Combat Story (Ep 17): Greg "Gravy" Coker | Special Ops 160th Aviator | AH-6 Gun Pilot | Author
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
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Greg “Gravy” Coker is a legend from the elite 160th Night Stalkers, the Army’s Special Operations Aviation Regiment (aka SOAR). He’s a long-time Tier 1 Gun Pilot who flew AH-6 Little Birds, AH-64 Apaches, and AH-1 Cobras in multiple combat theaters, providing direct support for 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta aka Delta Force, 75th Ranger Regiment, and other Special Operators.
Greg logged 7,400 hours in his career, including 1,500 hours of combat time across 11 deployments, and was in the first strike packages that went into Afghanistan and Iraq. Greg reached the pinnacle of the military aviation profession by serving as both a Flight Lead and Instructor Pilot in the most coveted and lethal rotary wing unit in the US military. He survived a combat shootdown while laying down cover for Special Operators in Iraq during the first daylight operation for 160th since Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993 (aka Blackhawk Down).
This interview will resonate with anyone who wonders why Delta, Rangers, SEALs, and the other Tier 1 elements love the Night Stalkers so much. This episode will also appeal to any fellow aviation nuts out there as we discuss weapons loads, autorotations, the Three Ts, engagement and flight profiles, environmental factors, and more.
Since leaving the military, Greg has written a memoir about these experiences and more titled “Death Waits in the Dark” and has a children’s book coming out with his daughter called “V is for Veterans.” Greg also owns Shield 91, he provides all aspects of firearms training, leadership development, executive team building, and emergency response operations.
Greg's book 'Death Waits in the Dark' can be found here: www.amazon.com/Death-Waits-Da...
[Ryan's Note: Thank you to those who helped us reach 6K subscribers! If you decide to subscribe, be sure to turn on notifications so you don't miss upcoming interviews with other Delta Operators, Special Ops leaders, Pilots, and more. Also, someone asked about the intro song. It's Sport Rock, which I bought on Audio Jungle.]
#SpecialOperations #160th #Delta #Rangers #Pilot #Veteran #Army #Aviator
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Greg's bio and background.
1:52 - Interview with Greg begins.
4:32 Watching the “Helicopter War” in Vietnam.
10:46 - A “very kind judge” changed Greg’s life (this is a story Greg’s never told publicly and well worth the listen!).
15:19 Flight School Class 89-15 and selected guns (Cobras and then AH-64 Apaches).
17:28 - First assigned to 5/17 Cav in Korea flying Cobras and then moved to A Co, 1-101st Spectres.
22:40 Seeing “little black helicopters” flying around Fort Campbell.
23:12 - Comparison between flying Cobras, Apaches, and Little Birds.
25:10 - The “Standard” of being on target plus or minus 30 seconds with a map, a compass, and a clock. This is an incredibly difficult standard in aviation terms.
26:46 - This section is for the aviation nerds (like myself) comparing speed, maneuverability, and build of different choppers.
28:58 - The selection process for aviation’s Tier 1 element: 160th.
38:08 - First combat experience was 2001 in Afghanistan with the first boots on the ground and in contact within four minutes.
42:32 - Greg describes a classic AH-6 Gun engagement and what “target, torque, trim” means and why a grease pencil mark is important.
51:50 - The relationship between 160th pilots and Delta Operators and Rangers.
55:00 - Description of fighting at Haditha Dam in March 2003 supporting 3/75 Rangers. This involved continuous engagements for eight hours going through 11 loads of ammo.
1:07:09 - How to handle the torque of a GAU-19 (three barrel .50 cal gatling gun) on an aircraft.
1:08:47 - Living through a shootdown in broad daylight in Iraq covering Special Operators.
1:27:10 - Dealing with Imposter Syndrome despite being a legend in the community.
1:30:04 - How a long-time elite gun pilot can also have PTSD.
1:35:40 - What did Greg carry into combat for good luck (these are some good ones!).
1:37:15 - After all the gun fights, crashes, PTSD, and time away from home, would you do it all again?
1:37:55 - Greg and his daughter are working on a new book called V for Veteran for kids using military references to teach the alphabet. Also, Death Waits in the Dark will also be available soon on Audible (with Greg’s own voice narrating it!).
