Urban Valor: the podcast

Marine veteran Peter Caro joined the U.S. Marine Corps expecting to become a mechanic. Instead, he was sent to Iraq as a Motor Transport operator during a time when IEDs were killing drivers across the battlefield.

In this Urban Valor interview, Peter shares what it was like serving in Fallujah, driving dangerous roads in Iraq, surviving IED attacks, taking enemy fire, and dealing with the PTSD and survivor’s guilt that followed him home.

Peter served in the Marines from 2004 to 2013 and completed multiple deployments to Iraq. During his service, he transported personnel and equipment, trained Iraqi police and military forces, and operated outside the wire in some of the most dangerous conditions of the Iraq War.

He also opens up about the moments that stayed with him most — seeing Marines he knew listed as killed in action, watching a vehicle in front of him hit an IED, and struggling with the belief that other Marines deserved to come home more than he did.

After leaving active duty, Peter began dealing with hypervigilance, panic attacks, isolation, drinking, and survivor’s guilt. His path to understanding PTSD eventually led him back to school, where he studied psychology and social work.

Today, Peter works as a therapist helping other veterans navigate trauma, PTSD, depression, and the difficult transition from military to civilian life.

Chapters: 
00:00 Marine Boot Camp & Surviving an IED Attack
01:00 Peter Caro’s Marine Corps Story
01:50 Growing Up in a Mexican-American Family
06:34 Why Pete Wanted to Become a Marine
08:34 Watching 9/11 Change Everything
11:31 Feeling Lost Before Joining the Marines
13:44 Walking Into the Marine Recruiter’s Office
16:33 The Reality of Marine Corps Boot Camp
18:32 Choosing to Push Through
19:01 A Recruit Tries to Escape Boot Camp
23:39 The Reality of the Boot Camp Bathroom
25:13 Pete’s Infamous Boot Camp Story
27:00 Marine Corps Graduation & His Father’s Reaction
31:51 Returning Home After Boot Camp
32:59 Getting in Trouble on Recruiting Duty
36:00 The Marine Corps Job He Didn’t Expect
37:30 Joining 9th Communication Battalion
40:02 When Pete’s Roommate Went UA
43:55 Preparing to Deploy to Iraq
45:31 “Dude, You’re Going to Die”
47:00 Training for His First Iraq Deployment
48:47 Accidentally Taking Night Vision Goggles Home
51:58 Deploying to Fallujah, Iraq
53:07 Training Marines & Iraqi Security Forces
54:04 Carrying Iraqi Money Into a Combat Zone
55:53 His First Experience Taking Enemy Fire
56:41 Tracer Fire Over a Marine Convoy
59:24 Becoming Desensitized to Combat
1:00:50 Seeing Marines He Knew on the KIA Wall
1:03:19 The Beginning of Survivor’s Guilt
1:04:28 Secretly Getting Married Before Deployment
1:08:55 Training Iraqi Police & Army
1:10:25 Ambushed During a Convoy Mission
1:15:43 Coming Home From Iraq
1:18:35 Pete’s Second Iraq Deployment
1:20:29 The “Code Brown” Convoy Story
1:24:32 Incoming Fire Nearly Kills Pete
1:28:12 The Mission That Changed Everything
1:31:24 The Truck in Front of Him Hits an IED
1:32:49 Thinking His Marines Were Dead
1:35:00 Guilt After the IED Explosion
1:36:45 Why Pete Decided to Leave Active Duty
1:40:48 Life in the Marine Corps Reserve
1:43:43 Being Reenlisted by R. Lee Ermey
1:45:21 Returning to College After the Marines
1:46:50 “I Hate the Fact That I Came Back Alive”
1:48:46 How Combat Changed Him at Home
1:50:54 Drinking, Isolation & Emotional Numbness
1:51:32 Learning About PTSD in Psychology Class
1:54:50 Refusing to Accept He Had PTSD
1:56:11 The Panic Attack That Changed Everything
1:57:44 His First Experience Seeking Help
1:58:53 The Vietnam Veteran Who Changed His Life
1:59:56 Finding a New Mission Through Social Work
2:00:49 Becoming a Therapist for Veterans
2:02:08 Why Transitioning Out Can Be So Difficult
2:03:18 Why Pete Almost Didn’t Tell His Story
2:05:54 What He Would Tell His Younger Self
2:06:43 “You Are Enough”

Navy SEAL Andrew Arrabito sits down to tell the REAL stories behind serving in United States Naval Special Warfare from 2002 to 2012, including time with SEAL Team 5 and SEAL Team 1.

