Combat Story (Ep 29): Jeff Morris - Infantry Company Commander | Author | Legion 8 | OIF x 2 | BSM V
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
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Today we hear the combat story of Jeff Morris, a former Army Infantry Officer who commanded soldiers in Iraq over two brutal deployments fighting on some of the most well-known and infamous streets of Baghdad.
NOTE: Stay tuned after Jeff's Combat Story to hear a Combat Story from one of our listeners!
Jeff was an Infantry Platoon Leader on Haifa Street in downtown Baghdad from 2004 to 2005 with 1st CAV where his Platoon of 34 men were awarded 27 Purple Hearts. He describes a significant battle that he was a part of on September 12th, 2004, in which two Silver Stars were awarded and he received a Bronze Star w/ V Device.
He was then a junior but highly respected Infantry Company Commander in east Baghdad during the Surge from late 2006 to summer 2007, again with 1st CAV, where he lost eight men during fighting that saw almost every Bradley and M1 tank assigned to his unit destroyed by EFPs.
Jeff went on to document these experiences in his book, “Legion Rising: Surviving Combat and the Scars it Left Behind” and established the Legion 8 Foundation to honor the lives of the eight men lost under his command. The Legion 8 workout is also a Hero Workout of the Day (WOD) done at hundreds of CrossFit gyms around the country.
He has previously been featured on other podcasts, including Mike Drop with Mike Ritland. I hope you enjoy this inside look at the burden of command in Iraq and Jeff’s combat story as much as I did.
Find Jeff online:
Instagram @jeffrmorris / jeffrmorris
Legion Rising Book - www.amazon.com/LEGION-RISING-...
#1stACAV #Legion8 #SEAL #BattleofHaifaStreet #Bradley #mission #grenades #CompanyCommander
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
1:01 - Jeff's bio
4:26 - The book, “Black Hawk Down.”
7:07 - The desire to be a SEAL
9:18 - “You’re not only freezing in the water when you get out. You’re rolling around in the sand, and you got to run.”
11:36 - “If it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it.”
13:00 - Jeff’s childhood
16:59 - The desire to serve the country
18:46 - “After I stood up for myself and took that challenge on, I wanted more.”
19:30 - The fastest guy in school
22:22 - “Boys do what they want to do. Men do what they have to do.”
23:57 - Getting into the Military
26:02 - 9/11
27:30 - Memorable Moments
28:37 - “You can’t go and create a leader of men and women in 14 weeks.”
31:03 - The role of a Platoon Leader
33:48 - The Mechanized Infantry of Haifa Street
35:48 - The Bradley Military Vehicle
39:03 - Missions
40:40 - Battle of Haifa Street
43:52 - “When you see a nine-year-old kid throw a grenade at you or one of your buddies, do you shoot him? What if you don’t shoot, and then the next day, he’s back?”
45:34 - The largest and longest stay behind the mission
49:24 - The beauty of war
51:15 - The brave young soldier
53:00 - The breezeway grenade
54:19 - “There’s a fine line between valor and stupidity and just plain luck.”
56:25 - Communicating in Battle
58:53 - September 12, 2004 (The Haifa Street Incident)
1:00:41 - Coming back to base
1:02:01 - Jeff’s Second Deployment
1:04:46 - Quotes from other podcasts about Jeff
1:05:55 - Building Camaraderie
1:09:57 - Motivating people on the mission
1:11:43 - “We can’t pick and choose which and how we get to fight. This is the hand we’ve been dealt.”
1:12:50 - How having a child changed Jeff’s way of thinking
1:14:05 - The difficult mission
1:16:01 - “You know in that environment that you’re probably going to lose somebody.”
1:18:24 - Losing comrades
1:21:21 - Taking the dangerous route
1:24:18 - “I’m making decisions that are putting other people’s lives at greater risk.”
1:26:26 - “I’ve never had a positive thing happen in my life that came from me sitting around, waiting for somebody else to make a decision.”
1:29:12 - The Catalyst to turn things around
1:31:54 - “There’s no background music playing in combat.”
1:33:39 - A conversation with a Vietnam War Veteran
1:36:37 - The Man in the Arena
1:38:00 - Would you go back and do all that again?
