1 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: Mute for us. If it doesn't work, you're just not 2 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: using enough. You're listening to Software Radio, Special Operations, Military Nails. 3 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: I'm straight talk with the guys in the community. 4 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 2: Hey, what's going on? 5 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 3: It is rad and I am hosting another episode of 6 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 3: soft Rep Radio, so I must be something right. That's right. 7 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 3: We are number one rated right now, so we are 8 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 3: really stoked to have this podcast. I'm really stoked for 9 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 3: my fans and for you followers out there that go 10 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 3: to the mert shop and you put your heart earned 11 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 3: money through the Internet and you send it to us 12 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 3: and hope that we send you something back. So keep 13 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 3: doing that, all right. We really appreciate you hitting the 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 3: merch shop. And then also our book has been just 15 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 3: going off the charts soft rep dot com Ford Slash 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 3: Book hyphen Club. Go check out Ford Slash Book hyphen 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 3: Club at soft rep dot com and just get into 18 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 3: the note with our library of books that you may 19 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 3: want to read. Go read a book, all right. 20 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 2: Now. 21 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 3: With that said about books, I have a book. It's 22 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,639 Speaker 3: called Life and Death at Abbey Gate written by staff 23 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 3: Sergeant Michael Cook, and I believe there's another person Michael 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 3: who is joining me today is Michael who wrote that 25 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 3: book with you. 26 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 2: What's their name? Robert Conlin was my co author, A 27 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: great author, a great dude. So it's a privilege to 28 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 2: write with him. Welcome to Soft Rep Radio. Michael, hey Man, 29 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 2: thanks so much. I've been looking forward to this one 30 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 2: for a while, so I appreciate the opportunity. 31 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 3: Yeah. Thanks to Daniel for hooking it up. He's like, hey, 32 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 3: you want Michael, and I was like, we want Michael 33 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 3: on Super Bowl Sunday. Now we don't know the score, 34 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 3: all right, we don't know anything yet. It's about noon 35 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 3: Mount Standard time when I'm recording this. This will go up 36 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 3: in about a week. So let's see. I'm gonna go 37 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 3: with the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm gonna do say twenty 38 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 3: three to seven beautiful. 39 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 2: So I'm a Michigan guy. I don't really care what 40 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 2: the score is, but I you know, I'm daydreaming that 41 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 2: Jake Moody RX field goal kicker is going to kick 42 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 2: the winning field go with two seconds left for the Niners. 43 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 2: So that's what I'm hoping for. 44 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 3: Okay. So there you have it. That's our predictions. Okay, 45 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 3: And I just want to say thanks for playing along. 46 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 2: With that. 47 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 3: Now to get into more of a serious topic. You 48 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 3: were United States Army Reserves for many years. You know, 49 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 3: some people say three six years, what'd you do? Yeah, 50 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 3: so I was an engineer. Twelve Whiskey was my mos 51 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 3: and then twelve Hotel, So yeah, I spent six years 52 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 3: in the reserves. My unit was for eighty six Engineer 53 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 3: Company out of Toledo, Ohio. So you know, I just 54 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 3: did the reserve thing for the majority of my career 55 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 3: and then one deployment to Afghanistan in twenty nineteen and 56 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 3: twenty twenty. Now for my listener out there that thinks 57 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 3: maybe you drive a train as an engineer, Yes, sure, 58 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 3: exactly as an engineer, right, you got like in college, 59 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 3: there's mechanical, there's electrical, THERE'SX. What is it that you're 60 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 3: engineering focused on? Yeah, so engineers wear many hats. In 61 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,679 Speaker 3: the military, especially in the army. We were as twelve Whiskeys, 62 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 3: we focused on construction more than anything. So overseas we're 63 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 3: you know, building bee huts, building up security, building joint 64 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 3: operation centers. I mean really whatever the military needed us 65 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 3: to build, we would build. So very similar to Navy 66 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 3: cbs is what a lot of people are familiar with. 67 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 3: That's the same thing in the army, or even like 68 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 3: a community planner for a local city. Sure, right, like 69 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 3: you could probably cross that job into something in a 70 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 3: city civilian world as an engineer. Yeah, sure, absolutely, yep. 71 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 3: We know that you're an author. Is that your full 72 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 3: goal now that you've gotten out in the military, is 73 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,839 Speaker 3: moving forward with books or is there something that you've 74 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 3: transitioned to outside of that as a reservist obviously. 75 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I got out of the army. I'm no 76 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 2: longer in the reserves. I got out last October. I 77 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 2: guess I'm still technically in the IRR, but I think 78 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 2: it would take a pretty big active war to get 79 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 2: reactivated at this point. But you know, with the political 80 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 2: climate right now, who knows. I have a civilian career. 81 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 2: So I'm in sales for a great construction company that 82 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 2: makes everything in the United States, so that's something we're 83 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 2: really proud of. And then yeah, I get to do 84 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 2: some writing on the side, So it's definitely a passion 85 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 2: of mine. I think I'm going to continue to do 86 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 2: it after this book is done as well. 87 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 3: So you're still in construction, I am, yep, exactly. So 88 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 3: you went from were you construction before the art, before 89 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 3: you went reserves? 90 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 2: I was so Initially when I joined the military, I 91 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 2: actually wanted to do military intelligence, so like thirty five 92 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 2: mic was mos I wanted since I'm a dual citizen, 93 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 2: I have a citizenship in Sweden, I couldn't qualify for 94 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 2: the top secret clearance. So they are pretty much like 95 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 2: either you can renounce your citizenship in Sweden or you 96 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 2: can pick a different job. So that made it pretty 97 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 2: easy for me. I was like, well, I'm not going 98 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 2: to give up my citizenship, you know, that's my plan 99 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 2: b if things go sour here in the United States. 100 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 3: So I love that you're a citizen. Thank you for serving, 101 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 3: you know, thanks for joining curious. It was actually cool 102 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 3: being over in Afghanistan because we at one base, we 103 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 3: got to serve with the Swedes as well, so that 104 00:04:57,720 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 3: was pretty cool. 105 00:04:58,839 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 2: So like, wait, you're. 106 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 3: Swe too, You're like, yeah, I'm Swede. 107 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, just wearing the American flag all on my shoulders. 108 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 2: But yeah, So after I couldn't get that job, I 109 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 2: decided go in and become an engineer because that's what 110 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 2: I had experience on the civilian side, so it made sense. 111 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, and was your recruiter pretty honest with you when 112 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 3: you went through your career counselor if you will. 113 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 2: Quote unquote, Yeah, yeah, for the most part, I don't 114 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 2: think there was any any big issues. Yeah, it was fine. 115 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 2: I know I've heard horror stories. Sure for me, I 116 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 2: didn't have any of those. 117 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 3: So would you encourage somebody who might be listening right now, 118 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 3: who's in the construction trade, who might want to wear 119 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 3: the uniform and serve as a reservist or you know, 120 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 3: take that step. Would you encourage that? 121 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean I would encourage everybody to join the military. 122 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 2: I think everybody should serve. Honestly, it was six of 123 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 2: the best years of my life. I mean, especially my 124 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 2: year end deployment in Afghanistan, you know, learning how other 125 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 2: people live, building that bond with the members of my platoon. 126 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 2: It was one of the best years of my life. 127 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 2: So absolutely be all that. You get a better life 128 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 2: in the army reserves. Yeah, the reserve, you know, you 129 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 2: get you get a little bit of both. You kind 130 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 2: of get the best of both worlds. You get to 131 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 2: go play army on the weekends, but then you get 132 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 2: to go home, so you don't have to deal with 133 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 2: as much of the bullshit, as active duty does on 134 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 2: a hundred percent. I had an active duty drill sergeant 135 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 2: who got bronchitis on the first week because you know, germs, 136 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 2: and then uh he a reservist came in to replace him, 137 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 2: and he's like, all. 138 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 3: Right, everybody, one, two, three. It's like, hey, man, all right, 139 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 3: this guy is not so bad. Yeah, okay, Well, thanks 140 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 3: for encouraging my listener out there to possibly take that 141 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 3: next step. Now, I'm gonna read a little bit about 142 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 3: your book here that I was sent over from Daniel. 