Swedish Special Operations Soldier | Arctic Ranger | Special Purpose Unit | Intelligence | Number 788 | Max Lauker

<p dir="ltr">Today we have our first Combat Story from a Swedish Special Operations soldier and intelligence professional, Max Lauker. Max spent 20 years in the elite Swedish forces and was a plank holder for one of the predecessor units to what later became Sweden's Special Operations Group.</p> <p>Check out our Combat Story Newsletter at <a href="https://www.combatstory.com/newsletter">www.combatstory.com/newsletter</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">He served multiple deployments that we cover in this episode in what I've coined as four missions and a funeral to dig into more of the combat experiences and lessons while also touching on loss that comes with this line of work.</p> <p dir="ltr">Max takes us through time fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, solo and team deployments to Latin America, doing full cycle cross-border reconnaissance missions in the Balkans, to lonely and frankly frightening intel work in Eastern Europe and Russia. This is just a bit of the action that Max writes about in his upcoming book that he co-wrote with Antonio Garcia titled 'Number 788: My experiences in Swedish Special Operations - preparing for NATO and the War on Terror.'</p> <p dir="ltr">I think you're really going to enjoy this chat with our first Swede on this show, Max Lauker.</p> <p dir="ltr">Find Max Lauker Online:</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Number-788-experiences-Operations-preparing/dp/1804514233"> https://www.amazon.com/Number-788-experiences-Operations-preparing/dp/1804514233</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Find Ryan Online:<br /> 🎙️ Connect with Ryan & Combat Story:</p> <p dir="ltr">🔗 Ryan's Linktree: <a href="https://linktr.ee/combatstory">https://linktr.ee/combatstory</a></p> <p dir="ltr">🛒 Merch Store: <a href="https://www.bonfire.com/store/combatstory/">https://www.bonfire.com/store/combatstory/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">📸 Instagram: @combatstory <a href="https://www.instagram.com/combatstory">https://www.instagram.com/combatstory</a></p> <p dir="ltr">📘 Facebook: @combatstoryofficial <a href="https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial">https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial</a></p> <p dir="ltr">📖 Learn more about Ryan: <a href="https://www.combatstory.com/aboutus">https://www.combatstory.com/aboutus</a></p> <p dir="ltr">🎵 Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle</p> <p dir="ltr">Show Notes:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 Introduction<br /> 00:36 Welcome to Combat Story<br /> 00:56 Meet Max Lauker: Swedish Special Operations<br /> 03:53 Growing Up in Sweden and Military Service<br /> 06:48 Choosing the Ranger Path<br /> 08:06 Swedish Special Operations Community<br /> 11:20 Joining the Arctic Rangers<br /> 15:34 Selection Process for Special Purpose Units<br /> 22:41 First Deployment: Latin America<br /> 29:16 Unexpected Mission in Venezuela<br /> 33:38 Team Deployment in Colombia<br /> 38:09 Official Mission in Kosovo<br /> 40:01 The Full Circle Mission in Kosovo<br /> 41:19 Reconnaissance and Surveillance Operations<br /> 44:22 Cross-Border Tensions and Discoveries<br /> 47:30 Reflections on the Kosovo Mission<br /> 49:22 Transition to Iraq: A Dangerous Deployment<br /> 52:50 Afghanistan: Intel and Direct Action<br /> 57:26 Lonely Intel Work in Eastern Europe<br /> 01:10:54 The Challenges of Counterintelligence<br /> 01:15:27 Writing the Book: A New Mission<br /> 01:20:06 Final Thoughts and Reflections</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p> </p>