WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Behind the Shield podcast. As

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always, my name is James Geering, and this week

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it is my absolute honor to welcome on the show

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Army Special Forces veteran, Dewey Yopp. Now,

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in this conversation, we discuss a host of topics

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from his journey into the military, his 9 -11

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experience, deployment to Afghanistan, Iraq,

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the selfless heroism of the indigenous people,

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bringing our Afghan allies back to the U .S.

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how current immigration policies are sending

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the very allies back to Afghanistan, and so much

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more. Now, before we get to this incredible conversation,

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as I say every week, please just take a moment.

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Go to whichever app you listen to this on, subscribe

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to the show, leave feedback, and leave a rating.

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Every single five -star rating truly does elevate

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this podcast, therefore making it easier for

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others to find. And this is a free library of

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almost 1 ,200 episodes now. So all I ask in return

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is that you help share these incredible men and

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women's stories so I can get them to every single

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person on planet Earth who needs to hear them.

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So with that being said, I introduce to you...

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Dewey Yop. Enjoy. So Dewey, I want to start by

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saying thank you so much for taking the time

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and coming on the Behind the Shield podcast today.

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It's my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me,

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James. So, first question, where on planet Earth

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are we finding you this afternoon? I'm in a small

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community in Vine Grove, Kentucky, between Fort

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Campbell and Fort Knox. Brilliant. What's the

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weather been like for you at the moment with

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this massive storm again? It's a little better.

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We got some sunshine today. We've had about almost

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10 inches of snow. It's been below freezing.

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It was seven degrees the other morning. Today

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was 17. So it looks like it might hang around

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the 20s today. It's not too bad. Well, I want

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to start at the very beginning of your timeline.

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So tell me where you were born and tell me a

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little bit about your family dynamic, what your

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parents did, how many siblings. All right. Well,

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I was born in Valdosta, Georgia, Moody Air Force

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Base. My father was an enlisted man during the

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Korean War. And he went to OCS. He was an infantry

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branch, but he spent his career in Army aviation.

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My mother was a homemaker. She graduated from

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college. And I have one sibling, a sister, Teresa,

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lives in Hampton, Virginia. And we went to school

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in Hampton. I didn't have a father in the household.

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I had a really great aunt and uncle that watched

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out for us. And I got to go to military school

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thanks to them. And I went to Fork Union Military

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Academy. I was there in the seventh grade through

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the junior high level. And then I finally begged

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my parents to let me out of there and graduate

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from a civilian high school. So at that point,

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I was in. northern virginia and i graduated from

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wakefield high school in 1974 and shortly thereafter

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i went into service into the army you mentioned

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that your dad was in the korean war i think that's

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one of the most heartbreaking things about our

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recent military history is you have world war

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ii where you know arguably at least there was

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a lot of um gratitude when people came home.

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And then the Vietnam War is thought of the other

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way, you know, where people are being spit on

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and called baby killers when they come home,

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even though there was a massive draft for that

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as well. And in the middle, there's this group

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of men and women that went overseas. And if you

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look at the, there's a really good graphic that's

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out on the internet, how close Korea got to being

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completely overrun and what the allies did to

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push them back all the way to the, you know,

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to the middle point again. It really breaks my

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heart. I can't imagine being a veteran of that

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conflict when it's barely even acknowledged what

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they did. So what were some of the stories or

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kind of reflections you had from your father's

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service? He didn't talk much about the Korean

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War, to be honest. He did speak to me on a few

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occasions about his time in service in Vietnam.

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He flew an OV -1 Mohawk. It's a reconnaissance

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aircraft, but it was outfitted with rockets.

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So they would do reconnaissance missions for

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Special Forces and MACV and the command elements

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down there, you know, taking photographs and

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that type of thing. So his aircraft was shot

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up quite a bit and it got a nickname of Old Yeller.

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It had so many bullet hole patches on it. And

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after a while, they turned kind of a yellow color.

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So it just stuck. But he had. If I remember correctly,

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he had 10 air medals. So that's pretty impressive

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there with his combat time. An air medal is like

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the equivalent to a bronze star, I think, if

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I remember right. But yeah, his service there

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was twice. He went over early in the 60s, and

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his last tour was in 1970. And he was the chief

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of safety for South Vietnam during that period

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of time for aviation. Amazing. As we sit here

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now in 2026, the conversation about, you know,

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the impact of service on our physical mental

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health is, you know, very, very different. And

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we're having a very progressive conversation

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these days. When you reflect back now with this

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kind of, you know, mature lens that you have,

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were there any kind of impacts that you recognize

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in your father when you were young as far as

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the impacts of war? Oh, yes, I definitely do.

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I could, you know, back then. You know, the PTSD,

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that wasn't even, you know, the acronym. I'd

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never heard of it. And those veterans kept it

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to themselves mostly. And sadly, you know, a

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lot of them succumbed to alcohol and other substance

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abuses to, you know, to find themselves or get

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relief. PTSD, post -traumatic stress disorder,

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and be in environments where, you know, you're

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put in situations where, you know, the human

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mind has to react quickly and in a violent manner.

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And those things stick with you, hard to forget

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type experiences. And everybody has their own

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level of dealing with these things. And as a

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veteran. Of Iraq and Afghanistan, I can say that

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for me, you know, it's been a long process getting

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back to finding myself again and getting interested

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in the things I do. But it's it's not an easy

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thing. And it's it's lifelong, you know, and

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it's good to have a support group. My family

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has been awesome through my. progress with PTSD.

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I have CPTSD. I don't know if you ever heard

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of that complex. Some people say, or it's chronic,

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but everybody has their own level and how to

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deal with those things. But there's opportunities

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and organizations out there that, you know, we

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didn't have that when I was on active duty. These

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are things that have become more useful and prevalent.

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In the community, you know, with veterans and

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the VA and NGOs, as far as that goes, there's

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some really awesome NGOs out there that support

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veterans with PTSD. It's interesting with the

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term complex PTSD, because the more I've learned

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over the last almost a decade now of conversations

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like this with not only, you know, people in

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uniform, but, you know, psychologists, psychiatrists,

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neuroscientists. is that it's a perfect storm

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of all the things. So you've got unaddressed

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childhood trauma, you've got sleep deprivation,

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but then as we're going to talk about later in

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this conversation, you've got organizational

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betrayal and moral injury, where organizations

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that you fought for would die for and now turn

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their back. So there are so many pieces to this

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puzzle. I think this is why we failed so miserably

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early on. Because, you know, whether you're military

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or first responder, like, oh, it's what Dewey

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saw in war. It's what James saw, you know, in

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a fire. But that's just a tiny part of it. And

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if you're not addressing all the other pieces,

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you're never going to get to the bottom of it.

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That's exactly right, James. So what about going

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back to your young years? What were you playing

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as far as sports and exercise? I played football,

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baseball, and I got into... martial arts later

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on when I was at military school, actually. And

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taekwondo. I achieved black belt in taekwondo.

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But, you know, those sports today, I love football.

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I just can't play it anymore. But I enjoy sports.

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Those were the activities I had growing up. And

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I love the outdoors. I love to fish and hunt

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as well. It's a really relaxing to get on a lake

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or somewhere or even on the shore and just sit

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there, throw a line in the water. You don't even

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have to have bait on it. Just kick back and enjoy

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nature. But that's pretty much it. When I was

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a kid, I was fortunate enough. My mother's family

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had a huge farm down in the central part of North

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Carolina in Sampson County. So I'd go down there

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on the summer and I'd stay all summer, three

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months down there. Whatever was going on, picking

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watermelons, cotton. I wasn't all that hot picking

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cotton. That stuff cut you up and I whined a

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lot. So I hung out in the shade and toted water

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to the real workers. But kind of lifestyle got

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me into that mindset, you know, that country

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type living lifestyle. So that was a pleasure

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in my life. I think about it a lot. Still have

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good connections there in Samson County. Yeah,

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it was an interesting childhood there. My mom,

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she worked in Newport News, Virginia, and she

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sewed linings and coffins. That's what she did

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for a living to support my sister and I. It's

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kind of unique, too, James. I had a job when

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I was under the age of 16. I was a paper boy,

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and I had 200 papers I'd deliver every day before

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school. And I'd get my sister afterwards and

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I'd ride her in the bicycle down to the elementary

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school. We were still in elementary school then.

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But, you know, my sister and I are real tight

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to this day. She looks after my mother now. My

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mother just had a birthday on January 20th. She's

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96. Still hanging tough. And sis is keeping hold

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of her. So I'm blessed. I got good people in

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my life, James. That's amazing. It's funny with

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the longevity conversation, you know, when we

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were younger, I know it just seemed like people

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lived till they were 60 ish. And here we are

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now. And we're just surrounded by people that

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have got this, you know, amazing lifespan. My

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grandmother died a few weeks shy of 105. Wow.

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You know, this for four years middle age, we

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need to rethink that because you have a long

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way to go if you stay healthy. So that's true.

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That's true. I hope so. I'm getting up there

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myself, James. So I got a birthday coming up

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next month. I have two. When is yours? Which

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day? 13th. Okay. Mine is the 29th. I'll be 52.

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Awesome. Awesome. I got a daughter almost that

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age. There we go. Well, going back to career

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-wise, you mentioned being in a military school.

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Were you already dreaming of entering the military

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then, or was there something else in your mind

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at the time? Not really. I think it had a lot

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to do with my drifting away from family and getting

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involved with hooligans there in the city. And

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my uncle wanted me to see what discipline was

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like. My grades were failing. All that changed

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once I got to military school. I, you know, I

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made real good grades. I was a good little trooper

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and all that stuff. So, you know, four years

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of that and then I get out, you know, I kind

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of was looking at what I could do and what was

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waiting on me there in Hampton. So for a while

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I worked on scallop boats. That was real interesting,

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offshore scallop boats. You know, when I graduated

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from high school, that's the time period I'm

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talking about. Right at that time period, I worked

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on the ocean. Then I said, you know, this is

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not really for me. So I joined the Army. It's

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one of the best things I ever did. The Army really

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raised me. Why the Army? Why that branch specifically?

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I guess it had to do with my father, you know,

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and it was odd. My father. said don't go in the

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army don't go airborne don't go to these other

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schools and stuff just you know you'll find your

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way you know and uh the next thing he he knew

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i was at uh fort jackson south carolina going

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through boot camp so talk to me about your on

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-ramp then were you already thinking about special

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forces or did you just think regular army initially

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Yeah, regular Army. Well, I went to jump school.

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I wanted to be airborne. My dad was a paratrooper,

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so I kind of got into that. I really enjoyed

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that. I was in the 82nd for a little over a year,

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and they were building up. It was Camp Stewart,

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Georgia. It hadn't been named Fort Stewart then.

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They had a ranger detachment, some guys coming

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up recruiting, and they were asking them, you

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know, in the division, they were getting volunteers

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to go down to fill up the battalion down there

00:15:25.470 --> 00:15:30.190
at Camp Stewart. So, you know, don't volunteer,

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but I did. And so I ended up down at Camp Stewart,

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Georgia. I did some time down there, and I left

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there, and I went to Korea for a year. When I

00:15:44.179 --> 00:15:48.200
got there, it was a big surprise, too. I don't

00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.240
know if you remember the Operation Paul Bunyan,

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but they cut a tree down there on the border

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of North Korea and South Korea. It was blocking

00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:02.200
observation of North Korea, and they killed a

00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:07.480
major and his driver there. They were in a Jeep,

00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:12.659
but I was on GDP -115. And there was 116 was

00:16:12.659 --> 00:16:16.360
Collier and Ouellette that's on the DMZ. So when

00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:18.460
that happened, you know, the whole division's

00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:22.139
on alert. So I got a little taste of seeing what,

00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:26.340
you know, conflict could be like and actually

00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:30.639
seeing, you know, the aftermath of the things

00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:35.700
that occurred during that day. So afterwards,

00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.590
I... I started looking at trying to get into

00:16:39.590 --> 00:16:46.350
a field that I could, you know, enjoy and do

00:16:46.350 --> 00:16:48.950
the things that I like to do. So I'd gone to

00:16:48.950 --> 00:16:54.330
a few LERP schools and what's the other one is

00:16:54.330 --> 00:16:58.129
a survival escape and evasion, those types of

00:16:58.129 --> 00:17:00.129
things. And then from there, you know, I just

00:17:00.129 --> 00:17:03.809
went on to the different parts of my career and

00:17:03.809 --> 00:17:08.960
just led me into. the special operations side

00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.960
of the house. And, you know, that's been a real

00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:18.319
eye -opener for me, meeting the people I got

00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:22.000
to meet in my life, some outstanding heroes out

00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.440
there, unknown to the rest of the world, but

00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:30.720
they're giants amongst our ilk. But, you know,

00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:34.759
a real pleasure. I have a real good buddy that...

00:17:35.230 --> 00:17:38.650
He was part of the 12 that first went over in

00:17:38.650 --> 00:17:43.630
2021. So he's been very helpful. He's been helpful

00:17:43.630 --> 00:17:48.369
with me. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah,

00:17:48.410 --> 00:17:50.809
he helped me with the situation we'll probably

00:17:50.809 --> 00:17:54.470
talk about here in a little bit. And it's really

00:17:54.470 --> 00:17:58.109
helped out, you know, immensely. And I'm thankful

00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:02.890
that I've had people like that in my life. What

00:18:02.890 --> 00:18:06.099
was it that... allowed you to pass special forces

00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:09.200
selection when so many people rang the bell because

00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:12.720
one of the i guess myths that we have if we don't

00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:14.420
know much about the military is that you need

00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:16.460
to look like arnold schwarzenegger to run around

00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:19.059
to be special forces but then you get them on

00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:21.680
the show rich right is a perfect example one

00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:27.140
of the first delta guys marcel um um in uh vietnam

00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:29.599
his last deployment was mogadishu so you think

00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:32.480
about that career um but i mean one literally

00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:35.660
one of the nicest kindest human beings that i

00:18:35.660 --> 00:18:37.859
know not physically intimidating you'd think

00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:39.619
he was a you know school teacher or something

00:18:39.619 --> 00:18:41.759
but you know at that time he's one of the most

00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.000
trained killers out there so you know you hear

00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.180
obviously it's not just about this giant physicality

00:18:48.180 --> 00:18:51.039
so it's far more the mental side so when people

00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.200
were ringing the bell what allowed you to continue

00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:59.259
It's just determination. You know, wanting it

00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:02.339
bad enough. And I mean, you know, I had to go

00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:06.640
twice, to be honest. I didn't get to graduate

00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.039
the first time. So I went around a second time.

00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:11.599
And, you know, it's not an easy, you know, as

00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:14.759
you know, and everybody else in the world, some

00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:16.819
of the things you see on the Internet and those

00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:18.819
types of things are very challenging. And the

00:19:18.819 --> 00:19:22.420
mental breakdown of it is tremendous. You know,

00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:26.059
your mental. attitude has to stay on point and

00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:29.720
if you're injured and at one point i was i tried

00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:36.180
to hide it i had a uh my left uh is it i had

00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:38.420
a big issue with one of my tendons on my left

00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:41.039
leg so i ended up having to get recycled again

00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:46.099
and i had a cast on that leg and some other things

00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:48.779
going on but i ended up you know going i had

00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:51.700
to do the pt thing and all that again but uh

00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:54.549
you know just because it was a physical injury

00:19:54.549 --> 00:20:01.309
and I got back in and, uh, that's it. So what

00:20:01.309 --> 00:20:03.509
about kind of, you know, deployments or training

00:20:03.509 --> 00:20:06.630
pre nine 11, you know, what, what did it look

00:20:06.630 --> 00:20:08.769
like, like before, you know, obviously things

00:20:08.769 --> 00:20:14.769
changed dramatically. Well, prior to that, you

00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:20.630
know, I mean, it was, uh, you know, we nine 11

00:20:20.630 --> 00:20:24.200
really did, uh, You know, it opened up a lot

00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:27.319
of eyes across the Department of Defense and

00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:30.619
everything else we had going on then. But to,

00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:34.599
you know, the training afterwards, you know,

00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:39.119
we hadn't really, we had the jungle type guerrilla

00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:42.299
warfare. You know, we'd been over to Iraq, which

00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:44.240
is, you know, night and day when you get to a

00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:47.579
place like Afghanistan. It's 13th century living

00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:50.259
there, you know. And, you know, it's just two

00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:53.029
different places. that you have to deal with,

00:20:53.069 --> 00:20:56.970
not only with the environment, but the type of,

00:20:56.970 --> 00:21:00.750
you know, the culture and the people. And it

00:21:00.750 --> 00:21:02.910
just, you know, it complicates a lot of things.

00:21:02.970 --> 00:21:04.930
So when you get involved in that, you go over

00:21:04.930 --> 00:21:07.970
there with a lot of information, but you haven't

00:21:07.970 --> 00:21:10.970
put it into any practical exercise that could

00:21:10.970 --> 00:21:14.009
truly be meaningful. You could discuss it and

00:21:14.009 --> 00:21:18.220
do. sand tables and you know mock operations

00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:20.720
and talk about this and that but actually getting

00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:23.519
on the ground and getting there and see how that's

00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:26.119
going to work out is a whole different story

00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:29.359
because there's going to be some concerns when

00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:30.960
your foot hits the ground and you're looking

00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:33.740
around for your contact and they don't show up

00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:36.640
and you know there you are what you're going

00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:39.039
to do then so you have to think about these things

00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:43.900
and uh you know always have a plan b c and And,

00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:47.460
you know, the extract, you know, finally, if

00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:52.819
that's what it takes to stay alive. So talk to

00:21:52.819 --> 00:21:55.160
me about 9 -11, then we'll move forward. What

00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:58.559
was that day like for you specifically? Well,

00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:06.119
I happened to be on leave in northern New Jersey

00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:12.390
and a place called Verona. I was with a friend

00:22:12.390 --> 00:22:15.950
of mine in a coffee shop, and all of a sudden,

00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:19.430
the TV came on, people came in, and they said

00:22:19.430 --> 00:22:24.109
some planes hit the towers. And I went outside,

00:22:24.289 --> 00:22:28.109
and from that area in Verona, you can see down

00:22:28.109 --> 00:22:31.589
into New York. So we drove to a place about,

00:22:31.730 --> 00:22:34.369
it's 10 minutes away, and it's up on the high

00:22:34.369 --> 00:22:37.119
ground, and we could see. The Twin Towers burning.

00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:38.740
You could see the smoke coming out of there.

00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:40.720
And let me tell you, in that whole neighborhood

00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:43.599
there, there wasn't a person that wasn't on the

00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.579
street watching and listening and just in shock

00:22:46.579 --> 00:22:51.240
and awe of what was going on. So that's where

00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:53.240
I was. And then, of course, you know, get back

00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:58.599
to the unit. And then, you know, the folks that

00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:03.250
went over initially in 2001 and then. from that

00:23:03.250 --> 00:23:06.609
time period you know lessons learned and information

00:23:06.609 --> 00:23:10.450
exchanged to the rear for those coming back going

00:23:10.450 --> 00:23:14.450
over you know 2002 and whatever some of those

00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:21.049
guys those two 2021 guys are 2002 the guys that

00:23:21.049 --> 00:23:25.670
went over first they they bounced to iraq after

00:23:25.670 --> 00:23:30.069
a period of time they had gone to iraq And other

00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:33.289
elements had taken over responsibilities, training,

00:23:33.769 --> 00:23:37.809
that type of thing on the ground in Afghanistan,

00:23:38.009 --> 00:23:43.309
for instance. We're talking about 9 -11 and all

00:23:43.309 --> 00:23:47.309
the hoopla about Osama bin Laden being in Afghanistan

00:23:47.309 --> 00:23:52.349
and being up in the Tora Bora and all that kind

00:23:52.349 --> 00:23:54.549
of stuff and then ending up being in Pakistan

00:23:54.549 --> 00:23:58.680
all that time. is, you know, those types of things

00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:00.660
unfold, you know, and you have people on the

00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:03.339
ground looking and hunting. Someone on that,

00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:11.400
you know, caused this stuff. It can get in -depth,

00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:14.240
you know, with the personnel and intel you have.

00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:17.160
So when you first land in Afghanistan, obviously

00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:19.809
we're going to talk a lot about... the heroism

00:24:19.809 --> 00:24:23.849
of a lot of the Afghan people and what they did

00:24:23.849 --> 00:24:26.450
alongside the allied nations and what they risked,

00:24:26.450 --> 00:24:29.130
their families risked. What was the kind of first

00:24:29.130 --> 00:24:34.390
interaction for you with the Afghan people and

00:24:34.390 --> 00:24:35.869
then some of the people that you started working

00:24:35.869 --> 00:24:40.470
alongside? All right. When I arrived in country,

00:24:40.589 --> 00:24:44.130
I didn't come with an American entourage. I came

00:24:44.130 --> 00:24:49.700
as a civilian through the Kabul airport. And

00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:54.319
I was dressed in Afghan traditional attire for

00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:58.619
a male, polka hat and scarf and all that stuff.

00:24:58.859 --> 00:25:02.099
So I had a contact I was going to meet there

00:25:02.099 --> 00:25:05.539
at the airport. I had no clue what they looked

00:25:05.539 --> 00:25:07.799
like. All I knew is they had a little sign that

00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.619
had this three letters on it. So when I got there,

00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:13.779
there was a riot going on at the airport. But

00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:15.799
first, when we're landing, I'm looking out the

00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:18.369
plane window and I'm not kidding you. You see,

00:25:18.450 --> 00:25:20.829
Soviet, this is the old airport now, the new

00:25:20.829 --> 00:25:23.410
airport. It may be cleaned up now, but back then,

00:25:23.410 --> 00:25:26.849
there were Soviet aircraft, fuselages, crashed

00:25:26.849 --> 00:25:32.049
in the grass area of the airport. And we're landing.