143 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 3: So it's going to give me a second to read, 144 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 3: and let me just go ahead and introduce you and 145 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,840 Speaker 3: your book amidst some of the America's darkest hours in Afghanistan, 146 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,919 Speaker 3: Life and Death at Abby Gate displays humanity at its finest, 147 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 3: quoted Major Tom Schumann at the United States Marine Corps, 148 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 3: who's also author of best selling book Always Faithful. 149 00:06:58,200 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 2: Right, So I'm gonna read. 150 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 3: What this says here is as the American government began 151 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 3: the disastrous mass evacuations of its Afghan allies, a group 152 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 3: of American veterans saw the writing on the wall. The 153 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 3: people who had supported them on the ground over the 154 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 3: past two decades were going to be left behind. Instead 155 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 3: of watching the sideline, watching on the sideline, they sprang 156 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 3: into action. The effort became known nationally as hashtag Digital Dunkirk, 157 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 3: in reference to the civilian aspect of the evacuation of 158 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 3: soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in nineteen forty, as 159 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 3: America's last days in Afghanistan came to a chaotic end, 160 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 3: and an ad hoc group of veterans, intelligence assets, and 161 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 3: legislative orders undertook an extraordinary mission to honor the US 162 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 3: battlefield creed to leave no comrade behind. Relying on cell 163 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,119 Speaker 3: phones and satellites as their weapons, they worked feverishly around 164 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 3: the clock to help evacuate as many Afghans who had 165 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 3: supported US troops over the past twenty years as possible 166 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 3: as the desperate massive Afghans tried to flee brutal Taliban rule. 167 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 3: Marines of the Second Battalian First Marines worked at Hamid 168 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 3: Karzaid International Airport's Abbey Gate in conditions that brought combat 169 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 3: hardened veterans to tears. After an ISSUS suicide bomber detonated 170 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 3: his s vest, killing thirteen US super Service members. Operations 171 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,679 Speaker 3: came to a halt. This is told through the eyes 172 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 3: of Michael, his Afghan friend Abdul, and the two to 173 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 3: one Marines on the ground, including a marine squad leader 174 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 3: who personally led the Afghans through the airport. Life and 175 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 3: death of Abby Gate tells the story behind the story 176 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,239 Speaker 3: of the mass evacuation of over one hundred and twenty 177 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 3: four thousand Americans and Afghan allies during a two week 178 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 3: period in the summer of twenty twenty one. I get 179 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:34,959 Speaker 3: kind of choked up on it, Michael, and it's because 180 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 3: I've lived through it and watched all of that, you know, happen, 181 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 3: and the collapse of the Afghan you know what we 182 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 3: were hoping would happen, where the Afghan army would rise 183 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 3: up and help defend itself and take on the task 184 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 3: of doing that just fall within itself. There was really 185 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 3: no there was no end game to the out of 186 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 3: getting out. It was kind of left in shambles for 187 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 3: the presidency that was coming in to take power by 188 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:01,079 Speaker 3: signed by former Trump the President Trump in December of 189 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 3: twenty two or December twenty second, prior to Biden becoming president. 190 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 3: So here we are left with this quagmire of pulling 191 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 3: out Taliban being invited to Camp David Whitehouse through Trump. 192 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 2: You know, all this stuff's. 193 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 3: Happening, and then all of a sudden, Biden's coming in 194 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 3: and everyone's got this Rubik's cube of disastrous shit happening. 195 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,200 Speaker 3: And here you are, Michael, tried just to get in 196 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 3: and get people who you know need to get out 197 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 3: because of the Taliban rule. 198 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 2: Right. 199 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 3: They beat feet, they torture, They don't want women to 200 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 3: have any rights, they don't want them to show their hair, 201 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 3: they don't want them have jobs, be educated or smarter 202 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 3: than they are because they are. It's really just a 203 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 3: really weird quagmire, bro, And you're involved in your book 204 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 3: dives into that. 205 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 2: Right yeah. 206 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 3: And I mean it was so fast forward a little bit, 207 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 3: I guess. But Abdullah Muhammed are the two main characters 208 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 3: in my book. They were contractors that we worked with 209 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 3: up in Maser Sharif in northern Afghanistan. But you know, 210 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 3: more than being coworkers, we were friends. Right, so when 211 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 3: Afghanistans start to fall, you know, the focus from me 212 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 3: and people that served with Abdul Muhammad was just straight, 213 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 3: you know, we need to figure out how to get 214 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 3: these guys out. That's really what the majority of the 215 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 3: book is about. And you know, obviously anybody watching the 216 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 3: Afghanistan withdrawal just knows what an absolute nightmare and shit 217 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 3: show it was. I mean, you mentioned that, you know, 218 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 3: the ANA, the Afghan National Army, fell very quickly, right, 219 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:25,959 Speaker 3: And you know, there's all all sorts of assessments from 220 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 3: our intelligence agencies on how long the ANA was going 221 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 3: to be able to hold out. Some said six months, 222 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 3: twelve months, some said that they were going to be 223 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 3: able to hold Kabul forever and the Taliban would never 224 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 3: take it over. Obviously what they took it over in 225 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 3: just a matter of days. So it was just a 226 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 3: huge intelligence failure obviously on our part. And I know 227 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 3: a lot of people blame the ANA for not really 228 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 3: standing up and fighting, but at the same time you 229 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 3: have to put yourself in their shoes and think about 230 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 3: what are they fighting for? At that point, you know, 231 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,679 Speaker 3: we have a bandoned them, their own president has abandoned them, 232 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 3: they have no leadership, a lot of them probably haven't 233 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,959 Speaker 3: been paid in months, and the Talibans at their front door, 234 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 3: you know, ready to slaughter their wives and children. 235 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 2: It's like, what would you do? In that situation. So 236 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 2: you know, to me, I really don't blame the A 237 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 2: and A at all. They're just trying to survive and 238 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 2: provide for their family, just like any American family would. 239 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 3: They kind of just had to dissolve and blend back 240 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 3: into society like it's not me exactly, wasn't me because 241 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 3: these guys are coming down with this hard rule of 242 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 3: AK forty seven law. 243 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 2: Right oh right there. 244 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 3: At your doorsteps, doesn't shoot you, They don't care. 245 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 2: There's just like there's I mean, it's still continuing to 246 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 2: this day, which is you know, what I'm most frustrated 247 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 2: about is just how we're over two years removed from 248 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 2: that situation and we're still not doing shit, right. I mean, 249 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 2: we're we're still slowly evacuating people out of there, our 250 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 2: SIV applicants, but it's just an absolute disaster. So you know, 251 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 2: I get reports every single day of our Afghan allies 252 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 2: still getting slaughtered today. 253 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 3: Right, you know, And you know, I didn't realize that 254 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 3: the one of the air bases was Russian that we 255 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 3: had occupied, which is now being taken back by the Taliban. 256 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 3: It's like this wholegram yep, yeah, exactly. I didn't know 257 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 3: that was a I thought, oh, hey, you know, it 258 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 3: was like an Afghan base, but it was really a 259 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 3: Russian base that we went and it took over and. 260 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 2: It was yep, at Bagram Airfield. And you know, we 261 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 2: could go on forever about the failures of this, but 262 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 2: oh well, while we're talking about Bogram, I'll say this. 263 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 2: You know, Bogram was a very secure base, right, that 264 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:22,680 Speaker 2: was the center of US movement in Afghanistan. And when 265 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 2: I was there in twenty nineteen and twenty twenty, you know, 266 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 2: and actually on my way out, you know, we were 267 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 2: some of the last troops in Afghanistan and the place 268 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 2: was a ghost town. I mean, there was probably a 269 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 2: few thousand troops in Bogram and it was still extremely secure, right, 270 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 2: And I mean like some of the guys that I 271 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 2: deployed with, that had deployed previously in previous years, you know, 272 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,319 Speaker 2: they had been there when Bogram had one hundred thousand people. 273 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 2: So for it to still be such a secure base 274 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 2: with a few thousand troops and then for US to 275 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 2: run the evacuation out of h Kaya, which is a 276 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 2: civilian airport that didn't have any security and only one 277 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 2: working runway, where Bogram had multiple was just again a disaster. 278 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 2: You know, we should have held onto Bogram. Instead we 279 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 2: handed it over to the a NA and a botched handoff. 