WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:07.879 The Team House with your hosts Jack Murphy and David Park. 2 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.679 Welcome to episode two hundred and one of the Team House. 3 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:19.480 I'm Jack Murphy here with David Park and our guest 4 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:24.640 on tonight's show is Dustin Ward. Dustin served in the 5 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:27.399 infantry as a sniper and in the long range for 6 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:30.760 conaissance teams, and then went over to the Ranger Regiment 7 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:34.159 and served as a platoon sergeant in the battalion Wreckie section, 8 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:37.960 amongst other positions that you had over there. Dustin, thank 9 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:41.119 you for coming out here to Godless New York City. 10 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:42.960 I appreciate it. 11 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.320 Thanks for invite fly it up here. Man, it's awesome 12 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:47.240 to have you here in person. 13 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:47.719 Thank you. 14 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:51.520 So, look, we're going to start at the beginning, So 15 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:53.520 tell us about, you know, kind of like how you 16 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.359 grew up in sort of like what it was to 17 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:57.560 sort of like directed towards the military. 18 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:03.240 What's your origin story this story? Yeah, so I was 19 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:05.599 born to a military family. My dad was in the 20 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:08.840 Air Force over twenty two years. My mom was a 21 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:12.879 typical stay at home mom, military spouse. I have one brother, 22 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.400 as we always five years younger, moved around a lot. 23 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:20.680 It was born in Mississippi, and then we pretty much 24 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:22.719 ended up North Dakota for the majority of my life. 25 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.519 My dad worked on B fifty two's, so mine in 26 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.560 North Dakota a great place I got a chance to go. 27 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:34.280 Towards the end of that, moved down to Texas and 28 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.079 that's where I graduated high school and joined the army 29 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.680 and stuff. But you know, growing up, I said, I 30 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:41.480 had an awesome household. My dad was gone a lot 31 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:45.120 tdy taking care of the family. My mom took care 32 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:49.439 of us at home, and I just had this outdoorsman 33 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.120 military mentality growing up, like I wanted to. I was 34 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.680 always one of my dad's BDUs. We're outside playing set 35 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.439 up hide and seek. We called a man hunt, yeah, 36 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:03.079 make it more manly. But anytime I went back to 37 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.760 my grandparents' house in Missouri, I was out in the woods. 38 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:08.840 You know, I probably I've probably been shooting guns. I was, 39 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:13.639 you know, six years old, shooting twenty two's and you know, 40 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:19.439 hunting squirrels, hunting ear I always knew I was going 41 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:21.439 to join the military. I think one of my favorite 42 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:23.960 movies still to this day is domin As. It is 43 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:27.919 is uh the Rock. It's a great movie. It's a 44 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:29.840 lot of fun. It's a it's a good movie. And 45 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.319 I just remember having like a little play MP five 46 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:35.080 and I had this somewhere, this little battery charger for 47 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.080 a game boy that had a cord and I'd put 48 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:39.879 in my ear like as an earpiece. My dad freaking 49 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:44.599 out shocked myself this battery charger. But I don't know. 50 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:48.199 I always had this, uh, this war mentality. I think 51 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:51.639 every able body mail should serve their country in some aspect, 52 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:56.360 and that's the route I took. I did initially join 53 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:59.120 the Air Force after high school. I was in the 54 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:02.719 Depth program. I was gonna pass all the prerecs. I 55 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:06.840 was gonna be a PJ. But they told me, hey, 56 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:09.120 we'll call you within six months to leave for Basic. 57 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.639 And I was like, no, man, I quit my job yesterday. 58 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:15.479 So I took a year off after high school just 59 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:20.759 kind of enjoy after high school life. And they're like, well, 60 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.639 that's not gonna happen because there's only so many pipelines 61 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:24.879 a year, and you have to hit the pipeline at 62 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:26.560 a certain time or go to Basic at a certain time, 63 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:30.199 something like that. So I watched across the hall the 64 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.479 Army recruiter and walked in. There's this big cardboard cut 65 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:37.120 out of a green beret standing there, and he's like, 66 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.599 what do you want to do? I was like, jump 67 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.560 out of planes and shoot people. Man, how do I 68 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.599 do that? And showed me the old cliche, you know, 69 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:48.919 ranger recruiter view guy coming up out of the swamp. 70 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:50.840 He's actually, it's actually my friend. 71 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:50.960 Now. 72 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.960 I know, it's kind of funny we have that. Well, 73 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.240 we have the documentary VH. His name is Mike Connor. 74 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:02.120 But show me that and, like I said, cliche put 75 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:03.479 his arm around me. It was like, that could be you. 76 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:03.800 Man. 77 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.759 Yeah. I was like you're right. I was like yeah, 78 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:10.319 I was like that could be me. He's like, yeah, 79 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:12.000 I signed here you leaving two weeks and here's twenty 80 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:16.040 thousand dollars. I was like, sweet, you got an enlistening 81 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.720 bonus for that. Yeah, that's fantastic. What what year was this? Five? Okay? 82 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:23.519 So the world was already kind of on fire in 83 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:27.160 terms of like military and yeah, yeah. 84 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:29.079 And I remember I remember the war kicked off and 85 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:32.439 O three not Afghan War obviously, but the Iraq War 86 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:37.120 and my buddy and I know at the time, I 87 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.160 think its aol. I am you know, aim. So they're 88 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:42.279 message each other like, oh my god, when you hurry up, 89 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:43.360 the war's gonna be over by the time we get 90 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.600 out of high school, like won behold twenty years later, 91 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:50.079 still going on, so plenty of time to enjoy the war. 92 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:54.279 But uh, yeah, they gave me a bonus. It was 93 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:59.160 a Special Forces intent bonus, just the intent didn't actually 94 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:05.360 have to go. Oh really yeah, joined five January oh five. 95 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.600 Now did they have an X ray program at that time? 96 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.199 They did? I was an eleven X ray okay, dodge 97 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:12.399 that bullet in eleven extra. 98 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:14.519 Yeah, I went in eleven X ray too. I meant 99 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:15.639 an eighteen X ray though. 100 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:19.399 Could you go, could you uh see dodge that bullet? 101 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:20.720 What does Less say about all this? 102 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:22.160 Less awesome guy? 103 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:22.360 Man? 104 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:24.000 That's why I'm here because Less he told me to 105 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:25.600 give a shout out, So I'll give a shout out Less. 106 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.800 But yeah, did not become an eleven Charlie came love 107 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:33.199 in Bravo. I don't know if eighteen X ray program 108 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:35.160 was a thing. Yeah, I think it was around by 109 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:37.079 that was it? So I went to I went to 110 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:41.839 s AS and oh seven, and there's some eighteen X 111 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:43.279 rays there, So it might. Yeah. 112 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:47.000 Now so for people who are watching don't know, uh 113 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:50.959 in you know, in the military jobs the moss the 114 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.839 eleven series is the infantry series, and uh the Charlie 115 00:05:56.120 --> 00:06:01.120 Well Bravo is riflemen, Charlie is mortarman. They also used 116 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.000 to have eleven mics, which was motorized. 117 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.439 That was still a thing. But when you go in X, 118 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:09.639 you're gambling, you're rolling the dice. 119 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.839 I think I think all of us were eleven X ray. 120 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.920 I don't think you can go in specifically for oh 121 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:18.319 you can. I don't think you can know. 122 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:21.759 Now did you know you were rolling the dice? No? 123 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.160 I did not. Yeah, they did not explain that at maps. 124 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:31.160 So yeah, so uh so you you go to basic, 125 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.279 do all that and then where where do you go 126 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:38.839 from from there? 127 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:46.839 So graduated based training. In May five eleven, Bravo went 128 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:51.160 to Fort Lewis, Washington, kind of my basic training cohort 129 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:54.079 at that time. There's a unit standing up in Fort 130 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:57.800 Lewis called a Second Cavalry Regiment two c R. They 131 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.959 just moved up there from four Polk I think, but 132 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:03.759 they're staying there. Ended up. So we were the first 133 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:08.519 lower enlisted guys there besides, you know, senior leadership. We 134 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.879 showed up. The first question they asked was, hey, out 135 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:16.959 of all you, who qualified expert in basic training? Kind 136 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:21.600 of raised my hand like sniper section. I was like, hell, yes, 137 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:26.519 that worked out. Yea. And the funny backstory with that is, 138 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.199 you know, my mom would tell a story and she'll 139 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:32.680 laugh about it. But I was probably in fifth or 140 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:36.399 sixth grade. We're like a family reunion down in Missouri somewhere, 141 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:39.279 and one of my relatives asked me when I want 142 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:40.959 what I wanted to do when I grew up, and 143 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:47.079 I said something about being an assassin, and my mom 144 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.240 looked at me and looked at my relatives like dusting, 145 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:53.079 shut up, do not say that. I was like sorry, 146 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:56.920 But when I went to sniper section, I called my mom. 147 00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.360 I said, I was like, guess what. 148 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:01.600 I made the same mistake when my my high school 149 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:03.519 guidance councilor asked me what I wanted to do with 150 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:05.000 my wife, and I said, I want to join the 151 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.920 film and be a sniper. This very nice woman. We'll 152 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:13.199 follow your dreams. 153 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:16.600 I mean, if we're all gonna embarrass ourselves, Like when 154 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.120 I went to the Army recruiter and asked them about 155 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:21.079 special Forces. 156 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.319 I asked them if there was a knife guy. I 157 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:25.600 wanted to be the knife guy. 158 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:26.480 The knife throw EXTP. 159 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.759 Yeah, yeah, because you know, because I thought there was 160 00:08:29.800 --> 00:08:32.159 a demo guy, there was a gun guy there. 161 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:34.399 That's what G I. Joe led us to believe. 162 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:35.960 That is where G. 163 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:38.320 I Joe in the eighteen is where I got my 164 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.080 knowledge on a special forces nice. 165 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:44.519 So you became an assassin for the army. 166 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.240 Came in an assassin for the army. I did that 167 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:50.679 from five to eight in that timeframe. I did a 168 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:53.639 well that you and I was then reflagged to second 169 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:57.360 Mstry Division and then we deployed to Iraq for fifteen 170 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:01.279 months during the surge and we spent three months in 171 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:05.960 uh Baghdad. That was about three months in Baghdad and 172 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.600 then went and ripped out with a new unit or 173 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:13.279 you know, replacement and U Bakuba or Bakuba everyone to 174 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:15.799 say it and Fiber war Horse. We spent the rest 175 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:19.120 of deployment there and that was that was a wild 176 00:09:19.159 --> 00:09:21.879 West was now out of curiosity. 177 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.000 You know, you were one of the first guys to 178 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.480 show up to the sniper session this newly formed unit. 179 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.200 Did they send you to the Army Sniper School like immediately. 180 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:35.399 No, I didn't go until it's like March of O six. 181 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:37.840 And then did they have anybody with experience come on 182 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:38.960 to be like the. 183 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.960 We all went together, so there was team leader and 184 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.200 all shooters went to sniper school together. 185 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:51.519 So one of the one of the challenges with snipers 186 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:55.279 sometimes is having somebody who can teach young officers how 187 00:09:55.320 --> 00:10:00.679 to properly employ snipers. Right, U, how did you guys 188 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:02.799 manage that, especially for your first deployment. 189 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:05.879 Uh? So they had this course at the time called 190 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:10.000 the Sniper Employment Officer Course, and I can't remember if 191 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.600 our PO went to it or not, but I mean 192 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:17.000 he was all about letting us do our thing, and 193 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:19.080 he didn't micro manage us at all. He's like, hey, 194 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:21.399 whatever ranges you want, whatever shooting you have to do, 195 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.360 you know, you guys, go do that and just be 196 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:29.120 proficient at your task. And we got we got the 197 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.360 M one on seven barretts. We got those, and they 198 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:35.840 held a course kind of locally on Fort Lewis for 199 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:38.480 that just to kind of break them in and get 200 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:41.720 to know the weapons system. So he came to that too, 201 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.399 kind of learned, learned, the job a little bit. Yeah, 202 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:49.120 but yeah, the Squalader had at the time one of 203 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.679 my favorite squalders over had. I look up to him 204 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.759 to this day and kind of based my leadership skills 205 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:59.399 off him. He was he had the ESF mentality of 206 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:02.639 everyone needs to know everybody's job and you know, just 207 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:06.720 kind of spread the knowledge. And he he was prior service, 208 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:10.519 got out, came back in, so he had some experience 209 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:13.679 already done a couple of deployments, but he was he 210 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:14.919 let's do a thing that was good. 211 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:18.440 So what was the mission up at Bakuba? 212 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:24.720 So it's funny. Uh, we were at Bagdad. Uh. You know, 213 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:29.360 Jaysack was obviously operating in Iraq and they were doing 214 00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:31.080 the at the time, the thing we called them tst 215 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:34.000 missions and times since some target missions and they would 216 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:37.000 get a lock in a guy and launch. Well, there 217 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.279 were so many targets. They didn't have enough personnelity to 218 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.240 get all these targets. So they came down and trained 219 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.360 us how to do it. The Sniper Platoon or sniper Team, 220 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:47.879 Battalion Snipers and Battalion Recky Platoon which I was in 221 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:51.840 Snipers a part of Battalion Recky in the big Army 222 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:53.879 trained us how to do it and how to use 223 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:56.759 the assets and everything. So we tagged along in that mission. 224 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.039 We were sharing targets with them, which was probably one 225 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:04.240 of the better ways to spend fifteen months, sure, because 226 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:06.120 the rest of the line companies, they were out and uh, 227 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:07.799 you know, a little outpost in the middle of the 228 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:13.519 city just burning pooping a barrel. You know, it felt 229 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:15.639 so bad for those guys because we just got ahead 230 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:17.840 of target, come back and go to sleep. Yeah, like, 231 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:21.000 but that's that was our target set or mission set. 232 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:24.200 What we did for fifteen months, go out almost every night, 233 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:30.120 and we did you know, it varied from based off 234 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.080 the target and based off what happened when we got 235 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:35.080 to the target, you know, doing silent entries and silent 236 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.200 clears and waking them up in their sleep and like 237 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:40.519 taking their guns from them while they're sleeping. Would you 238 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:42.159 like taking their guns from the whi they're sleeping and 239 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:46.080 then waking them up like hey, sorry, we're here, yeah, 240 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.679 or be a you know, court on and call out, 241 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.120 just depends on the situation. In about what year was this, 242 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:54.120 That was seven oh eight. 243 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:57.919 Okay, yeah, so people had kind of moved beyond the 244 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.080 explosive breaching when they could do somethingthing else generally. 245 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:05.159 Yeah, yeah, we didn't do any explosive breaching. Yeah, we 246 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:08.679 didn't have that capability in the big armor. Yeah. I 247 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.039 think the most explosive breaching we did we'd drive a 248 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:16.279 striker through the gate. Yeah. Yeah. It worked. 249 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:18.840 So they kept you guys pretty busy, and I mean 250 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:20.320 that was a busy time in a rack to begin with. 251 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:24.159 Like I said, Baka was the wild West. When we 252 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:28.840 showed up the sister unit we're replacing from thurber Gate 253 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.720 to Day, we're fourth GD to Ida. They were thurber 254 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:36.399 Gade to I D. And I think they had like 255 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.039 twelve working strikers at the time when we showed up 256 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:40.960 because they were just getting blown up. There was like 257 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:44.159 seventy six acts a week when we got there, and 258 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:48.559 then after us for after us being there for I 259 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:50.600 don't know, three or four weeks, it dropped to like 260 00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:53.639 twelve sigacts a week, and we put a hurting and 261 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:55.679 hurting on them so bad. I mean, the biggest ID 262 00:13:55.879 --> 00:14:00.080 is going off maybe pop it around the striker, and 263 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:03.440 there was some suicide bombers that hit us, hit personnel, 264 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.639 But as far as like view id's they weren't doing much. 265 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:11.320 What did you guys do to change the tempo? 266 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:16.159 A strict curfew and then every military age male got 267 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.840 pretty much rounded up and then put in the bat 268 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:24.759 hide system. So biometrics rounded them all up, put them 269 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.519 in bat hide system, and then strict curfew. 270 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:28.360 And then. 271 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:33.440 I won't say any names, but uh, I mean like 272 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:36.240 an I d would go off somewhere and this wasn't 273 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:41.360 my directing is another company, but I remember Ide would 274 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.519 go off and if he saw a dude on a 275 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.159 phone anywhere near that, he could just shoot him. And 276 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:50.320 they learned like they don't mess around. These guys aren't 277 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:57.200 playing and the bag Dad was a nose hot at 278 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.600 the time too. Before we went to Bakama, we were 279 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:05.240 responsible for putting in all the t walls. I don't 280 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:06.840 know if you guys remember that all the t walls 281 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:11.279 through Baghdad door sector, which was there's a lot of 282 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:14.519 infighting between Soni and Shia. They were just murdering each 283 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:19.039 other left and right and things like our second or 284 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:22.240 third week during right seat rides. For the entire deployment. 