The Afterburn Podcast

Today we break down why the US-Iran war reignited over the Strait of Hormuz, why the June ceasefire collapsed, and what a waterway a single drone can shut means for oil prices, escalation, and how this conflict actually ends.

Mike "FLASH" McVay sits down with Dr. Michael Bosack, founder of the Parley Policy Initiative and former Deputy Secretary of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission, to make sense of the current escalation. The conversation covers the five ways wars actually end, the difference between a negative and a positive peace, the good, bad, and ugly of the memorandum of understanding that was supposed to stop the fighting, why the Strait of Hormuz was the flaw nobody was talking about, and why negotiation at this level is a game of poker, not chess.

Dr. Mike Bosack: https://www.parleypolicy.com/

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00:00 Intro

01:40 Bosack's path: maintenance, MQ-9s, and the Korean Armistice

06:36 What the Parley Policy Initiative actually does

10:10 Phases 4 and 5: the "now what" nobody plans for

14:39 The five ways every war ends

19:57 Negative peace vs positive peace

22:45 Inside the negotiating room: the war stories

31:09 The US-Iran ceasefire deal: good, bad, ugly

36:40 Why the Strait of Hormuz is the real crux

44:26 Why it's not really about the nukes

48:56 How allies complicate the deal

55:26 Negotiation is poker, not chess

01:05:41 How this ends: the range of outcomes

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This is a 3-part series. Best if viewed on Afterburn Defense Youtube. 

Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4

Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso

Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY

Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the F-16 Wild Weasel pilots who flew it. This is the firsthand account of the 55th Fighter Squadron and the 20th Fighter Wing. These are the pilots who fly Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, known as SEAD, the crews who went in first to suppress Iranian air defenses, and the ground support teams who made the mission possible. Part three covers the mission to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. Recorded between December 2025 and January 2026, this series preserves the experiences of the people who were there, in their own words.

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the F-16 Wild Weasel pilots who flew it. This is the firsthand account of the 55th Fighter Squadron and the 20th Fighter Wing. These are the pilots who fly Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, known as SEAD, the crews who went in first to suppress Iranian air defenses, and the ground support teams who made the mission possible. 

Part two covers the mission planning and the thoughts of the pilots and other squadron members when they thought of the upcoming mission to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. Recorded between December 2025 and January 2026, this series preserves the experiences of the people who were there, in their own words.

 This is Part 2 of a 3-part series. Have a story? https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/ Commonly used Acronyms: https://www.lowdownnews.us/p/operation-midnight-hammer

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
🥷 Scrub Your Info from Data Brokers & Protect Yourself | https://aura.com/afterburn 14-day free trial


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This episode was designed for video. Watch this episode for text and graphical explanations: https://youtu.be/EDnLrP_45fk

Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the F-16 Wild Weasel pilots who flew it. This is the firsthand account of the 55th Fighter Squadron and the 20th Fighter Wing. These are the pilots who fly Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, known as SEAD, the crews who went in first to suppress Iranian air defenses, and the ground support teams who made the mission possible. 

Part One covers Operation Rough Rider, the air campaign over Yemen in the spring of 2025 that put these pilots into combat months before Iran. What they learned there is the reason they were ready for what came next. Recorded between December 2025 and January 2026, this series preserves the experiences of the people who were there, in their own words. 

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series.

 Commonly used Acronyms: https://www.lowdownnews.us/p/operation-midnight-hammer 

The full one-on-one interview episodes are coming soon to  @afterburnpodcast 

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
🥷 Scrub Your Info from Data Brokers & Protect Yourself | https://aura.com/afterburn 14-day free trial


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YT: https://youtu.be/rvVVQ3n081I

This is the untold story of the F-16 pilots who flew deeper into Iran than any fourth-generation aircraft during Operation Midnight Hammer, the historic B-2 strike targeting Iran's nuclear sites with the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. These were the only non-stealth jets escorting the B-2 strike package, flying over 250 nautical miles into one of the most sophisticated integrated air defense networks on Earth, well beyond the range of any personnel recovery assets. These pilots provided Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) coverage for the B-2's. When air refueling assets fell out before they even left Saudi airspace, these crews didn't abort. They improvised, redirected tankers, and executed refueling at speeds the F-16 had never done before in combat conditions. This is the first-person account from the pilots themselves. What they saw over Iran, what they were thinking at bingo fuel, and what it actually took to bring every aircraft home. Operation Midnight Hammer | F-16 SEAD | Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses | Iran nuclear strikes | Twelve Day War | 55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron | AGM-88 HARM | Wild Weasel 

 

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
🥷 Scrub Your Info from Data Brokers & Protect Yourself | https://aura.com/afterburn 14-day free trial


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