280 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 2: We didn't even really tell them we were leaving. We 281 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 2: shut off the lights and took off one night, and 282 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 2: ultimately that led to the Taliban taking over Bogram. But 283 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 2: that's you know, that's where the evacuation should have taken place, 284 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 2: because we could have easily defended it for as long 285 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 2: as we wanted to, and we could have got all 286 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 2: our allies out, you know, but instead we ran it 287 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 2: out of h Kaya and obviously thirteen of our troops 288 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 2: got killed and hundreds of Afghans got killed because of 289 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 2: that decision possibly so well, just failure all around. 290 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 3: Well, we watched the aircraft as the C seventeen Globe 291 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 3: Master took off and closed up its wheels and what 292 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 3: the C five's and whatever taken off with all of 293 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 3: the who's inside, just they couldn't take who was on 294 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 3: the outside. And yeah, they didn't know that that was 295 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 3: going to close up and see all they thought they'd 296 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,079 Speaker 3: probably go up in the aunt of the landing gear 297 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 3: or whatever. Still would have been a bad situation. And 298 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 3: you know that was a disastrous media moment for the world. 299 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 2: To see that mm hmm. And I think that, I mean, 300 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 2: that just shows the desperation of those people. Imagine being 301 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 2: so desperate that you're willing to hold onto the wheel 302 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 2: well of an airplane taking off. And I mean they're 303 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 2: not dumb, you know, like you said, maybe they didn't 304 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 2: realize that the wheel was going to collapse on itself, 305 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 2: but they knew that there was a ninety nine percent 306 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 2: chance of death holding onto the wheel well of that plane, 307 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 2: and they still hold on. Yeah, they still thought that 308 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 2: was a better choice than staying and living in a 309 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 2: country under Taliban rule. 310 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 3: Oh maybe they thought that the plane just wouldn't take off, 311 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 3: you know, like, oh, we'll just hold on, they won't 312 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 3: roll with us. Those pilots are like, yeah, like we 313 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 3: have a mission, bro. Sorry, right, that's so crazy, And 314 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 3: that's got to be heavy on their hearts, you know 315 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 3: what I'm saying, those pilots and the crew of that aircraft. 316 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 2: I'm not let's not you know, war for sure, Absolutely no, 317 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 2: there was you know, moral injury as a term that's 318 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 2: going around a lot right now from the Afghanistan withdrawal. 319 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 2: And you know, for my book, I interviewed a ton 320 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 2: of marines that were at abby Gate from two to 321 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 2: one and one eight, and man, these guys carry around 322 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 2: a heavy burden, and just the things they saw were 323 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 2: things that no human should ever have to see. Of 324 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 2: just how disaster it was the conditions at Abby Gate. 325 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 2: I mean death everywhere. 326 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 3: Mothers, the baby being handed to the marine that we 327 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 3: saw that like three week old child. The mom was 328 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 3: just like or whoever was throwing the baby up to 329 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:27,880 Speaker 3: the marines. 330 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, not only that, I mean there was mothers that 331 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 2: were literally throwing their babies over the twelve foot tea walls, 332 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: just hoping that there was Americans on the other side. 333 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 2: And unfortunately, you know, there was constantine wire on top 334 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 2: of these tea walls, and some of the babies were 335 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 2: getting stuck in the constantine wire and just bleeding out 336 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 2: there before anybody could get to them. I mean, it was. 337 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 2: It was as crazy as you could possibly imagine. There 338 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 2: was you know, children getting crushed to death at Abby 339 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 2: Gate in the shit filled canal, and the Marines were 340 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 2: doing everything they could to get to them, but there 341 00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 2: was just you know, if you've seen pictures, you just 342 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 2: know how many people or there is just a massive 343 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 2: humanity and these marines just couldn't get there to save 344 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 2: save these kids. So there's there was a ton of 345 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 2: stories like that. 346 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 3: Unfortunately, you have a friend who was over there and 347 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 3: he was he got out four hundred people. He was 348 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 3: the SAS former SAS they and they captured them. They 349 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 3: didn't know he was, says when they captured him, they 350 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 3: just thought, he's like, I have permits and I have 351 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 3: all the things you guys require of me to do 352 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 3: the things and move through your country, et cetera, et cetera. 353 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 3: And so they still just captured him and just beat 354 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 3: his feet for weeks and he and then they finally 355 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 3: let him go. 356 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 2: Wow. 357 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 3: Now he tells his story and it's just like, you 358 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 3: know how he got four hundred people out? And I mean, 359 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 3: it's it's it's a it's a vibe here in Utah. 360 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 3: So I own a simple, fun airsoft wargame environment where 361 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 3: we go and I sell the equipment and the gear 362 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 3: that is like plate carriers, et cetera. And here I 363 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 3: have some dude coming in with a beard like yours saying, Hey, rad, 364 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 3: I'm Micha. 365 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 2: What's up. 366 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 3: He's like, I just need six of those plate carriers please. 367 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 3: I was like, what's team of air soft? 368 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 2: Are you on. 369 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,120 Speaker 3: Right? It's a whole different airsoft team and he's like yeah, 370 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 3: you know, and this guy was going to Ukraine to 371 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 3: go there. 372 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. 373 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 3: Then Afghan thing was happening, and that was all intertwining 374 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 3: with it, and they were picking up the gear for 375 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 3: that as well. And so here I am just thinking, 376 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 3: like trying to outfit my sport of airsoft war games. 377 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,400 Speaker 3: But I got dudes coming in saying they need this, this, 378 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 3: this pouch, all my m four pouches, all these pouches, 379 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 3: radio pouches, you know, at a good price. By the way, 380 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,959 Speaker 3: I'm really a really good, fair and priced warlord. Let 381 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 3: me tell you right now, Okay, come in and visit 382 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 3: my shops. You know, I'm not trying to plug it. 383 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 3: I'm just saying the realization of someone like, you know, 384 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,160 Speaker 3: they're going in outside of the regular you know ways, 385 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 3: they're just coming into different shops. I remember my dad 386 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 3: being on a Green Beret team and he went to 387 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 3: radio shack to buy his radios. 388 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,360 Speaker 2: Wow, back in the eighties. Yeah, on their own. Yeah. Yeah. 389 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,680 Speaker 2: We saw a bunch of guys going and serving as civilians. 390 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 2: You know Scott Man who wrote the book Pineapple Express, 391 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 2: awesome dude. Saved a lot of lives. Guys like Tim Kennedy, 392 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:08,880 Speaker 2: Chad Robashaw, and Nick Pomachhano. They were called save our Allies. 393 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:10,919 Speaker 2: They flew in there as civilians, got a ton of 394 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 2: people out. Nick Pomashano actually was the one that helped 395 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 2: me get Abduah Muhammad manifested on a flight out. So 396 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 2: just you know, phenomenal work from those guys and just 397 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 2: dropping everything to go over and spend their own money. 398 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 2: One of the guys you know, sold his house or something, 399 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,360 Speaker 2: refinance his house just so he could fund this project 400 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 2: to get people out. So we saw, you know, a 401 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 2: lot of selfless acts of bravery, obviously, people putting their 402 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:35,679 Speaker 2: lives on the line to go over and do the 403 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 2: right thing and try to help our allies out. That's 404 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,400 Speaker 2: exactly what I saw coming through the shop doors. It's 405 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 2: just like, yep, you know, all right, cool, totally different 406 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 2: ballgame when it's not airsoft like that, you know, yet 407 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,119 Speaker 2: there's a vibe about the spirit of that person, and 408 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 2: I'm just like, Okay, well, what can I help you with? Yeah? 409 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:55,959 Speaker 3: For sure, you know, I hope you call your hits. Yeah, 410 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 3: holy yeah, man, that's the real deal over there. And 411 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 3: you know, so I have a lot of guys that 412 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 3: go and do the real deal, but then they play 413 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 3: airsoft just to like, you know, get it out of 414 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 3: their system, and you know, maybe they're done with the 415 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 3: real deal and they just want to like kind of 416 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 3: I don't know, where do you get an opportunity to 417 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 3: frag a grenade into a trench unless you're playing like 418 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 3: paintball or war games, you know. So it's like, if 419 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 3: it's still itching in you, you can go look up 420 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 3: your local airsoft community and just probably just play. They'd 421 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,439 Speaker 3: love to have you. Yeah, whoever's out there, Yeah that, 422 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,200 Speaker 3: but it sounds like something I need to check out. 423 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 3: Some of my marines, you know, they they take the 424 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 3: M four rifle and they see it and it looks 425 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 3: and feels just like their real one, and they go 426 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 3: to pull the charging handle out and it's still a toy. 427 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,720 Speaker 3: Clam You're like, oh, I'm sorry that I didn't mean 428 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 3: to really pull it all the way out, you know, 429 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,360 Speaker 3: because they're mostly electric driven, so there's no sure cycling 430 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 3: of that bolt. But for the aesthetics, you know, holy cow. 431 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 3: So I mean when you're when you're going over in 432 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 3: your book, you go over there, right, you go over 433 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 3: to rescue. 