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Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Welcome to episode number twenty six with the

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Speaker 1: Hunting Collective. I've been O'Brien and today I'm in Austin,

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Speaker 1: Texas at Archery Country, the best archery shop in all

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Speaker 1: of Texas in my opinion, and I'm joined by a

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Speaker 1: living legend, a man that deserves more respect than anybody

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Speaker 1: I've ever met. After you hear his story, I hope

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Speaker 1: that you will feel the same. His name is Omar Vila.

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Speaker 1: He goes by Crispy, and he is a veteran of

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Speaker 1: the Iraq War and a man who has lived in

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Speaker 1: exemplary life. He was in a I don't even how

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Speaker 1: you really explained, in a firefight in Iraq, and it's

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Speaker 1: hard to even talk about. His makes me emotional, but

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Speaker 1: he was in a firefight and he sustained serious entrance

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Speaker 1: and still fights them today. But he's a bow hunter.

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Speaker 1: He is a man of character, a man of conviction,

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Speaker 1: and somebody that we can all look at um and

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Speaker 1: thank for not only the service but the person that

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Speaker 1: he is. So without further ado, on our final lap

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Speaker 1: in Texas, I wanted to talk to this Texas native

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Speaker 1: uh hero, a man who defines what this state is

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Speaker 1: all about what this country is all about and what

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Speaker 1: life is all about. So without further ado, Crispy, Crispy,

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Speaker 1: what's up? Man? I don't know. Man. We're here in Texas.

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Speaker 1: It's freaking August, ten degrees sweat and just drawing your

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Speaker 1: bow back. You know, sweat everywhere I go, especially when

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Speaker 1: I'm using my bow. So but that means hunting season

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Speaker 1: is upon us. Just what a few weeks ago, a

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Speaker 1: few weeks away? Are you getting dove hunt this year

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Speaker 1: at all? Or yeah? Are you? Yeah? I'm gonna That's

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Speaker 1: what I'm looking forward to. That was something that Todd.

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Speaker 1: I want to get one of the one of the

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Speaker 1: front broadheads on my bow. And if I get board,

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Speaker 1: try to sling one item. You gotta let me know

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Speaker 1: if you starts working out for you get better, to

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Speaker 1: get better with the boat, with the shotguns. Man there,

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Speaker 1: they're tough hunting, that's right. But it is Texas. That's

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Speaker 1: like the religion down here. You gotta go dove hunting

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Speaker 1: when it opens up. Are you born and raised in Texas? Man?

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Speaker 1: I was actually born in Mexico, but I was raised

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Speaker 1: in Texas and the Browns of Wich of South Texas.

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Speaker 1: It's a little different than the rest of Texas. So what, um,

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Speaker 1: tell me about your upbringing, man, because I know a

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Speaker 1: lot about your more contemporary story. You know, start with

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Speaker 1: your military service. But yeah, what was life like come up? Man?

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Speaker 1: So I was nine years I was actually eight, and

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Speaker 1: uh my dad from the US serving in the military

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Speaker 1: and all that good stuff. But my mom in Mexico

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Speaker 1: got married. Um my mom wanted to live down there

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Speaker 1: for for a while and then finally, um, you know,

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Speaker 1: we were eight or nine and she's like, I want

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Speaker 1: to move. So we migrated from South Mexico up to

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Speaker 1: Matta Morris, which is right next to Brownsville. And my

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Speaker 1: dad was trying to do everything legal, I mean, to

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Speaker 1: try to get us over but it was just gonna

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Speaker 1: take forever. And my dad got tired of commuting from

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Speaker 1: from the U. S to Mexico every single day just

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Speaker 1: for work. And uh, this is awesome because I've never

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Speaker 1: told this story on another podcast ever before. Um. So

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Speaker 1: my dad had this old school LeBaron convertible and um,

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Speaker 1: one day, man, he's just he was just fed up

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Speaker 1: and he's like, I don't care, I'll paid all the fees.

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Speaker 1: And I didn't know what the hell my dad was

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Speaker 1: talking about. So my dad brings Brandon clue us from

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Speaker 1: my brother, my sister, and I'm Mom's dressed up and

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Speaker 1: we got balloons and gifts and I'm just like, oh,

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Speaker 1: we're going to a party with with a friend or something.

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Speaker 1: And uh, next thing, I know, we're going over this

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Speaker 1: bridge and I just looked at my mom and my

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Speaker 1: mom's praying, man like hard, just praying. I've never seen

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Speaker 1: my mom yeah everything. I mean, you know, growing up

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Speaker 1: Mexican Catholic obviously, and you know she's praying and got

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Speaker 1: a rosary in her hand and whatnot. But before that,

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Speaker 1: my dad looked at me and this conversation was in Spanish,

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Speaker 1: but he told me, you know, if they ask you something,

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Speaker 1: we're going to a party. He's like, you're the oldest,

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Speaker 1: and I need you to memorize this word. So he

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Speaker 1: said party. So I'm sitting in the back and they're

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Speaker 1: trying to be a good time. I remember this this word,

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Speaker 1: and um, we get to this booth and I had

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Speaker 1: no idea who the guy was, but he's in a

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Speaker 1: uniform and I'm like, what the hell is this a

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Speaker 1: checkpoint or something that I don't know, And he's he

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Speaker 1: starts talking English to my dad, asking him where we're going.

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Speaker 1: And my dad said, oh, it's one of our one

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Speaker 1: of their cousin's birthday. We're going to McDonald's right across here,

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Speaker 1: and uh, we're gonna go, you know, celebrate a birthday.

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Speaker 1: And um he looks over at my mom. My mom

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Speaker 1: doesn't speak, and he goes, you a citizen, and my

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Speaker 1: mom just laughed and she goes yes, and uh. He

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Speaker 1: looks over at me and he goes where you guys headed.

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Speaker 1: And I just looked at him and I was like

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Speaker 1: party and had a bunch of balloons in my hand,

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Speaker 1: and uh like, I said, go ahead. And that's how

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Speaker 1: we crossed the border. Wow. And so the most interesting

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Speaker 1: part of that is the balloons where the balloons like

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Speaker 1: a stage, like if you were holding the whole thing

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Speaker 1: was that was staged because he had balloons. We had

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Speaker 1: gibbs that were wrapped. I mean, I was just you know,

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Speaker 1: there was nothing in them, but they were wrapped. Oh man,

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Speaker 1: you got us across. That was here in the summer

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, uh, summer ended. And then I

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Speaker 1: started the third grade that that same year and Brownsville. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so I ever since you know, I grew up there,

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Speaker 1: played football, basketball, the whole nine. Man, So you had

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Speaker 1: immediate place to live like he had. He already had

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Speaker 1: a house, everything he had planned. So it was it

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Speaker 1: was all all of his eggs in that basket and

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Speaker 1: said this is how we're gonna do it. And I

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Speaker 1: appreciate his Yeah, man, yeah, so it was you know,

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Speaker 1: I was. It was crazy when you know when that happens.

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Speaker 1: Do you feel like, when did you figure out that's

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Speaker 1: what had happened when you started living there and never

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Speaker 1: went back to Mexico. Yeah. Actually, when I went to

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Speaker 1: school that first year, because everybody there spoken English and

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Speaker 1: I had no clue what was going on. It was

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Speaker 1: catch up or or get left behind. So I made

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Speaker 1: it one of my my missions early in life was

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Speaker 1: when I got home, I would pick up a dictionary

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Speaker 1: and try to learn an English word and and implemented

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Speaker 1: in a sentence when I went back to school, and

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Speaker 1: watching TV played a big role. Watching all the uh

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Speaker 1: you know, the stupid shows like Power Rangers and Ninja

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Speaker 1: Turtles and all that. Yeah, so picked up a lot

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Speaker 1: of a lot of words from it, and uh, you

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Speaker 1: know what they say, man, I I've heard it in

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Speaker 1: a bunch of different podcasts. When a child can develop

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Speaker 1: the brain and learned a new language, opposed to an adult,

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Speaker 1: it's a lot harder and it was easy man. E

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Speaker 1: picked it up pretty quick. And uh, that was one

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Speaker 1: of the things my mom always said, learn as much

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Speaker 1: English as you can at school, but when you come

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Speaker 1: home Spanish. So she wanted us to be by lingual

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Speaker 1: and have that for the rest of our lives so

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Speaker 1: we can use it anywhere we go. Well, and and

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Speaker 1: most countries around the world there you know, children are

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Speaker 1: biling you go to candidate and most children by ling

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Speaker 1: will go to anywhere in Europe, most children are you know,

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Speaker 1: tri lingual if that's a word. Um, yeah, we just

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Speaker 1: did America. We yeah. Well, I mean if you think

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Speaker 1: about it, everywhere you go, everybody speaks English. No, no

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Speaker 1: matter where you're at that everybody knows language or or

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Speaker 1: somewhat knows the language. So that's what we get lazy.

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Speaker 1: And then you know it was your childhood normal yel

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Speaker 1: like after that you just felt like a normal American kid.

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Speaker 1: It was all American man, and just uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: mom and dad had two jobs trying to support us

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Speaker 1: racist Righte. I take care of my brother and my

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Speaker 1: sister being the oldest, grew up playing football, basketball. I

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Speaker 1: was like all American in high school, had had opportunities

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Speaker 1: to go play football at different universities here in Texas.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it was just all American upg upbringing. It

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Speaker 1: was just you know, South Texas and hunting and you know,

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Speaker 1: just kind of it was a whole three sixty man.

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Speaker 1: I never would have thought, you know, that I was

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Speaker 1: born in Mexico or anything. It was just you know,

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Speaker 1: it was uh kind of a you know, all the

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Speaker 1: things that you experienced growing up here. You know, I

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Speaker 1: got my first pair of boots, I got the first

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Speaker 1: one to ride a bike or a horse, and the

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Speaker 1: first time I went dub hunting. You know, it's just

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Speaker 1: just the upbringing of being an American. It was just

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Speaker 1: there the whole time. Happy childhood. Yeah, I mean I

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Speaker 1: had a blast. Man. My parents were amazing. They they

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Speaker 1: always busted their asked to provide for us, and not

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Speaker 1: one once that I ever hear them complain or or

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Speaker 1: a bitch about anything. They never asked for government assistance.

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Speaker 1: They knew that, you know, that they needed to do

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Speaker 1: it the right way, man, And you know that that

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Speaker 1: kind of rubbed off on myself and my siblings. It

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Speaker 1: was just, you know, always do the right thing, and

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Speaker 1: you're close to your siblings now even Yeah, yeah, man,

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Speaker 1: we're We're always been closed. I speak to my siblings

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Speaker 1: at least four times a week as it was her

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Speaker 1: text or phone call or FaceTime or whatever where we

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Speaker 1: all staying touch. Same thing with my parents, Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: we talked on a daily. So it's just, man, I've

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Speaker 1: always teld people it's kind of it's kind of a

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Speaker 1: blessing man, how Hispanic people are brought up. You know,

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Speaker 1: we're very family orient it, and it's it's a big

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Speaker 1: part of who we are and and I've always been

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Speaker 1: blessed with that. Man. Even when I got injured, my

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Speaker 1: parents dropped everything. My dad was the executive chef at

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Speaker 1: a restaurant in South Padre Island and he dropped everything.

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Speaker 1: My mom, I just opened up a salon and uh

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Speaker 1: she she's a cosptology major and had her own salon

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Speaker 1: and stuff and sold it and moved brother and sister,

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Speaker 1: dropped school and kivin straight to San Antonio to be

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Speaker 1: with me. So it's that support system. It was always

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Speaker 1: been there. So we were super tight. Well it makes

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Speaker 1: I think it makes for stronger people, stronger souls, you know,

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Speaker 1: more resilient souls after what you're going through. And you know,

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Speaker 1: you know, as a kid, you you probably don't realize

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Speaker 1: what crossing the border meant and what not at all.

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Speaker 1: Not at all, man, not at all. And I never did,

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Speaker 1: not not until like, you know, when I was young

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Speaker 1: and dumb in high school and we go to Matam

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Speaker 1: Morris he going party and onenot and I come over

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, they asked you in the board

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Speaker 1: like hey, U s citizens? Like yeah, then what are

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Speaker 1: you talking about? Let's go. And when I come back home,

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Speaker 1: I told my mom we went to Mexico and she's like, whoa,

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Speaker 1: you can't get in trouble where you're gonna get deported,

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Speaker 1: And I what are you talking about? So I never

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Speaker 1: really realized till I was probably a sophomore in high school.

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Speaker 1: So when my dad got done paying all the fines,

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Speaker 1: Mom and dad paid all the fines and we got

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Speaker 1: an attorney and all that, and it was a a

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Speaker 1: week and a half before night and eleven happened, which

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Speaker 1: is my software is when I became a citizen. Wow. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: So the week and a half before night before night

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Speaker 1: eleven happened. Um So when nine eleven happens, um, I

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Speaker 1: think probably something changed in you a little bit. You

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Speaker 1: start feeling, um a need to serve or or a

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Speaker 1: call to duty as it were, without saying being too hyperbolic, Yeah, no, man,

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Speaker 1: And it's it's the same thing that I have. Millions

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Speaker 1: of other guys, you know, they heard the calling, and

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Speaker 1: it was the same thing for me. I knew I

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Speaker 1: was the oldest, and um, I knew I needed to go,

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Speaker 1: and I was just you know, when it happened. Man,

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Speaker 1: I had always felt American, but until I got my citizenship,

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Speaker 1: that was a validation of of me being a real

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Speaker 1: American and and being proud and and what not. So

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Speaker 1: sitting there and watching those hours get hit, man, I

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Speaker 1: think I was one of maybe fight kids that were

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Speaker 1: crying because it had that much of a significant impact

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Speaker 1: in my life. And right then and there, I made

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Speaker 1: up my mind. I said, I'm gonna go and and

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Speaker 1: go fight these cowards so that my brother and my

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Speaker 1: sister can grow up free in our country and and

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Speaker 1: accomplish anything they want to be, you know, if they

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Speaker 1: want to be a doctor or a surgeon, whatever, you know,

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Speaker 1: the case was. I wanted to go over there and

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Speaker 1: fight for them, um, so that they can live free.

