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The Team House with your 43 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:29.000 hosts Jack Murphy and David Park. 44 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:36.479 Hey, everyone, welcome to episode three hundred and twenty four 45 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:37.599 of The Team House. 46 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:38.719 I'm Jack Murphy. 47 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:42.680 I'm here with our guest Tonight, Lance Strong, who served 48 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:47.520 in the eighty second Airborne with Arista squadron. They are 49 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.080 we'll get into it, but recon squadron, but they ended 50 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:53.759 up with a very direct action mission, as we'll get into. 51 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:58.280 He was, you know, seriously injured in Bagdad and a 52 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.800 pretty horrific accident we'll talk about, med boarded out of 53 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:04.840 the army and have done all kinds of interesting things, 54 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:07.520 varied things in the interim since he got out of 55 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.159 the military. So Lance, thank you for joining us tonight. 56 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:12.039 Hey, you're welcome. Thanks for having me. 57 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:15.879 I definitely feel privileged and honored, you know, not having 58 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:19.360 served in special operations or done anything too special. And 59 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.800 I probably hold the record for all of your guests 60 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.520 of having the shortest, most condensed military career. 61 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.759 Well your podcast, This is what I offer to you 62 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:33.560 and those like you, is that at least you're not 63 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:35.960 a dirty, nasty leg I don't know. 64 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:36.520 If I could. 65 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:38.319 I don't know if I could tolerate that. 66 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:39.879 I don't know if I can tolerate that. 67 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:42.840 But seriously, though, this isn't just a. 68 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:44.120 Special ops podcast. 69 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:45.360 I don't want people to think that. 70 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.560 We try to include people all across the military, across 71 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:53.199 the intelligence community, including some law enforcement and things like that. 72 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:56.800 For sure, awesome all right, I'll fit right in then. 73 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:00.879 So tell us a little bit about growing up. You 74 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.039 came out of a small town, right. 75 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.879 Yeah, yeah, yeah, San Luis Obispo, which is the central 76 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:09.120 coast of California, so most people have. 77 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.000 Heard of Santa Barbara, a lot of famous people. You know. 78 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:12.879 It's north of. 79 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:17.360 La and then San Luis Obispo is kind of smack 80 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:21.480 dab in the middle between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, 81 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:26.519 rolling green hills, lots of vineyards these days. When I 82 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.519 was born and raised, it was mostly cattle ranches. Those 83 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:33.920 are all vineyards. Pretty much small town. It's getting bigger 84 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:36.879 and bigger every time we go back and visit. But yeah, 85 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.879 you know what was interesting, I think, you know, unique 86 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.079 where I grew up. I think out of my class, 87 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:48.480 you know, graduating high school, there was two or three 88 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.680 of us, you know that that entered the military, and 89 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:55.720 it was two thousand and five when I signed up. 90 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:58.680 What was the size of your graduating class in high school? 91 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:00.959 Probably four hundred ish, you know. 92 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.120 Oh, okay, so small town, but that's a pretty well 93 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:04.720 graduating class. 94 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:06.879 Really the only high school in the entire town, right, 95 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:07.680 So that's it. 96 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:11.839 I think there's one other private high school that was 97 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:14.800 much smaller, but yeah, so big, big class. 98 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.439 I suppose maybe it was only three hundred. 99 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:21.360 I honestly don't remember, but yeah, only high school in town, 100 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:22.639 so tigers. 101 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:25.000 Yeah it was good. 102 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:28.240 My dad went there too, so it was funny, is 103 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:30.879 I So I go, you know, the same high school 104 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.680 my dad went to. He was born and raised same 105 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:37.319 you know, same town. And we had one auto shop 106 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:40.319 teacher and maybe like an English or math teacher. 107 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:41.720 Right, that was the same like. 108 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.040 They started when my dad and the year after having me, 109 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:49.560 they all retired. They could not handle two of us. 110 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:56.160 So yeah, so three three people from your graduating class 111 00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.759 end up in the military, and one of them joins 112 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:00.639 the army with you. 113 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:02.319 Right, Yeah. 114 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:04.560 So one of one of my best friends that we 115 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:07.920 you know, we grew up. I probably knew him since 116 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:12.480 the first grade, you know, awesome friends, and we kind 117 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.800 of were on our own path going to join you know, 118 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.079 and obviously, I mean, just like any other veteran in 119 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.279 our generation nine to eleven, you know, had a huge, 120 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.839 huge part of that. I think my buddy, he he 121 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:26.920 was always. 122 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:26.959 Going to go. 123 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.720 I mean, like, you know, I don't know when it 124 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.199 was for him, but I think Blackhawk Down the movie. 125 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:33.759 You know, he was going to be a ranger from 126 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.519 the day he was you know born kind of thing. 127 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:40.879 And for me, I probably didn't get serious about it 128 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.560 until nine to eleven. I would have been like eighth grade, 129 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:50.160 fourteen or so, you know, really really had an impact 130 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:53.279 like it did all of us. And really, you know, 131 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:56.879 I always looked up to veterans. You know, I know 132 00:06:56.920 --> 00:06:59.920 a lot of young people never really saw it. But 133 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:02.720 I mean whether it was movies or or real stories 134 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:04.279 or you know, I had all the books, you know, 135 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:07.399 everything growing up, and I just I always wanted to 136 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.519 say thank you, especially to like. 137 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:10.279 The Vietnam era. 138 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:12.959 I knew a lot of Vietnam veterans who were kind 139 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:16.480 of my heroes, and just the crap that they went 140 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:20.319 through and everything they dealt with. Like I felt so 141 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:24.680 called to somehow say thank you. And the only way 142 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:26.639 I kind of knew how was to be like, Okay, 143 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:29.600 I'm gonna, you know, walk a mile in their boots, 144 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.319 you know, And. 145 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:32.079 So that's what I did. 146 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:36.040 I was seventeen when I when I joined I needed 147 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:39.279 my parents, you know, permission slip you know, to Uncle Sam. 148 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:43.000 And they weren't super stoked on it just because there 149 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:45.199 was two wars going on in two thousand and five, 150 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:47.000 and you know, my recruiter had been told. 151 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.480 I'm like, oh, I've been in the infantry for ten years. 152 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:51.600 I've never been to play, you know and stuff, and 153 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:55.920 they knew I was going right over there, and that's 154 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:58.439 what I wanted. I think they knew as soon as 155 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:00.560 I turned eighteen, I was gonna go anyway, so they 156 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.360 signed that was in the delayed entry program for the 157 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:06.600 rest of my senior year with my buddy. So I 158 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:10.519 think we even got promoted once, you know, or something 159 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.519 like that in that delayed entry program. If you yeah, 160 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:14.399 I don't know, Well. 161 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:16.399 Do you like take a PT test and you know 162 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:17.240 something like that. 163 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.240 Yeah, yeah, PT tests and then like learning all the 164 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:25.120 ranks and some you know, military stuff whatever. So yeah, 165 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:28.000 And for me, I never looked at any other branch. 166 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:30.839 There's no way I was going to go in the Navy. 167 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:34.320 I don't like water, I don't really like boats. Last 168 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:37.080 the last cool ship to me was a pirate ship, 169 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:38.639 and there's none of those in the Navy, you know. 170 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:40.200 So I wasn't going to join the Navy. 171 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:47.720 And the Marines, I I mean the Army for Airborne 172 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:51.320 entry was given out twenty thousand dollars signing bonuses too 173 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:55.080 in two thousand and five, so it was always gonna 174 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.960 be the Army. I felt like the way they looked 175 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.320 at obstacles, you know, and tried to figure out how 176 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:02.559 to get around them instead of just you know, bashing 177 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:05.919 right through, although some units you know, do that, but 178 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:08.799 I don't know. Yeah, I think if I could live 179 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.000 another life, i'd try to be a pilot, you. 180 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:12.000 Know, or something like that. 181 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:17.039 But I'm I probably from the time I watched Band 182 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.840 of Brothers, Airborne infantry was what I wanted to be. 183 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.399 I wanted so badly to go to one hundred and 184 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:25.879 first Airborne. I had no idea they weren't jumping. I 185 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:28.600 just you know, thought they were so cool and in 186 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:33.679 Band of Brothers and uh yeah. So I think I 187 00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:36.720 graduated two thousand and six, June two thousand and six, 188 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:39.000 and I mean within a few weeks I was, you know, 189 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:43.279 headed to Georgia, Fort Benning, the whole you know, sand 190 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:47.279 Hill experience. Oh set, So it was says like a 191 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:51.600 sixteen week basic in infantry school all in one. 192 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:53.320 I don't know if it was the same when you 193 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:54.279 were going through or not. 194 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:58.679 Yeah, similar, And so I mean, yeah, you, uh, sixteen 195 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:01.399 weeks later, you're a highly trained combat killer and you're 196 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:05.279 also rich with your twenty thousand dollars signed so rich. 197 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:05.919 Yeah. 198 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:11.120 Yeah, I probably was the only uh private from our 199 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:14.360 class that didn't blow that on the lemon lock cars 200 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:18.000 and you know strippers and the whole bit. I I 201 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:22.480 saved all that up, luckily. Yeah, saved every dime of it. 202 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:24.879 You know, I really didn't have time to buy much 203 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.840 of anything either, So as soon as I finished. It 204 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.120 was kind of a weird time too for all the 205 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:34.799 training because they'd like there were so many people joining 206 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:37.600 at that time, they didn't have like enough cadre to 207 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:42.159 keep things like super moving. So even when we got there, 208 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:46.039 like we waited around basically just getting smoked and just 209 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:49.399 it sucked, like waiting around to even start Basic, and 210 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.440 so you never knew like, wait, when does it start? 211 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:54.440 Because it all sucked so bad and it was like, man, 212 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.279 I made a mistake, And those like two or three 213 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.879 weeks of waiting for Basic to start, you know, we're 214 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:01.399 almost worse because it just like I'm wasting my life, 215 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:04.039 like let's go, you know, let's do this and then 216 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.440 the same thing kind of happened after I graduated for 217 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.759 airborne school. There was a lot of had airborne on 218 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:13.480 my contract. Everything there was just like a backlog, right, 219 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:17.440 so we're like waiting for the school to accept us 220 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:21.080 and just doing stupid stuff right details. 221 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:23.159 And running a lot and and all that. 222 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:26.320 I got going home for Thanksgiving, yeah, and then and 223 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:31.320 then finally started. Yeah, but it was Airborne school was 224 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.519 my was by far my favorite time in the military. 225 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:37.559 I think, uh uh, you know, nights and weekends off 226 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:37.960 it was. 227 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:40.639 It was it was fun. I loved Airborne school. 228 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:43.919 I I didn't I don't know if did you get 229 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:44.720 to do the towers? 230 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:45.320 No? 231 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:48.559 Okay, so I lucked out too, because I, you know, 232 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:50.559 the whole time was like I want to do the towers. 233 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:51.879 But then you're like there and you're like, I don't. 234 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:53.159 I don't want to do the tower, so that that 235 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:56.840 doesn't look fun at all. And like the guy before us, 236 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.720 like our chalk or whatever, he flew into to the 237 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.120 tower and got stuck, and it was just like, yeah, 238 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:04.879 so they call it off. Right when that happens, they 239 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.919 call it off. Takes forever to get them down all that, 240 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.120 and it was great. Because I heard the towers were 241 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:12.360 even worse than the actual jumps. I don't know if 242 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.039 that's true because I never did the tower, but. 243 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:17.039 Yeah, it's a little it's a little iffy, right, I 244 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.679 don't know what it is, like the like heights hit 245 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:23.960 you differently psychologically, like jumping out of that, like you 246 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:26.399 for sure did what it was a thirty four foot tower. 247 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.679 Oh yeah, yeah, thirty six right something like it's like 248 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:34.399 at the scientific height of being afraid of heights. Yeah. 249 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:37.480 So it's high enough, yeah, to make people not want 250 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:38.679 to jump out, yeah, for sure. 251 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:42.519 And then when you jump, you know, at well fifteen 252 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:44.799 hundred feet or whatever it is, I mean that's still 253 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:47.200 low enough you can see like little pine trees down there, 254 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:47.679 and you're. 255 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:48.879 Like, well, I don't know if I want to go 256 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:49.440 and do this. 257 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:53.559 But then years later when I did the free fall course, 258 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:56.240 it's like you get that high up at like twelve 259 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:58.639 thousand feet, the earth just looks like a painting, like 260 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:00.000 your brain doesn't really register. 261 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:03.519 Now, yeah, for sure, for sure, it's a all those 262 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.559 are different experiences, yeah, yeah, yeah, so yeah, I loved 263 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:08.279 everyone school. 264 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:12.000 I my I'll just share. 265 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:15.159 One jump story, right, because I have to I'm on 266 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:19.080 a podcast, right, So my fourth jump, everything had gone 267 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.120 pretty well. Actually, I got a concussion on the first jump, 268 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.600 hit the back of my head and I was like 269 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:27.799 throwing up all night and like passing out and stuff. 270 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:29.639 But if you go to sick Hall like you're done, 271 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:33.200 you're you know, you wash out or whatever. So I'm like, 272 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:35.840 no way, I'm gonna I'm gonna do that. You know, 273 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:38.000 they always make you run, right, so if you break 274 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:40.200 anything a foot or a leg or something like that, 275 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.919 there's no way they can. They'll weed you out because 276 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:46.080 they'll know you'll be limping, you know, and fall out 277 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:51.840 of the runs. But so the fourth jump, as I'm 278 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:53.879 going out the door like I'm handing, you know, I'm 279 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:58.080 handing my line to the jump master, He's like goes 280 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.159 like whoa, whoa, whoa as I'm like jumping, and it 281 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.320 made me hesitate, right, And I think he was talking 282 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.440 to the person behind me who's like rushing me or something. 