285 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.559 I mean, we just pulled up and there's like five 286 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:29.360 d's hog tied and executed outside the road, like what 287 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.279 the heck is going on? And you bang on the 288 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:33.919 door like, hey, what's up with the bodies in the road, 289 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:38.440 like what bodies? Yeah, this is gonna be huh. Yeah, 290 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:43.000 And it was. It was hot. Yeah, it's a good time. 291 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:49.000 So what were what were your when you weren't working 292 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.799 for you know, doing the TSTs. What was sort of 293 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:54.519 the conventional armies? Were you guys doing a lot of 294 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:56.559 presidence patrols? Was there a lot of Were there a 295 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:57.720 lot of targets. 296 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.679 That they they did just clearar and zops. So it 297 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.600 was almost like a it's just a vicious, endless cycle. 298 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:06.879 You start in this sector and start working your way 299 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:09.360 around the city and by the time you go back 300 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:12.120 here starting all over again because all the guys he 301 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:14.360 pushed out of here are down here now, you know. 302 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:17.320 So they just just kept doing that. We did a 303 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:23.240 lot of palm grove clearing, Yeah, just online walking through 304 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:26.159 the palm groves and one hundred and twenty degree heat, 305 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.320 you know, trying to find cashing these yeah, ID so 306 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:33.399 you find a lot. Yeah, we did. Yeah, I remember distinctly. 307 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.600 One time it got handed over to us. We didn't 308 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.279 find it specifically we went out and took it over 309 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.120 because I think the people that found it, uh detained 310 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:42.840 the personnel and then left with them, and then we 311 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.759 took over the site. But I mean there was over 312 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:49.559 five hundred anti tank mines double stacked like in rows, 313 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:52.840 like almost in a like a farmer's field. They're just 314 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.080 lined up, you know, like five or six fifty five 315 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:00.200 gallon drums filled with initiators and timers and yeah, how 316 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.720 many uh like two hundred and five gallon drugs and 317 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:08.880 nitric acid. There's a suburban rigged with a VB I 318 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:13.160 D like ready to go. I mean the funny thing 319 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:15.880 is after we gathered all that and bipped it and whatever, 320 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:20.880 the EOD guy he's like, yeah, we probably knocked this 321 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.559 cell out for like two weeks. Oh wait, that's it. 322 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:27.759 Two weeks like all that for two weeks. It was crazy. Man. 323 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.039 You guys demo it insighte EOD did. 324 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:31.799 Yeah? 325 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:36.559 Did you now being in like the sniper was it 326 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:37.119 a section or. 327 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:42.039 A platoon we had It was just a section eighteen, 328 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:45.079 a squad in the recky platoon. 329 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.160 Okay, so so you were you fell under Rekie then, 330 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:53.599 so how did you guys operate in that environment. 331 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:56.440 Were there a lot of sniper specific missions. 332 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:58.160 Were you working with Wrecky a lot, or were you 333 00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:59.799 just kind of folded in to. 334 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:04.039 The folded in We didn't fold in with the line units. 335 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:05.759 We did our own thing with the TST missions with 336 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:12.039 Wrecky pretty much overwatch as the Wrecky platoon was hitting 337 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.759 a compound or if a if a line company was 338 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.079 doing like a med cap, we would go out there 339 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.640 and do overwatch while they're doing like ad med cap, 340 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.279 or hand out soccer balls at a school. We'd pull 341 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:28.480 over watch while they're doing that. Platoon leadership changed out 342 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:32.640 through deployment and we had one one p L that 343 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:38.599 he was He was an EXSF guy, enlisted SF guys, 344 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.079 but he he was all about us doing what snipers do. 345 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:46.880 And he's like, hey, I don't care where you guys go, 346 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:48.720 what you do, as long as you follow are we 347 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:52.279 give me attention to grid and have a radio. So 348 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:56.039 we would trunch off into the hinter lands with three 349 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:59.440 or four guys in radio. That's fantastic, I mean just 350 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.640 for guys place nineties. Yeah, I mean. 351 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.200 And the reason I said fantastic people are not like 352 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:09.039 and especially conventional, But in any unit there there's really 353 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:12.759 a lot of there are a lot of rules, there's 354 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:15.559 a lot of control. There's not a lot of freedom 355 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:17.400 for you guys to do. But if you guys kind 356 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:18.839 of do your own missions. 357 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:21.960 A lot of younger pls don't understand how to utilize 358 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.000 any sort of like special unit or the special team, 359 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:27.759 be it mortar snipers or connaissance. You know. 360 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:32.599 So it's so they don't not to bash new pls, 361 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:33.799 but don't understand. 362 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:34.319 They don't want to. 363 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:36.759 They don't want to get in trouble. Yeah, they don't 364 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.039 want to get in trouble either. They don't want to 365 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:46.960 overstep right right, But that mission, I wouldn't say mission, 366 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:48.640 but letting us go out in three or four guys 367 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:54.000 do our own thing was you know, we're sitting in 368 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:57.359 this house one one day and just an example, since 369 00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:59.640 I was over watching this river and this bridge and 370 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:03.319 just waiting for something to happen. But unbeknown to us, 371 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:07.480 there was a big army I think it's first Calve 372 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:11.000 or something like that, whatever, the big army it is 373 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:14.160 with a horse and the slash calf calf. Yeah, they 374 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:16.920 were doing this big clearing operation through the pong whirs 375 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:18.720 that we were in then they didn't know we were there, 376 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.680 and they we saw them coming, we could hear them coming, 377 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:24.000 and they ended up hitting the house that we were 378 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:27.559 up in. Oh shit. We're yelling down the stairs like 379 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.960 hey Eagle, yeah you know, and I remember this first tuner. 380 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.519 He kind of like stopped in like, this is my house. 381 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:38.720 Why aren't you wearing your control? Yeah, pretty much what 382 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:40.960 it seemed like. But uh, he's like, who you guys. 383 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.079 I'm like, hey, we're sniper section with this unit. And 384 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.720 he's like, okay, what are you guys doing? And we 385 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:49.319 kind of told him and it was towards the end 386 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.440 of our mission time one day. Anyways, we're getting read 387 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:55.839 to X Phil and uh, We're like, hey, you're going 388 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.200 the direction we're going, right? He was like yeah. I 389 00:20:58.200 --> 00:20:59.720 was like, do you mind if we X filled with 390 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:06.039 you guys? He's like a man, go ahead, thank you. Yeah. 391 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:08.519 It's like middle of the day. 392 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:12.319 And I also just want to give it a quick 393 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:16.319 promo to the show. If you guys go a shout 394 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:20.200 out to us. If you look down the description, uh, 395 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.359 there is a link to our Patreon if you want 396 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:24.519 to support the channel and you want to have access 397 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:28.359 to all of these episodes ad free, So go down 398 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.519 there and you jump on our Patreon. It's just five 399 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.000 dollars a month, and also please like and subscribe to 400 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:36.880 the channel if you haven't already really appreciated. 401 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.720 Guys, Look, you know, your five dollars a month keeps 402 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:43.000 us in the booze. 403 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:46.799 And also pays for our legitimate FiOS internet connection so 404 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:50.599 we don't have inappropriate hiccups in the stream. 405 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:52.000 And also keeps us in the booze. 406 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:53.359 More and more of that. 407 00:21:55.559 --> 00:22:00.519 So Dustin, you're after this deployment, you at that point 408 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:02.039 you went over to worse. 409 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:04.880 Right, Yeah, towards the tail end of that deployment, the 410 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:08.119 first aren't came over and said they're standing up a 411 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:11.880 core long range surveillance unit at Fort Lewis, And if 412 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:15.039 anybody was interested in going and kind of a military 413 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:16.759 history buff, like even when as a kid, I had 414 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:20.000 like flashcards of you know, Fokker airplanes from the little 415 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:23.960 World War two and everything, big military buff, so I 416 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.319 knew what LURSE was based off Vietnam LARPs books and everything. 417 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.920 So I raise my hand. I raised my hand and 418 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.160 I was like, yeah, I'm interested because I always wanted 419 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:36.519 to go do something special and I looked at it 420 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.440 as like the next step of the ladder. I wanted 421 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:40.599 to do it right, and my eyes right was working 422 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:43.160 your way up. I've been ounce for me. You just 423 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.720 go to selection or just joined as an eighteen X ray. 424 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:52.920 But uh, yes, I went to that. Uh October eight, 425 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:57.599 it's when I went to LURSE like tryouts, and it 426 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:01.079 was it wasn't eything crazy, just road march test, swim test, 427 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:07.160 stuff like that land aff. And then yeah, I went 428 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:11.440 there October eight. Then January nine, I mean went straight 429 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:14.200 to pre rangury rengder school everyone, school and everything, and 430 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:19.200 then deployed that next summer at O nine, I was 431 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:21.200 only home for like a year, went for another year 432 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:21.440 or two. 433 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:25.720 Right now, can you tell us the difference between how 434 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:28.839 a Rekie unit a Rocky element might be used in 435 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:29.440 a LURT unit. 436 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:33.279 Is there a functional difference between them compared. 437 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:35.799 To the WRECKI like the reck the you know, you 438 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:38.119 went from snipers, you know, kind of under a WRECKI 439 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:38.839 to LURST. 440 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:46.559 Oh yeah, So a LURSE reconnaissance detachment operates at a 441 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:52.000 company level by itself. The LURS company operates at anattalion level, 442 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:58.559 So at a platoon detachment level, we're doing MDMP instead 443 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:04.960 of TLPs. Right, so we're mission planning at a battalion 444 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:10.160 level for a six man operation warribletoon operation versus a 445 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:13.759 big army regulable tune just doing TPS like a ranger school, 446 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:17.839 and our reporting criterion and c ci R is going 447 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:23.480 much higher than a big Army battalion wrecky is going 448 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:27.039 to a brigade battlefields of ans brigade, which then reports 449 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:30.839 to the core and can really shape strategically I wouldn't 450 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:36.920 say strategically, but theater, right, instead of tackling strategically the ins. 451 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:39.519 The and in the the worse units are interesting in 452 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:41.960 that they really are other than maybe r r C, 453 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.920 the closest to the Vietnam WORP teams six man teams 454 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:50.400 going out And Uh, if you'll pardon my little digression, 455 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:52.599 my little, my little rant I have and I'd be 456 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.000 interested to hear your opinion, Dustin. Uh, the Army keeps 457 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:59.440 disbanding worse units and then restanding them up. And how 458 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:01.400 many times we've seen them do that just during the 459 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:05.359 GWAT era. Well you kind of lived through some of that. 460 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:09.000 I mean, what's what's your feelings about how we keep 461 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:13.400 a sea song between this and and really the capabilities 462 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:15.160 of worse and what you guys bring to the table 463 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:18.079 as opposed to all the drones and the the SGANT 464 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:21.119 and immint and all these other technological capabilities that have 465 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:23.920 been great for the military. But is there still a 466 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:26.599 relevancy to that six man team on the ground. 467 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:30.640 In my personal opinion professional opinion, there will always be 468 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:35.759 irrelevance for boots on the ground. Intelligence. Yes, you know, 469 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:38.920 emmint and drones and singing and all that is great. 470 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:41.400 Technology is awesome. The stuff we do with technology is 471 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:46.400 mind blowing. But can a drone see through the clouds. 472 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:50.119 Bad weather? Yeah, bada inside a building? 473 00:25:50.200 --> 00:25:52.640 Can those vehicles drive through a muddy road? You know? 474 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:55.640 Can six guys walk through that muddy road? Yeah? Can 475 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:58.039 six guys sit in a hide sight for four to 476 00:25:58.119 --> 00:26:00.160 five days at a time and watch them objective of 477 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:04.880 you know, the entire time persistently? Yeah? Can a drone 478 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:07.519 do that? Now it has to go refuel, it's got 479 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:10.519 to bring up another drone and hopefully have a good 480 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:14.640 handoff on emmett or seeing it, and then no bad 481 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:17.519 weather can force them out too. I would say that 482 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:20.559 the limiting factor for you know, six guys on the 483 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:23.880 ground is depending on who the commander is. Just metavact. 484 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:28.200 You know, bad weather obviously affects meta fact is that 485 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:31.599 saying that nothing is south US military, Well, that's false 486 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:38.480 lightning within fivele stop it every time, right, Yeah, the 487 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:42.880 whole disbanding and restanding up and just they just need 488 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.319 to stand them up and keep them. They're still National 489 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:47.799 Guard lurcingits. I think there's one in Indiana, maybe one 490 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:51.160 in California. I don't know where they're all at, but 491 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:53.680 they need to stand them up and they need to 492 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:58.359 move them underneath special operations. Honestly, if you look at 493 00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:01.599 all the other armies in the world, their pathfinder units, 494 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:06.559 their loss units or special operations rights, why are we 495 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:09.240 the only ones that don't have those guys with special operations. 496 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:13.000 It's a special task and they go to special schools 497 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:16.960 to learn how to do that, and they're you know, 498 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:20.000 being asked to do extraordinary missions. 499 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:26.039 Well, and it's funny and sad. Funny sad there's probably 500 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:29.920 a German word for that. But but that that at 501 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:34.400 the same time, the conventional army is saying these lourse 502 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:38.359 units whatever like there there are other things that we 503 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:43.519 can use to replace them. You have r r D, 504 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:48.559 the Ranger Rekie Detachment getting bigger and becoming a national 505 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:50.759 level asset where it's not it doesn't even have anything 506 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:55.000 much to do with like it's not a regimental level laymore. 507 00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:58.119 It's a national level asset now because we're like, oh, ship, 508 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:02.799 this is really good stuff, you know, and meanwhile they're like, oh, lurship. 509 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:08.519 But when when you went over to Worse, did you 510 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:10.359 as far as like the special train, did your team 511 00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:11.720 get to go to Arslic or any of that. 512 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:16.079 Yeah, pretty much everybody went to Arsic. We did send 513 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.400 the first shot of guys going to Ranger School. I 514 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:25.559 mean I think we sent twelve to sixteen guys at 515 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.799 one time. It's unheard of. Yeah, to Rector School from 516 00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:31.720 one company, you know, touring school one time, you know, 517 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:35.839 half past half recycled or whatever. And then while we're there, 518 00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:37.359 the rest of the guys went to ARSIC. And then 519 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:40.440 after that first push, everybody just kind of trickled into 520 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:41.400 D school on Arsenic. 521 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:43.680 Could could you tell that the squares out there who 522 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:45.960 don't know the benefit of ARSLIC what that course is 523 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:47.319 and what what you were in there? 524 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:51.480 Yeah, ARSLIC is the Reconstance Surveillance leadership school or leadership course. 525 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:54.039 It's called something else now, I believe because it falls 526 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:55.880 under a cave in it now. 527 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:58.680 Really well, I thought it was like a trashoc unit 528 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.000 attached to RENDER school. 529 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:05.799 It's they transitioned because Fort Knock shut down, moved all 530 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:09.920 the armor to Fort Benning. Oh so now Fort Benning 531 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:13.720 is the maneuver center of excellence. Wow, so it's now 532 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:18.119 part of the calve schools. I think. Don't quote me 533 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:20.079 on that, it's just what I remember, what I think 534 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:24.519 I've heard. Yeah, the arsenal course is awesome course. It 535 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:27.720 teaches you how to operate in a six man element, 536 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:34.000 teaches you how to do the MDMP process not TLPs communications, 537 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:38.839 and then all your optics and observing equipment and teach 538 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:40.519 how to do that, and how to build a hide 539 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:45.599 site and sit there and watch a target for you know, 540 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.279 four to five days at a time, and then how 541 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.759 to possibly break contact as a six man element, how 542 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:55.319 to land now as a six man element, just everything 543 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:56.319 that can you. 544 00:29:56.599 --> 00:29:59.799 Tell us a little bit about the difference between t 545 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:02.039 is the troop leading procedures and the m d m P, 546 00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:05.480 Like why is that, what's the difference in that and 547 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:05.880 why does. 548 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:09.799 It meaning for troop leading procedures, Internet shows company level below. 