1:41:48 - NEW FEATURE: A New Listener's Combat Story from Yonel Yogi Dorelis
I was Jeff's jump gunner in 2004. One time on that deployment, I was on the ground doing a dismounted patrol when we were engaged by an insurgent with a grenade. We ran to cut him off on the other side of the building he ran around but as we approached the other side, which was Haifa street and Talil square, they threw more grenades at us and engaged us with sniper fire. I ducked back on the other side of a pillar as Jeff ran up to us. I gave him the description of the insurgent but said we were engaged by some sniper fire and he said no, we don't need to risk it and we went back to the vehicles. He listened to his NCO's and junior enlisted like he mentioned and he will always have my utmost respect because of that. i would follow Jeff anywhere, any time, to this day, even if he is a seminole fan ;)
This is such a great comment. Wish junior officers had a chance to read it. Thanks for sharing brother.
I was a combat medic in Jeff’s unit! Wild randomly seeing this on UA-cam.
@@CombatStory great video need more Korean war stories
@@CombatStory love the content
That's is my company commander... this man and our 1sg have impacted all of our lives during our deployment... and even to this day.... I'm pretty sure to this day the men of legion company still talk about our company!
This interview needs lots and lots more views. One of the best interviews so far. If you have read any of the books that Ryan has linked to then you know that Jeff is an amazing leader. Leading without prejudice nor trying to further himself. I TRUE leader.
I gotta chafe story. Back in the 70’s we had an outboard boat. Went to pine island. That was decades before there was anything there. Only way in and out was by boat. My dad was 3 war veteran. Very much hardcore senior nco. Wish he were here for this channel. Anyway, tide goes out, we are staying the night like it or not. No food. No water. No dry clothes. After spending a recreational day in the water, reality hit us soft ones. Old man? He just kinda snorted once. It was middle of night he discovered his prize boarding ladder had been lost overboard during the day. It was middle of night he launched a mandatory, on foot beach line circumnavigation of that island. We were soon bleeding from all frictional surfaces due to sand and salt. Barefoot. Blazing hot. Cut to ribbons. Crying for canceling the March. Ole man? Senior airborne master blaster nco? This is all he’d say. Continue to March. Those three words have gone down in our fam history. I so so wish he had made it so I could tell him the stuff I needed to tell him. He set the stage for modern day warriors. Boots I could never fill.
This man's ongoing profound torture and anguish over decisions he madé concerning the safety and lives of his men is why we are a great people and nation.We aren not savages but a profoundly just and caring breed.It is an honor to live in a nation that produces such an honorable and moral man as this .
Great upload ,Incredible story.
Dude at the end, soldier, sailor, airmen and a Marine! That’s crazy. I didn’t think it was possible
Can't wait for his full interview!! I love how he repeated everything. It's not the same replaying someone's story.
Wow another great interview , so glad you interview guys like this. The commanders/platoon leaders of these infantry companies are the glue that holds it all together. People don’t understand how much regular army infantry units went through during mid 2,000s in Iraq and Afghan. I was in an infantry unit 4ID, deployed in 2005 and 2007 relieving 1st Cav infantry units.
I think our divisions relieved each other every 12-15 months from 2004-2010 in Iraq. First team 🤙
@@Suplexus you are right. Man they were deploying us often and long.. by 2006/2007 guys had already spent 2+ years over there. We had to do 12-15 month deployments and I was stop lossed, had to deploy again instead of getting out. Crazy times.
This gentleman is one of the most impressive people you interview
Got To Love A Man That Can Self Disclose Idiocy....
Thanks... Semper Fi GB
These interviews are so interesting, keep them coming. Great channel!
I like his story about how he unpowered the men serving under him and promoted adhesion in that way. He was a skillful leader.