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Speaker 1: And I feel like it was my duty. Man. I

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Speaker 1: feel like, you know, the US give me an opportunity

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Speaker 1: to be an American and give me the chance to

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Speaker 1: accomplish and be anybody that I wanted to be, and

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Speaker 1: I feel like I needed to fight for that so

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Speaker 1: that my siblings can can keep living it. Yeah. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, how old are you? The sophomore high school

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Speaker 1: is fifteen sixteen, about the same age, so I think

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Speaker 1: I was about sixteen. I didn't feel anything like that. Um.

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Speaker 1: I just think, like what it strikes me about how

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Speaker 1: you grew up and how I grew up in the

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Speaker 1: suburbs and comfortable life. My parents will work their ass

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Speaker 1: off on their own business and worked hard a lot.

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Speaker 1: But I think there was a there's just a different mentality,

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Speaker 1: like the the immigrant mentality mentality coming over here, and

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Speaker 1: they appreciates you that you had. I feel like ship

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Speaker 1: for not having. It's not that I feel like shit.

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Speaker 1: I just I understand how you got to where you

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Speaker 1: got to and why you got there, and I also

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Speaker 1: understand like why my path took a little bit longer.

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Speaker 1: Took me, you know, six eight, ten years to realize,

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Speaker 1: holy crap, what do I have here? Um? Because there's

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Speaker 1: nothing else to compare it to. It's just like it's

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Speaker 1: just life. Yeah, that's what it was. Um. So how

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Speaker 1: long you went through high school? When you got out

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Speaker 1: of high school, did you immediately joined the army or

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Speaker 1: I did? Man, So when I was a senior, I

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Speaker 1: was kind of on the fence because I had a

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Speaker 1: couple of universities asking, you know, if I wanted to

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Speaker 1: complay football there, and it's just that was another thing. Man.

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Speaker 1: Football became alive for me, you know, as as any Texan.

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Speaker 1: Then It's just it took over it and I happened

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Speaker 1: to be a great athlete. I was six two eighty

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Speaker 1: five pounds and I was running the forty like a

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Speaker 1: I can't remember, like four six four I have something

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Speaker 1: like that. Yeah. So, you know, a couple of different

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Speaker 1: schools wanted to turn me from defensive end into a linebacker,

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I mean I remember there was

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Speaker 1: nights that I couldn't sleep just trying to make up

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Speaker 1: my mind and what I wanted to do. But I

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Speaker 1: remember I said I had made that that promise that

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Speaker 1: I was gonna go, and uh, I just kind of

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Speaker 1: pushed all the schools away and signed up, man, And

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Speaker 1: everybody was kind of shocked of what I had chosen

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Speaker 1: to do. But you know, signed up on the left

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Speaker 1: right away. Man. I think I went into the recruiting office.

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Speaker 1: It was June sixteenth, June. I was on an airplane

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Speaker 1: to four Bedding, Georgia. The first time I've ever been

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Speaker 1: on a plane holy ship headed a four Banning Georgia

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Speaker 1: because I signed up as I was eighteen year Yeah,

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Speaker 1: eighteen years old, brand human. I've never been been gone

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Speaker 1: from home more than like a week or something. So

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Speaker 1: what's that moment like when you're on the plane going

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Speaker 1: to Georgia and you realize I'm flying away to a

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Speaker 1: strange place to join this thing. Man, A lot of

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Speaker 1: mixed emotions, just wondering what the hell I'm doing or

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Speaker 1: is this gonna take me? Just a lot of mixed emotions.

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Speaker 1: Are happy, excited, just thrilled? And uh men is just

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Speaker 1: just a lot of mixed emotions, man, But it was

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Speaker 1: it was all good at that point. Is it all

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Speaker 1: opportunity for you? Remember him back then? Like it's all

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Speaker 1: about the opportunity. It's not like I'm sacrificed and get

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Speaker 1: on this plane. No, not at all. It was just

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Speaker 1: kind of want to Like, you know, I started thinking

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Speaker 1: about it. I was like, I'm gonna go do this,

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Speaker 1: and then when I get done, I want to be

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Speaker 1: uh you know my I did a lot of research

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Speaker 1: in the military. I wanted to come in as an infantryman,

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Speaker 1: and then I wanted to move over a range of battalion,

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Speaker 1: and then from there I wanted to be in the

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Speaker 1: special operations community because you know, I started looking at

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Speaker 1: all those things that had friends that were already in

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Speaker 1: that were seniors when I was a sophomore that had

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Speaker 1: gotten injury, I mean that had joined the military and

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Speaker 1: had gone down that path, so that that path was

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Speaker 1: already there for me, and that's what I wanted to do.

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Speaker 1: So it was all opportunity. I just wanted to keep

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Speaker 1: growing and I have made up my mind I wanted

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Speaker 1: to make the military career. It was like it was

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Speaker 1: all in for me with the military. Yeah. So then

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Speaker 1: when you get there and you get to to Georgia

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Speaker 1: and you start to experience what this is like this

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Speaker 1: is basic training. Yeah, it was man, it it took

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Speaker 1: me for a spin. I was not expecting it. Like,

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Speaker 1: you know, a lot of the guys kind of preparing

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Speaker 1: me that, like listen, they're gonna yell at you either

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Speaker 1: they are gonna get in your face. And I was

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Speaker 1: like I can take that. Yeah the gunny. Yeah. So

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Speaker 1: I was like, OK, I'm ready for this. And then, uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, accidentally bumped into one. And and this is

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Speaker 1: you're talking about two thousand and four, when they can

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Speaker 1: still put their hands on you. Now I hated, but

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Speaker 1: the military has got in super soft and everybody cares

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Speaker 1: about everybody emotions and feelings now and back then they

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Speaker 1: didn't care. Man. They were like, we're shipping you up

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Speaker 1: to go to war. We don't care about your feelings.

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Speaker 1: And uh, you know, I bumped into one of them

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Speaker 1: and next thing I know, I'm on the ground. I'm

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Speaker 1: getting kicked by all six of them. And so it

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Speaker 1: was there was that kind of military And now that

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Speaker 1: I look back at it, I was like, man, that

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Speaker 1: shipped me up two I am today, But it was

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Speaker 1: there was definitely some lonely nights man, when you start

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Speaker 1: thinking of all your buddies back at home, and you know,

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Speaker 1: like I said, I went here in the summer, so

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Speaker 1: I didn't graduate to like around December. So you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm sitting there and I'm like, man, I wish I

341
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Speaker 1: was in a blind right now hunting, or I wish

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00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,760
Speaker 1: I was dub hunting, or you know, just a thought

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Speaker 1: of having a dip in your mouth and walking some fields.

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Speaker 1: And that's kind of where I used to bring me

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Speaker 1: back at night and miss home. And you were living

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00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:23,920
Speaker 1: that like idyllic Texas Friday night lights life. I mean,

347
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Speaker 1: you know, for lack of a better term, like start

348
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,720
Speaker 1: of the football team, jock. You had a lot in

349
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Speaker 1: front of you. Yeah, man, went from being in the

350
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Speaker 1: front of the newspaper to being in a room where

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Speaker 1: nobody gave a ship who I was. So it was

352
00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,720
Speaker 1: it was a culture shock for sure. They kicked you,

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00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,600
Speaker 1: maneah man, they did. They kicked people today. They'd be

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Speaker 1: like sensitivity training the next week. Man, the army be

355
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Speaker 1: done and they found it down and shut the whole

356
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Speaker 1: thing down no more. Basically kick the guy. They kicked

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Speaker 1: the guy. It's funny you say that that that that

358
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Speaker 1: that shapes you later on, or that even today you

359
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,120
Speaker 1: that you're appreciative of that. It's not like some bad experience,

360
00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,880
Speaker 1: not at all. I mean, you know, it's just, man,

361
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,399
Speaker 1: it's lessons in everything. I don't think that it was

362
00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:13,399
Speaker 1: meant to necessarily break me or change me in a

363
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,119
Speaker 1: bad way. It's just, hey, man, these are the rules

364
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:17,879
Speaker 1: and and this is the way that everything is set up.

365
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Speaker 1: And you put your hands on a superior and we're

366
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Speaker 1: not going to tolerate it. You know. It's the same

367
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Speaker 1: thing if I would have had one of my privates

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Speaker 1: put their hands on me. Oh you damn sure, Me

369
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Speaker 1: and my other n c o s are gonna beat

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Speaker 1: the crap out of you. And it's just, you know,

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Speaker 1: teaches you to establish um, you know, the channels that

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Speaker 1: that's in the military, you know, from a private all

373
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Speaker 1: the way up up to the higher command. And it's

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Speaker 1: just it's a military, man, it's not it's not a

375
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Speaker 1: nine five working at and mcdonnos or at a car

376
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Speaker 1: wash or something where it's a lot different that this

377
00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:51,600
Speaker 1: is at the end of the day, that this is

378
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Speaker 1: this job. Your life is on the line, and I

379
00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,919
Speaker 1: don't have room to baby anybody or be soft like

380
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,960
Speaker 1: you expect something from everybody. And and that's that's just

381
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,880
Speaker 1: what it is. From that's there's no you didn't get

382
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,200
Speaker 1: like a participation show. You participated in the beating. Yeah,

383
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:10,560
Speaker 1: thank Yeah. I mean I can tell you I never

384
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Speaker 1: did it again. I make sure all my surroundings at

385
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,680
Speaker 1: all times. So that's it. That's severe punishment teaches you immediately.

386
00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:19,760
Speaker 1: I realized right now that my wife is doing that

387
00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,960
Speaker 1: to me with things like hand towns like that. I'll like,

388
00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,240
Speaker 1: pick up the wrong hand town, put it on the dishes.

389
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Speaker 1: You like, I kill you. I'm like, I give what

390
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,880
Speaker 1: you're doing. That's like kicking me. I get it. Um. Um.

391
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:35,920
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean I think your story as it builds,

392
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,840
Speaker 1: because I've read read it a couple of times and

393
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:40,320
Speaker 1: I was interested to go through it with you. But

394
00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,600
Speaker 1: I didn't know a lot of this, these little points,

395
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,080
Speaker 1: but it builds into this this. You know, people love

396
00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,359
Speaker 1: to talk about Pat Tilman leaving the NFL. They like,

397
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,480
Speaker 1: you know, these sacrifices are the type of people that

398
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,400
Speaker 1: are molded in shaped in their young lives to be

399
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:59,320
Speaker 1: mature enough to make that type of sacrifice. Um, and

400
00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:02,560
Speaker 1: then being put room with you know a lot of

401
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,679
Speaker 1: people that have that same idea. I mean, that's gotta

402
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,840
Speaker 1: that's gotta. Oh, it's changing. Everybody feeds off for everybody,

403
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,600
Speaker 1: and it's it's just one of those It's one of

404
00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,199
Speaker 1: those things where a lot of people always talk is

405
00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,560
Speaker 1: like what happens when you put all this alpha guys together?

406
00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,240
Speaker 1: You know it's gonna be a competition and whatnot. And

407
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:19,800
Speaker 1: that's the complete opposite there. Everybody understands that it's a

408
00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,040
Speaker 1: team and everybody's got to work together. And you know,

409
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 1: I've always I've always heard everybody kinda talk about like, oh,

410
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,679
Speaker 1: all these betas and blah blah blah blah. Is just

411
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,240
Speaker 1: like you don't understand you gotta have all these betas

412
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,160
Speaker 1: and then one alpha because if that offa goes down,

413
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,720
Speaker 1: you know this fate is gonna step up. So it's

414
00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,160
Speaker 1: just it's just a team environment, man, And you're gonna

415
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,679
Speaker 1: understand when you put all those type of personalities in

416
00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,680
Speaker 1: the same room, it's bigger than all of us. It's

417
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,360
Speaker 1: bigger than that, than your ego and what you think

418
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,480
Speaker 1: you are. It's it's a whole group. So it definitely was.

419
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,679
Speaker 1: It's life changing, and I loved it because, like you

420
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,359
Speaker 1: can know, I can work with people like that and

421
00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,360
Speaker 1: not take it to offense and be like, well he's

422
00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,239
Speaker 1: trying to do I'm gonna do him. It's just like

423
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:05,359
Speaker 1: I'm at that level that I completely understand respect. Yeah. Yeah,

424
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,280
Speaker 1: So you're in, You're in basic training, and then what's

425
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,320
Speaker 1: the next step for basic training got done? You know, Uh,

426
00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:14,359
Speaker 1: you go through infantry school. You get your blue cord,

427
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,520
Speaker 1: which is an infantry blue cord, and then I went

428
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,560
Speaker 1: through a school called the JABL and it's uh, it's

429
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,360
Speaker 1: one of the most expensive missiles that the army has.

430
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:26,320
Speaker 1: They're like five thousand apiece. And I went through that

431
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,640
Speaker 1: school because I was waiting for Airborne school to open up.