549 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:16.440 That's for smaller unit operations. It's faster, it doesn't take 550 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:18.880 as much planning. When you get to m D m 551 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:22.920 P it's battalion echelon planning. So now you're looking at 552 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:26.119 all the back like major backside support that goes along 553 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:29.039 with an operation. It just takes a long time to 554 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:29.440 plan that. 555 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:33.680 Can I say something really sarcastic for a second, just 556 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:36.519 I wanted to say that, you know, they got rid 557 00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:38.200 of lurse units because they don't need them, they can't 558 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:41.559 afford them. But there was enough there weren't enough officers 559 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:44.759 that they wouldn't fire enough general you know, general level 560 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:48.480 officers to rename the arslick to something, you know, to 561 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:51.359 get their get their bennies because we don't let to 562 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.599 go general losters anymore. 563 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:57.519 Or yeah admirals and yeah, yeah, uh so second round 564 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:00.960 interrack with worse. What was the issue this time around? 565 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:05.799 So we were on the Iranian border and the Hawasam 566 00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:11.359 Marshes kind of near Basara. Oh wow, yeah, I think 567 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:14.759 our cob we're at a cob, not a fob. It 568 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:19.759 was a cob adder. I believe it was called and uh, 569 00:31:19.960 --> 00:31:22.359 we would go out to the Iranian border for two 570 00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:25.039 weeks at a time, legit, living in a patrol base. 571 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:26.839 We're at a border fort, so they were ackis in 572 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:30.839 Iranians they have a border fort system. So along the 573 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:34.839 entire border there's these forts and it's it's legit. Like 574 00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:40.000 Saddam told his guys he wants sports, and they just 575 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:45.400 googled fort. It's it's a square with like four turrets, 576 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:48.599 like four turret towers, and that's it. So there's all 577 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:50.640 these dotted up and down the border, and the Iranians 578 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:51.480 have the same thing. 579 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:55.759 Just mirror almost like a DMZ animal it is. 580 00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:58.640 There's I think it's like a five kilometer DMZ in between. 581 00:31:59.480 --> 00:32:01.119 But yeah, they just Miria Shu. I'll we have another boarder. 582 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.079 So we'd go out and link up with the border 583 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:11.400 patrol Iraqi border patrol worthless, but uh, we'd go out 584 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:12.960 there for two weeks at a time, living out of 585 00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:16.240 our trucks, you know, mrs for two weeks, no shower 586 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:19.640 for two weeks, Uh, shitting in a hole for two weeks. 587 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:25.400 We would take trailers attached them to our humvees for 588 00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:30.400 enough fuel so we can get back because as there's 589 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:33.000 a three to six hour drive depending on what happened 590 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:35.440 on the way there to get to where we're going. 591 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:40.480 So enough fuel, enough water, enough food. We did do 592 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:42.799 a couple of air aerial resupplies while we're out there, 593 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:45.359 but yeah, we go out there for two weeks to 594 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:49.559 live our trucks and our main objective. Our main mission 595 00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:56.039 was to stop lethal aid from coming from Iran into Iraq, 596 00:32:56.200 --> 00:33:02.359 so whether that'd be money, weapons, explosives, whatever, But we'd 597 00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:03.960 sit in that patrol base for two weeks and we'd 598 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:07.000 kick out a six man team per night to go 599 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:11.400 do a patrol and we're pretty free to plan our 600 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:15.799 missions however we wanted. I don't remember there being any 601 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:18.359 restrictions on how far we could go away from the 602 00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:19.960 patrol base. It was like, hey, as long as you 603 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:22.319 got six guys, I know where you're going. You know, 604 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:24.880 I trust you in your training. How's the food and 605 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:30.680 that's all right? Sore? Did you get did you have 606 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:30.960 it all? 607 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:35.839 Any kind of interdiction mission with that or was it observations? 608 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:41.799 It was in arediction? Did we interdict anybody? But did 609 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:46.680 we stop them because they knew we were out there? Yeah, 610 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:50.799 they knew we were out there because I remember in 611 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:53.240 the middle of the day and we were looking at something. 612 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:55.079 We're taking pictures, and I was like, man, that would 613 00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:57.079 be a good good place for heightsight over here next 614 00:33:57.079 --> 00:34:01.880 time we come out and the Iranian guard tower. It 615 00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:04.039 is a good distance away. But they had those big 616 00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:08.280 giant drop a quarter in binus like a statue delivery, 617 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:11.519 and we could see them looking at us, so they 618 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:13.880 knew we were out there. And they also lobb some 619 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:16.440 mortars at us and shot some pik at us one time. 620 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:21.199 I would say one of the coolest things from that. 621 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:23.400 I was talking to Jack earlier about it, and I 622 00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:26.360 felt bad for the younger guys because they had not 623 00:34:26.440 --> 00:34:28.239 deployed yet. And this is towards the tail end of 624 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:30.880 the war. There wasn't a lot of conflict, you know, 625 00:34:31.159 --> 00:34:33.440 direct engagements going on, and they just wanted to go 626 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:35.960 to war, right and here we are doing this recky mission. 627 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:39.760 Well cool, Like if you're getting shot at when you're 628 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:43.159 doing reky, you're not doing reky properly. So we didn't 629 00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:46.079 get shot at it, so did a good job. But 630 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:49.679 they didn't see all the bigger picture stuff we were doing, 631 00:34:49.960 --> 00:34:51.679 or they didn't understand it, or maybe it was our 632 00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:55.559 fault as team leaders not telling them, you know, directly 633 00:34:55.639 --> 00:35:00.840 what we're doing. But Iran was flying drones over us, 634 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:05.280 and our unit, our company, not Michaeltoon, but our company 635 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:09.360 was responsible for, you know, creating the first like s 636 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:12.920 op for dealing with our Anian drones because we were 637 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:14.920 seeing them and we were tracking them on Falcon view, 638 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:20.679 like drawing their routes back in Iran, and we scrambled 639 00:35:20.679 --> 00:35:23.239 some F sixteens to come try to shoot it down, 640 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:26.480 and these F sixteens flew out and they radio down like, hey, 641 00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:31.400 we can't fly slow enough to shoot these things. Sorry, 642 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:34.360 you know, yeah, it is what it is. We're like, 643 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:38.880 all right, But when we scrambled those F sixteens and 644 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:42.000 they're flying up another border trying to find this drone, 645 00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:47.920 Iran scrambled the F fourteen's and they're just going up 646 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:50.639 and down again, marrying each other, and we're sitting there like, 647 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:54.199 oh shit, we're gonna start World War three events. We 648 00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:58.079 got front row seats like this is cool. I was 649 00:35:58.119 --> 00:36:00.440 just one of, you know, one of the cool things 650 00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:02.079 that we did, like one of the unspoken things that 651 00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:04.039 we did that no one really saw or heard about. 652 00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:09.719 We did some other stuff. You know, me and probably 653 00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:14.639 three other team leaders all we're all still really good friends. 654 00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:20.760 Probably the only eleven Bravos that could get their Basic 655 00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:25.480 Aviator badge because we did some i SR missions where 656 00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:29.679 we flew in the aircraft. Oh cool, we actually got 657 00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:32.880 to fly there. Pilot was like, yeah, take over what 658 00:36:32.920 --> 00:36:33.599 you want to take an out? 659 00:36:33.639 --> 00:36:34.360 What aircraft? 660 00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:39.320 Uh, it's a Sesna. It's like a Cessna three three three. 661 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:42.119 Maybe it's a pushpool. It's like Bat twenty one. Think 662 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:45.239 Bat twenty one is that aircraft? Even thought carlsim was 663 00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:48.000 a bat and had emblems on it and stuff, but 664 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:50.519 it was just pilot us and then a sensor operator 665 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:53.400 in the back really and flew out to where we 666 00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:56.559 were operating. So we'd go out there for two weeks, 667 00:36:56.559 --> 00:36:58.480 come back for two weeks. During that refit time, we 668 00:36:58.519 --> 00:37:01.920 would fly with ir to go continue watching. That's cool, 669 00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:03.800 well we were supposed to be watching again. 670 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:06.119 It's like a throwback to like Vietnam era where you'd 671 00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:09.119 have worps flying around with bird dog bird dog right 672 00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:11.360 the facts, Yeah. 673 00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:14.760 That's exactly what it was. Yeah, we liked we like 674 00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:16.199 to jokes say we're like, hey, we're probably the only 675 00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:18.800 eleven Bravos that can say that. Yeah, it's pretty cool. 676 00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:22.800 So that's a good mission. Yeah, that's awesome. Now when 677 00:37:22.840 --> 00:37:24.360 when you guys, because you. 678 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:28.920 I assume you were pretty far from the nearest air base, 679 00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:32.519 how long would it take like F sixteens to get 680 00:37:32.519 --> 00:37:34.719 to you when you guys called them or scrambled them. 681 00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:36.280 I couldn't even give you a guess mine on that. 682 00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:40.159 Yeah, I don't remember did you have air air assets 683 00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:42.239 if if the Iranians. 684 00:37:41.639 --> 00:37:43.880 Or or we did we had a patches on call 685 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:48.119 F sixteen's obviously it's funny to bring that up because 686 00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:52.280 I remember the I remember this guy's name, General Cohne. 687 00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:58.119 I won't say bad things, but I'm not a fan. 688 00:37:59.039 --> 00:38:01.000 He flew out one time to visit us. He was 689 00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:05.320 like the our m NCI South general, gotcha, Yeah, he 690 00:38:05.400 --> 00:38:10.360 came out to visit us, and he was just he 691 00:38:10.440 --> 00:38:13.719 was flabbering acid. He's like, you guys have this support 692 00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:16.440 and this support. I'm like, yeah, he's like, I don't 693 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:20.079 even have that. Well, you're a general, you're in a jock. 694 00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:22.400 Yeah you're not. You're not thirty guys out here sitting 695 00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:25.679 by yourselves. Yeah, you know, but yeah, we did have 696 00:38:25.719 --> 00:38:28.159 that support. That's good. 697 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:34.559 So that deployment winds down, and uh, when does the 698 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:38.320 ranger regiment start to enter into your peripheral vision? 699 00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:45.039 Oh, towards the end of that deployment, probably the year 700 00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:49.519 after we kind of got in that training mindset, you know, 701 00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:52.639 the war pretty much over in Iraq. I was still 702 00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:54.760 trying to keep my guys in shape and ready to 703 00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:56.960 go for Afghanistan. So we're doing a lot of rocking 704 00:38:57.000 --> 00:38:59.079 and a lot of hill climbs and stuff like that. 705 00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:03.920 But the Lauris Unit at Fort Lewis was the only 706 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:07.840 other airborne unit besides First Group and two seven five. 707 00:39:09.559 --> 00:39:12.760 So a lot of guys that got rfs from two 708 00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:15.639 seven to five came to the Lars unit because it's 709 00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:17.480 the only other airborne unit. They don't want to lose 710 00:39:17.480 --> 00:39:19.119 their jump pay. And then we keep doing you know, 711 00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:26.400 ranger things. So I'd say, you know, like seventy percent 712 00:39:26.440 --> 00:39:29.880 of our leadership, senior leadership at the Lauris unit was 713 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:33.000 two seven five. MYLP Petuniasar was a two some five guy, 714 00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:37.360 and you know, and so and so, and they pushed 715 00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:41.280 that ranger mentality, you know, which I loved the discipline, 716 00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:43.960 mentality and the respect and everything that you don't see 717 00:39:43.960 --> 00:39:49.480 another units. Honestly you don't. And then I had a 718 00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:52.639 Platuna sarn't Zach who was a wreckie guy at two 719 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:56.280 some five, super awesome mentor. I mean, he just texted 720 00:39:56.280 --> 00:39:59.079 me the other day talking about, you know, just how 721 00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:02.320 proud he isn't me and everything, and he's a he's 722 00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:06.159 a good guy, and he talked about two and recky 723 00:40:06.519 --> 00:40:11.320 Rekie that forced us to have an sp book and 724 00:40:11.679 --> 00:40:14.280 just all the little things that people don't think about, 725 00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:19.679 you know. And then RC came around and gave a 726 00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:24.679 recruiting brief for RC and I set in on it, 727 00:40:25.199 --> 00:40:28.440 and uh, I was like, I'm gonna go do that 728 00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:30.920 because that's like the next step in my Rekie path, 729 00:40:31.119 --> 00:40:34.960 you know. So I went to r C selection and 730 00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:40.920 I went to Spring selection in twenty twelve, did not 731 00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:44.760 make it, and then I went to the Fall selection 732 00:40:44.920 --> 00:40:49.280 that same year and got picked up. And then immediately 733 00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:53.599 following r C selection, you go to RASP to get 734 00:40:53.639 --> 00:40:57.079 selected for a regiment. Which that's an interesting what is 735 00:40:57.199 --> 00:40:59.079 r is RC? Like rope? 736 00:40:59.199 --> 00:40:59.360 Is it? 737 00:40:59.480 --> 00:40:59.960 The new. 738 00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:04.440 RASP two is what replaced rope? 739 00:41:04.519 --> 00:41:04.800 Yeah? 740 00:41:04.920 --> 00:41:07.800 Okay, and I would like to just talk about this 741 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:11.280 for a moment because I think it's really interesting that Again, 742 00:41:11.320 --> 00:41:16.760 another little digression, but RRD was the Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment, 743 00:41:16.880 --> 00:41:20.599 then became the Regimental Reconnaissance Company and for the longest 744 00:41:20.599 --> 00:41:24.079 time from when did it stand up, like nineteen eighty four, 745 00:41:24.119 --> 00:41:25.880 it was the nineteen eighties, it was like eighty four, 746 00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:29.800 I think, and their job was really just to do 747 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:33.639 reconnaissance for airfield seizures. So there were three teams. Each 748 00:41:33.639 --> 00:41:36.440 team was for each battalion, each of the three battalions, 749 00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:38.840 and then they kind of grew, especially as the war 750 00:41:38.920 --> 00:41:41.800 kicked off, they grew into something else. But those guys 751 00:41:41.840 --> 00:41:45.280 were always drawn from within the regiment. And then you 752 00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:48.400 were I think about probably the first like generation of 753 00:41:48.440 --> 00:41:51.119 guys that they started recruiting from the conventional military. 754 00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:53.719 Yeah, I think I'm not trying to put words anybody's 755 00:41:53.719 --> 00:41:56.159 mouths or anything, but I think they realized, like, there's 756 00:41:56.199 --> 00:41:57.840 some good dudes in the big army that, right, it 757 00:41:57.840 --> 00:42:00.199 could be beneficial, right, right, just like any you know, 758 00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:03.280 I mean, it's like gag. I mean, they recruit from everybody, right, 759 00:42:03.320 --> 00:42:07.159 you know, So why weren't they doing the same thing 760 00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:12.599 and I think that's what they realized. And maybe because 761 00:42:13.119 --> 00:42:15.039 some guys went from big army to regiment and then 762 00:42:15.159 --> 00:42:17.880 r D, that might be a reason. I don't know 763 00:42:17.920 --> 00:42:20.719 why specifically. I'm not gonna put words anybody's mouth, so 764 00:42:20.719 --> 00:42:21.119 I don't know. 765 00:42:21.599 --> 00:42:23.719 Yeah, yeah, I mean back then it was just because 766 00:42:23.760 --> 00:42:26.039 it was, it was, it was. It was regimental like 767 00:42:26.119 --> 00:42:28.960 it was, it was someplace. She went from battalion like 768 00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:31.159 you know what I mean. Uh, then I think it 769 00:42:31.239 --> 00:42:32.760 got bigger and then they. 770 00:42:32.639 --> 00:42:35.559 Also yeah, so it was a r D was a 771 00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:39.719 detachment from regimental headquarters. Right then they became a company 772 00:42:40.320 --> 00:42:44.639 under rs TV Special Troops of Battalion and went from 773 00:42:44.719 --> 00:42:48.800 you know, the three teams to eight, eight teams maybe six. 774 00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:52.320 Now I don't know what was I'm interested in, you know, 775 00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:54.760 your experience. What was it like going to selection for 776 00:42:54.760 --> 00:42:56.480 for that course or for that unit. 777 00:42:56.840 --> 00:42:59.199 I won't get into the specifics of selection because I 778 00:42:59.199 --> 00:43:01.559 don't want to ruin it for right other people going 779 00:43:01.920 --> 00:43:04.559 like a spoiler. It's part of the fun. Yeah, I 780 00:43:04.639 --> 00:43:08.519 probably signed an NDA too, I don't know, but no, 781 00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:12.199 it was. It's fun as your typical army selection, a 782 00:43:12.199 --> 00:43:16.360 lot of rocking, a lot of rocking. I would say total. 783 00:43:17.239 --> 00:43:20.159 If you don't get lost, you're probably looking at two 784 00:43:20.199 --> 00:43:24.400 hundred miles you're walking total for the three weeks. But 785 00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:26.119 I mean it's the typical you know, your twelve mile 786 00:43:26.199 --> 00:43:30.320 road mars, you're PT test, your Ranger PG test, now 787 00:43:30.480 --> 00:43:35.679 Army PT test, some psychological testing and IQ tests and 788 00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:38.480 stuff like that, and then you have, you know, a 789 00:43:38.559 --> 00:43:41.920 practice week where you know, you learn how to land 790 00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:47.559 have because I'm pretty sure CAG does it the same way. 791 00:43:47.760 --> 00:43:51.039 It's they're going under the assumption that nobody knows how 792 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:53.199 to land a right, so they want to make sure 793 00:43:53.239 --> 00:43:56.000 everyone's on the same playing field, and they teach you. 794 00:43:56.039 --> 00:43:58.199 It's like two three days of land and a classes. 795 00:43:59.800 --> 00:44:01.239 They teacher land have and you go out and do 796 00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:05.079 some cadal lead and uh there's another road march in 797 00:44:05.119 --> 00:44:11.800 there that's disguised as you know, another training event. It's 798 00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:14.800 a timed event. And then uh yeah, then move on 799 00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:17.639 to stress phase and you're doing land half every day 800 00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:21.599 and sleeping out in the woods with the culmination event 801 00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:23.079 that I won't spoil. 802 00:44:24.559 --> 00:44:28.519 And after you on the second time around get getting selected. 803 00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:30.800 Uh and then you go and then you had to 804 00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:32.880 go to RASP so that's an interesting thing too. You 805 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:35.679 had to go to two selection courses essentially to get 806 00:44:35.679 --> 00:44:36.880 picked up for the regiment. 807 00:44:37.239 --> 00:44:40.079 Yeah, so the rd selection RC selection was for the 808 00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:44.719 company and then RASP is for the regiment and uh 809 00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:52.639 yeahs sucked. You know it was ras to like. It sucked. Man, 810 00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:55.440 it was not fun. What can you tell us about 811 00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:59.119 it because it wasn't. So it wasn't a gentleman's course 812 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:01.519 at all. I mean it was there's no yelling and screaming, 813 00:45:01.599 --> 00:45:06.440 yea thing, but it's just it's physical, physically and mentally training. 814 00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:07.760 At the time when I went through, I don't know 815 00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:11.559 what it's like now, but a lot of class learning 816 00:45:11.599 --> 00:45:13.320 about the regiment and the history of the regiment and 817 00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:16.280 how the regiment operates because you're a you known commissioned 818 00:45:16.280 --> 00:45:19.960 officer or officer officers too, so you're learning how the 819 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.760 regiment operates. And then you know again you're going out 820 00:45:24.760 --> 00:45:27.159 and doing land alf. The land alf piece is interesting 821 00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:31.239 because you they parry up with the RASP one guy, 822 00:45:31.360 --> 00:45:33.800 so rip guys, they pay up with one of them 823 00:45:33.960 --> 00:45:37.760 or two of them, and it's your job as an 824 00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:39.719 n c O to teach them how to land out. 825 00:45:39.760 --> 00:45:43.639 So you're doing land A with GRASP one, so if 826 00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:47.159 they suck, I was just like, it's a nightmare. But 827 00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:49.599 I was good and we got all our points and 828 00:45:49.639 --> 00:45:51.880 I was like, all right, guys, sit down, sit down. 829 00:45:51.920 --> 00:45:57.400 He didn't worry. Let's hang out. There's a couple other 830 00:45:57.440 --> 00:46:04.039 physical events. Yeah FTX. You do an FTX as a class, 831 00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:07.960 and there's some stressful events during that, and you really 832 00:46:08.159 --> 00:46:12.000 kind of see who can handle being an NCU right 833 00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:15.360 in the regiment or an officer under a stressful situation. 834 00:46:15.440 --> 00:46:15.639 You know. 835 00:46:16.239 --> 00:46:25.000 Yeah, because the the so I use it's rasped too. 836 00:46:25.119 --> 00:46:28.199 It used to be rope, which was different than RIP 837 00:46:28.480 --> 00:46:32.000 because so for people who don't know for a lot, 838 00:46:32.159 --> 00:46:36.840 the way regiment works is you're a private eighteen years 839 00:46:36.880 --> 00:46:39.039 old or twenty seven, however old you are when you. 840 00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:40.000 Go in and. 841 00:46:41.639 --> 00:46:43.760 You know, you go to your infantry basic, you go 842 00:46:43.840 --> 00:46:46.920 to the Ranger and Doctrination program or now it is 843 00:46:47.360 --> 00:46:49.800 rope one right, Ranger Orientation. 844 00:46:49.480 --> 00:46:51.599 Program, Ranger Assessment Selection. 845 00:46:51.360 --> 00:46:55.360 Program, rangers okay, and then you go to Range Battalion. 846 00:46:55.400 --> 00:46:57.039 Can you grow up in Range Battalion? 