# Army Special Mission Unit Operator | Erick Miyares (throwback ep)

An episode of [The Team House](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1492797340), 10 Sep 2026, 3 h 05 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75027864/erick_miyares_throwback_1.mp3

original airdate 4/15/22 Erick Miyares recounts his path from the Marine Corps and 7th Special Forces Group into a highly secretive Army special mission unit, conducting intelligence and advanced force operations across Afghanistan, Iraq, and other sensitive environments. He also opens up about being shot in Colombia, hunting high-level targets in Ramadi, singleton missions, hostage rescue work, and the psychological toll of spending two decades operating in the shadows. Support the show & get ad free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTeamHouse 00:00 – Start 02:38 – Erick’s Cuban-American Upbringing in Miami 04:18 – Joining the Marine Corps 06:13 – Airborne, Pathfinder & Becoming a Scout Sniper 07:20 – Leaving the Marines for Army Intelligence 10:12 – Becoming a SIGINT / Electronic Warfare Operator 12:42 – Getting Assigned to 7th Special Forces Group 14:32 – Life on a Special Operations Team Alpha 18:37 – Mission on the Ecuador-Colombia Border 23:13 – Ambushed by Guerrillas 27:04 – Getting Shot in His First Firefight 34:31 – Discovering the Secretive JSOC Intelligence World 35:19 – Getting Hog-Tied by Rangers During a JSOC Exercise 41:22 – Selection for a Special Mission Unit 44:06 – What Makes the Right Kind of Operator? 47:18 – Living With Ambiguity & Controlling Aggression 51:04 – The History & Mission of the Unit 58:44 – Straddling Special Operations and Intelligence 1:04:28 – 9/11 Changes Everything 1:06:01 – Early Global War on Terror Missions 1:09:10 – Afghanistan & Advanced Force Operations 1:11:20 – What AFO Operators Actually Do 1:19:33 – Hunting a High-Level Target in Ramadi 1:23:23 – Going Up Against State-Level Tradecraft 1:26:01 – Infiltrating a Cordon-and-Sweep Operation 1:28:03 – Finding the HVT and Leaving Him in Place 1:29:31 – RPG Attack & Hours of Fighting in Ramadi 1:34:44 – Building the Final Target Package 1:35:48 – Rangers Raid the Target & Seize Everything 1:39:02 – Sitting Face-to-Face With the Man He Hunted 1:41:24 – Espionage Inside a War Zone 1:41:40 – The American Hostage Rescue Mission 1:46:07 – The Psychological Toll of Constantly Switching Missions 1:49:31 – Compartmentalization, Secrets & Family Life 1:53:38 – Activating an Emergency Destruction Plan 1:57:23 – Destroy the Gear and Escape 2:03:03 – The Fear of Being Captured on a Singleton Mission 2:07:41 – When the Entire City Went Dark 2:09:40 – Treating PTSD With a Stellate Ganglion Block 2:15:05 – Helping Special Operations Veterans Get Treatment 2:18:47 – Leaving the Clandestine World Behind 2:20:25 – Opening Pandora’s Box After 20 Years 2:22:49 – Suicide, PTSD & Finally Asking for Help 2:24:24 – Becoming Erick Again After the Military 2:27:10 – What Special Operations Does to Families 2:30:26 – The Nightmare of Forgetting Who You Really Are 2:36:11 – Why Army “Spies” Struggle to Tell Their Stories 2:38:20 – Classified Trauma & Getting Help From the VA 2:42:00 – Why Secret Careers Are So Hard to Translate to Civilian Life 2:47:27 – Is This Line of Work Better for Single Men? 2:51:19 – Politics vs. Operating in a War Zone 2:55:25 – Cuban-Americans in Special Operations 2:57:03 – Why These Stories Need to Be Told 3:01:34 – Where to Find Erick & Closing Thoughts Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

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