432
00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:30,400
Speaker 1: And at this time there was a lot of people

433
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:32,120
Speaker 1: that were coming in because they wanted to go fight,

434
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,600
Speaker 1: so the schools were kind of backed up. So I

435
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,520
Speaker 1: went to that school for a for about a week?

436
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:39,800
Speaker 1: Was it a weekend? Was a week? Graduated, went through

437
00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:43,640
Speaker 1: everyone school and I got shipped to my unit, got

438
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,560
Speaker 1: to come home for two weeks and um, luckily it

439
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,600
Speaker 1: was during Christmas time, so I got to spend Christmas

440
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,240
Speaker 1: a New Years in my family. And then I got

441
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,879
Speaker 1: shipped to Germany. My order said of Europe, and I

442
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:59,280
Speaker 1: was excited because the only UM airborne unit in Europe

443
00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,560
Speaker 1: was the hundred twenty third where it was out of Italy.

444
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,399
Speaker 1: So I was like, oh, man, that's awesome. Come to

445
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,600
Speaker 1: find out, the Army had different plants for me. They're like,

446
00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:08,840
Speaker 1: you're not going to airborning unit. You're gonna make a

447
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:10,879
Speaker 1: nice unit, which is to make a nice infantry. You know.

448
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,120
Speaker 1: We wrote onund Bradley's which is kind of smaller tanks,

449
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:16,679
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I see my orders and I'm like,

450
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,040
Speaker 1: oh ship Germany. And I was like, well whatever when

451
00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,240
Speaker 1: units in Germany and everybody's like none and I was like,

452
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,199
Speaker 1: damn it, I'm wanted that training for nothing. And it

453
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,520
Speaker 1: happens a lot. And I got to my unit. Um,

454
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,440
Speaker 1: the guys were just getting back from the deployment and

455
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,200
Speaker 1: uh you know, and then we started a regular rotation

456
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,159
Speaker 1: and started going to the field, started getting ready for

457
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:41,240
Speaker 1: uh for our deployment, and UH deployed and uh man.

458
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,439
Speaker 1: We we got into a zone called Automia, which it

459
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,199
Speaker 1: was the last place that Sad al Mussein had been

460
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,720
Speaker 1: seen before he went into hiding. And the guys before

461
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,840
Speaker 1: was actually UM had a battle between his two sons

462
00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:57,399
Speaker 1: and that that that castle that we took over or

463
00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,159
Speaker 1: the palace that we took over, and you can home

464
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,800
Speaker 1: and there was just that every building was all jacked

465
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,600
Speaker 1: that with bullet hose here and there, and um that

466
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,720
Speaker 1: place had hadn't been patrolled in two years. So we

467
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,640
Speaker 1: kind of showed up and then took over. So how

468
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,800
Speaker 1: many people in your unit? And then what was your

469
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,760
Speaker 1: kind of role? So we're about three hundred and ninety guys.

470
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:23,600
Speaker 1: That's a company element and uh I was a gunner. Um.

471
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,240
Speaker 1: So when you come in as a company, you gotta

472
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:28,600
Speaker 1: break it down. You got first platoon, second platoon, third platoon,

473
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,479
Speaker 1: your headquarters. So there there's about four six different groups

474
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,240
Speaker 1: and uh we all kind of take terms and patrols

475
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,560
Speaker 1: kind of established that we're in the area. So kind

476
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,720
Speaker 1: of the biggest thing that was going on there, man

477
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,240
Speaker 1: is you had the sunning uh and the s I

478
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:47,920
Speaker 1: And as soon as we used to come over to

479
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,919
Speaker 1: the SI, I kidnap them and UH do execution style. Man,

480
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,199
Speaker 1: set him up, just shoot him in the head and

481
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,440
Speaker 1: they go back to their side. And then these guys

482
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:58,840
Speaker 1: that go back and retaliates. It was a constant battle

483
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 1: going back and forward. So we need to show presence

484
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,159
Speaker 1: and and stop them because a lot of I D

485
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:07,400
Speaker 1: materials were coming out of that area, so we kind

486
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 1: of need you to come in. And we did a

487
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 1: lot of night rates and we went out the hpt S,

488
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,919
Speaker 1: which is Hvalley Targets. There was a lot of a

489
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,080
Speaker 1: lot of guys that had bet at themselves in that

490
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,400
Speaker 1: area that were supplying millions of millions of dollars two

491
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,560
Speaker 1: people all over Iraq to buy products to make more

492
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,879
Speaker 1: io D s and ammunition and guns and all that stuff.

493
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,360
Speaker 1: So that was our Our main goal was to come

494
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,760
Speaker 1: in and capture these guys where they be dead or alive,

495
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 1: and bring them into justice. So it was it was

496
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,960
Speaker 1: a constant day. There was in a day man that

497
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,040
Speaker 1: nothing didn't go on what we were there. And so

498
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,040
Speaker 1: how prepared were you Looking back at it now, you

499
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 1: feel like getting in there, it was just I'm doing

500
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,439
Speaker 1: a job, I'm performing a function. Or was there some

501
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,920
Speaker 1: just sticker shock of I'm in war now? No, um man, dude,

502
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,520
Speaker 1: it's just at an infantryman. I think we're wired a

503
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 1: little different than everybody else in the military or any

504
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:09,320
Speaker 1: operations guys or just frontline jobs. We're wired a little different.

505
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,240
Speaker 1: We're in a sense, I guess brainwashed. He was like,

506
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 1: you're your sole purpose is to kill the enemy and

507
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,639
Speaker 1: that's it, you know, And so training for so long,

508
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,560
Speaker 1: you know, it's just kind of like a hunter, you

509
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,439
Speaker 1: shoot your brow. What does John do like a hundred

510
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:30,240
Speaker 1: arrows a day or something? Um, So that that was

511
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,960
Speaker 1: our job. We practiced every single day, and then you

512
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,760
Speaker 1: get dropped in the area and you want to put

513
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:36,920
Speaker 1: your skills to the test, you know, And that's kind

514
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:38,399
Speaker 1: of what it was. We were ready to go and

515
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,960
Speaker 1: we're really gonna have been a firefight and implement everything

516
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,040
Speaker 1: that we learned on how to overrun and win. So

517
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: it was yeah, I mean I was ready. All of

518
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 1: us were ready to be honest, and it was there

519
00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:53,080
Speaker 1: was never a sense of like, ship, what am I

520
00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 1: doing here? It was just like, come on, I'm ready.

521
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,880
Speaker 1: Yeah pretty much. But um but yeah, like the first

522
00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 1: time that we gotta fire right and I actually saw, uh,

523
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,480
Speaker 1: the guy that I had killed in the firefight, it

524
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:08,680
Speaker 1: was probably a split second where it was like, holy shit,

525
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:13,000
Speaker 1: I'm eight nineteen years old and I just took a life.

526
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 1: And but it it was as soon as you know,

527
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,680
Speaker 1: you process that and you let it go because it's

528
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,880
Speaker 1: part of your job. Then then it's it's behind you.

529
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:24,200
Speaker 1: And honestly, man, it was. It was one of those

530
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,480
Speaker 1: things where it was like he was trying to do

531
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:27,840
Speaker 1: me in and I beat him to the punch. So

532
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,399
Speaker 1: next one that deal thing. And you can't let that

533
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,120
Speaker 1: consume you because the minute that it does, you can't

534
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:38,120
Speaker 1: perform your job at and that's when you start getting

535
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,840
Speaker 1: complacent or you start making mistakes that could cost somebody

536
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,679
Speaker 1: else's life. Yeah, it's kind of being an efficient machine.

537
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,159
Speaker 1: You don't have time to let your own personal feelings

538
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,160
Speaker 1: get in pretty much. You're a machine when you're there.

539
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:56,640
Speaker 1: And so what year is this? Two thousand seven? Yeah? Um,

540
00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:58,960
Speaker 1: I'm trying to as your talk. I think where I

541
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,720
Speaker 1: was like some dumb calm, so it was it was

542
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,920
Speaker 1: all six So sorry we got there no six. But yeah, yeah,

543
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,280
Speaker 1: so you're there for how long? Are there for a

544
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:09,880
Speaker 1: year or so? So we were supposed to be there

545
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 1: for a year, and um, this is a time where

546
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:14,480
Speaker 1: the surge had happened, so there was a lot a

547
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,480
Speaker 1: lot of fighters coming in from Syria and a bunch

548
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,879
Speaker 1: of different places, so the fighting was really good. And uh,

549
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 1: that's when President Bush decided to extend us from twelve

550
00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 1: months to fifteen months, and uh, you know, none of

551
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,399
Speaker 1: us caredmen, We're like, come on, let's do this, because

552
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:32,520
Speaker 1: you know, we were all looking at it like we're

553
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 1: getting paid a lot more because it's extended pay and

554
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:37,399
Speaker 1: then you get extra pay for this and that. So

555
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:39,840
Speaker 1: instead of making like I don't know, I think we won.

556
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:41,639
Speaker 1: If we were making like three grand a month or

557
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,800
Speaker 1: something like that, you're gonna make like five. So we

558
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,879
Speaker 1: were all like, hell, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna buy a

559
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,639
Speaker 1: brand new crow when I get home. So like you know,

560
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,240
Speaker 1: we were looking at at a pay and then spending

561
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,840
Speaker 1: a little more time at home. Um, so I would

562
00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:58,680
Speaker 1: jump into an atlytic today that I got hurt. So

563
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,159
Speaker 1: we were already there eleven months and uh man, it

564
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:02,879
Speaker 1: just started off like any other day. That It was

565
00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:07,280
Speaker 1: November four and I'm sorry May fourteenth or two thousand seven,

566
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 1: and um we rolled out, man, and we were a

567
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,240
Speaker 1: five vehicle convoy. There was I was in the third

568
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,479
Speaker 1: vehicle in the middle and uh, as we're rolling now

569
00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:19,119
Speaker 1: was like six of the morning and I A d

570
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,919
Speaker 1: goes off and it hit the last vehicle. Well thankfully

571
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 1: it was a small one. I think they were trying

572
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,920
Speaker 1: to line us up for the much bigger one, and

573
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,200
Speaker 1: the small one goes off. So an ideas, uh explosive

574
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:36,919
Speaker 1: device that they kinda either shape it or hide it

575
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,440
Speaker 1: in in in the road, or they can dig a

576
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 1: hole and planet. So it's an improvised explosive device, that's

577
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,320
Speaker 1: what it is. And so small little bomb goes off.

578
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,600
Speaker 1: It just blew the spirits higher, and so we were like, okay,

579
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,760
Speaker 1: we're ready to go with as a situation. We get

580
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:57,040
Speaker 1: back and we start patrolling and then around I don't know,

581
00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:58,880
Speaker 1: like eight thirty in the morning, I just had like

582
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,600
Speaker 1: this eerie feeling. I was like, man, there's something going on.

583
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 1: Is too quiet, there's nobody in the street, Like what

584
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,680
Speaker 1: is going on. There's just something fishy about this. And

585
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 1: as we were doing that, we were to say, we're

586
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,760
Speaker 1: traveling north, we start getting engaged from our left hand side.

587
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:17,920
Speaker 1: And on that road that we were on, the only

588
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,240
Speaker 1: road the only way you can turn was to the left.

589
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:22,640
Speaker 1: So we're rolling in the first two vehicles just started

590
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,400
Speaker 1: getting pounded by an a K. They couldn't turn, so

591
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,000
Speaker 1: they pushed forward and we turned from the income and

592
00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,200
Speaker 1: fire and I just opened up on my fifth account

593
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,520
Speaker 1: and I remember seeing about five of them and I

594
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,440
Speaker 1: dropped about three or four of them. One of them

595
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,200
Speaker 1: got away, and as soon as we do that, we

596
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,720
Speaker 1: all came back into formation. But this point, this time,

597
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 1: I was leading to the lead vehicle and as we

598
00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,880
Speaker 1: do that, I'm gonna turret. I was a gunner, so

599
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,280
Speaker 1: I'm in the gunner behind a fifth a cow. And

600
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 1: as this happens, you know, we come back into formation

601
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,800
Speaker 1: and I see enemy in front of us again and

602
00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:59,440
Speaker 1: I I'm telling my driver, we got it. I mean

603
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,800
Speaker 1: in front of skill, let's go. So we started going

604
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 1: to start opening up fire and I remember going over

605
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 1: a bump. And we've been there eleven months. I knew

606
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,080
Speaker 1: the real like the back of my hands. Man, I

607
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:15,040
Speaker 1: knew we were at I knew everything. And I remember

608
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: going on that bump and I just took a second

609
00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:19,080
Speaker 1: and I closed my eyes and I was trying to

610
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,760
Speaker 1: process everything. I was like, wait, that shouldn't be here.

