Speaker 1: Ah, beaut Force. If it doesn't work, you're just not
Speaker 1: using enough. You're listening to Software Radio Special Operations, Military
Speaker 1: news and straight talk with the guys and the community
Speaker 1: Software dot Com on Time on Target. Before we get
Speaker 1: into the interview portion of this episode, I figured I
Speaker 1: would play some rantings from a favorite of the show,
Speaker 1: none other than Gene barns Worth. Haven't heard from him
Speaker 1: in a while, so let's get ready to that. Greetings,
Speaker 1: my soft red ship mates Gene barder here Us and
Speaker 1: retired had a chance to go back and listen to
Speaker 1: an over episode three zero three from the the Proze
Speaker 1: and Tundra to Peak a, Kansas working on a job site.
Speaker 1: I gotta tell you, I think this is one of
Speaker 1: the better episodes I've heard for a while, because I
Speaker 1: really enjoyed listening to Terry Shaffert and Jack discussing transitioning
Speaker 1: from the military. Al uh. I just wish the fuck
Speaker 1: every guy getting ready to get out could hear that conversation,
Speaker 1: because they nailed it. You know, I've told you a
Speaker 1: little bit about me. I retired in nine you know,
Speaker 1: as an ex E wanted to senior cheap with ships
Speaker 1: mate Cheap of the boat on subs. You're kind of
Speaker 1: cocking the fucking walk there. When L d O I
Speaker 1: was a Mustang Officered chief engineer on the ship, nobody
Speaker 1: really fussed with the Mustang guys much. A lot is
Speaker 1: expected from below, a lot is expected from above, So
Speaker 1: you got a lot to live up for. Boom. Next day,
Speaker 1: I'm getting retired on the Navy, getting married and gonna
Speaker 1: have kids. Funk. What was I thinking? Start looking for
Speaker 1: a job about three months before I get out, sent
Speaker 1: out like you know, two hundred resumes and no real plan,
Speaker 1: no idea what I was doing. I didn't go to
Speaker 1: Project Transition because I just had things had to be
Speaker 1: take care of on the ship and going a job interview.
Speaker 1: Now you know, here I'm thinking, hey, I should be
Speaker 1: a value to somebody. I've gone from E one to
Speaker 1: old four selectee. I can do a lot of things.
Speaker 1: I can think on my feet and this fucking goofy
Speaker 1: hr broad news, So do you understand multi tasking? Fuck?
Speaker 1: I taught her how to crash die of a submarine
Speaker 1: from the surface to test depth and circle back around
Speaker 1: and shoot the motherfucker that caused you to do a
Speaker 1: crash diet and she's like, uh, so when can you start?
Speaker 1: But you know, I just I wasn't really prepared to
Speaker 1: get out. I wasn't prepared for the Savine world. We
Speaker 1: didn't have the networking back then we have now. And
Speaker 1: I just I fucking love what what Brandon and Jack
Speaker 1: and and even I in our fucking on her Savillian
Speaker 1: have done to help the Savinian community and and help
Speaker 1: project us that we're not a punctual, whacked out fucking
Speaker 1: guys shooting shut up, and that we do bring a
Speaker 1: lot of value. And I did know I'm rambling on.
Speaker 1: I just want to tell you how much I appreciate
Speaker 1: that show and how much I appreciate what soft Rep
Speaker 1: has done. And uh, I didn't pursue my my patient
Speaker 1: of my dream when I got out of the Navy
Speaker 1: for a lot of reasons. And there's nobody to blame.
Speaker 1: SHI just happens. And you know, SOFTWAREP has really pushed
Speaker 1: me into Like I said, I'm working on my kids books.
Speaker 1: I've had to rewrite this series like five times, but
Speaker 1: I don't care. And I'm working on an action Navy
Speaker 1: book about a guide does some things I did in
Speaker 1: a compilation of all the amazing people I met in
Speaker 1: the Navy. I kept the ship heads out of the book,
Speaker 1: but software really, watching the successes have had and things
Speaker 1: guys have done has really helped motivate me and push
Speaker 1: me and get me going. And I just hope, I
Speaker 1: hope the vets that are listening to what you guys
Speaker 1: are doing are taking that and running with it. And
Speaker 1: I cannot even express my gratitude enough. I may never
Speaker 1: make a dime doing it is writing stuff. That's what
Speaker 1: I've wanted to do. I want to eat and broadcast,
Speaker 1: and you didn't do that anyhow, it just should happens.
Speaker 1: But anyhow, Tom Rambling, may you continue to have fair
Speaker 1: winds and following scenes and made a good lord. Bless
Speaker 1: the ground that you guys walk on, because I can
Speaker 1: tell you I assured amery ground that you walk on
Speaker 1: all right? Then, yeah, screen with the music out are
Speaker 1: always good hearing from Gene for it's worth UM And
Speaker 1: I should point out there it's not like Jean is
Speaker 1: the only one who had to send voice memos. He
Speaker 1: just sends a lot of them, and uh yeah, feel
Speaker 1: free to send over your own UM and any emails
Speaker 1: any questions that you have as usual Soft rep dot
Speaker 1: Radio at soft rep dot com. We love hearing from you.
Speaker 1: I do not get back to everybody. I should stress that,
Speaker 1: and even the stuff that I read on the show.