847 00:46:57.280 --> 00:47:01.599 You go through private and you know, to specialists and 848 00:47:02.199 --> 00:47:06.079 you know whatnot and ready battalion, but they also have 849 00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:10.119 opportunities for people who did not grow up in battalion 850 00:47:10.519 --> 00:47:12.280 to come into battalion. 851 00:47:12.360 --> 00:47:14.920 Well, the interesting thing is they're really the regiment's really 852 00:47:14.920 --> 00:47:17.679 strict about making guys go back through selection to get 853 00:47:17.719 --> 00:47:19.679 back into the regiment. So even if you were an 854 00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:24.239 enlisted ranger, you go green to gold, become an officer, 855 00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:26.199 and now you go do your pl time in the 856 00:47:26.199 --> 00:47:28.199 eighty second wherever you're at. And now you want to 857 00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:31.119 come back to the ranger regiment and take a ranger platoon, 858 00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:32.559 you got to go back through RASP. 859 00:47:33.079 --> 00:47:34.000 Yeah, so that's a thing. 860 00:47:34.079 --> 00:47:34.920 They don't mess around. 861 00:47:35.320 --> 00:47:39.920 So that's his thing now too with NCOs started twenty fourteen, 862 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.400 twenty fifteen Abrams Charter, which is why officers went out 863 00:47:44.440 --> 00:47:48.320 and came back, went out and came Now NCOs also 864 00:47:48.679 --> 00:47:49.079 have to go. 865 00:47:49.039 --> 00:47:51.480 Out and they're bringing that back. Yeah. 866 00:47:51.519 --> 00:47:53.360 So every time you go from my platusar in to 867 00:47:53.400 --> 00:47:55.960 first Art and a first arm to ops or whatever 868 00:47:58.280 --> 00:48:00.440 you're taking the next leadership position. As an NCA, you 869 00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:01.920 got to go out for a year and come back. Oh, 870 00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:03.159 you have to go out to the big army. So 871 00:48:04.039 --> 00:48:06.159 I say big army going desk. 872 00:48:06.280 --> 00:48:09.679 So comm Still Abram's charter was, you know when they 873 00:48:09.719 --> 00:48:12.480 stood up the Ranger Regiment in the eighties or no, 874 00:48:12.519 --> 00:48:15.880 I'm sorry, in the seventies. It was supposed to be 875 00:48:16.599 --> 00:48:18.800 like a role model for the rest of the supposed 876 00:48:18.840 --> 00:48:22.599 to Vietnam army exactly. Yeah. And so the idea, I'm 877 00:48:22.599 --> 00:48:24.719 not trying to lecture you, dust, and I'm trying to 878 00:48:24.760 --> 00:48:26.880 just tell folks out there who maybe don't know what 879 00:48:26.920 --> 00:48:30.320 we're talking about that the idea was that you would 880 00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:33.800 grow this nucleus of highly skilled, trained soldiers and then 881 00:48:33.800 --> 00:48:36.440 they would go out into the larger army and spread 882 00:48:36.440 --> 00:48:38.159 that knowledge and those skills around. 883 00:48:39.199 --> 00:48:42.760 And that's yeah, that's why they brought back NCO's going 884 00:48:42.800 --> 00:48:47.639 out was to do that. Right. Two problems though, is 885 00:48:48.039 --> 00:48:50.039 some guys are going out to the big army. I'm like, oh, 886 00:48:50.039 --> 00:48:53.719 it's not that bad, right, I can kick it. I 887 00:48:53.760 --> 00:48:54.360 can just sit back. 888 00:48:54.400 --> 00:48:58.480 And I'm kind of a legend here, exactly. Yeah, I'm 889 00:48:58.559 --> 00:49:00.559 kind of a legend. 890 00:49:01.039 --> 00:49:03.320 Yeah, guys would go out and not come back like, 891 00:49:03.480 --> 00:49:05.559 you know, I'm a big fish in a little pond 892 00:49:05.800 --> 00:49:06.639 instead of a little fish. 893 00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:09.320 If they're chilling down at McDill and Tampa, they're like 894 00:49:09.559 --> 00:49:10.559 beach is pretty nice. 895 00:49:10.679 --> 00:49:15.599 Yeah, exactly. And the other problem was Regiment realized that 896 00:49:15.920 --> 00:49:19.840 guys weren't coming back by choice, and numbers started kind 897 00:49:19.840 --> 00:49:23.440 of getting depleted. So instead of sending guys out to 898 00:49:23.480 --> 00:49:26.679 the regular army to spread the knowledge, guys would go 899 00:49:26.719 --> 00:49:31.920 to Socom or Jay Socker us of Sock and do 900 00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:33.800 an ops job for a year instead of doing what 901 00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:34.639 they're supposed. 902 00:49:34.320 --> 00:49:37.400 To make them miserable on staff. They'll come right back. 903 00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:43.239 So that's what happened to that. I love Regiment death, 904 00:49:43.280 --> 00:49:45.400 I will always love Regiment. It's the best time in 905 00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:50.039 my life. But Regiment is a snake eating its own tail. 906 00:49:51.079 --> 00:49:53.920 Just you know, it keeps moving and keeps getting rid 907 00:49:53.920 --> 00:49:56.679 of good guys, keeps moving, keeps getting ready. Because you 908 00:49:56.679 --> 00:49:57.960 can have a guy that gave his whole life to 909 00:49:58.000 --> 00:50:01.960 the Regiment from private to sixty seven, he steps on 910 00:50:01.960 --> 00:50:05.440 his dick one time, Yeah, a minor thing, yeah, and 911 00:50:05.480 --> 00:50:07.320 then gone, yeah, dude. 912 00:50:07.519 --> 00:50:09.360 I was actually going to bring that up because you 913 00:50:09.440 --> 00:50:12.960 mentioned that when you were at like the Lurch unit 914 00:50:13.679 --> 00:50:17.280 that you had I think a lur unit or a 915 00:50:17.280 --> 00:50:20.239 recommend but you would have guys who would rfs now 916 00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:23.880 in range of battalion in the regiment, RFS is released 917 00:50:23.880 --> 00:50:28.000 for standards. And what that means is you did something 918 00:50:28.440 --> 00:50:33.119 and it may have been something heinous, but generally something heinous. 919 00:50:32.840 --> 00:50:34.239 Will get you kicked out of the military. 920 00:50:34.280 --> 00:50:42.840 Subjective, yeah, but generally it's something that that you know 921 00:50:42.920 --> 00:50:44.960 you might you might get RFS forgetting. 922 00:50:45.199 --> 00:50:47.280 It could be got into a bar fight, a bar. 923 00:50:47.239 --> 00:50:49.159 Fight and you had had a drink, even if the 924 00:50:49.159 --> 00:50:51.920 fight wasn't your fault, it was an alcohol related incident. 925 00:50:52.199 --> 00:50:54.480 Like and it really depends on what your chain of 926 00:50:54.519 --> 00:50:58.360 command feels about you and feels about covering their ass 927 00:50:58.360 --> 00:51:01.159 at that point in time or not you get released 928 00:51:01.159 --> 00:51:05.559 for standards. And so when you get released for standards, 929 00:51:05.559 --> 00:51:07.519 it's not you. You don't get kicked out of the military. 930 00:51:07.519 --> 00:51:09.199 You're just like you can't be arranging more. You gotta 931 00:51:09.239 --> 00:51:12.440 go down the road. Uh And and second or like 932 00:51:12.480 --> 00:51:17.280 in Fort Lewis, down the road is larse or hopefully 933 00:51:17.760 --> 00:51:20.840 hopefully it's lurse because they could be condemned to. 934 00:51:20.920 --> 00:51:25.320 Like Korea a fate wret exactly. 935 00:51:26.440 --> 00:51:29.039 I mean, like another another example of the whole go 936 00:51:29.159 --> 00:51:34.639 to RASP thing. You know, one of my guys I 937 00:51:34.639 --> 00:51:37.599 worked with at the LURT unit to go RFS. He 938 00:51:37.679 --> 00:51:41.480 spent twelve years that two seven five. Yeah, and then 939 00:51:41.480 --> 00:51:42.840 he had to go to RASP again because he made 940 00:51:42.840 --> 00:51:45.960 his seven he's gonna take him two star job and 941 00:51:45.960 --> 00:51:50.079 and the board they said no. And the reason was 942 00:51:50.360 --> 00:51:53.360 he's not aggressive enough. His mentality wasn't aggressive enough to 943 00:51:53.400 --> 00:51:58.480 be in regiment. I was like, what because he's like us, 944 00:51:58.480 --> 00:52:00.960 Like he's just laid back. Yeah, you don't need to 945 00:52:00.960 --> 00:52:03.280 be a chest beating all the time. Right. 946 00:52:03.400 --> 00:52:05.639 Well, when you when you say it's a snake eating 947 00:52:05.679 --> 00:52:08.519 its tail, it's exactly what you're alluding to there is 948 00:52:08.559 --> 00:52:13.400 that you recruit and select and breed a generation of 949 00:52:13.440 --> 00:52:16.679 soldiers that are really tightly wound and really intense, and 950 00:52:16.679 --> 00:52:18.199 then it's like you cut them loose on a three 951 00:52:18.280 --> 00:52:19.960 day weekend. It's like no ship, they got a d 952 00:52:20.039 --> 00:52:22.079 U y Yeah yeah, yeah, you know, you stress these 953 00:52:22.079 --> 00:52:23.360 guys the hell out. 954 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:25.519 They got in a bar fight Seattle. 955 00:52:25.559 --> 00:52:27.440 I'm shot. I am shocked. 956 00:52:27.480 --> 00:52:30.199 How did Yeah? The thing the thing of being a 957 00:52:30.199 --> 00:52:35.639 regiment too, is it's there's only so many positions available. 958 00:52:36.880 --> 00:52:39.920 Someone's always trying to get your job, but no one, 959 00:52:40.039 --> 00:52:41.679 no matter what position you're in, someone's waiting for you 960 00:52:41.760 --> 00:52:45.039 to mess up or for you to leave. So it's 961 00:52:45.039 --> 00:52:46.960 almost like you're always kind of walking on eggshells all 962 00:52:47.000 --> 00:52:49.000 the time too, Like is this It's a stressful place 963 00:52:49.039 --> 00:52:53.320 to work, honestly, especially when I was there the position 964 00:52:53.400 --> 00:52:57.000 I had no I was we haven't got there yet, 965 00:52:57.039 --> 00:53:00.559 but I was the youngest platoons are in the most 966 00:53:00.599 --> 00:53:04.159 senior between starting position, and it was just every day 967 00:53:04.159 --> 00:53:07.519 I felt like I was gonna just mess up. Get sound. 968 00:53:08.599 --> 00:53:12.760 Let's yeah, let's walk towards that. You make it through 969 00:53:12.840 --> 00:53:16.320 RASP and then the next step is there's the RRC 970 00:53:16.480 --> 00:53:18.880 has its own sort of like operator training course. 971 00:53:18.719 --> 00:53:21.400 Right, Yeah, they call it RTC, the Reconnaissance Training Course. 972 00:53:23.039 --> 00:53:26.920 Roughly ten months long, right, I think it's ten months long. 973 00:53:27.960 --> 00:53:32.440 Started that in January of thirteen. It broke up into 974 00:53:32.480 --> 00:53:36.239 three phases. Phase one ended in May. I'm not going 975 00:53:36.320 --> 00:53:38.639 to get into what the training is for their training course, 976 00:53:38.679 --> 00:53:45.119 but arslicon steroids and a bunch of shooting programs and 977 00:53:45.119 --> 00:53:50.280 in free fall school and all that stuff. Yeah, I 978 00:53:50.280 --> 00:53:53.320 made it through Phase one and the Phase one board. 979 00:53:54.000 --> 00:53:58.199 I got the thanks, but no thanks, not really. They 980 00:53:58.199 --> 00:53:59.639 don't give you a reason why. They don't tell you 981 00:53:59.639 --> 00:54:03.079 why you're not a good fit. I think I know why, 982 00:54:03.320 --> 00:54:09.079 but yeah, So I left there, went to the three 983 00:54:09.199 --> 00:54:12.159 Shop at rs TV as the r n c O 984 00:54:12.360 --> 00:54:15.400 for a couple of weeks, and then the Stormy major 985 00:54:15.440 --> 00:54:16.639 came over and he's like, hey, I think I got 986 00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:19.599 a job where you are you interested? I was like, yeah, 987 00:54:19.639 --> 00:54:22.559 what you got? And he said three some five Wrecky 988 00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:27.880 And that's where I went? And so what are you? 989 00:54:27.920 --> 00:54:31.719 What rank are you right now? No master or retired master? No, 990 00:54:32.039 --> 00:54:35.119 not right now at this point in time, he's six 991 00:54:36.039 --> 00:54:38.360 and what year is this? Thirteen? 992 00:54:38.760 --> 00:54:42.400 Okay, so things are still hot, relatively hot, like things 993 00:54:42.400 --> 00:54:48.039 are still happening, and you get offered this job for 994 00:54:48.119 --> 00:54:49.559 Reki your knee six? 995 00:54:50.360 --> 00:54:52.800 Is that a? Is that a t L? And Recky? 996 00:54:52.960 --> 00:54:57.320 What a Joe? Okay? I showed up to three some 997 00:54:57.480 --> 00:55:01.119 five WRECKI the platoon staring at the time. My buddy 998 00:55:01.119 --> 00:55:06.599 Matt he uh, he's a prior RC guy too, except 999 00:55:06.599 --> 00:55:10.199 he got out of the army, went National Guard, realized 1000 00:55:10.239 --> 00:55:12.920 real world sucks, came back in the army and it 1001 00:55:12.960 --> 00:55:15.920 was it three sent five Wrecky now. But I showed up. 1002 00:55:16.000 --> 00:55:18.760 He kind of knew my background, did an interview with me, 1003 00:55:18.800 --> 00:55:21.960 and you got to know me, and then I was like, hey, man, 1004 00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:25.440 I need your help, like, I need your help shaping 1005 00:55:25.440 --> 00:55:27.920 this platoon and what it should be into a wrecky 1006 00:55:27.960 --> 00:55:33.920 balltoon not I call it a senior squalor hang apple tune. 1007 00:55:34.559 --> 00:55:37.159 A lot of guys did their squalor time and their 1008 00:55:37.199 --> 00:55:40.480 reward was to go to recky and go do uh 1009 00:55:41.119 --> 00:55:45.239 yeah mega thing and stuff like that. Yeah, go grow beard. Yeah. 1010 00:55:45.320 --> 00:55:47.840 How old was Reki at this point in time and 1011 00:55:48.320 --> 00:55:50.079 in regiment and here there? And they stood was it? 1012 00:55:50.079 --> 00:55:50.599 Oh three? 1013 00:55:51.119 --> 00:55:54.800 Yeah? The battalion Rekie was two thousand and four. Yeah, 1014 00:55:54.840 --> 00:55:56.840 so I was on. I was a sniper, but I 1015 00:55:56.880 --> 00:55:59.920 was on the first apployment with the battalion Recki guys. Yea, 1016 00:56:00.599 --> 00:56:07.440 so just about ten years old, okay. But the guy 1017 00:56:07.559 --> 00:56:10.159 was talking about Matt when he was in the National Guard. 1018 00:56:10.159 --> 00:56:12.280 He was in alerts in it yea. So I went 1019 00:56:12.280 --> 00:56:14.559 from RC to National Guard Alurse and then came back 1020 00:56:14.719 --> 00:56:15.679 to three five Reki. 1021 00:56:15.840 --> 00:56:18.519 So he knew what Lurse is and what Reki is 1022 00:56:18.559 --> 00:56:20.599 and had a very good understanding of what it should be. 1023 00:56:21.360 --> 00:56:23.639 And me and him kind of molded this platoon into 1024 00:56:23.679 --> 00:56:29.199 what it should be. And I'd say about three to 1025 00:56:29.239 --> 00:56:32.920 six months later, I was just be bopping down the 1026 00:56:32.920 --> 00:56:36.079 hallway and going to my office and he stopped me 1027 00:56:36.119 --> 00:56:38.159 and he was like, hey, man, did did First Turn 1028 00:56:38.239 --> 00:56:41.239 talk to you yet? I was like no, why. He's like, 1029 00:56:41.280 --> 00:56:43.000 well him, Starry Major talked and he needs to talk 1030 00:56:43.039 --> 00:56:48.400 to you. I was like, fuck, I just got here, man, Like, 1031 00:56:48.599 --> 00:56:51.280 what's going on now? So I go to First Arm's 1032 00:56:51.280 --> 00:56:53.000 office and I walked in and he's like, hey, what 1033 00:56:53.000 --> 00:56:55.000 do you think about being Platoon's art? You want to 1034 00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:58.559 take over Reki? And I was like, oh shit, yeah, absolutely, 1035 00:56:59.000 --> 00:57:01.679 I'm not gonna turn it down, you know. And that's 1036 00:57:02.840 --> 00:57:05.559 that's when I became the potinion aren't for three five Recky, 1037 00:57:05.639 --> 00:57:08.360 and I wasn't for three and a half three and 1038 00:57:08.360 --> 00:57:09.519 a half years, so. 1039 00:57:11.079 --> 00:57:15.760 So Reki wasn't new, it was ten years old. But 1040 00:57:16.079 --> 00:57:19.679 you guys sort of created this thing, is it because 1041 00:57:21.079 --> 00:57:25.320 at that time or during that time, there wasn't that 1042 00:57:25.400 --> 00:57:29.039 Lurst experience that nobody knew what Rocky should actually look like. 1043 00:57:29.239 --> 00:57:32.519 I think that's exactly what the problem was. Okay, they 1044 00:57:32.559 --> 00:57:37.840 didn't have a a good Reki background, as you said, 1045 00:57:38.079 --> 00:57:42.559 and there just wasn't a there wasn't a mission for him. Yeah, 1046 00:57:42.639 --> 00:57:45.159 you know overseas, it was a strike forces going out 1047 00:57:45.159 --> 00:57:47.679 and hitting targets, like, what's what's reck you gonna do? Right? 1048 00:57:48.079 --> 00:57:50.480 You know you got you know, you got the prids right, 1049 00:57:50.559 --> 00:57:53.360 you know every ir asset you can think of for 1050 00:57:53.880 --> 00:57:56.320 all task force over your target? Why do you need 1051 00:57:56.360 --> 00:57:59.119 Recky out there? That was the mentality, and they didn't 1052 00:57:59.119 --> 00:57:59.360 have a. 1053 00:57:59.280 --> 00:58:03.599 Mission when when I mean this is like ancient history, 1054 00:58:03.719 --> 00:58:06.719 you know, taking baby steps. But that first deployment, I 1055 00:58:06.719 --> 00:58:11.320 remember the guys doing some ctrs, uh, doing some you 1056 00:58:11.360 --> 00:58:14.480 know on foot kind of reconnaissance stuff. And then when 1057 00:58:14.800 --> 00:58:17.599 we did get some strike operations, I remember the guys 1058 00:58:17.599 --> 00:58:21.320 going out and like doing like because actually we started 1059 00:58:21.320 --> 00:58:25.400 doing FID too with a SWAT team out in cowst 1060 00:58:25.639 --> 00:58:27.960 and so taking those guys out and doing like VPS 1061 00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:30.320 and you know, black side security and so that that 1062 00:58:30.440 --> 00:58:32.079 was sort of but it was all very like a 1063 00:58:32.159 --> 00:58:34.840 nascent sort of form, right yeah. 1064 00:58:34.880 --> 00:58:37.559 And I mean like if you're doing CTR, so CTR 1065 00:58:37.639 --> 00:58:40.599 is close hard connaissance, and in that environment, if you're 1066 00:58:40.639 --> 00:58:43.280 doing CTR, you're either like in a vehicle or you're 1067 00:58:43.360 --> 00:58:44.599 tasking dage to do it. 1068 00:58:44.639 --> 00:58:47.159 Like it's very hard sometimes to do it. And that 1069 00:58:47.199 --> 00:58:50.519 wasa that was our mission was the CTRS. Yeah, like 1070 00:58:50.559 --> 00:58:53.480 an airfield. Yeah, that would drive by in vehicles and 1071 00:58:53.559 --> 00:58:56.280 film or do whatever would do. 1072 00:58:56.400 --> 00:58:59.840 But now we're at the point where are our c 1073 00:59:00.119 --> 00:59:04.039 is out doing secret squirrel stuff And so you're you're 1074 00:59:04.079 --> 00:59:06.039 saying that when you got there, sort of the battalion 1075 00:59:06.079 --> 00:59:08.679 reckie teams were sort of in limbo that not quite 1076 00:59:08.719 --> 00:59:10.360 sure they were in limbo. 1077 00:59:10.440 --> 00:59:14.679 We had the Inner Agency Mission program and then also 1078 00:59:14.800 --> 00:59:17.840 had guys tasked to r C to help them with 1079 00:59:17.880 --> 00:59:23.880 their program. So they were filling billets for RC as well. 1080 00:59:24.360 --> 00:59:27.159 And that was a funny story too. Well. I left 1081 00:59:27.280 --> 00:59:31.199 r C went over three some five. When I showed 1082 00:59:31.199 --> 00:59:32.880 the three some five, I mean like the next day, 1083 00:59:32.920 --> 00:59:34.119 he's like, hey, you need to go over r C 1084 00:59:36.559 --> 00:59:38.360 to talk to them about this deployment coming up. And 1085 00:59:38.400 --> 00:59:41.559 I was like, what the fun go back over there 1086 00:59:41.559 --> 00:59:44.440 and knock on the door and uh, guy that was 1087 00:59:44.440 --> 00:59:47.960 on my board, Terry, he answered the door and he's like, 1088 00:59:48.000 --> 00:59:48.280 what's up. 1089 00:59:48.280 --> 00:59:48.440 Man. 1090 00:59:49.239 --> 00:59:50.840 I was like, I was told to come over here. 1091 00:59:50.840 --> 00:59:54.159 I guess I'm working with you now, and he's like huh. 1092 00:59:54.239 --> 00:59:55.280 He was like that worked out, didn't it? 1093 00:59:55.480 --> 00:59:57.239 Yeah? Yes? 1094 00:59:57.360 --> 01:00:02.480 So yeah, so was there are you formal uh And 1095 01:00:02.880 --> 01:00:06.480 Jack Hugan asked me, was there a formal because like 1096 01:00:06.519 --> 01:00:08.920 in the cniper section you went to SODIC right, you know, 1097 01:00:09.000 --> 01:00:11.320 at least SO two if not Stotak one, but you'd 1098 01:00:11.360 --> 01:00:14.519 go to SODIC H the Special Operations Target and Addiction 1099 01:00:14.639 --> 01:00:17.719 course for Reki when they stood them up. 1100 01:00:17.760 --> 01:00:21.239 Was there a formal training program for them? I don't know. 1101 01:00:21.760 --> 01:00:23.960 Well, back when they stood up, it was like again 1102 01:00:24.000 --> 01:00:26.480 they were all, you know, building an airplane in flight. 1103 01:00:26.519 --> 01:00:29.159 But they did have a training program that they were 1104 01:00:29.199 --> 01:00:32.239 standing up. Yeah, but it was in house training, yes, okay. 1105 01:00:32.599 --> 01:00:35.159 And I can't remember if they went to Arsenic or not. Mean, 1106 01:00:35.320 --> 01:00:37.440 I would have to hit up some of those guys 1107 01:00:37.440 --> 01:00:39.360 from back in the day and talk to them. But 1108 01:00:39.440 --> 01:00:41.440 I mean, what was it like when when you got there? 1109 01:00:42.360 --> 01:00:44.440 When I got there, when I was a petween start, 1110 01:00:45.400 --> 01:00:50.960 I didn't send anybody to Arsenic because I could teach Arseny. Yeah, 1111 01:00:51.320 --> 01:00:56.039 and that's what I did with my guys. Yeah, taught 1112 01:00:56.039 --> 01:00:58.119 the squaladers how the team leaders how to do it, 1113 01:00:58.519 --> 01:00:59.920 and then they taught their guys how to do it 1114 01:01:00.280 --> 01:01:03.079 the way the army should work. In my in my 1115 01:01:03.159 --> 01:01:05.679 mind at the time, all Arsenic would do for me 1116 01:01:06.079 --> 01:01:09.679 is yeah, cool, gave them an identifier, but I also 1117 01:01:09.800 --> 01:01:11.880 lost I just lost that guy for three or four weeks, 1118 01:01:12.679 --> 01:01:18.400 you know, So I would rather instead of top down training, 1119 01:01:18.639 --> 01:01:20.840 I would go bottom up, like, you know, go to 1120 01:01:20.880 --> 01:01:22.840 my team leaders, what does your team need to learn? 1121 01:01:24.159 --> 01:01:26.000 What do you guys need? You know, you have the manuals. 1122 01:01:26.039 --> 01:01:28.519 What do you not know in the manual? And then 1123 01:01:28.719 --> 01:01:29.199 we would go. 1124 01:01:29.199 --> 01:01:33.079 Over Now, was taught like a tradec school? Was it 1125 01:01:33.119 --> 01:01:34.360 taught like a soft school? 1126 01:01:34.679 --> 01:01:39.159 Trade school? Trade x? Okay, trade school? And again that's 1127 01:01:40.039 --> 01:01:41.960 another reason, like we don't want to go do that, right, 1128 01:01:42.199 --> 01:01:44.519 not saying we're better than that, but. 1129 01:01:43.960 --> 01:01:47.320 But you are, and and and and so when we 1130 01:01:47.360 --> 01:01:50.519 talk about trade doc and soft we're talking about training and. 1131 01:01:50.599 --> 01:01:55.159 Doctrination, training in doctrine, doctrine in doctrination, doctors, all the 1132 01:01:55.199 --> 01:01:57.199 schools all so. 1133 01:01:57.440 --> 01:02:01.599 Yeah, so it's very formalized process that's been put together 1134 01:02:01.760 --> 01:02:04.239 up by an officer who may or may not know 1135 01:02:04.280 --> 01:02:08.960 what they're doing. And like, it's very formalized training that 1136 01:02:10.199 --> 01:02:14.880 teaches to standard, not to or whatever it is like, 1137 01:02:15.599 --> 01:02:18.360 but but they don't necessarily always teach things the way 1138 01:02:18.360 --> 01:02:21.280 they need to be taught. So you're sending somebody to 1139 01:02:21.480 --> 01:02:24.800 a school that is an army taught school, which means 1140 01:02:24.840 --> 01:02:27.480 it's a bureaucrat taught school exactly, and not saying that 1141 01:02:27.519 --> 01:02:31.920 the artick instructors aren't great at their job or or 1142 01:02:31.920 --> 01:02:35.079 anything like that, but but the curriculum itself has been 1143 01:02:35.119 --> 01:02:35.639 laid out. 1144 01:02:35.480 --> 01:02:39.599 By the bureaucracy. It's been laid out by the bureaucracy, 1145 01:02:39.639 --> 01:02:44.480 and seventy five percent of south they're teaching is from Vietnam. Yeah, 1146 01:02:45.119 --> 01:02:48.320 which I mean, it's still applicable, you know, but I 1147 01:02:48.320 --> 01:02:50.559 would rather teach my guys what I know and what 1148 01:02:50.639 --> 01:02:54.880 has worked right and what does work right versus what 1149 01:02:55.199 --> 01:02:58.719 trade dock is telling me to teach me. So when 1150 01:02:58.760 --> 01:02:59.559 you guys. 1151 01:02:59.360 --> 01:03:03.039 Turn the or when you sort of you know, developed 1152 01:03:03.039 --> 01:03:09.320 this recky element, this rocky section, how do you impress 1153 01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:13.159 upon the command what your new improved capabilities are or 1154 01:03:13.280 --> 01:03:15.760 or get sort of operational okays. 1155 01:03:17.280 --> 01:03:22.840 So that was well, you have a couple of different avenues. 1156 01:03:22.920 --> 01:03:25.719 You got your TFTs, your Task Force Trainer missions, and 1157 01:03:25.760 --> 01:03:30.840 you've got m LAT Multilateral Training Missions. TFT is just 1158 01:03:30.920 --> 01:03:34.119 kind of a smaller m LAT per se minus the airfield. 1159 01:03:34.199 --> 01:03:37.800 We're not seizing an airfield during TFT. But the real 1160 01:03:37.880 --> 01:03:43.480 big kind of kicker for us. We went to NTC 1161 01:03:44.119 --> 01:03:45.719 and it was like the first time regiment's gone to 1162 01:03:45.760 --> 01:03:49.519 NTC and who knows how long. And we were supporting 1163 01:03:49.559 --> 01:03:53.239 a big army unit that was going through their rotation 1164 01:03:54.199 --> 01:03:58.480 as a soft capability enabler, so we were we were 1165 01:03:58.480 --> 01:04:01.760 separated from them, but we knew what their mission was. 1166 01:04:01.920 --> 01:04:04.840 We had I think our our BC and a small 1167 01:04:04.840 --> 01:04:10.760 staff was in their jock with them, and then they 1168 01:04:10.800 --> 01:04:13.400 tasked us. I think we had one or two line 1169 01:04:13.440 --> 01:04:17.679 platoons there and then wrecky platoon and the BC called 1170 01:04:17.719 --> 01:04:21.039 us in. The called me in and he was like, 1171 01:04:21.119 --> 01:04:23.159 dust and check it out. He's like, I don't care 1172 01:04:23.360 --> 01:04:28.639 what we have to do. We're here to win. Like, 1173 01:04:28.679 --> 01:04:30.960 so do you gotta do to win? I was like Roger, 1174 01:04:31.039 --> 01:04:36.280 thatsked her? But we did our thing. We went and 1175 01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:39.440 we got our four wheelers and our m raisers and 1176 01:04:39.639 --> 01:04:43.320 drove out. Climbed up a mountain, the biggest mountain we 1177 01:04:43.320 --> 01:04:46.159 could find. I think it's t Fert Mountain in NTC. 1178 01:04:46.199 --> 01:04:48.239 I don't know why I remember the name, but because 1179 01:04:48.239 --> 01:04:51.679 it was big, we climbed up there and we climbed 1180 01:04:51.719 --> 01:04:55.119 up there knowing our four is not coming up there. 1181 01:04:56.760 --> 01:04:58.360 No one's climbed this mountain to come find us, Like 1182 01:04:58.360 --> 01:05:00.679 it's a pain in the ass. It took us, you know, 1183 01:05:00.760 --> 01:05:02.400 all night to get up there and set up our 1184 01:05:02.480 --> 01:05:08.519 hid sight and we're observing the battlefield and the battlefield 1185 01:05:08.599 --> 01:05:10.599 we could see the battle space we could see was 1186 01:05:10.639 --> 01:05:13.480 the staging area for the OP four before they moved 1187 01:05:13.480 --> 01:05:20.679 into the engagement area with the rotational unit to start off. 1188 01:05:22.039 --> 01:05:25.719 Before the war, the simulated war even kicked off. We 1189 01:05:25.760 --> 01:05:28.199 could see something way off in the distance and me 1190 01:05:28.239 --> 01:05:29.880 and my JA attack are sitting up there and I'm 1191 01:05:29.920 --> 01:05:32.360 like looking through the spotting scope and looking at a 1192 01:05:32.440 --> 01:05:36.280 map and just looking at We probably spent thirty minutes 1193 01:05:36.320 --> 01:05:39.920 an hour just kind of you know, just just guestimating 1194 01:05:39.920 --> 01:05:42.039 where it was at the found We just fat finger 1195 01:05:42.039 --> 01:05:44.440 around the map, was like, whatever, whatever that is is 1196 01:05:44.519 --> 01:05:47.280 right here, and it's not friendly because the friendly is 1197 01:05:47.280 --> 01:05:51.320 over there, and he tells a big development and so 1198 01:05:51.360 --> 01:05:54.800 we called up a simulated high mar strike and it 1199 01:05:54.880 --> 01:05:58.639 ended up being the enemy brigade like their their talk, 1200 01:05:58.760 --> 01:06:05.239 their staging area and uh did the simulate Harmar strike 1201 01:06:05.280 --> 01:06:08.639 wiped out their Bria Talk. Task Force launched a strike 1202 01:06:08.679 --> 01:06:12.440 force in Osprey's to go clear through, and I remember 1203 01:06:12.480 --> 01:06:17.159 the NTC General whatever general's in charge of NTC came 1204 01:06:17.239 --> 01:06:19.559 storming in the talk and I was like, no, no, no, no, 1205 01:06:20.199 --> 01:06:23.840 like they're still alive. Send them back, like brought the 1206 01:06:23.880 --> 01:06:25.559 strike force back, like they didn't even get to land 1207 01:06:25.559 --> 01:06:31.880 and clear. It's sort of like when you're playing like yeah, 1208 01:06:32.039 --> 01:06:34.480 like we just won like our twelve of this war, 1209 01:06:34.840 --> 01:06:37.920 Like what's what's the problem anyway, So they came back 1210 01:06:37.960 --> 01:06:43.360 alive whatever. And then uh, they were staging in that 1211 01:06:43.679 --> 01:06:45.960 little court, the court where I was talking about, and 1212 01:06:46.000 --> 01:06:50.159 they just had all their armor, abrams, paladins, Bradley's, everything 1213 01:06:50.239 --> 01:06:52.960 just in a line. And we took pictures of it 1214 01:06:53.000 --> 01:06:55.840 all and sent it up via h p W sat 1215 01:06:56.880 --> 01:07:01.519 to the talk with reports and everything, Intel report, and 1216 01:07:01.559 --> 01:07:08.360 then they struck that alive again. Anyways, say all that 1217 01:07:08.400 --> 01:07:14.480 to say, we Xfield got back to our talk and 1218 01:07:14.760 --> 01:07:16.880 as soon as I walked in my office, the phone 1219 01:07:16.960 --> 01:07:20.119 rings and it's the BC who's at the rotational units talk, 1220 01:07:21.039 --> 01:07:24.599 and he's like Ward, He's like that was awesome. He's 1221 01:07:24.639 --> 01:07:27.039 like this unit is eating up everything you're giving us. 1222 01:07:27.599 --> 01:07:29.159 Can you go back out in twenty four hours. I 1223 01:07:29.199 --> 01:07:31.800 was like, oh my god, that's what you get for 1224 01:07:31.880 --> 01:07:34.760 me A good Yeah, we just spent four days out there, like, 1225 01:07:34.840 --> 01:07:38.079 you know, freezing our butts off. So yeah, we went 1226 01:07:38.119 --> 01:07:40.199 back out, you know, twenty four hours later to the 1227 01:07:40.239 --> 01:07:42.400 other side of that corridor I was talking about, and 1228 01:07:42.639 --> 01:07:45.679 did some more stuff back there. I think that was 1229 01:07:47.039 --> 01:07:50.719 a real proving point for us, Yeah, because they saw 1230 01:07:50.719 --> 01:07:53.400 what we were capable of doing. On top of that, 1231 01:07:54.599 --> 01:07:57.400 when he said, uh, you know, I'm here to win. 1232 01:07:58.119 --> 01:08:00.440 Do what you gotta do for us to win, I 1233 01:08:00.480 --> 01:08:02.880 sent my guys to go do a you know, low 1234 01:08:02.960 --> 01:08:07.280 viz Afo type operation. I was like, you know, go 1235 01:08:07.320 --> 01:08:09.920 put your civilian clothes on, take one of our beacons, 1236 01:08:10.719 --> 01:08:13.480 go into the enemy motor pool and tag their triple 1237 01:08:13.519 --> 01:08:20.000 A pieces, which they did. So I was like, give 1238 01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:21.439 me a plan, don't just go out there and wing it. 1239 01:08:22.039 --> 01:08:23.560 So they gave me a plan, and they went out 1240 01:08:23.560 --> 01:08:25.760 there and tagged their triple A pieces, their anti air 1241 01:08:26.439 --> 01:08:29.000 and we just tracked them all through the box at NTC. 1242 01:08:29.680 --> 01:08:30.640 As soon as they stopped, we. 1243 01:08:30.600 --> 01:08:33.239 Struck those the form mafia strikes again. 