611
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:23,400
Speaker 1: Where there's Nope, that should not be there. And then

612
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 1: as I was doing that, the loudest idea that I've

613
00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,040
Speaker 1: ever heard went off. And and at this point I've

614
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:31,320
Speaker 1: been blown up about eleven times, so it was I

615
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,719
Speaker 1: I knew an I D in the vehicle had been

616
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,720
Speaker 1: hit by I D s or Yeah, every other vehicle

617
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:38,440
Speaker 1: that I was on had been hit up by by

618
00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,280
Speaker 1: an I D. But eleven times before I really got injured,

619
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,480
Speaker 1: were very uninjured by those are just just concussions and

620
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,760
Speaker 1: scrapes here and there. Um. So I remember this one

621
00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,680
Speaker 1: and this one was just loud, and the guys behind

622
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,480
Speaker 1: us set the vehicle went up about three or four

623
00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:00,040
Speaker 1: feet in the air, and we were lucky because it

624
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 1: was a commanded nation I D. So what they did

625
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:04,719
Speaker 1: is they there was a house on the right hind

626
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:06,360
Speaker 1: side and they had dug a hole a way to

627
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,960
Speaker 1: the street, impacked it with explosives and commanding nation. The

628
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: guy that was inside panicked because he was supposed to

629
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:15,080
Speaker 1: hit it in the middle of the of the humby

630
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,480
Speaker 1: so split the humpy and kill everybody. So he timed

631
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 1: it wrong and he hit the backside of it, hit

632
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,920
Speaker 1: the fuel tank. Um vickle goes up, it comes down.

633
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 1: Now in that vehicle, there was five of us. It was.

634
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,440
Speaker 1: The driver was Cataton, that was a gunner. We had

635
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,719
Speaker 1: TC compos Uh Fleming was in the back and we

636
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:38,240
Speaker 1: had um Harky behind the the TC, which just a

637
00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:42,120
Speaker 1: trickle bander and uh Vickle goes up. Man, I come

638
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,000
Speaker 1: down and when I hit the platform of the gunner's hatch,

639
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,200
Speaker 1: I my legs kind of gave out a little bit

640
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:51,440
Speaker 1: and I fell down to the right on Harkey's lap.

641
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,400
Speaker 1: And I remember looking at Harky and and his eyes

642
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 1: were just white. He was he was dead. He was

643
00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,240
Speaker 1: killing the impact. And I remember looking at him, Man,

644
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:03,440
Speaker 1: he's he was just his body was so it felt weird. Man,

645
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,000
Speaker 1: he was just so loose and limb, like you can

646
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,520
Speaker 1: feel like every bone and his body had broken or something.

647
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 1: And you know, I looked at his eyes and they

648
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,080
Speaker 1: were just white, and I was like, man, he's dead.

649
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:17,479
Speaker 1: And in my in our world, man either come home

650
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,680
Speaker 1: alive or you don't. You know, I never knew there

651
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,640
Speaker 1: was such thing as being injured and coming home and

652
00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,120
Speaker 1: living somewhat of a normal life. That was not in

653
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,719
Speaker 1: my job description. So I'm laying there, there's fire around me,

654
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,680
Speaker 1: you know. I looked at my left. Uh Fleming jumped

655
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 1: out and I see him running on fire. It was

656
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,720
Speaker 1: so slow but so fast. And then our driver got out,

657
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,360
Speaker 1: and I remember Compost couldn't get out because the fire

658
00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:45,160
Speaker 1: had burned his equipment into the seat, and he's grabbing

659
00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,360
Speaker 1: me and telling me to get out. And I was like, man,

660
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 1: I'm good, like this is it for me? And he's

661
00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:54,280
Speaker 1: like get out, get out, and uh. I remember I

662
00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,440
Speaker 1: was making peace with God um because at that point

663
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,560
Speaker 1: we had lost about eighteen guys that I saw on

664
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 1: a regular day, like on on a regular basis. I

665
00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:05,680
Speaker 1: saw these guys and we had meals and stuff, and

666
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:09,120
Speaker 1: we lost that many guys knew the reality, yeah seen it.

667
00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 1: It wasn't like people, yeah, I know, you know, seeing

668
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 1: the bodies and stuff over your fellow soldiers. It was

669
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,239
Speaker 1: just kind of you know. It angered me and I

670
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 1: blame God. I was like, why can you allow this

671
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:23,520
Speaker 1: to happen? You know, we're here to do something good

672
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:25,880
Speaker 1: and you're letting my brothers get killed. So I was

673
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:27,920
Speaker 1: mad at the woman for a while. I didn't believe

674
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,000
Speaker 1: in them, But as I was laying there, I was

675
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 1: making peace with him, and I was asking him to

676
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,520
Speaker 1: take care of my brother and my sister, and mostly

677
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,320
Speaker 1: importantly to take care of my mom because then of

678
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,920
Speaker 1: my mom was gonna be I wasn't gonna take it

679
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,240
Speaker 1: very well, and I need my Dad's to be okay.

680
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,560
Speaker 1: I being a military guy, he knew the risks that

681
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 1: I was taking and what what comes with that job?

682
00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:50,600
Speaker 1: And um, so I'm laying there and making peace with God, dude,

683
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:53,280
Speaker 1: and I just remember feeling like this inner light in

684
00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,920
Speaker 1: me and until today, man, I created God. But something

685
00:33:56,920 --> 00:33:59,040
Speaker 1: inside kind of reached over and said, not today, this

686
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,560
Speaker 1: is not where your die. Get up. And I got

687
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:03,600
Speaker 1: up and I'm in that fifth account. I started shooting

688
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,720
Speaker 1: back to make time so the guys can come on

689
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:11,880
Speaker 1: and get composed out and they did. And as that happened, Um,

690
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,960
Speaker 1: that vehicle, we had extra grenades, extra ammunition, so things

691
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,839
Speaker 1: started cooking off, you know, with all that heat, things

692
00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,560
Speaker 1: started exploding. And a grenade went off and peppered me

693
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,319
Speaker 1: all on my right side. And at that point, I said,

694
00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,000
Speaker 1: all right, now I need to get out. So I

695
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 1: climb up the gunner's hatch and as a gunner, you're

696
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,120
Speaker 1: taught to jump from the top down to the engine

697
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: and then down because it's about six ft high. And

698
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:36,959
Speaker 1: I looked at the engine. The engine was on fired

699
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,600
Speaker 1: and I was like, there, there's no way that I'm

700
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,440
Speaker 1: gonna be able to do this without going down with

701
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,040
Speaker 1: the engine and dying there. So I looked at the back.

702
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:47,160
Speaker 1: Couldn't do that, so I jumped to the side, and

703
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,200
Speaker 1: when I jumped down, I was still on fire. My

704
00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:53,680
Speaker 1: body was still burning. Both of my famers broke. So

705
00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,680
Speaker 1: I remember being there and I was like, ship, I'm

706
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,800
Speaker 1: still on fire, stop dropping row when I already dropped.

707
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,640
Speaker 1: So I rolled and man, until today, dude, I I

708
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,000
Speaker 1: want to find the guy that invented it and beat

709
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,480
Speaker 1: the ship out of him because it doesn't work. I

710
00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:11,400
Speaker 1: rolled and rolled in the fire was not going off. Jesus.

711
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,200
Speaker 1: Then finally one of the guys kind of rolled up

712
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:15,720
Speaker 1: on me and put me out with a fire extate

713
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:17,239
Speaker 1: with shore and he said, hold on, I'll be right back.

714
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:21,879
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go get help. Well, as he said that, insurgeons,

715
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:23,880
Speaker 1: about thirty to four of them were coming towards our

716
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,279
Speaker 1: way shooting already. They were trying to finish the whole

717
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,960
Speaker 1: platoon off, and uh, you know, I can't blame him.

718
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,040
Speaker 1: He got busy shooting back and whatnot and kind of

719
00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:34,319
Speaker 1: slipped his mind. So I'm there and I managed to

720
00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 1: grab my INN four as I jumped out, and there

721
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:38,960
Speaker 1: was a door behind me, so I saw it, I

722
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,600
Speaker 1: started pushing myself towards so I turned around three took

723
00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,239
Speaker 1: about three shots to the door, just to make sure

724
00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:45,800
Speaker 1: nobody was coming out of it, and I started scanning

725
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:47,680
Speaker 1: the rooftops where there was guys in the rooftoupse. So

726
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:50,080
Speaker 1: I started shooting, trying to divert them from shooting the

727
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:53,520
Speaker 1: other way. And as I did that, man, it was

728
00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:55,280
Speaker 1: kind of like the sen No black Hawk. You remember

729
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,719
Speaker 1: when the shoppers come in and all that brass comes down. Well,

730
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 1: two black Hawks were in our in our aoh, which

731
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:05,200
Speaker 1: is our operations, and they had seen the smoke come up,

732
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,120
Speaker 1: so they came to check it out and they noticed

733
00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,880
Speaker 1: that it was us, and so they established communications with

734
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,520
Speaker 1: the guys in the ground and told them we were

735
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:14,480
Speaker 1: at So these guys came in and just started smoking

736
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,600
Speaker 1: all these dudes from the top. We got very lucky.

737
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,440
Speaker 1: So they took all these guys out and just brast

738
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,239
Speaker 1: falling everywhere, and I was just like, oh ship. And

739
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:25,000
Speaker 1: I remember laying there and I ran out of AMMO.

740
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,600
Speaker 1: So I'm just sitting there waiting for somebody to see me,

741
00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,879
Speaker 1: and one of my guys was running by me and

742
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:33,000
Speaker 1: he looked at me and he's like due a year

743
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:34,680
Speaker 1: alive and I'm sitting in the look up on him

744
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:37,799
Speaker 1: and I was like, I think. So He's like, all right,

745
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:39,799
Speaker 1: we gotta get you up, and I was like, I

746
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:41,719
Speaker 1: think my legs are broken. And he takes a quick

747
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:43,239
Speaker 1: glance and me. He goes, no, no no, no, you're fine,

748
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,120
Speaker 1: and I was like okay. So he picks me up,

749
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,000
Speaker 1: and um, I mean I put a lot of my

750
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,680
Speaker 1: weight on him so I was able to walk. So

751
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,000
Speaker 1: we walked to the next humpy and as we get

752
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:54,719
Speaker 1: to the next humpy, he goes, right, dude, I gotta

753
00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:56,200
Speaker 1: let you go. I gotta open the door because these

754
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:58,759
Speaker 1: doors are up armor. They're about five hundred pounds. And

755
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:00,560
Speaker 1: I said, cool, don't worry about it. So he lets

756
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,960
Speaker 1: me going. As he opens the door all that way,

757
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:04,960
Speaker 1: he goes back on my femers and they rebreak and

758
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:07,480
Speaker 1: I just fall back and I remember watching him the

759
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:10,960
Speaker 1: humby and then the sky and he just comes over

760
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:12,400
Speaker 1: me and he goes, oh, Shi, are you okay? Are

761
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:14,960
Speaker 1: you okay? And I was like, dude, I'm fine, I'm fine.

762
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,120
Speaker 1: I was like, but I told you my legs were broken.

763
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:19,640
Speaker 1: And he's just looking at me and shocked. Well, men,

764
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,120
Speaker 1: my adrenaline was so high that I couldn't feel it

765
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,240
Speaker 1: at all. And he grabs me and throws me inside

766
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,359
Speaker 1: the the humby and he's like, I'll be right back.

767
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,759
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go get the medic and said, okay, go, Well,

768
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,960
Speaker 1: I'm sitting on that humby. The driver was a replacement,

769
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,960
Speaker 1: brand new guy, first day in theater, first day out

770
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:45,600
Speaker 1: the wire, and uh so he's he's he's freaking out

771
00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:48,160
Speaker 1: a little bit. I can't blame the guys this first day.

772
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,279
Speaker 1: And he's kind of screaming pretty loud, and um, I

773
00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,400
Speaker 1: just reached over and I slapped the ship out of

774
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,239
Speaker 1: him and I said, shut up, you're okay, We're gonna

775
00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:01,239
Speaker 1: be fine, and he's like, okay, okay, son. So I said,

776
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,160
Speaker 1: give me the headset, and he gives me the headset

777
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:04,560
Speaker 1: and I call up the company and I was like, man,

778
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,640
Speaker 1: I got I got four wounded, I got one dead.

779
00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:10,359
Speaker 1: I need a medical evacuation as soon as possible. We're

780
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:11,919
Speaker 1: gonna push out of out of out of the kill

781
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,600
Speaker 1: zone here soon. And nobody knew that I was wounded,

782
00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 1: because you know, I just got on the mic and

783
00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,719
Speaker 1: I started giving directions and in commands and and then

784
00:38:19,719 --> 00:38:22,279
Speaker 1: it's just it's part of the job, Like at the

785
00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:24,200
Speaker 1: end of the day, it's just it's part of the job.

786
00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:26,520
Speaker 1: And that's what I was thought to do. So it

787
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:29,960
Speaker 1: all kicked in. And as all that kicks in, the

788
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,919
Speaker 1: medic jumps in and he grabs my arm, starts giving

789
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:37,319
Speaker 1: me an ivy and starts assessing this my um uh,

790
00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:40,120
Speaker 1: my injuries. And I looked at him and I was like, Doc,

791
00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:42,920
Speaker 1: I need some water. Man, I'm I'm thirsty, I'm dying.

792
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:45,560
Speaker 1: And he goes, man, I can't give any water. Um,

793
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:48,440
Speaker 1: you know, you're extremely dehydrated and burned. He's like, I

794
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:50,880
Speaker 1: don't want to give you any right now, it may

795
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:52,239
Speaker 1: be and me I kind of looked over him and

796
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:53,920
Speaker 1: I was like, dude, I rank you give some fucking

797
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 1: water right now. So he's like fine. He gives me

798
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:00,840
Speaker 1: a water bottle. I take a sip, and uh, I

799
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:02,760
Speaker 1: made the biggest mistake in my life. Man. I poured

800
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,680
Speaker 1: it over my head and all the chemicals and everything

801
00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:09,240
Speaker 1: just kind of rolling in my eyes and I wentn't

802
00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:12,279
Speaker 1: blind for a little bit. I couldn't see the top

803
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,799
Speaker 1: it off. I asked the driver what position we were

804
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:18,800
Speaker 1: in the convoy, and he said we were the first vehicle.