Ryan, thanks again for having me on the show with you brother. NSDQ! SGDM!
It was a pleasure!
Great story man! Loved it!
Great story and much respect for you!
I just put in an order for your book! Can't wait to get it and read it! 👍👍
@@ryanmoeller3308 Thanks Ryan! NSDQ!
Most of these highly skilled, trained and accomplished operators are so humble.
Real men are humble
Having known Greg for about 12 years now, I can tell you he is always willing to help a friend any way he can. Great interview! And the book is damn good so far.
Thanks brother!
Mr. Coker, thank you for telling your amazing stories of your work with the Night Stalkers. You are a great representative of what the 160th stands for. You mentioned flying with Jamie Weeks in the Little Bird. I had the opportunity to meet him when he came out to Raytheon with some SIMO guys to evaluate the FLIR system we had designed for the latest needs of the 160th. I was saddened to hear that he was shot down and killed in 2006 in Iraq. May he rest in peace.
Thank you Sir. I think of Jamie every day, he was an incredible man. SGDM!
My PTSD was due to USMC CH-53 crash, and I went through Exposure Therapy at the VA and it changed my life. My experience with my local group of Vets disagrees with Greg's theory - all of our symptoms were the same: some Military Sexual Trauma Vets, some Grunt Vets, some Brown Water Navy Vietnam Vets, and training accident Vets - all of us had the same symptoms. No disrespect intended - you are a hero in my book, Gravy...
Vietnam vet here. Welcome home and may God bless you.
Thanks Ronald...Welcome home Brother.
God Bless the 160th & all her aircrews !!
Amen! "and whom shall I send...send me!"
My father was a 160th simo guy from 93-04.ive kown alot of pilo5s from this age. They are the best people in the world.always professional.
*Highly underrated channel* Not fair the quality content you're providing and not the recognition or views for it
This is an absolutely amazing interview. I've watched a LOT, I mean a LOT of veteran interviews. This man and his experiences are amazing and I am indebted to him simply for sharing them with us in such great detail.
@wdc c Thank you very much!
@@gregorycoker8215 thanks for serving and sharing your story. You're amazing. I hope you have peace now.
@@comfortablynumb9342 thanks! Peace every day. Blessed
I witnessed “NightStalkers” take over a small airport in Marysville,CA back in 2014.they were just flying in circles at night at around 2AM around the city “really low and fast”.they had “red lights” on,my house shook every time they passed by,they were hauling ***!
My uncle was a helicopter pilot in the army, Air America pilot during Vietnam, and had a career in the CIA all after lying about his age to join the Marine Corp. Crazy life
Did he write down any of his experiences?
I hope he wrote down some of his experiences...for his children and grandchildren
Well I'm speechless good to see more faithful men
Daisy Red Ryders with garbage can lid shields. Forts built all thru the woods miles from home. Fist fights in the backyard. No cellphones no internet. It was great times. Thanks Gravy!!! Nightstalkers are pure legend!!!
After listening to Alan Mack’s story and now Greg’s.. I am hooked on the 160th guys. The number of lives they’ve saved is truly remarkable and definitely deserves more credit imho. Truly amazing professionals to do what they did!
Can’t get enough of these interviews. Will be great when current service men tell their stories with helmet camera footage in addition!
God Bless you Greg "Gravy" Coker!!!! U are an inspiration and a HERO of our great warrior nation and I wanna say thank you for all uve done to protect our freedoms as Americans. Thank you Sir
Thank you! Be blessed
I got to Cco 1-101st in September of 1991. I was an aeroscout observer. It was a great time Post - Iraq..
What a humble man that walks with the Lord, God bless him and all those that have served our nation.
Hearing them voices from the air just calms everything down
I started watching this channel from the beginning and always wanted to hear like the sniper and breacher stories, BUT the more i watch these aviator stories i get so excited because of Ryan’s shared excitement in these pilot to pilot interviews. Great stuff!!
Damn Greg, helluva story and I bet the book is a fun and interesting read.
Over the years I’ve known some guys go 160th, everyone of them loved the gig and missed it if they left for the fixed wing world.
Hey, I was 89-19 class, flew Cobras down the road in Korea too and we all kept calling DA to get to the Gulf too.
Thanks brother! Wow, small world for sure. Thank you for your service. SGDM!
