What happens when a world record sniper who made the longest confirmed kill shot in history at 2.2 miles walks away from the military to become a country music songwriter? This week on The AJ Buckley Show, AJ sits down with Dallas Alexander, a former Canadian Special Operations sniper from JTF2 who traded his rifle for a guitar and never looked back.
Dallas opens up about growing up in a tiny Métis community of 300 people in rural Alberta, playing hockey until junior level, working in the oil fields, and the moment a coworker told him about Canada's tier one special operations unit that changed his life forever. He shares what it was like walking into a recruiting office at 23 years old with zero military knowledge, saying he wanted to join JTF2, getting laughed at by the recruiter, and then grinding through two years in the infantry before earning his shot at selection.
AJ and Dallas dive deep into what selection was like, why the mental game matters more than physical fitness, watching guys who were stronger and faster get sent home in two days, and the warrior spirit that refuses to quit no matter what. Dallas reflects on his first deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, running low vis intelligence operations in Kabul with nothing but a pistol and a radio, riding motorbikes through the city dressed like a local, and the chaos of living in a war zone where VBIEDs and gunfire were part of daily life.
They talk about his transition to the sniper troop, deploying to Iraq in 2014 with the Kurds on the front lines against ISIS, the old school standoff across no man's land, and what it was like to finally put years of training to work. Dallas opens up about the emotional weight of seeing young girls kidnapped and sold into sex slavery by ISIS fighters, the fire in his belly to kill as many of them as possible, and why that tour changed his perspective on service from ego driven adventure to something far deeper.
Then comes the story everyone wants to hear. Dallas walks AJ through the 2017 deployment to Mosul, sitting on top of the bombed out Nineveh Hotel for 52 days, supporting Iraqi forces as they pushed ISIS street by street through the old city, and the day his sniper team sent rounds over two and a half miles downrange. He breaks down the simultaneous shot that dropped a fighter at 3,540 meters, the 10 second flight time, the prism optic from Tacom that changed the game, and why they probably broke the world record five times in one week without even realizing it.
Dallas also shares the story of getting kicked out of the Canadian military for refusing the COVID vaccine, the insane pressure and threats of dishonorable discharge, the lack of medical guidance, and why he stood his ground when the masking rules made no sense. He talks about losing his brother in 2019, picking up a guitar to process the grief, writing songs with the three chords he knew, and the terrifying moment he walked into his first open mic more scared than he ever was on selection day.
AJ and Dallas discuss the healing power of music, staying connected to his brother through songwriting, the inspiration behind his song Adios Amigos and how every line takes him right back to Mosul, and why being honest about pain is what makes great art resonate. This conversation is raw, emotional, and packed with stories about brotherhood, sacrifice, reinvention, and what it means to walk away from one calling to chase another.
If you're a veteran, a music lover, or someone trying to figure out what's next after the hardest chapter of your life, this episode will inspire you to take the leap.
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