1 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: On this episode of Newts World this Veterans Day, I 2 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: wanted to spend some time talking about a major fundraising 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: event this January that is designed to bring awareness and 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: scholarships to veterans and their families through the Folds of 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 1: Honor Foundation. As you know, my dad spent twenty seven 6 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: years in the Army, and I have a very deep 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: commitment to our veterans and that's why I was delighted 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: to learn that in January of twenty twenty three, Legacy Expeditions, 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: a veteran owned extreme expedition company, is raising awareness and 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: inspiring action to support the Folds of Honor Foundation through 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: their upcoming global expedition Triple seven. The seven day record 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: breaking skydiving adventure around the world includes seven skydives across 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: seven continents in seven days in January twenty twenty three 14 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: to raise seven million dollars for scholarships for military veterans 15 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: and their families. Here to talk about the Triple seven event, 16 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, who I have 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: to say is amazingly impressive, Mike Sarelli. He is the 18 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: founder and CEO of Legacy Expeditions, former recon Marine and 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: scout sniper and retired US Naval seal with twenty years 20 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: of experience in special operations, including the Elite Joint Special 21 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: Operations Command. He is also the co author of the 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: best selling book The Talent War, How Special Operations and 23 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: great organizations win on Talent. Mike, welcome and thank you 24 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: for joining me on Newts World. I think the fact 25 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: that my favorite speaker of the house, and especially my 26 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: dad's favorite speaker of the house just called me impressive. 27 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: Life is complete. Now retire and give these expeditions up. Well, 28 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: I wait, before we get into your career, I just 29 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: have to ask you Legacy Expedition does extreme expeditions given 30 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: your background, what does that mean you go back to 31 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: Special operations? In Special Operations is a warrior culture, but 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: it is also you know, you're an extreme athlete in 33 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: a lot of ways. So we are all about pushing 34 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: the limits of human performance because anything else stunts growth. 35 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: True learning and growth take place when you push yourself 36 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: outside your mental in physical comfort zones. And I do 37 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: want to reinforce that we're not sociopaths. We do mitigate risk, 38 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: following sort of the Special operations military model to the 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: lowest level that we can. We can never eliminate risk, 40 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: but we do everything in our power to make sure 41 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: that we're prepared for the expeditions we go on. So 42 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: this is like for the triathlon competitor who wants to 43 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: go one stage further. It is and first off, the 44 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: most extreme expedition there is is combat. That is the 45 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: most extreme thing that you can be engaged in, and 46 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: these hail in comparison to that. But I'm one hit 47 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: replacement deep. A lot of the guys involved with Legacy Expeditions, 48 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: which are all former special operations, are mostly retired. We're 49 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: all one hundred percent disabled, total and permanent. But to 50 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: think that we're just going to sit on a porch 51 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: in a rocking chair, you've lost your mind. We feel 52 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: it's our duty to continue pushing the limits, to set 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: the example for other veterans getting out. But also, you know, 54 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,839 Speaker 1: to us, it's a return to American exceptionalism. We're trying 55 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: to live out. You know Teddy Roosevelt's path that he 56 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: laid before us. Man, that guy was always going into nature, 57 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: always always learning, always always sharpening his blood. I've been 58 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: with several veterans programs that are oriented to people who 59 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: have permanent significant disabilities, and they turn them into capabilities 60 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: rather than disabilities. And I always think for all these 61 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: civilians who are sitting around whining, if they could get 62 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: a little bit of the spirit of the folks who 63 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: just get up every morning and make it happen no 64 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: matter what. You must have had that very early, because, 65 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: as I understand it, you and list of the Marine 66 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: Corps right after high school? Why did you decide to join? 67 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: You know what's funny is I come from one We're 68 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: a Bara family. Our family has been in the San 69 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: Francisco area since eighteen ninety nine. Roman Catholic, conservative family, 70 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: fiscally conservative, socially moderate. And I grew up in a 71 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: