WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:03.560 Hey guys, welcome to the team house. I'm Jack Murphy 2 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:08.279 here with our guest tonight, Louis Socido. He served in 3 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:12.640 a number of different infantry units worse and then went 4 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.720 to the seventy fifth Ranger Regiment, served in three seven five, 5 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:19.160 went over to snipers, lots of deployments to Iraq and 6 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:23.399 Afghanistan and some other interesting stuff too, before he went 7 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:26.320 over to the s FAB which was a new unit, 8 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:31.600 a training and advisor unit that we'll get into. But Louie, 9 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:33.759 first off, thank you for joining us on the show. 10 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.560 Hey man, thanks for having me. It's real pleasure. I 11 00:00:37.159 --> 00:00:39.640 love everything about your books. 12 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:40.479 Oh, thank you. 13 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:44.600 I need to get Yeah awesome. I've really liked the 14 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.119 genre and everything that I know you. I've met Jack 15 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:51.119 Carr a couple of times, and that's an awesome guy. 16 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.479 Team. But just how y'all right's fantastic. 17 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:58.840 Thank you? Yeah, no, I really appreciate that. Man. So 18 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.320 let's start at the beginning. If you tell us a 19 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:05.239 little bit about how you grew up and how that 20 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:06.480 took you into the military. 21 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:11.040 Man. So, yeah, so that's a funny story. 22 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.760 So I grew up to my dad's at Coppon Dallas, 23 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:19.560 it's like a thirty seven year veteran of the Dallas 24 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:23.319 Police Department. My mom was a dental hygienis of all things, 25 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:27.079 and kind of middle class, but we had the I 26 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:29.079 always tell people it's like we have the Me and 27 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:34.159 my brother had the picturess like growing up a kind 28 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:37.560 of American experience where we went to high school. 29 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:39.359 I played soccer, I played a ton of sports. 30 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:42.159 Me and my brother got into wrestling roughly about the 31 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.280 same time, and we did wrestling all through high school. 32 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:49.400 And so that I think, especially the wrestling portion, because 33 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:51.599 you hear a lot about guys. I think I ran 34 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.439 into mostly guys in regiment that had They were all wrestlers, 35 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:57.680 every single one of them. And so it's it's I 36 00:01:58.280 --> 00:01:59.840 kind of laugh about that as I can think this 37 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:02.959 same amount of suffering that you did in wrestling kind 38 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:05.599 of translated into suffering in other parts of your life, 39 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:07.640 so you could do it real well, like when you 40 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:11.159 were a lot of the times that we were running 41 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:15.800 around not eating, fitting in bags and wearing cash bags 42 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:17.879 while we're doing everything. So it's like it was a 43 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:20.199 level of suffering that you put yourself through to attain 44 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:22.360 a goal, to just get out and fight on the 45 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:25.520 mat to get to that wrestling match, and that I 46 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:30.439 think really really translated into the type of suffering that 47 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:35.039 you would do later past that. Like, my dad had 48 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.800 had a lot of aspiration, big aspirations for us. He 49 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:41.039 wanted us to be an officer, or one of us 50 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:42.039 to be. He was like, hey, if you're going to 51 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:43.400 go to the army. I always knew that I was 52 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:47.360 going to go into the military, and so he had 53 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.400 always had big aspirations for He was like, you're a officer. 54 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:52.800 We're trying to send you to West Point or Annapolis 55 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:55.360 or this is I wanted to be a pilot until 56 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:58.080 I found out I was dyslexic and that doesn't work 57 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:05.759 real pilots. So I've gotten into all of that wrestling 58 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:08.280 and everything. Kind of knew that my path was going 59 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:12.400 to be in the military. And then nine to eleven happened. 60 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.680 And I was a junior in high school when nine 61 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.960 eleven happened, so and everybody, you get the same kind 62 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:22.400 of response from everybody where, They're like, hey, where were 63 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.960 you during nine to eleven? And I can remember exactly 64 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.879 where I was. And then the thought process of Okay, 65 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.360 now now I know I'm going into the military. I 66 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:35.159 didn't know how long I was going into the military 67 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:37.240 for I thought I was going to do a like 68 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:38.800 a four year stint and I was going to follow 69 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:43.000 my dad's footsteps and go to the Dallas Police Department. 70 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:49.319 So that's that's kind of really like the the growing 71 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:53.800 up portion that led me into going into the military. 72 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:56.759 Had there not been a war, I probably wouldn't stayed 73 00:03:56.759 --> 00:04:01.400 as long as I did. But definitely the way my 74 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:06.280 father and my mother raised us. We were Americans where 75 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:08.280 we lived in a place called Little Mexico for a 76 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:11.759 little while and then we moved to Carrollton, and my 77 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:15.120 dad was always like, you're not a You're not a Mexican. Like, 78 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:17.319 don't don't listen to what everybody says. You're not Mexican, 79 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:20.720 You're an American. So me and my brother pretty much 80 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:24.120 raised on that, took that into heart and then and 81 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:25.800 we just liked doing the hard stuff. 82 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:25.920 We got to. 83 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.360 I had the the risk factor that was always there. 84 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:33.600 I think with all all guys that do what we do. 85 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:37.839 I got into a lot of trouble, like a ton 86 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:42.759 of trouble. I went to parties, I drank uh and 87 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.000 I really knew that college kind of wasn't going to 88 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:47.040 be for me, so I didn't never planned on it, 89 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:51.759 plan on it, and then yeah, so I joined. I 90 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:54.800 tried one year, one semester of college and then I 91 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:57.800 called it. 92 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:01.560 And you and your brother both joined. There are a 93 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:03.279 few year gap between the two of you. 94 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.439 So there's a two year gap between when so me 95 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:09.720 and him are actually two years apart, and there's a 96 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:11.959 year and a half to two year gap between when 97 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:12.600 we joined. 98 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.800 So I had joined in two thousand and four. 99 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:21.800 And graduated everything in May, and I was stationed at 100 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:24.920 Fort Riley, Kansas, and then as soon as I got there, 101 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:27.519 I was gone. Probably I think it was like three 102 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:31.360 months later, like I got promoted to start first class 103 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:36.000 or not start first private first class, like on the 104 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:39.240 airfield when it was snowing, getting on the berg to 105 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:43.000 go to go back go into Iraq. 106 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.759 And what was Iraq like for you in two thousand 107 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:47.319 and four. 108 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:52.319 Oh gosh, that place was the wild West, like the 109 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:56.920 so everything had just had just stopped and it had 110 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:01.480 just transferred over to Ohio. Two we got there, landed 111 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.319 in Buyop. They're still doing the I don't know if 112 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:08.240 you had ever gotten into Buyop. Probably did, but they 113 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.959 were still doing the drops, so they were got the 114 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:14.839 the combat drops when they would fly and they just 115 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:18.839 they'd take that aircraft and then they'd be like, okay, everybody, 116 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.879 hold on, and they just knows that thing right like 117 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:25.319 right to the ground, and we That was I think 118 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:27.959 that was the first time I realized like that, hey, 119 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:31.600 this could be real, because I'm sitting there and I'm 120 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:34.120 just like, how oh my god, I'm like like nineteen 121 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.639 twenty years old, and I'm looking down the road. There's 122 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:39.920 people throwing up into their shirts on the floor. It's 123 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:42.360 going all over the place. You've got the loads are 124 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:45.399 laughing on the other side, and it's like, oh, okay, 125 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:48.319 so this is there. They're trying either trying. 126 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:51.959 To sear us or we're we're scared of something. Yeah. 127 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.800 We landed in the middle of the night, got there, 128 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:59.240 and then that deployment was pretty I was in Camp Taji, Iraq, 129 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.800 and so we're there on MSR Tampa, and it was 130 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.480 funny because we just knew that that was the big 131 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.519 IED's hadn't the EFPs hadn't started go happening yet. I 132 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:13.199 would meet those later on early two thousand and six seven, 133 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:17.040 and so we were really just scared of the one, 134 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.279 five fives, and it was just random firefights and it 135 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:23.279 was all of it was super surreal when I think 136 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:24.800 back about it, because. 137 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:27.480 We would go down Route Irish, we'd do stuff. 138 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:30.360 We'd be heading down into the green zone, taking people 139 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.800 in or pulling people out or going on mission. 140 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:35.439 And right there on Route Irish there was a bridge 141 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:36.199 and as soon. 142 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:40.279 As you cross that bridge, first little tick I got 143 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.519 into is we're coming out. And as soon as you 144 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:46.959 cross that bridge, everybody's shooting from both sides of the freeway. 145 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:49.120 And it's just all fires coming in on you. 146 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:53.480 Everybody's you're driving, the gunners are shooting, they're we're shooting 147 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:55.480 back at them, they're shooting at us. And then you crossed, 148 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.399 probably about a mile over, you cross back over and 149 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:01.399 it's over. It's like somebody turned like a stick it off, 150 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:03.800 And so I was just like, this is it. It 151 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:06.120 got really surreal that one at a couple of points 152 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.480 where it was just like this isn't real life, like 153 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:11.720 we're living We're living in some alternate universe where this 154 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:12.720 is happening. 155 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:15.759 Where you're just sort of like, I can't believe that happened. 156 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:18.920 Yeah, like it's like I was like, so that's my 157 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:21.680 first firefight. Is me sitting in this light the rear 158 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:24.759 the rear of this vehicle and we're just getting ding, 159 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:27.120 you know, we're getting stitched up a little bit, but 160 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:30.920 we're not really scared of what they're doing. And it 161 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.000 was funny because the unit that was bringing us in 162 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:34.759 because we were ripping out with them, was just like 163 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:38.440 everybody good and they like it was a normal day 164 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:41.159 like that was just it was like, hey, somebody passed 165 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:41.759 me that rip it. 166 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:45.320 Down there, and we're like I'm like sure, here you go, buddy. 167 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:52.639 Uh So yeah, So just just a very surreal experience 168 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:56.440 as soon as like how I rap was then and 169 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.799 then through the entirety of it, it was it was 170 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:01.519 that it was kind of that the entire time. We 171 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:04.240 had a couple of things. There was a road right 172 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:09.600 on MSR. Tampa going north towards Anaconda. There was a 173 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:11.720 moss that was called the Shot of Mosque, and for 174 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:14.200 some odd reason, they really liked shooting down black Hawks 175 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:16.360 and they did it a couple of times, and so 176 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.399 every time it happened, the response was is we'd go 177 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:20.200 down there, we'd get into a huge firefight with them, 178 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:22.240 and it'd be like a two day tick and then 179 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:24.799 we'd be like, all right, that's it, the show's over. 180 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:25.840 Everybody go back home. 181 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:27.320 We did what we said, and then we'd go back 182 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:31.559 to we'd go back to Taji and hang out there. 183 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:34.879 And the surreal part about it was funny, and later 184 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:37.759 on I thought about this was that we were having 185 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.679 like Friday night boxing matches at the USO's at the 186 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:44.720 or at Yeah, the MWR right in front of that 187 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:48.399 PX right there on Camp Todgy. They were having like 188 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:50.639 volleyball tournaments and so it was like a little town. 189 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.399 And then we had a haunted house in October. 190 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:54.639 I didn't get to go to it because we were 191 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:57.919 running missions out, but like they put together in these 192 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:02.279 old abandoned buildings and on that camp they put together 193 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.000 like haunted houses and stuff like that. So we were 194 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.600 getting I was getting like this weird feel like, hey, 195 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:09.840 like outside the I go outside the game a lot 196 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:13.799 and it's like every man for himself the wild West, 197 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:16.120 and then you come back in here and it's like, hey, 198 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:16.840 there's just people. 199 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.080 It's like a boy Scouts jamboree or something. 200 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:24.399 Yeah, it's it's it was it was an introduction that 201 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:29.759 I probably will never forget because you go into you 202 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:34.320 read books and you watch movies and you think wars 203 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:36.960 one way, and then you get there and you're just like, oh, 204 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.360 this is this is nothing like what they told me. 205 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.639 It was going to be. Those were you didn't get 206 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:43.879 the next Hodge DVD you know that month? 207 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.120 Those were Those were the years where like you guys 208 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:49.720 would be playing video games, hit the pause button when 209 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:51.919 you had to go on a mission, go and do it, 210 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.879 get into a firefight, come back, sit right back down 211 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:58.159 on the couch, yep, start the game again. 212 00:10:58.440 --> 00:11:00.399 Yeah. It was like, yeah, you just come right back 213 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:01.240 and you start playing. 214 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:06.919 Or what is the My favorite thing was we would 215 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.320 just come and hang out and we had chess games 216 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:13.320 going on for like days, and we'd go leave. It's 217 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:15.440 just like that, we go leave and then we come 218 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:17.159 back and we play chess and we'd be like, all right, 219 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:20.480 whose move is it? Or the biggest one is you 220 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.360 start a fist fight over Risk because somebody, somebody moved 221 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.080 your apart. I think r Place got banned from Risk 222 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:31.360 a couple of times because they started a massive fight. 223 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:32.759 It's like you're a cheater. 224 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:34.519 It's like they were like, all right, well, we can't 225 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:37.440 do this anymore because the privates are out there getting 226 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:38.279 wild with each other. 227 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:39.720 And that was the other thing too. The army was 228 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:42.759 a lot different then it was. 229 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:47.879 I would say it was more kind of what we 230 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.279 knew it to be. We're like, if I had a 231 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:53.120 problem with another private, I just walked outside and we 232 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:54.320 just fought it out. 233 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:56.240 And counseling was the thing. 234 00:11:56.360 --> 00:12:00.000 Yeah, oh yeah, like E five would I'm not gonna 235 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:02.679 say they'd hit you, but they would. 236 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:05.240 They'd rough you up a little bit, like just to 237 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:06.360 just to get it into your head. 238 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.159 So privates were physically corrected, that's all. 239 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:12.559 Yes, they're physically into the wall several times. I was 240 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.080 one of those hard ended privates. So I think any good, 241 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:17.320 I think any good n c O. When you get 242 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:21.279 when you did well in the military, you you always 243 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:23.159 remember you were like, yeah, I was that hard private. 244 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:26.320 I was the one that was that was slightly out 245 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.559 of control. And me at twenty, I had I had 246 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:31.279 the biggest ego on the planet. I was like, I 247 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:33.879 can outdo you at everything? 248 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:36.279 Could I know? Not really, but I try. 249 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.279 Well that's a uh, that's a good personality asset. That 250 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:44.360 sort of have that to take you into special operations. 251 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:48.799 But we'll get there. But you after that deployment, you 252 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:50.120 went over to Worse. 253 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:57.279 Yeah, So I went out to fourth IDU. I was started. 254 00:12:57.320 --> 00:12:59.960 I was an E four and it was funny because 255 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:04.799 you get there, I'm pretty much volunteering for to get 256 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:06.399 onto the next thing. So I moved from Riley to 257 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:10.399 hood get there and I was just like, hey, like like, 258 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:11.039 I want to get. 259 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:14.799 Onto the next thing. I got picked up physically fit. 260 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:18.879 I'm at that point like I'm in a good place 261 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.200 kind of like I said, physically, which is really the 262 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:23.679 only thing that matters. I could have been done as 263 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:24.879 a box of hair. But as long as you can 264 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:27.639 run your two mile in like you know, eleven minutes, 265 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:28.159 you're great. 266 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:30.639 Like you're the You're you're the next best thing. 267 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:35.440 So got into that and immediately two thousand and six 268 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.960 redeployed over to Rustamya Iraq. So we were right in 269 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:45.120 the middle of Baghdad uh and we get there and 270 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:49.360 this is not the most garret that I was ever, 271 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:51.440 But when I realized, I was just like, oh things, 272 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.080 things are slightly out of hand here because the surge 273 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.919 was just starting up. We get in there and we 274 00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:59.279 get into it. So the normal thing we get into 275 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.000 by up, get taken the buy. By this time, I've 276 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:05.200 done it already. And so we're getting in and they 277 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:07.320 get us in in the middle of the night. Well, 278 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:10.879 as we're coming in, there's rockets slamming into this camp. 279 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:12.519 And if anybody, if you. 280 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:16.159 Know anything about rest of Maya, it sat in between 281 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:21.679 two large radio towers and so bracketed. That's say bracketing. 282 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:24.759 That's perfect for bracketing. And so we were getting at 283 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:29.200 we were driving in that night and getting rockets. Rockets 284 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:33.240 were hitting, like hitting vehicles that we were coming not 285 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.039 our vehicles that we were coming in on, but where 286 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:35.960 they're having the motor pool. 287 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:37.639 You could see them slamming into the motor poole. 288 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.519 And as we're coming in, they're like the people like 289 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:44.639 get it's it was almost like a Vietnam movie where 290 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:46.919 they're just like, get off, get off, we gotta go. 291 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:49.480 And we're getting off and running right into a bunker 292 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.600 and getting into these bunkers and that's that's hey, welcome 293 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:56.360 to the rest of my Iraq. And it was funny 294 00:14:56.360 --> 00:15:00.519 because that day the next morning we're getting everything set up. 295 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:01.480 We hadn't slept. 296 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:03.720 We're getting we're getting finding our where we're going to 297 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:04.840 be living for the next year. 298 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:07.879 And this guy they come and tell us. 299 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:10.320 They're like, hey, we had a casualty last night from 300 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:12.240 one of the other companies, and we're like, what happened? 301 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:15.960 This guy has been in country for eighteen hours and 302 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.960 a rocket had snuck its way between because it was 303 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:23.240 built it was hard stand buildings, but they had the 304 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.759 sand bags that were built up with the barriers, and 305 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:29.000 one had snuck right between the barrier and the roof 306 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.279 of the building and hit his door. 307 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.600 And frat put frag all over him. 308 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:36.240 So he was in I think you they said he 309 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:38.519 did in the country for eighteen hours and was being 310 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:42.360 evaped that day. And so that was kind of the 311 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:47.000 realization that we were in things. Things weren't like the 312 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.080 surge was real. Things were getting kind of crazy. 313 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:49.799 Uh. 314 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:52.519 And we as soon as we got in they were like, hey, 315 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:54.799 all are going out? I think we We did a 316 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.600 sort of lefty right seat ride and then we were 317 00:15:57.879 --> 00:15:59.039 we were to the races. 318 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:02.120 This pot is brought to you in part by Stash. 319 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:04.399 You don't accomplish a mission by winging it. You have 320 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.440 a plan, you stick to the fundamentals, and you stay disciplined. 321 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.080 Where conditions changed, investing should be no different. That's where 322 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:13.600 Stash comes in. 