Speaker 1: I mean, we just get a ton of emails. So
Speaker 1: a few hours before we set to tape or or
Speaker 1: go live if we're on Facebook, I check those emails
Speaker 1: and see what I think could be interesting for the
Speaker 1: show with the guys could answer. Uh So. I just
Speaker 1: main point is I don't get back to everybody, but
Speaker 1: I do read them all, so keep them coming soft
Speaker 1: rep dot Radio, at softwarep dot com, I get a
Speaker 1: lot of tweets and uh even Instagram messages at soft
Speaker 1: rep Radio with these type of questions. Please send them
Speaker 1: that way though, please email them. And with that, let's
Speaker 1: get over to Steve so joining us for the first
Speaker 1: time on softrep Radio. Steve Bolas Jerry. Uh. Steve has
Speaker 1: been with the site for quite some time. Actually I
Speaker 1: should say with the company, because he's at Special Operations
Speaker 1: dot com. Actually how many years, Steve. No, it's just
Speaker 1: I'm just coming up on my one year anniversary. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I feel like you've just been a major part
Speaker 1: because of the fact that you're doing all the work
Speaker 1: over at Special Operations dot com. It's kind of one
Speaker 1: man operation at the moment, right, Yeah, and we we
Speaker 1: always joked during the editors meeting because uh the Odyssey
Speaker 1: and as we all know him, our erstwhile leader there
Speaker 1: and uh, he's always joking. Steve, make sure your staff
Speaker 1: is all on board with this. Yeah, yeah, that is
Speaker 1: true because we have, uh for the audience. We have
Speaker 1: these editors meetings every Tuesday where I get to talk
Speaker 1: with all these guys. And Steve is actually the one
Speaker 1: guy I didn't get to see at shot show. Everybody
Speaker 1: else was was there? You were like the lone guy missing. Yeah. Unfortunately, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I had planned on going. I had already
Speaker 1: purchased my ticket, and then my wife had surgery and
Speaker 1: it kind of, you know, her her recovery kind of
Speaker 1: set us back a little bit, and and uh so
Speaker 1: I wasn't able to go, And I was really bummed
Speaker 1: because I was looking forward to meeting a lot of
Speaker 1: the guys in person for the first time. I mean,
Speaker 1: although I've been working with the company for a year,
Speaker 1: you know, guys like I followed Jack on On on
Speaker 1: social media for a couple of years. I read everything
Speaker 1: he's done. But Jack and I have actually never met
Speaker 1: face to face. Yeah, there's there's a few guys in
Speaker 1: the company like that. Um, I got to meet a
Speaker 1: few guys for the first time, like Alex Hollings and
Speaker 1: Kurt and uh yeah, I mean I'm I'm the guy
Speaker 1: who kind of knows everybody, though. I feel like there's
Speaker 1: very few guys at the side I haven't met at
Speaker 1: this point, yep. And you know, and if you will
Speaker 1: be in one of them, I haven't really met you now.
Speaker 1: We talked every Tuesday, yep, you know, on the on
Speaker 1: the on the call the editors called. But we haven't
Speaker 1: met yet either. And I feel like I know you
Speaker 1: because I listened to the show all the time. You
Speaker 1: have some great guests on. I'm flattered that you asked
Speaker 1: me to be on today. So oh absolutely, man, I
Speaker 1: it's I feel the same way as you do. Though.
Speaker 1: I was even saying on the last episode of the
Speaker 1: Team Room Party, the guys that I did meet for
Speaker 1: the first time, like b K and frewman Terius, I
Speaker 1: felt like I knew them because I've talked to them
Speaker 1: so much already. It wasn't, um, it wasn't like meeting
Speaker 1: a new person. Uh. So to give you guys some
Speaker 1: background on Steve Steve, As I said, rights for Special
Speaker 1: Operations dot com, we occasionally reposted stuff on software dot com. Uh,
Speaker 1: former Special Forces n c O and Warrant officer. And
Speaker 1: I mean now would be really timely to also bring
Speaker 1: up that you cover the NFL for Pats Fans dot com.
Speaker 1: So you must be pretty thrilled at the moment. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's uh, it makes life interesting when the team that
Speaker 1: you have been to right for and cover is going
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl again. You know, we've been pretty
Speaker 1: blessed here and um, you know it's uh, it's so
Speaker 1: different because you know, the guys you talked to and
Speaker 1: correspond with the military side of the house like we
Speaker 1: do at Special Lots dot com. And then you know,
Speaker 1: we talk about something and then I'll get a message
Speaker 1: and somebody wants to talk NFL and it's uh, it's
Speaker 1: it's interesting because the whole different set of parameters that
Speaker 1: we work with. But yeah, the cover in the NFL
Speaker 1: is is really it's totally different, and uh, I enjoy
Speaker 1: because I love the game of football. And and for
Speaker 1: the audience, I don't think they'd be shocked that you're
Speaker 1: a Pats fan because of the accent. Yeah, growing up
Speaker 1: here in New England. You know, I'm a little bit
Speaker 1: older than most of the fans up here. So I
Speaker 1: remember the really lean years with the New England Patriots,
Speaker 1: went back when they were the Boston Patriots, and I
Speaker 1: tell people, I remember the first game I ever attended
Speaker 1: the Patriots. At that time. I didn't even have a home.
Speaker 1: They were playing in Finlay Park where the Red Sox play,
Speaker 1: and they were just totally awful. Yes, so you go
Speaker 1: way back. That's almost like older Yankees fans here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I went to my first game. I was a kid
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty seven. So yeah, I'm really dating myself there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm just thinking, as you're saying, like before this whole dynasty.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Yankees had it before, but as we
Speaker 1: all know, like during the eighties earlier nineties, it wasn't
Speaker 1: the team that it is today. So yeah, I can
Speaker 1: only imagine that. And actually for the Patriots, they're even
Speaker 1: more dominant in their sport. Yeah, and you know, like
Speaker 1: I said, I mean we remember the lean years and uh,
Speaker 1: the you know the Patriots have they've been They've been
Speaker 1: pretty fortunate, They've been blessed with Bill Belichick and Tom
Speaker 1: Brady and you know, and like I said, those of
Speaker 1: us who were a little bit older, you know, we
Speaker 1: really appreciate this time because you know, I remember when
Speaker 1: the Patriots never had a good quarterback or go to
Speaker 1: the head coach, and you know, it was it was tough.
Speaker 1: And now you know, we're really appreciating this time. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's fun. It's fun to h I
Speaker 1: get a media credential for the training camp in the preseason,
Speaker 1: and I'm down there and you get to talk to
Speaker 1: the players, and most of them are still pretty much
Speaker 1: in awe that this keeps happening to them because of
Speaker 1: the fact that, I mean, this level of success they
Speaker 1: had in the past sixteen seventeen years is really untrusted
Speaker 1: at it. And I should point out there that you've
Speaker 1: even covered for Special Operations dot Com. You know, the
Speaker 1: kneeling protests and all that stuff from a veteran's perspective,
Speaker 1: because we're hearing all about it on the news. Of
Speaker 1: course it's the big hot topic. But to hear from you,
Speaker 1: who's someone whose former Special ops and as a fan,
Speaker 1: and and to give your perspective as a guy who's
Speaker 1: who's met these players is pretty cool. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: and that was the thing that struck me as when
Speaker 1: when it first came out, I was, like the other veterans,
Speaker 1: I was really offended by it. But then you know,
Speaker 1: when you talk to the players, you see where you're
Speaker 1: coming from. It wasn't I think there was a big
Speaker 1: dropping miss, you know, communication there and the wrong message
Speaker 1: get out because a lot of the guys that well,
Speaker 1: the Patriots actually have a naval officer on their roster.