town called Atherton, which I'm sure you're familiar with. It 72 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: was one of the most affluent towns. So my dad 73 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: came from very little as well as my mom, and 74 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: you know, they did very well for themselves. But my 75 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: dad built his company up and he made sure for 76 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: his two sons and his daughter that we knew we 77 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,159 Speaker 1: were not inheriting that company, that he wanted us to 78 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: blaze our own trail. And I hate to say it, 79 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: but it is what it is. Atherton and Powell too, 80 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: are very entitled areas and there's a lot of generational wealth, 81 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,119 Speaker 1: and we didn't come from generational wealth. But my dad 82 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: always bred us to look at the up side a risk, 83 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: not to see risk and be scared, but to see 84 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: risk and smile because this is, you know, as we 85 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: would say, this is the land of opportunity. An opportunity 86 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: is what you make of it. So when everyone else 87 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: was going off to Ivy League schools or colleges, I 88 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: think I ruined the streak. From my high school, which 89 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: was Bellarmine College Preparatory at Jesuity to high school where 90 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: pretty much everyone goes to college. I broke the streak 91 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: and enlisted in the Marine Corps. And it was the 92 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: best move I've ever made. I mean, there's a reason 93 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: INC magazine called the Marine Corps the best business management 94 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,040 Speaker 1: NBA there is. He then an effect went to college 95 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: because you were selected for the highly competitive Marine Enlistening 96 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: Commissioning Education program and you've got a bachelor's degree in 97 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: business administration from Texas A and now. So from San 98 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: Francisco to Texas A and m through the Marine Corps 99 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: is quite a journey, I'll tell you. As a sergeant. 100 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: I had very little money when I flew to Texas 101 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 1: A and M for the first time. It was a 102 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: culture shock, but you know, I enjoyed it. I finished 103 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: college in three years because the ward kicked off. Texas 104 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: M is definitely a strong culture. And tomorrow I'm speaking 105 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: to the entire Naval rotc at texasan M, the coure 106 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: cadets for Veterans Day on leadership. So I'm humbled. I 107 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: think actually, age culture is almost as strong as marine culture. 108 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: So somebody who has both of them, it's a kind 109 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: of culture nobody at Harvard understands. So then you got 110 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: a degree, you're an officer. You then go in the 111 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: Basic Underwater Demolition Seal training, which itself is a form 112 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: of extreme adventure. What was that like? You know what? 113 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: To say that Basic Underwater Demolation school is an extreme 114 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: sport is not doing justice to it. You are pushing 115 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: the limits of the mind. And given the attrition rates 116 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: of anywhere from eighteen to ninety percent, I think that 117 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: speaks for itself. I mean, we've seen classes start with 118 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty students and only eight graduate. But 119 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,359 Speaker 1: I will say this new I was so to be 120 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: a Marine, and the Marine laid the foundation. I was 121 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: not a focused kid. You know. I had capacity, I 122 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: had capability. I just wasn't tapping into it. So when 123 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: I went to seal training, I'm already a sergeant in 124 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: the Marine Corps. I'm a recon marine, I'm a scout sniper. 125 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: And in fact, one of my officers looked at me 126 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: and he said, hey, Mike, just gonna give you a 127 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: word of advice, and I said, yes, certain, he was 128 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: a mentor. He said, if you quit, you'll embarrass the 129 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: Marine Corps. And I died laughing because there was truth 130 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: in what he was saying. He was making a joke. 131 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: So there was no way I was going to quit 132 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: seal training because I was still representing the Marine Corps. 133 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: But that program and I went back for a short 134 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: six months as an instructor at the Basic Underwater Demolition 135 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: School is one of the most professionally run programs, and 136 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: I know it's been under scrutiny recently because some tear 137 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: gas videos came out and there was a student that 138 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: passed away recently in training. It is professionally run. We 139 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: mitigate risk, we have doctors out there. The statistical rates 140 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: of fatality is extremely low, but you'd never know who's 141 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: gonna make it. We've had Olympic medal winning swimmers step 142 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: into training, We've had NCAA Division One football players step 143 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: