the cou...

Ronald Long is a United States Marine Corps veteran who served from 2009–2013, leaving the Marines as an E-4 Corporal. In this episode of Urban Valor, Ronald shares his incredible story of joining the U.S. Marines, experiencing combat, surviving an IED explosion, losing a fellow service member beside him, and confronting experiences that would follow him long after the battlefield. But Ronald’s st...

U.S. Army tanker Carlos Manjarrez served as an M1 Abrams armor crewman from 2012 to 2018. In this episode of the Urban Valor Podcast, Carlos shares the story of growing up in San Bernardino, joining the United States Army with a baby on the way, choosing a combat MOS, becoming an Army tanker, and experiencing the wild personalities, leadership, training, and brotherhood that came with life in an a...

Marcos Estrada went from surviving Chicago gang violence to becoming a United States Marine Master Sergeant—and fighting in Operation Phantom Fury. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Marcos grew up surrounded by poverty, domestic violence, drugs, gangs, and crime. His father battled heroin addiction and spent much of Marcos’ childhood in prison. By 15, Marcos had already been shot at, s...

Marine Corps veteran Keith Johnson served as an electronics surveillance operator during the Vietnam era, intercepting Russian military communications from a highly classified communications center in Morocco. Assigned to 2nd Radio Battalion, Keith monitored the Russian Black Sea Fleet while working inside a facility containing sensitive military intelligence, classified messages, and enormous qua...

Marine Corps machine gunner Matthew Dolan survived a massive IED blast in Fallujah, Iraq and that was only one of several moments that nearly killed him. Today's Urban Valor podcast, Matthew shares what it was like serving as an 0331 Marine machine gunner with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. He discusses deploying to Fallujah, operating as part of a quick reaction force, being shot at by an enemy...

Lito Villanueva went from a junior Air Force cyber specialist to a military contractor in Afghanistan, a special operations communications expert, and eventually a volunteer supporting teams near the front lines of the war in Ukraine. In this episode, of Urban Valor, Lito shares the uncensored story of leaving the U.S. Air Force after two years, landing a $164,500 Afghanistan contractor job at 21,...

Before Dustin Chappel ever stepped onto the battlefield, he had already spent his childhood fighting to survive. Separated from his mother at just two years old, Dustin endured years of abuse, instability, homelessness, and constant moves before eventually dropping out of school and earning his GED. After witnessing the attacks of September 11th, he felt called to serve and joined the U.S. Army as...

Army Veteran Manny Pasillas Lucio shares the combat story that changed his life forever. Born in Mexico and raised in California, Manny grew up navigating family tension, poverty, and the streets of Compton before deciding to join the Army after 9/11. After basic training at Fort Benning, he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he became part of a Stryker infantry unit and later joined a scou...

Marine Corps veteran Alex D’Hue served from 2002 to 2008 and was assigned to Third ANGLICO, where he worked in small fire control teams providing air support while attached to other units. In this episode of Urban Valor, Alex shares the story of his difficult childhood, growing up between America and Belgium, surviving an abusive household, and eventually joining the Marine Corps after 9/11. Alex...

Former Marine Force Recon veteran Kirk Spradely, call sign “Tadpole,” shares his powerful life story...from surviving a brutal childhood and orphanage violence, to becoming a Marine Force Recon operator, working for Blackwater in Iraq, serving in OGA special programs, flying Blackhawk and Apache helicopters, and later supporting the Kurdish military. In this episode of Urban Valor, Kirk opens up a...

Army infantry veteran Tyler Hoover shares the truth about serving in the U.S. Army, going through airborne school, deploying to Iraq, surviving the constant threat of EFPs and IEDs, and trying to come home after war. Tyler opens up to Urban Valor about Army basic training, the culture shock of infantry life, Fort Bragg, the 82nd Airborne, Baghdad in 2008, convoy missions, lead truck gunner danger,...

David Aceron served in the United States Army from 2003 to 2012 as a combat engineer and counter-IED specialist, conducting deadly route clearance missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. His job was simple in theory, but brutal in reality: find the bombs before they found his convoy. As a Husky operator and combat engineer, David spent years hunting hidden IEDs, landmines, command-wire explosives, and r...

Marine Recon veteran Rob Blanton sits down with Urban Valor to share one of the wildest, funniest, and most honest Marine Corps stories we’ve ever had on the channel. From growing up in Santa Rosa, California, to joining the United States Marine Corps almost by accident, to becoming a Force Recon Marine. Rob served in the Marine Corps from 1993 to 2014, retiring as a Master Sergeant. In this inter...

Army Combat Medic Daniel Jimenez served from 2003 to 2023, deploying with the 82nd Airborne into Afghanistan as an 18-year-old medic during the height of the Global War on Terror. In today's Urban Valor's podcast, Daniel shares what it was like to survive Taliban ambushes, treat casualties under fire, face grenades, RPG attacks, firefights, trauma, and the reality of becoming an Army med...

War changes people. In this episode of Urban Valor, Marine veteran Shawn Reed shares his story growing up in violent neighborhoods in St. Louis, joining the United States Marine Corps, fighting in Iraq during the height of the war, surviving brutal combat, and dealing with the aftermath that followed so many Marines home. 👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation. 🗣️ Comment your support...