Combat Story

How does a West Point graduate and Army Ranger go from military service to winning The Apprentice and building one of the most successful veteran-focused venture capital firms in America?
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Kelly Perdew to discuss leadership, service, entrepreneurship, and the lessons that carried him from the U.S. Army to the national spotlight and beyond.
Kelly shares his journey through West Point, Army Intelligence, and Ranger School before discussing the experience of competing on—and ultimately winning—Season 2 of The Apprentice. He reflects on the leadership lessons he learned in uniform, how military experience shaped his approach to business, and why veterans often possess unique advantages as entrepreneurs and leaders.
The conversation also explores startup failures, venture capital, the founding of Moonshots Capital, and the importance of backing mission-driven founders who can thrive in uncertain environments.
Throughout the discussion, Kelly offers practical insights on leadership, resilience, accountability, and what it takes to build successful teams both inside and outside the military.
In this episode, we discuss:
West Point and Army leadership development
Ranger School and lessons in perseverance
Winning The Apprentice Season 2
Transitioning from military service to business
Entrepreneurship, startups, and failure
Building Moonshots Capital
Investing in veteran-led companies
Leadership under pressure
The value veterans bring to the private sector
Creating impact after military service
Whether you're a veteran navigating transition, an entrepreneur building a company, or simply interested in leadership and personal growth, Kelly's story offers valuable lessons from both the military and business worlds.
Chapters
00:00 Leadership Wins Everywhere
01:12 Meet Kelly Perdew: West Point, Ranger & Apprentice Winner
06:22 Why Military Leadership Translates to Business
12:54 Choosing West Point and the Path to Service
23:23 Ranger School and Learning to Embrace Hardship
29:56 UCLA, Entrepreneurship & Building His First Startup
48:10 Inside The Apprentice: How Kelly Won Season 2
58:39 From Reality TV to Venture Capital
1:05:42 The ID.me Story and Betting on Veteran Founders
1:18:23 Building Moonshots Capital
1:30:29 Why Veterans Make Exceptional Entrepreneurs
1:35:46 Transitioning Out of the Military Successfully
1:41:14 Leadership, Service & Leaving a Legacy
1:45:56 Final Advice for Veterans and Founders
🎙️ Guest — Kelly Perdew
West Point graduate, Army Ranger, entrepreneur, author, winner of *The Apprentice* Season 2, and co-founder of Moonshots Capital. Kelly has spent his career leading teams in the military, building and scaling companies, investing in founders, and helping veterans successfully transition into business and entrepreneurship.
📸 Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kellyperdew

💼 LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyperdew
𝕏:
https://x.com/kperdew
🚀 Moonshots Capital:
https://moonshotscapital.com
📘 Book — Take Command: Leadership Principles from the Military to Business:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596980001
 
🎙️ Host — AJ Pasciuti
Retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Marine Gunner, author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of Combat Story. 
📕 Darkhorse: https://ajpasciuti.com/Darkhorse
📸 AJ Pasciuti Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com

What happens after the uniform comes off?
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Army combat veteran, firefighter, MMA fighter, and author James McDevitt for one of the most honest conversations we've had about service, trauma, purpose, and the lifelong search for meaning after war.
James shares his journey from growing up in a military family to deploying to Iraq as an 18-year-old convoy gunner during some of the deadliest years of the war. He talks about football, failure, identity, and the difficult transition from combat deployments back into civilian life.
The conversation also dives deeply into the emotional realities of firefighting — including the lasting impact of trying to save a young child trapped in a house fire — and the psychological burden first responders and veterans often carry long after the moment ends.
AJ and James discuss:
What it feels like to make life-or-death decisions at 18 years old
The addiction many veterans feel toward combat and high-stakes environments
Why being "left out of the fight" can deeply affect soldiers psychologically
Brotherhood, love, sacrifice, and why war creates bonds unlike anything else
Football, MMA, firefighting, and finding identity after losing purpose
PTSD, suicide, vulnerability, masculinity, and the importance of mentorship
Why failure often teaches more than success ever can
James also discusses his debut novel, A Walk Among Heroes, a story inspired by true events that explores war, love, loss, and what it means to come home after conflict.
This episode is raw, reflective, and deeply human.
If you're interested in military service, combat psychology, firefighting, leadership, masculinity, veteran transition, or the emotional realities behind war stories, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends.
 