In this episode of Urban Valor, he breaks down what BUD/S was really like, the mindset required to survive SEAL training, life as a new guy in the teams, and what combat looked like during deployments overseas.

He also tells the incredible story of a nighttime freefall jump where he lost access to his ripcord, began tumbling at low altitude, deployed his reserve chute, survived… and then got back in the aircraft and jumped again.

Beyond the military stories, Andrew opens up about growing up in Northern California, losing his father and two older brothers in a plane crash at age seven, and later returning to the crash site in Alaska.👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation.

🗣️ Comment your support or ask any questions. Sometimes, our interviewees respond, and we at Urban Valor will do our best to respond as well!

✅ SUBSCRIBE to support Urban Valor and the courageous Veterans who tell their stories AND so you NEVER miss a weekly episode of our veteran stories. New stories every Sunday!

Your engagement greatly supports our mission to share authentic and impactful veteran stories.

Chapters: 
0:00 “I Thought I Was Dead” – Parachute Malfunction
1:25 Meet Navy SEAL Andrew Arrabito
2:07 Growing Up in Northern California
5:20 Faith & Family
6:08 Why He Wanted to Become a Navy SEAL
7:11 Joining the Navy & Getting to BUD/S
14:50 How BUD/S Instructors Targeted Candidates
15:54 The Different Phases of SEAL Training
21:59 Deaths & Danger During SEAL Training
23:09 Joining SEAL Team 5
24:01 Life as the New Guy
25:34 Hazing & SEAL Team Culture
27:25 First Combat Deployment to Iraq
28:42 Combat Missions in Iraq
32:06 Hunting a Sniper in Tal Afar
33:46 Screening for DEVGRU
42:00 Fighting in Afghanistan
43:12 How Taliban Fighters Hid From Apache Helicopters
45:40 A Helicopter Crash That Nearly Included His Team
46:02 Did They Make a Difference in Afghanistan?
46:22 Training Other Navy SEALs
58:27 Losing His Father & Two Brothers
58:38 Returning to the Alaska Plane Crash Site
1:00:06 Losing His Family at Seven Years Old
1:01:08 Building His Business After the SEAL Teams
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.

#UrbanValor #navyseal #podcast

Marine Corps Sergeant Major Jean-Paul Corville served 22 years in the United States Marine Corps from 1991 to 2013, earning the Bronze Star with Valor and rising to the rank of Sergeant Major.

In this episode of Urban Valor, Corville shares Marine Corps boot camp stories, infantry life, combat in Iraq, leadership lessons, disaster response in Japan, and the decision that ultimately changed the course of his career.

He talks about growing up shy and overweight in Louisiana, transforming himself through training, choosing the Marines, becoming an 0331 machine gunner, serving at 29 Palms, deploying to Okinawa, becoming a drill instructor, and eventually reaching the highest enlisted levels of Marine Corps leadership.

Corville also opens up about combat, loss, mistakes, consequences, and what happened when one decision cost him more than he ever expected.

From hilarious Marine Corps stories to some of the darkest moments of his life, this is an unfiltered look at a 22-year military career from someone who lived it at every level.

👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation.

🗣️ Comment your support or ask any questions. Sometimes, our interviewees respond, and we at Urban Valor will do our best to respond as well!

✅ SUBSCRIBE to support Urban Valor and the courageous Veterans who tell their stories AND so you NEVER miss a weekly episode of our veteran stories. New stories every Sunday!

Your engagement greatly supports our mission to share authentic and impactful veteran stories.

Chapters: 
00:00 Preview
01:38 Growing Up Shy & Overweight in Louisiana
07:58 Why He Chose the Marine Corps
15:10 Marine Corps Boot Camp & Becoming a Machine Gunner
22:04 Life at 29 Palms & Early Infantry Stories
27:49 Deploying to Okinawa
46:04 Life as a Marine Corps Drill Instructor
1:24:43 Deploying to Kuwait Before the Iraq Invasion
1:33:59 Combat in Baghdad & Losing Marines
1:59:40 The Battle of Karma
2:32:46 The Career Decision That Changed Everything
2:34:34 Retiring as a Sergeant Major After 22 Years
2:43:28 Hiking the Appalachian Trail & Life After the Marines
2:53:19 Motivation, Inspiration & Final Advice

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.

