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<p dir="ltr">Welcome to Combat Story. Today, I'm joined by retired Marine First Sergeant Randall Parkes—a parachute rigger in Recon, founding member of MARSOC, Drill Instructor extraordinaire, and now a leader in both real estate and defense tech—plus everyone's favorite podcaster, the man who started it all.., Ryan Fugit.</p> <p dir="ltr">Randall's career spans from enlisting in July 2001 to a remarkable 20 years of service that took him to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa on four combat deployments. As a founding member of the <strong>1st Marine Raider Battalion</strong>, he helped shape the early years of Marine Special Operations and was named <strong>MARSOC Support Marine of the Year</strong> in 2011. He later became a <strong>Parris Island Drill Instructor</strong>, shaping the next generation of Marines, and commanded 97 Marines and Sailors during a CENTCOM deployment in 2017.</p> <p dir="ltr">In his final active-duty role, Randall returned to <strong>Marine Corps Recruit Depot San...