00:25:32.130 --> 00:25:33.630
I'm looking at those things. They've been there,

00:25:33.750 --> 00:25:36.470
you know, what, 10 years or more? And they're

00:25:36.470 --> 00:25:40.690
still there, untouched. And we're landing. I'm

00:25:40.690 --> 00:25:43.329
looking out the window, and I'm seeing vultures

00:25:43.329 --> 00:25:48.170
sitting on these. lights on the runway you know

00:25:48.170 --> 00:25:50.349
some of the lights are blue some are out some

00:25:50.349 --> 00:25:52.589
are not and there's these vultures hanging out

00:25:52.589 --> 00:25:56.609
and i'm thinking to myself oh yeah nice so i

00:25:56.609 --> 00:25:58.950
get into the airport and it's total chaos in

00:25:58.950 --> 00:26:02.730
there and i finally get to the front of the airport

00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:06.009
and i see this young man standing there and he's

00:26:06.009 --> 00:26:09.410
got a like a three by five card with these letters

00:26:09.410 --> 00:26:13.170
on it that's my guy so i get with him and we

00:26:13.170 --> 00:26:15.400
push our way through the crowd And there's a

00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:18.000
driver there. Both these guys, you know, are

00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:22.180
Afghan postumes. And they're armed. And we get

00:26:22.180 --> 00:26:26.059
in this car and we drive through Kabul, through

00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:29.420
Amasud Circle. We get to that point. There's

00:26:29.420 --> 00:26:33.859
a crane. There's a crane with a guy hanging by

00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:37.480
the neck from this crane. So I'm thinking, OK,

00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:41.400
and now we're going to a safe house. So I'm riding

00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:45.579
through there. We're talking. My cultural advisor

00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:48.920
interpreter, I'm going to call him Amir. That's

00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:51.799
not his real name. But Amir's chatting it up

00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:54.259
with me, man. He just can't stand it. You know,

00:26:54.299 --> 00:26:56.339
I'm an American. We're going to do these things,

00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:59.299
blah, blah, blah. And he's telling me, I'm looking

00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:01.420
at him like, you know, how long is it going to

00:27:01.420 --> 00:27:04.180
be before we get there? And I feel a little bit

00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.839
more safer. You know, this is what I'm thinking.

00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:08.839
And he's, you know, he's trying to make me feel

00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:12.319
at ease and calm. So we finally get there. And

00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:22.420
it's outside of the city between Phoenix was

00:27:22.420 --> 00:27:28.359
the name of the compound. It was Phoenix and,

00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:32.400
you know, the Kabul place here. There's a police

00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:36.059
station on the way also, a big police station.

00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:39.259
I ended up getting arrested. I spent, you know,

00:27:39.259 --> 00:27:41.859
a day in there, but I'll get to that. Anyway,

00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:46.380
so we get to the safe house and it's really it's

00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:48.960
it's an awesome place. It's got a big huge, it's

00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:51.960
like a 20 foot wall, got iron gates. It's got

00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:54.859
a couple of dudes in the tower. And I find out

00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:58.740
later they're former Gurkhas that, you know,

00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:02.940
they're working for Uncle Sam. Yeah. So anyway,

00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:05.720
they I get in there and I meet the other folks

00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:07.660
there and we discuss what's going to happen the

00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:10.259
next few days. It was really interesting. They

00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:13.140
had connects stacked on top of each other inside

00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:16.279
this compound. And it wasn't big at all, James.

00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:20.859
It was like 30 yards wide, 50 yards deep. And

00:28:20.859 --> 00:28:26.680
across the street, there was a civilian market,

00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:29.220
kind of like a Sam's Club or something like that.

00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:32.700
You could get frozen food and coffee, you know,

00:28:32.700 --> 00:28:36.140
that kind of stuff. I went in there twice. But

00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:40.839
anyway. But it was on the outskirts of the city,

00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:46.140
so anywhere I went and traveled, I did as a civilian.

00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:49.480
So I didn't have a lot of contact with the military

00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:54.420
people. I did, at Camp Edwards, I had a cell

00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:58.680
of folks that I would brief up on who I thought

00:28:58.680 --> 00:29:01.900
was a bad guy, you know, when I started working

00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:07.220
and mingling amongst the Afghan army. And there's

00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:09.440
a lot of diversity there in the army as well.

00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:16.119
And Hazara, Pashtun, et cetera. And then so you

00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:19.960
have issues and concerns with making sure you're

00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:24.019
staying on a good plane with everyone, regardless

00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:29.079
of their heritage or their tribal affiliation.

00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:36.349
But that does come into play quite a bit. The

00:29:36.349 --> 00:29:39.130
affiliations that they have, you know, and I

00:29:39.130 --> 00:29:41.490
mean, once you get outside the city of Kabul,

00:29:41.710 --> 00:29:44.670
you know, the rest of the population, you know,

00:29:44.690 --> 00:29:47.029
Kabul might as well be on the moon, bro, because

00:29:47.029 --> 00:29:48.569
they're not going to do any help. They're not

00:29:48.569 --> 00:29:50.430
going to help nobody. There's no way to reach

00:29:50.430 --> 00:29:52.769
them. You know, it's just that they're on your

00:29:52.769 --> 00:29:55.089
own. So you got to have your own laws, you know,

00:29:55.089 --> 00:29:59.250
that type of thing, you know, and it's worked.

00:29:59.369 --> 00:30:04.250
But unfortunately, you know, things things didn't

00:30:04.250 --> 00:30:06.819
work out the way. I thought they would at least,

00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:11.839
you know, after 20 years. Talk to me about that

00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:14.480
tribal element, because I've had a lot of people

00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:17.039
on the show now, some Afghan and then many, you

00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:20.619
know, from your community. And obviously hindsight

00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:23.559
is 20 -20. But one of the biggest, I guess, criticisms

00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:27.599
was that. The mentality was almost like you have

00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:29.680
this country and it was unified. But when you

00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:31.720
actually got to Afghanistan, as you just alluded

00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:34.819
to, there's all these kind of micro tribes within

00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:39.920
the country itself. Yeah. You know, the biggest

00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:44.480
tribe is Pashtun. And then you have Hazaras,

00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:50.329
Zabakis. You, Becky, you know, they all infiltrate

00:30:50.329 --> 00:30:52.170
their families, just like us. You know, if you

00:30:52.170 --> 00:30:54.130
go over the border, marry a cousin, you end up

00:30:54.130 --> 00:30:56.849
living there, that type of thing. But those cultures

00:30:56.849 --> 00:31:03.750
and their family traditions and those things

00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:08.569
don't change. So they keep them up amongst their

00:31:08.569 --> 00:31:11.509
tribes, you know, each one, each individual,

00:31:11.789 --> 00:31:15.750
you know, and they affiliate from like, you know,

00:31:15.750 --> 00:31:19.599
there's so many different. tribal names you can

00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:22.299
get to. And it depends on what province you're

00:31:22.299 --> 00:31:25.819
from and where you live. But the dialects there,

00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:28.960
you know, it's like, okay, British and English,

00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:31.980
like Farsi and Dari. That's what it would be

00:31:31.980 --> 00:31:33.940
like. You know, we understand each other, but

00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:36.420
that accent's there a little bit, that type of

00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:43.099
thing. So you adjust that. And it's just, it

00:31:43.099 --> 00:31:46.230
takes a lot of effort and patience. You know,

00:31:46.269 --> 00:31:48.450
especially in the training process. You know,

00:31:48.470 --> 00:31:50.430
something I learned when I first got over there

00:31:50.430 --> 00:31:58.890
about Afghan education was, you know, it's limited.

00:31:59.309 --> 00:32:03.509
You know, a lot of can't read or write and didn't

00:32:03.509 --> 00:32:05.410
know the birthdays, that type of thing. You know,

00:32:05.430 --> 00:32:08.730
so it was an eye opener for me. And, you know,

00:32:08.730 --> 00:32:10.930
those things you work through. And then when

00:32:10.930 --> 00:32:12.730
you're training like that, you know, you leave

00:32:12.730 --> 00:32:15.450
that out. But you can see still. You know, those

00:32:15.450 --> 00:32:18.509
groups would hang out together and be together

00:32:18.509 --> 00:32:21.410
more, you know, in that environment. Those soldiers

00:32:21.410 --> 00:32:24.529
I'm talking about, you know, the diversity. So

00:32:24.529 --> 00:32:26.869
they would hang out with each other and everybody

00:32:26.869 --> 00:32:29.589
like that. But when, you know, it was time to

00:32:29.589 --> 00:32:32.289
chill, they would be with their own people, you

00:32:32.289 --> 00:32:36.549
know. So I got to say this, you know, the most

00:32:36.549 --> 00:32:39.490
hospitable people I ever met in my life, James.

00:32:40.130 --> 00:32:43.259
I mean, didn't know me from Adam. Travel around

00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:46.559
with my, you know, a foot or in a civilian vehicle

00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:51.039
and just by word of mouth and from contacts from

00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:54.980
previous Afghan army commanders and general officers,

00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:57.599
you know, their families. I stayed with the people

00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:00.279
like that when I would travel and they would

00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:02.319
open their home up, you know, the hot chai, the

00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:06.160
food. And they treated me like family. I mean,

00:33:06.180 --> 00:33:09.079
really, it was it just blew my mind, you know,

00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:13.460
and I was like the. the treasure they found in

00:33:13.460 --> 00:33:15.460
the cracker jacks the kids would salsa around

00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:17.859
you know and it was just one of those things

00:33:17.859 --> 00:33:21.119
you know it was a lot of interesting uh things

00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:24.000
that i experienced there in the job that i had

00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:32.000
and uh it was uh it was something else well that's

00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:34.119
what i hear over and over again i ask usually

00:33:34.119 --> 00:33:37.460
a two -part question and in the other half the

00:33:37.460 --> 00:33:40.490
first part is obviously you know what what the

00:33:40.490 --> 00:33:42.470
bad side was with who the people that you were

00:33:42.470 --> 00:33:44.190
hunting, what were the atrocities that people

00:33:44.190 --> 00:33:46.250
were seeing? Because in the news, you get a very

00:33:46.250 --> 00:33:48.849
kind of polarized perspective back home, which

00:33:48.849 --> 00:33:50.890
is either let God sort them out, you know, kill

00:33:50.890 --> 00:33:52.450
them all, let God sort them out, or they're all

00:33:52.450 --> 00:33:54.990
baby killers. And obviously there's nuances in

00:33:54.990 --> 00:33:57.549
the middle. But over and over and over again,

00:33:57.630 --> 00:34:00.609
you heard, you know, soldiers and airmen and

00:34:00.609 --> 00:34:02.549
all these people that were on the ground say

00:34:02.549 --> 00:34:04.960
it was like being back home. You know, there

00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:07.779
was a dad fixing his car and, you know, mom was

00:34:07.779 --> 00:34:09.800
making dinner. And maybe that can be reversed

00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:11.719
in America. But, you know, you get what I'm saying.

00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:13.920
And the kids were playing. And, you know, it's

00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:18.639
the same human experiences that we want. So when

00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:22.300
we kind of paint the air quotes bad guy, you

00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:24.000
know, and then these men and women in uniform

00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:25.860
find themselves on the ground. Yeah, of course,

00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:29.949
there are some horrific people. You kind of get

00:34:29.949 --> 00:34:31.849
that tar everyone with the same brush, but they

00:34:31.849 --> 00:34:33.849
get down. And as you said, there's all these

00:34:33.849 --> 00:34:36.190
stories of kindness and compassion and courage

00:34:36.190 --> 00:34:38.389
from the men and women that they're there to

00:34:38.389 --> 00:34:45.570
protect. Exactly. Yep. That's true. You know,

00:34:45.570 --> 00:34:47.630
and when you actually see it, you know, and amongst

00:34:47.630 --> 00:34:51.210
the horrific things that, you know, it's unavoidable,

00:34:51.269 --> 00:34:55.570
you know, and it's those types of things stick

00:34:55.570 --> 00:34:58.750
with you. But when you see that humanity. You

00:34:58.750 --> 00:35:01.969
know, that compassion that others have and the

00:35:01.969 --> 00:35:05.090
interest, you know, the curiosity, that type

00:35:05.090 --> 00:35:07.650
of thing. And then through that, you build a

00:35:07.650 --> 00:35:10.409
relationship. And then from there, and I still

00:35:10.409 --> 00:35:15.389
to this day, I have a good friend in Herat. It's

00:35:15.389 --> 00:35:19.250
near the border. And they've lived there, their

00:35:19.250 --> 00:35:22.489
entire family. You know, they've got this home

00:35:22.489 --> 00:35:25.610
that has been there since eons. It goes back

00:35:25.610 --> 00:35:31.929
like 500 years. But that family I still am in

00:35:31.929 --> 00:35:40.429
touch with. They do produce. They have a produce

00:35:40.429 --> 00:35:44.090
market, so they do produce. Apples, oranges,

00:35:44.190 --> 00:35:48.670
that kind of stuff. Vegetables. Just so we can

00:35:48.670 --> 00:35:51.809
set the... the scene on the other side, you know,

00:35:51.809 --> 00:35:54.789
not only what our soldiers were facing, but also

00:35:54.789 --> 00:35:57.489
the immense danger to the Afghan people themselves.

00:35:58.190 --> 00:36:01.349
Talk to me about, you know, the horrific people

00:36:01.349 --> 00:36:10.889
that were also in Afghanistan at this time. There's,

00:36:10.889 --> 00:36:14.590
you know, it's really, it's hard to put a finger

00:36:14.590 --> 00:36:16.730
on some of those characters. There's some, you

00:36:16.730 --> 00:36:20.179
know, there's a handful of them dead. But all

00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:23.260
the prevalent ones now, you know, I spent a lot

00:36:23.260 --> 00:36:26.239
of time in Kandahar. And I tell you, that place

00:36:26.239 --> 00:36:31.019
is is festering. It's just it needs to. It's

00:36:31.019 --> 00:36:37.260
bad, bad, bad, bad. And the the atrocities that

00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:41.500
I witnessed, not the aftermath of these things

00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:46.019
that I saw. It's just unbelievable how a human

00:36:46.019 --> 00:36:48.239
being could do that to another human being. It's

00:36:48.239 --> 00:36:52.400
just beyond me. It's just sickening. But that

00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:55.360
type of thing goes on, and it has to do with

00:36:55.360 --> 00:37:01.780
that type of the, you know, barbaric 13th century

00:37:01.780 --> 00:37:05.099
mindset, you know, the brutality. I mean, look

00:37:05.099 --> 00:37:07.119
what's going on over there now. I mean, it's

00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:10.519
insane, the things they're getting away with

00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:15.190
over there. the degradation of, you know, the

00:37:15.190 --> 00:37:17.550
society and the women, the children, you know,

00:37:17.550 --> 00:37:20.670
they're suffering so much. And, you know, it

00:37:20.670 --> 00:37:22.909
seems like everybody else, you know, with going

00:37:22.909 --> 00:37:26.329
on, once we, I call it a retreat, James, once

00:37:26.329 --> 00:37:30.829
we retreated from Afghanistan, you know, the

00:37:30.829 --> 00:37:35.349
whole world opened up and we did witness, you

00:37:35.349 --> 00:37:38.110
know, what's going on now, you know, started

00:37:38.110 --> 00:37:41.010
out with Ukraine and Russia, then it's Gaza.

00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:44.739
So on and so forth. And then Africa has always

00:37:44.739 --> 00:37:46.619
been bad there, but that's getting worse and

00:37:46.619 --> 00:37:50.719
worse as time goes on. And now we got, you know,

00:37:50.739 --> 00:37:53.059
on our side of the world now, Venezuela, you

00:37:53.059 --> 00:37:56.739
know, South America again. I did a little time

00:37:56.739 --> 00:37:59.739
down that way with Uncle Wally back in the day.

00:38:00.099 --> 00:38:02.980
But I was only there for about a month, though,

00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:05.920
thank God. That's a miserable place. Talking

00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:12.010
about heat. So with that being said, with that

00:38:12.010 --> 00:38:14.389
level of danger and not just, you know, losing

00:38:14.389 --> 00:38:17.190
your life, but we don't need to, you know, get

00:38:17.190 --> 00:38:19.269
too graphic. But the things that you're talking

00:38:19.269 --> 00:38:21.630
about, the fear that that strikes into the heart

00:38:21.630 --> 00:38:25.650
of people. Talk to me about then the courage

00:38:25.650 --> 00:38:28.289
that you witnessed from these Afghan people,

00:38:28.489 --> 00:38:30.289
whether they were fighting alongside you, whether

00:38:30.289 --> 00:38:32.250
they were interpreters, whether they were, you

00:38:32.250 --> 00:38:35.250
know, you know, whatever the role was so that

00:38:35.250 --> 00:38:38.280
we can set the stage of what. these men and women

00:38:38.280 --> 00:38:45.420
did for us, for the U .S. themselves? Well, fortunately,

00:38:45.900 --> 00:38:48.920
I wasn't involved in a bunch of firefights, but

00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:54.780
I had a few, you know, involved in one. We were

00:38:54.780 --> 00:38:59.239
coming back. I went to I was at Camp Hero in

00:38:59.239 --> 00:39:05.760
Kandahar, and I left there to go to Kandahar

00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:09.340
City. Now, you know, everybody talks about Kandahar

00:39:09.340 --> 00:39:12.000
and the airport and all that. That's American

00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:14.579
-built stuff there. When we talk about the city,

00:39:14.659 --> 00:39:18.480
that's north. I think it's like 10Ks or a little

00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:22.199
more than that. Anyway, Kandahar City. So I went

00:39:22.199 --> 00:39:24.579
up there to buy a generator so we could run our

00:39:24.579 --> 00:39:27.750
little satellite stuff and do our deal. So I

00:39:27.750 --> 00:39:29.889
did buy a generator. On the way back, we got

00:39:29.889 --> 00:39:32.309
ambushed and he killed the driver. And the place

00:39:32.309 --> 00:39:34.230
is full of Taliban. I mean, when we got there,

00:39:34.349 --> 00:39:36.829
you could see the black flags with, you know,

00:39:36.829 --> 00:39:42.969
the Taliban signature on it and so on. And there's

00:39:42.969 --> 00:39:45.710
a Russian barracks there, an old Russian barracks.

00:39:45.789 --> 00:39:48.929
And that's where our contact was living then.

00:39:48.969 --> 00:39:51.769
They were living there. So we'd gone there and

00:39:51.769 --> 00:39:54.050
got the generator, put it in the hoopty we were

00:39:54.050 --> 00:39:58.539
in. It was a it was a. old opal of something.

00:39:58.699 --> 00:40:01.760
I think it was an opal. And we were in that.

00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:03.820
Anyway, we got ambushed. The driver got killed.

00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:07.980
And then then Amir and myself were the only ones

00:40:07.980 --> 00:40:11.260
there. So I drugged the we got the generator

00:40:11.260 --> 00:40:14.860
out and drug it in this alley. And we talked

00:40:14.860 --> 00:40:18.519
to some people and they secured it. We sent some

00:40:18.519 --> 00:40:20.320
guys there the next day and we got the generator

00:40:20.320 --> 00:40:23.800
back. But we started on foot walking back towards

00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:27.199
Kandahar. You know. the American air base there.

00:40:27.460 --> 00:40:30.840
And on the way, we noticed there was a firefight

00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:33.599
going on out there between the mountain range

00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:37.579
and the airport area. And it was an ANA unit

00:40:37.579 --> 00:40:40.780
out there in a gunfight with the Taliban. So

00:40:40.780 --> 00:40:42.300
I told Sam, I says, you know, we're going to

00:40:42.300 --> 00:40:44.099
have to get some help because it's nighttime.

00:40:44.280 --> 00:40:46.320
Look at us. You know, we're going to mess around

00:40:46.320 --> 00:40:49.639
and get zapped ourselves. So we took our time

00:40:49.639 --> 00:40:53.610
and we eased up within about, you know. I'm going

00:40:53.610 --> 00:40:56.030
to say 100 yards of those guys. And they were

00:40:56.030 --> 00:40:58.889
busy. They had the spotlights on and stuff. They

00:40:58.889 --> 00:41:02.289
had the Ford Ranger trucks with these Soviet

00:41:02.289 --> 00:41:06.550
machine guns on top just laying waste to this.

00:41:06.650 --> 00:41:09.530
It was like a rubble of a village there and stuff.

00:41:09.630 --> 00:41:11.750
There was a dead mule out there or a donkey.

00:41:13.110 --> 00:41:17.070
There was a couple of small fires and just constant

00:41:17.070 --> 00:41:19.610
automatic weapon fire. And you could hear people

00:41:19.610 --> 00:41:23.889
yelling. So we got up there. And Amir started

00:41:23.889 --> 00:41:27.289
hollering in Pashtun. So the guy turned around

00:41:27.289 --> 00:41:29.250
and he put a light on us and we laid down on

00:41:29.250 --> 00:41:32.849
our bellies. And Amir kept telling them, you

00:41:32.849 --> 00:41:35.809
know, hey, we're good guys. We're here. We know

00:41:35.809 --> 00:41:37.769
so -and -so, this and that. We started using

00:41:37.769 --> 00:41:39.909
names of commanders and things that were on the

00:41:39.909 --> 00:41:43.090
base. They're Afghans. So the guys came over

00:41:43.090 --> 00:41:45.889
there. One guy came over and got us. And we walked

00:41:45.889 --> 00:41:48.869
over to the vehicle. And, you know, we were squatted

00:41:48.869 --> 00:41:50.730
down the whole time. We had our heads down moving

00:41:50.730 --> 00:41:54.320
over there. We squatted behind this Ford Ranger.

00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:57.119
And we sat there, you know, for a few minutes.

00:41:57.179 --> 00:42:00.820
And, you know, the gunfire was still going on

00:42:00.820 --> 00:42:03.559
pretty good. It lasted probably about 40 minutes.

00:42:04.300 --> 00:42:10.000
And anyway, I had a Kalashnikov. I carried, I

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:17.380
think I'm crazy, but I carried a NAG Soviet 1895

00:42:17.380 --> 00:42:23.880
pistol. And it was a 7 .62 by 38 millimeter.

