← The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Buck Brief - Combat Pilot Analyzes Trump's Iran Air War and Next Steps
00:19:15
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- [00:00]
Amber Smith
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Podcast Announcer
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- [01:16]
Buck Sexton
How has the air war against Iran gone so far and what is going to happen next? We're joined by our friend Amber Smith. She is a former senior Pentagon official as well as a former Kiowa, which is a helicopter for all of you out there, Kiowa combat pilot in Afghanistan and wrote a great book about her time there overseas in combat. Amber, great to see you. Been a while. How are you doing?
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Amber Smith
I'm doing well. Great to be on with you.
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Buck Sexton
So tell me how you feel like this whole thing, the the air campaign has it exceeded. I mean you have some particularly from the rotary wing helicopter perspective. But you know you also work in the Pentagon. What we're capable of. This seemed to be if someone had told me that we could destroy the Iranian Navy, most of its surface to air missile capability, basically its entire air force and do so with I mean less than a no casualties in the air and only casualties really elsewhere from people being hit on bases, I would have said that seems a little bit extreme. That's what's happened.
- [02:22]
Amber Smith
Yeah. I would say that what we have seen since it kicked off is the might of the United States military on display. The Air Force, the Navy, the Marines. We've seen the army since with these rescue missions, but primarily it's been, you know, the aerial branches of the military. And it's been fantastic. They have shined when they were called to do so and they've just done a flat phenomenal job getting us up to the point of where we're at. And then what we saw with the rescue missions with the army helicopters and some of the Air Force helicopters as well, the HH 60s, the Cesar aircraft, I mean those guys are just so unbelievably amazing at their jobs. And it's very rare that you get to sort of witness. And we live in a day and age where videos come out about everything. So we kind of got to see some behind the scenes look at some of that. And I'm just so incredibly proud of our military and in awe of those rescue missions on. Across the branches of the military, like the joint operations there that they were able to pull off what they did in the shortest amount of time. I think is. Is one of the most incredible rescue missions in our history.
- [03:47]
Buck Sexton
It was pretty remarkable that we. We got the first guy out after that shoot down. We got the pilot out, but then the what the wet. The weapons officer. Right. The second person from the. The cockpit of the F15. We got him after a period of time. Did. Do you get. I mean, I assume it's pretty similar. Right. Rotary wing. So helicopter attack, helicopter attack plane or fighter plane. You got to get the. Was this sear school stuff. Right. And like how to evade, how to stay out of the enemy's grasp. So you rescued.
- [04:21]
Amber Smith
Yeah. So every pilot that is going to go, you know, sort of behind enemy lines or being flying in hostile territory or in combat zones is going to have this training. And it's exactly for what we saw happen to this F15. If you get shot down, if you're behind enemy lines, it teaches you how to survive. It's also known as survival school. And it basically covers all of your bases. It is extremely mentally, physically emotional, grueling in terms of the training that they put you through. But it really teaches you to push you back any sort of limitations that you may think that you have. And it keeps you going mentally knowing that the US military is doing absolutely everything in their power moving heaven and earth to ensure that they find you. And they won't stop until you do that. That's also a very important component of all of these operations is the pilots on the ground understanding that they need to complete, they need to enact the training that they were given in order to survive and given time for the US military to get you.
- [05:34]
Buck Sexton
I mean this is very much. Remind me, do you remember the movie with randomly Owen Wilson? But it's actually a pretty good movie. Behind Enemy Lines about the, about a guy, I think, who got shot down in Kosovo, right? Yes, Bosnia, Kosovo. One of those. One of those countries there was a shoot down and then they based a movie off of it.
- [05:53]
Amber Smith
Scott o', Grady, if I'm saying his name correctly.
- [05:56]
Buck Sexton
That sounds right.
- [05:57]
Amber Smith
Yes. He was shot down behind enemy lines, hence the name of the movie. And he evaded the enemy for six days. And that's why a lot of people were very concerned that know the pilot still hadn't been rescued after, you know, like a full day and a half. And people were starting to get nervous about that. And it's like he's doing his job right now. The military is doing their job. They don't want. There's only one group of people that that crew member wants to find him and that's the U.S. military. And so the fact that, you know, it hadn't happened yet, I'm like, there's still time, like there's still plenty of time for the military to get him.
- [06:41]
Buck Sexton
What was your back when you were flying in Afghanistan? What was your personal defense weapon? Was it like an HK MP5 or what? What did you carry? Did you carry one? Did you. Were you supposed to.
- [06:52]
Amber Smith
Oh, you. Yeah, in our aircraft at least you had like you were required to carry them. So I always carried an M9 pistol and then the, the pilots usually were the ones that had those. And then I also carried an M4 rifle.
- [07:08]
Buck Sexton
So we had both straight up M4 with you. Okay. Because I feel like sometimes the pilots have like the MP7 or they have these like submachine guns just because they're smaller and for portability, but. So you just went straight M4. You're ready to rock.