Speaker 1: I mean he's in the Naval Reserve now, Joe Cardona,
Speaker 1: and he's a graduate of Naval Academy and you know
Speaker 1: he uh he uh, he was on active duty and
Speaker 1: then they put him in the reserves because he's a
Speaker 1: football player, but you know, a guy like him. And
Speaker 1: then there's several of the other players have family members
Speaker 1: who are either in the military career military, and you know,
Speaker 1: they have a lot of respect for what the military does.
Speaker 1: And I I really think that, you know, after talking
Speaker 1: at least with the guys here, that a lot of
Speaker 1: that was lost in the the way the message came
Speaker 1: out was really unfortunate because they meant no disrespect for
Speaker 1: the flag or the military. They were trying to make
Speaker 1: a social statement, and I think, you know, I wrote
Speaker 1: in that piece that you referenced, I think they could
Speaker 1: have done a better job of it and brought attention
Speaker 1: to what they were trying to do in a different way.
Speaker 1: But you know, it's all water under the bridge, now, yeah,
Speaker 1: and you I mean, it happens to all of us.
Speaker 1: But you got some blowback for that piece, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: yes I did. I I got a lot of really
Speaker 1: hateful emails from some of my uh uh brothers in
Speaker 1: arms and veterans who did not take kindly to my
Speaker 1: take on that. And that's this is what we serve
Speaker 1: the country for. So everyone has their own say and
Speaker 1: I understand what the how the you know, the fellow
Speaker 1: veterans feel about it. I totally get that, you know,
Speaker 1: and uh, that wasn't my take on it, and that's
Speaker 1: not how I felt, but I understand where they're coming from.
Speaker 1: And there's still a lot of hurt feelings of it. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And also you're probably just not doing your job as
Speaker 1: a writer if people aren't getting piste off at your perspective.
Speaker 1: And that is also like what we sign up for
Speaker 1: as as media personalities as writers. Um, you know, I
Speaker 1: was even shot show this past weekend, as you know,
Speaker 1: and speaking to Jackie said something about, like, you know,
Speaker 1: you're either going to be an internet writer who investigates things,
Speaker 1: who writes for the website investigative journalists, I should say,
Speaker 1: which is a lot more formal than internet writer, or
Speaker 1: you're going to be someone who's like in high standing
Speaker 1: with everybody in the special operations community. And he was saying,
Speaker 1: you really, you can't be both, and I think there's
Speaker 1: definitely a lot of truth to that. Oh yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: And jack of all people, Um, she knows that that
Speaker 1: as an anyone, because you know, Jackson fantastic writer and
Speaker 1: he's written some outstanding you know, books and articles, and
Speaker 1: he's not afraid to delving as we've seen recently, he's
Speaker 1: not afraid of delving into some sensitive material that rubs
Speaker 1: a lot of people the wrong way. And uh, as
Speaker 1: a as a journalist, you have to be able to
Speaker 1: do that. And it's tough because you know a lot
Speaker 1: of the guys that you're really friends with take exception
Speaker 1: to that and and they feel like you're air and
Speaker 1: dirty laundry. It shouldn't be out there, but that's what
Speaker 1: your job is. Yeah, age and and since we're we
Speaker 1: were on the topic of football, and I'm gonna get
Speaker 1: into what we actually want to get into. But I
Speaker 1: don't even know if you saw this yet. I was
Speaker 1: just browsing Twitter and everything before, you know, prepping the
Speaker 1: show that apparently the XFL is coming back. I did
Speaker 1: hear that there was that rumor that it's coming back,
Speaker 1: and I've been hearing that for a while, and I
Speaker 1: think that's that would be great. I really do. I think, uh,
Speaker 1: you know that this country loves the game and I
Speaker 1: don't think they can get enough of it. Is if
Speaker 1: it's packaged as well, and it doesn't you know, try
Speaker 1: to I think, uh compete with the NFL and the
Speaker 1: time frame, I think there'll be a market for here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's apparently an announcement that's going to be made, so
Speaker 1: by the time this goes up, it probably will be made.
Speaker 1: And I mean my immediate reaction as I think it
Speaker 1: will do really well. We were talking about the protests
Speaker 1: and everything, and even beyond that, there's a huge base
Speaker 1: of people I think who love football and feels that
Speaker 1: they feel it's just become too politicized. Not just the
Speaker 1: the idea of the kneeling protests, but also guys not
Speaker 1: being able to wear commemorative patches. Right, what was it
Speaker 1: for the World Trade Center? I believe? Right? And then
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys wanted a sticker around their helmet because
Speaker 1: there was some Dallas police officers that the police officers
Speaker 1: excuse me, that were hurt in the line of duty,
Speaker 1: and they wanted to wear a sticker, and and then
Speaker 1: the the league said no. And you know, if you're
Speaker 1: going to allow certain things, I don't see a problem
Speaker 1: with it if it's you know, especially if the whole
Speaker 1: team is getting behind it. You know, granted, you don't
Speaker 1: want their whole uniform taking up with stickers or patches.
Speaker 1: But you know that that one with the Cowboys struck
Speaker 1: again a lot of people the wrong way, and it
Speaker 1: rubbed them really bad about you know how the league
Speaker 1: decided to know that wasn't a situation they could get behind. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I gotta tell you, I don't really follow this the
Speaker 1: way that you do. But even when I'm so, I
Speaker 1: don't normally turn on ESPN, but when I'm at my
Speaker 1: jam it will be on and I'll catch what's going on.
Speaker 1: And more times than not, they're politicizing something going on.
Speaker 1: It's become that it's not just covering sports news. And
Speaker 1: I do get that perspective from the more conservative fan
Speaker 1: mainly who's like, I've had enough of this, And I
Speaker 1: think the XFL is really gonna appeal to those people
Speaker 1: because I bet you they are going to make sure
Speaker 1: guys stand for the national anthem and that they they
Speaker 1: aren't politicizing everything. And I think that the NFL has
Speaker 1: really turned off a huge part of their base, mainly
Speaker 1: the conservative base. Yeah, I totally agree with that. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's become that way, not just with the NFL,
Speaker 1: but with the media that covers them as well. They
Speaker 1: try to make everything into a political statement. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, right here in New England last spring, during
Speaker 1: the you know, the teams before the season starts, they
Speaker 1: have what they call mini camps in May and June,
Speaker 1: and then you know training camp comes in July. Well,
Speaker 1: back in May, you know, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: happened to be friends with a man that was running
Speaker 1: for president on Donald Trump, and Trump gave Brady a hat,
Speaker 1: you know, it had something in Trump or something or other,
Speaker 1: and he had it in his locker and that turned
Speaker 1: into I swear it turned into a three week or
Speaker 1: more like a story that kept feeding on itself, that
Speaker 1: the that the patriots we're actually the way some people
Speaker 1: took it is that the Patriots were endorsing Donald Trump
Speaker 1: as president, and uh, it had nothing to do with it.
