The Panjwai Podcast
The Panjwai Podcast is an interview-based podcast series documenting the experiences of combat veterans in the Panjwai District of Kandahar, Afghanistan. The series seeks to explore a human, emotional, and accurate retelling of veterans’ experiences. Guests range from enlisted privates, to senior leaders, helicopter pilots, special operators, support personnel, engineers, EOD, medics and other forces that supported or witnessed combat in the Panjwai District. Military history buffs will relish in the detailed descriptions of terrain and the history of the area, and fans of Serial and other documentary style podcasts will appreciate the attention to detail and highlighting of the human aspect of warfare on young soldiers. The Panjwai Podcast is the story of the grunts fight in a true Infantry battlefield. Episodes available weekly.
Episodes
This week on The Panjwai Podcast we bid our final farewell, as we close out the show after 3 seasons,52 regular episodes and 8 bonus episodes.
We go back to the beginning, to answer some of our questions from Episode 1. We discuss what we learned from our guests about the fight in Panjwai, and how the process of telling our stories and the stories of others in Panjwai has helped us in our...
This week on The Panjwai Podcast we are joined by “Sarah”, an Afghan-American who served in Afghanistan as an interpreter, mostly in the Kandahar and Helmand provinces. Sarah talks to us about her journey to serving, her experiences in Panjwai, Zharey, Helmand and Kandahar at large. She offers insights into the cultural interactions with local Afghans, with the multiple military units she supported, and what it has b...
This week on The Panjwai Podcast we are joined by retired 4 Star General Robert “Abe” Abrams. General Abrams served as the commander of RC South in 2012-2013 while simultaneously serving as the Commanding General of the 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia. General Abrams talks to us about his growth as a leader prior to taking command at 3rd ID, about his visibility on the Bayonets of 1-64 at Sperwan Ghar, ...
The week on The Panjwai Podcast we journey all the way to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York to speak with Colonel Trey Rutherford. In 2012, then Lieutenant Colonel Trey Rutherford commanded 1-23 Infantry Battalion out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington. We speak to Col. Rutherford about his military career leading up to Panjwai, and the extremely unique challenges faced by commanding a s...
This week on The Panjwai Podcast, we are joined by SFC Kyle Chattin. Kyle was a team leader and squad leader in Bayonet Company 1-38 Infantry, stationed at COP Sperwan Ghar and Masum Ghar in 2012-2013. 1-38 relieved B/1-64 (also Bayonets) going into Winter 2012, during a fighting season that never ended. Kyle talks about his history in Afghanistan, the lead up to the deployment, the handover between 1-64 and 1-38 and ...
Luke and Curtis here, to announce the end of the regular production of The Panjwai Podcast, at the end of Season 3.
Season 3 Concludes with the release of its finale on April 18th 2022.
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The week on The Panjwai Podcast we have Davitt joining us to talk about his time as a Company Commander in the 101st Airborne division in 2010. Davitt talks about the 2 month long operation to air assault into the horn of Panjwai and lay the groundwork for what would become the Village Stability Operations in the horn.
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The week on The Panjwai Podcast we welcome our first guest from across the pond. Kieran Rafferty was a Royal Marine Commando in the British Armed Forces. Kieran served most of his combat time in Helmand and Iraq, but for four months in 2006-2007 he served at Sperwan Ghar, assisting ODA 384 and 331 with their operations in the AO. Join us for another unique perspective on war in Panjwai.
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This week we continue our lengthy chat with Maj(R) Rusty Bradley, commander of ODA 331 and author of Lions of Kandahar. Rusty dives immediately into the intense combat on the assault of Sperwan Ghar, and we talk about the future of Panjwai and Kandahar. It was a great pleasure to spend the time with Rusty, and we think you will really enjoy the conclusion to this interview.