00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:28.400
That was my sidearm. And then I had an AK -47.

00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:33.920
So I shut the AK mag up and I was putting another

00:42:33.920 --> 00:42:37.280
one. And then Amir looks at me and grabs me by

00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:40.000
the collar and he says, arm me. He didn't have

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:43.980
a weapon. I said, fool, I can't arm you. I said,

00:42:44.019 --> 00:42:46.239
go over and grab about 10 yards away. There was

00:42:46.239 --> 00:42:49.480
a Taliban laying there dead. And I said, go grab

00:42:49.480 --> 00:42:51.420
that weapon. I said, I'll cover you. Get on,

00:42:51.500 --> 00:42:54.219
get it. And he looked at me and told me, he says,

00:42:54.360 --> 00:42:59.539
are you stoned? Just like that. So I hopped up.

00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:02.119
I ran over and I grabbed this weapon and I ran

00:43:02.119 --> 00:43:06.519
back real quick. And I said, here. And I gave

00:43:06.519 --> 00:43:10.019
it to him. He said, he calls me Baba. That means

00:43:10.019 --> 00:43:13.260
father. He says, Baba, this is a piece of. And

00:43:13.260 --> 00:43:15.500
I looked at it. The buttstock was all shot up.

00:43:15.500 --> 00:43:16.940
It had some rounds through it and everything.

00:43:17.099 --> 00:43:20.820
So I grabbed it. I charged the handle back and

00:43:20.820 --> 00:43:23.139
I fired a few rounds off on it and I gave it

00:43:23.139 --> 00:43:25.260
back to him. I said, it still works. Use it.

00:43:25.699 --> 00:43:28.699
So from that point on, he carried that weapon

00:43:28.699 --> 00:43:31.480
the rest of our time together over there. And

00:43:31.480 --> 00:43:34.360
I had eight and a half years in country. So he

00:43:34.360 --> 00:43:36.739
had that thing fixed up, buddy. Let me tell you,

00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:39.199
it was painted. It had all this cool stuff on

00:43:39.199 --> 00:43:42.880
it. You know, the Afghan flag. Yeah, he was proud

00:43:42.880 --> 00:43:45.440
of that. I don't know what he did with it, but

00:43:45.440 --> 00:43:50.380
that was his baby from then on. I've had a few

00:43:50.380 --> 00:43:53.400
people on the show. One of them was, again, it's

00:43:53.400 --> 00:43:55.099
a pseudonym, it's not his real name, but Rasul

00:43:55.099 --> 00:43:58.980
Rasek. He was Mushahideen. And then I think he

00:43:58.980 --> 00:44:01.159
actually literally was one of the men that interacted

00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:03.500
with the horse soldiers when they first came

00:44:03.500 --> 00:44:07.659
over. And he came on really talking about Afghanistan

00:44:07.659 --> 00:44:10.699
after the withdrawal, the retreat, as you called

00:44:10.699 --> 00:44:14.340
it. And the impact of the Afghan people after

00:44:14.340 --> 00:44:16.920
we'd all left. But one of the things that he

00:44:16.920 --> 00:44:18.960
said, one of the things that some of the special

00:44:18.960 --> 00:44:24.059
forces guys have said as well, is early on that

00:44:24.059 --> 00:44:26.659
you were really having an impact. And then when

00:44:26.659 --> 00:44:29.760
they started pulling troops over to Iraq, that

00:44:29.760 --> 00:44:34.679
momentum got cleaved. So talk to me about that.

00:44:38.510 --> 00:44:41.550
I wasn't privy to all the insides there with

00:44:41.550 --> 00:44:44.510
the ground groups. You know, my my mission was

00:44:44.510 --> 00:44:48.349
on the training process and being embedded in

00:44:48.349 --> 00:44:52.110
the army, you know, because I had 19 NATO weapon

00:44:52.110 --> 00:44:54.809
systems to train their army on. And that, you

00:44:54.809 --> 00:44:56.630
know, it's both sides and it's the police force

00:44:56.630 --> 00:44:59.289
and Afghan National Army. So there's a lot of

00:44:59.289 --> 00:45:03.190
stuff to talk about there. But as far as, you

00:45:03.190 --> 00:45:06.070
know, them going to Iraq, I could see, you know,

00:45:06.070 --> 00:45:08.500
and I could understand why that. There was a

00:45:08.500 --> 00:45:11.239
void there for a while because you built a friendship,

00:45:11.320 --> 00:45:14.679
a brotherhood, a trust early on with the initial

00:45:14.679 --> 00:45:17.599
people that got on the ground over there. I know

00:45:17.599 --> 00:45:20.480
a couple of them and outstanding individuals

00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:24.159
to this day. And they're pro -Afghan crazy, man.

00:45:24.420 --> 00:45:27.679
One just spoke up in Congress recently. You know,

00:45:27.699 --> 00:45:30.860
outstanding. But, you know, those things that

00:45:30.860 --> 00:45:37.300
we've neglected to do. You know, and those relationships,

00:45:37.579 --> 00:45:39.960
you know, when you bring new people on board,

00:45:40.059 --> 00:45:42.519
you have to rebuild that. And those rotations,

00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:45.300
you know, for, you know, you're looking at six

00:45:45.300 --> 00:45:49.039
months, you know, if you have to stay eight months,

00:45:49.059 --> 00:45:51.460
it's special, you know, getting permission like

00:45:51.460 --> 00:45:54.380
that. So, you know, there's always a turnaround.

00:45:54.940 --> 00:45:57.440
And then, you know, after a while, there's, you

00:45:57.440 --> 00:46:00.139
know, your people on the ground, the Afghans

00:46:00.139 --> 00:46:02.599
looking at, you know, and then the corruption

00:46:02.599 --> 00:46:05.849
comes in. You know, they took a they took a beautiful

00:46:05.849 --> 00:46:09.690
thing in cultural thing that Afghans have, you

00:46:09.690 --> 00:46:12.670
know, about when you meet somebody of a title

00:46:12.670 --> 00:46:15.030
or of importance, you know, you always want to

00:46:15.030 --> 00:46:18.030
be, you know, congenial, bring a small gift,

00:46:18.150 --> 00:46:20.909
you know, something. And it just got blown out

00:46:20.909 --> 00:46:22.889
of proportion and kept growing and growing. And,

00:46:22.949 --> 00:46:25.409
you know, we knew about this. I mean, everybody

00:46:25.409 --> 00:46:28.570
I know knew about. the corruption within the

00:46:28.570 --> 00:46:30.590
Afghan army. And it had a lot to do with the

00:46:30.590 --> 00:46:33.250
equipment we had. Let me tell you, I had some

00:46:33.250 --> 00:46:37.090
fights over getting weapons parts from Afghan,

00:46:37.110 --> 00:46:41.630
uh, core commanders because they owned it, but

00:46:41.630 --> 00:46:44.590
I'm trying to use it to benefit their soldiers.

00:46:44.670 --> 00:46:47.110
And, you know, it was a, we had to go around

00:46:47.110 --> 00:46:49.710
the table a few times to make them understand,

00:46:49.789 --> 00:46:52.949
you know, and get that cooperation. But thank

00:46:52.949 --> 00:46:55.849
God I had the longevity there. So, you know,

00:46:55.849 --> 00:46:58.389
uh, But those other folks that had to rotate,

00:46:58.570 --> 00:47:01.050
it's difficult. And they would come back and

00:47:01.050 --> 00:47:04.309
then, you know, that old bond would be built

00:47:04.309 --> 00:47:06.190
again. In some of those cases, you know, the

00:47:06.190 --> 00:47:10.090
guys would come back and re -energize or perhaps

00:47:10.090 --> 00:47:13.630
be in a whole different area. But over a period

00:47:13.630 --> 00:47:16.030
of time, they would have the experience they

00:47:16.030 --> 00:47:19.730
had on the ground, negative or positive. And

00:47:19.730 --> 00:47:23.400
a lot of it, they were sheltered from. You know,

00:47:23.420 --> 00:47:25.440
the communities and things like that. I had the

00:47:25.440 --> 00:47:27.599
experience of, you know, the pleasure of that.

00:47:27.679 --> 00:47:30.500
And then I said the honor, really, of being amongst

00:47:30.500 --> 00:47:34.239
the people and seeing their lifestyles and how

00:47:34.239 --> 00:47:37.239
they lived. And, you know, those types of things

00:47:37.239 --> 00:47:39.980
that the soldier was out there in the bush, you

00:47:39.980 --> 00:47:41.780
know, pulling triggers and throwing hand grenades.

00:47:42.820 --> 00:47:45.900
You know, they have a different outlook on, you

00:47:45.900 --> 00:47:48.719
know, that. that type of thing. But again, you

00:47:48.719 --> 00:47:50.719
know, you build the bonds with your interpreters

00:47:50.719 --> 00:47:53.400
and your cultural advisors, uh, the guys you

00:47:53.400 --> 00:47:56.480
work with those soldiers and, uh, you know, you

00:47:56.480 --> 00:47:58.619
start caring about them. They become a part of

00:47:58.619 --> 00:48:01.519
your, your life really. And especially if they

00:48:01.519 --> 00:48:04.599
save your life, uh, like my guy did, you know,

00:48:04.619 --> 00:48:08.840
four separate occasions. He, uh, you know, I'm

00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:11.880
lucky to be here, honestly. And, uh, you know,

00:48:11.880 --> 00:48:14.449
it's like he told me, he says, you know, You

00:48:14.449 --> 00:48:16.929
say that about me is what he's saying to me.

00:48:17.030 --> 00:48:18.989
And he says, you know, but you saved me. Look

00:48:18.989 --> 00:48:23.469
who you saved, Baba. You know, and it's that

00:48:23.469 --> 00:48:26.050
type of emotion. You know, I get emotional when

00:48:26.050 --> 00:48:31.170
I talk about those guys, man. It's so, so, so

00:48:31.170 --> 00:48:33.550
bad, so sad for them. You know, a lot of them

00:48:33.550 --> 00:48:36.889
don't have that opportunity anymore. You know,

00:48:36.909 --> 00:48:40.650
it's a constant struggle. You know, their lifestyle

00:48:40.650 --> 00:48:43.309
over there, man. You know, it's an existence,

00:48:43.429 --> 00:48:45.489
really, because you got to get up, chop the wood,

00:48:45.610 --> 00:48:47.869
build the fire, chase the chicken around or get

00:48:47.869 --> 00:48:50.070
the eggs, milk the cow, that type of lifestyle.

00:48:50.570 --> 00:48:52.369
You know, if you're not living in the city and

00:48:52.369 --> 00:48:56.110
have money, a decent job, the effort you put

00:48:56.110 --> 00:48:58.710
into life is through your own hands and your

00:48:58.710 --> 00:49:01.769
family members. You know, and it's a difficult

00:49:01.769 --> 00:49:05.769
lifestyle. It really is. Not everybody, even

00:49:05.769 --> 00:49:08.929
the folks we have in America that are living

00:49:08.929 --> 00:49:13.179
on a lower level. than we live are living better

00:49:13.179 --> 00:49:16.980
than afghan families are you know they have we

00:49:16.980 --> 00:49:18.980
have the benefits in this country and things

00:49:18.980 --> 00:49:21.800
that support them they don't it's by their own

00:49:21.800 --> 00:49:25.960
will and you know fortitude to make it through

00:49:25.960 --> 00:49:30.400
the day or the year talk to me about your perspective

00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:34.659
of the iraq conflict when when 9 -11 first happened

00:49:34.659 --> 00:49:36.719
and then shortly after we were going to iraq

00:49:36.719 --> 00:49:39.420
you know immediately having you know being someone

00:49:39.420 --> 00:49:41.639
who understood geography a little bit i'm like

00:49:41.639 --> 00:49:43.639
well those are two very different countries and

00:49:43.639 --> 00:49:46.739
this seems to all be being lumped into the response

00:49:46.739 --> 00:49:51.380
to 9 -11 um now fast forward to recent conversations

00:49:51.380 --> 00:49:54.280
you're getting a lot of veterans from the iraqi

00:49:54.280 --> 00:49:57.280
conflict that served over there that are really

00:49:57.280 --> 00:50:01.099
questioning you know why were we there now not

00:50:01.099 --> 00:50:03.639
in any way shape or form undermining the impact

00:50:03.639 --> 00:50:05.159
that they make because obviously when they were

00:50:05.159 --> 00:50:07.099
in country they were protecting people against

00:50:07.099 --> 00:50:09.880
bad you know people and they were you know building

00:50:09.880 --> 00:50:11.800
schools and all these things that you hear about

00:50:11.800 --> 00:50:13.639
on the other that aren't on the news the kind

00:50:13.639 --> 00:50:16.239
of altruistic side so a thousand percent made

00:50:16.239 --> 00:50:19.099
a difference but the overall mission and some

00:50:19.099 --> 00:50:20.599
of the reasons that they were told they were

00:50:20.599 --> 00:50:23.389
going in the first place we now know weren't

00:50:23.389 --> 00:50:27.010
entirely factual. So with that, also pulling

00:50:27.010 --> 00:50:30.789
resources from Afghanistan, what is your perspective

00:50:30.789 --> 00:50:36.409
of the Iraq conflict in general? Well, you know,

00:50:36.409 --> 00:50:39.429
we went over there with good intentions. And,

00:50:39.449 --> 00:50:42.030
you know, we had great support from NATO, all

00:50:42.030 --> 00:50:45.369
that going on. And it, well, you know, just the

00:50:45.369 --> 00:50:49.329
society there is more modern to start with. You

00:50:49.329 --> 00:50:52.079
know, I mean, it's just... That environment itself

00:50:52.079 --> 00:50:55.199
was, you know, it's just night and day, James.

00:50:55.320 --> 00:51:00.400
I mean, and the people, you know, it was, you

00:51:00.400 --> 00:51:02.900
know, I rode up the Highway of Death, they called

00:51:02.900 --> 00:51:05.599
it. And we'd pick up principals from the office,

00:51:05.699 --> 00:51:08.119
from the airport and bring them back. And we'd

00:51:08.119 --> 00:51:12.179
fly around to different places, you know, for

00:51:12.179 --> 00:51:14.780
meetings, et cetera. But going up and down that

00:51:14.780 --> 00:51:17.800
highway every day, you know, we'd get hellion.

00:51:18.110 --> 00:51:20.849
poured on us. You know, we had these, they were

00:51:20.849 --> 00:51:24.050
French, white French vehicles, you know, with

00:51:24.050 --> 00:51:26.010
gun turret on it and all that. But man, they

00:51:26.010 --> 00:51:29.130
always replacing the windows and tires and that

00:51:29.130 --> 00:51:31.869
kind of stuff, you know. And, you know, so they

00:51:31.869 --> 00:51:33.889
started using aircraft, of course, you know,

00:51:33.889 --> 00:51:36.829
we kept complaining and bitching about, you know,

00:51:36.829 --> 00:51:39.090
I don't know about this. And then coming back

00:51:39.090 --> 00:51:41.070
with this guy, you know, a four -star general

00:51:41.070 --> 00:51:45.269
or a senator, and you're going to let them experience

00:51:45.269 --> 00:51:47.070
that? I don't think that's a good idea, man.

00:51:47.960 --> 00:51:50.800
So we started doing a lot more aircraft movement

00:51:50.800 --> 00:51:54.880
and that kind of thing and being more secure

00:51:54.880 --> 00:51:57.840
with that type of movement. But yeah, that's

00:51:57.840 --> 00:52:00.880
a whole different environment. And why we were

00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:06.639
there is one of the things. It was the weapons

00:52:06.639 --> 00:52:09.159
of mass destruction going over there looking

00:52:09.159 --> 00:52:13.500
for that stuff. And that was all a forest. And

00:52:13.500 --> 00:52:18.070
that's part of it. where we are today with the

00:52:18.070 --> 00:52:22.230
country again. And, you know, the president's

00:52:22.230 --> 00:52:25.309
involved right now. I hate to see us get back

00:52:25.309 --> 00:52:29.369
on the ground anywhere in the world. You know,

00:52:29.369 --> 00:52:32.909
totally. I don't see, you know, trying to support

00:52:32.909 --> 00:52:36.510
an element, for instance, like Afghanistan, you

00:52:36.510 --> 00:52:40.590
know. I'm saying we need another Charlie Wilson.

00:52:40.710 --> 00:52:43.039
If you didn't see that movie. We need some help

00:52:43.039 --> 00:52:44.960
there. And that's going to help a lot of things

00:52:44.960 --> 00:52:47.300
in the world because there's so much negative

00:52:47.300 --> 00:52:52.400
terroristic activities. And folks over there

00:52:52.400 --> 00:52:55.599
in Afghanistan now, it's 10 times worse than

00:52:55.599 --> 00:52:58.820
it was. And it's just growing every day. The

00:52:58.820 --> 00:53:03.860
madrasas, you know, it's insane. And Iraq as

00:53:03.860 --> 00:53:08.199
a whole, it's just we were there for a period

00:53:08.199 --> 00:53:13.099
of time unsuccessfully. And now we're back involved

00:53:13.099 --> 00:53:16.420
in the political concerns the people have there.

00:53:16.559 --> 00:53:19.139
You know, and Iran's another one, you know, that

00:53:19.139 --> 00:53:24.599
it's going to raise its ugly head again. Taking

00:53:24.599 --> 00:53:28.360
a massive tangent, if you were, I don't used

00:53:28.360 --> 00:53:30.039
to say king, but this is going to have to be

00:53:30.039 --> 00:53:33.590
ruling the entire planet for this answer. if

00:53:33.590 --> 00:53:36.030
you could literally kind of wave a magic wand

00:53:36.030 --> 00:53:39.949
what will we need to do to finally learn from

00:53:39.949 --> 00:53:43.730
history that is just wrought with lessons and

00:53:43.730 --> 00:53:46.690
and start de -escalating so many of these conflicts

00:53:46.690 --> 00:53:49.329
around the world starting with on our own soil

00:53:49.329 --> 00:53:55.449
here wow well first off we've got to learn to

00:53:55.449 --> 00:54:01.039
to uh understand and abide by laws and what Our

00:54:01.039 --> 00:54:04.840
country was built on was our rights, our Bill

00:54:04.840 --> 00:54:09.280
of Rights, our Congress and our Senate and all

00:54:09.280 --> 00:54:13.179
the political parts of our country's operation

00:54:13.179 --> 00:54:15.780
daily. And then you get to the civilians and,

00:54:15.820 --> 00:54:18.639
you know, the different states. We have to learn

00:54:18.639 --> 00:54:21.159
to get along a lot better than we have been doing

00:54:21.159 --> 00:54:24.059
and to see the things on. You know, I see those

00:54:24.059 --> 00:54:27.559
things on TV and it's like third world country

00:54:27.559 --> 00:54:30.539
action to me. where you got people in paramilitary

00:54:30.539 --> 00:54:33.760
uniforms and, you know, they're carrying weapons.

00:54:34.179 --> 00:54:37.340
Unfortunately, there's been two uncalled for

00:54:37.340 --> 00:54:40.659
deaths. And, you know, those types of things

00:54:40.659 --> 00:54:44.119
going on in our country right now. And we need

00:54:44.119 --> 00:54:47.059
to get a hold on it because, you know, it's not

00:54:47.059 --> 00:54:50.940
just that. Let's go back again and talk about,

00:54:50.960 --> 00:54:54.099
you know, the moral injury that's caused millions

00:54:54.099 --> 00:54:57.320
of veterans after 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

00:54:58.119 --> 00:55:01.300
multiplied by what we see today, I'm thinking

00:55:01.300 --> 00:55:02.940
in my own mind, you know, is there something

00:55:02.940 --> 00:55:05.860
greater going to happen? I mean, you know, tremendous.

00:55:05.980 --> 00:55:07.639
Is there going to be a revolution? What's going

00:55:07.639 --> 00:55:11.260
on in this country right now? It's really, you

00:55:11.260 --> 00:55:13.780
know, something that an eye opening thing that

00:55:13.780 --> 00:55:16.340
we need to get a hold of pretty quick. I'm glad

00:55:16.340 --> 00:55:19.059
to see the action being taken there by the president

00:55:19.059 --> 00:55:23.619
and removing and placing other things in place.

00:55:23.699 --> 00:55:27.460
And hopefully they'll get a hold on it. And that's

00:55:27.460 --> 00:55:29.460
what we got to do. We got to work together closely

00:55:29.460 --> 00:55:33.219
together more and understand, you know, each

00:55:33.219 --> 00:55:38.500
state has its own set of governments and things

00:55:38.500 --> 00:55:40.880
within its bodies, you know, in their little

00:55:40.880 --> 00:55:43.360
civil societies and every little town and so

00:55:43.360 --> 00:55:46.099
on. So, you know, when you go in there with a

00:55:46.099 --> 00:55:50.320
entourage of folks with an attitude about we're

00:55:50.320 --> 00:55:52.929
hunting bad guys and then. they're doing more

00:55:52.929 --> 00:55:55.289
damage to the population than they are doing

00:55:55.289 --> 00:55:58.449
to the bad guys, then, you know, we need to rethink

00:55:58.449 --> 00:56:02.849
that process. I think, I mean... I just don't

00:56:02.849 --> 00:56:04.869
think it's black and white as well what constitutes

00:56:04.869 --> 00:56:07.130
a bad guy when it comes to immigration, because

00:56:07.130 --> 00:56:09.489
I think there's a nuance. You know, you've got

00:56:09.489 --> 00:56:11.170
people that have come here and we're going to

00:56:11.170 --> 00:56:13.949
get to it. For example, people that helped us

00:56:13.949 --> 00:56:15.510
in the conflicts we've already talked about,

00:56:15.570 --> 00:56:17.550
or maybe they just came across the border or

00:56:17.550 --> 00:56:19.829
they were carried as an infant, didn't have much

00:56:19.829 --> 00:56:22.889
of a conversation, spent 30, 40 years. And now

00:56:22.889 --> 00:56:24.690
they're being shipped back to a country that

00:56:24.690 --> 00:56:26.570
they've never known. They don't even have a house

00:56:26.570 --> 00:56:29.400
in. You know, so to me, there needs to be a kind

00:56:29.400 --> 00:56:31.719
of grandfathering in for people that have proven

00:56:31.719 --> 00:56:34.400
themselves. And I always say this, the people

00:56:34.400 --> 00:56:36.320
that should be the most pissed off are the people

00:56:36.320 --> 00:56:39.260
like myself who paid thousands of dollars and

00:56:39.260 --> 00:56:42.539
did immigration air quotes properly. Like we're

00:56:42.539 --> 00:56:45.699
the ones who have an issue and I don't. And no

00:56:45.699 --> 00:56:47.780
one's saying that we don't want the people that

00:56:47.780 --> 00:56:50.320
are a detriment to our country to be removed.