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For ten dollars, add it to 374 00:18:57.599 --> 00:18:59.720 your balance if you want it now bitcoin ten and 375 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.319 you can send five bucks to a friend. Check it 376 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:06.240 out bitcoin ten. The link is in the description. Thank 377 00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:08.440 you cash up for supporting the show. I actually use 378 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.279 the product and I love it. Thanks guys. 379 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:16.160 Enjoy What was that? I mean, what did that consist of? 380 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.799 Because a worst team, of course is long range reconnaissance. 381 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:23.119 I mean that's what they're designed for anyway, But what 382 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:25.119 was the actual mission that you guys had when you 383 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:25.839 got to Iraq? 384 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:32.720 So it was it was strange because it was we 385 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:35.519 were but we were basically like an area of denial. 386 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:38.400 We sat and we sat in a cop and then 387 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.359 we were running operations out of that cop and we 388 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:43.480 we were tasked to watch an MSR. We were tasked 389 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:46.880 to do operations on that MSR. So they essentially we 390 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:52.519 got used as just a normal infantry company. So I'm 391 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:54.119 not saying it was mismanaged, but i think that was 392 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:56.880 the sign of the time. It's like, yeah, at that 393 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.079 time during the surge, we were just trying to regain 394 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:03.319 control and RUSS and eye. That area was one of 395 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:06.880 the areas that was really contested at that point in time. 396 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:11.680 I can't remember the cops name, but we we were 397 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:13.759 in a cop and we had been in this cop 398 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:16.680 four maybe this is a great one, and we we 399 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:22.000 actually have a yearly retelling of this story. So we're 400 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.720 in a cop We've been in there for maybe like 401 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:30.200 four or five weeks running operations out of it. It's 402 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:33.680 it's pretty much like there's a barracks on the top floor, 403 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.240 the bottom floor has another set of barracks, and then 404 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.279 we had like a bay operated and all of our 405 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:40.599 trucks were in this courtyard and that's kind of where 406 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:42.920 we did everything out of it. We have fuel tanks, 407 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:45.640 we had like small guard shacks. But this thing wasn't 408 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:49.480 very This thing wasn't very big. It was maybe five 409 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.319 six hundred meters. 410 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:53.319 Yeah, those cops were like Vietnam era fire bases. 411 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:53.720 Yeah. 412 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.839 No, and so and so one night. 413 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:03.200 A guy named Richard and another guy named Sprouse, where 414 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.759 they were sitting on top of his deck smoking and 415 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.279 the normal night, like we'd gotten out of the mission. 416 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:11.400 Everybody comes in, some people are eating. 417 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:14.880 I was in I was in the barracks playing cards, 418 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:19.480 and so we hear a thump, thump, thump, and then 419 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:24.440 like explosions on the building, like not not around the building. 420 00:21:24.119 --> 00:21:24.960 It was on the building. 421 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.759 And then we start hearing the guns go off on 422 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:31.160 the towers. As we're running out, Sprouts and Pritchard are 423 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.039 running back in and they're screaming at everybody like don't 424 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:36.839 go out there. So what kicked this off was they 425 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:40.279 were smoking and Sprouse and Pritchard look up and Sprouse 426 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.759 even says and Pritchard says this every day. It's like 427 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:45.240 he told me. He looked at me in the face 428 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:47.640 and told me this. He goes, man, that's a weird 429 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:51.519 shooting star. As they're looking at it, it keeps getting 430 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:54.279 closer and closer and closer, and as it does, it 431 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:57.039 lands right in the middle of their smoke pit. It's 432 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:01.240 an inner mortar, doesn't it doesn't go off, and by 433 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:03.519 all rights, that things should have killed both of them. 434 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.519 So they're running in. 435 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:08.480 They're like, they've just had this near experience, trying to 436 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:11.359 keep us from all running out. So we're pinned. That's 437 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.720 the only way out is that little stairway. We're pinned 438 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:18.160 inside of that, that little thing while there's a huge 439 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:21.079 fight going on, and the tanker company that we're attached 440 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:23.240 to is downstairs. They're trying to get They don't have 441 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.200 tanks at this point, so they're doing their best. They're 442 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:30.000 trying to get out to the walls. And it was 443 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.440 funny because my best friend, he was the best friend. 444 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:36.480 He's my best man at my first wedding Insury Ranger fashion. 445 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:40.720 He's the best man at my first wedding. His name 446 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:45.079 is James Dyer. He's now major, which this man, he's 447 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:46.599 an amazing he was an amazing soldier. 448 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:47.200 He still is. 449 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:50.799 I laugh every time I say major, because I'm like, 450 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:52.319 nobody should have ever given him that. 451 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:57.400 But so James is luckily. 452 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:00.519 Enough, James had been had been a washout an EOD 453 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:02.640 school and like the last week wash out, like he 454 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:06.920 got thrunked and they got they got upset at him. 455 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:09.920 So he washed out the last week. So he's got he. 456 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:12.000 Knows a little bit. So what does he do. 457 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:14.119 He's like, Okay, well, I'm gonna go out there and 458 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.279 I'm gonna see if I can at least put some 459 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:19.359 sandbags around the state. So he goes out there, does 460 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:21.480 the EOD thing, puts a bunch of sandbags, and we 461 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:25.359 all take off and run. We spend the entire next 462 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:30.119 that night repelling an attack where they knocked down of 463 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:32.000 the four walls that was at that cop they knocked 464 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:35.720 down three of them, and one of the major. 465 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:36.440 Things that happened. 466 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:40.839 And James and Sean Myers another guy, so we were 467 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.799 all in the same squad. Sean was the squad leader, 468 00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:48.880 me and James were his team leaders. And so during 469 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:51.319 all of this action, the trucks are all sitting right there. 470 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:55.359 They get hit by mortars and they get a fuel 471 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.079 tank goes off on them, and so they're kind of 472 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:59.720 they're burning on the side and we so we now 473 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:03.480 have the vehicles either, but all of the AT fours 474 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:05.519 are in there, and somebody's like is the eight veyler 475 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:07.279 like hey? Or all the AT fours still on the 476 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:10.279 trucks like yeah? And they're like, if those things go off, 477 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:14.680 we're fucked. And so James and Sean run into this 478 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:18.160 raging fire and start plucking out all these AT fours. 479 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:21.400 Both of them end up with bronze stars for it, 480 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.559 which was that one of one of the many actions 481 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:29.160 that they did during that entire deployment that actually got recognized. 482 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:32.759 But that was one of the knights where it was 483 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.359 just like Holy crapt was like, this is like viet 484 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.839 Like you said, like Vietnam style attack on a on 485 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:39.359 a base. 486 00:24:39.720 --> 00:24:43.240 Were you guys like preparing to be potentially overrun? No? 487 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:44.279 I mean was it that bad? 488 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:49.200 So once they are I want to say that our 489 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:53.200 own maybe mortars had knocked down our own walls at 490 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:56.119 some point in time, and so I wasn't sure because 491 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:59.279 we're busy on one side, but there was a point 492 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.039 where we yeah, we had thought we were like, hey, 493 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:05.000 like if this, if this goes down the way everybody 494 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:08.279 thinks is luckily we had gotten air support overhead. 495 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:11.359 So we've gotten attack helicopters. 496 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:14.079 But we end up like we're saying, hey, like if 497 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:15.920 we have to, we're gonna have to drop back into 498 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:19.119 the buildings, and once that happens, like we are, we're 499 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:23.440 in a bad way. Luckily, we had repelled enough of 500 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:25.440 the attack and I think we had we'd had enough 501 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:26.440 firepower out there. 502 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:28.559 We you know, we come with a bunch of machine. 503 00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:32.039 Guns and everything like that that we had gotten them 504 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:33.960 to get away from us. And once the attack aviation 505 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:36.640 shows up, they pretty that was It was like, hey, 506 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:37.960 we're not We're not messing with this. 507 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:41.039 Yeah. 508 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:43.559 What ended up happening with that cop is they that 509 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:44.720 was unusable anymore. 510 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.039 They weren't to send anybody out. 511 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:48.279 That thing was gone, and we ended up having to 512 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.200 move to another one that we lovingly called Castle Grace 513 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:53.880 Could because it was a all it was was a 514 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:57.720 five story unfinished parking garage. 515 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:01.720 That they put that they put barriers around. 516 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:07.680 And you finish what's up? You finished the deployment out 517 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:07.960 of there. 518 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:10.960 Yeah, we ended up finishing the deployment out of there. 519 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.640 Lots of good stories with that. Actually, have you heard 520 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:19.440 of tales from the Good Square? No, it's a like 521 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:24.119 collection of ghost stories from the gat Real super Yeah, 522 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:27.960 it's it's on I G I love reading their stuff 523 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:30.119 and I listened to wartime Stories. Gets a lot of 524 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:33.359 their stuff off of YouTube, but I love reading the stuff. 525 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:35.079 I'm about to write one because we're pretty sure that 526 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:35.839 place was potted. 527 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:37.559 What it ended up happening. 528 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.920 Yes, Well, so the reason why we had gotten it 529 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:45.160 at such a good price was because during the invasion, 530 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:49.720 before the American forces came in, the Bathists had taken 531 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:51.039 all the people who were. 532 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:54.160 Not friendly to the Bathists. 533 00:26:54.599 --> 00:26:57.480 And the story was that we've gotten told this bye older, 534 00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:00.680 was that they had gotten all these guys and rounded 535 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.640 them up in that building and then took them to 536 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:05.200 the top right a book above the top four. So 537 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:08.119 you had the you had the overlooked the top four 538 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:10.799 where all of our machine gun nests were, but right 539 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:13.279 underneath that they brought them all up there, and then 540 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:17.000 they had shot them and set them on fire in there. 541 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:19.799 And so what was the crazy things? When we were first. 542 00:27:19.640 --> 00:27:21.400 Looking at it, we walked up to that and I 543 00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:24.440 smelled a dead body or two burn before, and I 544 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:26.359 walked up there. I was like, that's a familiar smell, 545 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:27.960 and a couple of the other guys who had been 546 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:31.920 around burning bodies been like, this smells weird. And then 547 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:35.000 we were like, what's all these marks on these these 548 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:38.359 burn parts on the ground. And turns out like any 549 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:42.759 even the Iraqi police, the IA, they would whenever we 550 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:44.559 were staging to do missions, would not go into that 551 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:47.759 building at all period. And we definitely heard some weird 552 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:49.240 stuff up there. So I don't know if it was 553 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:53.319 like large animals or something, but there was there was 554 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:55.920 a point in time where guys would not go up 555 00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:57.839 there with their nods on. They would turn their knods off. 556 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:00.440 They would they would follow this air well and then 557 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:01.880 they turned their nods on as soon as they got 558 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:02.920 to the very top. 559 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:06.480 I mean, were they like hearing voices or something? What 560 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:06.920 do you think? 561 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:10.039 So at night, when we knew nobody was up there, 562 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:14.559 you would hear like things moving around. One of the 563 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:18.680 big complaints was either nods would completely go dead. They 564 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:21.400 were the old PBS four teens, so like they would 565 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:23.799 go dead for any any reason. 566 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:26.160 But the it was the. 567 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:30.240 Everybody had seen it, and I saw a little bit 568 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:32.400 of something, and you know, you never want to say 569 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:35.279 that you saw something to anybody else outside of it. 570 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:38.480 But you would see shadows do things that like they 571 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:40.920 weren't really supposed to be doing, right, and so, and 572 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:42.880 I would always talk it up to, oh, there's a 573 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:45.799 light somewhere way out in the distance. It's shining and 574 00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:50.160 it's it's moving shadows like that. But a lot of 575 00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:51.599 guys would be like, yeah, I just don't turn my 576 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:52.200 nods on. 577 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:54.519 Yeah, like you're trying to talk yourself out of it. 578 00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:57.240 Yeah, you're like, I have to go to this guard ships. 579 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:58.839 If they don't, if I don't go up there, somebody 580 00:28:58.839 --> 00:29:01.119 to be real mad. And I'm more scared of that 581 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:03.160 sergeant than Diam or whatever's up here. So I'm just 582 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.480 gonna go up there and just pretend it didn't exist. 583 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:09.640 I did many years ago. Now, I did a Halloween 584 00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:12.759 episode for a different podcast where I kind of cover 585 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:15.400 some of these stories, and I got a guy to 586 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:18.200 tell a pretty cool story about Okinawa. There's a lot 587 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.400 of ghost stories out there. 588 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:21.480 Oh about the what is it? Gate three? 589 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:24.559 I hear a lot about some abandoned buildings and stuff. 590 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:29.400 There's some weird, weird stuff. And actually from from Iraq, 591 00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:33.480 there are quite a few UFO stories, which is probably 592 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:36.440 probably it's our guy seeing our own aircraft, you know, 593 00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:39.480 more more than likely. But there are some stories that 594 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:42.759 you hear and like, like things that an entire marine 595 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:48.240 battalion saw that like doesn't really make sense, you know, Yeah. 596 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:49.599 I like too, how like a lot of these stories 597 00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:52.799 good because you hear a lot of stuff. We spent 598 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:59.279 a night out in the old Iraqi intelligence their complex, 599 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:01.519 I'd like so on a lot of the videos, you 600 00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:05.480 watch tomahawks slamming into like a like almost triangle building 601 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:09.039 and then there's a they would be like, that's still 602 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.799 Iraqi intelligence compound. 603 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:13.680 And we actually stayed. 604 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:16.920 The night in that, and they have legit cells that 605 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:20.960 were very strange, and that's where we were sleeping, and 606 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:22.000 none of us slept in there. 607 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:24.000 We slept in the we went ahead and slept in 608 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:24.640 and it's jealous. 609 00:30:24.759 --> 00:30:28.319 It's jail cells cells. And then there's a walkway that 610 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:32.440 you go up and you can see that there's islet 611 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:36.319 metal islets on the ground and you could pretty much 612 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:38.160 guess what they were for. But you would look up 613 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:43.160 and it's a walkway and it's completely there's no cover, 614 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:44.200 there's no nothing. 615 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:44.640 It's a walkway. 616 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:47.400 And then there's these islets on the ground and their 617 00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:52.039 their space pretty evenly evenly. Uh And well, later on 618 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:54.200 we asked about the rule that were like, hey, what's 619 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:54.880 going on with this? 620 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:56.880 And they're like, oh, that's where they chained them. 621 00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:58.440 That's where they just sat them out in the sun 622 00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:01.440 and chained down there. And I was like yeah. And 623 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:03.559 it was funny because our platoon sargeant it was like, yeah, 624 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:05.920 we're not sleeping in there, like we'll just we'll just 625 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:06.440 sleep out on. 626 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:09.200 Well, I think I know some platoon sergeants that would 627 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.640 have loved to lock their privates up. 628 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:14.279 And yeah, privates changed in there. 629 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:20.599 Then. Oh man, it's so wild. I mean, Iraq does 630 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:23.759 have this like parts of it have this quality. It 631 00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:26.119 does have a haunted quality to it. I remember like 632 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:30.279 seeing places where you can see just the very top 633 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:34.319 of the foundations of buildings that no longer exist. Yeah, 634 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:37.759 and then and then the new buildings built like perpendicular 635 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:41.000 or opposite to it, like the the city plan actually 636 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:45.200 changed and these new buildings are built over these old ones. 637 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:48.319 It's just like this place is so ancient, it's unreal. 638 00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:52.319 Oh man, we got into uh So one of the 639 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:56.680 ticks that we got into was right outside of the Babylon. 640 00:31:57.039 --> 00:32:01.079 So there's Babylon Gates right to the north of h 641 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:03.960 to the north of Bio writing. 642 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.640 When you're getting into the green zone, there's like ancient 643 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:07.079 there was. 644 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:09.680 There was a wall there that they were like, yeah, 645 00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:10.920 that's part of that used to be. 646 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:12.960 This is where the Babylon gate was. We got it. 647 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.680 It was like I remember like being by that gate 648 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:18.160 or by that wall and being shot at from it 649 00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:20.160 and be like this is I was like, this must 650 00:32:20.200 --> 00:32:21.640 be where he said that this was. I was like, 651 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:27.519 this is super cool. So but yeah, I think that's 652 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:30.160 one of the coolest things about the military in general, 653 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:32.279 and going to that area, like the g Watt was 654 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:33.240 the g Watt. 655 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:33.759 Was the g Wat. 656 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:37.480 But the things that you got to go and see, 657 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.480 like who how many people can say that they've been 658 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.559 to Baghdad And Baghdad was almost the that's in the 659 00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:46.440 cradle of civilizations, So you're all of the history that 660 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:50.000 you hear about and read about, the Bible everything like that. 661 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:51.759 A lot of that stuff went through there. 662 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.519 Uh, And I was so I love history and I 663 00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:59.279 was always really a really cognizant of stuff like that. 664 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:03.039 When I was in northern Iraq, I'd be looking up 665 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:05.319 names and stuff like that, and they can almost get 666 00:33:05.359 --> 00:33:08.079 translated into the Bible. And that's part of northern Iraq 667 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:10.799 is part of where like a lot of the Old Testament. 668 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:15.119 I mean the Bible. I believe. I believe the Nanova 669 00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:16.799 Forest is actually in the Bible. 670 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:21.880 Yeah, And so that's it's it's weird because you're traveling 671 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:23.640 all through these places and uh. 672 00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:24.440 I think one of the. 673 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:26.519 Cooler trips that I did is we were going to 674 00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:29.920 check on on some of the Kurds and we were 675 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:31.400 going towards the Iranian border. 676 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:35.039 It's gorgeous, beautiful, like mountains, Like. 677 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:37.680 There's a couple of pictures of us where it looks 678 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.880 like we're at the top of the world there and. 679 00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:42.319 What you're talking about, yeah. 680 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.480 Yeah, and you're just like and I'm like, man, it 681 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:48.759 was like, it's crazy that there's this much conflict and 682 00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:53.119 war going on in such a gorgeous place. I think 683 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:55.039 like part of where we were at there was an 684 00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:58.279 old ski resort there and it's like these people used 685 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:01.839 to be pretty especially Iraq. If you think about Iraq 686 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:05.640 in the eighties, that was like a thriving metropolis, like 687 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:09.480 it was. They had nightclubs, they had, they had industry, 688 00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:11.960 and then you know, the wars kind of set them 689 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:13.840 back probably about like sixty or seventy years. 