1 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: Rude forms. If it doesn't work, you're just not using enough. 2 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: You're listening to Software Radio, Special Operations, Military Nails. I'm 3 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: straight talk with the guys in the community. 4 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 2: Hey, what's going on. It is a beautiful day and 5 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 2: another great episode of soft Rep Radio and I am 6 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 2: your delightful host rad Thank you for tuning in. If 7 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 2: you've listened before, thank you for tuning in again. And 8 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 2: to those of you who are new, welcome, Welcome to 9 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: the show. But first let me introduce you to Software 10 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 2: dot Com Forward slash Merch. So we have a merch store. 11 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 2: It helps to keep the fireplace going. That's a real thing. 12 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 3: That is gas. 13 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 2: I know you want to know I'm hardcore mountain man 14 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 2: and I am, but that's gas and that's got a run. 15 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 2: So please keep buying our merch and the branded items 16 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 2: like the shirts and the hats and things. We appreciate it. 17 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 2: Second is our book club, and that is soft Rep 18 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 2: dot Com Forward slash book hyphen Club, and we have 19 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 2: a curated library of books for you to read through 20 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 2: and enjoy. And that's put together by the team here 21 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 2: at soft Rep with the guys behind the scenes from 22 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 2: the Special Operations community. Now speaking of Special Operations Community. 23 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 2: You guys already know who I have because you've clicked 24 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 2: on the link to listen to this episode. So without 25 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 2: further ado, I have retired Army Cia James stage cool. 26 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 2: So welcome to the show. 27 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 4: Thanks for inviting me, and it's great to be here 28 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 4: and I. 29 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 3: Love your intro. Oh thanks. 30 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 2: I should also give a shout out to our editor 31 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 2: guy who kind of hooked us up and said, rad 32 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 2: I want you to meet James and have him on 33 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 2: your show. We could talk about, you know, eagle Claw, 34 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 2: and I just want to kind of point out something 35 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 2: real quick. I had a friend of mine, Colonel Nightingale, 36 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 2: on the show. Familiar with Colonel Nightingale. 37 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 3: I do know Nightingale. 38 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 4: He was working on the Joint staff when when this 39 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 4: whole thing went dumb. 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, so tell me about eagle Claw. For someone who 41 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 2: doesn't know too much about Eagle Claw, let's just jump 42 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 2: into it and your role in that. 43 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 3: Well, as we have a tendency to do. 44 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 4: The Americans are spread out all over the world. In 45 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 4: nineteen seventy eight seventy nine, Iran, which had been an 46 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 4: alias with the Shah of Iran, who we put in 47 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 4: the power in nineteen fifty three, decided that they wanted 48 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 4: to have a new form of government. 49 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 3: A theocrasy. 50 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 4: By an Islamic cleric by the name of comite Atola 51 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 4: pushed the shop out. 52 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 3: The government changed and with the enthusiastic. 53 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 4: Non help of the government, the students that ran decided 54 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 4: that they were going to punish the United States and 55 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 4: they took over the American embassy in Tehran. 56 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 3: That was the. 57 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 4: Fourth of November nineteen seventy nine, just forty five years ago, 58 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 4: at the beginning of last week. So when they took 59 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 4: over the embassy, they captured. 60 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 3: About sixty Americans. 61 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 4: They released all the local nationals who were working there, 62 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 4: but they held on to the Americans and basically they held. 63 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 3: Them hostage and would not release them. 64 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 4: The government would not step in to help us out 65 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 4: because they were basically tacitly supporting the studio students. So 66 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 4: the president at the time said, well, hell we got 67 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 4: we have to get our brethren back. So we began 68 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 4: to plan a hostage rescue mission, which was initially called 69 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 4: Operation Rice Bowl. In the planning base, they said that 70 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 4: was to confuse the enemy, like it was supposed to 71 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 4: be in the Far East or something I'm not sure 72 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 4: it did. And then it was renamed later on something 73 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 4: a bit more aggressive, and it became Operation Eagle Claw. 74 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 3: So I think we all know how the story of law, 75 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 3: at least part of it. 76 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 4: A certain Normy unit downe Fort Bragg was involved. There 77 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 4: was a so called open force. The Army rangers were involved, 78 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 4: of course, maybe helicopters and Marine Corps pilots, which actually 79 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 4: turned out. 80 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 3: To be. 81 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 4: Probably the weak point in the mission, the Navy helicopters 82 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 4: and Marine war bats, but I'll get into that. And 83 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 4: then a smaller unit in Germany was involved. It was 84 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 4: called Special Forces Forlin. It was a clandestine, a secret 85 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 4: special Forces unit. It's covered name was Detachment A Berlin. 86 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 4: It's real name was thirty nine Special Forces. And I 87 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 4: was part of that unit, and I was there at 88 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 4: this time, so it was a very formative part of 89 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 4: my career. 90 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 3: I've been in the Army for graphs six years when 91 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 3: I was into not too long working with a whole 92 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 3: bunch of you get. 93 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 2: Into really what was the I know you're telling us 94 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 2: about that, but how did you wind up getting into 95 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 2: Delta in just six years? You know, how old were 96 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 2: you when you enlisted? 97 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 3: Well, I was not in Delta. I was in Berlin. 98 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 2: Excuse me, yes, yeah, uh. 99 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 3: That was a long That. 100 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 4: Was a long process because it was completely different from 101 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 4: all the other units. We did not wear uniforms. We 102 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 4: were stationed inside Berlin, inside East Germany. 103 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 3: We had to speak a foreign language. I spoke German 104 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 3: and some Greek. 105 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 4: And it was a unit there was given very specific tasks, 106 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 4: both intelligence collection and also the standard and Special forces 107 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 4: kind of direct action unconventional warfare missions. So it was 108 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 4: a hell of a place to be and I served 109 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 4: with probably some of the best people in the army. 110 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 4: There a number of Vietnam veterans, a number of former 111 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 4: members of Eastern European forces that joined the American military, 112 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 4: and some Lajack soldiers if you've heard about them. Just 113 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 4: a fantastic place to be. But because the unit had 114 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 4: such specialized skills, especially working undercover overseas, the unit was 115 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 4: chosen to help out on the Iran mission. So the 116 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 4: Iran Mession basically at two parts. One was to go 117 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 4: in and pick out and pick the hostages and bring 118 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 4: them out. 119 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 3: But the first part was a bit more squarely. 