in and they're gone within three weeks. And this little 144 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: Korean kid from La was in my class who I 145 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: thought was passive, little guy, very unassuming, and I thought 146 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: he was going to quit. At the end of hell week, 147 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: there was twenty five of us of the two fifty left, 148 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: and that kid was standing there. And I would have 149 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: never guessed this little, soft spoken Korean kid was going 150 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: to make it. You'll like this story. I ended up 151 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: at Seal Team three with them. We were both ended 152 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: up in the Battle of Vermadi in two thousand and six, 153 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: where he was awarded the Silver Star, which I watched this. 154 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: He ran into the street to pull a soldier, an 155 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 1: Iraqi soldier out of the street who was wounded, then 156 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: went back to the Battle of Sardar City with me 157 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight, similar to my pipeline, he 158 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: was awarded the Broade Star. There he was selected by 159 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: the Navy to get a degree. He finished that degree 160 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: a three point nine eight in mathematics at the University 161 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: of San Diego, and they were going to send him 162 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: back to a seal team, but he said, I'd really 163 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: like to become a medical doctor. Ends up at Harvard, 164 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: becomes a Harvard educated doctor, and then after a few 165 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: years as a Navy doctor, says, hey, what the hell, 166 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: I'll applied for NASA. Out of eighteen thousand applicants, he 167 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: was one of twelve selected and all by the age 168 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: of thirty four. Astronaut silver Star, a Navy Seal Bronze Star, 169 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: a Harvard educated doctor, and his name is doctor Johnny Kim. 170 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,199 Speaker 1: And again, any American if they saw all the students 171 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: line up, would have discounted him. But the process shows 172 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: it's not about what you look like. It's the heart, 173 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: it's the grind, it's the resiliency, it's the drive. The 174 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: process weeds the elite out from the chef. That's so extraordinary. 175 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: Here's a guy who understands living life to the fullest 176 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 1: and who follows his dream. I think it'll be a 177 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: great story for Americans. Let me give you one more 178 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: piece of information. And we didn't know about this until 179 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: after a lot of us were retired. Because he kept 180 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: this information close. His dad was highly abusive, an alcoholic, 181 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: and one night he called the police on his dad, 182 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: thinking his dad had left the house. He'd actually went 183 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: into the attic and Johnny Kim told the police, hey, 184 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: I think my dad is still in the house. And 185 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: ultimately there was a shootout and his dad was killed. 186 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: And so he dealt with all this trauma by the 187 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: age of eighteen, enlisted in the Navy Seals, and I mean, 188 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: the most humble individual. I only hope that a leader 189 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: like Johnny Kim, once he gets out of NASSA, steps 190 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: up and leads this nation. Somebody's got to write a 191 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: book about his life. I mean, that's really remarkable. Part 192 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: of your own training program for you is that you 193 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: served as the Seal Junior Officer Training Course director. So 194 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: I mean you really understand the process of training people 195 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: from the ground up. I will say I only understand 196 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: it because of this. It's you know, Isaac Newton said this. 197 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: If I've seen further, it's because I've stood on the 198 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: shoulders of giants, men and women better than myself. I've 199 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: been the product of such great mentors in coaches, from 200 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,439 Speaker 1: my mom and dad to every Marine officer and senior 201 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: enlisted or seal officer and senior enlisted I served with, 202 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,319 Speaker 1: especially the men to my left and right. I learned 203 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: so much from them. You have to as a business leader, 204 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: as a government or federal or state leader, as a 205 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,359 Speaker 1: military leader, you have to have a passion for developing 206 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,720 Speaker 1: those beneath you and around you. And not everyone has 207 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: cut out for that. But I mean, at the end 208 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: of the day, you know, I like to call it 209 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: the legacy of leadership. A Sealed buddy who wrote the 210 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: book called Attributes. He calls it the irony of leadership. 