805
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:20,640
Speaker 1: So I knew it was my job to get everybody

806
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:23,799
Speaker 1: back because he had no clue where we were going.

807
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:25,960
Speaker 1: So right then and there, I made up my mind.

808
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,640
Speaker 1: I was like, do I panic or do I keep

809
00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,759
Speaker 1: my composure and get this guy back? And I knew

810
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,200
Speaker 1: I needed to keep my composure because it wasn't just me.

811
00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:36,279
Speaker 1: There was a lot of guys depending on me to

812
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:39,759
Speaker 1: make the right call. And as we do that, you

813
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,719
Speaker 1: know you can hear with the radio we're loaded up,

814
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:43,320
Speaker 1: a loaded up. We gotta go. Let's go, let's go,

815
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:47,359
Speaker 1: let's go. So we started pushing and like I mentioned earlier,

816
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,120
Speaker 1: we're beIN eleven months, so I knew this place like

817
00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:50,440
Speaker 1: the back of my hand. So I was like, I

818
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,120
Speaker 1: knew exactly what we were at, and I knew how

819
00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:54,480
Speaker 1: to get back. So I started giving in commands on

820
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:58,319
Speaker 1: how to get back, and he's following them. And I

821
00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:00,200
Speaker 1: asked him, was that can you see the gate? And

822
00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:01,840
Speaker 1: he's like, I see the gates, so to give me

823
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:03,480
Speaker 1: the hatset. So it gives me the hatset, I call

824
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:05,000
Speaker 1: it up. I was like, open the gates were coming in,

825
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:09,560
Speaker 1: We're coming in. We rolled in and as soon as

826
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,440
Speaker 1: you roll in, there was already the medics winning on us.

827
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:14,160
Speaker 1: And like I said, that was four of us wounded,

828
00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:17,480
Speaker 1: one dad and we only have three medics. So when

829
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,319
Speaker 1: they opened the door to my hom VIA closed it

830
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:21,680
Speaker 1: and they were like what the hell, So they opened

831
00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:23,640
Speaker 1: it again. I closed it and they opened it. Was like, dude,

832
00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:25,839
Speaker 1: we need to get you out. I said, there's three

833
00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:27,839
Speaker 1: other guys behind me that are worse than I am,

834
00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:30,640
Speaker 1: and get them and they're looking at me like you're

835
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,960
Speaker 1: pretty jacked up. Your naked here burned. I'm still they're

836
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:38,480
Speaker 1: still smoke coming out of my body, and uh well.

837
00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:40,880
Speaker 1: What was awesome was that we were attached the Special

838
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,000
Speaker 1: Forces group that was right next to us. So their

839
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:44,799
Speaker 1: medic came over and he's like, hey man, I'm here,

840
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:48,319
Speaker 1: I got you. And I was like, okay, cool, let's

841
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:52,799
Speaker 1: do it. So he grabs me and as soon as

842
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:59,040
Speaker 1: he grabs me, he um. They take me inside. And

843
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:01,640
Speaker 1: as I'm laying there, I see the guys coming in

844
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,160
Speaker 1: and I looked at Accomplish and I was like you good, bro,

845
00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:06,319
Speaker 1: and he couldn't speak and he was like. I was like,

846
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:10,560
Speaker 1: all right, man, we're going home and he's like all right. Um.

847
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,319
Speaker 1: Shortly after that, the choppers came in. They picked us up.

848
00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:15,160
Speaker 1: They took us to what's called the Green Zone, which

849
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:19,480
Speaker 1: is one of the biggest UM fob before we're operating

850
00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:22,120
Speaker 1: base in Iraq. I mean it's it's a small city

851
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,719
Speaker 1: and they had a full um hospital there. So we

852
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,719
Speaker 1: fly into there and I remember getting there and I

853
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:32,280
Speaker 1: remember watching the guys come in and that's all I remember.

854
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,720
Speaker 1: Then after that, man, I don't remember everything for about

855
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:38,440
Speaker 1: three months. I wasn't induced come on for about three

856
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 1: and a half months. But I woke up and and

857
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:43,920
Speaker 1: broke Army Medical Center which is in San Antonio, Texas,

858
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:46,520
Speaker 1: and my whole family was there when all that happened.

859
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:49,480
Speaker 1: And I just remember waking up and kind of dissori

860
00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:51,400
Speaker 1: and and I didn't know what was going on, but

861
00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:53,440
Speaker 1: it was you know, I was looking at myself like

862
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:56,440
Speaker 1: what the hell, Like what happened? And it took me

863
00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:58,640
Speaker 1: a little bit to grasp what had happened. And then

864
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:02,239
Speaker 1: from there, man, and everything else began like surgeries and

865
00:42:02,239 --> 00:42:05,759
Speaker 1: and um, did they think you were gonna die at

866
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:08,640
Speaker 1: any point? They did, so they actually gave my mom

867
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:11,080
Speaker 1: and dad a thirty percent chance of me of surviving.

868
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,040
Speaker 1: So they told him to get ready to start making

869
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:17,279
Speaker 1: funeral arrangements. So but my mom refused, you know, her

870
00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:19,920
Speaker 1: being religious and all of us being she was like, no,

871
00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:22,960
Speaker 1: God's gonna spare his life and he's gonna save him.

872
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:28,640
Speaker 1: And you know, eleven years and here I am. But yeah, man,

873
00:42:28,719 --> 00:42:32,719
Speaker 1: it was as a result of it, it was burns

874
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:36,040
Speaker 1: to the body thirty and fourth degree burns, lost the

875
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:39,040
Speaker 1: right leg below the knee on the right side, and

876
00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:44,160
Speaker 1: I think I out a hundred and two surgeries since then. Yeah,

877
00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:50,239
Speaker 1: but hey, I'm here. Yeah, your face right now. The man,

878
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:52,640
Speaker 1: It's just it's part of life, man, It's just you know,

879
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:56,520
Speaker 1: whether it's that or you know, I think we as

880
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:58,560
Speaker 1: people accomplished a lot of things in our lives. There's

881
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,160
Speaker 1: a lot of obstacles, and we don't give ourselves enough credit.

882
00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:06,040
Speaker 1: We sell ourselves short, and you know, we get wrapped

883
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:10,120
Speaker 1: up about stuff that doesn't matter and supposed to being

884
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:13,560
Speaker 1: happy and and just celebrating life every single day. Man,

885
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:15,839
Speaker 1: we're here for a short short time, and I think

886
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,080
Speaker 1: people waste a lot of time and being negative or

887
00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:21,160
Speaker 1: fighting with other people and just taking things away out

888
00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:24,200
Speaker 1: of hand. So man, I try to live as happy

889
00:43:24,239 --> 00:43:26,120
Speaker 1: as possible and try to give as much as I

890
00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:28,120
Speaker 1: can and try to share my story with as many

891
00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:31,080
Speaker 1: people as I can, because if it makes it an

892
00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:34,319
Speaker 1: impact on theirs, man, that's all that matters. Yeah, I mean,

893
00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:36,680
Speaker 1: what strikes me about the way you tell the story

894
00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:40,400
Speaker 1: is just the nature of which as you tell the

895
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:42,879
Speaker 1: details of your experience, you know, because you're only living

896
00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:45,279
Speaker 1: through your experience, you can't you know. I'm sure you

897
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,920
Speaker 1: talked to your other teammates and folks you serve with

898
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:54,440
Speaker 1: um and that's important. But what's more important is that

899
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:58,720
Speaker 1: you never addressed during telling all that story the pain

900
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:02,520
Speaker 1: or having looked down and seeing your body during that time,

901
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:08,239
Speaker 1: or you know, any any point of realizing what was

902
00:44:08,239 --> 00:44:11,239
Speaker 1: actually happened. You were dealing with what was right in

903
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:13,480
Speaker 1: front of you and dealing with the safety of others

904
00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:17,440
Speaker 1: and dealing with your duties rather than dealing with, ah,

905
00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:20,719
Speaker 1: what was happening to you. Man. It's just part of

906
00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:26,120
Speaker 1: the job, man, That's that's I can't stress that enough. Man,

907
00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:29,680
Speaker 1: It's just everything kicks in because it's just you know,

908
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:32,120
Speaker 1: it's second nature. You know, you practice to do that

909
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:36,200
Speaker 1: so many times and when that situation presents itself, you

910
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:39,160
Speaker 1: know exactly what to do. And you know, it's just

911
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,480
Speaker 1: I think I keep uh saying, it's like kind of

912
00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:44,800
Speaker 1: like honeyman, you practice so much and you make different

913
00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,719
Speaker 1: things and different adjustments to your scope or your bow

914
00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 1: or whatever it is that you're hunting with. You know

915
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:52,960
Speaker 1: where you've got to place a shot or what you

916
00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:55,279
Speaker 1: gotta do if you don't. It's the same thing, man,

917
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:58,640
Speaker 1: the same thing in the military train for every single

918
00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:00,560
Speaker 1: scenario you can think of, and we trained for that.

919
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,240
Speaker 1: So it's just it all just kicked in. I wasn't

920
00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:07,160
Speaker 1: doing something extraordinary or being a hero on anything. It

921
00:45:07,239 --> 00:45:10,160
Speaker 1: was just what I was taught to do. It just

922
00:45:10,239 --> 00:45:14,400
Speaker 1: kicked in. Yeah, so you get back, You remember waking

923
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:20,839
Speaker 1: up in the hospital, and then many many surgeries, many many,

924
00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:25,840
Speaker 1: many many surgeries, um, and then you get some awards

925
00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:29,239
Speaker 1: at some point. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got a couple

926
00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:32,480
Speaker 1: of words here and there with valor and whatnot. But yeah, man,

927
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:36,120
Speaker 1: there they call the awards that yeah, right, terminology. I

928
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:38,840
Speaker 1: don't know what. Yeah, it's the words, man. You know,

929
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:40,960
Speaker 1: you get you get different things. You get a purple heart,

930
00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:46,759
Speaker 1: purple hearts, silver Star, broun Star. Um Ah, well that's

931
00:45:47,239 --> 00:45:49,439
Speaker 1: and I think it was like an arm accommodation matter

932
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:52,080
Speaker 1: with valor just a bunch of different what's that? What's

933
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:57,680
Speaker 1: that mean to you? Now? Nothing? Nothing? Not man, they

934
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:00,440
Speaker 1: just they just man, I don't know what I explained,

935
00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:03,279
Speaker 1: Just stuff that you get for for doing your job,

936
00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:07,120
Speaker 1: and not that it's supposed to validate anything, but they're

937
00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:09,680
Speaker 1: they're more for for putting them on your uniform and

938
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,000
Speaker 1: looking good when you go out and whatnot, or talking

939
00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:13,960
Speaker 1: smack to your buddies and be like you've got one

940
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,160
Speaker 1: of these that. But at the end of the day, man,

941
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:20,360
Speaker 1: I don't think any metal uh represents with that person

942
00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:22,920
Speaker 1: is or shapes some up or does anything different. It's

943
00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:25,320
Speaker 1: just it's just the piece of freaking metal that costs

944
00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:30,400
Speaker 1: maybe two daughters, Like, well it signifies something. But the

945
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:32,160
Speaker 1: other thing I was thinking a while we were talking

946
00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:34,239
Speaker 1: about this is like what was the real award because

947
00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:36,279
Speaker 1: the word wasn't the purple heart, Like that's not what

948
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:38,719
Speaker 1: you what you got from this, but there was you

949
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:41,440
Speaker 1: were awarded something for going through the experience, whether it

950
00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:43,960
Speaker 1: was a very personal thing that you you feel you've

951
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:46,360
Speaker 1: achieved as a better self or you know, just a

952
00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:49,480
Speaker 1: better perspective. Like what at the end, what was the

953
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:53,399
Speaker 1: real award from this? I mean, it's harrowing, it's it's

954
00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:56,120
Speaker 1: it's everything you can describe. I mean from from the

955
00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:57,839
Speaker 1: whole thing you're talking about, Like what what I got

956
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:00,400
Speaker 1: it out of it? Man? I think the biggest A

957
00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:02,880
Speaker 1: word that I've gotten it it's when I get messages

958
00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:05,600
Speaker 1: from people from all over the world on how I've

959
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:07,680
Speaker 1: made an impact in their lives and how they switched

960
00:47:07,719 --> 00:47:11,400
Speaker 1: their lives and um, just how I motivate them and

961
00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:14,760
Speaker 1: and they've made changes because of something that I wrote

962
00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:17,880
Speaker 1: or something that I shared with them. That that, to

963
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:20,400
Speaker 1: me is the award. When I can see something like that,

964
00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:23,720
Speaker 1: knowing that I'm making a positive and impact in different

965
00:47:23,719 --> 00:47:26,880
Speaker 1: places in the world, that that, to me is it's

966
00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:31,160
Speaker 1: the most amazing thing because I've been giving this this

967
00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:34,960
Speaker 1: this story and this laugh experience and able to share

968
00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:37,200
Speaker 1: with other people to give them a different perspective in

969
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:40,359
Speaker 1: life or inspire them in any way and they take

970
00:47:40,400 --> 00:47:44,120
Speaker 1: something from it. Dude. That that's that's that's the biggest

971
00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:46,080
Speaker 1: a word for me because I get to keep the

972
00:47:46,120 --> 00:47:49,879
Speaker 1: memory of my buddies alife and people are gonna remember them,

973
00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:55,080
Speaker 1: and it's just it's giving back, man, it's doing something positive,

974
00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:58,520
Speaker 1: like we turned that whole negative situation into something positive.