120 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 4: We had to go in and find out the indeligence 121 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 4: needed to pull off that rate, and so members of 122 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 4: Detachment they were chosen for that operation. A guy from 123 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 4: Delta Force joined them later on, a guy by the 124 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 4: name of Richard Meadows. He's quite well known in the 125 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 4: Special Forces community. He was also one of the plank 126 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 4: holders for Delta Force, underneath Charlie Beckwith And so these 127 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 4: guys were the precursor of the operation. And that's really 128 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 4: what I write about in my book Mission Iran, of which. 129 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 2: Right is your most recent book that you've written. Among 130 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 2: all of your books, you have Special Forces Berlin Special 131 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 2: operations in World War Two, you know Mission Iran, which 132 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 2: is going on right now. And like you said, you know, 133 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:51,079 Speaker 2: everybody was kind of enjoying the discotheque of the seventies 134 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 2: in Iran. Everybody was having a good time and that 135 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 2: was happening right There's like video of what was before 136 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 2: the Iatola came in and uh forced the you know, 137 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 2: ideals of the what's going down there right now, which 138 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 2: is what we see today. 139 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 4: A very strict theography, thank you, which just been yeah, 140 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 4: very much so. No, the people Iran, they have always been. 141 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,559 Speaker 2: Very h beautiful. 142 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,079 Speaker 4: Well, yeah, I mean with the Americans and the Arabians 143 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 4: have always gotten along pretty well, not so much with 144 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 4: the with the government nowadays. 145 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 2: Right, even back in the day in the eighties, I 146 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 2: remember my dad always not there was like this movie 147 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 2: with Charlie Sheen and they're driving through the town and 148 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 2: he shoots the machine guns called Navy seals and he 149 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 2: shoots the picture of aatolea comane down. Okay, like they 150 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 2: put that in the movie. And my Dad's like, yep, 151 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 2: that's about right. And my dad never really talked like 152 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 2: that as a Green Beret, but he had two people 153 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 2: that he just didn't like, and one was him and 154 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 2: uh And I was like, okay. And now that I'm older, though, 155 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 2: I understand because you know, he was full on in 156 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 2: the eighties and the s right, so as like you 157 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 2: and he was seventies, seventies, eighties, you know, nineties guy. 158 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 4: So well that this this nineteen seventy nine was my 159 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 4: introduction to the Atola. Before that, my whole, my whole 160 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 4: army career was oriented on one thing, the warsaw pack 161 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,439 Speaker 4: to the Soviet Union, right, and that's. 162 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 3: Why we were in Berlin. 163 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 2: Holy yeah, exactly. 164 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 4: The permission in Berlin was if there was a war, 165 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 4: we would be supposed to go out there and create 166 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 4: as much hammock as we possibly could slow the Russians. 167 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 3: Now then the bark Cliff for the Air Force. So 168 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 3: this this. 169 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:46,440 Speaker 4: New mission was very very a very quick switch. But 170 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:52,199 Speaker 4: you know, the special forces are pretty adaptable. So we said, oh, 171 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 4: they moved a couple of doors over, but we know 172 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 4: where the target lives, so let's go get them. 173 00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 3: Yeah. 174 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 2: Really, you know, Warsaw pack so true and it's still today. 175 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 2: I mean it's like it's never been given up on 176 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 2: their side, you know, Russia never gave up like He's 177 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:08,679 Speaker 2: They're like, well, we don't really want to give up 178 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 2: that Warsaw. 179 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 4: Well, I think what moving moving on in nineteen eighty 180 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,959 Speaker 4: or nineteen ninety, I should say, I think we made 181 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,599 Speaker 4: a bit of a tactical error and believing that the 182 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 4: Russians were not interested in moving west. 183 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 3: Right by we're still doing it. 184 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, by having the accord signed where they would get 185 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 2: rid of the nukes for Ukraine, and Ukraine said okay, 186 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 2: we want to be our own somber state. And at 187 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 2: the time Russia was like. 188 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 3: All right, cool, yeah, cool cool. 189 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 2: But that all changed, you know, someone got the lust 190 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 2: for the property lines, and uh, you know, we'll call 191 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 2: him Putin. 192 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 4: Well, I think the I think the Ukrainians might be 193 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 4: regretting the fact that they gave up their nukes. 194 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,200 Speaker 3: I mean, they had the majority of them. But did they? 195 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 3: But did you know? 196 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,439 Speaker 2: I lay in bed thinking did they? 197 00:11:55,480 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 3: Though? Have you read my other book? Which one it's 198 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 3: called Dead Hand. It's a fiction novel, dead Hand. 199 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:09,959 Speaker 2: I'm gonna write that down. Dead Hand. 200 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it takes place oddly enough, it takes place 201 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:21,839 Speaker 4: in twenty twenty four, and it's about what happens when 202 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,119 Speaker 4: the Ukrainians nuke the Rotians. 203 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm just you know, I mean, you can only 204 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 2: poke the bear so much, you know, and uh, supersonic 205 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 2: missile the kmart gets old. Okay, so you know, you know. 206 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 4: Yeah, no, yeah, but you know, there's Jiva, there's the 207 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 4: Geneva and Hague conventions, and then there's Putin's rules of combat. 208 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:49,840 Speaker 3: So they're kind of different. 209 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 2: Right, And now the he's integrating you know, their top 210 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 2: North Korea has been found to be now on the 211 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 2: on the lines with Russia fighting against but they're getting 212 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 2: slaughtered in from what I'm hearing, it's like, you know, 213 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 2: they're turning up bodies. 214 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 4: Well, depending on whose numbers you believe, we're talking as 215 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 4: far as the Russians, we're talking between five hundred and 216 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 4: seven hundred thousand casualties the Ukrainians have lost, with a 217 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 4: few also probably closer to two fifty three hundred. 218 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:24,679 Speaker 3: I mean, that's an amazing loss. 219 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 4: Of life for what they are doing with a small 220 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 4: state about the size of Texas. You know, they're fighting 221 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 4: is more than just. 222 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 3: Whacking the hell out of each other. 223 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm I'm concerned to see how this is going to. 224 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,440 Speaker 3: Carry out, carry on through the next year. 225 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 4: Basically, I think we've been with the previous administration, well, 226 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 4: the current administration has basically been giving Ukraine a lifeline 227 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 4: but not pulling it in. We've given them enough that 228 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 4: they can hold off the Russians to prolong their defeat, 229 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:12,840 Speaker 4: depending on how the Russians react. So now we'll see, 230 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 4: we'll see how and how our own government reacts in 231 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 4: the next year. 232 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 2: But anyway, Yeah, your book's gonna you're gonna have to 233 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 2: have a new book. 234 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 3: Yeah. Anyway. 