WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:16.239 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus, our guest in this edition as 2 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.440 country music star Craig Morgan. But before this chapter of his life, he 3 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:25.760 was Craig Morgan Greer who served seventeen years in the US Army. More than 4 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.719 ten of those years were on active duty, and he served with a one 5 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.359 hundred first and eighty second Airborne Divisions. And Craig, thanks so much for 6 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.920 being with us. Thank you. Where were you born and raised? Born 7 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:39.399 and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. I'm the guy. I'm the one well 8 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:44.200 up until this guy, Jelly Row in the music industry came along. I 9 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.640 was the only one that was literally born in Nashville. I had to move 10 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:50.840 away and make them think I was from somewhere else to get him to work 11 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:53.920 with me in the music business. Had there been a history of military service 12 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:57.799 in your family? An uncle? My dad was one of six brothers, 13 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.240 and only one of those serves. But as far as my dad or granddad, 14 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:04.719 they were all none of them served. Why did you decide to serve 15 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:07.439 and why did you choose the Army? I chose to serve because I wanted 16 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:11.920 to do something different for some reason, I grew up. Even as a 17 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:18.879 teenager, I worked with the rescue squad, the Volunteer Fire Department. I 18 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:21.680 look back now, I don't think I really realized it then, but I 19 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:25.640 had this sense of service. I wanted to do something that allowed me the 20 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:30.799 opportunity to help other people. Now, I think at the time, I 21 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:34.560 was looking for the idea of the adrenaline rush of being able to jump on 22 00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:37.760 a fire truck and put out a fire. And you know, we all 23 00:01:37.799 --> 00:01:42.159 have idead As a young man, had these heroic visions of again being able 24 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:46.760 to do stuff for other people. But I really think now as I look 25 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:49.159 back, it was just wanting to be a part of something that was about 26 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:55.239 more than just myself. And where did you do your training? I went. 27 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.359 I was under the OST program, the one station unit training in Fort 28 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.560 Sille, Oklahoma, because I was a third fox Ford observer throughout my whole 29 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:06.040 career. Yeah you're an artillery guy. Yeah, but somebody you got the 30 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:07.759 chance to be airborne. How did that work out? It was wonderful. 31 00:02:07.800 --> 00:02:10.479 I loved it. I loved jumping out. I did it throughout my entire 32 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:14.960 career. And there were a couple of places here and there, that I 33 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.159 was stationed where they'd I wasn't on jump status, but for the most part, 34 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:22.360 and for most of my Army service, I was on jump status. 35 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:24.439 I just you know, it was really funny when I enlisted. I remember 36 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:29.639 going to the map station, uh and they said, the recruiters said, 37 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:30.960 you want to be airborne, and I, this is the truth. I 38 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:35.879 really thought that a man I'd be flying in some capacity or you know, 39 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:38.520 being born in the aircraft. I didn't really know I was gonna be jumping. 40 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:42.400 So by the time I was enlisted and I figured out what was going 41 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:44.439 on, it was kind of too late. So I went ahead and went 42 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:46.840 through it all. What's that like jumping out? Was that the first time 43 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.360 you ever did it? Yes, it was in the Army, was the 44 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.280 first time. What's that feeling like? It's it's it's wonderful. It's awesome, 45 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:58.319 the idea of exiting an aircraft and you know, whatever speeds. And 46 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:00.280 I had the great forceing of jumping out of almost every aircraft in an Army 47 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:05.840 inventory, as well as a bunch of Air Force aircraft. It's exciting. 48 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.719 You know, when I talk about those things, I tell people, if 49 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:14.639 you can convince yourself to do something like that when you stand ready to exit 50 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:20.439 the aircraft and you know that it's either gonna be really good and everything's gonna 51 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:23.080 work, or it's gonna be really bad. And for the most part, 52 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:29.240 they've gone through this so many times and done it that they've alleviated, you 53 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:34.120 know, all of the negatives that could take place, so you're fairly confident 54 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.840 that everything will happen as it's supposed to. You'll exit feet needs to get 55 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:42.120 a parachute open, make a dynamite parachute landing fall, and everything will be 56 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:44.240 good, get up and walk away. But I know it don't always work 57 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:47.520 out that way. Sometimes there's issues. But that's the wonderful thing about that. 58 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:53.479 When you you have it's such an adrenaline rush, But on top of 59 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:58.280 that, it's knowing that you're training for the opportunity to potentially go somewhere and 60 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:01.439 have to do that to protect the freedoms of our nation. You mentioned you 61 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:06.199 were a forward or long range observer with the artillery. Explain what that role 62 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:14.759 entails. So my job was to call for adjust and identify any round that 63 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:17.959 a bullet that was shot onto the battlefield from a weapon system other than a 64 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:23.759 direct fire weapons system for example, shoulder fired weapon system. But like mortars, 65 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:27.319 artillery, close air support, which is the aircraft that dropped bombs and 66 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:34.120 bullets, attack helicopters, any of these aircraft, naval gunfire, any bullet 67 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:38.160 that was shot from way away onto the battlefield. I was the guy out 68 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.519 there in front of everybody telling them where to put those bullets. Your hearing 69 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:44.480 is really good for spending that much time with artillery. Oh no, my 70 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.519 hearing is horrible. That's why yell. I can't hear a thing man, 71 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.959 which is terrible for a musician. Yeah, that's that's a little bit of 72 00:04:53.959 --> 00:05:00.079 a challenge. So how do you accurately identify the target and give the or 73 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:04.000 it's training train as you find You know, it's important and imperative. I 74 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.680 can't tell you it'spacially early in my career, you know, you're talking about 75 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:13.480 in the late eighties and early nineties. You think about where we were at 76 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:17.800 as a nation in relation to other nations, especially bad players in the world. 