RANGER, RRC (JSOC), OMEGA Team Operator | Mike Edwards (throwback episode)

**Jack Murphy** (0:00)
Hey, everyone, welcome to episode 240 of The Team House. I'm Jack Murphy, here with Dave Park.
Our boy, Adam White, is back there in the darkness. Dee's pressing the buttons. And our guest in studio, he's third appearance on the show, but the first time in studio, we're really excited to have him here. I haven't seen this dude in person for like 17 years. This is Mike Edwards. Mike served in the 75th Ranger Regiment. We were in 375 back in the day together. And he went on to have a career in the Regimental Reconnaissance Company and then as a Military Free Fall Instructor. So we're really excited to have you here, man. Thanks for having me back. I appreciate it. Good to see you all in person, for real. Yeah, hell yeah.
And oh, shout out to our new artwork on the wall. That's from Invader Girl. If you guys go check her out at invadergirlart.com or follow her on Instagram.

**Dave Park** (0:53)
Yeah, she's got amazing art. Definitely check her stuff out.

**Jack Murphy** (0:56)
She has awesome stuff. Yeah, that is sweet. So Mike, man, I'm going to have you, I'm sorry if I have you repeat yourself a little bit, but I'm going to, I think it got cut off a little bit in our first interview actually, but I'm going to ask you to tell us a little bit about like your origin story, sort of your upbringing and like your path towards military service. Like how did that come about for you? Yeah, so I grew up living out in the country, just me and my brother playing in the woods, shooting BB guns, hunting squirrels and rabbits and stuff like that in rural Alabama.
Had a normal upbringing, good mother, good father. I love them both, we're still close. My whole family is close, cousins, aunts, uncles. So I had a good bond there with family.
Grew up as I got a little bit older, my dad went in the army. He went in the army a little bit later in life, like in his 30s and he became an officer. So once I got older, I never really thought about joining the military, but I was probably about midway through high school and I just decided, I want to try out the military, go in the National Guard. So I joined the National Guard. My dad wanted me to be an officer, so I ended up doing boot camp and AIT for the National Guard, was in the Infantry National Guard, and then went to Marion Military and sued to be an officer. So did two years there. And then I was good at ROTC type stuff, the military aspect of it, but I was young and immature, I wanted to party and I was too worried about drinking and partying and stuff like that, so I didn't focus on grades as well as I should. The military aspect, I mean like all hundreds, but then PT score, good to go, but then some of the other aspects I was struggling on. So I ended up withdrawing from school after two years. It was a two year military school where you do two years, you get your commission as an officer, and then you go to like University of Alabama or Auburn or something like that. So I withdrew, failing, and just decided to just, move back in with my mom down in like Gulf Shores, Foley area of Alabama. Lived down there, did some construction work for a little bit, but the Army thing was always in the back of my mind. So I ended up enlisting to go active duty. Started off in 3rd Infantry Division at Kelly Hill on Fort Benning, in a mechanized infantry unit, did a little bit of time there. Have some good friends I still keep in touch from back then, but did some time there, ended up wanted to go Special Forces. Always thought Special Forces, Green Beret was the way to go. My dad was like, hey, Special Forces is the brains, Rangers are the brawn. That's what my dad used to say.
I ended up doing everything to get ready to set up for Special Forces selection and then did the pre-PT test, had a selection date set up and then boom, got popped for orders to go to Korea. So I did a year in Korea and then 9-11 popped off and then things changed and I ended up going to the Ranger Regiment. So I guess that's kind of in the nutshell, kicking it off from childhood up to initial entry in the Army.

**Dave Park** (3:54)
What was it like when you were in, because I don't even know if there is mechanized infantry anymore, is there? Yeah, I think the Strikers.