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Speaker 1: Lute. If it doesn't work, you're just not using enough.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to soft Rep Radio, Special operations, military mares

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Speaker 1: and straight talk with the guys and the community. Welcome

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Speaker 1: to another episode of soft Rep Radio and I am

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Speaker 1: your host, Rad and today I have a very cool

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Speaker 1: special guest who has a lot of people that love

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Speaker 1: him out there that submitted him to the show. And

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Speaker 1: he goes by the name John mad Dog Nelson. He

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Speaker 1: is ranger qualified eleven Bravo Infantry in the United States

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Speaker 1: Army and something tells me he's probably airborne as well,

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Speaker 1: and has a few other credits that things off his chest.

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Speaker 1: So welcome to the show. John. Hey, thanks for having

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Speaker 1: me Rad. I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity

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Speaker 1: to share some of my stories with you, you and

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Speaker 1: your and your folks. I appreciate it. Thanks well. Listen,

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Speaker 1: you were recommended by one of our listeners on SOFTWAREPP okay,

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Speaker 1: and you probably know Brian. Brian, thanks for submitting to

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Speaker 1: softwarep throwing John under the bus to be put onto

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Speaker 1: this platform to talk to all of us out there.

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Speaker 1: But it's stories from guys like you, John, that make

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Speaker 1: soft Rep and our Software Radio so cool, right it's

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Speaker 1: like you're here, we are you can tell your story.

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Speaker 1: I know you're a ranger. I know a range of qualified.

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Speaker 1: I know you're sapper. I know you know how to

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Speaker 1: like put some decord together probably or like cleared out

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Speaker 1: of the field. Yeah, there's a couple of things I

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Speaker 1: know how to do. I'm not too shabby. Yeah. Where

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Speaker 1: the name mad Dot come from. So it's funny because

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Speaker 1: we are a a little mad Dog, you know, General Madnis,

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Speaker 1: mad Dog Maddis. But a couple of decades before that,

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Speaker 1: you know, I was fifteen years old and I played

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Speaker 1: the men's softball league while I was going through high school,

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Speaker 1: and my uncle's were former Marines and a lot of

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Speaker 1: guys who are former Marines as well former soldiers on

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Speaker 1: the softball team, and they they kind of recruited me

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Speaker 1: as a young kid to play on the team, be

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Speaker 1: one of the guys. And so by hanging out with

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Speaker 1: all these older, you know, veterans, they came up with

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Speaker 1: this nickname and they called me mad Dog one day

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Speaker 1: and it kind of stuck. It stuck with me, and

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Speaker 1: so that stayed with me as like a nickname for me.

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Speaker 1: I had several other ones, but that was one that

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Speaker 1: really stuck on me. And then when I came into

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Speaker 1: you know, like I said, decades later, back into the military.

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Speaker 1: I had served in the Marine Corps. I was out

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Speaker 1: for fifteen years, not eleven happened, and I pursued to

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Speaker 1: come back in and I was giving the opportunity to

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Speaker 1: serve in the Army National Guard. And from that way

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Speaker 1: that moving forward, that nickname stuck. And when I was

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Speaker 1: giving the opportunity to be a platoon sergeant, I called

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Speaker 1: my platoon the mad Dogs, and all our call sign

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Speaker 1: was mad Dog. So that's that stuck with me, and

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Speaker 1: I made that all a part of them, as I

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Speaker 1: shared a part of me with all of my soldiers

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Speaker 1: had served me in my platoon, and it's stuck with me.

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Speaker 1: That was my call signed mad Dog seven. So you

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Speaker 1: have a bunch of mad Dog pups out there. I

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Speaker 1: love that. Now. Is it my understanding that prior to

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Speaker 1: nine eleven you were just in a kind of a

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Speaker 1: more docile place in the military, just you know, you know,

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Speaker 1: hanging out, cleaning your stuff, making sure everything was ready

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Speaker 1: to go to a battle. There was really just Kosovo

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Speaker 1: and Bosnia kind of kicking off. That we're publicly talked

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Speaker 1: about and then all of a sudden, nine eleven happens.

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Speaker 1: You know, the twin towers are hit and you're aware,

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Speaker 1: so you know. I had served at duty in the

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Speaker 1: Marine Corps two and then I got out and I

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Speaker 1: pursued some other ventures as a Bostom police officer. Was

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Speaker 1: a patrolman for a couple of years, moved on to

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Speaker 1: other things in my life. I had a debt to pay.

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Speaker 1: I had a pay debt to society. Took care of that,

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Speaker 1: and like I said, it was a fifteen year break

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Speaker 1: between when I was released out of the Marine Corps

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Speaker 1: an honorable discharge, and I was attending call Llege at

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Speaker 1: mass Bike Community College just outside of Boston and Wellesley,

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Speaker 1: and I was having lunch. I was in the cafeteria

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Speaker 1: and I sat down to have a sandwich between classes,

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Speaker 1: and I saw on the TV screen and showed the

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Speaker 1: twin towers and one was already smoking up and being damaged,

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Speaker 1: and I was I looked over one of the young

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Speaker 1: students next to me. I was my early thirties, and

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Speaker 1: I elbowed a guy and I was like, Hey, what's

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Speaker 1: what movies this? I haven't seen this movie. This must

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Speaker 1: be a new movie or something, you know. I thought

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Speaker 1: it was like a Bruce Willis action movie or something.

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Speaker 1: And he looked at me and it was like, hey, man,

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Speaker 1: what are you an idiot? He's like, that's live news

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Speaker 1: and I was like, wait, wait a minute, that's that's

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Speaker 1: New York Cities. Someone's attacking us. And as I were watching,

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Speaker 1: I saw the second plane hit and I could I

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Speaker 1: just I couldn't. I still couldn't accept that this was

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Speaker 1: this was live TV. I kept thinking there was so

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Speaker 1: much doubt, like, no way, this is this is a

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Speaker 1: Hollywood movie. Nobody, nobody's doing this right now. And then

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Speaker 1: because it was State College and the flight came out

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Speaker 1: of Boston, so there was like fire Alarms went off,

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Speaker 1: announcements came over for everyone to leave the campus go home,

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Speaker 1: and I was walking out, running out to my car,

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Speaker 1: not running in panic, but moving with a sense of urgency.

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Speaker 1: And I was like, man, someone just came in and

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Speaker 1: punched us in the eye. And then someone someone's starting

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Speaker 1: to fight with us, and man, I was like, all right, well,

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Speaker 1: if if we're gonna end up going to find the

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Speaker 1: people who did this, I'm gonna say the Marine Corps

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Speaker 1: probably gonna be involved in this, like right up front

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Speaker 1: until I made an effort to go right down the road,

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Speaker 1: pulled right into a marine recruiter's office and I was like, hey,

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Speaker 1: I was a former devil Dog. I served active duty

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Speaker 1: until what can we do. I want to get back

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Speaker 1: in because we're going to war. I want to be

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Speaker 1: a part of it, and I'm ready started, you know,

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Speaker 1: the recruiters. They started to put me through the process.

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Speaker 1: I ended up going into maps and at the medical portion.

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Speaker 1: During the medical portion, and I determined I had a

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Speaker 1: lump in my neck right side and you couldn't see

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Speaker 1: it. It It was growing in inwards. And they sent me

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Speaker 1: out to Boston University Medical Center to have an m

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Speaker 1: R done to figure out what was wrong with me.

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Speaker 1: I was at the last station to be cleared to

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Speaker 1: re enlist, and they did they need a cat scan ultrasound,

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Speaker 1: And at that time, those doctors came and they told me,

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Speaker 1: they said, hey, you need to go see your doctor.

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Speaker 1: You have a a mass in your neck that's stopping

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Speaker 1: the blood flow to your brain. You have a tumor.

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Speaker 1: And it was about the size of a golf ball.

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Speaker 1: And I was like, you gotta be you gotta be

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Speaker 1: kidding me. So that day I went to see my

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Speaker 1: my primary care doctor at the VA Hospital in Boston

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Speaker 1: and was like, hey, doc, I've been complaining about this

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Speaker 1: since I got out of the Marine Corps and you

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Speaker 1: kept telling me it was nothing. Now I just kept

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Speaker 1: disqualified for service and this ain't I could possibly have cancer, Like,

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Speaker 1: we're gotta look at this. He pulls me in the office,

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Speaker 1: shuts the door, and he starts checking on me step

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Speaker 1: the scope. He's like, hey, you gotta you gotta pulse here,

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Speaker 1: but you don't have a pulse up here, like that

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Speaker 1: is stopping the blood. And I'm like, I'm gonna have

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Speaker 1: a stroke. So he put me in for a consultation.

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Speaker 1: The next day, I came back in. They put a

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Speaker 1: scope up through my leg. They could see a tumor

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Speaker 1: and and they brought in a team of doctors. And

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Speaker 1: I was about thirty two or thirty three at the time,

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Speaker 1: and they they gave me a pretty hard choice to make.

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Speaker 1: They said that that tumor had to come out and

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Speaker 1: it was on the carotid, so they were gonna have

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Speaker 1: to stop the blood flow of my brain. If I

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Speaker 1: wanted to leave the tumor alone, I would be surprised

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Speaker 1: if I had five more years left of my life

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Speaker 1: and I had just had my daughter born. I was

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Speaker 1: trying to go back in the service. I'm like, you

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Speaker 1: gotta be kidding me. This is gonna be a show

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Speaker 1: stopper right now. And so the doctor is like, well,

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Speaker 1: if you opt to have the surgery, there's a high

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Speaker 1: risk of stroke or death because we have to stop

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Speaker 1: the blood flow to your brain to conduct the surgery.

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Speaker 1: I said, well, how do we fix this? And said, well,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna remove the carotid. I'm gonna take a vein

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Speaker 1: the sapping it, spin out of your thigh and replace

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Speaker 1: it in your neck. And I was like, I'll live fine.

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Speaker 1: They said you should be okay if you survived the surgery.

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Speaker 1: So I opted for that based off based off of

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Speaker 1: my daughter just being born and the opportunity like, well,

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Speaker 1: if this gets fixed, do you think I'll still get

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Speaker 1: to get back in and put the uniform on? Like

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Speaker 1: I want to go get pay back. I want to

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Speaker 1: serve right, Like that's that's how we got here. You

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Speaker 1: found the spects that tried to make the effort right.

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Speaker 1: So I went through the surgeries. Twelve hour was a

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Speaker 1: surgery a few months of speech therapy, had to learn

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Speaker 1: how to talk and swallow all over again. And I

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Speaker 1: went back to the Marine recruiter and they were like,

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Speaker 1: no way, Like the scar down my neck was bright red.

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Speaker 1: They're like, we can't, we won't touch you. So I

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Speaker 1: my ambition and dream of serving again was was crushed.

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Speaker 1: And I was like, how can I go and part

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Speaker 1: and help our country with what people just did to us.

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Speaker 1: I was so driven by it, and you know, I

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Speaker 1: wanted to set that example for my daughter, like, hey,

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Speaker 1: you know we we stand up for our country right

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Speaker 1: for the greater good of all of us and so um.

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Speaker 1: A recruiter, recruiter from the National Guard Massachusetts used to

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Speaker 1: frequent the nightclub where I worked in security at night

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Speaker 1: and he had come to me and he said, hey,

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Speaker 1: I think I can uh, I might be able to

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Speaker 1: get around some medical stuff. They might consider you now.

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Speaker 1: And I was I was like, come on, I don't know.

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Speaker 1: I was in the Marine Corps, I'd go active Army.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't want to be in the Guard,

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Speaker 1: like I I know what goes on. You know. My

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Speaker 1: my my perception of the Guard from when I was

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Speaker 1: ACTI duty wasn't a good one. So I was like,

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Speaker 1: oh yeah right, and and it will on me. It

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Speaker 1: wore me really bad where it's like, well, you know what,

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Speaker 1: I shouldn't care. As long as I get to serve

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Speaker 1: and do my part, I gotta do it. So he

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Speaker 1: put me in for re check on the physical. We

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Speaker 1: went through everything, and the doctor there saw I had

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Speaker 1: a big tattoo down my ribs from the Marine Corps

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Speaker 1: and he's like, hey, look, I'm just a just a

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Speaker 1: general doctor. He said, I'm not going to deny you.

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Speaker 1: He goes, I'm looking at your Marine Corps tattoo. There's

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Speaker 1: something right with you to go through that surgery and

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Speaker 1: still want to serve in war. He's like, let's send

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Speaker 1: it up to the to the higher echelance people that

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Speaker 1: are experts in cardio vascular and see what they say.

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Speaker 1: And about a month and a half two months later,

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Speaker 1: I got a random phone call from some colonel saying

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Speaker 1: he's calling from the Army Surgeon General's office and that uh,

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Speaker 1: he wanted to talk to me, and he said, son,

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Speaker 1: I'm looking at your your application he had to serve,

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Speaker 1: and do you know how lucky you are surviving that surgery?