690 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:20.480 But you know, yeah, man, and so after that deployment, 691 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:22.920 you get back and when does like the seventy fifth 692 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:25.519 Ranger Regiment start sort of like entering into your mind. 693 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:30.920 I'm fantastic you asked that a question. I know exactly 694 00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:35.760 when it happened. So we were walking down a route 695 00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:39.880 that had had an ID strike. Probably it wasn't IDA, 696 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.239 it was an EFP. So one of the terrible things 697 00:34:42.280 --> 00:34:45.280 about the EFP when that started filtering in from Iran 698 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:50.039 was that they were blowing holes in chunks through all 699 00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:52.400 of our armor. And so I was there during the 700 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:55.079 period of time where it was like all our vehicles 701 00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:56.920 looked like they had come out of Mad Max because 702 00:34:56.960 --> 00:34:59.639 they were trying to find anyway, crazy ways. It was 703 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:03.639 like Ammo cans with glow plugs in them because hopefully 704 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:06.280 maybe we can catch them if they have heat, if 705 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:11.199 they're not victim operated. So going through that, we would 706 00:35:11.199 --> 00:35:15.519 see these vehicles just get crushed by e fps. You know, 707 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:17.400 a couple of them, the size of was like fifty 708 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:20.159 five gallon drums that would just knuke an entire thing. 709 00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:22.320 You'd hear about all they would drag I think that 710 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:23.840 was one of the worst things they did. Drag them 711 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:26.800 into Rustamaya and they're still blood and gore all over it. 712 00:35:26.920 --> 00:35:29.159 You were like, yeah, they didn't. And it's funny because 713 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:30.559 whenever I think about that. 714 00:35:30.599 --> 00:35:35.000 Did you ever see the movie Memphis bel No World 715 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.239 War two movie about the bombers, the bomber crews, and 716 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:41.519 it was about one one bomber that had made it 717 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:46.880 all the way through. But the it reminded me of 718 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:48.559 because I saw that movie when I was a kid, 719 00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:51.039 and then it reminded me of that of them pulling 720 00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:53.840 these planes out, like back down the runway after they'd 721 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:56.000 gotten in a fight and there's you could tell somebody 722 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:57.960 who died in it. And that was a lot of 723 00:35:58.760 --> 00:36:02.000 when they were pulling these vehicles out from EFPs, was 724 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:04.400 that you could tell nobody like there's a huge there's 725 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:06.840 a hole that goes in one door out the other 726 00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:09.719 through the radio mount and there's gore and blood everywhere 727 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:12.840 on it. No one made it out of that, So 728 00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:14.920 that was happening a lot. So what do they do 729 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:18.400 instead of it? They're like, hey, this, Uh, they're gonna 730 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:19.599 walk us in front of it because we're going to 731 00:36:19.639 --> 00:36:22.239 do a route reconnaissance. So in a B and invert 732 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:25.800 of B, we're walking down route taking out things, hoping 733 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:28.559 that that EFP doesn't hit us first. Uh. 734 00:36:28.679 --> 00:36:32.079 And when I asked the question, because there's a you know, million. 735 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:34.360 Dollar vehicle behind me, the Buffalo's, and I was like, 736 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:35.719 these things are meant to take that. 737 00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:37.639 Yeah, I was like, why am I walking in front 738 00:36:37.639 --> 00:36:37.760 of it? 739 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:39.960 And they're like you cost less than that would to 740 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:42.760 blow it up your whatever, we have to pay your family. 741 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:45.679 I never understood why why they did that. I mean, 742 00:36:45.760 --> 00:36:48.840 if you study World War two, the Nazis always have 743 00:36:48.920 --> 00:36:51.920 their infantry behind the tank. It's not not up front. 744 00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:53.519 Nobody does that. That's stupid. 745 00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:54.679 Yeah, it was. 746 00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:56.920 It was, and we were doing it down the routes, 747 00:36:56.960 --> 00:36:59.559 and what I think the whenever we got the training 748 00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:02.400 and everything for it, it was that you did that 749 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:04.920 and maybe that first guy would be far enough away 750 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:08.119 from the road to catch anything that was victim operated. 751 00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:09.679 But if it was a pleasure player or anything like that, 752 00:37:09.719 --> 00:37:13.559 you're you're done. So I'm walking down there and I'm 753 00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:17.679 just like, so, wait a second, that buffalo is more 754 00:37:17.719 --> 00:37:20.000 important than I am at this point, or any of 755 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:21.159 my friends or anybody else. 756 00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:24.519 And it was they were like, yeah, yeah, pretty much. 757 00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:29.239 So we've gotten into a couple of things and Command 758 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:31.000 I think was making some bad decisions. We had a 759 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:34.559 friend of ours get killed. I won't put out any names, 760 00:37:34.599 --> 00:37:38.360 but in an instance where a person of leadership had 761 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:42.760 put their TC into the back position or into the 762 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:46.639 TC position because they knew they were targeting those they 763 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:50.079 were targeting the tcs, And that's exactly what happened. And 764 00:37:50.079 --> 00:37:54.039 then that guy, that leader survived while a bunch of 765 00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:57.719 our friend did not. And so we had taken a 766 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:02.000 couple of casualties at that point. Guy named Josh Plaska, 767 00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:05.800 who was a E four at the time, he got 768 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.760 killed by an FP, and so we had had a 769 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:12.119 lot of we'd started getting casualties. 770 00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:13.559 And that's when it started becoming real. 771 00:38:14.119 --> 00:38:16.480 And I had an epiphany at one point in time 772 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:17.559 where I'm sitting there, I'm. 773 00:38:17.480 --> 00:38:19.119 Just like, like I. 774 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:21.000 Got to get somewhere where like my life matters a 775 00:38:21.039 --> 00:38:23.920 little bit more like that I've upped the up the 776 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:29.239 priced had on me and myself so that if I'm 777 00:38:29.239 --> 00:38:31.159 going to keep doing this like I'm going to survive. 778 00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:35.119 So my brother had just gotten in the Army and 779 00:38:35.320 --> 00:38:38.440 just passed rip and had gotten into three seven five, 780 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:40.639 and so that was one of my phone calls to him. 781 00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:42.039 I was just like, hey, I was like, I think 782 00:38:42.039 --> 00:38:43.960 I'm going to go and I'm going to go to selection, 783 00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:46.599 like and if I don't make selection, I'm getting out. 784 00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:49.239 I'm not going to do this anymore. My brother is 785 00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:51.639 a very was a very like person and three seventh 786 00:38:51.679 --> 00:38:54.400 even from a private everybody really liked him. He's just 787 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:59.400 one of those guys. And so as I'm talking to 788 00:38:59.480 --> 00:39:03.199 him about this, I'm getting close. I was just like, hey, 789 00:39:03.320 --> 00:39:04.800 I'm going to selection as soon as I get the 790 00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:06.960 second I get back second they'll let me. I get 791 00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:09.360 off that plane. I'm going to selection. My brother's like, 792 00:39:09.480 --> 00:39:12.280 so you want to go what be a teacher? He's like, 793 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:14.159 you want to you want to go teach people to 794 00:39:14.159 --> 00:39:16.039 do stuff? And I was just like, what does that mean? 795 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:19.159 I'm a regular army dude. So at this point, I 796 00:39:19.159 --> 00:39:20.880 think Green Beret is just like I'm going to be 797 00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:21.800 kicking indoors. 798 00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:24.239 I'm going to be doing all the cool stuff, Like 799 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:25.760 it's going to be fun. 800 00:39:26.519 --> 00:39:29.519 And my brother's just like yeah, He's like, so, here's 801 00:39:29.559 --> 00:39:31.920 the thing. He was just like green Berets don't do 802 00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:34.800 direct action. He's like, and he's in the regimen. He's like, 803 00:39:34.840 --> 00:39:36.719 we do direct action. He's like, that's all we do. 804 00:39:37.239 --> 00:39:39.639 And I was just like at that point, I was like, cool, 805 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:41.519 how do I do this? He's like, he's like, let 806 00:39:41.599 --> 00:39:43.480 me let me get back to you, let me figure 807 00:39:43.519 --> 00:39:44.079 some stuff out. 808 00:39:44.119 --> 00:39:46.360 I'll email you. Hear a bit. 809 00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:50.599 The next email I get is from Ben Durham from 810 00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:53.159 three seven five or he was at the point. I 811 00:39:53.159 --> 00:39:56.719 think at that point he was the career counselor and 812 00:39:56.760 --> 00:39:59.719 it's basically an emails positive. 813 00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:00.599 I know Durham. 814 00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:04.280 You probably do Ben as he was he was. 815 00:40:04.719 --> 00:40:09.880 On a jump into a rack. Yes, yeah, I know Durham. Yeah, 816 00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:10.599 he's a good guy. 817 00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:14.239 Durham's one of the best guys in the world. One 818 00:40:14.239 --> 00:40:15.639 of the most shiteout people have ever met. 819 00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:19.519 Maybe that's why they had him working in the arms room. 820 00:40:20.760 --> 00:40:23.719 So he was actually he climbed up all the way 821 00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:27.119 to be the regimental career counselor. 822 00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:30.119 Good for him and like, yeah, he did real well. 823 00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:32.920 He was in charge of the fight teams, yeah. 824 00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:35.599 Yeah, he was a boxer regiment. Yeah he did all 825 00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:38.480 of that. Yeah, yeah, ran his own fight program and everything. 826 00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:40.920 He did a lot. But I didn't know him at 827 00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:44.159 that time yet. But he he sends me. It's just 828 00:40:44.199 --> 00:40:47.039 an email and it's like click here to apply, like 829 00:40:47.159 --> 00:40:48.639 and it's like I click it, and they're like, have 830 00:40:48.760 --> 00:40:51.039 this printed out, have your commander sign it, give it 831 00:40:51.039 --> 00:40:52.920 back to me. So I'm just like all right, So 832 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:56.440 I go get my grander to sign it. And it 833 00:40:56.519 --> 00:40:58.360 was funny because I was at that point. I was 834 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:01.119 really good friends, me and my friend, my squad leader 835 00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:04.800 at the time, Sean Myers and James. We were kind 836 00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:07.719 of all at the same point where we were disenchanted 837 00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:10.599 with the war and how things were going and kind 838 00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:14.480 of the regular army lifestyle. So I get everything together, 839 00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:18.679 I get it, everybody signs my paperwork, and I'm pretty 840 00:41:18.760 --> 00:41:21.079 much on board, Like I think I was going to 841 00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:21.639 get back. 842 00:41:22.280 --> 00:41:23.800 I was going to have the two weeks to leave 843 00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:28.599 and then I was going right to rip. And so 844 00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:30.840 we do that. 845 00:41:31.480 --> 00:41:33.599 I'm having a conversation with them, I'm like, hey, I'm 846 00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:35.840 gonna do this, and they were both like, no, I 847 00:41:35.880 --> 00:41:39.239 think we're done, and I'm like, I was like, why 848 00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:40.559 don't you just come with me? I was like, I'm 849 00:41:40.599 --> 00:41:43.599 pretty sure they're looking for people. We can all get 850 00:41:43.599 --> 00:41:46.000 into this. Both of them said no, I'm the only 851 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:48.400 one that said yes. And to this day when I 852 00:41:48.440 --> 00:41:52.440 talked to James, Sean actually died a couple of years ago, 853 00:41:53.000 --> 00:41:55.000 but when I talked to both of them when he 854 00:41:55.039 --> 00:41:56.800 was still alive, they were both like, I should have 855 00:41:56.840 --> 00:41:58.920 gone with you, Like we should have done that because 856 00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:03.639 it was the We were in a squad that was 857 00:42:03.639 --> 00:42:07.320 was like minded, like regiment was like and I always 858 00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:09.960 tell people, is like the the thing you can't the 859 00:42:10.039 --> 00:42:13.880 thing the difference between regiment and the big army is 860 00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:15.719 in regiment or in the big army, you'll find one 861 00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:17.920 or two guys that are about it. But they're they're 862 00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:20.800 about the lifestyle. They are warriors. That's what they wanted 863 00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:24.719 to do forever. Whatever reason they didn't get into that. 864 00:42:25.119 --> 00:42:27.960 They couldn't make their way because getting into regiment's luck too. 865 00:42:28.159 --> 00:42:29.960 Like I tell people that all the time, like it's 866 00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:34.119 like getting through selection rop that's luck, like partially. 867 00:42:33.760 --> 00:42:36.920 Luck, like you could. I watched the guy walk. 868 00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:39.679 Out and and rip, and he was wearing the wrong 869 00:42:39.719 --> 00:42:43.639 T shirt. That was the end of his That was 870 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:48.159 the end of his rip out. Yeah, like, yeah, you 871 00:42:48.239 --> 00:42:49.920 bring them the wrong one. You don't like, oh wait, 872 00:42:49.960 --> 00:42:52.000 you didn't bring X, Y and Z. Yeah you're done, 873 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:56.519 thanks for playing. So but that's the difference between what 874 00:42:56.639 --> 00:43:00.559 I thought the difference between regiment and army was it. 875 00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:04.360 I in the big army, I found a group few 876 00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:06.159 and far between, but I found a group that was 877 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:09.199 gonna watch my back during combat, was gonna fight like 878 00:43:09.239 --> 00:43:11.440 we were always fighting. We were always trying to get 879 00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:13.400 to the forefront of the fight. We were trying to 880 00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:16.000 do close with and destroy the enemy. 881 00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:18.239 Regiment. 882 00:43:18.480 --> 00:43:22.920 It's everybody, every single swing swinging guy out there is 883 00:43:23.599 --> 00:43:25.800 about that life. That's what he does, and if he doesn't, 884 00:43:25.840 --> 00:43:28.039 he doesn't belong and he won't be there anymore. So 885 00:43:28.079 --> 00:43:32.199 it's like a very stark difference between the big army, 886 00:43:32.199 --> 00:43:35.039 but you can still kind of find those pockets. But 887 00:43:35.159 --> 00:43:37.719 going back to it, that's that's pretty much my epiphany. 888 00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:40.880 I was like, this is what I'm gonna do. And 889 00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:43.320 then I because I was in E five at the time, 890 00:43:44.760 --> 00:43:46.440 and it's I don't know if you've ever heard of 891 00:43:46.440 --> 00:43:50.639 E five is going through as a import. 892 00:43:51.920 --> 00:43:52.880 Hard, very hard. 893 00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:56.079 They go through rope though right or rest now. 894 00:43:57.079 --> 00:44:01.400 Well, so no, through an E five, you go through RIP, RAP, 895 00:44:01.719 --> 00:44:05.639 you go through RAST one. I went through RIP, so 896 00:44:05.679 --> 00:44:09.159 it's still the four week course I get. And the 897 00:44:09.199 --> 00:44:13.039 way it happened was is I got back from Iraq. 898 00:44:13.239 --> 00:44:17.239 Two weeks later, I'm at Benning for Jump school UH 899 00:44:17.280 --> 00:44:20.639 and then immediately picked up. It was in August, immediately 900 00:44:20.639 --> 00:44:23.519 picked up, and then I got into and then you go. 901 00:44:23.639 --> 00:44:24.840 I went right down to. 902 00:44:25.480 --> 00:44:30.159 Got into RIP and then four weeks in RIP, the 903 00:44:30.199 --> 00:44:31.199 four weeks in RIP. 904 00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:32.679 And then immediately after that. 905 00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:36.320 It's because I'm an n c O and I can't 906 00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:37.719 have an I can't be an n c O and 907 00:44:37.760 --> 00:44:41.639 regiment without a TAB. So right after RIP, I'm right 908 00:44:41.679 --> 00:44:47.440 into uh SERT. Right after SEARCH, I'm right into Ranger School. 909 00:44:47.639 --> 00:44:49.599 And then it was funny because I got out of 910 00:44:49.639 --> 00:44:54.400 Ranger School and Starry Major Merritt was the It was 911 00:44:54.519 --> 00:44:57.239 first arm Bohannon comes in pretty much tells us we 912 00:44:57.239 --> 00:44:59.480 didn't do anything special, like you're not special. 913 00:44:59.559 --> 00:45:00.440 Everybody does this. 914 00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:05.320 Immediately after, Star Major Merritt walks up and he's just 915 00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:06.159 like he's. 916 00:45:06.000 --> 00:45:08.760 Like, congratulations rinkers, and we're like that, He's like, here's in. 917 00:45:09.159 --> 00:45:11.679 He's like who here's in DCO Like raise my hand 918 00:45:11.719 --> 00:45:14.000 and he's like, you'll be meeting your platoon in in 919 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:17.039 seventy two hours. You get a pass and then you're 920 00:45:17.079 --> 00:45:18.599 gonna be on a plane. 921 00:45:19.239 --> 00:45:20.840 I was just like perfect. 922 00:45:22.119 --> 00:45:25.239 And then a week later I found myself since I 923 00:45:25.440 --> 00:45:28.880 was that was my first deployment and I didn't do 924 00:45:28.920 --> 00:45:30.719 any of the train up, but I still have to 925 00:45:30.719 --> 00:45:33.480 shadow and they still needed guys. I found myself in 926 00:45:33.559 --> 00:45:35.920 Deco and they were like, you're a Goose. 927 00:45:35.960 --> 00:45:38.000 You're the ag for a Goose, and you're gonna learn 928 00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:38.840 how to be a team leader. 929 00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:41.639 So there I am with Goose rounds like walking up 930 00:45:41.639 --> 00:45:44.360 a mountain a couple of weeks after Ranger Schools, just 931 00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:45.440 being like, well, this is great. 932 00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:50.159 If upgrading your full sleep setup has been on the 933 00:45:50.199 --> 00:45:53.000 list for a while, ghost Beds fourth of July sale 934 00:45:53.400 --> 00:45:55.920 is the time to actually do it right now. 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I mean, what was that experience like for you? 963 00:47:31.320 --> 00:47:31.519 Oh? 964 00:47:31.679 --> 00:47:38.599 Rough, the learning curve was just massive, especially not having 965 00:47:38.760 --> 00:47:41.320 been able to do any of the work up Like 966 00:47:41.400 --> 00:47:42.480 I wasn't in the train ups. 967 00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:43.440 I didn't do any of it. 968 00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:50.000 So my first like induction into the regiment was meeting 969 00:47:50.039 --> 00:47:53.480 them overseas in Afghanistan and starting to go out on 970 00:47:53.559 --> 00:47:56.639 missions like here's your kit, here's all your stuff, like 971 00:47:56.880 --> 00:47:59.880 follow us, don't get out, don't get don't fall behind. 972 00:48:01.239 --> 00:48:05.039 And that's kind of when like I kind of pumped 973 00:48:05.039 --> 00:48:06.920 myself up. I was like, all right, like it's gonna 974 00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:10.320 be normal. It was a the beast of regiment as 975 00:48:10.320 --> 00:48:13.880 far as going and actually doing operations was something just 976 00:48:14.199 --> 00:48:15.199 wildly different. 977 00:48:16.079 --> 00:48:16.800 In the big army. 978 00:48:16.840 --> 00:48:20.400 You sit around and it's like, you know, hours of board, 979 00:48:20.559 --> 00:48:23.000 like or days months of board, and with a couple 980 00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:27.000 of stark moments of terror mixed in here and there there. 981 00:48:27.039 --> 00:48:29.199 It was like off the gate, we're and I was. 982 00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:32.159 I was. I was a deco first. 983 00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:36.400 Armed Bullie was the first argeant and we we did 984 00:48:36.440 --> 00:48:41.079 not like walking at all, so everything was ex landing 985 00:48:41.519 --> 00:48:43.760 like what we called it the Deco bum rush, where 986 00:48:43.800 --> 00:48:45.239 you just took off off the back of that bird 987 00:48:45.559 --> 00:48:48.280 and be feet right to that target. Like if they're 988 00:48:48.360 --> 00:48:51.440 cheating at you, doesn't matter, keep going, get to the doors, 989 00:48:51.519 --> 00:48:55.599 like we'll be fine. But yeah, the learning curve that 990 00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:59.000 it was a it was a rough learning curve and 991 00:48:59.039 --> 00:49:01.880 I can see where a lot of guys don't survive 992 00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:04.320 that where it's like, hey, you just can't keep up, 993 00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:06.000 You're not this isn't for you. 994 00:49:06.760 --> 00:49:09.280 It is a very different place than the big army. 995 00:49:10.480 --> 00:49:13.159 Just what they expect of you, what the knowledge you're 996 00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:17.920 supposed to have as an E five, Uh, the getting 997 00:49:17.960 --> 00:49:20.119 anybody to actually respect you at that point because they 998 00:49:20.159 --> 00:49:23.119 know you're an import. So I got lucky again because 999 00:49:23.159 --> 00:49:25.679 my brother was well known and so they were just like, hey, 1000 00:49:26.199 --> 00:49:28.440 like this is Saucege By that time, I think he 1001 00:49:28.480 --> 00:49:31.719 was an he was a tap step for two and 1002 00:49:32.119 --> 00:49:35.840 he was just like they're just like, hey, he's you know. 1003 00:49:35.840 --> 00:49:36.599 He saw his brother. 1004 00:49:36.679 --> 00:49:37.880 So I got I probably got a little bit of 1005 00:49:37.960 --> 00:49:43.039 leeway on that, but it was that deployment, and as 1006 00:49:43.039 --> 00:49:44.800 hard as it was though, that's kind of where I knew. 1007 00:49:44.800 --> 00:49:46.400 I was like, no, this is where I was supposed 1008 00:49:46.440 --> 00:49:48.679 to be. This was this was the road I was 1009 00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:53.840 supposed to take. But that that road. I did eight 1010 00:49:53.920 --> 00:49:56.840 months of schooling to get into the regiment as an 1011 00:49:56.840 --> 00:49:58.519 E five because they don't I don't know if they 1012 00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:01.360 do it anymore, but it was almost a gauntlet. It 1013 00:50:01.400 --> 00:50:07.320 was the Airborne School rip Sert, then it was ranger school, 1014 00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:10.480 then it was deployment. Hey cool, you get you get 1015 00:50:10.519 --> 00:50:12.159 seventy two hours with your family and then you got 1016 00:50:12.159 --> 00:50:12.320 to go. 1017 00:50:12.599 --> 00:50:13.599 Yeah it's hardcore. 1018 00:50:14.280 --> 00:50:17.280 Yeah, but I mean as a ranger like again like 1019 00:50:17.320 --> 00:50:19.159 and especially like right afterget. 1020 00:50:18.840 --> 00:50:20.559 I was pumped up. I got a ranger job. 1021 00:50:21.000 --> 00:50:23.400 Yeah, and then I was And as soon as they 1022 00:50:23.400 --> 00:50:25.519 said hey, you're going, I was like, fantastic, this is 1023 00:50:25.559 --> 00:50:28.440 gonna be great. I'm gonna get to And the biggest 1024 00:50:28.440 --> 00:50:31.119 thing I was impressed with was the chow haul out 1025 00:50:31.119 --> 00:50:34.960 of Man where where we we were down in a 1026 00:50:35.760 --> 00:50:37.960 helmand damp, leather neck. 1027 00:50:38.039 --> 00:50:40.880 I love the child hal there. It was great. That's 1028 00:50:40.920 --> 00:50:42.639 what I was doing. I was just eating the whole time. 1029 00:50:44.199 --> 00:50:47.960 So this first deployment you guys were doing time sensitive targets, 1030 00:50:47.960 --> 00:50:50.440 I take it, and you're learning the ins and outs 1031 00:50:50.440 --> 00:50:52.400 of doing direct action raids. 1032 00:50:52.920 --> 00:50:54.880 Yeah, so it was we were doing a lot of 1033 00:50:54.920 --> 00:50:59.440 direct action if in fact it was all direct direct action. 1034 00:50:59.639 --> 00:51:04.079 And uh so I had actually gotten there right Cubic 1035 00:51:04.119 --> 00:51:07.239 and Centaurra had gotten killed probably about a week and 1036 00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:11.280 a half before, and we had gotten sent to that 1037 00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:15.639 that mission set because Marsac had had two snipers killed 1038 00:51:15.639 --> 00:51:18.440 in that area like it was when they they had 1039 00:51:18.480 --> 00:51:22.280 gotten n acturally surrounded, track downs, crown and killed almost kind 1040 00:51:22.280 --> 00:51:24.119 of a red wing situation. 1041 00:51:25.039 --> 00:51:25.559 Uh. 1042 00:51:25.599 --> 00:51:27.800 And then they had they had been like tossed off 1043 00:51:27.800 --> 00:51:30.880 a cliff I think at that point. So, uh, that's 1044 00:51:30.920 --> 00:51:33.320 what they brought two strike forces in to go and 1045 00:51:33.360 --> 00:51:35.039 start like handling that mission set. 1046 00:51:35.639 --> 00:51:40.840 Uh. And that was a it was a really kinetic Uh. 1047 00:51:41.199 --> 00:51:44.320 That was a kinetic kinetic deployment where we were out 1048 00:51:44.480 --> 00:51:49.280 getting getting into fights, going to mean we have one Uh, 1049 00:51:49.360 --> 00:51:51.280 it had to have been a. 1050 00:51:50.760 --> 00:51:52.719 We got there pretty early, right after. 1051 00:51:54.599 --> 00:51:58.000 Right after the what's called night time had fallen, get 1052 00:51:58.039 --> 00:52:01.440 their land and immediately start and we didn't leave until 1053 00:52:01.480 --> 00:52:05.239 that next morning. We've been fighting the entire morning or 1054 00:52:05.360 --> 00:52:08.000 had been fighting that night into the morning, and that 1055 00:52:08.159 --> 00:52:11.719 was one of the and I'm sure you've had it, 1056 00:52:11.840 --> 00:52:15.559 the I had one of the most again going that 1057 00:52:15.800 --> 00:52:21.440 like weird but surreal things that it ever happened, that 1058 00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:25.280 I'd ever seen. And it's the the moments you take. 1059 00:52:25.320 --> 00:52:27.039 So I always tell you guys or guys getting into 1060 00:52:27.079 --> 00:52:29.119 it's like, hey, take that, like even if you're in 1061 00:52:29.119 --> 00:52:31.480 a firefight, don't you know, don't get dangerous or anything, 1062 00:52:31.519 --> 00:52:33.639 but take a moment to look around and realize where 1063 00:52:33.679 --> 00:52:38.440 you're at. And one of the things I realized when 1064 00:52:38.440 --> 00:52:40.920 I was there is so it was like a movie. 1065 00:52:41.960 --> 00:52:43.119 We had ex filled. 1066 00:52:43.239 --> 00:52:46.480 These guys decided to follow us from like because we 1067 00:52:46.519 --> 00:52:48.639 had kicked up the Hornet's mess was right out things 1068 00:52:48.719 --> 00:52:51.760 right outside of calf And we get on top of 1069 00:52:51.800 --> 00:52:56.000 this hill and we're we're we're fighting, like the back 1070 00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:58.719 of our formations, fighting the entire time and pretty much 1071 00:52:58.840 --> 00:53:02.519 just withdrawing to our HLZ. Get onto our HLZ. It's 1072 00:53:02.559 --> 00:53:04.639 on the top of this hill. The sun's coming up 1073 00:53:04.679 --> 00:53:06.360 over the mountains, so you can on the right side 1074 00:53:06.400 --> 00:53:09.320 you can see the mountains. Uh, and the sun's already 1075 00:53:09.320 --> 00:53:12.119 lifting up. We're already we're already in the day, and 1076 00:53:12.519 --> 00:53:15.800 there's bombers, uh at fifteens that are making runs on 1077 00:53:15.840 --> 00:53:18.239 the top of these mountain, dropping bombs on the side 1078 00:53:18.239 --> 00:53:20.639 of these mountains, and we're in this kind of a 1079 00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:23.119 half moon shape. I'm a goose gunner at this point, 1080 00:53:23.159 --> 00:53:25.719 so I'm helping load a gun and then I'm shooting, 1081 00:53:25.800 --> 00:53:30.039 and we're repelling another attack on this hill and like, 1082 00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:34.480 I look around and everybody's shooting, and you see a 1083 00:53:34.639 --> 00:53:37.519 tens come over. They're they're like, you see a tens 1084 00:53:37.639 --> 00:53:40.199 just laying waste to people. We're all firing on the 1085 00:53:40.239 --> 00:53:44.960 side or we're all firing, and then you hear the 1086 00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.519 wump and we look back and this chinook comes right 1087 00:53:49.519 --> 00:53:52.119 over the top of us, turns its ass around, and 1088 00:53:52.239 --> 00:53:54.840 the gunners just start shooting off the back of it, 1089 00:53:55.119 --> 00:53:56.360 and we all like as soon as. 1090 00:53:56.239 --> 00:53:58.159 They land, we all start running on the birds. 1091 00:53:58.199 --> 00:54:00.719 We get it, and we got we got the guy 1092 00:54:00.760 --> 00:54:02.599 that we were looking for, like I think he was 1093 00:54:02.639 --> 00:54:04.159 like at the time, he's like number two or three 1094 00:54:04.199 --> 00:54:07.360 in the country, and we get him on we're on 1095 00:54:07.599 --> 00:54:11.440 and we're flying away and everybody's just jacked up. We're 1096 00:54:11.559 --> 00:54:15.480 high fiving each other. We're just sitting there like everybody's 1097 00:54:15.519 --> 00:54:16.920 fist bumping high five each other. 