283 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:09.200 But that wo woa whoa made me hesitate. So I 284 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:12.480 didn't get a good jump out of the aircraft, and 285 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.399 I bounced the down the side of the fuselage like 286 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:20.240 bounce off the fuselage, got sucked underneath my shoote ends 287 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:25.759 up opening and I'm twisted, like completely twisted up, and 288 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:27.840 the guy from the other side jumping out lands on 289 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:30.879 my shute and then he like runs across my chute 290 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.360 and I just hear him go like ah, like scream 291 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:36.559 and fall and his shote opens again and and I'm 292 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:39.000 like trying to get out, trying to get out, doing 293 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:41.440 the bicycle kick thing, you know, to get get everything 294 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.799 straightened out. And as soon as it does, you got 295 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:45.799 the rucksack and your weapon and everything right, as soon 296 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:49.120 as it does, like I have almost no time to 297 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:51.639 get this off of me, right, And I pulled a 298 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.519 quick release and I as soon as I got my 299 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.720 weapon like off, like, I just hit the ground so 300 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:00.679 so hard. And there was a black cat there and 301 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.879 he was like, you know, screaming now the bullhorn and 302 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:06.360 he's like, my god, private, you're gonna die, you know 303 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:08.879 all this stuff. And then I like look up and 304 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:11.720 I see a dude coming in real hot right to 305 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.759 the black Hat's truck, and I sit and I like, 306 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:16.639 you know, I'm like hey, hey, hey, and he turns around. 307 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:17.840 He's like what's going on? 308 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.679 And the guy just puts that taco sized dent in 309 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.159 the side of his you know, f one fifty or whatever. Boom, 310 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:27.200 and he's like, you know, God, you guys are gonna 311 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:29.639 kill me today, you know. And he's you know, all 312 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:32.639 mad and everything. So I was actually pretty nervous for 313 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:34.519 the fifth jump because you know, two of them have 314 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:36.799 already hurt really bad, and I was like, maybe maybe 315 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:39.360 this wasn't a great idea. But one of the reasons too, 316 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.080 is like I loved flying, loved taking off, I love 317 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:46.120 flying around, but I hated the landing part. So I thought, well, 318 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:49.440 if I jump out of the plane before the landing part, like, hey, 319 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.519 I'll skip my least favorite part. Well, again, I loved 320 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:56.320 jumping out, I loved floating down. I hated the landing part. 321 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:59.759 That part sucked. But that fifth jump just went perfect. 322 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:03.559 Was it was like textbook like I didn't even feel it. 323 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:08.879 It was amazing. So graduated. My my grandpa, Papa Strong 324 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:10.200 came out with my mom. 325 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.039 He got to pin my wings on me. 326 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:15.639 That was a pretty proud moment for me, especially because 327 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:18.080 that that was my you know, my my goal. And 328 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.720 as I mentioned to you before, some probably towards the 329 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:27.759 end of uh the school, they they took a lot 330 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:30.840 of US Infantry guys in from sand Hill. And you know, 331 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:32.799 if if you didn't have a RIP on your contract, 332 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:34.639 they asked if you, you know, wanted to go to 333 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:36.879 RIP Ranger Indoctrination Program. 334 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:38.240 I think it's called RASP now. 335 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:42.919 And I I don't know, just being like young and 336 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.879 dumb and already have had to wait for the different 337 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:47.039 schools already. 338 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:48.200 I just I want. 339 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:49.720 I wanted to get with the unit. I wanted to 340 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:51.440 get over there. I didn't want to miss the surge, 341 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.039 you know, all that kind of stuff. That's what they 342 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:55.879 were kind of talking about, was this huge you know, 343 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.639 mobilization and yeah, like I said, I wanted, I wanted 344 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:02.840 to go h first. So when I got my orders, 345 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:04.920 you know, it said eighty second on it. And I 346 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.200 remember just being like, oh, man, like I missed, I'm 347 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:11.359 going to the rival, you know. And I remember one 348 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.920 of the one of the cadre like took me aside 349 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.920 and he's like, you know, you're you're an idiot, man, 350 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:19.319 You're you're super lucky, Like this is the best, you know, 351 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:23.119 this is the most prestigious you know, airborne unit there is. 352 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.000 You know, don't worry about that band of brothers. Crap, 353 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:28.960 they don't even jump anymore. You know, they're they're dopes 354 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.720 on a rope now, you know, repelling out of helicopters. 355 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:34.039 So you're you're lucky, and I was. 356 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:36.720 I was like the only guy that I knew of 357 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:39.319 in any of the chalks around me that was going 358 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:42.240 to uh Fort Bragg. So I think I went straight 359 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:46.160 from Airborne school home to do Christmas. So I had 360 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:49.319 a couple couple of days, did Christmas with my family 361 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:51.680 and then got on a plane and then got to 362 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:54.799 UH got to go to the famous Fort Bragg, which 363 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:55.720 is Fort Liberty. 364 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.880 Now, if you sleepot at night, you know just how 365 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.599 disruptive it can be, whether you're having trouble falling asleep, 366 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:03.240 you're waking up sweating in the middle of the night, 367 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.200 or all the above. 368 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:06.240 That's where Ghostbed can help. 369 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:09.079 As the makers the coolest beds in the world, ghost 370 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.759 bed is your go to for cooling mattresses, cooling pillows, 371 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.119 and even cooling bedding. 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Again, that's 389 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.359 ghostbed dot com slash house with code house at checkout 390 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.200 to say the whopping fifty percent off site Why And 391 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:17.880 if you're not in the market for a mattress, check 392 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.319 out their pillows. They're betting they have all kinds of 393 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:22.640 great stuff there. So thanks to ghost bed and check 394 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:23.000 them out. 395 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:28.480 Yeah, so you get to your unit. Your unit's already 396 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:29.839 deployed right when you get there. 397 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.400 Yeah, So I don't even I don't know if anyone 398 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:36.519 knew like what unit, you know, I'd be in. So 399 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:39.200 when I got to brag, it would have been December, 400 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:42.359 like real late December, I don't know, like twenty six, 401 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:43.640 twenty seventh of December. 402 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:47.440 It is a ghost town. Like a ghost town. 403 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:54.440 All of the you know, divisions or the brigades are 404 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:58.279 are already mobilized. One had just gotten back, I think 405 00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:02.079 from Afghanistan, and kind of the word on the street was, 406 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.359 you know, you'll the new guys will probably go there 407 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.799 and train up for like a year and then go back, 408 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:13.440 you know, for another twelve or fifteen month deployment, you know, 409 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.880 to Afghanistan. So I had I remember calling my parents 410 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.319 and be like, hey, don't worry, I'm not going to 411 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:19.359 deploy for like a year. 412 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:20.720 I'm pretty bummed, you know whatever. 413 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.759 And then within like a couple of days, it was like, actually, 414 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:28.799 you're assigned to the first of the three two five. 415 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:35.640 So they always said one thing will change three times 416 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:38.559 twice every five minutes in the first of the three 417 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:41.039 two five. So I get to I get to them 418 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:44.119 and it's just their rear D. There's you know, hardly 419 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:51.160 anybody there. So some guys recovering from some things, and yeah, 420 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:53.319 I get to them and we I mean, I thought 421 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:57.000 I thought I knew what running a lot was. When 422 00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:59.599 you get to the a second, especially when you're a 423 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:03.160 new guy, you know, they they you find out real fast, 424 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:06.000 like if you didn't already have shin splints, like you're 425 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:09.200 gonna get shin splints. And that was the first time, 426 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:13.119 probably my first run with that unit, the rear D guys. 427 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.240 I'm not talking about the big, slow like division wide runs. 428 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:18.240 They're talking about just the unit runs in the morning, 429 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:21.440 first thing in the morning. I think that first run 430 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:23.599 was like nine ten miles. I don't think I've ever 431 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:25.400 I had to ever run that far. It was first 432 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.000 time I got runners high, like legit runners high, or 433 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.640 my legs were not stopping after I was done, you know, 434 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:35.920 and the pace was just insane. So I spent a 435 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.039 few weeks, which again I'm like, in this waiting period, 436 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:43.799 don't have a unit, just kind of waiting around, and yeah, 437 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.319 it was just it was kind of a weird, weird experience. 438 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:49.000 But then yeah, to tell them call the family and 439 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:52.160 say hey, I'm getting on a plane. It's headed for 440 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:55.960 Germany and then Kuwait like the next day, you know. So, yeah, 441 00:21:56.039 --> 00:21:58.759 a couple weeks there. I remember watching a few football 442 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.480 games at this at the UH they have a little 443 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:05.039 sports bar there, you know, on Fort Bragg and yeah, 444 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:09.599 and then headed on out to Kuwait. Did did like 445 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:14.359 the most ridiculous pre deployment training in Kuwait, like you've 446 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:17.160 ever so again you were saying like, I'm highly trained. 447 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:20.039 You know this this infantry graduate. 448 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:23.039 Right, I know how to dig a Vietnam style hasty 449 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:23.880 fighting position. 450 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:28.039 I've never held an M four yet. 451 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:31.440 I don't think we wait, we had M fours, just 452 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:33.240 not the same ones, you know that the that the 453 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:34.480 the units had. 454 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:38.839 Maybe we had M sixteens. I can't even remember. That's crazy. 455 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:42.480 It was like twenty years ago, right, so it happens. 456 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.359 But I don't think we had M fours. But you know, 457 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:48.720 someone's gonna tell me I'm an idiot at some point here. 458 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.640 But yeah, so we I get there and you know 459 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:57.680 they had those like conics like trucks with the computer screen, 460 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:00.119 and you had the little air guns and you'd like, 461 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:03.839 you know, okay, corral Western style like shoot you know, 462 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:07.720 the little guys off the tops of building. I mean legitimate, 463 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.319 like the dumbest thing you could think of, Like you're 464 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:12.400 all on a line and you're like, oh yeah, the 465 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.039 iraqis pop out and you just you know, make sure 466 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:16.160 you shoot the right ones. 467 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:18.240 It was. It was hilarious. 468 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:22.240 And then like maybe a couple like rollover, you know, 469 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:26.559 humvy things, you know, where you simulate like grabbing the 470 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:29.279 gunner's legs like that's going to save his life and stuff, 471 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:34.279 you know, so silly stuff. And I remember sleeping a ton, 472 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.279 like just sleeping and then eating and sleeping and eating 473 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:42.000 and doing some dumb training. So I get sent, you know, 474 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:45.640 take the plane ride over to Baghdad, land in the 475 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:48.880 Green Zone, get told and it's just me and a 476 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:52.279 few guys like ten or twelve guys you know, from 477 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:54.920 rear D for the first of the three two five. 478 00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:57.839 They tell us to get on this chinook and they 479 00:23:57.920 --> 00:23:59.920 take us to Camp Toadgy, so it's a little more 480 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:03.200 the Baghdad. And that was the first time, you know, 481 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:05.319 I'd been on a chinook, you know or anything. Like 482 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:07.839 I'm like, you know, I had no idea we're gonna 483 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:10.559 get shot down, you know, like, no, no idea, what's 484 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:14.119 going on? Don't not really assigned to a unit yet, 485 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:18.000 right or anything yet? And so then we land at 486 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.559 Camp Taji and I get off, get into like a 487 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.440 big truck like an LMTV that takes us to this 488 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:29.319 little like hut thing they built, you know, with like plywood, 489 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:31.039 the plywood still bear and everything. 490 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:32.799 And we go in there and all. 491 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:34.400 Right, you know so and so and so and so 492 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:37.240 you're in Alpha company, Go with this guy. You guys 493 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:39.440 are in Bravo company, Go with that guy. And nobody, 494 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:44.599 nobody calls my name. I'm sitting there like alone, and 495 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:48.200 I'm like, am I even supposed to be in Iraq 496 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.480 right now? You know? Like am I might even qualified 497 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:52.359 to be in Iraq? Like I'm not even on a 498 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:55.480 list right, Like what's going on? And then somebody walks 499 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:58.720 out and he asked me, like, do you know anybody 500 00:24:58.759 --> 00:24:59.519 in the military? 501 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:01.839 And I said, yeah, my you know my. 502 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:04.319 Best friend from San Luis Obispo. You know, we went 503 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.839 to boot camp together all this. He's like, no, you idiot, 504 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:09.599 because do you know anybody like high up in the military, 505 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:12.279 any family or anything like no, no, you know, my 506 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.200 grandpa was in World War two, and he's just. 507 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:16.200 Like, you're an idiot. 508 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:18.160 He goes, well, don't expect a worm welcome, but you're 509 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:22.519 going to Charlie Troop, first Squadron, seventy third Calve. 510 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:25.000 Like I'm not I'm not Calve. 511 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:27.480 And he's like, no, no, you're going to all the 512 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:31.480 Charlie troops and the squadrons are airborne infantry. It's purely infantry, 513 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:36.920 you know, unit troop. You know, so this is the 514 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:41.440 only infantry troop in these cave units. And these units 515 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:44.839 are attached to each brigade and they're the rist of squadrons, 516 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:49.440 so they're the reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, you know. And 517 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:51.799 he was like, you know, most of these guys, you know, 518 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:54.839 have all the you know, they got the ranger tab. 519 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:59.599 They they're they're arslick, you know, they've done all the 520 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.160 school and stuff. Like, I don't know why you're going 521 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:05.640 to these guys, but like, good luck and don't. 522 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:06.759 Expect a warm welcome, right. 523 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.480 I don't know how much you know or can speak 524 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:13.920 to about sort of like the lineage of RISTA, yeah, 525 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:17.720 because I mean it's always interesting and frustrating to me. 526 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:21.880 It seems like the army is always disbanding these you know, 527 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:26.680 dismounted or airborne light reconnaissance elements. 528 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:27.599 You know, we had worse. 529 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.440 There was the visual worse at eighty second airborn yeap 530 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.400 that could go the worst. 531 00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:33.200 Teams kind of go away. 532 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:35.519 And then it seems like the RISTA guys were the 533 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:38.079 kind of replacements that got stood up. 534 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:40.039 Yeah, and you know it's interesting you said that. I'm 535 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:40.880 glad that you might. 536 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:43.480 Before this podcast, I kind of wanted to like, look, 537 00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.000 you know, look up my old unit, and it just 538 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:49.240 got disbanded, like in June of twenty twenty four, they 539 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.680 killed the unit. Yeah, so I think they're now moving 540 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:57.799 to I don't know if they're they're do more mechanized 541 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:01.359 you know RISTA stuff now would have drones and stuff too. 542 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:03.680 I think they're gonna be replaced with like different, you know, 543 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:08.000 different stuff, I guess as the battlefield changes. So I 544 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.759 was a little bit bummed out. I was like, no way, 545 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:13.319 my old unit is gone. But yeah, so the lineage 546 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:17.920 goes back like even I think even before Vietnam, but 547 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:21.440 probably got pretty famous in Vietnam for that for the 548 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:23.599 ALERPS long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. 549 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:25.880 And I have a cool story. 550 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:29.559 Of meeting alerts guy when I was medically retired and 551 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:31.920 heading home. So if I forget that story and you remember, 552 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.559 let me let me share it. But he was in 553 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:39.559 my same unit, but in alerts in you know, eighty 554 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:41.839 second Airborne ALERP Sky in Vietnam. 555 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:44.039 It was pretty cool. He's the he was the Sheriff 556 00:27:44.119 --> 00:27:45.400 of Amarillo. 