1244 01:08:33.359 --> 01:08:36.399 So we eliminate their anti air like ra off the 1245 01:08:36.479 --> 01:08:38.880 rip and it was. It was pretty awesome. It was 1246 01:08:38.880 --> 01:08:42.680 even better was when the war was over and the 1247 01:08:42.840 --> 01:08:45.960 fours back in their motor pool, you know, downgrading whatever 1248 01:08:45.960 --> 01:08:49.760 they're doing, and sent my guys back over to recover 1249 01:08:49.760 --> 01:08:52.479 the beats, right, and they didn't put on civvies and 1250 01:08:52.560 --> 01:08:55.039 just walked in. It was like, hey, there's something that 1251 01:08:55.119 --> 01:08:56.560 vehicle I need to get and the guy's like, who 1252 01:08:56.600 --> 01:08:58.039 are you? Like, what what are you getting? He's like, 1253 01:08:58.079 --> 01:09:01.720 don't worry about it, just like pull this pelican box 1254 01:09:01.760 --> 01:09:02.960 off them. 1255 01:09:03.000 --> 01:09:05.880 I mean, when you guys did the AAR for NTC, 1256 01:09:05.960 --> 01:09:10.159 I mean, they must have been fairly pissed overall of this. 1257 01:09:10.640 --> 01:09:13.399 I didn't sit out on it, but I'm sure it was. Yeah, 1258 01:09:13.439 --> 01:09:17.079 so to catch people up. So NTC and it's j 1259 01:09:17.279 --> 01:09:19.680 RTC right in Louisiana. Yeah. 1260 01:09:20.079 --> 01:09:22.920 So they're basically war games. And I never went to 1261 01:09:23.039 --> 01:09:27.039 either of them, but they're basically war games. And the 1262 01:09:27.079 --> 01:09:29.239 op for the people who are actually stationed on those 1263 01:09:29.279 --> 01:09:32.680 bases are good. And it doesn't necessarily mean they're great combatants. 1264 01:09:32.760 --> 01:09:35.359 I don't know, but they're good at wargaming. It's like 1265 01:09:35.640 --> 01:09:38.399 it's like going it's like a swat team going up 1266 01:09:38.439 --> 01:09:40.279 against professional paintballers. 1267 01:09:40.439 --> 01:09:42.800 I mean, those guys are probably the most well trained 1268 01:09:43.000 --> 01:09:46.760 unit in the army realistically, because they're doing it all 1269 01:09:46.800 --> 01:09:47.359 the time. 1270 01:09:47.159 --> 01:09:48.800 All the time, right, and they know that they know 1271 01:09:48.920 --> 01:09:51.600 the train, they know everything else like that. So, like 1272 01:09:51.600 --> 01:09:53.520 I said, I don't know about combatants because I don't know, 1273 01:09:53.640 --> 01:09:56.159 but but they're good at what they do there, and 1274 01:09:56.159 --> 01:10:00.000 it's very hard to beat those units in these war games. 1275 01:10:00.640 --> 01:10:03.720 So and you guys basically beat him three times. 1276 01:10:03.920 --> 01:10:07.720 They they weren't used to fighting a special operations unit 1277 01:10:07.960 --> 01:10:11.279 because we had ISR, which big army units typically don't 1278 01:10:11.279 --> 01:10:14.920 have all the time, we had high mars, we had casts, 1279 01:10:15.119 --> 01:10:17.279 we had everything, and we just I mean we just 1280 01:10:17.279 --> 01:10:19.920 sat there and called it in all day. And I 1281 01:10:20.000 --> 01:10:22.520 remember watching there was one unit that was close enough 1282 01:10:22.520 --> 01:10:23.840 to us when I called in a strike on him. 1283 01:10:23.840 --> 01:10:26.479 I remember watching him through just binos like look up 1284 01:10:26.479 --> 01:10:28.800 in the sky and like throw his hands up, yeah, 1285 01:10:28.840 --> 01:10:31.199 and like a guy come to gi him a couchy card, 1286 01:10:31.560 --> 01:10:33.880 like you're dead. Then they packed up and drove off, 1287 01:10:33.920 --> 01:10:34.520 and I was like. 1288 01:10:34.960 --> 01:10:40.359 Yeah, So meanwhile back at battalion, Uh, your your platoon's 1289 01:10:40.359 --> 01:10:44.239 getting deployed now, So walk us through some of that, 1290 01:10:44.479 --> 01:10:46.199 like what's going on in the war at this. 1291 01:10:46.159 --> 01:10:50.439 Point twenty thirteen or twenty fourteen. 1292 01:10:50.680 --> 01:10:52.640 Twenty thirteen, least start where you want to start. 1293 01:10:52.680 --> 01:10:54.800 Twenty thirteen. I didn't. I did not deploy as a 1294 01:10:54.840 --> 01:11:00.359 platoon start. I was a jockeencio, and then I went 1295 01:11:00.399 --> 01:11:03.880 out to a coast to do the interagency thing for 1296 01:11:03.880 --> 01:11:09.680 a little bit. Twenty fourteen, the strike force is still 1297 01:11:09.680 --> 01:11:13.239 going out. I don't remember how many platoons we had 1298 01:11:13.239 --> 01:11:18.840 over there. Companies wasn't really involved in that. I was 1299 01:11:19.000 --> 01:11:24.479 the wrecky platoon was tasked with an interagency mission, and 1300 01:11:24.560 --> 01:11:30.359 we supported that by sending, you know, five guys to 1301 01:11:31.640 --> 01:11:35.239 five different locations, so as platoons aren't Like, not only 1302 01:11:35.239 --> 01:11:36.840 did I have a platoon to manage, but now I 1303 01:11:36.840 --> 01:11:40.079 had to manage you know, four to five different teams 1304 01:11:40.279 --> 01:11:44.159 right at four to five different outstations, and what those 1305 01:11:44.159 --> 01:11:48.039 outstations were doing. Granted, those guys that I sent out there, 1306 01:11:48.079 --> 01:11:52.279 they were there their own team leader out there, which 1307 01:11:52.279 --> 01:11:54.359 is cool. I was very hands off as a leader, 1308 01:11:55.199 --> 01:11:57.039 like only hit me up if you need something, bro, 1309 01:11:57.279 --> 01:11:59.720 you know, like, I'm not going to micromanage you. You're 1310 01:11:59.720 --> 01:12:04.039 a big boy. Do your thing. But the recupe tune 1311 01:12:04.079 --> 01:12:08.520 to the inn the interagency mission for that deployment or 1312 01:12:08.520 --> 01:12:12.880 every deployment I did, and I mean we were going 1313 01:12:12.920 --> 01:12:16.920 out every night just about hidden targets. 1314 01:12:17.880 --> 01:12:20.199 Could could you describe that mission as far as you're 1315 01:12:20.279 --> 01:12:22.680 you're able to like what it entailed? What what you 1316 01:12:22.720 --> 01:12:23.600 guys were tasked with? 1317 01:12:23.840 --> 01:12:27.439 Yeah, with the inter agency mission. Again I say interagency, 1318 01:12:27.439 --> 01:12:31.920 it is conglomerate of agencies, right, You got any three 1319 01:12:32.000 --> 01:12:34.159 letter acronymy you can think of, or three letter agency 1320 01:12:34.119 --> 01:12:36.199 you can think of that we're working with. It's just 1321 01:12:36.239 --> 01:12:43.279 a it is a task force. And as the big 1322 01:12:43.399 --> 01:12:46.840 not big army, but as the army representative of that 1323 01:12:46.920 --> 01:12:53.520 task force, our team was responsible for being enablers to 1324 01:12:53.600 --> 01:12:59.039 provide capabilities to those civilian agencies because civilian agencies don't 1325 01:12:59.079 --> 01:13:03.279 have a hatchies, they don't have F six teams, they 1326 01:13:03.279 --> 01:13:07.119 don't have you know, ISR as much as we do. 1327 01:13:07.199 --> 01:13:09.039 They have ISR but not as much as we do. 1328 01:13:11.000 --> 01:13:15.520 And we provide further intel support, more targeting abilities. You know, 1329 01:13:15.600 --> 01:13:18.000 it's you always want as many tools and a tool 1330 01:13:18.039 --> 01:13:20.520 bag as you can have, and that's what we did. 1331 01:13:21.640 --> 01:13:24.199 The team leaders, including myself at each ouse station was 1332 01:13:25.359 --> 01:13:28.000 we're the eyes and ears and voice of the task 1333 01:13:28.000 --> 01:13:31.399 force commander for that inner agency commander. 1334 01:13:32.439 --> 01:13:34.359 So like if you're going out with for instance, maybe 1335 01:13:34.359 --> 01:13:36.279 maybe I like the FBI as there because there's a 1336 01:13:36.279 --> 01:13:38.960 poppy field they want to investigate. They can't talk to 1337 01:13:39.000 --> 01:13:42.239 the military, they don't have air support, they don't have whatever. 1338 01:13:43.399 --> 01:13:46.880 Yeah, I I'll just say I talked to somebody who 1339 01:13:47.000 --> 01:13:49.920 is part of a other governmental agency and he was 1340 01:13:50.000 --> 01:13:53.560 describing me how when they tried to call, the only 1341 01:13:53.560 --> 01:13:55.680 thing they really could call, he said, was ecasts like 1342 01:13:55.720 --> 01:13:59.039 emergency close air support, which takes you know, who knows 1343 01:13:59.079 --> 01:14:00.560 how long that's going to take. But when you have 1344 01:14:01.039 --> 01:14:04.960 rangers out there on target with you, clos air support, METAVAC, 1345 01:14:05.640 --> 01:14:08.279 all this sort of like good army stuff supports stuff 1346 01:14:08.279 --> 01:14:11.520 that comes along along with you guys, is suddenly available 1347 01:14:11.760 --> 01:14:14.239 and drastically shortens the amount of time that all of 1348 01:14:14.239 --> 01:14:14.920 these things take. 1349 01:14:15.079 --> 01:14:18.560 Yeah, because our teams that we had at each outstation 1350 01:14:18.680 --> 01:14:21.239 was comprised of you have the team leader, an assistant 1351 01:14:21.279 --> 01:14:24.760 team leader, and then he had a j tech, a medic, 1352 01:14:25.119 --> 01:14:30.359 and rto in an e guy. So you have pretty 1353 01:14:30.439 --> 01:14:33.760 much every capability and think of in one team. Not 1354 01:14:33.840 --> 01:14:35.800 everyone you know, not everyone's Leven Bravo, and not everyone's 1355 01:14:35.800 --> 01:14:38.760 a trigger puller, but everyone's either a ranger or better 1356 01:14:39.840 --> 01:14:44.600 and can really bring some hurt to the battlefield and needed. 1357 01:14:45.039 --> 01:14:47.319 And now we're we're also getting into another sort of 1358 01:14:47.359 --> 01:14:52.039 like interesting role change and that yeah, there's a REKI component, 1359 01:14:52.119 --> 01:14:54.319 but also like you guys are going out on like 1360 01:14:54.359 --> 01:14:55.840 strike operations. 1361 01:14:55.359 --> 01:15:02.520 Right, we were going out more more than the strike force, right. Honestly, 1362 01:15:03.239 --> 01:15:05.520 I felt bad for the strike force and the line 1363 01:15:05.560 --> 01:15:11.359 companies that would deploy for regiment because yeah, yeah, squalidors, 1364 01:15:11.399 --> 01:15:14.159 the twos aren't set grew up through the early two thousands, 1365 01:15:14.399 --> 01:15:17.079 I mean getting after it with Team Meryl, Team Derby 1366 01:15:17.119 --> 01:15:20.119 and all these things, and then you get to the 1367 01:15:20.159 --> 01:15:25.560 mid twenty tens and it slows down drastically, and like 1368 01:15:25.680 --> 01:15:28.119 Taliban wasn't allowed to be targeted because we're in peace 1369 01:15:28.159 --> 01:15:33.279 talks with them, right, right, But the Interagency Task Force 1370 01:15:33.319 --> 01:15:36.119 was allowed to target him, so we were going out 1371 01:15:36.159 --> 01:15:38.159 after him because we were part of that task force. 1372 01:15:40.680 --> 01:15:46.199 But the strike force, yeah, I mean five to ten 1373 01:15:46.359 --> 01:15:48.600 times the entire deployment. 1374 01:15:48.239 --> 01:15:50.760 They're going out, and that's gotta be a frustrating thing, 1375 01:15:50.880 --> 01:15:53.319 especially for a young Ranger. Oh my god, it came 1376 01:15:53.520 --> 01:15:54.600 in to get at it. 1377 01:15:54.720 --> 01:15:58.399 I mean they just they they did do. And we're 1378 01:15:58.439 --> 01:16:01.880 referencing like less is when he was talking when Les 1379 01:16:01.960 --> 01:16:06.560 was talking about doing the Nangahar clearing operation, and I've 1380 01:16:06.560 --> 01:16:09.520 talked to other folks were like the Ranger Regiment sounds 1381 01:16:09.520 --> 01:16:11.840 like they were involved in some like a couple really 1382 01:16:11.880 --> 01:16:15.239 substantial large scale combat operations in Afghanistan. 1383 01:16:15.520 --> 01:16:22.079 Yeah, that that Nangahar clearance operation happened multiple times. The 1384 01:16:22.119 --> 01:16:24.960 first time was in I was in twenty sixteen, towards 1385 01:16:24.960 --> 01:16:26.960 the tail end of our deployment. We actually extended for 1386 01:16:27.000 --> 01:16:34.239 like thirty days for that operation to happen. And it 1387 01:16:34.319 --> 01:16:38.079 sucked for us as a Jaybad during that time. And 1388 01:16:39.239 --> 01:16:42.960 it sucked for us because task Force was saturating that 1389 01:16:43.079 --> 01:16:46.279 Nangahar valley and jaybads right there in nangahart if not, 1390 01:16:46.560 --> 01:16:50.239 you know, next to Nanghar. They're saturating that valley with 1391 01:16:50.680 --> 01:16:53.800 fires high there's a high mar strike you know, two 1392 01:16:53.840 --> 01:16:57.239 to three times a day every day. And then just 1393 01:16:57.359 --> 01:17:00.680 I SR and so they took all of my assets. 1394 01:17:01.279 --> 01:17:04.920 As Inneragency team leader, I'm like a man, I can't 1395 01:17:04.920 --> 01:17:08.560 do anything. Give my assts back. But Uh yeah, they 1396 01:17:08.600 --> 01:17:13.119 flexed over. Man. I think we pushed over the rest, 1397 01:17:13.279 --> 01:17:16.359 like the rest of the battalion, So almost all the 1398 01:17:16.359 --> 01:17:18.960 three seven five was there for the operation Less was 1399 01:17:19.000 --> 01:17:24.680 talking about. And before that operation kicked off, the SAR 1400 01:17:24.840 --> 01:17:27.800 Major and some other first arms came down to Jbad 1401 01:17:28.399 --> 01:17:30.560 to kind of do a PDSs because that's where the 1402 01:17:30.560 --> 01:17:32.359 warm base was that they were gonna launch. How them 1403 01:17:34.479 --> 01:17:37.199 and asked my opinion. He's like hey, He's like, you know, 1404 01:17:37.199 --> 01:17:39.960 what do you think about this? And I looked at him. 1405 01:17:39.960 --> 01:17:43.800 I was like, the you're gonna die? Man? He was 1406 01:17:43.840 --> 01:17:47.960 like what. I was like, It is hot, this is 1407 01:17:48.039 --> 01:17:51.640 middle of July, and you're gonna send an entire Ranger 1408 01:17:51.680 --> 01:17:56.840 battalion quote unquote online right through that. Like, we are 1409 01:17:56.840 --> 01:17:59.279 not built for that, right. We are a direct action 1410 01:18:00.079 --> 01:18:03.560 hit a target and leave, yeah, not get online and 1411 01:18:03.640 --> 01:18:07.119 walk right for a valley, you know, and well wehold 1412 01:18:07.199 --> 01:18:09.840 guess what happened? You know, guys had I mean there's 1413 01:18:10.199 --> 01:18:12.840 multiple heat cats. Yeah. I think one dude had kidney 1414 01:18:12.880 --> 01:18:15.319 failure because his heat cat was so bad, Oh my gosh. 1415 01:18:15.520 --> 01:18:24.800 And it was just terrible personal professional opinion. They can 1416 01:18:24.880 --> 01:18:28.199 chalk it up as a success because we killed some isis, guys, 1417 01:18:29.399 --> 01:18:31.880 but like the grand scheme of things of a failure, 1418 01:18:32.119 --> 01:18:34.319 like it was just an utter failure. The fact that 1419 01:18:34.399 --> 01:18:37.000 we had to do it, you know, version one, version two, 1420 01:18:37.079 --> 01:18:39.640 version three, there were version of four. Should be it 1421 01:18:39.680 --> 01:18:40.960 should just be version one, you know. 1422 01:18:41.279 --> 01:18:43.600 And if you guys go back and watch the episode 1423 01:18:43.600 --> 01:18:45.520 with less Sian dusky, you'll hear the sort of like 1424 01:18:45.560 --> 01:18:47.920 boots on the ground the account of it. 1425 01:18:48.239 --> 01:18:50.720 We tried to get boots on the ground from where 1426 01:18:50.720 --> 01:18:57.199 I was at as the interagency task force that we 1427 01:18:57.279 --> 01:19:01.279 had there at Jabad, because we to provide with our 1428 01:19:01.319 --> 01:19:03.840 task force, you know, all the stuff that we talked 1429 01:19:03.840 --> 01:19:08.800 about earlier, providing as far as fires and metavac. But 1430 01:19:08.880 --> 01:19:13.399 with the indigenous personnel that we had, we would be 1431 01:19:13.399 --> 01:19:17.560 able to be able to provide you know, one hundred 1432 01:19:17.720 --> 01:19:22.640 one hundred trucks and dishkas and RPGs and mortars, anything 1433 01:19:22.680 --> 01:19:23.920 on a sunny you can think of, and we can 1434 01:19:23.960 --> 01:19:26.119 just drive there is right down the road instead of 1435 01:19:26.680 --> 01:19:29.800 flying guys in and not be able to leave unless 1436 01:19:29.800 --> 01:19:33.239 the birds came back. That was a big problem. But 1437 01:19:33.479 --> 01:19:35.720 we got shut down. We couldn't couldn't go because of 1438 01:19:36.800 --> 01:19:39.720 inner agency Higher said no. 1439 01:19:40.319 --> 01:19:42.680 So could can you talk a little bit about the 1440 01:19:42.920 --> 01:19:44.399 indigenous force that you worked with. 1441 01:19:46.479 --> 01:19:53.760 I will say it is a conglomerate of Afghans from 1442 01:19:53.800 --> 01:19:59.159 the entire country, and it's really awesome to watch them 1443 01:19:59.239 --> 01:20:05.119 work together. That was one of the coolest things I've 1444 01:20:05.119 --> 01:20:07.560 seen in country, because there's a lot of infighting, you know, 1445 01:20:07.560 --> 01:20:11.079 those tribes and cost and Dari and who's Beck's and 1446 01:20:11.119 --> 01:20:15.439 tajeeks and just everybody hates everybody. But those guys that 1447 01:20:15.520 --> 01:20:21.279 I worked with genuinely wanted Afghanistan to be better, and 1448 01:20:21.319 --> 01:20:25.800 they genuinely liked each other and they worked together. And 1449 01:20:28.159 --> 01:20:33.119 sounds bad to say, but they hated the the typical 1450 01:20:33.159 --> 01:20:36.439 Afghan almost more than we did. Like they would put 1451 01:20:36.479 --> 01:20:39.920 boots to the head and mess these guys up, you know, 1452 01:20:39.960 --> 01:20:42.680 the Taliban and Isis and everybody, and they would they'd 1453 01:20:42.760 --> 01:20:45.800 rough them up good and make it a point like, hey, quit, 1454 01:20:46.159 --> 01:20:47.520 you know, quit fucking our country up. 1455 01:20:47.560 --> 01:20:47.680 Man. 1456 01:20:47.760 --> 01:20:50.439 Yeah, you told me, you know, as sort of a 1457 01:20:50.439 --> 01:20:52.880 point of reference that it reminded you of like the 1458 01:20:52.920 --> 01:20:55.520 American military in the sense that it's like some dude 1459 01:20:55.520 --> 01:20:58.720 from North Dakota and some cat from New York working together. 1460 01:20:58.840 --> 01:21:02.239 And that's exactly it was. Yeah. So they worked so 1461 01:21:02.319 --> 01:21:12.119 well together. They're paid very good. We'll say a Afghan 1462 01:21:12.199 --> 01:21:16.159 in that unit, a private in that unit made about 1463 01:21:16.239 --> 01:21:20.560 nine hundred dollars a month, good money compare in Afghanistan. Yeah. Yeah, 1464 01:21:21.399 --> 01:21:25.000 if you compare that to Afghan National Army in general, 1465 01:21:25.880 --> 01:21:29.640 he got nine a month. So we paid them very well. 1466 01:21:30.319 --> 01:21:31.880 We treated them very well. They had good food, that 1467 01:21:31.960 --> 01:21:39.159 air conditioning, good barracks, and uh worked on the referral program. 1468 01:21:39.159 --> 01:21:42.720 So I vouch for you, you vouch for me, like, hey, 1469 01:21:42.880 --> 01:21:44.680 Jack's a good guy, he should come work here. But 1470 01:21:44.760 --> 01:21:48.319 if you mess up, I'm gone too. Yeah. And that's 1471 01:21:48.319 --> 01:21:52.000 how you keep them loyal along with the money. Yeah. 1472 01:21:52.039 --> 01:21:54.159 And unfortunately, you know, some of those guys didn't make 1473 01:21:54.199 --> 01:21:56.920 it out. A lot of them did, thank goodness. Yeah. 1474 01:21:57.319 --> 01:21:58.760 I don't know where they're at. They might be sitting 1475 01:21:58.760 --> 01:22:00.399 in some other country right now, wait to get their 1476 01:22:00.479 --> 01:22:03.880 visas or whatever. But a lot of them made it out. 1477 01:22:03.920 --> 01:22:06.560 Some didn't. And it's terrible. 1478 01:22:08.039 --> 01:22:12.039 What uh what was was there a minimum rank to 1479 01:22:12.079 --> 01:22:14.239 go to reki at at the time. 1480 01:22:14.600 --> 01:22:17.960 Uh? I tried to put E five on it, so 1481 01:22:18.000 --> 01:22:21.039 they at least had to be tabbed. They had you 1482 01:22:21.119 --> 01:22:24.680 had to be tabbed. So is that? Why is it? 1483 01:22:24.840 --> 01:22:27.039 I was trying to figure. 1484 01:22:26.800 --> 01:22:32.439 Out why RECKI got this essential essentially len o job, 1485 01:22:32.600 --> 01:22:38.840 basically right or less liaison job. Was it because of 1486 01:22:38.920 --> 01:22:42.000 the overall maturity of the RECIE elements? 1487 01:22:42.960 --> 01:22:49.359 I think it was the maturity and mentality, because those 1488 01:22:49.399 --> 01:22:52.880 interagency jobs you got to have the right personality and 1489 01:22:52.880 --> 01:22:57.960 the right person in those positions. If you know anything 1490 01:22:57.960 --> 01:23:02.920 about ranger regiment, you know you're from private on up, 1491 01:23:03.720 --> 01:23:08.039 you know it's ranger injury. I'm just I'm just trying. 1492 01:23:08.039 --> 01:23:10.239 I'm trying to think of the words of that offending somebody, 1493 01:23:10.279 --> 01:23:15.279 but just chest that you know, fire fire breathing team leader. 1494 01:23:15.800 --> 01:23:18.560 You know you don't you don't want that in those positions. 1495 01:23:18.560 --> 01:23:21.960 You need somebody that can it's kind of mellow, can 1496 01:23:22.199 --> 01:23:28.039 read the room, speak intelligently and know when to talk 1497 01:23:28.920 --> 01:23:34.079 and when to listen, not embarrass the regiment or the army, right, 1498 01:23:34.159 --> 01:23:36.720 you know, because you never know when you're working with 1499 01:23:36.720 --> 01:23:37.920 a bunch of civilians. 1500 01:23:37.520 --> 01:23:38.560 You never know who's right. 1501 01:23:39.359 --> 01:23:43.239 So I think that's why we got that that. 1502 01:23:43.239 --> 01:23:47.000 Job, and and what works great as a t L 1503 01:23:47.279 --> 01:23:50.800 or a uh you know, uh squad leader or whatever 1504 01:23:50.920 --> 01:23:54.680 on the line, like get you know, flighting a fire 1505 01:23:54.760 --> 01:23:57.359 under people's asses, like getting them, especially when you're dealing 1506 01:23:57.399 --> 01:23:59.439 with you know, eighteen year olds fresh off the street, 1507 01:23:59.720 --> 01:24:01.640 Like there's nothing wrong with that there. 1508 01:24:02.079 --> 01:24:04.880 It's great for that job, they need it, right. 1509 01:24:05.199 --> 01:24:07.920 But sometimes it takes a different sensibility to work in 1510 01:24:07.920 --> 01:24:09.520 each other in these other positions. 1511 01:24:09.560 --> 01:24:11.960 Yeah, then we're not. When I was, dudes aren't Like 1512 01:24:12.000 --> 01:24:15.520 I I pride myself when I was a pudens aren't 1513 01:24:15.960 --> 01:24:21.239 to not have a single incident, not a single incident, 1514 01:24:21.439 --> 01:24:24.359 alcohol related or other. And I think a big part 1515 01:24:24.359 --> 01:24:28.479 of that was treating them like men. And then also 1516 01:24:29.239 --> 01:24:31.079 I don't think I yelled one time. Yeah, I don't 1517 01:24:31.119 --> 01:24:34.520 think I smoked anybody one time. I did more of 1518 01:24:34.560 --> 01:24:38.720 the the disappointed dad leaders right right, you know what 1519 01:24:38.800 --> 01:24:40.920 I mean, you treat you treat a boy like a 1520 01:24:41.000 --> 01:24:42.399 man and the man up right. 1521 01:24:42.720 --> 01:24:42.960 Well. 1522 01:24:43.000 --> 01:24:45.319 Also, the I think one of the keys to avoiding 1523 01:24:45.319 --> 01:24:49.119 alcohol related incidents incidents is like a tight team and 1524 01:24:49.159 --> 01:24:53.359 a hasty X film like like combat part Yeah. 1525 01:24:54.920 --> 01:24:59.439 Right. I mean it was like two weeks after I left, 1526 01:24:59.439 --> 01:25:03.199 there's a du you know, two weeks after and they're like, 1527 01:25:03.199 --> 01:25:04.119 why did you leave us? 1528 01:25:04.880 --> 01:25:06.000 It's not my choice. 1529 01:25:06.600 --> 01:25:07.239 I'm sorry. 1530 01:25:07.439 --> 01:25:10.239 So, as you're going on these deployments, I mean, and 1531 01:25:10.279 --> 01:25:12.199 I mean, it's it's really cool to hear about this 1532 01:25:12.279 --> 01:25:15.039 because I think that the cliche about Rangers even to 1533 01:25:15.079 --> 01:25:17.399 this day with some folks is that Rangers are like 1534 01:25:17.439 --> 01:25:21.119 a blocking force for you know, delta force operations, and 1535 01:25:21.159 --> 01:25:24.399 it's like, well the truth. Yeah, the boys have gone 1536 01:25:24.479 --> 01:25:28.399 off and done all sorts of interesting unique things, be 1537 01:25:28.520 --> 01:25:31.239 it direct action or otherwise with. 1538 01:25:31.199 --> 01:25:33.319 The Arkansas National Guard like the Rangers. 1539 01:25:33.760 --> 01:25:34.319 Yeah. 1540 01:25:34.359 --> 01:25:36.800 So, uh, you know, as you were going off on 1541 01:25:36.840 --> 01:25:38.920 these these sorts of unique missions, I mean, there are 1542 01:25:38.960 --> 01:25:40.439 any of them that kind of like stand out in 1543 01:25:40.520 --> 01:25:42.600 your mind that you know, you'd like to talk about. 1544 01:25:43.800 --> 01:25:48.760 Uh. I would say one of the one of the 1545 01:25:48.800 --> 01:25:53.079 most impressive ones we did was a kind of proof 1546 01:25:53.119 --> 01:25:57.439 of concept, a national strike proof of concept, you know, 1547 01:25:58.920 --> 01:26:03.159 for that the deployment of stationed just outside Cobble and 1548 01:26:03.199 --> 01:26:05.159 we wanted to see, want to prove that we could 1549 01:26:05.199 --> 01:26:09.239 go as far as we can go Mez, which is 1550 01:26:09.279 --> 01:26:14.359 you know, northern Afghanistan. So we uh came up with 1551 01:26:14.399 --> 01:26:16.840 a plan, found a target that was still active up there, 1552 01:26:17.279 --> 01:26:24.199 and we you know, we sent some guys in civilian vehicles. 1553 01:26:24.239 --> 01:26:28.680 They drove all the way up there Afghans, our indigenous force, 1554 01:26:29.479 --> 01:26:32.640 and then we flew some guys commercial air up there undercover, 1555 01:26:33.039 --> 01:26:35.479 you know, and then the rest of us took a 1556 01:26:35.520 --> 01:26:40.319 private jet, which I thought was ridiculous. It's like, are 1557 01:26:40.319 --> 01:26:41.640 we really in a private jet right now? And the 1558 01:26:41.960 --> 01:26:44.399 pilot was like, it's a it's a ninety three model. 1559 01:26:44.960 --> 01:26:46.600 I was like, it's still a private jet, dude, Like, 1560 01:26:46.640 --> 01:26:48.119 are you kidding me right now? You guys are? 1561 01:26:48.279 --> 01:26:50.079 I mean, that's that's about as bowler as it gets 1562 01:26:50.079 --> 01:26:53.359 me and you're like, uh u Ranger, Hunter, killer teams. 1563 01:26:53.520 --> 01:26:55.479 It's like a private jet. 1564 01:26:56.279 --> 01:26:58.159 It's like running in a two thousand and five limousine. 1565 01:26:58.199 --> 01:27:00.319 It's like, I don't care to do that still lim Yeah, 1566 01:27:00.319 --> 01:27:04.560 he got a booze carte. And then when we sent 1567 01:27:06.840 --> 01:27:08.960 it's like a civilian see one thirty is called one hundred. 1568 01:27:10.640 --> 01:27:13.840 So we loaded up some called scooby vans. It looks 1569 01:27:13.880 --> 01:27:14.760 like a mystery machine. 1570 01:27:15.199 --> 01:27:15.840 Excuby doo. 1571 01:27:16.640 --> 01:27:19.000 Loaded those on there and flew those up there, and 1572 01:27:19.159 --> 01:27:23.760 uh we all linked up up there. Me and one 1573 01:27:23.760 --> 01:27:26.680 of my interagency partners. We walked up to the gate guard. 