Almost every Panjwai veteran has read, or heard of the book Lions of Kandahar. We read it before and during our deployment, and the story of Major Rusty Bradley and the seizure of Sperwan Ghar in 2006 is one the best told modern adventure stories set in the Global War on Terror. This week, Major Bradley joins us for the first part of a two part interview about that operation, starting with Rusty’s origins as an SF off...
In the beginning of Season 2, we ran a 3-Part series about the Panjwai Massacre, where SSG Robert Bales walked off Village Stability Post Belambai and murdered 17 Afghan Civilians. This week, we bring you another point of view, from one of the senior NCO's of the Uplift detachment, consisting of conventional infantryman attached the Special Forces ODA at Belambai. David Godwin was a squad leader in B/2-3 Infantry assi...
This week on the Panjwai Podcast we are joined by SSG Kevin Nguyen. Kevin is an infantryman and member of the US Army Marksmanship Paralympic Team, and a 2020 Paralympian. Kevin talks to us about his 2012-2013 deployment to FOB Zangabad in Panjwai, where he was wounded after stepping on a pressure plate IED. Kevin’s story of resilience, and his unique journey to become an international competitor is inspiring and uniq...
This week on the Panjwai Podcast we are joined by Zack Harrison. Zack is a former Green Beret and member of SFOD-D (Delta Force), and was a member of Rusty Bradley’s ODA 331 During Operation Medusa in 2006. Zack talks to us about his journey to Special Forces, the operation to seize Sperwan Ghar, the immediate operations that followed and how it affected his journey to The Unit and beyond. Don’t miss a unique perspec...
This week we sit down with SFC Dave Salvador, Combat Medic. SFC Salvador was SPC Salvador in 2012 when he deployed alongside 1st Platoon, B/1-64 to COP Sperwan Ghar in Panjwai. As the Platoon Medic, Doc Salvador was one of the most seasoned of all the soldiers at Sperwan Ghar, supporting all three platoons in the company and embarking on nearly every patrol. Doc Salvador talks to us about his time as a platoon medic and how it shap...
This week we sit down with Corey Hatt, owner and operator of Mad Hatter Industries, a Canadian Apparel company and Mental Health initiative. Corey is also a two time veteran of Panjwai and Kandahar, having served twice in Panjwai in 2006 and 2009. Corey talks to us about his experiences on those two tours, and about his passion for preserving the mental health of his peers.
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This week on the Panjwai Podcast we speak to our very first Civilian who served and worked in Panjwai. Matt was a DOD Researcher, a Department of the Army GS employee tasked with detailing the ins and outs of culture, politics and government in Panjwai. Matt talks to us about his training for the program, his time attached to conventional forces at Masum Ghar and throughout the horn, and his time attached the the Spec...
This week we conclude our interview with 1SG Ronnie Morgan, as he details his time as a Squad Leader in 3rd Squad at Sperwan Ghar. Ronnie talks about keeping his men strong and his platoon from falling apart, as well as the unique challenges that set the Panjwai fight apart from his previous visits to Afghanistan.
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This week The Panjwai Podcast returns with full episode once more with the start of Season 3.
We are joined this week by 1SG Ronnie Morgan. 1SG Morgan served as an infantry squad leader in Bravo Company, 1-64th Armor Battalion at COP Sperwan Ghar and the Panjwai District Center in 2012. 1SG Morgan talks to us about his experiences before Panjwai, to include rotations in the Kunar, Uruzgan...
As we reach the homestretch towards the end of 2021, and the beginning of Season 3 of The Panjwai Podcast, we bring you a special Christmas Present in the form of our Sixth bonus episode.
In this episode, we talk about Deployment Life. The living conditions, the food, the recreation and the quality of life on deployments, ranging from life on the big FOBs to the smallest of Combat Outposts.
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As we close in on the premiere of Season 3 of The Panjwai Podcast, we offer up another bonus episode where we discuss the gear, kit, and weapons accessories we would have taken to Panjwai if we knew what we knew now, or based on what is currently available. Part bitch session, part think tank, all Panjwai Podcast.
Season 3 Premieres Jan 3, 2022!
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