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Speaker 1: And you know we're a country at war and you're

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Speaker 1: lucky to survive that, and you still want to go

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Speaker 1: to war. I'm like, yes, sir, Yes, that's what I

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Speaker 1: that's what I want to do right now. And he

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Speaker 1: was like, well, you've been cleared for full duty. And

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Speaker 1: I was like, clear duty, full duty as in a cook,

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Speaker 1: full buttons. I'm gonna I'm gonna be alterations, Like what

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Speaker 1: do you mean full duty? He goes, Son, your applications

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Speaker 1: to come in the infantry. That's where you're going. And

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Speaker 1: I was like, oh wow, this is amazing and need

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Speaker 1: sight son, take care of yourself and God speed. And

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Speaker 1: I was sworn in less than an hour later, and

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Speaker 1: a month later I was shipping out going over to

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Speaker 1: my first tour overseas. I put my name on a

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Speaker 1: volunteer list and off I went John, real quick. You

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Speaker 1: were infantry in the Marine Corps and then you went

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Speaker 1: infantry in the Art. So were you you were prior

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Speaker 1: three levers? Noo, sir, I was a thirty thirty one

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Speaker 1: in the Marine Corps. I was a truck driver. I

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Speaker 1: was assigned to second truck tuck Italian at Camp le June. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So when I came into the Army National Guard. There

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Speaker 1: was part of the regulation at the time that during

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Speaker 1: the years I attended the Marine Corps basic training that

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Speaker 1: they would credit me with with eleven series infantry background.

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Speaker 1: So I came straight in and off I went and

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Speaker 1: shipped me off and I could do what I first

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Speaker 1: I wanted. When I first came in, I could only

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Speaker 1: do three pushups. My muscles were so so much nerve

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Speaker 1: damage and atrophied. And I've always played junior pro hockey,

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Speaker 1: high school hockey, I played, always played spots my whole life, baseball, everything,

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Speaker 1: So it was killing me that I could only do

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Speaker 1: three push ups. I'm always into fitness. I competed in

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Speaker 1: a couple of body building competitions when I got out

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Speaker 1: of the service, So, like, being in shape was a

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Speaker 1: big thing for me. So when I came in the Army,

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Speaker 1: back to getting paid to work out. Pt. Like I said,

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Speaker 1: when I first came in, I could do three pushups

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Speaker 1: and I was struggling. Now I could do a few more.

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Speaker 1: I could do a few more than three pushups right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: enough enough of what you gotta do. I got so, John,

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Speaker 1: what you're telling me is that you you got your

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Speaker 1: eleven Bravo cord and infantry badge because you were a

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Speaker 1: marine and you've already done all of that rigorous training

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Speaker 1: as a marine through boot camp, and so the Army

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Speaker 1: is like, here's your you know, eleven bravo and then

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Speaker 1: you get deployed over to Afghanistan and now you're chasing

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Speaker 1: down the Taliban and al Qaeda because we just got hit,

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Speaker 1: like you said, punched in the eye on nine eleven. So,

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Speaker 1: so what's going through your mind going from the Marine

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Speaker 1: to the army. Is there a big difference right off

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Speaker 1: the bat, Well, there was a big difference that the

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Speaker 1: banter ring was definitely still alive between the two services

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Speaker 1: right there. So there was guys that had been active

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Speaker 1: duty Army in my guard unit that once once they

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Speaker 1: got word that I had served in the Marine Corps,

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Speaker 1: they were Marine leavin neck. They had you know, lot

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Speaker 1: of a Provado chest pound in Well, I'm you know,

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Speaker 1: one guy, one guy had a range of Tabby's like

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Speaker 1: you know, and I'll never forget that was Sergeant Kumo.

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Speaker 1: Sergeant Kmo was like, yeah, well, you know, I was.

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Speaker 1: I was a ranger. You know, Marines don't mean shipped

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Speaker 1: to me. You know, I was like, okay, well, I'm

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Speaker 1: just a private first class. I'm not challenging you, sergeant.

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Speaker 1: You you asked me what my background was. I told

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Speaker 1: you I serving the Marine Corps. So they would ras

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Speaker 1: me and ride me quite a bit, and I just

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Speaker 1: took it with the territory, like, hey, you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: in the Army, I'm a E three, I'm a PFC

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Speaker 1: Private first class in my early thirtiest of them, and

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Speaker 1: I'm I'm getting scuffed up and talked to a certain

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Speaker 1: way by like twenty year old guys that just because

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Speaker 1: just because they had more rank. But I respect and

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Speaker 1: understand the professional environment we're in. And you know, because

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Speaker 1: they had more ranked, I gotta, you know, rank and file.

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Speaker 1: I gotta do what I'm told until I move on.

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Speaker 1: And what I learned really quick about the difference between

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Speaker 1: the Army and the Marine Corps. And the Marine Corps,

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Speaker 1: the only time I ever saw anyone in the Marine

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Speaker 1: Corps were in any kind of badges on the uniform

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Speaker 1: was anybody that was like Anglico or or Recon forth.

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Speaker 1: Recon guys they have up wings and Scooba bubbles and

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Speaker 1: stuff on their uniform out of that Marines. You don't

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Speaker 1: see them wearing anything. And now I'm in the Army

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Speaker 1: and they got all these badges and these tabs and patches,

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, man, what is all this? And guys

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Speaker 1: like well, you know, you go to aerosolt school, you

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Speaker 1: get that helicopter, you know, badge, go to airborne schools

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Speaker 1: up on a plane, you get those jump wings. And

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Speaker 1: you know, you go to ranger school. You're a ranger,

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Speaker 1: you get that that ranger tab. And I was okay,

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Speaker 1: so what does all that stuff do? Like, well, you

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Speaker 1: get a lot of good army training and the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to promote, and you learn more stuff on how to

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Speaker 1: be more lethal and more of a you know, we

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Speaker 1: joke around and we say, you know, you become more

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Speaker 1: of a badass, you know when when the time comes

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Speaker 1: you called on the battlefield. So I start thinking, okay,

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Speaker 1: well I want to be on the battlefield. This is

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Speaker 1: why I joined. So I gotta find a way to

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Speaker 1: go do that kind of stuff so I can kick

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Speaker 1: more ass next time I'm on the battlefield. And that's

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Speaker 1: kind of like how it's been for my career. Every

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Speaker 1: time I deploy, I come back, I attend some more training,

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Speaker 1: and then I'm I'm beating down walls to try and

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Speaker 1: get back overseas to put that to good work. So

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Speaker 1: none of the taxpayers money to send me to army

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Speaker 1: training was ever put the waste because I took it

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Speaker 1: through the work overseas every time they gave me a

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Speaker 1: chance to get more training. I think it's you know, colleging,

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Speaker 1: you were just full on war college, constantly learning and

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Speaker 1: learning war college. You're just like on the boots on

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Speaker 1: the ground, you're basically uh O J T reno that

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Speaker 1: acronym on the job training. You're just like, teach me

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Speaker 1: now I know it, go back, learn it, maybe even

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Speaker 1: regurgitated to newer people like you're mad dog pups and

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Speaker 1: and and that's what I did. I try to instill

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Speaker 1: a lot of that mentality and that mindset to every

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Speaker 1: soldier that's ever served with me, whether they were my peer,

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Speaker 1: my superior, or those soldiers that I had the privilege

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Speaker 1: to be trusted with the lead. I've tried to put

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Speaker 1: that in, plant those seeds into them to become to

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Speaker 1: become more of what they thought they could be of themselves. Right.

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Speaker 1: A lot of a lot of time soldiers don't pursue

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Speaker 1: those type of opportunities what I saw because they don't

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Speaker 1: think they have it in them. You know, they look

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Speaker 1: they look at me and they're like, call man, you're

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Speaker 1: you know, first sar mass you know your your Ranger,

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Speaker 1: You're Sapper, You've been a mountain, he's done airborne, You've

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Speaker 1: done it. And I'm like, what's what's saying you can't

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Speaker 1: do it? You know, there's no cookie cutter mold. There's

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Speaker 1: big rangers, short rangers, fat ranges, skinning range, there's it's

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Speaker 1: all shapes and sizes, right, but it's all gonna make

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Speaker 1: sure you believe in yourself and you have those people

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Speaker 1: that are willing to push you as well to achieve

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Speaker 1: great things. Try exactly in the circle to try, you know, yeah,

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Speaker 1: at least push yourself to the limits and know what

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Speaker 1: your limits are, because you'll never know and if and

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Speaker 1: if it's whether you wanted to audition for a movie,

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Speaker 1: or try to go out for a ripid Rangers school

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Speaker 1: or trying down that baseball team, if you don't put

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Speaker 1: your foot forward, you'll never know, that's right. So I

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Speaker 1: use an analogy. I use an analogy of Mike Tyson.

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Speaker 1: Now Mike Tyson. He probably knocked my head off, But

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Speaker 1: you never know if I don't get in the ring,

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Speaker 1: and who knows, I might get that unpunched it and

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Speaker 1: knocked him into next week and shocked the world. But

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Speaker 1: if I don't get in the ring, I'll never know

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Speaker 1: if I could do that. Right, So I think there

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Speaker 1: were juices. The juices worked the squeeze. Take the risk,

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Speaker 1: put one step forward, like you said, and go for it,

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Speaker 1: because you won't. You won't know whether or not if

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Speaker 1: you make it or not if you don't try. Right,

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Speaker 1: And so I look at that, that's exactly right. It's now.

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Speaker 1: I was just gonna say, rad, That's how I look

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Speaker 1: at it. Like my my cancer surgery. It was like, man,

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Speaker 1: I could have settled for like a five year life expectancy,

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Speaker 1: or I could give him myself. What I teach my soldiers,

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Speaker 1: always give yourself a fighting chance. Right. So I'm like, no,

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Speaker 1: let's take the risk. Let's go forward the surgery. I

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Speaker 1: might get a chance to serve. Again. Imagine that, what

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Speaker 1: was that nine eleven, So that's two thousand one, and

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Speaker 1: you were given five years or so because if you

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Speaker 1: did do the surgery, the tumor, but you did the surgery.

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Speaker 1: So what is that twenty years later and you've knocked

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Speaker 1: those odds out and you've served nine combat deployments, is

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Speaker 1: that right? Nine? Nine overseas? Yes, sir, yes, nine overseas deployment.

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Speaker 1: What was the craziest deployment that just right now? That one? Well,

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Speaker 1: just to correct you, my first deployment the unit I

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Speaker 1: was able to get on as a volunteer. We went

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Speaker 1: to Sinai, Egypt, and we deployed to the Sinai Peninsula.

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Speaker 1: And while we were there, unfortunately, we had two or

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Speaker 1: three different terrorist attacks. So a lot of people think

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Speaker 1: like it was a cush mission, but we ended up

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Speaker 1: dealing with those those acts of terrorism while we were there,

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Speaker 1: so that changed the security posture for us while we

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Speaker 1: were there. I would say my craziest deployment, it's probably

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Speaker 1: a toss up between my O six to O seven

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Speaker 1: Afghanistan and my eleven to twelve Afghanistan. Saw a lot

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Speaker 1: of contact on both of those, My chief, you don't

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Speaker 1: My OA to oh nine one was pretty bad too,

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Speaker 1: so so I'll tell you my six O seven as

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Speaker 1: well as my OA to OH nine, those were both

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Speaker 1: embedded tours. I was an embedded tactical trainer with the

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Speaker 1: Afghan Army. So both times I was on like a

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Speaker 1: four to six man team embedded with Afterhans, and we

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Speaker 1: were teaching them on, you know, how to be better

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Speaker 1: than what they were as what they would consider it

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Speaker 1: as an Afterian soldier. Make them improved as well as

400
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Speaker 1: we want them to improve because we're right there with them.

401
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Speaker 1: So we want to give ourselves a little bit more

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Speaker 1: of a fighting chance because they're they're all around us

403
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Speaker 1: fighting off the Taliban, So we're out there teaching them

404
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Speaker 1: how to be successful and defeating the Taliban. O six

405
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Speaker 1: to oh seven. I was just a sergeant E five.

406
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Speaker 1: I had just got back from Iraq with the Mississippi

407
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Speaker 1: Army National Guard. I was at Scandaria in the Joff

408
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Speaker 1: Province in Iraq. Got back and I was out processing

409
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Speaker 1: to go back to Massachusetts. I lost my glass company

410
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Speaker 1: while I was deployed. I owned my own glass company.

411
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Speaker 1: It went under while I was deployed, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I was kind of in panic mode that what am

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Speaker 1: I gonna do for work? I got my daughter now,

414
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Speaker 1: my son was my son was now born, and I

415
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Speaker 1: gotta I gotta keep pay coming in and while I

416
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Speaker 1: was out processing, a full bird colonel was in processing

417
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Speaker 1: and we both came to the same desk, and you know,

418
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Speaker 1: we're they're stepping back and forth. Hey go ahead, sir, No, sergeant,

419
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Speaker 1: you go ahead. And we started some small talk and

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Speaker 1: he asked he asked me, He said, so, where where

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Speaker 1: are you coming from? Sergeant? I was like, I was

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Speaker 1: just getting back from Iraq. Who are you with? I

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Speaker 1: was like the first of the one five five out

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Speaker 1: of the Mississippi Army National Guard. I went as a volunteer.

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Speaker 1: And he's like, oh, they had a saw the cashty reports.