557 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:47.720 So if you don't, if I don't remember Sheriff of 558 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:50.759 Ambarillo's story, make make sure you let me tell you that. 559 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:53.400 So. 560 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:55.160 Yeah, so the risk the units. 561 00:27:56.440 --> 00:28:02.200 Are basically, you know, or were the brigades recon teams, right, 562 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:04.359 and so if you were thinking of it in like 563 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:09.240 you know, conventional terms of you know, like if world 564 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:13.480 we're you know two or whatever, again, the RISTA would 565 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:17.799 would be out there doing the scouting, the recon, all 566 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:19.200 that target acquisition. 567 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:19.960 They would do. 568 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:23.799 Some some engagement, you know when necessary, some direct action, 569 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:26.480 but really their mission was you know, to get in, 570 00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:29.720 get the lay of the land, get all the intel 571 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:35.160 you possibly can eyes on again, target acquisition piece of 572 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:37.799 it there too, and then you know that was all 573 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:41.720 before the brigades the airborne infantry would then come in 574 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:44.200 and take care of that. So the way the risk 575 00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:47.920 of squadrons were were built up. I wish, I wish 576 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:50.160 I had it pulled up here. But like the Alpha 577 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:55.640 Alpha troop would a troop would be calv Scouts and 578 00:28:55.680 --> 00:29:01.519 they might be like, you know, mounted, and then you 579 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:05.599 know B troop is going to be cow Scouts and 580 00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:07.920 they have a different mission. And then that that Charlie 581 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:12.720 troop is always more of the heavy hitter fully infantry 582 00:29:12.759 --> 00:29:16.359 guys that are all you know, reconned up. And again 583 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:21.519 like our slick Pathfinder, I think we even had some 584 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:25.079 supper guys and and I mean all all the schools, 585 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:27.200 you know, a lot of our leadership had done and 586 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:32.000 we're incredible and so yeah, So going back to that story, 587 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:35.039 so I get on another truck. I get taken to 588 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:38.559 a part of Camp Todgy where there's just like these warehouses. 589 00:29:38.680 --> 00:29:43.680 There's like maybe eight eight or more warehouses like in 590 00:29:43.720 --> 00:29:47.920 a row, two rows of them, and it's it's not 591 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:53.640 fully like a compound inside of Camp Todgy, but it 592 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:58.319 is its own like area. And there was like kind 593 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:02.039 of cat corner from us was as a seal team, 594 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.039 and I'm not sure like who our neighbors were or anything, 595 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:09.400 but you know, just to kind of paint the picture 596 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:12.319 of the people I'm coming to with a high end 597 00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:14.119 tight just so, just so we can. 598 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:20.160 Figure this out. So these guys had had just. 599 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:26.039 Done five months in in Iraq, mostly into Kret. They 600 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:28.279 were one of the first units or the first unit 601 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:33.480 to support CAG during the Torch missions. They had been 602 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:39.880 flying around Chinook's Blackhawks doing you know, direct action raids, 603 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:44.680 taking out huge caches of of you know, I D 604 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:48.200 s or whatever, doing like super high speed, badass shit 605 00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:54.000 for five months. You know, they weren't wearing eighty second patches. 606 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:56.519 They weren't wearing US Army patches. They had the black 607 00:30:56.599 --> 00:30:59.640 patch under the shoulder and said, oh CFI other Coalition 608 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:03.759 Force in Iraq. So they are and they've they've all 609 00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:08.200 survived this five month you know, high speed deployment. They 610 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:12.799 go home for December and right around Christmas, like the 611 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:15.880 day that I you know, basically get to brag. They 612 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:18.559 were all told, hey, you're going back for another five 613 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:19.359 month deployment. 614 00:31:20.359 --> 00:31:21.319 We need you back there. 615 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:24.880 So not only are they kind of mad that they're 616 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:29.720 back there, but they're also like again like total badasses 617 00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:32.960 that it's almost like when you're when you're doing stuff 618 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:34.599 like above, your pay grade. 619 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:36.720 You you you then have. 620 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:39.880 The mentality like we're really special and awesome, right, like 621 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:43.039 there's no way to not have that. But then a 622 00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:45.920 guy like me coming straight from building, you know, hasty 623 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:49.279 fighting positions in the woods of Georgia with you know, 624 00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:54.079 a five jump chump, I have nothing but airborne school, 625 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:59.599 and I'm useless to these guys pretty much, right, I'm 626 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:02.079 just the boss body. So when I get to them, 627 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:05.400 they're just like, oh god, you know, there's you know, 628 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:09.200 And and luckily I got I got put with a 629 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:14.079 really awesome sergeant My I guess he was like the 630 00:32:14.119 --> 00:32:16.640 squad leader. So I was gonna say team leader. He 631 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:21.319 was a squad leader at first. And he, Sergeant Meyer, 632 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:23.240 was just an awesome dude. I mean, one of the 633 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:25.279 the first thing he told me is he said, uh, 634 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:26.880 you look like an idiot. 635 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:29.200 Don't cut your hair for two weeks. That was the 636 00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:31.119 first thing he said to me. Uh. 637 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:33.680 And then he said, look, we played by the big 638 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:36.720 boy rules here. You know, I'm not gonna mess you 639 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:40.839 up unless you mess up. Don't expect to go out 640 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:42.839 on missions with us for a few weeks. Like you 641 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.519 don't even have a humbye license. 642 00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:45.240 You don't have. 643 00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:50.559 We didn't do any like air assaults. But you know, 644 00:32:50.599 --> 00:32:53.720 I just I have zero experience. I've worn nods for 645 00:32:53.880 --> 00:32:58.119 all of five minutes in basic training, right, I have 646 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:02.799 like the the famous amount of experience with close quarter combat, 647 00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:06.440 all the all the stuff you need in Iraq, especially 648 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.559 with a unit like these guys, I don't have. 649 00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:09.599 I don't have any of it. 650 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:11.519 So they're not going to take me out until they know, 651 00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:14.079 like you know, I'm not gonna shoot one of them 652 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:16.440 on accident or you know all that kind of stuff. 653 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:20.160 So my chores were like at night when they'd go 654 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:23.160 out on mission, I would run around with nods on 655 00:33:23.400 --> 00:33:24.440 fully geared up. 656 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:26.920 Like behind our warehouses there was all these. 657 00:33:26.759 --> 00:33:29.920 Like just like metal garbage like all over the place, 658 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:32.279 and they would have like me run and jump over 659 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:35.319 these things and like just get super acquainted with nods 660 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:40.440 because we we always you know, rolled out in darkness, 661 00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:43.519 drove with nods. You know, we had no lights, nothing, 662 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:47.319 and so it was just like you gotta you gotta 663 00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:49.920 show us that you can drive a humbie with you know, 664 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:52.279 all that kind of stuff with with nods, you know whatever. 665 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:55.599 So it probably took a little bit before I went out. 666 00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:57.319 It was kind of like that puppy dog left on 667 00:33:57.400 --> 00:33:58.480 the front porch, you know. 668 00:33:58.480 --> 00:33:59.400 As they rolled out. 669 00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:02.559 And then I'd always have tasks or something to do, 670 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:05.759 but it was kind of lame. And then yeah, I 671 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:10.639 remember the first the first mission I did, uh started 672 00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:13.760 in the day, and I think going back, so I've really, 673 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:15.760 I've really tried to piece this together because again I 674 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:18.719 wasn't obviously in any leadership role, had no privy of 675 00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:21.000 exactly what our mission was or anything. I knew what 676 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:24.039 the surge was supposed to be about. I knew what 677 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:27.800 the eighty second was, what their mission was. Each of 678 00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:31.440 the you know units and battalions are taking a piece 679 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:35.480 of bag Dad, so we'd have aos, right, and we 680 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:38.840 were assigned My Arista unit was assigned an AO, and 681 00:34:40.199 --> 00:34:42.480 we were going out and we were checking. We were 682 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:44.840 getting to know our AO was the first thing, right, 683 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:47.239 and then we were checking on sites that we could 684 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:49.840 actually build like a cop. Everyone was going in building 685 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:53.480 up a cop and we were going to occupy, you know, Baghdad. 686 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:57.920 I think our leadership, after doing all the cool stuff 687 00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:02.519 that you know, just a mon month earlier, was kind 688 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:06.239 of like, yeah, f that we're not doing that we're 689 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:10.559 gonna do cool stuff. And because really quickly kind of 690 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:12.880 it was like, oh, no, we're gonna stay at Camp 691 00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:16.079 Toadgy in these awesome you know warehouses with bunk beds 692 00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:20.159 and porcelain and and showers and stuff. But we're gonna 693 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:24.119 we're just gonna start hitting like all the all the 694 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:26.719 insurgent stuff. I don't know where we got our intel 695 00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:30.079 from completely or whatnot, but we would build you know, 696 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:34.320 target packages and then we would go after after, you know, 697 00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:36.760 high value targets. And again I don't know what kind 698 00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:39.400 of level these high high value targets were. I knew 699 00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:42.800 some of them were pretty big deals at the time 700 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:46.320 in two thousand and seven, and that's I think we 701 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:48.760 just proved that that is. 702 00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:49.840 What we were really good at. 703 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.559 Again, it'd be awesome to have some of my leadership 704 00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:55.559 on at some point to talk about what exactly happened, 705 00:35:56.079 --> 00:36:00.960 But we just were doing time sensitive target raids short 706 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:03.280 you know. There we would do some presence patrols and 707 00:36:03.320 --> 00:36:05.440 some knock and talks and stuff and our aos during 708 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:09.199 the days, but then almost every night, uh, it was 709 00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:13.760 just hitting, hitting targets. And at first we would we 710 00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:19.000 would kind of uh switch it up. So you know, 711 00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:22.239 first platoon would be the court on and the court 712 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:24.400 on off the area. Second platoon we would hit the 713 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:26.639 we would hit the target houses. There might be like 714 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:32.320 two or three target houses, and and then we'd kind 715 00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:34.079 of switch that up right and we would be the 716 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:36.559 court on the next night or whatnot. And then as 717 00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:39.519 things developed, we kind of got more and more specific 718 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:44.480 kind of in everyone's roles. And especially at the beginning, 719 00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:47.840 I mean, we were so successful, like there were hardly 720 00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:48.679 any dry holes. 721 00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:49.039 We were. 722 00:36:49.079 --> 00:36:53.440 We were just bagging and tagging dudes left and right 723 00:36:53.480 --> 00:36:55.599 every single night. We were waking them up in their sleep. 724 00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:59.039 We were using this new technology track and cell phones. 725 00:36:59.039 --> 00:37:00.960 It was like find your friends that we have now, 726 00:37:01.039 --> 00:37:03.159 you know, but it was like the old school version 727 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:05.360 where someone's sitting in the hum V with like an arrow, 728 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:07.639 you know, and like yeah, yeah, right there, right there, 729 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:08.840 hit that house, you know. 730 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:11.239 Yeah. 731 00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:15.639 And then as as we I guess became successful in 732 00:37:15.719 --> 00:37:18.480 that or whatnot, or word got out or I don't 733 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:22.000 really know, and there's rumors there's like the un you know, 734 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:26.559 like the war talk, like yeah, war talk where guys 735 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:30.079 are like, well, so and So's dad is actually a 736 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:33.559 JSOW commander. So that's probably why we're getting these you know, 737 00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:38.320 missions or whatever, and that is true, but I've never 738 00:37:38.360 --> 00:37:41.360 been able to confirm that. And then I think it 739 00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:43.639 was kind of you know, from the previous experience they 740 00:37:43.719 --> 00:37:44.559 had or whatnot. 741 00:37:44.719 --> 00:37:45.199 I don't know. 742 00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:48.840 But after we cleaned up our ao, which was super quick, 743 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:50.559 I mean, we cleaned it up fast, and we got 744 00:37:50.599 --> 00:37:55.000 in some gnarly firefights early on. I don't know like 745 00:37:55.079 --> 00:37:59.559 what number mission it was, or what night or whatnot. 746 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:02.679 I guess I guess before a firefight was an e 747 00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:07.639 FP that rocked us real bad. So I'll talk about 748 00:38:07.639 --> 00:38:09.920 these hunter boxes we used. But we had these big, 749 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:13.000 huge LMTV or Juice and a half trucks that up 750 00:38:13.119 --> 00:38:14.760 armored and everything open tops. 751 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:17.360 We'd drape some like sniper netting over the top. 752 00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:21.519 And we had some guns mounted on the side and 753 00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:24.679 I think on the top, and then we had humbies, right, 754 00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:29.079 so the the platoon that was hitting the target buildings 755 00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:31.760 would be in the hunter boxes and then the cord 756 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:33.559 on off would be the humviies. 757 00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:36.480 And again we would switch it up. 758 00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:41.440 But we were doing there was like a huge operation 759 00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:43.639 in all of Baghdad where they were like going through 760 00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:45.519 and we were going to go like house to house, 761 00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:47.480 like everybody had their AO and they were going to 762 00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:50.280 clear their entire AO and stuff. So I remember doing 763 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:55.159 this really long, like all day, maybe all night and 764 00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:57.559 then into the next day kind of mission where you're 765 00:38:57.599 --> 00:39:01.239 just literally going house to house to house. And on 766 00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:03.559 our way back, so they saw us drive out of 767 00:39:03.639 --> 00:39:07.360 Camp Todgy in these lmtvs with all like we used 768 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:08.920 to stand up in them, so it was like we 769 00:39:09.039 --> 00:39:10.840 packed these things out and they saw of our heads 770 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:14.599 back there and everything. Well, on our way back, we 771 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:18.400 got hit right outside Camp Toadgy, like at where one 772 00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:20.920 of the guard towers was. We got hit with a 773 00:39:21.039 --> 00:39:24.639 huge EFP angled up because they knew they were going 774 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:28.239 to hit this LMTV with this big box trying to 775 00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:34.039 get like mass casualties. And fortunately and unfortunately we had 776 00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:37.239 a few take shrapnel and one guy who ended up 777 00:39:37.280 --> 00:39:41.480 losing his hand. They couldn't save it. McCart was his name, 778 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:46.880 and that that first experience, you know, getting hit with 779 00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:50.519 the EFP was like holy yeah, it was you can't 780 00:39:50.519 --> 00:39:55.320 even describe like the power. It's like getting hit with 781 00:39:55.360 --> 00:39:58.760 an invisible wall, you know, like four hundred miles an 782 00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:02.119 hour and like rocks, your brain rocks. All the senses 783 00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:05.760 couldn't can't hear for a second, so everything's filled with smoke, 784 00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:08.440 you know, the smoke clear because there's no top, and 785 00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:11.519 everything pretty fast, like as your hearing's coming back, you're 786 00:40:11.559 --> 00:40:14.960 contraind to, like, especially me just being a super green cherry, 787 00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:18.159 like what that I didn't even know an idy hit us. 788 00:40:19.039 --> 00:40:21.159 Then I just start hearing the screams, you know, of 789 00:40:21.239 --> 00:40:24.360 a couple of people that had gotten hit, you know, 790 00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:28.599 nosing blood at different places. And then my squad leader, 791 00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:33.320 who I talked about, Sergeant Meyer, just basically took charge. 792 00:40:33.400 --> 00:40:35.000 I mean there were there were like some pretty high 793 00:40:35.079 --> 00:40:37.480 ranking dudes in that truck, and there was a newsweek 794 00:40:38.320 --> 00:40:41.239 like an embedded journalist. I'll never forget that too, on 795 00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:45.159 that same same truck, and he you know, everyone's kind 796 00:40:45.199 --> 00:40:48.119 of stunned, and my my squad leader, was like, you know, 797 00:40:48.199 --> 00:40:50.920 everybody off the truck and got everybody moved, got him 798 00:40:50.920 --> 00:40:53.400 off the truck, and then we started kind of trying 799 00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:57.159 to see if we could go after anybody that might 800 00:40:57.199 --> 00:40:59.679 be in the vicinity, and there was really no one around. 801 00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:01.079 I ended up. 802 00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:03.320 Falling into one of those like shit, creaks, you know 803 00:41:03.320 --> 00:41:05.719 where like the sewage goes. So we're running through one 804 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:07.440 of those, and I mean I was like one step, 805 00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:10.719 two step, boom, a face plant right into this crap 806 00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:14.480 and so I'm covered head to toe and like poop, 807 00:41:14.599 --> 00:41:17.119 Oh my god. And I'm trying to run through this 808 00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:20.519 like like I don't know, like a field to get 809 00:41:20.559 --> 00:41:23.760 online with everybody. And I was like one of the 810 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:26.000 last people, like huffing and puffing, and I had swallowed 811 00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:28.199 my eyes are burning, like you know, I'm having a 812 00:41:28.199 --> 00:41:32.599 really hard time. I remember getting back back to our 813 00:41:32.599 --> 00:41:36.440 warehouse and showering and everything, and my squad leader was like, 814 00:41:37.239 --> 00:41:39.159 come with me, and he like takes me to the 815 00:41:39.239 --> 00:41:42.119 gym which is across the street, and we had this 816 00:41:42.159 --> 00:41:44.159 little gym and he like tells me to get on 817 00:41:44.199 --> 00:41:45.880 a treadmill and he's like, I don't ever want you 818 00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:48.519 to be last again. You're gonna like run every single 819 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:51.480 day on this treadmill until you know you can prove 820 00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:53.199 that you're not going to be like the last guy 821 00:41:53.400 --> 00:41:54.320 when stuff happens. 