[0:00] Welcome to the first of three podcasts in a series to celebrate. Johnna, go ahead. This is hard for me to say, John.
I'm just going to have to know. I'm just crying because you're like, This is our first guest.

[0:18] Thank you for that fuck's sake. I was trying to be more serious at the beginning game Face, man.
Face, bro. I was trying to get serious is hard, you know? It's going to take me at least 4 minutes to get my groove like it does every frickin time we do this. Swarm it up like a car.
Yeah. You'll notice we have a guest today. Hello, This is Shannon. So happy to be here. Shannon. Hi, y'all.

[0:44] Let's do this. I'm just going to turn it over to you if you keep messing with me. I just said hi.

[0:50] How dare you? I have to. You're the leader of the podcast. Go ahead.
I'll just chime in whenever I. I know, I know. Anyways, so we have a guest here today, John, as 20th anniversary of the Air Force is on Monday the 15th.
So we thought we would do, like a special little series of women of the service who is actually we know from high school. But you guys have known each other way before, right?
We went to elementary school together. Facts kicking it back to the elementary school days. Really? Yeah, for sure.

[1:22] So we had different experiences at the school because child at an all white school in the eighties. So it was different.
It was probably fun. Sure. It was probably incredible experience. Yeah, I bet it was. I love that. What are those things in your hair? Oh, they're braids, so that's awesome, man.
It was nice. They still do that, though, even in 2023.
You guys have known each other for majority of your life. Oh, yeah.
I'm going to kind of give you guys the floor on since it's the first of three podcasts to celebrate Johnny's 20 years in the Air Force, which is awesome.
It really is. It's pretty amazing. And I just I'm proud of you. So I wanted this to be special so that you felt celebrated because it's always made me feel I haven't done shit and I haven't done one thing for a whole 20 years.
Might not think you have. I'm sure I've been a mother.
Oh, I've been a mother. That's huge. Yeah, that was a thing.
But military women are like extra special. Well, women are awesome anyways. Specifically military members. Yeah. Yeah.

[2:28] So tell me your stories. Both Why don't we start with you, Joanna, about why you enlisted or when you enlisted and how you chose your branch.
I enlisted when I was 20, and I really wanted to.
Have you always been in the Air Force? Did you start out and then? Yeah.

[2:48] Well, I've always I've been a reservist. I was also like a full time reservist for 14 years.
They treat you different, right? Like when you're reserve versus when you go active duty.
Well, I feel like in the Army they did. And you're like, oh, you're less important or you're part time. They mostly feel like they're just clueless sometimes that the jobs and they only do it when we can demand the training and stuff is like still the same. You have to go and complete.
All the requirements are still the same for active duty and reserve. So you've always been a reservist? I have.
And what you were reservist as I started out, I actually went through like all of the branches of like the Army. So I started out National Guard and then I went active duty and then I came back and went into like Army Reserve. So, yeah. So you were in every component.
I really was, Yeah. And they're so different. I mean, it's all the army, but it's just it's so different. And the way people treat you, knowing which one of those that you're in is different. So it's an interesting experience.
I'm sure it was. That's why it's it's so intriguing to me anyways. And it's not a huge part of your life that I know about. So what was boot camp like in the Air Force? The same as the Army. Oh, I doubt that.

[3:52] No, ma'am. She's. I doubt that. No, ma'am knew I went back in 2000.
Well, 20 or 2003. Yeah. Because it's 23. So I went back in 2003 and.
I would say that at that time there were different squadrons that were known to be a little bit more tough than others. And I went through like the second hardest one.

[4:17] I I'm going to be kind because I love Air Force people.
My dad retired from the Air Force, so I have a special soft spot in my heart for Air Force members because like I said, my dad retired from there, but I trained with Air Force people and I was just like, I want to live here.
Like, I don't want to go home. Like, I want to I want to live here. Can I just live with you guys? And they're like, No, you're trash. You have to leave.
So it was like a thing, but I loved it.
So here's what's crazy. And I don't really understand why things are the way they are.
You know, I joined the reserve because the unit was right up the road. And when I joined, my mom, like, freaked out.
Yes, I'm Grissom Air Force Base, and when I joined, my mom freaked out. She was crying, sobbing. She thought I was going to personally fight Osama bin Laden.
Girl, my mom was like, Bisi, you have a great leg. That's a good point because, John, what year did you go in, in Shannon 2000. So I was in before September the 11th, yeah.
And during September the 11th. And it was so insane. I like four.
So for her to go in two years later when it was all just it was really starting to heat up and tell your mom I would.
I was a junior in high school. I enlisted in the National Guard as a junior in high school, and my mom, like, had to sign and she was like, have a great life.
And I was like, This is awesome. And then I was like, Oh God, what did I do? Like, Holy cow.
I think everybody was going to like Panama City spring break. And I was like, I'm just going to go to boot camp. You guys, I'll catch up with you later. Like, okay, we'll just see you later. Yeah. So it was like super crazy.

[5:44] I was like 17. Your mom was freaking out. Oh, yeah, She was crying, hysterical. But also because I needed my Social Security card and it was in my dad's safe box when I couldn't figure out how to open the latch. And she's like, You can't even figure out how to open a box.
How are you going to be in the military? We're going to give you a gun and you're going to die.
Like you have a solid point, Mom, but I'm telling it anyway.
Valid point. They're going to help pay for some damn college because you guys aren't giving me any money. Big facts. That was my motivating factor.
That same year I wrote, I wanted an education and I was like, Well, how am I going to pay for it?
They say they'll help pay for schooling, so let's do this.
And they're like hounds. I mean, like these recruiters, these military recruiters, they can like sniff out the poor people and they're like, they're like you. They broke over there. And the goodwill clothes, we need you. And I'm like, what?
They go and ask the schools for a list they have like a little tax papers or something.
And they know like poverty stricken children and they're like, You have no other way to live life. And then you start to believe them because you're like, I can't pay for college and neither can my mom. So. Right.

[6:49] Yeah, But I mean, you bring up a good point, though, Like there is I mean, every walk of life you could imagine so many different types of people that join the military majority. I feel like majority of them like we all have like one.
Thing in common, Like just kind of like lost, you know, whether it be like financially or, you know, educationally. We're just lost.
You felt something? Yeah. Did you feel like that, too? I've actually observed that a lot throughout my career.
Like a lot of us come from, like, maybe backgrounds that weren't picture perfect or you think it there's there are definitely things that bond us to do, something like serve your country, but there's not like a,
there's not like that person that has like perfect GPA or scholarship or like really like going places or has like a set path for when,
those people are not the people that you're in training with.
Right? Those people are like they went to West Point and.
Yeah. Or something. Yeah. Yeah. You have a whole different breed of people.