Speaker 1: And even Brady had to come out many times and say,
Speaker 1: we are friends. It doesn't mean I and I endorse
Speaker 1: everything he does or says, but we're friends. He's you know,
Speaker 1: he's visited me a couple of times on the field.
Speaker 1: You know, we've been to certain functions, and I think
Speaker 1: certain things just get taken way too far. And I
Speaker 1: thought that was a prime example of that. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: would agree, And I think with Lynda McMahon being in
Speaker 1: the White House and then Vince McMahon starting the XFL, like,
Speaker 1: there's definitely something there. And I do think that they're
Speaker 1: taking advantage of a climate of people piste off about
Speaker 1: what we were just talking about. Um, and that's that's
Speaker 1: what you do in America. If you see a base
Speaker 1: that isn't being catered to, you're gonna step in there
Speaker 1: and fill that void absolutely. You know. When it comes
Speaker 1: to that, I just think is you know, some of
Speaker 1: the major media markets. They're just bringing too much, you know,
Speaker 1: politics into sports. The whole reason we love sports is
Speaker 1: that it's a break from you know, our daily life
Speaker 1: as when you know, being in the military, we all
Speaker 1: used to look forward to the Super Bowl. I mean,
Speaker 1: I remember being overseas on in Central America and the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl was coming on, and you know, we've got
Speaker 1: a satellite that we kind of borrowed from our host
Speaker 1: nations allies, and we played with it until we picked
Speaker 1: up the Super Bowl and everyone was watching it. The
Speaker 1: last thing we want to hear is a bunch of politics.
Speaker 1: We want to watch the game and forget about what
Speaker 1: we're doing for a little while and enjoy our life.
Speaker 1: And the same with the guys. I'm sure the guys
Speaker 1: that are over in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria right now and
Speaker 1: a million other places, that's the last thing they want
Speaker 1: to hear during the Super Bowl. They just want to
Speaker 1: watch the game and enjoy it. I would agree, you
Speaker 1: can't escape politics now. And then I even saw that
Speaker 1: during the government shutdown, guy's overseas for that short period
Speaker 1: of time weren't able to watch the NFL, right, and
Speaker 1: then they had to go to the USO to watch
Speaker 1: the football game, and that's just you know, that's being
Speaker 1: to Well that wasn't you know, the military's fault there.
Speaker 1: It just was kind of thrust on them. But you
Speaker 1: know who who got affected by it? The guys who
Speaker 1: are over there putting their lives on the line. Yeah,
Speaker 1: which happens way too often. They're they're not the ones
Speaker 1: who should be affected by incompetence in in Washington. Um
Speaker 1: So getting into you know what I was saying with
Speaker 1: your background and everything. For those who don't know, Hurricane
Speaker 1: Group has several websites. I mean, if you go to
Speaker 1: Hurricane dot Media, there's more than we usually cover here.
Speaker 1: As I've said last episode the load out Room. One
Speaker 1: of those though, is Special Operations dot Com. Uh, but
Speaker 1: I want to get into actually the background of Special
Speaker 1: Operations dot Com first, because the the imaging behind it
Speaker 1: has changed a few times. I know that we were
Speaker 1: doing inside the team rooms for Special Operations dot Com
Speaker 1: at one point. Now that's moving over to softwarep TVs
Speaker 1: end of things. So for those who don't know and
Speaker 1: haven't really visited the site, how would you describe Special
Speaker 1: Operations dot Com and how does it differ from what
Speaker 1: we do over here at software. Well, most of the
Speaker 1: software deals with you know, stuff that's breaking, and it's
Speaker 1: stuff that's going on in the world right now. And
Speaker 1: you know, we have so many people are doing such
Speaker 1: great work, you know, keeping up with the current events.
Speaker 1: I'm not so much into that. And I have to, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, thank once again Jack, because Jack lefts me
Speaker 1: write a lot about history. I'm a military history buff,
Speaker 1: and I write a lot of what's going on, you know,
Speaker 1: back beyond, you know, things that affect what we're doing today.
Speaker 1: I write a lot of OSS guys and you know,
Speaker 1: World War Two because those were the forerunners of our
Speaker 1: own Special forces guys. In military history in general. Today,
Speaker 1: I just happened to write something about Royals Drifts, which happened, uh,
Speaker 1: you know in this date eighteen seventy nine in South Africa,
Speaker 1: and I got to visit there when I was a
Speaker 1: few years back. I was in South Africa, and it's
Speaker 1: just it's such an amazing, you know journey, and you
Speaker 1: you watched these guys. I met some of the Zulu
Speaker 1: people and spoke with them, and they all talked about
Speaker 1: the Battle of Rooks Drift like it was yesterday. You know,
Speaker 1: and because the stories have been sent down through the
Speaker 1: generations and it's really awesome. But yeah, I read a
Speaker 1: lot of history because I had background as a cadury
Speaker 1: member at the s f a S the selection force
Speaker 1: for Special Forces. I write a lot about that and
Speaker 1: what the candidates will be looking at doing and what
Speaker 1: they should do to prepare themselves. I write a daily
Speaker 1: workout program for the guys who are aspiring, you know,
Speaker 1: Special Forces soldiers, and I think if they follow that,
Speaker 1: they should have an easier time than I did when
Speaker 1: I was a young man and those type of things
Speaker 1: weren't available to us. Yeah. Absolutely, Which era were you
Speaker 1: in the s S. I was joined the army in
Speaker 1: night and I was one of the s we stalled
Speaker 1: SF babies. Now they have, uh, theen X program, but
Speaker 1: you know, we were called FF babies, and you know,
Speaker 1: back then we didn't have a prep course or you
Speaker 1: know anything. It was basically sink or swim. And luckily
Speaker 1: I served with some fantastic n c o s who
Speaker 1: had come from special operations, the units of ranging battalions
Speaker 1: and stuff like that. Those guys got all of us,
Speaker 1: you know, through what we needed to do. And then
Speaker 1: I went up to when I was forced out due
Speaker 1: to injuries, and that was my era. But you know
Speaker 1: it was I was so fortunate. I served most of
Speaker 1: my career in the seven Special Forces Groups, and you know,
Speaker 1: back then that was kind of a golden age for