822 00:41:54.320 --> 00:41:56.599 And I was like I couldn't really say, like like. 823 00:41:56.559 --> 00:42:00.920 It's because I literally swallowed poop and him covered head 824 00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:01.880 to toe, you know, what. 825 00:42:02.559 --> 00:42:05.039 Like like no, no, no joke, Like you're lucky to 826 00:42:05.079 --> 00:42:09.039 survive that alone. Guys who went into those pits, I 827 00:42:09.039 --> 00:42:13.320 mean they got hepatitis A through Z Like bad stuff happened. 828 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:16.000 I mean maybe that's why I have Crohn's disease. There's 829 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:20.199 a few other other things that might have gave you that. Yeah, 830 00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:24.199 who knows, Yeah, probably Yeah, fortunate that that, Yeah, that 831 00:42:24.199 --> 00:42:26.360 that happened. That was kind of my first you know, 832 00:42:26.480 --> 00:42:28.800 taste of actual real combat, you know, the missions that 833 00:42:28.840 --> 00:42:31.480 had gone on. We're just kind of like, hey, when 834 00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:33.239 is when is when are things? Like when are we 835 00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:35.000 get in a firefight? Like when do we you know, 836 00:42:35.119 --> 00:42:35.920 like what happens? 837 00:42:35.960 --> 00:42:36.159 You know? 838 00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:39.840 And we were like doing things too where there was 839 00:42:39.880 --> 00:42:44.480 like the guys would have these uh scavenger hunts, Right, 840 00:42:44.559 --> 00:42:46.599 you kick a chicken, it was like five hundred points. 841 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:48.880 You slap a donkey was like a thousand points. You know. 842 00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:50.920 One night, you know, there there was like a donkey 843 00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:53.280 noise you know, going off and it was like found one, 844 00:42:53.320 --> 00:42:56.039 you know over the columns, and uh yeah. 845 00:42:56.079 --> 00:42:58.199 We kind of did did some fun stuff like that. 846 00:42:58.280 --> 00:43:01.800 But then you know, as as it progressed, it got 847 00:43:01.840 --> 00:43:07.199 more and more serious. What one day we had, uh, 848 00:43:07.639 --> 00:43:10.920 we had a new platoon leader join us and he 849 00:43:11.159 --> 00:43:14.840 was right out of ranger school, super awesome dude. His 850 00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:17.800 first time out with us, he gets hit by a 851 00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:20.880 sniper in the side plate right hits me in the 852 00:43:20.880 --> 00:43:24.000 side plate and part of the fragments when when I 853 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:26.159 don't know if the side plate or whatever, something was 854 00:43:26.320 --> 00:43:28.679 like burning in his side and it was some shrapnel 855 00:43:28.679 --> 00:43:29.760 from that bowet or whatever. 856 00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:31.559 And he was totally fine. 857 00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:34.599 But we had all like a lot of guys were 858 00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:36.760 some of the guys were wearing plate carriers at least 859 00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:37.320 by the end. 860 00:43:38.119 --> 00:43:39.039 But you know, I had the. 861 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:43.000 Eye the cherry iba and everything. But I had noticed 862 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:46.920 everybody's taking their side plates out. That's super heavy, and 863 00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:48.840 so my side plates were out, you know, and I 864 00:43:48.880 --> 00:43:51.079 was ditching things left and right whenever I could, because 865 00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:54.920 we were all usually moving pretty quick. And as soon 866 00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:56.800 as he got hitting the side plate, you know, I 867 00:43:56.800 --> 00:43:59.320 look around and we get back and everybody is reaching 868 00:43:59.360 --> 00:44:02.119 into their foot grabbing the side place and like making 869 00:44:02.119 --> 00:44:04.519 sure no one's looking, but putting their side plates back in. 870 00:44:06.159 --> 00:44:07.440 And so yeah, so. 871 00:44:08.880 --> 00:44:10.920 Yeah, and again, like I'm saying with the TST missions, 872 00:44:10.960 --> 00:44:13.039 like we you know, at first, we weren't really getting 873 00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:16.239 into anything heavy. We were just taking you know, taking 874 00:44:16.239 --> 00:44:18.719 guys pretty quick. And as we started moving into other 875 00:44:18.880 --> 00:44:21.639 areas of operation and doing things all over the place, 876 00:44:22.400 --> 00:44:28.159 so Gazily Academia and then Shulah was the worst place. 877 00:44:28.199 --> 00:44:32.000 We've always gotten firefights there. But then yeah, it's like 878 00:44:32.039 --> 00:44:35.400 they started getting smarter. They started having you know, their 879 00:44:35.440 --> 00:44:39.880 guards or whatever out. They started swapping SIM cards. They started. 880 00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:44.199 One time, we hit this place so eerie. We go 881 00:44:44.320 --> 00:44:48.079 in and there's just a cell phone propped up against 882 00:44:48.079 --> 00:44:50.800 the wall. The whole building is empty and it's just 883 00:44:50.800 --> 00:44:53.119 a cell phone like on It's like, yeah, and we 884 00:44:53.639 --> 00:44:55.119 thought the building was going to blow up. 885 00:44:55.199 --> 00:44:55.360 You know. 886 00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:57.599 We were trying to get out there super fast. 887 00:44:57.679 --> 00:45:02.039 And so as they started getting smarter, you know, is 888 00:45:02.079 --> 00:45:05.679 when we started really especially when we started moving into 889 00:45:05.719 --> 00:45:09.519 Shula the Cave. I can't remember what cave unit was there, 890 00:45:09.559 --> 00:45:13.400 but they had taken crazy casualties in Shoela in two 891 00:45:13.440 --> 00:45:17.039 thousand and seven. And when we started operating in their 892 00:45:17.519 --> 00:45:22.199 oda's were operating in there. Different task force and stuff 893 00:45:22.519 --> 00:45:27.239 we're working in there with us. We had some AWG 894 00:45:27.440 --> 00:45:30.280 Asymmetric Warfare Group guys join us I think the word 895 00:45:30.320 --> 00:45:32.199 was getting out like, hey, these guys go out every night, 896 00:45:32.360 --> 00:45:34.559 like you got to in bed with them or whatever. 897 00:45:35.039 --> 00:45:37.119 I would love again for some leadership to come on 898 00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:39.599 here and tell me exactly how that all went down. 899 00:45:39.639 --> 00:45:42.599 But for me, being like the cherry guy, it was like, hey, 900 00:45:42.639 --> 00:45:44.679 see those two guys over there that look super cool 901 00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:45.920 and have all that awesome gear. 902 00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:48.119 Yeah, don't don't even look at them, don't talk to them, 903 00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:48.760 you know nothing. 904 00:45:49.480 --> 00:45:54.599 So those were like the AWG guys and other dudes 905 00:45:54.599 --> 00:45:55.719 that were embedded with us. 906 00:45:55.760 --> 00:45:58.440 But yeah, we were getting in some crazy firefights. 907 00:45:58.480 --> 00:46:02.800 I remember my first firefight was was it was funny. 908 00:46:02.800 --> 00:46:05.000 It was eerily similar to that black Hawk down scene. 909 00:46:05.039 --> 00:46:06.519 At the very beginning, we're like, how do they know? 910 00:46:06.599 --> 00:46:07.800 How do you know they're shooting at us? 911 00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:07.960 Right? 912 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:11.639 I remember asking telling my squadalider like it's so loud, right, 913 00:46:11.679 --> 00:46:14.079 And when you're in in that urban environment, I mean, 914 00:46:14.599 --> 00:46:16.960 a bullet that's you know, getting sent from over here 915 00:46:17.079 --> 00:46:19.239 sounds like it's you know, over here and all that stuff, 916 00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:21.199 and when you're really in experience, like you just you 917 00:46:21.239 --> 00:46:24.039 have no idea what's going on, and you know it's 918 00:46:24.119 --> 00:46:27.039 really up to the sergeants and squad leaders will be like, hey, 919 00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:30.519 like this is your sector of fire. This is where 920 00:46:30.559 --> 00:46:32.519 you're you know, during our court and off, like this 921 00:46:32.599 --> 00:46:33.760 is the only thing you need to know is like 922 00:46:33.800 --> 00:46:36.760 this corner. But the problem is, as you know, like 923 00:46:36.840 --> 00:46:41.760 missions change and things go haywire suddenly it's like, you know, 924 00:46:41.800 --> 00:46:43.559 I realized, like, no, I need to like even though 925 00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:46.000 I'm not in those briefs, it's like pre op briefs 926 00:46:46.039 --> 00:46:48.239 and stuff like, I need to make sure I understand 927 00:46:48.239 --> 00:46:51.320 the area, understand where we're going because if if squad 928 00:46:51.400 --> 00:46:53.400 leader goes down or my sergeant go you know, whoever 929 00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:56.320 goes down, or things change, like I really need to 930 00:46:56.360 --> 00:46:59.159 make sure that I'm on it and know where to 931 00:46:59.199 --> 00:47:02.599 go nowhere the other guys are because a lot of times, 932 00:47:02.639 --> 00:47:05.159 I mean, you're just kind of a little bit Oh 933 00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:09.159 it feels like you're a little bit alone, right with 934 00:47:09.280 --> 00:47:11.440 a few guys. I don't mean solo. I just mean 935 00:47:11.559 --> 00:47:13.039 you know, you're kind of you know. 936 00:47:13.239 --> 00:47:14.960 I feel isolated and kind of out there. 937 00:47:15.039 --> 00:47:17.880 Yeah. Yeah, And I remember going, hey, how do it? 938 00:47:17.920 --> 00:47:21.119 Because it was getting it was starting to sound really different, 939 00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:23.079 and I'm like, hey, are we getting shot at? 940 00:47:23.119 --> 00:47:25.039 No? No, I don't think hey, are we getting shot at? 941 00:47:25.400 --> 00:47:27.599 And it was like it's like now we're getting shot at, 942 00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:30.000 you know, And I remember, I'll never forget that snapping, 943 00:47:30.039 --> 00:47:31.519 you know, because you could be on a range, you 944 00:47:31.559 --> 00:47:34.039 know where where you're getting shot from over the top 945 00:47:34.119 --> 00:47:37.719 and hear that snapping. But when it's like aimed at you, 946 00:47:38.320 --> 00:47:41.519 there's like a throaty noise to that, you know, it 947 00:47:41.519 --> 00:47:44.719 almost like you could hear the barrel like spitting at you. 948 00:47:44.840 --> 00:47:46.440 And that snapping is different. 949 00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:51.360 And and when things start moving, yeah, things get get 950 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:55.519 crazy really fast, and so I'll never forget that. 951 00:47:55.880 --> 00:47:59.840 I'll never forget. There was a few times. 952 00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:01.840 Where we hit a dry hole, but we were like 953 00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:06.719 really positive that it was the dude's house. So there 954 00:48:06.760 --> 00:48:08.480 was a couple of times where we left and I 955 00:48:08.599 --> 00:48:10.519 was with them. It was like me and four other 956 00:48:10.559 --> 00:48:14.639 guys just stayed in the house and our humbies and 957 00:48:14.679 --> 00:48:17.840 everybody drove off, you know, to a distance. You know, 958 00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:19.480 that was going to be quite a while if we 959 00:48:19.519 --> 00:48:23.079 got into some you know, bad stuff, And we just 960 00:48:23.119 --> 00:48:25.719 waited for the guy to come home and you know, 961 00:48:26.440 --> 00:48:30.920 bagged him up and called everybody in and and and 962 00:48:30.920 --> 00:48:32.840 and rolled out again, you know, or whatever. But there's 963 00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:34.440 there was some cool stuff like that. We did a 964 00:48:34.519 --> 00:48:38.519 lot of like overt denial stuff for there's a lot 965 00:48:38.519 --> 00:48:42.039 of IEDs on this route Vernon that would taken out 966 00:48:42.159 --> 00:48:44.639 tons of people and we'd roll up on them. Some 967 00:48:44.719 --> 00:48:46.960 of the worst things I saw were rolling up on 968 00:48:47.039 --> 00:48:50.159 people that had gotten hit with you know, e FPS, 969 00:48:51.639 --> 00:48:53.920 trying to you know, they'd be stuck in like they're 970 00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:57.400 humby on fire, trying to help pull them out. And 971 00:48:57.599 --> 00:49:00.119 we even we even would if we weren't like a 972 00:49:00.159 --> 00:49:02.679 TST mission that night. You know, we were like helping 973 00:49:03.000 --> 00:49:05.760 rush them to the nearest talk or FOB or whatever 974 00:49:05.880 --> 00:49:08.639 and and stuff. 975 00:49:08.679 --> 00:49:11.400 So we saw a lot of crazy, crazy things. 976 00:49:12.519 --> 00:49:16.400 We my Sergeant Meyer, my my squad leader. He ended 977 00:49:16.480 --> 00:49:19.559 up becoming the head of like the sniper section. 978 00:49:19.559 --> 00:49:20.400 While we were there. 979 00:49:21.599 --> 00:49:25.800 He he taught me a lot of awesome stuff when 980 00:49:25.800 --> 00:49:27.960 I was recovering in the hospital. He actually got second 981 00:49:27.960 --> 00:49:33.280 place in the Army Marksmanship Competition sniper competition that year, 982 00:49:34.079 --> 00:49:35.840 which is really cool because I'm like watching him on 983 00:49:35.960 --> 00:49:41.360 TV while I'm recovering in the hospital. The International Sniper Competition, Yeah, yeah, 984 00:49:41.400 --> 00:49:45.840 the Military sniper competition. Yeah, it was incredible. So he 985 00:49:45.960 --> 00:49:51.199 was he is he's an amazing dude. But yeah, yeah, 986 00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:53.840 I think two towards the end, so we were supposed 987 00:49:53.840 --> 00:49:56.280 to do another you know, five month deployment. We get 988 00:49:56.480 --> 00:49:58.840 done with that five and they're like, actually, we're going 989 00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:02.360 to extend for another five and they now, now they've 990 00:50:02.400 --> 00:50:05.000 already been there for ten and this this is high 991 00:50:05.719 --> 00:50:07.039 you know, op tempo. 992 00:50:06.920 --> 00:50:09.559 Stuff, and these are not a lot of not a 993 00:50:09.559 --> 00:50:10.119 lot of sleep. 994 00:50:10.199 --> 00:50:12.960 Yeah, so exhaustion setting in kind of that like zombie 995 00:50:13.599 --> 00:50:17.159 not enough sleep started kind of playing into it too, 996 00:50:18.199 --> 00:50:20.280 So guys were starting to kind of just it was 997 00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:23.119 taking a toll on all of us, and anytime I 998 00:50:23.159 --> 00:50:24.800 wanted to complain, you know, I mean they'd already been 999 00:50:24.800 --> 00:50:27.960 doing this for five months, so you know, I definitely, 1000 00:50:28.320 --> 00:50:30.719 you know, couldn't. But we started kind of doing some 1001 00:50:30.800 --> 00:50:33.440 things where we'd leave a guy or two back one 1002 00:50:33.519 --> 00:50:36.239 night just to kind of clear the head right and 1003 00:50:36.360 --> 00:50:38.719 kind of rotate and shift off, just because there was 1004 00:50:38.800 --> 00:50:43.079 just no end in sight. And then when we started, 1005 00:50:44.480 --> 00:50:50.000 you know, I think, like we hadn't lost any guys yet, 1006 00:50:50.039 --> 00:50:54.320 but one night, one night, I'll I'll never forget. 1007 00:50:55.320 --> 00:50:56.920 I definitely thought I wasn't. 1008 00:50:56.679 --> 00:51:01.800 Gonna make it that night, So we're going back into Shula. 1009 00:51:04.159 --> 00:51:08.280 We hit a hap, we hit this house, and I 1010 00:51:08.280 --> 00:51:10.079 want to say we had been there before, like it 1011 00:51:10.119 --> 00:51:11.599 was a dry hole, you know. And so we go 1012 00:51:11.679 --> 00:51:14.079 back like the next night or a couple of nights 1013 00:51:14.119 --> 00:51:16.800 later or whatever. But this night when we go back, 1014 00:51:16.840 --> 00:51:19.920 we're like, instead of rushing the humbies in and courting 1015 00:51:19.960 --> 00:51:23.440 off the area and letting them escape, we'll run like 1016 00:51:23.599 --> 00:51:27.000 super far, so we'll get dropped off way super far away, 1017 00:51:27.000 --> 00:51:31.920 and we'll like run a real far distance and we'll 1018 00:51:32.239 --> 00:51:33.760 and we'd done this a few times and had been 1019 00:51:33.800 --> 00:51:36.679 really successful, and then once this shit hit the fan, 1020 00:51:36.760 --> 00:51:38.719 then the humpies would come in and kind of support 1021 00:51:38.719 --> 00:51:41.320 and stuff, and this had been super successful. But as 1022 00:51:41.360 --> 00:51:45.760 we're like running, we come to this like line of 1023 00:51:45.840 --> 00:51:50.639 people that are waiting for like the gasoline like supply 1024 00:51:50.880 --> 00:51:53.320 or whatever. Like they're literally like lined up and they're 1025 00:51:53.320 --> 00:51:57.880 supposed to be you know, like curfews and stuff, and 1026 00:51:58.039 --> 00:52:02.320 nobody in Shula really really ever listened to that. And 1027 00:52:02.320 --> 00:52:05.280 then we'd roll in and they'd things would get serious 1028 00:52:05.280 --> 00:52:07.639 and there'd be some pop shots and everyone disappear, and 1029 00:52:07.639 --> 00:52:09.360 then you would know, like, oh, we're about to like 1030 00:52:09.480 --> 00:52:13.280 you know, get it and and and we get in 1031 00:52:13.320 --> 00:52:15.280 our firefights and everything. But yeah, as we were like 1032 00:52:15.400 --> 00:52:17.559 running through this line of people, they're like, you know, 1033 00:52:17.719 --> 00:52:20.119 on their cell phone, like, hey, by the way, there's 1034 00:52:20.239 --> 00:52:24.559 like this group of dudes running through here, probably coming 1035 00:52:24.599 --> 00:52:27.360 to you, you know. So it was a it's kind 1036 00:52:27.400 --> 00:52:31.559 of a blown thing, and you know, maybe we should 1037 00:52:31.559 --> 00:52:34.880 have not kept going, but how do you stop once 1038 00:52:34.920 --> 00:52:38.920 you're kind of running and getting closer. So we hit 1039 00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:42.079 it and we just were probably we were probably a 1040 00:52:42.159 --> 00:52:45.920 small element. I don't think we had everybody, and we 1041 00:52:46.000 --> 00:52:49.039 just got kind of surrounded and pinned down a little bit. 1042 00:52:51.119 --> 00:52:53.760 I remember being with a buddy of mine kind of 1043 00:52:53.840 --> 00:52:57.440 like face down in a kitchen and just like rounds, 1044 00:52:57.519 --> 00:52:59.960 just we're like face pinned, face down rounds or just 1045 00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:05.280 like just ruining everything in this house. And I remember 1046 00:53:05.320 --> 00:53:06.880 looking at him and being like, hey, like. 1047 00:53:08.679 --> 00:53:09.920 How are we going to get out of here? 1048 00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:10.199 You know? 1049 00:53:10.239 --> 00:53:12.199 And he like looked at me, grabbed me, and he's like, 1050 00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:14.800 you know, like we're gonna make it, don't you worry, 1051 00:53:14.840 --> 00:53:15.440 you know everything. 1052 00:53:15.480 --> 00:53:17.559 It was just one of those like crazy moments, you know. 1053 00:53:18.440 --> 00:53:23.239 And unfortunately, right around this time, one of our guys 1054 00:53:23.320 --> 00:53:27.119 who was outside got hit in the head with with 1055 00:53:27.239 --> 00:53:33.480 a round and ak round and and collapsed. And this 1056 00:53:33.960 --> 00:53:41.440 Eddie Sandmeyer interesting story. His sister is Bridget from Hugh 1057 00:53:41.480 --> 00:53:42.920 Hefner's like third girlfriend. 1058 00:53:43.079 --> 00:53:43.760 That's his sister. 1059 00:53:44.400 --> 00:53:46.719 So I never got to experience this, but all the 1060 00:53:46.920 --> 00:53:49.320 all that unit would get to go to the mansion, 1061 00:53:50.039 --> 00:53:53.119 hang out with his sister and stuff. I I, I'm 1062 00:53:53.119 --> 00:53:56.119 not sure they would have invited me anyway, but yeah, 1063 00:53:56.159 --> 00:54:00.000 they got they would get to do that. So yeah, 1064 00:54:00.079 --> 00:54:03.440 and one of the other platoon leaders his uh his 1065 00:54:03.519 --> 00:54:04.840 babysitter was Fergie. 1066 00:54:05.599 --> 00:54:05.800 Yeah. 1067 00:54:05.840 --> 00:54:09.000 I couldn't can't confirm that one, but definitely can confirm 1068 00:54:09.400 --> 00:54:13.159 Certaint Sandmyer. But anyway, sand Meyer ran out, ran out 1069 00:54:13.199 --> 00:54:17.400 from his you know, covered position to to the you know, 1070 00:54:17.480 --> 00:54:22.000 middle of the road where where mur Murphy had gotten hit, 1071 00:54:22.559 --> 00:54:25.320 and he grabbed him and like pulls him, you know, 1072 00:54:25.480 --> 00:54:29.239 back into a house into safety, starts doing first aid, 1073 00:54:29.239 --> 00:54:30.960 called the medic, you know, all that kind of stuff, 1074 00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:32.719 and kind of we're starting to piece together like, oh, 1075 00:54:32.719 --> 00:54:35.000 if somebody somebody got hit, you know, and I'm not 1076 00:54:35.039 --> 00:54:37.880 I don't have comms like like the squad leader and 1077 00:54:37.880 --> 00:54:41.880 stuff have, but so starting to get serious. The trucks 1078 00:54:41.880 --> 00:54:47.079 finally make it there. We always had we always had 1079 00:54:47.119 --> 00:54:50.920 apaches and drones and all kinds of stuff you know, 1080 00:54:51.119 --> 00:54:55.920 for us. So anytime we got like really in in it, 1081 00:54:56.440 --> 00:55:00.119 we would call in the the the the apaches, and 1082 00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:03.880 and we could always you know make it out of there, luckily, 1083 00:55:03.960 --> 00:55:04.639 you know, because. 1084 00:55:04.440 --> 00:55:06.599 We could just start messing stuff up big time. 1085 00:55:08.000 --> 00:55:11.360 And so yeah, so we got him out and then 1086 00:55:11.800 --> 00:55:14.159 it started getting light and we got to a clearing 1087 00:55:14.199 --> 00:55:16.280 where they could get you know, bring in a metavac, 1088 00:55:16.400 --> 00:55:19.519 and they put him on the metavac, and I remember 1089 00:55:19.559 --> 00:55:22.480 going back to our warehouse and like seeing guys cleaning 1090 00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:25.000 out his helmet and there's like you know, bone fragments 1091 00:55:25.039 --> 00:55:27.920 and his helmet and stuff, and like, you know, everybody's 1092 00:55:28.000 --> 00:55:33.440 just like really really not doing well. And he ended 1093 00:55:33.519 --> 00:55:36.119 up making it. So we got word that he that 1094 00:55:36.199 --> 00:55:39.960 he had kind of pulled through and he was going 1095 00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:43.159 to make it. The bullet went through his frontal lobe, 1096 00:55:43.400 --> 00:55:47.199 ricocheted in the skull came and then came out the 1097 00:55:47.239 --> 00:55:49.519 other backside, Yeah, like wrapped around. 1098 00:55:50.239 --> 00:55:50.599 Yeah. 1099 00:55:50.639 --> 00:55:54.519 And I ended up getting to see him after I 1100 00:55:54.559 --> 00:55:56.679 was wounded. I got to see him at a dinner 1101 00:55:56.880 --> 00:56:00.760 at our platoon sergeant's house in in the Fort Bragg 1102 00:56:00.800 --> 00:56:07.639 area a while later, obviously, but yeah, that was that 1103 00:56:07.760 --> 00:56:12.360 was kind of our biggest, you know, closest brush with 1104 00:56:12.360 --> 00:56:15.760 with losing someone at that point and and kind of 1105 00:56:15.760 --> 00:56:19.880 from then on and I don't really even remember what what, 1106 00:56:21.039 --> 00:56:23.079 like how far into the deployment that was, but it 1107 00:56:23.119 --> 00:56:26.719 was pretty far, and you know, guys were just starting 1108 00:56:26.760 --> 00:56:30.599 to talk about death and like having bad feelings and thinking, 1109 00:56:30.639 --> 00:56:32.119 you know, it was kind of the end and it 1110 00:56:32.280 --> 00:56:35.480 just was getting it was getting dark and weird. 1111 00:56:35.199 --> 00:56:36.960 And everyone's getting strung out. 1112 00:56:37.760 --> 00:56:39.519 Yeah, and I think all of us had really seen 1113 00:56:40.840 --> 00:56:43.199 seen kind of enough in a way. 1114 00:56:43.360 --> 00:56:45.599 You know. We had a commander or. 1115 00:56:47.559 --> 00:56:51.639 Yeah, our unit commander was they called him T one thousand, 1116 00:56:51.920 --> 00:56:56.280 super ripped dude, good looking guy, blonde hair, so T 1117 00:56:56.400 --> 00:56:59.800 one thousand from Terminator, and he was just always like, 1118 00:57:00.960 --> 00:57:01.920 when's the next. 1119 00:57:01.719 --> 00:57:04.400 You know, tst Target? Why aren't they sending us target? 1120 00:57:04.400 --> 00:57:09.199 Like he was just always wanted us out there and 1121 00:57:09.199 --> 00:57:13.440 and uh as awesome as he was, Uh, you know, 1122 00:57:13.519 --> 00:57:15.320 some of the guys were kind of being like, dude, 1123 00:57:15.360 --> 00:57:18.079 we need to like scale back a little bit, like 1124 00:57:18.159 --> 00:57:23.760 it's just getting too much, you know, and stuff. But yeah, 1125 00:57:24.039 --> 00:57:28.880 I remember, I remember, you know, getting my first guys. 1126 00:57:29.440 --> 00:57:32.920 We got ambushed on the way back from a mission, 1127 00:57:33.159 --> 00:57:35.920 and I was up in the turret that night, and 1128 00:57:36.840 --> 00:57:38.679 I remember, I remember one of the it was like 1129 00:57:38.800 --> 00:57:42.519 third squad, their squad leader, sergeant. 