[7:45] Right. It's like, did you find that that was mostly who you guys are. Like your were your commanding officers or. No.
People who just did the work and majority of the commanding officers for my branch, they were just like the nerds who were like super smart in college, like the super nerdy college people who like, came from West Point or like Berkeley or something like those.
They went to college first and they get the extra money because basically, like, the smarter you are and if you once as an officer, you make more money and those are the people that are like trying to tell you what to do, but they're not the people that are actually doing the work, right.
So it's like, Great, you could tell me what to do, like in real life and a boss.
So we're only different, you and your degree. You get to tell me what to do and I'll just be over here doing the work. So that's fine.
So I actually work as a straight civilian for the army now, not sure if I told you that or not.
I think so, yeah. I was super excited about that. I love those people. I love the civilian military people because they're it's they're different, in my opinion. They're different. They're not the military military people, but they're so military people.
But just the way that they treat you and the way that they see things are different. I like interacting with those people is different. Military people try to like boss you and get crazy, but the civilian people are like kind and they want to explain things. It's different.

[8:56] So but what I was going to say is I catch a lot of crap from some of my coworkers.
And and it's true because certain locations like we could be deployed in the same location or like stationed in the same place and I would get extra pay because it's like sub contractor.
Well, it's like it's the accommodations aren't up to standard. Okay. So we get like a hardship duty pay. Okay.
Like extra money for, like, housing or like. Yeah, Yeah.
It's just the extra step in a month. Isn't that crazy? Well, we're going to talk about that.
The third podcast that I have planned with our with two of our guy friends.
And see, I'm interested to know what it was like in different places because did you have that experience?
I've never heard anybody I know who was in the Army say they get paid extra for shitty accommodation.
No, they're just because there's not any accommodation, right? And they're like, Oh, you don't have any water. Well, we'll try to make that better tomorrow. Okay, so like, just drink your tea or whatever. Like it doesn't know there's no right. It's bad like.

[9:59] So you were in for how long then. I was in for ten years, like combined.
So not like I didn't earn like a retirement or anything like that because it was like my reserve time combined with my active duty.
So I was on active duty for like four years, almost got deployed, was in the process of getting deployed and going through my physical and I found out I was pregnant for Sam. That was crazy because his dad and I got married and then we had tried to get pregnant for a year and it didn't happen.
And I was like, my contract was about to end and we were trying to get pregnant.
It wasn't happening. And I was like, I'm going to get deployed. They only allow you to stay active duty at a certain base for so long before your number gets called.
And I had a very high demand job, so they're after me anyways for years. And my boss, like who could not live without me at the time, was like blocking it, blocking it.
He was like, She's not going anywhere. Then he retired and I was like, That's it. I'm getting deployed. And I did. And then the guy was like, You're going anywhere.
Why was that? 2004 and 2004, Man, Sam saved your life. Maybe. Who knows? I know.
Prayed for that child. Yeah. I even took, like, fertility pills. Could not get pregnant, could not get pregnant. So it was insane.
He really was a blessing child, which probably makes sense because he's an angel, baby. But as I read a sweetheart.

[11:10] Super lucky. Like I prayed for that child. That's how it happened. And then, like, the devil came and was like, You could have a daughter.

[11:17] Now that's what you get. That's what you get. You thought it was easy, right? Exactly. My daughter is like hell on wheels, but so it was.

[11:24] It was a thing. But being in during 911 like that was insane. That was in.
Did you have to do anything to support that pain? Oh, so many things.
So many things. Like I was actually I went in junior year and then I went back and finished.
I went to basic training junior year summer and then senior year beginning, I missed like the first week of school, which was excused.
And then after my senior year, I went and finished my training and then that was like when September the 11th, you know, November.
So like I was at the end of my training and I was getting ready to graduate and go active duty. And we were I mean, we were literally we had been out for like two weeks. It was the very end of our training. We had walked like 16, 17 miles in boot. It was hot.
I don't even know it was like 105 degrees or something outside. It was insane. Oh, Lord.
And then we get back to like the meeting point and they're basically like, Relax, right?
Everything's fine. Just relax because you made it.
You're getting ready to graduate. You made it. So once we get back, you're going to gather your equipment and you're going to wash your clothes and you're going to relax for a week and we're not going to bother you and don't even worry about it.
So. So we're all like, I have this picture. This picture is hilarious. So I have this picture and we're all just like laying on all our gear and we're just dead to the world because we had just went through this like two week training thing.
We were like literally sleeping in on a tarp. It wasn't even a tent. It was a tarp with like sticks and like spiders. And it was insane.
And so we were all like, we were eating. We all have food around us, and we're just like everybody's like, laying on their rucksacks. And then like, all of these sirens start to go off like crazy. And we're like, Why?

[12:51] Like, why would they do this to us? We thought it was a part of like the training we thought was a training exercise.
And these sirens are going off and we see like these planes start flying overhead and we're like, what could possibly be going on right now? It's like in South Carolina and I was in North Carolina, excuse me. And we're like, what could possibly be going on, right?
Like, they would not do this to us. Like, no way. Right. Are they messing with us?
Right. So they were like, get up, get up. Like, everybody is like, okay, this is really great. You told us we were done and we're clearly not. So like marched us back to headquarters, like where we were going to drop our gear and they congregate all in this room and they flip on the television.

[13:25] So as soon as they flip on these TVs and this teeny tiny room, all of us were like terrified because we were not allowed to watch TV. There was no TV.
If you got caught watching TV, if they had a TV on and you got caught, like looking at the TV, you're on TV? No TV.
So I've made it like eight weeks, like no television, no phones, none of that stuff back then.
So they flipped on all the TVs and you see, like this smoke, like rolling and like. Right.
The 911, the footage that you see on TV is the footage that we were watching live. We were watching it live. I will never forget that day. That is insane.
Phones, every single phone inside of that place started ringing.
Did they let you guys have your phone? Eventually, my mom went completely psychotic and called, like the front desk.
And I'm like. And they're like, Baker, you have a phone call. So, like, phone like Red Cross. People showed up. It just turned into, like, something you see from a movie, right? You go calm to explosion and then like, bye.
So I pick up this phone still in a daze. I have no idea what's happening. I see the footage. Years old. At this point, I'm 18, eight.
Just turned 18. Yeah. So I'm like, Hello? My mom's like, Ha!

