Jocko Poccast 519: A Soldier’s Pain, Purpose, the Brotherhood That Endures. Crazy Joe Claburn Pt.2

Quick Overview

Jocko Willink continues his conversation with Crazy Joe Clayburn, detailing his unique assignment as an exchange officer in the British Parachute Regiment in England, which included being unexpectedly frocked to Major months ahead of schedule and subsequently enduring a harrowing deployment to the highly dangerous Helman Province in Afghanistan.

Key Points: Jocko and Clayburn discuss Clayburn swapping his Ranger School instructor orders for an assignment in England with the British Parachute Regiment, which ended his relationship due to the demanding deployment schedule. Upon arrival in England in 2007, Clayburn landed on a holiday, had no one to meet him at Heathrow, and navigated driving on the left side of the road using a paper map to find his temporary housing. While checking in at the US Embassy in London, the Attache immediately frocked Clayburn to Major, months before his actual promotion was due, stating he would likely receive more respect at that rank from his British counterparts. Clayburn participated in the British static line jump school, noting their use of the LLRP (low-level parachute release system) allowing jumps from as low as 600 ft, and earned his British jump wings despite already being a US Jump Master. During the subsequent deployment to Helman Province, Afghanistan, Clayburn experienced extreme danger, including witnessing IEDs capable of ripping trucks apart and surviving a severe vehicle rollover accident in Belize that resulted in a concussion and four broken ribs. As the liaison between the British 16 Air Assault Brigade and the US 24th MEU during the Helman operations, Clayburn helped coordinate joint planning, leveraging his American perspective while wearing a British uniform. After the six-month British tour, Clayburn immediately left the decompression period on the island of CIT to train in a German Commando course in Bavaria, which included an Olympic-Committee-designed fitness course and culminated in a low-level parachute descent where his chute malfunctioned, leading to a hard landing.