00:56:50.519 --> 00:56:52.000
And absolutely, those are the ones that should

00:56:52.000 --> 00:56:54.300
be hunted down. Just the way you hunt down a

00:56:54.300 --> 00:56:56.519
burglar or a rapist or a murderer or anything.

00:56:56.920 --> 00:57:00.179
But people that are just undocumented, if you

00:57:00.179 --> 00:57:02.400
grandfathered them in, well, now they're paying

00:57:02.400 --> 00:57:05.360
taxes. Now that's a win -win. But hunting them

00:57:05.360 --> 00:57:07.360
down and snatching them from their children.

00:57:08.159 --> 00:57:10.639
creating this you know horrendous tension that

00:57:10.639 --> 00:57:13.280
you're talking about nothing good is going to

00:57:13.280 --> 00:57:16.099
come from that we can already see it absolutely

00:57:16.099 --> 00:57:19.900
i agree with you james you're right and uh you

00:57:19.900 --> 00:57:23.199
know you know the tragic deaths you know that

00:57:23.199 --> 00:57:26.940
that's just uncalled for you know those actions

00:57:26.940 --> 00:57:31.679
really and to see it in our society today but

00:57:31.679 --> 00:57:35.719
again you know look how that look out You know,

00:57:35.739 --> 00:57:38.300
I just go back to the retreat again of Kabul.

00:57:38.880 --> 00:57:42.159
And since then, and look at how everything is

00:57:42.159 --> 00:57:45.679
just gone to hell, literally, in the world. And

00:57:45.679 --> 00:57:49.780
it's in our country now more so than it has been.

00:57:51.360 --> 00:57:54.800
One of my guests made a really astute observation,

00:57:55.059 --> 00:57:58.800
and I talk about it all the time. He said, America

00:57:58.800 --> 00:58:00.880
is supposed to be the poster child of democracy.

00:58:02.409 --> 00:58:04.630
He said, so if you're looking at that poster,

00:58:04.809 --> 00:58:07.210
what are you thinking about that philosophical

00:58:07.210 --> 00:58:11.530
idea? And I agree with him 100%. If we beat our

00:58:11.530 --> 00:58:13.369
chest and just say we're the greatest country

00:58:13.369 --> 00:58:15.590
in the world, but don't put any work into it,

00:58:15.690 --> 00:58:19.130
then fast forward 20, 30 years. Now you've got

00:58:19.130 --> 00:58:22.190
a population that's 75 % overweight or obese.

00:58:22.570 --> 00:58:24.909
Our school children are rehearsing their murders

00:58:24.909 --> 00:58:27.829
in their school. 100 ,000 Americans die from

00:58:27.829 --> 00:58:30.219
opioids every year. You know what I mean? I mean,

00:58:30.219 --> 00:58:33.300
we're not the best. So we have to stop saying

00:58:33.300 --> 00:58:36.780
that, have the humility. But we have an opportunity

00:58:36.780 --> 00:58:39.880
to be such an incredibly powerful influence in

00:58:39.880 --> 00:58:43.079
a good way. If we really invested in our country

00:58:43.079 --> 00:58:45.900
and made it phenomenal and took care of the things

00:58:45.900 --> 00:58:48.360
that are not working and asked Finland and Norway

00:58:48.360 --> 00:58:51.119
and Japan and Portugal and all these other countries

00:58:51.119 --> 00:58:54.280
that are doing those areas really well. Now people

00:58:54.280 --> 00:58:56.139
look at America and go, wow, they've got their

00:58:56.139 --> 00:58:59.099
shit together in that country. Maybe this democracy

00:58:59.099 --> 00:59:02.699
thing is worth a try. But right now, when we're

00:59:02.699 --> 00:59:06.320
seeing what's on our news, do you think anyone's

00:59:06.320 --> 00:59:08.219
going to be trying democracy or is it going to

00:59:08.219 --> 00:59:10.659
be viewed the same way as we view communism in

00:59:10.659 --> 00:59:14.800
North Korea? Yes, pretty much. You know, I got

00:59:14.800 --> 00:59:17.519
I got to agree with you. And that was an astute

00:59:17.519 --> 00:59:21.059
observation. Yeah. You know, and that has a lot

00:59:21.059 --> 00:59:24.599
to do with what we live the way, you know, our

00:59:24.599 --> 00:59:28.130
lives, what's involved. What we see, what we

00:59:28.130 --> 00:59:30.570
interact with, you know, and again, you know,

00:59:30.570 --> 00:59:33.889
going back to, you know, our relationships with

00:59:33.889 --> 00:59:37.230
allies overseas in different places. And then

00:59:37.230 --> 00:59:39.190
like yourself, you know, getting here legally.

00:59:39.630 --> 00:59:41.849
And then, you know, I agree, you know, hunting

00:59:41.849 --> 00:59:45.050
down the illegals and the bad folks. I'm all

00:59:45.050 --> 00:59:47.630
about that. But doing it in the manner we have

00:59:47.630 --> 00:59:50.510
been doing is not the right way to do it. When

00:59:50.510 --> 00:59:54.369
you start inflicting terror and. and making people

00:59:54.369 --> 00:59:57.090
hide, not go to the store and not going to school.

00:59:57.190 --> 00:59:59.530
You know, that's it's time to rethink what we

00:59:59.530 --> 01:00:01.909
need to do with operations within our own country.

01:00:02.269 --> 01:00:04.909
You know, so we don't look, you know, we already

01:00:04.909 --> 01:00:08.630
look bad to the world, in my opinion. You know,

01:00:08.630 --> 01:00:13.269
I mean, it's sad to say, but we've got a lot

01:00:13.269 --> 01:00:17.650
of work to do to gain back that trust. And, you

01:00:17.650 --> 01:00:19.550
know, the willingness of folks coming here is

01:00:19.550 --> 01:00:22.710
just, you know, it's like. There's not very many

01:00:22.710 --> 01:00:26.550
countries that are going to accept refugees at

01:00:26.550 --> 01:00:30.210
this point. There's just a handful. So, you know,

01:00:30.230 --> 01:00:34.230
the queue line is pretty long. And if you have

01:00:34.230 --> 01:00:37.789
a case, for instance, that's, you know, you're

01:00:37.789 --> 01:00:40.969
requesting expedited because of extreme danger

01:00:40.969 --> 01:00:44.710
or their ages of the people or something of this

01:00:44.710 --> 01:00:46.750
nature, you know, you could probably get in a

01:00:46.750 --> 01:00:48.630
little quicker, but it's going to take some time.

01:00:49.320 --> 01:00:53.420
And a lot of effort. But those actions that we

01:00:53.420 --> 01:00:56.239
see today in America, you know, it's like I'm

01:00:56.239 --> 01:00:59.960
going to say America is afraid to have Afghans,

01:00:59.960 --> 01:01:02.500
you know, come back into our country, you know,

01:01:02.500 --> 01:01:05.300
because we had a couple of bad seeds. So it's

01:01:05.300 --> 01:01:07.840
like anything else, you know, when one person

01:01:07.840 --> 01:01:10.780
does, you know, from Afghanistan, they're here.

01:01:10.900 --> 01:01:13.539
And, you know, like that guy drove across country,

01:01:13.659 --> 01:01:15.800
you know, and that just gives a bad name to everybody.

01:01:16.429 --> 01:01:18.510
You know, and that's what people that don't understand,

01:01:18.550 --> 01:01:22.289
you know, the commitment we have and the veterans

01:01:22.289 --> 01:01:25.869
that were involved in 20 years of war. I mean,

01:01:25.889 --> 01:01:28.110
come on. You got to have a relationship somewhere,

01:01:28.250 --> 01:01:30.469
man. You know, whether it's good or bad, but

01:01:30.469 --> 01:01:33.230
hopefully it's positive. And we can see a lot

01:01:33.230 --> 01:01:35.889
of that in the communities we live in. You know,

01:01:35.889 --> 01:01:39.570
there's people out there that have gone above

01:01:39.570 --> 01:01:43.949
and beyond to get their allies here to America,

01:01:44.730 --> 01:01:48.340
to Canada. Europe, you know, different places.

01:01:48.440 --> 01:01:51.739
But, you know, it's not been an easy task for

01:01:51.739 --> 01:01:54.860
anyone due to the, you know, the negative view

01:01:54.860 --> 01:01:58.579
the world has on, I think, America as a whole.

01:01:58.679 --> 01:02:02.000
I mean, look at our immigration policy now. Ain't

01:02:02.000 --> 01:02:05.280
nobody getting in here. Not unless you're a Venezuelan

01:02:05.280 --> 01:02:06.900
and you got a sack full of money or something

01:02:06.900 --> 01:02:08.960
like that. Or a white South African for some

01:02:08.960 --> 01:02:13.420
reason. Oh, yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

01:02:13.920 --> 01:02:15.579
It is crazy, though, because if you think about

01:02:15.579 --> 01:02:17.960
it, it would be like saying you're going to get

01:02:17.960 --> 01:02:19.960
rid of all black people in America because of

01:02:19.960 --> 01:02:23.519
the D .C. shooter. Yeah, it's insane. It's a

01:02:23.519 --> 01:02:25.539
mental health crisis, what we have. It happens

01:02:25.539 --> 01:02:27.260
to be Afghan. I mean, there was an Australian

01:02:27.260 --> 01:02:29.139
that killed all those poor people in the mosque

01:02:29.139 --> 01:02:31.239
in New Zealand. You know, now you're going to

01:02:31.239 --> 01:02:32.980
stop all Aussies from going to New Zealand. You

01:02:32.980 --> 01:02:35.079
know what I mean? We've got to identify it as

01:02:35.079 --> 01:02:37.800
these are sick people who committed sick acts.

01:02:38.219 --> 01:02:41.320
It's not about the religion or the race or the

01:02:41.320 --> 01:02:44.679
nationality. It's it's a broken mind by that

01:02:44.679 --> 01:02:46.840
point, because, I mean, I think one thing that

01:02:46.840 --> 01:02:50.460
we really forget is if you had an Afghan and

01:02:50.460 --> 01:02:54.500
a French and a Nepalese and a British, you know,

01:02:54.500 --> 01:02:56.980
a group of toddlers and you put a ball amongst

01:02:56.980 --> 01:02:58.719
them, what are they going to do? They're going

01:02:58.719 --> 01:03:00.679
to kick the ball around and run and laugh and

01:03:00.679 --> 01:03:03.400
fall over and pick flowers and pet the dog. They're

01:03:03.400 --> 01:03:04.840
not going to think, well, hold on a second. You're

01:03:04.840 --> 01:03:06.400
a Muslim. I can't play a ball. You know what

01:03:06.400 --> 01:03:09.280
I mean? We all start off as human beings and

01:03:09.280 --> 01:03:11.940
then we get labeled and segregated. And then

01:03:11.940 --> 01:03:16.360
under, you know, cowardly, you know, leadership,

01:03:16.539 --> 01:03:18.519
I'm using air quotes, you'll get divided and

01:03:18.519 --> 01:03:20.280
set upon each other. And this is where we are

01:03:20.280 --> 01:03:25.400
now. Yeah, I agree. And it's sad, you know, but

01:03:25.400 --> 01:03:28.679
it's, you know, we see, you know, it's more prevalent

01:03:28.679 --> 01:03:31.219
because we have. you know, the media in our face

01:03:31.219 --> 01:03:34.179
a lot more in these times than in the past times.

01:03:34.340 --> 01:03:36.920
But we see it a lot more. But, you know, on a

01:03:36.920 --> 01:03:40.119
big scale, I honestly still have faith in humanity,

01:03:40.320 --> 01:03:43.480
James. There's more of us out there. And, you

01:03:43.480 --> 01:03:45.619
know, a lot of them are united through these

01:03:45.619 --> 01:03:49.960
NGOs. But in my case, and I'm not whining, it's

01:03:49.960 --> 01:03:53.619
really been extra challenging being by myself

01:03:53.619 --> 01:03:58.139
and working through these processes to have folks

01:03:58.139 --> 01:04:01.869
come here legally. You know, and it it takes

01:04:01.869 --> 01:04:06.590
it's quite time consuming and a lot of research

01:04:06.590 --> 01:04:11.170
and making sure that the documents are correct

01:04:11.170 --> 01:04:14.170
and there won't be any questions and that type

01:04:14.170 --> 01:04:16.809
of thing. It's a lot of effort. But I got to

01:04:16.809 --> 01:04:20.269
say, some of those one of those cases that puzzled

01:04:20.269 --> 01:04:23.329
me about the guy driving across the country and

01:04:23.329 --> 01:04:29.409
shooting folks is, you know, I don't. Understand,

01:04:29.510 --> 01:04:32.869
you know, he got here, but I don't think his

01:04:32.869 --> 01:04:37.909
support group had set him up correctly because

01:04:37.909 --> 01:04:40.929
from what I understand, he didn't have a work

01:04:40.929 --> 01:04:44.150
permit. He couldn't work. Guy's got a family

01:04:44.150 --> 01:04:47.289
and there were state benefits and things going

01:04:47.289 --> 01:04:50.829
on that kept being taken away. And it just got

01:04:50.829 --> 01:04:53.670
to a point that, you know, he was trying to make

01:04:53.670 --> 01:04:55.989
a statement. And unfortunately, you know, he

01:04:55.989 --> 01:04:57.929
didn't get any mental help and that's what he

01:04:57.929 --> 01:05:00.280
needed. So I figured, you know, he didn't have

01:05:00.280 --> 01:05:03.340
a support group there, you know, veterans, you

01:05:03.340 --> 01:05:05.199
know, somebody to take care of an American or

01:05:05.199 --> 01:05:08.039
an Afghan. And those kinds of things get away

01:05:08.039 --> 01:05:12.599
from us. And to blame the process of vetting

01:05:12.599 --> 01:05:16.079
and the things that, you know, the government

01:05:16.079 --> 01:05:20.139
set up to get to that process and to complete

01:05:20.139 --> 01:05:22.559
it, you know, it takes years. Really, it takes

01:05:22.559 --> 01:05:25.000
years. And the example I'm going to give is.

01:05:25.420 --> 01:05:28.519
Amir's example with it took over three years,

01:05:28.699 --> 01:05:34.679
three years. And that was he and his wife. He's

01:05:34.679 --> 01:05:37.739
got six daughters and two sons and a new addition

01:05:37.739 --> 01:05:40.980
back in June. So we got an American citizen in

01:05:40.980 --> 01:05:45.679
the family now. But that's nine children, he

01:05:45.679 --> 01:05:49.539
and his wife. And when they got here, every one

01:05:49.539 --> 01:05:53.059
of them has a green card. It says they're. Legal

01:05:53.059 --> 01:05:58.880
permanent residence until 2035. So, you know,

01:05:58.900 --> 01:06:01.559
that's the way you go. And they carry the documents

01:06:01.559 --> 01:06:05.239
everywhere they go. You know, he's got two jobs.

01:06:06.079 --> 01:06:09.159
You know, he's really making an effort to do

01:06:09.159 --> 01:06:11.300
it. He just bought his car, got a driver's license.

01:06:11.380 --> 01:06:13.199
He drove up to Louisville this morning in the

01:06:13.199 --> 01:06:16.400
snow to get his tag for his car. You know, the

01:06:16.400 --> 01:06:18.679
kids are all doing good in school. I'm very thankful.

01:06:19.309 --> 01:06:22.210
and blessed you know the process was a mother

01:06:22.210 --> 01:06:25.210
bear getting through it but i don't care what

01:06:25.210 --> 01:06:27.670
anybody else says that vetting process is strong

01:06:27.670 --> 01:06:30.809
and if you go through it correctly without trying

01:06:30.809 --> 01:06:32.949
to bypass anything you're going to be all right

01:06:32.949 --> 01:06:35.849
as long as you got a good support group and you

01:06:35.849 --> 01:06:38.510
got people that really care about you you know

01:06:38.510 --> 01:06:41.570
you're not just a another group of family members

01:06:41.570 --> 01:06:43.769
of hundreds you've helped you know because you

01:06:43.769 --> 01:06:46.389
don't have any relationship there you know what

01:06:46.389 --> 01:06:51.829
i mean yeah I want to get to the retreat and

01:06:51.829 --> 01:06:53.469
then move forward from that as far as trying

01:06:53.469 --> 01:06:55.630
to get people out. But just before we do, you'd

01:06:55.630 --> 01:06:57.730
mentioned that Amir had saved your life four

01:06:57.730 --> 01:07:00.750
times. What are some of the examples of that?

01:07:00.829 --> 01:07:03.869
Again, just so people can see, you know, how

01:07:03.869 --> 01:07:06.050
much courage and how much selflessness there

01:07:06.050 --> 01:07:09.150
was from many of these people that you then ultimately

01:07:09.150 --> 01:07:15.650
brought to the U .S. All right. I'll talk about

01:07:15.650 --> 01:07:18.329
the last one. There was one at an airport in

01:07:18.329 --> 01:07:21.349
Herat. There was a riot there. But anyway, the

01:07:21.349 --> 01:07:27.090
last one was in Gardez, Afghanistan. You know,

01:07:27.150 --> 01:07:31.610
all I'm going to say is lots of cobras in Gardez,

01:07:31.610 --> 01:07:35.190
man. But anyway, get there, you know, it's a

01:07:35.190 --> 01:07:40.070
small, a real small Afghan outpost thing. So

01:07:40.070 --> 01:07:42.789
we get there and, you know, start doing the things

01:07:42.789 --> 01:07:46.619
I do. getting about nighttime and we start getting

01:07:46.619 --> 01:07:51.460
a lot of, you know, contact all around us. And

01:07:51.460 --> 01:07:53.360
we're kind of down in the low ground too. So

01:07:53.360 --> 01:07:55.519
that's not encouraging. You know, it's like being

01:07:55.519 --> 01:08:00.159
in a bucket kind of thing. Anyway, so it just

01:08:00.159 --> 01:08:06.000
kept getting worse and worse. And anyway, Sam

01:08:06.000 --> 01:08:09.880
and I are trying to maneuver out of the kill

01:08:09.880 --> 01:08:14.309
zone. We were in front of the firing the friendly

01:08:14.309 --> 01:08:18.949
fire so we're moving out of the way and uh anyway

01:08:18.949 --> 01:08:23.170
sam and his had his piece and uh he's firing

01:08:23.170 --> 01:08:25.510
you know he's not really aiming it at anybody

01:08:25.510 --> 01:08:28.550
he's just holding it up and firing it over his

01:08:28.550 --> 01:08:31.229
back over his shoulder like and then i take a

01:08:31.229 --> 01:08:35.109
round in my back and uh from that point on you

01:08:35.109 --> 01:08:38.430
know i'm i'm at first i didn't i just thought

01:08:38.430 --> 01:08:40.930
he hit me you know, like with the butt of the

01:08:40.930 --> 01:08:44.170
rifle or something or push me down. And then

01:08:44.170 --> 01:08:46.130
I realized, you know, hey, man, I started feeling

01:08:46.130 --> 01:08:48.829
all this. It's like somebody pouring warm water

01:08:48.829 --> 01:08:53.470
on you. That's your blood. And from that point

01:08:53.470 --> 01:08:56.170
on, you know, it just a lot more chaos. I got

01:08:56.170 --> 01:09:00.130
to a medic, an Afghan. And, you know, putting

01:09:00.130 --> 01:09:05.029
the that it was that stuff in a tube. I forget

01:09:05.029 --> 01:09:07.829
what it's called. But anyway, quick stuff. Yeah,

01:09:08.050 --> 01:09:10.789
that quick clot. And then a bandage and everything.

01:09:10.989 --> 01:09:14.170
And then, uh, under fire, you know, they had,

01:09:14.250 --> 01:09:19.170
uh, they had, uh, medevacs coming in for others.

01:09:19.250 --> 01:09:21.750
And, uh, I got to get on one of those medevacs,

01:09:21.829 --> 01:09:24.590
but Sam drug me under fire and put me on a medevac,

01:09:24.590 --> 01:09:27.989
a Blackhawk helicopter. And, uh, they flew me

01:09:27.989 --> 01:09:33.350
to the triage there in, um, Bagram, Bagram Air

01:09:33.350 --> 01:09:37.590
Base. And, um, I was, uh, I was there for, uh,

01:09:37.710 --> 01:09:41.789
I don't know. Three or four days, and I met up

01:09:41.789 --> 01:09:45.029
with a Ranger captain named Dan Kruger. He's

01:09:45.029 --> 01:09:48.090
a lieutenant colonel now, Italian commander at

01:09:48.090 --> 01:09:51.750
Fort Bragg at 505. Anyway, Ranger Kruger and

01:09:51.750 --> 01:09:54.529
I were together there, and we ended up being

01:09:54.529 --> 01:09:59.149
roommates in Landstuhl, Germany, on the dignitary

01:09:59.149 --> 01:10:05.050
ward of the hospital because they didn't know

01:10:05.050 --> 01:10:06.930
what to do with me. I had a beard and all that

01:10:06.930 --> 01:10:13.560
other mess. Anyway, I met him there and then

01:10:13.560 --> 01:10:16.479
went through that process. Eight months later,

01:10:16.560 --> 01:10:20.979
I went back to Afghanistan. I still wore civilian

01:10:20.979 --> 01:10:23.920
clothes, Afghan clothes and stuff, but I didn't

01:10:23.920 --> 01:10:26.140
have to do as much traveling. I worked more with

01:10:26.140 --> 01:10:31.920
the Ministry of Defense there in Kabul. Working

01:10:31.920 --> 01:10:36.199
with CJ -5 and those guys in Kabul at Eggers.