434 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,679 Speaker 2: No, So I spent the whole evacuation here in mission again. Actually, 435 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 2: So that's that's really what the whole digital Dunkirk network 436 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 2: was about, is you know, a bunch of veterans, most 437 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,919 Speaker 2: of which had probably served in Afghanistan or had some 438 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 2: ties to Afghanistan, but some didn't at all and just 439 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 2: wanted to do the right thing. You know. We saw, 440 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,360 Speaker 2: we saw our government drop the ball and we made 441 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 2: promises to these partners. You know, these these Afghans fought 442 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 2: with us, blood with us, served shoulder to shoulder with 443 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 2: us for twenty years, and their promise protection through the 444 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 2: Special Immigrant Visa Program commonly referred to as the SIV program, 445 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 2: and our government just completely dropped the ball. And was 446 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 2: you know, the writing was on the wall. We could 447 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 2: we could see that these people were going to get 448 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 2: left behind. You know, back to the whole h Kaya location. 449 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,719 Speaker 2: When I found out the evacuation was being run out 450 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 2: of h Kai, you know, I was doing the mental 451 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 2: math of you know, how many runways do they have 452 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 2: just one? How much time do we actually have and 453 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 2: how many SIV applicants are there, and the math just 454 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 2: clearly wasn't adding up, like these people were not all 455 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 2: going to get out. So that's when this this network 456 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 2: called digital Kirk really formed up. And it really wasn't 457 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 2: an organized thing at the beginning. It was just a 458 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 2: whole bunch of different chat rooms on Instagram, on the 459 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 2: signal on WhatsApp of all these people coming together and 460 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,679 Speaker 2: essentially creating like a joint operations center online. So individually, like, 461 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 2: we had very little information, right Like I came to 462 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,120 Speaker 2: this group with just two names, Abdullah Muhammad. But collectively 463 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 2: we realized we had a ton of information like who 464 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 2: was working what gates, who had phone numbers to you know, 465 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 2: marines standing at what gate, and what documentation the State 466 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,720 Speaker 2: Department was requiring at that moment, and so together we 467 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,199 Speaker 2: had just all the information you could possibly need. So 468 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 2: this whole, this whole movement that whoever came up with 469 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 2: a name digital Dunkirk is a genius because it fits perfectly. 470 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 2: But this whole movement happened from our computers while we're 471 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 2: sitting here at home, so a lot of people are 472 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 2: working their day jobs here and then at night obviously 473 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 2: when it's daytime in Afghanistan. Everyone's just hitting the phones 474 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 2: and the computers, just trying to find pays to get 475 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 2: their guys out. 476 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 3: So it's just it's just it's a lot more convenient 477 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 3: today to just communicate. You know, there's a lot more 478 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 3: avenues and you're not getting a newspaper article from a 479 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 3: combat attack in Vietnam two weeks later, yep. 480 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and then you kind of put that aside. 481 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 3: You know, it's like because two weeks of past and 482 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 3: now it's like you're seeing it happen, like this is 483 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,639 Speaker 3: kind of real time kind of call of duty satellite stuff. 484 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 2: Sure. Yeah, I mean it was very impressive what this 485 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 2: group was able to do from the US just on 486 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 2: our phones and computers, and so, you know, I'm so 487 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 2: proud to see those veterans and not only veterans but 488 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 2: civilians that joined in too, just step up and grab 489 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,159 Speaker 2: the ball when when our government fumbled, you know, and 490 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 2: continue downfield. And the amount of lives that this group 491 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,440 Speaker 2: was able to save was just staggering. 492 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 3: So you know, I still, you know, just want to 493 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 3: think why did we sell so much equipment to the 494 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 3: tale of It or to the you know, A and 495 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 3: a before during you know, right before he signed the 496 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,159 Speaker 3: President Trump, I'm calling him out right now for this, 497 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 3: right sold billions of dollars of equipment and then went 498 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,200 Speaker 3: and signed the pull out accord to get out for Biden, 499 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,120 Speaker 3: why do you think, what do you think about that, 500 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 3: you know, him spending selling all that stuff, yeah, and 501 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 3: then pulling out of it automatically, which is out there. 502 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 3: It's it's just what it is. 503 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 2: Yeah. So yeah, I mean, in my buck, I tried 504 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,159 Speaker 2: not to get too political. I blame both presidents, but 505 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 2: sure they both had made decisions that were just. 506 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,160 Speaker 3: Well Biden was during Obama too, so I'm not trying 507 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,120 Speaker 3: to get him anything, you know, but again, these are 508 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 3: what I'm asking specifically, is like, yeah, yeah, so I'm 509 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 3: guessing that they, you know, back to the intelligence assessments, 510 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:39,159 Speaker 3: I'm guessing they thought. 511 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 2: They were going to be able to hold out a 512 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 2: lot longer than they were able to. I think that's 513 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 2: probably what the administration was thinking. But again, it's just 514 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 2: it didn't make any sense. And had we run a 515 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 2: proper evacuation and run it out of a secure location, 516 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 2: we could have stayed until we got all that equipment out, 517 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 2: but instead we put an end date on it, and 518 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 2: we left a bunch of our allies behind, and we 519 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 2: left millions, billions of dollars of equipment. You know, Now, 520 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 2: the Taliban has biometrics, some of which contains the information 521 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 2: of our allies that are still stuck there. They have 522 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,719 Speaker 2: night vision goggles, they have everything that we have. They 523 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 2: have black hawks. 524 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,399 Speaker 3: So I saw the video of like I think, on 525 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 3: a TikTok where like they're looking I don't know if 526 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 3: it was actual or if I'm seeing propaganda, but it 527 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 3: showed like them pivoting the nose trying to fly it, 528 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,919 Speaker 3: and it like rolled, and they're like, this is what 529 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 3: we just left behind, you know, the black hawks and such. 530 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 2: And you know, I know those require a ton of maintenance, 531 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 2: so who knows how long they're actually gonna be able 532 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,160 Speaker 2: to hold out, But I do know that also potentially 533 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:42,600 Speaker 2: Russia and China are offering assistance for maintenance for those 534 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 2: types of things. 535 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,359 Speaker 3: So see, I was thinking that maybe the Taliban was 536 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 3: going to fight China and so we need them as 537 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 3: an ally. And so the whole plan was to leave 538 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,719 Speaker 3: the equipment there to outfit the Taliban so that they 539 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 3: can now defend against Russia and China as an ally 540 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 3: of the US because I mean, let's face it, they're 541 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 3: very war very warheartened they are. I will say that 542 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 3: China is doing their best to maintain relationships with the 543 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 3: Taliban because the Taliban has a whole bunch of resources 544 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 3: that China wants. Of course, they've already entered agreements for 545 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 3: some mining operations. I want to say it's lithium. 546 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 2: Don't quote me on that, but I know that China 547 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 2: is currently in Afghanistan. 548 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 3: Bobby, excuse me? Did I say that out loud? 549 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 2: Yep. There's many things that they want, so right now 550 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,439 Speaker 2: they seem to be allies. Hmmm. 551 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 3: My next question stirring in my head. I'm trying to 552 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 3: figure that one out right there, So I'm just like, 553 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 3: all right, all right, and again I just want to 554 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 3: hear your opinion on it. You know, you wrote such 555 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 3: an in depth book Life and Death at Abby Gate, right, 556 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,440 Speaker 3: and where can we find that? Is that out? On everything? Amazon, 557 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:49,040 Speaker 3: at Barnes and Noble? 