235 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, So with Mission Iran, that's very like kind of current, 236 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 2: that's very current today, you know, because what's going on 237 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 2: over in the Middle East, and you know how they 238 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 2: are at arms with each other, Israel and Palestine and 239 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 2: going into Iran and you know, getting into it with 240 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 2: you know, do we need to see regime change? Do 241 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 2: the people of Iran want this to happen? Is this 242 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 2: something that was a stepping stone to moving the Iatola 243 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 2: out of the situation and taking him out of the 244 00:14:55,200 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 2: you know what you said, the theocracy. 245 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 5: I'm if we're talking about current day politics, I'm not 246 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 5: sure I can see it because the Iranian Revolutionary Guard 247 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 5: and all the members of the theocracy are no so 248 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 5: well established and so powerful. 249 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 4: You know, They've got their secret services and their their 250 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 4: guns and everything else. 251 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 3: It's going to be extremely difficult to get them out. 252 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 3: We are going to be able to do it. 253 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 4: It's going to be the people around. We may give 254 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 4: them some consistence, but without there or without their efforts, 255 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 4: it will be it will end up being the same 256 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,360 Speaker 4: way as it ended up in Afghanistan. 257 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 2: Right, they need to take on the fight and stand 258 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 2: fast and hold the line and not just and we 259 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 2: can help that and support a positive outcome, but they 260 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 2: have to do the majority of all of that, is 261 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 2: that what you're kind of. 262 00:15:56,120 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 3: Getting at absolutely, yeah, exactly. Yeah. 263 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 2: I think we're just gonna sit there and go yep, yep, yeah, agree. 264 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 3: With what you said. 265 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 2: This podcast is called YEP sponsored by YET and we 266 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 2: are just going to sit here agree to agree on things. 267 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 2: But you know the books that you have out there, Uh, 268 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 2: that's doing well for you being an author. Transitioning from 269 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 2: CIA from Special Forces to author. Did you ever think 270 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 2: that you'd be doing that. 271 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 4: I actually started to write when I was in the 272 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 4: Army and when I was stationed in Berlin, so I 273 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 4: was always going to doodle. 274 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 3: In these things. 275 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 4: And I decided after I got out and retired that 276 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 4: I could actually try it on for size and start 277 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 4: telling some of these stories. 278 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 3: So I started out in nonfiction. My first will. 279 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 4: Probably the book that is doing the best is My 280 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 4: History of Special Forces. Let It's a thirty year history. 281 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 4: Was not very well known, so when I got it published, 282 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 4: I had to break some rules. 283 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 3: Actually I didn't. It was all. 284 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,120 Speaker 4: Reviewed by the Army and everything and it got cleared, 285 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 4: so that was sort of the start. It came off 286 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 4: with this, and then I told a bit of the 287 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 4: Rand story in that book, but not all of it 288 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 4: because some of my friends that some of my friends 289 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 4: were still serving and I could not tell their stories. 290 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 4: So about two thousand eighteen, twenty nineteen, it became clear 291 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 4: that they were all free and clear of everything, and 292 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 4: I can start telling their stories. So it's a result 293 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:56,159 Speaker 4: of about interviews with about forty people that I undertook. 294 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 4: Some of the guys are from Delta, of course, but 295 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 4: most of them are guys I served with in Berlin. 296 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 3: I love it. 297 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 2: I think that's so neat and so intriguing about what 298 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 2: your mission was and in Berlin, and you know, growing 299 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 2: up with my dad going over to Thailand and all 300 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 2: these different places, Cobra, gold and you know, all this 301 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 2: stuff in my as a young kid, I never put 302 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 2: two and two together, you know, I just always thought, 303 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 2: that's dad. You're so cool, bro, You're I mean, you 304 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,120 Speaker 2: did such a crazy gig. You saw the Berlin Wall, Like. 305 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,679 Speaker 4: Yeah. People, you know people they always say thank you 306 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 4: for your stars and oh god, you must. 307 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 3: Be some sort of the hero or something rock star. 308 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 3: I was lucky. I survived. 309 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 4: I was I was a witness to all the really 310 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 4: cold people. Some of the names I could drop some 311 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 4: of these guys are just. 312 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 3: You know, alievable, but. 313 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 4: For me, the cool part was being in Berlin, you know, 314 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,679 Speaker 4: the Divine to Cety. After I had read you know, 315 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,240 Speaker 4: a number of nonfics in the histories of World War 316 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,680 Speaker 4: two and everything. My father was a soldier in World 317 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:08,400 Speaker 4: War Two, and then also some of the movies or 318 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 4: some of the fiction I had read, you know, like 319 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 4: jehan Lecerrey, There's Fight who Came In from the Cold, 320 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 4: Lynn Dayton Funeral in Berlin, and some of these really. 321 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:21,879 Speaker 3: Cool fiction books. 322 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 4: So when when I got to Berlin, it was actually 323 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 4: on the street, wandering around in civilian clothes, talking to 324 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 4: people living with these people across the walking along the wall, 325 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 4: knowing across the wall in a completely different place, you know, 326 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 4: two completely antagonistic political systems, And there were guys with 327 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 4: guns that's what I call him. Gwg's all along the wall. 328 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 4: And I'm kind of looking at these guys and they're 329 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 4: looking at me, and I'm going, you probably don't know 330 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 4: what I'm here for. I'm not gonna tell you, but 331 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 4: I kind of look forward to the day when we meet. 332 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 3: Europe. 333 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:08,359 Speaker 2: So yeah, no, no, So my father in law was serving 334 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 2: a religious mission in Germany Switzerland area, and somehow he 335 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 2: told a story of going through the wall east to 336 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 2: east to west to go meet somebody on the other 337 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,359 Speaker 2: side of in East Germany. I'm like, it's got to 338 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 2: be a girl. 339 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 3: You know. 340 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 2: And at the time, I was like, he just talks 341 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 2: about it. We're gonna see him at Thanksgiving coming up here, 342 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 2: and we're I'm gonna ask him and say, so, Elliott, 343 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 2: tell me more about how you went over East German's 344 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 2: Wall and whatnot. And I'm curious because back then man 345 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,719 Speaker 2: in the sixty eight, sixty six, sixty eight, because then 346 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 2: he went after he got out of the religious mission 347 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 2: for his church, he joined the Marine Corps and went 348 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 2: to Vietnam as an older dude twenty five is twenty 349 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 2: four to twenty five. But yeah, he was going back 350 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 2: and forth the wall, sneaking across as a missionary. 351 00:20:57,760 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 3: You could do that. 352 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 4: They had between the East and West Berlin or about 353 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 4: nine I believe, I can't remember exactly crossing points, and 354 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 4: some points were designated for only Westperlinters to go in 355 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,160 Speaker 4: the East Berlin or for Easter Litters. 