Combat Story

Andrew Sullivan led an Army infantry platoon through two tours in Iraq and commanded a company in Afghanistan — and says his own interpreter carried more risk, and more of the war, than he ever did. Today Andrew runs No One Left Behind, fighting to get America's wartime allies home before it's too late.
Andrew commissioned as an infantry officer out of Virginia Military Institute and served over nine years in the U.S. Army, deploying twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, with a later posting to Latvia as tensions rose with Russia. He led a rifle platoon through a leadership crisis in Iraq's Mesan Province, ran the drawdown at Al Assad Air Base, and commanded a company working alongside the Afghan National Army in Zabul Province — where he grew close with his interpreter, Amodi, and first learned what the Special Immigrant Visa program actually promises the people who serve beside American troops. He's been fighting for that promise ever since: first as legislative director at With Honor Action, now as executive director of No One Left Behind.
The conversation covers Andrew's path to service after 9/11, Ranger School and where Army and Marine Corps training genuinely differ, the leadership mistake he says he still hasn't forgiven himself for, two deployments to Iraq — including the unglamorous work of shutting down a forward operating base — and a company command in Afghanistan defined by firefights, IEDs, and a 250-lb bomb that landed in the middle of six Afghan soldiers without detonating. It closes on the work he does now: what the SIV program actually requires, why it's stalled, and what's at stake for the tens of thousands of interpreters and soldiers still waiting on America's word.
Learn more or support the mission: 
Website: Nooneleft.org
Donate:  https://give.nooneleft.org/CombatStory 
 
Guest Information — Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan served over nine years as a U.S. Army Infantry Officer, deploying twice to Iraq and once each to Afghanistan and Latvia. After leaving active duty, he became Executive Director of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit fighting to get Special Immigrant Visas issued to the Afghan and Iraqi interpreters and allies who risked their lives serving alongside U.S. forces. Under his leadership, NOLB has helped drive an approved backlog of more than 30,000 allies forward while operating almost entirely on private funding — the program currently receives $0 in direct government support. Sullivan continues to push for the visas, resettlement support, and follow-through the U.S. promised the people who fought beside it.
Find Andrew online:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sullivan-a2a97755/
NOLB LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind
NOLB Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoOneLeftBehindUS
NOLB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nooneleftbehindus/
NOLB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGYfopN1o2D79z2xsWeyKnA/videos
 
Host Information — AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner) with 21 years of service and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life and the host and creator of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, combat experience, and life after war. Through Combat Story, AJ's mission is to capture the real moments that shaped warriors—not invented drama, but the specific incidents and choices that define character—and to honor the lineage and lessons of military service.
Find AJ online:
Book (Darkhorse): https://ajpasciuti.com/darkhorse
Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com
Instagram: @ajpasciuti
Chapters:
0:00 – Cold open
1:52 – Introduction
3:54 – What called him to service, and 9/11
18:49 – Virginia Military Institute
23:16 – Commissioning and infantry training
27:40 – Ranger School
50:04 – First duty station and a last-minute orders swap
58:43 – First Iraq deployment begins
1:00:00 – A platoon's entire leadership gets fired
1:14:00 – The "manifesto" email — and the lesson that followed
1:27:00 – Second Iraq deployment: shutting down Al Assad Air Base
1:36:00 – Coming home
1:44:00 – Afghanistan: company command in Zabul Province
2:08:00 – The JDAM that didn't go off
2:25:00 – Meeting Amodi and what he learned about real sacrifice
2:30:00 – Inside the Special Immigrant Visa program
2:54:00 – How to help No One Left Behind
 