558 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 2: Is it? Yeah? Anywhere you buy your books you'll be 559 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 2: able to find it. You can also find it obviously Amazon, 560 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 2: and you can find out my website, which is Michael 561 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 2: Cook dot com. Spell my name a little different as 562 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 2: we talked about before. It's I K A. E. Lcook 563 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 2: dot Com is an easy place to find it as well. 564 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 2: And that's right. Because you're a dual citizen, so you're Swede, 565 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 2: I am. Yeah. My mother was born in Sweden. I 566 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 2: was born in the United States. But because because of that, 567 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,679 Speaker 2: I get to have dual citizenship and be able to 568 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 2: travel under a Swedish passport. 569 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 3: Oh that's dope. Is it blue? It's I think it's 570 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 3: red red. She doesn't make any sense, almost diplomatic, like, hey, 571 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,160 Speaker 3: red passport, you know, and it's like one a little 572 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 3: special ambassador coming through. 573 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 2: Bro. 574 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,400 Speaker 3: That's cool. Sweden, huh. I'd love to go over there. 575 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:35,640 Speaker 2: Do you visit? Yeah? I have a ton of family there. 576 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:38,439 Speaker 2: My my grandparents and uncless are all still there, so 577 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 2: I try to get over there once every couple of years. 578 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,640 Speaker 2: Gorgeous country, you know, beautiful people. Is there fjords in Sweden, 579 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 2: not like there is Norway? Yeah, if you want to 580 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 2: see for fjords, go to go to I think Western 581 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 2: Norway is the best place for sure. But Sweden's definitely beautiful. Yeah. 582 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,359 Speaker 3: I'm definitely have that in my bloodline on my twenty 583 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 3: three and me DNA nice Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mom's the 584 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 3: Viking on the family side. Dad's related to all the royalty, 585 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 3: So I get you. You look like a Viking. 586 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 2: Yeah right. 587 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 3: I'm just way domesticated though, So I'm a domesticated Viking. Bro. 588 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:16,639 Speaker 3: That fire's gas. I didn't have to like spart nothing 589 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 3: to get it going. Okay, I'm so domesticated. It's like, 590 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:24,640 Speaker 3: oh man, that's good. You know. Yeah, I might shave 591 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 3: the side of my head, put a nice skull tattoo, 592 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,119 Speaker 3: let the hair grow out. I don't know nice. 593 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:31,640 Speaker 2: You know. One other thing though, as I'm sitting here 594 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 2: thinking about this, we're talking about China and Russia, though, 595 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:35,719 Speaker 2: is you know the other thing that's been happening is 596 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 2: Russians have been recruiting former an A soldiers to come 597 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 2: fight in Ukraine for them, which again is easy to 598 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,120 Speaker 2: make judgment on, I think, but when you think about it, 599 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 2: these ana who are hiding in Afghanistan from the Taliban, 600 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,959 Speaker 2: you know, it's not a bad solution because a lot 601 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 2: of them are on the run in Afghanistan. They're literally 602 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 2: in hiding hoping they don't get slaughtered. So Russia's offering 603 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 2: them a chance to hey, come here, come fight for us. 604 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 2: We'll pay you, we'll keep your family safe. It's not 605 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 2: again as if you're a father. That doesn't sound like 606 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 2: a horrible solution. So just another crazy thing that's happening 607 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:12,160 Speaker 2: right now. 608 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 3: You know. Also, what's going on in Afghanistan from sources 609 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 3: that I've talked with, is that there's just villages that 610 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 3: are just disconnected from every modern function that you could 611 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 3: think of, and they have just been living in this 612 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 3: primitive style life happily as tribes. Yeah right, living over there, 613 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 3: and they don't even know what the talent or what 614 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:37,679 Speaker 3: Afghanistan is. Sure, yeah, what's this word Afghanistan? They're like, 615 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 3: you mean my land? 616 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, I mean there's shit, there's a lot of 617 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:47,160 Speaker 2: examples of Afghans and rural areas thinking that US troops 618 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 2: were still Russians, you know, and all right, that that 619 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 2: invasion was still happening. So yeah, I mean there's some 620 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,440 Speaker 2: people out there that they don't have any like track 621 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 2: of time. They don't really know, they don't know how 622 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 2: old they are. I mean, they live a very simple life, 623 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 2: which is crazy for us. Harvest work in the mountains. Yeah, 624 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 2: and so here we have here we have like you know, 625 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 2: cabal falling, but they don't really even maybe know cabal exists. 626 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 3: Sure, yeah, absolutely, they get intruders in their perimeters, yes, 627 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 3: villages like who are these what is this? 628 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 2: What is this this. 629 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 3: Alien ship landing in my backyard? Yeah, And a lot 630 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 3: of them just want to be left alone, kind of 631 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 3: like as you mentioned, I mean, they're they don't necessarily 632 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 3: like the Taliban, they don't like the US. They just 633 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 3: want to be left alone. 634 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:39,080 Speaker 2: And they're gonna obviously side with whoever is going to 635 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 2: make their life the easiest. So if the Taliban comes 636 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 2: into town and they start, you know, if they start saying, hey, 637 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 2: we're going to kill your family unless you tell us 638 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 2: where the Americans are, They're going to tell them where 639 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 2: the Americans are. And then when the Americans come into town, 640 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 2: they're going to do the same thing for them. They're 641 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 2: just trying to survive, right, So they don't I don't 642 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 2: think a lot of them really care who's in power. 643 00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 2: They just want to be left. 644 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 3: Alone, right, And that's what I'm saying, because like even 645 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 3: the power can't even really reach them unless they go 646 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 3: looking for these people, these tribes in these villages. So 647 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 3: it's like, you know, Afghanist such a beautiful country, and 648 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 3: they do have beautiful people and beautiful eyes. And you know, 649 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 3: I've seen time life photos of you know, these photos 650 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 3: of these women over there that are just like war stricken. 651 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 3: Their eyes show million miles stare. 652 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 2: But yeah, you know, I mean, think about somebody who's 653 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 2: my age, I'm almost thirty five that grew up in 654 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 2: Afghanistan has pretty much been at war their entire lives. 655 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 2: I mean it's all they know, right, they just know war. 656 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 3: Even me, I'm forty six, so seventy seven, right, I 657 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 3: mean the Russians came in seventy nine. 658 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 2: Right, It's like in the eighties, yep. So I mean 659 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,760 Speaker 2: there's just always been conflict. There probably always will be 660 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 2: conflict there. 661 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 3: Even Rambo did a Rambo three where he was in Afghanistan, 662 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 3: and you know, at the very end of it he 663 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 3: says special thank you to the beautiful people of Afghanistan 664 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 3: because he filmed that whole thing in Afghanistan, and the 665 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 3: same kick and rush his ass. 666 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,080 Speaker 2: Yeah I gotta go. 667 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, they play he plays the actual goat game where 668 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 3: they grab the goat on the horses and they're racing 669 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 3: each other and they throw it in the circle. So 670 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 3: if you go watch Rambo three Sylvester Stallone, dude, I 671 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 3: think you'll like it. Okay, yeah on my list now, yeah, dude, 672 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 3: because not only is he ripped right, it's Rambo dude. 673 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 2: Oh man, oh I love that. I love it. 674 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 3: I've seen them all, of course I have. I'm an 675 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 3: aged child due. So yeah, is there anything you're going 676 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 3: to be doing. Furthermore, you're going to be writing more 677 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 3: about your you know, life and death of Abby Gate 678 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 3: and all this, what's going on? You got other books, 679 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 3: we'll say, focused on this. 680 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I'm certainly still focused on Afghanistan. I 681 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 2: have a podcast called The Afghanistan Project podcast that I 682 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 2: do with an amazing co host named Beth Bailey, who's 683 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 2: a reporter for Fox News and Washington Examiner, and you know, 684 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 2: we it kind of started as a as a place 685 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,640 Speaker 2: to educate people still stuck in Afghanistan as to what 686 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,560 Speaker 2: their pathways might be as far as what visas they 687 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 2: might qualify for, because dude, it's so complicated. I remember 688 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 2: the first time I started going into the down the 689 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 2: SIV rabbit hole, just trying to figure out what documents 690 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 2: might be required for Abdul Muhammad. As an American English speaker, 691 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,280 Speaker 2: it's a disaster. It's so hard to figure out what 692 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 2: to do as an Afghan that maybe speaks a little English, 693 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 2: almost certainly doesn't read or write English. Some of them 694 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 2: can't even read and write in their own language. I mean, 695 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 2: it's literally impossible. So we really wanted to do something 696 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 2: to try to help those people understand what