975
00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:01,280
Speaker 1: That that to me is the biggest a word. Yeah. Well,

976
00:48:01,360 --> 00:48:05,440
Speaker 1: and that's what strikes me about you personally, is that

977
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:08,440
Speaker 1: it's it's always about the what you're giving, never about

978
00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:10,680
Speaker 1: what you're getting. And to the point where you got

979
00:48:10,719 --> 00:48:13,319
Speaker 1: something but it didn't matter, but it's about the real

980
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:17,160
Speaker 1: war is what you gave um. And that strikes me.

981
00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:20,960
Speaker 1: The other thing I would say, you know, he you

982
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:23,640
Speaker 1: got all these injuries and you have to fight through

983
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:25,320
Speaker 1: all those. They don't need to go through the details

984
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:28,279
Speaker 1: and those, But then you get back to what is

985
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:30,399
Speaker 1: relatively normal life. I mean, I don't think you've ever

986
00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:33,920
Speaker 1: had a normal life, not really, but you get back

987
00:48:33,960 --> 00:48:36,319
Speaker 1: to living a life, right, You get back to making

988
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:39,319
Speaker 1: relationships and being able to yeah, making the best out

989
00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:41,600
Speaker 1: of out of the situation you're in many you know,

990
00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:45,480
Speaker 1: disabilities is the only way to put it. And then

991
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:48,200
Speaker 1: you get back into the world and at some point

992
00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:52,440
Speaker 1: you know, the guys that owned were sitting in archery Country,

993
00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:56,359
Speaker 1: the guys tyler Um and Brendan that you guys aren't

994
00:48:56,480 --> 00:48:58,200
Speaker 1: we're talking about the time you came in here in

995
00:48:58,200 --> 00:49:00,800
Speaker 1: the first time you drew a bow and when that

996
00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:03,320
Speaker 1: was pretty emotional for you, like that that was something

997
00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:06,200
Speaker 1: that it was, man, because like, growing up, I was

998
00:49:06,239 --> 00:49:09,640
Speaker 1: always a rifle hunter and um, you know if but

999
00:49:09,719 --> 00:49:11,120
Speaker 1: I had always had it in the back of mind.

1000
00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:12,000
Speaker 1: I was like, I want to shoot a bow. I

1001
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,680
Speaker 1: want to shoot a bow. And you know, I came

1002
00:49:14,760 --> 00:49:18,920
Speaker 1: here after hours with with Tyler and Brennan, and I

1003
00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:20,600
Speaker 1: remember sitting there. I was like, man, I don't know

1004
00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:23,000
Speaker 1: how strong I am to pull a bow back. I

1005
00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:25,120
Speaker 1: was like, and they're kind of laughing at me because

1006
00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:27,399
Speaker 1: they know I got world record titles in the Paralympics

1007
00:49:27,440 --> 00:49:30,640
Speaker 1: and yeah, yeah per lift there. So they're like, shut up.

1008
00:49:31,239 --> 00:49:33,560
Speaker 1: But I'm like, these are different muscles that this is

1009
00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:37,799
Speaker 1: something different that I've never kind of picked up on

1010
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:41,080
Speaker 1: sober to describe for people. Just for this was probably

1011
00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:43,839
Speaker 1: how many working fingers do you have them? Probably one

1012
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:49,399
Speaker 1: one that triggered for the one that counts. And so, yeah,

1013
00:49:49,400 --> 00:49:51,560
Speaker 1: the injuries are a part of it too. I mean

1014
00:49:51,560 --> 00:49:53,719
Speaker 1: it's not you just don't have the same dexterity. Yeah,

1015
00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:55,840
Speaker 1: and that was the biggest thing, man, I told Brendan,

1016
00:49:55,840 --> 00:49:57,719
Speaker 1: and Tyler was like, the thing that I'm scared of

1017
00:49:57,800 --> 00:49:59,839
Speaker 1: is that I'm going to hurt someone else around me

1018
00:50:00,120 --> 00:50:01,920
Speaker 1: or I'm gonna hurt myself. And I was like, and

1019
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,000
Speaker 1: I can't afford to jack up my hands more than

1020
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:07,640
Speaker 1: I already are. So they brought out a beginner's but

1021
00:50:07,719 --> 00:50:10,200
Speaker 1: it was like a kid's bow, and uh, I was

1022
00:50:10,239 --> 00:50:13,560
Speaker 1: pulling twenty pounds on the man, and you know, I

1023
00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:16,160
Speaker 1: let that first ever fly and dude, it was done.

1024
00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:20,640
Speaker 1: After that, I was in here five times another week,

1025
00:50:20,719 --> 00:50:24,600
Speaker 1: like just shooting and went from from twenty five pounds

1026
00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:27,720
Speaker 1: to fifty five pounds. And uh, I had my first

1027
00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:32,480
Speaker 1: kill at fifty five pounds on a bison. Remember you

1028
00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:37,000
Speaker 1: telling me that story said I killed a bison? What

1029
00:50:37,719 --> 00:50:46,200
Speaker 1: my first book? It was? They presented itself when I

1030
00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:48,440
Speaker 1: was like, I gotta take this, so anytime I bison

1031
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:51,520
Speaker 1: presented itself. Yeah, man. So it took the shot, hard shot.

1032
00:50:51,560 --> 00:50:54,279
Speaker 1: It was a perfect, just perfect shot. And I came

1033
00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:58,359
Speaker 1: back in and and uh, Tyler and Brendan were like, dude,

1034
00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:00,279
Speaker 1: we need to upgrade you. He's like, you're done with

1035
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:02,839
Speaker 1: that kids bow. So I still have it. That's one

1036
00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:05,000
Speaker 1: of the things that I'll never give up because every

1037
00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:07,000
Speaker 1: time I look at it in the garage just reminds me.

1038
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:09,480
Speaker 1: But you know, I moved up and you know I'm

1039
00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:12,040
Speaker 1: pulling soe many pounds now, and I mean I probably

1040
00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:13,719
Speaker 1: put more over I don't think I need to. I

1041
00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:15,600
Speaker 1: don't think you need more than the seventy pounds to hunt.

1042
00:51:16,280 --> 00:51:18,480
Speaker 1: And uh yeah, man, now you know I'm in here

1043
00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:20,800
Speaker 1: quite a bit and I'll shoot at home. I feel comfortable,

1044
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:23,920
Speaker 1: and you know, I try to, uh try to practice

1045
00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,560
Speaker 1: as much as possible because it's just man, I love.

1046
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:28,680
Speaker 1: I fell in love with archery. I mean I still rifle,

1047
00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:31,719
Speaker 1: hunt and whatnot. But anytime but I get a chance

1048
00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:33,960
Speaker 1: to to go honey with with that my bow, I'm

1049
00:51:34,000 --> 00:51:36,399
Speaker 1: all about it. Yeah, it's archery discipline for you now

1050
00:51:36,440 --> 00:51:38,399
Speaker 1: that you've you've gone through so many of these, it

1051
00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:41,760
Speaker 1: is it is. You know, for the longest time, rifle

1052
00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:44,360
Speaker 1: was was was it for me? Because it took a

1053
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:46,680
Speaker 1: lot of discipline and it's time and whatnot. And I

1054
00:51:46,719 --> 00:51:51,279
Speaker 1: was making pretty far shots and uh then I transitioned

1055
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:53,160
Speaker 1: in the bowing and I realized, you know, you've gotta

1056
00:51:53,160 --> 00:51:56,439
Speaker 1: be a lot quieter, a lot smoother. You you gotta

1057
00:51:56,880 --> 00:51:58,759
Speaker 1: kind of sneak up on things, so it makes a

1058
00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:01,120
Speaker 1: little it makes it a little more challenging for me

1059
00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:03,719
Speaker 1: because of my leg and trying to make sure that

1060
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:07,600
Speaker 1: I don't overstep or understand or make a sound and whatnot.

1061
00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:11,160
Speaker 1: So it's become very challenging. There's been times where I

1062
00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:13,319
Speaker 1: scared deer and I'm just I beat myself over it.

1063
00:52:13,400 --> 00:52:15,160
Speaker 1: But I come back and I know what I gotta do.

1064
00:52:15,239 --> 00:52:17,680
Speaker 1: And then when you know the six times that I

1065
00:52:17,719 --> 00:52:19,640
Speaker 1: go out and get it done, it's just such a

1066
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:21,520
Speaker 1: rewarding feeling. And I know that I put all that

1067
00:52:21,560 --> 00:52:25,040
Speaker 1: time and effort and work into it and now I

1068
00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:27,680
Speaker 1: accomplished it. So yeah, in a sense, it does, man,

1069
00:52:27,719 --> 00:52:30,399
Speaker 1: And I honestly, it was just for the longest time,

1070
00:52:30,440 --> 00:52:32,560
Speaker 1: I used to watch your stuff and everybody else you

1071
00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:35,040
Speaker 1: hang out with and and everybody go bull hunting, and

1072
00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:38,440
Speaker 1: I'm like, what are these nerds doing? Like, come on,

1073
00:52:38,520 --> 00:52:40,919
Speaker 1: why are you hunting for you? Like ten days? Get

1074
00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:42,680
Speaker 1: out of here. I got I got stuff to do.

1075
00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:45,000
Speaker 1: And you know, now, I'm like, and we're going on

1076
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:46,680
Speaker 1: this hunt. We're gonna be gone for three weeks, and

1077
00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:48,600
Speaker 1: we were like, why has it come bull hunting and

1078
00:52:48,719 --> 00:52:52,759
Speaker 1: like why And you know, now I kinda I kind

1079
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:56,040
Speaker 1: of get it and understand why. So I mean, I

1080
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:58,520
Speaker 1: don't think you need to be changed anyway, But do

1081
00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:01,480
Speaker 1: you credit hunting? You know, and you had honey throughout

1082
00:53:01,520 --> 00:53:04,719
Speaker 1: I mean obviously, but you cred this new um discovery

1083
00:53:04,719 --> 00:53:07,560
Speaker 1: of archery, hunting or like just just connection to to

1084
00:53:07,760 --> 00:53:12,719
Speaker 1: to post injury, post war healing, new life. Well, that

1085
00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:14,799
Speaker 1: was always there. That was one of the biggest things

1086
00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:18,400
Speaker 1: that helped me get out of of going the route,

1087
00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:20,759
Speaker 1: which is that that dark side that a lot of

1088
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:23,680
Speaker 1: the guys tend to get into the outdoors did that

1089
00:53:23,800 --> 00:53:26,719
Speaker 1: for me, you know. And it was getting out of

1090
00:53:26,719 --> 00:53:30,600
Speaker 1: the house, sitting in a blind or spotting stock, whatever

1091
00:53:30,640 --> 00:53:32,200
Speaker 1: the case was. But as long as I got out

1092
00:53:32,200 --> 00:53:34,520
Speaker 1: of the house and I was out in nature, even

1093
00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:37,240
Speaker 1: if I didn't get a kill, it just did something

1094
00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:40,640
Speaker 1: to me. It was able to help me reset from

1095
00:53:40,719 --> 00:53:43,480
Speaker 1: whatever was going on back at home and the appointments

1096
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:46,160
Speaker 1: and the doctor's appointments and the surgeries and the infections,

1097
00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:49,400
Speaker 1: all that all that didn't matter when I got to

1098
00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:52,680
Speaker 1: that camp, and it still doesn't matter, and it's what

1099
00:53:52,719 --> 00:53:55,960
Speaker 1: helps me reset. Man. I think there's just something about

1100
00:53:56,040 --> 00:53:58,000
Speaker 1: hunting and the people that are involved in it, that

1101
00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:02,640
Speaker 1: that are like minded people. And it doesn't it doesn't

1102
00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:05,120
Speaker 1: matter what color, what race, where are you from. When

1103
00:54:05,120 --> 00:54:08,240
Speaker 1: you step into that ranch or out of the open country,

1104
00:54:08,239 --> 00:54:11,560
Speaker 1: wherever you add and whoever you're with, that animal doesn't

1105
00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:13,759
Speaker 1: care what color you are, or who you are, or

1106
00:54:13,800 --> 00:54:16,879
Speaker 1: how much do you make and whatnot. And you're able

1107
00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:20,080
Speaker 1: to connect with all those individuals because you have the

1108
00:54:20,239 --> 00:54:22,360
Speaker 1: same purpose and it's to get that elk or that

1109
00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:25,600
Speaker 1: white tail or whatever it is. So that's always helped me.

