#4A--Nick Galvan

(Note: This is the first half of a longer podcast. Also, we experienced sound quality troubles recording this episode, so we apologize in advance!) In this episode, we discuss: *What’s changed and what’s stayed the same in the Marine Corps since Nick enlisted in 1999 *The enduring phenomenon of “Old Corps” vs “New Corps” *The role that social media plays in perpetuating this dichotomy *Social media’s general effects on the Marine Corps *Nick’s experience at recruit training and the School of Infantry-West *His views on the oft-repeated fleet phrase “Forget everything you learned at [insert school or course name].” *Nick’s thoughts on the gap between what’s taught in formal schools and what’s practiced in the fleet *What drew Nick to the infantry *Nick’s time as a rifleman in Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, before 9/11 *His experiences training under severe resource constraints *Corporals Jose Pagan and Sergio Alvarado, the fireteam leaders Nick took to war in Operation Iraqi Freedom-I *The story of how Nick became a rifle squad leader *Nick’s thoughts on going to war with a two-fire team squad *His experiences on the first day of the war *Nick’s first firefight and the events behind the decision-forcing case (DFC) Sandstorm *Nick’s harrowing decision of having to leave behind a fireteam to guard an immobilized amphibious assault vehicle *The events of the battle and decision-forcing case Devil’s Ditch *Nick’s proudest moment as a Marine leader *The events for which Lance Corporal Joseph Perez would receive the Navy Cross *Nick’s squad in the Iraqi town of Diwaniyah and the disheartening events that colloquially became known as “Operation Donkey Freedom” *Nick’s training in and experiences with crowd control in Iraq *The qualities that make a great squad leader *The differences between Nick’s first and second tours in Iraq *Nick’s transition from squad leader to platoon sergeant *His expectations of his platoon commander and squad leaders *The serious discipline problems that Nick witnessed in his platoon, both stateside and in Ramadi, Iraq, and how he addressed them *How these experiences shaped Galvan as a leader Links and Notes If you’d like to get in touch with Nick, please send us an email at [email protected]. Lance Corporal Joseph Perez’s Navy Cross citation https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/3633 “Crowd Control”, Nick’s essay (Chapter 8) in Marines at War: Stories from Afghanistan and Iraq https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=796398 Update: At the request of the author, we have removed “The Platoon Sergeant” essay.