[14:29] And I cannot understand a word that she's saying. And I'm like, And the only thing I could think to say was like, How did you get this number?
Like, what is happening right now? And she was like, You're gonna die.
Like, she's saying the craziest thing. So now, now I'm panicking because I'm talking to my mom. And again and it's scary.
There's no phone calls. You're not calling home, right? They're like, yeah, you get 2 minutes, right?
Three weeks from now to call home and tell everybody you're alive. Not no more phone calls. So I'm like, Mom, I'm like, What is happening? And she's like, We're under attack, literally saying every single psychotic, crazy thing that you could possibly think of, you're going to die.
We're under attack. And I'm my brain is trying to process everything after just walking 16 miles after being completely exhausted. And I'm like, okay, great. So we're under attack and I'm going to die.
Great. So anything else? Should I know about anything else? Did my dog die while I've been here? Has anybody else died?
So my mom's like, I'm coming to get you.
Would I go to heaven? So where am I going?

[15:28] I'm like, the plane. They're like, Get off the phone.
Get off the phone. And I'm like, Well, I got to go. So I hang up the phone because I'm like, Great. I have no idea what's happening still, but apparently I'm going to die. So that's great.
And it was insane. So like 911 messages started to come in.
So I was in training with people who lived in New York and had parents and people.
So these people are getting pulled out, right? The people who were immediately affected by 911 were on emergency leave.
Immediately. They were like so and so and so. They already knew who these individuals were. So and so. So and so and so and so leave. And they pack their bags really immediately. Didn't get to say goodbye to my friends. Nothing like we just went through this.
Enormous amount of training together. Like we're brothers and sisters now, right? We made it. We.
And they on the bus and left. And then the rest of us, they were like people were crying.
We're like military members, right? We're tough now, right? We're bad ass.
We completed training. Like, you can't tell me anything. And our training officers.
Zero sympathy whatsoever. Zero. And they were like, Well, don't start crying now. This is what you train for, right?

[16:31] We're like, Your recruiter lied to you. Like, don't start crying now. You're going to war and you're going to war and you're going to war. And I'm like, Got him right?
And I'm like, cool. Because I just thought I was going to go back and, like, go to Ivy Tech. But war is fine.
Like war or the war is fine. That sounds like something that I really wanted to be involved in. So I'll do that.
Wow. So you were at the end of it. So it was the end of it was a week before graduation. I passed basic training year before and I was in my it's called eight. Yeah.
Advanced Individual training. And that's like your, that's like your school. Yeah. Your bookwork for we call it tech school in the Air Force. Yeah.
A long what was like a little mini college.
I mean what was the what did you go for. What did I go to tech school for.
Yeah, well I've had three different jobs so I know you just keep training and, like, doing different jobs. I love that. I originally started out as admin, basically, or information management. I don't even think that's a term they use anymore 20 years ago.
And then I cross trained into flight management and I did that while I was enlisted. And then obviously when I commissioned now I'm Health service administrator.
You need like a book to like a I need a a key.
That wouldn't be a key.

[17:44] Like, I'm I'm trying to follow you here. Keep going.
It's okay. I'm with you on a map. Like, oh, like to understand or understand all the different commission and enlisted and oh, girl, like there's there's so many like and they've explained it to me so many times.
And the levels have levels and it's insane.
Think about your most exciting moment in the Air Force in the last 20 years. Oh, man. Because that was probably yours, right? You can't top that.
I really cannot top that now. No, I cannot. That was that was pretty much the.
So was graduation. Just super sad. It was I mean I can't imagine. Yeah.
Everybody was like no, yeah. Everybody was like, no I don't, I don't want to do this because so like the week that we were supposed to spend, there's no relaxing.
Oh, for sure. The week that we were supposed to have been relaxing and like doing our laundry and getting our stuff together and like, preparing for our next destination. I was going home because I was in the National Guard. So I was going home and I was going to do my one weekend a month in the National Guard.
But some of my friends, they were active duty and so that that week was spent like it was like doomsday, like who's getting called, who's not.
So the individuals who got called to go fight and go to war, they.

[18:59] Oh, my God. I'm going to get emotional. So there's buses and then, like, they bus people, like people that don't because some people are enlist in the military.
They don't have any family whatsoever. Nobody's seeing them at graduation.
Nobody's coming to pick them up. Right. Like my mom drove and we drove home. I was like 13 hour drive, whatever. So that was my experience. My mom's here, right?
I'm leaving. So these people, like, don't have anybody. So they're like, you know, like those old, like war movies where you see the people like sitting on the back of the bus and like the back of it's missing, right? And they're just sitting there and they're sad.
They're all right. Like they're the ones like the music. Yeah, exactly. So, like, they're the ones that are going off to like, Vietnam, right, is how we feel. Right? Right.
This has happened and forever. But yeah, so, like the ones that were called to duty, they put them on a bus and the rest of us were just kind of like, Bye bye.
Do you know what ended up happening to any of them?
Like, do you think the majority of them, like, didn't make it back?
And like, we try to do the letters and we try to keep in communication, but sending letters, that's not a thing, right? Because they get you get stationed at one place and then you get moved to another place and the camps have to be more. I would imagine that would be very hard to do. Yeah.
So, you know, the people tried, but yeah, keeping in contact through like we have this like military portal thing where you can like look at people's service names and numbers.

[20:12] And so we try to like write down as many of those as we possibly could. And looking at people like, yeah, a lot of my friends didn't make it and it was a situation so bad.
Yeah. So yeah, so half of them went on a bus and then the other half of us went home.
And then my National Guard unit back here in Kokomo didn't get deployed.
So I didn't, I didn't, I didn't go to fight.
And, you know, Iraq and everything or Afghanistan that, you know, went to Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, all of these places and did all these things. It was all drug out. But I didn't get called to do that. So, yeah, I mean, it doesn't make what you did any less. Right, Right, right, right.
Because I ended up later on training.
Training being the training people, the person who trained them to go over. So, I mean, I had a I had an active role in the the war training. But yeah, no, I didn't. I by the grace of God, Can I just take I'm going to interrupt. You're fine.
Every time I look at you, your your reaction to stories is so weird.

[21:11] What? Like your information, like what you should be feeling is not your facial expression at all.

[21:18] Like there was like you were like this, like, grinning.

[21:23] A joker, grinning when she was about to cry. She was like she couldn't get anything serious.

[21:32] So I think we'll get weird. People get weird when you start talking about serious things, like it's 5050 for me. Know that you may as well just strip me naked when you start talking seriously, Like I am so uncomfortable.

[21:45] She's going to hate the guest series because she has to stay focused and listen to shit.

