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Today we hear the Combat Story of Karl Erickson, a long time Green Beret, expert sniper, and retired Sergeant Major, who deployed pre- and post-9/11, including into Afghanistan just after the Twin Towers fell to hunt Bin Laden. [NOTE: We're launching on Patreon soon. Register to get notified at https://www.combatstory.com/patreon] After the military, Karl took his decades of teaching as a Green Beret into the civilian world and has a huge online following for his Tactical Rifleman brand and I can see why. In this episode, we dive into the deep, deep details of being a sniper in combat, to include taking a sniper shot at night just before breaching a target (scopes, windage, aerodynamics, countdowns for simultaneous shots, round selection, and more), which is just a glimpse of what he shares with his followers online. Karl is a natural born storyteller and I know you’ll enjoy this hilarious and deeply technical Combat Story as much as I did. Find Karl online: Instagram @tactical_rifleman  Twitter @TacRifleman  Facebook  TacticalRifleman.com  Find Ryan online: Ryan’s Linktree  Merch  Instagram @combatstory  Facebook @combatstoryofficial  Send us messages or email ryan@combatstory.com Learn more about Ryan  Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 0:38 - Guest introduction (Karl Erickson) 1:30 - Interview begins 6:15 – Making Sergeant Major and being an Operator at Headquarters 15:38 - Childhood as self-proclaimed “juvenile delinquent” and when he knew he wanted to be a Green Beret 30:3 - How the lack of mentor influenced his career path 40:31 - What makes a good sniper 44:15 - Feelings in Desert Storm 53:58 - Combat Story #1 - Gunfight in Afghanistan 1:07:20 - Technical description of shooting with a suppressor 1:10 - Shooting in the dark 1:14:38 - First time having somebody in a scope for real 1:20:42 - Combat Story #2 1:39:28: - About Tactical Rifleman project 1:55:11- What did you carry into combat? 1:56:24 - Would you do it all again? 2:01:14 - Listener comments and shout outs