211 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: And the best leaders understand this that your job is 212 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: not only to drive results, is to create a culture 213 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: and uphold standards and accountability, but it's also to create 214 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 1: the next generation of leaders. And we're not doing that 215 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: right now. The fact that we don't have leadership development 216 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: training in lower education or higher education is not setting 217 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: this nation up for sustained growth. Leadership it is a trait, 218 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: It's an attribute. When you have a passion for developing 219 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: those below you and you see them start to become 220 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: better than you, there's nothing more beautiful. And I only 221 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: hope that my legacy when I leave this earth is 222 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: that I left it better off with more leaders than 223 00:11:49,200 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: I found it. I really admire your whole approach, your 224 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: whole philosophy. You know, you had ten combat deployments supporting 225 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: the Global War on Terror. You got a silver Star, 226 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: six bronze stars for valor, and a purple Heart. And 227 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: then when you retire, you become an ambassador for the 228 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 1: Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Tell us a little bit about that. 229 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: So this is tied into Legacy Expeditions. One the purposes 230 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: Legacy Expedition is twofold. When I talk about legacy, I 231 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: talk about the memory of our fallen, and so few 232 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: people know the names of our fallen or can even 233 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: tell you the story of just one of the thousands 234 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: that were lost in the Global War and Terror. When 235 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: I think of the men and women that I served 236 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: with it are no longer with us. They are a 237 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: shining example from the way they live their lives by 238 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 1: the code, their leadership principles, their traits, their actually utes. 239 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: We want our youth to read these stories and their 240 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: legacy is it's important to mean it's important. To Andy Stump, 241 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 1: who's also a retired navycal and co founder of Lacy Expeditions, 242 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: the second we stopped telling the story of our fallen. 243 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: Their legacies die. Now, the other part of legacy expeditions 244 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: is we believe one of the greatest gifts you can 245 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: give somebody, if earned, is an education. And so not 246 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: only do we uphold their memories by telling their stories, 247 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: but we also try to raise money for the scholarships 248 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: of their children, their legacies that they left behind. So 249 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 1: the Special Operations Warrior Foundations specifically funds educational sponsorships for 250 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: kids who lost their Special Operations parents in the war, 251 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 1: and then Folds of Honor funds educational scholarships for military 252 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: families and first responders. So we predominantly support those organizations 253 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 1: because they give educations to again the military families and 254 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: first responders. You know, it's part of all that. In 255 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, you co wrote the best selling book The 256 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: Talent War, How Special Operations and Great Organizations went on Tala. 257 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,319 Speaker 1: What led you to write that book? When I was 258 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,960 Speaker 1: in the University of Texas mccombs's NBA program, I felt 259 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: guilty that I was getting an MBA towards the end 260 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: of my career and all my peers who continued to 261 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: serve and go overseas didn't have that opportunity. So with 262 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: the help of gentlemen like Admiral Bobbianman, who's the former 263 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: de facto director of the CIA, four star Navy Admiral 264 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: amazing individual, General Tony Kukolow, Admiral William McRaven, who all assisted, 265 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: we stood up something called the Vetted Foundation, and we 266 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: built a called an MBA Light, a two month program 267 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: that gives senior military members, both enlisted an officer, the 268 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: financial acumen that they lack so they know how to lead, 269 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 1: how to lead in spades. But they just lacked financial acumen, accounting, marketing, 270 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: and we gave them those skills and the program was 271 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: highly successful. In fact, the Huffington Post hailed it as 272 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 1: potential to revolutionize the way that veterans exit the military. 273 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: We ran into some politics in Texas with the Texas 274 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: Veterans Commission, and we got shut down because ultimately we 275 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: were trying to build this program so that veterans could 276 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: use their GI bill to pay for that two month 277 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: executive level course. When it failed, I was devastated, and 278 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: a good business mentor said, hey, Mike, I told you 279 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: from the start, make this a for profit entity. He said, 280 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: there's something about free enterprise with the exchange of value 281 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: that I just didn't understand. I was being driven on altruism. 282 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: I listened to him and I started Talent War Group. 