Early Military Career & Training

• 💡 Mike Adams joined Special Forces in 1977, influenced by an outdoors upbringing and skills taught by his father, including navigation with map and compass.
• 🎯 His path was inspired by seeing Joe Dennison (first Sergeant Major of the regiment) repelling, and he initially faced resistance as an "off the street" recruit.
• 🔑 Early SF training involved Vietnam veterans who imparted extensive fieldcraft knowledge, emphasizing meticulous preparation and patrolling skills.

Global Special Forces Operations

• 🚀 Adams served in 5th, 1st, 7th, and 10th Special Forces Groups, deploying to over 30 countries across Europe, Africa, and the Pacific.
• 🗺️ Missions included de-mining programs in Laos and Cambodia, where he encountered unexploded ordnance (UXO) and cluster bomb units (CBUs) with high dud rates.
• 📌 He conducted reconnaissance in Sri Lanka during the war with the Tamil Tigers, identifying needs for ground-up training and noting early use of female suicide bombers.
• 🤝 Other deployments involved training local forces in St. Kitts (post-Urgent Fury), Fiji, Tonga, Seychelles, Maldives, and working with highly capable Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus).

Classified Missions & Cold War Role

• 🤫 Adams participated in "STAP" projects involving intelligence work in plain clothes, and later served on the Green Light team.
• ☢️ The Green Light mission involved infiltrating and emplacing Special Atomic Demolition Munitions (SADM), a nuclear weapon designed for strategic targets like dams and bridges during the Cold War.
• ⚠️ Training for SADM involved complex math for blast calculations and rigorous inspections by agencies like the Department of Energy, with teams often adapting doctrine for operational necessity.
• ✈️ He recounted unusual incidents, including a Fort Bragg SADM jump, a detonation exercise in a Dugway Proving Grounds cave, and a harrowing mission to the UK via Morocco that involved crossing the Autobahn with a SADM device.

Gulf War Exposure & Health Challenges

• 🔥 During the Gulf War, Adams served as a liaison with Egyptian forces (TSOT), using early GPS technology and navigating through burning oil fields.
• 🧪 He was exposed to chemical weapons at decontamination sites, stored weapon locations, and spills, and was caught in the Kasa C Maya plume from destroyed conventional weapons.
• 🏥 This exposure is strongly linked to his later diagnosis of prostate cancer, which recurred and metastasized to bone cancer, leading to ongoing treatment.

Life After Service & Veteran Advocacy

• 💪 After medical retirement due to knee injuries, Adams pursued a successful second career in technology, but also battled oxycodone addiction, emphasizing the importance of seeking help.
• 🎗️ He advocates for veterans, particularly those with cancer linked to military service, highlighting the "Soft Cancer Warriors" Facebook group as a crucial resource.
• 📣 Adams urges the military and veteran community to acknowledge and address the health issues faced by pre-9/11 veterans, especially those exposed to chemical agents, to prevent future generations from facing similar struggles.