Speaker 1: SF and in Seventh Group in general, because you know,
Speaker 1: there was so much going on and it doesn't even
Speaker 1: compare to what the guys are doing today. You're doing
Speaker 1: fantastic work, but back then that was like essentral and
Speaker 1: South America was kind of a hot spot. You know,
Speaker 1: there was there, you know, the war in El Salvador,
Speaker 1: there was you know, Anna wars going on all over
Speaker 1: the place in Central American posts, all the drug stuff
Speaker 1: down in Colombia, in Olivia, Peru. I mean, so it
Speaker 1: was a really interesting time. I was so fortunate, like
Speaker 1: I said, I mean I grew up down there and
Speaker 1: that was you know, in in Seventh Group and then
Speaker 1: I get to become a warrant down there, and and
Speaker 1: I loved every minute of it. I wouldn't have traded
Speaker 1: a second of it. That's awesome. So when did you retire? Wow,
Speaker 1: that's an awesome career. So getting into what you're doing
Speaker 1: right now at Special Operations dot Com. As we were saying,
Speaker 1: we do this call every Tuesday where I get to
Speaker 1: hear what Steve is up to and what the other
Speaker 1: guys at the sites are up to. You're gonna be
Speaker 1: doing some video interviews some veterans from the older eras,
Speaker 1: whether it's World War Two, Korean War, or even some
Speaker 1: Vietnam era guys. Uh, And I'm sure people want to
Speaker 1: hear all about that. I'm excited to see the footage. Yeah,
Speaker 1: in fact, and it ties into my love from military
Speaker 1: history is and you know, one of the sad things is,
Speaker 1: you know, we talked about our World War Two veterans
Speaker 1: and you know, we call them our greatest generation, and
Speaker 1: I firmly believe that. Um, you know, so many of
Speaker 1: these guys don't get to tell their story because they
Speaker 1: grew up in a different era. You know, when they
Speaker 1: came home, they didn't want to talk about what they
Speaker 1: saw over in Europe or in the Pacific, and you know,
Speaker 1: they went about rebuilding their lives and you know, they
Speaker 1: they went about their whole lives and through families and
Speaker 1: grandkids and you know, and then so sadly, a lot
Speaker 1: of these guys are disappearing every day, and so what
Speaker 1: we're doing is not only with special Operations dot Com.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm partnering with our we have a local cable
Speaker 1: television station here in my hometown, and we're interviewing these veterans.
Speaker 1: And you know, I spoke with the World War Two veteran. Uh.
Speaker 1: He was a backseater and a dive bomber and you know,
Speaker 1: he fought on Eo Jima, Okinawa. He was there for
Speaker 1: this surrender of Japan. He actually flew over one of
Speaker 1: the Adam bombs sites after they had dropped it. And
Speaker 1: you know, you talked to a guy like that, and
Speaker 1: then he got in with the Battle of the Bulge,
Speaker 1: you know, who fought the Germans in the snow. I mean,
Speaker 1: these stories are just amazing, and we're putting these all
Speaker 1: on videotape. So once, um, you know, we get enough
Speaker 1: of them, we're gonna start airing these. And uh, I'm
Speaker 1: even talking with some Vietnam vets, you know, fought in
Speaker 1: Vietnam and sadly we're losing so many of those men
Speaker 1: as well. And their stories that are all fascinating because
Speaker 1: they come from all different walks of life. They all
Speaker 1: have different experiences and I think these are stories that
Speaker 1: need to be told. They need to be kept for posterity.
Speaker 1: And uh, I think this is something that would interest
Speaker 1: so many of our listeners and readers because I think that,
Speaker 1: you know, it's important. I agree completely. What's what's the
Speaker 1: main objective and the main thing that you want people
Speaker 1: to get out of this when they see these videos.
Speaker 1: I think the main thing is that you know, um,
Speaker 1: these men all have a story to be told, and
Speaker 1: I think we all need to listen to it because
Speaker 1: you know what they went through, and especially these World
Speaker 1: War two vet you know what they went through is
Speaker 1: that a lot of them had no idea of what
Speaker 1: they were really getting into, and you know, their country
Speaker 1: was going to war. They answered the call and then
Speaker 1: this experience affected them for the rest of their lives.
Speaker 1: And you know, for many of them, it was only
Speaker 1: a very very short amount of time. You're talking maybe
Speaker 1: two years of their life, which in a ninety year
Speaker 1: old man's life, which is very miniscule. But everything after
Speaker 1: that two years has been shaped by their experience. And
Speaker 1: I think that's so important for all of us because
Speaker 1: it's not gonna be them the next time, It's going
Speaker 1: to be you. Know, our kids are grandkids that are
Speaker 1: going to face this, and you know, it's it's it's
Speaker 1: important and the fact that if we don't learn from
Speaker 1: our history and then we're doomed to repeat a lot
Speaker 1: of it unfortunately. Absolutely, we've had some some great older,
Speaker 1: older era vets as guests on the show before um.
Speaker 1: You know, the ones that come to mind for me
Speaker 1: were Pearl Harbor Survived for Jim, Jim Downing, Ernie Andrews,
Speaker 1: we had on Way Back, who's still out there running
Speaker 1: or at least was the last time we spoke to him.
Speaker 1: And we had Captain Jerry Yelling on the Power of
Speaker 1: Thought podcast, which I should say, if you guys haven't
Speaker 1: checked out that episode or that podcast, definitely looked that
Speaker 1: up because Jerry Yelling was awesome on Brandon's Power of
Speaker 1: Thought podcast if you haven't heard that. Are there any
Speaker 1: stories in particular that you've heard so far that just
Speaker 1: stand out to you? Well, again, the World War Two
Speaker 1: dive bomber veteran, because you know, he was a guy
Speaker 1: that grew up on a farm. He never when he
Speaker 1: was grown up had any uh aspirations of being anything
Speaker 1: but a farmer like his father. And then um, you know,
Speaker 1: he was going to take over the family business basically,
Speaker 1: and then after World War Two he had an ankling
Speaker 1: for community service and he spent the rest of his
Speaker 1: life serving in different aspects. He was like a local
Speaker 1: town selectment, he was a local school board member, he
Speaker 1: was you know, he served basically for the rest of
Speaker 1: his life. Uh, you know, because his World War Two
Speaker 1: service kind of a little fire under him to serve
Speaker 1: the rest of his life as a community service guy.