[21:53] Nobody wants to stay focused. Nobody wants to do at the end of this.
Well, hey, if I have to deal with your fart stories and everything else, you know, I have to deal with your fart story. I have a fart rule. Like I don't give a shit.
Like, if you're farting or whatever, that's perfectly fine. I don't want to smell it. If I smell it, you die.
So, like, you have to go in another place. And the rule applies to my closest friends. People that I don't know. My, my, my friends makes me my children mad when I'm angry.
If my son has this tendency to, like, fart and then, like, somebody will walk through it, and by somebody I mean me.
And immediately when we lock eyes, he's running. He's like, I'm out of here because I'm like, doing one of these, like, thumb across the throat. You're dead to me. Never do that again.
Did you ever do that again? I don't want to smell it. Everybody farts. Okay, great. I get it. But, like, if I smell it, you're done.

[22:45] Accident. You don't know until you let out the first one.
You're like, God, what is that smell? Okay, But then there's always, like, a second one to follow, so. Okay, I get it. Might slip out. My grandma does. That slips out. Great. That's fine.
But then, like, there's always a second one to follow That second one, you better be removing yourself from my presence because it's coming, right? The first one's a warning. The second one is detrimental is your fault. You're done. You're being insensitive and rude for not. Yeah.
For second one. You're purposely destroying my life. Yeah, exactly. Your nostrils.

[23:19] And then there's like particles, like, I can't it's a thing like that is a have you ever been, like, showered in somebody else's fart while you were on a plane?
That's enough. Oh, my God. Don't even talk to me. I am a fly.
I am a flying veteran. Don't even talk to me about the time that they almost landed the freaking plane at LAX because I was like, Get me off of this plane now. Somebody keeps farting. I'm pretty sure it's the guy that's asleep. I can't handle this. Get me off. And the lady was like, Sit down. And I'm like, I will not.
I'm like, I will not sit down. I'm like, He's asleep. Wake him up. And she's like, Lower your voice. And I'm like, Lower the window. And if that's not a thing, land this plane. I am not a passenger. I am not person. Put this plane on the ground.

[24:01] Fucking hate people. You fight in your sleep. He's asleep.
Don't give a shit if you're not a baby. I don't want to. I don't want to hear it. Babies can't control it. Babies sleep and they fire. Okay, great. But this is a grown ass man with headphones on, like on a plane.
Land the plane. If you know, land in your sleep, then don't fall asleep.
I'm not falling. I know where I sleep. And I guess what? I'm not falling asleep on a plane. Oh, God.
What happened last night when you were sleeping, Brad? Yes, Brad, Tell us.
Spilled the beans. You've been just waiting to tell this breaking story. I think Jonathan gave you some freedom. I guess because you about blew me out the bed. I'm the.

[24:43] First thing I take away. The first thing out of his mouth this morning, he says to me, I go, Good morning. And he goes, I think, John, I gave you a permission to fart or something because you about blew me out the bed.

[25:00] I was like, No, you do not have permission. There will be no permissions about this. Oh, my gosh.
To admit. Thank you. Okay, well done. B How did you even how did you even get on this topic? Oh, because intentionally drop that bomb. But now we can get back on topic. Okay. Yes. Go. Shit.
Most exciting experience. Military edition. Yes, man. Oh, John, we are here for think of a single exciting thing. We really can't. 20 years, No shooting. I don't know what you mean by it. Nothing I post happened, right?
Here's one thing that talk about shooting. It's going to be about sex or something. I have some of those.
I have a few stories. The highlights I, I, I have always had administrative jobs, so it's not like I'm sitting here in the line of fire. You know, it's not like I have any type of discussions like that. I have unique situations I put myself in.

[25:54] That are funny. Like, for example, you know, I have to qualify on this rifle. When you're enlisted, you shoot the IM something or other. IM two and it's the m 11 0pm too.
Used to be. It used to be an m 15. But now it's not. M-16, M-16.
Wow. Tell me that you don't like. She does it without telling me she doesn't know anything about the airforce guns she hates.
So how much I hate it. So I was down.
So we're all in line shooting this hot brass goes down my shirt from the person next to me, which, by the way, was very painful. And I was like, kneeling. The person she was turned on.
They leave hot like they leave no burns. Yeah. I freaked out and I had my gun and I was like, and I screamed and started making that person shot that they call him Kadam instructors.
He came and like, jumped on top of me.
They're trained to do that because you had your finger on the trigger still and was like, and I was freaking out because I had a hot breast on my shirt to put the weapon down.
Like it's a thing. Like she's not who you want to have in your foxhole.

[26:56] Oh, they don't. They didn't forget me. They're like, Oh, it's you again, ma'am. Like hot rounds. Like, there she is again. There's hot rounds. Yeah.
They go out. Not good. They give nicknames in the military. It's Bob.

[27:08] Then there was the time that I. Do you remember Ali? The pill.

[27:14] Oh, Alaba. Oh, yes. Right. Okay.
This was in the early 2000s. It made you get diarrhea.

[27:24] I'm sorry. Wait. You ate greasy food. It would literally come out of your body like you could. Not with a diet. Could be.
Yeah, it was a diet alibi. Basically the counter. It would block your fat, so, like, you wouldn't digest it just like a stack of your type of. Of something like a gas station pill or something. No.
Yeah, well, people like pooping like water. Oil. Yes, oil like.
Oh, that's how basically you kept your nutrition, you kept your food and just out the grease.
Pretty much that's exactly what happened. Like physically, that's not FDA approved either.
People were eating for no reason. It's not on the market. No, it is.

[28:01] And who took Ally? I had a friend who took Ally and I got her laughing. I will never forget this.
We were on our way to a club, the Vogue and Indy.
And she was laughing so hard. She was on that shit and she she didn't even did heart. She just.
Anyways, so that's, well, that's where the story was going. Like I was on military duty and I did that and I duty when I was on duty and I didn't have any clean pants to put on, so I had to smell like shit all day.
I just di recipes.
I'll be in my casket if you need me. I fucking can.
You started and I couldn't take care of it. Oh, no.

[28:41] You guys are gonna have to fire me cause I'm out of here. So I don't care for the smell as it is.
So if it's on me, I can't. Nope. I cannot be involved.
I have a very sensitive nose when it comes to certain things. Well, I would have been offending you so hard that day. I like walking around like I love you. You didn't even get, like, a bottle or bottle of water and, like, dump it in your crotch. Ten years old.
You should know better. Donna, I think I put toilet paper down there. Oh, God. Oh, my gosh. Then you just had the wheel.

[29:12] Then you just had no freaking wheel. Oh, Anyway, there was that story, and then this is a hilarious story. All I really want to think about is my hilarious stories. I mean, I have to, like, sit and really think about other stuff. Well, you're going to have to by the end of this.
In my mind, my girlfriend, Courtney, who will be your guest next time on episode two.

[29:31] So my girlfriend Courtney, when she would go on some of her TD wise, is, you know, temporary duty station. So when you go somewhere for a short period of time, she would pick me up little trinkets.
One of the trinkets she picked me up. She was in Germany and I've actually seen them here in the United States, but she got it in Germany.
It was a bottle opener. Well, it was like about this long. I'm making about 12 inches the size of a ruler. And at the end was a bottle opener, but the body of it was a penis.

