Combat Story

What does it feel like to make a decision that saves your teammates… but stays with you forever?
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ sits down with Jeremy Rebmann, former FBI Special Agent, SWAT sniper, and author of Send Me, for a raw conversation about what really happens inside high-risk operations.
Jeremy spent over two decades in the FBI, including 21 years on SWAT, operating in some of the most dangerous environments in domestic law enforcement. From hostage rescues to manhunts to split-second lethal force decisions, he lived the responsibility of being the one others rely on when things go wrong.
This conversation goes beyond the action. It gets into the moments behind it.
From tracking a suspect through rugged terrain… to the instant a rifle comes up and there's no time left to think… to the weight that follows after the mission is over.
This is an honest look at the reality of the job.
We cover:
What FBI SWAT operations actually look like
The mindset of a sniper making life-or-death decisions
How training takes over when there's no time to think
The emotional and psychological impact after a shooting
Brotherhood, identity, and what happens when the job ends
Jeremy also shares insights into the investigative side of the FBI, where the mission is not just to win the fight, but to find the truth and bring justice the right way.
This is a conversation about responsibility, restraint, and the cost of doing the job well.
If you've ever wondered what it's really like behind the scenes of elite law enforcement, this episode gives you a perspective few ever hear.
🎙️ Guest Information — Jeremy Rebmann
Jeremy Rebmann is a former FBI Special Agent and SWAT sniper with over 20 years of experience, including 21 years on an FBI SWAT team. He served as an operator, sniper, team leader, and instructor, working high-risk missions across the United States.
He is the author of Send Me: Chronicles of an FBI Sniper, where he shares an unfiltered look at the realities of the job, team culture, and life after service.
🔗 Find Jeremy Online:
📕 Send Me (Book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D38DNXRN 🎧 Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/Send-Me-Audiobook/B0D4WSM4V1
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fbi_sniper/  📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556807893533 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-rebmann-aa9191203 🔗 Website: https://www.fbisniper.com
 
🎙️ 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://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973 
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/ 
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/ 
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/ 

🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon)- Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU 

📺 Additional Features & Media
👉 Urban Valor Podcast Feature: https://urbanvalor.com/episode/marine-snipers-eliminate-enemy-sniper-reclaim-stolen-us-sniper-rifle/
👉 DVIDS – Infantry Marine Course Feature: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758

Former U.S. Marine Scout Sniper Alexander Lemons joins AJ to talk about Iraq, the confusion and chaos of the initial invasion, and the hidden damage war leaves behind.
A Bronze Star recipient and co-author of War Body: A Marine Sniper and the Hidden Violence of Modern Warfare, Alex brings a raw, thoughtful perspective to combat, leadership, toxic exposure, and life after service.
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ and Alex unpack Alex's path into the Marines, what it felt like to enter war as a young infantryman, and how those early experiences shaped the questions that would later become War Body. This is Part 1 of a 2-part conversation, focused on his early life, Iraq, and the foundation of his story. Part 2 goes deeper into his path as a sniper, the long-tail health fight, and what veterans, leaders, and civilians should understand about the unseen costs of modern war.
A note for listeners: this episode was filmed in December 2025 and has a slightly different feel than the usual Combat Story format. It plays more like a true conversation between AJ and Alex than a traditional interview, which gives it a more personal and reflective tone.
 
🎙️ 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://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/

🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ

👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon)
- Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs

👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle)
- Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU

📺 Additional Features & Media

👉 Urban Valor Podcast Feature:
 https://urbanvalor.com/episode/marine-snipers-eliminate-enemy-sniper-reclaim-stolen-us-sniper-rifle/

👉 DVIDS – Infantry Marine Course Feature:

https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758
 

Chapters
00:00 Incoming artillery in Iraq
02:40 Introducing Marine Sniper Alexander Lemons
07:15 Joining the Marines after 9/11
18:30 Iraq invasion and early combat experiences
32:40 Lessons from combat leadership
51:00 The hidden physical cost of war
1:20:00 The chaos of modern warfare
2:09:00 War Body and life after the Marine Corps

A downed U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan. Forty-five knot crosswinds. No power margin.
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Isaac G. Lee, a retired U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 heavy lift pilot with seven deployments and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Isaac flew more than 140 named combat missions, became a Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI), commanded a Marine helicopter squadron, and led one of the most dangerous recovery missions of the war — lifting a downed Night Stalker aircraft near the Pakistani border with almost no margin for error.
We talk about:
Flying CH-53s during the Iraq invasion

Losing an engine in a hot landing zone

Brownout landings with zero visibility

Working alongside Army Apaches and special operations units

The surge years and nonstop named operations

The mental shift required to survive repeated combat deployments

The cost of leadership on families at home

This conversation goes beyond tactics.
It explores responsibility, identity, the "robot mode" many combat leaders adopt, and what happens when you finally step away from the machine.
Isaac shares the deeper story behind his memoir Hangar 4, a candid look at Marine Corps aviation, brotherhood inside Hangar 4, and the transition from warfighter to civilian leader.
If you care about Marine Corps aviation, CH-53 helicopters, Iraq and Afghanistan combat stories, or leadership under pressure, this episode delivers.
 