 
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Gunnery Sergeant Timothy Colomer was a decorated EOD technician in Iraq when a daisy-chain IED detonated directly beneath his truck. The blast broke his helmet in half. It should have sent him home. Instead, he made a choice that defined his character—he stayed deployed to lead his team.
But the war wasn't over when the deployment ended. Back home, Timothy faced something harder than combat: uncontrollable rage, traumatic brain injury, and the struggle to find purpose. Then, unexpectedly, he picked up a paintbrush.
In this episode, AJ sits down with Timothy to explore his unlikely journey from bombs to canvas—and how a single painting of a female warrior reconnected a suicidal Marine with her daughter, leading her to therapy, recovery, and reconnection with her family. Timothy shares how his art went viral on cruise ships, how his work will be etched into marble at the Marine Corps EOD Monument at Quantico, and what it means when the tools that kept you alive in war become tools that destroy you in peace.
This is a story about transformation, the power of vulnerability, and finding a new way to serve.
Guest Information — Timothy Colomer
Gunnery Sergeant Timothy Colomer is a retired U.S. Marine EOD Technician who served multiple deployments including one combat deployment in Iraq. On December 11, 2006, he sustained severe blast injuries from a daisy-chain IED that fractured his helmet and caused traumatic brain injury—yet chose to remain deployed to lead his team. After leaving active duty, Colomer transitioned to professional artist, using his work to process trauma and support fellow veterans. His paintings have reconnected suicidal Marines with their families, gone viral globally, and will be permanently etched into marble on the EOD Obelisk at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia (unveiling May 2027).
Find Timothy online:
Art Portfolio: www.littledogartstudios.com 
Instagram: @littledogartstudioshouston 
Host Information — AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner) with 21 years of service and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life and the host and creator of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, combat experience, and life after war. Through Combat Story, AJ's mission is to capture the real moments that shaped warriors—not invented drama, but the specific incidents and choices that define character—and to honor the lineage and lessons of military service.
Find AJ online:
Book (Darkhorse): https://ajpasciuti.com/darkhorse
Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com
Instagram: @ajpasciuti
LinkedIn: /angelo-pasciuti
Combat Story Podcast: https://combatstory.com

Alex Lemons survived the Battle of An Najaf without a scratch from the enemy — and nearly died from friendly fire instead, when a young Marine mistook him for an insurgent and put six rounds past him from fifteen yards away.
This is Part 2 with Alex Lemons, a former Marine Scout Sniper, Iraq War veteran, and co-author of Warbody with environmental historian Joshua Howe. We pick up in Najaf and Fallujah in 2004, follow Alex through two more deployments including a year advising Iraqi and Polish forces under General Petraeus, and then get into why he and Josh wrote the book: the case that concussions, PTSD, and toxic exposure — lead, burn pits, contaminated water at Camp Lejeune — compound on each other in ways the military has never fully accounted for, and what that means for how we treat veterans of every generation who've served since.
This one's long, and it's worth sitting with. Especially if you've served, or you're close to someone who has.
Subscribe and follow Combat Story wherever you listen.


Guest Information — Alexander Lemons
Alexander Lemons is a former U.S. Marine Scout Sniper and Bronze Star recipient who served multiple combat deployments during the Iraq War, including Nasiriyah and Fallujah. He is the co-author of War Body: A Marine Sniper and the Hidden Violence of Modern Warfare, a powerful look at the hidden physical and psychological costs of combat and what war leaves behind long after the shooting stops.
War Body: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324066330
Featured Article: https://www.hcn.org/issues/57-2/a-veteran-transforms-a-legacy-of-violence-into-a-campaign-for-restoration/
Host Information — AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.
Find AJ online:
Book (Darkhorse): https://ajpasciuti.com/darkhorse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
Chapters
0:00 – One round, twelve inches from his face
2:37 – Chasing a flyer into the sniper platoon
13:14 – A guerrilla war nobody upstairs would admit to
17:29 – Sniper school, and the partner he lost before he ever deployed
48:38 – Into the Battle of An Najaf
58:36 – The 1,600-yard shot, and the tank he had to call in
1:12:17 – Losing Sergeant Rochas — then almost losing himself to his own side
1:22:45 – Two stories through a roof: the injury that started the clock
1:26:16 – A second deployment, and leadership that nearly got them killed
1:41:19 – Walking away from the Corps to advise generals in Iraq
1:50:26 – Coming home to a Marine Corps — and a body — that didn't fit anymore
2:00:24 – The anorexia, and the lead he didn't know he was wearing
2:44:37 – Three forces: concussions, PTSD, and toxicants
3:19:47 – "The war is continuing in everybody's body"