[29:58] Like balls. SHARPTON And Ed and I loved that thing. I was like, oh, my gosh, Like, I cherished it.
So look at my penis. I'm so excited. So what was it?
So I left it in my desk.
I did put it away. I hid it in my desk. And sometimes when the guys would come in and want to, like, crack a beer or whatever, I'd pull out my bottle opener is just a funny joke. Everybody got a kick out of it.
Whatever. I actually had gotten promoted, and so I got this really nice corner office all to myself. And this young airman comes in. Yeah, I was told you had a bottle opener. And I'm like, looking at him like, Yeah, what do you want to do with it?
He's like, Oh, can I take it back to my room? I'm like, You know, I'm done.
No, you cannot go to your room. So we're like playing a joke on him. And like, I sent him to, you know, Did he know about it?
I'm getting there. Okay? And so he's like, We have questions, right?
I can't stay here. I'm a child. I have question. I was like, absolutely not.
Like, I don't just let people take that. I'm like, if you need to use it, you can bring your bottle in here.
I'm assuming that he knows that it's a penis. Yes, everybody knows that.
Well, anyway, finally I he wore me down enough and I'm like, okay, fine, you can take this, but please bring it back by tomorrow. And I bend down and I pull out my bottle opener.
Maybe he's like, Oh, man, what the fuck?
He had no idea it was a penis. Oh, I'm literally thinking that he only wants it because it's a penis. And he just really wanted a bottle opener so that you make him uncomfortable. Now you're getting an ending.

[31:28] Exactly like I'm done. Why? The fact that that is where her brain went immediately.

[31:34] What you're going to? The only bottle opener I had was that one, because they said he was looking for one. And somebody said, Go ask her for her.
That would set him up. Oh yeah. They sent him out. Yeah. What they really set you up, which literally set me up for failure.
Right. So like, could he even, like, make eye contact with you after that happened, or was it like, a thing?
Some people just can't joke. So, I mean, we just never really talked about it again. Yeah, for sure. He was Don't ask, don't tell. Yeah.

[32:01] It sounds about right in the middle. That's why that's that is why you can't even be comfortable around a BBC.
That is freaking hilarious.

[32:12] Those are some of my best stories I have. I mean, I have endless amounts of fun stories, but tell us what your highest position you held was, because it was a pretty big deal, too.
On the enlisted side, I made it to Chief, which is an E nine in the Air Force. Yeah, she did.

[32:27] Hala and I. Then I decided to change my entire life and I became an O one, which is a lt ranks like people hate LT. Absolutely. Why?
Because I think in my head I said she was saying out loud is we hate lieutenants like obviously because I know her, I know her and I know how she is.
And I know little lieutenant educationally, like I remember I'm very aware of like where you're at as far as like, intelligence. So this is not applied to you. But lieutenants, they're just.

[32:54] They have a reputation that I have no idea what's happening.
I love my lieutenants that I work with. I do. I do. But I do remember feeling some type of way about LTS. And here's why. Because, you know, you have a you have the lower ranks on both the officer side and the enlisted side. At least on the enlisted side. They feel sorry for you.
Yeah. You know, I mean, I don't feel bad for you. They're probably going to buy your food when you go out to eat. Like, Yeah, you have no money and you're poor, but you're like the x ray, like the back breaking. Yeah. Doing the backbreaking work that like nobody.
You're the grit. Yeah, the grit. And then the lieutenants. Not so much.
So I'm like, well, you little college educated idiot way like sleeping in, like, the nice tents.
And they, like, get the nice food and they're just like, toss us their scraps when they're done. Like, Thanks, do my minion work. The lieutenants do that. Yeah, but they earned the reputation.
So all the ones I've ever come in contact with what were douchey potentially. Is that what you do?
It's just like speaking on the Army side. I don't have any clue about the Air Force side. They're lieutenants might be like, I love, I love.

[33:56] I love my spouse. I love the people, the ones in the army. We have just I have never come in contact ever one time in the Army with a lieutenant who had any type of sense whatsoever.
But give them like a calculus problem or physics problem.
Oh, and they're just like, they got this all day long. Right? They're doing thing if anything breaks.
Like I had a lieutenant one time, I walked up on him and I startled him.
First of all, what did he say? You startled me. Yeah, like he jumped at everything. And I'm like, What is wrong with you? Like, you could literally hear me coming anyways because you've got all kinds of things, right? Weapons. And you can hear what doesn't matter.
And he was doing something and I'm just he was really frustrated and I'm like, What are you doing?
And so they were being made to go like this bivouac thing where you go in the woods and do this training thing. I haven't heard that term in so long. So long Me either.
He's saying, Lieutenants, it makes me think of this one frickin lieutenant that I'm specifically describing. And I'm like, What are you doing? He could not figure out how to put his gear together.
Everybody was leaving. They were marching. They were leaving him behind. And he was like, just flailing around. This crap was going everywhere. And I'm like.

[35:03] I'm like, This is incredible. I'm like, You make twice the amount of money as I do.
Like you sleep and like, ten times nicer of a place than I do. Like, you were just like everything you anything he he could snap and get anything that he want.
You can't put your gear together. I'm like, This is incredible. So I did the things and he took off and.
But I think that's why the lieutenants have a bad name, because it's going to take one lieutenant and you're going to be like, Oh my gosh, all lieutenants are frickin horrible. Like, I've I've encountered a couple that are like, meet me. But for the most part, solid people.
I would love to like, I don't know, like when I so I trained with Air Force people and it was it was something that the it was something that the Army had.
I can't remember what it is because obviously it was forever ago, but it was an equipment or a system or something that the Air Force was adopting, but they were going to like change it up.
So they needed us to like, teach them the basics of this thing.
I like I said, I can't remember. They hand selected a few of us that had been around for over a long time and they were like, We're going to go to their like.

[36:02] Room and we're going to talk about this, and then we're going to give them a presentation and then we're going to bring the equipment and stuff, and then we're going to show them how to use it, and then they're going to like, turn it into their own thing.
So we're like, cool. So they picked me and like five or six of my friends and we go, and I'm like, Where are you meeting? And they're like, Oh, we're meeting. And they're like, We would call it like a like some sort of like a hall, which would be just like a lower scale, like a gymnasium or whatever. That's where the army people would meet.
So we go into the Air Force area and it's like the super nice building we walk in, like AC is like hitting you in the face.
Oh, yeah. And I'm like, This is incredible. Like what is happening right now? And like, super nice floors. Everything's immaculate. Like, I'm like, Where are we?
Like, is this heaven? Like heaven looks like? And so we go into this board meeting room.

