Justin Bellamy served with 2-5 Cavalry and lived through one of the most intense battles of the Iraq War — Black Sunday. What started as a routine patrol in Sadr City turned into a fight for survival against over 1,000 insurgents. His platoon took heavy casualties, Justin was hit by shrapnel from a pipe bomb, they ran black on ammo, and escaped by riding an M1 Abrams tank out of the kill zone.
That was just Day One. For the next 90 days straight, his unit was in combat every single day.
In this powerful interview, Justin opens up about the brutal realities of that deployment, the highs and lows after leaving the Army, and why he chose to re-enlist before eventually retiring.
After transitioning to the defense industry, he saw how heavily it relied on overseas — especially Chinese — manufacturing. That realization led him to found TAC 11: a company dedicated to building body armor and armor systems the right way — with premium U.S.-made materials, uncompromising standards, and real-world performance.
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