1110
00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:30,320
Speaker 1: And just meeting people alike, man, it's just it's an amazing,

1111
00:54:30,320 --> 00:54:34,360
Speaker 1: it is riching thing. Man. I always tell people I

1112
00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:37,040
Speaker 1: don't have and I always bemoan the fact I don't

1113
00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:40,040
Speaker 1: have the experience of brotherhood like you did and do

1114
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:44,520
Speaker 1: and in the situations that you you had them. But

1115
00:54:44,600 --> 00:54:47,279
Speaker 1: at the same level, if I've hunted with somebody on

1116
00:54:47,280 --> 00:54:50,320
Speaker 1: a weeklong backpack trip, when I see them, the hug

1117
00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:53,399
Speaker 1: is not like just seeing a dude you have lunch

1118
00:54:53,440 --> 00:54:55,759
Speaker 1: with once a week. It's just not the same and

1119
00:54:55,800 --> 00:54:58,799
Speaker 1: it will never and you can't really articulate that to people. No,

1120
00:54:58,800 --> 00:55:00,319
Speaker 1: no, no no, And in the sense that thing it is

1121
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:04,160
Speaker 1: kind of the same brotherhood. I mean different, different workplaces,

1122
00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:07,480
Speaker 1: different things, but the bonds there, you know, and and

1123
00:55:07,600 --> 00:55:11,840
Speaker 1: it's it's amazing. Man, Like I got mud to everybody's

1124
00:55:11,840 --> 00:55:14,120
Speaker 1: and I got hunting buddies, and they're the same to me,

1125
00:55:14,680 --> 00:55:17,520
Speaker 1: They're the same thing here. Because I always, I always

1126
00:55:17,560 --> 00:55:19,920
Speaker 1: always it's jealous, is not the right world, but always

1127
00:55:19,920 --> 00:55:23,440
Speaker 1: acknowledging what going through something like, I feel like it's

1128
00:55:23,480 --> 00:55:26,319
Speaker 1: the same. It's about the same. And because I, like

1129
00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:28,520
Speaker 1: I said, I have the same feeling that I do

1130
00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:30,760
Speaker 1: for both of them. You know, even though I experienced

1131
00:55:30,760 --> 00:55:34,319
Speaker 1: a hardship with with a group, but I've I've experienced

1132
00:55:34,320 --> 00:55:37,000
Speaker 1: you know, I'm not killing something or bonding with that

1133
00:55:37,080 --> 00:55:39,880
Speaker 1: person or where something else, whether it be growing up

1134
00:55:39,880 --> 00:55:42,600
Speaker 1: around the same neighborhood or the same town, or it's

1135
00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:44,880
Speaker 1: just it's it's hunting, man, and you guys are going

1136
00:55:44,920 --> 00:55:47,160
Speaker 1: to do the same thing. So I think they go

1137
00:55:47,239 --> 00:55:50,279
Speaker 1: hand in hand. Yeah, I'm to see if you if

1138
00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:53,000
Speaker 1: this is something that you would agree with. Like hunting,

1139
00:55:53,680 --> 00:55:55,880
Speaker 1: there's things in life that are flat experiences, like a

1140
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:59,799
Speaker 1: roller coaster, for example, or any fun ride at the

1141
00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:02,800
Speaker 1: car nival. You do it, you get too high from it,

1142
00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:04,480
Speaker 1: you get your fun and then you come down and

1143
00:56:04,520 --> 00:56:06,600
Speaker 1: it has no effect on your life afterwards, and that

1144
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:10,200
Speaker 1: at all has no residual effect. There's a two dimensional experience.

1145
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:13,360
Speaker 1: You go up, you go hunting, and you get the

1146
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:15,480
Speaker 1: same kind of joy and high that you might get

1147
00:56:15,520 --> 00:56:17,520
Speaker 1: from a roller coaster. But at the end of it,

1148
00:56:17,719 --> 00:56:19,680
Speaker 1: there's all these other benefits in your life. So it

1149
00:56:19,719 --> 00:56:22,800
Speaker 1: makes it just like three dimensional structure in your life,

1150
00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:25,040
Speaker 1: and it has the same type of benefits. Is that

1151
00:56:25,160 --> 00:56:27,799
Speaker 1: what you've experienced? It does, man, because like I get

1152
00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:30,120
Speaker 1: the same feeling when I go hunting that I used

1153
00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:32,600
Speaker 1: to get when I was in a firefight, the same

1154
00:56:32,640 --> 00:56:36,920
Speaker 1: adrenal and this everything's there and it's it's very relatable

1155
00:56:37,080 --> 00:56:39,400
Speaker 1: and it doesn't end that day. You know you used

1156
00:56:39,440 --> 00:56:41,200
Speaker 1: to carry it on the next day you're still excited

1157
00:56:41,200 --> 00:56:44,200
Speaker 1: because you accomplished it, or you hold on too it

1158
00:56:44,280 --> 00:56:46,080
Speaker 1: because you know you didn't get that kill that day,

1159
00:56:46,120 --> 00:56:47,880
Speaker 1: but you're gonna come back in a few weeks and

1160
00:56:47,880 --> 00:56:51,799
Speaker 1: try it again. And it's it is. It holds it

1161
00:56:51,840 --> 00:56:54,120
Speaker 1: holds hand in hand, man. Yeah. A lot of people

1162
00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:56,920
Speaker 1: getting upset or get weirded out about what the description

1163
00:56:57,160 --> 00:57:00,319
Speaker 1: or the comparison just made like firefight hunting. You're not

1164
00:57:00,360 --> 00:57:03,000
Speaker 1: talking about the killing part of it. No, I don't know,

1165
00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:05,680
Speaker 1: And I've always been a little irk by that. It's like,

1166
00:57:05,719 --> 00:57:08,080
Speaker 1: that's not what you're talking about. You're just talking about

1167
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:12,120
Speaker 1: the experiential height and sensibilities, all the things that you're experiencing.

1168
00:57:12,360 --> 00:57:15,759
Speaker 1: Everything is activated, you're you're super aware, you know, you're

1169
00:57:15,840 --> 00:57:19,320
Speaker 1: hypersensitive to the noise. It's just your where of your surroundings.

1170
00:57:19,360 --> 00:57:23,840
Speaker 1: There's a lot of things that are implemented in a firefight.

1171
00:57:24,240 --> 00:57:25,840
Speaker 1: And and then I'm glad you brought that up because

1172
00:57:25,880 --> 00:57:28,280
Speaker 1: I never mentioned the word killing. But it's just the

1173
00:57:28,400 --> 00:57:33,440
Speaker 1: same feeling. It's just everything. It's just there's a lot

1174
00:57:33,520 --> 00:57:38,240
Speaker 1: of similarities between the both without even having to kill anything.

1175
00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:40,919
Speaker 1: And yeah, it goes and I feel the same same

1176
00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:44,160
Speaker 1: rush that I did that I did on a firefight

1177
00:57:44,240 --> 00:57:46,040
Speaker 1: when I get in a blind or when I'm walking

1178
00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:47,800
Speaker 1: and I come up on something. Do you ever think

1179
00:57:47,800 --> 00:57:52,600
Speaker 1: about you're guys you serve with or guys you you know,

1180
00:57:52,880 --> 00:57:55,720
Speaker 1: you really serve with everybody in the military, but guys

1181
00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:58,400
Speaker 1: you directly serve with or indirector is there any time

1182
00:57:58,400 --> 00:58:00,520
Speaker 1: that you've told somebody, Hey, man, you need go hunting

1183
00:58:00,640 --> 00:58:03,920
Speaker 1: like you're hurting right now in the woods. Yeah. My

1184
00:58:03,920 --> 00:58:05,760
Speaker 1: my buddy, that was the driver that got hit the

1185
00:58:05,800 --> 00:58:09,760
Speaker 1: day that I got hit. He uh got married, everything

1186
00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:11,640
Speaker 1: was doing good and all of a sudden got divorced

1187
00:58:11,680 --> 00:58:15,040
Speaker 1: and he was in a row spot and I said, hey, man,

1188
00:58:15,200 --> 00:58:16,960
Speaker 1: I'm not the richest person in the world, but I

1189
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:18,600
Speaker 1: was like, I got a little bit of money. I

1190
00:58:18,600 --> 00:58:20,600
Speaker 1: want to buy your plane ticket and we're gonna go

1191
00:58:20,720 --> 00:58:23,000
Speaker 1: hunt in Santangelo. Had a buddy of mine who's got

1192
00:58:23,080 --> 00:58:25,080
Speaker 1: a ranch out there and allow me to come and

1193
00:58:25,120 --> 00:58:27,080
Speaker 1: bring a couple of other guys out. So I brought

1194
00:58:27,080 --> 00:58:30,439
Speaker 1: about two or three window guys and my buddy and

1195
00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:33,640
Speaker 1: we went hunting for axes, and man, he just had

1196
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:37,320
Speaker 1: a blast and got home to South Carolina and he

1197
00:58:37,400 --> 00:58:38,960
Speaker 1: was like, men, thank you so much. That kind of

1198
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:41,480
Speaker 1: reset me and and helped me a little bit just

1199
00:58:41,520 --> 00:58:43,840
Speaker 1: to get away and not think about it. And he's like,

1200
00:58:44,080 --> 00:58:45,480
Speaker 1: and I'm in a much better place. And I was

1201
00:58:45,520 --> 00:58:48,840
Speaker 1: like good. So, man, every every time I get a chance, Man,

1202
00:58:48,880 --> 00:58:50,880
Speaker 1: when I get people that call me up and they're like, hey,

1203
00:58:50,920 --> 00:58:52,560
Speaker 1: I got I got two spots, and I got this

1204
00:58:52,600 --> 00:58:55,520
Speaker 1: white tail that, Uh, I want somebody to take. Um.

1205
00:58:56,280 --> 00:58:57,880
Speaker 1: You know, I just start kind of looking through my

1206
00:58:57,920 --> 00:58:59,440
Speaker 1: list and I start looking at people that I know

1207
00:58:59,520 --> 00:59:02,440
Speaker 1: that needed, and I take those guys hunting. And now,

1208
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:05,520
Speaker 1: I mean I get a kick of watching someone else

1209
00:59:05,680 --> 00:59:08,280
Speaker 1: get to kill. Then if I were to get it,

1210
00:59:08,320 --> 00:59:10,040
Speaker 1: like I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still I

1211
00:59:10,080 --> 00:59:12,520
Speaker 1: still want to get that as you like, I really

1212
00:59:12,760 --> 00:59:14,520
Speaker 1: like you kill it. But if it happens to walk

1213
00:59:14,560 --> 00:59:19,560
Speaker 1: by here, yeah, man, I'm not gonna. Yeah man, So

1214
00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:21,360
Speaker 1: it's just kind of it's a scrunt into that man.

1215
00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:23,760
Speaker 1: And I'm just I love hunting. I love everything about it.

1216
00:59:23,840 --> 00:59:28,400
Speaker 1: I love what we do, the preservation, everything everything behind hunting. Man.

1217
00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:33,440
Speaker 1: It's just I've never met a hunter that is just

1218
00:59:33,560 --> 00:59:36,000
Speaker 1: a bad person. Yeah. So, I mean I'm sure they're

1219
00:59:36,040 --> 00:59:38,800
Speaker 1: out there. I just haven't met plenty. Yeah. I mean, yeah,

1220
00:59:39,080 --> 00:59:41,880
Speaker 1: champing is fun, but there's people that litter like hunting

1221
00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:43,920
Speaker 1: is fun. There's people that like there. It's just that's

1222
00:59:43,960 --> 00:59:46,400
Speaker 1: part of life. Military is great. People are bad there,

1223
00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:48,520
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, of course. Um and so yeah, I mean

1224
00:59:48,760 --> 00:59:52,280
Speaker 1: it's not worth focusing on. But so life for you today,

1225
00:59:52,320 --> 00:59:56,280
Speaker 1: I mean, how many years since you woke up from that.

1226
00:59:57,440 --> 01:00:00,400
Speaker 1: So you're eleven years eleven years in and life for

1227
01:00:00,440 --> 01:00:04,560
Speaker 1: you today is is what I mean. It seems happy,

1228
01:00:04,640 --> 01:00:08,040
Speaker 1: You seems man, it's awesome. It seems an admirable life

1229
01:00:08,040 --> 01:00:10,240
Speaker 1: that you live it, you know what I mean. I'm

1230
01:00:10,400 --> 01:00:13,240
Speaker 1: very blessed to have the friends that I have and

1231
01:00:13,240 --> 01:00:15,080
Speaker 1: and the things that I'm able to do. And I

1232
01:00:15,200 --> 01:00:18,600
Speaker 1: got a great woman at home that allows me to

1233
01:00:19,040 --> 01:00:21,640
Speaker 1: allows me but I guess we can say that, but

1234
01:00:21,880 --> 01:00:24,959
Speaker 1: mind to mind allows me to be here tonight. Yeah,

1235
01:00:25,000 --> 01:00:27,240
Speaker 1: that kidding. That allows me to do the things that

1236
01:00:27,280 --> 01:00:29,720
Speaker 1: I do, the things that matter, the things about giving

1237
01:00:29,760 --> 01:00:33,320
Speaker 1: back and being involved in my community, and then you know,

1238
01:00:33,600 --> 01:00:35,760
Speaker 1: all my buddies over a black rifle coffee, all the

1239
01:00:35,800 --> 01:00:37,760
Speaker 1: stuff that we get to do and how we give

1240
01:00:37,800 --> 01:00:39,480
Speaker 1: back and how we make people laugh and all the

1241
01:00:39,520 --> 01:00:42,080
Speaker 1: skits that we make, and you know, and then being

1242
01:00:42,160 --> 01:00:45,600
Speaker 1: here and doing events like these and shooting arrows and

1243
01:00:45,640 --> 01:00:48,480
Speaker 1: you know, hanging out with you and Dudley and everybody

1244
01:00:48,520 --> 01:00:51,440
Speaker 1: else is just kinda I mean, I couldn't ask for

1245
01:00:51,440 --> 01:00:53,600
Speaker 1: a better life. Like you know, I was dealt a

1246
01:00:53,640 --> 01:00:56,080
Speaker 1: shitty hand, but you know the next one that came

1247
01:00:56,120 --> 01:00:58,800
Speaker 1: around was a lot better. And you know, here I

1248
01:00:58,840 --> 01:01:00,840
Speaker 1: am today, and I'm gonna make the best of it, man,

