Mike Drop

In Part 3 of Episode 281 of the Mike Drop Podcast , I sit down with Mark Grdovic to talk about what happened after the Iraq invasion—getting pulled out of theater sooner than expected, taking those lessons back to train the next generation of Special Forces, and landing in one of the most unique jobs in the military: running the President’s Emergency Operations Center at the White House . We also...

In Part 3 of Episode 281 of the Mike Drop Podcast, I sit down with Mark Grdovic to talk about what happened after the Iraq invasion—getting pulled out of theater sooner than expected, taking those lessons back to train the next generation of Special Forces, and landing in one of the most unique jobs in the military: running the President’s Emergency Operations Center at the White House. We also ge...

In Part 2 of Episode 281 of the Mike Drop Podcast , I sit down with Special Forces veteran Mark Grecovich to break down the planning and execution behind Operation Viking Hammer . We get into working with Kurdish forces, the complications with Turkey backing out, and how Green Berets adapted on the fly to launch a high-risk mission against an Al-Qaeda–affiliated group in the mountains of northern...

In Part 2 of Episode 281 of the Mike Drop Podcast, I sit down with Special Forces veteran Mark Grecovich to break down the planning and execution behind Operation Viking Hammer. We get into working with Kurdish forces, the complications with Turkey backing out, and how Green Berets adapted on the fly to launch a high-risk mission against an Al-Qaeda–affiliated group in the mountains of northern Ir...

Retired Green Beret, Mark Grdovic shares the largely untold story of what came to be known as "Operation Viking Hammer", a 2003 U.S. Army Special Forces mission in northern Iraq that targeted the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam prior to the main invasion. Working alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, 10th Special Forces Group conducted a coordinated assault on entrenched enemy positions in...

Retired Green Beret, Mark Grdovic shares the largely untold story of what came to be known as "Operation Viking Hammer", a 2003 U.S. Army Special Forces mission in northern Iraq that targeted the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam prior to the main invasion. Working alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, 10th Special Forces Group conducted a coordinated assault on entrenched enemy positions in mountain...

In the final part of this three-part episode of the Mike Drop Podcast, host Mike Ritland wraps up the conversation with former British Army sniper Ted Shirley. Ted shares his path to recovery from severe PTSD through civilian therapy, grounding techniques, EMDR, mindfulness, plant medicines, and years of hard work. He describes backpacking the world, rediscovering music, writing his book Afghanist...

In the final part of this three-part episode of the Mike Drop Podcast, host Mike Ritland wraps up the conversation with former British Army sniper Ted Shirley. Ted shares his path to recovery from severe PTSD through civilian therapy, grounding techniques, EMDR, mindfulness, plant medicines, and years of hard work. He describes backpacking the world, rediscovering music, writing his book Afghanist...

In this intense episode of the Mike Drop Podcast, host Mike Ritland speaks with former British Army sniper Ted Shirley about his 2009–2010 Afghanistan tour. Ted recounts mile-long confirmed kills, massive air assaults, close calls with enemy snipers, the combat high—and the brutal aftermath: severe PTSD, nightmares, aggression, addiction-like urges around killing, suicide attempts, and medical dis...

In this intense episode of the Mike Drop Podcast, host Mike Ritland speaks with former British Army sniper Ted Shirley about his 2009–2010 Afghanistan tour. Ted recounts mile-long confirmed kills, massive air assaults, close calls with enemy snipers, the combat high—and the brutal aftermath: severe PTSD, nightmares, aggression, addiction-like urges around killing, suicide attempts, and medical dis...

Ted Shirley, a former British Army sniper with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and author of Afghanistan Sniper: Trauma on the Frontline and Beyond, recounts his two brutal tours in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, where he became one of the UK’s deadliest snipers. He opens up about the psychological toll of combat, including PTSD, addiction to the kill, substance abuse, and suicide attempts, and shares...

Ted Shirley, a former British Army sniper with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and author of Afghanistan Sniper: Trauma on the Frontline and Beyond, recounts his two brutal tours in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, where he became one of the UK’s deadliest snipers. He opens up about the psychological toll of combat, including PTSD, addiction to the kill, substance abuse, and suicide attempts, and shares...

In the final part of Episode 279 of Mike Drop , Mike Ritland and Congressman Dan Crenshaw wrap up their discussion. Crenshaw addresses federal spending, waste vs. fraud in entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, the unsustainable path of these programs, and why meaningful reform remains politically toxic. The conversation shifts to foreign policy—Ukraine aid, Israel support, deterring Chin...