He thought he was accepting a routine IT contract.
Instead, Peter Moore disappeared into captivity for 946 days.
In 2007, British IT consultant Peter Moore traveled to Baghdad believing he would be helping rebuild Iraq's Ministry of Finance from the safety of the Green Zone. Days after arriving, he and four British security contractors were kidnapped by an Iranian-backed militia.
Peter would spend the next 946 days as a hostage.
For more than two and a half years, he endured isolation, psychological torture, repeated mock executions, and the daily uncertainty of whether he would ever see his family again. The four men kidnapped alongside him never made it home.
This is Peter Moore's only long-form interview about his captivity.
In this extraordinary conversation, Peter shares the full story—from accepting what he thought was a routine overseas contract to surviving one of the longest hostage ordeals of the Iraq War. He reflects on the mindset that carried him through captivity, the routines that kept him alive, the power of hope and humor in the darkest moments, and what it means to rebuild a life after unimaginable trauma.
This isn't simply a story about being held hostage.
It's a conversation about resilience, perspective, and the extraordinary strength of the human spirit.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Peter Realizes He's Been Kidnapped 02:00 Introduction 03:02 Peter Moore's Background 10:14 The IT Contract That Changed Everything 15:11 Why He Accepted a Job in Baghdad 25:52 Arriving in Iraq 32:39 Day One in the Green Zone 40:28 The Kidnapping Begins 53:37 Life as a Hostage 1:06:58 The Mock Execution That Changed Everything 1:15:47 Deciding to Survive 1:27:41 Building Routines to Stay Alive 1:44:26 The Interrogations 1:58:11 Humor as a Survival Tool 2:10:54 Learning the Fate of the Other Hostages 2:24:37 The Day He Was Released 2:39:15 Returning Home After 946 Days 2:46:22 The British Embassy & The First Taste of Freedom 2:52:18 Life After Captivity 3:00:46 Final Reflections on Survival & Resilience
Guest — Peter Moore
Peter Moore is a British IT consultant who traveled to Iraq in 2007 to support reconstruction efforts following the Iraq War. Just days after arriving in Baghdad, he and four British security contractors were kidnapped by an Iranian-backed militia. Peter spent 946 days in captivity before being released in December 2009, making him one of the longest-held Western civilian hostages of the Iraq War. Today, he speaks about resilience, survival, and the mindset that carried him through one of the most extraordinary hostage experiences of the 21st century.
Host — AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans and extraordinary individuals share honest, unfiltered stories of combat, leadership, resilience, and life after adversity.
Find AJ Online:
Darkhorse: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/book Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/ Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
About Combat Story
Combat Story is a podcast featuring authentic, long-form conversations with veterans, intelligence professionals, first responders, and remarkable individuals whose experiences offer lessons in leadership, resilience, and service. Every episode goes beyond the headlines to explore the human stories behind extraordinary events.
Follow Combat Story wherever you listen to podcasts, and join us every other Sunday for conversations that preserve history, inspire leadership, and remind us what people are truly capable of when everything is on the line.

What happens after the writing is done and the book has to face the world?
Nearly two months after the release of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, the microphone changes hands.
Combat Story founder Ryan Fugit returns to interview current host AJ Pasciuti in a candid conversation recorded in New York City just days after the launch of Darkhorse. Together, they reflect on the journey from manuscript to publication, the emotional weight of sharing deeply personal stories, and why the mission has always been bigger than a single book.
The conversation explores the lessons behind Darkhorse, the Marines and mentors who shaped AJ's life, the realities of publishing a memoir, and the future of Combat Story as a community dedicated to preserving the stories of those who have served while inspiring leadership, resilience, and service beyond the military.
Whether you've been with Combat Story since Ryan hosted the show or recently discovered it through AJ, this special episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes conversation about where Combat Story began, how it has evolved, and where it's headed next.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro 02:46 The Fear of Publishing a Memoir 04:46 Arnold Schwarzenegger's Endorsement 07:50 Writing a Memoir Without Sounding Like a Narcissist 10:20 Breaking Into Publishing 12:02 Who Is Darkhorse For? 13:50 Fact-Checked by the Director of the Marine Corps Museum 18:35 Cold Calling the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps 20:20 The Weight of Carrying Combat Story 22:10 The Desert Storm Podumentary 25:36 The Darkhorse Ethos 34:14 Reading the Comments After the Big Podcasts 36:10 The Push Behind Darkhorse 38:22 Ryan's New Podcast: Restricted Handling 40:07 Ryan Reveals His Book
AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.
Find AJ Online:
📕 Darkhorse: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/book 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/ 🌐 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
Ryan Fugit
Ryan Fugit is the founder of Combat Story, a former U.S. Army AH-64 Apache pilot, former CIA Operations Officer, and host of Restricted Handling, where he explores geopolitics, intelligence, and national security with experts from around the world.
Find Ryan Online:
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-fugit 🎙️ Restricted Handling: https://www.restrictedhandling.com
Follow Combat Story wherever you listen to podcasts, and join us for new episodes every other Sunday.