01:10:39.210 --> 01:10:44.130
So talk to me about the rumblings of there being

01:10:44.130 --> 01:10:47.550
a withdrawal. And then through your eyes, you

01:10:47.550 --> 01:10:50.409
know, the movement that you saw trying to get

01:10:50.409 --> 01:10:53.949
these allied Afghans out to safety, knowing what

01:10:53.949 --> 01:10:58.029
would happen to them if they stayed. Oh, well,

01:10:58.229 --> 01:11:01.289
you know, we could see that coming a long way

01:11:01.289 --> 01:11:03.810
down the line, you know, when they started downsizing.

01:11:05.159 --> 01:11:07.380
You know, they the training like, you know, the

01:11:07.380 --> 01:11:10.340
let's say you have a rollover training, you know,

01:11:10.340 --> 01:11:13.699
they met the MRAPs and that kind of stuff. All

01:11:13.699 --> 01:11:17.060
those types of things are going away. The contracts

01:11:17.060 --> 01:11:19.000
were, you know, the contracts that were there,

01:11:19.079 --> 01:11:22.579
like for, you know, the the different little

01:11:22.579 --> 01:11:26.739
UAV stuff they had going on, putting them together

01:11:26.739 --> 01:11:28.359
and that kind of thing. All that stuff going

01:11:28.359 --> 01:11:29.960
away, you know, people talking about, you know,

01:11:29.960 --> 01:11:32.640
taking this away and that away. So we had a pretty

01:11:32.640 --> 01:11:36.880
good idea. We had no idea that we were going

01:11:36.880 --> 01:11:39.079
to leave the country the way we did. You know,

01:11:39.119 --> 01:11:43.899
it just unbelievable, man. I just can't get why

01:11:43.899 --> 01:11:46.899
we did what we did the way we did it. It's crazy.

01:11:47.840 --> 01:11:51.340
And it did cause a lot of suffering because of

01:11:51.340 --> 01:11:55.579
that, you know, deep suffering in life. You could

01:11:55.579 --> 01:11:57.920
see, you know, everybody had a good idea, but

01:11:57.920 --> 01:12:00.159
there hadn't really been it. There's been a lot

01:12:00.159 --> 01:12:03.029
of, you know, coffee pot talk, if you will. But

01:12:03.029 --> 01:12:05.550
nothing really, you know, substantial about we're

01:12:05.550 --> 01:12:07.210
leaving on this date. You know, we heard what

01:12:07.210 --> 01:12:09.810
the president said, you know, and all that prior

01:12:09.810 --> 01:12:11.989
to it going down, you know, and you just have

01:12:11.989 --> 01:12:16.210
to wait, you know. And as to see it the way it

01:12:16.210 --> 01:12:20.189
is, you know, all those places we had, you know,

01:12:20.189 --> 01:12:23.170
like Bagram and the Kandahar and all those places

01:12:23.170 --> 01:12:27.449
to be rolled out and just given up and the equipment

01:12:27.449 --> 01:12:32.399
left behind, just mind boggling. to me is, you

01:12:32.399 --> 01:12:35.699
know, you'd never want to do that. And I mean,

01:12:35.779 --> 01:12:38.079
you know, we had a little bit of that Vietnam

01:12:38.079 --> 01:12:42.659
timeframe, but not, not near as atrocious of

01:12:42.659 --> 01:12:45.760
what we left on the ground to get reused, you

01:12:45.760 --> 01:12:49.979
know, for the wrong reasons. But yeah, we could,

01:12:50.000 --> 01:12:54.060
we could see that. And then, you know, the, they

01:12:54.060 --> 01:12:55.899
tried a lot of different programs over there.

01:12:55.939 --> 01:12:57.840
One was like, you know, the Taliban's paying,

01:12:58.000 --> 01:13:01.310
you know, a fighter like eight bucks a day. So

01:13:01.310 --> 01:13:05.029
the Army or the government, with our coercion,

01:13:05.029 --> 01:13:07.649
come up with a program through an NGO or somebody

01:13:07.649 --> 01:13:10.689
to pay them 12 bucks a day to dig a ditch in

01:13:10.689 --> 01:13:12.909
the city to make it cleaner or do some water

01:13:12.909 --> 01:13:15.989
work or be a bug sprayer or something like that.

01:13:16.250 --> 01:13:19.909
So there was no efforts being made, you know,

01:13:19.949 --> 01:13:23.550
that I saw, you know, that these guys were, you

01:13:23.550 --> 01:13:27.060
know, they could be easily, you know. When you

01:13:27.060 --> 01:13:29.279
got somebody going to your home and you kick

01:13:29.279 --> 01:13:31.380
open the door and you go through your mom's room

01:13:31.380 --> 01:13:34.680
and throw around her clothes and you humiliate

01:13:34.680 --> 01:13:37.640
the father in front of the family and that kind

01:13:37.640 --> 01:13:39.439
of thing. And once they leave, you know, that

01:13:39.439 --> 01:13:42.340
kid, that young kid, that 18 year old kid's got

01:13:42.340 --> 01:13:44.239
an attitude. He wants some vengeance. You know,

01:13:44.260 --> 01:13:46.659
he wants some payback. So, you know, he goes

01:13:46.659 --> 01:13:49.119
and, you know, he might get up with some of those

01:13:49.119 --> 01:13:52.140
guys for a little bit and, you know, get his

01:13:52.140 --> 01:13:54.560
satisfaction that way. But when you're talking

01:13:54.560 --> 01:13:58.619
about money. At $12 an hour, you know, that's

01:13:58.619 --> 01:14:00.979
some serious money for an Afghan during that

01:14:00.979 --> 01:14:04.720
time frame. I mean, you get a lot done with $12

01:14:04.720 --> 01:14:08.699
an hour, you know. So, you know, those types

01:14:08.699 --> 01:14:12.619
of things where you saw, you know, the two humanitarian

01:14:12.619 --> 01:14:15.819
efforts and things. And the NGOs over there,

01:14:15.880 --> 01:14:17.899
they had a lot to do with those humanitarian

01:14:17.899 --> 01:14:20.439
efforts, really. Because, you know, we had the

01:14:20.439 --> 01:14:23.020
war focus, you know, people like me, you know.

01:14:23.420 --> 01:14:25.439
doing our thing, trying to train up an army.

01:14:25.479 --> 01:14:27.819
And then the other guys fighting and training

01:14:27.819 --> 01:14:30.000
up the, you know, the Mujahideen or whoever,

01:14:30.239 --> 01:14:33.539
you know, those folks out in the villages. And,

01:14:33.640 --> 01:14:37.560
you know, it's just so diverse and such a challenge

01:14:37.560 --> 01:14:40.000
to operate in that country to start with. It's

01:14:40.000 --> 01:14:43.699
just unbelievably remote. I mean, the roads and

01:14:43.699 --> 01:14:46.640
just traveling, you know, like going from Kabul

01:14:46.640 --> 01:14:49.300
to Jalalabad, that'll take you about three hours

01:14:49.300 --> 01:14:52.670
on a bus, you know. And then you got checkpoints

01:14:52.670 --> 01:14:55.090
along the way. Somebody's going to check you

01:14:55.090 --> 01:14:58.810
out, especially nowadays. And, you know, amongst

01:14:58.810 --> 01:15:00.989
that, you know, I tell you, there's a lot of

01:15:00.989 --> 01:15:03.350
highway robbery, highway men. This stuff's going

01:15:03.350 --> 01:15:06.550
on, man. You don't hear about it, but it's definitely

01:15:06.550 --> 01:15:09.010
a part of it. And, you know, those guys over

01:15:09.010 --> 01:15:12.250
there with that Taliban mentality or that title,

01:15:12.390 --> 01:15:14.569
they're nothing more than hoodlums and crooks

01:15:14.569 --> 01:15:18.430
and drug abusers, really. And, you know, the

01:15:18.430 --> 01:15:22.100
Mad Hatter that's running the show. It's insane.

01:15:22.220 --> 01:15:25.180
It's just a matter of time. And, you know, they

01:15:25.180 --> 01:15:27.859
got a lot of problems internally with their the

01:15:27.859 --> 01:15:32.680
Taliban leadership. And, you know, it's just

01:15:32.680 --> 01:15:34.699
a matter of time. You know, I'd love to see the

01:15:34.699 --> 01:15:39.239
the male population grow a set of nuts and take

01:15:39.239 --> 01:15:42.720
the country back. And, you know, that kind of

01:15:42.720 --> 01:15:46.619
thing. But, you know, when you got starvation

01:15:46.619 --> 01:15:49.020
and fear, those two things there are primary.

01:15:49.840 --> 01:15:51.960
these tractors when you're trying to oppress

01:15:51.960 --> 01:15:56.460
a society and especially the hunger part of it

01:15:56.460 --> 01:15:58.420
and believe me there's people dying of hunger

01:15:58.420 --> 01:16:02.279
every day over there it's a damn swing that's

01:16:02.279 --> 01:16:05.140
what rasul was saying after we had withdrawn

01:16:05.140 --> 01:16:09.100
was now you had starvation now you had food being

01:16:09.100 --> 01:16:10.939
cut off and you had i think it was the winter

01:16:10.939 --> 01:16:12.960
following that so you had people freezing to

01:16:12.960 --> 01:16:15.600
death as well so you know we kind of washed our

01:16:15.600 --> 01:16:18.520
hand as a nation not taking into account the

01:16:18.520 --> 01:16:20.619
damage that was left and how the people there

01:16:20.619 --> 01:16:22.420
were going to suffer, not just from the hands

01:16:22.420 --> 01:16:25.399
of the oppression itself, but just the, you know,

01:16:25.399 --> 01:16:27.779
the lack of infrastructure and the lack of food

01:16:27.779 --> 01:16:29.779
and kind of the same thing with areas of Gaza.

01:16:31.119 --> 01:16:35.319
Exactly. Yeah, it is. Now, you know, it is, you

01:16:35.319 --> 01:16:38.220
know, Gaza is obliterated. I mean, really, just

01:16:38.220 --> 01:16:40.300
look at that place. It's a big dump right now.

01:16:40.399 --> 01:16:43.239
You can't live there. I mean, really, there's

01:16:43.239 --> 01:16:45.439
people living there in existence there today

01:16:45.439 --> 01:16:48.029
in that rubble. You know, trying to survive.

01:16:48.250 --> 01:16:51.609
And the same thing with Kabul. You know, I mean,

01:16:51.609 --> 01:16:54.350
you could go there today and you can see buildings

01:16:54.350 --> 01:16:56.329
that are just you don't know how they're still

01:16:56.329 --> 01:16:59.149
standing. And there's no glass in the windows.

01:16:59.250 --> 01:17:01.630
There's, you know, a curtain or a sheet of some

01:17:01.630 --> 01:17:04.010
sort. And, you know, lucky if you got a door.

01:17:04.569 --> 01:17:06.869
But, you know, there's families like that. And,

01:17:07.050 --> 01:17:10.689
you know, it's just unfortunate. And it could

01:17:10.689 --> 01:17:13.229
have been a lot better if we would have done

01:17:13.229 --> 01:17:16.409
the right thing and left the country in some.

01:17:17.139 --> 01:17:20.439
fashion of leadership instead of just abandoning

01:17:20.439 --> 01:17:23.260
everyone and again i blame their leadership as

01:17:23.260 --> 01:17:25.979
well they all hauled ass you know as fast as

01:17:25.979 --> 01:17:28.760
they could and left the country to the beast

01:17:28.760 --> 01:17:34.199
and that's where it is today damn shame so what

01:17:34.199 --> 01:17:36.579
should have happened because you know what has

01:17:36.579 --> 01:17:39.520
happened has happened but i think the real tragedy

01:17:39.520 --> 01:17:41.579
is when you don't reflect then and go, okay,

01:17:41.619 --> 01:17:43.420
well, let's pull the lessons from it. Same as

01:17:43.420 --> 01:17:45.399
COVID. I talk about COVID all the time because

01:17:45.399 --> 01:17:48.020
there were so many things that were done wrong,

01:17:48.180 --> 01:17:50.880
but that's come and gone now. But what we need

01:17:50.880 --> 01:17:52.779
to do is like, all right, well, then what was

01:17:52.779 --> 01:17:54.880
done wrong? How can we not do that again? What

01:17:54.880 --> 01:17:56.979
was done right? Okay, we'll repeat that next

01:17:56.979 --> 01:18:00.579
time. And it's the same with this. So from the

01:18:00.579 --> 01:18:03.859
withdrawal itself, and then equally as importantly,

01:18:03.920 --> 01:18:07.399
making sure that anyone that assisted the allied

01:18:07.399 --> 01:18:11.069
forces were you know brought out the country

01:18:11.069 --> 01:18:14.010
if they needed to be what should have happened

01:18:14.010 --> 01:18:18.449
versus what did happen well you know just my

01:18:18.449 --> 01:18:21.050
opinion you know we should have had well part

01:18:21.050 --> 01:18:24.510
of it the big part of it was the corruption within

01:18:24.510 --> 01:18:27.609
the army and the government of afghanistan and

01:18:27.609 --> 01:18:30.649
us not getting a hold of that right sooner you

01:18:30.649 --> 01:18:32.949
know i mean everybody knew about it so that's

01:18:32.949 --> 01:18:37.750
a part of it and then you know you had It should

01:18:37.750 --> 01:18:40.430
have been set up to where there was some type

01:18:40.430 --> 01:18:43.189
of government there with an oversee. We could

01:18:43.189 --> 01:18:45.670
oversee it without having to be in direct conflict

01:18:45.670 --> 01:18:49.750
with the Taliban. And we just allowed it to happen.

01:18:50.329 --> 01:18:53.090
I mean, come on. We're fully capable of keeping

01:18:53.090 --> 01:18:57.770
that at bay. We just allowed it to happen. You

01:18:57.770 --> 01:19:00.829
know, piece by piece, you know, OK, Bagram, OK,

01:19:00.930 --> 01:19:03.630
Kandahar, you know, those little just walked

01:19:03.630 --> 01:19:07.289
away from it. Left nobody, you know, and what

01:19:07.289 --> 01:19:09.810
are you going to do when your cohorts, your people

01:19:09.810 --> 01:19:12.729
that you're working with, that army sees what's

01:19:12.729 --> 01:19:15.569
going on? They know that there's no help for

01:19:15.569 --> 01:19:18.270
them and their ass is grass pretty much because

01:19:18.270 --> 01:19:22.050
the new regime obviously is going to take retribution,

01:19:22.210 --> 01:19:25.270
whether it be death, punishment, prison, you

01:19:25.270 --> 01:19:28.210
know, whatever. But you're not getting away with

01:19:28.210 --> 01:19:31.369
what went on within the country during the war

01:19:31.369 --> 01:19:34.779
if you're on the opposing side. And, you know,

01:19:34.779 --> 01:19:38.640
that's the way it went. And we should not have

01:19:38.640 --> 01:19:42.000
allowed it to go down the way it went. That's

01:19:42.000 --> 01:19:43.760
just my opinion. We could have done a better

01:19:43.760 --> 01:19:47.279
job, obviously. And I mean, from our level, you

01:19:47.279 --> 01:19:49.640
know, the president's level, putting a cap on

01:19:49.640 --> 01:19:52.500
when we should go and then how it was the operation

01:19:52.500 --> 01:19:56.159
was done. You know, I just you know, and then

01:19:56.159 --> 01:19:58.779
the downsizing part of that as well was effective

01:19:58.779 --> 01:20:02.270
because we didn't have enough, really. You know,

01:20:02.270 --> 01:20:05.470
those fighting forces and that we had back in

01:20:05.470 --> 01:20:07.710
the day, you know, if we had had that instead

01:20:07.710 --> 01:20:10.989
of downsizing, the plan was in place. I'm sure

01:20:10.989 --> 01:20:13.529
it probably a year or two, if not, you know,

01:20:13.529 --> 01:20:17.170
that long before, you know, we implemented it.

01:20:17.350 --> 01:20:21.229
And then it came on as a rush. I mean, look at

01:20:21.229 --> 01:20:22.989
all the guys that were there during the Abbey

01:20:22.989 --> 01:20:25.609
Gate. I mean, they pulled out from here and there

01:20:25.609 --> 01:20:27.409
in different places. They really didn't know

01:20:27.409 --> 01:20:30.039
what the hell was going on. I mean, they were

01:20:30.039 --> 01:20:33.600
pretty much reacting to that environment and

01:20:33.600 --> 01:20:35.460
then, you know, realizing, oh, shit, we're leaving,

01:20:35.600 --> 01:20:42.760
you know. And my experience there that day, I'm

01:20:42.760 --> 01:20:45.319
on the phone. I'm not there personally. I'm on

01:20:45.319 --> 01:20:50.539
the phone with Amir and the bomb goes off. And

01:20:50.539 --> 01:20:53.260
then the phone goes off and, you know, hits the

01:20:53.260 --> 01:20:56.699
ground, all the noise. And then a few minutes

01:20:56.699 --> 01:20:59.710
later, I get a call back and it's him. And he's

01:20:59.710 --> 01:21:01.329
telling me, you know, he's showing me his face

01:21:01.329 --> 01:21:04.189
is cut up. He got his face cut. He broke his

01:21:04.189 --> 01:21:08.010
nose. Anyway, he's saying, I'm going to Jalalabad.

01:21:08.470 --> 01:21:10.789
I said, good, get your ass to Jalalabad quick.

01:21:11.829 --> 01:21:13.750
And, you know, he told me the bomb went off,

01:21:13.789 --> 01:21:16.170
this and that. So he's on the way to Jalalabad.

01:21:16.890 --> 01:21:20.569
He meets a cousin of his on the way and says,

01:21:20.729 --> 01:21:24.550
hey, cuz, the Taliban's at your house and they

01:21:24.550 --> 01:21:27.750
beat your father and broke his femur bone in

01:21:27.750 --> 01:21:30.850
the street. And then terrorized the children

01:21:30.850 --> 01:21:34.489
and the wife. So he's on his way home. I says,

01:21:34.590 --> 01:21:37.390
hey, man, you can't go home. You know, so I hid

01:21:37.390 --> 01:21:41.130
him around the country for about 90 days in mosques

01:21:41.130 --> 01:21:44.430
and different places. People I know, good people.

01:21:45.329 --> 01:21:47.970
And, you know, he finally got to go back home.

01:21:48.050 --> 01:21:49.949
But, you know, from that point on, it's just

01:21:49.949 --> 01:21:53.310
scared to death. And I had him, you know, he's

01:21:53.310 --> 01:21:55.569
a good he's a smart man. You know, when I got

01:21:55.569 --> 01:21:57.689
him, he's a young man. He's 20 years old when

01:21:57.689 --> 01:22:03.109
I got him. He's 36 now. So I've had a long relationship

01:22:03.109 --> 01:22:05.710
with this guy. And, you know, part of the deal

01:22:05.710 --> 01:22:08.289
when I told him, I says, he wants to continue

01:22:08.289 --> 01:22:10.609
to work for the government, our government. He's

01:22:10.609 --> 01:22:14.069
already knocked out the requirement to get an

01:22:14.069 --> 01:22:16.970
SIV. I tried to get him to go back in the day,

01:22:17.029 --> 01:22:19.390
but his mom has tuberculosis. So he didn't want

01:22:19.390 --> 01:22:22.449
to leave. So anyway, finally get to the point

01:22:22.449 --> 01:22:24.529
to where, you know, it's getting the SIV time.

01:22:24.550 --> 01:22:29.699
And, you know, it's all part of. Trying to put

01:22:29.699 --> 01:22:34.739
together the things, you know, for him to get

01:22:34.739 --> 01:22:38.819
here. But that took so long in his life and family's

01:22:38.819 --> 01:22:43.380
jeopardy there in Jalalabad. You know, it's still

01:22:43.380 --> 01:22:45.359
going on today. You know, that's why I don't

01:22:45.359 --> 01:22:48.659
say his real name. I don't show his face. Unless

01:22:48.659 --> 01:22:52.359
it's a friend like you are. You know, I trust

01:22:52.359 --> 01:22:54.159
you. I know you're not going to blast things

01:22:54.159 --> 01:22:57.119
out there like that, James. But, you know, there's...

01:22:57.390 --> 01:22:59.149
Things you got to protect them still to this

01:22:59.149 --> 01:23:02.130
day, you know, his family over there. So you

01:23:02.130 --> 01:23:04.470
got to consider those things as well. You know,

01:23:04.470 --> 01:23:08.390
and I mean, it's sad the way it turned out, but

01:23:08.390 --> 01:23:11.529
we could have done a lot better, man, by planning

01:23:11.529 --> 01:23:14.390
better and the execution about leaving. And I

01:23:14.390 --> 01:23:17.409
know the majority of us feel bad about that.

01:23:17.489 --> 01:23:19.689
I mean, really, it's a moral injury the way we've

01:23:19.689 --> 01:23:22.869
done those people after 20 years, you know, and

01:23:22.869 --> 01:23:26.850
the friendships made and the lives lost. You

01:23:26.850 --> 01:23:31.369
know, it's a damn shame. I think we were talking

01:23:31.369 --> 01:23:33.529
at the beginning of the conversation about the

01:23:33.529 --> 01:23:35.750
compounding layers. You know, you have organizational

01:23:35.750 --> 01:23:38.369
betrayal. So whether you are under, at that point,

01:23:38.390 --> 01:23:40.770
the Biden administration and the withdrawal or

01:23:40.770 --> 01:23:43.529
whether it's currently and you served alongside

01:23:43.529 --> 01:23:46.149
all these allied soldiers and now your commander

01:23:46.149 --> 01:23:49.210
in chief is talking about them. They weren't

01:23:49.210 --> 01:23:50.550
near the front line. They didn't do anything.