356 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:16,880 Speaker 3: To go into West Berlin. 357 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 4: There were a couple of slots places there were designated 358 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 4: only for foreigners and West Germans, you know, from further out, 359 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 4: and there. 360 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:30,680 Speaker 3: Were other places you've go ahead. 361 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 4: If you had an American passport, the civilian passport, you 362 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:35,679 Speaker 4: could cross a couple. 363 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 3: Of rip places. 364 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 4: But if you're in the military, we were supposed to 365 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 4: use checkpoints Charlotte, which is the most favorite, most famous 366 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,360 Speaker 4: crossing point. So that was that was a bizarre thing 367 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:52,360 Speaker 4: in itself. More bizarre was crossing end when you were 368 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:57,360 Speaker 4: using your US passport or a different pashport going through 369 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,360 Speaker 4: one of the other checkpoints there you saw the difference. 370 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 3: You know, when you're going through Checkpoint Charlie, it's basically the. 371 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 4: East Germans can't touch the Americans or any of the 372 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 4: breads of the French, especially the military. 373 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:12,880 Speaker 3: But when you're going through. 374 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 4: Any of the other checkpoints, you're a fair game. It's 375 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 4: like crossing the border between warhead and in the United States. Yeah, 376 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 4: it was a bizarre place. 377 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 3: To live in. 378 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 4: Some people didn't like it at all because you're you're 379 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,359 Speaker 4: in a city about the size of Manhattan. 380 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 3: Well New York City, but you're ringed by a wall. 381 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,879 Speaker 4: After nineteen sixty one, you know, the whole city is 382 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 4: closed in and some people got basically cabin fever from 383 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 4: being in that location. Some of the guys preferred to 384 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,640 Speaker 4: be in southern Germany where they. 385 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 3: Could ski and go out into the woods. 386 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,160 Speaker 4: So for us to do that, we had to pick 387 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,240 Speaker 4: up a move, you know, either by error or by trade, 388 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 4: and so a lot of the guys didn't like it. 389 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 4: For me, it was cool, but other people liking to 390 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,959 Speaker 4: be like in the zoo, to be in the cage 391 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 4: in the zoo, and. 392 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 3: Other other folks said, well, you know. 393 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 4: The war kicks off, this is gonna be the largest 394 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 4: pow camp in. 395 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:32,120 Speaker 3: The world immediately ye has to manage to get out 396 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 3: and cause trouble. Yeah. 397 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 2: No, really, they just because they're they're trapping. They're kind 398 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 2: of like they're just pacing like the lion at the zoo. 399 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 2: And they say that the zoo is the only jail 400 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 2: where everybody is innocent. 401 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 3: Yeah. 402 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, well we weren't so in innocent. 403 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 2: No, no, no operation of Berlin Man Warsaw packed. I 404 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 2: just grew up with a whole closet at the armory 405 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 2: that my dad worked at with warsaw pack cards. There 406 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 2: was like this monitor that he'd have me go sit 407 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 2: in the closet. He's like, just go sitting there and 408 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 2: look at the stuff. And I'd pull film off of 409 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 2: a shelf and I'd put it on and I just 410 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,879 Speaker 2: there to scroll these dials and just see like T 411 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,720 Speaker 2: ten tanks and RPG seven's, but then the rockets and 412 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 2: all the different rockets and all the different rockets rockets, 413 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 2: and then there'd be like these models, and I remembered 414 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 2: all these warsaw packed stuff, right. I think I even 415 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 2: have a pack of cards still somewhere that are a 416 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 2: full deck of cards for Warsaw packed equipment. 417 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,720 Speaker 3: That was one of the most boring classes. We had. 418 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 3: The models. 419 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 2: Somebody in the military or contracted through the military to 420 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 2: make these specific, perfect models and then photograph them, to 421 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 2: make them into films so that they could be scrolled 422 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 2: and be trained and uptrained to guys like yourself or 423 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:53,919 Speaker 2: my dad or somehow. I saw it, you know, and 424 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 2: sat there. It was just like it was like the 425 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 2: iPad of the SF I's here, go use your iPad aaron. 426 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:01,439 Speaker 3: For us. 427 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 4: That was part of the job because you had to 428 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,880 Speaker 4: identify not only the vehicles, but you had to identify 429 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 4: how they were grouped, because you could tell by the 430 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,159 Speaker 4: type of vehicle because there are variants that everyone there 431 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 4: was one type of truck, but they had thirty different 432 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 4: kinds of variants of that truck. You can tell what 433 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,679 Speaker 4: unit it belonged to based on the extraneous equipment they had. 434 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 3: Unfortunately, we had to learn. 435 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 4: All those so we could say, okay, that belongs to 436 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:35,120 Speaker 4: a Russian Strategic Rocket Army, or that's part. 437 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 3: Of an armored division, or that's an engineer unit. And 438 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 3: you had to know which which tank blown where, which which. 439 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 4: Radar system below where, and what missile it went after, 440 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,480 Speaker 4: so that we could tell the air force this is 441 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 4: where you want to come anyway. 442 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,679 Speaker 2: That's all the silhouettes, you know, all the different silhouettes 443 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 2: of the sideways of it or the front forward version 444 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 2: of it, like, oh, you're looking directly at it. Oh, 445 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 2: you're looking at the side of it. This is the same. 446 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 2: This is how it looks. 447 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 4: The really different this was we actually got to go 448 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,280 Speaker 4: out and seen it. Uh as part of as part 449 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,400 Speaker 4: of the mission, you're going out looking at these things, 450 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:18,880 Speaker 4: and the East Germans and the Russians weren't really keen 451 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 4: on that, but we sent teams out to find these things, 452 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 4: to locate them and be able to identify them one 453 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 4: by one. 454 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:32,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, that was another one part of the mission. 455 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 2: What was your original MOS military occupation specialty on a 456 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 2: eight on the team? Were you like an eighteen echo 457 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,199 Speaker 2: or Charlie. 458 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,120 Speaker 4: Or I started out as the one to one problem 459 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 4: dionuh so I was an infantry one. I went to 460 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:54,360 Speaker 4: one one hotel, which was a one O six recoil 461 00:26:54,440 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 4: less rifle uh crew one O six recoilers tell in 462 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 4: the eighties. Second, and then when I managed to escape 463 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,440 Speaker 4: the eighty second, which is another long story, I went 464 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 4: to Special Forces and trained initially as a one to 465 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 4: one BROVO for Sierra, which was light weapon the leader 466 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 4: I see, and I cross trained in a number of 467 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 4: other MOS. 468 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's very cool, very cool. And did you what 469 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 2: was your favorite MOS within the teams. 