Speaker 1: And I think that's uh, something that was fascinating. And
Speaker 1: you know, I'm getting ready to have talked with another
Speaker 1: guy who was Battle of the Bulge veteran, and that's
Speaker 1: something that's near and gat of my heart because my
Speaker 1: own father never told his story. And I've told Jack this, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I found out, you know, my own father,
Speaker 1: we never knew anything even when I was in the military,
Speaker 1: and my dad wouldn't talk about his World two service.
Speaker 1: And then come to find out, after he passed away,
Speaker 1: all these former vets came to his wake and they're
Speaker 1: telling us story that we never heard about my father.
Speaker 1: He was actually in a book and I ended up
Speaker 1: buying this book. I read what was in there, and
Speaker 1: it was fascinating to read about your own father in
Speaker 1: a book that's something that you had never heard. And
Speaker 1: then I contacted. It was Division from Pennsylvania, which is
Speaker 1: a National Guard division, their division association, and I got
Speaker 1: to talk with some of the guys who are actually
Speaker 1: in the books in the uh you know, the basic
Speaker 1: scene where my dad was involved, and I learned about
Speaker 1: what happened there, and it was fascinating to talk to
Speaker 1: somebody who was there. And I'm reading the pages off
Speaker 1: to this guy and he's laughing. He's like, I remember
Speaker 1: like it was yesterday, and I wish I could have
Speaker 1: had these same conversations with my father. And that's what
Speaker 1: drives me to do this stuff. Now, that's awesome. I
Speaker 1: could only imagine. I mean, we you talked about earlier,
Speaker 1: like the changes in culture a little bit, But what
Speaker 1: do you think are the biggest reasons that guys of
Speaker 1: this era are actually very eager to get out there
Speaker 1: and get their story out. Not not everybody, but there's
Speaker 1: plenty of guys writing books, as we all know. And
Speaker 1: the guy us from this older era, you know, to
Speaker 1: not even speak to your son about this is pretty amazing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think you know, there's been a changing culture because
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of us who grew up you know,
Speaker 1: with fathers like this, you know, um or grandfathers, and
Speaker 1: some of the cases for the guys who are serving now,
Speaker 1: you know, they've they've come to realize that, you know,
Speaker 1: these guys had a story to tell and it never
Speaker 1: really get out there. And I think now that they're
Speaker 1: all coming out because they're like, hey, you know, um,
Speaker 1: you know, we all kind of you know, talk down
Speaker 1: about our own experiences, but you know, we come to
Speaker 1: realize that, hey, this might be of interest to someone else,
Speaker 1: and it might be of interest to my son someday,
Speaker 1: you know, So that's why we all do this. And uh,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, that's been the change. And I
Speaker 1: you know, I know a lot of veterans don't like
Speaker 1: when guys write books about what's going on. I've, for one,
Speaker 1: I walk every one of them because I think everyone
Speaker 1: has their own perspective on things. And you know, I
Speaker 1: know you had Rob O'Neil on and I found not
Speaker 1: only his book, but it's interviews that you've done with
Speaker 1: him was absolutely fascinating. Thanks. Yeah, there's there's I mean,
Speaker 1: he receives like the most criticism of all the people,
Speaker 1: because it is true that if if he did what
Speaker 1: he did decades ago, it would be unheard of to
Speaker 1: go out there take credit for it and write a book. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I mean, how many guys can say that they actually,
Speaker 1: you know, took out the number one terrorist in the
Speaker 1: world that you know, so I think, you know, taken
Speaker 1: into consideration. And I know a lot of people disagree
Speaker 1: with that, but that's a story that needs to be told,
Speaker 1: and I think the American public needs to know what
Speaker 1: one done with that. And uh, I don't. I don't
Speaker 1: feel anything bad about what he did or how he
Speaker 1: went about it. And I think he should have wrote
Speaker 1: a book. I think that's exactly what people need to
Speaker 1: read and see because it's you know, it's part of
Speaker 1: our history. It's what's driving us right now. And you know, I,
Speaker 1: like I said, I was listening. I was one of
Speaker 1: the listeners that day when you had him in the studio,
Speaker 1: and I thought it was a fascinating interview. And and again,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, Navy seals and Green berets were
Speaker 1: all the same, but we all walk on water. But
Speaker 1: at the same time, he was kind of self, you know,
Speaker 1: he was talking down a little bit about what he did.
Speaker 1: And I'll be the first to tell you if I
Speaker 1: did what he did, I'd be writing a book myself. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that's how most guys feel. I mean, even
Speaker 1: those that are critical, you do have to wonder. I mean,
Speaker 1: it is a great opportunity to get out there and
Speaker 1: get your story told. And and he's a really good
Speaker 1: guy too, And I should throw throwing a shameless plug.
Speaker 1: He'll be back in March on the Power of Thought podcast,
Speaker 1: so look out for that. Yeah, that's awesome because again,
Speaker 1: I you know, I thought he was a great interview,
Speaker 1: and you know, because he has a lot to tell
Speaker 1: and h that kind of experience not many people have. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: So as for the videos that you're doing, are these
Speaker 1: going to be rolled that over a period of time
Speaker 1: or are they all coming out at once? When when
Speaker 1: should we expect to see these? I'm not sure. We're
Speaker 1: gonna forward everything and we're gonna put them all together.
Speaker 1: I believe the plan is to release them all at
Speaker 1: once in a compilation, but I'm not sure right now.
Speaker 1: That's that's still subject to interpretation, I guess. But yeah,
Speaker 1: we're gonna get them out as quick as we can.
Speaker 1: We're we're taping the interviews as quick as we can.
Speaker 1: In fact, I have a Veteran's Council meeting with our
Speaker 1: local veterans tonight, and I'm going to talk to a
Speaker 1: couple of more of the guys World War two and
Speaker 1: the Korean War veterans to see if we can get
Speaker 1: them in the television studio and put some more on tape.
Speaker 1: That's gonna be killer when it comes out of me.
Speaker 1: Were there any guys that you either had to massage
Speaker 1: a bit until you got them to say, all right,
Speaker 1: I'll appear on film, or or any guys who just
Speaker 1: flat out said no, I'm not going to talk about it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: some guys were more than willing to be interviewed, but
Speaker 1: when they heard it was going to be filmed, they
Speaker 1: bought because they were like, no, I don't mind talking
Speaker 1: about it, but I don't want to be on film.
Speaker 1: And when we asked why, they were like, because I'd
Speaker 1: be embarrassed for somebody to see me and think, oh,
Speaker 1: this guy thinks he's like a hero. So it's like, no,
Speaker 1: it's not like that law, you know. But yeah, that
Speaker 1: that's been the sticking point as the video portion of it.