1098 00:54:16.920 --> 00:54:19.119 We're all sitting on the ground. And one of the. 1099 00:54:19.079 --> 00:54:21.800 Things I did is I looked out and we're flying 1100 00:54:21.800 --> 00:54:24.000 pretty high at this point, and both of these A 1101 00:54:24.159 --> 00:54:27.679 tens are pretty much doing circles around the formation as 1102 00:54:27.679 --> 00:54:30.320 we're doing and I'm like sitting there and as I'm 1103 00:54:30.360 --> 00:54:33.400 like thinking about all of that stuff, I'm like, this 1104 00:54:33.440 --> 00:54:36.400 is like a movie, Like this is unreal, and this 1105 00:54:36.480 --> 00:54:39.519 is my induction into regiment, this is my first employment. 1106 00:54:39.519 --> 00:54:41.480 I was just like at that point, I was just like, 1107 00:54:41.480 --> 00:54:43.480 I'm gonna do this forever. This is this is all 1108 00:54:43.519 --> 00:54:43.599 I have. 1109 00:54:44.960 --> 00:54:48.880 So it was I think if you can, especially as 1110 00:54:48.880 --> 00:54:51.480 an import, if you can make the road, it's worth 1111 00:54:51.719 --> 00:54:52.320 it's worth. 1112 00:54:52.159 --> 00:54:52.639 It at the end. 1113 00:54:52.960 --> 00:54:55.079 Yeah, yeah, if you can get through the culture shock 1114 00:54:55.119 --> 00:54:55.760 as you mentioned. 1115 00:54:55.920 --> 00:54:59.159 Yeah, and a lot of guys don't, not their fault 1116 00:54:59.159 --> 00:55:01.920 because Big Army that dropped from Big Armies roos. 1117 00:55:02.119 --> 00:55:07.719 Yeah. Yeah. And then you get after that, the first deployment. 1118 00:55:08.760 --> 00:55:12.079 What happens when you get back to the States, and 1119 00:55:12.119 --> 00:55:15.320 now you're kind of like that ranger battalion garrison wife 1120 00:55:15.360 --> 00:55:16.400 at Fort Benning. 1121 00:55:17.039 --> 00:55:21.320 Oh Man, completely different from again, completely different. 1122 00:55:21.039 --> 00:55:23.880 From the big army are you're always training, but. 1123 00:55:25.920 --> 00:55:28.679 The good old boys club, Like I'm a at that point, 1124 00:55:29.000 --> 00:55:31.079 you know, I'm a tabby five, so you know, the 1125 00:55:31.079 --> 00:55:32.039 world is my oyster. 1126 00:55:33.320 --> 00:55:36.559 You know, I'm getting privates. You're running around, and I. 1127 00:55:36.519 --> 00:55:39.039 Just remember it being you just wanted to be the 1128 00:55:39.039 --> 00:55:41.960 best of everything, Like you wanted to be the fastest runner. 1129 00:55:42.000 --> 00:55:43.760 You wanted to do all the rucks you wanted to. 1130 00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:47.480 You wanted to be the team that did the best 1131 00:55:48.840 --> 00:55:53.679 so that you could get the best missions. Yeah, and 1132 00:55:53.719 --> 00:55:56.199 then especially then being there with my brother too was 1133 00:55:56.639 --> 00:55:59.320 a good time because we piled around a lot. Like 1134 00:55:59.360 --> 00:56:01.559 I'd always go in and hang out with him. I 1135 00:56:01.559 --> 00:56:04.840 think he had just made the move over to Recky 1136 00:56:05.159 --> 00:56:07.079 and so I'd always go and like hang out with 1137 00:56:07.159 --> 00:56:08.920 him in his in his office and stuff like that. 1138 00:56:08.960 --> 00:56:11.360 And then just kind of the small stuff that you 1139 00:56:11.360 --> 00:56:15.360 would see where it's the you're walking around through Tambaret 1140 00:56:16.079 --> 00:56:17.039 at that point. 1141 00:56:16.760 --> 00:56:17.440 And you're. 1142 00:56:18.920 --> 00:56:22.000 Nearly untouchable on that base, Like everybody knows that they 1143 00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:24.639 give you the wide berth. They pretty much hey, uh, 1144 00:56:25.480 --> 00:56:27.840 you know, you're behind the brown fence and everybody knows it. 1145 00:56:27.880 --> 00:56:29.159 Everybody knows who you are. 1146 00:56:29.960 --> 00:56:34.639 Which is is kind of the difference in AH in 1147 00:56:34.719 --> 00:56:36.400 the big Army is that nobody knows who you are. 1148 00:56:36.480 --> 00:56:39.320 Nobody cares. And I had an interesting thing. 1149 00:56:39.440 --> 00:56:44.199 So when I graduated RAS and was going to SERT, 1150 00:56:44.519 --> 00:56:47.440 I graduate RASTS and they're saying, hey, you know you're 1151 00:56:47.920 --> 00:56:50.400 or No it was Ranger School, No, it was RAS. 1152 00:56:50.440 --> 00:56:51.119 It was RAS. 1153 00:56:51.159 --> 00:56:53.840 And I graduate RAST. So I have a tambarey at 1154 00:56:53.880 --> 00:56:56.400 that point and they're like, hey, I got a. 1155 00:56:58.480 --> 00:56:59.760 I got a couple of weeks. 1156 00:57:00.079 --> 00:57:02.679 Before my class picked up for SERTs, so they were like, hey, 1157 00:57:02.679 --> 00:57:03.840 you need to go out to you need to go 1158 00:57:03.880 --> 00:57:04.639 back to Port Hood. 1159 00:57:04.960 --> 00:57:05.840 I'll process that. 1160 00:57:07.079 --> 00:57:09.440 So I'm walking around Fort Hood with a tambareat and 1161 00:57:09.519 --> 00:57:13.440 a scroll on and man like couldn't get any bet 1162 00:57:13.440 --> 00:57:16.639 Like I didn't have to do nothing. Everybody was just like, 1163 00:57:16.639 --> 00:57:17.559 oh God, that guy. 1164 00:57:17.599 --> 00:57:18.119 They didn't know. 1165 00:57:18.480 --> 00:57:20.000 And it's funny because in the big Army, you know, 1166 00:57:20.519 --> 00:57:23.880 especially I didn't know anything about it. And then I 1167 00:57:23.880 --> 00:57:26.440 didn't know that like if if you would have been 1168 00:57:26.480 --> 00:57:27.679 in the know, you would have looked at me and 1169 00:57:27.719 --> 00:57:31.519 be like that dude doesn't have a tab. So it 1170 00:57:31.599 --> 00:57:35.599 was funny because that was the Garrison life was so much. 1171 00:57:37.239 --> 00:57:39.119 It was fun, but it was also hard, and it 1172 00:57:39.159 --> 00:57:42.840 was definitely that warrior culture, like you everybody's trying to 1173 00:57:42.840 --> 00:57:45.679 be the best. Everybody's like I'd never seen so many 1174 00:57:45.719 --> 00:57:47.159 guys go to the gym in my life. It was 1175 00:57:47.199 --> 00:57:49.840 like we went for morning Pete, and then you see 1176 00:57:49.840 --> 00:57:53.159 everybody in there going to the gym. If they were 1177 00:57:53.280 --> 00:57:57.920 in Aco, they were all getting hairless and canning out somewhere. 1178 00:57:59.480 --> 00:58:01.840 The drinking was a lot like That's that's another part 1179 00:58:01.840 --> 00:58:05.079 of the culture, is man, we drank when we got 1180 00:58:05.079 --> 00:58:06.800 back from that deployment. That was the funny thing too, 1181 00:58:06.880 --> 00:58:09.679 is that they always had a pizza and kegs waiting 1182 00:58:09.719 --> 00:58:11.519 for you when you got back, so that you could 1183 00:58:11.760 --> 00:58:13.400 have a couple of drinks while you're trying. 1184 00:58:13.159 --> 00:58:14.599 To go quick weapons. 1185 00:58:14.679 --> 00:58:17.480 Yeah, yeah, the rigmarole of getting all your weapons in there, 1186 00:58:17.519 --> 00:58:21.440 and then you'd have the we'd always get into the 1187 00:58:21.559 --> 00:58:24.599 platoon fights over in the zoo where people are going over, 1188 00:58:24.679 --> 00:58:27.159 they'd block off all the stuff on the side. 1189 00:58:26.960 --> 00:58:28.840 So nobody could get through. So it almost looked like. 1190 00:58:28.800 --> 00:58:32.519 A World Wars one movie where you got people blowing whistles. 1191 00:58:32.639 --> 00:58:35.480 They got the caving ladders that they've extended so that 1192 00:58:35.480 --> 00:58:36.519 they could go over the top. 1193 00:58:37.039 --> 00:58:37.559 It was great. 1194 00:58:39.400 --> 00:58:42.360 Yeah, the platoon brawls get a little out of hands sometimes. 1195 00:58:42.760 --> 00:58:44.159 Oh it was so much fun though. 1196 00:58:44.639 --> 00:58:47.599 We got into one while we were doing elevators out 1197 00:58:47.639 --> 00:58:52.280 on the airfield with Sea Cove of all people, and 1198 00:58:52.480 --> 00:58:54.599 I was in h I was in HAC, but I 1199 00:58:54.599 --> 00:58:57.280 was attached to Beco as their sniper. 1200 00:58:57.360 --> 00:58:59.800 And we get into the huge platoon brawls. 1201 00:58:59.480 --> 00:59:02.280 And it's that they have their guide ons there and 1202 00:59:02.320 --> 00:59:04.719 there's the first sargeant of talking shit to each other. 1203 00:59:05.519 --> 00:59:05.639 Uh. 1204 00:59:05.960 --> 00:59:08.960 And I remember getting into that fight and I don't know, 1205 00:59:09.039 --> 00:59:14.000 do you know Sessna at all? So Sessna he actually 1206 00:59:14.000 --> 00:59:17.199 went to tag later on Giant. 1207 00:59:17.320 --> 00:59:20.400 He's a giant. He was an egg. No, he's sicco dude. 1208 00:59:20.639 --> 00:59:21.320 He was a. 1209 00:59:21.199 --> 00:59:25.840 Massive man, like sixty three two hundred something pounds. I 1210 00:59:25.880 --> 00:59:29.000 am at that point probably one hundred and seventy pounds 1211 00:59:29.800 --> 00:59:33.800 in kit and I'm I'm all every bit of five, 1212 00:59:34.239 --> 00:59:38.800 like five six, five seven maybe. And during the whole brawl, everybody, 1213 00:59:38.800 --> 00:59:40.480 you know how it is, everybody's like falling or. 1214 00:59:40.480 --> 00:59:41.440 Beating each other up. 1215 00:59:41.920 --> 00:59:45.519 And I like lock eyes with Sesna after he had 1216 00:59:45.559 --> 00:59:49.480 just plunged somebody else and he comes running at me 1217 00:59:49.880 --> 00:59:51.039 and I just latched. 1218 00:59:50.719 --> 00:59:52.840 Onto one of his legs and so he's dragging me around. 1219 00:59:52.920 --> 00:59:55.880 It was great because we had the. 1220 00:59:55.800 --> 00:59:59.599 Platume brawls were probably the most fun I'd had, But 1221 00:59:59.679 --> 01:00:02.400 the met probably hated it because they were always fixing somebody. 1222 01:00:02.679 --> 01:00:04.599 These fingers are broken. 1223 01:00:04.880 --> 01:00:08.199 What was it when we had like battalion field games? 1224 01:00:08.400 --> 01:00:12.480 You remember that field day? Yeah? Field day? Yeah, get 1225 01:00:12.559 --> 01:00:18.400 those banners, you know, and we uh our battalion. I'm 1226 01:00:18.400 --> 01:00:22.400 trying to think now, was it the battalion or was 1227 01:00:22.440 --> 01:00:25.239 it between companies or was it from platoons. I think 1228 01:00:25.280 --> 01:00:27.960 it was platoons in my company and he had us 1229 01:00:27.960 --> 01:00:30.800 play this game Washington over the Delaware. I think he 1230 01:00:30.840 --> 01:00:33.719 called it where they put like or maybe it was 1231 01:00:33.800 --> 01:00:36.280 two different companies, because I think it was our first 1232 01:00:36.280 --> 01:00:39.199 sergeant and the company commander and one zodiac from our 1233 01:00:39.280 --> 01:00:43.639 company and another first sergeant and company commander from another 1234 01:00:43.719 --> 01:00:46.800 company and the other zodiac and the NCOs had to 1235 01:00:46.840 --> 01:00:49.199 hold the zodes up and go from like point A 1236 01:00:49.280 --> 01:00:52.000 to point B, like two hundred meters, and all the 1237 01:00:52.039 --> 01:00:55.039 privates were lined on the edge of the field, and 1238 01:00:55.119 --> 01:00:57.360 if those boats, God help them, got too close to 1239 01:00:57.400 --> 01:01:01.719 those lines. Dudes were getting pulled in boom damn. Guys 1240 01:01:01.719 --> 01:01:04.480 getting thrown off the zodiacs. I mean, I saw guys 1241 01:01:04.480 --> 01:01:06.880 get their pets ripped right off of themselves, so they're 1242 01:01:06.880 --> 01:01:07.880 walking around naked. 1243 01:01:08.119 --> 01:01:08.400 It was. 1244 01:01:08.599 --> 01:01:09.840 It was totally nuts. 1245 01:01:10.960 --> 01:01:11.719 We did uh. 1246 01:01:11.760 --> 01:01:14.039 I think one of ours was dodgeball, and they had 1247 01:01:14.159 --> 01:01:18.280 that gout like like people are sitting there calling other 1248 01:01:18.280 --> 01:01:21.079 people cheater. You're like trying to like slam this ball. 1249 01:01:22.079 --> 01:01:23.880 Well there was one guy who's going up to get 1250 01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:28.159 the ball, slips and gets his face like demolished by 1251 01:01:28.199 --> 01:01:30.800 this ball. Like somebody like runs right over him hits 1252 01:01:30.880 --> 01:01:35.320 him with the ball. It's entry ranger fashion. Everybody takes everything. 1253 01:01:35.480 --> 01:01:40.840 Just like any advice i'd give to like a young 1254 01:01:40.960 --> 01:01:43.840 like ranger lieutenant, it would be you've got to be 1255 01:01:43.960 --> 01:01:48.920 very careful when you pit rangers against each other. Yeah, 1256 01:01:48.960 --> 01:01:51.239 and tell them like, hey, it's game on, go get 1257 01:01:51.239 --> 01:01:53.880 that you know, win that banner for us, Like something 1258 01:01:53.920 --> 01:01:55.199 really bad is gonna happen. 1259 01:01:56.440 --> 01:01:58.719 It was so when you got new guys, it was 1260 01:01:58.760 --> 01:02:01.599 like their first week was rough because it would be 1261 01:02:01.760 --> 01:02:03.920 the you'd get all these new guys and in the 1262 01:02:03.920 --> 01:02:04.639 company and get them. 1263 01:02:04.639 --> 01:02:06.000 I remember I was a squad leader. 1264 01:02:06.199 --> 01:02:08.599 I'd get new guys and I'd be like, hey, go 1265 01:02:08.639 --> 01:02:11.440 into uh going to first platoons. I want you to 1266 01:02:11.480 --> 01:02:14.639 fight every single one of them. And I'll get like, 1267 01:02:14.920 --> 01:02:18.199 I will give those guys uh credit. The new guys 1268 01:02:18.360 --> 01:02:21.400 didn't wouldn't even blink out charge and they run over 1269 01:02:21.440 --> 01:02:24.199 there and tackle the first person they saw, and it 1270 01:02:24.320 --> 01:02:26.800 was and then all of a sudden, it's more brawling. 1271 01:02:26.880 --> 01:02:28.880 Other people are coming in. And I think one of 1272 01:02:28.920 --> 01:02:30.519 the best ones we had was in Cicco. 1273 01:02:31.079 --> 01:02:31.199 Uh. 1274 01:02:31.239 --> 01:02:33.599 We almost had a hostage exchange at one point in time. 1275 01:02:33.920 --> 01:02:36.039 We're all the quad leaders and team leaders sitting there 1276 01:02:36.039 --> 01:02:38.440 and we're like we had them locked in the lockers 1277 01:02:38.760 --> 01:02:41.400 and we're like, all right, I'll train you the fat 1278 01:02:41.440 --> 01:02:45.039 one for my skinny guy and be like, no. 1279 01:02:45.239 --> 01:02:50.440 He's gonna be two. So it was great that like 1280 01:02:50.480 --> 01:02:51.840 when we got bored, we got bored. 1281 01:02:52.320 --> 01:02:55.320 Yeah, no, my my privates did that in Iraq where 1282 01:02:55.320 --> 01:02:58.199 they were they were kind of sneaking around. They put 1283 01:02:58.199 --> 01:03:00.960 on their battle clavas and were sneaking around. If you remember, 1284 01:03:01.000 --> 01:03:03.599 the old cold weather gear was all black, so they 1285 01:03:03.599 --> 01:03:05.760 were dressing up like ninjas and stuff, and they were 1286 01:03:05.760 --> 01:03:08.360 going out in the middle of the night in those shoes, 1287 01:03:08.679 --> 01:03:10.960 and they'd wait for guys from other squads to go 1288 01:03:11.000 --> 01:03:13.559 to the showers. So they're like walking with a towel 1289 01:03:13.639 --> 01:03:16.519 around them, waddling over there, and privates would just bawl 1290 01:03:16.559 --> 01:03:18.719 this guy up and flex cuff them and drag them 1291 01:03:18.719 --> 01:03:21.239 into their chew and they'd take like trophy photos with 1292 01:03:21.320 --> 01:03:27.000 them and stuff. It was yeah, then yeah, it becomes 1293 01:03:27.039 --> 01:03:30.000 a hostage negotiation where like you gotta let my guy go. No, 1294 01:03:30.199 --> 01:03:31.840 fuck you, I'm not doing. 1295 01:03:34.239 --> 01:03:36.000 Oh gosh. 1296 01:03:36.079 --> 01:03:40.159 Yeah, we took everything from I think that's what I 1297 01:03:40.159 --> 01:03:42.039 missed about it is like it was fun. 1298 01:03:42.760 --> 01:03:43.960 The culture was always. 1299 01:03:43.800 --> 01:03:47.440 Like about the fight, but it was everybody was in 1300 01:03:47.920 --> 01:03:49.760 good even in Snipers. 1301 01:03:49.760 --> 01:03:50.760 We did stuff like that. 1302 01:03:51.599 --> 01:03:53.960 We had a guy named Baker who had a birthday 1303 01:03:54.320 --> 01:03:57.719 and this is my favorite starting major merrit story. And 1304 01:03:57.840 --> 01:04:01.559 a guy named Baker had a birthday and so uh, 1305 01:04:01.920 --> 01:04:04.119 right outside of the child hall they had those uh 1306 01:04:04.800 --> 01:04:07.960 uh the uh pull up bars and we caught Baker 1307 01:04:08.000 --> 01:04:11.079 out there and we had duct tape and uh and 1308 01:04:11.199 --> 01:04:13.679 buckets of water and so we tossed him up there. 1309 01:04:13.679 --> 01:04:16.119 We duct tape and and then we throw rag over space. 1310 01:04:16.159 --> 01:04:17.880 We start like waterboarding him right there. 1311 01:04:18.519 --> 01:04:18.960 Uh. 1312 01:04:19.000 --> 01:04:21.400 And so we're sitting there doing all this stuff to 1313 01:04:21.719 --> 01:04:24.920 Baker and uh they drive starrow. 1314 01:04:24.960 --> 01:04:28.639 Major Marrett drives by, you know. Sergeant Major Marrit drives by. 1315 01:04:28.719 --> 01:04:31.239 Baker thinks that like, oh God, thank god, somebody's gonna 1316 01:04:31.239 --> 01:04:34.159 stop this, looks over at him, and Star Major Merritt 1317 01:04:34.159 --> 01:04:35.880 like rolls down his window, like looks from side to 1318 01:04:35.960 --> 01:04:38.599 side and goes Happy Birthday, Ranger, and then just drives. 1319 01:04:41.039 --> 01:04:43.760 It's it's just like we like kind of look around. 1320 01:04:43.719 --> 01:04:45.960 Like, all right, I guess I'm gonna go back to 1321 01:04:46.199 --> 01:04:47.800 what we're up to. 1322 01:04:48.679 --> 01:04:51.320 So Ergeant was awesome. 1323 01:04:52.119 --> 01:04:56.320 Oh yeah, everybody loves that guy. I don't think there's 1324 01:04:56.320 --> 01:04:58.079 a I don't know anybody. 1325 01:04:57.639 --> 01:05:01.159 Who didn't like and I'm sure, uh everybody has like that. 1326 01:05:01.239 --> 01:05:04.880 Sergeant Major Merrit story on objectives. He went out a lot. 1327 01:05:04.920 --> 01:05:07.639 He always went out on the mission. There was a 1328 01:05:07.639 --> 01:05:11.039 guy named Bailey and Deco that we were up on. 1329 01:05:11.480 --> 01:05:14.039 We were pulling security out because we had already taken 1330 01:05:14.039 --> 01:05:16.599 the compound. So we're pulling security out and there's a 1331 01:05:16.760 --> 01:05:20.679 big moon out like it's pretty high biz, and uh, 1332 01:05:21.320 --> 01:05:22.280 Bailey's on the ground. 1333 01:05:22.639 --> 01:05:24.039 We're wandering around on the ground too. 1334 01:05:24.159 --> 01:05:26.559 And Bailey looks up and he goes, he goes, hey, 1335 01:05:26.880 --> 01:05:29.239 whoever that is, He's like he starts cursing at him. 1336 01:05:29.239 --> 01:05:31.119 He's like get down, and all you hear out of 1337 01:05:31.159 --> 01:05:33.920 the darkness is oh yeah, yeah, Roger, Roger Ranger and 1338 01:05:33.920 --> 01:05:35.119 like gets that and he goes. 1339 01:05:38.440 --> 01:05:41.360 And so we go back to we're going, uh, we're 1340 01:05:41.400 --> 01:05:43.639 going back to get the deber like download all the 1341 01:05:43.639 --> 01:05:46.679 debris stuff. Star Major Merrit walks in and he's just like, 1342 01:05:46.880 --> 01:05:49.400 where's that ranger who pulled me to get the f down? 1343 01:05:49.880 --> 01:05:52.119 And Bailey's just everybody looks. 1344 01:05:51.840 --> 01:05:54.360 Over at him and he's like like that. He's like, 1345 01:05:54.639 --> 01:05:56.320 good job, Ranger coins him. 1346 01:05:56.159 --> 01:06:01.000 And like what Like my Sergeant Major story was when 1347 01:06:01.039 --> 01:06:05.039 we were doing airfield seizures and I was in Snipers 1348 01:06:05.039 --> 01:06:07.960 at the time, and I mean, it's dark out, it's 1349 01:06:08.000 --> 01:06:10.159 on Wason Airfield. You have no idea who's who in 1350 01:06:10.199 --> 01:06:14.280 the air. But I came underneath Sergeant Major Merit and 1351 01:06:14.320 --> 01:06:18.679 sharked his air and he dropped. He dropped like an anchor. 1352 01:06:19.880 --> 01:06:22.119 I don't know how many feet, but came all the 1353 01:06:22.159 --> 01:06:24.239 way down and I heard him come down and like 1354 01:06:24.440 --> 01:06:26.519 blah and you can hear it. Yeah, that's Sergeant Major 1355 01:06:26.559 --> 01:06:30.920 Merrit like rah yeah, And he told me later all 1356 01:06:30.960 --> 01:06:33.599 of his pens in his pocket exploded when he hit 1357 01:06:33.639 --> 01:06:36.960 the ground. I felt so bad, like I was horrified. 1358 01:06:37.880 --> 01:06:39.480 But he was a good sport about it. He was 1359 01:06:39.519 --> 01:06:41.000 like Loder Jumper has the right. 1360 01:06:40.880 --> 01:06:50.880 Away that guy. Yeah, good times. Yeah yeah. 1361 01:06:50.920 --> 01:06:55.280 So after that first deployment to Afghanistan, and you know, 1362 01:06:55.360 --> 01:06:57.280 now you're living the range of life, what was the 1363 01:06:57.280 --> 01:06:58.679 next deployment for you? 1364 01:07:00.480 --> 01:07:04.320 So after that deployment in Afghanistan, the next one was 1365 01:07:04.360 --> 01:07:08.119 back to Afghanistan where we I'm trying to remember where 1366 01:07:08.119 --> 01:07:10.960 we ended up. It was Sillernoh, so we ended up 1367 01:07:10.960 --> 01:07:15.360 in Sillerno, out there doing a bunch of missions. At 1368 01:07:15.400 --> 01:07:19.880 that point, I was with two Delta and uh pretty connected. 1369 01:07:19.920 --> 01:07:22.719 That one was also pretty kinetic. We were actually there 1370 01:07:22.719 --> 01:07:31.199 with then uh started major. Oh man, I just brained 1371 01:07:31.239 --> 01:07:35.559 dumped his name. We were just talking about him, not Merit, 1372 01:07:35.599 --> 01:07:38.719 Sar major then right now the current Sargat major. 1373 01:07:39.360 --> 01:07:41.840 Oh yeah, your buddy. I didn't I didn't know him, 1374 01:07:41.880 --> 01:07:42.360 I'm afraid. 1375 01:07:43.280 --> 01:07:48.880 Yeah. Yeah. Anyways, he was a target there for when 1376 01:07:48.920 --> 01:07:49.760 alf are too off. 1377 01:07:49.840 --> 01:07:52.920 I can't remember which which Africa, So but we had 1378 01:07:52.960 --> 01:07:56.519 like we were all there. Major Taylor was there one 1379 01:07:56.559 --> 01:07:59.199 of the he was the a JC And that was 1380 01:07:59.199 --> 01:08:03.679 a fun deployment because my brother was actually supporting Sealerno too, 1381 01:08:03.719 --> 01:08:06.880 so he was the wrecky guy supporting them. 1382 01:08:08.159 --> 01:08:11.400 So you know, he went out on a bunch of missions. 1383 01:08:11.719 --> 01:08:14.280 We tried. We didn't go out on missions together as 1384 01:08:14.360 --> 01:08:15.519 much on that. 1385 01:08:15.440 --> 01:08:17.720 Deployment, just because I think they were being kind of 1386 01:08:17.720 --> 01:08:22.399 cognizant of the atmosphere what was going on during those deployments. 1387 01:08:23.159 --> 01:08:27.560 And so, yeah, did that deployment and that was a 1388 01:08:27.600 --> 01:08:31.239 fun one, had a real good time. We got into 1389 01:08:31.279 --> 01:08:34.760 a lot of stuff on that like kind of the 1390 01:08:34.800 --> 01:08:37.640 normal thing though there wasn't anything like big about it. 1391 01:08:37.640 --> 01:08:40.399 It was the normal. We got into techs, We did 1392 01:08:40.760 --> 01:08:42.560 a bunch of stuff. There was a bunch of Shenanigans 1393 01:08:42.560 --> 01:08:46.239 on Slearne was a base just to the Rangers do 1394 01:08:47.359 --> 01:08:49.079 kind of like I think one of my we were 1395 01:08:49.079 --> 01:08:52.359 talking about video people playing video games. There was times 1396 01:08:52.359 --> 01:08:55.800 where the weather was because Sillerno is right there by 1397 01:08:55.840 --> 01:08:57.359 the KG Pass and that's what we were doing a 1398 01:08:57.359 --> 01:09:00.319 lot of our operations. But during that time period, you know, 1399 01:09:00.439 --> 01:09:02.560 weather could come in and they'd be like, hey, weather's 1400 01:09:02.600 --> 01:09:04.960 red or he'd be waiting for weather to. 1401 01:09:04.960 --> 01:09:06.720 Clear so that we could go on mission. 1402 01:09:07.279 --> 01:09:09.439 And so there was a lot of times during that 1403 01:09:09.479 --> 01:09:14.039 deployment where we were sitting there playing like Nazi Zombies 1404 01:09:14.199 --> 01:09:16.560 in full kit, Like we were just all sitting there 1405 01:09:16.560 --> 01:09:17.640 like playing Nazi Zombie. 1406 01:09:17.640 --> 01:09:19.239 He was like his weather sins, it's still. 1407 01:09:19.079 --> 01:09:21.600 Black, and they're like yeah, He's like all right, like 1408 01:09:21.680 --> 01:09:23.479 push two hours, like fantastic. 1409 01:09:25.800 --> 01:09:27.479 I think I saw I think it was one of 1410 01:09:27.520 --> 01:09:30.640 the medics and Charlie Company. I saw him get flexcuffed 1411 01:09:30.680 --> 01:09:33.840 to the chain link fence at Salerno on his birthday. 1412 01:09:34.960 --> 01:09:37.880 We had a guy named Tujo who's also an auscer now, 1413 01:09:39.079 --> 01:09:43.159 and we found out that it was his birthday, but 1414 01:09:43.199 --> 01:09:45.960 he kind of knew it was coming, so he went 1415 01:09:46.079 --> 01:09:50.359 and got tasers from the box, and so as soon 1416 01:09:50.399 --> 01:09:52.920 as the privates rushed in, he started just tasing the. 1417 01:09:52.880 --> 01:09:54.960 Crap out of the first couple of them. 1418 01:09:55.079 --> 01:09:57.000 Eventually he went down and they got it, and then 1419 01:09:57.000 --> 01:09:59.760 we put him on a batboard, wrapped him up and 1420 01:10:00.079 --> 01:10:02.119 and Kate dully to him, put all sorts. 1421 01:10:01.880 --> 01:10:05.760 Of stuff on him, and then paraded him around the camp. 1422 01:10:05.920 --> 01:10:08.920 And that was funny because that was the they were 1423 01:10:09.039 --> 01:10:12.439 just testing out CST on that deployment, and so we 1424 01:10:12.520 --> 01:10:15.800 had one and she was horrified because he's naked getting 1425 01:10:15.920 --> 01:10:18.600 drug around the city and she's just like, I'm sure. 1426 01:10:18.600 --> 01:10:20.600 She was like, oh my god, what have I done? 1427 01:10:21.199 --> 01:10:23.439 Yeah, you're shaving the guy's eyebrows off. 1428 01:10:25.279 --> 01:10:27.159 We did that to a guy. I feel bad to 1429 01:10:27.239 --> 01:10:29.439 this day. I was the squad leader. I watched a 1430 01:10:29.479 --> 01:10:31.039 team leader do that. To this day, I was just 1431 01:10:31.359 --> 01:10:33.760 I had actually pulled him most like, hey, like maybe 1432 01:10:33.840 --> 01:10:35.720 not shave one of his eyebrows off before he goes 1433 01:10:35.760 --> 01:10:36.520 to ranger school. 1434 01:10:39.760 --> 01:10:42.000 It was like, because he's kind of a representation of 1435 01:10:42.119 --> 01:10:42.439 us and. 1436 01:10:42.439 --> 01:10:47.640 Right now he looks weird, but yeah, like uh yeah, 1437 01:10:47.680 --> 01:10:50.079 they found out his birthday and he I just remember 1438 01:10:50.079 --> 01:10:52.439 the first guy that came in because I was outside 1439 01:10:52.439 --> 01:10:55.439 watching it because all the team leaders and squad leaders 1440 01:10:55.439 --> 01:10:58.680 are outside watching all these privates rush in, and that 1441 01:10:58.760 --> 01:11:00.880 first dude who came in it took it right in 1442 01:11:00.920 --> 01:11:03.760 the neck and went right down like was I was 1443 01:11:04.000 --> 01:11:07.760 unconscious for a little bit, and like some of them stopped, 1444 01:11:07.800 --> 01:11:09.399 and then the team leaders started to be like, why 1445 01:11:09.439 --> 01:11:11.560 are you stopping, And then they just all rushed in 1446 01:11:12.359 --> 01:11:15.439 and it was funny because one of the tasers that 1447 01:11:15.479 --> 01:11:17.680 he had actually ran out of bat he had paid 1448 01:11:17.680 --> 01:11:18.439 so many guys who had. 1449 01:11:18.359 --> 01:11:19.399 Actually run out of battle. 1450 01:11:21.359 --> 01:11:25.079 So but but yeah, I was that was a really 1451 01:11:25.159 --> 01:11:29.119 fun deployment too. I think by that time I'd kind 1452 01:11:29.119 --> 01:11:33.359 of already gotten my feet wet. Went through an entire 1453 01:11:33.560 --> 01:11:36.039 work up for the deployment. 1454 01:11:36.159 --> 01:11:40.800 So I was getting getting better at being a team Were. 1455 01:11:40.640 --> 01:11:42.960 You a team leader or squad leader around this time? 1456 01:11:43.640 --> 01:11:46.199 So I was a team leader around that time. And 1457 01:11:46.239 --> 01:11:50.920 then after that deployment, I went into Snipers. So I 1458 01:11:51.000 --> 01:11:51.960 actually went over to. 1459 01:11:53.840 --> 01:11:57.840 Snot yeah, so tell us a little bit about that. 1460 01:11:57.880 --> 01:12:00.479 What was the process like for making the transition from 1461 01:12:00.479 --> 01:12:03.279 the line company to Snipers. 1462 01:12:03.560 --> 01:12:05.840 So Snipers was looking for people. 1463 01:12:05.920 --> 01:12:08.760 I'd actually wanted to get into w REKI because I 1464 01:12:08.800 --> 01:12:11.239 wanted to go be with my brother and but they 1465 01:12:11.239 --> 01:12:14.159 had been like, hey, you know, maybe you do something 1466 01:12:14.319 --> 01:12:16.600 in HC, but you're not going to do We're probably 1467 01:12:16.640 --> 01:12:18.079 not going to send you over to Wrecky to do that. 1468 01:12:18.680 --> 01:12:21.520 So I was just say, all right, that's cool, went 1469 01:12:21.560 --> 01:12:24.359 over to Snipers, got it, you know, they talked it up. 1470 01:12:24.399 --> 01:12:26.239 I never thought I'd be a sniper. In fact, i'd 1471 01:12:26.800 --> 01:12:28.399 for a long time, it'd been like, yeah, I don't 1472 01:12:28.399 --> 01:12:28.640 have the. 1473 01:12:28.600 --> 01:12:31.920 Patience to do any of that. But we did the selection. 1474 01:12:32.600 --> 01:12:35.760 You do another selection to get into Snipers, so you 1475 01:12:35.840 --> 01:12:38.560 do the r PAT, you do your PET tests, you 1476 01:12:38.560 --> 01:12:40.720 do your r PAT, and then we would do a 1477 01:12:40.760 --> 01:12:43.279 group in just to kind of see if you could. Luckily, 1478 01:12:43.359 --> 01:12:47.159 I was an okay shot. Then I wasn't. I wasn't 1479 01:12:47.239 --> 01:12:51.119 a great shot by any means, but I was okay, 1480 01:12:51.159 --> 01:12:54.800 but did well enough to get in and then started 1481 01:12:54.800 --> 01:12:57.800 getting in, and then they started putting us through almost 1482 01:12:57.800 --> 01:13:01.199 like a pre Snipers of three something five that you 1483 01:13:01.239 --> 01:13:03.800 would be in the session and they'd be That's all 1484 01:13:03.840 --> 01:13:06.560 they're doing is getting you ready for sniper school. So 1485 01:13:06.600 --> 01:13:09.560 a lot of shooting, a lot of just learning. Mike 1486 01:13:09.640 --> 01:13:12.600 Pemberton was my pretty much my training partner. 1487 01:13:12.720 --> 01:13:13.880 He was my early. 1488 01:13:13.680 --> 01:13:17.680 Training partner, so and Nick I think had just left 1489 01:13:18.159 --> 01:13:21.079 as I was getting in there, so kind of the 1490 01:13:21.119 --> 01:13:21.640 whole Mike. 1491 01:13:22.239 --> 01:13:23.399 You've ever met p Murder. 1492 01:13:24.159 --> 01:13:27.680 I've never met Pemberton, but I've just heard many stories 1493 01:13:27.680 --> 01:13:31.359 about him from guys over the years. But I'm really 1494 01:13:31.359 --> 01:13:33.359 happy to hear that. You know, they they had a 1495 01:13:33.399 --> 01:13:36.520 really good like induction program for you because when I 1496 01:13:36.520 --> 01:13:38.920 went to snipers, it was kind of like, Okay, you're here. 1497 01:13:39.239 --> 01:13:42.760 Now we're gonna haze you for a year and you know, 1498 01:13:43.239 --> 01:13:46.960 maybe we'll teach you something at some point. But I 1499 01:13:47.000 --> 01:13:48.680 mean I had to wait to go to sniper school 1500 01:13:48.680 --> 01:13:50.000 to learn my entire job. 1501 01:13:51.079 --> 01:13:54.760 Yeah, And what's crazy is that you don't learn especially 1502 01:13:54.760 --> 01:13:57.960 in Regit like what we did was a close in support, 1503 01:13:58.039 --> 01:14:01.159 Like we were a direct support, so we really didn't 1504 01:14:02.079 --> 01:14:05.319 as the shooting stuff, which is I think what Regiment 1505 01:14:05.399 --> 01:14:10.479 really concentrated on was making making accurate shots at distance 1506 01:14:11.199 --> 01:14:13.560 under pressure was one of our and that was this 1507 01:14:13.600 --> 01:14:16.960 is before all of the PRS stuff and everything, all 1508 01:14:17.000 --> 01:14:21.960 that stuff was coming out, But we did we concentrated 1509 01:14:21.960 --> 01:14:26.000 on that because I think they knew that, uh uh, 1510 01:14:26.760 --> 01:14:28.479 I think they knew that. 1511 01:14:28.479 --> 01:14:29.359 That's what we did. 1512 01:14:29.439 --> 01:14:32.479 We made, we made we were having to make accurate 1513 01:14:32.479 --> 01:14:37.760 shots under pressure around an assault course. And so when 1514 01:14:37.800 --> 01:14:39.359 you go it's funny because when I went to cniper 1515 01:14:39.439 --> 01:14:44.319 school and then having done a kind of a process 1516 01:14:44.319 --> 01:14:47.239 to get to what they wanted us to be, and 1517 01:14:47.279 --> 01:14:48.880 then going to cyper school, I was like, there's two 1518 01:14:48.920 --> 01:14:52.239 different skill sets, Like of what they're asking us to do, 1519 01:14:52.319 --> 01:14:52.720 Like this is. 1520 01:14:54.039 --> 01:14:56.560 You're still doing like stocks and gilly suits and stuff. 1521 01:14:56.640 --> 01:14:59.039 Yeah, you're doing stocks, gilly suits and stuff like that. 1522 01:14:59.199 --> 01:15:03.239 And but in regimen I'm a You're a direct support 1523 01:15:03.279 --> 01:15:06.800 for the assault force. I'm trying to make like I'm 1524 01:15:06.840 --> 01:15:09.119 trying to figure out if I can make this shot 1525 01:15:09.159 --> 01:15:13.239 like into this building as guys are moving in, and 1526 01:15:13.359 --> 01:15:15.199 how far off I you know, how far off their 1527 01:15:15.239 --> 01:15:19.600 barrels I have. Then also too, you're kind of doing 1528 01:15:19.600 --> 01:15:22.920 a scouting mission. So if the assault force is walking in, uh, 1529 01:15:23.079 --> 01:15:24.399 you're pretty much up there with the dog. 1530 01:15:24.439 --> 01:15:25.600 I have a funny story about that. 1531 01:15:27.199 --> 01:15:31.119 But it's the skill set is completely different from what 1532 01:15:31.399 --> 01:15:33.920 sniper school is. But I think you go to others, 1533 01:15:34.199 --> 01:15:36.319 you go to other schools in the army, and then 1534 01:15:36.359 --> 01:15:38.920 you you kind of realize that that's more it's more 1535 01:15:38.920 --> 01:15:42.119 of an assault her mindset there than it is sniper school. 