# Special Forces to CIA in Afghanistan Fighting the Soviets | Mike Vickers (throwback)

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706/special-forces-to-cia-in-afghanistan-fighting-the-soviets-mike-vickers-throwback.md
Podcast: [The Team House](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706)
Published: 2026-07-02T07:08:35+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/special-forces-to-cia-in-afghanistan-fighting-the-soviets-mike-vickers-throwback--72777463
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72777463/vickers_part_1_throwback.mp3
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Duration seconds: 6055

## Resource

original air date 12/1/23 Michael Vickers joins us to discuss his path from 10th Special Forces Group to the CIA, including Cold War missions, Berlin tradecraft, Grenada, Beirut, and Ground Branch. We also get into the covert war in Afghanistan, the Reagan Doctrine, working with foreign partners like Pakistan and China, and how the U.S. helped drive the Soviet Union out by all means available. Grab Mike's book here: https://a.co/d/05Lzlki9 00:00 — Start 02:19 — Michael Vickers’ Origin Story 03:39 — 10th Special Forces Group During the Cold War 07:14 — Berlin, Detachment A, and Denied-Area Tradecraft 08:28 — Training With Man-Portable Nuclear Weapons 12:30 — OCS, Panama, and 7th Special Forces Group 15:16 — Embassy Rescue Prep and the RST Mission 21:16 — Leaving Special Forces for the CIA 22:27 — CIA Training, Suriname, and the Road to Grenada 26:16 — First Combat in Grenada 30:33 — Beirut, Hezbollah, and Failed Policy 33:49 — Ground Branch and the Afghanistan Assignment 40:31 — How the Afghan Covert Action Program Evolved 45:12 — “By All Means Available”: Defeating the Soviets 50:45 — Blowpipe, Stingers, and Escalating the War 53:12 — Selling the Strategy to Foreign Partners 56:18 — Working With Chinese Intelligence 01:00:07 — The Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan 01:03:32 — Reagan Doctrine and the Global Irregular War 01:10:21 — CIA Covert Action vs. Special Forces 01:18:23 — China, the New Cold War, and U.S. Power 01:30:38 — Cyber Attacks as Acts of War 01:37:09 — Chips, Rare Earths, and Protecting U.S. Infrastructure Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support .

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