I was a Marine from 1994 to 2001 as a 7051 Aircraft Firefighter and helped close M.C.A.S. El Toro and M.C.A.S. Tustin and went to finish off in M.C.A.S. Miramar in 99. After the Towers fell I was fresh out but ran down to the local National Guard Unit and joined and became a 12B Combat Engineer. I was mobilized to guard an Air Force Base from 2003-2004 working under the Air Force Security Forces and patrolled the Mt. Home AFB base and Air Field. I volunteered to go to Iraq OIF III directly afterwards and helped train the Iraqi Army troops in basic combat skills and then jumped in with an infantry unit to go to the fight. Earned my Combat Action Badge on June 29th, 2005. Was one of the first in the Army to receive the award. I came back in 2006 and took a small break before taking a civilian contractor working in a maintenance/mechanic shop for the Idaho guard for refit/reset and college on the g.i.bill. 2010 I redeployment back to Iraq for operation New Dawn and ended up in a wounded warrior unit for a year on the last day of a 3 month training workup the day before flying to Iraq. Went through alot of shit, lost alot of friends including my only biological brother/sibling who served in Iraq and was in my unit as well. I finally medically retired right around my 20 year mark in 2014 with 6 Honerable discharges. ....lolololol! IT'S Been a tough road now with so many mental / physical injuries and finally beating alcohol and drug abuse after 20 years of being a hard core alcoholic. I guess I just wanted to say thank you and everyone for these videos they really help me. Obviously I'm not SF but I have the utmost respect for all of you. Semper Fi. --Monty
Good episode. A good man who gave up much to serve our country. Nice work Ryan. You are always prepared and ask concise questions.
Ryan, your interviewing skills are really getting sharp! The flow is definitely improving. Thanks for the great content!
Im so stoked! I always listen to your interviews on my runs and I just happened to check to see if you had anything new a minute ago. Thanks for the awesome videos.
Really appreciate it Garrett. This is a good one to listen to on a run. Jeff went through hell and back and his men loved him. Thanks for the support!
@@CombatStory are you only interested in armed services at war? Civil Medical at Pandemic not on the list?.
@@buedro28 He seems to just focus the channel on military vets who saw combat, hence the name. Not all heroes wear camo though.
Great interview and Jeff, Sir, I know what it's like be lost and waste 5 years and your testimony hit it home with me, Thanks
Thanks Ryan and Jeff.... love y’all!
My God.. what a solid dude.
Another excellent episode! Love this channel!!
I commanded a company 2ID in Ramadi. I lost too many guys. Some veteran stories I have a hard time believing, I believe this guy.
Mom’s know everything. Whew…that was rough.
these are great! keep em coming!
Awesome chat! Keep em coming!
“How are you preparing mentally?”
“Before I run I take hand fulls of sand and throw them down my pants” Lol
Love your channel. I’ve watched almost all of your videos. I’d like to learn more about your personal experience. Are there any videos I can watch, or articles/blog posts I can read? Apologies if the answer is obvious and I’ve somehow missed it. Keep up the great work!
Let’s ask “the team house” ;)
Thank
I only clicked because he looked like Paul Walker in the thumbnail. He looks different now. Yes...I'm very shallow. Thank you for your service
Great series, working my way through them all.
Have you tried interviewing Nicholas Irving the author of the reaper and the way of the reaper. army ranger
Was that the Jooba sniper in 06'?
What a handsome dude. Looks like Paul Walker. Well at least in early pics. He has aged
I was thinking the exact same
Viewer Bonus... Kool
Ryan great interview again. I always want to ask these guys do they think the whole war in Afganistan and Iraq worth it .......do they think American should never have gone in on the ground. No one ever asks these guys that question........maybe its to political
What is the value in the hard way?..why we listen😊
Find someone from 1-23 infantry during oif 2006, they got some stories
I replaced those dudes twice in Iraq. Solid group of dudes
Holy crap, 1-23 inf recon 06/07 tour, crazy seeing this comment, Apache company had it the worst, lost a lot of good men but they had great leadership that held them together. Hafi street was no joke, not going to lie those high rises had my leg shaking, we were running med evac escort, I was on the 240, remember every body around us shooting but I couldn’t pid an enemy and knew we had friendly everywhere. Clearing op. Didn’t know what to do....crazy times....RIP to the fallen.
While not a Marine, I am biased towards them since I am one, I am stoked you have a conventional guy on!
What?
I'm not a human, but biased towards them.
⛩
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