pathways they 697 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 2: qualify for. So that's kind of how it started. It's 698 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 2: evolved into a little bit more than that. Now. We 699 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 2: talk to a lot of people that have served in Afghanistan, 700 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 2: people that served at Abbey Gate, talk a lot about 701 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 2: moral injury as to what these troops went through during 702 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 2: the evacuation. But yeah, we're still doing that and I 703 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 2: think that's something that we'll continue to do so again 704 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 2: in the Afghanistan Project podcast. And then we'll see, you know, 705 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 2: I'm focused on this book right now. It's just coming 706 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 2: out right now, so I think I'll, you know, focus 707 00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 2: on this a little longer, maybe take a break, and 708 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 2: then we'll see if I might write something again. So 709 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 2: and we'll see. 710 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 3: You think, do you think any Afghans are trying to 711 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,360 Speaker 3: come in through the southern border as immigrants right now? 712 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,040 Speaker 3: Yes they are, and uh, do you think that they 713 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 3: should be able to I think that just yes or no? 714 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I think the people that qualify for an 715 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 2: SIV should be allowed to enter the country. I'm not 716 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,760 Speaker 2: saying that they should be able to have their SIV. 717 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:24,680 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah. 718 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 3: What if they don't have their SIV. What if it's 719 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 3: your friend, your buddy that translated for you and he 720 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 3: needs to get into the US. Are we going to 721 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 3: allow him to immigrate into the US just like that. 722 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:39,600 Speaker 2: That's a tough one. 723 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,040 Speaker 3: No, I want to answer. Come on, you got friends 724 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:43,960 Speaker 3: at Fox, let's go. I want to get from that. 725 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:48,080 Speaker 2: I would say, yes, people that serve the United States 726 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 2: deserve to be here. 727 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:54,000 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, okay, okay, facet yeah right, okay, So even 728 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 3: the wife of that person deserves absolutely person. 729 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 2: You don't want to be separating family. That doesn't make 730 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:02,320 Speaker 2: any sense. You don't want to bring the men here 731 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 2: and have the women and children stuck in Afghanistan. So yes, 732 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,200 Speaker 2: I think anybody that served the United States of America 733 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:10,920 Speaker 2: in a war zone should have safe passage the United 734 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 2: States one hundred percent. 735 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 3: Yeah, right, exactly, and especially if they're coming out of 736 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 3: Afghanistan because look, look what we're going over there and doing, right, 737 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:19,880 Speaker 3: going over there and snagging dudes and bringing them back 738 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:21,840 Speaker 3: into the US just to be here, right, and just 739 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 3: saying hey, just stay low, lay low, you know, like, 740 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:25,960 Speaker 3: don't worry about the wall. We'll just get you on 741 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 3: an airplane to fly you over it, right, I mean, 742 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:30,520 Speaker 3: that's what. Let's talk about that, right, Because everybody's so 743 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 3: obsessed with the southern border and like people coming into 744 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:34,359 Speaker 3: the country, But here we are trying to get people 745 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,399 Speaker 3: into the country any anyway from Afghanistan. 746 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:41,359 Speaker 2: Is that any different? Sure? Yeah, makes sense. I mean yeah, 747 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,840 Speaker 2: like I said, anybody that we made a promise to 748 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 2: these people and then we bailed on them. And during 749 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,760 Speaker 2: the Doha Talks, we were negotiating directly with the Taliban. 750 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 2: We didn't even allow the Afghan government in on the discussion, which. 751 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:54,799 Speaker 3: Is talking at the Joha talks. Do you know, do 752 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,239 Speaker 3: you recall who that was at the Doha talks? What 753 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 3: like who physically donder there? I mean the State what administration? 754 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:04,359 Speaker 3: Are you referencing State Department for the most part, which 755 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:06,359 Speaker 3: under what administration? 756 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,160 Speaker 2: Though? Of the Doha Talks? What do you mean what administration. 757 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 3: Are you referencing for the Doha talks When we had 758 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:14,319 Speaker 3: the Doha talks and it all fell apart. What was 759 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,200 Speaker 3: the administration where it all fell apart? Was that the 760 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:17,839 Speaker 3: Biden or was that the Trump administration? Oh? 761 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,160 Speaker 2: I see what you're saying. Well, it didn't necessarily fall 762 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 2: apart because we made an agreement with the Taliban, So 763 00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,360 Speaker 2: the Doha agreement. Who made the agreement? 764 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:28,239 Speaker 3: That was Trump? Yeah, that was Trump. So he made 765 00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:32,720 Speaker 3: the Doha agreement excluded the Afghan government from those talks, 766 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:35,880 Speaker 3: which was complete bullshit, right, So we're negotiating straight with 767 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,560 Speaker 3: the Taliban for people that were not including on the talks, 768 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:40,440 Speaker 3: and we're going to leave them there. It reminds me 769 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,080 Speaker 3: of of of Iraq when we sent over an ambassador 770 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 3: who didn't know any Arabic whatsoever, and he dismantled the 771 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 3: army and the Bath Party when they were supposed to 772 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:51,719 Speaker 3: use the army to defend Iraq and he's like, you're 773 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:53,560 Speaker 3: all fired, you're all fired. And I don't even speak 774 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 3: your language. It's like, yeah, man, that's why I'm wondering, Like, 775 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 3: you know, like we see you know, I want to 776 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:00,759 Speaker 3: see a president that speaks the language. 777 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,319 Speaker 2: Sure, Yeah, i'd like to see that. 778 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,240 Speaker 3: I'd like to see that, you know, just like, hey man, 779 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,320 Speaker 3: Spanish is cool, you know Canadian? 780 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 2: Hey speak something other than BS. Yeah, you know. 781 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:14,359 Speaker 3: To us because we sit here and watch this, you 782 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 3: have you know, I have friends that have gone over 783 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,399 Speaker 3: and been beaten to get people out. You've had friends 784 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:20,640 Speaker 3: that have gone over and sacrificed their lives to get 785 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,080 Speaker 3: their friends out that help them. You know, you mentioned 786 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 3: people like Tim Kennedy. He's Special Forces right, green beret. 787 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,399 Speaker 3: You know, he probably had translators and friends who were 788 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,760 Speaker 3: helping him in Afghanistan while he was doing all that stuff. 789 00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:33,439 Speaker 3: You know, how could you not want that friend of yours. 790 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:34,920 Speaker 3: I have a friend I'm not going to say who 791 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 3: it is, Northern Alliance commander, right, and I'm just not 792 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:40,239 Speaker 3: one of And I'm just going to say I know 793 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 3: he's here and he's happy, and you know, he did 794 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,919 Speaker 3: his time with working with the US in the time 795 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,360 Speaker 3: and now he's back in the US. So I'm happy 796 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,960 Speaker 3: for him and his family and his large family. 797 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:56,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I know what you're talking about. 798 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,400 Speaker 3: But here in Utah, Yeah, well, yeah, I still want 799 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 3: to give him out, you know, But sure, he's a 800 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 3: great dude. Whish I'm happy birthday. I'm friends with him 801 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 3: and nice. Yeah, you know, and no one would ever 802 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,279 Speaker 3: recognize him because he just sits around, maybe kind of 803 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:13,080 Speaker 3: being the janitor someplace there. You go, you're like, oh really, yeah, yes, 804 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 3: commander speaking of the Northern Alliance. And you know what, now, 805 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,120 Speaker 3: the Northern Alliance is kind of the NRF, the National 806 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 3: Resistance Front. So the Northern Alliance was led by a 807 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:29,080 Speaker 3: commander Masud, who was murdered by al Qaeda on September tenth, 808 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:31,160 Speaker 3: I believe, two thousand and one, so one day before 809 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 3: nine to eleven, because the al Qaeda knew that he 810 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:35,800 Speaker 3: was going to be the you know, United States ally 811 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 3: here in Afghanistan. So now that the Taliban has taken 812 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:43,040 Speaker 3: over his son, the new commander Masud is now in 813 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 3: charge of the National Resistance Front, so, which is kind 814 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:48,040 Speaker 3: of like Northern Alliance two point zero, and they're the 815 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,279 Speaker 3: they're fighting the Taliban currently, So they're the only group 816 00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:54,840 Speaker 3: that I know of that's currently actually engaged in combat 817 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,760 Speaker 3: against the Taliban trying to take Afghanistan back. 818 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,400 Speaker 2: For the people. So I had the privileg to be 819 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:02,640 Speaker 2: able to get fly over to Vienna actually and meet 820 00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 2: him and spend three days with the with the NRF 821 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:08,040 Speaker 2: for an article I was writing, and you know, I 822 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 2: got to spend some time with him, and he was 823 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,040 Speaker 2: very educated. He had a very professional vibe about him. 824 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 2: I left there believing that he wants the best for 825 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,879 Speaker 2: the people of Afghanistan and he wants to take back 826 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:20,800 Speaker 2: the country and give the power back to the people. 