470 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:42,640 Speaker 4: What eventually became eighteen boxtrot the intel sergeant. And part 471 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 4: of that was because of my time in Berlin, just 472 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 4: the intelligence trade craft, the kind of things you. 473 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 3: Were doing, working on your own. 474 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 4: Cultivating assets, looking for people that can tell you the 475 00:27:56,119 --> 00:28:00,440 Speaker 4: information you wanted, looking for things, and I think that 476 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,880 Speaker 4: the finding the best part. You're looking for it can 477 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 4: be boring, but when you actually find something that you're 478 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 4: looking for, That's always cool being able to talk to people, 479 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 4: finding the right one that's going to answer your questions. 480 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 4: The recruit assessment and recruitment process. Yeah, so that's that's 481 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 4: the part I enjoyed. 482 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 2: You know what, I'm just sit here thinking you're talking about, 483 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:29,959 Speaker 2: you know, the timeframe, and there's just no GPS. You know, 484 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,520 Speaker 2: like there's no there's no you know, Google Maps for 485 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 2: you to get around, be like, we got to go 486 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 2: over here over there. You're literally using some type of 487 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 2: like you know, folding map from like a like a 488 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 2: tourist pamphlet or something from the area of that that 489 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 2: somebody's drawn, right, and like there's you're really just seriously 490 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 2: in it, like moving street to street house. No cell phones, right, 491 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 2: you have to go to a phone and be like, hey, 492 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 2: it's me she and I got the information over here, 493 00:28:58,320 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 2: you see, Okay, I'll talk to you at three o'clock. 494 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, paper maps, magnetic compass or two. 495 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:07,960 Speaker 3: You generally carry two. 496 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 4: A number two lead pencil with an eraser because bopoy 497 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 4: pins couldn't be trusted, you know, a cat very old 498 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,239 Speaker 4: school I had the first time I saw GPS was 499 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 4: the Golf War, when we started feeling fielding the new garments, 500 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 4: and that was wow. 501 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 3: We were using those things in the desert. And you know, 502 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 3: before you had to use the map, and. 503 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 4: If you were lucky, if you're driving a vehicle, you're 504 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 4: driving with one over two hundred and fifty thousand map, 505 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 4: which is, you know, not too much detail. 506 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 3: But with the garment you could use your map and 507 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:53,320 Speaker 3: you could. 508 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 4: Use the GPS to tell you were where you were 509 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 4: on the map, which was which was real cool. I mean, 510 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,240 Speaker 4: it was a very simple reado. It was all in 511 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:08,640 Speaker 4: geographic Gorton's. 512 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 3: No picture or anything like that. It was just telling 513 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 3: you where you were at and you could reference that 514 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 3: to the map. 515 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 4: Problem was and says you're driving along and the GPS 516 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 4: is saying this is how you get from here to 517 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 4: there straight line. You have to look at the ground 518 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 4: while you're drivings is not showing you a picture, and 519 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:29,720 Speaker 4: all of a sudden you come up on a very 520 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 4: large hole in the ground, but the GPS does not 521 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 4: show you. 522 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 3: But they're a lot better than that now. 523 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 2: Well, I still hear about people getting stuck on dirt 524 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 2: roads trying to get using their GPS, so you know, 525 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 2: not everything's still mapped out, so some old school ingenuity 526 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 2: is still probably needed in this day and age. I 527 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 2: think it's still good to learn how to drive a 528 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 2: stick shift that kind. 529 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 4: Of thing, absolutely, because a lot of places in the 530 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 4: world you can't get in automatic, or if you do 531 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 4: have an automatic, you'll get stuck in the heard. 532 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 3: Yeah. 533 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 4: The Special Forces school stopped teaching map using regular maps 534 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 4: a while back, and they've only recently brought it back 535 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,640 Speaker 4: in because they found out that exactly what you're saying, 536 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 4: the GPS is gonnot be trusted. They're gonna be bespoofed. 537 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 4: And then you have this issue of batteries. Right, half 538 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 4: the equipment we carry a required battery. We used to 539 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 4: complain about the radios because they had these bricks of 540 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 4: a battery and besides that, in your flashlight that was 541 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 4: the only batteries you had to carry. Nowadays you have 542 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 4: to carry one forever. 543 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 3: It's true. 544 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 2: You know, my dad was the eighteen echo and he 545 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 2: said that allowed him to be in charge of everybody 546 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:50,000 Speaker 2: for five minutes when they had to crank the He's like, 547 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 2: everybody cranks, yeah, and if you and. 548 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 4: They and they never carried the generator the lieutenant. The 549 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 4: lieutenantually had stuck with. 550 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 3: Anyway. 551 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, he would be a crank crank away. 552 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 3: Yeah. 553 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:08,760 Speaker 2: I remember playing with his Morse code device. Did it 554 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:09,840 Speaker 2: did that whole? 555 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 4: Yeah, that's another thing we had to learn. Worse works 556 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:20,240 Speaker 4: I work. So that's why the trendees are still uses, 557 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 4: but we're not. 558 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 2: So it got the three Amigos to go down and 559 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 2: save Santa Poco and the three Amigos they used Amigos 560 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 2: please come. 561 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 3: Down and save us. 562 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, so really yeah, it's it's kind of like you know, 563 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 2: caveman technology, right, it's been around for so long. The 564 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 2: telegraph is Morse code. 565 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 3: Absolutely. Yeah. 566 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,400 Speaker 4: If I go back to where we were in nineteen 567 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 4: seventy nine, and we have been given. 568 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 3: The mission for counter terrorism in. 569 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 4: Nineteen seventy five, and basically they said this was when 570 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:07,160 Speaker 4: all the skyjackings, the aircraft hijackings were taking place in 571 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,240 Speaker 4: Europe and became it was getting to be worries. So 572 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 4: the American commander in Europe, the four star, said what 573 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 4: do we have to handle this? And the bad the 574 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 4: guy said basically nothing, uh, And so they Special Operations Command, 575 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:31,200 Speaker 4: which was down in stute Cart at the time, came 576 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 4: to our units, do you think you could work up 577 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:37,640 Speaker 4: an operations plan of how you could do this uh 578 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 4: counter terrorism stuff, and that was not far off from. 579 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 3: What we were doing anyway. I mean, basically, if you're 580 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 3: you have a terrorist, what you're dealing with is the 581 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:54,920 Speaker 3: same thing as I'm gonna use this loosely a commando. 582 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:57,200 Speaker 3: You know, a guy that's taught to go. 583 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 4: Undercover and blows something up or kill someone. So what 584 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 4: better unit, it said, out against them than the exact 585 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,720 Speaker 4: kind of unit that you are fighting. So they said, 586 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:13,759 Speaker 4: your special Forces, you guys can figure this out. 587 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:14,319 Speaker 3: So we did. 588 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 4: But we were starting out from basics, none of this 589 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 4: high speed black bel grow gortex stuff. 