Airman Reveals How America Finds, Tracks, and Kills High-Value Targets!
7/13/20262 hr 30 min
Lito Villanueva went from a junior Air Force cyber specialist to a military contractor in Afghanistan, a special operations communications expert, and eventually a volunteer supporting teams near the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
In this episode, of Urban Valor, Lito shares the uncensored story of leaving the U.S. Air Force after two years, landing a $164,500 Afghanistan contractor job at 21, surviving daily mortar attacks at FOB Shank—better known as “Rocket City”—and entering the hidden world of special operations, C4ISR, military communications, drones, intelligence, surveillance, and kinetic strike operations.
He also opens up about the psychological cost of war, witnessing lethal operations, returning home disconnected from civilian life, battling depression, and finding a new sense of purpose through veteran suicide prevention and humanitarian work.
Years later, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Lito entered the country alone with humanitarian aid and eventually joined a team that needed his expertise in tactical communications, blue-force tracking, intelligence organization, and battlefield command-and-control systems.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 The Reality of War Behind the Curtain
01:22 Meet Lito Villanueva
02:05 Growing Up in a Filipino Navy Family
09:33 Why Lito Joined the Air Force
15:52 Why Basic Training Felt Easy
22:50 His First Air Force Assignment
25:30 The Leader He Refused to Follow
30:34 Leave the Air Force or Stay?
32:23 Life After the Military
34:34 Finding an Afghanistan Contractor Job
36:57 A $164,500 Job Offer at 21
42:28 Realizing He Was Going to a War Zone
01:07:56 Why He Returned to Afghanistan
01:09:46 Assigned to “Rocket City”
01:17:15 The Network Problem That Changed Everything
01:23:28 How He Entered Special Operations
01:29:02 Behind the Curtain of U.S. Military Power
01:44:59 The Conversation That Helped Him Heal
01:45:30 Building Battle Buddy for Veterans
01:50:42 Russia Invades Ukraine
01:52:51 Crossing Into Ukraine Alone
01:56:55 His First Mission to Kharkiv
01:58:39 Delivering Aid Near the Front Line
02:02:33 Joining a Ukrainian Support Team
02:08:54 Inside the Kharkiv Counteroffensive
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DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJosh· Host0:00
Hey everyone, this is Josh, host of the Urban Ballard Podcast. This week's episode features Air Force veteran, Lito Villanueva. Lito never expected to become one of the people behind America's most sensitive military operations. After serving in the Air Force, he entered the world of military contracting, supporting intelligence, surveillance, and strike missions that placed him at the center of modern warfare. From watching high-value targets hunted in real time, to helping develop drone tactics in Ukraine, and exposing how inexpensive FPV drones are changing the battlefield forever, Lito offers one of the most detailed looks you'll ever hear into the hidden side of war and the moral weight that comes with it. If you enjoy this episode, go give us a five-star rating and leave a comment to help support our veterans. The bigger the community, the bigger the impact. If you'd like to contribute your story to Urban Ballard or know anyone else who may, you can email me at josh@urbanballard.com. Enjoy the show.
Lito Villanueva· Guest0:54
My name's Lito. Uh, I was in the Air Force. I served two years honorably out of a six-year contract, whole story. Uh, got out as junior enlisted as an E3. Uh, that's all my time active duty officially, and then I became a contractor immediately for US Army Signal. Did two deployments on the conventional side with them, and then, uh, deployment unconventional, and, uh, somehow ended up in Ukraine many, many years later.
Josh· Host1:25
How long have you spent in Ukraine?
Lito Villanueva· Guest1:26
Four years. So I grew