523: Honor, Commitment, Sacrifice, and Faith. What It Takes to Get Through Hell. With Landon Longgrear

Key Takeaways

Landon Longgrear's memoir, 'U.S. Marines at the Battle for Sangin,' details intense combat in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
Longgrear felt a lifelong call to military service, enlisting in the Marine Corps post-9/11 due to a strong sense of duty.
His deployment to Sangin involved extreme combat, high IED threats, and significant unit casualties.
A tragic friendly fire incident resulted in the deaths of Staff Sergeant Jeremy Smith and Corpsman Benjamin Rast.
Longgrear grappled with the psychological and moral toll of combat, balancing Christian values with warfighting necessities.
Post-military, he faced physical injuries and adjustment challenges, transitioning to a successful real estate career.
He authored his book during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, using personal journals and photos for documentation.

The guest had a lifelong intention to serve in the military, solidified after witnessing the events of 9/11 in seventh grade.
A strong sense of duty, influenced by a wholesome Christian community, shaped his upbringing in Arlington, Texas.
He decided to join the Marine Corps in his mid-teens, swayed by their strong marketing, image of resolve, and distinct identity.

In October 2010, the guest and his unit began a five-month pre-deployment workup at Camp Pendleton for Afghanistan.
Training intensified with live-fire ranges, IED lanes, combat lifesaver training, and long-distance humps with heavy gear.
Marines received cultural and Pashto language training, along with a somber briefing from veterans returning from Helmand Province, emphasizing combat realities.

Sangin, Helmand Province, became a Taliban stronghold after operations in Kajiki and Marja pushed enemy forces there.
General John Kelly briefed the battalion on Sangin's strategic importance as a last major Taliban stronghold; his son was killed there the next day.
The Taliban received approximately 50% of their annual funding from opium exports, with Sangin crucial for poppy cultivation along the Helmand River valley.
Pre-deployment briefings by Staff Sergeant Smith included graphic videos of insurgent beheadings, emphasizing fighting to the death to avoid capture.

On his second day in Sangin, the guest's first patrol outside the wire involved investigating an IED aftermath and an ambush on another unit.
Their MRAP vehicle was targeted by AK-47 fire, narrowly missing the turret gunner, followed by a Predator drone strike with Hellfire missiles.
Early March operations involved around-the-clock mounted patrols with MRAPs and MATVs on Route 611 to limit IED emplacement.
Within weeks, the unit experienced multiple IED strikes, including one that destroyed a mine roller and another massive explosion that disabled a MAT V.

The guest's father sent an email encouraging him to "dish it out with no reservations and all the fury," providing validation for his combat role.
This helped him reconcile his Christian values and desire to value humanity with the necessity of being an effective warfighter.
A sniper from Second Recon briefed Marines on the certainty of enemy contact in Sangin's "killing fields," advising an aggressive posture but not pursuit.

The guest recounted five distinct near-death experiences within a 24-hour period during intense operational tempo in Afghanistan.
Incidents included an enemy ambush, a shingle shot, narrowly avoiding a pressure plate, and nearly being crushed between combat vehicles.
He also identified a visible IED trigger made of cloth and string during egress, a Taliban tactic to avoid local casualties.

The guest observed civilians consistently leaving an area when Marines entered, establishing a predictable "pattern of life" shift.
On one occasion, with civilians cleared, enemy combatants were observed preparing an attack, leading to an engagement after the guest's momentary hesitation.
Earlier, he requested permission to engage a potential enemy but delayed firing upon realizing the target was a young boy, a deviation from the established pattern.

The guest's book, 'U.S. Marines at the Battle for Sangin,' emphasizes the preciousness of life and the tragic dichotomy of war, showcasing both incredible heroics and profound cruelty.
He asserts that while some human beings are irredeemably savage, his specific conflict was just, fought for freedom and liberty against a tyrannical enemy.
Longgrear concludes that war, and the potential for tyranny, are perennial aspects of human nature, necessitating a constant readiness to fight for freedom and resist unwanted control.

On April 6, 2011, a "blue-on-blue" Hellfire missile incident tragically killed Staff Sergeant Jeremy Smith and Corpsman Benjamin Rast in Sangin.
The guest recounted retrieving Smith's body and witnessing Rast's severe head wound during medevac, marking it as the deployment's worst day.
An investigation resulted in a "fog of war" designation, as the drone pilot mistook Smith's muzzle flashes for the enemy.
Major Wood later briefed the unit at FOB Jackson, reading Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena" to emphasize their efforts despite shortcomings.

The unit received news of their imminent departure from Sangin by the end of April, with Alpha Company subsequently reassigned to Delaram for drug interdiction operations.
The departure from Patrol Base Alcatraz for Camp Leatherneck coincided with the news of Osama bin Laden's death.
The guest viewed bin Laden's death as significant for the manhunt's end, but pragmatic about its immediate impact on ongoing conflict and unit danger.
He recounted an instance of receiving unexpected respect from a First Sergeant at Camp Leatherneck, highlighting the profound impact of this gesture.

Upon returning to California, the guest struggled with adjustment, including waking up frantically without his weapon or fellow Marines nearby, feeling alone.
He reflected on combat engagement as a milestone integral to Marine identity and peer comparison, linking it to historical battles and sacrifices.
The intense brotherhood and camaraderie forged by constant shared arduous experiences led to profound bonds often exceeding civilian relationships.
War, while rewarding, left him scarred, rigid, critical, and at times despondent, grappling with moral boundaries as a Christian Marine.

After reluctantly moving on from military service due to physical injuries, the guest realized his military background in structured project management and team leadership was his strongest marketable asset.
He was hired by The Beck Group, a design-build construction firm in Dallas, for his aptitude and ability to execute, despite lacking specific construction experience.
His roles included construction cost estimating and assistant project manager for high-profile Dallas developments, including a $80-100 million North Campus building.
He later moved into real estate development with Brookfield and currently serves as a VP at Clarion Partners, managing multiple markets.