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Speaker 1: They had a rough time. Yeah, we lost some good soldiers,

427
00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:24,560
Speaker 1: some real good soldiers. And he said, well, I got

428
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,920
Speaker 1: an opportunity for you. Would you be interested in taking

429
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,399
Speaker 1: that combat experience and be a part of my team

430
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,040
Speaker 1: and be embedded with the Afghan Army for a year

431
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,720
Speaker 1: in Afghanistan. So right away I was like, Wow, now

432
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,000
Speaker 1: I get to go to Afghanistan. I get to take

433
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,359
Speaker 1: my combat experience. I fought insurgeons in Iraq. Now I

434
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,360
Speaker 1: can fight Caliban and see if they if they got

435
00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:47,400
Speaker 1: the stuff. Because the insurgents in Iraq, I wasn't impressed,

436
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,760
Speaker 1: but you know, they're crafty, right, And so I was

437
00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:52,200
Speaker 1: thinking to the Taliban, I'm like, all right, let's go

438
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,400
Speaker 1: see what the Taliban got to mix up with, right,

439
00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:56,560
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get a little bit of everything. And he

440
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:58,520
Speaker 1: told me the mission. He's liked, you're gonna be embedded,

441
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:00,200
Speaker 1: you know, like a four or five man team tam

442
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,320
Speaker 1: embedded with you know, like a hundred Afghans, and you're

443
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,119
Speaker 1: gonna be teaching them how to defeat the Taliban. And

444
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,720
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm just a sergeant E five, but

445
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:08,800
Speaker 1: I'm in my mid thirties at this point, but young

446
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,320
Speaker 1: in the army. I'm like, you're gonna put a sergeant.

447
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,240
Speaker 1: You're gonna put a sergeant out there teaching over like

448
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,439
Speaker 1: a hundred Afghans something. Oh, this is amazing, What a

449
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,320
Speaker 1: great opportunity. I'm gonna teach them how to fight the

450
00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:24,120
Speaker 1: mad dog way and beat the Taliban. Let's I'm with it, sir,

451
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,359
Speaker 1: Let's do it. And so on that deployment. I got

452
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,280
Speaker 1: wounded a couple of times that deployment and what kind

453
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,240
Speaker 1: of a wound did you get? What caused the wound?

454
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,000
Speaker 1: So we were attached. I was on a four man

455
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,760
Speaker 1: team and we were attached to a team out of

456
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,159
Speaker 1: third Special Forces Group and we had a weapons company

457
00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,240
Speaker 1: from the Afghan Army who was about a hundred Afghans

458
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,040
Speaker 1: and we were tasked with training them and teaching them

459
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,320
Speaker 1: that We provided support for the Operational Detachment ALPHA team

460
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,040
Speaker 1: from third Special Force Group and we went up into

461
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,080
Speaker 1: the Da Japan Valley. We were in Zambel Province and

462
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,080
Speaker 1: we were operating on a fog lane and we had

463
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,760
Speaker 1: up a blocking position around a known village that was

464
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,400
Speaker 1: a Taliban stronghold. So we set up we kind of

465
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:10,520
Speaker 1: triangulated outside different strong points and there was two sections

466
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,040
Speaker 1: from an inptry company that came out and assisted. They

467
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 1: took one section of the valley. The special Forces team

468
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,399
Speaker 1: went across the other side of the valley and my team,

469
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,440
Speaker 1: the four of us, we staged with just four two humvees,

470
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,480
Speaker 1: four American packs and which are four Americans and then

471
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,200
Speaker 1: like a hundred and ten hundred twenty Afghans, we staged

472
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,440
Speaker 1: another blocking position. Well, I guess throughout the night when

473
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,840
Speaker 1: we got established, Taliban new evaluating figure out who would

474
00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:41,159
Speaker 1: be the easier target out of the three, and just

475
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,920
Speaker 1: as sunrise came, they picked us and it was probably

476
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,399
Speaker 1: five or six different RPGs gunners at different locations on

477
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,800
Speaker 1: a ridge line, shooting down on a shooting at us

478
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,200
Speaker 1: like we were in the bottom of a fish bowl

479
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,840
Speaker 1: and I was laying on the ground when when it initiated,

480
00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: I was behind the hum Vy sleeping on the ground

481
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 1: while my partner was in the radio. As soon as

482
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,199
Speaker 1: contacts started, I jumped up and I started running to

483
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,479
Speaker 1: get up into the hum V and RPG hit right

484
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 1: by the hum Vy, knocked me down. Hit I hit

485
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:11,960
Speaker 1: into the humpy as I was climbing in. I guess

486
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,680
Speaker 1: I got a bit of shrapnel. KIT came in and

487
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,920
Speaker 1: and cut my leg right around. My knee wasn't really

488
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,200
Speaker 1: bad and I was not pretty good, like I was

489
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 1: kind of out of it for a couple of seconds,

490
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,679
Speaker 1: and then climbed up into the gun hatch, got up

491
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,840
Speaker 1: on the fifty cow and then uh We sat there

492
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,560
Speaker 1: for about forty five minutes to an hour, holding off

493
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 1: that position while the Taliban kept continue to try to

494
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,639
Speaker 1: maneuver on us with RPG support from up on the

495
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,879
Speaker 1: ridge line. And then they broke contact and we stayed

496
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:46,520
Speaker 1: there the day and the following morning we went to Xville.

497
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,280
Speaker 1: That village and the infantry folks were coming through the valley,

498
00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,960
Speaker 1: coming through a road to cut through the village from

499
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,840
Speaker 1: their position. As they came through on that side, the

500
00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,320
Speaker 1: Taliban opened up. They repositioned, and they had killed an

501
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 1: American soldier. One of the young young men was a

502
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,800
Speaker 1: gunner on one of those humps they came through. We're

503
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 1: provided covering fire for them. We maneuvered our forces to

504
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,880
Speaker 1: where we could cover them to come. They were moving

505
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:14,240
Speaker 1: towards us. They came to us to consolidate, get that

506
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,520
Speaker 1: young soldier's body taken care of. And at that time,

507
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,080
Speaker 1: the Special Forces had come to us, and I'll never

508
00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,440
Speaker 1: forget Special Forces Commander Griff He came over to me

509
00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,840
Speaker 1: and he's like, Johnny, you good, said, I'm good. What

510
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,000
Speaker 1: we gotta do? And they did not have up armor humps.

511
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,919
Speaker 1: We did, and they said, Hey, we're going back in

512
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 1: there at the pinpointed location and we're gonna whoop some masks.

513
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:37,960
Speaker 1: We're gonna we're gonna fix their location and we're gonna

514
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,840
Speaker 1: call birds in on him. And he's like, you got enough, Amo,

515
00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,080
Speaker 1: I said, I'm I'm black. I had a captain with

516
00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:45,280
Speaker 1: me from the Puerto Rico guard and he was like, oh,

517
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 1: we're good. We're good on AMMO. And I was like, like, no,

518
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,640
Speaker 1: where fucking not. I got one can I have one

519
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 1: can of Ammo left? We are black on AMMO and

520
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,800
Speaker 1: Captain Griff. Captain Griff was like, no problem, I got

521
00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 1: AMMO far you And they loaded me up with you know,

522
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:04,159
Speaker 1: a couple of thousand rounds of fifty cow and he

523
00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,240
Speaker 1: was like and he was like, listen, John, you've got

524
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,119
Speaker 1: the upp armor hum V. We need jaw hum V

525
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,240
Speaker 1: to lead through the village. It's okay. So we went

526
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,520
Speaker 1: into the village. Nothing happened. We staged on the far side.

527
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,000
Speaker 1: We started getting radio traffic picking up Taliban radio chatter,

528
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,120
Speaker 1: and they didn't really want to they didn't really want

529
00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,560
Speaker 1: to mess with us. We dropped a couple of bombs

530
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:27,440
Speaker 1: upon some high rich lines, trying to see if we

531
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:31,080
Speaker 1: could stir anything up the pinpointed location. Nothing. We waited

532
00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,600
Speaker 1: until the afternoon and then Captain Griff was all right,

533
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 1: we're gonna actually, we're gonna pull back through the village

534
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:37,920
Speaker 1: through the valley on the other side with the infantry

535
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 1: of stage and we're gonna Childie Mike gonna move back

536
00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:44,320
Speaker 1: to the farb. As we began movement into the village,

537
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,120
Speaker 1: there was a there was an orchard on the right,

538
00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,560
Speaker 1: the right side of my hum v, and there's mud

539
00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,840
Speaker 1: walls about six ft high on either side of the road.

540
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,800
Speaker 1: So once you go into the road, you're stuck. You

541
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,240
Speaker 1: either go straight or forward. You can't go left or

542
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,240
Speaker 1: right because of the thick mud funnel. Yes, exactly, yes,

543
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:05,359
Speaker 1: so we went, we got funneled into the orchard and

544
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,960
Speaker 1: then that's when they opened up on us. They were

545
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,439
Speaker 1: hitting us from everywhere, and that was that was a

546
00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:16,520
Speaker 1: real crazy, crazy day. So they reloaded you with a

547
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:18,840
Speaker 1: thousand rounds, right, how many of those did you spend?

548
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,440
Speaker 1: I think they gave me five thousand rounds, five thousand total,

549
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:26,040
Speaker 1: five or six. Yes, they had, they had so much.

550
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,280
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, And so I was the fifty cow gunner

551
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,399
Speaker 1: on the on the lead hum V. We were getting

552
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,000
Speaker 1: hit with small arms fire. The A and A they

553
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,520
Speaker 1: jumped out of their pickup trucks left it pickup trucks

554
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,840
Speaker 1: in the road, So we were stuck and they were

555
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,240
Speaker 1: all jumping over the walls to get away from the Taliban.

556
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,440
Speaker 1: Because A and A is Afcan National Army and you're

557
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,199
Speaker 1: working with them, right, I'm just trying to break some

558
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,000
Speaker 1: AFTERNMS down because you know, I know, you know so much,

559
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,399
Speaker 1: and like Charlie Mike means like contact and movement to

560
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,320
Speaker 1: the FOB. Right, you guys are moving back to the

561
00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,159
Speaker 1: Ford Operating Base, expecting maybe some contact while you move, correct,

562
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,960
Speaker 1: Charlie Mikes. And so I'm just kind of I'm just

563
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,840
Speaker 1: trying to break down for my listener so that they know, Okay,

564
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:05,280
Speaker 1: A and A what is an A and A. It's

565
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 1: an Afghan National Army. The guys that are working with

566
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,879
Speaker 1: us supposedly and with you, but they don't want to

567
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,720
Speaker 1: be killed, so they're like, they'll probably scatter, yes, So

568
00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 1: it was like herding cats at that point. They would

569
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,960
Speaker 1: they jumped over the wall. They were trying to get

570
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,919
Speaker 1: cover because the bullets were just going right through their

571
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: pickup trucks. And so now we couldn't go any further

572
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 1: forward because the trucks, the walls on the sides and

573
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,080
Speaker 1: the trucks, and so we were just sitting ducks and

574
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,679
Speaker 1: we're getting hit and next thing I know, some of

575
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 1: the Special Forces guys in the thin skin humps behind

576
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,879
Speaker 1: me started screaming at me. Up front. I'm shooting towards

577
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,240
Speaker 1: the Taliban position with the cow and they're yelling to

578
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 1: pop smoke, pop smoke, and I couldn't understand, like why

579
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,800
Speaker 1: are we popping smoke? Next thing I know all as

580
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,920
Speaker 1: I heard was the mini gun on A ten. A

581
00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:54,840
Speaker 1: ten started swooping in down low and you could hear

582
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:59,360
Speaker 1: the a tent and it just sounds reverberated up my spine.

583
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,680
Speaker 1: I tense up, and I was just like, wow, I

584
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,240
Speaker 1: know ATENSI storm, we had, you know, a lot of

585
00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:08,440
Speaker 1: friendly fire. That's eight tens hitting hitting American vehicles. They're like, wow,

586
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:10,360
Speaker 1: I'm gonna die because I'm gonna in eight ten's gonna

587
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,600
Speaker 1: shoot me up today, And I was like kidding me.

588
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,399
Speaker 1: And that first gun run went by, I got sprayed

589
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:18,520
Speaker 1: with wood and everything because the gun run was so

590
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:20,639
Speaker 1: close to us, shooting up all the trees in the

591
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,360
Speaker 1: orchard beside us, and I looked back over my shoulder.

592
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,040
Speaker 1: I look back over my shoulder and they're yelling at me,

593
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 1: shaking their heads and throwing their arms up, pop smoke.

594
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,440
Speaker 1: They can't see us. So I started shooting the guns

595
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 1: for a minute, and I had like three or four

596
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,960
Speaker 1: smoker age and I started pop popping smoke so the

597
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,760
Speaker 1: pallets could see that the smoke was the friendly location.

598
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 1: And a couple more gun runs came through and me

599
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,720
Speaker 1: and the captain he was driving, I started kicking him

600
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,320
Speaker 1: in the head. He stop driving, get us out of here.

601
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:55,280
Speaker 1: Everybody's trapped. Go well aft bombs, A lot of bombs

602
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 1: d stuffed out of here. And he's like, I Ken

603
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,200
Speaker 1: yelling with me, I can't drive to pick up us.