590 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:25,520 Speaker 3: You know. We were taking what we had had to 591 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 3: go from there. 592 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,160 Speaker 4: But you go back in history, you go back in 593 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:32,480 Speaker 4: history also, and we were studying the manuals from the 594 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 4: OSS and World War two and the Special Operations. 595 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 3: We had some guys that. 596 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:42,600 Speaker 4: Had trained with the sas the sis is probably the 597 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 4: first counter terrorism No, the first counter terrorism unit was 598 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:51,879 Speaker 4: actually the Shangheim muniial place in nineteen twenties, basically an 599 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,960 Speaker 4: anti riots one. But we took all that old information 600 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,040 Speaker 4: and said this is what we need to do. And 601 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 4: then we looked at the what was happening? Aircraft jects, Well, 602 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,359 Speaker 4: what do you do against? We found an airplane and 603 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:12,960 Speaker 4: we started practicing a trade a building and that's. 604 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 3: That's how we build up our skills. 605 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:20,279 Speaker 4: And everybody's going whateff, and then well then or what 606 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:20,839 Speaker 4: about this? 607 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:21,839 Speaker 3: And it was. 608 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 4: All you know, hunting Pack tried different things out. So 609 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 4: by nineteen seventy nine we are fully trained as a 610 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:38,600 Speaker 4: counter terrorism for Europe. But back in the States, we 611 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 4: had decided the Army had decided they. 612 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 3: Needed a full time, big counter terrorism that only had counter. 613 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,920 Speaker 4: Terrorism as its primary measurement, and that was this outfit 614 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 4: called Delta. So when it came down for the Iran thing, 615 00:35:56,680 --> 00:36:02,399 Speaker 4: they said, okay, Delta Force, you're going, but we need 616 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,080 Speaker 4: the intelligence to figure out how to hit this target. 617 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:08,480 Speaker 4: So the only people that can do that are people 618 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:11,160 Speaker 4: that know how to work undercover, and then people who 619 00:36:11,239 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 4: know Special Forces operations so they know what information to 620 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 4: look for. And they said the only place we can 621 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,720 Speaker 4: get that was Detachment A. So our guys were chosen 622 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,719 Speaker 4: to go in the Tehran and collect that. This is 623 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:29,040 Speaker 4: the only probably the only successful part of. 624 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:33,080 Speaker 3: That mission was the guy that went in and came 625 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:37,880 Speaker 3: out with that interval, But then about a couple of 626 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,760 Speaker 3: weeks into the operation, Charlie Beckworth. 627 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,680 Speaker 4: Realized that he had to take down the US embassy 628 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:48,560 Speaker 4: to get the hostages out of the hembasphere. It's about 629 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,680 Speaker 4: a twenty three acre site, big site, and about I 630 00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:55,120 Speaker 4: can't remember how many buildings, but you know, like twenty 631 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 4: five different buildings on this site. 632 00:36:57,520 --> 00:36:58,359 Speaker 3: So he had one. 633 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 4: Hundred guys to go do this. The problem was there 634 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:06,600 Speaker 4: were three other hostings being held in the Foreign Ministry, 635 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:09,320 Speaker 4: the Iranian Foreign Ministry, and. 636 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:12,680 Speaker 3: He said, I can't handle it. I'm fully occupied for this. 637 00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:17,800 Speaker 4: So our commander who was in the in the planning 638 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:22,719 Speaker 4: stages from the beginning, and we'll do it. And we 639 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 4: got the target, We got the mission to take down 640 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:30,279 Speaker 4: the Foreign Ministry. So at Desert One, you've got all 641 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:34,920 Speaker 4: those planes coming in, all eleicatters, there are delta forests 642 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 4: on the airplanes, there are rangers who secured Desert one, 643 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:44,560 Speaker 4: and then there are our guys mixed in there. So 644 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:46,000 Speaker 4: we've got our team in. 645 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,080 Speaker 3: There as well. And that's that's how things went down. 646 00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:54,919 Speaker 2: That's how things went down, he says, that's how things 647 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:55,439 Speaker 2: went down. 648 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:57,560 Speaker 3: Like a cowboy. 649 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 4: Well, yeah, I think when the whole thing was concluded. 650 00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:10,960 Speaker 4: One of our guys, really a former officer who had 651 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:14,040 Speaker 4: been rifted in the nineteen seventies and came back into 652 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:19,319 Speaker 4: Special Forces as a sergeant, became a medic. When they 653 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:21,680 Speaker 4: told us the whole thing was cut off. This was 654 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 4: December of nineteen eighty, after a Rigan had been lected. 655 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:28,960 Speaker 4: He was just shaking his head. He was cleaning his 656 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 4: machine gun, and it goes, it would have been glorious. 657 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:35,919 Speaker 2: It would have been glorious, just clean. 658 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:37,720 Speaker 3: It would probably will be dead, but whatever. 659 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:42,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, well you just got the hindsights twenty twenty right. 660 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:48,640 Speaker 4: Well anyway, but Desert one to knock him off, obviously, 661 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,320 Speaker 4: primarily because the helicopters were. 662 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:57,719 Speaker 3: Well anyway, primarily because of the headquarters. 663 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,640 Speaker 4: But after that we began blending in a second mission, 664 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:07,359 Speaker 4: and that if Carter had been re elected, we might 665 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:08,200 Speaker 4: have done that one. 666 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:14,360 Speaker 3: But Reagan got elected, and for obscure reasons, probably left 667 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,759 Speaker 3: in the New York Times, the. 668 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:21,560 Speaker 4: Vision was canceled. So the second one would have been 669 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:27,080 Speaker 4: much larger. The Air Force or the Marines in the 670 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:30,000 Speaker 4: Navy were out. It would have been just the Air 671 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:35,960 Speaker 4: Force and the Army Air Force flying airplanes, big aircraft 672 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,440 Speaker 4: the Army with the ground wars is obviously, but then 673 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,920 Speaker 4: also army helicopters. 674 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:47,000 Speaker 3: Blackhawks eight six is. I talked about that at great 675 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:48,759 Speaker 3: deal in the in the book, and it. 676 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:54,240 Speaker 4: Was basically the origin of the Knights Talkers, a Special Operations, 677 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,640 Speaker 4: the Asian Squad what was known then that day as 678 00:39:58,719 --> 00:40:03,200 Speaker 4: task Forces won't get Time, and then they cleverly changed 679 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:06,200 Speaker 4: the name the Dash Force one six. 680 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,560 Speaker 2: That's right, that's right, that's right. And I and Colonel Nightingale, 681 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:13,120 Speaker 2: you know, he just said that. I said, what's the 682 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,399 Speaker 2: difference between you and you know? How come we saw 683 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:18,640 Speaker 2: Oliver North get kind of put in front of Congress 684 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,399 Speaker 2: and all this kind of stuff and how that went down? 685 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:26,040 Speaker 2: And he's like, rad I kept my receipts. Yeah, And 686 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:28,200 Speaker 2: that's on a soft reap episode. So if you go back, 687 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,600 Speaker 2: if you want to go find me interviewing Colonel Nightingale 688 00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:34,280 Speaker 2: from the same thing that you know, a living Ranger 689 00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:37,400 Speaker 2: founder I think the Second Rangers or the First Rangers. 