1130 00:57:43.760 --> 00:57:44.519 Sergeant Gray. 1131 00:57:45.039 --> 00:57:46.920 He at one point he was like, you know, don't 1132 00:57:46.920 --> 00:57:49.920 talk to me, Cherry until you know you've killed. 1133 00:57:49.639 --> 00:57:50.800 Someone or whatever, you know. 1134 00:57:50.840 --> 00:57:53.559 And I remember after that mission going back to his 1135 00:57:53.679 --> 00:57:56.880 bunk and just being like, hey, sergeant, so we can 1136 00:57:57.079 --> 00:57:58.719 we can talk. 1137 00:57:58.559 --> 00:57:59.000 Now, huh. 1138 00:57:59.079 --> 00:58:00.920 And he's like, get out of your mother after you know, 1139 00:58:01.159 --> 00:58:03.159 on at me, and I'm like, what the heck. So, 1140 00:58:03.679 --> 00:58:05.280 you know, for a while there, people were putting up 1141 00:58:05.360 --> 00:58:07.800 like ace cards, you know, on their bed and stuff. 1142 00:58:07.840 --> 00:58:10.199 And then and then it just got so much that 1143 00:58:10.280 --> 00:58:13.239 nobody cared at all. It was just like we're just 1144 00:58:13.280 --> 00:58:16.639 trying to survive. I even remember like one mission, I 1145 00:58:16.679 --> 00:58:19.199 was up in a turret, started getting shot at and 1146 00:58:19.239 --> 00:58:22.159 I'm like shooting back, and it was like so constant 1147 00:58:22.199 --> 00:58:25.360 and so often that like I had no adrenaline. There 1148 00:58:25.400 --> 00:58:27.679 was there was there was like no I'm getting shot 1149 00:58:27.719 --> 00:58:31.519 at and there's no bump, like no drug hit or anything. 1150 00:58:31.840 --> 00:58:35.679 And I remember thinking like, oh, that's that's probably not good. 1151 00:58:35.800 --> 00:58:38.119 Like that's like a broken something broken. 1152 00:58:38.320 --> 00:58:42.320 It's like after a while you transcend the danger reaction, 1153 00:58:42.559 --> 00:58:45.599 right and yeah, like kind of like just letting it 1154 00:58:45.639 --> 00:58:47.679 hang out there, not necessarily giving a flock. 1155 00:58:48.480 --> 00:58:50.320 Yeah, And there were some guys that like really did 1156 00:58:50.480 --> 00:58:52.079 didn't care if they died. I mean they were doing 1157 00:58:52.119 --> 00:58:54.519 dumb stuff like getting out of the humbies and chasing 1158 00:58:54.599 --> 00:58:57.119 dudes down like an alley and taking them out, you 1159 00:58:57.119 --> 00:59:01.400 know when we'd get in contact and stuff, and they 1160 00:59:01.400 --> 00:59:01.880 didn't care. 1161 00:59:01.960 --> 00:59:04.000 You know, at a certain point, we just kind of 1162 00:59:04.039 --> 00:59:04.599 stopped caring. 1163 00:59:04.639 --> 00:59:08.119 And I I never got quite there where I was like, yeah, 1164 00:59:08.119 --> 00:59:10.199 I'm gonna you know, I'm just gonna be fine dying. 1165 00:59:10.320 --> 00:59:13.760 But you definitely thought it was gonna probably happen. You know, 1166 00:59:13.800 --> 00:59:19.679 it's either gonna be yeah something, So yeah, I should 1167 00:59:19.719 --> 00:59:22.679 probably go into kind of the final mission for me. 1168 00:59:25.679 --> 00:59:32.880 So the final the final mission was September tenth, two 1169 00:59:32.920 --> 00:59:38.119 thousand and seven. Just like all the other TST missions, 1170 00:59:38.159 --> 00:59:39.760 you know, it was like are we going to sleep 1171 00:59:39.760 --> 00:59:41.199 tonight or we're gonna go out on mission? 1172 00:59:41.239 --> 00:59:42.760 You know, all the lights would go off and we'd 1173 00:59:42.760 --> 00:59:43.559 start getting. 1174 00:59:43.280 --> 00:59:45.880 Our bunks and maybe we're gonna get some sleep and 1175 00:59:45.920 --> 00:59:48.480 then like you know, middle of the night, you know, broom, 1176 00:59:48.679 --> 00:59:51.119 the lights would come on and you know, tst let's go, 1177 00:59:51.199 --> 00:59:53.800 let's go and grab all your stuff, and like always 1178 00:59:53.800 --> 00:59:55.679 had like a task like getting the trucks ready or 1179 00:59:55.719 --> 00:59:57.960 something while they're getting like the op briefing, like all 1180 00:59:58.000 --> 01:00:01.400 the leaderships like going through everything. Here, targets, here's where 1181 01:00:01.400 --> 01:00:03.679 we're going to hit, you know, all that stuff. And 1182 01:00:03.880 --> 01:00:06.440 my job was like making sure everything was ready to 1183 01:00:06.440 --> 01:00:09.960 go outside. You know, everything's lined up and we're ready 1184 01:00:09.960 --> 01:00:12.400 to go. At least it was you know a lot 1185 01:00:12.440 --> 01:00:17.440 of the time. So so they kind of come, you know, 1186 01:00:17.440 --> 01:00:19.079 we start kind of hearing like, oh, this is like 1187 01:00:19.119 --> 01:00:22.840 a huge one, like everybody's going. We had some like 1188 01:00:23.119 --> 01:00:26.440 our sister unit, which was which was calv guys they 1189 01:00:26.480 --> 01:00:28.960 were going. I want to say, we had like nine 1190 01:00:29.079 --> 01:00:32.079 Humvies and three of those hunter boxes and each Hunter 1191 01:00:32.159 --> 01:00:37.239 box had eighteen Americans in them, and so this is huge. 1192 01:00:37.280 --> 01:00:39.440 Usually it was like one or two hundred boxes. You know, 1193 01:00:40.360 --> 01:00:43.280 a few Humvies maybe you know, the most guys we've 1194 01:00:43.280 --> 01:00:45.639 probably ever gone after It was probably like four probably 1195 01:00:45.679 --> 01:00:51.159 before that. So nineteen dudes having a meeting was massive. 1196 01:00:51.239 --> 01:00:54.920 We knew that if that many dudes are all together, 1197 01:00:55.039 --> 01:00:57.920 they were going to have a lot of people kind 1198 01:00:57.920 --> 01:00:59.039 of looking out for them too. 1199 01:00:59.719 --> 01:01:03.840 So we were pretty preparing for some heavy stuff. 1200 01:01:05.920 --> 01:01:08.559 So we get to the area, which again was in Shula, 1201 01:01:10.559 --> 01:01:17.239 and that night I'm with Sergeant Meyer again. We're in 1202 01:01:17.280 --> 01:01:19.960 the No I wasn't he was in the Oh no, okay, 1203 01:01:19.960 --> 01:01:21.679 so I was in I was in the hunter box, 1204 01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:25.599 like I said. But that night, instead of hitting the 1205 01:01:25.639 --> 01:01:28.239 target buildings, I was going to go with the sniper section, 1206 01:01:28.360 --> 01:01:31.159 link up with them, hit the building and go on top, 1207 01:01:32.480 --> 01:01:34.039 you know, one of the highest, tallest. 1208 01:01:33.719 --> 01:01:35.039 Buildings or whatever in the area. 1209 01:01:35.159 --> 01:01:39.639 And we were overlooking kind of this this field or 1210 01:01:39.679 --> 01:01:43.079 like kind of like a I don't know, playground type area, 1211 01:01:43.239 --> 01:01:47.840 you know, but you know, Iraq style, and there was 1212 01:01:47.880 --> 01:01:51.360 probably three or four buildings gonna get hit. And before 1213 01:01:51.400 --> 01:01:54.599 we were totally set up up there, it was already 1214 01:01:54.639 --> 01:01:56.519 like coming down like we got them all, like we 1215 01:01:56.599 --> 01:02:00.639 got him, Like we we got them all. And so 1216 01:02:00.800 --> 01:02:03.039 they're strapping them up and everything, and so it was 1217 01:02:03.079 --> 01:02:04.840 super quick and kind of disorienting. 1218 01:02:05.800 --> 01:02:06.679 We get back. 1219 01:02:08.000 --> 01:02:09.440 Is this back in the day when we were like 1220 01:02:09.559 --> 01:02:11.079 ratchet strapping. 1221 01:02:10.599 --> 01:02:12.440 The h vts down to the bed of the y 1222 01:02:12.639 --> 01:02:13.079 Yeah truck. 1223 01:02:13.920 --> 01:02:17.079 Yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't the super nice like flex cuffs. 1224 01:02:17.079 --> 01:02:19.400 I don't remember the super nice flex cuffs. I remember 1225 01:02:19.480 --> 01:02:24.079 like probably your you know, your Harbor freight zip ties, 1226 01:02:24.320 --> 01:02:25.920 you know, the thick ones. 1227 01:02:25.760 --> 01:02:29.360 Those different times. Yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah. 1228 01:02:29.400 --> 01:02:32.239 I mean like our humbies were up armored to a sense, 1229 01:02:32.360 --> 01:02:36.280 but you know, like the turret's pretty exposed, like you've 1230 01:02:36.320 --> 01:02:39.199 got some glass on three sides, but you know, sniper 1231 01:02:39.280 --> 01:02:42.800 netting on top, you know, just just yeah, at different times, 1232 01:02:43.440 --> 01:02:45.679 So they're trying to figure out, how do we get 1233 01:02:45.760 --> 01:02:48.119 nineteen guys like out of here, you know, like they're 1234 01:02:48.159 --> 01:02:50.199 gonna be people are gonna be sitting on them in 1235 01:02:50.239 --> 01:02:53.280 the humbies and people. You know, we can only fit 1236 01:02:53.320 --> 01:02:55.599 a couple in each hunter box, so I think we 1237 01:02:55.639 --> 01:02:58.840 had three of the nineteen in our hunter box. We're 1238 01:02:58.840 --> 01:03:00.880 starting to get loaded back on that, but we're also 1239 01:03:01.119 --> 01:03:03.440 starting to get engaged. So there's a couple of RPGs 1240 01:03:03.480 --> 01:03:06.519 and some kind a firefight starting to break out. So 1241 01:03:06.559 --> 01:03:08.679 they're trying to like figure out, hey, how do we 1242 01:03:10.519 --> 01:03:12.599 do do we stay and kind of finish the fight 1243 01:03:12.840 --> 01:03:14.320 like we usually do. We kind of leave on our 1244 01:03:14.360 --> 01:03:16.800 own terms, or like we kind of we're kind of 1245 01:03:16.800 --> 01:03:20.519 in this like weird transition, and we kind of needed 1246 01:03:20.559 --> 01:03:20.880 to just. 1247 01:03:20.840 --> 01:03:21.519 Get out of there. 1248 01:03:21.559 --> 01:03:23.679 So they're like, everybody, like load up and we're just 1249 01:03:23.719 --> 01:03:26.400 gonna shoot our way out of here. So we're all 1250 01:03:26.440 --> 01:03:29.679 loading up, and I remember so my squad leader, Sergeant 1251 01:03:29.679 --> 01:03:34.719 Meyer had taken over the snipers section, Sergeant Rivera had 1252 01:03:34.760 --> 01:03:38.800 taken over our squad, and he was getting he was 1253 01:03:38.840 --> 01:03:40.760 one of the last in the truck, and we had 1254 01:03:40.800 --> 01:03:43.199 this big ladder. We had this rope down one side, 1255 01:03:43.239 --> 01:03:45.199 so you can actually kind of like air assault, you know, 1256 01:03:45.320 --> 01:03:48.159 off of this LMTV on one side, you can climb 1257 01:03:48.159 --> 01:03:50.719 and jump off the front or kind of slide down 1258 01:03:50.719 --> 01:03:52.880 the ladder in the back. And I was like the 1259 01:03:53.000 --> 01:03:55.400 last guy. So as soon as you'd get in, I 1260 01:03:55.440 --> 01:03:57.119 was kind of the last guy in the very back, 1261 01:03:57.239 --> 01:04:01.159 right by the rope that we'd slide down, and he's 1262 01:04:01.159 --> 01:04:03.880 getting on the hum he's getting on the LMTV and 1263 01:04:04.559 --> 01:04:07.800 slips and like I think he broke his jaw, like 1264 01:04:07.920 --> 01:04:11.280 slips and hits his face and his blood and he's 1265 01:04:11.320 --> 01:04:13.239 like pretty messed up, and we get he's kind of 1266 01:04:13.239 --> 01:04:16.320 a little bit you know, out of it, and we're 1267 01:04:16.360 --> 01:04:18.400 kind of getting him on the truck and we're like 1268 01:04:18.480 --> 01:04:21.119 oh god, damn and trying to figure out what to do. 1269 01:04:22.119 --> 01:04:25.440 We get him on, and then once you're in the 1270 01:04:25.559 --> 01:04:28.920 hunter box and you're like leaving, there's a little. 1271 01:04:28.639 --> 01:04:30.719 Bit of like security you can do. 1272 01:04:30.800 --> 01:04:33.199 Like if you see anybody with an RPG or something, 1273 01:04:33.239 --> 01:04:36.119 obviously you got to take him out or they I mean, 1274 01:04:36.320 --> 01:04:38.880 you're really exposed, especially when the buildings are high, like 1275 01:04:38.880 --> 01:04:43.079 there's eighteen Americans. It's a big target. So it's always 1276 01:04:43.119 --> 01:04:45.360 like just like the worst time trying to drive out. 1277 01:04:45.400 --> 01:04:47.000 You either gonna be a hit with an ID or 1278 01:04:47.000 --> 01:04:49.239 you're gonna get shot or blown up from the you know, 1279 01:04:49.440 --> 01:04:52.599 up top. So you just wanted to like get out 1280 01:04:52.639 --> 01:04:56.760 of the town, you know, or the urban area and 1281 01:04:56.800 --> 01:05:01.719 get out and head back to Taji. And so we're 1282 01:05:01.760 --> 01:05:05.320 getting out of there and we get up onto Route 1283 01:05:05.440 --> 01:05:07.400 vernon which the. 1284 01:05:07.320 --> 01:05:08.119 North of Baghdad. 1285 01:05:08.119 --> 01:05:11.800 There's like this massive overpass and it literally goes from 1286 01:05:11.880 --> 01:05:16.199 like thirty to eighty hundred feet like massive goes in 1287 01:05:16.239 --> 01:05:21.639 different directions and on this overpass and we're still like 1288 01:05:22.159 --> 01:05:26.840 we're not taking probably like direct fire, but people are 1289 01:05:27.199 --> 01:05:29.440 able to always be pop shotting us, you know, the 1290 01:05:29.599 --> 01:05:31.760 entire way out of there, especially like we got their 1291 01:05:31.840 --> 01:05:35.360 guy is like they're just you know, trying to get 1292 01:05:35.400 --> 01:05:39.440 whatever they can. And the driver of the truck like 1293 01:05:39.599 --> 01:05:42.800 hits some debris from like a previous ID or something, 1294 01:05:42.960 --> 01:05:45.920 or like a half Hesco barrier type thing, because we're 1295 01:05:45.960 --> 01:05:49.519 kind of going through this weird checkpoint up there as well, 1296 01:05:50.559 --> 01:05:54.119 and we're hauling, but we always. 1297 01:05:53.920 --> 01:05:55.719 Drove, you know, no lights with nods. 1298 01:05:57.119 --> 01:05:59.320 The driver's an eighty eight mic like attached to us 1299 01:05:59.320 --> 01:06:02.320 because none of us could drive the big trucks. And 1300 01:06:03.920 --> 01:06:06.840 it's right in that horrible period of the day where 1301 01:06:06.840 --> 01:06:09.880 it's too a little bit too bright at dawn to 1302 01:06:09.880 --> 01:06:14.000 be wearing the nods but too dark for to just 1303 01:06:14.039 --> 01:06:17.880 be line of sight. And for some reason or whatever, Yeah, 1304 01:06:17.960 --> 01:06:22.320 he loses control of the of the LMTV. We end 1305 01:06:22.440 --> 01:06:26.840 up going through the guardrail. I remember the whole thing 1306 01:06:26.920 --> 01:06:29.639 kind of lifting up and going this way, and you're 1307 01:06:29.719 --> 01:06:31.559 kind of having this in and out of body experience, 1308 01:06:31.599 --> 01:06:35.079 like you know, you're on this huge high overpass. You know, 1309 01:06:35.599 --> 01:06:38.639 the truck is losing control trying to make sense of everything. 1310 01:06:39.159 --> 01:06:41.119 And then as we're going there was almost this moment 1311 01:06:41.119 --> 01:06:43.480 where it was like maybe we aren't going to go off, 1312 01:06:43.519 --> 01:06:45.760 and then it was just like that splash mountain, you know, 1313 01:06:45.800 --> 01:06:47.920 where it's like no, we're going for sure. 1314 01:06:48.639 --> 01:06:52.599 And then I fully like blackout, Like I just I remember. 1315 01:06:52.800 --> 01:06:55.679 I remember as we're falling and like seeing the truck 1316 01:06:55.719 --> 01:06:59.199 and like all the guys like are now not side, 1317 01:06:59.280 --> 01:07:03.199 they're like down right, And as we're going down, I 1318 01:07:03.280 --> 01:07:07.400 just remember everything just closed off. And so when I 1319 01:07:07.440 --> 01:07:12.880 wake up. When I wake up, I kind of like, 1320 01:07:13.000 --> 01:07:15.440 you know, like when they talk about Hell, it's been 1321 01:07:15.760 --> 01:07:18.239 like dark and gnashing teeth and all that stuff. Like 1322 01:07:18.360 --> 01:07:21.159 it literally was pitch dark. I'm crushed under this truck 1323 01:07:21.239 --> 01:07:26.960 and all these bodies and there's screaming and like. 1324 01:07:26.400 --> 01:07:28.840 Metallic noises and stuff. 1325 01:07:29.000 --> 01:07:33.639 And I remember like just thinking like holy shit, like 1326 01:07:33.679 --> 01:07:36.480 I died and this is hell, Like that's so messed up, 1327 01:07:36.840 --> 01:07:39.639 you know. And then I was like, well, it's not hot, 1328 01:07:39.920 --> 01:07:42.199 and the Bible said it was supposed to be hot, right, 1329 01:07:42.280 --> 01:07:42.920 so it's not. 1330 01:07:43.079 --> 01:07:43.960 Maybe this isn't hell. 1331 01:07:44.280 --> 01:07:46.000 And then the next thing was like, oh my god, 1332 01:07:46.000 --> 01:07:48.280 I can't breathe, like I couldn't even I was so crushed. 1333 01:07:48.320 --> 01:07:52.280 I couldn't even breathe out, let alone take like a 1334 01:07:52.280 --> 01:07:55.239 breath in. And then I started to panic. And then 1335 01:07:55.280 --> 01:07:59.519 I started hearing all the screams and yells and and 1336 01:07:59.760 --> 01:08:04.840 you go into like a very weird, I don't know, 1337 01:08:04.920 --> 01:08:09.079 pre death space or something like where just like it 1338 01:08:09.119 --> 01:08:14.239 was just unlike anything I'd ever experienced. And right when 1339 01:08:14.400 --> 01:08:16.920 like I'm like, I'm this is it, Like this is 1340 01:08:16.960 --> 01:08:20.680 the last moment. I feel this tugging on my foot, 1341 01:08:20.720 --> 01:08:23.680 on my I think it was my left left like 1342 01:08:23.800 --> 01:08:26.720 foot boot. It's like tugging, and I start I start 1343 01:08:26.800 --> 01:08:28.640 just whiggling my foot as much as possible to kind 1344 01:08:28.680 --> 01:08:30.279 of be like I'm alive, like like get me out 1345 01:08:30.319 --> 01:08:30.600 of here. 1346 01:08:31.439 --> 01:08:32.439 And so then I. 1347 01:08:32.399 --> 01:08:35.439 Remember some of the weight kind of being rolled off 1348 01:08:35.520 --> 01:08:38.840 me and someone who I haven't talked about yet as 1349 01:08:39.039 --> 01:08:41.520 was my best friend, the only dude who was even 1350 01:08:41.600 --> 01:08:45.079 close to looking my age. I looked I literally looked twelve, 1351 01:08:46.760 --> 01:08:50.039 and like you know, in basic training when they check 1352 01:08:50.239 --> 01:08:52.439 check your facial hair, you know, and stuff like, I 1353 01:08:52.520 --> 01:08:56.640 remember not shaving and being put into the like you shaved, 1354 01:08:56.680 --> 01:09:00.319 good job line, you know, and everyone else getting in trouble, like, yeah, 1355 01:09:00.359 --> 01:09:02.079 I haven't shaved for a couple of days, but if 1356 01:09:02.119 --> 01:09:05.920 they find out, you know. But anyway, so my but 1357 01:09:06.199 --> 01:09:10.439 my best buddy, Richard Brendle, he with I didn't know 1358 01:09:10.439 --> 01:09:12.880 at the time, but he had actually grabbed me and 1359 01:09:12.920 --> 01:09:16.079 the pull that the that the rope was attached to 1360 01:09:16.640 --> 01:09:20.600 and rode us like into the ground that way. And 1361 01:09:20.640 --> 01:09:23.000 then when I lost consciousness and crushed, one of the 1362 01:09:23.000 --> 01:09:24.920 detainees was like on me, and he was like a 1363 01:09:25.039 --> 01:09:27.920 huge dude and a couple other dead bodies and he 1364 01:09:28.000 --> 01:09:32.640 was able to Now, mind you, this dude has like 1365 01:09:32.920 --> 01:09:36.359 five ribs snapped off from the spine. Like back there, 1366 01:09:36.560 --> 01:09:40.159 he has like a ruptured spleen. I think he lost 1367 01:09:40.199 --> 01:09:43.720 some organs. I know that a collapse lung, broken nose, 1368 01:09:43.920 --> 01:09:49.920 broken arm, broken wrist. And he's able to somehow save 1369 01:09:50.000 --> 01:09:52.960 my life. Like he pulls me out. He pulls me 1370 01:09:53.000 --> 01:09:54.960 out from the back of the iba where that handle is. 1371 01:09:55.479 --> 01:09:58.880 He pulls me out from the wreckage. And now I 1372 01:09:59.000 --> 01:10:04.399 have four shotattered vertebrae, like like shattered vertebrae, some spinal 1373 01:10:04.439 --> 01:10:06.960 cord damage. Some of the bone fragments were kind of 1374 01:10:07.119 --> 01:10:11.000 pressed up to the spine. I think a collapse lung 1375 01:10:11.560 --> 01:10:16.760 at least big time lung contusions. Sternum was crushed, I 1376 01:10:16.800 --> 01:10:19.720 had like fluid around my heart, so there was like 1377 01:10:20.560 --> 01:10:22.560 trauma to like the whole chest cavity. 1378 01:10:23.119 --> 01:10:25.319 And then I broke a bunch of bones in my face. 1379 01:10:26.840 --> 01:10:29.520 This ear was taken off like completely, like scooped out 1380 01:10:29.560 --> 01:10:31.439 and hanging on by like a flap of skin, like 1381 01:10:31.479 --> 01:10:34.520 scooped out deep. And then there was seventy stables, So 1382 01:10:34.560 --> 01:10:36.920 my entire school was kind of like filayed open and 1383 01:10:36.960 --> 01:10:40.399 falling off. And so when he's like dragging me out 1384 01:10:40.399 --> 01:10:42.960 and like sitting me up with all these shattered vertebrae 1385 01:10:42.960 --> 01:10:45.640 and everything, I mean like I was in like the 1386 01:10:45.680 --> 01:10:49.000 most pain I've ever can ever describe. But also this 1387 01:10:49.079 --> 01:10:54.239 weird like shouldn't this hurt even body experience? Yeah, it 1388 01:10:54.439 --> 01:10:58.399 super out of body experience. And I also am like blind, 1389 01:10:59.319 --> 01:11:01.000 and I don't know if it was from the blood 1390 01:11:01.159 --> 01:11:03.640 or from the impact, like the head trauma or whatever, 1391 01:11:03.680 --> 01:11:06.279 but I'm blind. Like I could see like light a 1392 01:11:06.279 --> 01:11:09.800 little bit on the outer rims, but like super dark 1393 01:11:09.880 --> 01:11:14.399 in the center, and I could barely breathe, just like 1394 01:11:14.760 --> 01:11:17.479 you know, just trying to like stay alive. And then 1395 01:11:18.119 --> 01:11:24.359 I think Richard passes out behind me, and now our 1396 01:11:24.520 --> 01:11:27.319 entire element's up on this overpass and it is a 1397 01:11:27.600 --> 01:11:30.960 long way to get down and around. We're in a 1398 01:11:31.000 --> 01:11:35.039 trash field like this trash field and land's about how 1399 01:11:35.199 --> 01:11:37.640 now you know, in retrospect, about how far did you 1400 01:11:37.680 --> 01:11:43.000 guys fall? So if you read the official report, which 1401 01:11:43.079 --> 01:11:47.119 is total bullshit, they say, I think they say. 1402 01:11:46.960 --> 01:11:48.520 Thirty to fifty feet. 1403 01:11:49.159 --> 01:11:51.520 My buddy who pulled me out of the wreckage, he 1404 01:11:51.680 --> 01:11:54.680 ended up reclassing and went back to the same area 1405 01:11:54.960 --> 01:11:58.560 like several years later. He says, it was like seventy 1406 01:11:58.560 --> 01:12:02.039 five to eighty feet. All settle on fifty feet. It 1407 01:12:02.039 --> 01:12:04.479 doesn't really matter to me how tall it was. It 1408 01:12:05.079 --> 01:12:08.800 was really freaking I remember on some missions like being 1409 01:12:08.880 --> 01:12:11.199 up there and like peeing off of this overpass and 1410 01:12:11.199 --> 01:12:13.840 thinking to myself, like this would really suck to fall off, 1411 01:12:13.960 --> 01:12:16.800 Like this is gnarly, you know. I even have some 1412 01:12:16.880 --> 01:12:21.039 pictures I sent d of that overpass. I'd like clicked 1413 01:12:21.039 --> 01:12:22.880 a picture of it randomly, and it turned out to 1414 01:12:22.880 --> 01:12:25.520 be the exact overpass you know that we go off of. 1415 01:12:26.439 --> 01:12:28.399 So this is this is super high. 1416 01:12:29.119 --> 01:12:36.199 Unfortunately, seven seven of my guys die. I think three 1417 01:12:36.840 --> 01:12:42.359 like pretty instantly, and then the rest either died on 1418 01:12:42.439 --> 01:12:45.840 the bird's back to the hospital to to the bag 1419 01:12:45.880 --> 01:12:50.479 that like green zone, big hospital there, and then the 1420 01:12:50.479 --> 01:12:51.000 rest of us. 1421 01:12:51.039 --> 01:12:52.319 Yeah, we're pretty messed up. 1422 01:12:54.199 --> 01:12:58.479 And yeah, I remember, I remember finally our element getting 1423 01:12:58.720 --> 01:13:01.600 getting down to us. So after he pulled me out, 1424 01:13:01.600 --> 01:13:04.239 I pass out again, and when I wake up the 1425 01:13:04.279 --> 01:13:09.720 next time, it's my lieutenant who was in the actually 1426 01:13:09.800 --> 01:13:12.439 the passenger seat, and he's trying to wrap my head. 1427 01:13:12.479 --> 01:13:14.680 He's like pulling my ear up in my head and 1428 01:13:14.680 --> 01:13:16.159 he's trying to wrap my head. 1429 01:13:16.479 --> 01:13:18.520 And as soon as he lets go, he like shattered 1430 01:13:18.520 --> 01:13:20.800 like everything, like his arm, so he's only trying to. 1431 01:13:20.720 --> 01:13:22.079 Do it like one arm. 1432 01:13:22.439 --> 01:13:25.239 And as soon as he goes, I gotta go help 1433 01:13:25.279 --> 01:13:28.720 the other guys. And he takes off, and when he 1434 01:13:28.840 --> 01:13:31.039 lets go, like I just feel my head and ear 1435 01:13:31.159 --> 01:13:35.439 just kind of fall back down again, and and so 1436 01:13:35.800 --> 01:13:38.359 then I pass out again, and when I wake up again, 1437 01:13:38.720 --> 01:13:41.680 it's the other platoons platoon leader, and I remember thinking, like, 1438 01:13:41.720 --> 01:13:44.119 what the heck's with up with all these lieutenants like 1439 01:13:44.159 --> 01:13:46.640 coming and waking me up, you know, And so he 1440 01:13:46.760 --> 01:13:49.199 starts saying, Hey, we're gonna move everybody out from under 1441 01:13:49.239 --> 01:13:51.560 this overpass and get you guys staged up for the bird. 1442 01:13:51.600 --> 01:13:54.439 We've got birds coming in by twos, like as many 1443 01:13:54.439 --> 01:13:57.920 as we possibly could find, so the medovacts come in. 1444 01:13:58.560 --> 01:14:01.840 And I was probably on one of the last birds, 1445 01:14:01.880 --> 01:14:06.319 I think, if not the last bird, and to my 1446 01:14:06.439 --> 01:14:11.319 left was heard agree and he was not doing well 1447 01:14:11.520 --> 01:14:14.920 like he was. He was not doing well at all, 1448 01:14:15.079 --> 01:14:19.199 so I kind of knew he probably wasn't gonna make it. 1449 01:14:19.199 --> 01:14:21.079 I didn't know if I was going to make it either, 1450 01:14:21.800 --> 01:14:26.640 but I didn't know like who. I didn't know for 1451 01:14:28.560 --> 01:14:32.000 maybe several days because of the surgeries and stuff and 1452 01:14:32.640 --> 01:14:35.039 all that. I remember getting flown to Ballade after all 1453 01:14:35.079 --> 01:14:37.359 my surgeries in Baghdad, And I told you earlier there 1454 01:14:37.399 --> 01:14:40.520 was a plastic surgeon visiting the Baghdad hospital who went 1455 01:14:40.560 --> 01:14:43.640 to work and he reattached my right ear, put seventy 1456 01:14:43.680 --> 01:14:47.119 staples on my head. And I have like a perfect 1457 01:14:47.199 --> 01:14:49.680 full head of hair, like you wouldn't even know my ear. 1458 01:14:49.720 --> 01:14:51.920 There's like little scars I could point out, but I 1459 01:14:51.920 --> 01:14:55.159 mean he had to like reattach the little lobe. He 1460 01:14:55.199 --> 01:14:58.159 had to reattach that other little part and the canal 1461 01:14:58.239 --> 01:15:02.680 there was like fifty futures inside the canal, like putting 1462 01:15:02.760 --> 01:15:06.199 everything back together. And had he not been there, I 1463 01:15:06.239 --> 01:15:09.079 definitely would not have an ear. I definitely my top 1464 01:15:09.119 --> 01:15:11.399 of my head would not look the same, even my face, 1465 01:15:11.439 --> 01:15:13.920 you know, making sure everything wasn't gonna like collapse. 