“If you weren’t flying you were shooting people with your M4 or dropping frags on people”. This my friends is the highest level of drive by. And it sounds fantastic.
I met and had the pleasure to shoot a 3-gun match with Greg, in he same squad, a handful of years ago. Kind, humble, and one helluva a shooter. Got the inside scoop on the Jessica Lynch rescue. Good memories - great man.
Hey Dave! Thanks brother, we had some good times.
Thanks for your service brother, we own the Night!
Ryan, your videos are great. You're doing a great job of allowing these men to tell their stories, giving them latitude, while still focusing on your questions. It's almost liked you were trained to do it.
My life is richer for a friend like Gravy
Such amazing people! Thanks for sharing!!
Another great interview Ryan. Thanks for doing this
What a phenomenal interview!
HERO!! What an awesome warrior human being!!
Thanks for sharing these moments of life
*I Love It When He says "Yes Sir."*
What a neat guy! Sounds like a downright great man!!!!! I could listen to him for days! I’m glad that he’s getting help and living!
Thank you for indexing every video. It really helps!
Keep em coming.. So awesome man!!!
I have the utmost respect for this gentleman, goes down in his chopper, gets banged up, fighting 6 more hours total bad ass and humble, I would love to go deer hunting with him.
Thank you Daniel! Come on down to TX and I will put you on some deer buddy.
Awesome. What a great man. So fun listening to him talk.
What a great guy! Just an awe shucks humble man.. Great interview!
Great guest,Blessing to all.
What an honor to have u guys share such personal stuff
Like Greg and many others I also chose the Cavalry over sitting a few years in a concrete phone booth. Back in the eighties it was done quite often
Amazing interview !
Interesting.... That's How My Dad Got An Option To Go Into The Marines... And It Even Involved A Train. Great Interview....
Thanks...Semper Fi GB
Another great Coker interview.
Thank you to you both.
Wow what a humble legend !
Thank you sir
I really enjoyed this interview. A very down to earth, likable guy. Thank you for your service.
Thanks Richard!
Excellent channel, excellent interview
Awesome interview. Great story
I go back and watch this again and again. One of my all time favorites!
Greg Coker is such a being of light. God Bless,sir!
I’m watching this because my brother graduated from West Point last year. Gives me an idea of Army life, what people are like.
And I’m glad he’s in good hands. I love my brother. He’s been a part of my life since the day I was born. When I was 9 he left for West Point, I hated that day. But now I see why he did it.
Tradition.
Mr G I also have a trap line! I’m in southeast Alaska and an island called Haida Gwaii off the west coast of Vancouver. Mink and otter. I’ve also made gloves out of sea otter.
That’s cool. I ran a trap line as a kid in the South. Can’t imagine running one in the winter in Alaska.
Thanks Chloe and thanks to your brother for serving our great country. I will keep him in my prayers. Trapping was great extra income when I was a kid.
An interview I think only another aviator could get. Just great.
These guys are total badasses ....glad they are on our side.
This was amazing!
Just an awesome interview with a great warfighter. Thank you both for your service
Greg, your personality is magnetic. Your humility, sense of humor and outlook on life should be emulated. Thanks for telling your story. I could have listened to it for hours.
Great interview
I look forward to each of your interviews! When I looked today to see if you downloaded a new one....I was so EXCITED! Thank you again Ryan!!
I really appreciate it. Thanks for the support. We have two more in production and three scheduled.
Remarkable story!
This guy is an inspiration
Just found this channel. As a retired USA, USAF vet. Your interviews are great. They have that buddies sitting around a fire type feel. It speaks a lot when your hear your guests over and over say “I’ve never told this story before...”. Great stuff.
Thank you for the show, another combat Veteran here. Thanks for the show, it keeps me connected.
We have to stay connected brother
Just saw "Greg Coker" pop up on your CZcams channel, Sir! Listened to the interview, and then subscribed to your channel! Great show!👍
Another just unbelievable interview!! Absolutely campfire IMAX bar stool entertainment!! EXCELLENT!!! Murica!!
1st time listener. I'm hooked. Awesome podcast
Incredible man Incredible life. Humbling interview
Great! Loved it. Cool guy
I have watched a lot of your interviews and they are all great. This has been the best hands down. This guy is great!