690 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 2: He's like a living member of that, the sixtieth, the 691 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,440 Speaker 2: one sixtieth, and they made numbers, so you think there 692 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:48,799 Speaker 2: was more. I love that part of the group I 693 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,080 Speaker 2: love you Special Forces guys. You know, it's like Dad 694 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:51,480 Speaker 2: all over. 695 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:52,120 Speaker 3: Thank you. 696 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,439 Speaker 2: I just want you to know, from me to you, 697 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:56,520 Speaker 2: I know you got so much that you're going to 698 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,000 Speaker 2: take with you, and that you've been a part of 699 00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:02,280 Speaker 2: that well ever ever know, and you've kept that oath 700 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:04,560 Speaker 2: and I just want to commend you on the oath 701 00:41:04,719 --> 00:41:08,040 Speaker 2: keeping for our nation. Uh And I want to say 702 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:09,880 Speaker 2: thank you for me to you to that thing. 703 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:12,600 Speaker 4: Well, I appreciate that a lot, Rad, But what you 704 00:41:12,719 --> 00:41:16,160 Speaker 4: really have to know is that you have no idea 705 00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:19,400 Speaker 4: how much fun we had to all this stuff. So 706 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:25,440 Speaker 4: it's really probly for us. And like I said, I 707 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:25,920 Speaker 4: didn't do. 708 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,799 Speaker 3: Anything radical when I was in the military, but I. 709 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:31,600 Speaker 4: Got I had the chance to work with some of 710 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:36,040 Speaker 4: the like I said, the greatest guys I've never had 711 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:39,759 Speaker 4: the optunity to work with, and they're all over the military. 712 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:43,480 Speaker 4: But yeah, so being a being a witness to this, 713 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:47,680 Speaker 4: and that's part of the reason why I became a writer. 714 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:53,600 Speaker 4: I'm also was a historian. I actually went to school, 715 00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:58,960 Speaker 4: and now that I'm officially certified, I can write books 716 00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 4: and say I'm historicorian. 717 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,279 Speaker 2: Congratulations on that. That's a big deal to go to 718 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:07,080 Speaker 2: school yes. 719 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,160 Speaker 4: But but part of the reason I wrote the first 720 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:15,200 Speaker 4: book about Berlin was we were at a reunion, and 721 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:20,280 Speaker 4: this was about twenty twelve or so, and so Berlin 722 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:24,400 Speaker 4: had been closed down since the Berlin Wall. The unit 723 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,680 Speaker 4: was shut down and you know, the benefits of peace, 724 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:29,720 Speaker 4: which we may. 725 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,399 Speaker 3: Be regretting here before too long. 726 00:42:31,719 --> 00:42:34,680 Speaker 4: But anyway, we were sitting around and saying, well, you know, 727 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:37,440 Speaker 4: we had to get somebody to write this stuff down 728 00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:40,239 Speaker 4: because we're all going to be. 729 00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:45,120 Speaker 3: Gone before too long. And my thought was, well, you're 730 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:45,839 Speaker 3: certainly not. 731 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:48,480 Speaker 4: Going to get the army to do it, because A 732 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:51,440 Speaker 4: they don't have anybody that knows what the unit was 733 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:53,879 Speaker 4: up to, and B they're going to write when they 734 00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:57,400 Speaker 4: want the bad birds, well the good bards. And I 735 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:03,400 Speaker 4: had already written one soul history about World War. 736 00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:07,560 Speaker 3: One in Africa, and somebody from across the room goes, hey, 737 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:13,560 Speaker 3: he wrote a book, And so that's how I was volunteer. 738 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:17,600 Speaker 4: Anyway, So the next three and a half years I 739 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:19,440 Speaker 4: spent interviewing guys. 740 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:20,440 Speaker 3: From the union. In other places. 741 00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:24,360 Speaker 4: I think I managed to interview about sixty five people 742 00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:30,600 Speaker 4: as inbut from others. No more than eight hundred people 743 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:34,360 Speaker 4: served in Berlin. From nineteen fifty six to nineteen ninety, 744 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,680 Speaker 4: so those eight hundred people was my pool. Some of 745 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:42,680 Speaker 4: the guys had passed on, and some of the guys 746 00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:45,440 Speaker 4: didn't want to talk to me. I respect that, and 747 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:47,400 Speaker 4: some of the guys told me the stories that I 748 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:50,680 Speaker 4: had to get cross checked and write. Some of those 749 00:43:50,719 --> 00:43:55,279 Speaker 4: went out the window. But and it was quite a 750 00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:57,360 Speaker 4: revelation for me to be able to write this. I 751 00:43:57,480 --> 00:43:59,279 Speaker 4: talked to some of the very first guys that have 752 00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:02,640 Speaker 4: been in the Union nineteen fifty six and onwards, and 753 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:05,359 Speaker 4: being able to do that, you know. 754 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:09,759 Speaker 3: Brought gave me a new appreciation for the unit over 755 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:10,320 Speaker 3: the years. 756 00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:14,279 Speaker 4: And then then I called up the Pentagon and said, hey, 757 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:16,480 Speaker 4: I got this book, and I understand I'm supposed to 758 00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:18,000 Speaker 4: have it checked out by you folks. 759 00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:21,960 Speaker 3: And they said, well, normally you go to your proponent, 760 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:23,920 Speaker 3: and in my case it would have been the Army. 761 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:27,960 Speaker 4: But the lady must have figured out something and she goes, well, 762 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,279 Speaker 4: first tell me what it's about. And I told her, 763 00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:35,400 Speaker 4: I said, it's about a classified it's apecial forces unit 764 00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:40,560 Speaker 4: that existed in Berlin, and she goes, you better send 765 00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:41,720 Speaker 4: me the magistript. 766 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,120 Speaker 3: So sixteen months later I got the clearance to write it. 767 00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:51,680 Speaker 3: I told the Army about this and so the guys said, no, 768 00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:53,480 Speaker 3: you can't write this, it's classified. 769 00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:57,560 Speaker 4: And I said, that's how this publication clearance brought us works. 770 00:44:57,680 --> 00:44:59,799 Speaker 3: The Army told me what's good to go and what's not. 771 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:01,160 Speaker 3: So that's what we did. 772 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:06,239 Speaker 2: So that did they redact things that you did put 773 00:45:06,239 --> 00:45:07,799 Speaker 2: in there that you thought you wanted out there? 774 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:10,719 Speaker 3: Ashley? Surprisingly, not very much. 775 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:17,160 Speaker 4: They talk about you've burned the special atomic demolition ammunition, 776 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:19,799 Speaker 4: the device to the suitcase nuke. 777 00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:26,040 Speaker 3: Yes, I talked about that some and I had a specific. 778 00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:29,880 Speaker 4: Number in there, and it went off to the Defense 779 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:33,160 Speaker 4: Nuclear Agency and they said, well, don't put that in 780 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:37,160 Speaker 4: and put this in. So and a few other small 781 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:39,760 Speaker 4: details like that, you know, really mid noise stuff. 782 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:43,799 Speaker 2: But whatever, I forgot all about the suitcase. I keep 783 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:50,800 Speaker 2: thinking about submarines. Jez it's gonna left that one off there. 784 00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:55,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, but it was, it was. It was part of 785 00:45:55,040 --> 00:45:55,480 Speaker 3: the job. 786 00:45:55,680 --> 00:46:00,520 Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, that's great, And that's Special Forces Berlin 787 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:03,920 Speaker 2: and my listener, our viewer can go and find that 788 00:46:04,080 --> 00:46:08,239 Speaker 2: anywhere that books are being sold online, and if you 789 00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:11,480 Speaker 2: do buy his book, you should leave a review on 790 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:13,920 Speaker 2: the site. That you bought it from. Help bring that 791 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:17,120 Speaker 2: up for James so that it could rise into searches 792 00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:19,640 Speaker 2: and you know, he can just have more opportunity to 793 00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:22,160 Speaker 2: tell these stories, because I mean, really, you're telling like 794 00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:29,080 Speaker 2: espionage like cool. I love it. I think it should 795 00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:34,760 Speaker 2: be Have you had a movie made. 796 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:40,959 Speaker 4: I wish. I think my fiction series, which is called 797 00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:41,759 Speaker 4: The Snake. 798 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:44,719 Speaker 3: Eater Chronicles Love Love It. 799 00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:48,640 Speaker 4: A new one was coming out, which is actually the 800 00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:53,319 Speaker 4: origin story before I had started about nineteen seventy nine 801 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:55,319 Speaker 4: so that I could write about the time I was there. 