SGM Mike Vining @ Blasting Through Official

I'm Mike Vining, SGM USA (Retired). Welcome to my official X account. In the next several months, I'll share EOD and Delta Force memories. And I'll offer info on moral injury and PTSD. I'm calling this account "Blasting Through," because that's the title of my book, a memoir, due for release in August 2026.

On 3 February 2026, Martin S. Madert interviewed me. He's with "The Witness to War Foundation -- Preserving the Oral Histories of Combat Veterans." The interview is broken up into 19 short videos. Here's the link. witnesstowar.org/search_result?… The foundation releases videos on YouTube, as well, but if you want to watch all the videos, click the link above which directs you to the website. I appreciate Martin taking a lot of time with me. It's a good organization.

I like reading about everyone childhood experiences growing up in rural America. I drove a farm tractor before I drove a car. I caught chickens so my father could debeak them for farmers in the area. I trimmed Christmas trees, picked potatoes, picked cherries, help with the hay and straw bailing, and helped local farmers with seasonal chores.

I had a great rural mid western upbringing. I was in Boy Scouts and 4-H. Who else was raised in a setting like this? Pictured is my younger brother Frank with his Hereford Sampson on the left. I’m on the right with my Hereford Tiny.  At the 7th of Sept., 1964, Howard City Community Fair, Michigan, my steer Tiny won Grand Champion. Frank's steer Sampson won First Place.  I was awarded the Ralston Purina Youth Award, Grand Champion Steer. Good times.

@like2shortsays I believe just around 1,000 pound. My brother's steer was close to 1,200 pounds.

@BlastingThrough What did the grand champion steer weigh?

@realshlippi I did not.

@BlastingThrough Sgm, I have an unrelated question: Did you ever meet Mjr. Larry Thorne (Lauri Törni) when you were serving in Vietnam? He was with the Green Berets at the time if I recall correctly.

@X1Mayo1X I pruned Christmas trees at Berry Tree Farm for two years in High School.

@BlastingThrough I pruned a few Christmas tree fields in Howard City back in my teen years.

@stacksmasher At the auction Tiny was sold to the Howard City Bank.

@BlastingThrough Did you eat Tiny?

Many great answers to the questions I asked yesterday. Operation Ivory Coast, the Son Tay POW rescue attempt, indirectly led to the formation of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta (1st SFOD-D). Many of you know a lot about the Son Tay raid, having read John Gargus’ book and other first-hand accounts. Even though the POWs had been moved from the quarters at Son Tay, that raid evoked the idea of having a military POW rescue force ready to respond. Other missions that did not have initial optimal results but became the impetus for much better execution in future missions included: • Operation Eagle Claw, which led to the formation of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and the Intelligence Support Agency. • Operation Urgent Fury, which led to the formation of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). I was honored to serve in many of these organizations during my Army tenure.

A few questions: Operation IVORY COAST, the Son Tay POW rescue attempt in Vietnam, indirectly led to the formation of a military POW rescue force ready to respond. What's the official name of that rescue force? And what do you know about Operation IVORY COAST?

@JJohnson99811 We were supposed to go in before first light and we would have a AC-130 for support. The planners decided to hold us off, stupid. No one informed the AC-130 and when we went in, the AC-130 was off station to refuel. This is why USSOCOM was created.

@BlastingThrough They sent you all in, during daylight hours with no support? To fast rope next to a pair of anti-aircraft guns?? This seems like a lack of prior proper planning.

We need to try hard not to repeat history. We do so when we underestimate our enemy. In this video clip, my editor asked me for details about what went wrong during Operation URGENT FURY, Grenada, Oct., 1983. The takeaway -- never underestimate your enemy.

@denny_renken @Alec_Vulkan Correct you are.

@Alec_Vulkan @BlastingThrough ZU 23-2's. 18 of them on the island.

@cot5r It is in the full podcast and it will be in my book. Second pass wasn't any better.

@BlastingThrough SGM, need to hear about the 2nd pass!

Thanks to all of you for great remarks on this question. I saw a lot of people who said that one of the greatest threats to leadership failure is ego. I agree. When I thought of this question, I wrote this: Personal gain. Making yourself look good to impress those higher in your chain of command at the expense of those who are under your command. Abuse of power. Backstabbing, again for personal gain. I have observed in other government agencies that a young, bright, up-and-coming person was seen as a threat to the people who had been there longer; so, they would backstab the newer hires to make them look bad to those above. And, as I think about that, protecting their ego was probably one of their motivations.

In your experience, what are some of the greatest threats to achieving optimal leadership?

There is a lot of excellent responses to the question. Leaders and future leaders take note.

@DanSparx I like what you stated.

@BlastingThrough In my experience, the greatest threat to achieving optimal leadership is not giving your subordinates a clear, soncise COMMANDER'S INTENT and DESIRED ENDSTATE. With that data, your people will move heaven and earth to accomplish the mission.

@Ne_pas_couvrir I agree with what you stated and the supporting comments.

Bad management is one of my favorite topics. Here goes, Mike. Bad Management - Top 10 1. They keep doing their old job
They stay in individual-contributor mode instead of managing through others. 2. They delegate poorly
They dump work, hoard work, micromanage, or fail to clearly define ownership and expectations. 3. They do not hold regular One-on-Ones
They lose the relationship, the early warning system, and the ability to manage issues before they grow. 4. They do not give effective feedback
They avoid timely, behavior-based feedback and let problems become personal or political. 5. They manage fires instead of systems
They react to recurring crises instead of fixing process, structure, expectations, or root causes. 6. They lose control of workload and priorities
Work stacks up like Tetris blocks because they cannot sort, sequence, say no, or protect team capacity. 7. They fail to coach and develop people
They expect better performance without providing practice, guidance, standards, or consistent follow-up. 8. They do not cascade goals and priorities
The team cannot connect daily work to larger organizational goals, so people guess what matters. 9. They avoid accountability
They tolerate missed standards, unclear ownership, passive resistance, and chronic underperformance. 10. They surprise people
Expectations, corrections, ratings, and decisions appear without warning instead of being managed transparently.

@beezus_fuffoon That is true. If you quit on at the last checkpoint/RV on the last day, you are out. They will give you the next point and as you leave they will call you back and congratulate you. You never quit.

@BlastingThrough Eric Haney writes that he got to a checkpoint and the officer was messing with him. Kept telling him to give up. Eric was demanding to go on and was demanding the details of the next checkpoint. Then the officer revealed, it was the end of the test.

Integrity and Leadership During the Delta Force stress phase of the selection process, our rucksack required weight increased from 45 to 50 pounds and finally to 55 pounds. We ran solo through unforgiving terrain with our rucksack, a weapon, a map, and a compass. We were not allowed to use roads or trails. A few people would attempt to cheat the system and take a road or trail, thinking that they would get by with it. They did not know that cadres were watching. They were allowed to finish the course, but at the Commanders Board, they would be asked if they had used a road or trail. If they lied, they were immediately removed from the selection process. It was much better to own up to cheating the system than lying about it. Our moral compass is as important as our real compass. Before anything we attempt in life, it always turns out better to keep our moral compass, in other words, our integrity, as close to the vest as our directional one. Integrity, our personal character, is one of the foundational cornerstones of leadership.