1574 01:27:26.960 --> 01:27:28.920 There's a big army like probably a National Guard guy 1575 01:27:29.000 --> 01:27:32.319 or something, and you know, here I am, or here 1576 01:27:32.359 --> 01:27:35.479 we are, you know, looking like this, and I was like, 1577 01:27:35.520 --> 01:27:37.800 hey man, and you know, like fifteen minutes you're gonna 1578 01:27:37.800 --> 01:27:41.840 have you know, about twenty Afghans show up in civilian 1579 01:27:41.920 --> 01:27:45.560 vehicles with weapons, so you can't stop them. Don't search 1580 01:27:45.640 --> 01:27:48.039 them there with us, just let them through. They're coming 1581 01:27:48.079 --> 01:27:51.800 over here. And he's just like just sir. I was like, 1582 01:27:51.880 --> 01:27:55.079 thank you as easier and I thought it was gonna 1583 01:27:55.119 --> 01:27:59.439 be go talk to somebody else, but uh, we all 1584 01:27:59.479 --> 01:28:02.960 link up their vans, vehicles, guns and everything together and 1585 01:28:03.199 --> 01:28:04.840 we go out and hit this target out in Mez 1586 01:28:04.920 --> 01:28:08.079 that I mean, no one's operating a mez and probably 1587 01:28:08.119 --> 01:28:14.439 five years ish, so he had no idea we were there. 1588 01:28:14.680 --> 01:28:17.479 We show up and you know, banged out his door 1589 01:28:18.439 --> 01:28:20.680 and scoop him up, and he just looked at us like, well, 1590 01:28:20.960 --> 01:28:22.520 who the hell are you know? Where'd you guys come from? 1591 01:28:22.560 --> 01:28:25.279 I haven't been bad, like I stopped being bad, you know, 1592 01:28:26.680 --> 01:28:29.720 and uh, detain him, take him back to the hangar. 1593 01:28:29.800 --> 01:28:33.000 And kind of felt bad for the guy because he 1594 01:28:33.079 --> 01:28:35.079 honestly hadn't done anything bad. In a couple of years 1595 01:28:35.640 --> 01:28:37.239 and I don't know what he did before that, you know, 1596 01:28:37.279 --> 01:28:42.239 he was still a target, so whatever. And uh, but 1597 01:28:42.520 --> 01:28:44.199 he sat in the corner of that hanger, you know, 1598 01:28:44.279 --> 01:28:49.560 ear muffed, blindfolded and handcuffed for probably about twelve hours. 1599 01:28:49.600 --> 01:28:51.680 Like it was kind of I felt bad. I was like, man, 1600 01:28:52.199 --> 01:28:53.880 this guy has no idea what's going on right now? 1601 01:28:54.800 --> 01:28:56.600 And then we load him up on the l one 1602 01:28:57.920 --> 01:29:02.800 forty five minute flight back to Cobble and he's peeing 1603 01:29:02.840 --> 01:29:06.119 himself and pooping himself and throwing up the entire time 1604 01:29:06.520 --> 01:29:08.800 because he has no idea where he's going. By first 1605 01:29:08.840 --> 01:29:14.239 time he's ever been on a plane ever, landing Cobble, 1606 01:29:16.159 --> 01:29:18.479 take him off that we get on I seventeen helicopter 1607 01:29:19.479 --> 01:29:22.800 fight our base. Again, he has no idea what's going 1608 01:29:22.840 --> 01:29:25.560 on where he's going. He just lost and saw us 1609 01:29:26.680 --> 01:29:28.600 and take him back there and debrief him and I 1610 01:29:28.600 --> 01:29:33.279 think they just putting on a commercial air and blew back. 1611 01:29:34.039 --> 01:29:38.079 Thanks for the concepts, Sorry, broh, but that was pretty 1612 01:29:38.079 --> 01:29:38.760 cool to be a part of that. 1613 01:29:38.920 --> 01:29:41.399 It shows, Uh, you know, I think we're talking a 1614 01:29:41.399 --> 01:29:43.520 little bit before we started the show. I mean, it 1615 01:29:43.600 --> 01:29:47.520 kind of shows like what could have been and you know, 1616 01:29:47.760 --> 01:29:50.680 like in full disclosure. I was like, definitely in favor 1617 01:29:50.720 --> 01:29:53.439 of US pulling out of Afghanistan. But on the flip 1618 01:29:53.479 --> 01:29:55.880 side to it, what you guys were doing shows I 1619 01:29:55.920 --> 01:29:59.000 think that there could have been a very light footprint 1620 01:29:59.039 --> 01:30:03.760 American presence in Afghanistan maintaining that sort of residual counter 1621 01:30:03.880 --> 01:30:09.560 terrorism force large or really almost entirely working through Afghan partners. 1622 01:30:10.560 --> 01:30:13.079 And that operation shows, Yeah, it could have been a 1623 01:30:13.199 --> 01:30:15.039 national asset, not just regional. 1624 01:30:15.560 --> 01:30:25.039 Absolutely. Another another mission that comes to mind. You know, 1625 01:30:25.159 --> 01:30:27.680 my my j Tech he got he got shot up 1626 01:30:27.960 --> 01:30:32.800 one night, We got shot four times and we were 1627 01:30:32.800 --> 01:30:38.439 going after this svest facility. So we hit hit the 1628 01:30:38.680 --> 01:30:41.720 suspected s facility and there's like a legit family in there, 1629 01:30:42.600 --> 01:30:44.439 and he's like, not us, I might want to talk 1630 01:30:44.479 --> 01:30:47.119 to the guys across the street though, So we go 1631 01:30:47.159 --> 01:30:52.319 across the street and uh, as we were maneuvering, they 1632 01:30:52.359 --> 01:30:55.880 squared it out the back and took off running. We 1633 01:30:55.920 --> 01:30:59.439 had a passes overhead already we collapse collapsed him in overhead, 1634 01:30:59.560 --> 01:31:04.119 so they had eyes on. We're kind of chasing after 1635 01:31:04.159 --> 01:31:09.640 these guys in the the farm fields in Afghanistan, you 1636 01:31:09.720 --> 01:31:12.359 have a field and then there's like an irrigation dish 1637 01:31:12.359 --> 01:31:16.119 that runs through or it's raised for a walkway, So 1638 01:31:16.399 --> 01:31:20.119 either one it's either sunking down or raised up. And 1639 01:31:22.000 --> 01:31:23.640 we were getting ready to come up to a cross 1640 01:31:23.680 --> 01:31:28.119 section or intersection where these irrigation dishes and walkways crossed, 1641 01:31:29.640 --> 01:31:32.840 and my jay Attack was standing up on the race 1642 01:31:32.880 --> 01:31:35.439 section and he's talking to birds and he's like, hey, 1643 01:31:35.479 --> 01:31:39.720 do you have you know, eyes on hotspot. They're like, yeah, 1644 01:31:39.760 --> 01:31:42.840 it's about twenty five meters in front of you. And 1645 01:31:44.119 --> 01:31:46.039 as soon as he said that, they just started ripping 1646 01:31:46.119 --> 01:31:49.920 rounds at us. And he was the first person they 1647 01:31:50.279 --> 01:31:53.640 could hear and see because yeah, there's probably a full 1648 01:31:53.640 --> 01:31:55.720 moon for all now. But he was lit up. You 1649 01:31:55.720 --> 01:31:57.600 can see him playing his day standing on this berm, 1650 01:31:57.640 --> 01:32:01.479 and you know, he took it on the thigh, the abdomen, 1651 01:32:01.640 --> 01:32:05.800 the ribs, and his helmet and he didn't have his 1652 01:32:05.840 --> 01:32:09.199 chin strap buckled, which I think saved his life honestly, 1653 01:32:10.319 --> 01:32:14.600 because that round was sticking through the inside of his helmet. 1654 01:32:15.199 --> 01:32:17.640 So if it was tight, it would have had something 1655 01:32:17.680 --> 01:32:21.039 to right, some type of what's the word I'm looking for, 1656 01:32:22.319 --> 01:32:25.840 some type of resistance would push stabilized. Yeah, but his 1657 01:32:25.880 --> 01:32:30.560 helmet was unbuckled, so it knocked it off. And you know, 1658 01:32:31.399 --> 01:32:33.239 I was about fifty meters to his left, a couple 1659 01:32:33.239 --> 01:32:33.760 of guys. 1660 01:32:33.560 --> 01:32:35.840 Down from him, so he got a full burst. 1661 01:32:36.079 --> 01:32:40.720 Yeah, I mean straight eyes. Yeah, and uh, I said, 1662 01:32:40.800 --> 01:32:44.199 knocked his helmet off. He's yelling I'm a hit. I'm 1663 01:32:44.239 --> 01:32:46.560 shooting back and yelling him to put a tournique on it. 1664 01:32:47.039 --> 01:32:50.159 The rest of the team is shooting back, yelling for 1665 01:32:50.239 --> 01:32:53.159 the medic, shooting back, yelling for the medic again because 1666 01:32:53.159 --> 01:32:56.640 he's shooting so he can't hear me, like, come over here, 1667 01:32:56.680 --> 01:32:59.600 you know, medic, because he was probably about twenty five 1668 01:32:59.640 --> 01:33:02.600 meters my left, so he's running across all these all 1669 01:33:02.640 --> 01:33:06.319 this fire to get to him. Meanwhile, my j Tach 1670 01:33:06.399 --> 01:33:11.439 had the wherewithal to scoop his helmet back up, put 1671 01:33:11.479 --> 01:33:14.000 it on his head, key up to the birds, you know, 1672 01:33:14.039 --> 01:33:17.279 while he's bleeding out, and tell them that he's hit. 1673 01:33:18.319 --> 01:33:20.439 Take all commands from two to one. Who was me 1674 01:33:20.960 --> 01:33:25.039 the GFC, And I thought that was pretty cool that 1675 01:33:25.079 --> 01:33:29.520 he had the Yeah, he was able to do that. Yeah, 1676 01:33:29.680 --> 01:33:33.199 he could think through things. He wasn't freaking out. But 1677 01:33:33.319 --> 01:33:35.359 as he's yelling I'm hit, I'm yelling at him to 1678 01:33:35.359 --> 01:33:37.479 put a tourniquet on him. I'm like shooting, like I 1679 01:33:37.520 --> 01:33:39.520 can't help you right now, man, trying to kill these 1680 01:33:39.520 --> 01:33:44.159 guys first started trading grenades back and forth. I was 1681 01:33:44.199 --> 01:33:47.239 like playing hot potato with grenades. I mean, legit, like 1682 01:33:47.800 --> 01:33:50.520 the grenade landing from me to you, and you know, 1683 01:33:50.600 --> 01:33:52.800 the entire time you've you've grown up in the army. 1684 01:33:52.880 --> 01:33:54.960 When the grenade comes at you, what do you say, 1685 01:33:55.479 --> 01:34:00.199 You're supposed to jump awaynade you when you throw when 1686 01:34:00.199 --> 01:34:04.600 you say frag out, one comes into yogrenade my buddy. 1687 01:34:04.600 --> 01:34:05.880 I don't know if it was like the stress of 1688 01:34:05.920 --> 01:34:08.399 the moment or something, but he was like fragging. I 1689 01:34:08.439 --> 01:34:09.119 was like, what. 1690 01:34:12.279 --> 01:34:13.359 Blew up right there in front of this. 1691 01:34:13.479 --> 01:34:16.199 I was like, oh my god. And we started start 1692 01:34:16.239 --> 01:34:18.039 throwing him back. I watched some guy just like limprous 1693 01:34:18.119 --> 01:34:20.279 one had to you know, kind of die from that. 1694 01:34:21.279 --> 01:34:24.399 But uh, we ended up, you know, taking care of 1695 01:34:24.399 --> 01:34:27.439 that problem. But those guys actually had like a defended, 1696 01:34:27.479 --> 01:34:30.720 fortified sandbag position. Yeah, Like they ran to it waiting 1697 01:34:30.720 --> 01:34:31.920 for us to come to that. And it was a 1698 01:34:31.960 --> 01:34:34.640 near ambush. We were within twenty five meters. I mean 1699 01:34:34.680 --> 01:34:39.000 we were you can see him. It was a fallback position. Yeah, 1700 01:34:39.840 --> 01:34:43.960 we end up smoking them worked on the J tag. 1701 01:34:44.439 --> 01:34:48.960 He Uh. I remember him like laying on the stretcher 1702 01:34:49.199 --> 01:34:51.039 and he like passed out and I was like, oh shit, 1703 01:34:51.359 --> 01:34:54.119 he just died. And he was like, you're my best friend. 1704 01:34:54.159 --> 01:34:56.439 I was like fuck. I kind of look at him, 1705 01:34:56.479 --> 01:34:58.159 look at the medic. I'm like, medic's not freaking out, 1706 01:34:58.279 --> 01:35:00.319 Like what the hell man? And I kind of slapping 1707 01:35:00.319 --> 01:35:01.800 on the face my Trevor. Come back to me, man, 1708 01:35:02.840 --> 01:35:06.520 and he uh stayed pasted out in the medical is like, hey, dude, 1709 01:35:06.800 --> 01:35:10.399 he's in He's in that k hole. Yeah, kennymine. He's like, 1710 01:35:10.439 --> 01:35:13.800 just let him go. He's in a good place. I 1711 01:35:13.840 --> 01:35:16.840 was like, all right, if you say so. But uh, 1712 01:35:18.000 --> 01:35:20.560 he had pop back up. He like woke up, like 1713 01:35:20.560 --> 01:35:22.960 pop back up, and he's like dusting. I was like, 1714 01:35:23.000 --> 01:35:27.239 what's up. Stop you going, man, what's up? He's like, hey, man, 1715 01:35:28.000 --> 01:35:30.520 make sure you eat big, lift big, get big, and 1716 01:35:30.600 --> 01:35:37.000 you like passed back out. I was like, seriously. They 1717 01:35:37.159 --> 01:35:40.199 woke back up again, and uh called out to our 1718 01:35:40.239 --> 01:35:43.000 r t O Jeremy. He's like Jeremy, He's like, yeah, 1719 01:35:43.000 --> 01:35:45.199 what's up. He's like, give me a dip. He's like, 1720 01:35:45.359 --> 01:35:46.800 I looked at him, like, you're not getting a dip 1721 01:35:46.880 --> 01:35:49.279 right now, You're not You're not getting a dip. Sorry. 1722 01:35:49.479 --> 01:35:56.960 He's like all right, passed back out. Doc Bowman at 1723 01:35:56.960 --> 01:36:01.199 that time did a freaking phenomenal job saving that guy's life. Man, 1724 01:36:02.000 --> 01:36:06.720 I mean from TARNI kits to freeze dried plasma. I 1725 01:36:06.720 --> 01:36:08.720 don't know if anybody, I ef anybody knows the freeze 1726 01:36:08.760 --> 01:36:14.199 dried plasma. At the time, it's still we're the only 1727 01:36:14.239 --> 01:36:17.600 ones using it. It was kind of experimental. We're the 1728 01:36:17.600 --> 01:36:23.640 guinea pigs. It's French. It comes in two glass bottles. 1729 01:36:23.800 --> 01:36:28.119 One's powdered plasma, one's the solution to mix it, and 1730 01:36:28.159 --> 01:36:30.000 you gotta like suck it out of the string. His 1731 01:36:30.039 --> 01:36:32.199 vacuum stilled. And now I was pulling on that syringe 1732 01:36:32.199 --> 01:36:34.399 as hard as I could, trying to get as much 1733 01:36:34.439 --> 01:36:36.800 solution as I could and shoot it into the powder 1734 01:36:36.840 --> 01:36:39.600 mix and the other glass bottle. So Doc always had this. 1735 01:36:40.159 --> 01:36:42.960 It was like a see a less bag with these 1736 01:36:43.000 --> 01:36:45.239 two glass bottles. And you think carrying glass bottles on 1737 01:36:45.279 --> 01:36:47.800 like a mission, like they're gonna break, you know, but 1738 01:36:47.840 --> 01:36:51.319 they're like bubble wrapped and everything but then you swirl it. 1739 01:36:51.359 --> 01:36:52.960 You can't shake it, you gotta swirl it. So I'm 1740 01:36:52.960 --> 01:36:56.239 sitting there like swirling the solution like a drink, like 1741 01:36:56.560 --> 01:36:59.119 swirling the solution, like waiting like is it good yet? 1742 01:36:59.119 --> 01:37:01.439 He's like, yeah, give it to me. Gave them the 1743 01:37:01.439 --> 01:37:04.920 freeze dried plasma. You know, like I said, turn quits 1744 01:37:04.960 --> 01:37:10.800 addressing is freeze dried plasma? Uh, the fennel pop ketamine. 1745 01:37:10.880 --> 01:37:13.520 Just everything was awesome. Doc did a phenomenal job. 1746 01:37:13.880 --> 01:37:15.880 You guys did, Like I mean, I know there's a 1747 01:37:15.880 --> 01:37:18.279 difference between blood and plasma, but essentially you kind of 1748 01:37:18.279 --> 01:37:19.279 gave them like a blood. 1749 01:37:19.720 --> 01:37:25.000 So it's it's like an infusion, so it can carry oxygen. 1750 01:37:25.279 --> 01:37:29.199 It's exactly unlike an ivy fascinating. This amazing. Really, when 1751 01:37:29.199 --> 01:37:30.960 you give something an iv all you're doing is increasing 1752 01:37:30.960 --> 01:37:35.159 their blood, right, so right, but the plasma actually carries 1753 01:37:35.199 --> 01:37:40.840 the oxygen. Right. So bird came in pissed me off 1754 01:37:40.880 --> 01:37:44.199 because the lz were lazing. They said they couldn't land 1755 01:37:44.239 --> 01:37:47.560 at they said it was too small. They're like, hey, 1756 01:37:47.560 --> 01:37:50.640 we got to push over some ls This was a 1757 01:37:50.680 --> 01:37:54.880 conventional bird. Then ye regular dust off and they landed 1758 01:37:54.880 --> 01:37:57.760 like two fields over which was the exact same size 1759 01:37:57.800 --> 01:38:00.479 that fills out. Frankly pissed me off. It was is 1760 01:38:00.520 --> 01:38:03.159 like that field wasn't cleared right. They could have landed 1761 01:38:03.239 --> 01:38:06.880 on an id or something, you know. So they land 1762 01:38:06.920 --> 01:38:09.079 and we you know, come walking over there to like 1763 01:38:09.159 --> 01:38:12.600 try to clear a path as best as we could 1764 01:38:12.720 --> 01:38:17.439 visually to bring the casualty over loaded him up. The 1765 01:38:17.560 --> 01:38:22.039 doors are off the the the black Hawk, the pilot 1766 01:38:22.039 --> 01:38:25.079 and copilot doors, the cockpit doors they had off, and 1767 01:38:25.119 --> 01:38:27.359 the pilotte sitting there, you know, looking down at his screens, 1768 01:38:27.439 --> 01:38:29.960 just waiting, and I kind of walked up and I 1769 01:38:29.960 --> 01:38:31.680 slapped him on the shoulder and scared the ship out 1770 01:38:31.880 --> 01:38:34.960 like what I was like, Hey, I was like thank you, 1771 01:38:35.880 --> 01:38:40.680 like shook his hand and they took off. Yeah, got 1772 01:38:40.680 --> 01:38:43.960 back to uh go back to Jabad Bass and uh. 1773 01:38:44.199 --> 01:38:46.239 You say, you know, he's a life today. 1774 01:38:46.600 --> 01:38:47.119 That's awesome. 1775 01:38:48.319 --> 01:38:52.079 He's a really good dude, really good friend. It was 1776 01:38:52.119 --> 01:38:55.640 exciting at the time because I said he was shot 1777 01:38:57.159 --> 01:38:58.960 and he said, take all commands from two to one. 1778 01:38:59.880 --> 01:39:02.960 I'm not a j tack. Yeah, but when you call 1779 01:39:03.000 --> 01:39:06.279 up the task force, you say eagles wounded, they're pushing 1780 01:39:06.319 --> 01:39:09.920 everything they have to you. Yeah, Luckily me and him 1781 01:39:09.920 --> 01:39:12.800 and worked together for three years. He had been my 1782 01:39:13.039 --> 01:39:15.239 personal j tag for three years and we had this 1783 01:39:15.319 --> 01:39:19.199 bond and we were always kind of cross training, like 1784 01:39:19.279 --> 01:39:21.399 keep you quiz me on things, and I've just listened, 1785 01:39:21.479 --> 01:39:23.199 just listened to him talk to aircraft. You learn, you 1786 01:39:23.239 --> 01:39:25.439 know what to do and how to talk to him 1787 01:39:25.920 --> 01:39:29.520 and h Once he gave me control of the assets 1788 01:39:29.760 --> 01:39:33.760 and task force pushed me every asset. So like I 1789 01:39:33.800 --> 01:39:35.840 was in control of like three I s R Birds, 1790 01:39:36.119 --> 01:39:38.800 two apaches, two F sixteens, two A tens at AC 1791 01:39:38.920 --> 01:39:41.479 one thirty. I just had all this stuff and I 1792 01:39:41.520 --> 01:39:45.439 was like instead of stressing out, yeah yeah, yeah, like 1793 01:39:45.479 --> 01:39:48.560 I knew what to do. Yeah, it was cool and 1794 01:39:49.119 --> 01:39:49.640 I was thankful. 1795 01:39:50.319 --> 01:39:52.720 I was thinking, yeah, well when we blown up today, 1796 01:39:52.960 --> 01:39:57.840 it fell on you then to like smoke check that position, right, yeah, yeah. 1797 01:39:57.279 --> 01:40:00.439 Smoke check it. And then the apaches left with the 1798 01:40:00.600 --> 01:40:03.199 dust off. I left them escort, yeah because they're pretty 1799 01:40:03.279 --> 01:40:06.520 much being go anyways. But then just controlling all the 1800 01:40:06.560 --> 01:40:09.159 sensors like watching us on the way back and if 1801 01:40:09.199 --> 01:40:11.319 something happened on the way back, how to control them 1802 01:40:11.319 --> 01:40:16.039 as well. And it was yeah, that was so cool. 1803 01:40:17.079 --> 01:40:18.359 It was just cool. To be able to do like 1804 01:40:18.479 --> 01:40:22.199 know how to do that paying attention to him because 1805 01:40:22.239 --> 01:40:24.840 the first time me and him worked together and got 1806 01:40:24.880 --> 01:40:27.399 into an engagement, I think I was an E six 1807 01:40:27.399 --> 01:40:30.159 at the time. Yeah, I was knee six at the time. 1808 01:40:31.159 --> 01:40:33.359 We had some guys maneuvering on us, and he came 1809 01:40:33.399 --> 01:40:35.159 over and he's like, hey, we got guys you know 1810 01:40:35.319 --> 01:40:38.159 coming up. Can I shoot? I was like, yeah, man, 1811 01:40:38.199 --> 01:40:42.319 tell the apaches tell him to shoot. And he walked away, 1812 01:40:43.479 --> 01:40:44.960 came back like a minute later, he's like, hey, are 1813 01:40:45.000 --> 01:40:48.640 you sure. I was like, yeah, dude, like as long 1814 01:40:48.640 --> 01:40:51.960 as you don't hit any civilians or blew up in 1815 01:40:52.039 --> 01:40:55.800 civilian buildings, like I don't care shooting. And uh He's 1816 01:40:55.800 --> 01:40:57.960 like okay, I just I just never had an E 1817 01:40:58.079 --> 01:41:02.720 six clear me hot before. I was like, you have now. Yeah, 1818 01:41:03.039 --> 01:41:06.800 Like it was at that point, like our synchronicity whatever, 1819 01:41:07.119 --> 01:41:09.239 you know. It just kind of just kind of mind 1820 01:41:09.279 --> 01:41:12.800 melded and worked worked together very well after that because 1821 01:41:12.800 --> 01:41:15.000 he knew what my expectations were and I knew he 1822 01:41:15.159 --> 01:41:18.760 wasn't gonna do anything stupid, and we just I mean 1823 01:41:18.760 --> 01:41:22.399 half the time we use fires. That's just like having 1824 01:41:22.439 --> 01:41:24.119 you know what I want, man, yeah, I just do it. 1825 01:41:24.239 --> 01:41:26.319 And and and those guys, and we've talked about on 1826 01:41:26.319 --> 01:41:29.720 this show before, whether they're J tax or CCTs or 1827 01:41:30.840 --> 01:41:36.319 TACPs or those guys were so good at their job. 1828 01:41:36.840 --> 01:41:38.920 Here's here's the interesting thing. Tell tell them who this 1829 01:41:39.039 --> 01:41:39.680 J attack was. 1830 01:41:39.720 --> 01:41:44.720 Though he was an Army jtack, he's a ranger, he's 1831 01:41:44.760 --> 01:41:48.720 a fister. Yeah. 1832 01:41:49.800 --> 01:41:52.439 To get to that level like calling an artillery and 1833 01:41:52.479 --> 01:41:54.840 calling a naval gun fire, I mean it's it's one 1834 01:41:54.880 --> 01:41:59.079 thing calling an aaron a in an engagement like that, 1835 01:41:59.439 --> 01:42:01.560 You've just got to be cool as a cucumber to 1836 01:42:01.600 --> 01:42:02.199 be able to do that. 1837 01:42:02.479 --> 01:42:06.199 It was weak and they're just he was awesome. And uh, 1838 01:42:07.319 --> 01:42:09.399 I said he was an Army J attack, which for 1839 01:42:09.479 --> 01:42:12.119 people out there far and few in between. Yeah, but 1840 01:42:12.199 --> 01:42:15.800 it's usually an air force job, but regiment has their own. 1841 01:42:16.439 --> 01:42:19.800 He's thirteen fox so he's an artillery Yeah, artillery man. 1842 01:42:19.920 --> 01:42:22.680 So he was a fish in the regiment. He wasn't 1843 01:42:22.680 --> 01:42:25.000 an attached attack. Now he's a fister in the regiment. 1844 01:42:25.079 --> 01:42:28.680 That's amazing, But we don't have artillery assets, so that's 1845 01:42:28.720 --> 01:42:32.720 their job there attacks, which kind of screws them talking 1846 01:42:32.720 --> 01:42:36.319 to him, you know, throughout our time together. Kind of 1847 01:42:36.319 --> 01:42:41.079 screws them career wise, right, because they're artillery exactly going 1848 01:42:41.079 --> 01:42:43.319 to like he's seventy eight boards, right, and the start 1849 01:42:43.359 --> 01:42:44.880 of major and charge of boards is like, I don't 1850 01:42:44.880 --> 01:42:46.520 give a shit about you j tax stuff like that 1851 01:42:46.600 --> 01:42:48.600 has nothing to do with being an artillery man, right, 1852 01:42:49.479 --> 01:42:51.640 which is stupid because it's better than being an artillery man. 1853 01:42:52.439 --> 01:42:55.479 Like they're they're they're actually more like they sound more like. 1854 01:42:55.399 --> 01:42:57.960 They're Anglico guys. You know, they're more like the marine 1855 01:42:58.000 --> 01:43:03.600 Anglico there gunfire leaves. Yeah, it's interesting because I had 1856 01:43:03.640 --> 01:43:07.479 a similar experience early on in Afghanistan. Nobody got injured, fortunately, 1857 01:43:07.760 --> 01:43:11.079 but it made me realize that there are no like squirters. 1858 01:43:11.159 --> 01:43:20.640 There are only maneuver elements like style. Yeah, yeah, is 1859 01:43:20.760 --> 01:43:25.479 uh I was saying. I showed him a picture earlier today. 1860 01:43:25.680 --> 01:43:27.039 You know, he took a round to the helmet. There's 1861 01:43:27.039 --> 01:43:29.640 a p K round and if it wasn't for his 1862 01:43:29.640 --> 01:43:31.840 helmet being unbuckled, it probably would punch all the way 1863 01:43:31.840 --> 01:43:34.199 through because in the picture you can it's sticking through 1864 01:43:34.199 --> 01:43:37.520 his helmet. It scratched his head. There's a scratch. Yeah, 1865 01:43:37.560 --> 01:43:41.560 And what's crazy is the offscore helmet. It's only rated 1866 01:43:41.560 --> 01:43:44.479 to nine milimeter and there's a p K round. 1867 01:43:44.960 --> 01:43:48.680 Yes, it's a light weight yeah yeah round yeah. 1868 01:43:49.800 --> 01:43:53.760 Yeah. It punched through and stopped when it touched his head. 1869 01:43:53.800 --> 01:43:55.720 But I mean it was right here in his temple, 1870 01:43:56.399 --> 01:43:58.560 like I went through where the rail is on the helmet. Yeah, 1871 01:43:58.640 --> 01:44:01.960 if anybody knows what I'm talking about. And uh, I 1872 01:44:01.960 --> 01:44:03.359 mean if he would have been looking to the left, 1873 01:44:03.359 --> 01:44:04.680 to the righter up and he would have took you 1874 01:44:04.680 --> 01:44:05.079 to the face. 1875 01:44:05.680 --> 01:44:09.359 It looked like either the bullet came at like maybe 1876 01:44:09.399 --> 01:44:13.319 an upward angle or or or the round keyhold through 1877 01:44:13.359 --> 01:44:16.399 the helmet. I wasn't there. I have no idea which 1878 01:44:16.399 --> 01:44:18.720 it was, but it was interesting, the hole in the 1879 01:44:18.760 --> 01:44:20.560 side of the helmet. 1880 01:44:20.760 --> 01:44:22.920 I think what it what happened was because obviously he 1881 01:44:23.000 --> 01:44:26.199 got hit here first, second, third, Yeah, I think it 1882 01:44:26.279 --> 01:44:29.560 zipped up as that one hit he you know, flinched, 1883 01:44:29.680 --> 01:44:30.760 yeah or whatever. 1884 01:44:30.479 --> 01:44:33.640 In his end that Yeah, that makes sense. 1885 01:44:33.720 --> 01:44:36.399 This is a fraction of a second that saved his life. 1886 01:44:36.520 --> 01:44:42.159 What did you said that the that the the Afghanians 1887 01:44:42.159 --> 01:44:44.880 that you worked with, that they got along, how were 1888 01:44:44.920 --> 01:44:46.800 they in terms of combat? 1889 01:44:49.800 --> 01:44:53.279 I would say I I trusted them with my life. 1890 01:44:53.600 --> 01:44:56.039 I still do. I mean I did. I had to 1891 01:44:56.039 --> 01:44:58.640 trust them all my life because there's five of us 1892 01:44:58.680 --> 01:45:01.359 and five interagency people and then you know one hundred 1893 01:45:01.399 --> 01:45:08.479 Afghans or avermenting we had and sitting they're the ones 1894 01:45:08.520 --> 01:45:11.720 that are hitting the targets, their their primary breach, their 1895 01:45:11.720 --> 01:45:18.439 primary everything. We are technically advisors and to kind of 1896 01:45:18.479 --> 01:45:20.199 sit back a couple of times, you know, every now 1897 01:45:20.239 --> 01:45:23.359 and then and just watch them put a ladder on 1898 01:45:23.399 --> 01:45:28.199 the wall, climb up the ladder, pull security, go over, 1899 01:45:28.479 --> 01:45:31.000 open the gate from the inside, everybody flow in and 1900 01:45:31.760 --> 01:45:37.520 secure everything. It was awesome. It's like watching us hit 1901 01:45:37.520 --> 01:45:40.119 a target. They're well trained, they know what they're doing, 1902 01:45:40.520 --> 01:45:43.920 and they need to be utilized still to this day, 1903 01:45:44.000 --> 01:45:47.000 like we need to be utilizing those guys. They're very 1904 01:45:47.000 --> 01:45:51.920 well trained. I'll caveat it with if one of those 1905 01:45:51.960 --> 01:45:57.760 Afghans has been carrying a ladder for ten years, it 1906 01:45:57.800 --> 01:45:59.800 doesn't matter if you can go hit a tent in 1907 01:45:59.800 --> 01:46:02.079 the middle of the desert, he's still going to carry 1908 01:46:02.079 --> 01:46:06.640 a ladder because if you take that ladder away, he 1909 01:46:06.680 --> 01:46:10.479 didn't know what to do. Yeah, if that makes sense. 1910 01:46:11.439 --> 01:46:13.000 They were very good at what they were trained. 1911 01:46:13.000 --> 01:46:15.079 On but if there was a complex problem or if 1912 01:46:15.119 --> 01:46:19.680 something was out of the ordinary that they might Something 1913 01:46:19.840 --> 01:46:20.640 I would also. 1914 01:46:20.479 --> 01:46:24.359 Like to point out is to as far as I'm aware, 1915 01:46:25.279 --> 01:46:29.000 that program that you guys were working on pretty large 1916 01:46:29.079 --> 01:46:33.760 a lot of Afghans throughout twenty you know, essentially twenty 1917 01:46:33.840 --> 01:46:36.119 years of war, I'm not aware of any Green on 1918 01:46:36.159 --> 01:46:40.279 Blue incidents, zero at all. Zero, Yeah, which I think 1919 01:46:40.319 --> 01:46:42.359 I think speaks a lot to the efficacy of the 1920 01:46:42.359 --> 01:46:45.159 program and whatever you guys were doing, it was working 1921 01:46:45.199 --> 01:46:45.800 in that regard. 1922 01:46:45.840 --> 01:46:49.960 Man, there's zero Green on Blue. We thought we might 1923 01:46:50.000 --> 01:46:53.079 have had one one, not an actual green on blue, 1924 01:46:53.079 --> 01:46:55.560 like a developing Green on blue. We were able to 1925 01:46:55.680 --> 01:46:58.720 nip it in the bud and fired both those guys 1926 01:46:58.720 --> 01:47:01.680 and got them out here because the refer program. Yeah 1927 01:47:01.840 --> 01:47:05.560 they were gone. But uh yeah, not a single Green 1928 01:47:05.600 --> 01:47:08.720 and Blue incident. And even you know, some of those 1929 01:47:08.720 --> 01:47:12.239 outstations that we had shut down, like the one in 1930 01:47:12.279 --> 01:47:17.279 a Sadabad shut down, However, those guys stayed there and 1931 01:47:17.359 --> 01:47:20.800 operated on the Really, those Afghans stay there and operated 1932 01:47:20.880 --> 01:47:24.640 on their own with no American help. They finally did 1933 01:47:24.680 --> 01:47:27.920 get some American help towards the end of twenty sixteen, 1934 01:47:28.479 --> 01:47:32.600 through Uh, just some just some funding and weapons here 1935 01:47:32.640 --> 01:47:38.520 and there. But they stayed there and police their own community, 1936 01:47:38.680 --> 01:47:41.960 and they would come down to Jabad like once a 1937 01:47:41.960 --> 01:47:43.880 month and kind of give us a debriefing of what 1938 01:47:43.960 --> 01:47:47.000 they've been doing. And they're still getting after it on 1939 01:47:47.039 --> 01:47:47.319 their own. 1940 01:47:47.359 --> 01:47:49.159 Did they ever get to the point where they were 1941 01:47:49.159 --> 01:47:51.600 able to have their own j tax and like talk 1942 01:47:51.640 --> 01:47:53.199 to Afghan helicopters? 