01:23:50.909 --> 01:23:52.829
You know, you've got these people that you fought

01:23:52.829 --> 01:23:55.560
alongside and now. They're not getting visas

01:23:55.560 --> 01:23:58.560
anymore. I mean, that's another moral. It's multiple

01:23:58.560 --> 01:24:00.520
moral injuries that are compounding. And then

01:24:00.520 --> 01:24:02.300
we wonder why we have this veteran mental health

01:24:02.300 --> 01:24:05.720
crisis. Exactly. That's where I'm at. I'm telling

01:24:05.720 --> 01:24:09.520
you, it's hard for me to grasp every day. I mean,

01:24:09.560 --> 01:24:14.239
really, it's just it's been a nightmare for everyone

01:24:14.239 --> 01:24:18.640
that I'm involved with. You know, I'm talking

01:24:18.640 --> 01:24:23.880
Afghans, you know, to see our government. You

01:24:23.880 --> 01:24:25.920
know, to do the things they've done, I just it's

01:24:25.920 --> 01:24:28.939
killing me. I mean, really, I'm thankful, you

01:24:28.939 --> 01:24:32.739
know, they're here and that process worked. But

01:24:32.739 --> 01:24:36.739
to shut it off, you know, and and to not allow

01:24:36.739 --> 01:24:40.239
it to continue to to go forth and free people

01:24:40.239 --> 01:24:43.399
that need it to give them a future so their kids

01:24:43.399 --> 01:24:46.779
can have an education. And, you know, I mean,

01:24:46.819 --> 01:24:49.319
sixth grade is it for girls. Once you get to

01:24:49.319 --> 01:24:51.619
the sixth grade, no more education for you unless

01:24:51.619 --> 01:24:54.539
you do it on the down low. you know, with a,

01:24:54.539 --> 01:24:57.439
you know, a hidden opportunity, which are out

01:24:57.439 --> 01:25:00.579
there, thank God. But the majority of them don't

01:25:00.579 --> 01:25:02.920
have that opportunity, you know, to continue

01:25:02.920 --> 01:25:05.880
their education. That's just an example, you

01:25:05.880 --> 01:25:08.840
know, so they end up early child marriages, you

01:25:08.840 --> 01:25:10.479
know, that kind of thing, selling their kids

01:25:10.479 --> 01:25:12.699
because they can't afford to feed the other 10,

01:25:12.899 --> 01:25:16.840
you know, it's just, you know, and then people

01:25:16.840 --> 01:25:18.220
are going to say, well, why do they have so many

01:25:18.220 --> 01:25:21.770
children? You know, it's just, you know. That

01:25:21.770 --> 01:25:23.949
shouldn't matter. You know, I mean, they were

01:25:23.949 --> 01:25:26.050
taking care of them. They obviously look healthy.

01:25:26.109 --> 01:25:28.569
But at this point, they're not allowed to have

01:25:28.569 --> 01:25:32.350
the sustenance that's necessary, you know, to

01:25:32.350 --> 01:25:36.770
continue that support for families. And it's

01:25:36.770 --> 01:25:42.949
unbelievably sad over there. I mean, one of the

01:25:42.949 --> 01:25:46.109
worst or the worst border crossing in the world

01:25:46.109 --> 01:25:50.970
is Torkham Bridge up there on the Pakistan border.

01:25:51.420 --> 01:25:54.960
of afghanistan you know and that you're talking

01:25:54.960 --> 01:26:00.460
about a horror scene man it's it's incredibly

01:26:00.460 --> 01:26:06.939
just it's awful it's just trash and people and

01:26:06.939 --> 01:26:10.640
suffering especially now in the wintertime and

01:26:10.640 --> 01:26:12.079
that's just people trying to get into another

01:26:12.079 --> 01:26:14.859
country and away from afghanistan or they're

01:26:14.859 --> 01:26:18.079
they're being uh deported from pakistan the majority

01:26:18.079 --> 01:26:22.680
of them You know, and then, you know, the ones

01:26:22.680 --> 01:26:28.199
that are just homeless or whatever, for whatever

01:26:28.199 --> 01:26:30.800
reason. But the majority of those people, they

01:26:30.800 --> 01:26:33.920
come back. Now, here's the situation. If you're

01:26:33.920 --> 01:26:36.800
a female and you have a male escort, you're good

01:26:36.800 --> 01:26:40.000
to go. But if you don't and you come back to

01:26:40.000 --> 01:26:42.920
Afghanistan from Pakistan, they're like the Taliban's

01:26:42.920 --> 01:26:44.640
like, you've been gone four years. Where's your

01:26:44.640 --> 01:26:46.800
man? What have you been doing for four years?

01:26:47.020 --> 01:26:50.779
You know, all this kind of this. type of questioning

01:26:50.779 --> 01:26:53.079
and, you know, that kind of thing. And then ultimately,

01:26:53.260 --> 01:26:55.619
you know, bad things are going to happen to you

01:26:55.619 --> 01:26:58.180
if you're a female and you don't have a family.

01:26:58.199 --> 01:27:02.979
And, you know, I'm telling you, man, I'm going

01:27:02.979 --> 01:27:06.439
through an experience right now that is very

01:27:06.439 --> 01:27:12.159
tragic involving their young adults now, but

01:27:12.159 --> 01:27:18.180
they were children when I first got them. It's

01:27:18.180 --> 01:27:23.420
still ongoing. They're suffering and it's just

01:27:23.420 --> 01:27:25.500
ridiculous. And, you know, the programs, again,

01:27:25.699 --> 01:27:28.380
you know, aren't there anymore to support us.

01:27:29.380 --> 01:27:32.579
You know, and it's sad to see. And it's just

01:27:32.579 --> 01:27:36.760
because of, really, I think it has to do with

01:27:36.760 --> 01:27:41.840
a lot of prejudicial attitudes within the administration

01:27:41.840 --> 01:27:46.520
and, you know, the falsehoods. that were spoken

01:27:46.520 --> 01:27:49.699
and believed by people with authority about how

01:27:49.699 --> 01:27:54.420
negative or unsat the vetting processes are and

01:27:54.420 --> 01:27:58.300
things of this nature, you know, that's impeding,

01:27:58.340 --> 01:28:01.960
you know, the credibility of our Afghan allies

01:28:01.960 --> 01:28:05.159
and others. You know, Iraq, we're still fooling

01:28:05.159 --> 01:28:08.909
around with Iraqis from way back when. You know,

01:28:08.930 --> 01:28:11.670
and we didn't do that right either. There's been

01:28:11.670 --> 01:28:14.250
enough getting out, but still there's plenty

01:28:14.250 --> 01:28:17.409
there that have earned the right or at least

01:28:17.409 --> 01:28:22.090
qualifies to come to America or a third, another

01:28:22.090 --> 01:28:26.270
country. You know, getting the asylum and that

01:28:26.270 --> 01:28:29.750
type of thing nowadays is difficult to do. You

01:28:29.750 --> 01:28:32.689
know, you've got to have a pretty tight case,

01:28:32.770 --> 01:28:36.829
you know, life and death type stuff. And I do.

01:28:37.359 --> 01:28:42.640
And I've got a case like that right now. So what

01:28:42.640 --> 01:28:45.060
needs to change? I mean, you know, I would argue

01:28:45.060 --> 01:28:48.159
control or delete on the way that we choose leaders

01:28:48.159 --> 01:28:50.420
would be a good start. But that's my personal

01:28:50.420 --> 01:28:53.119
opinion. You know, if you can buy yourself a

01:28:53.119 --> 01:28:54.939
president, if you're a drug company or a weapons

01:28:54.939 --> 01:28:57.340
manufacturer, that's probably not what our forefathers

01:28:57.340 --> 01:29:00.420
were thinking of initially. But aside from that,

01:29:00.600 --> 01:29:04.539
like to make sure that we do honor. These people

01:29:04.539 --> 01:29:07.020
who literally risked their lives and, you know,

01:29:07.020 --> 01:29:09.420
in the lone survivor for us for, you know, story,

01:29:09.699 --> 01:29:14.800
for example, protected an American naval man,

01:29:14.899 --> 01:29:18.340
you know, at the risk and even the death of some

01:29:18.340 --> 01:29:20.840
of their people. I mean, this kind of human that

01:29:20.840 --> 01:29:24.140
we then bring them to safety, we either put them

01:29:24.140 --> 01:29:26.220
in safety in their own country, like you said,

01:29:26.260 --> 01:29:28.739
if that's possible, or, you know, bring them

01:29:28.739 --> 01:29:31.619
to a different country. What do we need to change

01:29:31.619 --> 01:29:34.180
to make sure that those people through that vetting

01:29:34.180 --> 01:29:38.560
system do have a pipeline to safety after risking

01:29:38.560 --> 01:29:42.359
their lives for us? Well, you know, first off,

01:29:42.439 --> 01:29:45.539
you know, we've got to get Congress and the Senate

01:29:45.539 --> 01:29:48.439
to reopen those programs. I mean, there's one,

01:29:48.479 --> 01:29:51.060
you know, it's a great organization out there

01:29:51.060 --> 01:29:53.279
called Afghan Evac. I know you've heard of it.

01:29:53.579 --> 01:29:56.899
You know, they do a lot of good work, but it's

01:29:56.899 --> 01:30:00.949
folks like that. that are out there, you know,

01:30:00.949 --> 01:30:04.369
interacting with Congress and the senators and

01:30:04.369 --> 01:30:06.229
the people on the ground that make these laws

01:30:06.229 --> 01:30:09.369
and can make a difference and changes. But they're

01:30:09.369 --> 01:30:13.109
there already. The laws are there. The people

01:30:13.109 --> 01:30:17.789
are there to do the work. It's just, you know,

01:30:17.829 --> 01:30:20.909
they've let people go. They shut the programs

01:30:20.909 --> 01:30:23.909
down. And I can talk about it because I, you

01:30:23.909 --> 01:30:27.810
know, there's one specific program that my...

01:30:28.119 --> 01:30:31.819
current case was in that got smashed. And they

01:30:31.819 --> 01:30:36.899
were getting ready to be referred to get vetted

01:30:36.899 --> 01:30:40.880
out with the IRAP. And then they would have came

01:30:40.880 --> 01:30:45.859
here to Kentucky. But it didn't happen because

01:30:45.859 --> 01:30:48.279
they crushed the program. The first executive

01:30:48.279 --> 01:30:51.960
order slammed that. And then it didn't leave

01:30:51.960 --> 01:30:54.600
a lot of opportunities. If you didn't have an

01:30:54.600 --> 01:30:57.750
SIV case. And this is the case I'm speaking of.

01:30:57.789 --> 01:31:01.789
These individuals, these young adults now were

01:31:01.789 --> 01:31:04.649
children when I got them in 2021. Now they're

01:31:04.649 --> 01:31:06.770
young adults. They're just barely teenagers right

01:31:06.770 --> 01:31:09.949
now. No supervision, no parents, only Dewey.

01:31:10.689 --> 01:31:16.369
So that process, I had to move to another avenue,

01:31:16.430 --> 01:31:21.569
which was humanitarian parole. So once I opened

01:31:21.569 --> 01:31:25.069
that up, spend. Thousands of dollars with an

01:31:25.069 --> 01:31:30.229
attorney, a quality attorney at that. Three hundred

01:31:30.229 --> 01:31:36.289
documents, nine PDFs submitted. We got a case

01:31:36.289 --> 01:31:39.649
number within 24 hours from the state for the,

01:31:39.869 --> 01:31:43.710
you know, the folks we sent. You know, anyway,

01:31:43.829 --> 01:31:46.270
we got a case number and we're looking good.

01:31:46.510 --> 01:31:49.149
So it's like three weeks into that. And then,

01:31:49.170 --> 01:31:52.170
boom, the second executive order stopped that.

01:31:52.779 --> 01:31:56.960
And that's the only hope they've had. These three

01:31:56.960 --> 01:32:02.920
individuals, these siblings have had to get their

01:32:02.920 --> 01:32:05.039
freedom, you know, to come to the States. Now,

01:32:05.039 --> 01:32:06.800
all that's blocked. There's nobody coming to

01:32:06.800 --> 01:32:08.979
America like we spoke of earlier, unless you're

01:32:08.979 --> 01:32:12.000
white South African or you got a pocket full

01:32:12.000 --> 01:32:15.300
of money. And, you know, which you can open up

01:32:15.300 --> 01:32:18.119
a billion dollar business in America and make

01:32:18.119 --> 01:32:24.739
Trump happy. So with that said, there hasn't

01:32:24.739 --> 01:32:29.079
been a lot of other avenues to help allies. Now,

01:32:29.100 --> 01:32:32.000
these are ally children. Mother and father are

01:32:32.000 --> 01:32:37.199
dead. And, you know, the only way they had to

01:32:37.199 --> 01:32:41.340
get here was S .I .V. So dad's dead. So I got

01:32:41.340 --> 01:32:44.279
all his L .O .R .s that prove that he worked

01:32:44.279 --> 01:32:46.239
for 10 years for the United States government.

01:32:46.619 --> 01:32:50.279
He's dead. Mom's dead. There's no living relatives.

01:32:51.239 --> 01:32:55.579
That would have anything, you know, to do with

01:32:55.579 --> 01:33:01.260
these children. And anyway, so that it's been

01:33:01.260 --> 01:33:04.640
difficult. So the only other way that I could

01:33:04.640 --> 01:33:07.560
possibly try to get them on this side of the

01:33:07.560 --> 01:33:13.800
earth was through the Canadian process. And fortunately,

01:33:14.319 --> 01:33:19.439
I've been blessed with. Some strong contacts

01:33:19.439 --> 01:33:23.460
that have worked in Afghanistan as an NGO for

01:33:23.460 --> 01:33:28.739
over 20 years. Awesome people. Anyway, I've connected

01:33:28.739 --> 01:33:32.260
through them, through an Afghan gentleman that

01:33:32.260 --> 01:33:36.939
has a really good immigration attorney in Canada.

01:33:37.760 --> 01:33:43.619
So this weekend, at some point, I'm going to

01:33:43.619 --> 01:33:48.149
have a Zoom call with this lawyer. myself and

01:33:48.149 --> 01:33:52.470
these other two friends of mine about getting

01:33:52.470 --> 01:33:57.390
these siblings into Canada from Pakistan. But

01:33:57.390 --> 01:34:00.909
that's really been a, oh, what a nightmare that's

01:34:00.909 --> 01:34:04.909
been for them, man. So tragic. Unbelievable.

01:34:07.529 --> 01:34:12.409
Sad. What they suffered for no real reason of

01:34:12.409 --> 01:34:15.890
their own, you know, it's just because they were.

01:34:16.430 --> 01:34:20.550
Family members. I can tell you, it's been awful.

01:34:21.130 --> 01:34:25.189
It's been awful. I left behind. I had them hooked

01:34:25.189 --> 01:34:28.149
up with a quality individual over there, and

01:34:28.149 --> 01:34:30.390
they got left behind. I had to move them around

01:34:30.390 --> 01:34:34.689
the country four months. From Mazar Sharif to

01:34:34.689 --> 01:34:38.510
Kandahar, back to Kabul, to safe houses. And

01:34:38.510 --> 01:34:42.270
I say safe house. Tragic, tragic, tragic place.

01:34:42.970 --> 01:34:47.060
Packed with Afghan families. A couple of dead

01:34:47.060 --> 01:34:50.180
children. It's just, you know, things like that.

01:34:50.239 --> 01:34:56.340
It's wintertime, you know, and we get left behind.

01:34:56.399 --> 01:35:02.020
And unfortunately, another Afghan turned them

01:35:02.020 --> 01:35:05.960
into the Taliban, and they were captive for 62

01:35:05.960 --> 01:35:16.720
days. Oh, my God. It took a lot of effort. And

01:35:16.720 --> 01:35:20.039
I'm going to say there's one individual on this

01:35:20.039 --> 01:35:24.279
earth that made it happen. And I'd like to use

01:35:24.279 --> 01:35:26.279
his name, but I don't want him to get mad at

01:35:26.279 --> 01:35:30.060
me. But he's a retired lieutenant colonel, special

01:35:30.060 --> 01:35:34.560
forces. And he personally negotiated their release

01:35:34.560 --> 01:35:38.779
from the Taliban. And that day we got him into

01:35:38.779 --> 01:35:43.550
Pakistan with medical visas. And that's where

01:35:43.550 --> 01:35:47.689
they've been ever since. But that whole ordeal

01:35:47.689 --> 01:35:52.770
was unbelievably stressing. And I stayed up for

01:35:52.770 --> 01:35:57.489
like over two days moving them around and, you

01:35:57.489 --> 01:36:01.989
know, the phone conversations and the NGOs, those

01:36:01.989 --> 01:36:03.810
lying bastards. You know, I had so many people,

01:36:03.869 --> 01:36:05.750
oh, get a manifest. We'll go to Canada. You get

01:36:05.750 --> 01:36:08.909
down there, there's no planes. You know, I mean,

01:36:08.949 --> 01:36:12.210
like the dude you're dealing with is gone, you

01:36:12.210 --> 01:36:17.159
know. Anyway, it was a nightmare. There's all

01:36:17.159 --> 01:36:19.939
types of that stuff going on. I mean, bribes.

01:36:20.680 --> 01:36:25.539
Oh, I've got a bone to pick with a former. This

01:36:25.539 --> 01:36:28.960
guy's still living. He's in Florida, too. But

01:36:28.960 --> 01:36:34.100
he was responsible pretty much for the kids getting

01:36:34.100 --> 01:36:37.819
turned into the Taliban. But anyway, that's a

01:36:37.819 --> 01:36:46.460
whole other subject. Anyway. The processes are

01:36:46.460 --> 01:36:48.739
there. They just need to reenact them. And it's

01:36:48.739 --> 01:36:50.300
not going to take a lot of effort. All they got

01:36:50.300 --> 01:36:54.039
to do is say, vote on it and reopen them. Because

01:36:54.039 --> 01:36:56.560
there's enough out there. And I mean, the SIVs

01:36:56.560 --> 01:36:58.720
are going to happen. But if you've got a circumstance

01:36:58.720 --> 01:37:01.899
or a situation like mine, it's complicated. Because

01:37:01.899 --> 01:37:05.539
you've got three siblings, two girls and a brother.

01:37:06.180 --> 01:37:09.220
They don't have any family. I started this out

01:37:09.220 --> 01:37:11.739
in 2021. Everybody and their brother are on earth.

01:37:12.380 --> 01:37:15.020
that had the power and authority to hook me up

01:37:15.020 --> 01:37:18.279
to try to help, but they didn't trust me. They

01:37:18.279 --> 01:37:20.779
thought I was human trafficking. So I had to

01:37:20.779 --> 01:37:24.340
go down that route and disprove all that. And

01:37:24.340 --> 01:37:27.119
that was a process. I had to get a third party

01:37:27.119 --> 01:37:31.260
to look into this and verify who I was and what

01:37:31.260 --> 01:37:34.199
I was dealing with and so on and so forth. So

01:37:34.199 --> 01:37:38.199
it got to be a real nightmare about every time

01:37:38.199 --> 01:37:41.050
I would... Talk about it or try to do something

01:37:41.050 --> 01:37:44.130
for these siblings, these children. And they're

01:37:44.130 --> 01:37:48.670
near and dear to my heart, honestly. They're

01:37:48.670 --> 01:37:52.050
so precious to me. The fact that they're living

01:37:52.050 --> 01:37:53.970
in the conditions they are is the best I can

01:37:53.970 --> 01:37:57.569
do right now. But they're safe. They're fed.