77 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:25.680 So we studied and studied and studied cards, We had pictures, all 78 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:27.800 of these things that you go through over and over and over, and when 79 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.560 we would do training exercises, we would actually the military would actually replicate those 80 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:36.279 enemies, vehicles, clothing, all of those things. And we had great 81 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:41.040 technology, and you know, it's advanced so much even since then that I 82 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:43.879 mean shooting now we can tell you what kind of cigarette they're smoking. You 83 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:46.720 also attempted to become a ranger a couple of times. One time you had 84 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:49.439 to stop due to a family crisis and another time you got hurt. But 85 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:53.680 one of the things you stress in your book is that being a ranger and 86 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.800 just like so many other things in life, you gotta want it real, 87 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:00.040 real bad to go through what's required to become that. So what did you 88 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.600 learn from from that experience and what it takes to pursue a goal of that 89 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:10.279 difficult Uh. Intestinal fortitude was a term that they came up a lot, 90 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:18.079 and I would describe that as having the mental capacity to push yourself beyond what 91 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.560 you think you might be able to do. The body is an amazing, 92 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:30.240 absolutely amazing machine, but we don't we don't have the we don't always have 93 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:38.759 the mental capacity to push that body to its capacity. So it's that we 94 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:42.279 I just remember all the time here and you're gonna have to have the intestinal 95 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:46.720 fortitude to be able to push yourself beyond the pain and you can't. I 96 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:51.879 mean, we've seen numerous things over the years where people have done certain things, 97 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:55.319 like you know, they broke their leg and they still managed to. 98 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:58.879 I watched it in in Korean Rangers school and I went through that school and 99 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:03.920 I watched a TUSA, the Korean Augmentation of the United States Army Soldier finish 100 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:09.360 a one hundred mile road march with a broken leg. So we have you 101 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.120 can do these things. And that's what Ranger school, and that's what the 102 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:18.199 Ranger Battalion, any of the Special Operations community that I think that's the one 103 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:24.040 thing that that is taught more than anything, it's the mental attitude towards your 104 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:30.879 occupation, having the mental attitude to push yourself with the end goal of getting 105 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:33.480 home. You mentioned your time and Korea with the Korean Rangers. That seems 106 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:39.480 to have been a pretty formative deployment for you, not only for your military 107 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.439 career in the work you did with the Rangers, but also a musical opportunity 108 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:47.120 that started to take it from more of a hobby to starting to put an 109 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.839 idea in your mind. Yeah. Being born in Nashville. My dad was 110 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:55.399 a musician, so I grew up in and around the music. But I 111 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:58.439 actually, as I stated in my book, I think I wanted to get 112 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.759 away from that. I wanted to do something than what was going on in 113 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:05.600 my life at that time. So that's why I joined the Army, and 114 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.800 I dabbled at it throughout my career. I mean even in Airborne School. 115 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:15.519 I wrote a song about the Test Platoon, the first jumpers ever to jump, 116 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:18.480 and in the process of doing that, the Black Hats heard about it, 117 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:22.720 and at the time, the commander of the Airborne School was a guy 118 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:28.160 named Leonard B. Scott wrote the book Charlie Mike, and he come to 119 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.879 me in and said, we want you to perform this song that you're writing 120 00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:37.799 at the Test Platoon banquet. It was the first banquet that that So it's 121 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.840 for me and the music and the military have always kind of played, but 122 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:45.960 it wasn't until I got to carea that I had a lot of free time. 123 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.960 That was like a real duty station where you know, we had some 124 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.600 free time and I had a guitar and I wrote a bunch and my buddies 125 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:56.000 were very encouraging and all that stuff. You know. So there's still a 126 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.720 lot of that goes on today. I see that when I go overseas and 127 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:03.200 visit it. Uh, these young men and women that are serving and they're 128 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:05.919 hanging out in the barracks playing music and stuff. It's just a great way 129 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:09.799 to kill some time and and and develop your talent. And that for me, 130 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:13.480 it started then. And you want a special contest over there? Yeah, 131 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:16.039 that allowed you to open for I think, let's saw Your Brown? 132 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:18.679 Right, I saw your Brown? You gotta tell that story the interaction you 133 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:20.840 had years later. Yeah, so so I opened up for Saw Your Brown. 134 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:24.759 I won the US Army Male Vocalist of the Year contest in Korea. 135 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:30.879 And the reason I did that is because if you win, you get to 136 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:33.000 go and what we used to do and they may still do it. They 137 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:37.200 did a thing called the Soldiers Show where it was nothing but soldiers from all 138 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:41.000 over the Army and they would travel the world's doing entertaining our troops. It 139 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:45.080 was a really cool concept. Uh I want. I'm like, yes, 140 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:46.200 I get to go do this, but my unit wouldn't release me. We 141 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:50.200 were short on thirteen foxes. So they're like, yeah, congratulations, but 142 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:52.120 you don't get to go nowhere. But I did get to open up for 143 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.840 a group that came over to Korea, and it was right after they had 144 00:09:54.840 --> 00:10:01.000 won a TV talent show and it was saw Your Brown and I'll never forget 145 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:03.120 it, you know, it's a cool thing for me. Well years fast 146 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.799 forward, years years later, here I am in the music industry and doing 147 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:09.399 one I was with Sawyer Brown, and I walked over to Mark, who 148 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.360 he and I are now good friends, and I went up on his bus 149 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.279 and I said, man, I don't know if you remember this, but 150 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:20.039 a long time ago, you guys went to Korea right after y'all had won 151 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:22.840 the TV show and y'all did a show and there was a guy that opened 152 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:24.759 up for you and I was getting to it, you know, And he 153 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:28.159 goes, oh, yeah, that guy sang his butt off, but he 154 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:31.360 couldn't play guitar for nothing. And I said, well that was me. 155 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:37.960 He goes, well, some things don't change. That's fantastic. You later 156 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:43.759 advanced to become a non commissioned officer at the Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, 157 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.559 and you said you actually prefer air assault to standard paratrooping. Explain why. 158 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.000 I don't know. I think I just I really enjoyed. There was 159 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:56.919 a lot more involved, first of all, and I'm a I'm a master 160 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:00.279 blaster. I went to jump master and I went through you know, repel 161 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.840 master and all that stuff. The jumping was fun, but there was a 162 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.799 I don't know why, for whatever reason, this is just me. I'm 163 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.519 I can't speak on behalf of everyone that's ever the stress level for a jump 164 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:15.200 master is through the roof. I mean it's intense because you got a hundred 165 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.639 jumpers or one hundred fifty jumpers, however minty jumpers, and you're the guy 166 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.960 responsible for ensuring when you do that JMPI that the inspection on them. You're 167 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:26.240 responsible. So if a guy who exits an aircraft and has something wrong, 168 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:33.600 it's your fault. And the same goes for a repel master. The intensity 169 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:37.320 of something going wrong isn't quite as bad. Not to say that people can't 170 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:43.039 get hurt, because it does happen. We've lost soldiers repelling for various reasons. 