604
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,600
Speaker 1: I'm like, these humpies will push those things out of

605
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 1: the way. Step on the gas, let's go. So he

606
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 1: starts shoving and pushing the trucks out of the way.

607
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,840
Speaker 1: Be while my buddy, the other teammate, Kevin Hunt, Kevin

608
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,240
Speaker 1: was out trying and maneuver and gather up the Afcans.

609
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,400
Speaker 1: He's on the radio on his radio talking to the

610
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,960
Speaker 1: pilots telling them where the enemy positions are. Kevin's getting

611
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:23,480
Speaker 1: shot at while he's trying to maneuver around on the ground.

612
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,080
Speaker 1: He's no longer in a humpy. He's trying to get

613
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,480
Speaker 1: the A and eight Afghan Army forces to consolidate and regroup,

614
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,400
Speaker 1: so as we keep pushing forward. He's going from tree

615
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 1: to tree behind a mud wall gets up behind our truck.

616
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,040
Speaker 1: He's trying to do the best he can to keep

617
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 1: commanding control with those Afghan soldiers. We finally push out

618
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,800
Speaker 1: with wish roof shooting the whole way out. We're fighting

619
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,360
Speaker 1: our way out of that orchard. We got out and

620
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,120
Speaker 1: everybody made it to the other side of the valley.

621
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:52,200
Speaker 1: We were able to fix the Caliban's position and we

622
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,560
Speaker 1: dropped quite a few jams on them. Yeah, we we

623
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,239
Speaker 1: definitely got some payback that day. Let me ask you

624
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,200
Speaker 1: something kind of a weird question. Were you wearing earplugs?

625
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 1: Were you wearing something on your ears for all of

626
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,240
Speaker 1: that uh fire? Are you just up in that gun

627
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,080
Speaker 1: hats just unleashing. I'm just curious. No, I didn't have

628
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 1: any ear protection in you know, I know it's it's

629
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:20,240
Speaker 1: what's recommended, right, but it yeah, it Yeah, it's a

630
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,720
Speaker 1: tough thing because you know, you you muffle so much sound,

631
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,920
Speaker 1: you start to lose some situational awareness as well. But yeah,

632
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,600
Speaker 1: it was loud. It was. It was real loud. It

633
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,720
Speaker 1: was very chaotic and as I could think about, as

634
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,240
Speaker 1: I'm looking back at my buddies, they were my buddies.

635
00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,680
Speaker 1: The guys on the Oder team, the specialst guys. We

636
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,080
Speaker 1: all lived together, we were training together, working, and I

637
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,120
Speaker 1: was I kept thinking about these poor bastards. They're in

638
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,800
Speaker 1: open hum vs. I'm the only one like in an

639
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 1: up armer hum V, Like I gotta fight so there's

640
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,440
Speaker 1: nothing left in me so those guys can get out

641
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,240
Speaker 1: of here. You know, that was a hectic day, just

642
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,320
Speaker 1: just straight. I just imagined that ten cruising through the orchard,

643
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,080
Speaker 1: just blowing everything apart. Bro, And you're just like, why

644
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,280
Speaker 1: are they yelling at me to pop smoke? Or you're like, oh, ship,

645
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,440
Speaker 1: I should pop smoke. Let's pop smoke because you said

646
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 1: it yourself. You don't want to get eight ten today? Yeah,

647
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,680
Speaker 1: it was ten for my listener. Is the aircraft that

648
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:14,960
Speaker 1: flies low with the art like it flies super low,

649
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,680
Speaker 1: like hunter feet off the ground, just obliterating everything in

650
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 1: its path with a gun mini gun. Yeah, for an

651
00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:22,920
Speaker 1: infantry soldier, there a dream come true. When they when

652
00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,720
Speaker 1: they come in to support you. There, you are pumped

653
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: when they come in. They got a great whistling sound

654
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,240
Speaker 1: to him. Oh they love you too, They want to

655
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:33,240
Speaker 1: they love you. I got a friend who's a pilot

656
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:35,800
Speaker 1: and he's like he's like what's it like down there?

657
00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:37,760
Speaker 1: And they're like, what's it like up there? It's always

658
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 1: this backwards, you know, Did I help you? Did I?

659
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:42,640
Speaker 1: Did I do what I did you want? Did I

660
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 1: get you? Did I help you? Like my teen pilot,

661
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,360
Speaker 1: I talked to him my job by Hill Air Force Space.

662
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 1: He's always like, my goal is to go back and

663
00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:52,480
Speaker 1: find them and see if I did what they wanted.

664
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:58,200
Speaker 1: That's awesome, bro, I'm sure you do. When you see

665
00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:03,240
Speaker 1: arms cheering in the air, that's like okay, right. So

666
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,680
Speaker 1: my buddy that was on the on the truck behind me,

667
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:10,000
Speaker 1: My buddy was Jay Ox. He's not with us any longer.

668
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,240
Speaker 1: He had a bad motorcycle a few years back. But

669
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,200
Speaker 1: Jay he was the one yelling at me telling me

670
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 1: to pop smoke. And when I turned around looked at him,

671
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,400
Speaker 1: was like, I'm sucking shooting the gun right, Like why

672
00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: why do I'm gonna stop shooting the pop smoke? And

673
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,960
Speaker 1: he stopped yelling. They can't see us and it's okay, yeah,

674
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:31,840
Speaker 1: I get it now. These smoker names are getting And

675
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,080
Speaker 1: didn't matter what color they were or were just popping?

676
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,200
Speaker 1: What color were they? What color were the smoker nodes?

677
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 1: Were they like purple, blue, yellow, red, white. I had

678
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,800
Speaker 1: red ones all staged, already had him staged and pouches

679
00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:47,920
Speaker 1: up in my turret because the red means something specific. Right, Well, normally,

680
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:51,200
Speaker 1: you know, we were trying color code things. Normally, if

681
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,920
Speaker 1: you're using red, you would try and established standard operating

682
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:58,160
Speaker 1: procedure in s OP like red would mean a casualty. Right,

683
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,880
Speaker 1: But we don't want to dictate really what color smoke

684
00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,160
Speaker 1: we're gonna use, because then the enemy knows, you know,

685
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:07,800
Speaker 1: what what our signal is. So when we're trying to

686
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:10,880
Speaker 1: more so just just to identify so the pilots can

687
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:13,000
Speaker 1: see who we are, will pop smoke and wait for

688
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,320
Speaker 1: the pilot to identify Because I'm a pop purple smoke

689
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:18,680
Speaker 1: and the pilots that I see white smoke, all right,

690
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:20,840
Speaker 1: Well that ain't me, um, But if they said we

691
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,720
Speaker 1: got rise on information of purple smoke, like that's us right,

692
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,280
Speaker 1: so right, because the enemy could pop smoke the same color.

693
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,240
Speaker 1: If you're like, yeah, we're popping red next thing, you know,

694
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,280
Speaker 1: everywhere on the hillside it's all pop pop pop pop

695
00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:35,760
Speaker 1: red smoke, You're like, right a second here, yeah, you

696
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,680
Speaker 1: tell me what color you see? Oh, Okay, you see

697
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 1: orange smoke. That's me right, That's right, that makes total sense.

698
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,840
Speaker 1: Thanks for explaining that. It's just a little things that

699
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,800
Speaker 1: are intriguing about, you know, such a big operation to me,

700
00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:52,240
Speaker 1: Like what are you wearing for hearing protection? What color

701
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,440
Speaker 1: is smoking being popped? You know? Like I bet the

702
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:59,760
Speaker 1: smell was just so crazy, huh. Everything you can call senses, bro.

703
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,160
Speaker 1: You could smell all the you know, the burning smoke

704
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,640
Speaker 1: from the grenade. You could smell the you know, all

705
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:06,840
Speaker 1: the gunpowder from the fifty col rounds. That gun was

706
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,000
Speaker 1: I had that gun rock and I wanted to if

707
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,000
Speaker 1: you were Taliban, I wanted to I wanted to send

708
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 1: you to meet your maker. Oh yeah. And and was

709
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,200
Speaker 1: there like a team that goes in was it your

710
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,920
Speaker 1: team or another team that goes in and assesses the situation?

711
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,360
Speaker 1: After you get done, you're like, hey, this is a

712
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,480
Speaker 1: sit rep. This is what we dealt with. And they're like, okay,

713
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:26,080
Speaker 1: we're gonna set a team and to go and clear

714
00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:28,879
Speaker 1: out and just casualty count. Is that something that goes

715
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,479
Speaker 1: down or what? Well, you know a lot of times

716
00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,000
Speaker 1: we try and you know b D a battle damage assessment,

717
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,800
Speaker 1: but where we had our American casualties already accounted for

718
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 1: and transporting them with us. There was no reason for

719
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,360
Speaker 1: us to stick around. You know, a lot of times

720
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,800
Speaker 1: we've determined how many enemy casualties or deaths were because

721
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,480
Speaker 1: you know, when monitoring enemy radio traffic and enemy calms

722
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,080
Speaker 1: and human intel will tell us you know, someone's missing, Well,

723
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,840
Speaker 1: he's missing because we probably smoked him right, or he's not.

724
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,319
Speaker 1: We're not getting shot at from that same spot anymore. Yeah,

725
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:05,040
Speaker 1: it's like we're gonna see that's gone. Yes. Wow. And

726
00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:07,799
Speaker 1: that was oh six, oh seven, huh. And that was

727
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,239
Speaker 1: just one. There was We had about four or five

728
00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,280
Speaker 1: more just in a like a period of like three months.

729
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,440
Speaker 1: Like that. I had a chance to serve with a

730
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:20,680
Speaker 1: great guy, Lieutenant Cooper, who's now Lieutenant Colonel Cooper who

731
00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:23,759
Speaker 1: two years later he was a lieutenant with me in Afghanistan.

732
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,240
Speaker 1: Two years later, him and I graduated Range of school

733
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:29,120
Speaker 1: together side by side, like and that happened by accident.

734
00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,719
Speaker 1: We both just showed up in the same range of class.

735
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 1: He's had an outstanding career as well. We had some

736
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:38,400
Speaker 1: good firefights that we shared together. And that was the

737
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,080
Speaker 1: O six one. But then I think one of the

738
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:43,840
Speaker 1: really stressful ones for me was because I was in

739
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:47,320
Speaker 1: senior leadership. I wasn't the guy so much down in

740
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,920
Speaker 1: the fight like those times. I had a platoon forty

741
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,400
Speaker 1: five guys out of the Massachusetts National Guard, and we

742
00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,040
Speaker 1: had deployed in two dozen eleven and two douzens twelves

743
00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:57,880
Speaker 1: to Kunar, Afghanistan. And there's been quite a bit of

744
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:02,239
Speaker 1: stories of you published out there about We had an

745
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:07,240
Speaker 1: observation post above farb Right called Open Nevada Observation Post Nevada,

746
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,880
Speaker 1: and it was manned by one squad at a time,

747
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,640
Speaker 1: So we had four squads, nine soldiers per squad, and

748
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,400
Speaker 1: they would go up and live on the top of

749
00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:18,640
Speaker 1: the mountain, watching over farb Right and watching over farb Joyce,

750
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,200
Speaker 1: which was manned by division the other side in the

751
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:25,239
Speaker 1: Gonjagal Valley and gone Gal is pretty well known, like

752
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:29,120
Speaker 1: Captain Swinton and Dakota Meyer received medals of honor from

753
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,919
Speaker 1: Caliban fighting they had in gun Valley. Gonaal is known

754
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,600
Speaker 1: to be very very much a Taliban stronghold. Yes, and

755
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:38,320
Speaker 1: so our guys were up there on top of this

756
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 1: mountain at like twelve thousand feet elevation, monitoring the valley

757
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:44,359
Speaker 1: for a week to ten days at a time, so

758
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,120
Speaker 1: they have to be very cautious on their their supplies

759
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,560
Speaker 1: as well as you know, if something sets off, to

760
00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,399
Speaker 1: be very aware of how much AMMO to be able

761
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,120
Speaker 1: to sustain and and and last until somebody can get

762
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,000
Speaker 1: up there. Because the other way up to get to

763
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,239
Speaker 1: Open Nevada right because he had the only way we

764
00:37:02,239 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 1: could get up and down from there was by rotary

765
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:10,680
Speaker 1: wing helicopters. So yes, so for them to get resupplied,

766
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:12,560
Speaker 1: they'd have to hold out long enough until we could

767
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,600
Speaker 1: get helicopters to provide any kind of support to bring

768
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:17,839
Speaker 1: anything up to them. And what happened was we had

769
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 1: been on ground. How was the platoon sergeant for that

770
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,400
Speaker 1: was mad Dog seven, and that was my platoon of

771
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:27,160
Speaker 1: mad Dogs, and we trained the hell out of them,

772
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:32,799
Speaker 1: I mean sixty seventy five days straight training, and we

773
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:36,719
Speaker 1: got praise from pretty much every every type of badass

774
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,960
Speaker 1: type of leader you would think. We had seal commanders

775
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,160
Speaker 1: involved in part of our mission, and they were just

776
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,399
Speaker 1: like this platoon, you guys are doing it right. If

777
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:47,840
Speaker 1: there was time in the day, instead of spending it resting,

778
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:50,440
Speaker 1: we were training if there was, if guys were awake

779
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:52,399
Speaker 1: at night, they want to they want to play video games.