In the final part of Episode 279 of Mike Drop, Mike Ritland and Congressman Dan Crenshaw wrap up their discussion. Crenshaw addresses federal spending, waste vs. fraud in entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, the unsustainable path of these programs, and why meaningful reform remains politically toxic. The conversation shifts to foreign policy—Ukraine aid, Israel support, deterring China...

In Part 2 of Episode 279 of Mike Drop , host Mike Ritland sits down with U.S. Congressman and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw for a candid, no-filter conversation. Crenshaw breaks down the Shawn Ryan controversy—accusations of insider trading, fabricated threats, and the collapsed podcast interview—while defending his actions during the Eddie Gallagher case. He also shares his perspective on the rea...

In Part 2 of Episode 279 of Mike Drop, host Mike Ritland sits down with U.S. Congressman and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw for a candid, no-filter conversation. Crenshaw breaks down the Shawn Ryan controversy—accusations of insider trading, fabricated threats, and the collapsed podcast interview—while defending his actions during the Eddie Gallagher case. He also shares his perspective on the real...

Dan Crenshaw sits down with Mike Ritland on the Mike Drop Podcast for a raw conversation. The former Navy SEAL and Texas Congressman opens up about his journey into politics, major policy fights (border security, cartels, flood mitigation, energy dominance), and directly addresses insider trading allegations, campaign finance, and the heated drama with Shawn Ryan and Eddie Gallagher—sharing receip...

Dan Crenshaw sits down with Mike Ritland on the Mike Drop Podcast for a raw conversation. The former Navy SEAL and Texas Congressman opens up about his journey into politics, major policy fights (border security, cartels, flood mitigation, energy dominance), and directly addresses insider trading allegations, campaign finance, and the heated drama with Shawn Ryan and Eddie Gallagher—sharing receip...

In Part 3 of Episode 278 of the Mike Drop podcast, host Mike Ritland continues his in-depth conversation with podcaster Julian Dorey. The discussion explores handling false claims from guests, the value of constructive criticism from comments, the vulnerability of independent media to psyops and influence operations, the Ashton Forbes MH370 controversy and lessons from public drama, Epstein's...

In Part 3 of Episode 278 of the Mike Drop podcast, host Mike Ritland continues his in-depth conversation with podcaster Julian Dorey. The discussion explores handling false claims from guests, the value of constructive criticism from comments, the vulnerability of independent media to psyops and influence operations, the Ashton Forbes MH370 controversy and lessons from public drama, Epstein's like...

In Part 2 of Episode 278 of the Mike Drop podcast, host Mike Ritland speaks with podcaster Julian Dorey about his relentless path to building his show. The conversation covers Dorey’s severe, undiagnosed health crisis that nearly ended his ambitions, his all-in commitment to podcasting despite physical and mental exhaustion, the realities of content creation—including YouTube algorithms, guest vet...

In Part 2 of Episode 278 of the Mike Drop podcast, host Mike Ritland speaks with podcaster Julian Dorey about his relentless path to building his show. The conversation covers Dorey’s severe, undiagnosed health crisis that nearly ended his ambitions, his all-in commitment to podcasting despite physical and mental exhaustion, the realities of content creation—including YouTube algorithms, guest vet...

In this episode of the Mike Drop podcast, host Mike Ritland welcomes Julian Dorey, the host of the wildly successful Julian Dorey Podcast. Diving straight into one of the darkest ongoing mysteries, they unpack Jeffrey Epstein’s sick blackmail tactics and his rumored role as an intelligence asset—touching on the infamous Epstein files that continue to fuel speculation about elite corruption and hid...

In this episode of the Mike Drop podcast, host Mike Ritland welcomes Julian Dorey, the host of the wildly successful Julian Dorey Podcast. Diving straight into one of the darkest ongoing mysteries, they unpack Jeffrey Epstein’s sick blackmail tactics and his rumored role as an intelligence asset—touching on the infamous Epstein files that continue to fuel speculation about elite corruption and hid...

Mike Ritland wraps up the interview with original Delta Force operator Mike Vining. Hear raw accounts of Urgent Fury in Grenada, Desert Storm bunker-busting, prison riot support, hardened target planning (Tahuna, Taji), moral injury, leadership lessons, retirement adventures, and his upcoming memoir Blasting Through . A legendary career summed up in one powerful close. Learn more about your ad cho...