Combat Story (Ep 19): John Stryker Meyer | SOG Operator & Team Leader | Green Beret | Author

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John "Tilt" Stryker Meyer was a pioneer in the special operations community who served two tours as a MACV-SOG operator (what many might call the original Tier 1 unit) and team leader in Vietnam. John led small covert Spike Teams “across the fence” on clandestine operations into Laos and Cambodia in what many now refer to as the secret war in the Vietnam conflict.

John shares what it was like joining this covert world, signing a 20 year secrecy agreement, and how the aircraft that brought him to his first FOB then loaded a small special ops team that was never heard from again.

It was an ominous start, to say the least. In one unbelievable battle, John describes the enemy stacking dead bodies in an effort to get an elevated firing position on John’s team. In another, the enemy uses a tactic where they get so close to the U.S. positions that aircrews won’t be able to drop napalm rounds.

John has three books that chronicle both his stories and those of his fellow SOG operators (listed below) and he’s been featured in various interviews, including several with Jocko Willink, and is currently building his own podcast with Jocko to tell the stories of other members of the SOG community (can't wait!). John and Jocko are also collaborating on a video game based on SOG missions.

It’s amazing John lived through the experiences he shares with us and he’s a living testament to the courage so many showed in Vietnam.

Books

Across the Fence (https://tinyurl.com/8x6vmcx6)
On the Ground (https://tinyurl.com/s4rh8n74)
SOG Chronicles (https://tinyurl.com/ae3updt7)

Interview with Jocko Willink (one of many)
Episode 180 -    • Jocko Podcast 180 w/ John Stryker Mey...  

#MACV-SOG #Tier1 #SpecialOperations

Show Notes

0:00 - Intro
3:53 - “Pushing things a little bit” as a kid. The book, The Green Berets (https://tinyurl.com/3af6sb6m) by Robin Moore influenced John’s decision to join Special Forces.
6:21 - How an eye doctor changed John’s life trajectory and sent him from being a pilot to being a SOG operator.
9:51 - Glad he missed the Korean War because it was so hard. Referenced Pork Chop Hill (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053183/).
12:45 - John’s path from enlisting straight to Special Forces.
14:57 - An “offer” to join the elite.
16:55 - “We go to the safe house that night…” (Reference to MIKE Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIKE_Force and Project DELTA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project...)
22:55 - First “gut check” while flying in a South Vietnamese H-34 helicopter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsk...) into his FOB. Spike Team Idaho gets on the helo as John gets off.
27:11 - Description and composition of a “Spike Team” and the “One-Zero” call sign.
31:20 - The mission set for John’s unit in Vietnam, starting with going across the fence.
41:24 - The importance of Situational Awareness in combat.
44:11 - First contact in Vietnam at “Echo 4” that includes hours-long firefights against an enemy stacking dead bodies, calling in danger close air strikes, and having shell casings from CAS burning your neck.
55:55 - First confirmed kill.
58:10 - What is a “Covey” in this war?
59:46 - Carrying a grenade as a last resort to avoid being taken prisoner.
1:02:10 - John shares his appreciation for the Vietnamese pilots who showed amazing bravery.
1:07:55 - Blacking out while attached to a rope attached to a helicopter in flight.
1:13:47 - The relationship with the indigenous forces.
1:20:00 - Being so close to the enemy that they “touched” John’s boot in the middle of the night.
1:22:07 - “The recon gods smiled on me.”
1:23:44 - A Thanksgiving mission to find THREE NVA Divisions.
1:32:25 - Did you ever return to Vietnam?
1:36:05 - A Colonel became the reason John left SOG. It’s a great story of speaking truth to power but also so sad at the same time.
1:42:57 - What did John carry for good luck?
1:43:56 - Would you do it all again?
1:46:34 - Exciting news for what John is working on now, including a new podcast hosted by John to interview other SOG members that Jocko will then share on his social media. Also a video game coming out based on SOG.