283 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: And so we started as an executive search firm placing 284 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: very great or very good military leaders into small to 285 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: medium sized businesses. But it was not easy to convince 286 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: business leaders to accept somebody into their business that didn't 287 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: have industry experience. Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines, once said, 288 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: we hire from mindset, we can train all the rest. 289 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: But that is now lost on a lot of business leaders. 290 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: I mean World War Two, they hired veterans who had 291 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: no industry experience that built the economy we have today. 292 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: It was because of the skills that they had to attributes, 293 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: the code, the discipline, and so my co author George Randall, 294 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: also a Army officer, in twenty five years in executive 295 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: search and HR, we decided to change the system in 296 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: another way and the book has become I mean, even 297 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: the Marine Corps called us and said we're using this 298 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: book as the bible for how we're redesigning in our 299 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: talent management system for the US Marine Corps. We thought 300 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: they were joking with us. But business leaders have grabbed 301 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: a hold of this and they're transforming the way they hire, 302 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: looking at character over experience and understanding that if you 303 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: again leadership development, if you put time into the right 304 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 1: person that has all the right attributes, you can turn 305 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: them into a effective business leader that stays with you, 306 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: and especially if they demonstrate loyalty. So that's why we 307 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: wrote the book is I wanted the ability to touch 308 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: business leaders and say, hey, listen, you're overlooking a talent 309 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 1: pool called the veterans who have leadership skills and are unflappable. 310 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: Especially in times like COVID when everyone was losing their minds, 311 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: veterans were like, this is just another day at war. 312 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: We've got this. We know how to make decisions with 313 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 1: women information. So the process of focusing on character reminds 314 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,679 Speaker 1: me of Reverend Martin Luther King Junior's comment that he 315 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: hoped that his children would be judged by the content 316 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 1: of their character, not by the color of their skin. 317 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: And I think that that most Americans. We did a 318 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 1: poll America's New Majority Project, ninety one percent of the 319 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,159 Speaker 1: country agrees with that principle. So there's potentially fertile ground 320 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,120 Speaker 1: out there. For you in educating the country into how 321 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 1: to make it operational. Now the other thing you do 322 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,120 Speaker 1: I have to ask you. On August six, twenty ten, 323 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 1: thirty American military servicemen and a US military dog were 324 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: killed when a chun A helicopter in a mission entitled 325 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,439 Speaker 1: Extortion seventeen was shot down in Afghanistan. It was the 326 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 1: single largest loss of life to naval special warfare since 327 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: the Afghan War started. And in honor of that, over 328 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: the course of fifteen days, the Mount Everest Skydiving Expedition 329 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: Team conducted five jumps in the highest drop zones in 330 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: the world in the Mount Everest region. That must have 331 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: been quite an extraordinary trip. It was, and it was 332 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: almost nine months to the day after I had had 333 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 1: my hip replacement, so I was very close with the 334 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:18,399 Speaker 1: Extortion seventeen seals that were on board. I deployed with 335 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 1: him the deployment right before that. In fact, I was 336 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,199 Speaker 1: with him the night that Adam Brown was killed. And 337 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,120 Speaker 1: there's a book called Fearless about Adam Brown, an amazing 338 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 1: individual with an amazing story who overcame drug addiction prior 339 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 1: to joining the Navy, which again just reiterates why the 340 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,359 Speaker 1: military is such a great pathway for a lot of 341 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: young men and women that made lack focus and discipline. 342 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: But one of my best friends, Derek Benson, was on board. 343 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: I knew all of them well, and that one hit 344 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,919 Speaker 1: me really hard. Hit me as hard as you know. 345 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: I was on the rooftop with Michael Mansour who jumped 346 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: on a grenade three feet from me to save my life. 347 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,640 Speaker 1: He was posthumously, as I said, awarded the Metal of Honor. 