A Delta Force Original: Mike Vining

One of the original members of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces Delta unit, Mike Vining, joins Tim to talk about his highly decorated career that started in Vietnam and ended in the late 1990s, encompassing many historical missions. Mike was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operator in the Delta Force, among many other responsibilities. He tells us what goes through the mind of an explosives specialist when time is tight and it could be a matter of life and death.

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Mike Vining was in high school when he saw the news about the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. The offensive was one of the largest and bloodiest attacks the communist forces of North Vietnam – the Viet Cong – waged against South Vietnamese and American troops.

Mike saw what was happening and decided to join the military. He wanted to be in Vietnam joining the fight.

Not long after that, Mike got his wish. Before shipping off to Vietnam, Mike completed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) program in the Army, which also involved learning how to dispose of nuclear weapons.

Disembarking a C-141 aircraft after operation Eagle Claw; L to R: Dennis E. Wolfe, Durwin D. Dengerud, Lawrence N. Freedman, William L. Welsch, and Mike R. Vining.

The army sent Mike to Vietnam, where he spent 12 months on combat duty, before his honorable discharge in 1971.

Two years later, Mike reentered the Army and served as an EOD specialist once again.  That was the beginning of a long and decorated career in the Army that included serving as one of the first operators in the U.S. Army Special Forces, and its Delta Force unit.

He saw action around the world, from missions to Iran during the 1979 U.S. embassy hostage crisis, to many other operations, ultimately serving on the ground in Operation Desert Storm.

In this episode, Mike talks about the events that shaped the Special Forces, from an ill-fated desert mission to rescue 53 American hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, to many other touch and go situations.
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Links

Sergeant Major Mike Vining (Retired), Together We Served
8 Epic Reflections on the Career of the Internet's Most Badass Military Meme, We Are The Mighty
Mike Vining, Universal Ship Cancellation Society
Delta Force: Missions and History, Military.com
U.S. Army Delta Force, Armed Forces History Museum
What Special Ops Learned 40 Years Ago from Operation Eagle Claw, Military Times
Operation Urgent Fury: The 1983 US Invasion of Grenada, War History Online

About this Episode’s Guest Mike Vining
Sergeant Major Mike R. Vining (Retired), U.S. Army, was born in Greenville, Michigan on 12 August 1950 to Roger and Arlene Vining. He graduated from Tri-County High School in 1968 and enlisted in the Army in July of 1968.

After completing Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he attended the Ammunition Renovation Course, at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. he completed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Program, Indian Head, Maryland in May of 1969 and reported to the Technical Escort Unit, Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland during which time he completed the Nuclear Weapons Disposal Course. In 1970 he deployed to the Republic of Vietnam where he was assigned to the 99th Ordnance Detachment (EOD), Phuoc Vinh.

Upon completion of 12 months of combat duty, Sergeant Major Vining was honorably discharged from the United States Army on February 1971. Sergeant Major Vining reentered the Army in 1973 and was assigned to the 63rd Ordnance Detachment (EOD), Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In 1978,