1536 01:15:42.520 --> 01:15:44.640 But I think everybody should go to sniper school if 1537 01:15:44.640 --> 01:15:46.039 you're going to be a sniper, because you have to 1538 01:15:46.079 --> 01:15:48.079 traditionally know how to do the job. 1539 01:15:48.439 --> 01:15:52.079 Did you find that the ranges also were quite a 1540 01:15:52.079 --> 01:15:55.279 bit shorter in your job as opposed to like I 1541 01:15:55.279 --> 01:15:57.159 think the you know, kind of the standard at sniper 1542 01:15:57.159 --> 01:16:00.720 school is shooting out through a thousand meters, but when 1543 01:16:00.760 --> 01:16:04.039 you're doing direct support, it's more realistically like what three 1544 01:16:04.119 --> 01:16:05.199 hundred meters at most? 1545 01:16:06.119 --> 01:16:07.079 I think, yeah, I think. 1546 01:16:08.079 --> 01:16:08.159 So. 1547 01:16:08.479 --> 01:16:12.600 It was funny because during the any of the TFTs. 1548 01:16:12.000 --> 01:16:16.640 Or the the vallexies for platoon live fire, you had 1549 01:16:17.479 --> 01:16:20.960 as far as the optics then could get you, so. 1550 01:16:20.880 --> 01:16:22.399 They could probably get you six hundred. 1551 01:16:22.479 --> 01:16:25.680 So you're you're shooting out, you're making shots up six 1552 01:16:25.760 --> 01:16:31.039 hundred if you're if Loom would would let you do it, 1553 01:16:31.119 --> 01:16:34.439 if you had the right optics for it, you could. 1554 01:16:34.600 --> 01:16:36.800 We were making those shots out to about six hundred, 1555 01:16:36.800 --> 01:16:40.960 but on mission, Uh, there were sometimes guys that I've 1556 01:16:41.119 --> 01:16:42.760 heard of guys that were shooting out to like four 1557 01:16:42.880 --> 01:16:46.159 or five, but nothing really past that because you're really 1558 01:16:46.199 --> 01:16:50.560 focused in on like a when everybody's going up, you're 1559 01:16:50.560 --> 01:16:53.239 probably you've climbed a roof and you're sitting on that roof, 1560 01:16:53.279 --> 01:16:56.439 watching doors, watching windows, making sure that like there's nobody 1561 01:16:56.479 --> 01:16:59.159 in it, and then making that shot into those windows 1562 01:16:59.199 --> 01:17:01.880 if you have to. Uh, you really become I think 1563 01:17:01.880 --> 01:17:06.000 an asset as far as target identification, like hey, this 1564 01:17:06.039 --> 01:17:09.079 is what you have here, this is what I'm seeing, 1565 01:17:09.199 --> 01:17:13.239 you know, kind of calling outdoor heights, wall heights, where 1566 01:17:13.399 --> 01:17:15.560 entries are if things are locked. They used us a 1567 01:17:15.600 --> 01:17:18.600 lot for that, kind of setting up the assault force 1568 01:17:18.640 --> 01:17:19.560 to get into the target. 1569 01:17:19.680 --> 01:17:22.680 Yeah. Yeah, as overwatch for the assault teams. 1570 01:17:23.079 --> 01:17:24.880 Yeah. 1571 01:17:24.920 --> 01:17:28.239 Any other sniper courses that they sent you to where 1572 01:17:28.239 --> 01:17:31.079 you you know, had some interesting takeaways. 1573 01:17:32.159 --> 01:17:34.640 So I think during that time period that we were 1574 01:17:34.680 --> 01:17:37.199 going to we did rifles only and then the to 1575 01:17:37.720 --> 01:17:40.319 the Todd hot Net. We went out there with him 1576 01:17:40.319 --> 01:17:42.079 because he was he was out in Texas. We did 1577 01:17:42.159 --> 01:17:45.359 those courses. We really didn't get sent to a lot 1578 01:17:45.359 --> 01:17:49.239 of like army army courses. I think towards the now 1579 01:17:49.439 --> 01:17:55.319 the guys go to Subpartik, they go to SODIC, I think, 1580 01:17:55.359 --> 01:17:58.039 and some of the guys had actually gotten into SODIC. 1581 01:17:58.560 --> 01:18:01.079 I know Chris Toper who was had been my partner, 1582 01:18:01.680 --> 01:18:03.399 he had actually turned out to be my partner for 1583 01:18:03.439 --> 01:18:04.000 the longest. 1584 01:18:04.680 --> 01:18:06.680 Chris had gone to Zoda and done all that stuff. 1585 01:18:06.720 --> 01:18:09.880 So it's I think it was at the point in 1586 01:18:09.880 --> 01:18:11.479 time they tried to get you what they could. 1587 01:18:11.640 --> 01:18:14.880 But during that point in the war, like we were 1588 01:18:15.119 --> 01:18:16.079 we were getting. 1589 01:18:15.760 --> 01:18:17.600 Out, we had we had a we had a couple 1590 01:18:17.640 --> 01:18:20.039 of guys that they sent to Marine Scott Sniper. 1591 01:18:22.000 --> 01:18:24.680 Man, we did. We had one too, and that's all 1592 01:18:24.720 --> 01:18:27.199 he talked about. It was rough. It was rough being 1593 01:18:27.199 --> 01:18:29.399 around him. 1594 01:18:29.600 --> 01:18:32.000 Yeah, he was just like, oh, it's so great and 1595 01:18:32.039 --> 01:18:33.479 this is the things they do. And I was just like, 1596 01:18:33.680 --> 01:18:35.000 when's the last time you billy it up? 1597 01:18:35.039 --> 01:18:35.199 Man? 1598 01:18:37.399 --> 01:18:41.319 So we were just like and not to take anyway. 1599 01:18:41.359 --> 01:18:45.960 I think those guys are fantastic. Ye, they are the Again, 1600 01:18:46.079 --> 01:18:52.000 I think they that school from what I saw later on, 1601 01:18:53.119 --> 01:18:56.880 really concentrated on skill craft. Like skill craft was their thing. 1602 01:18:56.880 --> 01:19:00.760 Like getting gilling up, how to move. 1603 01:19:02.600 --> 01:19:05.640 And I think the Army, and especially because they were 1604 01:19:05.680 --> 01:19:09.680 going more towards the like again the rifles only todd 1605 01:19:09.760 --> 01:19:13.560 Hanet stuff, they were going a lot towards more accuracy. 1606 01:19:13.600 --> 01:19:14.600 They were going to accuracy. 1607 01:19:14.640 --> 01:19:16.920 Start like we were going to accuracy first, We're going 1608 01:19:16.920 --> 01:19:19.920 to rifles only stuff like that, And that was we 1609 01:19:19.920 --> 01:19:23.680 were really concentrated on accuracy, getting the ABC's like tuned 1610 01:19:23.760 --> 01:19:28.960 up and actually pushing that gun to the limit. As 1611 01:19:28.960 --> 01:19:31.800 opposed to I think from what I saw from Marine 1612 01:19:31.840 --> 01:19:33.840 Scout Sniper, it was a lot of field craft. We 1613 01:19:33.840 --> 01:19:35.840 were a lot of shooting and right now, I want 1614 01:19:35.880 --> 01:19:38.920 to say that Snipers school, that's what it's based off of, 1615 01:19:39.079 --> 01:19:40.000 is a lot. 1616 01:19:39.800 --> 01:19:44.279 Of technical shooting, which I think is great. 1617 01:19:44.359 --> 01:19:45.960 I think that's kind of what you needed because this 1618 01:19:46.079 --> 01:19:51.159 day and age we're talking about warfare. Now, a sniper's 1619 01:19:51.159 --> 01:19:56.439 a dangerous thing, but as far as skilled craft is concerned, 1620 01:19:56.520 --> 01:19:58.239 like we have thermals, we have. 1621 01:19:58.319 --> 01:20:00.600 Everybody's got thermals. Everybody's got a sorts of things. 1622 01:20:00.640 --> 01:20:03.680 So it's like you can sneak around the woods all 1623 01:20:03.720 --> 01:20:05.520 you want in a gilly like if that thing doesn't 1624 01:20:05.520 --> 01:20:08.880 have thermal shielding on it, then you're you're kind of 1625 01:20:08.880 --> 01:20:09.479 dead in the water. 1626 01:20:12.399 --> 01:20:16.359 And then what was your first deployment, like with snipers, 1627 01:20:17.439 --> 01:20:19.039 So again. 1628 01:20:19.239 --> 01:20:21.840 Going back to that was another one where it was 1629 01:20:22.079 --> 01:20:27.399 learning a new skill set, having to readjust my mindset 1630 01:20:27.439 --> 01:20:31.600 from door kicker, always wanting to get into hey, like, 1631 01:20:31.960 --> 01:20:35.520 you got to look for you're almost the vanguard, you're 1632 01:20:35.560 --> 01:20:37.920 ahead of everybody. You got to get into you got 1633 01:20:37.920 --> 01:20:39.800 to get into good positions, you got to climb, You 1634 01:20:39.800 --> 01:20:43.039 got to look for where you're gonna climb. And then afterwards, 1635 01:20:43.079 --> 01:20:45.359 after everything's set, you got to kind of get yourself 1636 01:20:45.359 --> 01:20:48.000 into a position that you could be able to defend 1637 01:20:48.039 --> 01:20:50.560 the assault force and make shots, whether that's like you 1638 01:20:50.600 --> 01:20:54.119 put yourself on BPS or whether you put yourself up 1639 01:20:54.159 --> 01:20:56.159 on top of a roof or wherever it. 1640 01:20:56.119 --> 01:20:57.079 Is going to be on the target. 1641 01:20:57.640 --> 01:21:02.279 The I always thought the interesting thing about especially being 1642 01:21:02.319 --> 01:21:06.239 an E five, coming from being a team leader and 1643 01:21:06.279 --> 01:21:08.000 then being an E five, is that as an E 1644 01:21:08.119 --> 01:21:11.960 five in regiment, you you kind of get told, hey, 1645 01:21:12.000 --> 01:21:13.840 this is where you're going to be at, and then 1646 01:21:13.880 --> 01:21:16.479 you have your left and right limits of the decisions 1647 01:21:16.479 --> 01:21:19.359 you get to make right there and then on that 1648 01:21:19.439 --> 01:21:23.840 spot as a sniper, it was it was new to 1649 01:21:23.920 --> 01:21:28.000 me because I went into mission planning and then I 1650 01:21:28.039 --> 01:21:30.359 told the peel where I was going to be. I 1651 01:21:30.399 --> 01:21:32.600 was like, hey, I think i'm I should be you 1652 01:21:32.640 --> 01:21:34.520 know here, or I think I should travel here in 1653 01:21:34.520 --> 01:21:36.520 the formation because I have the best of. 1654 01:21:36.640 --> 01:21:41.760 So that was the growing growing up and having that experience. 1655 01:21:43.279 --> 01:21:45.119 But that was I think the learning curve was having 1656 01:21:45.119 --> 01:21:48.159 to realize that, hey, like now you have real input 1657 01:21:48.239 --> 01:21:52.520 into this mission set, into this mission planning, especially as 1658 01:21:52.520 --> 01:21:57.239 a sniper, because you know, you got to decide where 1659 01:21:57.600 --> 01:21:59.479 you got to think like the enemy, where's that contact 1660 01:21:59.520 --> 01:22:01.840 going to come from? And where can I place myself 1661 01:22:01.880 --> 01:22:05.680 best to make the best shots on that to end 1662 01:22:05.720 --> 01:22:08.600 whatever contact that is as fast as possible. So a 1663 01:22:08.640 --> 01:22:10.159 lot of you know, you didn't always end up at 1664 01:22:10.159 --> 01:22:14.000 the VPS. Sometimes you were out of BP. Sometimes you 1665 01:22:14.000 --> 01:22:16.119 were you on the roof like I said, or you 1666 01:22:16.159 --> 01:22:18.880 were in you were in some area, or you have 1667 01:22:18.960 --> 01:22:23.640 to decide. Hey, we had one mission where they decided 1668 01:22:23.680 --> 01:22:27.119 that the building next to us was higher than the compound, 1669 01:22:27.479 --> 01:22:28.840 and then we were going to go in, and so 1670 01:22:29.199 --> 01:22:33.520 we actually went in, made entry, pulled pistols, cleared all 1671 01:22:33.520 --> 01:22:35.680 the way up top, got on top of it, and 1672 01:22:35.720 --> 01:22:37.119 then they were like, hey, we don't want to clear 1673 01:22:37.119 --> 01:22:39.239 back down because we don't know what's down there. We 1674 01:22:39.239 --> 01:22:41.720 don't have anybody on the bottom floor because we were 1675 01:22:41.720 --> 01:22:45.000 pulling our own security. So we shimmied down like a pipe, 1676 01:22:45.239 --> 01:22:47.560 which was probably one of the more sketchiest. 1677 01:22:47.000 --> 01:22:49.680 Things I've done. I did that. 1678 01:22:50.399 --> 01:22:56.319 It was app Did you know Paperella, No Vico Paperella. 1679 01:22:57.279 --> 01:22:59.600 He's a Now he's a he's also a sargy major. 1680 01:23:00.319 --> 01:23:03.680 Uh and so, but that was one of the things 1681 01:23:03.680 --> 01:23:06.439 where he was like a path was a was the 1682 01:23:06.479 --> 01:23:08.359 platine's sergeant at that time, and I and he had 1683 01:23:08.359 --> 01:23:10.279 put himself on that mission and he's like, let's go, 1684 01:23:10.840 --> 01:23:12.520 and we did that, and I was like, this is 1685 01:23:12.520 --> 01:23:13.760 one of the sketchier. 1686 01:23:13.319 --> 01:23:13.840 Things I've. 1687 01:23:15.600 --> 01:23:17.159 I was just like, and I've done some sketchy that 1688 01:23:17.159 --> 01:23:19.479 I'd kicked some rocks that were real, suss and this 1689 01:23:19.560 --> 01:23:20.760 is more sketchier than that. 1690 01:23:21.319 --> 01:23:23.279 Yeah, in full kit that doesn't sound fun. 1691 01:23:23.920 --> 01:23:24.720 Oh no, it was it. 1692 01:23:24.880 --> 01:23:26.319 But that was one of the things too, is that 1693 01:23:26.359 --> 01:23:28.479 as a sniper you started kind of learning, like your 1694 01:23:28.560 --> 01:23:30.880 kids set up, and like what you need and didn't need, 1695 01:23:31.239 --> 01:23:33.319 and what what was. 1696 01:23:33.279 --> 01:23:34.520 Advantageous for your mission. 1697 01:23:34.520 --> 01:23:37.199 As a team leader, it shoot a preference, but hey, 1698 01:23:37.279 --> 01:23:39.159 this is this is what you're gonna wear. You're aware 1699 01:23:39.199 --> 01:23:40.720 all of this stuff, and you got to carry by 1700 01:23:40.760 --> 01:23:42.960 the way, you got to carry the shotgun, you got 1701 01:23:42.960 --> 01:23:44.239 to carry. 1702 01:23:45.319 --> 01:23:47.800 Yeah you're you're or yeah, you got a sketch on you. 1703 01:23:48.039 --> 01:23:52.359 And the as a sniper, it was I could tailor 1704 01:23:52.399 --> 01:23:54.520 my kit to my mission. I could figure out how 1705 01:23:54.560 --> 01:23:57.079 best what was going to work for me, and they 1706 01:23:57.399 --> 01:23:59.920 let you do that. I think it's like that's part 1707 01:24:00.079 --> 01:24:02.239 your learning processes as a team leader, Like you pretty 1708 01:24:02.319 --> 01:24:04.199 much you're getting told a lot of what to do. 1709 01:24:04.680 --> 01:24:06.279 You're just like, Hey, you're gonna be here and you're 1710 01:24:06.279 --> 01:24:08.760 gonna do this, and then like that's it. 1711 01:24:09.439 --> 01:24:12.000 Yeah yeah, yeah. So you're you're like dropping down to 1712 01:24:12.039 --> 01:24:14.560 a plate carrier and a couple of magazines. 1713 01:24:14.840 --> 01:24:19.359 Yeah, like, or you're running play carry a couple of magazines, 1714 01:24:19.479 --> 01:24:22.039 or you're running you're trying to figure out like how 1715 01:24:22.039 --> 01:24:25.359 you're gonna cary some stuff on your belt differently, or 1716 01:24:26.199 --> 01:24:28.560 where your radio really needs to be because you don't 1717 01:24:28.560 --> 01:24:30.920 have all that stuff, so you have a lot more leeway. 1718 01:24:32.079 --> 01:24:33.039 A lot of the time, you know. 1719 01:24:34.000 --> 01:24:35.720 I think one of the biggest things with snipers is 1720 01:24:35.720 --> 01:24:37.680 that that's where I learned, is like, hey, you don't 1721 01:24:37.680 --> 01:24:38.920 want a lot of stuff on the front of your 1722 01:24:38.920 --> 01:24:40.760 plate carrier. You want to be as light as you 1723 01:24:40.760 --> 01:24:43.960 can on there, because I gotta climb up walls. If 1724 01:24:43.960 --> 01:24:45.520 you're on a sporter in an addiction, I got to go 1725 01:24:45.600 --> 01:24:48.760 chase somebody Like that's you know, how hard is that? 1726 01:24:48.880 --> 01:24:52.319 In full like and if you're carrying everything known to man? 1727 01:24:54.560 --> 01:24:57.560 Any memorable missions from that deployment. 1728 01:25:00.640 --> 01:25:01.199 Man. 1729 01:25:04.920 --> 01:25:08.760 Particularly, I remember one where we almost got left. 1730 01:25:08.960 --> 01:25:10.800 Uh we almost got left for. 1731 01:25:12.760 --> 01:25:15.800 A remain over day because we hit the target really 1732 01:25:15.880 --> 01:25:18.920 late and then some stuff happened on the target where 1733 01:25:19.439 --> 01:25:22.520 we were looking for a couple of things, and they 1734 01:25:22.520 --> 01:25:24.640 were just like, hey, like if we don't get to 1735 01:25:24.680 --> 01:25:27.800 the HLZ, and like, I think the HLZ was like 1736 01:25:28.439 --> 01:25:30.720 three k away and I think we had like twenty 1737 01:25:30.720 --> 01:25:31.840 five minutes to get there. 1738 01:25:32.199 --> 01:25:34.319 And so it was a legit hit run that we 1739 01:25:35.000 --> 01:25:35.640 just the. 1740 01:25:35.680 --> 01:25:38.279 Entire soft force just running and you could see the 1741 01:25:38.319 --> 01:25:40.319 sun coming up and everybody's sitting there trying to get 1742 01:25:40.359 --> 01:25:43.960 everybody like guys are like the gun team's just dying, 1743 01:25:44.000 --> 01:25:45.600 and so people are trying to take a stuff from 1744 01:25:45.600 --> 01:25:49.199 the gun team, and I just will I remember that. 1745 01:25:49.319 --> 01:25:52.840 The only reason I remember that is because a snow everywhere. 1746 01:25:52.880 --> 01:25:56.239 It was just the most snow I've ever seen, And 1747 01:25:56.279 --> 01:25:58.600 a lot of that deployment was like my first deployment 1748 01:25:58.600 --> 01:26:01.479 with Cyphers was like that. Where we were everything was 1749 01:26:01.520 --> 01:26:03.199 snowy because we were in deep snow. 1750 01:26:04.079 --> 01:26:05.079 I hopped off one. 1751 01:26:04.960 --> 01:26:09.439 Of the birds on one mission and sunk right and 1752 01:26:09.520 --> 01:26:11.800 I'm a short guy. I sunk right in the snow 1753 01:26:11.880 --> 01:26:14.920 and real fares far enough to where it startled me. 1754 01:26:15.279 --> 01:26:17.239 So I was like, I'm gonna get my left in here, 1755 01:26:17.600 --> 01:26:18.439 and so I took my. 1756 01:26:20.119 --> 01:26:23.159 I took my stifle rifle and I just shoved it 1757 01:26:23.279 --> 01:26:26.359 up so that somebody could grab it and pull me out, 1758 01:26:26.960 --> 01:26:28.119 and I was like, don't leave me. 1759 01:26:28.560 --> 01:26:30.520 It was like trying to get somebody on the radio. 1760 01:26:31.359 --> 01:26:32.760 But I remember. 1761 01:26:32.520 --> 01:26:36.319 That one because the aircrew got onto our net and 1762 01:26:36.399 --> 01:26:39.600 was like, hey, it's it's negative twenty five degrees. 1763 01:26:39.640 --> 01:26:44.000 Boys, have a nice night, and like thanks, appreciate you. 1764 01:26:45.159 --> 01:26:49.239 But that that deployment was relatively quiet. 1765 01:26:50.319 --> 01:26:52.520 We didn't we got into some stuff. We didn't do 1766 01:26:52.520 --> 01:26:53.640 anything real crazy. 1767 01:26:54.840 --> 01:26:59.399 It's and it's funny because the relatively quiet for regiment 1768 01:26:59.600 --> 01:27:02.000 is we'd get into texts, but nothing was ever like 1769 01:27:02.720 --> 01:27:05.439 you never really thought too much about it. It was 1770 01:27:05.479 --> 01:27:08.720 the next employment, when I was in Snipers, where I 1771 01:27:08.800 --> 01:27:10.439 was a senior sniper, that it got. 1772 01:27:10.600 --> 01:27:12.920 It got like real we got into some Harry stuff. 1773 01:27:13.760 --> 01:27:14.279 Where was that? 1774 01:27:15.880 --> 01:27:20.359 So I started out in Shank with BECO, but they 1775 01:27:20.399 --> 01:27:24.439 weren't doing too many missions and so we had two 1776 01:27:24.479 --> 01:27:27.720 snipers that were down in Jabad and as they were 1777 01:27:27.720 --> 01:27:32.000 in Jabad, there was a really bad strike on Jaybad 1778 01:27:32.119 --> 01:27:35.279 where so two of our guys it was two of 1779 01:27:35.319 --> 01:27:38.640 our snipers had gone to they were doing something. It 1780 01:27:38.720 --> 01:27:42.159 was a normal morning and mornings are night, so everybody's 1781 01:27:42.159 --> 01:27:45.720 getting kind of tying down, getting ready to go, and 1782 01:27:45.760 --> 01:27:50.560 so they go, they're getting ready for bed and ticks 1783 01:27:50.800 --> 01:27:53.479 starts off on the Lesion Air. We were on the 1784 01:27:53.560 --> 01:27:56.560 Lesion Air side of Jabad, and so they're outside the gate. 1785 01:27:56.560 --> 01:27:59.479 It tick starts, and so a couple of guys run 1786 01:27:59.560 --> 01:28:02.119 up to the to see what's going on. National Guards 1787 01:28:02.159 --> 01:28:07.800 on the towers and two of our snipers run up 1788 01:28:07.840 --> 01:28:08.800 to the tower because they're like. 1789 01:28:08.800 --> 01:28:11.439 Hey, maybe we'll get some maybe we'll get some trigger time. 1790 01:28:11.479 --> 01:28:14.600 And they get up there and one of the national 1791 01:28:14.680 --> 01:28:17.680 guard it was a girl and she was from the 1792 01:28:17.680 --> 01:28:19.840 story that we were told by these guys is she 1793 01:28:20.000 --> 01:28:22.800 was cowering down on the side and because they were 1794 01:28:22.800 --> 01:28:25.119 shooting out that time, they were putting effective fire on 1795 01:28:25.159 --> 01:28:27.560 the tower. So one of our guys gets on the 1796 01:28:27.600 --> 01:28:29.800 machine guns, starts shooting, like, takes the machine gun over, 1797 01:28:29.840 --> 01:28:32.039 starts shooting the other guys sitting there. He's on his 1798 01:28:32.159 --> 01:28:35.560 rifle calling out shots and they look down and as 1799 01:28:35.560 --> 01:28:37.880 soon as they look down, they're like, hey, how long 1800 01:28:37.920 --> 01:28:40.760 has that box car been here? And as soon as 1801 01:28:40.840 --> 01:28:43.600 she was just like oh, it pulled up like fifteen 1802 01:28:43.640 --> 01:28:46.720 minutes before this started, and as soon as they had 1803 01:28:46.760 --> 01:28:50.600 said that, the boss car blew up ended up throwing 1804 01:28:50.880 --> 01:28:52.359 both as a sniper kills. 1805 01:28:53.039 --> 01:28:55.760 They get killed. The female throws both the snipers out of. 1806 01:28:55.760 --> 01:28:59.920 The tower and one of the guys was it took 1807 01:29:00.119 --> 01:29:04.760 it almost took his arm completely off, so uh, it 1808 01:29:04.760 --> 01:29:08.720 blows a hole inside of on that uh that side 1809 01:29:08.720 --> 01:29:13.039 of the thing, and the it was elements of it 1810 01:29:13.079 --> 01:29:15.600 was the seals, elements of the seals, and then the 1811 01:29:15.720 --> 01:29:18.680 rangers end up fighting over a like four foot hole 1812 01:29:19.000 --> 01:29:21.199 in the wall trying to push these guys back. 1813 01:29:21.479 --> 01:29:24.880 One of the one of the tyrant, the uh. 1814 01:29:26.439 --> 01:29:29.239 Jay At tax ends up getting like a I want 1815 01:29:29.239 --> 01:29:31.119 to say, you got like a silver star for call 1816 01:29:31.600 --> 01:29:35.840 calls in a random flight randomly going by gets them 1817 01:29:35.840 --> 01:29:38.000 to come and respond to it and actually repels the 1818 01:29:38.039 --> 01:29:41.880 rest of the attack. So at that deployment we are 1819 01:29:41.960 --> 01:29:44.399 on that one we lost two guys ended up getting 1820 01:29:44.439 --> 01:29:47.560 going home because they were both really messed up. So 1821 01:29:47.760 --> 01:29:50.000 me and Chris get the call and we're down in 1822 01:29:50.079 --> 01:29:51.880 Shank and they call us up and they're just like, hey, 1823 01:29:51.880 --> 01:29:55.920 you guys need to head up to a Jabab. So 1824 01:29:55.960 --> 01:29:57.680 we take their spot down there and then the rest 1825 01:29:57.720 --> 01:30:02.239 of that deployment was it was a little we had 1826 01:30:02.239 --> 01:30:05.319 gotten into a lot of ticks. We had been kind 1827 01:30:05.319 --> 01:30:07.319 of running around Jabad and that was around the. 1828 01:30:07.279 --> 01:30:14.520 Time that you'd be gotten Yeah, and so. 1829 01:30:17.039 --> 01:30:21.000 That was just a That was the deployment where I 1830 01:30:21.000 --> 01:30:22.520 think I kind of learned like. 1831 01:30:24.199 --> 01:30:25.920 Had a maneuver under fire a lot better. 1832 01:30:26.279 --> 01:30:29.960 And then me and Chris are we're still best friends 1833 01:30:29.960 --> 01:30:32.960 to this day, but me and him like hung around 1834 01:30:33.000 --> 01:30:36.079 each other as kind of where we learned to trust 1835 01:30:36.119 --> 01:30:39.239 each other a little bit. Because that platoon like sending 1836 01:30:39.239 --> 01:30:41.680 the snipers up, and there was one where I'm it 1837 01:30:41.760 --> 01:30:44.640 was actually was funny because there was two twins in 1838 01:30:44.760 --> 01:30:47.239 regiment when I came through. When I came through RIP, 1839 01:30:47.800 --> 01:30:49.720 and there was a they were called the Drafty Brothers 1840 01:30:50.159 --> 01:30:51.920 and one went to be co woman at SICCO and 1841 01:30:51.960 --> 01:30:53.279 I went through RIP with both of them. 1842 01:30:54.039 --> 01:30:55.560 Uh, and so we're good friends. 1843 01:30:55.600 --> 01:30:57.760 And one of them's in that platoon with me and 1844 01:30:57.800 --> 01:31:00.600 they end up sending he's a team were at that time. 1845 01:31:00.640 --> 01:31:01.279 They send me. 1846 01:31:02.439 --> 01:31:05.560 They sent me as a sniper, him and one of 1847 01:31:05.600 --> 01:31:09.640 the dogs in the one of the canines up and 1848 01:31:09.760 --> 01:31:12.479 we're operating four or five hundred media and we're walking 1849 01:31:12.479 --> 01:31:15.279 through a town like in the middle of the night, 1850 01:31:15.359 --> 01:31:17.560 and we're sitting there but like whispering each other like 1851 01:31:17.840 --> 01:31:22.680 this is it, this is how it ends. So but 1852 01:31:22.840 --> 01:31:26.039 kind of the being in that sniper role that kind 1853 01:31:26.039 --> 01:31:28.000 of that was the deployment where I really got used 1854 01:31:28.039 --> 01:31:33.199 to it and actually being able to move like it, 1855 01:31:33.680 --> 01:31:36.359 operate like it, get to that was kind of the 1856 01:31:36.439 --> 01:31:39.840 identity that I had taken on. And I did snipers 1857 01:31:39.840 --> 01:31:43.920 for a real long time after that, but yeah, that 1858 01:31:44.039 --> 01:31:47.560 was that was probably one of the more memorable moments, 1859 01:31:47.680 --> 01:31:50.359 not in that deployment, and again I go back to 1860 01:31:50.399 --> 01:31:51.079 memorable moments. 1861 01:31:51.119 --> 01:31:52.800 We were getting the fights every night. 1862 01:31:52.800 --> 01:31:55.359 So it's one of those things where from the first 1863 01:31:55.399 --> 01:31:58.159 part of my career where I can remember every single 1864 01:31:58.159 --> 01:32:02.279 firefight that I got in to towards in regiment, it 1865 01:32:02.359 --> 01:32:07.159 was just so yeah, it was it was just like, oh, 1866 01:32:07.399 --> 01:32:09.680 you'd be I remember being in one fight and being 1867 01:32:09.760 --> 01:32:13.640 duck behind a wall, going trading shots and ducking down 1868 01:32:14.600 --> 01:32:17.279 to reload or just kind of move positions and looking 1869 01:32:17.279 --> 01:32:18.800 over at one of the guys and be like, what 1870 01:32:18.880 --> 01:32:20.920 do you think they're serving at midnight? 1871 01:32:21.000 --> 01:32:25.319 Child? Like they get back before this, So it's just 1872 01:32:25.399 --> 01:32:26.760 that you just became. 1873 01:32:26.600 --> 01:32:31.880 Numb to everything at that point, just how how all 1874 01:32:31.920 --> 01:32:34.600 that would happen. And and then I think you take 1875 01:32:34.640 --> 01:32:36.640 that for granted tude when you got new guys in 1876 01:32:36.840 --> 01:32:39.039 and then you'd see them kind of reacting a different way. 1877 01:32:39.399 --> 01:32:42.159 You just be like, what's his problem? And it's because 1878 01:32:42.199 --> 01:32:47.680 he has his his uh you know, ah neurological system 1879 01:32:47.720 --> 01:32:51.000 hasn't gone like his CNS is not tuned up, like 1880 01:32:51.119 --> 01:32:54.680 it's not tuned down too, and he's still hopped up 1881 01:32:54.720 --> 01:32:58.279 on it. So I think that was the Psychologically, I 1882 01:32:58.319 --> 01:33:00.279 think that was a cool point where you go back 1883 01:33:00.279 --> 01:33:02.199 to the first part of your career, you think about 1884 01:33:02.199 --> 01:33:03.960 your first firefight and you're like, I remember what it 1885 01:33:04.079 --> 01:33:06.600 smelled like. And then you go to the middle of 1886 01:33:06.640 --> 01:33:09.199 your career and you're just like, I can't even remember 1887 01:33:09.199 --> 01:33:09.520 this one. 1888 01:33:09.560 --> 01:33:11.520 Like this one blended in with that one, blitted in 1889 01:33:11.600 --> 01:33:12.239 with this other one. 1890 01:33:12.359 --> 01:33:15.039 It was just really like some of them were just 1891 01:33:15.119 --> 01:33:17.279 like anti climactic. 1892 01:33:16.920 --> 01:33:19.960 Like yeah, yeah, but now now you're learning like the 1893 01:33:20.000 --> 01:33:23.720 operational art of the job. It sounds like yeah. 1894 01:33:24.479 --> 01:33:28.479 I think at that point, like I was, you always 1895 01:33:28.520 --> 01:33:31.199 think you're good. But at that point and during with 1896 01:33:31.319 --> 01:33:34.640 as much as we were doing it, we go back 1897 01:33:34.640 --> 01:33:38.119 to like Green Bereys and all like that other other 1898 01:33:38.720 --> 01:33:42.359 like tier T units, railar army units. 1899 01:33:42.439 --> 01:33:42.520 Like. 1900 01:33:43.479 --> 01:33:45.760 I think we just were better because we did it 1901 01:33:45.840 --> 01:33:49.079 so much more often. Like every night we went out, 1902 01:33:49.079 --> 01:33:50.600 we were looking for a fight or we were going 1903 01:33:50.640 --> 01:33:50.960 to get. 1904 01:33:50.880 --> 01:33:52.039 Into a fight one or the other. 1905 01:33:53.159 --> 01:33:57.039 And so it's the I think it's really that that's 1906 01:33:57.039 --> 01:33:58.640 what sets us apart from it. So you have the 1907 01:33:58.640 --> 01:34:00.800 Green Berets, and it's not their fault. They weren't getting 1908 01:34:00.800 --> 01:34:05.239 into things like that every single night. The operational temp, 1909 01:34:05.279 --> 01:34:09.359 their tempo wasn't that bad. I think the worst part 1910 01:34:09.399 --> 01:34:10.680 for them is they were just stuck out all the 1911 01:34:10.680 --> 01:34:12.680 time because you'd always hear the transmission where they'd be 1912 01:34:12.720 --> 01:34:15.840 like they're off on their own in the wild way. 1913 01:34:16.319 --> 01:34:19.239 Like doing like three or four day patrols sometimes. 1914 01:34:19.479 --> 01:34:20.319 Yeah. 1915 01:34:20.119 --> 01:34:21.920 Yeah, And as opposed to us, where we were sitting 1916 01:34:21.960 --> 01:34:24.119 there and like anytime we got into a fight, it 1917 01:34:24.199 --> 01:34:27.479 was we could just bring the might of everything that 1918 01:34:27.520 --> 01:34:29.800 we had in country down on top of you, depending 1919 01:34:29.840 --> 01:34:31.119 on where we were in the mission set. 1920 01:34:31.720 --> 01:34:33.399 Yeah, yeah, if you really get into it, I mean 1921 01:34:33.479 --> 01:34:35.159 a one is going to be overhead. 1922 01:34:35.960 --> 01:34:39.279 Oh gosh, we saw one it was my and then 1923 01:34:39.279 --> 01:34:41.640 that was that was one of the first times, the 1924 01:34:41.680 --> 01:34:44.479 first time I'd ever seen it was that first deployment 1925 01:34:45.239 --> 01:34:47.319 was watching in AC one thirty and then the Green 1926 01:34:47.359 --> 01:34:49.760 Beam of Death that they that they put out there 1927 01:34:49.800 --> 01:34:52.319 where it's just like playing whack a mole with people 1928 01:34:52.479 --> 01:34:53.720 is basically all it was doing. 1929 01:34:53.960 --> 01:34:55.359 It's like some guys would pop up. 1930 01:34:55.359 --> 01:34:59.680 We saw a group running parallel to us, and you know, 1931 01:34:59.760 --> 01:35:02.520 I'm happened Haley, who was one of the gutters. He 1932 01:35:02.600 --> 01:35:04.640 gets it and he starts firing on them. And as 1933 01:35:04.680 --> 01:35:06.880 he's firing on them, you see the blinking light and 1934 01:35:06.920 --> 01:35:11.039 then just it just the ground exploding and disappearing around 1935 01:35:11.079 --> 01:35:14.560 these people and they're gone. Or you see there the 1936 01:35:14.600 --> 01:35:19.520 gun go off and the thirty milimeters and it looks 1937 01:35:19.560 --> 01:35:21.760 like they tossed somebody into a blender. 1938 01:35:22.399 --> 01:35:26.000 And I was like, that was the But then you're on. 1939 01:35:25.960 --> 01:35:28.199 These missions, were like, I don't have to worry about 1940 01:35:28.640 --> 01:35:30.720 too much because I know somebody's coming for me. 1941 01:35:31.239 --> 01:35:32.479 It's the Green Berets. 1942 01:35:32.479 --> 01:35:35.079 I think that's where I give them a lot of credit, 1943 01:35:35.159 --> 01:35:37.920 is that like there's times where they they didn't know 1944 01:35:37.920 --> 01:35:38.800 if anybody was coming. 1945 01:35:38.840 --> 01:35:45.760 They were their exiles, right, So, but yeah. 1946 01:35:44.880 --> 01:35:48.159 And what were your other trips with snipers? 1947 01:35:49.800 --> 01:35:50.880 So I did. 1948 01:35:52.560 --> 01:35:57.199 Man, So I did one more after that and it 1949 01:35:57.239 --> 01:36:04.079 was too calf lesson So and again that was another 1950 01:36:04.079 --> 01:36:05.399 one where it was it was me and Chris. 1951 01:36:06.039 --> 01:36:07.680 We kind of just piled around. 1952 01:36:08.199 --> 01:36:11.880 We were out with Biko again and again it was uh, 1953 01:36:12.640 --> 01:36:15.760 we were just kind of hanging around and getting into 1954 01:36:15.760 --> 01:36:18.399 these like little tics. But it wasn't I think during 1955 01:36:18.439 --> 01:36:21.079 that point in time of the war, everything was starting 1956 01:36:21.079 --> 01:36:23.720 to not wind down but kind of settle into a 1957 01:36:24.079 --> 01:36:30.319 very At that point in time, the networks, the Hakani network, 1958 01:36:31.520 --> 01:36:34.640 you know, isis all these people not isis yet, but 1959 01:36:35.439 --> 01:36:38.319 the precursors to it in now Kaeda were they kind 1960 01:36:38.319 --> 01:36:40.880 of realized that, like we were the guys that you 1961 01:36:40.960 --> 01:36:45.079 didn't fight because we would kill you. It was almost 1962 01:36:45.079 --> 01:36:48.159 better for you to just get captured because then all 1963 01:36:48.199 --> 01:36:50.079 we were doing is we would we would detain you, 1964 01:36:50.600 --> 01:36:54.399 hand you off to the Afghans, and then the Afghans 1965 01:36:54.399 --> 01:36:56.319 would release you and we'd pay you for the pleasure. 1966 01:36:57.560 --> 01:36:59.359 And so they were kind of figuring that out around 1967 01:36:59.359 --> 01:37:01.960 that time. So it started to be less fights, not 1968 01:37:02.159 --> 01:37:04.319 dry holes, but we were actually going in and We're. 1969 01:37:04.159 --> 01:37:06.079 Like, yeah, this is the dude, and the dude would 1970 01:37:06.119 --> 01:37:06.800 we have one. 1971 01:37:06.800 --> 01:37:11.159 We at that deployment where me and Chris climbed, we 1972 01:37:11.159 --> 01:37:14.399 climbed ladders, were going in and this guy like popped 1973 01:37:14.399 --> 01:37:18.680 his own him light, threw it out there, had zip cuffs, 1974 01:37:19.000 --> 01:37:21.239 put a zip cuff on one hand and then worked 1975 01:37:21.239 --> 01:37:23.680 the other one and then walked out and all the 1976 01:37:24.720 --> 01:37:26.640 females and males started separating each other. 1977 01:37:26.960 --> 01:37:30.039 And I was just like, hey, it looks like they've 1978 01:37:30.079 --> 01:37:31.159 done this before. Yeah. 1979 01:37:31.239 --> 01:37:32.520 Yeah, they build a fire drill. 