348 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: I mean, these men and women were just I can't 349 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 1: find the words to do them justice. But we had 350 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: an opportunity to go to Mount Everest again push the 351 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,400 Speaker 1: limits of human performance by jumping into the highest drop 352 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,360 Speaker 1: zones in the world, while upholding the memories of those 353 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: aboard Extortion seventeen. And we raised close to two hundred 354 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: thousand four scholarships for the children of two of Extortion seventeen, 355 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,640 Speaker 1: which close to twenty five kids were left without their 356 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: fathers after that incident. And then this year you did 357 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: a skydiving expedition to Iceland in memory of the falling 358 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: Special Operations Forces. How many times did you jump in Iceland. 359 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 1: Let's just say that trip did not go as planned, 360 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: just like every military operation or every business operation or 361 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: a government program. You have a plan, and sometimes external 362 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: factors work against you. We ended up doing four jumps, 363 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 1: which were absolutely beautiful. Of sixteen we were supposed to 364 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: do sixteen andy stuff, and I ultimately pulled ourselves off 365 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: that trip, which I think shows sound judgment because the 366 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: group that was running it was completely unsafe in a 367 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: nept and they'd already hurt three people. And I mean 368 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: at the point we were pulling off, they asked us 369 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: to start running the expedition, which is similar to the 370 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 1: captain telling you to take hold of the Titanic after 371 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:14,080 Speaker 1: it's already hit the iceberg. So we returned home, but 372 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 1: we did raise about I think thirty thousand dollars from 373 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: the Special Operations Border Foundation. It didn't go as planned. 374 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: That doesn't sit well with us, But we are running 375 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: the Triple seven expedition. We have complete control over that. 376 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:28,160 Speaker 1: And when we have that, and we know the way 377 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 1: we plan, diligently plan, the way we put continuously plans 378 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: in place, were very confident that we're going to pull 379 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:56,520 Speaker 1: this off. Your goal is too jump in seven continents 380 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: in seven days to raise seven million dollars for education 381 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: scholarships for Folds of Honor. How did you come to 382 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 1: know Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney, the founder of Folds of Honor. 383 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: Who doesn't know Dan Rooney? I think it is a 384 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: better question one. The guy's an impressive individual, from military 385 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,119 Speaker 1: to golf. You got to hand it to him for 386 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,920 Speaker 1: what he's built. It takes a certain type of personality. 387 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: I could not do what he did. I mean, they've 388 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: deployed over two hundred million dollars in scholarships. That's forty 389 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: four thousand scholarships. And I'll tell you there's another individual 390 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: within Folds of Honor named Larry Robinson. He's the VP 391 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,199 Speaker 1: of development, and without him, we would not have been 392 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,640 Speaker 1: able to pull off this triple seven. He's believed in US, 393 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,679 Speaker 1: He's brought in sponsors, he's definitely, you know, connected, but 394 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: he gets people to yes. And I want people to know. 395 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 1: You know, everyone thought Folds of Honor and they just 396 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: changed their charter to include first responder families who are 397 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,439 Speaker 1: as deserving as military families, you know, who are on 398 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: the front lines every single day trying to protect the 399 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,440 Speaker 1: American public. So when they just made that announcement, I 400 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: want to say about a month ago. That even sweetened 401 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:01,439 Speaker 1: the pot in the mission and the purpose for us 402 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: even more because we love our police officers, we love 403 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,040 Speaker 1: our fireman, we love our ambulance personnel. So we're honored 404 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: to be tied and representing the fault of honor family. 405 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: You're going to go to Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica, 406 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: want to Arena and Chile, Cape Town, South Africa, Perth, Australia, 407 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 1: the United Arab Emirates, Barcelona, Spain, and Tampa, Florida. That 408 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: is one heck of a week, so testament to our planning, 409 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,400 Speaker 1: we've eliminated forty hours in the air by switching that up. 410 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 1: We're starting in Antarctica. That's a long pole in the 411 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,120 Speaker 1: tent and you have to contend with weather. Then we're 412 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: gonna go straight to Santiago, Chile, to Miami, to Barcelona, 413 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,679 Speaker 1: to Cairo where we jump over the Pyramids Abu Dhabi 414 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: to jump with our UAE partners in their military to 415 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 1: honor their fahone as well from the war in Yemen. 