Speaker 1: Do you think your veteran status helps these guys to
Speaker 1: open up in some cases? Oh? Absolutely, because they know
Speaker 1: even though we you know, grew up in different time
Speaker 1: you know, frames and errors, and we served doing different
Speaker 1: much different things, you know. I think that's the one,
Speaker 1: the one aspect of this whole thing that ties everyone together,
Speaker 1: and it puts them more at ease because they know that, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, at the same time, we've all feel the
Speaker 1: same dirt, so to speaker, you know, they've suffered the
Speaker 1: same hardships. Yeah, one of the big changes in culture,
Speaker 1: I think, And we've talked about it before in the show,
Speaker 1: and I know you guys have written about it. Guys
Speaker 1: today who are transitioning back into the civilian world, who
Speaker 1: are going through problems are very much encouraged to see
Speaker 1: a therapist talk about these problems um in some cases
Speaker 1: just seek different um treatment and activities you could do.
Speaker 1: Brandon actually recently wrote an article about how doing yoga
Speaker 1: and meditation has helped him a lot. And I think
Speaker 1: guys from that Vietnam era and previous eras were told
Speaker 1: not to really say anything, and they just kept these
Speaker 1: feelings and these stories. In cases like your dad completely
Speaker 1: bottled up inside. Yeah, and you know that's that's a
Speaker 1: huge problem right now. And you know, it's a it's
Speaker 1: a problem where a lot of these veterments who are
Speaker 1: you know, they're suffering from thoughts of depression, some of
Speaker 1: them have substance abuse issues. Here in Massachusetts where I
Speaker 1: live up in the northeast, the the local just the
Speaker 1: sheriff's department that runs the incarceration of these guys, they're
Speaker 1: trying something new with the veterans and they're they're calling
Speaker 1: them hum V cells, where these veterans that if they're
Speaker 1: not in a you know, the most serious kind of
Speaker 1: a lockdown, if they're in like a medium security or
Speaker 1: a low security type of prison. They're putting these guys
Speaker 1: in um what they call hum V cells and where
Speaker 1: it's not so much like a jail but a military
Speaker 1: barracks and they're they're putting military stuff on the walls
Speaker 1: and they're trying to appeal to the time of their
Speaker 1: lives when you know, they felt like they had uh
Speaker 1: their lives more in control. And it seems to be working.
Speaker 1: These guys that they're you know, rate of recivitism, I
Speaker 1: guess you could say is really really low and they're
Speaker 1: they're finding these guys when you appeal to that side
Speaker 1: of them, and they're having veterans come in and speak
Speaker 1: with them, that it seems to be working. And in fact,
Speaker 1: myself and another guy from my hometown, I've been invited
Speaker 1: to go speak with some of those guys to let
Speaker 1: them know that, hey, there is white at the end
Speaker 1: of the tunnel, and there is life after the military,
Speaker 1: and we can all work together and pull ourselves through this.
Speaker 1: That's definitely an important thing. The New England area has
Speaker 1: been hit hard by this opioid epidemic, and a lot
Speaker 1: of that is veterans. Yeah. Absolutely, our whole area up
Speaker 1: here this sole opioid thing. I mean, it's it's gotten.
Speaker 1: It's an epidemic right now and there are a lot
Speaker 1: of veterans involved in this, and it's something that it's
Speaker 1: a scary thing. I mean, we all know somebody who's
Speaker 1: been involved with them. And it's no longer you know,
Speaker 1: people think, oh, it's an inner city, you know, low
Speaker 1: income thing. Uh, No, it isn't. It's a problem that
Speaker 1: goes across all of social strata and every you know,
Speaker 1: conceivable family group. It's affecting it's not just you know
Speaker 1: what people would consider that, you know, the old wives
Speaker 1: tale of it being you know in a city, you know,
Speaker 1: low income thing. No, it isn't. And the a priorid
Speaker 1: epidemic is probably the worst up here in New England
Speaker 1: that it is anywhere else in the country. And and
Speaker 1: with veterans, for example, sometimes they are prescribed something by
Speaker 1: the v A and it it gets them into a
Speaker 1: rabbit hole of of taking all different types of prescription drugs.
Speaker 1: Oh absolutely, because a lot of the guys, the one
Speaker 1: complaint you hear all the time is the v A
Speaker 1: really doesn't want to treat them. They'll just throw more
Speaker 1: meads at them, you know, and that's not the answer.
Speaker 1: And you know, for somebody like myself, you know, my
Speaker 1: problems were in a skill computer other guys. But at
Speaker 1: the same time, when I was first injured in the
Speaker 1: line of duty, I injured my back, they were doing
Speaker 1: the same thing with me, you know, they just kept
Speaker 1: giving you more and more and finally I hadn't showed
Speaker 1: all the way. And uh, I get on an exercise
Speaker 1: program because I could when I first got out and
Speaker 1: my wife can buction me there, I could barely walk.
Speaker 1: You know, and if I had stayed doing what they
Speaker 1: asked me to do, I'd probably be in a wheelchair
Speaker 1: myself right now. But I'm not gonna sit here and
Speaker 1: tell you I'm the most pride guy you'll ever see.
Speaker 1: I still get out an exercise, I still carry rut sacks.
Speaker 1: So wow, that's awesome, and I think it is important.
Speaker 1: I've heard Jack say that on the show that one
Speaker 1: of the important things when guys get out is they
Speaker 1: got to keep that warrior mentality absolutely, And you know,
Speaker 1: that's the one thing that I think that veterans how
Speaker 1: we band together, because you know, a lot of times
Speaker 1: when guys get out to feel like they're they're alone,
Speaker 1: and then that's what the depression sets in. But you're not,
Speaker 1: especially in this area. With social media, we're all together
Speaker 1: now and uh, you know, guys can reach out to
Speaker 1: one another and and we can link up or talk
Speaker 1: on the phone. I mean, I spoke this last week
Speaker 1: my old team leader from Special Forces is uh. It
Speaker 1: was a quarter apolegic back in he got hurt, and
Speaker 1: he was remarking to me that he's really sad because
Speaker 1: so many of these kids who get hurt and end
Speaker 1: up in a chair now from Iraq and Afghanistan. They
Speaker 1: die and then like three or four years, you see
Speaker 1: so many of them. And he works with disabled vets
Speaker 1: now and you know, he said, I've been in a chair.