780
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,040
Speaker 1: Where you got energy to play video games, you got

781
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 1: energy to train. We're gonna go train because I wanted

782
00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:58,640
Speaker 1: them to be able to take it to the enemy

783
00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,520
Speaker 1: and not wait any amount of time that God gives

784
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,840
Speaker 1: us prior to to give him a longer chance afterwards

785
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:09,879
Speaker 1: the deployment if they can survive, right, so we train.

786
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:11,520
Speaker 1: Really nice of you to try to make sure they

787
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:14,040
Speaker 1: come home to their families, Like that's the end of

788
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:15,600
Speaker 1: the day. You're like, I want you to come home.

789
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:17,799
Speaker 1: I know you want to play the Nintendo. I get it.

790
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,799
Speaker 1: I do too, but like you're like, this is what

791
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,759
Speaker 1: we need to do. We gotta we gotta do this,

792
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:25,360
Speaker 1: you know, because we want to go home to play Nintendo. Okay,

793
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,640
Speaker 1: you get pay Nintendo at home. It's like, right, I'm

794
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:34,680
Speaker 1: just gonna I'm not only I can only imagine your mindset. Yeah,

795
00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:37,759
Speaker 1: so it's the other pieces. You know. My mindset is.

796
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,160
Speaker 1: It's not I'm gonna say it's unique, but it's it's

797
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:41,719
Speaker 1: different than now. I listen to a lot of my

798
00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,440
Speaker 1: peers talk. You know. My mindset is also like, hey,

799
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:46,839
Speaker 1: I'm the one out in the fight too. So if

800
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:48,840
Speaker 1: they're not going to be able to keep me safe,

801
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:51,920
Speaker 1: then they're not I'm not training them hard enough, right

802
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:53,960
Speaker 1: if they're not able to You know, we're only as

803
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:57,759
Speaker 1: strong as our weakest link. So if our weakest guy

804
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,560
Speaker 1: is a badass, then that's our We don't want to

805
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,799
Speaker 1: be anything less than that, right, And and that's how

806
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:07,600
Speaker 1: in the home platoon adopted that mentality, like, Hey, when

807
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:10,520
Speaker 1: we come home and we make it, then we can relax.

808
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:13,120
Speaker 1: Then we can play video games, we can party up.

809
00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:19,200
Speaker 1: Right now, it's time to work exactly. You work ethic, Yeah,

810
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,040
Speaker 1: you have a work ethic of like of a baseball player,

811
00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,640
Speaker 1: of a team, sport individual. You're like, you know, let's

812
00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:27,640
Speaker 1: all be on the same team. Let's all do the same.

813
00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:29,760
Speaker 1: You have a position to play. I have. I'm the coach.

814
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:31,839
Speaker 1: This is my position on the team. This is what

815
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:33,160
Speaker 1: you're gonna do as a short stop. This is what

816
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,400
Speaker 1: you do in the center field. Don't argue with the umpires.

817
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:37,600
Speaker 1: Let the coaches argue with the umpires. All this type

818
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,600
Speaker 1: of thing is what I get from you like a coach,

819
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,440
Speaker 1: like a vibe and as a baseball player myself, you

820
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,280
Speaker 1: know when I do war games out in the desert

821
00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,040
Speaker 1: here in Utah, I bring that same mindset with my crews.

822
00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:49,239
Speaker 1: It's like, hey, you play your position, you're swinging off

823
00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,200
Speaker 1: the left, you're moving on the flank, and uh, you

824
00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:55,800
Speaker 1: know when I whistle come back okay, Yeah, it's really

825
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:58,200
Speaker 1: and over and over and over again. You know it

826
00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:00,640
Speaker 1: seems repetitive, but when you're doing war games with us,

827
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:02,960
Speaker 1: we work with guys like yourself, you know, who get

828
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,239
Speaker 1: out and want to keep kind of having a good

829
00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:07,880
Speaker 1: time and running and gunning with people. So air Soft

830
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,759
Speaker 1: war games have really helped a lot of veterans and

831
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,279
Speaker 1: those who never got to serve a chance to do

832
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:15,719
Speaker 1: something next to a guy like yourself who might be

833
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 1: playing air Soft war games with them. You know. It's

834
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:22,400
Speaker 1: just an interesting decompression tool that I like to pitch

835
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,080
Speaker 1: out there all the time. That's what I'm all about, right,

836
00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:27,600
Speaker 1: That's what I wound up here, a softwarep and uh

837
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:30,920
Speaker 1: it's because today's air software is tomorrow's you. You know,

838
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:34,680
Speaker 1: if they get a chance to join and uh, you know,

839
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:36,760
Speaker 1: I know some dudes with no hair they can probably

840
00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:42,919
Speaker 1: do just fine. It's just I was hoping I could

841
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:45,440
Speaker 1: plant some seeds and these young guys. I mean I figured,

842
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,839
Speaker 1: you know, I was a dad, and I would think, like, hey,

843
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:49,919
Speaker 1: if my son and daughter were being sent off the war,

844
00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:53,480
Speaker 1: would I want their leadership to be nice to them

845
00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,239
Speaker 1: so they would get along? I want their leadership to

846
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,600
Speaker 1: be soft on them? Is that how I would want

847
00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:02,279
Speaker 1: my key? It's trained and prepared for war after I

848
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,920
Speaker 1: know what takes place in war. And I was like, nope,

849
00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:07,160
Speaker 1: So a lot of those kids in that platoon, I

850
00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:09,160
Speaker 1: would I'd be able to look at their mom and dad,

851
00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:13,120
Speaker 1: the grandparents, if wives and kids looked them in the face,

852
00:41:13,239 --> 00:41:16,239
Speaker 1: and no, there's no guilt in me. I trained them

853
00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 1: with everything I had. And you know, if something bad

854
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:23,520
Speaker 1: was to happen, that's because sometimes ship happens. But you're

855
00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:27,320
Speaker 1: not gonna your husband, your son, your daughter, or your dad,

856
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:30,239
Speaker 1: your cousin, your nephew. He's not going to be sacrifice.

857
00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:32,120
Speaker 1: He loses his life, it's not going to be a

858
00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 1: wasted sacrifice because he wasn't trained properly. Right, I wasn't

859
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:38,120
Speaker 1: going to have that guilt on me. I think our

860
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:41,560
Speaker 1: American sons and daughters deserve if I'm in leadership, they

861
00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:44,560
Speaker 1: deserve everything I got everything. I got to teach them

862
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:48,919
Speaker 1: the way, and that's how I was right there, dude,

863
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:52,279
Speaker 1: you've given everything you got, you want everything they got. Ye,

864
00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,160
Speaker 1: And I'll call them kids, but these were men, right.

865
00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:56,879
Speaker 1: I call them kids only because I'm an old man

866
00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,920
Speaker 1: not taking it. You got twenty worlds, yeah, but you

867
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,920
Speaker 1: got these young guys that probably came up to you

868
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 1: as a mature E three saying hey, you know, help

869
00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:10,480
Speaker 1: you know, corral these guys. I know that they probably

870
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:12,839
Speaker 1: had to come talk to you on the side and say,

871
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:15,440
Speaker 1: we know you're a marine, we know that, you know

872
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:17,960
Speaker 1: you're an older dude and you've got a maturity level

873
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,880
Speaker 1: even though you're in E three. Okay, that had to

874
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,600
Speaker 1: have happened. Okay, So it's funny you mentioned that because

875
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,480
Speaker 1: I have I bring this conversation to every organization I've

876
00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:28,279
Speaker 1: been a part of since I am been in the

877
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:30,880
Speaker 1: National Guard. Right, A lot of guys come in the

878
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,840
Speaker 1: National Guard and when it's time to show up and

879
00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:37,200
Speaker 1: play soldier or perform soldier duties on a weekend, they

880
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:40,360
Speaker 1: want to play dumb. Right. Oh well I didn't know, sergeant,

881
00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:42,920
Speaker 1: oh you know, And I'm like, nope, I'm not buying it.

882
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:47,040
Speaker 1: You're an adult, you're raising children, you pay a mortgage,

883
00:42:47,239 --> 00:42:50,080
Speaker 1: you run a business, you're a police chief, you're a pop.

884
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:53,480
Speaker 1: Don't come here on the weekend and and serve beside

885
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:56,160
Speaker 1: me and play Jimmy the Dunce. I'm not buying it.

886
00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:58,200
Speaker 1: And a lot of soldiers knew. They're like, I can't

887
00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 1: get over on them. I'm not gonna get over on him.

888
00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:02,799
Speaker 1: But he's got my back, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna

889
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:05,839
Speaker 1: put in what he's putting in. And it was it's

890
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,840
Speaker 1: a very very fortunate situation. Massachusetts afforded me, giving me

891
00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:14,200
Speaker 1: that platoon and watched those soldiers developing the kick ass

892
00:43:14,239 --> 00:43:17,759
Speaker 1: machine that they were, and so Opene Nevada. We were

893
00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:21,960
Speaker 1: three weeks on ground and Brian would steps arm Wood

894
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,759
Speaker 1: was up on the matt Dog three. He was on

895
00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:26,960
Speaker 1: his rotation, three weeks in the country, up on the

896
00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:30,120
Speaker 1: o P. And it all started out earlier in the day.

897
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:33,200
Speaker 1: They were getting some radio chatter. Their interpreter was telling

898
00:43:33,239 --> 00:43:38,000
Speaker 1: them that the Taliban are probing the perimeter of the

899
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,400
Speaker 1: observation post. Who was triple strand concertina wire surrounding the

900
00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:44,360
Speaker 1: perimeters about hundred fifty jot meters out and some of

901
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:46,480
Speaker 1: it dipped down a low ground so it would be

902
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:48,400
Speaker 1: out of sight, and they said they were trying to

903
00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:51,160
Speaker 1: see how many Americans were up there. So he he

904
00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:53,680
Speaker 1: called down, talked to him in the radio and it's like, seven,

905
00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,640
Speaker 1: this is three. We're getting this icon traffic. We're gonna

906
00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,960
Speaker 1: go ahead and push out a patrol around the perimeter

907
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,960
Speaker 1: or and see if anyone's probing the wire. And about

908
00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:06,040
Speaker 1: thirty five forty minutes later he calls back down. He's like, seven,

909
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:10,600
Speaker 1: this is three. We have a guy in custody with

910
00:44:10,719 --> 00:44:13,799
Speaker 1: a radio. And they had flattened the concertina wire, the

911
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:16,920
Speaker 1: razor wire with rocks and they had made it inside

912
00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:20,480
Speaker 1: the observation post. He said he was accompanied by two

913
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:23,319
Speaker 1: others who fled. We couldn't apprehend them, but we have

914
00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:26,120
Speaker 1: this one guy. So where we were at farb right,

915
00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:29,759
Speaker 1: we had some special Operations attachment as well as some

916
00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:33,480
Speaker 1: other governmental agencies three letter agencies that were there and

917
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:36,520
Speaker 1: they wanted that guy. So earlier in the day they

918
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:39,400
Speaker 1: took a helicopter, flew up to the mountain and they

919
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:41,680
Speaker 1: took him into custody and that was the last we

920
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:45,359
Speaker 1: saw of him, and Throughout the day we discovered who

921
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,040
Speaker 1: that guy was. He was the local Taliban leader's uncle.

922
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:52,840
Speaker 1: And the radio traffics dotted picking up that the Caliban

923
00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:56,160
Speaker 1: leader had found out that the Americans on top of

924
00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:59,040
Speaker 1: the mountain had captured his uncle, and he was gathering

925
00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:02,959
Speaker 1: his his folks, getting all those Taliban boys together and

926
00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:04,600
Speaker 1: was telling they're going to fight to the death to

927
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:06,560
Speaker 1: get him back. All throughout the day it was just

928
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:08,840
Speaker 1: more and more updates. More Taliban were coming into the

929
00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:12,440
Speaker 1: valley to assault the mountaintop. And you know, me and

930
00:45:12,480 --> 00:45:15,200
Speaker 1: Brian talking back and forth, it's okay, you know, watch

931
00:45:15,239 --> 00:45:17,960
Speaker 1: you six make sure things are tied up there. You know,

932
00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:21,279
Speaker 1: keep pushing down the situation, reports to us. And you

933
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,520
Speaker 1: know when when we find out anything we're pushed up to.

934
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:28,800
Speaker 1: You goes into nightfall and Taliban initiated an attack. They

935
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:32,600
Speaker 1: started hitting the observation post there's only nine Americans up there,

936
00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:36,000
Speaker 1: started hitting them with RPGs and mortar fire small arms.