[36:46] And they were like, Oh yeah, this room's pretty standard. Like, this is this is where we all meet. We meet here for this and that, and we've got another one.
And they're just explaining all these things like big ass leather chairs, like nice, comfy, like rolly leather chairs, like a, like an oak table, round table or sitting on flat screen TVs. Like, everything in this room is absolutely incredible.
They brought us snacks and food and they had, like, bottled water, like nice bottled water. And like, it was just incredible. It was like everything luxury. They had mini refrigerators and all this stuff. And so me and my friends are immediately staring at our boss like, Oh, yeah, you're going to bring us here.

[37:19] Yeah, this is why we're all getting out now. We want to be in the Air Force, so good job. You should never have brought us here.
I'm like, Are you guys, like, hiring or whatever? Because I think that this is incredible. Like, you live like this all the time. Like, this is how y'all are living over here.
AC, Leather chairs, mini refrigerators, like flat screen TV.
We don't have flat screen TVs. We have the knob TVs, like turn on the knob with the kids things.
And they're like the private stand there with the antenna on the top of it.
Yeah, trying to get it to work. I'm like, You dare take us into the Air Force territory.
Now we look like a bunch of rag bags, slobs like we're over here in the trenches taking grenades, and these guys are sitting in the AC like, fuck off.
Like, I'm going to be in their leather chairs. Like, I swear, I'm like, the caviar.
I'm like, Joke's on you because I'm going to the Air Force and I want to live like this.
I want to see this so nice. But it was it was like a thing.
And we and we and there was so nice and the guys were so nice. And a recruiter actually did contact me. He was like, Oh, I'm about to come over, come over from the dark side. And I'm like, Whatever. Like, this is fine. This is my life.

[38:24] When I was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, I got called to New Mexico where like when when 911 was like super hot and heavy and there were like lots of training things going on.
And they were looking for they were looking for not not Osama bin Laden, but.

[38:43] People part of al Qaeda. It was like there was a training thing and there was like an ops team, whatever.
It's way too much to talk about. So I got called to work in New Mexico, which is about a half hour from Fort Bliss, Texas, which is actually on the border of Mexico and Mexico.
Yeah, right. So I would drive every day, 30 minutes, and we had to set up training scenarios as if because it was in the desert, Fort Bliss, it's like all desert.
I mean, it's like tarantulas, snakes. I mean, it's the desert, 106 plus temperatures just as it is when you're in Iraq and Afghanistan. Right. So it's the same type of terrain.
So that's why they chose us to do these training things. So we had to set up and this this would obviously offend somebody who actually had to go over and fight. But this is the closest that I came.
Right. So do you obviously need to be trained before you go over there?
You can't just go over there, right? You're not you're not ready for the weather conditions. You're not ready for what you're facing.
You're not ready for these individuals that you're going to be encountering. So we had set up an entire camp, if you will, of like a scenario for them.
So we had I mean, we had vehicles that were blown up. We had places where you go and like hide for cover buildings that you had to go in and clear.
Right. Just just all kinds of whatever. And this was just like miles and miles and miles of desert.
And these things were set up. So I were I was training these individuals who were going over to fight.
And, you know, I was yeah. So I that's about the closest I came.
But if I could tell, like the PTSD that you experienced from being in.

[40:05] That type of situation, whether it live or just fake scenario, I mean, it was just like, it was like so we had like there's a lot of different dynamics to shots, like actual rounds where firing actual rounds at actual targets and we're actually blowing things up.
So we were doing these things, training these individuals to get ready to go.
To war and I had to do all that. And it was every day. So I had to dress like they dress.
I had to be there and side by side with them. And I was like a training supervisor and it was absolutely insane. So do you hate to camp now, then?

[40:36] The exact opposite, actually. Once you remove yourself from the military, you actually enjoy doing things that you hated to do, like running.
And like now that I get to do it on my terms, like I enjoy it. But yeah, back then I was like, I do cardio every day. I was like, I choose death like 106 degrees, long sleeve, long pants, rattlesnakes, tarantulas.
I mean, just in the desert, just like whether it be going through training, though, women weren't allowed to even probably train to be on the front lines.
Did you feel discrimination towards your color or towards being a woman in the military?
It was that was like 2015 when they they just a very thin line between.

[41:17] I or have you never felt either I didn't because that's awesome and not to like no that's or anything some super humble and I'm like super grateful for my experience that is awesome.
Literally set the foundation for my entire life, but I was always kind of like a bad ass because I don't like being told, you know what I mean? Like, you can't do something or you're not good enough to do something or you can't go or you can't. So I just I did everything.
If there was a training, I was in there, if they needed a person, I was that person.
So I was like, I was chosen for so many things and I just like so I didn't. But some of my friends did experience, like they couldn't do some of the things that the guys were doing. And I never I never allowed that.
It's easy to be discriminated against, so I'll put it this way. So I remember there was this she was like five.
Her last name is Brown. She's like five, two, five, three.

[42:05] And she was a freaking badass, but she was so short that she couldn't, like, do certain things.
Like it was impossible, right? But when it came down to, like, shooting or things like that and nobody could touch her, not the guys, not the supervisors, not the drill sergeants, nobody could touch her.
So they, like we're making exceptions for like her to be able to do things.
And they were like signing waivers and doing things. So it was like a very neat experience to see a woman be included in with the guys and stuff like that.
But I felt bad for her because she still had setbacks because of some of the she couldn't climb over the wall.
Like there was like, yeah, I, I mean, I'm all for women power. But yeah, you weren't a lot to be like infantry and go on the front lines and do certain things. I was like, that was definitely a male thing, right about a woman can be security forces, obviously. So. Absolutely.
So women have definitely come a long way from where we were in military to where we are now. And I personally, somebody might not agree, but I would not be able to be a part of the military. That's the military today.

[43:09] Absolutely no way. They couldn't pay me enough money. They couldn't pay me 200,000 a year to go and be involved.
I cannot. Well, it's different. There are. Well, let's ask Jonah, because you're still enlisted.

[43:21] Has there been been any changes that you see? Like it like evolving? Like. Oh, yeah, there's a lot of them. I mean, it's definitely a different Air Force today than it was when I joined in 20 years.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing to you? I think in some ways it's a really good thing.