01:37:58.270 --> 01:38:04.029
And they have a warm place to stay. And, you

01:38:04.029 --> 01:38:07.609
know, that's the best I can do. I'm only one

01:38:07.609 --> 01:38:11.640
Joe, man. Anyway, it's hopefully going to work

01:38:11.640 --> 01:38:16.159
out. But the circumstance around it is the tragedy

01:38:16.159 --> 01:38:20.159
and the things that they endured. They're trying

01:38:20.159 --> 01:38:22.899
to leave the country and being qualified for

01:38:22.899 --> 01:38:27.479
an SIV. Now, without the father and without that,

01:38:27.619 --> 01:38:30.060
they don't have any hope. Even if there was,

01:38:30.920 --> 01:38:33.000
you'd have to start all over again. It'd be like

01:38:33.000 --> 01:38:39.750
three years or whatever. I'd like to... I'd like

01:38:39.750 --> 01:38:45.029
to get some more attention to them, to get some

01:38:45.029 --> 01:38:48.449
assistance. I'm pretty confident that my connections

01:38:48.449 --> 01:38:51.689
are going to at least come up with an opportunity

01:38:51.689 --> 01:38:56.529
that we can get them into Canada. Because I know

01:38:56.529 --> 01:38:59.729
Canada is still accepting Afghans and asylees

01:38:59.729 --> 01:39:03.250
and refugees. And they're definitely a refugee

01:39:03.250 --> 01:39:06.529
and they're in danger. You know, I tell you,

01:39:06.529 --> 01:39:09.329
when he first got there and gone through the

01:39:09.329 --> 01:39:11.590
medical visa process, you know, they were in

01:39:11.590 --> 01:39:14.670
a safe house. They couldn't stay there any longer

01:39:14.670 --> 01:39:16.909
because they were moving the safe house down

01:39:16.909 --> 01:39:22.630
to another southern area from Islamabad. So I

01:39:22.630 --> 01:39:27.329
got my kids together and rented a good place

01:39:27.329 --> 01:39:32.800
with a gentleman that I know from. service before

01:39:32.800 --> 01:39:35.220
but he has a home there and he's been really

01:39:35.220 --> 01:39:38.739
good he's got uh four daughters uh you know a

01:39:38.739 --> 01:39:43.159
wife and one young baby son but uh he helps protect

01:39:43.159 --> 01:39:46.279
the kids and watches out for them and you know

01:39:46.279 --> 01:39:48.979
and then uh you know i got the rent money coming

01:39:48.979 --> 01:39:52.800
to him every every month but uh he's really been

01:39:52.800 --> 01:39:55.880
an asset there i'm blessed but uh you know for

01:39:55.880 --> 01:39:58.619
the the life that they're living there they haven't

01:39:58.619 --> 01:40:01.180
had really any education speak of i had them

01:40:01.180 --> 01:40:05.119
going to school and uh but with all the activity

01:40:05.119 --> 01:40:08.380
about there's no more visa renewals so they're

01:40:08.380 --> 01:40:13.000
in country illegally two years ago on my birthday

01:40:13.000 --> 01:40:15.680
they got put they were arrested and put on the

01:40:15.680 --> 01:40:19.560
deportation list so through a dea friend of mine

01:40:19.560 --> 01:40:22.079
stateside i got in contact with some guys over

01:40:22.079 --> 01:40:25.029
there and they went And we got them out of there,

01:40:25.050 --> 01:40:27.430
got them released, and they're back in my care

01:40:27.430 --> 01:40:34.649
and where I have them now. And it's, you know,

01:40:34.649 --> 01:40:38.289
the time, you know, it's just running out. You

01:40:38.289 --> 01:40:41.869
know, I mean, they're young adults now. And,

01:40:42.029 --> 01:40:46.090
you know, to be young females in Pakistan or

01:40:46.090 --> 01:40:50.100
Afghanistan, it's not a good thing. There are

01:40:50.100 --> 01:40:51.859
wolves over there, if you know what I'm talking

01:40:51.859 --> 01:40:54.760
about. They prey upon young women and children,

01:40:54.979 --> 01:40:58.899
you know, nasty people. And, you know, that's

01:40:58.899 --> 01:41:01.899
another thing. And I went from medical visas

01:41:01.899 --> 01:41:05.880
to tourist visas, which was expensive, but it

01:41:05.880 --> 01:41:08.840
was every six months. But the kicker to that

01:41:08.840 --> 01:41:11.720
is every three months, you got to move them back

01:41:11.720 --> 01:41:14.399
to the worst border crossing in the world to

01:41:14.399 --> 01:41:18.130
get exit and entry stamps again. So I did that

01:41:18.130 --> 01:41:21.029
twice, and I said, to hell with that. You know,

01:41:21.050 --> 01:41:24.449
because it's risky. It's risky as hell. And,

01:41:24.550 --> 01:41:26.029
you know, because you go up there every time.

01:41:26.090 --> 01:41:30.029
The girls got to take their hijab down. They

01:41:30.029 --> 01:41:31.989
got to put their hair between their ears. They

01:41:31.989 --> 01:41:35.270
got to get photoed, DNA checked. And that's every

01:41:35.270 --> 01:41:39.210
time, you know. And, I mean, after a while. Now,

01:41:39.229 --> 01:41:41.170
right now, they're illegal in the country, man.

01:41:41.329 --> 01:41:44.890
I'm worried like sick to my stomach. You know,

01:41:44.909 --> 01:41:49.159
it's just a matter of time. If somebody gets

01:41:49.159 --> 01:41:51.619
them or finds out, they're gone. I'll never know

01:41:51.619 --> 01:41:54.899
what happened to them. I take my old ass over

01:41:54.899 --> 01:41:57.520
there and start groundhogging, trying to find

01:41:57.520 --> 01:42:02.699
out, but that's a possibility. Well, this goes

01:42:02.699 --> 01:42:05.279
back to what we were talking about earlier. If

01:42:05.279 --> 01:42:09.439
we can really invest in our own country, and

01:42:09.439 --> 01:42:13.789
let's be honest, the wisdom of most of the holy

01:42:13.789 --> 01:42:15.909
books, which is kindness, compassion, community

01:42:15.909 --> 01:42:20.010
service, and also look at the impact that we've

01:42:20.010 --> 01:42:22.510
had on other areas of the world and try and make

01:42:22.510 --> 01:42:24.989
a positive impact. So a perfect example is drug

01:42:24.989 --> 01:42:28.250
prohibition in the States, making it illegal

01:42:28.250 --> 01:42:30.409
to be an addict. And I'm not talking about selling,

01:42:30.529 --> 01:42:31.890
I'm not talking about smuggling, and I'm not

01:42:31.890 --> 01:42:34.170
talking about crimes done by addicts that are

01:42:34.170 --> 01:42:37.770
crimes, burglary and all the other things. But

01:42:37.770 --> 01:42:39.890
if you put that into the hands of the medical

01:42:39.890 --> 01:42:42.899
community, Imagine the impact that would have

01:42:42.899 --> 01:42:46.840
on the illicit drug trade, on the smuggling.

01:42:47.020 --> 01:42:50.500
If there's no consumer in the US anymore, because

01:42:50.500 --> 01:42:52.380
either you've got yourself cleaned through all

01:42:52.380 --> 01:42:54.079
the resources that have been put in, like the

01:42:54.079 --> 01:42:57.000
Portuguese model, or if you are an addict, you're

01:42:57.000 --> 01:43:00.500
in safe injection sites and you're under medical

01:43:00.500 --> 01:43:02.340
supervision, so you're not dying in the streets

01:43:02.340 --> 01:43:04.880
of San Francisco. Now, all of a sudden, there's

01:43:04.880 --> 01:43:07.819
no need for the illicit drug trade anymore. So

01:43:07.819 --> 01:43:09.819
you've cut the head off the snake. And that,

01:43:09.939 --> 01:43:12.180
I think, is how you then help other countries.

01:43:12.359 --> 01:43:14.020
And one of the things that I always use as an

01:43:14.020 --> 01:43:17.199
example is Haiti is on my doorstep. And that

01:43:17.199 --> 01:43:20.880
place is an absolute disaster. Imagine the good

01:43:20.880 --> 01:43:23.220
that we could do if we helped whatever that looks

01:43:23.220 --> 01:43:25.159
like, you know, a Haitian that was then educated

01:43:25.159 --> 01:43:27.640
in the US and became a real leader and then went

01:43:27.640 --> 01:43:30.479
back to their home country and stabilize them.

01:43:30.539 --> 01:43:33.199
I mean, the tourism potential of Haiti through

01:43:33.199 --> 01:43:36.159
the cruise ships and, you know, and just vacations,

01:43:36.159 --> 01:43:38.840
that alone could sustain the island because the

01:43:38.840 --> 01:43:40.840
other half is the Dominican Republic and it does.

01:43:41.000 --> 01:43:43.720
So, you know, this is what maddens me is if we

01:43:43.720 --> 01:43:47.369
can stop. destroying ourselves and put everything

01:43:47.369 --> 01:43:50.649
back where we're doing well, then we can be not

01:43:50.649 --> 01:43:53.050
Team America World Police, but Team America World,

01:43:53.170 --> 01:43:55.529
you know, EMS, however you want to, you know,

01:43:55.529 --> 01:43:58.390
describe it. So now that you're not only creating

01:43:58.390 --> 01:44:01.609
destruction and conflicts in other countries,

01:44:01.850 --> 01:44:05.289
but now, you know, you accept the immigrants

01:44:05.289 --> 01:44:07.930
that, you know, really, really need to get away,

01:44:08.029 --> 01:44:10.329
but ultimately you stabilize their country because

01:44:10.329 --> 01:44:13.000
as Rasool made a comment. The problem is when

01:44:13.000 --> 01:44:14.600
we have all these people fleeing Afghanistan,

01:44:15.000 --> 01:44:16.979
sometimes that's their greatest minds that are

01:44:16.979 --> 01:44:20.359
fleeing, the doctors and the leaders. So you

01:44:20.359 --> 01:44:22.520
don't want everyone to be fleeing to your country

01:44:22.520 --> 01:44:24.579
anyway. You want to help them get back on their

01:44:24.579 --> 01:44:27.880
feet in their own country ultimately. Yeah, exactly.

01:44:28.779 --> 01:44:31.819
Yeah, that's true. Well, you know, I didn't get

01:44:31.819 --> 01:44:34.960
to finish up about Amir. No, please carry on.

01:44:35.239 --> 01:44:37.939
No, I was just going to say about, you know,

01:44:37.939 --> 01:44:41.100
a few sentences ago I was talking about, you

01:44:41.100 --> 01:44:44.079
know, you know, what he had gone through and

01:44:44.079 --> 01:44:45.859
everything. But I helped him get through dental

01:44:45.859 --> 01:44:48.779
school. And he graduated with five years of dental

01:44:48.779 --> 01:44:52.520
school prior to coming over here. But he's working

01:44:52.520 --> 01:44:54.960
two jobs. He's not a dentist. Of course, he's

01:44:54.960 --> 01:44:57.579
got to go through that process again. But, you

01:44:57.579 --> 01:44:59.579
know, he's an educated man. And there's lots

01:44:59.579 --> 01:45:03.060
of people like that still over there. But you

01:45:03.060 --> 01:45:06.479
don't hear about them. They're incognito or hiding.

01:45:07.150 --> 01:45:10.130
Now, I do have a friend there that was he's actually

01:45:10.130 --> 01:45:12.270
a friend of Amir's. They went to school together.

01:45:12.489 --> 01:45:15.250
He runs a little shop over there, a little pulling

01:45:15.250 --> 01:45:18.710
Taliban teeth and whatever. But, you know, they

01:45:18.710 --> 01:45:21.449
stay in touch. So I keep up with, you know, what's

01:45:21.449 --> 01:45:25.090
going on, at least in Jalalabad, you know, and

01:45:25.090 --> 01:45:31.210
I get the truth, you know, so they know me. It's

01:45:31.210 --> 01:45:34.800
sad that, you know, they got it. slip around

01:45:34.800 --> 01:45:36.899
like that. And the education's only, you know,

01:45:36.920 --> 01:45:38.439
and there's still good people over there, but

01:45:38.439 --> 01:45:40.460
the majority, yes, they have left, you know,

01:45:40.479 --> 01:45:43.460
the, the ones that could make a difference in

01:45:43.460 --> 01:45:48.260
country, but, you know, dealing with an ignorant

01:45:48.260 --> 01:45:51.460
person, you know, running a country that really,

01:45:51.479 --> 01:45:55.220
they don't have really any education to speak

01:45:55.220 --> 01:45:58.340
of, you know, the ones that do don't use it.

01:45:58.380 --> 01:46:02.119
They use it for hate and, you know, the ideology,

01:46:02.380 --> 01:46:07.140
but. You're right. A lot of them have left the

01:46:07.140 --> 01:46:10.199
country and for good reasons. Who wouldn't want

01:46:10.199 --> 01:46:13.800
to stay in that environment, especially if you

01:46:13.800 --> 01:46:18.520
have daughters in the household? Absolutely.

01:46:20.420 --> 01:46:24.699
That's it. Well, I'm sure there's people out

01:46:24.699 --> 01:46:26.560
there that would love to learn more about you

01:46:26.560 --> 01:46:28.579
or connect. Where are the best places online

01:46:28.579 --> 01:46:31.159
to do that or even see if they can help in some

01:46:31.159 --> 01:46:38.250
way? Oh. Well, you know, I'll put my email out

01:46:38.250 --> 01:46:42.869
there and I'll give you my phone number. So you

01:46:42.869 --> 01:46:52.449
can reach me at lowercase dcyopjr at msn .com.

01:46:54.250 --> 01:47:05.359
I have a 24 -7 phone line. It's 270. 319 -2045.

01:47:07.500 --> 01:47:15.739
And I'm on WhatsApp and Signal. And both those

01:47:15.739 --> 01:47:17.699
numbers are good for that. So if you're on there

01:47:17.699 --> 01:47:19.319
and you want to reach out or send me a message

01:47:19.319 --> 01:47:22.420
or something, if you can help me out in any way

01:47:22.420 --> 01:47:26.479
possible, contacts, funds, whatever. You know,

01:47:26.539 --> 01:47:30.000
it's greatly appreciated. And then, you know,

01:47:30.020 --> 01:47:32.359
we can build a relationship from that point on.

01:47:32.680 --> 01:47:35.699
And once you get in my circle, which is not very

01:47:35.699 --> 01:47:39.520
big, it's a good thing to be there. It's a good

01:47:39.520 --> 01:47:43.800
thing to be there because I know enough people

01:47:43.800 --> 01:47:46.819
that, you know, I've got a couple of three star

01:47:46.819 --> 01:47:51.399
generals and others that are still involved out

01:47:51.399 --> 01:47:53.979
there that, you know, if I can help someone else,

01:47:54.000 --> 01:47:58.590
I'm all about it. I'm all about it. But if you're

01:47:58.590 --> 01:48:01.829
listening, not only with your ears today, but

01:48:01.829 --> 01:48:05.250
with your heart, those children, those young

01:48:05.250 --> 01:48:09.029
adults I'm speaking of really could use the humanity

01:48:09.029 --> 01:48:14.590
and the mercy that they deserve, really. It's

01:48:14.590 --> 01:48:18.130
sad that they, I wish I could do more for them.

01:48:18.149 --> 01:48:22.689
I'm limited at what I do every month. You know,

01:48:22.689 --> 01:48:25.939
it's 500 bucks every month. out of my retirement.

01:48:26.159 --> 01:48:29.140
So, you know, and I, you know, I got my own thing

01:48:29.140 --> 01:48:31.640
going on here, but I thank God I'm able to sustain

01:48:31.640 --> 01:48:36.899
that, but it's getting to be difficult, big difficulty.

01:48:38.399 --> 01:48:43.460
But, uh, you know, I mean, I mean, just like

01:48:43.460 --> 01:48:46.439
a lot of people you hear about say, uh, you know,

01:48:46.439 --> 01:48:49.000
Hey, what you've done to, uh, sustain that, you

01:48:49.000 --> 01:48:54.729
know, I sold a Cadillac six rifles. Three pistols.

01:48:57.069 --> 01:48:59.350
You know, those kinds of things we do, you know,

01:48:59.350 --> 01:49:01.029
because it's important. One of those things,

01:49:01.069 --> 01:49:03.109
the material things, you know, sitting on the

01:49:03.109 --> 01:49:05.649
wall or in a gun case. And you look at that and

01:49:05.649 --> 01:49:08.489
you say, I could feed, I could feed Amir's family

01:49:08.489 --> 01:49:11.210
for a whole month with that one gun. You know

01:49:11.210 --> 01:49:13.250
what I mean? And those things like that, you

01:49:13.250 --> 01:49:15.810
have to let go. And it's for a worthy cause.

01:49:15.890 --> 01:49:21.109
I don't regret it at all. But, you know, there'll

01:49:21.109 --> 01:49:24.340
be a time where, you know, when, People with,

01:49:24.340 --> 01:49:28.720
you know, their post -traumatic stress disorders

01:49:28.720 --> 01:49:32.340
and the things that have affected them through

01:49:32.340 --> 01:49:34.800
their service time, whether it be in the military

01:49:34.800 --> 01:49:38.800
or EMTs or firefighters, they all experience

01:49:38.800 --> 01:49:44.880
a level of trauma and the humanitarian part of

01:49:44.880 --> 01:49:46.800
it, you know, dealing with human beings and having

01:49:46.800 --> 01:49:50.300
that feeling. for them in that moment, you know,

01:49:50.300 --> 01:49:53.520
because a lot of times we, we don't really think

01:49:53.520 --> 01:49:57.180
until afterwards, like putting yourself in their

01:49:57.180 --> 01:50:00.520
position, you know, or the comfort level they

01:50:00.520 --> 01:50:03.619
have, what would you like to be done? Those types

01:50:03.619 --> 01:50:06.420
of things, the consideration there, you know,

01:50:06.420 --> 01:50:09.840
and it's just, there's so many organizations

01:50:09.840 --> 01:50:12.579
out there with people, hundreds of people and

01:50:12.579 --> 01:50:15.640
lots of money. But when you're a Lone Ranger,

01:50:16.170 --> 01:50:18.930
And you're dealing with human life and it's getting

01:50:18.930 --> 01:50:22.250
to be very difficult to sustain them. You know,

01:50:22.289 --> 01:50:24.130
you got to reach out sometime because you're

01:50:24.130 --> 01:50:27.430
dumb if you don't. You know, I mean, I'm a strong

01:50:27.430 --> 01:50:30.470
man. I just, you know, I don't think it's weak

01:50:30.470 --> 01:50:32.329
if you got to say, hey, I need help, whether

01:50:32.329 --> 01:50:36.770
it's through mill help or help with the sustainment

01:50:36.770 --> 01:50:41.090
of, you know, Afghan families or anyone else

01:50:41.090 --> 01:50:44.460
in the world for that matters. And just having

01:50:44.460 --> 01:50:48.640
that heart and the humanity for it because, you

01:50:48.640 --> 01:50:52.720
know, I've seen a lot of tragedy in my life and

01:50:52.720 --> 01:50:55.420
a lot of things. You know, you don't see children

01:50:55.420 --> 01:50:59.520
go home and you hold hands and watch people pass

01:50:59.520 --> 01:51:02.659
on and give up their life. You know, the things

01:51:02.659 --> 01:51:04.779
you see, the aftermath of all that, you know,

01:51:04.779 --> 01:51:07.520
it just stays with you. You can't forget it,

01:51:07.560 --> 01:51:12.220
you know. It's just, you know, it's motivated

01:51:12.220 --> 01:51:14.739
me to do right, you know, to make a difference

01:51:14.739 --> 01:51:18.960
in the world and to honor the promise. You know,

01:51:18.979 --> 01:51:21.319
just because a promise is hard to keep doesn't

01:51:21.319 --> 01:51:24.460
mean you can't keep the promise. You know, you

01:51:24.460 --> 01:51:26.460
just have to keep going. You just never give

01:51:26.460 --> 01:51:28.680
up. You keep going no matter what. And eventually,

01:51:28.819 --> 01:51:31.880
honestly, through my experience, you will have

01:51:31.880 --> 01:51:37.640
success. And I mean, you know, I'm thankful for.

01:51:39.010 --> 01:51:42.350
The small group of folks I do have is, you know,

01:51:42.350 --> 01:51:46.109
that support my mental health, my family here

01:51:46.109 --> 01:51:49.909
that that supports me. You know, they see what,

01:51:49.970 --> 01:51:52.590
you know, war has done to their father and their

01:51:52.590 --> 01:51:55.149
husband. And they've been real understanding

01:51:55.149 --> 01:51:57.510
with me, you know, through my treatment process

01:51:57.510 --> 01:51:59.090
and everything. I tell you, James, I don't take

01:51:59.090 --> 01:52:01.869
anything anymore. But I tell you what, you know,

01:52:01.890 --> 01:52:05.779
when you start out. Taking 600 megagrams of Seroquel,

01:52:05.920 --> 01:52:08.880
come on. You can't sleep for three or four days,

01:52:08.979 --> 01:52:10.819
you know, and that's the kind of thing a lot

01:52:10.819 --> 01:52:13.680
of people go through, through their trauma. And

01:52:13.680 --> 01:52:17.520
sleep is a must. You've got to have it to maintain

01:52:17.520 --> 01:52:20.720
your mental health, you know, and to feel good

01:52:20.720 --> 01:52:23.779
about, you know, carrying on and so forth and

01:52:23.779 --> 01:52:26.600
having the will to do it. And not give in to

01:52:26.600 --> 01:52:29.140
the pity party and to be like the other guy.

01:52:29.420 --> 01:52:32.060
And, you know, sadly, those folks don't have

01:52:32.060 --> 01:52:35.220
the right people in their life, man. It breaks

01:52:35.220 --> 01:52:37.300
my heart every time I hear a veteran takes their

01:52:37.300 --> 01:52:40.300
life. I was one of those guys. I almost killed

01:52:40.300 --> 01:52:44.739
myself. I mean, very within a second. And I ended

01:52:44.739 --> 01:52:48.180
up in treatment and for a period of time and

01:52:48.180 --> 01:52:51.399
then continued that process until I got to the

01:52:51.399 --> 01:52:54.239
point where I said, hey, you know what? I think

01:52:54.239 --> 01:52:57.890
I'm. I found myself. I found Dewey again, you

01:52:57.890 --> 01:53:02.390
know, and I'll be okay now. What worked for you?

01:53:02.470 --> 01:53:05.390
We hear, you know, a lot of VA stories about,

01:53:05.449 --> 01:53:07.250
you know, a lot of pills being thrown at them,

01:53:07.310 --> 01:53:08.930
you know, counseling sessions that they have

01:53:08.930 --> 01:53:10.750
to wait six months to get an appointment. Obviously,

01:53:10.930 --> 01:53:13.409
this is not every single VA, but it seems to

01:53:13.409 --> 01:53:15.949
be a reoccurring theme. What were some of the

01:53:15.949 --> 01:53:17.930
tools that worked for you that got you away from

01:53:17.930 --> 01:53:22.630
that? To be honest, none of the medications just

01:53:22.630 --> 01:53:25.649
kept me the way I was. It kept me dumbed down,

01:53:25.710 --> 01:53:31.630
you know, in an unrealistic mindset. You know,

01:53:31.670 --> 01:53:34.649
it really, you know, over years of that abuse,

01:53:34.750 --> 01:53:37.810
you know, really taking triazodone and all that

01:53:37.810 --> 01:53:41.409
other crap, Xanax, this and that. You know, what

01:53:41.409 --> 01:53:45.069
worked for me was a friend of mine that was very

01:53:45.069 --> 01:53:50.090
concerned about me and got a hold of an organization

01:53:50.090 --> 01:53:54.890
up in Maine. And it's a veterans hunting organization.

01:53:55.710 --> 01:53:58.010
Well, those guys invited me on a turkey hunt.