827 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:24,719 Speaker 2: So it's a very unique and cool experience to be 828 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:26,319 Speaker 2: able to, you know, go meet him and spend some 829 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 2: time with them. So, I you know, as far as 830 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:30,759 Speaker 2: I know, the US government isn't backing him. I think 831 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,000 Speaker 2: they should at least have some open dialogue with them, 832 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,360 Speaker 2: but so far I don't think there is any. But 833 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 2: I hope that they're you know, able to accomplish their 834 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,560 Speaker 2: goals and defeat the Talban. There's probably some Red Cell 835 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,400 Speaker 2: team out there, probably, I mean, I'm sure they're communicating 836 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:47,960 Speaker 2: with the CIA or something. But who knows. 837 00:38:48,239 --> 00:38:50,520 Speaker 3: Somebody's drinking Nike will and going to sleep at night 838 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:54,440 Speaker 3: with a out of stuffy sneezy yeah, I think arrest medicine. 839 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:56,160 Speaker 2: Someone's waking up in the morning. 840 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,160 Speaker 3: I'm going to tell you that, dude, Holy cow, Wow, 841 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:01,600 Speaker 3: So you're not gonna miss being in the army. You 842 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:03,520 Speaker 3: don't think you're good with your six? 843 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:07,280 Speaker 2: I'm good, I think. I mean, going through this whole 844 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:11,800 Speaker 2: evacuation process, I think made me realize that I'm probably 845 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:16,560 Speaker 2: more valuable as as just a normal citizen, as a civilian, 846 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:19,120 Speaker 2: than I than I could be as an Army soldier, 847 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:23,239 Speaker 2: because you know, the military here was really handcuffed when 848 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:27,280 Speaker 2: it came to evacuation. I mean, I had generals calling 849 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,080 Speaker 2: me asking for help getting people out from both the 850 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:33,279 Speaker 2: Air Force from the Army, you know, so for them 851 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 2: to be calling a E six reservist for help, you know, 852 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:41,279 Speaker 2: really put it in perspective for me that I think 853 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,120 Speaker 2: there's a lot more I can do as a civilian 854 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:45,279 Speaker 2: than I can serving in uniform. So, you know, I 855 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,920 Speaker 2: had my fun, I did my deployment, loved every second 856 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:50,400 Speaker 2: of it. But I'm ready to move on. 857 00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:54,320 Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, really, I mean it's it's it's just something 858 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:56,600 Speaker 3: that makes you who you were or who you are today. 859 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,560 Speaker 3: It's just a path, stepping stepping platform. And we talked 860 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 3: about you construction, doing construction in the military, but with 861 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:06,520 Speaker 3: an M four and then you know, yeah, I mean, 862 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:08,520 Speaker 3: so were you guys setting up like all the tents 863 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 3: at the bases and everything like that, and putting up 864 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:13,880 Speaker 3: all of those poles with the extenders that kept the 865 00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:16,200 Speaker 3: you know, were you the ones that just kept the 866 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:18,920 Speaker 3: snow from coming off the tents? Because you know, we 867 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:20,880 Speaker 3: have a war game field out here, and it was 868 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:22,880 Speaker 3: all set up by these guys and it was beautiful. 869 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,439 Speaker 3: But the snow hit and they just left it and 870 00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:29,400 Speaker 3: they didn't maintain their fob out there, and it just 871 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:31,600 Speaker 3: the snow finally caved in. The poles bent. 872 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:33,520 Speaker 2: But so you need to help, brother. 873 00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:37,880 Speaker 3: It takes a whole dedicated team of people just to 874 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,320 Speaker 3: knock snow off the tents, let alone. 875 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:42,759 Speaker 2: That's you know, one of the worst things I think 876 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:44,760 Speaker 2: for a soldier going out to the field is setting 877 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,040 Speaker 2: up those damn tents. Those things suck. Just such a 878 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:47,840 Speaker 2: pain in the ass. 879 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:49,959 Speaker 3: My friends, like, you don't want to buy these ones. 880 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,000 Speaker 3: They suck. Get the other model. It's like another NSN number. 881 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,160 Speaker 3: He's like, there's two types. He's like, we bought both types, 882 00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:58,120 Speaker 3: and that one's over there like with all of its 883 00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:01,800 Speaker 3: poles and like some spider formation and just like left alone. 884 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:03,480 Speaker 3: And then the other one's all set up like Glory 885 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:05,640 Speaker 3: and I was like, okay, I forgot. 886 00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:06,160 Speaker 2: What style that was. 887 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:07,839 Speaker 3: But he's like, make sure you get that nice. 888 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:09,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, dude, good Lucke. Yeah yeah. 889 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:11,360 Speaker 3: The things we do, we go hard out here for 890 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,200 Speaker 3: war games. You know, we have that type of inform 891 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:16,319 Speaker 3: you know, environment, you. 892 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:17,120 Speaker 2: Know all that. 893 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:17,440 Speaker 3: You know. 894 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:19,680 Speaker 2: I would love to come check that out. 895 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,200 Speaker 3: We just had one hundred men operation yesterday at this 896 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:25,399 Speaker 3: place called Millsim City out here, and it's a four 897 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:29,560 Speaker 3: acre house to house. There's like bust broken down out 898 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,920 Speaker 3: in the desert. It's all you know in this environment, 899 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,120 Speaker 3: and you just boo boom, boom, bo boom, you know, 900 00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:35,840 Speaker 3: just the whole time. And what you do is you 901 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:39,239 Speaker 3: go get these like green home depot sprinkler flags. Team 902 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:42,040 Speaker 3: A has to put them in every building. Team B 903 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,560 Speaker 3: has to stop them from putting them into every building. 904 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:45,680 Speaker 2: Okay yeah. 905 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:47,480 Speaker 3: And so once it's done and you can know that 906 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,600 Speaker 3: building is now like you know, occupied by the other guys, 907 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:53,800 Speaker 3: you can no longer go in there. It's considered off limits. 908 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,480 Speaker 3: It's just legit. And these guys like you, guys like me, 909 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:00,359 Speaker 3: young kids, women, children, they all play. It's a good 910 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:02,440 Speaker 3: time out in the desert of war games and high 911 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:05,200 Speaker 3: fives and getting it out of your system. Some people 912 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:08,000 Speaker 3: can never join they have asthma or you know, they 913 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:09,560 Speaker 3: were born premature and they. 914 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:14,359 Speaker 2: Have a bad eyeball. But bro Dude's Captain America. Yeah right, 915 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,280 Speaker 2: everyone wants to have that experience. 916 00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:19,520 Speaker 3: He's like Team Wendy Helmet, you know, everything all legit. 917 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:22,840 Speaker 3: It's like, you know, you won't let me serve fine Airsoft, 918 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:27,880 Speaker 3: let's go. Yeah, it's their chance to be on an 919 00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:32,520 Speaker 3: ODA team out there and working with guys from odas. Yeah, sure, 920 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:34,759 Speaker 3: who are just like what do they do after they 921 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,600 Speaker 3: get out? You know, they're like, okay, well let's go 922 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:37,320 Speaker 3: play some Airsoft? 923 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:37,640 Speaker 2: What is this? 924 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:39,600 Speaker 3: Well this is fun And the next thing you know, 925 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:41,840 Speaker 3: they got the gloves all clipped on their belt and 926 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:45,680 Speaker 3: they're walking around. Hell yeah, I'll try to dress up 927 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:49,239 Speaker 3: like you. You know what I'm saying. Staffs aren't so Yeah. 928 00:42:49,239 --> 00:42:51,560 Speaker 3: I need to check that out. Yeah yeah you should. 929 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:54,160 Speaker 3: And if you if my listener's interested in Airsoft because 930 00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:56,239 Speaker 3: they want to go, you know, find something where there's 931 00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:59,720 Speaker 3: some camaraderie, you can check out Utah Airsoft on Facebook. 932 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:01,759 Speaker 3: That's one of our pages and we have a lot 933 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:05,200 Speaker 3: of you know, positive information for the sport on there, 934 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,080 Speaker 3: and if you have any questions about it, you can 935 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:09,719 Speaker 3: find out where to play local areas on your on 936 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,680 Speaker 3: the internet just google Airsoft. But yeah, I mean you're 937 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:17,040 Speaker 3: in Michigan, right, Yeah, there's a huge scene there for warmes. Yes, 938 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,439 Speaker 3: there is, Yes, there is. Yes, dad grew up sure, yeah, 939 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,120 Speaker 3: my dad grew up on Lake Michigan. But in a 940 00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:25,680 Speaker 3: in a in Wisconsin, Okay, in a place right there 941 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:26,560 Speaker 3: on the border there. 