- [07:21]
Amber Smith
Yeah, we actually, we were able to shoot them from our helicopter as well. So just because of our very unique mission that we had in terms of flying low level to the ground forces and. Yeah, so we always had them mounted on our dash. So you had two M4 and two in nines per cockpit while you were out on missions.
- [07:43]
Buck Sexton
Wow. Yeah, that makes, that makes a lot of sense. Now I'm going to ask you kind of what you think about where we are. Just sort of putting your Pentagon geopolitical assessment hat on here in a second. But first up, Birch gold. When there's uncertainty out there, my friends, our sponsor Here. Birch Gold wants you to know that gold makes sense over the long term. Just look at gold over the last 20 years. Up 700% and central banks around the world still buy gold. Plenty of reason to believe the long term thesis of gold is that it's going to go up, it's going to continue to grow in value. Birch Gold Group wants you to join their Learn and Earn Precious Metals event. Great opportunity to really understand macroeconomics that affect your savings and how gold and precious metals can play a part. This free online event rewards you for learning the basics of investing. Sign up to get free silver on your next purchase. If you qualify, you can get even larger incentives as you go. The more you learn, the more you can earn. Act right now because the Special runs through April 30th. Text my name Buck to 9898 98. Joan join Birch Gold Learn and Earn Precious Metals event by April 30th. Text Buck. Buck to 98. 98 98. So how do you think we're doing with this ceasefire situation? You know, I mean, I was kind of, I was getting you on the more tactical side as a combat pilot yourself a moment ago. Now take a look at this. Let's put a few stars on your shoulder and you tell me how you think this is going.
- [09:07]
Amber Smith
Well, I think history has proven that the Iranian regime cannot be trusted. I think that Iran bases its survival on maintaining its threats to the world. Just as we've seen the control over the Strait of Hormuz. What they with their nuclear program. They don't want to get rid of their nuclear program. They need it for their survival to still maintain their status as a threat, as a player in the region. They do not want to give that up. I think we are going to see them being fine with kicking the can down the road and sort of pushing this deal to take a break and to, you know, rebuild whatever they have left of their military and regather their pretty much decimated command and control structure and their disorganized military operations. So they're definitely, definitely going to be using this time to sort of restructure and in, in, in case they feel that they need to move forward militarily again. I don't on, in terms of the United States side, you know, if you're serious about a negotiation, you're not always going to get 100% of what you want. And I do think President Trump has been very clear about saying the, that Iran can never be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. And I just think on the Flip side, Iran is never going to 100% stop pursuing it. They're going to always want to maintain enough uranium that they can stay a threat in the region for their own survival. And so maybe, maybe in the deal, they may come up with something that looks good on paper, but in reality, I don't see Iran actually disarming any of their nuclear ambitions.
- [11:11]
Buck Sexton
Yeah, this is the problem that, as I see it, that we run into over and over, and that is the Trump administration has said that regime change is not the goal. And I can buy that. Fine. I think that that was, like, considered a bonus if they could get that. But fine. If they didn't go in just for regime change, I can. I can accept that. But they're saying that an Iran that can never go nuclear, and now we're back to negotiating with them over this. I don't see a world in which we're able to punish that concession out of them. And this doesn't. I feel like I get a lot of people that want success here, and I certainly want success here, but they feel like that's being a doubting. Doubting Thomas. Is that the phrase? That's like not. Not giving Trump the faith that he deserves on this issue. But I feel like the Iran, from the Iranian perspective, they were able to create a lot of. A lot of problems with the Strait of Hormuz, and they know it's a more of a political and economic problem than a military one. But that. That matters, too, here in America. Those things matter here in America. And I don't see a world in which they're able to actually punish them to the point where they're going to say. Because, remember, it's not just agreeing. Right. Trump's not an idiot. He knows that for them to agree would mean it means removing the enriched uranium, which I think they absolutely will not do. It means giving free rein to inspections over a period of time for us and for some international body maybe to go and inspect what they absolutely will not like. They're not going to agree to things that we can hold them to account on that would actually end their nuclear program. So this is. I think that we're hoping that they've been punished so much that they're going to concede on that. But, Amber, I don't see it. And I'm somebody who, from the beginning was like, regime change, not happening. It's just not happening. I mean, once you start talking about opening a second front with the Kurds, I'm like, oh, I remember this in Iraq, like this. The Kurds are not about to take over Iran for us. This is crazy talk.
- [13:04]
Amber Smith
Yeah, I just, I think that, I completely agree with you. I do not think that what has happened so far is going to bring them to the table the way that we want them to. I think that they, I mean, you've seen the difference between the 15 point plan and the 10 point plan and the stark differences between those. And it's, I mean, we'll have to see in the coming days in terms of what they're able to negotiate it down to. But I do not, I, what it comes down to is Iran's, the regime's survival and they know that they don't stand a chance. I mean, look at who their neighbor is with Israel. They are not going to give up what they view as their strength as being, you know, top, top of the food chain in the Middle East. And so I don't think that, I think they'll talk about it. But I mean, I don't know. I think reality wise, I don't think Iran is going to come to the table with what we need to agree to some sort of a deal.
