Jonathan Harmon's guest appearances

Jonathan Harmon

Team Never Quit

Coffee Talk With JHHT

Cardinal Connection

UnityNow!

From The Ground Up with Dow Smith Company

OwlTail

Marcus Luttrell

This week, Marcus Luttrell and former U.S. Air Force PJ and combat rescue officer, Jonathan Harmon, pick up where they left off in their last episode, bringing to the table a deep dive discussion regarding the details of how Jonathan was able to reasonably calculate Marcus’ direction and future location during the Operation Red Wings series of events in Afghanistan in June, 2005. Many details of that op are included in today’s discussion. It has now been 18 years since Operation Red Wings occurred. NOTE: “PJ” (Air Force Pararescuemen) are the only DOD elite combat forces specifically organized, trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full spectrum Personnel Recovery (PR) to include both conventional and unconventional combat rescue operations. Listen in as Jonathan &amp; Marcus discuss the details of the efforts it took to bring Marcus home as the lone survivor of that operation. In this episode you will hear: • He [Matt Axelson] had made it close to a village and ended up being shot and killed. And then a villager took his body even further away and buried it. (4:27) • The best record we have [of Operation Red Wings] is from Marcus’ memory. (5:24) • I think the American public would find it completely fascinating to learn what efforts our government will go to, to bring their people home. (10:24) • What if you had the ability - and we knew there was a television close by - and you’re being held in a foreign country. It [a discrete message] could be so much as just a message on the television as simple as a small American flag on the screen. (11:55) • If you can think of the worst day of your entire life, and how despondent you can be - that’s every day in captivity. (13:17) • He [Marcus’ primary target] - disappeared through an air strike. (18:31) • So I hand my map off, [and proceeds to list his specific findings] and predict where they would end up, and I’m told: “We’re going to Afghanistan.” (23:36) • The two [sources of information - the Army’s findings and Jonathan’s findings] validated one another. So we had a location and we had confirmation. (28:07) • For those that don’t know, we stripped that aircraft down. We took nothing that wasn’t necessary. (30:00) • I like to call it a recovery – not of remains – but of a person because rescue would imply that we are rescuing you from our friendly forces. That’s not necessarily the case. (30:58)  • I think the first thing [that should happen to Marcus after his recovery] is that and he needed to get a full blown medical evaluation. (33:27) • Doc Dickens will convince you that you are superman. You’re the fullest expression of yourself. (38:32) • If there was a father figure for all of us – it was him [Doc Dickens]. (40:29)   • One has to consider the gravity of the circumstances [of Operation Red Wings]. The single most loss of life in the history of the United States Navy SEALS just happened. (42:27) • To be given the clothing of the village elder is a personification of being him himself. (51:10) • [Jonathan telling Marcus] Your adherence to your faith in captivity was unique among all stories I’ve ever heard. (51:48) • If you pull the John Wayne act [while in enemy captivity], you’re gonna get tortured and killed. (53:52) • He [Marcus] rewrote singlehandedly a lot of our resistance posture training because we were fighting a different kind of enemy that we didn’t write manuals for. (56:10) • [Marcus] They would laugh at me because I would fall down, and I just kept trying. I would fail all the time. I can’t believe they kept me. (60:19) • [Jonathan to Marcus] I have a question to ask you and I want you to think about this. Do you want to continue to operate? Or do you want to be a hero? And he thinks about it and says, “Fuck, man. I wanna operate.” (71:58) • We learned early on that asking permission wasn’t gonna work. The very first thing I learned from the SEALS – beg for forgiveness. (87:55)

This week, Marcus Luttrell and former U.S. Air Force PJ and combat rescue officer, Jonathan Harmon, pick up where they left off in their last episode, bringing to the table a deep dive discussion regarding the details of how Jonathan was able to reasonably calculate Marcus’ direction and future location during the Operation Red Wings series of events in Afghanistan in June, 2005. Many details of that op are included in today’s discussion. It has now been 18 years since Operation Red Wings occurred. NOTE: “PJ” (Air Force Pararescuemen) are the only DOD elite combat forces specifically organized, trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full spectrum Personnel Recovery (PR) to include both conventional and unconventional combat rescue operations. Listen in as Jonathan &amp; Marcus discuss the details of the efforts it took to bring Marcus home as the lone survivor of that operation. In this episode you will hear: • He [Matt Axelson] had made it close to a village and ended up being shot and killed. And then a villager took his body even further away and buried it. (4:27) • The best record we have [of Operation Red Wings] is from Marcus’ memory. (5:24) • I think the American public would find it completely fascinating to learn what efforts our government will go to, to bring their people home. (10:24) • What if you had the ability - and we knew there was a television close by - and you’re being held in a foreign country. It [a discrete message] could be so much as just a message on the television as simple as a small American flag on the screen. (11:55) • If you can think of the worst day of your entire life, and how despondent you can be - that’s every day in captivity. (13:17) • He [Marcus’ primary target] - disappeared through an air strike. (18:31) • So I hand my map off, [and proceeds to list his specific findings] and predict where they would end up, and I’m told: “We’re going to Afghanistan.” (23:36) • The two [sources of information - the Army’s findings and Jonathan’s findings] validated one another. So we had a location and we had confirmation. (28:07) • For those that don’t know, we stripped that aircraft down. We took nothing that wasn’t necessary. (30:00) • I like to call it a recovery – not of remains – but of a person because rescue would imply that we are rescuing you from our friendly forces. That’s not necessarily the case. (30:58)  • I think the first thing [that should happen to Marcus after his recovery] is that and he needed to get a full blown medical evaluation. (33:27) • Doc Dickens will convince you that you are superman. You’re the fullest expression of yourself. (38:32) • If there was a father figure for all of us – it was him [Doc Dickens]. (40:29)   • One has to consider the gravity of the circumstances [of Operation Red Wings]. The single most loss of life in the history of the United States Navy SEALS just happened. (42:27) • To be given the clothing of the village elder is a personification of being him himself. (51:10) • [Jonathan telling Marcus] Your adherence to your faith in captivity was unique among all stories I’ve ever heard. (51:48) • If you pull the John Wayne act [while in enemy captivity], you’re gonna get tortured and killed. (53:52) • He [Marcus] rewrote singlehandedly a lot of our resistance posture training because we were fighting a different kind of enemy that we didn’t write manuals for. (56:10) • [Marcus] They would laugh at me because I would fall down, and I just kept trying. I would fail all the time. I can’t believe they kept me. (60:19) • [Jonathan to Marcus] I have a question to ask you and I want you to think about this. Do you want to continue to operate? Or do you want to be a hero? And he thinks about it and says, “Fuck, man. I wanna operate.” (71:58) • We learned early on that asking permission wasn’t gonna work. The very first thing I learned from the SEALS – beg for forgiveness. (87:55)