01:53:58.470 --> 01:54:01.710
They paid for the flight there and back, fed

01:54:01.710 --> 01:54:04.289
me the whole time I was there, treated me like

01:54:04.289 --> 01:54:08.350
I was a royalty. I had, you know, it was a gentleman's

01:54:08.350 --> 01:54:11.010
hunt, you know. I killed two turkeys with one

01:54:11.010 --> 01:54:15.250
shot. And then a few months later, they said,

01:54:15.369 --> 01:54:17.170
hey, we're going to have a bear hunt. How would

01:54:17.170 --> 01:54:19.789
you like to go on a bear hunt? I was like, damn,

01:54:19.890 --> 01:54:23.720
yeah, man. And I was on the way to Virginia to

01:54:23.720 --> 01:54:28.500
go to a farm to stay by myself for ever how long

01:54:28.500 --> 01:54:31.180
it was going to be. And I got that phone call

01:54:31.180 --> 01:54:34.779
from that friend that said, hey, we booked you

01:54:34.779 --> 01:54:37.399
for a bear hunt in Maine. And I mean, it's Pasquale,

01:54:37.479 --> 01:54:39.720
Maine. It's all the way up to Canada, to the

01:54:39.720 --> 01:54:44.920
tip. So, you know, Bangor, up past that. So anyway.

01:54:45.640 --> 01:54:48.239
I went on those and getting back into the wildlife

01:54:48.239 --> 01:54:51.739
and being around those people. Oh, the emotions

01:54:51.739 --> 01:54:55.239
flow, bro. I mean, it just the way they were

01:54:55.239 --> 01:54:59.260
so concerned and helpful and they cared about

01:54:59.260 --> 01:55:01.819
me. They showed me, you know, just different

01:55:01.819 --> 01:55:04.199
things. And then just being in that environment,

01:55:04.260 --> 01:55:07.859
going hunting and being around those guys and

01:55:07.859 --> 01:55:11.140
being able to feel comfortable. talking about,

01:55:11.199 --> 01:55:14.939
you know, my anger and, you know, the things

01:55:14.939 --> 01:55:18.239
that, you know, has caused me want to take my

01:55:18.239 --> 01:55:22.819
life or, you know, to become, you know, the other

01:55:22.819 --> 01:55:25.739
way, you know, to try to kill somebody, you know,

01:55:25.760 --> 01:55:27.800
and I mean, those kinds of things. I tell you,

01:55:27.819 --> 01:55:30.619
man, I was, I wasn't an easy person there in

01:55:30.619 --> 01:55:32.319
the beginning. You know, I had a lot of trouble

01:55:32.319 --> 01:55:36.739
with, had some trouble with the police. I went

01:55:36.739 --> 01:55:39.939
to Sam's Club. I hadn't been in Sam's Club. I

01:55:39.939 --> 01:55:41.479
don't know. It's probably been a couple of years

01:55:41.479 --> 01:55:45.140
now. But anyway, I went in there on a holiday

01:55:45.140 --> 01:55:48.100
when I first got back with my wife. It was like

01:55:48.100 --> 01:55:52.560
Thanksgiving. And anyway, she bought a case of

01:55:52.560 --> 01:55:54.939
mushroom soup. It happened to be the last case.

01:55:55.420 --> 01:55:57.460
Well, we've got a big family. There's like 22

01:55:57.460 --> 01:56:00.640
of us, grandkids, all that stuff. So we're in

01:56:00.640 --> 01:56:02.899
line. These two big boys behind me look like

01:56:02.899 --> 01:56:06.180
they came out of Lake City Hunting Club there.

01:56:06.720 --> 01:56:09.739
And, you know, overalls on and stuff. And they

01:56:09.739 --> 01:56:12.079
reached over into the back. I'm up front trying

01:56:12.079 --> 01:56:13.880
to unload stuff, put it on the conveyor belt.

01:56:14.119 --> 01:56:16.319
And this big old boy reaches over and grabs two

01:56:16.319 --> 01:56:19.920
hands full of soup and puts them in his cart.

01:56:20.439 --> 01:56:22.800
And I poked my head at my wife, turned around.

01:56:22.840 --> 01:56:25.199
She eased up there by me because she's only like

01:56:25.199 --> 01:56:28.529
four feet tall. And these guys are towering over.

01:56:28.770 --> 01:56:31.010
And I smiled at them and said, hey, you guys,

01:56:31.029 --> 01:56:33.529
what's up, man? You know, joking around. They

01:56:33.529 --> 01:56:37.329
said, hey, man, you bought all the soup. I said,

01:56:37.390 --> 01:56:39.609
big deal. So what? I said, well, you know, that

01:56:39.609 --> 01:56:43.329
ain't right. I said, look, man, put that soup

01:56:43.329 --> 01:56:45.989
back in there, and you're not getting any. And

01:56:45.989 --> 01:56:49.050
he said, shut up, old man. And he kept on. So

01:56:49.050 --> 01:56:51.409
I grabbed two cans of soup. I jumped up on the

01:56:51.409 --> 01:56:54.229
conveyor belt. I jumped off of it on top of those

01:56:54.229 --> 01:56:57.840
two. SOBs and I commenced to beating her ass

01:56:57.840 --> 01:57:00.640
with them soup cans. Well, I ended up in jail

01:57:00.640 --> 01:57:03.439
for two months and I had to go to court and I

01:57:03.439 --> 01:57:07.960
did six months of anger management. Was it worth

01:57:07.960 --> 01:57:17.180
it? Hell yes. Oh boy. So anyway, I've come a

01:57:17.180 --> 01:57:20.960
long ways, you know. But honestly, I got away

01:57:20.960 --> 01:57:24.539
from the meds. I'm in touch with some really

01:57:24.859 --> 01:57:28.199
Some quality folks that I stay, you know, text

01:57:28.199 --> 01:57:32.100
with and talk to on the phone. And, you know,

01:57:32.140 --> 01:57:33.960
I listen to them. They listen to me. We trust

01:57:33.960 --> 01:57:37.600
each other. There's no secrets. And it's that

01:57:37.600 --> 01:57:40.159
type of, you know, that bond you need to help

01:57:40.159 --> 01:57:42.720
and to get off of that crap. If you don't need

01:57:42.720 --> 01:57:45.840
it, don't succumb to, oh, the doctor said I needed

01:57:45.840 --> 01:57:49.250
it. You know, that's a bunch of horse, man. I

01:57:49.250 --> 01:57:50.689
mean, there's half that stuff you don't need.

01:57:50.770 --> 01:57:52.890
They're just trying to figure out to get you

01:57:52.890 --> 01:57:56.310
to a happy place or to keep you from not really

01:57:56.310 --> 01:57:59.609
being who you really are, you know, your emotions

01:57:59.609 --> 01:58:02.750
and everything else. You know, I mean, one of

01:58:02.750 --> 01:58:05.729
the biggest issues I have, you know, and I, I'm

01:58:05.729 --> 01:58:08.850
not ashamed to say it, you know, if it's strong

01:58:08.850 --> 01:58:11.529
enough, you know, emotionally, I can cry at the

01:58:11.529 --> 01:58:13.869
drop of a hat nowadays and I've never been that

01:58:13.869 --> 01:58:18.609
way. I mean, it just, all this stuff. has gotten

01:58:18.609 --> 01:58:23.010
to the point to where emotionally it's just pitiful,

01:58:23.010 --> 01:58:26.890
you know, to see the suffering on the scale it

01:58:26.890 --> 01:58:32.489
is and to see it go on for so long. It's unrealistic,

01:58:32.829 --> 01:58:35.930
man, really. In this world, in day and age, the

01:58:35.930 --> 01:58:39.300
capabilities we have and the... The people and

01:58:39.300 --> 01:58:41.180
the minds we have, you know, and a lot of it,

01:58:41.180 --> 01:58:43.819
again, like I said early on, I'm involved with

01:58:43.819 --> 01:58:46.880
Task Force Argo. I knew some prominent people

01:58:46.880 --> 01:58:49.060
that could have done a world of good. They had

01:58:49.060 --> 01:58:51.260
connections with the government, Congress, senators.

01:58:51.560 --> 01:58:54.899
But they turned a blind eye to me because they

01:58:54.899 --> 01:58:57.979
thought I was human trafficking. And to this

01:58:57.979 --> 01:59:02.000
day, you know, I hope they realize, well, you

01:59:02.000 --> 01:59:04.359
know, at one point I got kicked off of Task Force

01:59:04.359 --> 01:59:07.130
Argo because I was an angry man. But anyway,

01:59:07.250 --> 01:59:09.350
they help me out a lot, you know, just information

01:59:09.350 --> 01:59:13.430
wise and meeting people. But organizations like

01:59:13.430 --> 01:59:15.210
that, you know, they have their limits. And,

01:59:15.210 --> 01:59:18.130
you know, if it gets complicated, like my case

01:59:18.130 --> 01:59:20.989
is complicated, you know, you got to have that

01:59:20.989 --> 01:59:23.289
right individual in the right mindset to make

01:59:23.289 --> 01:59:25.050
it happen. And then you got to have somebody

01:59:25.050 --> 01:59:26.869
that's going to be willing to work with you,

01:59:26.890 --> 01:59:31.350
you know, like I have now. And, you know, they're

01:59:31.350 --> 01:59:34.850
they're awesome people, man. Jan and John Bradley.

01:59:36.980 --> 01:59:40.619
Afghan Lima Foundation. It's Lima Afghan Foundation.

01:59:41.359 --> 01:59:44.840
And John is a retired three -star general. His

01:59:44.840 --> 01:59:47.500
lovely wife, Jan, they've been married 50 -some

01:59:47.500 --> 01:59:51.399
years. I've been married almost that long, 48

01:59:51.399 --> 01:59:55.199
for me. But anyhow, they're involved. They're

01:59:55.199 --> 01:59:59.539
helping me with these young adults. And there's

01:59:59.539 --> 02:00:01.560
people out there like that, you know, that are

02:00:01.560 --> 02:00:05.359
still willing to go forth and cross the line

02:00:05.359 --> 02:00:09.220
and, you know, put their name out there and stand

02:00:09.220 --> 02:00:13.159
by you and, you know, try to accomplish difficult

02:00:13.159 --> 02:00:15.920
tasks like this is. You know, this is something

02:00:15.920 --> 02:00:19.039
that's going to take people to really get behind

02:00:19.039 --> 02:00:22.680
to make it happen. And I'm telling you, this

02:00:22.680 --> 02:00:25.800
is the last shot we have. to get on this side

02:00:25.800 --> 02:00:27.899
of the world for those young adults. And I hope

02:00:27.899 --> 02:00:30.899
to God it happens. It's just getting to where

02:00:30.899 --> 02:00:35.420
I just can't. I phantom, man. If something happens

02:00:35.420 --> 02:00:42.140
to them kids, I blame myself. It's just not,

02:00:42.319 --> 02:00:46.439
I don't know of another word, but it hasn't been

02:00:46.439 --> 02:00:50.619
fair to us. And, you know, like the Welcome Corps

02:00:50.619 --> 02:00:53.439
program, James. You know, I had to go through

02:00:53.439 --> 02:00:56.000
a process where online you have to take a class

02:00:56.000 --> 02:00:59.079
and get certified to be the group leader. And

02:00:59.079 --> 02:01:01.939
then you have to find five people that live within

02:01:01.939 --> 02:01:05.859
50 miles of you. And you have to get them all

02:01:05.859 --> 02:01:08.020
vetted out with police reports and all that.

02:01:08.079 --> 02:01:10.880
It's like 15 bucks a person. I did all that.

02:01:10.920 --> 02:01:13.319
I paid for their things. I got my sister. I mean,

02:01:13.340 --> 02:01:15.880
not my sister. I got my oldest daughter, myself,

02:01:16.300 --> 02:01:20.600
retired. an army chaplain, his wife and daughter.

02:01:20.840 --> 02:01:23.319
And that was my nucleus for the Welcome Corps

02:01:23.319 --> 02:01:26.039
program. And then you go through all these other

02:01:26.039 --> 02:01:29.420
levels of vetting and processing, you know, during

02:01:29.420 --> 02:01:32.060
that, you know, making sure everybody's name's

02:01:32.060 --> 02:01:34.739
right and they're related and all those types

02:01:34.739 --> 02:01:36.880
of things. And you get to the point, you know,

02:01:36.880 --> 02:01:39.760
and this is funded by the State Department, not

02:01:39.760 --> 02:01:44.760
the responsibility of the refugee, but just to

02:01:44.760 --> 02:01:48.550
pay the individual. that is doing the work, vetting

02:01:48.550 --> 02:01:53.649
you and getting the documents together and doing

02:01:53.649 --> 02:01:56.810
those types of things. They paid them to do that.

02:01:57.229 --> 02:02:00.989
The rest of it was on me. So I raised $10 ,000

02:02:00.989 --> 02:02:06.329
to support them once they got here. So out of

02:02:06.329 --> 02:02:08.970
that, there's nothing left because I've used

02:02:08.970 --> 02:02:12.649
it for rent money, food, medical attention, psychological

02:02:12.649 --> 02:02:17.909
help, and all that. To those young adults that

02:02:17.909 --> 02:02:20.409
are under my wing at this time. And I care for

02:02:20.409 --> 02:02:30.189
them like they really are mine. Man. It's bad,

02:02:30.489 --> 02:02:34.010
dude. But, you know, hiding them all the time,

02:02:34.010 --> 02:02:37.470
too, you know. Thinking about moving them right

02:02:37.470 --> 02:02:41.369
now to the south because it's so bad in Islamabad.

02:02:41.670 --> 02:02:44.760
If they get caught, man, they're illegal. They

02:02:44.760 --> 02:02:47.600
get rolled up, put in the camp. Them girls, man.

02:02:47.979 --> 02:02:55.100
That oldest girl. She's already 62 days in captivity,

02:02:55.340 --> 02:03:11.380
bro. She's missing for two weeks. Anyway, they're

02:03:11.380 --> 02:03:16.279
better off now than they were. I'm just trying

02:03:16.279 --> 02:03:19.899
to get them to a happy place, man. Happy place.

02:03:21.420 --> 02:03:24.619
But, you know, we'll get it done one way or the

02:03:24.619 --> 02:03:28.000
other, you know. It's just unfortunate that the

02:03:28.000 --> 02:03:31.800
way things fell, you know, the timeline and everything

02:03:31.800 --> 02:03:33.340
else. I couldn't believe it, you know. I mean,

02:03:33.359 --> 02:03:35.859
Welcome Corps, eight months in the program, and

02:03:35.859 --> 02:03:37.800
that's right at the pinnacle of getting referred

02:03:37.800 --> 02:03:41.100
to IRAP. And then you're vetted and manifested.

02:03:42.039 --> 02:03:44.140
And that's a quick process. That's within like

02:03:44.140 --> 02:03:47.520
a week, 10 days. And we were right there on,

02:03:47.619 --> 02:03:53.680
you know, right there, man. Bam, no go. You know,

02:03:53.680 --> 02:03:55.680
and I'm like, Jesus, what are we going to do

02:03:55.680 --> 02:03:58.699
now? And, you know, and during that time period,

02:03:58.720 --> 02:04:01.550
again, you know, I had friends. that said, hey,

02:04:01.590 --> 02:04:03.390
I've got a connection with Spain. We've got a

02:04:03.390 --> 02:04:07.350
back door. I do an embassy packet, a substantial

02:04:07.350 --> 02:04:09.850
packet, telling about the trauma, what they've

02:04:09.850 --> 02:04:12.689
gone through, and which they are. They have been

02:04:12.689 --> 02:04:15.850
through some traumatic experiences. The brother

02:04:15.850 --> 02:04:18.069
wasn't with them during the captivity. It was

02:04:18.069 --> 02:04:23.229
just those two sisters. Thank God the youngest

02:04:23.229 --> 02:04:31.210
one didn't get touched. So I've had a lot of

02:04:31.210 --> 02:04:37.529
challenges with those children. I call them children,

02:04:37.609 --> 02:04:40.449
but, you know, they're young adults. The eldest

02:04:40.449 --> 02:04:44.170
is 22 now. Subtract five years, and that's how

02:04:44.170 --> 02:04:47.369
old they were when I got them. And I've done

02:04:47.369 --> 02:04:52.409
everything correctly out in the open. I'm not

02:04:52.409 --> 02:04:54.869
hiding anything. It's just the timeline and the

02:04:54.869 --> 02:04:57.029
way things fell, you know, with our government,

02:04:57.109 --> 02:05:01.579
the new president. You know, the programs and

02:05:01.579 --> 02:05:04.260
different things, it's just been really hell

02:05:04.260 --> 02:05:07.220
for us to get through. I mean, we're still not

02:05:07.220 --> 02:05:10.699
there. Again, you know, we have high hopes with

02:05:10.699 --> 02:05:13.619
the Canadian contacts. It looks good. We're going

02:05:13.619 --> 02:05:15.199
to have to wait and see what the lawyer says

02:05:15.199 --> 02:05:19.779
tomorrow. But, yeah, if anybody is willing to

02:05:19.779 --> 02:05:23.060
jump in the arena, I mean, Satan wouldn't walk

02:05:23.060 --> 02:05:26.279
in my shoes right now, I tell you that. But if

02:05:26.279 --> 02:05:30.409
anyone out there is listening, Not just with

02:05:30.409 --> 02:05:34.369
your ears, but with your heart. Come on. I'll

02:05:34.369 --> 02:05:36.909
embrace you as a brother, a sister, a friend.

02:05:37.710 --> 02:05:41.630
And we can share that joy when we free these

02:05:41.630 --> 02:05:45.130
kids and give them a future where they can have

02:05:45.130 --> 02:05:48.189
a life of freedom and not be worried about fear

02:05:48.189 --> 02:05:52.489
and oppression and education. They're gorgeous.

02:05:53.310 --> 02:05:57.659
You know, I mean, they're very, it's just. That's

02:05:57.659 --> 02:05:59.520
another thing that works against them is their

02:05:59.520 --> 02:06:03.380
beauty. And somebody, you know, and unfortunately

02:06:03.380 --> 02:06:09.180
I was taken advantage of early on. And it's just

02:06:09.180 --> 02:06:12.119
been a hard process to get, you know, those,

02:06:12.119 --> 02:06:15.279
that mind back to where it needs to be. You know

02:06:15.279 --> 02:06:18.039
what I mean? It's still not right. I mean, we've

02:06:18.039 --> 02:06:19.840
got sicknesses going on all the time. I just

02:06:19.840 --> 02:06:26.699
recently, the eldest child is sick. So, you know,

02:06:26.720 --> 02:06:29.159
that's, Another thing, I have somebody go out

02:06:29.159 --> 02:06:31.800
and get medicine and, you know, they got to sit

02:06:31.800 --> 02:06:35.760
there and can't do anything. It's maddening.

02:06:35.760 --> 02:06:37.819
It really is. It's maddening for them. I know

02:06:37.819 --> 02:06:41.140
it is because the brother, man, he's pacing the

02:06:41.140 --> 02:06:44.060
room and, you know, they start arguing amongst

02:06:44.060 --> 02:06:47.399
each other. Then I got to get involved, you know,

02:06:47.479 --> 02:06:51.520
and then your brother, sister stuff. And, you

02:06:51.520 --> 02:06:55.020
know, I understand that, too. Years of being

02:06:55.020 --> 02:06:57.659
that way, you know, and not having the freedom

02:06:57.659 --> 02:07:00.979
and then having to live the way they have to.

02:07:01.079 --> 02:07:04.039
But that's the best I could do. I wish I could

02:07:04.039 --> 02:07:07.039
do more. But thankfully, you know, it's like

02:07:07.039 --> 02:07:09.159
renting that place. You know, they don't rent

02:07:09.159 --> 02:07:12.720
to Afghans. So, you know, the name on the list

02:07:12.720 --> 02:07:16.319
is mine. So if they do come and they see who's

02:07:16.319 --> 02:07:19.140
renting it, an American. Oh, OK. You know what

02:07:19.140 --> 02:07:22.119
I'm saying? I've done things like that to try

02:07:22.119 --> 02:07:25.630
to keep them safe. And I don't like sharing a

02:07:25.630 --> 02:07:29.649
lot about where they are, who they are, you know,

02:07:29.649 --> 02:07:32.470
that kind of stuff, because all it takes is one

02:07:32.470 --> 02:07:38.670
loose lip and it's done. Absolutely. Well, I

02:07:38.670 --> 02:07:41.250
hope that someone listening can help, you know,

02:07:41.250 --> 02:07:45.109
in whatever form that would be. Yeah. I want

02:07:45.109 --> 02:07:47.789
to thank you so much for not only, you know.

02:07:48.220 --> 02:07:50.520
coming on here and the interview itself, but

02:07:50.520 --> 02:07:52.859
also, you know, the vulnerability element as

02:07:52.859 --> 02:07:56.380
well. I mean, this is what people need to hear,

02:07:56.460 --> 02:07:58.460
whether it's the plight of the, in this case,

02:07:58.479 --> 02:08:01.300
kids that you were trying to get from danger

02:08:01.300 --> 02:08:04.180
to somewhere safe or the mental health side of

02:08:04.180 --> 02:08:06.539
our men and women in uniform as well. And, you

02:08:06.539 --> 02:08:08.800
know, this vulnerability from someone who has

02:08:08.800 --> 02:08:13.270
such a story career on the front line. So I want

02:08:13.270 --> 02:08:15.789
to thank you so much for being so generous with

02:08:15.789 --> 02:08:17.729
your time and coming on the Behind the Shield

02:08:17.729 --> 02:08:20.789
podcast today. I appreciate you, James, and I'll

02:08:20.789 --> 02:08:24.090
be watching. And I really do appreciate being

02:08:24.090 --> 02:08:28.489
able to share my experiences and my thoughts

02:08:28.489 --> 02:08:31.689
with the audience. And again, I invite anyone

02:08:31.689 --> 02:08:37.460
in the world that listens to contact me. More

02:08:37.460 --> 02:08:40.239
than welcome your friendship and be an honor

02:08:40.239 --> 02:08:41.319
to have you as a teammate.