Tonight's guest on the Late Night History podcast is Nick Betts. Nick mostly grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and had a full-ride golf scholarship to Arizona State University, but lost it all after a costly mistake following the state finals. He then enlisted in the US Army and served in the Global War on Terror between 2005 and 2013. He served three tours, two to Iraq, and one in Afghanistan. He worked as both a machine gunner and a sniper. After the military, Nick served as a government contractor. All together, Nick spent a totaled 47 total months deployed.
Today, Nick is the creative director for URT, a lifestyle brand in San Diego, California, as well as the C4 Foundation, a nonprofit named after the late Chuck Keating IV, who was killed in action in Iraq fighting ISIS. The C4 Foundation supports active-duty Navy SEALs and their families by providing a refuge via a ranch retreat to decompress from military service. Reach out to Nick at his company Krupto Strategic Media.
Episode 44 History Highlights:
1). The infamous dive bar in Tucson, Arizona, known as The Meet Rack. It made headlines for the debauchery that occurred there. However, all walks of life entered this seedy establishment, including students from University of Arizona, tourists curious to see if the hype read in newspapers was real, and sometimes, even celebrities like Arnold Schwartzenneger, Burt Reynolds, and Elvis.
2). Nick's first deployment to Iraq where his unit, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment (1/26) became the hardest hit unit — 36 casualties — since Vietnam. The 15-month tour supported the SEAL Teams, including SEAL Team 3 (the same platoon twice) and SEAL Team 5. Here, Nick tells us about providing security with a M249 SAW machine gun and a claymore on the ground level of a multi-story house where the SEALs engaged combatants from the roof.
3). SKTs or Small Kill Teams in Iraq. Two Army snipers on the roof, while Nick with the machine gun and claymore mine providing security. These missions emboldened Nick to become an Army sniper.
4). History of the term "sniper" as well as the origin of Ghillie suits.
5). Sniper operations in Afghanistan and stay behind teams.
6). Photographs Nick captured from Iraq that were published in Esquire, which would prove impactful later in life as a professional photographer.
7). A rip-the-band-aid-off look into Nick's difficult journey returning from war and the realities that veterans of the GWOT faced without a support system.
8). Nick's docuseries called "Let's Talk About The War." The docuseries discussed the taboo topics of the war.
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