[43:36] Yeah. I mean, they they protect women a little bit more. They acknowledge the fact that sexual misconduct was a huge issue. It's still is a huge issue. Well, it's always going to be yeah.
Like overseas, like the unspoken. Have you seen any of the TV series on any of the women or.
Yeah. Yeah, it's a huge part. Yeah, it's huge. But they don't talk about it. And the military is extremely 20 years ago the the economy if you think about what it is like 20 years ago, $200 was a lot of money.
It was a lot of money. If you could if you you know, because I my National Guard check every month for my one week and a month was like almost $200 after taxes.
It was like 170 or whatever. And everybody was like, oh, you make good money and like, whatever.
Like I just spent $200 on dinner tonight. Like, doesn't even matter.
So, like, it's a thing. But just where we were as far as, like, what mattered and what didn't back then with just, I don't know, just with finances and people and rank and moving up and women.
And it was just, you know, it was decent money. So like, even if you were being sexually assaulted or even if you were being sexually harassed, like a lot of people didn't say anything. I mean, I witnessed well, we have an older mentality of those of we have, I think.

[44:47] 40 and older have the mentality of like you kind of expected if you're going to go into a man's world.
Didn't you know what to expect going into the military genre? I did not know what to expect because nobody in my family was military. I had I met as far as being a woman in the military. And you're attractive.
You never I never really thought too much about it. I was just kind of really just focused on getting my school paid for.

[45:15] But I will say I've I've never felt like I've been discriminated against for being a woman. I've never, you know, gone through what some of these other women have.
However, there have been times when I especially when I was younger, where it was almost like an older man would kind of like take you under his wing and to teach you.
Nothing ever inappropriate ever happened. But it was almost like I felt like I had to be really nice to them or else they weren't going to, like, help me out.
Or do they call that when you use your your people or you use your power for an ulterior motive?
It is actually something we've all taken sexual harassment courses. It's called carpe diem.
Now let's seize the day. I know. Carpe diem.

[46:03] No wonder they had it wrong. Yeah, I happens a lot abuse of power.
But I think there's also a different dynamic for me in my perspective, because I have been a reservist the whole time.
I'm surrounded by people who are there one weekend a month, nine times out of ten, like the people that are there Monday through Friday, keeping them, keeping the thing going. They're established older people. They're not like young kids out trying to get predators or. Right.
Like they're not. And they have a family. They have things to lose. Like my experience is 30 year career versus yeah they really enlisted person. They're not going to a whole career for you the mess around.
Quo quid pro quo pro quo so that victim's quid pro quo is the harassment of your sexual harassment by use of power.
That happens a lot. I mean, I don't know just what I mean. I think it does in every area. The TV series alone that have started to come out, once you've been in the military or once you've been like law enforcement or whatever you choose to do with your life, like.

[47:03] You just don't have emotion if you're good at your job.

[47:06] If you're good at your job, in my opinion, because you just can't write.
I can't feel sorry for you because you're not getting paid. Because it's my job to take your pay, because there's something that's caused this, right?
Like we overpaid you at some points and I have to take your pay now.
You can't feed your family. Well, I can't feel bad about that because it's my job or whatever.
So, I mean, whether it be something like on that level or something higher, like your emotion, you're emotionless about it.
You kind of have to be if you're in the military or so I stay on the administrative side.
I mean, when I'm a reservist, of course, I have people that I would mentor or just due to my rank, they would maybe look out, look to me for some sort of advice. But for the most part, I'm not in charge of anybody.
The difference between Army and Air Force is so crazy to me. All of them are crazy different. It is like the Marines. Like the Marines would think that we're probably the Marines would probably call us both trash like, I don't know.
Got it. We've got we've got like, we're killing people with our bare hands and we're like, Yeah, we've got a marine coming on Sunday.
So I'm excited about that. Also trained with Marines, I've trained with the Air Force, I've trained with Marines and I've trained with German soldiers.
So I know all the things and I have opinions about each and every single one of them, and I love them.
All Marines are just two separate. It's a it's a different breed of a human being.
Yes. Well, let's go back to I've called you out, Brad. Where are you going? To say something. Sorry. Let's go back to that. No, I was just going to say they probably are run under different budgets, I guess, and 100%.
Absolutely. That's a huge part of it.

[48:36] Yeah. My son sounds like a decorated military war veteran and I'm talking like five tours.
I mean, my son's has been, like, shot, stabbed, cut across the face in Honduras.
I mean, he has just been drug through it. And they just when he was done giving his life to them because he did back to back tours. And like I said, he went through it all. And when he was done giving their life to him, they were just like.

[49:01] I see you later. Have a great life. Yeah. I have a question. Yes, I have a question. So many things. And I have to say it right now before I forget.
Would you be willing to pay your tax dollars to make sure that everybody who was ever active duty or overseas or at war had some sort of a small pension for the rest of their life?
I can't wrap my mind around somebody who goes and fights a war for even a year and the traumatic experiences that they have. I know some bad ass men who have been through some shit who are good freakin men. I mean, it's impressive, to say the least.
Wouldn't you agree, John, are the ones that we know, Like they've been through some shit, I'm sure. It's one of those things where they've learned to manage their demons.
That being said, I can't wrap my mind around. Somebody talked to me about that. About the fact that you go and fight on a war.
Maybe it's fucking $100 a month. I don't know. Right?
I just. Maybe it's for as long as you were in. You get that payment like when you, you know, the military, they give you resources and they convince you that, like, if you're a reserve or whatever. Right. You did ten years, Like I got out and that was it. And they were like, okay, great. Have a nice.

[50:06] If you need anything, come to the VA. Do you have free health care for life?
Sure. Yeah. Have I ever utilized it? No.
Why? Cause I don't want to come back and miss an arm or a leg or a toe. VA medical treatment plans that they offer for people for free. You go and you wait 2 hours. Why stay?
Yeah, I think it is because my. My grandpa and my ex father and all both have had incredible, incredible care out of the VA. They have. I have never met one individual who has.

[50:34] Is it mandatory that a veteran takes a class on how to with those resources?
There's a lot of mandatory things they force. Really, it's an exiting.
I don't know what you guys call it. It's like like an exiting interview or whatever.
You know what I mean? Like, we have checklist of things that we have to do before we're released or out processed and out processing. There's a lot of different like mandatory briefings on a lot of stuff.
So in retrospect, you don't regret being in the service for ten years, even though, dare I say, my life, it completely changed my life.
Do you think your negative, negative perspective on certain subjects that we just spoken on and touched on my perception, do you think that that's because of what you currently a current position in your life or no?