1943 01:47:53.560 --> 01:47:57.039 No? 1944 01:47:58.079 --> 01:48:00.359 No, I mean even talking to Afghan course. 1945 01:48:01.039 --> 01:48:06.680 Uh, I'm sure the KKA probably did a regular Afghan army, 1946 01:48:07.359 --> 01:48:10.880 but our guys weren't Afghan Army, so they wouldn't talk 1947 01:48:10.880 --> 01:48:11.520 to them anyways. 1948 01:48:11.640 --> 01:48:16.840 Gotcha. Oh yeah, I see what you're saying. So answer 1949 01:48:17.000 --> 01:48:20.079 your three years as Reckie platoon sergeant or winding? Now 1950 01:48:20.119 --> 01:48:21.359 what's sort of the next step for you? 1951 01:48:23.479 --> 01:48:29.880 Got finished? Star, got moved to the three shop, you know, 1952 01:48:30.039 --> 01:48:36.319 a glorious three shop. Spent about a year there as 1953 01:48:36.399 --> 01:48:40.479 the AOPs and c O. And I was just miserable 1954 01:48:41.359 --> 01:48:45.000 if the guys deployed again without me, And I even 1955 01:48:45.000 --> 01:48:47.119 emailed Sarmer Major. I was like, hey, I'll go just 1956 01:48:47.760 --> 01:48:50.560 as a trigger puller. I won't be in charge of anything. 1957 01:48:50.920 --> 01:48:53.159 Just let me go. Yeah, And he's like, no, we 1958 01:48:53.159 --> 01:48:54.960 need you back here. And I was like, this sucks. 1959 01:48:55.000 --> 01:48:59.199 Like working an office job is my nightmare, Like that 1960 01:48:59.279 --> 01:49:01.800 is my nightmare. And I like working with my hands. 1961 01:49:01.800 --> 01:49:03.800 I like being in the field. I like teaching. I like, 1962 01:49:04.079 --> 01:49:08.000 you know, being with the guys. And uh, that was 1963 01:49:08.039 --> 01:49:11.319 just miserable. My job performance was probably not great. Like 1964 01:49:11.319 --> 01:49:13.039 I tried to go to work as less as possible, 1965 01:49:13.359 --> 01:49:15.840 like I just some days I I won't even show 1966 01:49:15.880 --> 01:49:20.840 up whatever, and uh it showed, not ashamed to say it. 1967 01:49:21.720 --> 01:49:23.640 And I finally got the I got the invite to 1968 01:49:23.720 --> 01:49:27.720 leave regiment, Like the the ops arm major pulled me 1969 01:49:27.720 --> 01:49:30.359 in and he's like, hey, man, like, you know, I 1970 01:49:30.359 --> 01:49:32.359 think it might be time for you to find somewhere 1971 01:49:32.359 --> 01:49:32.960 else to go. 1972 01:49:33.079 --> 01:49:34.039 Thank you for your service. 1973 01:49:34.119 --> 01:49:36.119 Yeah, And I asked him. I was like, am I 1974 01:49:36.159 --> 01:49:37.960 being an r FST. He's like no, no, no, He's 1975 01:49:37.960 --> 01:49:39.640 like you're not being an r FS. Don't take it 1976 01:49:39.640 --> 01:49:42.640 that way. He's like, you personally need to find somewhere else. 1977 01:49:43.039 --> 01:49:46.079 He's like, you're miserable. I was like all right, So 1978 01:49:46.159 --> 01:49:50.119 I kind of went and uh hunted around. I went 1979 01:49:50.199 --> 01:49:55.520 to Ranger Training Brigade where Ranger school is, and this 1980 01:49:55.680 --> 01:49:58.840 arm major of the brigade was my previous arm major 1981 01:49:58.840 --> 01:50:02.359 of Italian. Awesome guy Vic is one of the best 1982 01:50:02.439 --> 01:50:08.359 armators you could ever work for, and uh, you know, 1983 01:50:08.520 --> 01:50:11.960 just cold knocked his office. Actually I knocked on his office. 1984 01:50:12.000 --> 01:50:13.199 He wasn't there. I waited in the park lot U 1985 01:50:13.199 --> 01:50:15.560 till he got there, watched him walk in and I 1986 01:50:15.560 --> 01:50:17.079 walked in behind him and I was like, hey, what's up. 1987 01:50:18.439 --> 01:50:20.239 But I told him what was going on and he 1988 01:50:20.279 --> 01:50:22.319 can give me a job because the retention guy of 1989 01:50:22.359 --> 01:50:26.199 Italian was like, hey, man, you're either going to go 1990 01:50:26.279 --> 01:50:32.079 to the s FAB which screw that, or go to 1991 01:50:32.079 --> 01:50:35.000 Fort polp j r TC. And I was like, I 1992 01:50:35.000 --> 01:50:39.359 will go a wall before I go to J I 1993 01:50:39.399 --> 01:50:41.560 was like, there's always another way. I was like, I 1994 01:50:41.680 --> 01:50:43.640 refuse to let the army tell me what I'm gonna do. 1995 01:50:44.880 --> 01:50:49.319 And uh, someone talked to Vic and he was like, hey, 1996 01:50:50.079 --> 01:50:51.159 what do you what do you want to do. I 1997 01:50:51.199 --> 01:50:52.840 was like, I'll be a ranger instructure man, like I 1998 01:50:52.840 --> 01:50:55.640 don't I don't care. I'll be on the woods. And 1999 01:50:55.680 --> 01:50:58.159 he kind of looked at me and he's like, he's like, 2000 01:50:58.159 --> 01:50:59.880 you don't want to do that. I was like what 2001 01:51:00.079 --> 01:51:02.399 He's like it sucks. He's like, you're gonna be out 2002 01:51:02.439 --> 01:51:06.399 there rain, shine, snow, heat, holidays away from your family 2003 01:51:06.520 --> 01:51:09.159 twenty four on, like forty eight off. Like he's like 2004 01:51:09.199 --> 01:51:12.279 it's not fun. I was like, all right, well never mind. 2005 01:51:12.279 --> 01:51:16.960 Then then he goes, but we just took over a 2006 01:51:17.039 --> 01:51:21.880 jump Master, Airborne and Pathfinder. Okay, so that all funds 2007 01:51:22.079 --> 01:51:26.680 falls under ar TV. Now, oh really airborne ranger training. 2008 01:51:27.479 --> 01:51:30.880 And I was like, well, I'll do jump Master. A Pathfinder. 2009 01:51:31.119 --> 01:51:33.439 That's a nice badge and you haven't had it before. 2010 01:51:33.760 --> 01:51:36.560 So I went to be a idead pathfinder. 2011 01:51:36.880 --> 01:51:39.000 You did, well, can you tell us about the Pathfinder school, 2012 01:51:39.000 --> 01:51:41.399 because it's not it's it's a coveted school and not. 2013 01:51:41.399 --> 01:51:43.359 A lot of people get it still exists. 2014 01:51:43.640 --> 01:51:47.399 It's gone, it's gone, no longer coveted. Well now it's 2015 01:51:47.399 --> 01:51:50.319 doubly covet. You go back in just to wear that badge. 2016 01:51:50.399 --> 01:51:51.840 They still have them for the National Guard, but. 2017 01:51:51.760 --> 01:51:54.399 It's like a glider badge people with that. 2018 01:51:54.479 --> 01:51:56.600 I want the Army space badge. D have you seen 2019 01:51:56.640 --> 01:51:59.439 nothing they have that? Yeah, it's like space goes Holy shit, 2020 01:51:59.520 --> 01:52:02.600 looks awesome. But yeah, so I went to be a pathfinder, 2021 01:52:03.119 --> 01:52:07.239 a pathfiner, instructor. That's where I went after Regiment be 2022 01:52:07.319 --> 01:52:11.479 a Pathfinder instructor as a drop zones instructor. So Pathfinder 2023 01:52:11.520 --> 01:52:18.640 School teaches sling loads HLZ operations and drop zone operations. 2024 01:52:19.079 --> 01:52:23.239 Teaches all three of those. You don't have to be 2025 01:52:23.319 --> 01:52:29.680 airborne to go. You can get sling load certified from 2026 01:52:29.760 --> 01:52:33.079 the Single Load Certification course it's called SLICK. You can 2027 01:52:33.079 --> 01:52:36.960 get airt HLZ certified from Aerosolt School. But Pathfinder is 2028 01:52:36.960 --> 01:52:39.439 the only one that teaches all three in one shot, 2029 01:52:40.199 --> 01:52:44.319 the only one that teaches drop zone operations. Basically you're 2030 01:52:44.399 --> 01:52:47.079 learning and the history of path Hunder School comes from 2031 01:52:47.159 --> 01:52:51.960 World War II when the Pathfinders went into Europe before 2032 01:52:52.000 --> 01:52:55.800 the invasion and set up drop zones for the paratroopers 2033 01:52:55.840 --> 01:53:00.319 from eighty second hundred first to jump in. And that's 2034 01:53:00.359 --> 01:53:04.159 why everybody goes to Pathfinder schools to learn drop zone operations. 2035 01:53:04.199 --> 01:53:07.560 They're not going there for single loads hlz's because like 2036 01:53:07.600 --> 01:53:08.960 I said, you can go to other schools for those. 2037 01:53:10.159 --> 01:53:12.640 You're going there to learn drop zones and that's what 2038 01:53:12.680 --> 01:53:18.720 we're knowing for. And you learn how to calculate width 2039 01:53:18.800 --> 01:53:22.319 and length of drop zones and green light time and 2040 01:53:22.399 --> 01:53:24.560 drop zones. How many jumpers and equipment you can put 2041 01:53:24.600 --> 01:53:27.560 on a drop zone, what type of aircraft a drop 2042 01:53:27.640 --> 01:53:30.960 zone can accommodate? Just everything along those lines. 2043 01:53:31.079 --> 01:53:34.640 What is it? The L the L shaped with the 2044 01:53:34.680 --> 01:53:38.239 flares that you put out when they I'm talking about bundle. 2045 01:53:38.000 --> 01:53:42.039 Drops about it like a gm RS drop This might 2046 01:53:42.079 --> 01:53:42.800 be more. 2047 01:53:42.680 --> 01:53:44.800 High tech than even what we were doing back in 2048 01:53:44.840 --> 01:53:45.760 that time. 2049 01:53:45.840 --> 01:53:48.079 Yeah, there's a I think what you're talking about said 2050 01:53:48.359 --> 01:53:51.640 it's a ground marked release system, right, So you pretty 2051 01:53:51.680 --> 01:53:54.720 much make an L with via seventeen panels for the daytime, 2052 01:53:54.880 --> 01:53:59.159 or strobes or flares at nighttime, but you make an 2053 01:53:59.239 --> 01:54:01.760 L shape and as the aircraft flies over that jump 2054 01:54:01.760 --> 01:54:05.000 master is looking out the door, you know, the L 2055 01:54:05.119 --> 01:54:07.600 is this way. This is the long axis of the 2056 01:54:07.680 --> 01:54:10.479 drop zone, so they're flying up this way. As soon 2057 01:54:10.520 --> 01:54:14.520 as these lights get online and they're in line, that's 2058 01:54:14.560 --> 01:54:17.119 his green light. That's when he's pushing everything so he 2059 01:54:17.119 --> 01:54:18.800 doesn't have to talk to anybody on the radio. So 2060 01:54:19.359 --> 01:54:22.640 for special forces or wrecky teams, gim RS is very 2061 01:54:23.039 --> 01:54:27.399 h enticing because I can go out and set up 2062 01:54:27.399 --> 01:54:31.680 a gm RS drop zone to receive my resupply of food, AMMO, whatever, equipment, 2063 01:54:31.720 --> 01:54:33.840 whatever I need. I can set that up and not 2064 01:54:33.920 --> 01:54:36.319 even have to be there. I can go back off 2065 01:54:36.439 --> 01:54:40.600 into my hide sight or my patrol base and you know, 2066 01:54:40.680 --> 01:54:43.000 hear the plane fly over. I don't have to talk 2067 01:54:43.039 --> 01:54:45.880 to anybody. They're just gonna line those panels or strobes 2068 01:54:45.960 --> 01:54:48.840 up or flares up, kick out where they're kicking out, 2069 01:54:49.000 --> 01:54:50.560 and then I'm gonna go out and pick it up, 2070 01:54:51.199 --> 01:54:52.199 break everything down. 2071 01:54:52.479 --> 01:54:55.119 Do they do any adjustments for like the wind at 2072 01:54:55.119 --> 01:54:57.880 the time or anything like that, or oh during the 2073 01:54:58.359 --> 01:54:59.000 he did the drop? 2074 01:54:59.159 --> 01:55:02.560 Yeah, the aircraft is not. No, that's that's on you 2075 01:55:02.720 --> 01:55:06.039 on the ground. Okay, So so you just have to 2076 01:55:06.039 --> 01:55:07.960 beat the villagers and everything. Yeah, yeah, I kind of 2077 01:55:07.960 --> 01:55:08.279 wing it. 2078 01:55:08.439 --> 01:55:11.520 Yeah. They're also like five hundred feet off the ground too, right, you. 2079 01:55:11.479 --> 01:55:14.880 Can't be yeah three hundred yeah. 2080 01:55:14.960 --> 01:55:18.239 Yeah, Now that's fascinating and that, Like I said, I 2081 01:55:18.319 --> 01:55:19.239 they don't talk like. 2082 01:55:19.319 --> 01:55:20.079 You don't hear. 2083 01:55:20.000 --> 01:55:24.680 Much about what happens at the course. It's just it 2084 01:55:24.800 --> 01:55:27.880 was always one of the most coveted badges. It's it's 2085 01:55:27.920 --> 01:55:31.600 a beautiful badge. And you know the army is all about. 2086 01:55:31.720 --> 01:55:35.880 They still have they still have the National Guard. We're 2087 01:55:36.079 --> 01:55:38.600 training center at Fort Benning. Yeah, they still run their 2088 01:55:38.600 --> 01:55:45.840 Pathfinder School. Fort Campbell still has their Pathfinder School, but 2089 01:55:46.960 --> 01:55:51.560 the regular Army deemed it necessary to shut down the 2090 01:55:51.680 --> 01:55:57.560 Pathfinder School. Sure, the proponent for all Pathfinder operations because 2091 01:55:57.600 --> 01:56:00.119 like we were at that schoolhouse, we were responsible for 2092 01:56:00.760 --> 01:56:04.680 the trainings National Guard Warrior Training Center and responsible for 2093 01:56:04.880 --> 01:56:06.960 Campbell A. We go up and audit them, you know, 2094 01:56:07.079 --> 01:56:08.960 but then you're gonna shut down the schoolhouse. 2095 01:56:09.560 --> 01:56:11.720 Well, like the like the worst teams that'll be back 2096 01:56:11.760 --> 01:56:12.239 one day and. 2097 01:56:12.279 --> 01:56:14.800 They will hopefully they don't reinvent it. 2098 01:56:14.920 --> 01:56:17.399 Yeah, I mean I get guys, you know, guys that 2099 01:56:17.439 --> 01:56:20.600 came through Pathfinder when I was an instructor. They're at regiment. 2100 01:56:21.239 --> 01:56:22.319 I mean, I had a guy hit me up like 2101 01:56:22.319 --> 01:56:23.640 three or four weeks ago. He's like, hey, I'm doing 2102 01:56:23.720 --> 01:56:26.399 this and this like on this drop zone. Can I 2103 01:56:26.479 --> 01:56:29.479 do this or this? And I sat there and explained 2104 01:56:29.520 --> 01:56:30.720 it to him, like yeah, you can do this, but 2105 01:56:30.800 --> 01:56:33.600 think about this and whatever. And he was like, can 2106 01:56:33.640 --> 01:56:36.319 I get you to come out here and like go 2107 01:56:36.399 --> 01:56:37.760 over the stuff. He's like, I feel like this is 2108 01:56:37.800 --> 01:56:40.960 a dying art and it needs to be taught. 2109 01:56:41.279 --> 01:56:43.640 And I was like, yeah, man, so if if they 2110 01:56:43.680 --> 01:56:46.159 didn't have a specific school for the drop zone. 2111 01:56:46.159 --> 01:56:47.439 They had it for the other things, but they don't 2112 01:56:47.479 --> 01:56:50.520 have it. Who where do people learn those disease skills? Now, 2113 01:56:51.319 --> 01:56:57.520 Warrior Training Center, National Guard or Campbell. They tried a 2114 01:56:57.520 --> 01:57:04.359 pilot program. I don't know. Well, so John Master teaches 2115 01:57:04.399 --> 01:57:09.880 a little bit. John Master teaches CARP drop zones, which 2116 01:57:09.920 --> 01:57:12.000 is air Force drop zone. So there's Army drop zones 2117 01:57:12.000 --> 01:57:16.039 and air Force drop zones. Army drop zones is GMRS 2118 01:57:16.079 --> 01:57:20.359 and Verer's gm RS is ground march release system and 2119 01:57:20.439 --> 01:57:23.039 Vier's is verbally initiated release system, so you're talking on 2120 01:57:23.039 --> 01:57:25.760 the radio telling them when to drop. So those are Army. 2121 01:57:26.079 --> 01:57:30.760 Air Force is CARP computed air release points, which means 2122 01:57:30.760 --> 01:57:32.840 the computer on the aircraft that CE seventeen or SEE 2123 01:57:32.840 --> 01:57:36.279 one thirty is calculating everything. Give them a grid and 2124 01:57:36.319 --> 01:57:38.920 it does everything, and that's the green light. So the 2125 01:57:39.000 --> 01:57:42.399 green light and the aircraft one something mean jump. That's 2126 01:57:42.439 --> 01:57:49.079 all ran by a computer. John Master teaches that. So 2127 01:57:49.159 --> 01:57:53.560 John Master still teaches KARP. Not sure if they started 2128 01:57:53.600 --> 01:57:57.560 teaching viers or gmrs at all. There was a pilot 2129 01:57:57.600 --> 01:58:02.399 program where they were just gonna do you think I 2130 01:58:02.399 --> 01:58:06.119 think Pathfinder is just gonna do drop zones, which I 2131 01:58:06.119 --> 01:58:08.960 could see be a viable option because you can get 2132 01:58:08.960 --> 01:58:11.880 those other certifications at other schools, So why not just 2133 01:58:12.000 --> 01:58:15.119 teach drop zones. But we fall back, and what we 2134 01:58:15.119 --> 01:58:20.239 talked about at the beginning of the interview was pathfinders 2135 01:58:20.279 --> 01:58:24.720 and lurse are not viewed as special right in the 2136 01:58:24.720 --> 01:58:28.000 American Army for whatever reason. I don't know. I don't 2137 01:58:28.039 --> 01:58:33.079 know why they don't. I think it's honestly a senior people. 2138 01:58:34.760 --> 01:58:37.479 This is my personal opinion. Senior people went to these 2139 01:58:37.520 --> 01:58:39.479 schools or tried off these units and didn't make it, 2140 01:58:40.520 --> 01:58:43.800 and they're like, no, no, no, you know, they're never 2141 01:58:43.800 --> 01:58:45.800 gonna be special. I didn't make it. No one could 2142 01:58:45.840 --> 01:58:48.319 make it, you know, So they don't want them to 2143 01:58:48.359 --> 01:58:51.680 be special or elevated to something higher than them. Yeah, 2144 01:58:51.720 --> 01:58:52.079 if that. 2145 01:58:52.039 --> 01:58:54.760 Makes sense, No it I mean, look, it's sort of 2146 01:58:54.760 --> 01:58:59.359 like giving I mean, if rangers are special, it obviously 2147 01:58:59.479 --> 01:59:00.800 is the black that makes them. 2148 01:59:00.840 --> 01:59:01.720 So so let's. 2149 01:59:01.560 --> 01:59:03.119 Give you the whole army, and the whole Army will 2150 01:59:03.159 --> 01:59:07.439 be special exactly. I mean, I get it, But but 2151 01:59:07.960 --> 01:59:10.239 it just seems like a real lack of foresight in that, 2152 01:59:10.920 --> 01:59:13.199 you know, we're moving to this near peer. We don't 2153 01:59:13.279 --> 01:59:15.960 know at any given time what combat will look like. 2154 01:59:16.079 --> 01:59:19.600 And you know, we can say that we have you know, drones. 2155 01:59:19.159 --> 01:59:22.399 And ISR platforms and all these things, but as sigin 2156 01:59:23.560 --> 01:59:28.840 or is like uh, signals warfare, electronic warfare, cyber warfare 2157 01:59:28.920 --> 01:59:32.960 come online, all of those things may be counter. 2158 01:59:33.079 --> 01:59:36.319 I think just looking at what we are planning for 2159 01:59:36.520 --> 01:59:38.479 right now, what what d OD is looking at its 2160 01:59:38.520 --> 01:59:44.720 potential uh expeditionary warfare on the Pacific, looking at exactly 2161 01:59:44.800 --> 01:59:47.760 right right, very like long long range like it's not 2162 01:59:47.760 --> 01:59:51.000 going to be these uh like a thirty minute helicopter trip. 2163 01:59:51.319 --> 01:59:54.920 These new vertical takeoff and landing helicopters we're going to adapt. 2164 01:59:55.159 --> 01:59:59.840 They're like much longer insertions. Having people way out there. 2165 02:00:00.439 --> 02:00:03.880 Uh So I think that, yeah, having disease and these 2166 02:00:03.880 --> 02:00:05.479 sorts of skills are imperative. 2167 02:00:05.520 --> 02:00:08.520 It's like when you have this in the Indo Pacific 2168 02:00:08.840 --> 02:00:13.800 pay calm area, an island hopping campaign, right, who's on 2169 02:00:13.840 --> 02:00:14.960 the ground setting upright? 2170 02:00:16.720 --> 02:00:19.479 Yeah, exactly, you got to have somebody there, absolutely. 2171 02:00:19.840 --> 02:00:22.039 And you know, and we can throw all the electronics 2172 02:00:22.079 --> 02:00:24.359 in the world out there, but again, there are countermass 2173 02:00:24.439 --> 02:00:27.359 that and even if they're just setting up like you know, 2174 02:00:27.479 --> 02:00:32.800 isolated random EMP burst like to clear areas there. There 2175 02:00:32.800 --> 02:00:37.880 are so many countermeasures that even when we start talking 2176 02:00:37.880 --> 02:00:41.039 about augmented reality and and you know blue force trackers 2177 02:00:41.039 --> 02:00:43.720 and what people might see in their headsets if somebody 2178 02:00:43.760 --> 02:00:47.520 hacks into that, you have a lot of blue on blue, Like, 2179 02:00:47.760 --> 02:00:50.039 we still need to have the old techniques. Well, like 2180 02:00:50.079 --> 02:00:53.439 people still need to be able to navigate via compass 2181 02:00:53.439 --> 02:00:56.640 and map. They still need to be able to set 2182 02:00:56.720 --> 02:01:01.479 up uh you know uh uh you know a non 2183 02:01:01.520 --> 02:01:07.359 computer you know, assisted drop, you know these things because 2184 02:01:08.000 --> 02:01:11.560 the other thing is you encrypt your signal so that 2185 02:01:11.600 --> 02:01:14.279 nobody knows what you're saying, but they still know somebody's 2186 02:01:14.279 --> 02:01:14.720 saying it. 2187 02:01:14.920 --> 02:01:16.640 If you're blasting out, you. 2188 02:01:16.600 --> 02:01:18.479 Know, it might be able to jam it. 2189 02:01:18.520 --> 02:01:21.239 Not only do they know that you're saying something, they 2190 02:01:21.239 --> 02:01:23.720 can they can figure it out. 2191 02:01:23.840 --> 02:01:26.199 They can get a clocked direct with AI like it's 2192 02:01:26.239 --> 02:01:28.520 gonna they're gonna be able to try and so quickly 2193 02:01:28.720 --> 02:01:32.439 once that comes online and is like set up that, 2194 02:01:33.840 --> 02:01:37.039 you know, it's it amazes me that we have to 2195 02:01:37.479 --> 02:01:43.560 relearn these lessons every single after World War two, after Vietnam, 2196 02:01:43.640 --> 02:01:46.359 like we you know, we have to relearn them every time. 2197 02:01:46.680 --> 02:01:50.199 But because I'm a megan NERD, I read like the 2198 02:01:50.239 --> 02:01:53.159 publications from Fort Benning and stuff like that, and they 2199 02:01:53.159 --> 02:01:56.960 talk about how, you know, the electronic warfare environment may 2200 02:01:57.000 --> 02:02:00.439 become so intense that you know, Sniper Team it's using 2201 02:02:00.439 --> 02:02:04.439 these old school techniques being both action rifles, glass scopes, 2202 02:02:05.079 --> 02:02:07.880 making field sketches with pencil and paper that they can 2203 02:02:07.920 --> 02:02:11.439 actually penetrate into that e W bubble and do their 2204 02:02:11.479 --> 02:02:15.159 operations and maybe take out the jam, takeout jammers or 2205 02:02:15.199 --> 02:02:18.680 whatever else needs to be done out there, you know, 2206 02:02:18.760 --> 02:02:22.479 without having their their equipment interfered with. Yeah, without having 2207 02:02:22.520 --> 02:02:25.640 a signature right right, So yeah, it's it's very interesting. 2208 02:02:27.079 --> 02:02:30.439 So after you do your time at Pathfinder working as 2209 02:02:30.439 --> 02:02:34.600 an instructor there and uh, what's the next assignment for you? 2210 02:02:34.720 --> 02:02:38.640 I was a Pathfinder instructor for two years and I 2211 02:02:38.720 --> 02:02:43.359 moved on to uh so Ranger Branch called was like, hey, 2212 02:02:43.359 --> 02:02:45.720 are you tired of for Benning? I was like kinda, 2213 02:02:47.640 --> 02:02:48.680 He's like, where do you want to go? What do 2214 02:02:48.720 --> 02:02:50.680 you want to do? I was like, man like I 2215 02:02:50.680 --> 02:02:53.960 would uh what a mind RTC if you got it? 2216 02:02:55.359 --> 02:02:58.520 And he's like, all right, what a what region? I 2217 02:02:58.520 --> 02:03:03.199 said Southeast, all right, I'll call you tomorrow. Calls back 2218 02:03:03.279 --> 02:03:05.960 and he's like, hey, how does a University of Alabama sound? 2219 02:03:06.399 --> 02:03:08.840 And I was like, dude, that sounds great like roll Tide. Man. 2220 02:03:11.239 --> 02:03:13.399 He's like, all right, you'll have orders in like thirty minutes, 2221 02:03:13.560 --> 02:03:17.439 and I was like, cool, I get these orders. And 2222 02:03:17.520 --> 02:03:21.319 I look at him and it says University of Alabama 2223 02:03:22.000 --> 02:03:26.720 at Birmingham. I was like, what is this university at Birmingham? 2224 02:03:27.359 --> 02:03:29.319 So id to like google it. It's a whole nother 2225 02:03:29.399 --> 02:03:33.079 university I don't know existed. It's called UAB University of 2226 02:03:33.079 --> 02:03:36.479 Alabama at Birmingham. So not the role Tide I was thinking. 2227 02:03:38.920 --> 02:03:44.399 But yeah, it was only two hours away, and it 2228 02:03:44.479 --> 02:03:48.000 actually worked out better, I think, than going to University 2229 02:03:48.039 --> 02:03:54.119 Alabama a smaller program. I was the MS three instructor, 2230 02:03:55.039 --> 02:03:57.800 so I taught the juniors and got them ready for 2231 02:03:57.840 --> 02:04:03.640 their summer camp. I think Go too one of the 2232 02:04:03.640 --> 02:04:09.960 most rewarding assignments I've ever been to. All the other 2233 02:04:10.000 --> 02:04:13.279 stuff was cool, and you can write books and movies 2234 02:04:13.319 --> 02:04:18.600 and stuff about, but teaching those young future army officers 2235 02:04:20.119 --> 02:04:25.119 what right is and showing them the ways and just 2236 02:04:25.199 --> 02:04:27.600 kind of making that first impression on them before they 2237 02:04:27.680 --> 02:04:32.720 come in and be an army officer, and to have 2238 02:04:32.800 --> 02:04:35.880 them still contact me almost daily like hey, this is 2239 02:04:35.920 --> 02:04:37.840 an update, Like Hey, I'm an XO now you know. 2240 02:04:38.800 --> 02:04:41.119 Are you proud of me? Yeah, I'm proud of you, 2241 02:04:41.840 --> 02:04:47.079 but just kind of guiding them through their college career 2242 02:04:47.199 --> 02:04:49.479 and their life. You know, I can't tell you how 2243 02:04:49.479 --> 02:04:54.960 many times I've had a cadet on my couch my 2244 02:04:55.000 --> 02:04:57.479 office just break down crying because something's going on in 2245 02:04:57.520 --> 02:05:00.199 their life. So here I am again. 2246 02:05:00.279 --> 02:05:03.039 Dad being like being a. 2247 02:05:04.600 --> 02:05:07.319 Yeah. They looked at me as like a big brother. 2248 02:05:08.640 --> 02:05:09.920 You know, there was still an n c O in 2249 02:05:10.000 --> 02:05:13.319 charge of me. He was like the dad figure and 2250 02:05:13.439 --> 02:05:17.239 he was awesome guy. I love working with him. Travis 2251 02:05:17.319 --> 02:05:19.239 is one of the best ncas I've ever worked with. 2252 02:05:20.319 --> 02:05:25.760 But uh, he's very professional, you know, he's very just. 2253 02:05:26.399 --> 02:05:27.640 I told him when I left, I was like, you're 2254 02:05:27.680 --> 02:05:30.880 so professional it pisses me off. Why do you have 2255 02:05:30.880 --> 02:05:31.560 a high tight. 2256 02:05:32.800 --> 02:05:35.199 We've had a couple of guys on here who they're 2257 02:05:35.199 --> 02:05:37.680 final n c O to. Their final assignment was r O. T. 2258 02:05:37.800 --> 02:05:42.199 C Uh. Javier Mackie and Paul Howe both come to 2259 02:05:42.439 --> 02:05:44.680 come to mind and they had similar things to say 2260 02:05:44.680 --> 02:05:46.239 that it's a very rewarding experience. 2261 02:05:46.319 --> 02:05:51.520 It is very rewarding, and it's it's also you know, 2262 02:05:51.600 --> 02:05:52.840 one of the reasons I wanted to get out of 2263 02:05:52.840 --> 02:05:59.359 the army too, because I you know, the ones that 2264 02:05:59.479 --> 02:06:04.560 I enjoyed teaching and the ones that were receptive awesome, 2265 02:06:05.000 --> 02:06:07.079 but there's always ones that slipped through the cracks, right, 2266 02:06:07.159 --> 02:06:09.159 you know, and you see that caliber of people coming 2267 02:06:09.199 --> 02:06:11.720 in the army, and then also and they're going to 2268 02:06:11.760 --> 02:06:17.199 be leading the army, right, and then the direction of 2269 02:06:17.199 --> 02:06:19.760 the army was going at the time too, you know, 2270 02:06:20.079 --> 02:06:23.000 not what we're used to, right. I was like, man, 2271 02:06:23.039 --> 02:06:25.680 this this is gonna be my last assignment, Like I'm 2272 02:06:25.720 --> 02:06:28.960 done after this. But Archie C was fun. It was 2273 02:06:29.000 --> 02:06:31.159 a good I think, I think the best last assignments. 2274 02:06:31.479 --> 02:06:34.199 I think Paul had something similar to say. And I 2275 02:06:34.239 --> 02:06:36.920 don't want to put words in Paul How's mouth because 2276 02:06:36.920 --> 02:06:37.960 I'm a little afraid. 2277 02:06:37.680 --> 02:06:38.279 Of him, but U. 2278 02:06:39.840 --> 02:06:42.560 But I think I think he had a similar impression 2279 02:06:42.560 --> 02:06:45.760 that he loved working with the soldiers and mentoring those guys. 2280 02:06:45.800 --> 02:06:48.279 But it was like also like not totally happy with 2281 02:06:48.319 --> 02:06:49.439 the direction the army. 2282 02:06:49.199 --> 02:06:52.439 Was going in because that was my last assignment. I 2283 02:06:52.520 --> 02:06:56.560 medically retired at seventeen years and I made that decision. 2284 02:06:56.560 --> 02:06:59.600 It wasn't a light decision to make, you know, and 2285 02:06:59.680 --> 02:07:02.560 three three years ago, but I looked at it and 2286 02:07:02.600 --> 02:07:06.840 I was like, can I do three more years? Because 2287 02:07:06.840 --> 02:07:08.640 that what if I was going to do three more years? 2288 02:07:08.680 --> 02:07:10.720 That was not going to be my last assignment, Like 2289 02:07:10.760 --> 02:07:14.479 where was I going after that? And to that point 2290 02:07:15.039 --> 02:07:17.720 in my career, the Army had never told me where 2291 02:07:17.760 --> 02:07:22.560 to go. I had always chosen or volunteered, like they 2292 02:07:22.640 --> 02:07:24.279 never told me, hey, you're going here, You're going here. 2293 02:07:26.520 --> 02:07:28.119 So I didn't want the Army to tell me to 2294 02:07:28.119 --> 02:07:32.439 go somewhere that I didn't want to go. And I 2295 02:07:32.479 --> 02:07:35.840 was I don't want to spend three more years unhappy 2296 02:07:36.000 --> 02:07:40.279 in an assignment that possibly sucks, or don't want to 2297 02:07:40.319 --> 02:07:43.920 medically retire now and get the same benefits I would 2298 02:07:44.000 --> 02:07:49.079 as if I retired, actually even better benefits and go 2299 02:07:49.119 --> 02:07:52.640 out on a high note, like gout and go off 2300 02:07:52.680 --> 02:07:55.119 and be happy and make more money and do my 2301 02:07:55.159 --> 02:07:57.880 own thing, not be told what to do every day 2302 02:07:58.199 --> 02:07:59.560 for out of curiosity. 2303 02:07:59.680 --> 02:08:01.920 For the ones you say that we're like slipping through 2304 02:08:01.920 --> 02:08:05.680 the cracks, Like what was their motivation for going into 2305 02:08:05.720 --> 02:08:07.399 the mills, like why did they want to put themselves 2306 02:08:07.479 --> 02:08:08.119 through money? 2307 02:08:08.239 --> 02:08:08.520 Money? 