During his service as a combat rescue officer in the US Air Force, Captain Sal Sferrazza and his team of Air Force pararescue jumpers were deployed to Afghanistan, where their mission set included casualty evacuation, personnel recovery, and reintegration operations. In this episode of The Spear, Sal relates the story of how he and his team were called into action in Helmand Province to assist in the recovery of the body of a Marine who stepped on a pressure-plate IED and was blown into a fast-moving mountain river.

While serving as an infantry officer in the 75th Ranger Regiment, First Lieutenant Scott Filbert was deployed to Afghanistan to serve as the J1, or personnel officer, for a joint special operations task force. In this episode of The Spear, Scott describes the leadership lessons he learned along his path from West Point cadet to the Ranger Regiment and back to West Point again as an instructor, as well as the dangers of "lying to ourselves" in terms of personnel management and mission readiness.

In 2005, Jeff Marshburn was a reconnaissance platoon leader in the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, in Mosul, Iraq. While leading his platoon during the battalion's first contact with the enemy, several of his troops were wounded in action. In this episode of The Spear, Jeff recounts the lessons learned from his many combat missions in Iraq, with an emphasis on trust, competence, and the value of pre-deployment training.