[51:15] No, I don't think so. My negative perception comes from like, my milk, like I have a I have a strong group of military individuals who we still stay in contact with checking each other.
We don't have to do that, obviously. But the like the suicide rate alone for military veterans is just like skyrocket through the roof.
So we have developed this. I was in a military women's support group. I did that through IV tech where I went and did this thing. So I met a lot of ladies through that.
I've been like an advocate for I'm all about military veterans because I can't.
You like just the idea of your thought of somebody being alone with their thoughts after coming back from war and stuff like that.
And that's more survival people than you think, especially in Kokomo.
So like, it's a it's a situation. But I that all of the individuals that I have ever encountered, we all are saying the same thing.
So I've never felt like alone with my beliefs or anything. And I've just I've never I've never met anybody that was just like I was in the military. And I'm just so excited about it. And like, they just like the best ever and it gave me everything I have. So go back tomorrow.
I will say I have met people in the Navy and Air Force who would say that, Oh, for sure, man, that's a debate you could get out. I mean, that's people that's a Navy. People think they're better than the Air Force people and Air Force people.
The Air Force uniforms are better. And that's not a lie by the Navy. People are kind of my favorite, like bad ass like seaman, though.
I called seaman like you guys. I can't really take you serious, bro. Like, just like our our our principal in high school.

[52:43] Like Harold. Richard. Harold. Richard Seaman.

[52:48] Who's your God? Harold? Richard, Call your kid punching bag like you named your child. This. You're a terrible parent.

[52:55] Call your kid punching bag, bro. I was going to say it might make your heart happy to know that they did redo the retirement.
Some people would say it's a way to pay less, but other people would disagree and say that it gives people who don't make it to 20 years.
They can walk away with something. They change the retirement system. So there are different options now, or they do like a TSP matching that they didn't do before.
What's TSP matching? It's basically like for one K for the military.
Okay, I will say this. I didn't know all of these things until the last few days when I've been researching kind of like good questions to ask.
I've learned a lot and it's important. And we should absolutely celebrate someone who is willing to be in service and for our country.
Do you think most of them have the idea that government's fucked and were never like, we're just fighting anyways? Do you think everybody kind of feels that way in life? Probably.
I mean, I really kind of feel like, Do you feel that way? Brad Right.
I would say so, yeah. It's bigger than us. There's not much you can do to change it, right? You can write letters, you can contact your senator or you can call the numbers, you can try to change the laws. You can vote. Right, But.

[54:03] And everyone says, your vote matters, your vote matters. And it does. And voting is so important.
We know the number to the White House, too, but it's oh, my gosh, girl, We had a friend who seriously kept calling the White House. He would get I have to and he would call the White House and he would leave.
He thought he was leaving a message. But the Secret Service was like really the ones that are stuffing the calls. And they're like, Yeah, you're on our hotlist.
That's what we kept telling him. We were like, You have to stop doing this.
And he would call and leave messages for federal at some point.
So finally, I I'm like there one time when he's doing this and I'm like, Let me see that it says, call this number instead. And it would hang up. And he thought he was leaving a message for somebody important.

[54:44] You're ruining our government.

[54:47] That is exactly what was going on and on and on and on.
He'd be like, You come to my motherfucking house right now trying to take my gun.
That is. My gosh, you guys, right now, I just want to say that.
So you're talking for an hour, probably. Oh, yeah, we have. But let's just wish I could have said, like, some positive things, like thinking back to what we just talked about, I feel terrible because I'm just like, everything's horrible on fire that is being negative.
I didn't mean that military is great. It really did change my life and then tell you the many good things that come out of it. I was going to say this about it. I said negative because I'm used to being here with silent Brad and Jonah, who were always like this.

[55:27] And so it's kind of nice to have a little bit of a deeper conversation, too. In a way, it's a spiral, right? It's an emotional spiral.

[55:35] I would never really discourage somebody from like joining. I encourage and you would do it all over again. I would not. You would not?
No, ma'am, I would not. Would you do it differently? I would do it differently.

[55:46] Yes, I would do it differently. In the Air Force, I would be in the Air Force.
Yeah, that's what I was going to say. I would have went in a little later in life when I was a little older and could understand finances more.
Because they don't they don't they don't teach you how to manage a little bit of money that they are giving you.
They don't teach you how to manage that. And I could have you always say you wished you would just have enlisted, right?
You know, I wish I would have just gone straight out of high school and I wish I would have gone active duty duties.
A different world, man. It is a different world Every time. Every time I was active duty, though, it just felt like that's exactly where I needed to be.
But I have a huge military family because of the military experiences that I've had.
And I have so many stories and experiences. I've traveled the whole entire freaking world almost for every person who says, Don't do it, there's five other ones who say, Do it if you need the family, if you need the camaraderie, if you know what I mean.
If you need the extra money for college or whatever, do it 1,000% do it.
But if you have other options, just explore them. Just explore them.
So let's wrap it up with this. If you could give one life lesson that you learned to someone else that you learned from the military, something that if somebody said, without a doubt you've carried this for the past 20 years,
integrity I think, would have to be integrity.
One of the life lessons that I learned from the military is just like how to be an honest, true person.
They put a lot of attention and focus on that because without that, what are you?

[57:06] Garbage, dumpster fire. Like, you're not honest about anything.
You're not honest with yourself. You're not honest with your kids. You're not, you know, just like and it sticks with you and never leaves. And so, you know, you walk like, yeah, integrity is like probably one of my biggest life.
What about you? Jonathan's gay now. I feel like I talk about it a lot.
The lens that you decide to look out of. You kind of get to choose what lens you look at of.
So there have been a lot of times, especially in a training environment, where you're just going to sit there and eat a shit sandwich and that's just what you're going to do.
But it's the attitude that you have going into that eating that shit sandwich is either going to make it or break it. And that has trickled on and has been true in other aspects of my life as well.
So I always try to look for the positive and things. And it sounds cliche, it's easy to say, but to really genuinely practice that, it's true.
Yeah, it's very important. You can get through a lot of stuff. If you just swallow the shit sandwich, you just try to look for the positives and know you're not alone.

[58:02] You know you're not alone. You're not the only person going through something. That's why it's important to have people to write. Oh, I would not be at half of where I'm at if it weren't for the people in my life somewhere, and that's coworkers and my support system as well.
Trauma bonds, people anyways. And what can I like? Because I went through this like, how can I help somebody else? Like, right know, I would never want anybody to go through certain amount of things that I went through.
Like if me going through that can help you like, oh, maybe turn left instead of turning right because I turned right, right, and now I can't. We don't want to do that.
Yeah, life sucks anyways. So I wake up every day and just be like, It's fine. I get to go to work instead of like, Oh, I have to go to work.
It's just all about mentality. Yeah, well, I appreciate you sitting through an entire hour, Jonah, of a semi serious and Shannon we love that we had you,
I we're going to have you come back again when we can just do a cutting up night.
Oh, yeah, for sure. I will be your guest speaker any day.
Happy 20 years, Jonna. Thank you.

[59:03] Super proud of you. Appreciate it. Okay, Bye. Okay. Bye bye. Have a great day. Bye. Later. See?