416 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: On to Perth, Australia, and then we're going to come 417 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,359 Speaker 1: back to Tampa for an eighth jump. Each of the 418 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 1: jumps is in honor of a fallen soldier in the 419 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,720 Speaker 1: Tampa jump in particular sort of a coming home jump 420 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:04,879 Speaker 1: is to honor the Kabul thirteen, those young Marines, the 421 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: sailor and soldier that were killed during the withdrawal in Afghanistan, 422 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 1: and knew something. I'm proud with the guys, all the 423 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: guys involved, to include one seventy three year old marine. 424 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: He's an old mule and this mule kicks. This guy's 425 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 1: broken multiple world records, lost his wife to cancer, big 426 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: time donor to the University Michigan Cancer Hospital, good good Man. 427 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: But they said, none of them want their names on 428 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,199 Speaker 1: the two world records. They want the names of the 429 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: fallen that we jump in on or of. And I 430 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 1: just I couldn't. I said, we've chosen the right people. 431 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: When we got that message from everyone and they were 432 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: on board. Dan Rooney has praised you and thank you. 433 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: Let me just read one thing that Dan said. We 434 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 1: are grateful to Legacy Expeditions for undertaking the momentous task 435 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,440 Speaker 1: to raise awareness and funds for academic scholarships from military Dependence. 436 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: Expeditions clearly understands the importance of an education and those 437 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 1: firsthand how it can benefit the military spouses and children 438 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,400 Speaker 1: we serve. So listeners to this podcast, how can they 439 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: get involved and donate to the Triple seven Folds of 440 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: Honors scholarships. Yeah? Absolutely, So the website is Triple seven 441 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: dot givesmart dot com. So that is the word triple 442 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 1: the number seven Dot givesmart dot com. It'll take you 443 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 1: direct to Folds of Honor. This money is going direct 444 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: to Folds of Honor. It does not go to Lagacy expeditions. 445 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: We don't want to touch it. To keep everything clean 446 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: and to show that one hundred percent of the donations 447 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: are going to scholarships. New more than that is. You know, 448 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: seven million is a lofty goal. There are hundreds of 449 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: millions of Americans and I just have to believe that 450 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,639 Speaker 1: I can get seven million Americans to give one dollar, 451 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 1: maybe five dollars. And if we fall short of that goal, 452 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:50,400 Speaker 1: I don't care about the records. I don't care about 453 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: the expeditions. It's not going to sit well with me. 454 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: The other thing I got to tell you why we're 455 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: doing this is the American public is at each other's 456 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: throats right now and there's just no good stories out there. 457 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: So you're gonna watch guys who dedicated their adult lives 458 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: to defending our homeland against terrorism, go out and they're 459 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 1: going to try to do something exceptional. It's like, you know, 460 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: we're calling it the race for the Moon because twenty 461 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: groups have tried this and they've all failed. We just 462 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: want Americans to remember, hey, we're in this together, regardless 463 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: of your political beliefs. Follow a group of ten wily, 464 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:28,119 Speaker 1: charismatic Special Operations soldiers again who are all broken, but 465 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: say a hell with it. We're going to do this. 466 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: We're gonna do this for a good cause. We want 467 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: Americans to follow this, and you know, there's got to 468 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: be a point to where we returned to that we 469 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 1: return to that American exceptionalism and this is our small way. 470 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: None of us are going to start a world class 471 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: business like Amazon. We're not going to do certain things 472 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 1: that a lot of great Americans have done. But we 473 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: can control this. And if I can get more veterans 474 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: on these trips, it's very very spiritual, and so we are. 475 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty three, we're going to try to hold 476 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,199 Speaker 1: as many skydiving camps for veterans to give them the 477 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 1: gift of flight, to teach them how to skydive to 478 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: include amputees, which means specialized rigs, because you know, there's 479 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: nothing like jumping out of a plane at thirteen thousand feet. 480 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: It's the greatest view in the world, and whatever you're 481 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 1: concerned about goes to the wayside. All you're concerned about 482 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: is following your procedures. And then once you get under 483 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,640 Speaker 1: canopy at five thousand feet and you're doing three sixties, 484 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: my god, everything seems all the trivial things that we 485 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 1: think are important are seemingly unimportant when you're up there. 