1466 01:15:13.960 --> 01:15:16.319 Yeah, because I mean, well, looking at you, like, I 1467 01:15:16.359 --> 01:15:19.039 can't tell that you received these injuries, so I mean 1468 01:15:19.079 --> 01:15:21.560 they they clearly did a good job putting you back together. 1469 01:15:22.319 --> 01:15:23.960 Yeah, And for you know, I used to look like 1470 01:15:24.000 --> 01:15:26.359 a really young Brad Pitt and then I remember waking 1471 01:15:26.439 --> 01:15:28.000 up there, this is the best we can do. I'm 1472 01:15:28.039 --> 01:15:30.680 really sorry. So yeah, I got, I got. I got 1473 01:15:30.760 --> 01:15:33.439 fortunate for sure, for sure. 1474 01:15:35.239 --> 01:15:35.640 Yeah. 1475 01:15:35.680 --> 01:15:40.079 So so as quick as it all started for me, 1476 01:15:40.199 --> 01:15:42.560 it kind of all ended, you know, my military career. 1477 01:15:43.520 --> 01:15:47.039 Like I said, I spent a little bit, probably a 1478 01:15:47.079 --> 01:15:48.960 short amount of time there at the Green Zone, and 1479 01:15:48.960 --> 01:15:52.079 then they flew me to blot and probably one night 1480 01:15:52.159 --> 01:15:54.159 there before they could get me on like an ICU 1481 01:15:54.239 --> 01:15:58.760 bird to long stool. Spent a while in long stool, 1482 01:15:59.199 --> 01:16:02.399 probably a few weeks, and I was in and out 1483 01:16:02.439 --> 01:16:04.840 of like probably like a morphine induced coma type thing, 1484 01:16:04.880 --> 01:16:07.840 you know, just like I don't remember a ton. I 1485 01:16:07.880 --> 01:16:11.039 do remember some guy from like the Wounded Warrior Project 1486 01:16:11.119 --> 01:16:13.880 I think had like just started with the backpacks right 1487 01:16:14.000 --> 01:16:16.000 like out of a garage. I remember getting one of 1488 01:16:16.039 --> 01:16:18.680 those backpacks and that was like the only clothes I 1489 01:16:18.720 --> 01:16:21.520 had was like a pair of jeans, a T shirt, 1490 01:16:22.079 --> 01:16:25.520 and then like some crap in this backpack I had lost, 1491 01:16:25.520 --> 01:16:29.680 you know, just lost every everything basically. So yeah, but 1492 01:16:29.720 --> 01:16:34.359 I remember in Ballot, I remember seeing Simpson and he 1493 01:16:34.439 --> 01:16:36.880 came over to my bed and he and he was 1494 01:16:36.920 --> 01:16:40.600 pretty messed up, like he had he had some crazy 1495 01:16:41.039 --> 01:16:43.880 scars and staples and stuff too, and him coming up 1496 01:16:43.920 --> 01:16:48.560 to me, and I remember asking like are he maybe 1497 01:16:48.600 --> 01:16:50.119 he asked me, He's like, hey, do you want to 1498 01:16:50.199 --> 01:16:53.960 know who made it? And I was like I can't 1499 01:16:54.039 --> 01:16:56.439 take it yet, Like I can't. I can't handle knowing 1500 01:16:56.479 --> 01:16:59.319 who didn't make it and who did. I knew my 1501 01:16:59.359 --> 01:17:03.319 best buddy man, Richard Brendle. I knew he was alive, 1502 01:17:04.239 --> 01:17:09.479 but I didn't know. And then I remember telling him, 1503 01:17:10.000 --> 01:17:12.000 you know, I don't know how much long later, right, 1504 01:17:12.239 --> 01:17:15.119 I remember saying like okay, I'm ready, and like each 1505 01:17:15.159 --> 01:17:17.680 one was just a dagger, you know, as he's going 1506 01:17:17.760 --> 01:17:22.560 through it Sergeant Patterson and Rivera and our degree and 1507 01:17:22.680 --> 01:17:27.399 Weeks was another really good buddy of mine. Ari Weeks's 1508 01:17:27.439 --> 01:17:29.880 going through MOA, you know, and he's just going through 1509 01:17:29.920 --> 01:17:34.560 all seven of the guys, and well, yeah, took everything 1510 01:17:34.560 --> 01:17:37.159 in me just to kind of I don't know, that 1511 01:17:37.359 --> 01:17:40.600 was the worst crap you could go through, honestly. 1512 01:17:42.880 --> 01:17:45.119 Yeah. And then, like I said, flew to long Stool. 1513 01:17:45.239 --> 01:17:48.760 And what was so hard too about all this was 1514 01:17:49.359 --> 01:17:51.119 like I get placed in this unit, I have this 1515 01:17:51.159 --> 01:17:54.760 crazy nine month experience ends with this you know, crazy 1516 01:17:54.800 --> 01:17:56.239 traumatic thing. 1517 01:17:57.640 --> 01:17:58.920 And when I fly to Germany. 1518 01:17:59.640 --> 01:18:01.960 When when I leave Germany after like a week or 1519 01:18:01.960 --> 01:18:04.600 so or whatever it was, and I take an icy 1520 01:18:05.199 --> 01:18:08.840 uber to Walter Reed for one night and then they 1521 01:18:08.880 --> 01:18:12.600 decided to take me to Eisenhower Army Medical Center at 1522 01:18:12.640 --> 01:18:13.279 Fort Gordon. 1523 01:18:16.079 --> 01:18:19.760 When when they it. 1524 01:18:20.359 --> 01:18:21.960 That was the last time I really got to see 1525 01:18:22.000 --> 01:18:24.359 my guys, right, So it was like I got put 1526 01:18:24.399 --> 01:18:26.199 in there and then it was like I got taken 1527 01:18:26.239 --> 01:18:28.800 out and even the wounded ones, like all the wounded 1528 01:18:28.800 --> 01:18:29.960 ones went to different places. 1529 01:18:30.199 --> 01:18:33.039 You don't really get the closure on that experience. 1530 01:18:32.680 --> 01:18:35.199 No closure. And I missed all the funerals because it 1531 01:18:35.239 --> 01:18:36.960 was a ten month recovery. It was supposed to be 1532 01:18:37.039 --> 01:18:39.560 like a year and a half. I did the whole 1533 01:18:39.600 --> 01:18:43.159 you know, walking with the the like the gymnastics looking 1534 01:18:43.199 --> 01:18:48.159 thing and and the back brace and all that stuff. 1535 01:18:48.359 --> 01:18:51.960 And yeah, I never I never got to go to 1536 01:18:52.000 --> 01:18:55.920 the funerals. I never got to you have any any 1537 01:18:56.000 --> 01:18:59.920 kind of closure or anything like that. And yeah, that's 1538 01:19:00.159 --> 01:19:03.680 that started my ten months recovery in the in the 1539 01:19:03.720 --> 01:19:09.880 hospital part and that was that was that was really 1540 01:19:10.039 --> 01:19:13.800 crappy ten months for sure, Like I was thankful to 1541 01:19:13.800 --> 01:19:21.239 be alive. Obviously, the physical stuff was was crazy getting 1542 01:19:21.239 --> 01:19:24.119 through all that. And I remember being like, hey, like 1543 01:19:24.159 --> 01:19:27.600 I'm broken now. I can't do that job anymore. Like 1544 01:19:27.720 --> 01:19:29.800 just let me go home, you know. Just remember thinking 1545 01:19:29.840 --> 01:19:31.239 like just let me, let me go home. 1546 01:19:31.279 --> 01:19:31.680 Do let me. 1547 01:19:32.640 --> 01:19:35.800 And I was actually really fortunate because after they kind 1548 01:19:35.800 --> 01:19:38.520 of got me to a place instead of just like 1549 01:19:38.640 --> 01:19:41.600 sending me, they couldn't. I was convalescing, like I was 1550 01:19:41.640 --> 01:19:44.680 still really bad, right, So I got to go to 1551 01:19:44.760 --> 01:19:49.000 the very first active duty rehab unit, which was at 1552 01:19:49.039 --> 01:19:53.159 the Uptown VA in Augusta, Georgia, right by the Masters. 1553 01:19:53.760 --> 01:19:56.640 And I was one of like twenty guys in this unit, 1554 01:19:56.760 --> 01:19:59.760 and every single day for I don't know how many months, 1555 01:19:59.760 --> 01:20:03.800 Like I'm I'm doing vision therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, 1556 01:20:03.920 --> 01:20:08.600 recreational therapy, pool therapy, seeing a shrink right, seeing a 1557 01:20:09.159 --> 01:20:11.920 seeing a guy. I remember I remember sharing stories with 1558 01:20:12.000 --> 01:20:14.880 the shrink dude and his like dad was in the military, 1559 01:20:14.920 --> 01:20:20.039 but he wasn't. And I remember like thinking like this 1560 01:20:20.039 --> 01:20:22.399 this isn't for me because the dude was just like 1561 01:20:23.159 --> 01:20:25.279 the whole time listening to my stories everything I was saying, 1562 01:20:25.279 --> 01:20:27.359 I couldn't believe it, Like, oh my gosh, I'm like 1563 01:20:27.439 --> 01:20:30.640 this is this is such a weird thing to like 1564 01:20:30.720 --> 01:20:32.079 I thought I was coming. You know, you're gonna have 1565 01:20:32.159 --> 01:20:34.239 answers for me, and you know, I'm on all these 1566 01:20:34.279 --> 01:20:37.319 medications and I'm so I'm kind of numb to a 1567 01:20:37.319 --> 01:20:39.840 lot of things as far as like I'm not having 1568 01:20:39.880 --> 01:20:43.399 like PTSD yet, you know, like and I'm almost thinking 1569 01:20:43.439 --> 01:20:49.159 like PTSD at this point, like is fake, Like yeah, 1570 01:20:49.199 --> 01:20:53.640 I hadn't hit me yet, nothing had really hit me yet. 1571 01:20:53.800 --> 01:20:56.479 The and then once I started getting off all the 1572 01:20:56.520 --> 01:20:59.199 pain meds and getting a little bit better, maybe getting 1573 01:20:59.239 --> 01:21:01.000 out of the back break, because then the back brace 1574 01:21:01.039 --> 01:21:03.159 for like six months or something, maybe even longer. 1575 01:21:06.039 --> 01:21:09.359 I remember kind of the nightmare starting and a lot 1576 01:21:09.399 --> 01:21:12.880 of the like I like. 1577 01:21:12.840 --> 01:21:15.880 To be honest, I was more afraid of Iraq in 1578 01:21:15.960 --> 01:21:18.840 the hospital thinking about everything that had happened than I 1579 01:21:19.000 --> 01:21:21.720 was when I was there right right, like scary as 1580 01:21:21.720 --> 01:21:24.079 all all of it was, Like I mean, I really 1581 01:21:24.119 --> 01:21:27.640 honestly was like horrified by everything. 1582 01:21:27.680 --> 01:21:30.039 Idea, now now you have time to process all of it. 1583 01:21:30.319 --> 01:21:37.479 Yeah, yeah, so that really sucked. And then I'll tell 1584 01:21:37.560 --> 01:21:40.760 one funny story from recovery. So you know, after six 1585 01:21:40.800 --> 01:21:43.359 months and being in the you're literally in the hospital 1586 01:21:44.039 --> 01:21:44.840 Monday through Friday. 1587 01:21:44.920 --> 01:21:48.479 They'd have this formation where they were you'd. 1588 01:21:48.319 --> 01:21:50.119 Be like, wal if you're in a wheelchair, wheel into 1589 01:21:50.159 --> 01:21:53.039 this like little cafeteria area, and they literally like it 1590 01:21:53.079 --> 01:21:55.399 was a wounded warrior battalion, right, and they would like 1591 01:21:56.000 --> 01:21:58.359 roll call and they'd be like, okay, Lance has got 1592 01:21:58.520 --> 01:22:00.800 vision therapy. Make sure you don't miss a year whatever, 1593 01:22:00.840 --> 01:22:02.399 you know, and they would like you know, and then 1594 01:22:02.439 --> 01:22:04.600 you'd go off and everybody would do their therapies and 1595 01:22:04.640 --> 01:22:09.840 everything and and so on the weekends, you know, we 1596 01:22:09.880 --> 01:22:13.119 didn't have those roll calls, and so one of the 1597 01:22:13.159 --> 01:22:17.159 guys recovering in there had like had some gnarly break 1598 01:22:17.239 --> 01:22:19.520 to like his legs, so he was limping around. He 1599 01:22:19.600 --> 01:22:21.399 was like out of all his stuff and not using 1600 01:22:21.399 --> 01:22:23.800 anything but a cane, I think, but he couldn't like 1601 01:22:23.880 --> 01:22:26.680 move his leg very well. And I was in a 1602 01:22:26.680 --> 01:22:28.920 back brace and everything, so I couldn't drive or anything. 1603 01:22:29.359 --> 01:22:31.600 But he's like, hey, if I ran a car, like, 1604 01:22:31.600 --> 01:22:33.640 do you want to go to North Charleston with me? 1605 01:22:33.840 --> 01:22:36.079 And like we'll go to this Taylor Swift and Brad 1606 01:22:36.079 --> 01:22:40.199 Paisley concert and like yeah, like we'll like we'll like 1607 01:22:40.680 --> 01:22:43.119 peace out of here for like a weekend. And so 1608 01:22:43.159 --> 01:22:45.399 we totally went like a wall and we had this 1609 01:22:45.439 --> 01:22:47.279 whole thing set up where we would like tell the 1610 01:22:47.359 --> 01:22:50.760 nurses like we were going somewhere close or something, I 1611 01:22:50.800 --> 01:22:52.640 don't remember, and then we I got I got in 1612 01:22:52.720 --> 01:22:54.439 this car and I'm literally in a back brace. 1613 01:22:54.640 --> 01:22:56.039 We're gonna spend a night in a hotel. 1614 01:22:56.560 --> 01:22:58.760 Like I hadn't been out of the hospital at all, 1615 01:22:59.239 --> 01:23:01.520 you know, up into the point. I actually I did 1616 01:23:01.880 --> 01:23:04.159 get to go home for a little while while I 1617 01:23:04.159 --> 01:23:07.000 was in a back brace. I got to go home 1618 01:23:07.000 --> 01:23:10.319 for like Thanksgiving or Christmas, I can't remember, and my 1619 01:23:10.399 --> 01:23:13.560 parents like rented a hospital bed that like because I 1620 01:23:13.560 --> 01:23:15.640 had to stay like my spine had to like heal 1621 01:23:15.800 --> 01:23:18.319 like straight, you know, so I couldn't like just sleep 1622 01:23:18.359 --> 01:23:19.560 in a normal bed and stuff. 1623 01:23:19.600 --> 01:23:21.239 So they got this hospital bed and everything. 1624 01:23:21.920 --> 01:23:25.119 But yeah, so anyway, we snuck out of there and 1625 01:23:25.159 --> 01:23:27.600 we went to a concert in North Charleston and like 1626 01:23:28.119 --> 01:23:33.159 went to the fort out on the island there, and yeah, 1627 01:23:33.359 --> 01:23:35.000 totally snuck out of there for a while. 1628 01:23:35.039 --> 01:23:38.560 And is this also about the time to tell the 1629 01:23:38.640 --> 01:23:40.079 Sheriff of Amarillo story? 1630 01:23:40.520 --> 01:23:44.159 Okay, yeah, yeah, let's transition to that perfect So we 1631 01:23:44.800 --> 01:23:48.239 So I finally I remember having to sit down, so 1632 01:23:48.279 --> 01:23:48.800 we'll get to that. 1633 01:23:48.840 --> 01:23:49.960 So I have n't sit down with. 1634 01:23:49.960 --> 01:23:52.000 One of the I think it was the back surgeon 1635 01:23:52.039 --> 01:23:55.279 guy who tragically I tried to look him up because 1636 01:23:55.279 --> 01:23:56.520 I loved this guy, doctor Burke. 1637 01:23:57.000 --> 01:23:57.439 He was a. 1638 01:23:59.239 --> 01:24:00.960 I don't know what rank he was, but he was. 1639 01:24:01.239 --> 01:24:03.439 He was an officer, and he was the back surgeon there, 1640 01:24:03.560 --> 01:24:06.479 the main back surgeon, and he ended up getting When 1641 01:24:06.520 --> 01:24:08.800 I tried to look him up, I found his obituary 1642 01:24:09.399 --> 01:24:11.479 and he had gotten run over by a truck while 1643 01:24:11.520 --> 01:24:14.640 he was cycling with a big group of cyclists and 1644 01:24:14.680 --> 01:24:18.600 a dude killed him. There in Augusta, Georgia and left 1645 01:24:18.640 --> 01:24:22.600 behind a wife and like a newborn baby. And that 1646 01:24:22.680 --> 01:24:24.800 killed me learning that. But anyway, he sat me down 1647 01:24:24.880 --> 01:24:27.840 and he said, look, he goes, how badly do you 1648 01:24:27.840 --> 01:24:28.840 want to stay in the army? 1649 01:24:28.920 --> 01:24:32.039 You know? And I was like, can I jump out 1650 01:24:32.079 --> 01:24:32.479 of planes? 1651 01:24:32.520 --> 01:24:35.199 And he's like no, and he's like, if you really 1652 01:24:35.199 --> 01:24:36.600 want to stay in and make a career out of it, 1653 01:24:36.680 --> 01:24:38.600 like you could do you know, you could do paperwork 1654 01:24:38.600 --> 01:24:41.479 stuff and everything. I said, look, I gave the army. 1655 01:24:41.520 --> 01:24:43.560 It was super short, but I gave the everything I 1656 01:24:43.600 --> 01:24:44.920 had and I did what I wanted to do. 1657 01:24:45.000 --> 01:24:45.119 Right. 1658 01:24:45.119 --> 01:24:49.640 I was airborne infantry, had a crazy deployment, did all 1659 01:24:49.640 --> 01:24:52.119 the things, got wounded real bad. I said, nah, I 1660 01:24:52.159 --> 01:24:54.479 just want to go home. So he's like, okay, I'm 1661 01:24:54.479 --> 01:24:56.840 going to medically retire you. So I got medically retired 1662 01:24:57.399 --> 01:25:01.279 at twenty years old to nineteen bag dad turned twenty 1663 01:25:01.319 --> 01:25:01.560 in the. 1664 01:25:01.520 --> 01:25:03.800 Hospital, medically retired at twenty. 1665 01:25:04.479 --> 01:25:07.399 So I leave the military with a with a E 1666 01:25:07.600 --> 01:25:13.239 four retired ID card. So getting you know, on base 1667 01:25:13.319 --> 01:25:17.439 with a retire I still look twelve or thirteen, getting 1668 01:25:17.479 --> 01:25:18.600 on base with the retired card. 1669 01:25:18.600 --> 01:25:20.600 You know, the gate cards are just like what that? 1670 01:25:20.800 --> 01:25:23.079 Like, you know, still to this day they're like you, 1671 01:25:23.119 --> 01:25:23.880 how are you retired? 1672 01:25:23.960 --> 01:25:24.159 You for? 1673 01:25:26.239 --> 01:25:29.840 But yeah, so my my Again, I was young and dumb, right, 1674 01:25:29.880 --> 01:25:32.079 and I was like, I'm gonna pack my car with 1675 01:25:32.119 --> 01:25:34.720 the little belongings I have, and I'm going to drive 1676 01:25:34.920 --> 01:25:38.279 all the way from Augusta, Georgia to San Luis Obispo, 1677 01:25:38.680 --> 01:25:40.720 and I'm gonna do it as fast as I possibly can. 1678 01:25:42.000 --> 01:25:44.119 So I ended up doing that in forty five or 1679 01:25:44.159 --> 01:25:50.199 forty six hours straight with one stop in Amarillo. 1680 01:25:49.720 --> 01:25:51.880 Texas and on my way. 1681 01:25:52.119 --> 01:25:54.439 So I left at midnight, like literally got to the 1682 01:25:54.479 --> 01:25:55.960 place where I was going to sign out for the 1683 01:25:56.039 --> 01:25:58.680 last time, like eleven fifty nine. 1684 01:25:59.359 --> 01:26:03.560 Boom, you know, I sign out and I leave. So 1685 01:26:03.560 --> 01:26:04.720 I'm leaving in the middle of the night. 1686 01:26:05.279 --> 01:26:09.039 Didn't get much sleep, and as the sun is coming 1687 01:26:09.119 --> 01:26:11.199 up in Arkansas, I'm like. 1688 01:26:11.239 --> 01:26:12.800 Nodding off while I'm driving. 1689 01:26:13.920 --> 01:26:16.640 But I'm thinking to myself, like, man, I you know 1690 01:26:16.640 --> 01:26:18.720 how many times we were on like multi day missions 1691 01:26:18.720 --> 01:26:21.920 and I stayed up, you know, like you know, I'm fine. Well, 1692 01:26:21.920 --> 01:26:25.000 I fell asleep and went into the median at seventy 1693 01:26:25.039 --> 01:26:27.720 some miles per hour and spun out several times and 1694 01:26:27.800 --> 01:26:31.760 almost hit oncoming like semis at the last second, like 1695 01:26:31.840 --> 01:26:34.760 it swerved me back this way, and it was like 1696 01:26:34.800 --> 01:26:37.239 the only strip if you've been in Arkansas on the highway, 1697 01:26:37.399 --> 01:26:40.079 it's like mostly trees and boulders and stuff. It's like 1698 01:26:40.119 --> 01:26:43.479 the one grass patch that I like, luckily like survive. 1699 01:26:44.119 --> 01:26:46.039 And even the tires were still on the rims. So 1700 01:26:46.079 --> 01:26:48.800 I just kept driving. I'm passing people calling nine one one, 1701 01:26:48.880 --> 01:26:50.920 you know, they're like, what this dude's passing me? He 1702 01:26:51.039 --> 01:26:55.119 just crashed. And I got a bunch of energy drinks 1703 01:26:55.159 --> 01:26:58.000 at a gas station and finally make it to Amarillo, Texas, 1704 01:26:58.000 --> 01:27:00.319 where I had a hotel and stuff I wanted to 1705 01:27:00.319 --> 01:27:01.279 eat at the Big Texan. 1706 01:27:02.840 --> 01:27:03.920 So I go to the Big Textan. 1707 01:27:04.000 --> 01:27:07.039 I'm famished, and I'm like, I just survived another near 1708 01:27:07.119 --> 01:27:09.960 death experience, right, so I'm going to get the most 1709 01:27:10.000 --> 01:27:11.520 expensive thing on the menu. 1710 01:27:11.680 --> 01:27:13.439 And it was like a ninety dollars. 1711 01:27:14.680 --> 01:27:18.640 Humongous flame and yon, like a thirty two ounce flame 1712 01:27:18.680 --> 01:27:20.640 and yon like biggest thing ever. And the Big Texan 1713 01:27:20.720 --> 01:27:23.239 had that seventy eight ounce steak or whatever, and if 1714 01:27:23.279 --> 01:27:25.159 you ate all of it, you would get it for free, 1715 01:27:25.199 --> 01:27:26.760 you know, and you get your name on the wall. 1716 01:27:27.199 --> 01:27:29.840 It was like on all the seat you know, food 1717 01:27:30.119 --> 01:27:33.039 documentaries back in the day. So I'm there and I 1718 01:27:33.119 --> 01:27:34.800 get the most basic that you get this, you know 1719 01:27:34.960 --> 01:27:37.239 boot of coke, and you get all these sides and 1720 01:27:37.279 --> 01:27:40.159 I'm just chowing down and they have this band that 1721 01:27:40.199 --> 01:27:42.600 comes around and they play music and they ask you 1722 01:27:42.600 --> 01:27:45.239 know what you where are you coming from? All that 1723 01:27:45.319 --> 01:27:48.640 kind of stuff, and I told them. So after I 1724 01:27:48.720 --> 01:27:50.720 finish it, I'm like trying to wave down the waitress. 1725 01:27:50.760 --> 01:27:52.319 I'm like, you know, hey, I really want to go 1726 01:27:52.359 --> 01:27:54.119 get some sleep real quick because I got half of 1727 01:27:54.119 --> 01:27:57.159 the drive left. And she goes, oh, it's been taken 1728 01:27:57.159 --> 01:27:59.239 care of. And I went that that was the most 1729 01:27:59.279 --> 01:28:02.960 expensive thing like on the menu, Like who was it? 1730 01:28:03.000 --> 01:28:05.079 Like I want to thank them? She goes, no, no, 1731 01:28:05.119 --> 01:28:07.600 he doesn't want to be thanked, like, you know, just 1732 01:28:08.119 --> 01:28:09.920 he he took care of it, you're good. And I 1733 01:28:10.079 --> 01:28:12.920 was like, listen, I have to know who did it. 1734 01:28:13.000 --> 01:28:15.399 She's like it's the guy right over there. So I 1735 01:28:15.439 --> 01:28:17.399 go over to him and I say, sir, thank you 1736 01:28:17.479 --> 01:28:20.680 so much for the meal, like this was so nice, 1737 01:28:20.800 --> 01:28:23.279 Like you know, why did you do it? 1738 01:28:23.319 --> 01:28:23.479 You know? 1739 01:28:23.520 --> 01:28:24.880 And he's like, well, I heard you talking to the 1740 01:28:24.880 --> 01:28:26.600 band that you were wounded in Iraq and on your 1741 01:28:26.640 --> 01:28:29.399 way home. I was in the eighty second Airborne and 1742 01:28:29.479 --> 01:28:32.319 Alerts Unit in Vietnam. I was like, I was, I'm 1743 01:28:32.359 --> 01:28:35.800 eighty second in ARISTA unit, you know, in Iraq. So 1744 01:28:35.840 --> 01:28:37.560 we got to talking and he gives me his card, 1745 01:28:37.600 --> 01:28:41.399 and he's the sheriff of Amarillo, and he said, if 1746 01:28:41.439 --> 01:28:44.239 you ever need a job, son, here's my card. You 1747 01:28:44.239 --> 01:28:48.600 could be a deputy in Amarillo. And I never been 1748 01:28:48.640 --> 01:28:52.399 back to Amarillo, unfortunately, but yeah, so it made it 1749 01:28:52.560 --> 01:28:57.399 made it home medically retired, the ripe age of twenty 1750 01:28:57.520 --> 01:29:00.600 be where I could legally buy a beer with all that. 1751 01:29:01.000 --> 01:29:04.720 Yeah, and then yeah, and the transition started. 1752 01:29:04.640 --> 01:29:06.840 And they they med boarded you at I think you 1753 01:29:06.960 --> 01:29:10.479 said that they gave you thirty percent disability for all 1754 01:29:10.560 --> 01:29:12.920 that shit that you had going on, which is like 1755 01:29:13.239 --> 01:29:14.880 what p X privileges. 1756 01:29:15.600 --> 01:29:18.039 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so at the time, I don't 1757 01:29:18.239 --> 01:29:20.720 so being medically retired, I always had the base access 1758 01:29:20.760 --> 01:29:23.439 and any any type of thing that you would get 1759 01:29:23.520 --> 01:29:26.279 as a retired member, I would have got I still 1760 01:29:26.319 --> 01:29:29.079 get right, So I had all that, but my yeah, 1761 01:29:29.119 --> 01:29:30.600 my rating was thirty percent. 1762 01:29:31.000 --> 01:29:33.720 So then the VA comes and they assumed that thirty percent. Well, 1763 01:29:33.720 --> 01:29:35.119 I had no idea. 1764 01:29:35.279 --> 01:29:39.000 That you could add more and back back in two 1765 01:29:39.000 --> 01:29:40.840 thousand and seven, two thousand and eight, I mean it 1766 01:29:41.239 --> 01:29:43.479 was not like today. Like today, you know, like people 1767 01:29:43.560 --> 01:29:46.239 are getting out you know that spent all their time 1768 01:29:46.319 --> 01:29:49.000 on a on a boat and never saw combat and 1769 01:29:49.000 --> 01:29:52.760 they're leaving with one hundred percent. So it's it's way way, 1770 01:29:52.760 --> 01:29:55.600 way different. But and I just had no idea. You know, 1771 01:29:55.720 --> 01:29:58.479 I'm young, and I'm kind of like putting the military 1772 01:29:58.600 --> 01:30:01.560 kind of like posing that chat and hey, I'm gonna 1773 01:30:01.640 --> 01:30:08.079 move on and and uh yeah, and so yeah, thirty percent, 1774 01:30:08.239 --> 01:30:11.119 I think mostly for like scars and like maybe headaches 1775 01:30:11.239 --> 01:30:15.520 or something like you know, my back generated like almost nothing. 1776 01:30:16.079 --> 01:30:19.159 I didn't have any PTSD or anxiety, nothing on there, 1777 01:30:19.279 --> 01:30:22.800 you know, at all. And it took a long time. 1778 01:30:22.840 --> 01:30:25.880 It actually took me kind of almost hitting like rock bottom. 