From Sadr City to the Page: A Tank Commander’s War, Wounds, and Words | Galen D. Peterson

In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, former U.S. Army tank commander Galen D. Peterson takes us deep into modern warfare, leadership under fire, and the long road home after combat.

Galen shares what it was really like leading tanks through Baghdad and Sadr City, facing overwhelming enemy numbers, urban combat, and missions that pushed both men and machines to their breaking point. He opens up about surviving a traumatic brain injury, being medically retired, and struggling with the loss of identity that so many veterans face after leaving the uniform.

After the military, Galen continued to serve in law enforcement and SWAT, earning his department’s highest award for valor, while confronting a different kind of daily trauma—one that followed him home every night. Writing ultimately became his therapy, allowing him to process war, leadership, grief, and healing through storytelling.

Now an acclaimed author of Strike Hard and Expect No Mercy and the Global Response Force series, Galen brings rare authenticity to military fiction and memoir—stories written by someone who has truly been there.

This episode dives into:

• Tank warfare and urban combat in Iraq
• The Battle of Sadr City and Route Gold
• Leadership lessons learned under fire
• TBI, PTSD, and life after forced retirement
• Law enforcement vs. combat stress
• Writing as therapy and survival
• Why telling these stories still matters

This is not Hollywood war. This is lived experience.