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Stronghold Operator Survives Coordinated Three-Aircraft Airstrike Targeting White Personnel in Burma

Jocko Podcast · 542: Stronghold: War, Rescue, and Resistance. With Ephraim Mattos · May 27, 2026
Stronghold Operator Survives Coordinated Three-Aircraft Airstrike Targeting White Personnel in Burma
Jocko Podcast
Jocko Podcast
542: Stronghold: War, Rescue, and Resistance. With Ephraim Mattos
"Somebody had spotted us, they'd spotted the white guys in the building, and they had contacted the Burma Army. They took 3 aircraft and they flew from west to east so we would not hear them coming. They use this tactic where their first bomb, they drop it short of the target. The frag wounds everybody in the building. And then the next aircraft comes in and drops on the building. They expended a lot of ammunition on that."
Matos described surviving a deliberate Burma Army airstrike that targeted his team after civilians reported seeing white personnel. The attack involved three coordinated aircraft dropping multiple 500-pound bombs using a tactical pattern designed to trap and kill occupants. He and two teammates escaped barefoot seconds before a direct hit destroyed their building, demonstrating the extreme targeting of Western aid workers.
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Jocko Podcast
Jocko Podcast

542: Stronghold: War, Rescue, and Resistance. With Ephraim Mattos

August 3, 2026 · 5 Egleze moments
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