171 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:46.720 But but I just didn't feel like I didn't feel the same level of 172 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.039 stress as a repel master, and there was a lot more to it. 173 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:54.799 It's not just repelling out of aircraft. It's rigging the equipment that the aircraft 174 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.159 are hauling back and forth. So there was a lot. It was a 175 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.879 lot of fun and I enjoyed that one week come back. Craig Morgan shares 176 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:07.320 his story serving an Operation Just Cause in Panama, and he shares an important 177 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:13.639 perspective about how Americans should view relatively short combat operations. Our guest is Staff 178 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:18.480 Sergeant Promotable Craig Morgan Greer, better known as country music star Craig Morgan. 179 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:24.320 I'm Greg Corumbas, and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans Chronicles. 180 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:30.200 I'm Greg Corumbas. Our guest in this edition is US Army Staff Sergeant Promotable 181 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.919 Craig Morgan Greer. You know him better as country music singer Craig Morgan, 182 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:39.000 but for seventeen years he was rising quickly through the ranks of the US Army, 183 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:45.360 serving in the airborne divisions. We now pick up his story as Morgan 184 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:50.600 explains that he was already assigned to serve in Panama in nineteen eighty nine when 185 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.399 conditions there took a turn for the worse and he soon ended up serving in 186 00:12:54.519 --> 00:13:00.600 Operation Just Cause. I was actually a sign to the first five O eight 187 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:05.240 everyone Infantry Regiment in Panama. I lived in Panama. When I first got 188 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.720 my orders, it was considered an assignment where your family could go with you. 189 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:13.240 Shortly before I was scheduled to leave, we had a coup attempt. 190 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:16.759 Everyone would everyone that's old enough remembers a lot was going on down there. 191 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:24.399 So they stopped all accompanied assignments and made it an unaccompanied assignment. So my 192 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.960 family and I were getting ready to leave and then all of a sudden I 193 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.679 had to say bye. I had to go by myself. But I will 194 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:31.720 tell you that was a great That was a great experience for me, and 195 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:35.799 you know, ended up getting there right in the middle of all of that 196 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:41.360 stuff. So it was an intense tour from beginning until after Operation Just Cause 197 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:46.360 was over. Let's talk about how your role in combat kind of unfolded here, 198 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.840 because the first thing that happened is you you become the acting commander because 199 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:56.080 your commander was injured, and then you hurt your shoulder. Correct. Yeah, 200 00:13:56.120 --> 00:14:01.000 So my lieutenant got shot and by commander it was a fire team, 201 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.639 you know, uh, and I was the senior fire support guy for our 202 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.840 for the company. He gets shot and gets taken out. Uh, we're 203 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.639 we're going into the U. We're actually landing on a golf course. We're 204 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:18.960 air assaulting in. And I exited the aircraft a little early. I think 205 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.360 we were about twenty feet or so off the ground. We had not touched 206 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:26.840 down just yet. I didn't realize it. And I was the guy in 207 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:30.080 the door and what they called the hell hole, uh so what we called 208 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:31.399 it, and it's well, you know, most of the road to warsh 209 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.039 is coming in right there on it. And I also had to unhook the 210 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:39.120 strap, and we had removed all of the seats and everything inside so that 211 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:41.679 we could pack more personnel in it. But I was the guy responsible for 212 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:46.240 undoing the strap and then first one out, and so I undid the strap 213 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:48.559 and I went out, and when I did, I realized when I hit 214 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:52.559 the ground that we were waited. We weren't touched down yet. Uh. 215 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:56.879 Fortunately everyone behind me knew they seen me fall. Uh. And I dislocated 216 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:01.279 my shoulder in the process of doing that, and it was my right shoulder, 217 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:05.919 so that made it difficult to fire my weapon system. Yeah, in 218 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:11.919 your in your book, your efforts to relocate your shoulder or I didn't say 219 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:15.159 I was smart. When we started this. To put that back will tell 220 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.559 you I thought I was tougher than I was too. I thought I was 221 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:22.159 tough. Uh. Yeah, I tried. I don't know why. I 222 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:26.399 don't know what made me think that banging it against a tree or a solid 223 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:28.960 object would put it back in place. But that's what I thought, and 224 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:33.559 I actually knew that if I could get someone to do it properly, it 225 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:35.799 would work, you know, by wrapping a towel and lay down and yanking 226 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:39.039 it bang. Ended up after a few days. Finally came across a medic 227 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.799 who was able to get it back in place. But at that point I 228 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:48.559 pretty much beat it up pretty good. So what's it like to be in 229 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:52.320 combat? And how does it compare with what you expected? This is my 230 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:56.080 perspective. I can't speak on behalf of anyone else that's been in combat, 231 00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:00.840 but for me, when people ask me that question, I tell them. 232 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:04.200 For me, it was a lot like the movies. I literally related everything 233 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:10.159 that was happening to movies, you know, war movies. That's what it 234 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:14.399 felt like it was. Sometimes it was beyond surreal. There were moments when 235 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.320 I felt like I was watching myself do these things. And I'm not trying 236 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:21.960 to be not trying to be super weird or not, but that's what it 237 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:23.720 felt like. It felt like you sometimes you were having this out of body 238 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:29.600 experience, like like when we found there was a grenade with the spoon was 239 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:33.000 attached but there was no pen laying in the street, and everybody was freaking 240 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:37.559 out, and I remember just walking over to it and picking it up and 241 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:41.519 holding onto it and everybody's freaking out, running away from me and everything, 242 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.559 and I'm like, it's still attacks, you know, just find a pin, 243 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:48.200 we'll put it back in. You know, any second that spoon could 244 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:49.639 have popped off and I would have had to have gotten rid of it. 245 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.879 But I don't know. Things like that happened that you just don't think about 246 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:57.159 when you're getting shot at or or when you're shooting back. You just I 247 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.159 don't know. It was just I remember being on the aircraft when were going 248 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:07.079 in and the noise that I heard, that the sounds and you trying to 249 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.240 process that and going, man, what is that noise? Oh, that's 250 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:14.880 freaking bullets hit inside of the aircraft. That's bullets passing by. And you 251 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:21.640 could hear that even under the rotor wash, So I just remember all of 252 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:26.119 it's brand new, but I remember looking at it and especially looking back still 253 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:27.960 today, it feels like it was I was in a movie. I'm glad 254 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:33.240 you described so vividly the intensity of that gunfire, because I think a lot 255 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:37.799 of people, given the relatively short duration of operation, just cause think oh 256 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:41.720 it's Panama and no big deal. I mean, but there the intensity and 257 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:45.680 what you and the other people you were with and throughout that mission went through 258 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:49.359 lives were in harm's way. And so how did you and the other men 259 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.480 were with how did you lead during that moment? Oh? Train as you 260 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:56.279 fight, fight as you train. And I think you know, I've heard 261 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:00.920 a lot of people say this. I spacially hear a lot the law enforcement 262 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:04.000 officers talk about this. How you know when that when it happens, they 263 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.680 just go they just go into that mode. Uh. And I think that's 264 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:12.200 a truth, which is why training is so repetition. It's that those things 265 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:17.880 are so important, muscle memory, all of those things take place when you're 266 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.359 thrown into that environment. You either do it or you fell miserably and you 267 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:27.799 cuddle up. Uh. And I don't fault anyone for either that happens. 