1980 01:37:33.319 --> 01:37:33.680 Yeah. 1981 01:37:33.760 --> 01:37:35.960 So we were like, they know what's going on here, 1982 01:37:35.960 --> 01:37:37.319 and the guy just he was like yeah, it was 1983 01:37:37.359 --> 01:37:41.399 like you know the turp, they get the pequan bit 1984 01:37:41.479 --> 01:37:42.720 out there, you got the turf out there. 1985 01:37:42.720 --> 01:37:44.880 And then they were like, yeah, he knows we're here 1986 01:37:44.920 --> 01:37:46.000 for him, and he's ready to go. 1987 01:37:46.479 --> 01:37:47.960 That's crazy. 1988 01:37:48.399 --> 01:37:50.720 So but I think that was the sign of the 1989 01:37:50.720 --> 01:37:51.640 time of this. 1990 01:37:51.560 --> 01:37:55.000 Was the futility of what we're trying to do over there, 1991 01:37:55.520 --> 01:37:56.840 like fifteen sixteen. 1992 01:37:57.199 --> 01:38:00.640 Yeah, and it was almost the they're just like, it's 1993 01:38:00.720 --> 01:38:02.399 better off for us to just go with you guys, 1994 01:38:02.439 --> 01:38:04.680 like because like we were just gonna show up and 1995 01:38:04.760 --> 01:38:06.560 kill you and we weren't. If we showed up at 1996 01:38:06.640 --> 01:38:09.159 night to come and get you, that was bad, uh, 1997 01:38:09.199 --> 01:38:11.239 and you'd rather not just deal with that. 1998 01:38:11.800 --> 01:38:13.039 And so you were still. 1999 01:38:12.880 --> 01:38:20.039 Having i know, the BSOT battlespace owners. The regular army 2000 01:38:20.039 --> 01:38:21.720 guys were still having a lot of ticks and stuff 2001 01:38:21.760 --> 01:38:25.560 like that, like small attacks on their cops or other 2002 01:38:25.600 --> 01:38:31.800 forward operating bases, but they would pretty much like that, 2003 01:38:31.920 --> 01:38:35.760 pretty much everything was settled into a a even keel 2004 01:38:35.920 --> 01:38:38.600 low of we thought that we were gonna be. That 2005 01:38:38.720 --> 01:38:42.880 was what like fifteen, like eighteen years into the war 2006 01:38:43.479 --> 01:38:46.279 something like that, Like, so like everything is pretty much 2007 01:38:46.319 --> 01:38:50.479 settled at that point, where just it's we were almost 2008 01:38:50.479 --> 01:38:54.119 doing like, hey, here's the we killed the last guy 2009 01:38:54.119 --> 01:38:56.399 in an airstrike, you know two weeks ago. 2010 01:38:56.479 --> 01:38:58.239 Here's the new guy. Let's go get him. 2011 01:38:59.359 --> 01:39:02.119 And so it was every time they promoted somebody, we 2012 01:39:02.159 --> 01:39:05.119 would just either kill them or go get them. And 2013 01:39:05.479 --> 01:39:07.079 like I said, I think at that point they'd kind 2014 01:39:07.079 --> 01:39:09.000 of realized that it's it's pretty much better off if 2015 01:39:09.039 --> 01:39:09.920 we just go get you. 2016 01:39:10.439 --> 01:39:11.560 Yeah, the game's rigged. 2017 01:39:12.520 --> 01:39:14.079 Yeah. 2018 01:39:14.800 --> 01:39:17.840 And then when you went to uh Europe as an 2019 01:39:17.920 --> 01:39:19.760 sm was that with Regiment. 2020 01:39:20.920 --> 01:39:24.520 Uh No, So it actually it was almost a detachment off. 2021 01:39:24.359 --> 01:39:28.199 Of s m oh okay, so we'll get to that. 2022 01:39:29.560 --> 01:39:29.760 Yeah. 2023 01:39:29.920 --> 01:39:34.359 So when you got back from that deployment with UH 2024 01:39:34.720 --> 01:39:38.760 the Calf, you went to the Army Marksmanship unit. Was 2025 01:39:38.760 --> 01:39:39.439 that the next thing? 2026 01:39:40.359 --> 01:39:40.640 Yeah? 2027 01:39:40.680 --> 01:39:43.920 So kind of just like anything else, you get offers 2028 01:39:43.920 --> 01:39:47.239 to do stuff. And so UH, me and my partner 2029 01:39:47.319 --> 01:39:52.720 Chris had actually gone there together, went down to the UH. 2030 01:39:53.680 --> 01:39:56.399 I had done some deployment deployment with CICCO. 2031 01:39:57.640 --> 01:39:59.960 Was any six now, had done my squad leader time, 2032 01:40:00.399 --> 01:40:02.720 and they're just it was an offer that was on 2033 01:40:02.760 --> 01:40:04.880 the table, and I was just like, yeah, sure that 2034 01:40:04.920 --> 01:40:07.560 sounds fine. It's on base and that sounds fun. So 2035 01:40:07.640 --> 01:40:10.479 we went, Me and Chris went down to the instructor 2036 01:40:10.560 --> 01:40:14.680 training group and we actually were there with other regiment guys. 2037 01:40:14.680 --> 01:40:15.800 A lot of snipers were there. 2038 01:40:16.800 --> 01:40:20.960 There was a couple of Delta guys there, and it 2039 01:40:21.039 --> 01:40:23.279 was basically they hired people who were. 2040 01:40:23.199 --> 01:40:25.359 To go out to the Army to teach them marksmanship. 2041 01:40:26.600 --> 01:40:28.079 And I always say this, it was like I thought 2042 01:40:28.079 --> 01:40:32.119 I could shoot when I was in the regiment, I 2043 01:40:32.159 --> 01:40:35.840 basically didn't. I realized I didn't know anything because they 2044 01:40:35.880 --> 01:40:36.960 start training you upstairs. 2045 01:40:37.000 --> 01:40:38.560 So I get there, I go through a shoot through. 2046 01:40:38.880 --> 01:40:39.720 They look at my resume. 2047 01:40:39.800 --> 01:40:42.720 It's almost like applying for a job, and then they 2048 01:40:42.720 --> 01:40:45.800 say yes or no. So they say yes, and so 2049 01:40:45.960 --> 01:40:48.399 we immediately we come in and we start training with 2050 01:40:51.239 --> 01:40:56.439 oh Man, we start training with like Dan Horner, and 2051 01:40:56.720 --> 01:41:01.520 there's a couple other like Green is there and all 2052 01:41:01.520 --> 01:41:05.520 these like kind of superstars within the the shooting world 2053 01:41:05.560 --> 01:41:08.039 is there, and so we start going through all the 2054 01:41:08.039 --> 01:41:09.640 shooting and I was like, I thought I was a 2055 01:41:09.640 --> 01:41:11.840 good pistol shooter. I had no idea what I was 2056 01:41:11.840 --> 01:41:16.039 doing with the pistol until I got there, and you 2057 01:41:16.079 --> 01:41:18.960 start learning that you don't know what you didn't know, 2058 01:41:19.000 --> 01:41:21.000 what you didn't know. And I was always like, because 2059 01:41:21.000 --> 01:41:23.359 I was a I had gone through AR Mike, the 2060 01:41:23.399 --> 01:41:26.960 Regimental Marximans instructor of course, so I thought I was 2061 01:41:27.000 --> 01:41:29.640 a good shooter at that point. And then so I 2062 01:41:29.680 --> 01:41:33.039 get there, I do that and realize that I'm not 2063 01:41:33.560 --> 01:41:35.680 nearly as good of a shooters. So that's almost the 2064 01:41:36.840 --> 01:41:39.640 uh kind of work up to what I started doing, 2065 01:41:39.720 --> 01:41:43.199 especially with sniper stuff. So I did the time with 2066 01:41:43.279 --> 01:41:49.279 the I TG trained, went around and started teaching regular 2067 01:41:49.359 --> 01:41:52.439 army units how to how to train. We were we 2068 01:41:52.439 --> 01:41:57.680 were in charge of teaching iyebullock we're UH or the 2069 01:41:57.720 --> 01:42:03.039 Infantry Basic UH alsoor course. We started to treat teaching 2070 01:42:03.039 --> 01:42:05.680 the Captain's Career course guys coming through the starry Major's 2071 01:42:05.680 --> 01:42:10.039 academies coming through because and I really appreciate this about 2072 01:42:10.600 --> 01:42:12.960 how regiment does is they want to send guys out 2073 01:42:13.000 --> 01:42:14.960 to know to get to know things. 2074 01:42:15.199 --> 01:42:18.000 We want to be the best at at our craft. 2075 01:42:18.079 --> 01:42:21.159 So any ranger does and where do you send You 2076 01:42:21.199 --> 01:42:22.520 got to send them to the guys that are going 2077 01:42:22.600 --> 01:42:23.239 to know how to do that. 2078 01:42:23.359 --> 01:42:27.600 So we started. We learned to shoot really well. And 2079 01:42:27.600 --> 01:42:29.319 when I mean, we learned to shoot like we were 2080 01:42:29.319 --> 01:42:30.359 shooting every day. 2081 01:42:30.479 --> 01:42:32.920 They had a really cool program where I could go 2082 01:42:32.960 --> 01:42:35.600 to their bunker with my gun. I'd signed my guns 2083 01:42:35.640 --> 01:42:39.119 out from my cage. I would walk over to the 2084 01:42:39.159 --> 01:42:41.039 bunker and we'd walk up and be like, oh, yeah, 2085 01:42:41.079 --> 01:42:44.039 I want two grand of five five six and I 2086 01:42:44.119 --> 01:42:47.279 need you know, four grand of nine zero, and then 2087 01:42:47.279 --> 01:42:48.800 I would take that and I would go and shoot 2088 01:42:48.960 --> 01:42:50.800 all day long, just all day. 2089 01:42:50.920 --> 01:42:51.840 So it was great. 2090 01:42:53.159 --> 01:42:56.960 Just that, but you learn the skills of actually marksmanship, 2091 01:42:57.600 --> 01:42:59.920 of how to run a gun, how to hold a gun. 2092 01:43:01.079 --> 01:43:04.359 All the small nuances of footwork when you're shooting, and 2093 01:43:04.359 --> 01:43:07.720 that really, I think is something that Regiment later on 2094 01:43:08.000 --> 01:43:11.279 took back home and said, there's like one of the 2095 01:43:11.319 --> 01:43:16.319 biggest things we got taught from Amy was that shooting 2096 01:43:16.439 --> 01:43:19.399 marksmanship combat shooting is almost like a martial art. 2097 01:43:19.640 --> 01:43:20.920 There's footwork involved in this. 2098 01:43:21.199 --> 01:43:23.960 There's where you place your foot, where you place your hand, 2099 01:43:24.680 --> 01:43:27.680 the little movements that you make with your head, those 2100 01:43:27.800 --> 01:43:29.920 all come into play, and that's something that you all 2101 01:43:29.960 --> 01:43:33.119 have to train so that you can optimally take targets 2102 01:43:33.159 --> 01:43:38.800 down and make good shots on good shots on a body. 2103 01:43:38.840 --> 01:43:40.840 And so we took all of. 2104 01:43:40.800 --> 01:43:43.840 That out we went and we were giving that to 2105 01:43:43.880 --> 01:43:46.680 the Army because, like I said, coming out of Regiment, 2106 01:43:46.720 --> 01:43:47.840 I thought I knew how to shoot. 2107 01:43:47.840 --> 01:43:48.199 I did not. 2108 01:43:49.199 --> 01:43:52.439 And if you look at the Army holistically, there's a 2109 01:43:52.439 --> 01:43:56.159 lot of NCO's officers who think it's sarga Majors who 2110 01:43:56.199 --> 01:43:58.439 really think that they're very good at shooting, and they 2111 01:43:59.039 --> 01:43:59.319 are not. 2112 01:43:59.680 --> 01:44:01.880 They were not the best. 2113 01:44:01.920 --> 01:44:05.159 And so having an instructor training group like that to 2114 01:44:05.159 --> 01:44:07.079 go out to the Army to actually do that was great. 2115 01:44:07.920 --> 01:44:09.319 One of the notable things I did. 2116 01:44:09.239 --> 01:44:12.560 Is I was the NCUIC for the X seventeen which 2117 01:44:12.600 --> 01:44:15.720 became the seventeen the project. So I went down to 2118 01:44:15.840 --> 01:44:18.119 Aberdeen and I actually did a lot of the testings 2119 01:44:18.159 --> 01:44:24.079 for that. And while I was in the am you, 2120 01:44:24.600 --> 01:44:27.439 me and Chris also shot international stipher together. So it's 2121 01:44:27.479 --> 01:44:31.680 really cool, my partner from Regiment, we both go over 2122 01:44:31.680 --> 01:44:34.359 to AMU and then we both shoot an international stiper which. 2123 01:44:34.159 --> 01:44:34.760 Was a great time. 2124 01:44:35.079 --> 01:44:35.840 Yeah, that's awesome. 2125 01:44:36.680 --> 01:44:36.920 Yeah. 2126 01:44:37.039 --> 01:44:43.159 So, but I really appreciate my time in AMU because 2127 01:44:43.159 --> 01:44:46.640 that's where I learned to do to actually enjoy the 2128 01:44:46.640 --> 01:44:50.800 skill craft, the craft of marksmanship, and then that actually 2129 01:44:50.800 --> 01:44:52.680 carried me over and kind of the rest of my career. 2130 01:44:52.680 --> 01:44:56.000 That's what I ended up teaching and being known for 2131 01:44:56.079 --> 01:44:56.760 wherever I went. 2132 01:44:58.000 --> 01:45:00.199 And how did that take place that you went from 2133 01:45:00.319 --> 01:45:03.560 a MU to the s fab Uh. 2134 01:45:03.600 --> 01:45:07.800 So I went through some stuff personally, as most rangers do. 2135 01:45:09.479 --> 01:45:12.920 A marriage fell apart, and I'm from Texas and so 2136 01:45:13.039 --> 01:45:16.800 the closest place in Texas is is or the closest 2137 01:45:16.840 --> 01:45:19.159 base in Texas is Fort Hood. 2138 01:45:20.119 --> 01:45:23.199 So there's an stab standing up at Fort Hood, asked. 2139 01:45:22.960 --> 01:45:26.960 A favor, uh, and they let me come, They let 2140 01:45:26.960 --> 01:45:30.079 me leave and come kind of the follow my family. 2141 01:45:30.720 --> 01:45:33.239 So so as soon as I got into that, it's 2142 01:45:33.279 --> 01:45:35.279 actually a strange place because there's a lot of rangers. 2143 01:45:35.399 --> 01:45:37.680 If there's a ton of rangers, they're not the not 2144 01:45:37.880 --> 01:45:40.279 RFS rangers. It's guys who were like, oh, hey, I 2145 01:45:40.319 --> 01:45:42.119 need to get out to do something else. I need 2146 01:45:42.159 --> 01:45:45.119 to go somewhere else and do for whatever reason they had. 2147 01:45:45.640 --> 01:45:49.920 So I ended up in there in the STAB and 2148 01:45:50.000 --> 01:45:55.279 started doing pretty much to control of a martianship program there, 2149 01:45:55.359 --> 01:45:58.439 got a team and started running that, and that's how 2150 01:45:58.479 --> 01:45:59.960 I ended up in the European Deployment. 2151 01:46:00.600 --> 01:46:02.239 Do you want to tell folks out there what the 2152 01:46:02.359 --> 01:46:03.239 s FAB was? 2153 01:46:04.840 --> 01:46:10.359 So the SAB is a is pretty much a Security. 2154 01:46:09.920 --> 01:46:14.119 Forces and Advisory Battalion. 2155 01:46:14.119 --> 01:46:16.600 Advisory battalion, so we would go to partner forces and 2156 01:46:16.640 --> 01:46:19.319 we would advise them on how to do it. So 2157 01:46:19.560 --> 01:46:24.960 they're really big into troop leading procedures, operations procedures. 2158 01:46:25.119 --> 01:46:25.880 We were teaching. 2159 01:46:26.199 --> 01:46:29.560 At first, I think it started when it first got 2160 01:46:29.680 --> 01:46:32.680 kicked off, guys were doing low level. 2161 01:46:32.479 --> 01:46:35.159 Taxes, almost like an SF job without having been SF. 2162 01:46:36.720 --> 01:46:39.359 But then they kind of started taking When I got there, 2163 01:46:39.920 --> 01:46:42.840 it was more strategic levels. So it was battalion. It 2164 01:46:42.960 --> 01:46:46.680 was a battalion and brigade up for the partner forces. 2165 01:46:46.720 --> 01:46:52.760 So yeah, how to move formations, how to actually be 2166 01:46:54.279 --> 01:46:59.840 able to get your equipment and sustainment out to that 2167 01:47:00.079 --> 01:47:01.199 was one of the big things. They would send you 2168 01:47:01.239 --> 01:47:07.119 to sustainment courses and they had for each operate, uh, 2169 01:47:07.159 --> 01:47:10.920 for each level in operation they had their we had 2170 01:47:10.920 --> 01:47:13.439 a counterpart for us, so whether that be intelligence, So 2171 01:47:13.479 --> 01:47:16.600 each part of the operations order we would have like 2172 01:47:16.640 --> 01:47:19.359 we had an intelligence guy, we had a sustainment guy, 2173 01:47:19.479 --> 01:47:21.600 we had a command and control guy, we had a 2174 01:47:21.640 --> 01:47:25.760 maneuver and so they would take people from each part 2175 01:47:25.800 --> 01:47:28.720 of the army who were subject matter experts in that 2176 01:47:28.840 --> 01:47:31.279 and then they would put them in those positions to 2177 01:47:31.319 --> 01:47:35.600 be able to advise other units. So essentially it was 2178 01:47:35.640 --> 01:47:38.439 taking I don't want to say it was taking work 2179 01:47:38.479 --> 01:47:44.039 from s SF, but it was taking the. 2180 01:47:42.640 --> 01:47:44.720 The strategic level work from it. 2181 01:47:44.760 --> 01:47:47.439 So now they wouldn't have to put people strategically in 2182 01:47:47.439 --> 01:47:49.960 their commands. There could be this this overarching and it 2183 01:47:50.000 --> 01:47:54.079 wasn't for I think special forces kind of had their 2184 01:47:54.159 --> 01:47:58.279 knit their their thing and in special in a special 2185 01:47:58.279 --> 01:48:02.279 operations mindset, this was a big like we were. 2186 01:48:02.159 --> 01:48:04.399 A big army mindset. We were like, hey, like this 2187 01:48:04.439 --> 01:48:05.479 is how you put an army together. 2188 01:48:05.800 --> 01:48:12.439 There's there's another organization I believe it's called SMATCO that Yeah, 2189 01:48:12.760 --> 01:48:15.359 were did I mean, did you guys dovetail with them 2190 01:48:15.359 --> 01:48:17.760 at all? Uh? 2191 01:48:17.840 --> 01:48:20.399 We ran around with them, but we weren't. We never 2192 01:48:20.479 --> 01:48:23.399 really liked work work with them, but we we would 2193 01:48:23.399 --> 01:48:25.520 be in commonplaces. 2194 01:48:25.000 --> 01:48:28.039 Because those are like, as I recall, that organization would 2195 01:48:28.079 --> 01:48:31.279 have like, here's our expert on the Bradley fighting vehicle 2196 01:48:31.439 --> 01:48:33.600 and they'd send them to like a country like Ukraine 2197 01:48:33.600 --> 01:48:35.560 and be like, teach these guys how to do that. 2198 01:48:36.800 --> 01:48:37.079 Yeah. 2199 01:48:37.119 --> 01:48:38.760 So and that's what I said, is I think that's 2200 01:48:38.800 --> 01:48:40.880 taking that You're starting to take it down more. 2201 01:48:41.000 --> 01:48:42.880 We were more in the end of the operations. 2202 01:48:42.880 --> 01:48:45.079 So like when we would set guys over, it was 2203 01:48:45.119 --> 01:48:47.479 just like, hey, here's how it comes up to defense, 2204 01:48:48.119 --> 01:48:49.760 Like this is how we defense, this. 2205 01:48:49.680 --> 01:48:51.439 Is how we do offense, this is how we do 2206 01:48:51.800 --> 01:48:52.680 route reconnaissance. 2207 01:48:53.520 --> 01:48:55.840 And we would take that and we would have our 2208 01:48:56.920 --> 01:49:00.600 uh whoever our counterpart was, we would be training them 2209 01:49:00.680 --> 01:49:02.000 on that portion of it. 2210 01:49:02.600 --> 01:49:05.680 So generally, your maneuver guy was a infantry guy. 2211 01:49:06.560 --> 01:49:12.960 Generally your sustainment guy was somebody who did sustainment at whatever. 2212 01:49:12.640 --> 01:49:15.560 Brigade he was at, he did a high level brigade operation. 2213 01:49:15.720 --> 01:49:16.920 So it's. 2214 01:49:18.039 --> 01:49:21.359 That's where we were going. I know that's where Scot 2215 01:49:21.479 --> 01:49:23.039 was going with it. I think they're kind of coming 2216 01:49:23.039 --> 01:49:26.359 away from that now though I know they're closing down 2217 01:49:26.399 --> 01:49:29.359 a lot of them. 2218 01:49:29.680 --> 01:49:31.760 But when you were there, you were the sniper sme. 2219 01:49:32.000 --> 01:49:33.319 I take it well. 2220 01:49:33.640 --> 01:49:36.760 They had they had stuff that was going on, they 2221 01:49:36.800 --> 01:49:38.640 got requests for things that were going on, and so 2222 01:49:38.760 --> 01:49:40.680 I was a sniper. I've done all this stuff and 2223 01:49:40.720 --> 01:49:43.520 as as much as I was that, I had done 2224 01:49:43.520 --> 01:49:47.000 a lot of shooting too. It was funny because when 2225 01:49:47.000 --> 01:49:50.239 I got sent over there, I competed in the European 2226 01:49:50.279 --> 01:49:53.319 Best Warrior while I was there, so they actually pulled 2227 01:49:53.359 --> 01:49:56.399 me out to go to Germany to do European Best Warriors. 2228 01:49:56.399 --> 01:49:58.439 So i do European Best Warrior there, but I'm not 2229 01:49:58.439 --> 01:50:00.600 allowed to win it, which. 2230 01:50:00.399 --> 01:50:03.399 Was funny that they did. 2231 01:50:03.439 --> 01:50:05.560 They told me there was like, hey, you're competing, but 2232 01:50:05.760 --> 01:50:07.680 this is more for for us to get our name 2233 01:50:07.720 --> 01:50:10.680 out there, not for you to like, you can't specifically 2234 01:50:10.760 --> 01:50:13.399 win because you have to be the European Best Lawyer 2235 01:50:14.079 --> 01:50:17.560 has to be in a unit that's currently stationed like 2236 01:50:17.680 --> 01:50:21.159 home stationed in in Europe. So I go there and 2237 01:50:21.239 --> 01:50:24.359 I do the whole dance, which was it was fun 2238 01:50:24.439 --> 01:50:29.840 but like I got uh, I got top shot and 2239 01:50:30.760 --> 01:50:32.840 I did really well in combatives, got taught and I 2240 01:50:32.880 --> 01:50:34.920 got the top shot out of the thing. 2241 01:50:35.039 --> 01:50:36.479 It was out of the competition. 2242 01:50:36.560 --> 01:50:38.960 It was funny because when they were giving the award, 2243 01:50:39.000 --> 01:50:41.239 they were like, hey, no surprise here. 2244 01:50:41.680 --> 01:50:44.560 Uh you know a SAR first class. I'll say it 2245 01:50:44.600 --> 01:50:48.000 blue y'all out a little with the shooting. And so 2246 01:50:48.199 --> 01:50:49.319 it was funny because. 2247 01:50:49.600 --> 01:50:53.079 During the quall, I was really cocky at that point 2248 01:50:53.079 --> 01:50:57.079 in time because I knew I was winning. I got 2249 01:50:57.119 --> 01:50:59.840 down and they have this known distance range with an 2250 01:51:00.119 --> 01:51:02.279 F and it's iron sights and the fort and so 2251 01:51:02.399 --> 01:51:04.880 you have so many shots and I was knocking all 2252 01:51:04.920 --> 01:51:06.279 of them down. I was just out there. I was 2253 01:51:06.279 --> 01:51:08.479 just like bam down, down, hitting all of them. I 2254 01:51:08.560 --> 01:51:11.279 was like, this is super easy. Hit the last one 2255 01:51:11.439 --> 01:51:14.800 out at four hundred. And as soon as I do it, 2256 01:51:15.039 --> 01:51:18.039 I immediately like unload my rifle. I'm like yeah, and 2257 01:51:18.079 --> 01:51:20.760 the cadre looks down at me and he's like target 2258 01:51:20.880 --> 01:51:23.600 up and I look out and I had like the 2259 01:51:23.680 --> 01:51:26.520 last round I had I had ejected the magazine's empty. 2260 01:51:27.159 --> 01:51:29.680 I'd ejected this round. It falls on the floor. I 2261 01:51:29.720 --> 01:51:33.479 look out and this pop just goes just right up 2262 01:51:34.319 --> 01:51:37.560 and it's like it's the It's like one hundred meters popper. 2263 01:51:38.079 --> 01:51:42.159 I immediately reached down, grab the bullets, shove it in finger, 2264 01:51:42.680 --> 01:51:45.680 put my finger in the magazine. Well, slammed the bolt shut, 2265 01:51:45.800 --> 01:51:48.600 and then fire from almost the shoulders. I wasn't even 2266 01:51:48.640 --> 01:51:51.960 on the stop. Thing goes down and I immediately go, yeah, 2267 01:51:52.600 --> 01:51:55.119 stand up in the It was funny because the cadre 2268 01:51:55.199 --> 01:51:57.199 was there's like, I've never seen anything like that. 2269 01:51:57.319 --> 01:51:59.359 He's like that's he was like, that was crazy. 2270 01:52:00.880 --> 01:52:03.359 So you kicked ass the first couple of days, and 2271 01:52:03.399 --> 01:52:05.079 then the last day you had to go get drunk 2272 01:52:05.079 --> 01:52:06.880 off your ass and not show up so that you 2273 01:52:07.279 --> 01:52:07.920 lost the thing. 2274 01:52:08.359 --> 01:52:11.680 Oh man, No, it was the road March. I didn't 2275 01:52:11.720 --> 01:52:13.960 prepare it at all for it. So I came in 2276 01:52:15.319 --> 01:52:18.640 top of the pack, but not first, but so they did. 2277 01:52:19.239 --> 01:52:21.640 I'll give it to him. Like the way they put 2278 01:52:21.640 --> 01:52:24.880 this competition on was good. There was an unknown event 2279 01:52:24.960 --> 01:52:27.039 at the end of the competition after the road March. 2280 01:52:27.079 --> 01:52:29.000 We all knew that, so I was just like, man, 2281 01:52:29.039 --> 01:52:30.640 I was like, it's probably gonna be an O course 2282 01:52:30.760 --> 01:52:31.640 or something weird like that. 2283 01:52:31.800 --> 01:52:33.560 I was like, I can handle a course. 2284 01:52:34.680 --> 01:52:37.319 Came in probably top middle of the pack, not great, 2285 01:52:37.359 --> 01:52:39.800 but not terrible. Like in true Ranger fashion, I'm like, 2286 01:52:39.880 --> 01:52:42.239 I'm kind of sprinting the whole time, and I got 2287 01:52:42.279 --> 01:52:44.960 like short little legs because I'm a three seven five 2288 01:52:45.079 --> 01:52:49.119 Ranger and all of us are tiny. And so we 2289 01:52:50.079 --> 01:52:52.039 get to the end and as we're getting in, they'd 2290 01:52:52.039 --> 01:52:55.199 made us have a uniform on the very top of 2291 01:52:55.239 --> 01:52:58.560 our our ruck. So I get in and they go, hey, 2292 01:52:58.680 --> 01:53:01.600 go inside. As you get in, it's immediate. It's like 2293 01:53:01.640 --> 01:53:03.720 as soon as everybody gets in there, like go inside 2294 01:53:04.119 --> 01:53:07.000 to the gym, get into that new uniform, and then 2295 01:53:07.239 --> 01:53:10.399 you guys are going to line up underneath the stadium steps. 2296 01:53:10.399 --> 01:53:12.279 And they're like, all right, so. 2297 01:53:12.239 --> 01:53:13.680 We go and do it real quick. And they were like, 2298 01:53:13.760 --> 01:53:15.359 they give us something like ten minutes to do. So 2299 01:53:15.399 --> 01:53:17.000 we get dressed, we go out there. Well, as soon 2300 01:53:17.039 --> 01:53:19.880 as we go out there, you walk out and they're 2301 01:53:19.880 --> 01:53:22.960 introducing everybody and there's a mat on there and they've 2302 01:53:23.000 --> 01:53:28.439 got shin guards and gloves and it's a round robin 2303 01:53:28.840 --> 01:53:33.640 combative tournament and it is you can do, you can kick, 2304 01:53:33.760 --> 01:53:36.239 and it was fists, you can do fists to the body, 2305 01:53:36.279 --> 01:53:39.960 and it was open handslaps and we had so it 2306 01:53:40.079 --> 01:53:41.720 was a European Best Warrior. 2307 01:53:41.800 --> 01:53:43.840 So it was a lot of it was a little 2308 01:53:43.880 --> 01:53:44.680 bit of everybody. 2309 01:53:45.359 --> 01:53:48.720 There's females with US one hundred and ten pound females 2310 01:53:48.760 --> 01:53:51.520 and they were It was a round robin fight, so 2311 01:53:51.560 --> 01:53:54.600 we're like, we're going out there, We'll watching like a 2312 01:53:54.680 --> 01:53:57.520 chick get picked up and hucked across this mat on 2313 01:53:57.520 --> 01:53:59.560 one match and then everybody had to fight each other, 2314 01:54:00.159 --> 01:54:02.239 uh and so like, and it was right after a 2315 01:54:02.319 --> 01:54:04.439 rough march and I was just like it was I 2316 01:54:04.439 --> 01:54:05.920 think it was like my third or fourth match. 2317 01:54:05.960 --> 01:54:08.039 I was just like, I'll give it to them. This sucks, Like. 2318 01:54:08.000 --> 01:54:12.920 This is rough, Like I'm so tired of fighting this guy. Uh, 2319 01:54:13.119 --> 01:54:15.960 but I was. It was it was an experience. Uh. 2320 01:54:16.039 --> 01:54:17.159 That was a really good experience. 2321 01:54:17.159 --> 01:54:20.359 And that whole deployment was a good experience being able 2322 01:54:20.399 --> 01:54:27.079 to work with a Eastern European Army who uh like 2323 01:54:27.560 --> 01:54:28.279 didn't have the. 2324 01:54:28.239 --> 01:54:30.119 Equipment but definitely. 2325 01:54:29.600 --> 01:54:34.600 Had the guys like the the want and then the 2326 01:54:34.960 --> 01:54:37.399 want and to know how without the equipment and then 2327 01:54:37.439 --> 01:54:40.000 kind of showing us how we showing them how we 2328 01:54:40.039 --> 01:54:43.119 do things, and then showing them how they do things. 2329 01:54:43.119 --> 01:54:44.520 And it's a completely different mindset. 2330 01:54:44.560 --> 01:54:48.319 Like we talked earlier about like the close in support, 2331 01:54:48.399 --> 01:54:50.520 like direct support for assault forces. 2332 01:54:50.880 --> 01:54:52.000 That's not a thing to them. 2333 01:54:52.640 --> 01:54:55.840 Then when we when they talked ciphers, Eastern Europeans talk 2334 01:54:56.520 --> 01:54:58.800 like like old. 2335 01:54:58.560 --> 01:55:01.920 Time, Yeah, we're shooting a Nazi general from the bell 2336 01:55:02.000 --> 01:55:02.840 tower of a church. 2337 01:55:03.800 --> 01:55:06.720 Yeah, and then you're expelling like you know, back to 2338 01:55:06.840 --> 01:55:11.520 your lines or you're you're in it. Like they We 2339 01:55:11.560 --> 01:55:14.399 did one scenario where we talked about we they had 2340 01:55:14.399 --> 01:55:17.680 it on their actual compound where they had a bell 2341 01:55:17.720 --> 01:55:19.920 tower and it was like, hey, you're gonna shoot from 2342 01:55:19.920 --> 01:55:23.880 this belt markets from this bell tower and they were 2343 01:55:23.920 --> 01:55:27.159 just like yeah, so we go over mission planning because 2344 01:55:27.199 --> 01:55:29.000 that's our job, like all right, so how would you 2345 01:55:29.079 --> 01:55:30.560 do this? And they're like oh no, it's like so 2346 01:55:30.560 --> 01:55:34.760 what's your excell plan? And he's like xill I was 2347 01:55:34.800 --> 01:55:37.560 like no, I get it. Yeah there. I was like 2348 01:55:37.600 --> 01:55:39.159 you're on a bell tower. You're probably not getting out 2349 01:55:39.159 --> 01:55:41.560 of that tower. Like maybe you should make some kind 2350 01:55:41.600 --> 01:55:42.960 of plan or maybe we don't even do it from 2351 01:55:42.960 --> 01:55:43.960 this bell tower like. 2352 01:55:45.479 --> 01:55:49.680 So uh that was that was a really really cool experience. 2353 01:55:50.319 --> 01:55:54.319 And then just the ability to travel Europe because in 2354 01:55:54.399 --> 01:55:57.119 regiment you don't really do that a lot. It was 2355 01:55:57.159 --> 01:56:01.680 all it was all mission missions, mission, and we were 2356 01:56:01.720 --> 01:56:03.640 the only place we went to is you know, bad 2357 01:56:03.680 --> 01:56:04.640 third world countries. 2358 01:56:05.319 --> 01:56:06.439 Uh. And they got a lot. 2359 01:56:06.279 --> 01:56:09.039 Of opportunities to meet women in the range of regiment. 2360 01:56:09.760 --> 01:56:12.720 Oh no, not not even a little bit. And then 2361 01:56:12.720 --> 01:56:14.720 you go to this other place and it's like it's 2362 01:56:15.039 --> 01:56:15.800 you know, Germany. 2363 01:56:17.800 --> 01:56:21.319 It was oh man. Uh the base was m K 2364 01:56:21.560 --> 01:56:23.479 and that was in Romania. 2365 01:56:23.520 --> 01:56:24.840 And I always tell people, I was like, hey, if 2366 01:56:24.880 --> 01:56:27.039 you want uh, if you want a good vacation for 2367 01:56:27.079 --> 01:56:28.680 bottom dollar, go to Romania. 2368 01:56:29.119 --> 01:56:30.600 So you're gonna have a lot of fun. We had. 2369 01:56:31.159 --> 01:56:32.119 It was it was bad. 2370 01:56:32.159 --> 01:56:34.560 There was like a beach there that was a topless 2371 01:56:34.560 --> 01:56:37.920 beach and so like, you know, nobody was that unit 2372 01:56:37.960 --> 01:56:40.720 that was there. Nobody was ever there. Like we were like, hey, 2373 01:56:40.720 --> 01:56:42.520 it's so, you know Wednesday, where is everybody. It's in 2374 01:56:42.520 --> 01:56:45.000 the summer, Like, oh, they're all on the beach, Like 2375 01:56:45.159 --> 01:56:47.239 of course they are. What kind of peta we're doing? 2376 01:56:47.279 --> 01:56:49.720 We're doing beach pt cool? 2377 01:56:50.159 --> 01:56:54.840 Hey, ask the Secret Service about Moldova out there. 2378 01:56:54.840 --> 01:56:57.000 I have a buddy that I work with now. 2379 01:56:57.159 --> 01:56:58.479 One of the guys that I work now on the 2380 01:56:58.520 --> 01:57:00.880 team is h He's an X for Service guy, and 2381 01:57:01.159 --> 01:57:02.680 I always give him hell about Columbia. 2382 01:57:02.920 --> 01:57:05.000 Oh yeah, Colombia, Like, you know, I'll just. 2383 01:57:04.960 --> 01:57:06.840 Pay the hookers so they won't tell on you. 2384 01:57:08.279 --> 01:57:10.840 My understanding was that was kind of like a setup, 2385 01:57:10.880 --> 01:57:13.560 like it's a scam where like the girl pretends that 2386 01:57:13.600 --> 01:57:15.680 she's just a normal girl that wants to sleep with you, 2387 01:57:15.720 --> 01:57:17.520 and then you get to the hotel room and it's like, oh, 2388 01:57:17.560 --> 01:57:18.760 but yeah, you got to pay me. 2389 01:57:19.840 --> 01:57:23.079 Yeah yeah yeah. I would have been like, I just 2390 01:57:23.079 --> 01:57:25.159 get out and here's some money. I'm gonna pay you 2391 01:57:25.239 --> 01:57:25.520 to leave. 2392 01:57:25.560 --> 01:57:25.920 How about that? 2393 01:57:26.000 --> 01:57:28.000 Yeah, here's a five spot, see you later. 2394 01:57:28.279 --> 01:57:28.520 Yeah. 2395 01:57:29.159 --> 01:57:31.960 Yeah, those guys, I was like F like s F 2396 01:57:32.680 --> 01:57:36.560 like those guys like constantly getting the Seventh Group man's 2397 01:57:36.600 --> 01:57:37.760 constantly getting in trouble. 2398 01:57:38.159 --> 01:57:39.560 I know, I. 2399 01:57:39.479 --> 01:57:41.920 Always give I think you know Alejandro. 2400 01:57:41.920 --> 01:57:43.600 Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. 2401 01:57:43.640 --> 01:57:44.960 Me and him are good friend Like me and him 2402 01:57:44.960 --> 01:57:46.720 are good friends. Every time I go to Colorado, we 2403 01:57:46.960 --> 01:57:49.680 stop and visit him. But uh, and I talked to 2404 01:57:49.720 --> 01:57:51.079 him all the time but I always give him that. 2405 01:57:51.399 --> 01:57:53.960 I was just like, yeah, man, it's like a ranger, 2406 01:57:54.079 --> 01:57:55.800 a ranger in a green Berets, Like, sounds like you 2407 01:57:55.880 --> 01:58:01.039 might have had a hooker problem. 2408 01:58:01.239 --> 01:58:03.960 So after or no, you're still in the s FAB 2409 01:58:04.079 --> 01:58:05.800 and you got deployed to h Orbil. 2410 01:58:06.840 --> 01:58:07.079 Yeah. 2411 01:58:07.119 --> 01:58:10.199 So my last deployment was in uh A Rebel Iraq 2412 01:58:10.439 --> 01:58:13.159 and we were working hand in hand with the courage. 2413 01:58:13.279 --> 01:58:15.039 So at that point I. 2414 01:58:15.039 --> 01:58:17.960 Kind of worked my way and being a sniper, I 2415 01:58:17.960 --> 01:58:20.239 think everybody kind of says that there was just like, oh, 2416 01:58:20.279 --> 01:58:23.640 you're kind of like a you're, you know, scout intel guy, 2417 01:58:23.760 --> 01:58:27.000 you know stuff about intel. And then I went to 2418 01:58:27.039 --> 01:58:29.960 a school or two and then I found myself as 2419 01:58:30.039 --> 01:58:35.920 the chief intel guy for my UH for the s 2420 01:58:35.960 --> 01:58:41.000 FAB in a Rebel. So apart from a lot of 2421 01:58:41.000 --> 01:58:44.079 the stuff was I wouldn't call it humid stuff that 2422 01:58:44.119 --> 01:58:47.119 we were doing, it was a lot of checking in 2423 01:58:47.880 --> 01:58:50.000 on guys. And then that's kind of where I learned 2424 01:58:50.000 --> 01:58:50.920 a lot about the culture. 