Awesome show Ryan! I had a cousin in Law who flew Little birds who wrote my LOR for flight school back in 09.
Great video! Thanks for sharing "Gravy"! Sounds like we grew up during the same time. I was a Parachute Rigger 88-92, supported a Pararescue unit out of Nellis. Fell in love with the UH-60G and so wanted to cross train as a Flight Engineer, but sadly it never happened. Later had the pleasure to work with one or the Horse Soldiers while roleplaying for Robin Sage here in NC. Mike was cadre then training new GBs. I wander if you provided cover for him during that time during that 1st combat deployment. Thank you for your service and sharing your faith!!!
So far for me this is top 3 to me. Both AIR ASSAULT legends from both sides. Epic
This episode was particularly amazing especially the last 15 mins. The things he says about PCS and helping each other and reaching out really struck a cord for me. That’s awesome man I love it!
Having this man as a grandpa would be a dream come true. What an awesome patriot. God bless him .
LOL. Thanks!
Wow talk about a great American warrior and human being. I truly enjoyed listening to Mr. Coker story. And ty for making light of him in a great interview.
Thanks Aaron
God bless these guys
I've been an executive headhunter within Engineering and tech since 2007. Part of the skillset I've honed is to be able to talk with people, and have them open up about their aspirations, experiences and "be real". Ryan, you really are a first rate interviewer/communicator sir. And as a result, Mr Coker, you had me enthralled throughout. Great stuff 👏
Thanks Ben. Ryan asked the "tough" questions.
I've listen to the guys interviews several times - he's amazing! Excellent!
Couldn't agree more.
Thank you very much!
@@gregorycoker8215 Wow Sir - It's an honor to receive a reply from you! I too love the Lord and it's great you mention Christ in your interviews!
@@huskyaonecee7568 you bet brother, my honor. If God is on our side, who can be against us.
Halfway through this interview...I paused it, and I bought Tom's book on Amazon. Loved that episode and I can't wait to read this book on my Kindle! Thank you for the gift of this interview gentlemen!👊🙏
Dropping hand grenades on mortar positions, he got a chuckle from that
So did I! 😁
Awesome story.
From a 58 year old that was raised in Daingerfield Texas who was a Sailor thank you brother, I love fishing at Possum Kingdom and Greg will know what I mean.
Respect!
Love this dude👍🤠🇨🇦
The helicopter crash was inspiring and well told. Thank you.
Thank you, another day at the office.
@@gregorycoker8215 Your affection for the Cobra craft made me research it on YT. That video's description especially the cockpit view showed me a bit of what you were discussing. Thank you for the prompt to look further.
Great!!!
Saw a black mh47 flying over our wood line a few days ago and I was like “kids... kids issa stalker.”
I was a 47 flight engineer and still to this day love seeing the 47 fly over head when I get to see one. Oh how I miss flying in those things. A lot of my buddies were Night Stalkers
This dude is a badass.
Find an AFSOC Aviator next! Preferably an old school Talon or Combat Shadows guy! Would be so cool.
Heck yea, AC 130!
@@gregorycoker8215 Thanks for your service Greg! NSDQ
Awesome
Awesome ❤ great guy !!! Merika thanks you sir
Greg’s a Good Man
Thanks Skip
Great interview again! Have you thought of interviewing Don Shipley? He is a badass!
Hey Greg this one of your old friends From NTPS. We both have gotten gray. Glad to see your doing well.
One guy I’d still respect if I saw him with a red made-in-China hat on.
I spent 23 years in the Army as a JAG officer so I can honestly say this guy is your typical CW4. He has the empty pop bottle with a jaw full of Copenhagen. He would be that guy to say to his buddies....."What this" or always walked the flight line with dirty BDU's with his hands in his pockets which to me was the typical CWO
Hopefully get a hard copy of the book at some point. Worked with the guns guys on exercise and would love to get into some more stories from their work.
Thanks Duane and thank you for your service. You can find info on our website to purchase
Not sure if I'm supposed to post this so I will just say I know someone who serves with the 160th. After proving himself after 9 yrs he was finally selected for flight school and now flies Blackhawks. Let's just say I'm very proud of him.
Interesting. I was in the USAF with a guy. Donald Coker. He was a Ssgt. in '71.