268 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:32.319 You know, some people are are are equipped for that, and some people 269 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.000 aren't. Uh, that's just a reality. And I think you just you 270 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:40.039 know, you you when you're when it happens, when the bullets start firing, 271 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:42.839 Uh, you just go into the mode and you do what you've been 272 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:45.519 training to do, you know. And the guy's like me when I join. 273 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.839 And I don't mean this in a well I'm always careful how I say 274 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:52.240 this. Well, I used to be. Now I've gotten to the point 275 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:55.559 now I don't really care. But you know, I trained for that. 276 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:57.599 I was a guy and this I don't mean this in a negative way. 277 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:03.279 But I joined the army to do that. I didn't join the army to 278 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:06.400 train for the rest of my life. I joined the Army to train and 279 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:10.400 then to go fight and protect the rights of the country. And I think 280 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:15.400 most service members do. I know there are some that go in there and 281 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:17.559 they just want to get their college money and they want to get back out, 282 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:18.319 and they hope and pray that they don't have to go to war. 283 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.400 As I've matured and gotten older, I hope and pray we don't have to 284 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.200 go to war. But I didn't join the Army to not go to war. 285 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:29.400 Back then, I joined the Army to go to war. So for 286 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:32.279 me when that happened, it was like boom, I get to do my 287 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.400 job now and I get to be a part of something greater than myself. 288 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:41.359 You also had the chance to work with the AC one thirty specter gunships. 289 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.319 Yes, talk about that collaboration. It was one of the It was one 290 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:48.920 of the greatest in my time of service because I got the I was in 291 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:55.319 the Army, but I experienced the privileges of the Air Force. I mean, 292 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:56.640 and people ask me, what do you you know, what would you 293 00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:00.799 recommend? What branch of service would you I'm in that I go to And 294 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.240 I asked them a line of questions, and their answer to those questions dictate 295 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:11.279 what my answer would be. Because you know, if you're extremely strong headed, 296 00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:14.359 and you you know you're you want to be the bull in the china 297 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:18.960 shop, join the Marines. If you're a bit of a thinker, but 298 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:22.480 you want to do some of that too, look at the Army. If 299 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.880 you like electricity all the time and a good soft bed, joined the Air 300 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:29.880 Force. I mean, that's what I would say, Uh, And that's 301 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:34.079 not an insult. It's just a reality. And I really had the great 302 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:40.319 privilege of meeting some very heroic people in the Air Force UH and being able 303 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:42.960 to do that job working on the specters. So I was the Army liaison 304 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.240 who flew on the aircraft. So I was actually on the aircraft kind of 305 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:51.279 like the UH. I was the go between between the Army and the Air 306 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:56.880 Force guys, you know, helping with communications and target identification and communicating back 307 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.359 and forth with the guys on the ground. It was a fun, fun 308 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:03.799 job that And we were in Hurlbert Airfield, Florida, So I got to 309 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:06.519 go to Florida lot. I was just down there. That's a fabulous place. 310 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:11.440 Yes it is. And so one of the bizarre moments is that your 311 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:17.880 wife briefly thought you were killed there. Explain what happened there unbeknownst to me 312 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:21.319 because I'm running around in Panama. I want to go back to something real 313 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.599 quick before I talk about this. You alluded to the fact that you know 314 00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:30.720 the short duration of operation just cause, and that is it was obviously shorter 315 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:37.279 than Desert Storm or any of the further forthcoming wars and activities we were involved 316 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:47.640 in. But we should never underplay the intensity of those situations regardless, because 317 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:51.240 even though a war may last forever, a battle maybe a day, a 318 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:56.680 battle maybe weeks, maybe months, whatever, And that's we have to appreciate 319 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:59.799 that for these men and women that are serving when they go. I mean, 320 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:03.599 there are operations going on through around the world that we might not even 321 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:07.359 know about, and they might be three or four day missions. Uh. 322 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:14.240 You know, our Special Operations community is is working all the time, and 323 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:18.920 these guys experience what we have seen on the news that took place in Operation 324 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:25.759 Desert Storm again and forward. Uh. Those things were taking place before and 325 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:30.599 they're taking place now, uh in spurts. But because they don't receive a 326 00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:34.240 lot of media, people don't understand the intensity. Uh, but take what 327 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:38.960 you've seen. We should take what we've seen on television, and those intense 328 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:47.880 moments, long battles, long wars, and and it still happens, even 329 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:52.200 though it might not be quite as long, the intensity is the same. 330 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:55.480 I just wanted to go back to that because you know, you look at 331 00:22:55.480 --> 00:23:00.440 our World War veterans, Uh, those were those were you know, long 332 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:03.240 term. These guys were out there for a long time and it was some 333 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:08.640 very intense moments throughout that time. Those intense moments take place regardless of the 334 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:12.680 length of the war, and we should appreciate that for all of our service 335 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:15.880 members. Now, my wife, unbeknownst to me, while I'm over there 336 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:21.519 running around Panama doing the things we were doing, my wife is at home 337 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:25.160 with a baby, and she's actually down in Texas with her dad, and 338 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:30.200 a military vehicle shows up, pulls in the driveway. My wife's seen it, 339 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:34.759 and she wouldn't even go to the door because it was two uniformed service 340 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:41.599 members. And everybody knows that when if your spouse or loved one is overseas 341 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:45.559 and that happens, there's a good chance they're not there delivering good news. 342 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:48.960 They're not bringing you home, they're not surprising you. That don't happen. 