2425 01:58:51.640 --> 01:58:54.920 Like liaison, it wasn't. 2426 01:58:54.880 --> 01:58:58.319 A liaison because we were definitely we were being used 2427 01:58:58.319 --> 01:59:03.199 by a their entities to collect to give up like 2428 01:59:03.960 --> 01:59:06.119 good information. So there was a lot of entities that 2429 01:59:06.159 --> 01:59:08.359 we'd get downloads from they'd be like, what did you see? 2430 01:59:08.680 --> 01:59:10.159 What'd you do? Okay, I need you to ask for 2431 01:59:10.199 --> 01:59:11.680 this when you go back. I needed to do this. 2432 01:59:12.560 --> 01:59:15.920 There's points where we were pretty much running sources just 2433 01:59:15.960 --> 01:59:21.720 because we were very in with the Kurds and so 2434 01:59:21.960 --> 01:59:24.279 we talked a lot to them, and like I said, 2435 01:59:24.399 --> 01:59:27.960 like we try, like as as as we are an army, 2436 01:59:28.000 --> 01:59:31.239 we trust people to a point. But then we're also 2437 01:59:31.359 --> 01:59:33.239 keeping tabs on everybody too, So that's a lot of 2438 01:59:33.279 --> 01:59:35.399 what we were doing. So we had our side reports 2439 01:59:35.439 --> 01:59:38.600 that we were writing, kind of collecting on other people, 2440 01:59:39.720 --> 01:59:43.600 which was a super interesting job, especially for a ranger, 2441 01:59:43.600 --> 01:59:45.960 because I'm going out there and I'm just like okay, 2442 01:59:46.119 --> 01:59:48.600 Like you know, we'd go and look at their storehouses. 2443 01:59:48.640 --> 01:59:50.640 One of us pair up like peel off and go 2444 01:59:50.920 --> 01:59:53.840 look out what they had, and then you compare it 2445 01:59:53.880 --> 01:59:57.079 to numbers what they actually said, and you'd be like, 2446 01:59:57.359 --> 02:00:00.000 this dude just lying. And then not only are they lie, 2447 02:00:00.159 --> 02:00:02.520 he's asking us for more stuff. And it was funny 2448 02:00:02.520 --> 02:00:05.640 because one day I asked one of the our Curdish counterparts, 2449 02:00:05.680 --> 02:00:07.720 it was like, what are you getting ready for? I 2450 02:00:07.760 --> 02:00:09.880 was like, like, you got enough? I was like, you 2451 02:00:09.920 --> 02:00:13.840 got enough at weapons in there to kickstart the next war. 2452 02:00:14.439 --> 02:00:16.600 I was like, so what is it? And he was 2453 02:00:16.640 --> 02:00:19.680 just like, oh, y'all are leaving soon. And he's like 2454 02:00:19.720 --> 02:00:21.399 straight up looking at me and phase he's like, he's like, 2455 02:00:21.439 --> 02:00:22.880 as nice as you guys are. It's like, y'all are 2456 02:00:22.920 --> 02:00:24.800 going to be here for very much longer. And he's like, 2457 02:00:25.079 --> 02:00:26.720 and then the curbs are going to be left alone 2458 02:00:26.760 --> 02:00:28.159 like Kurdistan's can be. 2459 02:00:28.199 --> 02:00:29.039 They called it Curtis Dan. 2460 02:00:29.079 --> 02:00:32.039 Nobody else wanted to call it that, but they were like, 2461 02:00:32.039 --> 02:00:33.399 the curves are going to be left alone and we're 2462 02:00:33.399 --> 02:00:34.760 going to have to fight him. And I was just like, 2463 02:00:35.119 --> 02:00:39.279 there's a point where I was like, now you're right, yeah, OK, 2464 02:00:39.600 --> 02:00:40.359 fair enough man? 2465 02:00:40.800 --> 02:00:42.760 Yeah yeah. And it's always like one of those things 2466 02:00:42.840 --> 02:00:45.000 we're like, man, could you guys not like start a 2467 02:00:45.039 --> 02:00:47.319 war with the Arabs at least swallow here please? 2468 02:00:47.840 --> 02:00:48.159 Yeah? 2469 02:00:48.359 --> 02:00:52.199 Like and then so it was funny because that was 2470 02:00:52.319 --> 02:00:55.439 right when I think the precursor to what's going on 2471 02:00:55.479 --> 02:00:58.720 and ran was going on then because we had an 2472 02:00:58.880 --> 02:01:01.760 ICBM like alert, we all had to get in. 2473 02:01:01.800 --> 02:01:03.960 They were like, hey, is this is this? 2474 02:01:04.000 --> 02:01:07.560 When we smoked Solamani and then they fired missiles. 2475 02:01:07.199 --> 02:01:10.159 They fired they fired an I C B M and 2476 02:01:10.199 --> 02:01:10.800 they were like. 2477 02:01:10.760 --> 02:01:11.920 Everybody get to a bunker. 2478 02:01:11.920 --> 02:01:14.960 And I was like why because it's like, you know, 2479 02:01:15.000 --> 02:01:16.479 we should really just get on top of one of 2480 02:01:16.479 --> 02:01:19.800 these uh one of these cheers and enjoy enjoy what we. 2481 02:01:19.840 --> 02:01:20.479 While we can. 2482 02:01:22.399 --> 02:01:26.960 But it's it's that deployment kind of as far as 2483 02:01:26.960 --> 02:01:30.920 my military career is concerned, uh, really kind of opened 2484 02:01:30.960 --> 02:01:31.239 my eyes. 2485 02:01:31.640 --> 02:01:33.800 I know people get into a lot cooler stuff. 2486 02:01:33.560 --> 02:01:35.520 But like having a career kind of like that, Yeah, 2487 02:01:36.479 --> 02:01:41.279 you're in like this intel world of you're playing like 2488 02:01:41.359 --> 02:01:44.760 I was playing checkers and now I'm I'm watching chess 2489 02:01:44.760 --> 02:01:51.199 getting played with everybody, and it was it's it's funny 2490 02:01:51.199 --> 02:01:54.359 to come from kind of that to be able to 2491 02:01:54.359 --> 02:01:55.680 see all of that in a career. 2492 02:01:56.560 --> 02:02:01.600 Uh uh just very odd. 2493 02:02:01.640 --> 02:02:03.760 Like I said, there were times where I was listening 2494 02:02:03.800 --> 02:02:05.760 to things and I was just like this should be 2495 02:02:05.800 --> 02:02:08.199 in a book. I was like sometimes somewhere like this 2496 02:02:08.239 --> 02:02:11.279 is like the truth is strangers in fiction. 2497 02:02:11.560 --> 02:02:12.680 Like as much as we can. 2498 02:02:12.560 --> 02:02:16.279 Write about things and make these stories up, it's like 2499 02:02:16.319 --> 02:02:17.640 stranger things are happening. 2500 02:02:17.880 --> 02:02:20.159 Any stories like that that you can tell or that 2501 02:02:20.199 --> 02:02:22.479 you can share one of. 2502 02:02:22.279 --> 02:02:24.960 My favorite stories was me and my partner got sent 2503 02:02:25.000 --> 02:02:29.039 out to with some other agency guys to talk to 2504 02:02:29.279 --> 02:02:31.479 two people and it was because we were the only 2505 02:02:31.479 --> 02:02:32.720 ones around, so they were just like. 2506 02:02:32.680 --> 02:02:34.199 Hey, we need you to go look at this. 2507 02:02:35.399 --> 02:02:39.079 It ended up being two Russians that had stuff there, 2508 02:02:39.119 --> 02:02:42.680 face full of they were trying to get in. They 2509 02:02:42.920 --> 02:02:45.520 had fake accents. They were trying to use fake accents 2510 02:02:45.680 --> 02:02:47.319 saying they were from Tennessee, but in. 2511 02:02:47.279 --> 02:02:48.720 A really bad way. 2512 02:02:49.840 --> 02:02:52.039 And what they were trying to do is they had 2513 02:02:52.039 --> 02:02:54.439 gotten a bunch of dip and they were putting in 2514 02:02:54.439 --> 02:02:56.600 their mouth. They trawl in their mouth so that they 2515 02:02:56.640 --> 02:02:58.800 would they were spitting and trying to do it. 2516 02:02:58.920 --> 02:03:00.159 One of them never done. 2517 02:03:00.119 --> 02:03:04.279 It before, throwing up everywhere, yeah, and cursing and Russian 2518 02:03:06.239 --> 02:03:08.800 like they all they were the gay guards like, hey, 2519 02:03:08.880 --> 02:03:10.560 you don't come and talk to these people. And we 2520 02:03:10.680 --> 02:03:13.560 go over there and just like oh, and immediately it 2521 02:03:13.600 --> 02:03:14.159 was what you think. 2522 02:03:14.159 --> 02:03:16.520 They were trying to gain access to the camp and 2523 02:03:17.199 --> 02:03:17.560 get on. 2524 02:03:17.600 --> 02:03:20.039 But we had a lot of stuff like that going 2525 02:03:20.079 --> 02:03:23.399 on because our offices were outside of camp, Like we 2526 02:03:23.399 --> 02:03:26.359 weren't on or Bil. We were out and we were 2527 02:03:26.359 --> 02:03:29.399 out in the town, so we were like constantly going 2528 02:03:29.520 --> 02:03:31.359 we were in civilian clothes going around doing. 2529 02:03:32.399 --> 02:03:37.199 Yeah, the Russian SVR has a station out there in Kurtistown. 2530 02:03:37.720 --> 02:03:40.039 Yeah, we knew, and we knew exactly where it was to. 2531 02:03:42.479 --> 02:03:49.000 So but the having been, the having been there and 2532 02:03:49.239 --> 02:03:53.359 to see all of that and others other stories of 2533 02:03:54.640 --> 02:03:57.560 you were watching international play happen kind of right there, 2534 02:03:57.640 --> 02:04:00.560 like Portugal, like and you can't I can't really get 2535 02:04:00.560 --> 02:04:04.079 into a lot of it, but you know, in twenty 2536 02:04:04.119 --> 02:04:04.920 five years, maybe. 2537 02:04:04.720 --> 02:04:05.680 I can write a book about. 2538 02:04:05.920 --> 02:04:07.479 Yeah, But it's the. 2539 02:04:09.520 --> 02:04:13.359 Being going from like like I said, what we were 2540 02:04:13.359 --> 02:04:16.079 talking before, going from the start of the war, me 2541 02:04:16.119 --> 02:04:18.680 getting there as a as a nineteen year old and 2542 02:04:18.800 --> 02:04:20.960 being bagdad fighting and stuff like that, and then the 2543 02:04:21.079 --> 02:04:23.079 end of my career. I think one of the times 2544 02:04:23.159 --> 02:04:25.279 I was sitting on. 2545 02:04:25.199 --> 02:04:25.640 Top of the. 2546 02:04:27.399 --> 02:04:31.319 One of the airfield, not bunkers, but we'd climbed up 2547 02:04:31.319 --> 02:04:34.000 on top of the oh gosh, I'm trying to remember. 2548 02:04:34.079 --> 02:04:37.399 It was the hangars and we were there was a 2549 02:04:37.399 --> 02:04:39.399 group of us sitting there smoking cigars on a hangar, 2550 02:04:39.760 --> 02:04:43.720 and I was just like it was I didn't know 2551 02:04:43.760 --> 02:04:45.079 at the time that that was going to be my 2552 02:04:45.520 --> 02:04:49.239 last apployment, but I knew I was coming towards the end, 2553 02:04:50.800 --> 02:04:55.520 just I had a back injury and it had it 2554 02:04:55.560 --> 02:04:57.199 progressed to the point where I didn't know if I. 2555 02:04:57.159 --> 02:04:58.840 Was going to be able to keep going, and I 2556 02:04:58.880 --> 02:04:59.840 was up on the eight list. 2557 02:05:00.119 --> 02:05:02.239 It was just like I knew it was that I 2558 02:05:02.279 --> 02:05:04.479 was like, hey, my time's coming close to the end 2559 02:05:04.520 --> 02:05:08.359 of this. So standing up there on the again, going 2560 02:05:08.359 --> 02:05:11.359 back to that, like you take snapshots of your service 2561 02:05:11.399 --> 02:05:13.840 and the times you bad stuff, and you think about 2562 02:05:13.880 --> 02:05:17.760 like from the time from the firefights to the guys laughing, 2563 02:05:17.800 --> 02:05:20.920 to watching sunrises come up over the like Hindu cush 2564 02:05:21.479 --> 02:05:25.199 or you know, being watching suns go down, like the 2565 02:05:25.319 --> 02:05:28.640 sun go down over Baghdad by the Babylon gates, or 2566 02:05:29.600 --> 02:05:32.520 doing all of that and then being cursed, and you know, 2567 02:05:32.920 --> 02:05:36.119 being on the over by the Iranian border, but watching 2568 02:05:36.920 --> 02:05:39.119 looking down and out of the mountains and seeing how 2569 02:05:39.119 --> 02:05:41.079 gorgeous it is. And then I think one of the 2570 02:05:41.159 --> 02:05:45.479 last things I remember is being like on that hangar 2571 02:05:45.680 --> 02:05:49.359 and smoking a cigar, watching DC rams go off and 2572 02:05:49.399 --> 02:05:51.920 being like this was cool. This was a this was 2573 02:05:51.920 --> 02:05:56.119 a cool experience, and realizing that like the things that 2574 02:05:56.199 --> 02:05:59.039 you touch through it. Maybe it didn't affect so much, 2575 02:05:59.159 --> 02:06:02.119 but it affected a lot to you. So I think 2576 02:06:02.159 --> 02:06:06.279 that's that was kind of the the endcap to my 2577 02:06:06.840 --> 02:06:07.720 military career. 2578 02:06:09.039 --> 02:06:11.439 And when you got home, you went through the med 2579 02:06:11.479 --> 02:06:13.079 board process. 2580 02:06:13.199 --> 02:06:15.560 Yeah, so I went through med board. It's the worst 2581 02:06:15.560 --> 02:06:16.560 thing I think you can ever do. 2582 02:06:18.119 --> 02:06:22.359 The What was rough about that was I thought I 2583 02:06:22.399 --> 02:06:23.319 had more left in me. 2584 02:06:23.600 --> 02:06:26.920 I was still doing a bunch of stuff. I like, 2585 02:06:27.479 --> 02:06:29.479 I think I was in my I was like thirty six. 2586 02:06:29.520 --> 02:06:31.600 I did Best Ranger at like thirty six, thirty seven 2587 02:06:31.680 --> 02:06:35.359 years old. Shit, and I still had I was still 2588 02:06:35.359 --> 02:06:36.920 doing a lot of stuff Like I was still going 2589 02:06:36.960 --> 02:06:41.479 out and training, running across it. I'd gotten into jiu 2590 02:06:41.560 --> 02:06:44.640 jitsu and I started competing in jiu jitsu, and I 2591 02:06:44.680 --> 02:06:46.159 was just like man, I got a ton. But there 2592 02:06:46.199 --> 02:06:49.000 would be times where I couldn't get out of bed 2593 02:06:49.079 --> 02:06:51.279 and I had to call somebody to my house to 2594 02:06:51.319 --> 02:06:52.479 be like, hey, I need you to come and help 2595 02:06:52.520 --> 02:06:57.880 me out of bed. And so I've been getting shot 2596 02:06:57.960 --> 02:07:01.039 to my l or my s it's like L five 2597 02:07:01.119 --> 02:07:01.600 S one. 2598 02:07:01.880 --> 02:07:03.800 Yeah, And I'd. 2599 02:07:03.640 --> 02:07:05.600 Been getting up a durals for a long time, and 2600 02:07:05.760 --> 02:07:08.119 when we were in reveal, we've gotten into a little 2601 02:07:08.279 --> 02:07:08.760 car wreck. 2602 02:07:09.359 --> 02:07:10.199 We were with the Brits. 2603 02:07:12.000 --> 02:07:15.560 You know, crazy crazy Iraqi drivers don't know how traffic 2604 02:07:15.640 --> 02:07:17.840 circles work. I want to go in the wrong way, 2605 02:07:17.920 --> 02:07:20.720 hit our hit my car. Back was a little messed 2606 02:07:20.760 --> 02:07:22.079 up after it, and I was like, I'll be fine, 2607 02:07:22.079 --> 02:07:23.760 I'll get back and it'll be good. I was on 2608 02:07:23.800 --> 02:07:26.600 the E eight list, you know, getting ready to look 2609 02:07:26.600 --> 02:07:28.359 at where I was going to go next, what I 2610 02:07:28.359 --> 02:07:29.720 was going to do next, and I was actually looking 2611 02:07:29.760 --> 02:07:34.039 at selection another selection and doctor comes in. 2612 02:07:34.119 --> 02:07:36.000 He's like, I've done all the X rays and stuff. 2613 02:07:36.000 --> 02:07:37.520 And she comes in and she's like, hey, she's the 2614 02:07:37.560 --> 02:07:39.520 first thing she says, it's like, do you do you 2615 02:07:39.600 --> 02:07:41.680 want to walk when you're sixty? It's like, what kind 2616 02:07:41.680 --> 02:07:43.600 of question is that? Yeah, I want to walk when 2617 02:07:43.600 --> 02:07:46.560 I'm sixteen. She's like, okay, then you're done, Like you'r 2618 02:07:46.600 --> 02:07:49.279 mean back med board. We're recommending med board right now. 2619 02:07:50.119 --> 02:07:51.960 We're going to start going through the process and you're in, 2620 02:07:52.079 --> 02:07:55.479 You're essentially you're finished. And I was just like that 2621 02:07:55.560 --> 02:08:03.079 took that took a little bit too kind of internalize. 2622 02:08:03.760 --> 02:08:04.720 That moment, didn't it. 2623 02:08:05.039 --> 02:08:07.000 Yeah, I wasn't ready for that. I was just like 2624 02:08:07.680 --> 02:08:08.720 I didn't think I was going to do. 2625 02:08:08.800 --> 02:08:10.399 In fact, I've made a promise to my ex wife 2626 02:08:10.399 --> 02:08:11.760 that I was going to die at my desk so 2627 02:08:11.760 --> 02:08:16.640 that she didn't get into retirement. So I was like, 2628 02:08:16.880 --> 02:08:19.119 I was, I was fully intending on following through with that. 2629 02:08:20.800 --> 02:08:25.399 So uh, you know, I had that had kind of 2630 02:08:25.439 --> 02:08:30.560 taken taken me aback a little bit. But then at 2631 02:08:30.560 --> 02:08:34.359 that point I met somebody. She was in Dallas, and 2632 02:08:34.560 --> 02:08:36.720 I was just like I was over the moon for her, 2633 02:08:36.840 --> 02:08:38.760 and so I was just like, Okay, maybe this isn't 2634 02:08:38.800 --> 02:08:43.159 too bad. Kind of started getting the feeling that I 2635 02:08:43.199 --> 02:08:45.119 was on my way out trying to make peace with it, 2636 02:08:45.159 --> 02:08:48.600 and then started trying to like make those plans, but 2637 02:08:48.640 --> 02:08:50.399 the Army makes it really hard to make plans for that, 2638 02:08:51.760 --> 02:08:54.520 so eventually they approved it. 2639 02:08:55.319 --> 02:08:55.920 I got out. 2640 02:08:56.600 --> 02:08:58.279 What I will say is the Army does need to 2641 02:08:58.279 --> 02:09:01.319 do a better job and TAPS the Regiment does a 2642 02:09:01.359 --> 02:09:05.680 fantastic job. I will say that regiment is I think 2643 02:09:05.720 --> 02:09:07.920 one of the and that's just because now I work 2644 02:09:07.920 --> 02:09:09.800 a little bit with them, But the Ranger for Life 2645 02:09:09.800 --> 02:09:15.239 program and the way they do it is so much 2646 02:09:15.319 --> 02:09:20.520 better for rangers in general. I didn't have that option 2647 02:09:20.600 --> 02:09:22.560 at that point, or I had the option. I just 2648 02:09:23.920 --> 02:09:25.239 I think there was a point time where I was 2649 02:09:25.279 --> 02:09:26.960 in a little bit of a denial. I was like, well, 2650 02:09:26.960 --> 02:09:30.520 maybe this won't go through, And then it came to 2651 02:09:30.560 --> 02:09:31.840 a point in time where I was just like, oh no, 2652 02:09:31.880 --> 02:09:38.079 it's something to leave now, like you're you're done, so yeah, 2653 02:09:38.399 --> 02:09:43.119 med boarded out started my transition. The transitions probably, like 2654 02:09:43.159 --> 02:09:44.600 I said, one of the hardest things I've ever done 2655 02:09:44.600 --> 02:09:51.119 in my life. It's I can see where guys just 2656 02:09:51.359 --> 02:09:53.399 self disrupt at the end of it day as you 2657 02:09:53.479 --> 02:09:57.039 come from, you're coming from like me, I think I 2658 02:09:57.119 --> 02:10:01.000 have seventy one months deployed, seventy one two, seventy five 2659 02:10:01.119 --> 02:10:09.359 months deployed overseas, and it's that was like, you can't 2660 02:10:09.399 --> 02:10:12.880 tell me that like at nineteen, like when my front 2661 02:10:12.920 --> 02:10:15.760 of love is not even really developed yet at nineteen. 2662 02:10:15.800 --> 02:10:18.399 This is the way life I learned. And then at 2663 02:10:18.439 --> 02:10:20.600 the end of it say hey, thanks for playing, talk 2664 02:10:20.600 --> 02:10:23.960 to you later. Yeah, And then all of a sudden, 2665 02:10:24.000 --> 02:10:26.039 one day you find yourself and like, I'm not that 2666 02:10:26.079 --> 02:10:26.680 thing anymore. 2667 02:10:26.720 --> 02:10:29.720 I'm not I'm not ranger. I'm not a ranger. I'm 2668 02:10:29.760 --> 02:10:33.880 not a I'm not operating in AUSTR environments anymore. 2669 02:10:33.880 --> 02:10:37.680 There's no next deployment for me, and I think that's 2670 02:10:37.880 --> 02:10:41.239 kind of what took a long time too, even when 2671 02:10:41.279 --> 02:10:45.560 I got out. So I got out, actually I did 2672 02:10:45.600 --> 02:10:48.880 the very private thing. I feel like when I got 2673 02:10:48.880 --> 02:10:53.920 out of I did everything in one year. So I 2674 02:10:53.920 --> 02:10:56.640 I guess I've met somebody I was over the moon for. 2675 02:10:57.000 --> 02:11:01.520 We kind of we have a very that's an interesting story, 2676 02:11:01.600 --> 02:11:03.800 and that's something i'm kind of I'm writing about now 2677 02:11:03.840 --> 02:11:05.359 because of how funny that was. 2678 02:11:06.600 --> 02:11:11.319 But got married, moved, blended families. 2679 02:11:10.960 --> 02:11:13.359 Bought a house all in that year that I got 2680 02:11:13.359 --> 02:11:15.600 out of here, like right before I got out of 2681 02:11:15.600 --> 02:11:17.439 the army, and that got out of the army, so 2682 02:11:17.600 --> 02:11:22.880 it was that probably didn't help the situation any much more, 2683 02:11:22.920 --> 02:11:27.640 but just going through it and having to realize that 2684 02:11:27.720 --> 02:11:29.359 that wasn't me and then find a new purpose. 2685 02:11:29.479 --> 02:11:31.760 So that was the that was the hard part. 2686 02:11:33.399 --> 02:11:35.520 I mean, how did that come about? You mentioned to 2687 02:11:35.560 --> 02:11:38.319 me that you worked in project management for like six 2688 02:11:38.399 --> 02:11:41.439 months and that helped teach you what you didn't want 2689 02:11:41.479 --> 02:11:41.680 to do. 2690 02:11:42.600 --> 02:11:46.800 Oh yeah, I don't recommend for men of our ilk 2691 02:11:47.359 --> 02:11:53.840 and people men of our stature, and I'm gonna say 2692 02:11:53.840 --> 02:11:56.000 men of action, I don't recommend going to be a 2693 02:11:56.039 --> 02:11:58.319 project manager. Like that's the like you gotta kind of 2694 02:11:58.359 --> 02:12:02.319 be dishonest. Everybody everything's from was better. And then like 2695 02:12:02.359 --> 02:12:04.920 you're like, yeah, this building may fall down, but like 2696 02:12:05.199 --> 02:12:06.439 I got it done under budget. 2697 02:12:08.439 --> 02:12:09.760 You know, we got a lot of that here in 2698 02:12:09.760 --> 02:12:10.439 New York City. 2699 02:12:11.279 --> 02:12:13.680 Oh god, yeah. And so I hated it. I hated 2700 02:12:14.359 --> 02:12:16.880 when I realized what it was, I was just like, 2701 02:12:16.920 --> 02:12:18.800 this is not for me. And I would go to 2702 02:12:18.840 --> 02:12:21.800 work and just dreaded it. I would I tell my 2703 02:12:21.800 --> 02:12:23.119 I'd wake up and tell my wife. I was like, 2704 02:12:23.119 --> 02:12:24.560 I don't want to go to work today, Like I 2705 02:12:24.680 --> 02:12:28.880 really don't. And then you know, being learning that like 2706 02:12:29.000 --> 02:12:30.840 nobody was gonna yell at me if I didn't go 2707 02:12:30.920 --> 02:12:33.359 to work, it was fun because then I would just 2708 02:12:33.359 --> 02:12:34.760 be like, you know what, I'm not going to work 2709 02:12:34.880 --> 02:12:36.199 and I don't have to give you a reason why. 2710 02:12:38.319 --> 02:12:40.159 And so that was the that was the funny part 2711 02:12:40.199 --> 02:12:40.760 of the whole thing. 2712 02:12:41.479 --> 02:12:44.680 And it was fun because I was working with one 2713 02:12:44.720 --> 02:12:48.640 of my best friends, Anthony Willstrom, who's a mentor in 2714 02:12:48.720 --> 02:12:51.720 jiu jitsu for me, and me and him kind of 2715 02:12:51.760 --> 02:12:53.680 worked together a little bit too and we. 2716 02:12:53.640 --> 02:12:54.960 Had those conversations all the time. 2717 02:12:55.039 --> 02:12:56.960 I was just like, man, I was just like, what 2718 02:12:57.000 --> 02:12:59.000 would happen if I just, you know, broke my leg 2719 02:12:59.159 --> 02:13:00.760 and didn't show up. He's just like, you don't have 2720 02:13:00.760 --> 02:13:02.439 to go that far. Just don't just don't show up. 2721 02:13:04.319 --> 02:13:08.479 So you got into that and really learned that that's 2722 02:13:08.560 --> 02:13:11.359 not where I wanted to be or what I wanted 2723 02:13:11.359 --> 02:13:15.159 to do. I wanted a little bit more purpose in uh, 2724 02:13:15.319 --> 02:13:20.199 in my life. So kicked around being a cop. Talked 2725 02:13:20.199 --> 02:13:23.399 to my dad, who's he's a dollar he retired Dallas 2726 02:13:23.399 --> 02:13:25.039 police officer, and he's like, don't be a cop right now. 2727 02:13:25.079 --> 02:13:25.960 And he's like, it's rough. 2728 02:13:26.760 --> 02:13:28.319 He's like, and you you stand a good chance of 2729 02:13:28.359 --> 02:13:30.800 going to jail, like more than youbody else else, just 2730 02:13:30.840 --> 02:13:33.600 because of our service. Talk to some other guys and 2731 02:13:33.600 --> 02:13:36.600 it's like, I think, especially coming from where we came from, 2732 02:13:38.039 --> 02:13:41.479 violence is a thing that we do well, and it's 2733 02:13:41.520 --> 02:13:45.239 our spoken language. And so with normal beat cops, that's 2734 02:13:45.279 --> 02:13:47.600 something that they have to learn over time. When you 2735 02:13:47.600 --> 02:13:49.760 put a guy like us in it, and we already 2736 02:13:49.840 --> 02:13:54.600 know it, our threshold for I'm going to kill you 2737 02:13:54.800 --> 02:13:57.720 is so much lower, and so when it's the when 2738 02:13:57.760 --> 02:14:02.039 that threshold is lower, you're you. I think we don't 2739 02:14:02.079 --> 02:14:05.399 understand why like the you know, this guy pulls out 2740 02:14:05.439 --> 02:14:07.479 a knife and I blasted him, Like but I did it, 2741 02:14:07.560 --> 02:14:10.319 like I shot him twenty times instead of like the 2742 02:14:10.840 --> 02:14:13.000 cursory three or four and. 2743 02:14:14.039 --> 02:14:16.079 You'll comply and the night stick is coming out. 2744 02:14:16.079 --> 02:14:16.239 Bro. 2745 02:14:16.840 --> 02:14:20.239 Yeah, like yeah, Like it's that like ooh a fight 2746 02:14:20.479 --> 02:14:25.039 like I'm in today. So it was funny because my 2747 02:14:25.079 --> 02:14:27.079 dad was just like, hey, maybe that's not something you 2748 02:14:27.520 --> 02:14:28.680 want to get into right now. 2749 02:14:29.560 --> 02:14:33.119 And honestly, I still kick that around a little bit. Mike. Uh. 2750 02:14:33.760 --> 02:14:36.520 My wife is in law enforcement. She's in federal law enforcement, 2751 02:14:36.600 --> 02:14:39.880 and so you know, she's always the one kind of 2752 02:14:39.880 --> 02:14:42.479 telling me. She's just like, yeah, maybe maybe not that. 2753 02:14:43.079 --> 02:14:47.239 I think maybe we don't get see this month. So 2754 02:14:48.479 --> 02:14:50.680 learning that though from the project manager point and then 2755 02:14:50.680 --> 02:14:52.680 trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I 2756 02:14:52.680 --> 02:14:55.039 got really lucky and stumbled into what I'm doing now. 2757 02:14:56.760 --> 02:15:01.600 And so essentially that is I work for Allegiance Project Security, 2758 02:15:03.079 --> 02:15:05.760 and it is a company security company. 2759 02:15:05.520 --> 02:15:07.359 That takes veterans and we try to put them into 2760 02:15:07.399 --> 02:15:08.680 schools and churches. 2761 02:15:09.479 --> 02:15:13.840 Which is It's funny because after Yuvaldi happened. I remember 2762 02:15:13.840 --> 02:15:17.359 talk having a conversation as an AMU, having a conversation 2763 02:15:17.439 --> 02:15:19.399 with my partner Chris, and it was just like, hey, 2764 02:15:19.399 --> 02:15:22.319 what like we should put like special operations guys in 2765 02:15:23.039 --> 02:15:25.680 like they don't want to be cops or anything like that, 2766 02:15:25.720 --> 02:15:30.199 they should we should stick them into schools. Well, Matthew Easter, 2767 02:15:30.720 --> 02:15:34.279 who's the president and the owner of the company, had 2768 02:15:34.279 --> 02:15:37.079 that idea. He's not a special operations guy. He's never 2769 02:15:37.079 --> 02:15:39.079 been in the military, he never did anything like that. 2770 02:15:39.600 --> 02:15:41.680 What he does have is a wife that's a teacher 2771 02:15:41.720 --> 02:15:44.399 that he's worried about. And he was just like, why 2772 02:15:44.399 --> 02:15:48.239 aren't we taking these guys who already did this and 2773 02:15:48.279 --> 02:15:50.960 put them into these schools and churches. And it's funny 2774 02:15:50.960 --> 02:15:54.079 because I say that when I think about Yuvalde in 2775 02:15:54.199 --> 02:15:56.520 situations like that, because now it's my job to think 2776 02:15:56.680 --> 02:16:01.560 about those security risks in schools, in churches and Red 2777 02:16:01.560 --> 02:16:05.239 Team that take that intelligence background Red teamate and say 2778 02:16:05.279 --> 02:16:07.319 what would I do if I was if I really 2779 02:16:07.359 --> 02:16:08.239 wanted to cause damage? 2780 02:16:08.279 --> 02:16:08.800 What would I do? 2781 02:16:10.960 --> 02:16:14.159 And I take Valdi as a I always tell the 2782 02:16:14.199 --> 02:16:17.600 story around people, but people were talking to I take 2783 02:16:17.760 --> 02:16:20.119 Valdi and what I take from that is it's not 2784 02:16:20.159 --> 02:16:25.239 that police officer's fall. He learned that he was not 2785 02:16:25.319 --> 02:16:29.319 about that life at that door, at that breach, we've 2786 02:16:29.520 --> 02:16:34.840 realized that's not what he's built for. What now kind 2787 02:16:34.920 --> 02:16:37.559 of the mission is is to take guys that are 2788 02:16:37.559 --> 02:16:38.040 built for that. 2789 02:16:38.079 --> 02:16:38.959 They pretty much. 2790 02:16:38.760 --> 02:16:42.959 Did a year years in their lifetime of running through doors, 2791 02:16:43.959 --> 02:16:46.360 and not only that, but made that decision of life 2792 02:16:46.440 --> 02:16:48.159 or death, like, hey, I could die in this room. 2793 02:16:48.200 --> 02:16:49.600 Because you remember what they told us when we were 2794 02:16:49.600 --> 02:16:52.040 doing ct BE and stuff like that. They're like, you're 2795 02:16:52.079 --> 02:16:56.319 running into a room with four guys, like four or 2796 02:16:56.360 --> 02:16:56.719 five guys. 2797 02:16:56.760 --> 02:16:57.760 You're running in a group. 2798 02:16:57.719 --> 02:17:00.120 With four or five guys on your team, and then 2799 02:17:00.159 --> 02:17:02.239 a room with a couple of guys who have guns. 2800 02:17:02.360 --> 02:17:05.239 Somebody is getting shot, somebody's getting killed, and there's a 2801 02:17:05.280 --> 02:17:07.319 really good chance that a lot of you are are 2802 02:17:07.360 --> 02:17:09.000 getting shot in that room. 2803 02:17:09.440 --> 02:17:13.840 So that when I say that it's not that CoP's 2804 02:17:14.000 --> 02:17:16.079 fault is because he had that thought right at that door. 2805 02:17:16.159 --> 02:17:18.079 We had the probably the same thoughts that we did 2806 02:17:18.159 --> 02:17:20.520 during training where you kind of internalize it. You're like, 2807 02:17:20.520 --> 02:17:24.520 oh God, but we got indoctrinated into it. We lived it. 2808 02:17:24.600 --> 02:17:29.200 We were that's that we understood that was our purpose. 2809 02:17:30.120 --> 02:17:32.799 Like we our purpose was to run into doors, like 2810 02:17:32.920 --> 02:17:34.360 run into danger, run into doors. 2811 02:17:34.399 --> 02:17:36.600 We were going to breach that threshold. We were going 2812 02:17:36.680 --> 02:17:37.840 to jump out of that airplane. 2813 02:17:37.879 --> 02:17:40.639 So the question of life and death never stopped entering 2814 02:17:40.639 --> 02:17:43.479 our mind, and it was like how do I get 2815 02:17:43.479 --> 02:17:46.000 in here and how do I stop the threat? So 2816 02:17:47.280 --> 02:17:50.079 that's what this this organization basically does is we're trying 2817 02:17:50.120 --> 02:17:55.239 to take guys like that usher them into civilian life 2818 02:17:55.440 --> 02:17:58.399 by easing them into it, not taking everything away that 2819 02:17:58.440 --> 02:18:00.079 they are, not taking the gun away from them, and 2820 02:18:00.319 --> 02:18:04.680 not taking the brotherhood away from them, not taking that 2821 02:18:04.799 --> 02:18:08.000 culture away from them, and slowly kind of saying hey. 2822 02:18:07.959 --> 02:18:09.319 Like you're not running through those doors. 2823 02:18:09.399 --> 02:18:12.520 There's not This isn't a TST right now, could be, 2824 02:18:13.639 --> 02:18:15.319 But what your job is is we're going to give 2825 02:18:15.319 --> 02:18:18.040 you that new mission to protect these children, protect these churches. 2826 02:18:18.920 --> 02:18:21.879 Once you do that, like you start kind of easing 2827 02:18:21.920 --> 02:18:24.559 them into it, and then eventually the point of the 2828 02:18:24.600 --> 02:18:27.360 whole thing is for that guy one day to say, hey, 2829 02:18:27.399 --> 02:18:29.280 I'm done. I think I got it out of my system. 2830 02:18:29.360 --> 02:18:31.399 I think I've transition. 2831 02:18:31.120 --> 02:18:32.760 Enough to stone. 2832 02:18:33.719 --> 02:18:38.079 Yes, So it's almost like, essentially we're drug addicts when 2833 02:18:38.079 --> 02:18:41.239 you leave the regiment, when you leave the military, I'm 2834 02:18:41.239 --> 02:18:42.200 an adrenaline junkie. 2835 02:18:42.280 --> 02:18:43.159 I still do it. I fight. 2836 02:18:43.760 --> 02:18:46.559 I go fight people on my off time for competition 2837 02:18:46.639 --> 02:18:48.040 because I like it, because I like the way it 2838 02:18:48.079 --> 02:18:52.040 makes me feel. I'm a drug addict as far as 2839 02:18:52.079 --> 02:18:54.200 like that adrenaline. I'm always looking for that next rush, 2840 02:18:54.280 --> 02:18:57.840 that next thing. We are all like that, and you 2841 02:18:57.920 --> 02:19:00.360 got to kind of step yourself down on it, so 2842 02:19:00.440 --> 02:19:02.239 you never just take a dude off cold turkey. And 2843 02:19:02.319 --> 02:19:04.280 essentially that's why I have a problem with the taps 2844 02:19:04.399 --> 02:19:05.200 in the military. 2845 02:19:05.280 --> 02:19:06.040 The way they do. 2846 02:19:07.879 --> 02:19:11.360 Offloading of in retirements and pushing people out of the 2847 02:19:11.479 --> 02:19:13.719 army is they essentially just drop you off at the 2848 02:19:13.719 --> 02:19:15.040 bus stop and say, hey, good luck man. 2849 02:19:16.319 --> 02:19:16.680 And so. 2850 02:19:18.280 --> 02:19:20.719 Getting into that though, has really kind of made me 2851 02:19:23.440 --> 02:19:26.920 really kind of given me that new purpose. And then 2852 02:19:26.920 --> 02:19:31.159 aside from that, I do the mercenary thing. I'm a 2853 02:19:31.200 --> 02:19:34.639 gun for hire. I I always tell guys will have gun, 2854 02:19:34.719 --> 02:19:38.000 will travel. I've done a lot of executive protection work, 2855 02:19:39.040 --> 02:19:44.360 done some overseas stuff, and that's I think for a 2856 02:19:44.399 --> 02:19:47.440 lot of US and especially rangers and special operations, that's 2857 02:19:47.479 --> 02:19:51.399 where we end up there, not because we want to, 2858 02:19:51.520 --> 02:19:52.840 but because that's what we know. 2859 02:19:53.079 --> 02:19:54.479 And I know a lot of guys that do a 2860 02:19:54.479 --> 02:19:55.639 good job in the transition. 