🎙️ Guest — James McDevitt Army combat veteran, firefighter, MMA fighter, and author of A Walk Among Heroes. James writes and speaks about war, brotherhood, trauma, resilience, and the lifelong search for purpose after service.
📸 Instagram: @JamesMcDevittAuthor
🎵 TikTok: @JamesMcDevittAuthor
▶️ YouTube: @JamesMcDevittAuthor
📘 Facebook: @JamesMcDevittAuthor
🔗 Website: JamesMcDevittAuthor.com
 
🎙️ Host — AJ Pasciuti Retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Marine Gunner, author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of Combat Story.
📕 Darkhorse: https://ajpasciuti.com/Darkhors
📸 AJ Pasciuti Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 – The House Fire That Changed Everything
01:06 – Introduction | James McDevitt
03:20 – Why James Wrote "A Walk Among Heroes"
07:40 – Growing Up in a Military Family
13:10 – Football, Identity, and Young Masculinity
18:45 – Joining the Army After 9/11
25:00 – Iraq at 18 Years Old
31:20 – Convoy Combat and Daily Violence
39:50 – Brotherhood in War
47:10 – The Addiction to High-Stakes Environments
54:20 – Coming Home from Combat
1:01:40 – Firefighting and Exposure to Death
1:09:15 – Trying to Save a Child in a House Fire
1:18:20 – PTSD, Suppression, and Emotional Numbness
1:26:30 – MMA Fighting and Finding Purpose
1:34:10 – Veterans, Suicide, and Isolation
1:42:00 – Why Failure Shapes Us
1:49:15 – Writing Fiction Inspired by Real Experience
1:56:30 – Advice for Young Men Considering Service
2:02:10 – Final Thoughts on Brotherhood and Purpose

Today on Combat Story, we hear the story of Joshua "Josh" Shores — Marine infantry combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, former Marine Raider, retired firefighter, entrepreneur, and author of Counting on Death: A Marine Infantryman's Journey from the Front Lines of Combat to the Fight for Peace.
Josh served with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines during some of the hardest fighting in Ramadi before later deploying to Afghanistan with Marine Special Operations. In this conversation, he takes us through the reality of combat as a 19-year-old Marine, the burden of surviving when others did not, and the long fight to make peace with the memories that followed him home.
Although AJ and Josh never served together, this episode becomes a deeply relatable conversation between two Marines who carried similar experiences through different units, deployments, and years of war. There are moments where the interview gives way to recognition, where both men are able to sit inside the same memories, ask harder questions, and give language to parts of combat that are rarely spoken about clearly.
This episode goes far beyond firefights and deployments.
Josh speaks candidly about the culture inside the infantry during the height of the Iraq War, the emotional toll of losing friends to IEDs, the confusion of counterinsurgency warfare, survivor's guilt, shame, identity, suicide, and the struggle many veterans face trying to reconnect with life after combat.
This is a conversation about consequence. About brotherhood. About grief. And about trying to find peace after war.
 
🎙️ Guest — Joshua "Josh" Shores Marine infantry combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, former Marine Raider, retired firefighter, entrepreneur, and author of Counting on Death. He served with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Ramadi before later deploying to Afghanistan with Marine Special Operations.
🔗 Find Joshua Online:
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CountingOnDeath/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuashoresofficial/
🔗 Website: https://www.countingondeath.com
📕 Book (Counting on Death):
https://www.amazon.com/Counting-Death-Marine-Infantrymans-Journey/dp/1636245706/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1#detailBullets_feature_div
🎧 Audiobook:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Counting-on-Death-Audiobook/B0F1Z1HJSG?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp
 
🎙️ Host AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.
🔗 Find AJ Online:
📕 Book (Darkhorse): https://www.ajpasciuti.com/book
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
 
🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) - Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU

Before Vietnam became the war America remembers, James Lyle Steele was already in it. In Episode 1 of Reconnaissance Man, "Good Morning, Vietnam," Steele takes us into the earliest days of America's involvement in the war, when the mission was still forming, the battlefield was still being understood, and the cost was already very real.
A retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and one of the original generation of Marine reconnaissance men, Steele describes a brutal and fast-changing fight shaped by booby traps, poisoned bamboo, hidden tunnels, ambushes, helicopter assaults, and constant adaptation. This is not a distant retelling. It is a firsthand account from a man who was there before most Americans even understood the war had begun.
Created by investigative journalist Ashly McGlone in collaboration with the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation, and brought to life by Combat Story, Reconnaissance Man is a nine-part limited series following Steele's extraordinary 30-year military career through Vietnam, the Cold War, and beyond.
 