Speaker 1: He's going on thirty years and uh, you know it's like, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, he has the will to keep going on
Speaker 1: because he's involved with the veteran community and he he
Speaker 1: thinks a lot of these guys shut themselves off and
Speaker 1: he's an amazing man even though he's in a chair.
Speaker 1: He when sky diving last year. Um, he went skiing
Speaker 1: in Jail, Colorado, And when I talked to him just
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, he said he wanted to
Speaker 1: go skydiving again, as doctor was so against it. He
Speaker 1: was like, if you break your hip, you won't recover.
Speaker 1: And he's like, I gotta go do it at least
Speaker 1: one more time. That's crazy. I mean, I'm completely able bodied,
Speaker 1: and you will not see me going skydiving anytime soon.
Speaker 1: Not happening. I wanted to go, my my wife doesn't
Speaker 1: want me to, so he thinks I'm getting a little
Speaker 1: too long in the tooth for that now. So I
Speaker 1: tried to get my son Ago skydiving on his eighteen birthday,
Speaker 1: but that got shot down. Um. You know what I
Speaker 1: was just thinking is when you were saying about these
Speaker 1: veterans and reaching out and all that, there's been so
Speaker 1: many guys on the podcast who have said before, like
Speaker 1: before any veteran or or someone they've served with does
Speaker 1: something stupid, that they'll always take a phone call from them.
Speaker 1: And I even remember we had on Karl Monger, the
Speaker 1: executive director of a Gallant Few, which is a great
Speaker 1: organization that does stuff for veterans, I think Army Rangers
Speaker 1: in particular. Um, but he gives out his phone number
Speaker 1: and he's there for any guy's going through tough time.
Speaker 1: So there's there are plenty of resources out there. I
Speaker 1: think the biggest problem is that mentality that there there
Speaker 1: is no one out there before guys really look into it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and then that's the problem that you know, as veterans,
Speaker 1: we need to stop and you know, because we're all
Speaker 1: answer each other, and you know, that's the one thing
Speaker 1: that you know, I think that we do better now
Speaker 1: than we used to. It still can get a lot better,
Speaker 1: and it's being there for each other and letting me,
Speaker 1: you know, your your brothers know that if you you know,
Speaker 1: if you get into a dark place, all you need
Speaker 1: to do is reach out, and we're all there for one.
Speaker 1: I think the Special Forces community is really good at that,
Speaker 1: but we still have guys that fall through the tracks,
Speaker 1: and I think we can still do better. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: that's excellent that through your work, you're doing something that
Speaker 1: has that veteran to veteran connection of guys who haven't
Speaker 1: been out there and are probably telling their story for
Speaker 1: the first time to you, and it will be told
Speaker 1: to an audience of people who um you know, are
Speaker 1: are young, are possibly joining the military now, and in
Speaker 1: the long term, these videos are on the internet forever,
Speaker 1: so long after these guys are gone because of you,
Speaker 1: that they'll be able to have their stories out there.
Speaker 1: And I think that's that's just remarkable. Yeah, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, that's what we're hoping to do. And I
Speaker 1: hope when people see the interviews that they can get
Speaker 1: something out of him. I know I do when I
Speaker 1: talk to these guys, because like I said, I I
Speaker 1: love history and military history and you know, you know,
Speaker 1: we all grew up in different eras, but you know,
Speaker 1: we all share the same thing and that's a sense
Speaker 1: of commitment and duty. And you know, I think some
Speaker 1: of these guys, the stories they have to tell are
Speaker 1: just amazing and hopefully when our readers and you know,
Speaker 1: listeners get to see this, that they'll enjoy them as well.
Speaker 1: Right on, man, So check out Steve's work which is
Speaker 1: at special operations dot com. Just look up Steve Ballas
Speaker 1: Jerry You're you're writing most of the stuff that you
Speaker 1: see on there, just about everything. And you can follow
Speaker 1: Steve on Twitter at Steve B seven s f G
Speaker 1: at Steve B seven s f G. Give him a
Speaker 1: follow anything else before you get out of here, because
Speaker 1: we uh, I mean, it's great having you on and
Speaker 1: I know the audience is gonna look really forward to
Speaker 1: seeing these videos. Flong were do having me on the show? No,
Speaker 1: it's just, um, you know, I've really enjoyed my time here,
Speaker 1: like I've been here about a year now, and um,
Speaker 1: you know it's uh. I encourage everyone to read what's
Speaker 1: going on and soft f We have so many talented
Speaker 1: guys that uh, like I said, I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: on the twenty seven Yankees. Um, you know when you
Speaker 1: see the writers here, John Meyer, Jack, you know, uh
Speaker 1: Grewmantarius all those guys. I mean, I George. I love
Speaker 1: what George puts out all the time, and uh, you
Speaker 1: know it's, um, it's some great stuff. I encourage everyone
Speaker 1: to read everything that's going on there, and uh, I
Speaker 1: think we touch upon everything that's going on in the world.
Speaker 1: And you know, my little portion of it is I
Speaker 1: love the History Park. So yeah, absolutely, And I know
Speaker 1: a lot of the guys who read the site do
Speaker 1: who read our sites offer up dot com, but also
Speaker 1: they need to check out special Operation dot com because
Speaker 1: I don't. I am guilty of not talking often enough
Speaker 1: about that site, along with all the other sites that
Speaker 1: Hurricane Media. So uh, if you want to see all
Speaker 1: that stuff, I mean, we do have a website which
Speaker 1: is Hurricane dot Media, which shows you everything that the
Speaker 1: company is up to. Um, and Hurricane Media is also
Speaker 1: on Instagram, Twitter and everything else. Um. Thanks man, thanks
Speaker 1: for finally doing this with me. It's long overdue, and
Speaker 1: I know that you kind of stepped in the last
Speaker 1: minute here, so I really appreciate it. Oh, thank you
Speaker 1: for having me. Like I said, I was flatter that
Speaker 1: you asked me to be on the show with you today.
Speaker 1: And like I said, but to all the guys that
Speaker 1: you have on. It's feel like we're on the twenty
Speaker 1: seven Gangs. I really enjoyed that. I look forward to
Speaker 1: seeing those videos that Steve puts out. And also there's
Speaker 1: gonna be continued coverage from Shot Show from these guys
Speaker 1: that are still there um as things are wrapping up.
Speaker 1: So check out soft rep dot com as you're listening
Speaker 1: to this and load room dot com for all the
Speaker 1: continued coverage of Shot Show. There's a whole lot of
Speaker 1: stuff up already and there's gonna be a lot more.
Speaker 1: As a reminder for all of those who are listening,
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