2861 02:19:58.280 --> 02:20:00.959 I just stepping away from and it's always been one 2862 02:20:00.959 --> 02:20:02.799 of those things where it's it's hard to do. 2863 02:20:03.079 --> 02:20:04.479 And I'm only a year out, so. 2864 02:20:04.840 --> 02:20:08.440 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm still in that point where I'm 2865 02:20:08.879 --> 02:20:10.920 not looking for a fight, but still kind of stepping 2866 02:20:10.959 --> 02:20:11.719 myself down from it. 2867 02:20:11.840 --> 02:20:14.159 I totally get it, man, And I mean, like you said, 2868 02:20:14.200 --> 02:20:18.200 you're a year out from retirement, and I mean, I 2869 02:20:18.239 --> 02:20:20.280 swear to god, I was only in the army for 2870 02:20:20.319 --> 02:20:22.639 eight years, but it took me at least another eight 2871 02:20:22.719 --> 02:20:28.040 years to like de army myself. You know, it becomes 2872 02:20:28.040 --> 02:20:31.760 something else and do something else. So for a guy 2873 02:20:31.879 --> 02:20:35.360 like you, you know, somebody that did twenty years or whatever, 2874 02:20:36.440 --> 02:20:38.920 it's it's just fundamentally a part of who you are. 2875 02:20:39.120 --> 02:20:41.799 Like you said, I mean, it's you can't really deny it. 2876 02:20:41.879 --> 02:20:43.520 You know, that's that's who you are. 2877 02:20:44.360 --> 02:20:46.200 I don't think you're ever going to really get away 2878 02:20:46.200 --> 02:20:46.799 from it either. 2879 02:20:46.959 --> 02:20:49.840 Like I tell my wife all the time, I was like, 2880 02:20:50.040 --> 02:20:52.959 I still have dreams, and I dream in green sometimes 2881 02:20:53.760 --> 02:20:57.799 I dream I dream a runoff for ramp. I dream 2882 02:20:57.879 --> 02:21:01.479 and you know White fosph is like I dream in 2883 02:21:01.559 --> 02:21:06.360 those colors. Yeah, in those places that I don't think 2884 02:21:06.399 --> 02:21:08.399 they'll ever leave you. I think I think that will 2885 02:21:08.399 --> 02:21:09.959 always be a part of us. And it's just a 2886 02:21:11.280 --> 02:21:15.239 figuring out how to to combine those worlds. 2887 02:21:14.920 --> 02:21:17.479 If that's what you want to do. There's some guys 2888 02:21:17.479 --> 02:21:17.959 that get out. 2889 02:21:18.319 --> 02:21:23.120 Colend Master is a farmer, uh, you know, and he 2890 02:21:23.200 --> 02:21:24.959 was he was in Beko for a long time, did 2891 02:21:25.000 --> 02:21:28.600 a lot of stuff. That guy's a farmer now. Uh. 2892 02:21:28.920 --> 02:21:33.440 One of my buddies, Chris. 2893 02:21:31.600 --> 02:21:32.639 He's uh. 2894 02:21:33.319 --> 02:21:35.959 I would say like I used to say that that 2895 02:21:35.959 --> 02:21:37.479 that guy killed more people than played. 2896 02:21:38.280 --> 02:21:44.319 And he's a therapist now. It people. There's people who 2897 02:21:44.399 --> 02:21:45.239 do well at it. 2898 02:21:45.799 --> 02:21:46.040 Well. 2899 02:21:46.159 --> 02:21:49.479 Sometimes people go into a profession because they're trying to 2900 02:21:49.479 --> 02:21:50.840 warn it for themselves. 2901 02:21:51.559 --> 02:21:54.399 Yeah, no, and I got that's definitely that is. That 2902 02:21:54.520 --> 02:21:58.600 is definitely Chris. And he's another one that he got 2903 02:21:58.600 --> 02:21:59.120 injured at. 2904 02:21:59.239 --> 02:22:01.879 Just the the beating that your body takes out of it 2905 02:22:02.120 --> 02:22:04.280 from a lifetime of that, you're not gonna be able 2906 02:22:04.280 --> 02:22:04.760 to sustain it. 2907 02:22:04.799 --> 02:22:06.879 You're not gonna be able to keep going. There's a 2908 02:22:06.920 --> 02:22:08.360 point where your body's going to fail you. 2909 02:22:09.959 --> 02:22:13.639 So yeah, So it's the I think for guys like us, 2910 02:22:14.280 --> 02:22:18.319 the most important thing is and again that's what Allegianus 2911 02:22:18.319 --> 02:22:23.000 Project Foundation does is we're trying to offer you where 2912 02:22:23.040 --> 02:22:26.040 we try to offer the guys a community again to say, hey, 2913 02:22:26.079 --> 02:22:29.079 don't step away like wet. Every ranger that I ever 2914 02:22:29.159 --> 02:22:33.280 knew that killed themselves isolated themselves. It was a they 2915 02:22:34.040 --> 02:22:37.799 They took themselves from the path. They decided that they 2916 02:22:37.799 --> 02:22:40.120 were going to do it by themselves and then never 2917 02:22:40.120 --> 02:22:41.760 made it. And we don't make it through Rangers fool 2918 02:22:41.799 --> 02:22:44.120 by ourselves. We never made it through this deployment by ourselves. 2919 02:22:44.600 --> 02:22:48.680 So I don't understand why guys think that you're going 2920 02:22:48.719 --> 02:22:50.360 to make it through the rest of this by yourself. 2921 02:22:50.559 --> 02:22:50.719 Yea. 2922 02:22:51.159 --> 02:22:56.319 So well, three rangers, Allegianus Projects Foundation, both of them 2923 02:22:56.479 --> 02:23:00.920 are offering that tribe. We're a tribe special especially in 2924 02:23:00.959 --> 02:23:04.360 special operations and the big armies of their own tribe 2925 02:23:04.639 --> 02:23:06.719 or whatever service that you did. You have that tribe 2926 02:23:06.719 --> 02:23:10.159 in there. And then I have friends, I have really 2927 02:23:10.200 --> 02:23:12.959 good friends that are seals that I met here and 2928 02:23:13.200 --> 02:23:15.319 they're their own tribe. They have their own jokes. And 2929 02:23:15.360 --> 02:23:18.200 then we have Green berets. They're their own tribe. They 2930 02:23:18.200 --> 02:23:21.520 have their own jokes Rangers where we have our own tribe. 2931 02:23:21.840 --> 02:23:25.520 We're all tribal and we stay within those. But especially 2932 02:23:25.600 --> 02:23:28.680 when you get out, it's important that I don't have 2933 02:23:28.760 --> 02:23:30.520 rent friends that are just ranger. I don't just stick 2934 02:23:30.520 --> 02:23:32.680 around with rangers because I never find them. There's not 2935 02:23:32.719 --> 02:23:35.079 They're feming far between out here. Most of us are scattered. 2936 02:23:36.079 --> 02:23:37.639 I have friends that are seals and we sit around 2937 02:23:37.680 --> 02:23:44.360 and talk about everything anything. So finding originations a that's 2938 02:23:44.399 --> 02:23:45.920 I think one of the biggest things that's helped me. 2939 02:23:46.920 --> 02:23:48.719 It's fine because I was in a deep dark hole too. 2940 02:23:49.120 --> 02:23:53.159 My wife, God bless her, she married me and probably 2941 02:23:53.159 --> 02:23:56.760 at the worst the furthest down I could be at 2942 02:23:56.760 --> 02:24:02.440 that point. And so but finding a finding those communities, 2943 02:24:02.479 --> 02:24:05.000 getting with those trips, getting with your tribe, find your tribe, 2944 02:24:05.360 --> 02:24:07.840 find the other special operations guys, and then fight off 2945 02:24:07.840 --> 02:24:11.959 the drop done together, which is now life. And then 2946 02:24:12.479 --> 02:24:15.159 the other thing too, is that like a lot of 2947 02:24:15.159 --> 02:24:17.479 these guys, I don't know what it is, we get 2948 02:24:17.520 --> 02:24:19.159 divorced like it's going out of style. 2949 02:24:20.520 --> 02:24:21.840 Just maybe that's the ranger way. 2950 02:24:22.879 --> 02:24:25.239 But realize that like you've made mistakes of your life 2951 02:24:25.360 --> 02:24:30.000 and to find that person, like you said my wife, 2952 02:24:30.120 --> 02:24:32.639 I met her. This is actually a really funny story 2953 02:24:32.680 --> 02:24:37.840 and something I'm writing about. But we met on Hinge, 2954 02:24:38.280 --> 02:24:40.000 and I'm not afraid to say that, like I was 2955 02:24:40.040 --> 02:24:41.959 getting out kind of new, I was coming back to Dallas. 2956 02:24:42.000 --> 02:24:44.600 So I get on Henge. We get meet on Hinge 2957 02:24:44.639 --> 02:24:47.399 and we meet each other. And it's funny because at 2958 02:24:47.399 --> 02:24:48.879 the time I was still working kind of some of 2959 02:24:48.879 --> 02:24:53.639 the intel piece and her Hinge profile said it said 2960 02:24:53.719 --> 02:24:55.600 like law something like that. 2961 02:24:55.600 --> 02:24:57.920 I didn't know what that meant. And so we start meeting. 2962 02:24:58.000 --> 02:25:02.360 We start talking and through conversations we're not being one 2963 02:25:02.799 --> 02:25:06.440 percent open with what we are, but you can kind 2964 02:25:06.440 --> 02:25:06.799 of tell. 2965 02:25:07.040 --> 02:25:07.639 And uh. 2966 02:25:07.840 --> 02:25:11.719 So I go to the first date Hugger uh realized 2967 02:25:11.719 --> 02:25:12.959 that there's a gun on her. 2968 02:25:13.559 --> 02:25:15.680 And so when I helped you brought a gun to 2969 02:25:15.760 --> 02:25:16.280 the date. 2970 02:25:16.840 --> 02:25:18.760 I was like, there's a gun. There's I was like, 2971 02:25:18.799 --> 02:25:20.399 there's a gun. I was like, maybe it's just super 2972 02:25:20.399 --> 02:25:23.639 two A or something. Uh And like I was like, 2973 02:25:23.680 --> 02:25:26.719 this is Dallas, you know maybe, And so we sit 2974 02:25:26.760 --> 02:25:30.120 down and we start talking and I start realizing from 2975 02:25:30.159 --> 02:25:35.399 training I'm in I'm in an interrogation like it is going. 2976 02:25:35.479 --> 02:25:39.760 It is going exactly a rig. Yeah, it's immediately it 2977 02:25:39.879 --> 02:25:43.879 was like, oh no, like who is she? What is this? 2978 02:25:44.120 --> 02:25:44.760 What have I gotten? 2979 02:25:44.760 --> 02:25:47.520 And myself into uh And so I start going through 2980 02:25:47.959 --> 02:25:50.120 your usual like what they train you. You like, you 2981 02:25:50.200 --> 02:25:54.399 start answering with one words, asking like a certain qudits 2982 02:25:54.440 --> 02:25:56.600 like if you're going to ask questions, you're asking questions, 2983 02:25:56.639 --> 02:25:59.799 and then you know, if they say anything, it's you know, deny, deny, deny, 2984 02:26:00.040 --> 02:26:01.159 make counter accusations. 2985 02:26:01.159 --> 02:26:03.639 It's like, no, you're gorgeous. 2986 02:26:03.879 --> 02:26:06.280 Yeah, you're ready to karate chopper in the neck and run. 2987 02:26:06.520 --> 02:26:06.959 Yeah. Yeah. 2988 02:26:07.000 --> 02:26:09.319 I'm like sitting there looking at exits being like, all right, 2989 02:26:09.360 --> 02:26:10.600 so how am I getting out of here? 2990 02:26:10.959 --> 02:26:12.760 I was like, cause she's definitely armed. 2991 02:26:14.360 --> 02:26:17.479 And so through the course of this date, we're kind 2992 02:26:17.479 --> 02:26:21.280 of very subversive and during the speaking to each other, 2993 02:26:21.399 --> 02:26:24.879 just texting. Meanwhile, I don't know that later on I 2994 02:26:24.920 --> 02:26:27.680 find out behind the scenes, like an entire dossier is 2995 02:26:27.680 --> 02:26:28.520 getting made about me. 2996 02:26:29.079 --> 02:26:32.479 She's like open sourcing me. She's looking up all this stuff. 2997 02:26:32.520 --> 02:26:35.000 She's found a video that was in that I'd made 2998 02:26:35.000 --> 02:26:40.200 an AMU like years before, about like teaching. And so 2999 02:26:41.440 --> 02:26:44.239 we start going through the song and dance, and there's 3000 02:26:44.280 --> 02:26:45.639 a point where at the end of it, I was 3001 02:26:45.680 --> 02:26:49.040 just like, yeah, I was like, I think you're something else, 3002 02:26:49.120 --> 02:26:50.879 and she was just like, I think you're something else. 3003 02:26:51.440 --> 02:26:53.920 I was just like, I was like, I am in 3004 02:26:53.959 --> 02:26:54.479 the Army. 3005 02:26:54.559 --> 02:26:56.799 I was like, I work in tell stuff, and I 3006 02:26:56.840 --> 02:26:59.360 was like, I'm a I'm a ranger. I was like, 3007 02:26:59.399 --> 02:27:02.760 I was a ranger, and she goes and she just 3008 02:27:02.760 --> 02:27:04.520 comes out with it. She's like, oh, yeah, I'm federal 3009 02:27:04.600 --> 02:27:09.799 law enforcement. So then that starts the whole thing where 3010 02:27:10.120 --> 02:27:15.440 we've we kind of have grown in that where I 3011 02:27:15.479 --> 02:27:17.040 did all that. I made a mistake one time where 3012 02:27:17.040 --> 02:27:19.879 we were we were talking and I hadn't sent her this, 3013 02:27:19.920 --> 02:27:23.559 but this picture showed up late. It was at Halloween, 3014 02:27:23.639 --> 02:27:26.120 and I was like, oh, I'm a Navy seal. And 3015 02:27:26.200 --> 02:27:28.479 apparently so many Navy seals have said that their Navy 3016 02:27:28.479 --> 02:27:31.399 seals here that and as far as dating is concerned that, 3017 02:27:31.440 --> 02:27:33.000 she was just like, oh, yeah, she. 3018 02:27:33.120 --> 02:27:34.040 Another Navy seal. 3019 02:27:34.200 --> 02:27:36.799 Go great, you know that joke that there's you know, 3020 02:27:36.840 --> 02:27:38.959 a thousand Navy seals and I've all I've met all 3021 02:27:39.479 --> 02:27:41.879 seven thousand of them. 3022 02:27:42.360 --> 02:27:44.440 So she kind of went through that almost dropped me 3023 02:27:44.479 --> 02:27:45.040 off the app. 3024 02:27:45.200 --> 02:27:48.040 But it's kind of cool because I found somebody who 3025 02:27:48.879 --> 02:27:50.680 understands the work, understands me. 3026 02:27:51.440 --> 02:27:53.440 Uh, And then we actually started. 3027 02:27:53.799 --> 02:27:56.959 She's a firearms instructor too, and so we actually trained together. 3028 02:27:59.319 --> 02:28:02.520 She got me into the police Week thing where I 3029 02:28:02.600 --> 02:28:05.559 went in and got to shoot with her in armor. 3030 02:28:05.639 --> 02:28:08.159 We did some stuff and so I have this picture. 3031 02:28:08.360 --> 02:28:11.079 It's pretty funny where we're sitting on a car, a 3032 02:28:11.120 --> 02:28:13.879 shot up car, and it says I have the black 3033 02:28:13.920 --> 02:28:16.520 box over our eyes and mindsets MRK. And her says then, 3034 02:28:17.280 --> 02:28:22.239 so it's uh, but the stories too that I think 3035 02:28:22.360 --> 02:28:25.920 we're hard on ourselves in our lives. As a ranger, 3036 02:28:26.120 --> 02:28:29.200 you're you're always you're so hard. You know, you're so 3037 02:28:29.319 --> 02:28:33.959 hard that you don't find the connections and you don't 3038 02:28:33.959 --> 02:28:37.000 connect with somebody. And so I think as far as 3039 02:28:37.000 --> 02:28:39.760 finding your tribe, finding your community, the other like important 3040 02:28:39.760 --> 02:28:42.520 things is like find that person, like find that person 3041 02:28:42.680 --> 02:28:46.200 for you, because we do. We do a lot of 3042 02:28:46.239 --> 02:28:50.280 damage to ourselves in our relationships. In while we were 3043 02:28:50.280 --> 02:28:55.799 in the regiment, we we put everything first, like you everything, 3044 02:28:56.399 --> 02:28:59.559 nothing circumvented the mission, nothing certain. 3045 02:28:59.639 --> 02:29:01.760 You want to go on that next deployment, you wanted 3046 02:29:01.799 --> 02:29:02.760 to do the. 3047 02:29:02.680 --> 02:29:06.879 Next thing, and to survive all of that, you had 3048 02:29:06.879 --> 02:29:09.239 to put your family on the back burner. So once 3049 02:29:09.360 --> 02:29:12.440 guys get out, they still get in that mindset and 3050 02:29:12.479 --> 02:29:15.559 it's like, hey, you don't have to ruin everything now 3051 02:29:15.920 --> 02:29:16.319 you can. 3052 02:29:16.840 --> 02:29:17.719 You can go be happy. 3053 02:29:19.600 --> 02:29:22.399 So I really think out of all the friends that 3054 02:29:22.399 --> 02:29:27.200 I've seen, the Rangers, they've taken their lives, those are 3055 02:29:27.239 --> 02:29:29.920 the two key components that I think they need to 3056 02:29:30.520 --> 02:29:36.479 realize and reach out and actually say, hey, I'm gonna 3057 02:29:36.479 --> 02:29:37.600 give life to try and help it. 3058 02:29:38.319 --> 02:29:42.159 That happened that that's like such a like when we 3059 02:29:42.239 --> 02:29:44.559 say it out loud, it's such an odd thing to say, 3060 02:29:45.200 --> 02:29:48.360 but it's it's totally true that, you know, you have 3061 02:29:48.440 --> 02:29:51.319 to give your yourself permission to enjoy life and to 3062 02:29:51.360 --> 02:29:55.040 find something that you like. You know, it's beyond you know, 3063 02:29:55.120 --> 02:29:57.760 that sense of duty, but something for yourself. 3064 02:29:58.760 --> 02:30:02.600 Yeah, it's and I think it's just hard for us. 3065 02:30:02.719 --> 02:30:06.239 It's because you don't you don't do all of that 3066 02:30:06.280 --> 02:30:09.959 without coming out of it, without some kind of identity 3067 02:30:10.000 --> 02:30:14.280 crisis that can take it away from you. It's just 3068 02:30:14.360 --> 02:30:17.239 a it's so ingrained in us. Everything, Like if you 3069 02:30:17.280 --> 02:30:20.879 think back to like anything we did in the regiment. 3070 02:30:21.520 --> 02:30:24.120 It's funny because I laugh about the like it's so 3071 02:30:24.399 --> 02:30:26.840 indoctrinating in us in anything. In the regiment, we sing 3072 02:30:26.879 --> 02:30:30.399 songs about us like well like, and not only do 3073 02:30:30.520 --> 02:30:32.760 we sing songs about us, army sing songs about us. 3074 02:30:32.760 --> 02:30:36.920 So we're this big giant thing and we don't stop 3075 02:30:36.959 --> 02:30:39.719 to realize that we're also human in that. Like there's 3076 02:30:39.719 --> 02:30:42.520 a point where we have to say, hey, like, I 3077 02:30:42.680 --> 02:30:44.959 was that for that reason for that time, and now 3078 02:30:45.159 --> 02:30:47.879 it's time to be something else. It's time Tom, and 3079 02:30:48.399 --> 02:30:51.600 I'll admit I'm It's not time to lose the ranger 3080 02:30:51.639 --> 02:30:54.559 in you. It's not time to lose that identity, but 3081 02:30:54.600 --> 02:30:57.319 it's time to take on another mission. I'm a ranger 3082 02:30:57.520 --> 02:31:00.799 and I can be used at anything, and that's I 3083 02:31:00.879 --> 02:31:03.600 think our biggest strength. I can literally do anything. I 3084 02:31:03.680 --> 02:31:06.040 can do anything that anybody wants me to do. And 3085 02:31:06.360 --> 02:31:08.520 I've suffered so much that I can suffer through a 3086 02:31:08.559 --> 02:31:13.040 whole lot more. But that gives us a unique skill 3087 02:31:13.120 --> 02:31:16.959 set in this world now where now you can you 3088 02:31:17.719 --> 02:31:20.840 you were probably more driven than ninety nine nine percent of. 3089 02:31:20.920 --> 02:31:24.319 Society, absolutely, and then all you have to do is 3090 02:31:24.360 --> 02:31:25.399 go out and find that thing. 3091 02:31:28.120 --> 02:31:32.600 Yeah, Louis, tell us where people can go to find 3092 02:31:32.920 --> 02:31:37.520 uh what is it? Alliance and three Ranger So. 3093 02:31:37.680 --> 02:31:41.319 Three Rangers Foundation is uh the one you can go 3094 02:31:41.399 --> 02:31:44.440 to three Rangers uh foundation dot. 3095 02:31:44.559 --> 02:31:51.360 Org dot org? Yeah, yes, dot org. 3096 02:31:51.559 --> 02:31:53.200 And then i'd ask I had to ask my better 3097 02:31:53.280 --> 02:31:59.319 alp uh and then uh, the Allegiance Project uh foundation 3098 02:31:59.799 --> 02:32:02.799 is is a dot org and then there's Allegiance Project 3099 02:32:03.280 --> 02:32:07.200 Security dot com. The security side is actually a security company. 3100 02:32:07.239 --> 02:32:10.840 So guys need any help with like getting into the 3101 02:32:10.879 --> 02:32:13.840 security industry, Man, I got it in spades. 3102 02:32:14.040 --> 02:32:15.600 You guys come to me, and. 3103 02:32:18.040 --> 02:32:19.879 I'm sure there's a way we can leave my email up, 3104 02:32:20.319 --> 02:32:23.120 email me, talk to me. I'll get you to know how. 3105 02:32:23.200 --> 02:32:25.040 I'll even help get you your level three Level four 3106 02:32:25.040 --> 02:32:25.959 in Texas if you need it. 3107 02:32:26.239 --> 02:32:27.000 We have guys for that. 3108 02:32:27.280 --> 02:32:29.280 We'll put some links down the description. But if you 3109 02:32:29.319 --> 02:32:32.440 want to give out your email, I mean feel free. Yeah. 3110 02:32:32.559 --> 02:32:33.520 So my. 3111 02:32:35.280 --> 02:32:38.920 Work email is Luis l u I s at Allegiance 3112 02:32:39.000 --> 02:32:44.479 Project dot org all on word and just like I said, 3113 02:32:44.559 --> 02:32:47.639 email me there for any guys that want it, and 3114 02:32:47.799 --> 02:32:48.079 I can. 3115 02:32:49.000 --> 02:32:50.200 We're very connected. 3116 02:32:51.120 --> 02:32:53.680 The other thing we're doing if anybody is in Texas 3117 02:32:54.600 --> 02:32:55.479 during October third. 3118 02:32:55.520 --> 02:32:56.879 Everybody knows what October third is. 3119 02:32:57.719 --> 02:33:00.239 I'm assuming it's Thethics. 3120 02:33:00.360 --> 02:33:01.319 Yeah, it's Gothic Serpent. 3121 02:33:01.440 --> 02:33:05.840 So we're actually putting on three Rangers and Allegious Project 3122 02:33:05.920 --> 02:33:08.719 Foundation is actually putting on the first movie Diishan Mile 3123 02:33:08.920 --> 02:33:09.520 in Dallas. 3124 02:33:10.239 --> 02:33:12.280 So we're going to be in current Texas. We got 3125 02:33:12.319 --> 02:33:12.840 a great place. 3126 02:33:12.879 --> 02:33:15.079 We're trying to get as many rangers out and again 3127 02:33:15.159 --> 02:33:17.840 that's that community thing, finding your tribe. We're inviting seals. 3128 02:33:17.840 --> 02:33:20.600 I'm going to make fun of some seals. You know, 3129 02:33:20.840 --> 02:33:22.159 I'll be like, hey, do you need me to carry 3130 02:33:22.200 --> 02:33:23.680 you out of here? Like do we get to the 3131 02:33:23.719 --> 02:33:25.440 halfway point and you want me to carry you back? 3132 02:33:26.000 --> 02:33:26.639 Like how are we doing that? 3133 02:33:26.719 --> 02:33:30.840 Don't get on a ridge or anything. But the it's 3134 02:33:30.920 --> 02:33:33.200 finding that it is being able to kind of chat 3135 02:33:33.280 --> 02:33:36.159 it up and find this. But we're putting on that 3136 02:33:36.399 --> 02:33:39.879 run for the guys that aren't at Benning that think 3137 02:33:40.120 --> 02:33:42.440 that can make it here, so that we can we 3138 02:33:42.520 --> 02:33:45.920 can get communities going everywhere. The goal is that one day, 3139 02:33:46.079 --> 02:33:48.360 like on October third, we're celebrating all of that, Like 3140 02:33:48.479 --> 02:33:50.120 all of us are celebrating. 3141 02:33:51.360 --> 02:33:52.040 Gothic Serpent. 3142 02:33:52.120 --> 02:33:57.079 We're celebrating that that portion of our history and actually 3143 02:33:57.159 --> 02:33:58.959 just making it almost like a big reunion that we 3144 02:33:59.000 --> 02:34:00.559 don't have to get together to funerals. 3145 02:34:00.639 --> 02:34:01.840 We can get together. 3146 02:34:02.360 --> 02:34:06.920 Tell you, are you also on social media at all? 3147 02:34:07.000 --> 02:34:08.879 Any anywhere else people can go to find you. 3148 02:34:10.120 --> 02:34:14.840 Yeah, So I G H from the later days is 3149 02:34:15.040 --> 02:34:20.319 uh Diego dela Vega, So I'm a I'm a reader 3150 02:34:20.600 --> 02:34:24.479 and aspiring writer too. So Diego del Vega was a 3151 02:34:25.120 --> 02:34:27.239 was the real name of Zoro, but that's my name 3152 02:34:27.319 --> 02:34:31.120 on Instagram and Facebook, so anybody can go on and 3153 02:34:31.200 --> 02:34:35.360 find me there. Also, Uh, we run a company, a 3154 02:34:35.440 --> 02:34:39.959 training company's Stand Strategic and that's on I G two 3155 02:34:40.200 --> 02:34:42.920 and you guys, I can answer there too. And anybody's 3156 02:34:42.959 --> 02:34:44.479 in Texas and just wants to come out and shoot, 3157 02:34:44.520 --> 02:34:45.079 that'd be awesome. 3158 02:34:46.239 --> 02:34:48.840 Well, Louis, thank you so much for this interview and 3159 02:34:48.920 --> 02:34:52.000 telling your story. It's been great. H Is there anything 3160 02:34:52.079 --> 02:34:53.959 else that you'd like to bring up, anything that I 3161 02:34:54.040 --> 02:34:56.360 didn't ask during this interview that you'd like to talk about. 3162 02:34:57.799 --> 02:35:02.479 Man, there's some like again, you go through that and 3163 02:35:02.520 --> 02:35:04.959 I'm sure you run into this. It's like you remember things. 3164 02:35:05.360 --> 02:35:08.079 You're like, oh, remember that story and remember that story. 3165 02:35:10.280 --> 02:35:12.879 I'm sure I'll be sitting around one day and I'll 3166 02:35:12.920 --> 02:35:15.479 be like, oh, I could have I could have I 3167 02:35:15.639 --> 02:35:17.600 just said this is this you know X, Y and Z. 3168 02:35:17.920 --> 02:35:19.239 Or I could have gone through. 3169 02:35:19.159 --> 02:35:21.719 Say it's okay, you come here to this studio if 3170 02:35:21.760 --> 02:35:23.559 you're ever coming through New York City, and we'll smoke 3171 02:35:23.639 --> 02:35:25.520 some cigars and we'll tell the other stories. 3172 02:35:26.200 --> 02:35:28.319 You know, I saw you you were smoking citars. I'm 3173 02:35:28.319 --> 02:35:29.959 a big fan of stars too. I smoke a lot 3174 02:35:30.000 --> 02:35:31.600 of them. I smoke them out back because my wife 3175 02:35:31.639 --> 02:35:34.760 hates the smell. I have to come in and shower 3176 02:35:34.840 --> 02:35:37.920 if I do do it, which was great because when 3177 02:35:37.959 --> 02:35:41.840 we were dating, she takes me. When we sell two 3178 02:35:41.879 --> 02:35:45.280 months into dating, my now wife says, hey, you want 3179 02:35:45.280 --> 02:35:46.600 to go to Vegas. I was like, yeah, look for 3180 02:35:47.000 --> 02:35:49.319 I've never been to Vegas, but sure, and she goes, oh, 3181 02:35:49.360 --> 02:35:51.200 we're gonna go to a shot show. It was like, 3182 02:35:51.760 --> 02:35:54.200 this is like two months into dating, and I was like, 3183 02:35:54.319 --> 02:35:59.920 I'm gonna marry you, so I The cursory thing is 3184 02:36:00.000 --> 02:36:01.680 two months into dating, you don't know a lot about 3185 02:36:01.680 --> 02:36:04.360 each other other than you like each other. So I 3186 02:36:04.399 --> 02:36:06.879 don't know some things and I was just like, oh, man, 3187 02:36:06.920 --> 02:36:08.760 I really want to go to a cigar bar in Vegas, 3188 02:36:09.319 --> 02:36:10.600 and so she's like, yeah, let's go. 3189 02:36:11.319 --> 02:36:12.639 Little did I know that she was in. 3190 02:36:12.719 --> 02:36:19.559 The bathroom like snorting a Zertec because she's extremely allergic 3191 02:36:19.639 --> 02:36:22.360 to cigars, and then lets me we go into the 3192 02:36:22.440 --> 02:36:25.319 cigar bar and like she's she's a champ about it. 3193 02:36:25.600 --> 02:36:27.840 Like I didn't realize it until like a year later 3194 02:36:27.879 --> 02:36:30.600 when she told me. She's like, yeah, I'm super allergic 3195 02:36:30.639 --> 02:36:31.120 to cigars. 3196 02:36:31.319 --> 02:36:33.280 Yeah, there's like thirty people in there, puff and a 3197 02:36:33.319 --> 02:36:34.719 why oh yeah. 3198 02:36:35.040 --> 02:36:37.719 She And she was a champ too when I was deployed. 3199 02:36:38.280 --> 02:36:43.719 She goes to every every few like every month, she 3200 02:36:43.760 --> 02:36:46.600 would go over to this place with a cigar Internationals 3201 02:36:47.360 --> 02:36:49.520 and she would get the cigars I like, and she'd 3202 02:36:49.559 --> 02:36:51.840 buy them in boxes and then ship them over to Iraq. 3203 02:36:52.239 --> 02:36:55.440 And so do what bless her soul? 3204 02:36:56.399 --> 02:37:00.399 Oh yeah, no, she was fantastic. I realized I was 3205 02:37:00.399 --> 02:37:05.000 getting married real quick. But it was funny because she 3206 02:37:05.159 --> 02:37:10.239 ended up winning a drew Estate Humidor and she doesn't 3207 02:37:10.239 --> 02:37:12.319 smoke cigars at all, and so she had got she 3208 02:37:12.399 --> 02:37:15.239 had entered this Uh, they'd given her a couple of 3209 02:37:15.280 --> 02:37:17.680 tickets because she buys cigars there and they call her 3210 02:37:17.719 --> 02:37:19.520 and they're like, oh, you won this, and she said 3211 02:37:19.559 --> 02:37:21.000 she she was walking out of there. She was like 3212 02:37:21.000 --> 02:37:24.239 almost got jumped. Everybody wanted this thing. It's really cool. 3213 02:37:24.280 --> 02:37:28.600 It's it's if you do any of the drew Estates stuff. 3214 02:37:29.719 --> 02:37:32.399 They got the Deadwood series and it's all the like 3215 02:37:32.719 --> 02:37:39.200 the old Deadwood Hookers basically, and but the the humid 3216 02:37:39.200 --> 02:37:41.159 door that she got holds I think it holds like 3217 02:37:41.600 --> 02:37:47.040 two hundred and forty cigars, but it's Spanish wood and 3218 02:37:47.159 --> 02:37:48.120 it's in the shape. 3219 02:37:47.920 --> 02:37:48.479 Of a coffin. 3220 02:37:51.399 --> 02:37:55.440 Yes, yeah, yeah, So she won that and like she 3221 02:37:55.520 --> 02:37:57.680 doesn't smoke. She they were just like, oh, do you 3222 02:37:57.719 --> 02:37:59.639 smoke cigars. She's like, no, it's my boyfriend. 3223 02:38:00.440 --> 02:38:07.639 That's awesome, so super cool. But yes, well I'm going 3224 02:38:07.719 --> 02:38:11.920 to go and check out Drewid State Human Doors. Louis, 3225 02:38:11.959 --> 02:38:13.680 thanks again, man, really appreciate it. 3226 02:38:14.600 --> 02:38:15.079 Yeah, thank you. 3227 02:38:15.280 --> 02:38:18.680 I really appreciate, really appreciate the time guys to be 3228 02:38:18.719 --> 02:38:21.239 able to tell my story and really to get them 3229 02:38:22.239 --> 02:38:27.159 kind of the reliving in the mission of a Rangers 3230 02:38:27.319 --> 02:38:31.479 and helping out my tribe because I owe everything to 3231 02:38:31.520 --> 02:38:34.360 the Ranger Regiment. And then the other thing is is 3232 02:38:34.520 --> 02:38:37.559 like being able to get that message out of helping 3233 02:38:37.600 --> 02:38:39.840 the guys. At the end of it, like we should 3234 02:38:39.879 --> 02:38:42.719 all be able to tell our stories, tell how we 3235 02:38:42.799 --> 02:38:44.479 got there, the times we got to look at things, 3236 02:38:44.600 --> 02:38:47.920 the hurts, the pains, whatever it is, and then at 3237 02:38:47.959 --> 02:38:50.760 the end of it say because of that, I'm this 3238 02:38:52.079 --> 02:38:54.600 and I hope that everybody like you. You're like spent 3239 02:38:54.799 --> 02:38:59.920 like a writer, which amazing, Like I want to do writing. 3240 02:39:00.319 --> 02:39:02.319 I'm just I don't think I'm as articulate as. 3241 02:39:02.280 --> 02:39:02.639 I could be. 3242 02:39:03.120 --> 02:39:06.040 It's a skill, It's a learnable skill like anything else. 3243 02:39:06.200 --> 02:39:08.280 Yeah, promise, But. 3244 02:39:08.879 --> 02:39:12.760 I think being able to say get the message out 3245 02:39:12.760 --> 02:39:16.719 there that we we are rangers, but that means that 3246 02:39:16.920 --> 02:39:22.079 we can do anything we were given the we were picked, 3247 02:39:22.760 --> 02:39:27.479 we were specially selected to do that job. But specially 3248 02:39:27.520 --> 02:39:30.879 selected means we can almost do anything we want. That 3249 02:39:31.079 --> 02:39:34.600 wasn't just for the Ranger regiment. It was a specially 3250 02:39:34.639 --> 02:39:39.159 selected person, a type of person who who would have 3251 02:39:39.200 --> 02:39:40.360 succeeded at anything. 3252 02:39:40.799 --> 02:39:43.000 Yeah, to not pigeonhole yourself that if you want to 3253 02:39:43.040 --> 02:39:47.159 go and get MBA or you want to become an astrophysicist, 3254 02:39:47.280 --> 02:39:50.840 like you can do those things. Uh, yeah, don't don't 3255 02:39:50.840 --> 02:39:52.799 get down. You know some of the guys I find 3256 02:39:53.159 --> 02:39:55.760 get down on themselves and think I'm just a dumb ranger. 3257 02:39:55.799 --> 02:39:58.200 I can't do anything else. It's like, no, that's that's bullshit. 3258 02:39:59.479 --> 02:40:02.920 No, just you're a ranger. You can do everything. 3259 02:40:03.319 --> 02:40:08.040 Yeah, Like are we have innate abilities that were that 3260 02:40:08.120 --> 02:40:10.840 were given to us a by the generations before A 3261 02:40:10.920 --> 02:40:12.959 lot of the rangers that we learned from and then 3262 02:40:13.000 --> 02:40:15.079 we passed down to other rangers that learned from us 3263 02:40:16.520 --> 02:40:19.520 that we would We are the type of people, and 3264 02:40:19.559 --> 02:40:22.440 I think this is true of most special operations. We're 3265 02:40:22.479 --> 02:40:24.239 the type of people that would have been successful almost 3266 02:40:24.280 --> 02:40:26.760 at anything you could have put us anywhere. You always 3267 02:40:26.760 --> 02:40:30.280 look at these other rangers that are or other special operations, 3268 02:40:30.319 --> 02:40:32.159 guys that are doing businesses doing this is and that 3269 02:40:32.319 --> 02:40:35.959 you're literally taking somebody who would have been He would 3270 02:40:35.959 --> 02:40:38.639 have been a professional athlete if it wasn't for the war, 3271 02:40:39.360 --> 02:40:41.559 he would have been a like if he had gotten 3272 02:40:41.600 --> 02:40:43.959 the college education that he can still go and get, 3273 02:40:44.680 --> 02:40:46.079 you would have been a fortune five hundred. 3274 02:40:46.079 --> 02:40:49.799 You would have been leading leading titans of industry. We 3275 02:40:49.920 --> 02:40:50.600 can do anything. 3276 02:40:50.719 --> 02:40:53.920 I think it's just we pigeonhole ourselves into what we 3277 02:40:54.079 --> 02:40:59.719 were and being that warrior the fighter the soldier, and 3278 02:40:59.799 --> 02:41:02.360 we say that's the only thing I could have done. 3279 02:41:02.399 --> 02:41:04.879 It's like no, it means a lot more so. 3280 02:41:05.440 --> 02:41:09.079 Absolutely, I appreciate being able to get that message out anytime. 3281 02:41:08.799 --> 02:41:09.360 I can remember. 3282 02:41:09.440 --> 02:41:13.200 Yeah, hell yeah, yeah absolutely man, And thank you to 3283 02:41:13.239 --> 02:41:16.639 everyone who joined us tonight. Appreciate you coming by and 3284 02:41:16.760 --> 02:41:20.399 checking out the Teamhouse again. And we will see you 3285 02:41:20.479 --> 02:41:23.159 guys next week. So thank you, Louie. Hope you have 3286 02:41:23.239 --> 02:41:24.840 a good time. He hit us up if you're ever 3287 02:41:24.879 --> 02:41:31.520 coming through the city, Yes, fair, I will. Hey, guys, 3288 02:41:31.600 --> 02:41:33.399 I want to take a moment to tell you about 3289 02:41:33.440 --> 02:41:37.200 the Team House podcast newsletter. If you go and subscribe, 3290 02:41:37.399 --> 02:41:40.600 it's totally free, and what it will do is aggregate 3291 02:41:40.840 --> 02:41:43.440 all of our data, all of our content that we 3292 02:41:43.559 --> 02:41:46.559 put out, the things that are on the Team House, 3293 02:41:47.159 --> 02:41:51.639 on our Geopolitics podcast, Eyes On, things that I write 3294 02:41:51.760 --> 02:41:55.840 journalistically with Sean Naylor on the high Side, anything else 3295 02:41:55.879 --> 02:42:00.520 that we have going on books, we recommend upcome guests 3296 02:42:00.559 --> 02:42:03.520 that we have coming on the show, and also you know, 3297 02:42:03.639 --> 02:42:06.840 filtering in some fun stuff in there as well. If 3298 02:42:06.879 --> 02:42:08.399 you go and check it out, we send it out 3299 02:42:08.520 --> 02:42:10.639 just once a week. We don't want to spam you guys. 3300 02:42:10.920 --> 02:42:12.879 It's just a kind of roll up of all of 3301 02:42:13.040 --> 02:42:16.360 our content on a weekly basis. You can find our 3302 02:42:16.479 --> 02:42:22.239 newsletter at teamhouse podcast dot kit dot com slash join again. 3303 02:42:22.440 --> 02:42:25.760 The website for that is teamhouse Podcast, dot kit dot 3304 02:42:25.879 --> 02:42:28.719 com slash join. Uh So we hope to see you there. 3305 02:42:29.440 --> 02:42:30.760 The link will be down the description