🎙️ Guest — James Lyle Steele James Lyle Steele is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel whose 30-year career carried him through Vietnam, the Cold War, and beyond. A member of the original generation of Marine reconnaissance men, Steele's story offers a rare firsthand look at war, survival, and service across decades of American military history.
Ashly McGlone is an investigative journalist and the creator of Reconnaissance Man. As Steele's granddaughter, she pairs reporting, narration, and historical context with family connection to bring his extraordinary story to life with depth and care.
🔗 Find Reconnaissance Man and Ashly McGlone Online: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reconnaissanceman/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashlyreports/ 🔗 X: https://x.com/ReconManPod 🔗 X: https://x.com/AshlyReports
 
🎙️ Host — AJ Pasciuti AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.
🔗 Find AJ Online: 📕 Book (Darkhorse): https://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/ 📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/ 🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ 👉 Combat Story Podcast — Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs
👉 Combat Story Podcast — Part 2 (Sniper vs. Sniper Battle) Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU
 
Chapters:
00:00 Reconnaissance Man Intro
01:42 The Cost of Fighting in Vietnam
02:46 Before Vietnam Became America's War
04:47 Meet James Lyle Steele
06:27 Good Morning, Vietnam
07:37 Learning How the War Was Really Fought
10:56 Tigers, Vipers, and the Terrain
14:41 Poisoned Bamboo and Booby Traps
16:27 The Ho Chi Minh Trail and Tunnel Warfare
21:16 Why the Enemy Was So Hard to Fight
22:03 Hidden Weapons, Firefights, and Guides
23:58 The South Vietnamese Forces He Respected
26:06 Why He Wanted to Stay
26:32 The Train Ambush That Should Have Killed Him
28:26 The First Helicopter Assault of the War
30:21 "General Taylor, Go Home"
31:43 The Helicopter Crash
34:00 What Americans Weren't Being Told
34:40 Next Episode: Cuba
35:37 Credits

Before the Iraq War officially began, a different fight was already underway.
U.S. Army Special Forces teams were operating in Northern Iraq, linking up with Kurdish fighters and preparing to open a second front against Saddam Hussein. What they built in those early months would shape the opening phase of the war.
In this episode, AJ Pasciuti sits down with retired Lieutenant Colonel Mark Grdovic, a Green Beret who led missions alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces against Al-Qaeda affiliates in the mountains.
This conversation follows the full path, from early training and deployments, to the moment everything changed after 9/11, to the long preparation for a mission that had no clear timeline and no guaranteed support.
Mark shares what it looked like to plan in uncertainty, build trust with partner forces, and lead small teams in high-risk environments where decisions carried immediate consequences.
You'll hear how Special Forces teams executed a 570-mile infiltration into Iraq, fought in complex terrain, and helped create the conditions for the northern front to succeed. He also reflects on leadership, responsibility, and the realities of unconventional warfare that rarely make it into the broader narrative.
This is a story about more than combat.
It's about trust, preparation, and what it takes to operate in the space between intent and execution.
If you're interested in Special Forces, the Iraq War, unconventional warfare, or leadership under pressure, this episode gives you a grounded, firsthand perspective.
 
🎙️ Guest - Mark Grdovic 
Mark Grdovic is a former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret who worked alongside Kurdish fighters in the early days leading into the Iraq War. His story offers a rare look at unconventional warfare, partnership on the ground, and the human side of conflict before the world was watching.
🔗 Find Mark Online:
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-grdovic-pmp-5668b357
📕 Book (Those Who Faced Death): https://thosewhofacedeath.com
 
🎙️ Host  AJ Pasciuti
AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.
 
🔗 Find AJ Online:
📕 Book (Darkhorse): https://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/