1779 01:30:26.199 --> 01:30:30.119 So I remember I told you I saved that that 1780 01:30:30.359 --> 01:30:33.680 signing bonus. And the entire time I'm in Iraq, I'm 1781 01:30:33.720 --> 01:30:36.159 like getting jump pay and hazardous duty pay, and I'm 1782 01:30:36.159 --> 01:30:40.600 like investing everything and before the crash, investments are doing 1783 01:30:40.600 --> 01:30:42.479 pretty well and I'm making you know, a nice little 1784 01:30:42.520 --> 01:30:45.600 goose egg and I'm gonna go or nest egg. 1785 01:30:45.600 --> 01:30:48.359 I think it's a goose egg. I'm gonna go by. 1786 01:30:48.600 --> 01:30:50.600 Like I'm in the hospital and I'm like, mom, Dad, 1787 01:30:50.640 --> 01:30:53.479 there's this awesome like f one fifty, Like I can 1788 01:30:53.520 --> 01:30:56.239 custom you know, build this thing, and I'm gonna pay 1789 01:30:56.279 --> 01:30:59.159 cash for it. And they're like you idiot, Like that's 1790 01:30:59.159 --> 01:31:01.680 gonna be worth nothing in a few years, like you know, 1791 01:31:02.239 --> 01:31:04.039 save your money and like, you know, buy a house 1792 01:31:04.079 --> 01:31:07.079 when you get back. And I'm like, houses are so expensive, 1793 01:31:07.159 --> 01:31:10.760 especially in California, you know, and everything, Well, the crash 1794 01:31:10.800 --> 01:31:14.680 happens while I'm in the hospital, and housing became a 1795 01:31:14.680 --> 01:31:17.880 little more affordable, and so yeah, I was able to 1796 01:31:17.920 --> 01:31:21.720 get a house while I'm in the hospital. So I 1797 01:31:21.800 --> 01:31:25.319 had a house to come back to. My sister and 1798 01:31:25.520 --> 01:31:29.840 parents had gone in on it as well, and so yeah, 1799 01:31:29.840 --> 01:31:34.479 so I got this house to go back to. Yeah, 1800 01:31:34.520 --> 01:31:36.680 thanks to that signing bonus. I guess that helped. Oh, 1801 01:31:36.760 --> 01:31:40.479 In the TSGLI, the TSGLI was the Traumatic Service Members 1802 01:31:40.520 --> 01:31:44.239 Life insurance policy, so that helped too. So I had 1803 01:31:44.279 --> 01:31:45.800 all these things going for me, and I'm kind of 1804 01:31:45.800 --> 01:31:49.840 this like small town hero, right, everybody knows me. Everybody's 1805 01:31:49.880 --> 01:31:51.359 coming up to me when I go to the grocery store, 1806 01:31:51.399 --> 01:31:53.159 so they see me on the news. And I was wounded, 1807 01:31:53.239 --> 01:31:56.000 and you know, some people thought I died, you know, 1808 01:31:56.079 --> 01:31:58.920 and all this stuff, and so I'm getting all this 1809 01:31:59.039 --> 01:32:01.560 fanfare and everything, but things are kind of getting worse 1810 01:32:01.600 --> 01:32:06.239 and worse mentally, you know, and nightmares, not sleeping. 1811 01:32:06.720 --> 01:32:10.520 All the all the stuff. And then. 1812 01:32:12.000 --> 01:32:15.159 I get to a place where, oh so my thought 1813 01:32:15.239 --> 01:32:17.119 was I was going to go into law enforcement, go 1814 01:32:17.159 --> 01:32:20.680 into SWAT or something, but I'm also developing this crones 1815 01:32:20.760 --> 01:32:23.239 disease that I don't know about, right, And I almost died. 1816 01:32:23.239 --> 01:32:25.199 I didn't say this, but almost died of MERSA after 1817 01:32:25.319 --> 01:32:28.039 my wounds landing in that trash field, like I was 1818 01:32:28.079 --> 01:32:30.960 in the ICU for a while before my parents could 1819 01:32:30.960 --> 01:32:33.479 even see me when I got back trying to beat MRSA. 1820 01:32:35.119 --> 01:32:37.560 So maybe from that in the antidox and everything whatever, 1821 01:32:37.720 --> 01:32:41.640 even combat stress, you know, can trigger Crone's disease, this 1822 01:32:41.760 --> 01:32:46.920 Crone disease trying to kill me. And I cannot go 1823 01:32:47.039 --> 01:32:51.720 through another you know boot camp, you know cop uh whatever, 1824 01:32:51.760 --> 01:32:55.920 it's called the cop boot camp, police boot camp. Put yeah, OK, 1825 01:32:56.359 --> 01:32:59.640 police academy. There you go please get me. So like 1826 01:32:59.720 --> 01:33:02.479 it's it ends up like it's not gonna work out, 1827 01:33:03.880 --> 01:33:05.359 and I don't know what to do with my life, 1828 01:33:05.399 --> 01:33:07.159 like I have no I would thought I was gonna 1829 01:33:07.159 --> 01:33:08.479 be in the army for a long time, you know. 1830 01:33:10.920 --> 01:33:16.960 And and so I think my grandma saw this article 1831 01:33:17.039 --> 01:33:20.039 in a newspaper and said, hey, like she knew I 1832 01:33:20.079 --> 01:33:23.439 was unemployed. I'm like super depressed, like have no direction. 1833 01:33:24.039 --> 01:33:27.199 And she tells my wife like, hey, you should take 1834 01:33:27.279 --> 01:33:27.960 lance to this. 1835 01:33:28.800 --> 01:33:28.960 You know. 1836 01:33:29.000 --> 01:33:32.159 It was this VA all hands meeting type thing, learn 1837 01:33:32.199 --> 01:33:34.920 about benefits, job opportunities, all that kind of stuff, right, 1838 01:33:35.640 --> 01:33:37.159 And my wife's like, hey, we should go to this, 1839 01:33:37.199 --> 01:33:38.960 and I'm like, absolutely not. It's just gonna be a 1840 01:33:38.960 --> 01:33:41.560 bunch of Vietnam vets who are pissed off at the VA. 1841 01:33:41.600 --> 01:33:43.239 I don't want anything to do with that, you know, 1842 01:33:43.359 --> 01:33:46.720 YadA YadA. So I end up going. 1843 01:33:48.000 --> 01:33:50.119 She takes me there, and we're sitting in this auditorium 1844 01:33:50.159 --> 01:33:52.520 at a junior college, and sure enough, it's a bunch 1845 01:33:52.560 --> 01:33:54.920 of Vietnam vets who are pissed off yelling at you know, 1846 01:33:54.960 --> 01:33:58.800 apa guys, and I literally my wife is grabbed my hand. 1847 01:33:58.840 --> 01:34:00.840 She's like, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. You were right. 1848 01:34:00.880 --> 01:34:02.920 You were right. And it's not even the VA. 1849 01:34:03.000 --> 01:34:05.880 It's the California Department of Veteran Affairs, by the way, 1850 01:34:06.439 --> 01:34:10.079 and so they're yelling at the wrong people. But my 1851 01:34:10.119 --> 01:34:12.960 wife cresinans because we can leave. So I stand up 1852 01:34:13.319 --> 01:34:15.319 and at the time Roger brought again. He was the 1853 01:34:15.840 --> 01:34:19.560 secretary of the VA or sorry, the CALVET, the California 1854 01:34:19.560 --> 01:34:23.039 Department of VA. He goes, hey, young man, he's speaking. 1855 01:34:23.119 --> 01:34:25.960 He's like, young man, please stay there, please sit back down. 1856 01:34:26.000 --> 01:34:29.880 I'm almost done. I came here for you. And I 1857 01:34:29.920 --> 01:34:33.479 was like, oh, shoot, so I sit down. Make it through, 1858 01:34:33.520 --> 01:34:35.760 you know. I mean they're literally yelling about like you know, 1859 01:34:35.960 --> 01:34:39.560 impotence and you know, all kinds of weird stuff like 1860 01:34:39.800 --> 01:34:40.000 it was. 1861 01:34:40.239 --> 01:34:41.199 It was bad news. 1862 01:34:41.920 --> 01:34:43.680 So when it finishes, he comes up to me and 1863 01:34:43.720 --> 01:34:45.439 the first thing he does is he hands me gift 1864 01:34:45.439 --> 01:34:47.439 cards to In and Out when they had those like 1865 01:34:47.479 --> 01:34:50.960 in and Out Bucks. So he's already I'm already gonna 1866 01:34:50.960 --> 01:34:54.319 listen to you now, right, And he's like, hey, there's 1867 01:34:54.319 --> 01:34:57.159 this new program in California called Operation Welcome Home. 1868 01:34:57.279 --> 01:34:58.319 I want you to go through it. 1869 01:34:58.359 --> 01:35:00.520 I want you to meet this representative gonna get you 1870 01:35:00.600 --> 01:35:04.560 all squared away. So he ends up like getting me 1871 01:35:04.600 --> 01:35:08.479 this Army Emergency relief thing to help me like pay 1872 01:35:08.640 --> 01:35:09.520 the mortgage we were. 1873 01:35:09.479 --> 01:35:11.119 About to you know, not pay. 1874 01:35:11.720 --> 01:35:14.720 He helps me get a job as a contractor. So 1875 01:35:14.760 --> 01:35:21.239 I end up working for SRI doing Sanford Research Institute. Yeah, 1876 01:35:21.279 --> 01:35:25.159 so the Stanford Researchers had this, had this branch of 1877 01:35:25.239 --> 01:35:30.640 contractors Conus and Oconis that would train and put on 1878 01:35:30.840 --> 01:35:35.800 xctcs and exercises all over the country getting units deployable. 1879 01:35:36.720 --> 01:35:39.119 So and it paid amazing. 1880 01:35:39.479 --> 01:35:41.279 Like I'd be gone for like four to six weeks, 1881 01:35:41.279 --> 01:35:43.840 but the pay was incredible, and I'd go out and 1882 01:35:43.840 --> 01:35:46.079 I'd help put on these huge exercises or I'd or 1883 01:35:46.119 --> 01:35:48.840 I'd go and I'd hide and I'd blow up you know, 1884 01:35:48.960 --> 01:35:52.840 humpies with sim I D's. It was amazing. So they 1885 01:35:52.880 --> 01:35:55.319 get me plugged in doing that. Oh and at the 1886 01:35:55.359 --> 01:35:57.960 time they hit my GI bill had been denied. The 1887 01:35:58.039 --> 01:35:59.960 VIA said, hey, you didn't complete your full term, asy 1888 01:36:00.359 --> 01:36:02.439 you don't get your GI bill. I just took that 1889 01:36:02.479 --> 01:36:05.560 as gospel. Well, then he goes through the whole thing 1890 01:36:05.600 --> 01:36:07.560 and he's like in the line of duty combat wound 1891 01:36:07.640 --> 01:36:09.920 and sends it off, I get my GI bill. So 1892 01:36:10.039 --> 01:36:12.319 during the school year, I start going to school using 1893 01:36:12.359 --> 01:36:15.840 my GI bill. During the summer, I'm contracting, you know, 1894 01:36:15.920 --> 01:36:19.279 working as a as a civilian, getting our you know, 1895 01:36:19.720 --> 01:36:22.319 men and women deployable. One time I got to work 1896 01:36:22.319 --> 01:36:24.520 with Arista Unit, which was super cool because they're like 1897 01:36:24.560 --> 01:36:27.239 taking helicopters everywhere and I'm loading them on birds and 1898 01:36:27.239 --> 01:36:29.359 I'm you know, it was it was legit to kind 1899 01:36:29.359 --> 01:36:30.199 of have. 1900 01:36:30.079 --> 01:36:31.079 That experience again. 1901 01:36:33.439 --> 01:36:36.680 So one day I'm driving down the road and I 1902 01:36:36.720 --> 01:36:40.960 get a call from someone who sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, 1903 01:36:41.039 --> 01:36:43.239 he's the governor at the time, and. 1904 01:36:43.159 --> 01:36:44.359 I'm like, now, who is this? 1905 01:36:44.479 --> 01:36:47.000 Come on, like, you know, and I pull over because 1906 01:36:47.039 --> 01:36:48.800 you know, back then you had to like hold the 1907 01:36:48.920 --> 01:36:52.560 cell phone up and everything. And and then his his 1908 01:36:52.680 --> 01:36:54.439 chief of staff guy comes on. He's like, Hey, this 1909 01:36:54.479 --> 01:36:57.279 is David. I'm with the with the governor. That was 1910 01:36:57.319 --> 01:37:01.199 Governor Schwarzenegger. We'd love to invite you down to San 1911 01:37:01.199 --> 01:37:03.560 Diego for you to give a speech, you know, about 1912 01:37:03.560 --> 01:37:06.920 your experiences with Operation Welcome Home and how it's helped you. 1913 01:37:07.479 --> 01:37:10.000 And I'm like, whoa, Okay, So I ended up doing 1914 01:37:10.039 --> 01:37:12.720 this big old speech down in San Diego about how 1915 01:37:12.760 --> 01:37:15.359 Operation Welcome Home helped me. I didn't realize I was 1916 01:37:15.399 --> 01:37:18.239 the first freaking veteran through Operation Welcome Home. I thought 1917 01:37:18.239 --> 01:37:20.479 it was this robust thing. It'd just been set up 1918 01:37:20.520 --> 01:37:26.359 by Arnold Schwarzenegger. I meet Governor Schwarzenegger. He the first 1919 01:37:26.399 --> 01:37:28.880 time I met him was in a live or not alive, 1920 01:37:28.960 --> 01:37:32.079 but they were interviewing for Nightline, and like they just 1921 01:37:32.119 --> 01:37:34.720 like push me into his like scene as he's walking 1922 01:37:34.760 --> 01:37:37.680 down the aircraft carrier and you know what, Yeah, I 1923 01:37:37.720 --> 01:37:39.399 told you my story. I told you what happened, right, 1924 01:37:39.479 --> 01:37:41.439 So he has to have been brief. The first thing 1925 01:37:41.479 --> 01:37:43.199 he says to me is is he. 1926 01:37:43.159 --> 01:37:47.800 Goes Lad's junker. He's a true American hero. He was 1927 01:37:47.840 --> 01:37:49.640 crushed by a boulder in Iraq. 1928 01:37:49.800 --> 01:37:53.279 And I'm just like, oh, oh no, Like, my guys 1929 01:37:53.279 --> 01:37:55.359 are gonna kill me if they think I told him, 1930 01:37:55.359 --> 01:37:58.079 like a boulder crushed us right like this, This is 1931 01:37:58.119 --> 01:38:01.119 not good and so I'm freaking out. But luckily they 1932 01:38:01.199 --> 01:38:03.640 over dubbed like that whole thing and it was just 1933 01:38:03.680 --> 01:38:07.680 like Governor Schwarzenegger's legacy will be helping veterans, you know whatever. 1934 01:38:07.800 --> 01:38:10.680 Like while he's saying these outlandish things. But I end 1935 01:38:10.800 --> 01:38:15.880 up after I give my speech, he ends up basically 1936 01:38:16.319 --> 01:38:19.399 asking me to be his like poster child for veterans 1937 01:38:19.680 --> 01:38:23.119 and takes me to DC several times and I meet everyone. 1938 01:38:23.199 --> 01:38:26.520 I mean, I got a coin from the President, spoke 1939 01:38:26.600 --> 01:38:30.840 at the White House, the Pentagon, every caucuses. Like, you know, 1940 01:38:30.880 --> 01:38:34.039 I'm like riding this wave of like whoa, I'm this 1941 01:38:34.159 --> 01:38:37.000 like poster child guy, you know, I have like the 1942 01:38:37.079 --> 01:38:40.279 keys to the city of California, was a Veteran of 1943 01:38:40.319 --> 01:38:41.840 the Year of one of the first Veteran of the 1944 01:38:41.880 --> 01:38:42.720 yearth for California. 1945 01:38:44.039 --> 01:38:47.279 So it's like all this good stuff's happening. 1946 01:38:48.039 --> 01:38:51.319 And I remember, I'm in one of these meetings, you know, 1947 01:38:51.399 --> 01:38:55.079 talking about my experiences and stuff, and this guy was 1948 01:38:55.079 --> 01:38:58.520 one of like a staffer for like some major you know, 1949 01:39:00.119 --> 01:39:03.479 some some major congressman I don't know who. I don't 1950 01:39:03.520 --> 01:39:05.920 remember who or what was a governor or something. And 1951 01:39:05.960 --> 01:39:07.880 he comes up to me and he goes like, Hey, 1952 01:39:07.920 --> 01:39:09.880 what makes you different? And I'm like, what do you mean. 1953 01:39:10.000 --> 01:39:12.079 He's like, well, you don't seem to be like struggling 1954 01:39:12.119 --> 01:39:16.760 with anything, Like you're not dealing with like you know, 1955 01:39:16.840 --> 01:39:19.520 like survivor's guilt or any of that stuff, like what 1956 01:39:19.600 --> 01:39:20.199 makes you different. 1957 01:39:20.239 --> 01:39:23.880 I remember thinking like I don't know, like I don't know. 1958 01:39:24.880 --> 01:39:28.279 And I swear from that moment on, like everything hit 1959 01:39:28.319 --> 01:39:30.640 the fan as far as like the THESD and like 1960 01:39:30.640 --> 01:39:34.439 like yeah, just all like things were getting bad too. 1961 01:39:34.520 --> 01:39:37.439 Working in that space where just getting taken advantage of, 1962 01:39:37.479 --> 01:39:40.199 like you're the token veteran, not not by Governor Schortznigger. 1963 01:39:40.840 --> 01:39:43.359 He was amazing. That whole staff was amazing. But other 1964 01:39:43.439 --> 01:39:46.640 congressmen and women would be like, oh, I'm posing with 1965 01:39:46.640 --> 01:39:47.039 the veteran. 1966 01:39:47.079 --> 01:39:47.920 I'm helping veterans. 1967 01:39:47.960 --> 01:39:51.119 And and this one, this one congressman from down here 1968 01:39:51.119 --> 01:39:52.560 in San Diego, he's no longer. 1969 01:39:52.680 --> 01:39:54.279 I'm not gonna say his name or anything. Thank god 1970 01:39:54.279 --> 01:39:55.560 he got voted out right after this. 1971 01:39:55.680 --> 01:40:00.720 But we're leaving his office and he says, I don't 1972 01:40:00.760 --> 01:40:01.840 care that you brought the veteran. 1973 01:40:01.880 --> 01:40:04.920 I'm just glad you brought his hot wife. Wow. 1974 01:40:05.640 --> 01:40:09.000 I like turn around, like like you know, I'm a 1975 01:40:09.119 --> 01:40:12.800 stunned and the door shuts, you know, and we're like 1976 01:40:13.079 --> 01:40:15.399 off running late to the next meeting. We got to 1977 01:40:15.399 --> 01:40:17.479 go to the next meeting, and I just as I'm 1978 01:40:17.520 --> 01:40:19.000 walking back, I'm like, that. 1979 01:40:18.960 --> 01:40:20.079 Couldn't have just happened. 1980 01:40:20.239 --> 01:40:23.319 Yeah, And I remember going like I almost just lost 1981 01:40:23.319 --> 01:40:26.000 my poster boy status, Like I just about decked a 1982 01:40:26.079 --> 01:40:29.000 congressman and I would have lost that poster boy status. 1983 01:40:30.640 --> 01:40:31.640 So yeah, I remember that. 1984 01:40:33.840 --> 01:40:37.359 So yeah, as that wave was kind of ending and 1985 01:40:37.359 --> 01:40:40.680 I'm getting my political political science degree, a lot of 1986 01:40:40.680 --> 01:40:43.479 that Crohn's disease is like trying to kill me, and 1987 01:40:44.920 --> 01:40:47.239 PTSD is just getting super super bad. 1988 01:40:49.319 --> 01:40:51.119 And yeah, and luckily, you. 1989 01:40:51.039 --> 01:40:54.119 Know, I have just an amazing wife who'd never let me, 1990 01:40:54.520 --> 01:40:57.520 you know, get too far without dragging me to something. 1991 01:40:57.520 --> 01:41:01.079 Because that first thing really helped. And then I had 1992 01:41:01.079 --> 01:41:03.800 an amazing counselor at the VET centers for a really 1993 01:41:03.840 --> 01:41:08.039 really long time that helped a lot too. And it 1994 01:41:08.079 --> 01:41:12.239 probably wasn't until so some things helped with like the 1995 01:41:12.239 --> 01:41:14.560 flashbacks and the nightmares. 1996 01:41:14.720 --> 01:41:16.239 Was neurofeedback therapy. 1997 01:41:16.920 --> 01:41:19.680 I kinda was one of the first veterans through this 1998 01:41:19.760 --> 01:41:24.079 program that did all this neuro feedback, and they thought 1999 01:41:24.119 --> 01:41:26.000 like they could fix me in twenty sessions or like 2000 01:41:26.000 --> 01:41:27.439 we'll give you twenty free sessions. 2001 01:41:28.000 --> 01:41:29.159 I mean nothing, I don't think. 2002 01:41:29.000 --> 01:41:30.880 Anything happened, and they're like they just kept doing it, 2003 01:41:30.880 --> 01:41:34.840 and probably like seventy some sessions into this, I was 2004 01:41:34.920 --> 01:41:36.439 like I slept through the night. 2005 01:41:36.560 --> 01:41:38.359 I didn't have a nightmare, like and my. 2006 01:41:38.439 --> 01:41:42.760 Flashback because I was having flashback like legit like see, smell, 2007 01:41:42.960 --> 01:41:46.920 hear feel an explosion or a sniper shooting at me 2008 01:41:47.039 --> 01:41:47.840 or something. 2009 01:41:49.680 --> 01:41:50.119 Gnarly. 2010 01:41:50.199 --> 01:41:54.000 Yeah, and so that as that started going away and 2011 01:41:54.079 --> 01:41:57.720 you start sleeping. Sleeping is so important to healing all that. 2012 01:41:58.920 --> 01:42:02.119 So you know, that's one of the biggest things sleep 2013 01:42:02.199 --> 01:42:04.960 is you got to sleep, and you gotta sleep deep. 2014 01:42:05.000 --> 01:42:07.760 You got to get into those core deep and rim 2015 01:42:07.800 --> 01:42:10.479 cycles and you got to start, you know, rebuilding all 2016 01:42:10.520 --> 01:42:17.680 that from that trauma. Yeah, and then yeah, counseling really helped. 2017 01:42:17.680 --> 01:42:20.279 And then it probably wasn't until my daughter was born 2018 01:42:20.479 --> 01:42:24.279 six years ago. And when she was born, I remember 2019 01:42:24.560 --> 01:42:30.079 having a panic attack while she was crying and like 2020 01:42:30.199 --> 01:42:33.000 in her room like screaming or something as a baby, 2021 01:42:34.039 --> 01:42:38.000 and I remember like, I can't, I can't do this 2022 01:42:38.119 --> 01:42:40.520 right now, Like I'm having a full blown panic attack, 2023 01:42:40.520 --> 01:42:42.319 and I'm like I have to get her. 2024 01:42:42.399 --> 01:42:44.680 I have to take care of her, like she's my daughter. 2025 01:42:44.760 --> 01:42:47.800 And I remember almost being able to like force the 2026 01:42:47.840 --> 01:42:53.399 panic attack like it left and I was just like WHOA. 2027 01:42:55.199 --> 01:42:58.159 And then I started learning more about our nervous system 2028 01:42:58.239 --> 01:43:01.880 and about PTSD, and really you're just searching everything the 2029 01:43:01.920 --> 01:43:06.119 sleep side of things, meditation, brain waves, the chemical side 2030 01:43:06.119 --> 01:43:10.600 of your brain, trying to get those neurochemicals set up. 2031 01:43:10.680 --> 01:43:13.960 So when I got the like the brain waves better. 2032 01:43:14.800 --> 01:43:17.199 And then there was another group called the Angel Warrior 2033 01:43:17.199 --> 01:43:20.680 Foundation that doctor Gordon, he's been on Joe Rogan podcasts 2034 01:43:20.680 --> 01:43:24.399 a lot, he's I went through that program, got kind 2035 01:43:24.399 --> 01:43:28.399 of the chemical side of things better, the neural hormones 2036 01:43:28.439 --> 01:43:31.319 and everything. You get those better, and now everything's kind 2037 01:43:31.319 --> 01:43:36.840 of working symbiotically healing. And then you know, I had 2038 01:43:36.920 --> 01:43:40.479 tried meditation a bunch va settings that kind of stuff, 2039 01:43:41.119 --> 01:43:45.399 never thought it was helpful at all, didn't even understand it. 2040 01:43:47.359 --> 01:43:49.600 But then I tried it on the Calm app. 2041 01:43:50.359 --> 01:43:53.520 Especially there's this Jeff guy on there who does the 2042 01:43:53.600 --> 01:43:56.199 Daily Trip and he has this one like Meditation for 2043 01:43:56.319 --> 01:43:59.359 Beginners or whatever, and I did this thirty day course 2044 01:44:00.079 --> 01:44:02.359 and I remember like, at first I was just using 2045 01:44:02.359 --> 01:44:04.520 the app when I was having an anxiety attack or 2046 01:44:04.640 --> 01:44:06.600 like a panic attack or something, and I was using 2047 01:44:06.680 --> 01:44:09.039 it very symptomatically, like it was a reaction. 2048 01:44:09.239 --> 01:44:11.840 I'd use it. I could calm myself down. 2049 01:44:12.119 --> 01:44:14.479 And then as I started going through these different programs 2050 01:44:14.479 --> 01:44:18.600 in there and realizing like, Okay, if my body in 2051 01:44:18.640 --> 01:44:21.359 my mind, if I can like get my heart rate 2052 01:44:21.520 --> 01:44:24.079 so jacked up and I can have these panic attacks, 2053 01:44:24.560 --> 01:44:26.920 if I have that kind of power here, well, then 2054 01:44:26.960 --> 01:44:28.800 I also have that kind of power here to kind of. 2055 01:44:28.720 --> 01:44:30.560 Like start to like regular things. Right. 2056 01:44:31.399 --> 01:44:33.640 So it took a really long time, but I had 2057 01:44:33.640 --> 01:44:36.039 a goal to do to meditate every day for a year, 2058 01:44:36.600 --> 01:44:39.680 and I did that and that was super super helpful, 2059 01:44:39.680 --> 01:44:42.920 and I started getting like ahead of the panic attacks. 2060 01:44:42.960 --> 01:44:45.960 I started getting ahead of the anxiety. I started building 2061 01:44:46.039 --> 01:44:50.079 up like you know, the resilience to it. Yeah, resilience 2062 01:44:50.119 --> 01:44:55.359 to it, right, So that was really huge. And another 2063 01:44:55.399 --> 01:44:58.640 group that was super beneficial to me was Operations Surf. 2064 01:44:58.760 --> 01:45:02.560 They take you for like a week long surf camp 2065 01:45:02.640 --> 01:45:08.560 type thing. Incredible. Everybody should go through that if they can. 2066 01:45:08.680 --> 01:45:08.880 That. 2067 01:45:08.880 --> 01:45:11.079 That was incredible too, and that really pieced together that 2068 01:45:11.359 --> 01:45:14.479 the meditation side too, because when you're on a wave, 2069 01:45:15.600 --> 01:45:19.279 especially a big one, if you're doing anything where you 2070 01:45:19.399 --> 01:45:21.239 have to be in the present moment, you can't be 2071 01:45:21.279 --> 01:45:24.079 thinking about the future. You can't be worried and you 2072 01:45:24.119 --> 01:45:27.760 know about the past, right you have you're on that wave. 2073 01:45:27.800 --> 01:45:29.920 You're gonna get crushed if you're not same with you know, 2074 01:45:30.000 --> 01:45:32.000 riding horses, whatever it is. You know, if you're in 2075 01:45:32.039 --> 01:45:35.239 that present moment, those are hard. 2076 01:45:35.359 --> 01:45:38.760 Those are interesting things that like I I was talking 2077 01:45:38.760 --> 01:45:42.520 to somebody about this earlier or last week actually about 2078 01:45:42.760 --> 01:45:46.560 high performance driving. Yeah, it puts you in this moment 2079 01:45:46.680 --> 01:45:50.199 you have to focus on this thing. For me, you know, 2080 01:45:50.319 --> 01:45:53.800 I've gotten really in the past into painting scale miniatures. 2081 01:45:54.279 --> 01:45:56.840 Oh there, you're super focused. 2082 01:45:56.479 --> 01:45:58.800 On this one thing, and that that does sort of 2083 01:45:58.840 --> 01:46:01.600 like relieve some of the and the anxiety right. 2084 01:46:01.720 --> 01:46:04.159 One hundred percent. And what it is, that's a flow state. 2085 01:46:04.479 --> 01:46:06.079 Okay, So being in that pert and you can get 2086 01:46:06.079 --> 01:46:07.800 in a flow state with meditation, you get a flow 2087 01:46:07.800 --> 01:46:09.960 state with sports, you can get now when you and 2088 01:46:10.000 --> 01:46:12.880 I were doing raids and stuff, you're in like a 2089 01:46:12.960 --> 01:46:16.399 team flow state. You're you're at the pinnacle of a 2090 01:46:16.439 --> 01:46:22.079 flow state. Combat is is the drug when it comes 2091 01:46:22.159 --> 01:46:23.920 to being in a flow state, right, because if you 2092 01:46:24.000 --> 01:46:28.199 mess up, you're dead or your guys die. And so 2093 01:46:28.479 --> 01:46:31.359 luckily doing things like surfing and riding horses stuff like that. 2094 01:46:31.479 --> 01:46:34.119 I mean, there's still danger involved, but it's not it's 2095 01:46:34.159 --> 01:46:36.439 not you know, at that level of combat at least. 2096 01:46:36.880 --> 01:46:39.600 But I think, you know, that addiction that everybody talks 2097 01:46:39.640 --> 01:46:43.560 about with war really is those neurochemicals that flood you 2098 01:46:44.239 --> 01:46:49.119 no epinephrin, endorphins, all that stuff that gets rushed when 2099 01:46:49.159 --> 01:46:52.840 we're in combat. We're it's really hard to get more 2100 01:46:52.880 --> 01:46:56.079 of that, you know, and usually we try to find 2101 01:46:56.119 --> 01:47:03.399 pretty damaging ways to you know, fill that need. So yeah, 2102 01:47:03.399 --> 01:47:06.239 so now now that I've kind of come you know, 2103 01:47:06.319 --> 01:47:10.239 all this way, I actually full circle work for the 2104 01:47:10.279 --> 01:47:13.159 California Department of Veteran Affairs as like the San Diego 2105 01:47:13.239 --> 01:47:16.720 rep the local interag Network coordinator. So my whole job 2106 01:47:16.800 --> 01:47:20.279 is trying to get veterans plugged into benefits and benefits 2107 01:47:20.319 --> 01:47:25.239 to veterans, plugging organizations together that help veterans, all that 2108 01:47:25.319 --> 01:47:28.960 kind of stuff. So it's really awesome to be so 2109 01:47:29.119 --> 01:47:31.560 involved in that space. I go to all eight military 2110 01:47:31.600 --> 01:47:35.239 installations here in San Diego and do like a California 2111 01:47:35.279 --> 01:47:40.199 specific TAPS class and help in that transition space, trying 2112 01:47:40.239 --> 01:47:42.680 to teach people like, hey, you know, don't do what 2113 01:47:42.720 --> 01:47:45.039 I did. You know, like if you think something's wrong, 2114 01:47:45.159 --> 01:47:47.560 like bring it up to the VA and it's all changed. 2115 01:47:47.600 --> 01:47:50.039 You know, it's a lot better and streamline now and stuff. 