802 00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:58,200 Speaker 4: So this is going to carry the unit from the 803 00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:01,720 Speaker 4: very beginning till the end of some further bits. Because 804 00:47:03,239 --> 00:47:07,239 Speaker 4: so your your point about reviews is very much appreciated. 805 00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:09,480 Speaker 4: You don't even have to buy the book from Amazon 806 00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:12,560 Speaker 4: to right read to review on it now, so that's 807 00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:16,520 Speaker 4: that's key. But you know, being being able to put 808 00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:22,799 Speaker 4: down the nonfiction history is one thing. But then some 809 00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:28,319 Speaker 4: of the stories I have to adapt to protect the 810 00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:33,960 Speaker 4: guilties of the speech because like I said, I served 811 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:38,200 Speaker 4: as very interesting people and being able to tell their stories. 812 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:41,080 Speaker 4: Some of these stories are coupled together. When I write 813 00:47:41,120 --> 00:47:43,359 Speaker 4: my fiction, I will take an incident that happen there, 814 00:47:43,719 --> 00:47:47,480 Speaker 4: when it happened over here. Put them all together and 815 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:54,160 Speaker 4: tell the story. So if I told it as nonfiction, 816 00:47:54,520 --> 00:47:56,520 Speaker 4: I'd have to get it well, I have to get 817 00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:57,480 Speaker 4: them cleared anyway. 818 00:47:57,560 --> 00:47:59,800 Speaker 3: But if I told it as non fiction, then people 819 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:01,640 Speaker 3: can out assuming. But I don't know. 820 00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:04,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, because you're trying to just get it 821 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:07,799 Speaker 2: out there, like you know now, without any issues. You're 822 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:09,320 Speaker 2: just like, Okay, if this is how it's supposed to 823 00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,120 Speaker 2: go out there, then this is what can go out there. 824 00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:13,640 Speaker 2: I'm not trying to make anybody else mad. You're respecting 825 00:48:13,680 --> 00:48:16,520 Speaker 2: your guys and gals that you worked with, and if 826 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:19,319 Speaker 2: they don't want to tell you something, there's they're they're cool. 827 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:21,640 Speaker 2: That and the guys that you said you cross checked, Hey, 828 00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:24,200 Speaker 2: you're in it for it seems like the right reasons. 829 00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:27,399 Speaker 2: And and again I like that, that's cool. 830 00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:32,200 Speaker 3: You're cool. Yeah, and it's fun for me too. It 831 00:48:32,280 --> 00:48:34,440 Speaker 3: keeps keeps me busy and it gets me out of 832 00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:36,799 Speaker 3: my wife's there, So that's that's good. 833 00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:40,080 Speaker 4: The only r part about looking for my name on 834 00:48:41,080 --> 00:48:44,239 Speaker 4: Amazon or anywhere is being able to get some spelly right. 835 00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:48,160 Speaker 4: So you know, if my my name was Jack Carr. 836 00:48:47,800 --> 00:48:52,560 Speaker 3: It would be easy. C A R C A R R. 837 00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:57,720 Speaker 3: But anyway you're out. 838 00:48:58,040 --> 00:49:01,520 Speaker 2: It's like your last name is maybe Norwegian or something 839 00:49:01,560 --> 00:49:02,440 Speaker 2: along those lines. 840 00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:03,359 Speaker 3: Your last name. 841 00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:06,080 Speaker 2: It's check, Check's lockey in. 842 00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:11,319 Speaker 3: Check because it's that's. 843 00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:17,200 Speaker 4: And the basic translation comes up from something like which 844 00:49:17,239 --> 00:49:18,600 Speaker 4: I think is very appropriate. 845 00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:21,800 Speaker 3: Grumpy old man, grumpy old. 846 00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:29,200 Speaker 2: Only if you say so. Well, listen, you've been wonderful 847 00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:31,279 Speaker 2: on the show, and you've really been telling us some 848 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:34,279 Speaker 2: insightful things. I've really been just kind of captivated by 849 00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:36,680 Speaker 2: you and just haven't even really spoken. This will probably 850 00:49:36,680 --> 00:49:38,960 Speaker 2: be my best episode ever because you just take it. 851 00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:41,400 Speaker 2: You just take the cake for your stories about Berlin 852 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:45,160 Speaker 2: and about what you've done and who you've served with. Uh, 853 00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:47,480 Speaker 2: so many things I could probably go into with you. 854 00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:49,680 Speaker 2: And with that said, I'd like to open up an 855 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,120 Speaker 2: invitation to have you back on the show if there's 856 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:54,399 Speaker 2: ever another book or anything that you want to talk about. 857 00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:57,080 Speaker 2: You're like, hey Erin or hey Rad. Yes my name 858 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:58,919 Speaker 2: is Erin, but I also go by Rad. 859 00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:07,000 Speaker 3: Now I'm confused, but I appreciate that. 860 00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:13,560 Speaker 2: Aaron Raddred, It's. 861 00:50:14,600 --> 00:50:17,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, we we did not talk about a lot of things, 862 00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:20,840 Speaker 4: and I could ramb along for a lot longer. 863 00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:24,719 Speaker 3: But yeah, But like. 864 00:50:24,680 --> 00:50:27,839 Speaker 4: I said, I've got my next fiction book is coming 865 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,440 Speaker 4: out in the spring, and that's the origin story of 866 00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:35,239 Speaker 4: Special Parsons in Berlin. I'm also doing a guide book 867 00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:40,799 Speaker 4: to Berlin, a guide to Golden War Berlin, and that's 868 00:50:40,840 --> 00:50:42,760 Speaker 4: going to be done in pictures and words. 869 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:45,440 Speaker 3: The story is about things that happened there, both fiction 870 00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:47,719 Speaker 3: and not fiction. Oh yeah, that'd be real. 871 00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:50,360 Speaker 2: That's really cool. Do you go back and visit Germany 872 00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:51,960 Speaker 2: since you speak it and you. 873 00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:53,359 Speaker 3: Know it, well, I went. 874 00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:58,080 Speaker 4: I went back there in June, spent about ten days 875 00:50:58,239 --> 00:51:02,919 Speaker 4: recounting old sites. I'm going back in two weeks. I'm 876 00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:06,920 Speaker 4: actually going over and talk to the German schedule operations around. 877 00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:11,360 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, about stay behind forces and Russians. 878 00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:16,239 Speaker 2: I don't know what I wonder. I wonder, you know, Uh, yeah, 879 00:51:16,280 --> 00:51:18,279 Speaker 2: I wonder. I got some friends over there right now 880 00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:21,120 Speaker 2: in the army, just you know, training. 881 00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:25,960 Speaker 3: So that's what you do. Train. 882 00:51:26,200 --> 00:51:27,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're just training. 883 00:51:28,239 --> 00:51:30,720 Speaker 3: Boredom punctuated by moments. 884 00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:35,840 Speaker 2: Of sure terror, yes exactly. And so you know, blessings 885 00:51:35,840 --> 00:51:39,040 Speaker 2: to them over there and their safety and yours as well. 886 00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:41,319 Speaker 2: When you go to travel, you know, et cetera, to 887 00:51:41,320 --> 00:51:44,640 Speaker 2: go over there and thanks for still being you. And again, 888 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:46,560 Speaker 2: I know there's a lot more to talk about, like 889 00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:49,000 Speaker 2: your years in the CIA and everything, and so like 890 00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:50,800 Speaker 2: I would love to have you back on the show, 891 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:53,319 Speaker 2: uh you know, and we can get that out and 892 00:51:53,400 --> 00:51:55,920 Speaker 2: talk about it and talk about your new book, et cetera. 893 00:51:56,080 --> 00:51:57,080 Speaker 2: So I just want to. 894 00:51:57,040 --> 00:51:58,000 Speaker 3: Say, make it happen. 895 00:51:59,400 --> 00:52:01,319 Speaker 2: I will make it well man, Kay, So it's in 896 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:04,359 Speaker 2: my core. I got you, I got you, I got it. 897 00:52:04,360 --> 00:52:07,279 Speaker 2: It's not a few album. The fire is always on 898 00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:09,360 Speaker 2: for you. As long as you buy our merch. People 899 00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:11,440 Speaker 2: out there, buy the merch, keep it going. 900 00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:18,520 Speaker 3: Can I send you a bubble of gas for you? Please? Please? Please? 901 00:52:19,840 --> 00:52:22,000 Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much for being on the show, James. 902 00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:25,280 Speaker 2: You've been a pleasure and just a very cool, entertaining, 903 00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:27,960 Speaker 2: captivating guest. And I'm sure my listener out there would 904 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:30,400 Speaker 2: love to have you back on and listen some more. Again. 905 00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:34,279 Speaker 2: Go check out his books Special Forces, Berlin Special Operations, 906 00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:37,600 Speaker 2: World War Two Mission A Run, which is his latest 907 00:52:37,600 --> 00:52:38,799 Speaker 2: book for twenty twenty four. 908 00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:39,520 Speaker 3: You heard him. 909 00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:46,040 Speaker 2: He's a historian, a novelist, a human US American Special Forces. 910 00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:49,160 Speaker 2: So let's just keep it real and say on behalf 911 00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:52,160 Speaker 2: of everybody here at soft REP. And James, I'm gonna 912 00:52:52,160 --> 00:52:53,000 Speaker 2: say peace. 913 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:12,400 Speaker 1: You've been listening to self repla