937
00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:38,279
Speaker 1: Then they would break contact and try and flank from

938
00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:41,719
Speaker 1: a different position, and they just kept lobbing RPGs from

939
00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:45,280
Speaker 1: wherever they were at the o P and where about

940
00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:49,759
Speaker 1: as the crow flies, probably a straight mile from our

941
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:54,040
Speaker 1: fob to with an observation post as just a straight mile. However,

942
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:57,240
Speaker 1: because of the terrain, it was probably about six maybe

943
00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:00,520
Speaker 1: eight clicks away eight kilometers and and I said that

944
00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:02,600
Speaker 1: was at like twelve thou elevations, so there was no

945
00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:05,600
Speaker 1: way to get up there. So we're watching from outside

946
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:07,960
Speaker 1: our talk our tactical operations center, and we could see

947
00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:11,279
Speaker 1: the firefight going, the rounds and the emotions going back

948
00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:13,919
Speaker 1: and forth, back and forth, and this went on, back

949
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,200
Speaker 1: and forth. They break contact, initiate contact. It went on

950
00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:20,399
Speaker 1: for almost about eight to nine hours, and we had

951
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:23,240
Speaker 1: fought right. We had a Navy commander and a civil

952
00:46:23,239 --> 00:46:28,360
Speaker 1: affairs detachment, a small element of Special Forces detachment, and

953
00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:32,720
Speaker 1: then the contractors from the other government agencies, and so

954
00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:34,840
Speaker 1: you know, we're trying to work up an issue to

955
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:36,640
Speaker 1: go ahead and send a q r F, a quick

956
00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:39,719
Speaker 1: reaction force. The Navy commander was dead set against it.

957
00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:43,960
Speaker 1: He's nope, we're not sending anyone up there. Brian's calling

958
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:48,359
Speaker 1: down on the official radio frequency. Hey, we sending help.

959
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:50,920
Speaker 1: We need help up here. We're getting low on AMBO.

960
00:46:51,080 --> 00:46:53,239
Speaker 1: The Navy commander transmitted a message to them, we're not

961
00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:56,919
Speaker 1: sending anyone up. So I run down to my platoon room,

962
00:46:57,600 --> 00:47:00,160
Speaker 1: run down to my platoon room, and I call O

963
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:03,279
Speaker 1: P on the official frequency, and I tell him to

964
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:05,839
Speaker 1: switch over to our platoon internal frequency so we could

965
00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:09,520
Speaker 1: talk more personal right and and free up the main

966
00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:12,319
Speaker 1: radio waves. So Brian gets on. I was like, three

967
00:47:12,360 --> 00:47:17,040
Speaker 1: this seven, what's going on? And he's you know, He's like, hey, John.

968
00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:19,279
Speaker 1: He Briant had served on a previous deployment with me,

969
00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:22,240
Speaker 1: several guys in that platoon had been on multiple deployments

970
00:47:22,239 --> 00:47:24,920
Speaker 1: with me. He had just been married, had had a baby,

971
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,400
Speaker 1: and he was like, John, I don't know. He's like,

972
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:29,080
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm gonna make it through the night. Man.

973
00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:31,919
Speaker 1: We're getting we're getting really low on AMMO and they're

974
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,560
Speaker 1: not stop and they keep coming. I was like, Brian,

975
00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:37,719
Speaker 1: I got you. I'm coming. He's like, they just said

976
00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:39,319
Speaker 1: the nuts and and help. I said, I know, man,

977
00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:42,680
Speaker 1: I'm working it. Listen, slow down your rates of fire,

978
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:47,959
Speaker 1: pick your shots right, control you guys. I'm coming. He's like, John,

979
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:50,640
Speaker 1: am I gonna die up here? It's like I was like,

980
00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:55,759
Speaker 1: I'm coming. Just just know I'm coming. And there's a

981
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:59,000
Speaker 1: lot of tense moments in the operations center. The Navy

982
00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:01,880
Speaker 1: commander he he did not I don't know if he

983
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:04,400
Speaker 1: didn't want to risk his career or he was he

984
00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:06,440
Speaker 1: was just out of experience to doing such a thing.

985
00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:09,960
Speaker 1: He's he couldn't fathom sending up any soldiers up there

986
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:12,439
Speaker 1: to assist, and again, were the only way we could

987
00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:15,560
Speaker 1: get up there is by helicopter. So he called over

988
00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:18,800
Speaker 1: to Fob Joyce and contact twenty fifth Infantry Division and

989
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:21,600
Speaker 1: asked him if they could send soldiers and support elements

990
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:25,839
Speaker 1: up there. Declined because they were not aware that there

991
00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:28,480
Speaker 1: was Americans on top of the mountain. Because if we're

992
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:31,120
Speaker 1: not tracking any of any US footprint up there, they

993
00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:34,040
Speaker 1: thought it was Afghan soldiers being overrun. So then it

994
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:36,160
Speaker 1: was more pressure on the Navy commander. So we've got

995
00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:40,680
Speaker 1: to do something. Those are our guys. And he was like, well,

996
00:48:41,239 --> 00:48:43,960
Speaker 1: the way I see it, those soldiers they're doing their job.

997
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:48,000
Speaker 1: They get paid to die. And I stormed out of

998
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:51,040
Speaker 1: I stormed out of the Yeah, I stormed out of

999
00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:57,040
Speaker 1: the operations I slammed the door and I broke a

1000
00:48:57,080 --> 00:49:00,880
Speaker 1: couple of the hinges, and then the Civil Affairs commander

1001
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:02,680
Speaker 1: and the star major came out and was talking to me,

1002
00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:05,080
Speaker 1: was like, hey, SARLs, let's just let's get a breath

1003
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:07,279
Speaker 1: of air. And meanwhile we're outside talking and you can

1004
00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:10,719
Speaker 1: still see the battle going across the valley. I know,

1005
00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:12,960
Speaker 1: you know, They're like like, those are your boys up there?

1006
00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:15,319
Speaker 1: We go, We're gonna try and get you up there.

1007
00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:18,360
Speaker 1: Just gotta we gotta work with the commander this, you know,

1008
00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:21,759
Speaker 1: like let's get our thoughts together. And meanwhile, now all

1009
00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:25,040
Speaker 1: my platoon is standing outside watching anxious. Those are the

1010
00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:28,400
Speaker 1: buddies across the valley, maybe not making it through the night, Like,

1011
00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:30,360
Speaker 1: Sar Melsa, what do we do? And I just I

1012
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:32,799
Speaker 1: hand picked. I was like, guys, I'm working a quick

1013
00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:35,760
Speaker 1: reaction force. I want this person, this person, and this person,

1014
00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:39,799
Speaker 1: and I need body bags filled with these supplies as speedballs.

1015
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,080
Speaker 1: So when we get to go, we're ready to roll.

1016
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:45,640
Speaker 1: Get the stuff, make it happen now, and stage and

1017
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:49,680
Speaker 1: get ready stage right out here. And so to leadership,

1018
00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:51,920
Speaker 1: they took over. They started doing that. I was working

1019
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:55,239
Speaker 1: things with my lieutenant inside to talk and then all

1020
00:49:55,280 --> 00:49:57,600
Speaker 1: the officers took the commander and went into his room

1021
00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:03,359
Speaker 1: and you shut the door, and that was a heated conversation.

1022
00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:06,560
Speaker 1: You could hear the yelling going on in the other

1023
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:10,799
Speaker 1: room while everything's going on, and Brian's calling situation reports down.

1024
00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:13,279
Speaker 1: Hey guys, it's getting really bad up here. You gotta

1025
00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:15,160
Speaker 1: give me something. I run back down. I get on

1026
00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:18,600
Speaker 1: the radio column of like three is a seven, and man,

1027
00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:21,160
Speaker 1: I'm working at if you have you are you just

1028
00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:23,279
Speaker 1: like trying to get him some type of peace of mind. Bro,

1029
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:26,040
Speaker 1: You're like, I'm coming. I just know I'm coming. God.

1030
00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:28,560
Speaker 1: I'm like, Brian, I'm working And I was like, listen,

1031
00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:31,359
Speaker 1: you tell those kids to fight with rocks if they

1032
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:34,640
Speaker 1: have to, that's right, you hold them off. I'm coming.

1033
00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:37,759
Speaker 1: And I run back up into the operations center and

1034
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:41,200
Speaker 1: we're working it, and I saw her on the computer

1035
00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:43,120
Speaker 1: screen we called the Blue Force Tracker. I could see

1036
00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:45,600
Speaker 1: two icons, and I clicked on him to see what

1037
00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:48,080
Speaker 1: the icons were, and it revealed that they were black

1038
00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:50,400
Speaker 1: Hawk helicopters and they were coming from an operation in

1039
00:50:50,520 --> 00:50:53,600
Speaker 1: Northern Konar, that's the province who were in. They were

1040
00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:57,520
Speaker 1: coming from North Coner going down to Jelalabad, and so

1041
00:50:57,640 --> 00:51:00,319
Speaker 1: I clicked on it and I saw them, and then

1042
00:51:00,320 --> 00:51:02,440
Speaker 1: I sent them a text message and I was asking

1043
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:04,720
Speaker 1: the pilot and the crew like, hey, I got troops

1044
00:51:04,719 --> 00:51:08,000
Speaker 1: in contact at this grid location. Can you assist? I

1045
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:11,080
Speaker 1: need to insert QRF in close proximity of this grid.

1046
00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:15,120
Speaker 1: And they've responded right back where they're returning from another mission.

1047
00:51:15,239 --> 00:51:17,520
Speaker 1: They were low on fuel and they had to get

1048
00:51:17,560 --> 00:51:21,360
Speaker 1: back to Jelalabad to land and fuel. Meanwhile, we were

1049
00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:24,200
Speaker 1: a forward resupply point. We were a farmer so we

1050
00:51:24,239 --> 00:51:28,719
Speaker 1: had refuel capability, but they were bypassing us that they

1051
00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:31,120
Speaker 1: came out from the commander's office when I walked back

1052
00:51:31,239 --> 00:51:33,600
Speaker 1: well after I sent that message, and the commander was like,

1053
00:51:33,960 --> 00:51:35,520
Speaker 1: I don't know about this. I don't know if we

1054
00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:38,799
Speaker 1: should do this. You guys aren't real infantry. You guys

1055
00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:42,040
Speaker 1: are just National Guard. And I looked around the room

1056
00:51:42,080 --> 00:51:44,000
Speaker 1: and I was like, I was like, are you kidding

1057
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:48,560
Speaker 1: me right now? Like really like that at this point,

1058
00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:52,399
Speaker 1: I don't care what your opinion is of us. That's

1059
00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:54,960
Speaker 1: a real firefight and those are real Americans that are

1060
00:51:54,960 --> 00:51:57,799
Speaker 1: gonna die if we don't help them. Like so, not

1061
00:51:57,920 --> 00:52:00,920
Speaker 1: being real infantry is your opinion, But you don't even

1062
00:52:00,960 --> 00:52:04,400
Speaker 1: know what we're capable of. That you've never you know,

1063
00:52:04,600 --> 00:52:07,040
Speaker 1: because you're defending the outpost. Right now, you're at the top,

1064
00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:09,719
Speaker 1: you're breaking shots, you're trying to stay alive up there,

1065
00:52:09,719 --> 00:52:11,440
Speaker 1: and those guys are fighting just like any infantry I

1066
00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:13,920
Speaker 1: would be fighting. So if I figured if they're up

1067
00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:16,239
Speaker 1: there fighting for their life, I'm gonna down down here,

1068
00:52:16,239 --> 00:52:18,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna fight for their life, I'm not. I'm not

1069
00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:20,200
Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna be relentless as much as they have

1070
00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:22,839
Speaker 1: to be up there. They deserved that from me, and

1071
00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:27,040
Speaker 1: so things again, things were tents in that operations center,

1072
00:52:27,160 --> 00:52:31,120
Speaker 1: and finally, I guess Lieutenant Colonel Baiden, the Civil Affairs commander,

1073
00:52:31,239 --> 00:52:34,560
Speaker 1: got through to him. Well like if those Americans die

1074
00:52:35,200 --> 00:52:38,400
Speaker 1: and we did nothing, this is not gonna go well

1075
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:41,560
Speaker 1: at all. And the commander came and talked to me.

1076
00:52:41,640 --> 00:52:43,839
Speaker 1: It was like, you sure you can do this. I'm

1077
00:52:43,840 --> 00:52:46,239
Speaker 1: like sure, if I get those black Hawks assistance, I

1078
00:52:46,280 --> 00:52:48,760
Speaker 1: can get guys up there. And I got everybody staged

1079
00:52:49,239 --> 00:52:52,200
Speaker 1: hand picked just to do this, like we got this,

1080
00:52:53,280 --> 00:52:55,880
Speaker 1: And he was like, if those black Hawks will assist,

1081
00:52:56,440 --> 00:52:59,359
Speaker 1: you got to go. And the black Hawks, I'm like, man,

1082
00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:00,880
Speaker 1: they're going to joel all that. What am I gonna do?

1083
00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:05,400
Speaker 1: Why couldn't he have told me sooner and walked outside.

