John A. Dailey: Camo, Character, and Walking Point

John A. Dailey left West Virginia at 17 to join the Marine Corps and stayed more than twenty years. Sniper, then Force Reconnaissance, then platoon sergeant with First Force Reconnaissance Company on 09/11/2001. In 2003 Donald Rumsfeld ordered the Marines to build a unit answering to US Special Operations Command. Colonel Robert J. Coates got 86 men and a two year charter, picked four team leaders, and gave them one brief: tough rugged bastards with strong backs and hard feet. Dailey was one of those four. He tells Tom Frank, Jeffrey Sledge and Bun B about HAHO jumps at 35,000 feet, locking out of a submarine at 60 feet, sniper school stalks, and why the bookworm sometimes outshoots the hunter. He retired in 2008 and got an MFA in creative writing. Find him at jadaily.com and on Substack.  Unglossy is hosted by Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and Tom Frank and produced and distributed by Savage. All episodes at https://www.besavage.co/unglossy. Join the conversation @unglossypod.