942 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:29,200 Speaker 2: So yeah, it's a beautiful state here, man. We got 943 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:31,239 Speaker 2: a lot of lakes. If you can put up with 944 00:43:31,239 --> 00:43:33,480 Speaker 2: the winter, it's a nice place to live. You guys 945 00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:38,200 Speaker 2: got mountains, No, no, no, we got lakes. What's the 946 00:43:38,239 --> 00:43:41,719 Speaker 2: snow sport out there? Everyone plays hockey. I grew up 947 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,799 Speaker 2: playing hockey here, played my whole life. Still play. So yeah, 948 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,239 Speaker 2: when the lakes freeze, everyone goes to place hockey or you know, 949 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,040 Speaker 2: go ice fishing. It's about the only two things you 950 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:51,839 Speaker 2: can do in the winter here. That's the sport out 951 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:52,799 Speaker 2: there here in Utah. 952 00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:58,280 Speaker 3: You know you've got snowboarding, skiing, snow biking, bro snow bike. 953 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:02,359 Speaker 2: Sweet, Yeah we see those. Yeah, I've seen it. I've 954 00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:03,360 Speaker 2: never done. It looks fun. 955 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:05,759 Speaker 3: Oh they're going hard now They're like there's backflips and 956 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:08,160 Speaker 3: they're just like doing all these different you know, it's 957 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:10,440 Speaker 3: just gonna happen. We'll just see in the Olympics in 958 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:14,120 Speaker 3: ten years or so. Yeah, sure, when Utah kids did. Yeah, Well, 959 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:16,080 Speaker 3: what would you like what would you like to leave 960 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:19,160 Speaker 3: my listener with? What's your what's your thoughts? And I'll 961 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,399 Speaker 3: give you a few minutes, you know, to sound off 962 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:22,960 Speaker 3: on something. Let me let's hear it. 963 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, man, I mean so many things, I guess I 964 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:28,160 Speaker 2: think the number one thing would be that, you know, 965 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:31,239 Speaker 2: the Afghanis stand evacuation is two years past us, but 966 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:34,200 Speaker 2: it's not over. We still have. The last estimate I 967 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:36,120 Speaker 2: think that came out from No One Left Behind, which 968 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:39,160 Speaker 2: is an NGO working to help Afghans get out of 969 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:41,720 Speaker 2: the country, was that we still had about two hundred 970 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:47,160 Speaker 2: thousand SIV applicants, so Special Immigrant Visa applicants that these 971 00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:49,839 Speaker 2: are people that supported the United States during the twenty 972 00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:53,160 Speaker 2: year war and we're promised protection. Still two hundred thousand 973 00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:56,480 Speaker 2: of them are left behind. There's only a small amount 974 00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:58,400 Speaker 2: of visas left, so not all of them are going 975 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:00,560 Speaker 2: to get here. Not even a frack of them are 976 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,600 Speaker 2: going to be able to get over here. So it's 977 00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:06,960 Speaker 2: not over. The evacuation is still ongoing. There are bills 978 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,359 Speaker 2: going through Congress. One is the Afghan Adjustment Act, which 979 00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,080 Speaker 2: is currently stalled still I believe. But you know, if 980 00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,680 Speaker 2: you want to support, call up here your local leadership, 981 00:45:16,719 --> 00:45:18,799 Speaker 2: tell them you want to support the Afghan Adjustment Act 982 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,360 Speaker 2: and help give safe passage to these people that bled 983 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:23,920 Speaker 2: with America for so many years, instood shoulder to shoulder 984 00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:26,399 Speaker 2: with us on our deployments. So that's what I would 985 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:28,319 Speaker 2: encourage you to do. Also, yeah, you can check if 986 00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:30,239 Speaker 2: you're interested in my book, it's called Life and Death 987 00:45:30,239 --> 00:45:33,040 Speaker 2: at Abvigate Again. You can find it anywhere Amazon, Barnes 988 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:36,160 Speaker 2: and Noble, my website Michael Cook dot com. And also 989 00:45:36,239 --> 00:45:40,120 Speaker 2: check out our podcast, the Afghanistan Project Podcast anywhere you 990 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:42,359 Speaker 2: find your podcasts. I love that. 991 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:44,600 Speaker 3: No, that's that's wonderful and it really does. You know, 992 00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:47,320 Speaker 3: you should have safe passage. There should be safe passage 993 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:49,560 Speaker 3: for them to come here. I'm a big believer in that. 994 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:53,040 Speaker 3: You know, boil boy, you know, it's America. We are 995 00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:56,480 Speaker 3: melting pot, and I just think that you know, if 996 00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:57,040 Speaker 3: you make. 997 00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:58,440 Speaker 2: It here, then you can. 998 00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:01,120 Speaker 3: You know, they they see gold, old roads man. That's 999 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:02,319 Speaker 3: what people are told, you know. 1000 00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:02,719 Speaker 2: It's like. 1001 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:04,680 Speaker 3: And a friend of mine is like, well, we're going 1002 00:46:04,760 --> 00:46:06,279 Speaker 3: to give him all these free things, and I'm like, 1003 00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:09,640 Speaker 3: that's what they think is the American dream. They're going 1004 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,000 Speaker 3: to get here and they're going to say, I get 1005 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:18,080 Speaker 3: some bread and something to eat versus political prosecution and 1006 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:23,560 Speaker 3: persecution for just being outspoken. Yeah, we're so lucky to 1007 00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:24,239 Speaker 3: live in this land. 1008 00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:26,800 Speaker 2: Yeah. One more thing I'll add is, you know Abdul, 1009 00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:29,840 Speaker 2: one of my friends that got here, main character in 1010 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:33,320 Speaker 2: the book. He has a little daughter. And I remember 1011 00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:35,759 Speaker 2: when he first called me when the Taliban was on 1012 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:38,719 Speaker 2: the door of Koobol. He facetimed me and he had 1013 00:46:38,719 --> 00:46:41,400 Speaker 2: his little daughter, baby daughter in his lap. And I 1014 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:43,319 Speaker 2: was actually sitting right where I am right now in 1015 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:46,239 Speaker 2: my kitchen, and I'm standing with my mother and or facetiming, 1016 00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:49,920 Speaker 2: and I remember my mom just like started crying because 1017 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:54,520 Speaker 2: she realized that this little girl's future was gone. I mean, 1018 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:56,400 Speaker 2: this little girl was not going to grow up and 1019 00:46:56,440 --> 00:46:59,000 Speaker 2: have an education or have a job. She was going 1020 00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:00,960 Speaker 2: to leave the house without a male coort or without 1021 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:02,560 Speaker 2: her face covered. I mean, all those things that you 1022 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:05,760 Speaker 2: already mentioned. And at that point, like I didn't realize 1023 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:08,000 Speaker 2: there's anything I could do to help them. I didn't 1024 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:10,040 Speaker 2: know what the special immigrant vistial process was. I didn't 1025 00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:13,000 Speaker 2: know about digital Dunkirk, didn't know about anything. And just 1026 00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:15,960 Speaker 2: to know that this little girl's life was over before 1027 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:18,680 Speaker 2: it even started with so heartbreaking. So to have them 1028 00:47:18,719 --> 00:47:21,840 Speaker 2: here in Michigan. You know, they lift thirty minutes from me, 1029 00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,560 Speaker 2: so I go over there for dinner Afghan dinner is amazing. 1030 00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:28,880 Speaker 2: But to have them, yeah, the food spectacular, But to 1031 00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:31,200 Speaker 2: be able to watch them go play soccer and go 1032 00:47:31,239 --> 00:47:34,399 Speaker 2: to school, and they're all the there's how many kids 1033 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:37,400 Speaker 2: are there now, six kids between the two families and 1034 00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:41,000 Speaker 2: six families. They're finally the older kids just picked up 1035 00:47:41,040 --> 00:47:44,000 Speaker 2: English like fluently, finally, so I'm able to have conversations 1036 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:46,640 Speaker 2: with English with them. It's just so special to me, 1037 00:47:46,719 --> 00:47:48,360 Speaker 2: and it means the world. But just to know that 1038 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:50,560 Speaker 2: they're here safe and they're going to have a future 1039 00:47:50,640 --> 00:47:53,719 Speaker 2: when that future was essentially ripped away from them, it 1040 00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:56,480 Speaker 2: means everything to me. So I'm just I'm so lucky 1041 00:47:56,520 --> 00:47:58,920 Speaker 2: because I know so many people that tried to get 1042 00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:01,520 Speaker 2: their interpreters out, trying to get their allies out, weren't 1043 00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:03,600 Speaker 2: able to do so, and those people are still stuck there. 1044 00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:05,840 Speaker 2: So I know that I'm the lucky one that we 1045 00:48:05,880 --> 00:48:08,239 Speaker 2: were able to be successful and get them over here. 1046 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:11,560 Speaker 2: So just so thankful for everyone that assisted us in 1047 00:48:11,560 --> 00:48:12,319 Speaker 2: that evacuation. 1048 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:16,440 Speaker 3: Well, kudos to you, and kudos to your co author. 1049 00:48:16,719 --> 00:48:18,800 Speaker 3: Drop their name one more time, Robert Conlin. 1050 00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:21,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, man, if you're looking to write a book and 1051 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:23,719 Speaker 2: you need some assistance like I did, I don't come 1052 00:48:23,719 --> 00:48:26,640 Speaker 2: from a writing background, so knew I needed a little 1053 00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:29,520 Speaker 2: help getting my words down on the page, call this 1054 00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:32,080 Speaker 2: guy up, Robert Conlin. If you need his contact information, 1055 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:34,479 Speaker 2: just hit me up. Great dude, great writer. He's also 1056 00:48:34,520 --> 00:48:36,799 Speaker 2: a veteran and it was a privilege to work with him. 1057 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:38,759 Speaker 2: I just wanted to give him a shout out. You 1058 00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:39,239 Speaker 2: know what I mean. 1059 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:41,120 Speaker 3: It's one hundred percent, Michael. I know I got you 1060 00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:43,720 Speaker 3: on the show, and it's it's it's been a pleasure. 1061 00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:46,279 Speaker 3: Thanks for coordinating yourself to be here on such a 1062 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:49,399 Speaker 3: busy Sunday. And I hope my listener really gets some 1063 00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:52,360 Speaker 3: open minded thought process here about like you know, safe 1064 00:48:52,360 --> 00:48:55,080 Speaker 3: passage for these folks that worked with our military and 1065 00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:58,560 Speaker 3: our policies from the politicians politicians out there that are 1066 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:01,879 Speaker 3: putting these people's lives in all of these jeopardies, right, 1067 00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:04,200 Speaker 3: they deserve a little bit of like a pat on 1068 00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:06,640 Speaker 3: the back from you. Don't just dismay them out into 1069 00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:11,720 Speaker 3: never never land, Okay. So I'm yeah, simple as that, okay. 1070 00:49:11,840 --> 00:49:13,400 Speaker 3: And I just want to show my listener that you 1071 00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:15,319 Speaker 3: can meet somebody that you've never never met before and 1072 00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:18,920 Speaker 3: have a decent conversation with them in this life, okay, 1073 00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:21,719 Speaker 3: And so you continue to be a positive steward of 1074 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:24,920 Speaker 3: who you are in this world. And on behalf of 1075 00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:30,040 Speaker 3: Michael Cook, former Army engineer Stet Sarn. Life and Death 1076 00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:33,359 Speaker 3: at Abby Gate is his book. Go check it out. 1077 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:36,279 Speaker 3: It'll be posted up in our description. Thanks to my 1078 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:40,640 Speaker 3: producer Anton and to everybody that helps me here, Brandon Webb, 1079 00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:42,879 Speaker 3: I really thank you for the job every single time. 1080 00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:47,960 Speaker 3: So on behalf of Taylor Kansas City Chiefs forty nine ers. 1081 00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:50,840 Speaker 3: Have a fun Super Bowl and I hope. 1082 00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:53,040 Speaker 2: I picked the score. Let's just see it up all right. 1083 00:49:53,080 --> 00:49:54,360 Speaker 2: This is rad sayam Pace 1084 00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:03,800 Speaker 1: Use them listening to self Red Radio