Ones Ready
A team of active duty Combat Control (CCT), Pararescue (PJ), and Special Reconnaissance (SR) leveraging our 69 years of special operations experience to make the next generation of operators smarter, faster and stronger than we ever were. We are the PREMIERE resource for all things Air Force Special Warfare. The Ones Ready Podcast is honest talk about what it is like to go from a know-nothing high school graduate to an elite Special Operator. We will cover important practices for success including physical training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset traits essential to any team. Join us in The Team Room to get all your questions answered!! With battle-tested operators from across USAF SPECWAR and far-reaching web of recruiters, subject matter experts, and friends, there are no questions we can’t answer- and if we can’t, we know exactly where to look. See you in The Team Room!Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the OnesReady team are those of the team and do not reflect the official policy or position of the DoD. Any content provided by our Podcast guests, bloggers, sponsors, or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign the DoD, any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone.
Ones Ready
Ep 482: Manda Bay - The Attack Nobody Was Ready For
This episode is only available to subscribers.
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Exclusive access to bonus episodes!Ones Ready goes scorched earth on the Manda Bay attack—a tragic cocktail of leadership failure, intelligence gaps, and straight-up tactical laziness that left Americans dead and a base in flames. This isn’t just a “bad day at work” story—this is what happens when we let comfort, complacency, and half-baked threat assessments set the tempo.
In this episode, we dissect the 2020 al-Shabaab attack on Manda Bay, Kenya, and the damning DoD report that followed. From unmanned gates to zero reaction plans, we break down just how avoidable this disaster was—and why the term “low-risk” might as well be a death sentence. Hard truths, hard lessons, and no pulled punches.
🔥 Key Takeaways:
“Unlikely target” became the most likely tragedy. Shocker.
Manda Bay had zero guards at the airfield gate… during an active insurgency.
U.S. personnel had no reaction plan in place. None. Zero. Nada.
Intelligence was dismissed, ignored, or watered down until it was meaningless.
Contractors doing critical security roles… and ghosting when it mattered most.
The attackers walked in with RPGs like they were late for a dinner party.
Al-Shabaab exploited every weakness—and the response was too little, too late.
Leadership failed. Period. It wasn’t the troops—it was the system.
"Low risk" doesn't mean "no risk"—especially when the enemy gets a vote.
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro: Why Manda Bay matters
01:10 – What was Manda Bay and why were we there?
03:00 – The al-Shabaab attack timeline: minute by minute
06:30 – What the DoD report really said (and didn’t say)
09:00 – Breakdown of base security—or total lack thereof
12:30 – Who ignored the warnings and why?
15:00 – Leadership accountability: missing in action
17:45 – Contractor chaos and absence of planning
20:10 – Airfield gate security = complete joke
22:00 – Lessons learned vs. lessons ignored
24:00 – Final thoughts: Fix this or it’ll happen again
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