2308 02:08:10.279 --> 02:08:12.560 Yeah, not really the right reason to be there that 2309 02:08:12.640 --> 02:08:12.880 kind of. 2310 02:08:12.920 --> 02:08:17.399 Job money or just you know, to get out of 2311 02:08:17.399 --> 02:08:20.600 where they were. Well that the army that can sort 2312 02:08:20.640 --> 02:08:22.880 of get well the arm like that, Like the army 2313 02:08:22.920 --> 02:08:24.560 paid for their school. They couldn't pay their school, so 2314 02:08:24.560 --> 02:08:26.920 the army paid for which is I guess money but right, 2315 02:08:27.479 --> 02:08:28.079 same thing. 2316 02:08:28.640 --> 02:08:36.119 Yeah, DoD Do we have any questions for okay, questions 2317 02:08:36.119 --> 02:08:37.680 for Dustin from the chat? 2318 02:08:37.800 --> 02:08:40.319 Why are you so monotone? 2319 02:08:44.880 --> 02:08:45.720 From Jackson? 2320 02:08:47.560 --> 02:08:47.920 Mum hm? 2321 02:08:50.359 --> 02:08:53.560 How much cross pollination is there between uh B and 2322 02:08:53.720 --> 02:08:57.399 Reki and r r C. Also are B and Wrecky 2323 02:08:57.439 --> 02:09:00.760 guys more likely on to take CAXT selection than rangers? 2324 02:09:02.239 --> 02:09:06.000 Much cross pollination between what battalion Recky, Battalion Recky, and 2325 02:09:06.359 --> 02:09:10.159 r C. I would say cross pollination is or was 2326 02:09:10.199 --> 02:09:12.880 decent when I was there, like I said, we filled 2327 02:09:14.239 --> 02:09:17.119 filled some of their billets because they didn't have enough 2328 02:09:17.199 --> 02:09:21.039 people to fill all their teams, so natural. 2329 02:09:21.640 --> 02:09:23.520 A lot a lot of those guys go to selection too. 2330 02:09:23.520 --> 02:09:24.079 For r C. 2331 02:09:24.880 --> 02:09:29.319 Uh my time there, I maybe had two guys. 2332 02:09:29.079 --> 02:09:33.359 Go okay, Does I mean a lot of line rangers 2333 02:09:33.399 --> 02:09:36.840 go to well not a lot, but you know it's 2334 02:09:36.920 --> 02:09:39.319 it's a thing to go to CAG selection. Is that 2335 02:09:39.359 --> 02:09:41.920 also with r C or do they more? I mean 2336 02:09:41.920 --> 02:09:44.800 not RC, but RECKI U or do they? 2337 02:09:45.000 --> 02:09:47.000 Is he still you still have that mentality? Sure you 2338 02:09:47.039 --> 02:09:49.960 still have that. I want to go killit right right, 2339 02:09:50.000 --> 02:09:51.239 I want to go be the best of the best, 2340 02:09:51.359 --> 02:09:54.560 right you know. I had a couple of guys go, 2341 02:09:55.159 --> 02:09:57.640 a couple of peers go as well. While I was there, 2342 02:09:59.439 --> 02:10:02.760 they had another guy. He was on the fence of 2343 02:10:03.640 --> 02:10:05.159 you know, should I go to r C selection or 2344 02:10:05.159 --> 02:10:08.520 should I go to CAG selection. And one of my buddies, 2345 02:10:08.560 --> 02:10:10.439 that's the RC guy. I told him, like, go to 2346 02:10:10.479 --> 02:10:14.640 CAG selection. Dude, Like why not go varsity? If you 2347 02:10:14.640 --> 02:10:18.359 can go varsity, go try out for varsity. And I 2348 02:10:18.439 --> 02:10:22.279 think that's That's one of the biggest issues in today's 2349 02:10:22.319 --> 02:10:29.399 society as a whole, civilian and military, is it's so 2350 02:10:29.479 --> 02:10:33.600 easy to be a rock star because mediocricy is just rampant, 2351 02:10:35.319 --> 02:10:40.079 Like God's honest truth, Like people are so mediocre, they 2352 02:10:40.119 --> 02:10:42.520 will self select and like, oh I'm not good enough, 2353 02:10:42.920 --> 02:10:46.000 They'll never select me. Like you don't know that, man, 2354 02:10:46.119 --> 02:10:49.159 Just go try like go. I can't tell you how 2355 02:10:49.159 --> 02:10:52.000 many selections I've been to. I've tried out for everything 2356 02:10:52.079 --> 02:10:57.199 under the sun, and I've been told numerous times you 2357 02:10:57.279 --> 02:10:58.960 throw it off ship of the wall. Eventually something stick, 2358 02:11:00.119 --> 02:11:01.520 so it works out. 2359 02:11:01.680 --> 02:11:03.720 Yeah, and you got to do some of the coolest 2360 02:11:03.720 --> 02:11:07.039 stuff that the Army had going on. In my humble opinion, yeah, 2361 02:11:07.079 --> 02:11:07.520 for sure. 2362 02:11:08.720 --> 02:11:10.920 And you know that's one of the things that we've 2363 02:11:10.960 --> 02:11:13.600 talked about on the show before. It is like we've 2364 02:11:13.600 --> 02:11:16.439 had some people from the conventional side on before, but 2365 02:11:16.640 --> 02:11:19.359 like the conventional Army and the Marine Corps, like they 2366 02:11:19.359 --> 02:11:23.640 were out there hooking and jabbin like NonStop on these 2367 02:11:23.880 --> 02:11:29.399 long ass deployments. I've been there, and they do not 2368 02:11:29.520 --> 02:11:33.039 see they don't right, Like, they don't get the credit 2369 02:11:33.079 --> 02:11:34.479 that they deserve at all. 2370 02:11:35.079 --> 02:11:37.119 And I have a lot of guys that I did 2371 02:11:37.479 --> 02:11:40.720 the long fifteen month or year long deployment with and 2372 02:11:40.760 --> 02:11:43.920 then they got out afterwards. Yeah, and you know that's 2373 02:11:44.000 --> 02:11:46.399 that's what they have. They have, that fifteen month Yeah, 2374 02:11:46.439 --> 02:11:48.840 and that no one gives them enough credit for that. Yeah. 2375 02:11:49.000 --> 02:11:51.760 And some of the best dudes, I mean, I have 2376 02:11:51.800 --> 02:11:53.399 a group chat on my phone. It's like six of 2377 02:11:53.479 --> 02:11:56.000 us from my very first platoon and we talk every 2378 02:11:56.079 --> 02:12:00.239 day or yeah, bullshit, and uh, that's what they have 2379 02:12:00.319 --> 02:12:03.680 and they deserve the credit. Yeah, and uh because they 2380 02:12:03.720 --> 02:12:06.680 went through some shit. Man. Yeah. You spend fifteen months somewhere, 2381 02:12:06.960 --> 02:12:10.279 you get to know someone, you you learned somebody. And 2382 02:12:10.319 --> 02:12:12.279 also in that environment, you kind of lose your community 2383 02:12:12.279 --> 02:12:15.039 a little bit, man. Yeah, and it takes a little 2384 02:12:15.039 --> 02:12:17.239 bit to get it back. Yeah, and someone didn't get 2385 02:12:17.239 --> 02:12:19.560 it back. Yeah. 2386 02:12:19.600 --> 02:12:23.319 How was it for you when you went when you 2387 02:12:23.399 --> 02:12:26.840 went to regiment, Because like I was in Rangers during 2388 02:12:26.840 --> 02:12:30.800 a peacetime military and it's very different, but there was 2389 02:12:30.880 --> 02:12:34.399 always this stigma until a guy earned his like it 2390 02:12:34.439 --> 02:12:38.039 earned his way, right, like and tell him showed that 2391 02:12:38.119 --> 02:12:41.600 he was a good leader and and you know was 2392 02:12:41.640 --> 02:12:44.239 a good I don't say operator because at the time, 2393 02:12:44.319 --> 02:12:47.399 like the Rangers were still you know, like CQB and. 2394 02:12:47.319 --> 02:12:48.880 Stuff like that were just coming on board. 2395 02:12:49.079 --> 02:12:51.720 Like it was still the premier light infantry and you know, 2396 02:12:51.840 --> 02:12:54.880 we still did patrol bases and shit like that. But 2397 02:12:54.880 --> 02:12:59.199 but there was that stigma of being an import right, 2398 02:12:59.840 --> 02:13:02.119 how was it for you when you first showed up? 2399 02:13:05.600 --> 02:13:09.800 I never had that and press pressed on me. I'm 2400 02:13:09.840 --> 02:13:12.359 sure it was there. The only time I ever saw 2401 02:13:12.399 --> 02:13:17.479 it happen is our very first It was like the 2402 02:13:17.479 --> 02:13:20.399 first month or so. I was at the platoon and 2403 02:13:20.439 --> 02:13:24.920 we're doing team live fire exercises and there was just 2404 02:13:25.119 --> 02:13:28.039 a hot mess, and the platoon st that I was 2405 02:13:28.039 --> 02:13:29.800 talking about earlier that was like, I need your help. 2406 02:13:30.680 --> 02:13:32.680 I was like, hey, man, can you go grab those 2407 02:13:32.680 --> 02:13:34.960 guys and like teach them how to really break contact 2408 02:13:35.000 --> 02:13:37.439 as a team. And I was like, yeah, man, sure, 2409 02:13:37.680 --> 02:13:42.279 So I kind of had to, you know, kind of 2410 02:13:42.359 --> 02:13:45.399 nut up and overstep the other team leaders that are 2411 02:13:45.399 --> 02:13:49.279 already there and pull all their teams in. It's like, hey, guys, 2412 02:13:49.319 --> 02:13:51.119 like bring it in. Let me let me show you 2413 02:13:51.119 --> 02:13:53.640 guys how to do this, you know. And those team 2414 02:13:53.680 --> 02:13:56.079 leaders they kind of stepped off to the side. 2415 02:13:55.800 --> 02:13:58.319 And I was like, yeah, they're feeling you out. 2416 02:13:58.479 --> 02:14:00.600 Yeah, who the fuck is this? I think it is? 2417 02:14:00.640 --> 02:14:04.560 You know, like but uh, I think it was like, 2418 02:14:04.680 --> 02:14:07.319 you know, the week after that, I was sitting in 2419 02:14:07.319 --> 02:14:09.800 the team room in the cages and I was back 2420 02:14:09.800 --> 02:14:12.520 there and I had my big old s op binder 2421 02:14:12.560 --> 02:14:15.239 that Michaeltoons aren't forced me to make as a team 2422 02:14:15.319 --> 02:14:18.840 leader and lurse and it went everything from individual movement 2423 02:14:18.880 --> 02:14:22.800 techniques to platoon operations. I was just sitting there flipping 2424 02:14:22.840 --> 02:14:24.640 through it, just kind of refreshing myself because it's been 2425 02:14:24.680 --> 02:14:27.600 a minute. And a squalader or one of the Wreckie 2426 02:14:27.640 --> 02:14:29.880 team leaders came over. For people who don't know a 2427 02:14:29.960 --> 02:14:33.479 squad leader in WRECKI is a team leader. It's the 2428 02:14:33.520 --> 02:14:37.720 same same, same s six but uh he came ouver. 2429 02:14:37.760 --> 02:14:38.880 He kind of stood on my shoulder, like what are 2430 02:14:38.880 --> 02:14:42.319 you looking at? I was like my sop book and 2431 02:14:42.399 --> 02:14:43.920 he was like I see that. I was like, just 2432 02:14:43.960 --> 02:14:46.239 take it, dude. I was like, you need it. I 2433 02:14:46.279 --> 02:14:47.920 was like, just take it. You can have it, copy it, 2434 02:14:48.239 --> 02:14:50.960 you know whatever, because every team should have their own 2435 02:14:51.000 --> 02:14:54.640 sp because it operates independently. You know, our teams operate independently. 2436 02:14:55.479 --> 02:14:58.680 But I said as an import like, I mean, no 2437 02:14:58.680 --> 02:15:00.520 one was walking down the hallway me in the nuts 2438 02:15:02.159 --> 02:15:06.640 like nothing bad happened. I was kind of intimidated, to 2439 02:15:06.640 --> 02:15:08.039 be honest, because I didn't have a scroll on my 2440 02:15:08.119 --> 02:15:11.399 right shoulder. I had my Lurst patch or my two 2441 02:15:11.439 --> 02:15:14.760 EDD patch until I did that first deployment and I 2442 02:15:14.800 --> 02:15:19.399 put a scroll on, never took it off, and people 2443 02:15:22.920 --> 02:15:27.479 got my respect. It was interesting because I didn't grow 2444 02:15:27.520 --> 02:15:31.439 up in regiment. Yeah, so a lot of the East 2445 02:15:31.439 --> 02:15:35.399 six's in below had no idea who I was because 2446 02:15:35.439 --> 02:15:36.920 I didn't go to rip with them, I didn't do 2447 02:15:36.960 --> 02:15:39.600 platoon operations with him. I wasn't in the line with them. 2448 02:15:40.319 --> 02:15:44.119 But everybody from like platoons aren't above or first aren't 2449 02:15:44.159 --> 02:15:48.239 above knew who I was and respected me, and it 2450 02:15:48.279 --> 02:15:51.399 was It's an interesting dynamic for a little bit. 2451 02:15:52.079 --> 02:15:53.720 Any more questions for Dustin. 2452 02:15:55.720 --> 02:15:58.479 Jopyre Thank you, hey, al, Dustin, you talked about your 2453 02:15:58.479 --> 02:16:02.079 conventional leaders. What was your experience with officers at regiment? 2454 02:16:02.640 --> 02:16:05.880 As I understand, operating is really the role of enlisted 2455 02:16:06.439 --> 02:16:09.840 So how are they at employing your guys' skill enhanced 2456 02:16:09.880 --> 02:16:10.800 skill sets? 2457 02:16:12.319 --> 02:16:17.439 So officers in regiment, I'll talk about regiment as a whole, 2458 02:16:17.640 --> 02:16:20.760 and we can talk about reki pl if we want. 2459 02:16:21.880 --> 02:16:27.920 Officers as a whole regiment are very good at managing 2460 02:16:27.960 --> 02:16:33.879 tasks and shielding their platoons. For lack of a better 2461 02:16:33.920 --> 02:16:38.440 or bullshit, their main job is, you know, be a 2462 02:16:38.479 --> 02:16:44.840 politician with battalion, especially company level and platoon level. The 2463 02:16:44.879 --> 02:16:46.680 pls I had at Regiment, I mean I was there 2464 02:16:46.719 --> 02:16:49.200 for three years. I think I went through five pls 2465 02:16:49.040 --> 02:16:52.000 as a platoon start in that PO, he was in 2466 02:16:52.120 --> 02:16:57.079 charge of not only the wrecky platoon, but also the 2467 02:16:57.159 --> 02:17:02.319 risk of platoon, which is the reconnaissance surveillance target acquisition. 2468 02:17:03.159 --> 02:17:07.680 They do a lot of tech stuff, so he kind 2469 02:17:07.680 --> 02:17:10.360 of had he was in charge of two platoons, but 2470 02:17:10.440 --> 02:17:12.399 each platoon had their own platoons Earn it was a 2471 02:17:12.440 --> 02:17:20.120 weird dynamic. Simultaneously, K nine and Snipers had one PO 2472 02:17:20.159 --> 02:17:22.559 but platoons arens. That's kind of how that was set up. 2473 02:17:22.600 --> 02:17:26.879 As far as specialty patams. But every pl I had 2474 02:17:27.360 --> 02:17:35.000 was rock solid. They all actually they they all left 2475 02:17:35.040 --> 02:17:38.879 and went to s F. Yeah. 2476 02:17:39.520 --> 02:17:40.840 Questions for Dustin. 2477 02:17:41.399 --> 02:17:44.680 One from a Chris Ward. I have a question, what 2478 02:17:44.760 --> 02:17:46.879 was your favorite moment out of your entire career outside 2479 02:17:46.879 --> 02:17:48.360 of retirement obviously. 2480 02:17:50.000 --> 02:17:55.719 Chris Ward, that's my brother. Uh, Graduating Radar School like 2481 02:17:55.799 --> 02:18:00.159 that is I would think, Yeah, graduating Rending School was 2482 02:18:00.159 --> 02:18:04.079 probably the not the highlight of my career, but one 2483 02:18:04.079 --> 02:18:07.079 of the proudest moments because it is the premier leadership 2484 02:18:07.120 --> 02:18:09.680 school of the Army, one of the hardest schools anybody 2485 02:18:09.680 --> 02:18:13.600 could ever go to. You never been to Buds Adventure 2486 02:18:13.600 --> 02:18:15.399 to say it's harder than Buds. 2487 02:18:16.959 --> 02:18:18.559 Sorry, maybe spicy take. 2488 02:18:18.719 --> 02:18:20.559 Yeah, spicy take. I mean maybe Steals get to go 2489 02:18:20.600 --> 02:18:24.799 home every night. Buds. You have a barrass room, bro, 2490 02:18:25.000 --> 02:18:27.159 or you can go to your house. Don't do that. 2491 02:18:27.280 --> 02:18:33.440 Ranger school, but yeah, because once your arranger, always Rainer Man. 2492 02:18:33.639 --> 02:18:35.280 That's the way I look at it, and I'm super 2493 02:18:35.280 --> 02:18:36.719 proud to graduate Raind School. 2494 02:18:37.559 --> 02:18:40.959 Anything else is one last one from a station ward. 2495 02:18:41.399 --> 02:18:41.920 Oh boy. 2496 02:18:42.079 --> 02:18:44.079 My favorite moment was being able to present him with 2497 02:18:44.159 --> 02:18:46.079 a flag that had been flown on a B fifty 2498 02:18:46.079 --> 02:18:47.680 two that hit a target he called for. 2499 02:18:48.879 --> 02:18:51.959 Yeah, so as my dad the stays of word, he's 2500 02:18:51.959 --> 02:18:56.079 talking about the operation. We're talking about the Big Push. 2501 02:18:56.120 --> 02:18:57.440 So my dad was in the Air Force. He's a 2502 02:18:57.440 --> 02:19:02.319 B fifty two guy, still has friends in the B 2503 02:19:02.399 --> 02:19:05.399 fifty two community. He's an electronic warfare officer or electronic 2504 02:19:05.399 --> 02:19:09.200 warfare technician guy. The B fifty two's during that time, 2505 02:19:09.239 --> 02:19:14.079 they were flying over and dropping bombs the moab, which 2506 02:19:14.239 --> 02:19:18.479 wasn't from B fifty two, but it's that time. Madison 2507 02:19:18.520 --> 02:19:20.879 was in charge and shit was just raining, you know. 2508 02:19:22.040 --> 02:19:26.600 But my dad caught win that we were also there 2509 02:19:26.840 --> 02:19:31.399 in Nagahar and talked to the pilots and they flew 2510 02:19:31.440 --> 02:19:33.079 a flag for me and gave me a certificate. 2511 02:19:33.280 --> 02:19:33.959 That's pretty cool. 2512 02:19:34.879 --> 02:19:37.639 Got some pull pins from like the arming pins from 2513 02:19:37.639 --> 02:19:41.159 the from the bombs, like the little leafless they dropped 2514 02:19:41.159 --> 02:19:42.959 to and he brought it to me on my birthday 2515 02:19:42.959 --> 02:19:43.799 and stuff is pretty cool. 2516 02:19:45.120 --> 02:19:49.399 So how has post military service life been treating you? 2517 02:19:49.479 --> 02:19:51.079 What are you up to nowadays? 2518 02:19:51.399 --> 02:19:57.840 Oh? Man, retirement's awesome. I don't have to shave anymore. 2519 02:20:00.840 --> 02:20:03.760 Uh yeah, when I first got out. So my actual 2520 02:20:03.840 --> 02:20:06.760 job job, I'm a I'm a contractor for Department of 2521 02:20:06.799 --> 02:20:13.479 State right now, just doing stuff overseas when I'm state side. 2522 02:20:14.479 --> 02:20:17.840 I've started a company called the Light Sleeper, and we 2523 02:20:17.959 --> 02:20:22.399 make an ultra light. It's basically a woobie. I'll explain 2524 02:20:22.479 --> 02:20:24.079 it as a wooby with a sleeve to put a 2525 02:20:24.120 --> 02:20:28.280 sleeping pad in and a pillow attachment. It's just a 2526 02:20:28.360 --> 02:20:31.120 light sleeping system for light backpackers. It weighs two pounds, 2527 02:20:31.360 --> 02:20:32.920 so you don't got to take a whole sleep system 2528 02:20:33.040 --> 02:20:37.440 or a stuff sack and all that. You know, Bivysack started. 2529 02:20:37.479 --> 02:20:39.680 That company is doing very well. We just started shipping 2530 02:20:39.760 --> 02:20:43.079 last week. You congrats, sure shipping last week? 2531 02:20:43.159 --> 02:20:47.200 You show me on your website earlier and h it's inexpensive. 2532 02:20:47.239 --> 02:20:50.799 It's like, what's seventy bucks? Yeah, seventy bucks, and yeah 2533 02:20:51.479 --> 02:20:52.479 I want one? What? 2534 02:20:52.879 --> 02:20:55.719 Yeah, I'm absolutely what's the website where people can get it? 2535 02:20:56.120 --> 02:20:57.319 The light Sleeper dot com? 2536 02:20:57.319 --> 02:21:01.399 The light Sleeper dot Com. The light Sleeper dot Com 2537 02:21:01.520 --> 02:21:06.719 is gonna be down in the video description by yourself, 2538 02:21:06.719 --> 02:21:08.200 Al woobie with a sleeping pad. 2539 02:21:08.239 --> 02:21:09.479 That's the most amazing. 2540 02:21:09.639 --> 02:21:10.360 That's that's the. 2541 02:21:12.319 --> 02:21:15.479 Yeah, it doesn't come with a sleeping pad. Okay, it 2542 02:21:15.520 --> 02:21:17.440 comes with a pocket to put your own sleeping pad in. 2543 02:21:17.440 --> 02:21:18.680 Because everyone has their own preferences. 2544 02:21:18.719 --> 02:21:22.719 So I'm not gonna you had me a woman you 2545 02:21:24.000 --> 02:21:28.440 like the the only piece of army year that ever. 2546 02:21:28.840 --> 02:21:31.040 That's what I wanted. Did what it's meant to do. 2547 02:21:31.239 --> 02:21:32.840 I came up with the idea because I was I 2548 02:21:32.920 --> 02:21:36.319 was sitting there packing my son's nap matt for school. 2549 02:21:36.319 --> 02:21:37.399 I don't know if you know what nap mat is. 2550 02:21:38.200 --> 02:21:39.799 So I was rolling his up, got out of the dryer, 2551 02:21:39.879 --> 02:21:42.600 was like rolling up putting his backpack for school in kindergarten. 2552 02:21:43.280 --> 02:21:45.159 And uh I looked at it, and I looked at 2553 02:21:45.200 --> 02:21:46.799 my wife, and I was like, why is this not 2554 02:21:46.840 --> 02:21:49.399 a thing for adults? She's like what. I was like, 2555 02:21:49.399 --> 02:21:52.120 I love taking naps. Yeah, And I kind of like 2556 02:21:52.239 --> 02:21:53.399 just said there and thought about it. From that, I 2557 02:21:53.479 --> 02:21:55.479 was like, why do not have this in the field? 2558 02:21:56.479 --> 02:21:58.120 And I hit up some buddies, like a buddy of 2559 02:21:58.159 --> 02:22:01.639 marsak Andy. I was like, you good. He's like, dude, yeah, 2560 02:22:02.000 --> 02:22:04.079 why is that not a thing already? I don't know. 2561 02:22:04.639 --> 02:22:05.280 I'm gonna go. 2562 02:22:05.399 --> 02:22:11.120 I'm I'm hey, everybody, make sure buy the light sleeper 2563 02:22:11.200 --> 02:22:12.520 the light Sleeper dot com. 2564 02:22:13.079 --> 02:22:14.360 You owe it to yourself. 2565 02:22:14.559 --> 02:22:18.079 I got I got a Scouts field trip coming up, 2566 02:22:18.120 --> 02:22:19.280 camping trip with my daughter. 2567 02:22:19.399 --> 02:22:21.639 So actually I just had a guy. Uh he was 2568 02:22:21.639 --> 02:22:25.559 about three for his Scouts all right, all right? Yeah. 2569 02:22:25.559 --> 02:22:28.079 We shipped over one hundred orders this past week. We 2570 02:22:28.239 --> 02:22:30.159 just started shipping this last week and over one hundred 2571 02:22:30.200 --> 02:22:30.639 orders already. 2572 02:22:30.639 --> 02:22:34.159 It's been That's FANTASTICO off to the races man. 2573 02:22:34.600 --> 02:22:37.000 Other than that, the one got certified as a bounty hunter. 2574 02:22:37.159 --> 02:22:38.719 Just kind of keep things spicy at home. 2575 02:22:39.120 --> 02:22:41.920 Yeah, I got to do that. So you go and 2576 02:22:42.000 --> 02:22:44.520 knock on people stores unpaid parking tickets, bitch. 2577 02:22:45.239 --> 02:22:48.479 I haven't done it yet. Yeah, I just got certified. 2578 02:22:48.559 --> 02:22:51.799 Last October November. Okay, we and my buddy from RC 2579 02:22:52.000 --> 02:22:55.200 that retired. Also, yeah, we one got certified together. I 2580 02:22:55.200 --> 02:22:56.959 was like, dude, we should do this. I was talking 2581 02:22:57.000 --> 02:22:58.799 to a guy overs I used to do. It sounded 2582 02:22:58.799 --> 02:23:00.000 real easy. I was like, why are we doing? 2583 02:23:00.719 --> 02:23:02.920 Yeah, like I talked to a dude who did a 2584 02:23:02.959 --> 02:23:06.879 bounty hunting at one point, and he had some wild stories. 2585 02:23:08.559 --> 02:23:10.399 But yeah, suffice to say, if like a dude that 2586 02:23:10.440 --> 02:23:12.319 looks like Dustin comes and knocks on my door and 2587 02:23:12.360 --> 02:23:14.680 it's like, yeah, yeah, you're going to jail now, it's 2588 02:23:14.719 --> 02:23:17.159 like how much of a fight am I gonna put up? 2589 02:23:17.879 --> 02:23:19.159 Probably just gonna go along. 2590 02:23:19.760 --> 02:23:21.399 That's kind of what the guy was talking to he said, 2591 02:23:21.760 --> 02:23:23.079 Because I asked him. I was like, you know, what's 2592 02:23:23.120 --> 02:23:27.200 the you know, it was kind of like a bro code, 2593 02:23:27.200 --> 02:23:28.719 like you don't know me, so you're not gonna hire 2594 02:23:28.760 --> 02:23:32.280 me type thing. Yeah. He's like no, no, no, He's like, 2595 02:23:32.360 --> 02:23:35.159 if you and your buddy asked to work for me, 2596 02:23:35.239 --> 02:23:36.920 with your resumes and looking the way you do, he's like, 2597 02:23:36.920 --> 02:23:39.799 I'm getting every bounty I got. Oh nice. But we 2598 02:23:39.920 --> 02:23:43.959 just got our company certified back in March, so we 2599 02:23:43.959 --> 02:23:45.959 haven't had the ability to go out and get anybody yet. 2600 02:23:45.959 --> 02:23:48.399 But this looking forward to this dude, I remember him 2601 02:23:48.399 --> 02:23:49.879 telling me a story about how he got on a 2602 02:23:49.920 --> 02:23:53.239 flight to Honolulu and they had like forty eight hours 2603 02:23:53.280 --> 02:23:55.120 to find this guy or they're gonna eat like a 2604 02:23:55.159 --> 02:23:56.559 fifty thousand dollars bounty. 2605 02:23:56.639 --> 02:23:57.680 I was like, holy shit. 2606 02:23:57.920 --> 02:23:59.520 But then at the same time, the same guy told 2607 02:23:59.600 --> 02:24:01.559 me he's like, if I knock on a guy's door 2608 02:24:01.959 --> 02:24:05.000 and it's like over unpaid parking tickets or something, and 2609 02:24:05.040 --> 02:24:07.760 the bounty is, you know, two thousand dollars, and he 2610 02:24:07.840 --> 02:24:10.079 offers me three thousand, I'm taking the money they do. 2611 02:24:10.280 --> 02:24:12.799 Yeah, it's perfectly legal too, Oh is it really? 2612 02:24:12.959 --> 02:24:15.200 It's not. It's not like you're bribing a public official. 2613 02:24:15.319 --> 02:24:20.000 They're paying their bounty. It's it's perfectly legal. Oh. Interesting. 2614 02:24:20.559 --> 02:24:23.760 As long as they pay their contractual fee, you're good. 2615 02:24:24.120 --> 02:24:25.479 You don't have to take them to jail every time. 2616 02:24:25.520 --> 02:24:27.440 If they can pay it right there on the spot, 2617 02:24:27.680 --> 02:24:28.760 you don't got to take them a jail. 2618 02:24:28.959 --> 02:24:29.200 Yeah. 2619 02:24:30.600 --> 02:24:32.079 I knew a guy who did it, and he said, 2620 02:24:32.120 --> 02:24:34.000 it's just it's a lot of detective work. It's like 2621 02:24:34.239 --> 02:24:36.680 find out who their girlfriends were, stuff like like where 2622 02:24:36.680 --> 02:24:39.639 are they holding up, you know, and that's why we yeah. 2623 02:24:39.559 --> 02:24:44.399 Why we haven't done anything yet, because there's federal databases. 2624 02:24:44.440 --> 02:24:46.440 You can get access to it. Yeah, but you have 2625 02:24:46.479 --> 02:24:48.280 to have a company that they give those accesses to 2626 02:24:48.360 --> 02:24:50.520 a company, not a person. So we had to wait 2627 02:24:50.520 --> 02:24:51.840 for a company to get certified. 2628 02:24:52.000 --> 02:24:54.239 Yeah, and I don't I don't know if I can 2629 02:24:54.639 --> 02:24:56.719 wrestle a three hundred pounds fellon, But I'll be the 2630 02:24:56.719 --> 02:24:59.920 guy with the paintball, pepper U pelicat. 2631 02:25:00.040 --> 02:25:01.719 I'll do that. 2632 02:25:01.639 --> 02:25:04.719 For you exactly. I was thinking about buying a taser, yeah, 2633 02:25:04.840 --> 02:25:07.600 and I said, no, I was gonna be a backshotgun. 2634 02:25:07.680 --> 02:25:09.159 I can do that. I can do that for you. 2635 02:25:09.239 --> 02:25:10.000 I'll be your backup. 2636 02:25:10.760 --> 02:25:15.520 Would you rather? I don't know. I think I would 2637 02:25:15.840 --> 02:25:19.719 be more rebellious against a taser than a shotgun racking No. 2638 02:25:19.719 --> 02:25:21.079 But I'm telling you, man, you just go and knock 2639 02:25:21.120 --> 02:25:22.920 on the door like, hey, come on, man, like let's 2640 02:25:22.959 --> 02:25:24.360 go and and like you know. 2641 02:25:25.120 --> 02:25:26.760 If you talk to a lot of bounty hunters, that's 2642 02:25:26.879 --> 02:25:29.879 that's the process. Yeah, just treat them like a man, 2643 02:25:29.959 --> 02:25:32.120 like it's a it's a business thing. Yeah, dude, like 2644 02:25:32.200 --> 02:25:35.360 he messed up, come on, right, and they've already been 2645 02:25:35.399 --> 02:25:37.920 to court. It's not like, yeah, they're gonna go spend 2646 02:25:37.920 --> 02:25:39.799 like a day or two. Yeah, back forever. 2647 02:25:39.920 --> 02:25:43.120 Yeah, it's a bounty hunting. We got some dust and 2648 02:25:43.159 --> 02:25:48.159 the Bounty Hunter Live TV coming and anything else you 2649 02:25:48.239 --> 02:25:53.559 want to throw out there that you're working on. Nothing 2650 02:25:53.600 --> 02:25:57.159 to think of me, okay, ship man, I mean, it's 2651 02:25:57.200 --> 02:26:00.200 been a hell of an interesting uh military career and 2652 02:26:00.840 --> 02:26:05.399 post service life. It's a ride. 2653 02:26:05.440 --> 02:26:08.840 Was there anything on Patreon? Okay? 2654 02:26:10.840 --> 02:26:12.879 Well, dude, thank you so much for flying in and 2655 02:26:13.159 --> 02:26:15.200 doing this interview. It's been super cool. 2656 02:26:15.200 --> 02:26:16.520 Man. Appreciate you guys having. 2657 02:26:18.040 --> 02:26:21.559 Absolutely and and thank you Les for yeah, thanks less 2658 02:26:22.799 --> 02:26:27.520 putting the putting the shout out for us next week. 2659 02:26:27.840 --> 02:26:31.000 I cannot so after after this whole interview, I cannot, 2660 02:26:31.000 --> 02:26:33.280 for the life of me remember who's on next week. 2661 02:26:33.399 --> 02:26:36.680 I'm so sorry, but I promise it's gonna be cool. 2662 02:26:36.799 --> 02:26:40.959 Every episode of It's gonna be a thing. It's gonna 2663 02:26:40.959 --> 02:26:43.440 be an event. Jack will be there, I'll be there, 2664 02:26:43.520 --> 02:26:45.639 Dave will be there, I'll be there, will probably be 2665 02:26:45.719 --> 02:26:46.959 there if he doesn't quit on. 2666 02:26:46.920 --> 02:26:50.799 Us somewhere else that doesn't go out again. 2667 02:26:50.879 --> 02:26:58.079 Yeah, Gary, Yes, Gary, So Gary was an FBI negotiator. 2668 02:26:58.520 --> 02:27:03.959 He was recently on the Netflix documentary Waco American Apocalypse. 2669 02:27:04.520 --> 02:27:06.159 He was in that documentary because he was one of 2670 02:27:06.159 --> 02:27:10.239 the FBI negotiators early on and then they kicked him out. 2671 02:27:10.280 --> 02:27:13.200 It there's a whole thing there that we will we 2672 02:27:13.280 --> 02:27:16.799 will no doubt talk about. So yeah, I'm excited to 2673 02:27:16.840 --> 02:27:19.360 talk to Gary. And I'm sorry that I couldn't remember initially. 2674 02:27:20.360 --> 02:27:24.000 So we'll see you guys next Friday. Episode. We're in 2675 02:27:24.040 --> 02:27:26.319 the two hundreds now, so episode two hundred and two. 2676 02:27:26.600 --> 02:27:29.639 And I also go to the light Sleeper dot com. 2677 02:27:30.200 --> 02:27:32.000 If you don't the commis. 2678 02:27:31.559 --> 02:27:35.040 Win exactly, the terrorists win. If you don't get yourself 2679 02:27:35.079 --> 02:27:38.959 a high speed would be stuff sack. And also check 2680 02:27:39.000 --> 02:27:41.920 out our Patreon again. I'm gonna plug it. Go down there, 2681 02:27:41.959 --> 02:27:43.079 get ad free episodes. 2682 02:27:43.120 --> 02:27:45.760 Man less than a cop of coffee a. 2683 02:27:45.680 --> 02:27:50.280 Month, exactly, you can come on do it alcohol. So 2684 02:27:50.399 --> 02:27:52.399 we will see all of you next Friday. Thank you 2685 02:27:52.440 --> 02:27:54.600 for joining us. Thank you again, Dustin and