343 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:55.359 So she was just mortified, scared so much she wouldn't even go to the 344 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:59.839 door. Well, her dad answered the door, and even he was upset, 345 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.680 she said, visibly upset, and because he thought that he was going 346 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:06.920 to have to hear the news that I had died, didn't have to tell 347 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:11.599 his daughter. But they literally went to the wrong house. They went to 348 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.920 the wrong house, you know, and that happens. It wasn't a bad 349 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:18.440 it think like they were doing something terrible. They just they went to the 350 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:23.200 wrong house and so for a few minutes there my wife thought I was dead. 351 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.480 Wow. Well, you mentioned a moment ago that there are missions that 352 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:32.640 we don't know about and special forces, and you were actually plucked out of 353 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:38.359 Panama and sat with some special forces and probably the CIA, although you sudden 354 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:44.519 you weren't quite sure. So what's it like working in those kind of sure 355 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.759 but not totally sure type of situation? This is just like a movie. 356 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:52.559 I'm telling you. That's my analogy, and I don't know any other. 357 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:57.319 I don't know a better way to describe it. It's just sometimes you again 358 00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:03.079 have these out of body I did. I can only speak from my perspective, 359 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:07.000 but I remember as we were moving through the jungling, you know, 360 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:10.960 and we had to strip everything off of our uniforms, and there was no 361 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:14.480 patches, no names, no nothing to work to do what we were doing 362 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:18.119 on the mission we were on. And it's just you just don't It just 363 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:25.160 felt like a movie. And oddly enough, now watching movies, it's like, 364 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:29.400 especially movies that might it's exactly like that. Some of the movies I 365 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:33.079 watched now, and I go, that's exactly what we did. That's exactly 366 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.160 the way it happens. You just some stuff, you know, and you're 367 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.519 privy to only so much information, and yet you're here doing this. It's 368 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:41.680 you know, it's weird. It's kind of like being told to, you 369 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:44.799 know, come in here and clean the carpet. You don't know what kind 370 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:45.920 of carpet you're cleaning, You don't know what kind of cleaner you're doing, 371 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.880 but you show up and they hand you the cleaner and you and you're told 372 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:53.519 you better. Every spot has to get off or you know, you're not 373 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:57.640 gonna get paid, and you don't know if the carpet cleaner's right or you 374 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:00.839 know, but you go in there and do it and end up carpet gets 375 00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:04.759 cleaned. Is that part of training where you just accept the fact that they're 376 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:08.599 only going to tell you so much and you don't really have to try to 377 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:11.720 press them with more information or anything like that. Why are we here? 378 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:15.240 What are we actually trying to accomplish? Yes? I think it is the 379 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.559 training, And you know we trained that way when I first started. First 380 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:22.359 of all, you gotta remember we didn't have we didn't even have internet. 381 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:26.640 Really, communications was very limited. We didn't have cell phones and all these 382 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.920 things we didn't have, especially didn't have Thank god, we didn't have TikTok, 383 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.920 Instagram and all that crap. You know, it's probably a good thing, 384 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:41.359 but there were numerous training operations, especially at a BRAG where I remember 385 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:45.319 the first time I got a bag phone. Remember the old bag phones. 386 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:48.079 Yeah, you carried it over your shoulder and you had it. I got 387 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:55.519 that because I got tired of when I would leave as a as a team 388 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:59.759 leader, I got tired of having to call into the c Q the charge 389 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:03.359 of and go, hey, it's a Sartain Greer. I'm gonna go to 390 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:04.640 the movie theater. I'll call you when I get there and let you know 391 00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:07.079 what seat I'm in. Go to the movie theater with my wife and my 392 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:10.960 kid, go in the movie The Inner and set down and figure out where 393 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:11.920 I'm sitting. And I'd have to go tell that. Literally, this is 394 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:17.400 the way this happened when we were on on QRF and I would at to 395 00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:21.160 say, hey, here's the person's name, here's the number. They know 396 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:25.839 where I'm sitting, and they would write it down at CQ so that if 397 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:29.519 a call came in and we had the deploy and it happened on numerous times, 398 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:32.279 and so you would get a phone call, the guy would come running 399 00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:33.880 in. Hey, they won't They said you need to leave. So I 400 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:37.039 would go back to you. We would get there, go through the motions, 401 00:27:37.079 --> 00:27:40.960 and sometimes that's as far as it would go. Sometimes you get on 402 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:44.160 a plane, you're on the aircraft. You don't know if you're going to 403 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:47.160 war or if you're just doing a training jump or what it is. And 404 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:49.200 you would get on the aircraft and they would hand you maps and everything and 405 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:52.079 you go, Okay, cool, we're training. We're gonna be jumping into 406 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:55.920 here and this is what we're doing. Or you would get a map and 407 00:27:56.039 --> 00:28:00.440 go, this looks like South America. You just don't know, but that's 408 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:03.279 what you do. You trained for that. But what it does, it 409 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:11.119 forces you to think fast and work fast to process. Uh. That's why 410 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:15.720 I think soldiers and service members are the greatest people in our country. They're 411 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:19.839 the smartest, they're they're the they're able to do things that the average American 412 00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:25.119 can't do. And it's because of those kind of situations. It's why they 413 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:29.519 make the best CEOs. They make the best leaders, and when they get 414 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:33.200 out, they become the best employees. One of my favorite stories in the 415 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:38.279 book deals with your ingenuity. You had been given an assignment during desert storm 416 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:42.720 that you weren't particularly pleased with. You wanted to be there, and you're 417 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:47.920 assigned to Fort Bragg, but you found a way to get over there anyway. 418 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:51.880 Yeah, I'm not sure if I should share the story. We'll leave 419 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:53.440 that. We might leave that, but because I'll tell you I did something 420 00:28:53.480 --> 00:29:02.000 that was It was completely inappropriate and unprofessional. When you should follow the orders 421 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:07.000 every young service member joining the military Act, you really should follow your orders 422 00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:11.680 as long as they're I mean, there is a I do believe we all 423 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:18.599 have a moral standing fourth which we should rely on. So if someone's telling 424 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:22.839 you to do something that is completely morally incorrect, you shouldn't. But telling 425 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:27.200 someone that they shouldn't go overseas, I don't think it was a moral So 426 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:33.480 I found a way to get there. Myself and another non commissioned officer by 427 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:37.680 the name of John Davis were to deliver some weapons down to a particular location 428 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:47.400 to be shipped over and someone came up with some orders that allowed us to 429 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:52.839 go with the weapons. I don't know where they came from. Didn't last 430 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:57.240 long though someone else found out their orders were not correct. We had to 431 00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:00.799 go back to brag. So this is going on even in Panama. And 432 00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:04.359 even as time's going on, you're getting more and more serious about your music 433 00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:11.680 and