Shawn Ryan Show
Mike Glover: "It Was a Good Run Killing a Bunch of Bad Guys" | Peak Points
Thu, 21 Nov 2024
This episode kicks off the Shawn Ryan Show's "Peak Points" series, where we highlight the most impactful moments from previous releases. We're starting at the very beginning with Episode #01, featuring former Green Beret and CIA contractor Mike Glover. For longtime listeners, this segment is a great way to revisit a Hall of Fame episode. And if you're new to the show, it's the perfect starting point to get a quick glimpse of this incredible story. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: https://patreon.com/vigilanceelite https://shawnryanshow.com/newsletter Please leave us a review on Apple & Spotify Podcasts. Vigilance Elite/Shawn Ryan Links: Website | Patreon | TikTok | Instagram | Download Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What happened a week after Mike Glover got out of the military?
He got out September 3, 2001. A week later, September 11 happens.
We immediately deployed to Afghanistan. So I was in charge of all of them. As a new guy. And they didn't want to be the guy that failed their mission and got an American killed. Had a catastrophic failure and crashed a $100 million helicopter, MH-47. Our guys didn't even have uniforms. What did you think of working with the SEALs? It was a good run of killing a whole bunch of bad guys.
A week later, Benghazi happens.
The number one priority for me is... I've been dying to ask you this question. You got out September 3rd, 2001. A week later, September 11th happens, the towers go down. What is the first thing that went through your head knowing, you know,
Your primary mission was, or your primary goal was to become a Green Beret in Special Operations, kicking fucking doors in, going to combat, that whole lifestyle, and then you immediately know we're at war. Yeah, it was... And you're not in it.
The biggest kick in the balls that I've ever had, because, I mean, backing up a little bit, I had the option to reenlist. Obviously, I was on retention's radar for like, hey, this guy's an airborne ranger qualified dude. He's an E-5. I made sergeant when I was 20 years old. And so I was a team leader in the infantry, had good NCOERs.
And so it's like, hey, man, this guy's a good guy we want to keep in the military. But I told them that I want sniper school and I want halo school. in route to 18th Airborne Corps LURS, or Long Range Reconnaissance, or Ranger Battalion. And I was adamant about that. I actually went into a Sergeant Major's office who was the Military District of Washington, so he's a Command Sergeant Major.
He knew my uncle, and he said, Mike, what can I give you to stay in? I said, this is the things that I want. And he goes, which I found out later is true, HALO, or Free Fall School, is not a reenlistment option. And it's not. Back then, you didn't have a lot of incentive for staying in, so they used to give you schools to stay in. And I said, Sergeant Major, well, we can make it an option, right?
Because that's what I want. He's like, Mike, I can't do that for you. I mean, I'll call and I'll try. And he did, but it's not an option. So a CSM even can't make it an option. And so I said, okay, that's, that's my, I gave the options on the table and they decided not to facilitate what I wanted as a dream. And so I decided to get out.
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Chapter 2: How did Mike Glover feel about missing the start of the war?
Yeah, part of the job is running Indige. I mean, when I reported... As an 18 Bravo, I was in charge of about 144 Afghan commandos.
Holy shit. So there's 10 SF guys running a 144-man army. Yeah. And basically, I was the commander of them.
So I was in charge of all of them. As a new guy. As a new guy. Holy shit. I'll never forget. He said, hey, your guys are formed up waiting on you. Waiting on me? Yeah, you're the 18 Bravo. Get up there and... and be their commander because everybody else had other stuff to worry about.
I mean, the 18 Charlies had to run the fire base, which is a full-time job of the base security and the actual physical structure, the generators, the water system, everything, the commo, base defense.
The commo guys are integrated.
What are your living conditions like? Shit, I mean tents living on a cot living on a cot surrounded by stacked sandbags and a Concrete ish just mud mud hut. Okay on the second floor of a little structure. I
So you're way the fuck out there at your own fire base. There's no PX. Nothing. There's no chow hall. Nothing. None of that shit.
Are you eating local food? A lot of the time we were, or Mermite or MRE. I mean, we were the furthest northern fire base on the border with Pakistan. And we had really not a lot of support. I mean, the closest... support was J-bad, which is still hours away. I mean, if something went bad.
So how trained up, you show up in country, you're looking, you're now the commander of 144 Afghan force. How well were they trained? Did you guys, was there like a changeover from another team or are you starting from scratch?
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Chapter 3: What was Mike Glover's mission in Afghanistan?
A SIF, a Commanders and Extremist Forces, filled with the most senior guys in the group. I think my detachment years later, everybody made Master Sergeant the same time. Like an entire senior team with guys with multiple deployments. I had the least amount of combat. Guys on average had three or four rotations, and this is early GWAT. He said,
hey, maybe you should hang out with these guys because we could do some cross training and maybe teach you guys some things. And he said, what could your guys possibly teach mine? You got to be shitting me. He said that. And... And I was humbled to the fact that a lot of my own guys were so senior and already legends in the community. There was already stories about them. And so I paid attention.
And we had a lot of experiences like that with the young SEALs, but a lot of them weren't. I mean, Jeremy Wise, who eventually went to work for the CIA and he was killed, unfortunately, in a suicide bombing. He was there, he was great. A couple of guys that are now in other special missions units were working with me and they were great.
So I didn't have a horrible experience, but it was different. I mean, a young SEAL coming out of training, 21, 22, and even at that time I was 26 at the time. So it was different, but we got along good. I mean, we didn't have problems with operating with them and we had a lot of action and we had a lot of fun that rotation.
What is your next assignment? So you're at third group. You go to the SIF.
What comes next? Another rotation in the SIF. I mean, the SIF is a grind. I did three SIF rotations that I racked back to back.
going to war coming back going to war coming back going to war coming back i eventually moved up into reconnaissance in special operations and became a sniper went to sniper school went to free fall school and started specializing my efforts on long on the long gun so between unilateral operations which is working with task force the joint task force
I think at the time we were working with Tom DeTomaso, who's a famous Black Hawk down platoon leader, and he was a special missions unit commander.
we we operated under him and under task force 16 which is stanley mccrystal's big uh you know kill capture conglomerate of the best units in the world we were part of that effort when we went out and crushed bad guys for years i mean it was it was a good run of killing a whole bunch of bad guys yeah so i did that for three rotations in a row you've got a hell of a career man yeah thanks man
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