#UrbanValor #usarmy #podcast

Ronald Long is a United States Marine Corps veteran who served from 2009–2013, leaving the Marines as an E-4 Corporal. In this episode of Urban Valor, Ronald shares his incredible story of joining the U.S. Marines, experiencing combat, surviving an IED explosion, losing a fellow service member beside him, and confronting experiences that would follow him long after the battlefield.

But Ronald’s story started LONG before the Marine Corps...

He grew up in Northern California in a Puerto Rican family that endured financial hardship, his sister’s battle with cancer, his mother’s addiction, abuse inside the home, and eventually the breakup of his family.

As a kid, Ronald learned pretty damn quickly how to survive.

By his teenage years, that meant helping raise his sisters, trying to help keep his family financially afloat, getting involved in selling marijuana, witnessing violence around his friends, and reaching adulthood without much of a plan for what came next.

Then life changed FAST.

Ronald began a relationship, discovered he was about to become a father, and suddenly needed a way to provide for a family.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere...

A Marine Corps recruiter called.

Ronald signed the paperwork, went to boot camp, and began a path that would eventually put him into situations very few people can truly understand.

And somehow, even surrounded by some incredibly dark moments, Ronald’s Marine Corps stories can also be absolutely hilarious.

From doing boot camp practically BLIND because nobody gave him his glasses...

...to Marines breaking into the WRONG barracks...

...to a drill instructor apparently studying World of Warcraft just so he could figure out new ways to destroy the recruits playing it. 

But combat was different.

Ronald describes transporting bodies, seeing horrific injuries become almost routine, and the moment a pressure plate detonated feet away from him.

For a moment, his mind transported him somewhere completely different.

Then Abdul came crashing back into his reality.

And Ronald realized his friend was dead.

Thank you to Ronald Long for trusting us with his story.

👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation.

🗣️ Comment your support or ask any questions. Sometimes, our interviewees respond, and we at Urban Valor will do our best to respond as well!

✅ SUBSCRIBE to support Urban Valor and the courageous Veterans who tell their stories AND so you NEVER miss a weekly episode of our veteran stories. New stories every Sunday!

Your engagement greatly supports our mission to share authentic and impactful veteran stories.

Chapters: 
00:00 Preview
01:04 Meet Marine Veteran Ronald Long
02:17 His Sister’s Battle With Cancer
04:19 Addiction and Abuse at Home
10:15 His Family Nearly Loses Everything
12:30 Gang Violence and Losing a Friend
17:55 Life Before the Marine Corps
23:16 Finding Out He Was Going to Be a Father
23:55 The Marine Corps Recruiter Calls
25:50 Leaving for Boot Camp
26:50 Going Through Boot Camp Nearly Blind
28:26 Breaking Into the Wrong Barracks
32:34 World of Warcraft Meets Marine Boot Camp
37:02 Becoming a Squad Leader
39:18 MCT and Becoming a Radio Operator
44:42 Arriving in the Fleet
45:58 A Wild Night With His Corporals
50:53 Becoming a Field Radio Operator
52:10 Preparing for Afghanistan
59:19 Taking Over Communications in Afghanistan
1:00:07 Becoming Addicted to Combat Patrols
1:01:42 The Push Along Route 611
1:03:39 Abdul Steps on an IED
1:04:29 Realizing Abdul Is Dead
1:05:16 Surviving the Blast
1:06:52 Faith, Anger, and Wanting to Die
1:15:20 Returning to Afghanistan
1:15:39 Becoming Desensitized to Death
1:17:00 The True Cost of the Deployment
1:26:14 Surviving Another Major Battle
1:27:22 Coming Home From a Brutal Deployment
1:29:43 Trying to Become a Husband and Father
1:41:19 Getting Married Days After Coming Home
1:42:34 Discovering His Wife Was Unfaithful
1:45:24 Preparing for Another Deployment
1:52:40 Waking Up Injured in Thailand
1:54:19 His Unit Leaves Without Him
1:56:10 Stranded and Trying to Rejoin His Unit
2:00:04 Traveling Through the Middle East
2:06:53 Finally Rejoining His Marines
2:11:02 Deciding to Leave the Marine Corps
2:12:23 Transitioning to Civilian Life
2:13:53 Moving Millions on the Las Vegas Strip
2:24:14 A Fight Changes His Career
2:26:22 Becoming a Counterterrorism Instructor
2:27:04 Finding Purpose Again
2:31:06 Struggling With Suicidal Thoughts
2:31:55 Losing His Purpose Again
2:34:00 Sitting in a Parking Lot With a Gun
2:34:19 The Phone Call That Kept Him Alive
2:35:25 Losing Fellow Marines to Suicide
2:37:16 Finding a New Mission After the Military
2:37:56 Turning Veteran Trauma Into Comedy
2:42:15 Helping Veterans Find Purpose
2:43:02 Stories Over Stigma
2:43:39 Ronald’s Message to Other Veterans
2:44:33 Closing