2116 01:47:50.079 --> 01:47:54.600 But it's from all of us old guys that had 2117 01:47:54.600 --> 01:47:58.039 the you know, trailblaze and path find our way through 2118 01:47:58.079 --> 01:48:02.640 the VA at the early stages. But yeah, so I love, 2119 01:48:02.840 --> 01:48:06.520 I love, you know, the job I have. And then 2120 01:48:06.680 --> 01:48:11.079 the biggest thing that I've that I've gotten into the 2121 01:48:11.199 --> 01:48:15.439 last few years, here has been an organization called Saddles 2122 01:48:15.439 --> 01:48:20.279 and Service and it is a you know, we you've 2123 01:48:20.279 --> 01:48:24.079 probably heard of the like equine therapy, right, so it 2124 01:48:24.199 --> 01:48:27.520 is not necessarily it's really not like a you're not 2125 01:48:27.560 --> 01:48:34.359 going there and getting therapy, right, And it's it's an 2126 01:48:34.439 --> 01:48:39.039 organization that was started by veterans and and a and 2127 01:48:39.079 --> 01:48:43.039 a spouse of a veteran who was dealing with all 2128 01:48:43.039 --> 01:48:46.239 this kinds of stuff and really just found healing and 2129 01:48:46.279 --> 01:48:51.520 hope through horsemanship and then decided, you know, hey, let's 2130 01:48:51.680 --> 01:48:53.920 try to bring this to as many veterans as we can. 2131 01:48:55.319 --> 01:48:58.239 And for me, when I was growing up in San 2132 01:48:58.279 --> 01:49:02.640 Luis Obispo, my my grandfather, the pop strong he lived 2133 01:49:02.640 --> 01:49:05.239 in San Yanez, still does and he was a cattle rancher, 2134 01:49:05.960 --> 01:49:09.760 and so after he he was actually an LA City fireman, 2135 01:49:09.800 --> 01:49:11.800 and when he retired, he became a cattle rancher. So 2136 01:49:11.840 --> 01:49:13.880 he had been doing cattle ranching for quite a while 2137 01:49:13.880 --> 01:49:16.359 before I was born. And when I was born, since 2138 01:49:16.399 --> 01:49:18.880 the day I could walk, you know, had cowboy boots 2139 01:49:18.880 --> 01:49:21.000 and cowboy hat and was out there as much as 2140 01:49:21.039 --> 01:49:24.560 I could helping my grandpa and learning that kind of 2141 01:49:24.560 --> 01:49:27.159 way of life. And then when he retired, I was 2142 01:49:27.159 --> 01:49:29.560 probably like I don't know, eight or ten or something, 2143 01:49:30.399 --> 01:49:34.319 and you know, you kind of grow You have to 2144 01:49:34.359 --> 01:49:36.319 grow out of like that wanting to be a cowboy, 2145 01:49:36.479 --> 01:49:39.880 you know, phase of your life, right, And I never 2146 01:49:39.960 --> 01:49:43.680 thought that that I would ever have that opportunity or. 2147 01:49:43.720 --> 01:49:45.920 Get to do those kinds of things again or anything. 2148 01:49:46.600 --> 01:49:50.479 And when I saw Saddles in service, I was actually 2149 01:49:50.560 --> 01:49:56.199 doing physical therapy. So the Crohn's disease after it, you know, 2150 01:49:56.279 --> 01:50:00.000 decimated my digestive track and we finally got some medicine 2151 01:50:00.079 --> 01:50:03.680 and that was helping to stop that. It went around 2152 01:50:03.760 --> 01:50:06.600 that and started attacking my SI joints and my hips 2153 01:50:06.600 --> 01:50:08.039 and everything, and I could barely walk. 2154 01:50:08.119 --> 01:50:10.880 I could, it was so much pain all the time. 2155 01:50:11.640 --> 01:50:15.000 And I'm doing physical therapy and my physical therapist owned 2156 01:50:15.000 --> 01:50:17.960 a horse ranch and she said, Hey, I've got this guy, 2157 01:50:18.239 --> 01:50:21.640 this marine who he's kind of struggling, and I've been 2158 01:50:21.720 --> 01:50:25.439 inviting him out to my horse ranch and he seems 2159 01:50:25.479 --> 01:50:27.600 to open up when he's out there around the horses, 2160 01:50:27.640 --> 01:50:29.920 like would you come and talk to him about benefits 2161 01:50:29.920 --> 01:50:30.279 and stuff? 2162 01:50:30.319 --> 01:50:31.960 I know what you do for a living and all that. 2163 01:50:32.800 --> 01:50:35.640 So I go out there and I'm like, oh, I 2164 01:50:35.680 --> 01:50:37.880 would want to keep coming back like I want to, 2165 01:50:38.039 --> 01:50:39.920 I will kind of. I love this horse thing and 2166 01:50:40.000 --> 01:50:41.680 this might be a way to get back in there. 2167 01:50:42.600 --> 01:50:44.520 And then one day she's like, Hey, there's this really 2168 01:50:44.520 --> 01:50:47.359 awesome group called Saddles and Service. I'm doing a fundraiser 2169 01:50:47.399 --> 01:50:52.239 for them for Veterans Day or whatever. And so I 2170 01:50:52.319 --> 01:50:55.760 see this this satulesand Service, and I research and everything 2171 01:50:55.760 --> 01:50:59.560 and it's like the seven phase program for veterans and 2172 01:50:59.600 --> 01:51:03.199 first for spondors, and it takes you these seven phases 2173 01:51:03.239 --> 01:51:06.359 where the first you know, you're learning like the physiology 2174 01:51:06.399 --> 01:51:09.920 and psychology of horses, the predator prey relationship, all this 2175 01:51:10.000 --> 01:51:14.239 stuff all about the horses. Then you're like learning how 2176 01:51:14.239 --> 01:51:17.119 to groom them, learning how to lead them walk them, 2177 01:51:17.159 --> 01:51:19.279 you know, all that kind of stuff, all the groundwork stuff, 2178 01:51:19.720 --> 01:51:21.880 and then you learn how to ride and you learn 2179 01:51:22.039 --> 01:51:24.039 the different phases of that, and then you end up 2180 01:51:24.039 --> 01:51:27.920 doing like advanced cowboy skills and all that. Start ending 2181 01:51:28.039 --> 01:51:32.319 up working cattle, doing all the Yellowstone stuff. And then 2182 01:51:32.600 --> 01:51:35.960 the final thing is they send you to Yellowstone or 2183 01:51:36.000 --> 01:51:40.720 another work or sorry Wyoming or another working ranch and 2184 01:51:40.760 --> 01:51:43.960 you do a week long you know, full blown cowboy 2185 01:51:45.319 --> 01:51:48.239 you cattle drives the whole bit, brandings, all that kind 2186 01:51:48.279 --> 01:51:51.479 of stuff. And so when I saw it, I was like, 2187 01:51:51.600 --> 01:51:54.439 oh my gosh, like that's my little kid cowboy dream 2188 01:51:54.560 --> 01:51:57.000 like come true again, Like I gotta do this. But 2189 01:51:57.079 --> 01:52:00.319 I'm also like can't walk. So they found this other 2190 01:52:00.880 --> 01:52:05.680 drug they can give me. It's like an injection. And 2191 01:52:05.680 --> 01:52:08.199 and the day that I got that approved and I 2192 01:52:08.239 --> 01:52:11.920 took my first injection, I signed up and I got 2193 01:52:11.960 --> 01:52:14.840 my other buddy that marine to sign up, and we 2194 01:52:14.960 --> 01:52:17.479 signed up and we you know, went through the program. 2195 01:52:17.720 --> 01:52:21.279 And now he's a ranch manager at one of the 2196 01:52:21.359 --> 01:52:25.159 ranches that was donated to them, the Circle t And 2197 01:52:25.279 --> 01:52:28.920 then and now I'm you know, I work a lot 2198 01:52:28.960 --> 01:52:31.279 of the baby colts that they have. They got eight 2199 01:52:32.319 --> 01:52:34.960 or seven colts that were what I didn't think of 2200 01:52:34.960 --> 01:52:36.880 that that I lost seven guys in Iraq and we 2201 01:52:36.960 --> 01:52:40.279 got donated seven colts that were going to slaughter and 2202 01:52:40.319 --> 01:52:43.760 they were rescued and we took them and we've been 2203 01:52:44.039 --> 01:52:47.920 training them up, doing a whole cult starting program. Shoot, dude, 2204 01:52:47.920 --> 01:52:51.079 I've never made that connection seven and seven. That's incredible. 2205 01:52:51.840 --> 01:52:56.319 But I've been working with these babies and learning myself, 2206 01:52:56.359 --> 01:52:59.520 you know, how to train them from the earliest stages 2207 01:52:59.520 --> 01:53:04.479 all the way up to riding them and everything. But yeah, 2208 01:53:04.560 --> 01:53:08.640 it's been an incredible life changing, you know, opportunity. 2209 01:53:08.640 --> 01:53:08.880 For me. 2210 01:53:08.920 --> 01:53:11.760 It's felt like coming home, you know, like back to 2211 01:53:11.840 --> 01:53:14.119 when my grandpa and I'd go out to the ranch. 2212 01:53:14.840 --> 01:53:17.760 And now, yeah, it's kind of like all I think 2213 01:53:17.800 --> 01:53:21.119 about is getting out to the ranch and working horses 2214 01:53:21.159 --> 01:53:22.920 and cattle and stuff like that. 2215 01:53:23.399 --> 01:53:26.119 I want to ask you about the next chapter, but 2216 01:53:26.239 --> 01:53:28.920 real quick, I'm going to pitch to the audience. If 2217 01:53:28.920 --> 01:53:32.039 you haven't already, please sign up for our Patreon. Five 2218 01:53:32.119 --> 01:53:34.359 dollars a month gets you access to all of these 2219 01:53:34.399 --> 01:53:37.960 Team House episodes as well as eyes on ad free. 2220 01:53:38.520 --> 01:53:42.000 You can ask questions to our guests, all that good stuff. 2221 01:53:42.039 --> 01:53:44.199 If you sign up at ten dollars a month, we 2222 01:53:44.279 --> 01:53:45.880 will send you a team house patch. 2223 01:53:46.000 --> 01:53:46.840 These are pretty cool. 2224 01:53:46.880 --> 01:53:50.439 We just got these in recently, so really appreciate it, folks, 2225 01:53:51.359 --> 01:53:55.119 and thank you for supporting the podcast. And so Lance 2226 01:53:55.239 --> 01:53:59.560 tell us a little bit about getting into screenplay writing. 2227 01:54:00.239 --> 01:54:02.560 Oh yeah, so we'll go there. So this is a 2228 01:54:02.720 --> 01:54:08.520 super random thing that just happened to me with So 2229 01:54:08.680 --> 01:54:12.720 your producer D has a good friend named George, and 2230 01:54:12.800 --> 01:54:16.159 George has been a producer writer for quite a while. 2231 01:54:17.479 --> 01:54:20.479 Movies. I can't go into. 2232 01:54:20.319 --> 01:54:22.600 His whole background because I can't remember at all, but 2233 01:54:22.920 --> 01:54:27.439 you know, one of those producer rider guys, and somehow 2234 01:54:27.520 --> 01:54:31.279 he got connected with sausand Service and the ranch. And 2235 01:54:33.159 --> 01:54:37.239 actually in August I had another real bad Crohn's flare 2236 01:54:37.359 --> 01:54:39.119 and couldn't go to the ranch for quite a while. 2237 01:54:40.600 --> 01:54:44.920 And then as I started getting better, she was like, 2238 01:54:45.079 --> 01:54:47.239 you know, hey, you need to come out. We're having 2239 01:54:47.239 --> 01:54:49.399 this rider producer guy come out. You need to come 2240 01:54:49.399 --> 01:54:52.439 out again. And I had started coming back out working 2241 01:54:52.479 --> 01:54:55.159 the babies and everything. She's like, make sure you're there tomorrow. 2242 01:54:55.319 --> 01:54:57.359 This guy's coming out. I want you to share your story. 2243 01:54:58.039 --> 01:55:04.600 So he came out and George lost his cousin, I 2244 01:55:04.640 --> 01:55:09.720 think her nephew to suicide. He's a veteran, he was 2245 01:55:09.760 --> 01:55:14.399 a marine, and it's been really you know, pressed on 2246 01:55:14.479 --> 01:55:17.680 his heart to do something in that space, right, And 2247 01:55:17.720 --> 01:55:20.079 the whole goal of Sattles and Service is to help 2248 01:55:20.199 --> 01:55:25.119 in that reduction of veteran and first respond to suicide. 2249 01:55:25.439 --> 01:55:31.319 And so so I share my story and then I 2250 01:55:31.439 --> 01:55:33.520 have over the years been kind of doing some writing 2251 01:55:33.800 --> 01:55:37.319 here and there of just you know, you know, random 2252 01:55:37.399 --> 01:55:40.119 kind of veteran related kind of like like a novel, 2253 01:55:40.199 --> 01:55:43.399 but you know, just super piecemeal stuff. 2254 01:55:44.239 --> 01:55:45.000 And then my. 2255 01:55:45.119 --> 01:55:47.600 Story and that you've heard and all that, and so 2256 01:55:48.119 --> 01:55:51.239 sharing that with him, he was like, hey, like, you know, 2257 01:55:51.279 --> 01:55:54.119 the goal here is to like make a short film, 2258 01:55:54.279 --> 01:55:56.960 like a fictional short film that encompasses like a lot 2259 01:55:57.000 --> 01:55:59.359 of the stories, because there's they've helped over a thousand 2260 01:55:59.439 --> 01:56:02.800 veterans that this ranch, and so taking a lot of 2261 01:56:02.800 --> 01:56:07.359 these stories, putting it into like one character, right, so 2262 01:56:07.399 --> 01:56:12.199 it's kind of manageable and making a fiction, you know, 2263 01:56:12.359 --> 01:56:17.439 movie story about a veteran who is you know, helped 2264 01:56:18.560 --> 01:56:23.760 by horsemanship, natural horsemanship and all that. So it just 2265 01:56:23.840 --> 01:56:25.960 kind of organically happened where I would kind of send 2266 01:56:26.039 --> 01:56:29.960 him some stuff and and he, you know, would would 2267 01:56:30.079 --> 01:56:32.159 give me feedback and find it was like, dude, you're 2268 01:56:32.640 --> 01:56:34.279 going to join the riding team. 2269 01:56:34.680 --> 01:56:35.640 You're going to be a part of this. 2270 01:56:35.680 --> 01:56:38.560 You're gonna help make this, you know, kind of as 2271 01:56:38.600 --> 01:56:42.039 believable and as honest and authentic as possible, because this 2272 01:56:42.079 --> 01:56:45.560 happens all the time right where people you know, want 2273 01:56:45.560 --> 01:56:48.560 to honor the veteran community and military and service and stuff, 2274 01:56:48.600 --> 01:56:51.920 but it just comes off super cheesy hallmark, especially when 2275 01:56:51.920 --> 01:56:55.680 it has to do with horses and stuff. So the 2276 01:56:55.720 --> 01:56:58.079 whole goal is to try and do something that does 2277 01:56:58.319 --> 01:57:02.359 justice to all of our stories and what we do 2278 01:57:02.439 --> 01:57:06.039 there at the ranch. And I'm just there to help 2279 01:57:06.319 --> 01:57:09.159 help out as much as possible. And you can learn 2280 01:57:09.199 --> 01:57:14.640 more about it at do the thingmovies dot com. It's 2281 01:57:14.680 --> 01:57:17.479 going to be called at Liberty, so uh, you know, 2282 01:57:17.560 --> 01:57:19.640 slash at Liberty you can find it. 2283 01:57:19.720 --> 01:57:22.079 Maybe do you can put that link? Yeah, it'll be 2284 01:57:22.119 --> 01:57:22.800 down the description. 2285 01:57:23.439 --> 01:57:27.800 Cool, so that's people can learn more about that. Saddles 2286 01:57:27.840 --> 01:57:31.439 and Service dot org. They can you know, you know, 2287 01:57:31.520 --> 01:57:36.920 go there as well. Yeah, just amazing stuff. So I'm 2288 01:57:37.319 --> 01:57:41.279 really excited about it. So quick little thing when I 2289 01:57:41.319 --> 01:57:44.159 was five years old. You know, I was a real cowboy, right, 2290 01:57:44.199 --> 01:57:46.399 help my grandpa out at the ranch and everything. Somehow, 2291 01:57:47.960 --> 01:57:52.520 the Bank of America is doing this huge marketing thing 2292 01:57:52.520 --> 01:57:54.760 where they're doing billboards all over the country with like, 2293 01:57:55.159 --> 01:57:57.640 you know, real cowboys and real you know, workers and 2294 01:57:57.640 --> 01:58:00.880 stuff like kids. And so I was chosen because I 2295 01:58:00.920 --> 01:58:03.680 was a real cowboy kid, and I was all over 2296 01:58:03.720 --> 01:58:07.439 the country on billboards, right cowboy hat. Like my fifteen 2297 01:58:07.439 --> 01:58:11.039 minutes of fame made like a one hundred dollars an 2298 01:58:11.039 --> 01:58:14.680 hour doing this photo shoot back in you know, like 2299 01:58:14.800 --> 01:58:17.479 early nineties, which which is still the most money I 2300 01:58:17.520 --> 01:58:21.239 think I've ever made per hour, especially if you count inflation. 2301 01:58:22.359 --> 01:58:24.399 Think in the military, I made like twenty three cents 2302 01:58:24.439 --> 01:58:26.399 an hour in Iraq. 2303 01:58:26.439 --> 01:58:26.640 You know. 2304 01:58:28.239 --> 01:58:33.479 So when that was done, this producer or whatever wanted 2305 01:58:33.520 --> 01:58:36.960 me to play this cowboy kid in a movie. I 2306 01:58:37.000 --> 01:58:38.880 was gonna be shot on the set of Doctor Quinn 2307 01:58:38.960 --> 01:58:41.439 Medicine Woman, and I really thought I was gonna be like, 2308 01:58:41.520 --> 01:58:43.640 you know, the next you know. 2309 01:58:43.720 --> 01:58:47.680 Kid cowboy actor. Well it ended up like falling through. 2310 01:58:48.079 --> 01:58:50.039 But since I was five years old, like all I've 2311 01:58:50.039 --> 01:58:51.680 ever wanted to do is being like, you know, a 2312 01:58:51.720 --> 01:58:56.640 cowboy movie, and so now he's like, Okay, you're gonna 2313 01:58:56.640 --> 01:58:58.239 get your shot. We're gonna make this movie and you're 2314 01:58:58.239 --> 01:59:00.000 gonna you're gonna help write it, but you're also gonna 2315 01:59:00.119 --> 01:59:03.560 be in it. So I'm really looking forward to finally 2316 01:59:03.600 --> 01:59:05.960 getting to do that as Wellded. 2317 01:59:06.000 --> 01:59:11.880 Do we have any questions from Lance? Sorry, we'll pull 2318 01:59:11.960 --> 01:59:12.359 it up here. 2319 01:59:12.359 --> 01:59:24.359 No worries littering and littering And one question from m corman. 2320 01:59:24.520 --> 01:59:26.560 Is his friend's last name really Grendel. 2321 01:59:27.439 --> 01:59:33.119 Brendel B with a B B R Brendel. Yeah. We 2322 01:59:33.159 --> 01:59:36.880 didn't hardly any of us went by real names when 2323 01:59:36.880 --> 01:59:39.560 we were over there either, right, he had a pretty 2324 01:59:39.560 --> 01:59:40.319 funny nickname. 2325 01:59:40.359 --> 01:59:41.399 I won't say it on here. 2326 01:59:43.159 --> 01:59:46.800 Yeah they Yeah, we all had nicknames, but yeah, Brendel. 2327 01:59:47.439 --> 01:59:51.079 So, Lance, anything else you want to tell people about 2328 01:59:51.119 --> 01:59:54.119 before we get going tonight? Anywhere you want to direct 2329 01:59:54.159 --> 01:59:56.359 the audience too, to go take a look? I mean 2330 01:59:56.399 --> 01:59:58.479 I will have a U R L down the description 2331 01:59:58.560 --> 02:00:00.800 for folks. But is there anything else you want them? 2332 02:00:00.880 --> 02:00:03.000 Yeah, there's a There's a couple of things I think 2333 02:00:03.199 --> 02:00:04.119 you know. One is. 2334 02:00:05.600 --> 02:00:10.880 Everybody's journey is different, right. The most important thing I 2335 02:00:10.920 --> 02:00:15.319 think is not not giving up is always trying to 2336 02:00:15.359 --> 02:00:17.399 find that thing that's gonna get you out of bed 2337 02:00:17.399 --> 02:00:20.079 in the morning. It might not be horses for you. 2338 02:00:20.119 --> 02:00:22.119 It might not be surfing, but it might be archery. 2339 02:00:22.159 --> 02:00:24.960 It might be you know, painting the little things like 2340 02:00:25.039 --> 02:00:27.399 you were talking about. It could be there's so many 2341 02:00:27.439 --> 02:00:30.640 there's the world is a humongous there's so many things 2342 02:00:30.680 --> 02:00:35.960 that you can do. I hate it when veterans think 2343 02:00:36.880 --> 02:00:38.760 even you know, sharing my worst stories and stuff. 2344 02:00:38.760 --> 02:00:40.479 It doesn't like, I don't know, doesn't make me. 2345 02:00:41.199 --> 02:00:43.279 I'm not super jazz on that more jazz on like 2346 02:00:43.319 --> 02:00:47.000 this part, like, don't let those stories be the best. 2347 02:00:46.720 --> 02:00:48.880 Thing you ever did in your life. Like, let that 2348 02:00:48.960 --> 02:00:49.960 be like one chapter. 2349 02:00:50.560 --> 02:00:52.199 You know, you've written a book and I read it 2350 02:00:52.239 --> 02:00:56.000 and it's like there's there's chapters of your life. There's 2351 02:00:56.039 --> 02:00:59.439 things that you're doing. You're not stopping right, It's it. 2352 02:00:59.720 --> 02:01:02.079 It could be one of the best things you did 2353 02:01:02.079 --> 02:01:04.880 in your life, but it shouldn't be the and only 2354 02:01:04.960 --> 02:01:06.199 best thing you did in your life. 2355 02:01:07.239 --> 02:01:07.399 You know. 2356 02:01:07.479 --> 02:01:10.279 For me as like my I'm not really trying to 2357 02:01:10.279 --> 02:01:13.399 be anybody and I don't have social media really or 2358 02:01:13.439 --> 02:01:17.439 anything like that. Since having kids, like my focus has 2359 02:01:17.479 --> 02:01:20.439 been pretty much solely on I want to be like 2360 02:01:20.479 --> 02:01:23.079 the best father, and I want to be the best husband, 2361 02:01:23.680 --> 02:01:27.680 and and really you know, really putting everything into that 2362 02:01:28.319 --> 02:01:30.800 and being a good dad is not is not doing 2363 02:01:30.880 --> 02:01:33.039 this you know all day, you know, with your kids 2364 02:01:33.079 --> 02:01:39.039 next to you and stuff. So I just want other veterans, 2365 02:01:39.079 --> 02:01:41.760 you know, for me, I try like meditation and different things, 2366 02:01:42.199 --> 02:01:46.760 even different like medical things I tried several times and 2367 02:01:46.760 --> 02:01:49.439 and would think they didn't work right. And I always 2368 02:01:49.479 --> 02:01:53.119 encourage people like try it, like at least three different times, 2369 02:01:53.600 --> 02:01:55.960 even like waiting a while and trying it again. Try 2370 02:01:56.159 --> 02:01:58.880 try that thing three different times with three different providers 2371 02:01:58.960 --> 02:02:00.680 or three different groups or whatever. 2372 02:02:01.560 --> 02:02:04.840 And to make before you know, you write off, you 2373 02:02:04.920 --> 02:02:06.079 write that off or whatever. 2374 02:02:06.159 --> 02:02:06.359 You know. 2375 02:02:06.439 --> 02:02:08.840 And some veterans that you know, it might be a 2376 02:02:08.840 --> 02:02:11.039 service animal is really you know, all they need. 2377 02:02:11.079 --> 02:02:14.479 It might be you know, might not even be like 2378 02:02:14.479 --> 02:02:17.840 a veteran group, you know, might be a completely separate thing, 2379 02:02:18.000 --> 02:02:21.239 you know, getting involved in journalism, you know, something super 2380 02:02:22.560 --> 02:02:26.880 you know different, But uh yeah, anybody that's you know, struggling, 2381 02:02:27.319 --> 02:02:30.680 it's I think it's easy to look at the news 2382 02:02:30.760 --> 02:02:33.239 and your phone and social media and just get so 2383 02:02:33.319 --> 02:02:36.159 bogged down with all the negativity and all the you know, 2384 02:02:36.239 --> 02:02:39.520 bull crap and think it's so important if the political theater. 2385 02:02:39.760 --> 02:02:43.079 You know that happens constantly in this country. You know, 2386 02:02:43.119 --> 02:02:46.880 it's like if you were to, like literally I turned 2387 02:02:46.880 --> 02:02:50.159 the news app off on my phone, you know, no 2388 02:02:50.319 --> 02:02:53.720 social media, and it's like my six foot world, this house. 2389 02:02:53.960 --> 02:02:56.880 Everything's great in this house, and I have control over it. 2390 02:02:57.039 --> 02:03:00.680 I don't have control over anything out there. I didn't 2391 02:03:00.720 --> 02:03:03.479 have control in the military. I don't have control in war. 2392 02:03:04.399 --> 02:03:06.359 But the things I can control is what you need 2393 02:03:06.399 --> 02:03:09.840 to put your put your focus in and all your 2394 02:03:10.000 --> 02:03:14.359 time and energy into getting mad about every single thing 2395 02:03:14.479 --> 02:03:20.520 and all that stuff that you can't control. You know, yeah, 2396 02:03:20.600 --> 02:03:25.880 I think it's pretty useless. With that said, you should 2397 02:03:25.880 --> 02:03:29.279 still do things like you know, your last episode is 2398 02:03:29.319 --> 02:03:32.640 about Chapman and everything going on with him, right, so 2399 02:03:33.760 --> 02:03:37.039 by all means, absolutely sign that petition like I did 2400 02:03:37.239 --> 02:03:41.159 that David, you know started. You know, there's not a 2401 02:03:41.199 --> 02:03:44.159 guy that I served with that would be in that 2402 02:03:44.319 --> 02:03:48.119 situation where you know, two people would have gotten an 2403 02:03:48.119 --> 02:03:52.840 award and the dude that's alive would take the exhibit 2404 02:03:52.960 --> 02:03:56.359 that got Everyone I served with would be like absolutely 2405 02:03:56.399 --> 02:03:58.520 not like don't even include me in the museum, the 2406 02:03:58.560 --> 02:04:02.000 guy that died, you know, And and and I don't 2407 02:04:02.039 --> 02:04:04.520 know a single person that would do that, So sign 2408 02:04:04.600 --> 02:04:07.680 that petition, you know. And we all got, all of 2409 02:04:07.760 --> 02:04:11.359 us veterans, you know, we all have to please ourselves 2410 02:04:11.359 --> 02:04:13.840 and our own and and and you know, look out 2411 02:04:13.840 --> 02:04:16.439 for things like that and try and make a difference. 2412 02:04:16.479 --> 02:04:19.319 And I don't mean, you know, don't do those kind 2413 02:04:19.399 --> 02:04:21.279 of things or have your head so far in the 2414 02:04:21.319 --> 02:04:24.399 sand that you don't know what's going on. But the 2415 02:04:24.479 --> 02:04:26.920 more of the negativity that you can get out of 2416 02:04:26.920 --> 02:04:29.159 your life and focus on the things that you can control, 2417 02:04:29.199 --> 02:04:31.159 the happier the happier going to be in there. 2418 02:04:31.199 --> 02:04:33.840 Your recovery is going to be better too, you know. 2419 02:04:35.239 --> 02:04:39.319 Yeah, well, Lance, thank you for sharing your experiences with 2420 02:04:39.399 --> 02:04:39.920 us tonight. 2421 02:04:40.000 --> 02:04:40.199 Man. 2422 02:04:40.279 --> 02:04:45.000 I mean it's a wild ride. I mean, yeah, ups 2423 02:04:45.039 --> 02:04:47.560 and downs, but I mean a good good overall. I 2424 02:04:47.600 --> 02:04:49.479 mean some really good things too. 2425 02:04:50.039 --> 02:04:50.279 Yeah. 2426 02:04:50.359 --> 02:04:52.399 People always ask me like, hey, would you do it, 2427 02:04:52.520 --> 02:04:55.520 you know over again? You know, And if I had 2428 02:04:55.520 --> 02:04:57.479 to do the same life over again, I don't think 2429 02:04:57.479 --> 02:04:59.239 I'd change a thing because of all the good things 2430 02:04:59.239 --> 02:05:02.640 that have come out of all the bad things. You know, 2431 02:05:02.680 --> 02:05:04.640 and it's one obstacle, you get over the next one, 2432 02:05:04.680 --> 02:05:07.239 and there's another obstacle, and you know it's gonna come, 2433 02:05:07.319 --> 02:05:10.560 but you know, never give up. I think if I 2434 02:05:10.600 --> 02:05:12.760 got to live two lives, I would really love to 2435 02:05:12.840 --> 02:05:17.079 try being a pilot, you know, like a jet jet 2436 02:05:17.079 --> 02:05:19.359 fighter pilot, you know, or whatever. I think that'd be fun. 2437 02:05:20.439 --> 02:05:21.960 But you don't get to live two lives, so I 2438 02:05:21.960 --> 02:05:22.720 wouldn't change it. 2439 02:05:22.960 --> 02:05:25.119 Well, there's still time to get your pilot's license though. 2440 02:05:25.760 --> 02:05:32.000 Well that's true, that's true. Yeah, So thank you again, Lance. 2441 02:05:32.399 --> 02:05:35.560 Watch some links down the description. Go check out the 2442 02:05:35.960 --> 02:05:39.279 projects that he's working on in some of the charity organizations. 2443 02:05:40.359 --> 02:05:42.239 And thank you everyone who joined us tonight. 2444 02:05:42.279 --> 02:05:44.119 We will see you again next either. 2445 02:05:44.279 --> 02:05:47.159 If you're on Patreon, we'll see you on Wednesday Live. 2446 02:05:47.960 --> 02:05:51.479 Otherwise the episode will premiere on Friday, so we'll see 2447 02:05:51.479 --> 02:05:52.479 you guys next time. 2448 02:05:52.600 --> 02:05:54.920 Thank you. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. 2449 02:05:55.199 --> 02:05:57.560 Appreciate it absolutely, stay in touch man. 2450 02:05:58.439 --> 02:06:05.319 Yeah. Thanks Atta