you get more into writing as as the nineties unfold. So how were 434 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:15.079 you able to do that while you were still active duty and just in free 435 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:18.440 time, just like anybody else when they would You know, a lot of 436 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:23.640 people do a lot of things. Uh, you know, military people get 437 00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:29.400 it. If you're not in the military, you don't understand being in the 438 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:33.920 military. You're not sleeping in a tent and getting up every morning and going 439 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:37.440 shooting people and doing those kind of things every day like you see in the 440 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:41.240 movies that that part of the movie only takes place in the war. Again, 441 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:45.000 now we have movies that depict that, that show people that have actual 442 00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:48.799 lives and we all did. Uh. So my life when I wasn't at 443 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:49.799 work, when I would get up in the mornings, I would go in 444 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:55.680 do pt have clean up, have breakfast, make formation. We would do 445 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:59.480 training for our day, have our final formation day and go home just like 446 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:00.960 everybody it goes to work. When they go to work, they finish up 447 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:03.880 in the day and they go back home in the evening, and we would 448 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:08.119 have our weekends off for the most part. So during that time I would 449 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:11.799 I would write and play guitar and try to make stuff up and have fun 450 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.720 with it. I will tell you when all that was happening, I've really 451 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:21.559 never seen myself as a full time singer, slash writer or whatever. I 452 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:25.519 did enjoy writing, and I thought if I ever had the opportunity to do 453 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:29.559 something in the music business, I wanted to do it writing songs because I 454 00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:32.599 knew that I could do that, even while I was doing what I really 455 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:36.839 enjoyed, which was the military, the army. And it wasn't until later 456 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:41.359 on that in the process of writing songs and recording those songs, I got 457 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:42.759 noticed as a singer. And even then, I will tell you, I 458 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:45.960 wasn't sure that I wanted to do it, because I knew how difficult it 459 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:48.440 was. I had friends that have been in business. I watched my dad 460 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:53.200 do it, and I knew that being a successful in a national touring artist, 461 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:56.759 now there's a difference in that and just doing it and doing it at 462 00:31:56.759 --> 00:32:00.680 a regional level. There's a lot of guys that do and have a normal 463 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:02.799 job and they get up and go to work, and then on the weekends 464 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:06.160 they play in bars and clubs and they do they do well. They make 465 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:08.119 a lot of extra money in and there's guys that end up doing it and 466 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:12.599 they quit their job and that's all they do is travel around locally and try 467 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:15.359 to open up for guys that make it nationally and that kind of stuff. 468 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:20.359 But I really just wanted to write. I wanted to write songs and create 469 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:23.119 that way. And again, I knew that you could make money at that 470 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:27.440 right up front, if you get signed to a publishing deal writing for a 471 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:31.200 company, you could make money. Whereas in the entertainment world, uh, 472 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:35.440 you know, everybody thinks that. You know, like my first two years 473 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.799 of being in the business, everyone that worked for me made more money than 474 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:42.240 I did. Everyone, the band members, everybody made more money and I 475 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:45.480 did. So that's why I stayed in the Army. I kept thinking it, 476 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:47.400 any day I'm going to quit this crap and go back full time in 477 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:51.519 the Army and get out of the get out of the savey life, get 478 00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:54.039 back into the Army. But every time I would think about that, something 479 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:59.599 would happen that would encourage me. God just nudged me every time. He 480 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:02.599 every I thought, I'm not doing this music crap, it's not who I 481 00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:07.079 am. I'm a soldier. I'm going back. God would do something that 482 00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:12.119 made me see that that's where I needed to be at the time. US 483 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:16.039 Army Staff Sergeant Craig Morgan Greer, when we come back, he has a 484 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:22.799 big decision to make pursue a dream of music stardom or pursue the top enlisted 485 00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:28.400 position in the entire US Army, And later Morgan shares a big announcement, 486 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:35.920 I'm Greg Corumbas and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veteran's Chronicles. I'm 487 00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:39.799 Greg Corumbas. Our guest in this edition is US Army Staff Sergeant Craig Morgan 488 00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:45.680 Greer, better known as country music star Craig Morgan. At the end of 489 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:50.400 our conversation, Morgan will share some big news that had not become public at 490 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:53.279 the time of our conversation, but we'll get to that a little bit later. 491 00:33:53.960 --> 00:33:59.839 By the late nineteen nineties, Morgan faced a dilemma continue a very six 492 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:05.599 scessful military career towards what was a very real chance of becoming the sergeant major 493 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:09.960 of the US Army, the top enlisted man in the entire army, or 494 00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:14.840 follow his dreams of a career in music. Yeah, there were a couple 495 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:20.440 senior ranking officers that had I don't want to say befriended, whose opinions I 496 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:25.039 very much respected, having worked for him. One gentleman in particular, Colonel 497 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:29.559 Bill Greer, I'll never forget set down to his office in General Shelton, 498 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:37.079 who became later became a prominent figure in our military, in our political leadership 499 00:34:37.079 --> 00:34:43.119 for our military. But both of them told me, based on how I 500 00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:47.079 was performing and my all everything that was happening in my military career, that 501 00:34:47.159 --> 00:34:52.079 I there was no question that I could be. They said, you could 502 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:54.280 be the start major of the Army if you keep on this path. But 503 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:58.440 Bill Greer said, as much as I believe that, I also believe that 504 00:34:58.480 --> 00:35:02.079 you have an opportunity to be successful in that business. And you know, 505 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:06.760 and so he encouraged me to pursue it. And he's the one that said, 506 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:09.880 look, when you leave active, go straight into the active reserves. 507 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:13.639 That way, you don't lose any breaking. There's no break in time and 508 00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:15.719 service, and if you feel like it's not what you want to do, 509 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:19.239 if it's not working out, you can come right back in. You don't 510 00:35:19.239 --> 00:35:21.960 lose any rank, you don't lose anything. So it seemed like a perfect 511 00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:25.039 opportunity. Of course, it absolutely broke my wife's heart. She didn't think 512 00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:30.360 I should do it. She wanted to stay in the army. But she 513 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:31.880 was also very encouraging. You know, She's like, you know, and 514 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:35.519 I knew that I was at a point in my military career that if I 515 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:38.719 didn't try it, I wouldn't I wouldn't continue, I wouldn't try it at 516 00:35:38.760 --> 00:35:42.079 all. Now, you know, looking back, I think i'd have been 517 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:45.679 okay with that. I'm not the guy that has regret. I think had 518 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:46.920 I stayed in the Army, I'm not the guy that would have went, 519 00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:50.519 oh man, I wish i'd have done that to see if I could have 520 00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:52.320 made it. I don't think that would have been my mindset. I would 521 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:57.119 have continued to write songs and play my guitar on the weekends with my buddies, 522 00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:59.920 and I might have even became one of those guys who got to do 523 00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:04.400 shows at local bars on the weekend, and then Monday got back up and 524 00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:07.880 went to formation. You know. Uh, And there's nothing wrong with that. 525 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:10.880 There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I just chose the other path. 526 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:15.159 And and here we are. Listeners and viewers. You need to get Craig's 527 00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:19.239 book, if for no other reason than the story of what he said to 528 00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:25.280 General Shelton down in what we see. Yeah, you know, it was 529 00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:30.079 dark. I couldn't tell who he was, and my mission was my mission. 