🎙 Guest: Isaac G. Lee
Isaac Lee is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. CH-53 pilot, Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI), and former squadron commander with seven deployments and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is the author of Hangar 4 and founder of Ready Room Consulting, where he teaches leadership drawn from two decades of Marine Corps aviation.
🔗 Connect with Isaac:
🌐 Websites https://isaacglee.com https://readyroomconsulting.com
📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/isaacgleewriter
📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IsaacGLee
🐦 X (Twitter) https://x.com/isaacglee
🎵 Book Soundtrack Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4x13aD07eDCCwF5TaSNyfT?si=mKzXXaHZTNCtyHss-MPTvA
 
🎙️ Host Information — AJ Pasciuti | Combat Story 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://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
 
🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ:
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) - Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU
📺 Additional Features & Media 
👉 Urban Valor Podcast Feature: https://urbanvalor.com/episode/marine-snipers-eliminate-enemy-sniper-reclaim-stolen-us-sniper-rifle/
👉 DVIDS – Infantry Marine Course Feature: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758

0321 Day is more than a date. It's a gut-check, a brotherhood check-in, and a reminder that no Recon Marine (and no Recon family) is ever alone.
In this Combat Story Special Edition, AJ Pasciuti sits down for a two-way conversation with Randall Parks (USMC, Ret.) the West Coast organizer of 0321 Day—to break down what the day means, why it's grown into a tradition, and how the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation (MRF) directly supports Recon Marines, enablers, SARCs, and, most importantly, Gold Star families.
You'll hear the story behind the event's partnership with Ballast Point Brewing, why the Recon community shows up so hard for each other, and how this annual fundraising push funds the Gold Star Family Retreat connected to the Recon Challenge at Camp Pendleton and a week-long retreat afterward.
And yes… Randall also ropes AJ (and Sarah) into the most Recon fundraiser ever: The "Recondo Hundo": 100 miles in 30 days (Feb 20 → Mar 21) to raise money for the MRF. Run it, walk it, bike it, swim it; get involved and bring someone with you.
Support the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation: MRF website: reconfoundation.org
Donate to the Recondo Hundo: support.reconfoundation.org/ajpasciuti
Signup to participate in the Recondo Hundo: support.reconfoundation.org/https-support-reconfoundation-org-2026-recondo-hundo
 
In this episode:
- What "03" and "0321" mean in the Marine Corps
- What the MRF (Marine Reconnaissance Foundation) does and why it matters
- Gold Star vs Blue Star families and why Recon keeps them close
- How 0321 Day grew from texts to a major event
- The Recon Challenge and carrying a fallen brother's name
- The "Recondo Hundo" fundraiser and how to participate
 
If you're a Recon Marine (or served with Recon): On March 21, reach out to somebody and say: "Hey brother, I'm thinking about you."
That simple message can land heavier than you realize.
 
West Coast Event details:
📍 Ballast Point – Little Italy (San Diego)
🕕 March 21 | 6:00 PM
A night of camaraderie, community, and fundraising for the MRF mission.
To attend you must RSVP: support.reconfoundation.org/https-support-reconfoundation-org-0321day-Ballast-Point
 
Subscribe for more Combat Story: real conversations with warriors from every frontline; what combat feels like, what it takes to endure, and how it shapes life after the arena.

Before the first bombs hit Iraq in 1991, seven B-52s quietly lifted off from Louisiana on a mission so classified most of the crews hadn't known it existed months earlier.
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Trey Morris, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and former B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer, to break down Operation Senior Surprise—nicknamed Secret Squirrel—the 35-hour, 14,000-mile strike that helped launch Operation Desert Storm.
This wasn't just another bombing mission. It was the first combat use of GPS-guided cruise missiles, the longest combat sortie in history at the time, and a zero-fail test of endurance and leadership.
Minutes after takeoff, Morris' aircraft lost an engine. They nearly collided during night aerial refueling. On the return leg, they ran dangerously low on fuel over the Mediterranean.
What followed was problem-solving under pressure, trust inside the cockpit, and a culture that demanded accountability when it mattered most.
Morris later captured the full story in his book Doom 34, but this conversation goes beyond aviation. It's about earning the right to come home—and honoring those who have "gone west."
If you're interested in B-52 bombers, Desert Storm history, military aviation, long-range strike, or leadership under stress, this episode is for you.
 
🎙️ Guest Information — Trey Morriss | DOOM 34 | Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel | Former B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer
🔗 Find Trey Online:
📕 Book: DOOM 34 (Available globally — search "DOOM 34") 🛒 Amazon:https://a.co/d/aR2IujP
📘 Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trey.morriss/
📘 DOOM 34 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581295749907
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treymorriss/?hl=en
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treymorriss/
 
🎙️ Host Information — AJ Pasciuti | Combat Story 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://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ 
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) - Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU
📺 Additional Features & Media 
👉 Urban Valor Podcast Feature: https://urbanvalor.com/episode/marine-snipers-eliminate-enemy-sniper-reclaim-stolen-us-sniper-rifle/
👉 DVIDS – Infantry Marine Course Feature: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758
 
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