1084
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:07,920
Speaker 1: Get another look at the mountaintop. I'm watching across the

1085
00:53:07,960 --> 00:53:09,839
Speaker 1: mountain and they're still fighting it out. I'm like, man,

1086
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:13,440
Speaker 1: keep giving it to them, guys, keep going. And one

1087
00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:15,400
Speaker 1: of the Special Forces guys came walking out and he

1088
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:18,040
Speaker 1: was like, hey man. He's like, John, you need to

1089
00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:21,000
Speaker 1: get the funk up on that mountain. I know as

1090
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,560
Speaker 1: I put the black Hawks, they can't help us. And

1091
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:25,160
Speaker 1: he's like, let me make a phone call. He pulled

1092
00:53:25,160 --> 00:53:28,120
Speaker 1: out a satellite phone, and I mean, I'd have to

1093
00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:30,400
Speaker 1: say he probably called and talked to someone in Jelawa

1094
00:53:30,440 --> 00:53:34,000
Speaker 1: Bad because within one minute I was getting another message

1095
00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:36,360
Speaker 1: back from those pilots that they could not land in

1096
00:53:36,440 --> 00:53:39,239
Speaker 1: Jelalabad because the landing strip lights were out due to

1097
00:53:39,280 --> 00:53:44,160
Speaker 1: bad weather. And they said that, and they said they'd

1098
00:53:44,200 --> 00:53:47,440
Speaker 1: be willing to insert us if we could provide fuel

1099
00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:50,960
Speaker 1: for them, and I said, yep, we have refuel capability.

1100
00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:53,400
Speaker 1: I ran up and I told the fuelers to get

1101
00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:55,239
Speaker 1: ready out on the flight line. These black Hawks are

1102
00:53:55,239 --> 00:53:56,880
Speaker 1: coming in and we gotta go. We gotta get them

1103
00:53:56,880 --> 00:54:00,839
Speaker 1: fueled up and we gotta go. And you talk camaraderie

1104
00:54:01,560 --> 00:54:04,560
Speaker 1: when those black Hawks landed. We had Air Force and

1105
00:54:04,640 --> 00:54:07,120
Speaker 1: Navy personnel as part of the team on that farb.

1106
00:54:07,840 --> 00:54:11,080
Speaker 1: Everybody was up out of their bed trying to help

1107
00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:13,319
Speaker 1: my guys get up to the flight line with the

1108
00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:16,239
Speaker 1: supplies and help us load up. Everybody played a role

1109
00:54:16,280 --> 00:54:18,879
Speaker 1: that night. It was amazing. Everyone wanted us to see

1110
00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:22,000
Speaker 1: us take the win home, you know, and that's right,

1111
00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:25,360
Speaker 1: that's right. We we loaded our briefed everybody who's already

1112
00:54:25,360 --> 00:54:27,000
Speaker 1: got a brief on what was the expectation once as

1113
00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:29,279
Speaker 1: soon as we come in. One helicopter could only land

1114
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:31,640
Speaker 1: at a time, and so it was like the first

1115
00:54:31,640 --> 00:54:33,960
Speaker 1: helicopter land, it's gonna be my bird. We're gonna get

1116
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:35,360
Speaker 1: on the ground, we're gonna push out. Since we hit

1117
00:54:35,400 --> 00:54:37,640
Speaker 1: the ground, were gonna secure the l Z landing zone

1118
00:54:37,880 --> 00:54:39,880
Speaker 1: and secure that so the second bird can come in

1119
00:54:39,920 --> 00:54:41,919
Speaker 1: so they don't get shot down. And then we're gonna

1120
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:44,040
Speaker 1: actually we're gonna go ahead and and provide those guys

1121
00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:45,400
Speaker 1: what they need to get through the night. Up in

1122
00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:47,760
Speaker 1: that o p to see the look in the guy's

1123
00:54:47,800 --> 00:54:52,719
Speaker 1: eyes that were not selected to go, it was assuring

1124
00:54:53,120 --> 00:54:54,960
Speaker 1: and it was a rumber at the same time that

1125
00:54:55,200 --> 00:54:58,680
Speaker 1: everybody wanted to be those with their bodies, those with

1126
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:01,799
Speaker 1: their their friends, they wanted to be a part of. It.

1127
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:05,640
Speaker 1: Was like reassuring them, hey, guys, while just like they're

1128
00:55:05,680 --> 00:55:08,440
Speaker 1: up there fighting, they're fighting with it with all the

1129
00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:10,680
Speaker 1: giving it. They're all I need you down here, given

1130
00:55:10,719 --> 00:55:14,000
Speaker 1: your all. You support this commander. You keep this farb alive,

1131
00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:17,000
Speaker 1: and you know, you do what you're supposed to do

1132
00:55:17,080 --> 00:55:21,920
Speaker 1: with the social we're gonna we're gonna wins. And colonel

1133
00:55:22,080 --> 00:55:24,560
Speaker 1: Colonel Baden walked, he rushed up to the flight line,

1134
00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:26,120
Speaker 1: walked up to the bird with me, and he was

1135
00:55:26,160 --> 00:55:28,760
Speaker 1: like a couple of small words with me. He's like, John,

1136
00:55:28,840 --> 00:55:31,279
Speaker 1: you do your thing. You know what you're doing. And

1137
00:55:31,320 --> 00:55:33,279
Speaker 1: I called up to the ope and talked to Brian

1138
00:55:33,320 --> 00:55:36,319
Speaker 1: and said three is the seven. We're en route. And

1139
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:38,120
Speaker 1: so they didn't know what was going on with the

1140
00:55:38,120 --> 00:55:40,680
Speaker 1: helicopters or anything, and that was all he got told.

1141
00:55:40,840 --> 00:55:44,000
Speaker 1: And then I told him, you know, Brian, we're gonna

1142
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:46,320
Speaker 1: need the LZ mark because the pilots are not familiar

1143
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:49,040
Speaker 1: with the location. And we're on our way with two

1144
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:51,680
Speaker 1: mics out and then next ye you know, we stopped

1145
00:55:51,680 --> 00:55:53,759
Speaker 1: coming in. I'm looking out at the side of the

1146
00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:55,880
Speaker 1: helicopter trying to see what the landing zone looks like.

1147
00:55:55,880 --> 00:55:59,520
Speaker 1: They're still sporadic fire back and forth, and the only

1148
00:55:59,520 --> 00:56:02,120
Speaker 1: location we could get put down with Brian had marked

1149
00:56:02,120 --> 00:56:05,759
Speaker 1: with a high are infrared strokes so pilots could see.

1150
00:56:05,920 --> 00:56:09,080
Speaker 1: It actually put us closer to the tower band than

1151
00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:12,680
Speaker 1: to the OP because of the way the perimeter was established.

1152
00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:16,319
Speaker 1: So we come out of the black hawk. Um, yeah,

1153
00:56:16,320 --> 00:56:19,360
Speaker 1: I was. I was throwing bodies off just I. I

1154
00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:21,879
Speaker 1: did not want that that bird on the ground very long.

1155
00:56:21,960 --> 00:56:24,320
Speaker 1: We need to get off that bird and own that ground.

1156
00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:27,160
Speaker 1: We needed to get on the ground, push out, Let's

1157
00:56:27,160 --> 00:56:29,000
Speaker 1: tell him and no, like, hey, you got more of

1158
00:56:29,040 --> 00:56:32,600
Speaker 1: us here now he stirred up a hornet's nest. Yeah,

1159
00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:35,439
Speaker 1: and we pushed out. We established perimeter. The second bird

1160
00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:39,040
Speaker 1: came in that those personnel landed started picking up the supplies.

1161
00:56:39,080 --> 00:56:42,920
Speaker 1: Brian was at a break in the costino wire because

1162
00:56:43,040 --> 00:56:45,920
Speaker 1: it was like amaze to get up into the observation post,

1163
00:56:46,320 --> 00:56:49,120
Speaker 1: so he was there to link up with everybody. Squad

1164
00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:52,880
Speaker 1: started that that second element landed, started picking up the supplies,

1165
00:56:52,880 --> 00:56:55,520
Speaker 1: started making their way up into the OP. I made

1166
00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:57,879
Speaker 1: sure I was the last guy coming off to the

1167
00:56:57,880 --> 00:57:00,839
Speaker 1: the landing zone, scooping up everybody, getting them back inside.

1168
00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:04,520
Speaker 1: Hit Brian's and Brian I'm last man. Brian took everybody

1169
00:57:04,560 --> 00:57:08,120
Speaker 1: up into the o P and sergeant sergeant Private Woods

1170
00:57:08,760 --> 00:57:10,600
Speaker 1: he was down on a knee and I tapped him

1171
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:12,640
Speaker 1: on the shoulder. I said, Woods, I'm last man. Let's go.

1172
00:57:13,280 --> 00:57:18,520
Speaker 1: And I ran past them and we're about two out

1173
00:57:18,520 --> 00:57:21,240
Speaker 1: from the observation post. We get up into the observation post.

1174
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:24,280
Speaker 1: They're set and covering fire for us to run up inside.

1175
00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:27,760
Speaker 1: And I look at Brian Wood and I'm like, gay, three,

1176
00:57:27,760 --> 00:57:30,440
Speaker 1: we got everybody? You have all your guys And I'm

1177
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:32,120
Speaker 1: counting all the guys that came up with me, and

1178
00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:34,840
Speaker 1: he's counting his guys and I'm like, hey with short one,

1179
00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:38,840
Speaker 1: and I started yelling him with the funk are your guys?

1180
00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:41,480
Speaker 1: How did you lose? Somebody? Also we did was go

1181
00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:43,439
Speaker 1: from the landings only here, and I'm like, man, maybe

1182
00:57:43,480 --> 00:57:45,200
Speaker 1: we got somebody hung up in the wire. Maybe he

1183
00:57:45,200 --> 00:57:48,120
Speaker 1: got shot. So with we're scanning the area and this

1184
00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:55,920
Speaker 1: Private Woods running towards the Taliban, I started yelling his name.

1185
00:57:55,960 --> 00:57:59,720
Speaker 1: We're all yelling Woods words Woods. It's just sporadic fire.

1186
00:58:00,520 --> 00:58:02,800
Speaker 1: And he stops running and it was like a forest

1187
00:58:02,840 --> 00:58:06,240
Speaker 1: gump movement. He's like, yes, sergeant, It's like, where the

1188
00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:09,280
Speaker 1: funk are you going? I'm looking for you, he said,

1189
00:58:09,280 --> 00:58:12,600
Speaker 1: I'm looking for you, Sergeant. He thought the Taliban got me,

1190
00:58:13,720 --> 00:58:16,080
Speaker 1: and I told you know. I was like, I was like, hey,

1191
00:58:16,200 --> 00:58:19,040
Speaker 1: covering fires, I get the fucking the okie. He turns

1192
00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:21,800
Speaker 1: and starts running Caliban and shooting at him. He tripped

1193
00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:24,600
Speaker 1: and fell. Thank goodness, I guess he fell so he

1194
00:58:24,600 --> 00:58:27,360
Speaker 1: didn't get hit. Gets into the makes his way up

1195
00:58:27,360 --> 00:58:31,360
Speaker 1: into the opening, and Brian was relieved. We got everybody

1196
00:58:31,360 --> 00:58:34,400
Speaker 1: accounted for. They're laying some masks open on the Taliban

1197
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:37,920
Speaker 1: and I grabbed some private woods and I was like,

1198
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:40,920
Speaker 1: where were you going? What the funk were you thinking?

1199
00:58:40,960 --> 00:58:43,920
Speaker 1: And he's like, Sergeant, I thought the Taliban captured you.

1200
00:58:44,480 --> 00:58:46,600
Speaker 1: And I was like, you were going to get me,

1201
00:58:47,600 --> 00:58:50,080
Speaker 1: That's what I thought. And he's a young guy, so

1202
00:58:50,120 --> 00:58:51,840
Speaker 1: he may have in the fog of war. In the

1203
00:58:51,840 --> 00:58:54,760
Speaker 1: fog of war, he may have been confused. And I

1204
00:58:54,800 --> 00:58:59,120
Speaker 1: was like, and I torn down on a pirate Ammo

1205
00:58:59,240 --> 00:59:01,440
Speaker 1: cans and sat him down. I didn't want nothing to

1206
00:59:01,480 --> 00:59:03,280
Speaker 1: happen to him. He's a good kid. I was like,

1207
00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:05,360
Speaker 1: I can't believe this kid now I was. I was like,

1208
00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:10,040
Speaker 1: you shit, and don't move again? Take you move? And

1209
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:14,880
Speaker 1: the Taliban broke contact and then I gave all my

1210
00:59:14,920 --> 00:59:19,200
Speaker 1: guys a bunch of crap, right, so everyone would make

1211
00:59:19,280 --> 00:59:22,360
Speaker 1: jokes that would was like like a little slow. He was,

1212
00:59:22,560 --> 00:59:24,800
Speaker 1: you know, not as sharp. He wasn't the sharperst tool

1213
00:59:24,840 --> 00:59:27,600
Speaker 1: and shelf right, but he had a heart of goal.

1214
00:59:27,720 --> 00:59:29,760
Speaker 1: That guy, that young guy, he had a heart of goal.

1215
00:59:30,040 --> 00:59:33,640
Speaker 1: And so guys kind of giving him crap. You know, Woods, dumbass,

1216
00:59:33,760 --> 00:59:35,440
Speaker 1: where are you going? He's like I thought they had

1217
00:59:35,440 --> 00:59:38,800
Speaker 1: Sergeant Milson. And you know, I stopped giving everyone a

1218
00:59:38,800 --> 00:59:40,560
Speaker 1: hard time. I was like, you a bunch of assholes.