530 00:36:30.199 --> 00:36:35.800 I didn't realize that my mission was his mission too. That we were 531 00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:39.039 on a training exercise, and uh, I was. I had we jumped 532 00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:45.760 in early before everyone, myself and the LARST, the long range surveillance guy 533 00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:49.119 that was with me, uh and my rto. We were there to call 534 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:54.000 for fires clear the drop zone so that the heavy drop and the personnel drop 535 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:57.920 coming in would be cleared. You know. So we go in early and 536 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:01.480 we do our thing, and we smulate clearing the battlefield, you know, 537 00:37:01.519 --> 00:37:06.400 with artillery, and we had I think on that one, that particular training 538 00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:08.280 extrade, we had simulated naval gunfire and the whole bit a lot of fun. 539 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:14.880 But I was told when the number three jumper on the number three aircraft 540 00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:17.920 exited. That's who I go to. So we're on the drop zone waiting, 541 00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:21.239 watching as the aircraft are coming. You can set them off in the 542 00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:23.679 distance, you know, and we're you know, some identifying number three. 543 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.360 First off, we go, man, these aircraft are low. Something is 544 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:30.800 not right, and so they get lower and lower and lower, and we 545 00:37:30.840 --> 00:37:34.920 realize, oh, holy shit, this is a heavy drop. This is 546 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:38.119 the equipment's first. We thought personnel were first and then the equipment equipments first. 547 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:44.800 So we run off the drop zone as the heavy drop comes in. 548 00:37:45.159 --> 00:37:47.760 Then we run back to the drop zone and I'm watching the number three aircraft 549 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:52.039 and I'm watching number three jumper parachute pops. I go straight to him and 550 00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:55.159 I run up to him and I'm like, are you Major such and such? 551 00:37:55.559 --> 00:38:00.559 And he goes no, and I'm like, you know some inappropriate words 552 00:38:00.599 --> 00:38:04.840 and and uh and he's like, what is it? And I said I 553 00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:07.400 have to I'm here to debrief Major such and such and he goes, well, 554 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:09.760 you can debrief me. And I'm like, who the EF for you? 555 00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:14.679 And he said selling, I'm General Shelton. You can tell me. 556 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:20.079 Yeah, And he took it well. Later, oh he was a champ. 557 00:38:20.119 --> 00:38:22.960 He was a sport. In the after action review, of course, 558 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:25.840 I'm expecting waiting any minute to get my butt reamed out, you know, 559 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:30.760 because this young staff start mouthed off to the commanding general. But he was 560 00:38:30.840 --> 00:38:36.880 like in the in the briefing, he literally said, where is uh? 561 00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:40.880 We're starting? Who the EF for you? He called me out, and 562 00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:45.639 my commander was you know, the colonel was there, Lieutenant Garner or Devarti 563 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:50.000 commander was there, and I had to explain myself to him what happened. 564 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:52.480 And but it all worked out, you know. And so you pursued the 565 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:55.440 music career, and obviously it's turned out to be a tremendous success. But 566 00:38:55.480 --> 00:39:01.360 as we were talking before we started recording music, like pursuing goals in the 567 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:07.800 army requires a ton of patience, resilience, perseverance from setbacks. That's the 568 00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:10.039 mindset you kind of need for life. It's kind of the point you like 569 00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:14.599 to make in the book. Yeah, I would tell you that music was 570 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:20.000 worse. It was. It was much more difficult, uh, and is 571 00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:25.519 and can be. It requires a lot of intestinal fortitude, mental patience. 572 00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:35.599 You know. In life, we tend to compare ourselves to others doing what 573 00:39:35.639 --> 00:39:38.159 we do. We use that as our bar or our balance and try to 574 00:39:38.199 --> 00:39:45.880 figure out how to progress. And what I have learned through the military and 575 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:50.519 in every occupation that I've ever had, but in particular the military music is 576 00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:58.840 your bar should not be set by others. You should set your own bar. 577 00:39:59.320 --> 00:40:04.559 You should set your goals and based on what it is you can and 578 00:40:04.719 --> 00:40:08.960 want to attain, not what others can and want to attain. In the 579 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:14.719 military, in the army, if I max my PT tests, if I 580 00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:19.480 did my job properly, I could progress, and it didn't matter what the 581 00:40:19.559 --> 00:40:22.599 other other NCOs were going. I was not competing with them, And now 582 00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:25.239 I was, to some degree, I was competing for a particular job. 583 00:40:25.760 --> 00:40:29.119 But if I did everything right, I was going to get that job, 584 00:40:29.440 --> 00:40:35.000 no questions. You know it would happen. It just does not happen that 585 00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:37.119 way. In the music there's so many factors in the music industry that are 586 00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:43.960 out of our control. I can write a hit song and I can sing 587 00:40:44.039 --> 00:40:47.719 it and everybody goes it's the greatest vocals you've ever done. And it can 588 00:40:47.800 --> 00:40:53.880 be a great song. The production can be fabulous, the label can love 589 00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:58.800 it, and we can deliver it to country radio, and they cannot play 590 00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:04.000 it, and the consumer cannot hear it, and that song not be a 591 00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:07.679 hit, even though we all know it's a hit song. Certain factors take 592 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:14.400 place that alleviate you from the process of being successful with that particular song. 593 00:41:14.760 --> 00:41:16.119 Now, fortunately for me, I had a lot of hit songs I have 594 00:41:16.239 --> 00:41:21.480 over my career and we still have success. And with the changes in our 595 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:25.960 society now technology in particular, with the influx of all the social media platforms, 596 00:41:27.480 --> 00:41:30.400 uh, there's new avenues for us to do that. And we found 597 00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:36.880 during COVID, during the shutdown during the pandemic that it created a whole new 598 00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:43.239 a whole new avenue for a generation that had kind of country radio was no 599 00:41:43.320 --> 00:41:45.320 longer a part of their career, you know. Again, fortunately for me, 600 00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:49.800 I had such a big radio career that I get I got to continue 601 00:41:49.840 --> 00:41:52.880 touring. I you know, we still have a successful touring business, but 602 00:41:53.039 --> 00:41:58.440 not quite as much new airplay on radio. They're not playing all of my 603 00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:01.239 new music as much. But cause of these new the influx of the social 604 00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:07.639 media platforms and the Spotify and iTunes and all of these things, it's as 605 00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:12.679 if that you know, we kind of transition from one streaming method to another, 606 00:42:12.880 --> 00:42:17.639 from traditional radio and CDs and all of those things now to these other 607 00:42:17.679 --> 00:42:22.760 platforms where our music is being heard, and there are actually artists that are 608 00:42:22.760 --> 00:42:27.039 coming into the industry that are starting there. They're not starting in country through 609 00:42:27.079 --> 00:42:30.719 country radio. The people are hearing their music through those platforms now. One 610 00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:34.360 of the interesting things, of course, is that while you've decided to pursue 611 00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:37.039 your music career in the late nineties, most of your career has taken place 612 00:42:37.039 --> 00:42:40.239 while America has been at war. Yeah, and one of the stories that 613 00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:46.360 absolutely resonated with me is how one of your songs came on the radio when 614 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:52.719 a soldier or veteran was very seriously thinking about taking his life and your song 615 00:42:53.760 --> 00:42:57.079 made him stop. Yeah. I've heard so many of those stories, and 616 00:42:57.079 --> 00:43:01.320 I mean, it's very it's moving. Uh. It's those kind of stories 617 00:43:01.360 --> 00:43:07.119 that make me really appreciate the magnitude of what it is we are doing and 618 00:43:07.159 --> 00:43:10.199 the impact that we can have. And I when I speak, and I 619 00:43:10.239 --> 00:43:15.840 do a lot of speaking in engagements, I tell people you never know what 620 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:21.920 your life or words or whatever it is you may be doing. You don't 621 00:43:22.000 --> 00:43:24.639 know how they're going to impact other people. So you should every day. 622 00:43:24.719 --> 00:43:28.480 We should think about that when we get up, before we go to work. 623 00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:32.239 We should think about how we can be a positive impression on other people. 