1249
01:01:01,160 --> 01:01:06,200
Speaker 1: because I'm not throwing I'm not throwing my second chance

1250
01:01:06,240 --> 01:01:08,360
Speaker 1: that life away. I'm not gonna be locked up in

1251
01:01:08,360 --> 01:01:11,480
Speaker 1: a room feeling sorry for myself because no one's gonna

1252
01:01:11,520 --> 01:01:13,600
Speaker 1: give a ship but me. No one's gonna carry like

1253
01:01:13,640 --> 01:01:15,200
Speaker 1: you know what, at a point, people are gonna get

1254
01:01:15,200 --> 01:01:16,840
Speaker 1: bored of it and then I'll be like, well, you

1255
01:01:16,840 --> 01:01:19,840
Speaker 1: know what he gave up. I'm done. So I refused

1256
01:01:19,880 --> 01:01:21,640
Speaker 1: to do that because it's it would it would be

1257
01:01:21,680 --> 01:01:24,920
Speaker 1: an interestice to my friends that die that day for

1258
01:01:24,960 --> 01:01:28,160
Speaker 1: me to throw my life away feeling sorry for myself,

1259
01:01:28,240 --> 01:01:31,240
Speaker 1: and that just it's never been me like, Man, I'm

1260
01:01:31,280 --> 01:01:33,800
Speaker 1: here for a reason. I'm happy. I love life like

1261
01:01:33,840 --> 01:01:38,080
Speaker 1: there's just so many great things to focus on and

1262
01:01:38,160 --> 01:01:40,280
Speaker 1: and things to do man, Like you know, we all

1263
01:01:40,320 --> 01:01:41,760
Speaker 1: have goals. I want to do a bunch of different

1264
01:01:41,800 --> 01:01:45,520
Speaker 1: things before I'm done. Like I just it's just life

1265
01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:47,480
Speaker 1: such a beautiful gift, man, I'm not going to throw

1266
01:01:47,480 --> 01:01:50,840
Speaker 1: it away. Yeah. Well, I mean, like I said, through

1267
01:01:50,920 --> 01:01:54,120
Speaker 1: your life, even when you're sitting in a burning humby,

1268
01:01:54,160 --> 01:01:57,800
Speaker 1: you're given man, like you're given to people, and your

1269
01:01:57,800 --> 01:02:00,080
Speaker 1: story is a gift like you are a gift in

1270
01:02:00,120 --> 01:02:02,840
Speaker 1: my in my opinion. And one of the things that

1271
01:02:02,880 --> 01:02:07,080
Speaker 1: struck me during um, the hurricane in Houston, how long

1272
01:02:07,080 --> 01:02:10,120
Speaker 1: ago was that Now we're going up in a year now.

1273
01:02:10,360 --> 01:02:11,640
Speaker 1: I was just a year, but I don't want to

1274
01:02:11,640 --> 01:02:14,160
Speaker 1: be wrong. Yeah, thinks that's coming up in the one year.

1275
01:02:14,680 --> 01:02:16,880
Speaker 1: And what struck me about that is that during that

1276
01:02:16,960 --> 01:02:20,600
Speaker 1: you were from here at Archery Country organizing trail to

1277
01:02:20,640 --> 01:02:24,480
Speaker 1: loads of goods, sacrifice in your time and all your

1278
01:02:24,560 --> 01:02:27,080
Speaker 1: energy and bringing people together. John Dudley came down to

1279
01:02:27,120 --> 01:02:31,360
Speaker 1: help some of that, and then and pulling together as

1280
01:02:31,440 --> 01:02:34,800
Speaker 1: much energy of positive energy during that time a crisis

1281
01:02:34,880 --> 01:02:38,360
Speaker 1: as you possibly could and continuing not to just talk

1282
01:02:38,400 --> 01:02:42,840
Speaker 1: about giving or or exemplify, but but put that ship

1283
01:02:42,920 --> 01:02:47,960
Speaker 1: into real action. And um, we got to go to

1284
01:02:48,000 --> 01:02:50,800
Speaker 1: an event and see the people. But I want to

1285
01:02:50,960 --> 01:02:54,000
Speaker 1: end on like tell people you know you went through

1286
01:02:54,880 --> 01:02:59,240
Speaker 1: the worst thing imagine and you said you got a

1287
01:02:59,280 --> 01:03:03,680
Speaker 1: second chance of life. What would you say to somebody that, like,

1288
01:03:03,880 --> 01:03:06,560
Speaker 1: my life's not working out for me life for whatever reason,

1289
01:03:06,680 --> 01:03:09,320
Speaker 1: life is ship right now and I can't get up

1290
01:03:09,360 --> 01:03:11,000
Speaker 1: off mat. I keep trying to get up and I

1291
01:03:11,080 --> 01:03:12,920
Speaker 1: keep getting knocked back down. I keep trying to get up,

1292
01:03:12,960 --> 01:03:15,520
Speaker 1: I keep getting knocked back down. What would you say

1293
01:03:15,560 --> 01:03:18,320
Speaker 1: to that person who just is is is at the end? Man?

1294
01:03:18,360 --> 01:03:20,439
Speaker 1: If I can give an advice, is if you could

1295
01:03:20,480 --> 01:03:22,960
Speaker 1: keep getting knocked down, make sure you lie on your back,

1296
01:03:23,600 --> 01:03:25,600
Speaker 1: and once you get up, look at look at life

1297
01:03:25,680 --> 01:03:27,560
Speaker 1: right in the eyes, and say what else you got, bitch,

1298
01:03:28,280 --> 01:03:30,240
Speaker 1: Because at the end of the day, man, it's part

1299
01:03:30,320 --> 01:03:33,840
Speaker 1: of life. Man, We're gonna get knocked down so many times,

1300
01:03:33,840 --> 01:03:35,960
Speaker 1: but that one time you get up and do something,

1301
01:03:36,640 --> 01:03:39,200
Speaker 1: it's gonna be magical. It's gonna be epic, Like it's

1302
01:03:39,240 --> 01:03:43,000
Speaker 1: just you're You're one shot away from doing something that's

1303
01:03:43,040 --> 01:03:45,080
Speaker 1: going to change the rest of your life. And the

1304
01:03:45,080 --> 01:03:49,080
Speaker 1: minute that you give up, you're done. So just keep

1305
01:03:49,200 --> 01:03:51,400
Speaker 1: keep at it, man. Live. Life's gonna test you, and

1306
01:03:51,400 --> 01:03:53,640
Speaker 1: it's gonna test you very hard, and it's up to

1307
01:03:53,680 --> 01:03:55,480
Speaker 1: you how much you want to keep giving back and

1308
01:03:55,800 --> 01:03:57,880
Speaker 1: how much you really want it. Yeah, and if you

1309
01:03:57,880 --> 01:04:00,600
Speaker 1: ever feel like giving up, just listen to this podcast

1310
01:04:00,640 --> 01:04:03,640
Speaker 1: over again or Christy on on Instagram and wherever you

1311
01:04:03,680 --> 01:04:05,640
Speaker 1: can find him, and then shut the funk up and

1312
01:04:05,720 --> 01:04:10,240
Speaker 1: get wrong. Don't be a bit about Man. Hey, I

1313
01:04:10,280 --> 01:04:13,600
Speaker 1: complain sometimes too, man, but you know it's we're humans.

1314
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:15,960
Speaker 1: We're gonna do it. Well, of course we are, of

1315
01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:18,680
Speaker 1: course we are. But yeah, I mean I could say

1316
01:04:18,680 --> 01:04:20,600
Speaker 1: so much about your story about it as far as

1317
01:04:21,080 --> 01:04:25,640
Speaker 1: came to this country. You you sacrifice to be here

1318
01:04:25,640 --> 01:04:28,440
Speaker 1: and then we're accepted it and then and then sacrifice

1319
01:04:28,480 --> 01:04:31,800
Speaker 1: for this thing and then and now here you sit. Um.

1320
01:04:31,840 --> 01:04:33,400
Speaker 1: So it's a special thing to sit down and talk

1321
01:04:33,440 --> 01:04:34,800
Speaker 1: to you, and I really appreciate it. Thanks, man, I

1322
01:04:34,800 --> 01:04:37,040
Speaker 1: appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, let's go,

1323
01:04:37,240 --> 01:04:39,479
Speaker 1: uh have a drink and enjoy we're at. I didn't.

1324
01:04:39,520 --> 01:04:42,360
Speaker 1: We never really talked about we're at. We're in Tyler

1325
01:04:42,840 --> 01:04:46,560
Speaker 1: Tyler Banderkook owns as an owner arch country, his offices

1326
01:04:46,600 --> 01:04:50,640
Speaker 1: and tatters like I think this, maybe use this, use

1327
01:04:50,760 --> 01:04:53,680
Speaker 1: this um moment to call him out a little bit.

1328
01:04:56,040 --> 01:04:57,600
Speaker 1: It was like, it looks like you might have a

1329
01:04:57,600 --> 01:05:01,520
Speaker 1: problem because there's a tooth words drank bottle of Tito's,

1330
01:05:01,640 --> 01:05:05,720
Speaker 1: like a handle of vodka, and there's like guess some

1331
01:05:05,720 --> 01:05:09,120
Speaker 1: some scribbled on posted notes. It's not looking good and

1332
01:05:09,400 --> 01:05:12,560
Speaker 1: not at all. There's some questionable drinks around here. You

1333
01:05:12,680 --> 01:05:15,000
Speaker 1: got we looked at he's got a right in his desk.

1334
01:05:15,000 --> 01:05:21,360
Speaker 1: He's got a bang. He's got a bang Georgia peach,

1335
01:05:21,440 --> 01:05:26,280
Speaker 1: sweet tea, protein, brain and body fuel. I've never even

1336
01:05:26,320 --> 01:05:28,320
Speaker 1: heard of that, but everybody's ever heard of that. It's

1337
01:05:28,320 --> 01:05:35,880
Speaker 1: a super creative BC double aminos. Anyway, Tyler of Archery Country,

1338
01:05:35,920 --> 01:05:38,360
Speaker 1: we got we have to have an intervention. Yeah, clean

1339
01:05:38,400 --> 01:05:40,240
Speaker 1: your ship up. But we're here. We're here for b

1340
01:05:40,440 --> 01:05:42,920
Speaker 1: h A. We're here for a cool full draw the

1341
01:05:43,000 --> 01:05:45,480
Speaker 1: film night. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, watching films

1342
01:05:45,480 --> 01:05:48,280
Speaker 1: and celebrating public plans. And I'm glad to be here

1343
01:05:48,320 --> 01:05:50,200
Speaker 1: with you. Man. Yeah. Likewise, brother, thanks for having me

1344
01:05:50,200 --> 01:05:52,080
Speaker 1: on man, it's it's it's an honor. I hope. I

1345
01:05:52,120 --> 01:05:54,600
Speaker 1: hope people enjoy this podcast. I hope they do. I

1346
01:05:54,640 --> 01:05:57,200
Speaker 1: know they will, And hopefully next time we can go hunt. Yeah,

1347
01:05:57,240 --> 01:06:04,280
Speaker 1: I'm in Thanks sir, Thanks man. That's it. That is all.

1348
01:06:04,720 --> 01:06:07,200
Speaker 1: Episode number twenty six is in the books. I don't

1349
01:06:07,200 --> 01:06:10,720
Speaker 1: want to thank Omar Crispy sitting down with me here

1350
01:06:10,720 --> 01:06:14,720
Speaker 1: at Archery Country and allstin Texas, talking about his life

1351
01:06:14,720 --> 01:06:17,960
Speaker 1: and times, his story, what the military means to him,

1352
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:22,320
Speaker 1: what sacrifice means to him and all those types of things. UM.

1353
01:06:22,360 --> 01:06:24,200
Speaker 1: I'm not really sure what to say about that story

1354
01:06:24,200 --> 01:06:28,360
Speaker 1: other than I'm I'm floored by it, I am inspired

1355
01:06:28,400 --> 01:06:32,280
Speaker 1: by it, and I am forever changed by sitting acrossing

1356
01:06:32,320 --> 01:06:34,960
Speaker 1: this man and listening to what he went through. I

1357
01:06:35,000 --> 01:06:37,400
Speaker 1: think hopefully as you all listen to his story, if not,

1358
01:06:37,560 --> 01:06:39,960
Speaker 1: go back and listen to it again, think about where

1359
01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:43,680
Speaker 1: you were in your life, what you were doing, um,

1360
01:06:43,680 --> 01:06:47,400
Speaker 1: when he was in a burning humby, and when he

1361
01:06:47,440 --> 01:06:50,280
Speaker 1: was going through a hundred surgeries, and when you and

1362
01:06:50,400 --> 01:06:55,440
Speaker 1: he was rehabbing he was fitting his prosthetic leg. Think

1363
01:06:55,480 --> 01:06:59,200
Speaker 1: about where you were and what you had that he

1364
01:06:59,200 --> 01:07:03,440
Speaker 1: didn't have. Mhm um. And hopefully we can all learn

1365
01:07:03,480 --> 01:07:07,600
Speaker 1: from it and we all get better. So I appreciate

1366
01:07:07,680 --> 01:07:11,320
Speaker 1: you for listening. Appreciate Omar for being a part of this.

1367
01:07:11,560 --> 01:07:13,439
Speaker 1: I don't really have much more to say. I think

1368
01:07:13,480 --> 01:07:18,120
Speaker 1: I just want to end this by saying thank you, Omar.

1369
01:07:19,680 --> 01:07:20,040
Speaker 1: Thank you,