1219
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:45,320
Speaker 1: You're gonna have Woods save me while the rest you

1220
00:59:45,360 --> 00:59:49,600
Speaker 1: stayed up. He is safe in the o P A

1221
00:59:49,640 --> 00:59:52,479
Speaker 1: bunch of assholes, right, Andy, but what are you doing?

1222
00:59:52,960 --> 00:59:54,760
Speaker 1: We made it through the night, right, so we could

1223
00:59:54,800 --> 00:59:57,360
Speaker 1: all laugh about it. I was trying to make justest

1224
00:59:57,400 --> 01:00:04,919
Speaker 1: of the whole internet. But he'll always be special to me. Yeah,

1225
01:00:05,120 --> 01:00:08,480
Speaker 1: that's super, that's super. What a sweet moment in a

1226
01:00:08,520 --> 01:00:11,720
Speaker 1: shitty situation, And what a badass move you did by

1227
01:00:11,840 --> 01:00:14,680
Speaker 1: getting those black Hawks texting them. You're like looking at

1228
01:00:14,680 --> 01:00:17,760
Speaker 1: blue Falcon Tracker like, hey, or blue Falcon Tracker. There

1229
01:00:17,880 --> 01:00:21,400
Speaker 1: needs to be one of those two Blue Tracker just

1230
01:00:21,520 --> 01:00:26,520
Speaker 1: like you know, we got a blue falcon coming near us. No,

1231
01:00:26,720 --> 01:00:32,120
Speaker 1: but uh, I'm just taken back by you. Okay, I'm

1232
01:00:32,120 --> 01:00:35,280
Speaker 1: really just at a loss. I'm really intrigued by everything

1233
01:00:35,320 --> 01:00:37,360
Speaker 1: you just told me. And and I'm pretty sure my

1234
01:00:37,400 --> 01:00:40,919
Speaker 1: listener has just also thought the same thing, Like, Bro,

1235
01:00:41,200 --> 01:00:44,000
Speaker 1: do you have a book? Is there something that you

1236
01:00:44,040 --> 01:00:46,240
Speaker 1: put out there? You know? Is there somebody out there

1237
01:00:46,240 --> 01:00:49,080
Speaker 1: that wants to make you into a movie? You know,

1238
01:00:49,360 --> 01:00:52,600
Speaker 1: let's listen to the show. Is there an advertiser out

1239
01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:54,120
Speaker 1: there that wants to hook you up with some type

1240
01:00:54,120 --> 01:00:56,439
Speaker 1: of you know, glass company warehouse so you can start

1241
01:00:56,480 --> 01:00:59,320
Speaker 1: your business over again? You know. I mean that's the

1242
01:00:59,400 --> 01:01:01,600
Speaker 1: vibe I want to have. You've You've done so much,

1243
01:01:01,800 --> 01:01:05,080
Speaker 1: and I know that you're still National Guard, You're still

1244
01:01:05,200 --> 01:01:09,720
Speaker 1: selfless service, whether it was law enforcement, military, you know,

1245
01:01:10,160 --> 01:01:11,800
Speaker 1: whatever it is. You just seem to want to help

1246
01:01:11,840 --> 01:01:14,320
Speaker 1: everybody out. And uh, I love the way that you

1247
01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:17,040
Speaker 1: remind me of my best friend Keith, with the way

1248
01:01:17,040 --> 01:01:20,080
Speaker 1: you talk and the same dialects from Boston and Massachusetts.

1249
01:01:20,400 --> 01:01:23,360
Speaker 1: And I think you're fabulous and there's something in the

1250
01:01:23,360 --> 01:01:26,880
Speaker 1: water back east Man. You guys are fighters, Okay, there's

1251
01:01:26,920 --> 01:01:29,640
Speaker 1: just something about it. You know, you probably have big hands,

1252
01:01:29,920 --> 01:01:33,040
Speaker 1: you probably have a really nice heart, and you're a fighter.

1253
01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:35,960
Speaker 1: And here you are. Dude, I'm super proud to have

1254
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:39,480
Speaker 1: had you on SOFTWAP Radio today. And and your buddy Brian.

1255
01:01:39,560 --> 01:01:41,040
Speaker 1: I don't think it's the same Brian from the op

1256
01:01:41,280 --> 01:01:43,600
Speaker 1: Is it from the outpost that we're talking about this Brian?

1257
01:01:44,240 --> 01:01:48,960
Speaker 1: That Brian that he deployed me eighteen the nineteen but

1258
01:01:49,360 --> 01:01:51,960
Speaker 1: he was part of that medical issues. He didn't get

1259
01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:54,160
Speaker 1: to deploy with us, I see. But he is a

1260
01:01:54,240 --> 01:01:56,840
Speaker 1: part of that. And he's who recommended you get on

1261
01:01:56,880 --> 01:01:58,800
Speaker 1: the show. And Brian, I'm just giving you a shout

1262
01:01:58,800 --> 01:02:01,840
Speaker 1: at bro because thanks for listening to soft REP and

1263
01:02:02,120 --> 01:02:05,080
Speaker 1: you know, giving us a chance, and we really appreciate

1264
01:02:05,280 --> 01:02:08,160
Speaker 1: the listenership, dude in the viewership, and you know, having

1265
01:02:08,200 --> 01:02:10,640
Speaker 1: you on John has just been a great thrill and

1266
01:02:10,640 --> 01:02:15,280
Speaker 1: an exciting time. You know, we're no longer strangers, okay,

1267
01:02:15,400 --> 01:02:16,960
Speaker 1: And I do have stories I can tell you one

1268
01:02:17,040 --> 01:02:18,840
Speaker 1: day if we ever sit down and cheers, a glass

1269
01:02:18,880 --> 01:02:20,960
Speaker 1: of water or your favorite beverage. But do you have

1270
01:02:20,960 --> 01:02:22,960
Speaker 1: any websites or anything that you want to throw out

1271
01:02:22,960 --> 01:02:24,600
Speaker 1: there that you want people to check out? Or do

1272
01:02:24,600 --> 01:02:26,760
Speaker 1: you have a book. Have you written a book? No,

1273
01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:29,440
Speaker 1: I've talked to several people about a book. I just

1274
01:02:29,520 --> 01:02:33,240
Speaker 1: haven't like made the leap. I don't know, like it'd

1275
01:02:33,280 --> 01:02:36,280
Speaker 1: be nice to if it could inspire people to like,

1276
01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:40,400
Speaker 1: you know, like, never quit, don't ever give up. Right correct,

1277
01:02:40,760 --> 01:02:42,960
Speaker 1: give yourself a fighting chance. Getting the ring with Mike

1278
01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:46,120
Speaker 1: Tyson because you never know you might win. Right, the

1279
01:02:46,160 --> 01:02:48,440
Speaker 1: title of your book, Getting the Ring with Mike Tyson,

1280
01:02:48,600 --> 01:02:52,440
Speaker 1: because you never know, there's your big title. But I

1281
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:56,480
Speaker 1: have a high high school friend of mine, Mark Rennihan.

1282
01:02:56,600 --> 01:02:59,720
Speaker 1: He has a podcast that we do once a week

1283
01:03:00,040 --> 01:03:02,400
Speaker 1: where we talked to, you know, some other veterans and

1284
01:03:02,480 --> 01:03:05,080
Speaker 1: other people that have had struggles to share how they

1285
01:03:05,080 --> 01:03:07,560
Speaker 1: got through it there, you know, show their resiliency. And

1286
01:03:07,560 --> 01:03:09,840
Speaker 1: we called the name of the podcast is Guts and Grit.

1287
01:03:10,520 --> 01:03:13,720
Speaker 1: And I met a wonderful young woman a few months ago.

1288
01:03:13,760 --> 01:03:15,880
Speaker 1: She was referred to me like Brian referred me to you.

1289
01:03:16,200 --> 01:03:19,600
Speaker 1: She was referred to me by a soldier I had

1290
01:03:19,640 --> 01:03:23,439
Speaker 1: deployed with Dominic Mancuso and he put me in touch

1291
01:03:23,480 --> 01:03:26,720
Speaker 1: with Jessica Ainsworth. And Jessica Ainsworth has a book that's

1292
01:03:26,760 --> 01:03:31,240
Speaker 1: releasing August thirty one. It's each chapter is like voices

1293
01:03:31,280 --> 01:03:34,160
Speaker 1: from the battlefield of Afghanistan. The title of the book

1294
01:03:34,480 --> 01:03:38,040
Speaker 1: is called at What Cost, and it's the voices of

1295
01:03:38,080 --> 01:03:40,440
Speaker 1: soldiers you know what did the what did will cost

1296
01:03:40,720 --> 01:03:44,200
Speaker 1: you from your experience and what you saw went through.

1297
01:03:44,920 --> 01:03:47,520
Speaker 1: And so that book comes out August thirty one. And

1298
01:03:47,600 --> 01:03:50,880
Speaker 1: she asked me after interviewing me, and she gave she

1299
01:03:50,960 --> 01:03:54,800
Speaker 1: wrote a chapter. One chapter is on me, and so

1300
01:03:54,840 --> 01:03:57,480
Speaker 1: I contributed to that. And I also got to contribute

1301
01:03:57,480 --> 01:04:00,760
Speaker 1: by writing the forward for her book as well. Okay,

1302
01:04:01,960 --> 01:04:04,240
Speaker 1: say the name of the book again, at what Cost?

1303
01:04:04,840 --> 01:04:08,160
Speaker 1: It is available on Amazon at what you have right now, yes, sir,

1304
01:04:08,800 --> 01:04:12,160
Speaker 1: at what Cost? And it covers John's story some of

1305
01:04:12,200 --> 01:04:15,320
Speaker 1: his story, and he writes the foreword. And our listeners,

1306
01:04:15,440 --> 01:04:17,560
Speaker 1: you know, we're all about sharing it. So check out

1307
01:04:17,600 --> 01:04:20,680
Speaker 1: Guts and Grit his podcast that he drops weekly. Make

1308
01:04:20,680 --> 01:04:23,000
Speaker 1: sure you like it and always reply to our podcast,

1309
01:04:23,080 --> 01:04:25,840
Speaker 1: give us some feedback. His two We Like to Know

1310
01:04:26,160 --> 01:04:28,400
Speaker 1: and then boy, you know what I'm sure there's other

1311
01:04:28,440 --> 01:04:31,320
Speaker 1: stories with nine deployments, and I will keep you on

1312
01:04:31,400 --> 01:04:34,720
Speaker 1: my rolodex if you will of contacts, and we'd love

1313
01:04:34,720 --> 01:04:36,440
Speaker 1: to have you back on the show as like a

1314
01:04:36,480 --> 01:04:38,920
Speaker 1: reoccurring guest. I say it often to people who are

1315
01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:41,400
Speaker 1: very intriguing to me. So you have other stories and

1316
01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:43,360
Speaker 1: if you feel like opening them up and saying, Hey, Rad,

1317
01:04:43,800 --> 01:04:45,480
Speaker 1: do you have a moment for a show? We can

1318
01:04:45,520 --> 01:04:49,040
Speaker 1: throw you on at any time. So when you're comfortable

1319
01:04:49,120 --> 01:04:51,840
Speaker 1: talking about it, I'm totally open to talking about it.

1320
01:04:52,280 --> 01:04:54,800
Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome, man. I appreciate the invite, Brother, I

1321
01:04:54,840 --> 01:04:57,440
Speaker 1: really do. Thanks for having me on today, and I

1322
01:04:57,440 --> 01:04:58,680
Speaker 1: just want to thank you for being a part of

1323
01:04:58,680 --> 01:05:00,880
Speaker 1: Software Radio. And I also I just mentioned out there

1324
01:05:00,880 --> 01:05:03,240
Speaker 1: if you're an advertiser or you're somebody that's looking to

1325
01:05:03,240 --> 01:05:06,080
Speaker 1: sponsor my show at softwarep dot com, just reach out

1326
01:05:06,120 --> 01:05:09,000
Speaker 1: to us through software dot com contact us and we'd

1327
01:05:09,000 --> 01:05:10,360
Speaker 1: love to talk with you and see if we can

1328
01:05:10,400 --> 01:05:12,640
Speaker 1: get you plugged into the show and go from there.

1329
01:05:13,040 --> 01:05:16,400
Speaker 1: So I really appreciate having John mad Dog Melson on

1330
01:05:16,560 --> 01:05:19,040
Speaker 1: the show today. If you're ever in Utah, John, come

1331
01:05:19,120 --> 01:05:22,680
Speaker 1: hit me up and we'll go snowboard Okay, I'll take

1332
01:05:22,680 --> 01:05:28,880
Speaker 1: you out. We'll go snowboard anytime skiing snowboard, yeah dude, Okay, Well,

1333
01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:31,480
Speaker 1: this will be everywhere that you can enjoy it, and

1334
01:05:31,600 --> 01:05:33,680
Speaker 1: enjoy it on software dot com. And I'm gonna say

1335
01:05:33,680 --> 01:05:43,439
Speaker 1: thanks again to John and this rat Sam piece you've

1336
01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:45,640
Speaker 1: been listening to self repreadio