Jonathan Harmon: U.S. Air Force PJ Opens Up On Operation Redwing & What It Took To Save Marcus Luttrell (Part 2)

In this week’s Team Never Quit episode, Marcus has a deep dive conversation with U.S. Air Force PJ, and combat rescue officer, Jonathan Harmon. NOTE: “PJ” (Air Force Pararescuemen) are the only DOD elite combat forces specifically organized, trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full spectrum Personnel Recovery (PR) to include both conventional and unconventional combat rescue operations. Jonathan was instrumental in successfully locating Marcus in Afghanistan with the most miniscule of data which facilitated his subsequent rescue. Listen in to Jonathan’s fascinating details of all that it takes to bring our soldiers home. In this episode you will hear: • My Aunt was a WASP (Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilot). She flew aircraft across the Atlantic, and trained other pilots. They would test and assure that an aircraft was safe to fly. (10:06) • I had absolutely no intention of joining the military. I was into skating &amp; surfboarding. (16:28) • I loved skydiving. I was with my peeps for the first time in my life. (23:23) • [Red ants] get real pissed off when you do 8 counts on top of them. (29:57) • [In Afghanistan rescue missions] you’re out there rescuing kids and village elders. You want to let them know that you stand shoulder to shoulder with them. You’re not gonna leave ‘em high and dry. (51:09) • It wasn’t that I traded a life for a degree, but that how it felt. I promised myself that I would never allow my education get in the way of my job. (65:33) • One of the best things we learned was that one of the best medicines, sometimes, is lead. (70:12) • Most people don’t know that 1003 Victor became known as Iraqi Freedom. (75:42) • I had the chance to coordinate about 1,000 rescue missions. Recovery missions as well as rescue missions. (76:05) • Reintegration is the process that returns people with homer, helping them transition back from captivity or isolation, back to their units and families so they can become “value added.” (78:18) • We’re seeing Post traumatic stress in epic proportions. (79:26) • As a PJ, we focus on medical – combat medicine. (80:41) • I can’t declare a personnel recovery event, because they’re not my forces. (91:38) • It’s important to know that a report has to come through a channel that is bonafide. (91:47) • [Operation Red Wings - After a series of signals and analysis, I thought] what I feel like is that I’ve got somebody on the run. And I’m really certain it’s an American, because of where they’re running and how they’re running. And it gave me a confidence factor that I had at least one survivor. [97:34)

In this week’s Team Never Quit episode, Marcus has a deep dive conversation with U.S. Air Force PJ, and combat rescue officer, Jonathan Harmon. NOTE: “PJ” (Air Force Pararescuemen) are the only DOD elite combat forces specifically organized, trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full spectrum Personnel Recovery (PR) to include both conventional and unconventional combat rescue operations. Jonathan was instrumental in successfully locating Marcus in Afghanistan with the most miniscule of data which facilitated his subsequent rescue. Listen in to Jonathan’s fascinating details of all that it takes to bring our soldiers home. In this episode you will hear: • My Aunt was a WASP (Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilot). She flew aircraft across the Atlantic, and trained other pilots. They would test and assure that an aircraft was safe to fly. (10:06) • I had absolutely no intention of joining the military. I was into skating &amp; surfboarding. (16:28) • I loved skydiving. I was with my peeps for the first time in my life. (23:23) • [Red ants] get real pissed off when you do 8 counts on top of them. (29:57) • [In Afghanistan rescue missions] you’re out there rescuing kids and village elders. You want to let them know that you stand shoulder to shoulder with them. You’re not gonna leave ‘em high and dry. (51:09) • It wasn’t that I traded a life for a degree, but that how it felt. I promised myself that I would never allow my education get in the way of my job. (65:33) • One of the best things we learned was that one of the best medicines, sometimes, is lead. (70:12) • Most people don’t know that 1003 Victor became known as Iraqi Freedom. (75:42) • I had the chance to coordinate about 1,000 rescue missions. Recovery missions as well as rescue missions. (76:05) • Reintegration is the process that returns people with homer, helping them transition back from captivity or isolation, back to their units and families so they can become “value added.” (78:18) • We’re seeing Post traumatic stress in epic proportions. (79:26) • As a PJ, we focus on medical – combat medicine. (80:41) • I can’t declare a personnel recovery event, because they’re not my forces. (91:38) • It’s important to know that a report has to come through a channel that is bonafide. (91:47) • [Operation Red Wings - After a series of signals and analysis, I thought] what I feel like is that I’ve got somebody on the run. And I’m really certain it’s an American, because of where they’re running and how they’re running. And it gave me a confidence factor that I had at least one survivor. [97:34)