624 00:43:32.880 --> 00:43:39.639 Uh, and don't allow our our wur situations to dictate our output. 625 00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:45.280 Uh. You can turn you can turn it around. That that particular story, 626 00:43:45.559 --> 00:43:50.679 Uh, it was actually a two part which was beyond belief. Really 627 00:43:51.239 --> 00:43:53.960 that young man. I'll never forget it. We've played the Washington State Fair 628 00:43:54.599 --> 00:44:00.679 and he had a prosthetic leg and he was standing there and I had gone 629 00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:04.119 I just released the new album at the time, and so I was signing 630 00:44:04.199 --> 00:44:07.880 them. You know, when you first start, you're willing to sign anything 631 00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:12.920 just to sell it, you know. And so we would do signings of 632 00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:16.719 merchandise after the show. And at this point we've kind of gotten away from 633 00:44:16.760 --> 00:44:20.880 signing merchandise. But because I released a new album, everybody that bought it, 634 00:44:20.920 --> 00:44:22.280 I was gonna come out and sign the record. So we had this 635 00:44:22.519 --> 00:44:25.199 huge line, and you know, we're sitting there and I'm like, this 636 00:44:25.239 --> 00:44:29.719 is gonna take hours, But how awesome is that that I get to set 637 00:44:29.760 --> 00:44:31.360 here for hours and sign autograph. But I looked over and I seen that 638 00:44:31.840 --> 00:44:35.280 young land stand there with this prosthetic leg, and I said, come on 639 00:44:35.440 --> 00:44:37.159 up, you don't need to you don't have to stand there and wait. 640 00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:39.679 I you know, gathered in my head. I assumed he was a soldier 641 00:44:40.280 --> 00:44:43.400 and he said no. He said, I want to I I need to 642 00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:45.199 talk to you. I want to talk to you. If you don't mind, 643 00:44:45.239 --> 00:44:46.920 I'll wait till we're done. And so I told him my tour man, 644 00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:50.159 the said get him a chair anyway, he don't need to stand here 645 00:44:50.199 --> 00:44:52.360 the whole time. Then Winn't got him a chair, and he would not 646 00:44:52.400 --> 00:44:54.559 sit down. He stood there the whole time, and he waited till the 647 00:44:54.599 --> 00:44:59.559 very end. It was almost almost two hours of signing, and he waited. 648 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:01.519 And when he came up, he sat down in front of me and 649 00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:04.199 I said, sit down, and I want to hear what it is so 650 00:45:04.239 --> 00:45:07.000 important that you were willing to stand that and wait for two hours? He 651 00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:08.840 said, Man, I was in Iraq and such and such, and I 652 00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:12.679 was driving down the road and I had a CD player and I had your 653 00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:15.199 first CD and I was playing it and he said, this song Paradise. 654 00:45:15.320 --> 00:45:19.599 He said, I just loved it. And he said, uh, he 655 00:45:19.639 --> 00:45:22.400 said, your music saved my life. I said, okay, won't tell 656 00:45:22.400 --> 00:45:24.440 me out and I literally giggled. You know, I'm like, yeah, 657 00:45:24.440 --> 00:45:27.840 tell me how my music saved life. He said. We were driving down 658 00:45:27.840 --> 00:45:30.079 the road in the hun V and that and he said, my it we 659 00:45:30.199 --> 00:45:32.679 bumped and my and it skipped and he said, so I reached down to 660 00:45:32.719 --> 00:45:37.079 get the CD player and to hit the button to go back to the beginning 661 00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:40.199 song, and a sniper shot through the window and hit the seat and it's 662 00:45:40.239 --> 00:45:43.639 like, oh wow that. I said, well, that wasn't me, 663 00:45:43.760 --> 00:45:45.960 that was God looking after you. He said, well, God used you, 664 00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:47.679 and he said he used you again. He said, fast forward. 665 00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:52.360 I got out. I had lost my leg and I d and uh. 666 00:45:52.599 --> 00:45:55.360 He said. I was sitting at the house and he said, I literally 667 00:45:55.400 --> 00:46:01.480 had the pistol and I had put the magazine and chambered around and I put 668 00:46:01.519 --> 00:46:05.440 it up to my mouth and he said, I was going through this and 669 00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:07.639 I was thinking, this is the only way that I can end this pain, 670 00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:12.159 and everything was to do this. And he said a song came on 671 00:46:12.239 --> 00:46:15.480 the radio called almost Home. He said, I put my gun down. 672 00:46:16.119 --> 00:46:21.360 That's powerful. And we both sat there and cried and talked for a bit, 673 00:46:21.400 --> 00:46:22.960 and uh, it's like, man, you know, I said, 674 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:25.559 Well, here again, I said, I appreciate that you're sharing this, 675 00:46:25.840 --> 00:46:29.440 and it does mean a lot, I said, But what it really means 676 00:46:29.519 --> 00:46:32.440 is that God was looking after you and he cares, So don't do that 677 00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:37.719 crap again. But yeah, it's pretty powerful to hear those stories, and 678 00:46:37.760 --> 00:46:40.719 I've heard a bunch of them. Incredible impact. We're just about at a 679 00:46:40.719 --> 00:46:44.679 time, Craig, but I know you've got some special breaking news for us. 680 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.320 Yeah. So then the military, obviously, it has been a big 681 00:46:49.360 --> 00:46:51.880 part of my life. My God, my family, my country, and 682 00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:57.079 it's literally in that order those the three priorities in my life. And having 683 00:46:57.159 --> 00:47:00.239 served for you know, just over seventeen years of my life, I'm always 684 00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:07.119 looking at ways to work with and give back. So here in the very 685 00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:13.079 near future, I am re enlisting in the Army. I am going back 686 00:47:13.079 --> 00:47:20.199 in the Army. I am going back in the army. Fantastic. I've 687 00:47:20.239 --> 00:47:24.559 had a great music career and now I have the opportunity to utilize that platform 688 00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:30.440 to help promote the importance of our military and our army in particular, and 689 00:47:30.960 --> 00:47:36.480 work with army and the army recruiting command and the Army Band and anything that 690 00:47:36.519 --> 00:47:42.760 I can do to try to encourage people to join the United States Army and 691 00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:45.920 be all they can be. That that has been my platform since I joined 692 00:47:45.920 --> 00:47:51.440 the Army. I have spent my life attempting to be all that I can 693 00:47:51.480 --> 00:47:54.599 be. People joke about it. I raced motorcycles, I've raced cars, 694 00:47:54.639 --> 00:47:59.320 I've jumped out of airplanes. I've done it both in the military and in 695 00:47:59.400 --> 00:48:02.880 the vilion life, and everything that I have ever done, I've tried to 696 00:48:02.880 --> 00:48:07.400 do it to the best of my ability, and as I talked about earlier, 697 00:48:07.559 --> 00:48:09.719 not do it to the best or be better than someone else, but 698 00:48:09.800 --> 00:48:13.719 just be the best me that I can be at everything that I'm doing. 699 00:48:14.119 --> 00:48:16.519 And the Army is going back to the be all you can beat campaign, 700 00:48:17.159 --> 00:48:22.480 which I think is absolutely the greatest thing they've done. Since I've been in 701 00:48:22.519 --> 00:48:28.719 and out this Army of one and this all this other crap, I think 702 00:48:28.760 --> 00:48:35.280 it is horrible. We all individually, when we are being all that we 703 00:48:35.400 --> 00:48:37.440 can be, collectively, we will be the greatest. And I get to 704 00:48:37.440 --> 00:48:40.760 be a part of that. Again. Outstanding Craig, Thanks for breaking that 705 00:48:40.800 --> 00:48:45.039 news with us, and thank you so much for your time today, and 706 00:48:45.159 --> 00:48:49.960 thank you for your service. And you're soon to be continuing service to our 707 00:48:49.960 --> 00:48:52.000 country. Oh, thank you, Craig Morgan, country music star. But 708 00:48:52.119 --> 00:48:55.800 before that, Craig Morgan Greer seventeen years and soon to be more than that 709 00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:59.920 in the US Army, more than ten of those years on active duty. 710 00:49:00.239 --> 00:49:04.360 We also served with the one hundred first and eighty second Airborne Divisions. I'm 711 00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:17.320 Greg Corumbus. This is Veterans Chronicles. Hi, this is Greg Corumbus, 712 00:49:17.400 --> 00:49:22.400 and thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of the American Veterans Center. 713 00:49:23.039 --> 00:49:29.159 For more information, please visit American Veterans Center dot org. You can 714 00:49:29.159 --> 00:49:34.480 also follow the American Veterans Center on Facebook and on Twitter. We're at AVC 715 00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:39.360 update. Subscribe to the American Veterans Center YouTube channel for full oral histories and 716 00:49:39.519 --> 00:49:45.039 special features, and of course, please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever 717 00:49:45.119 --> 00:49:50.320 you get your podcasts. Thanks again for listening, and please join us next 718 00:49:50.320 --> 00:49:52.079 time for Veterans Chronicles