F-15E Weapons System Officer from Marine Helo Mechanic | Mike “Pako” Benitez (Round 1)

Combat Story

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Today we hear Round 1 of a two part Combat Story with former F-15E Strike Eagle Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) Mike “Pako” Benitez. In this episode, we follow Mike’s very unlikely path to the cockpit that begins with a career in the Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic and aircrew member in the very first push into Afghanistan to fighting in Iraq during Fallujah II.

Mike’s path is anything but direct as he found his way to becoming an expert tactician and aviator in the F-15E. Since retiring, Mike has gone on to create The Merge (themerge.co) newsletter - which has 20K subscribers - and podcast - which has 40 episodes as of this airing. The Merge brings defense and tech news and insights in a more lighthearted and interesting approach that I’m confident most listeners of Combat Story will appreciate!

We only found Pako thanks to former guest Ryan “Stinger” Fishel who was a beneficiary of the tough love and tutelage of Pako (Stinger mentions a crusty older Weapons Officer during his interview who made Stinger look info up as opposed to handing it to him - that was Pako). Stay tuned for a follow-on episode after Rounds 1 and 2 with Pako to hear both Pako and Tom “Gunny” Moser be interviewed together about their experiences in Afghanistan and Syria leading units together.

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Join hundreds of others with our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan each week about the show, life, and the military.

👇 Show Notes: 00:00 - Introduction 00:52 - Guest Profile: Mike Benitez 02:13 - Start of Interview 02:37 - PAKO Callsign 07:45 - Finding Aviation 10:03 - Family Military Background 11:17 - Recruitment 13:43 - Bootcamp 21:29 - Time in Marines 23:43 - 9/11 33:23 - Hello Fresh Ad 34:37 - Time As A Mechanic 40:15 - First Raid Outside the Wire 50:25 - Reenlistment to Weapons Officer 01:06:30 - Mint Mobile Ad 01:07:51 - Transition From Marines to Air Force 01:11:12 - Path to Strike Eagle 10:18:24 - Welcome to First Air Force Unit 01:20:00 - First Operational Squadrant 01:39:07 - First Danger Close 01:42:02 - First Fatality 01:42:03 - Listener Feedback