Michael Golembesky

About the author

is poised to publish the first book detailing experiences of Marine special operators in Afghanistan. And unlike career writers who drop into an outpost for a quick embed, Golembesky was there, as a member of Marine Special Operations Team 8222 during one of its hardest deployments. He plans to tell the team’s story through the words of the operators on the ground. The working title is “Level Zero Heroes.”

MARSOC Team Members: Raiders or Not?

Intro: The purpose of this article is to shed a little light on the linear heritage line of MARSOC as the newest and youngest component of SOCOM. The original spark of inspiration for this piece came to me in a small bar called the “Public House” in La Jolla, California, just north of San Diego. […]

MARSOC Foundation

I already know what you are thinking… “another foundation?” It seems like everyone and their mother has a foundation going these days. Well guess what? Your mother just got another one – the MARSOC Foundation. Of all of the great organizations out there doing wonderful things for our injured and returning Warriors, this one is […]

And The Throat Punch Goes To…Karzai

I am sitting at the terminal gate in San Francisco, hung over and almost missed my flight – damn you New Belgium, damn you straight to hell. Follow-on flight to San Diego in two hours, so I thought I would take this time to (re)introduce myself and share a thought that has been bothering me. […]

Fallen Marines in Hawthorne, NV

Late Monday evening, while conducting a nighttime live-fire training exercise, several U.S. Marines were killed and injured when a 60mm mortar round detonated in or around the tube. (The caliber has not yet been confirmed but the Marine Corps utilizes 60, 81 and 120mm mortar systems.) The incident took place in the live-fire training area […]

Fallen Marines in Hawthorne, NV

Late Monday evening while conducting a nighttime live-fire training exercise, several U.S. Marines were killed and injured when a 60mm mortar round detonated in or around the tube (the caliber has not yet been confirmed but the Marine Corps utilizes 60, 81 and 120mm mortar systems). The incident took place in the live-fire training area […]

Velcro, Dip and High Speed Sh!t

I am sitting at the terminal gate in San Francisco, hung over -almost missed my flight- damn you New Belgium. Damn you straight to hell. Follow-on flight to San Diego in two hours so I thought I would take this time to (re)introduce myself and share a thought that has been bothering me. My name […]

MARSOC Remembers July 31, 2011

MARSOC remembers it’s fallen Operators one year after their passing. On July 31, 2011 MARSOC and the SOF community was dealt a terrible blow with the loss of three seasoned Operators in a tragic accident. Their MSOT (Marine Special Operations Team) had just returned from a two-day long HELO operation with their Afghan Commando counterparts […]

MARSOC Operator awarded Silver Star

I wanted to take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate one of my fellow team members, SSgt. William Burch. Billy was recently awarded the Silver Star for his heroics while serving with Marine Special Operations Team 8222 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan 2010. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as […]

MARSOC Team Level Cohesion and Preparation

MSOC DFT – deployment familiarization training What is deployment familiarization training (DFT) for Marine Special Operations Company (MSOC) and teams (MSOT)? A DFT is one phase (about 30-45 days) of the pre-deployment work-up that is conduct by even MSOC prior to deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. The DFT portion of the […]

Recon Marine or Stolen Valor?

A man claiming to be 1st Sgt. Brian Camacho, a distressed Recon Marine struggling with PTSD, reached out to Military Minds, a Canadian grass roots organization dedicated to PTSD Awareness issues. Through monies donated by the Military Minds community, “Camacho” was flown from Pennsylvania to Toronto for assistance, support and to help inspire others to […]

GySgt. Robert L. Gilbert, Fallen MARSOC Operator

Gunnery Sgt. Robert L. Gilbert II, 28, of Richfield, Ohio, died March 16, 2010 of wounds sustained on March 8th while supporting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Rob was severely wounded while on patrol […]