- [14:18]
Buck Sexton
Yeah, I think everyone needs to be prepared for this too. But you said this early on and I, we haven't coordinated on this beforehand. I've been saying in two weeks and maybe there is a polymarket bet on this because I think it would be a pretty sound bet in two weeks when the deadline is up, what we'll be told is we've made a lot of progress, the negotiations will continue. And the second you hear that when you're dealing with Iran and this regime, that's where they want to be. They want to be in the, ok, let's keep talking and talking and they're going to do whatever they want in the background that they can get away with that they're capable of doing. They're going to do whatever they want and we're going to talk, talk, talk. And they know that for then us to, for Trump to turn around and start bombing the hell out of them again and doing all this stuff, there's going to have to be some, you know, igniting point of disagreement or some incident. So they'll just avoid giving us that. So I'm worried that this turns into a game and that that's where this is going to head for them.
- [15:16]
Amber Smith
Yeah. And I think that we've seen this before. This is not something new. We've been dealing with Iran and how they operate for decades now. We've seen different administrations Try to come to different deals. And the reality is, is that like you mentioned, the sort of kick the can down the road strategy to keep talks going while behind the scenes they're enriching uranium. They're, you know, building their military, they're building their drone fleets, they are fortifying their infrastructure. So in future operations, wherein if need to attack, you know, they, Their. Their infrastructure and their military infrastructure is what I'm talking about is that much more hardened and harder for our own military in terms of us trying to take some of those targets out. So, I mean, it would be nice they come to the table. I just think, you know, looking back on history, I think they are playing the game that they always play. They wanted a break from the airstrikes and that is what they're getting right now.
- [16:22]
Buck Sexton
Pure Talk is our sponsor here. Cell phone company I use is Pure Talk and they've been a sponsor for five years. Thank you very much. Pure Talk. Veteran led. Like Amber. Veteran. Veteran led. So they. Helping veterans has always been very important to them. And they've also got their highest priorities, providing top quality cell phone customer service and cell phone service at the lowest possible price. 25amonth, unlimited talk, text and plenty of data. Pure Talk service on the same tower, Same network, same 5G coverage, fraction of the price. Switch your cell phone service to PureTalk. Go online to PureTalk.com buck to get started. They can switch you over in as little as 10 minutes. PureTalk.com Buck Switch to the wireless company that I trust, PureTalk. PureTalk.com Buck Now, Amber, now that I've got you. So you got two kids. You got two kids. You have a dog, right?
- [17:13]
Amber Smith
I have a bulldog.
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Buck Sexton
You have an English bulldog. Okay, questions for you now. Questions for you now because I feel like I might as well get all the knowledge from you that I can. My wife is not a bulldog person. I am. I love the bulldogs. Huge fan of the bulldogs. Does the bulldog snore loudly enough that it keeps you up? And is that something that we need to take into consideration?
- [17:37]
Amber Smith
I was just gonna ask you if you like to sleep. You already have a very young baby, so I'm assuming that you're not that much sleep. Bulldogs are so loud. They're such loud snorers. Yes. It sounds like there's like a man that's running through freight trains. Yeah, it's.
- [17:58]
Buck Sexton
Oh, gosh. What's your bulldog's name? What's your bulldog's name?
- [18:03]
Amber Smith
So believe it or not, my dog's name is Kiowa, named after the helicopter I flew in the army.
- [18:08]
Buck Sexton
Kyle. That's cool. I mean, that's, that's legit.
- [18:11]
Amber Smith
Yeah. She's getting old though. So I will say for like bulldog owners, they have a short lifespan compared to other dogs. So they really enter their sort of like, like window at around 8 years old. So I feel like, you know, my parents, I grew up with labs and they can make it to like 15 plus. But no, English bulldogs don't. And mine's already eight and a half, so. But she's healthy as can be, so we love her. She's such a great family dog. But if you're concerned about your sleep, the snoring is real.
- [18:46]
Buck Sexton
That's a real thing. Wow. Okay. And then for, for any of the parents out there who are relatively new parents like me, this is really just self serving. But what is your favorite, what is the thing that you would tell someone with a young kid, you know, a young child who's about to enter the toddler years, what is like the lesson learned, you know, the after action report from the front lines of parenthood battlefield? What do we need to know about toddlers or what's the advice about, about a toddlers that you would give to anybody listening who's in that situation?
- [19:19]
Amber Smith
So I will say something that I've learned over my years is just, kids want to do everything you're doing, take them with you. I think, I think a lot of times in our culture, everyone's like, oh, keep your kids at home. Like, get some help if you need to go out and do things. Like, I have started traveling with my children significantly even when I'm by myself or if I have to do something professionally. And I think it has broadened my children's horizons at such a young age and they've learned so much and just socially interacting with kids of all ages and adults. And I think it really helps with them being well rounded and they absolutely love it because they get to be with you and they get to learn new things and see new things. And so my advice is bring them with you. Let them learn from life.
- [20:11]
Buck Sexton
I like that we can end on that one. That's a good one for everybody. Amber Smith, great to see you. Thank you for your service and thanks for joining.
- [20:19]
Amber Smith
Thanks, Buck. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.