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.

#UrbanValor #usarmy #podcast

U.S. Army tanker Carlos Manjarrez served as an M1 Abrams armor crewman from 2012 to 2018. In this episode of the Urban Valor Podcast, Carlos shares the story of growing up in San Bernardino, joining the United States Army with a baby on the way, choosing a combat MOS, becoming an Army tanker, and experiencing the wild personalities, leadership, training, and brotherhood that came with life in an armor unit.

Carlos didn’t grow up with some perfectly mapped-out plan to become an M1 Abrams tanker.

After graduating high school in 2011, college wasn’t clicking. He had a child on the way, wasn’t sure what came next, and eventually walked into a military recruiting station looking for one thing:

A combat job.

He considered the Marines first, but the available jobs weren’t what he wanted. Then he walked into the Army recruiter’s office and was given several options—including cavalry scout, mortarman, and 19K M1 armor crewman.

Carlos picked tanks.

But this conversation goes WAY beyond the Army...

Chapters:
00:00 Wild Army Tanker Stories
01:17 Growing Up in San Bernardino
03:01 Growing Up Without His Father
07:26 Taking a DNA Test to Find the Truth
10:30 Growing Up Around Gangs & Street Culture
15:35 The Police Encounter That Became a Wake-Up Call
19:35 Why He Wanted to Join the Military
22:45 Walking Into an Army Recruiting Office
24:06 A Baby on the Way Changes Everything
26:25 Choosing 19K Army Tanker
26:56 Basic Training Begins
31:45 Getting Smoked by the Drill Sergeants
36:13 What Army Basic Training Was Really Like
39:44 Questioning Whether He Made the Right Decision
40:17 His Son Is Born During Training
40:40 Getting Orders to Fort Stewart
46:16 Life in His First Army Unit
47:52 National Training Center at Fort Irwin
48:35 How an M1 Abrams Tank Crew Works
49:25 Becoming an M1 Abrams Gunner
49:45 Earning the Legendary Tanker Boots
51:01 Preparing to Fire the M1 Abrams
59:02 Getting “Killed” During an NTC Mission
1:00:14 Seeing a Soldier’s PTSD Triggered in Training
1:02:15 Live Mortar Rounds Land Next to Their Tank
1:06:01 Preparing for an Afghanistan Deployment
1:06:29 Orders Suddenly Change to Germany
1:06:45 Training With U.S. Allies in Germany
1:08:17 The Sketchy M1 Abrams River Crossing
1:15:28 Pranks Played on New Army Tankers
1:16:42 Tank Crew Traditions & Gunnery Pranks
1:20:09 What Firing an M1 Abrams Feels Like
1:21:15 Why Every Tank Crew Member Matters
1:32:06 Leaving the Army & Trying to Become a Cop
1:34:31 Losing a Close Army Friend
1:35:45 Finding a New Career Through Helmets to Hardhats
1:37:28 Becoming a Groundman & Working Toward Lineman
1:54:12 His Advice to Young Soldiers
1:55:07 Final Thoughts

👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation.

🗣️ Comment your support or ask any questions. Sometimes, our interviewees respond, and we at Urban Valor will do our best to respond as well!

✅ SUBSCRIBE to support Urban Valor and the courageous Veterans who tell their stories AND so you NEVER miss a weekly episode of our veteran stories. New stories every Sunday!

Your engagement greatly supports our mission to share authentic and impactful veteran stories.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.

#UrbanValor #usarmy #podcast