486 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: Are you on a film these sight jumps? If you've 487 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: ever seen the movie The Blair Witch Project, which broke 488 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: all indie records for the most part and still stands, 489 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: it was produced and directed by a guy named Dan 490 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,639 Speaker 1: Myrick Fate would have it. I connected with Dan through 491 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: a great friend named Christian Crample, and so Dan and 492 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,720 Speaker 1: Christian are following us across the Seven Continents to film 493 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: this and it'll be a docuseries. We're talking to a 494 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: couple of streaming platforms right now. But you know, seven days, 495 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: when you think about it, it's really going to push 496 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 1: the limits of human performance because these guys aren't going 497 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 1: to be on airplanes. They're going to jump, which raises 498 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: their heart rate, and then they're going to get on 499 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: a plane where you don't sleep well for seven days. 500 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 1: So there is serious risk to sleep deprivation in following 501 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: your procedures in the next continent when you jump. So 502 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: this is not just a private plane where guys are 503 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: laying out plus food. They're not going to have access 504 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:30,160 Speaker 1: to great meals while they're flying from Barcelona to Cairo, 505 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 1: in UAE to Australia. So whoop. The company, the Wristband 506 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 1: Human Performance Company, is collecting data as well as we 507 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,880 Speaker 1: have a doctor, a former Navy seal who then became 508 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: a doctor, a human performance doctor who's following the team 509 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: and collecting data which we're going to give to the 510 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,439 Speaker 1: Special Operations Command free of charge to see if they 511 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,480 Speaker 1: can learn anything from international travel and how to dampen 512 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: the effects for some of the missions that they I mean, 513 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: you looked at the eighty second Airborne it seemed like 514 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: in a moment they were activated to go deploy to Afghanistan. 515 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: For the withdrawal, that's a long flight. I think that's 516 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty four hours, so you know, if soldiers are 517 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:07,160 Speaker 1: not resting well. In those flights, you know, they're jet 518 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,120 Speaker 1: lagged and they're groggy by the time they land. If 519 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: there's some means that we can figure out how to 520 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: keep them refreshed and sleep well, then we figure we 521 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: might as well collect that DOTA and give it to 522 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: the military. When the film is ready to start streaming, 523 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,680 Speaker 1: let us know, and will will do everything we can 524 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: to publicize it and make sure people are aware of it. 525 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 1: It's a great project, and we will have the link 526 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,439 Speaker 1: to get to donate and to help with the Triple 527 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,439 Speaker 1: seven Expedition and with Folds of Honor. That'll be on 528 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 1: our show page. And I want to thank you for 529 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: joining me today and talking about your service to our 530 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: country and this amazing Triple seven event. In January twenty 531 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,960 Speaker 1: twenty three, I encourage all of our listeners to go 532 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,560 Speaker 1: to Folds of Honor dot org or Legacy Expeditions dot 533 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 1: net to find out more about this event and donate 534 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: to help veterans and their families scholarships. I wish you well. 535 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: In an addition, I want to say thank you to 536 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: all of our listeners who are serving our country or 537 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: our veterans. We honor you this Veterans Day and every 538 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 1: day because you helped make America free and without you 539 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: we would not be safe. So thank you, Mike. I 540 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 1: thank you for your service, your continued service today. It's 541 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: a remarkable commitment to America and I'm very humbled to 542 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 1: have you as a guest. Thank you, sir. If you 543 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: would like to help with the project to raise seven 544 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: million dollars for scholarships, you can go to Triple seven 545 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: dot givesmart dot com. Thank you to my guests, Mike Sarelli. 546 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: You can learn more about the Triple seven event for 547 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 1: fulls of honor scholarships on our show page at newtsworld 548 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: dot com. News World is produced by Gingli Street sixty 549 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Garnsey Sloan, our producer 550 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: is Rebecca Howe, and our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The 551 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: artwork for the show was created by Steve Penley. Special 552 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: thanks to the team at Gingwish three sixty. If you've 553 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,040 Speaker 1: been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcasts 554 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: and both rate us with five stars and give us 555 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: a review so others can learn what it's all about. 556 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: Right now, listeners of newts world can sign up from 557 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: my three free weekly columns at gingwish three sixty dot 558 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: com slash newsletter. I'm Newt Gingrich. This is news World,