December 30, 2024 • 50 mins
From the SOFREP team to you, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
Tom Kilgannon is the President of Freedom Alliance, an organization dedicated to supporting military personnel, veterans, and their families. With a strong commitment to defending American values and advocating for the well-being of those who serve in the armed forces, Kilgannon has played a key role in shaping the organization's initiatives. Under his leadership, Freedom Alliance has focused on providing scholarships, financial aid, and other essential services to veterans and their families, while also promoting policies that protect American freedom and security.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
As if it doesn't work, you're just not using enough.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to SOFTWAB Radio Special Operations, Military Nails and
straight talk with the guys in the community.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's rad your host of soft Rep Radio and I'm
super stoked today to have a wonderful guest and we're
going to talk about wonderful things. Tis the season, as
you can see in the screen that you know, I
have some holiday decor going down, you know. So what
we're what we're going to talk about is, first, we
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(00:57):
Forward slash Merch, So go check out our merch the
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We really appreciate all the support, all of the flare
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(01:18):
we have a book club and it's soft Rep dot
com Forward slash book hyphen Club. That's book hyphen Club.
Those of you that are new today to this show,
welcome those of you who have been here and have
been following me for the last four or five years.
I can't do it without you, and to you that
just join again. Thanks, welcome and welcome aboard. Now today
we're going to be talking about veterans, wounded veterans, healthy veterans,
(01:41):
how they can get some help, and one organization, one
of the largest organizations that's in the US right now,
the dot org, which is Freedom Alliance dot org. And
today I have President Tom kilgannon of Freedom Alliance. Welcome
to the show. Tom, Happy holidays.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Hey, you're right great to be with you. Thanks so
much for having me on.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, and so you know, we were reached out to
by Jack. Let's give Jack a shout out. Okay, he's
sitting there saying, hey, let's get Tom on. You guys
would be a great fit you. He has books in
the background. Okay, he can't go wrong with a guy
with books. Okay. Now, Tom, you guys work with veterans
of a spectrum, right, Can any veteran first off, just
(02:24):
kind of reach out to the Freedom Alliance dot org
and look for any type of assistance And if so,
what kind of assistance would they be looking towards. Let's
go into that.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Sure again, thanks for having me On and Freedom Alliance
is a it's a military support and veterans support organization,
and we're providing help in a variety of ways. So
mostly what we're trying to help is the oe f
OIF generation of veterans, which is.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
An Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Right, correct, Yes,
I just want to make sure because acronyms right to
make sure. Yeah yeah, oh yes, And.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
I just want to make sure ye I rack in
Afghanistan mostly, and most of our programs are geared toward them.
So we have we have a few things. One is
our scholarship program, and we give college scholarships to kids
whose parents were killed or disabled in military service. And
this year alone will give just about three million dollars
(03:26):
to about seven hundred and fifty eight hundred kids. And
each of these kids as a parent who sacrifice life
or limb for our country. So, as you probably know,
the cost of a college education keeps rising and rising,
and every military parent wants for their kid, you know,
a better life and better opportunities, and oftentimes college or
trade school provides that. So we give that to help
(03:50):
with that the practical costs. But what's really special about
this scholarship, and many of our students acknowledge it is
that the students qualify because of their parent and it
is the parent's sacrifice that qualifies them for the scholarship.
(04:10):
So every scholarship sends a message. It says, to that
kid and to that family, your parents sacrifice is not
going to be forgotten by a grateful nation. And that's
the message and the motive behind the scholarship. Now, once
they get on, the student has to do the work
and they you know, they have to be able to
get into a school and to keep their grades up
and go to class and things like that, and you
(04:33):
stay away from the frat parties.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
But it's all true. A lot go to the parking
lot doesn't mean you went to class. They go into
the quad, go into the classroom, and keep your c
average so that they don't come back for it.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
That's right. We ask them what the inside of the
library looks like exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
You know you should go and teachers are going to
stay in college. Hey, here's still of us. Here's the
whole year schedule, and we understand that you may not
be able to make the class all the time. But man,
you're the customer in this situation. They're there to provide
the education and you got to go or else you're
just going to That's right.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
I'm just and I think I mean about this rat
is that you know, most of the kids who are
on scholarship with us, they are working hard and they
do want to do well because they understand that they
got this scholarship because of their dad, in some cases
their mom. So that's that's one aspect of what we
do is providing those scholarships. Now, since September eleven of
(05:33):
two thousand and one, we've given out almost thirty million
dollars in scholarship assistance and we're really proud of that.
That's something that means a lot to us because of
you know, how the kids qualify. The second part of
what we do is what we call support our Troops,
and we have a variety of things under that. So
we're giving mortgage free homes to wounded veterans, in some
(05:58):
cases new vehicles. You may have seen these all terrain
wheelchairs that have treads that look like a tank, and
those are going out to vets who are paralyzed or
amputees or just have you know, struggles walking but want
to get to the lakeside, want to go deep into
the forest and do some hunting, and we give out
(06:19):
those and we have a lot of recreational rehab. So
it's fishing trips, but as you know, it's not just
a fishing trip. It's going out on the water, going
out on the boat, having a great time catching fish.
But when you come back, we're having meaningful, structured conversation
about where you are in your rehab, what's bugging you,
what triggers you, how can we put together a plan
(06:42):
to help you get through it, and and really just providing,
you know, our time and attention to people who sometimes
just need to talk or you know, have somebody to
listen to them. And and and so that's a that's
an overview, and I'm happy to get into the specifics
of any of those the homes or the vehicles or
any of what we do.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Well, I want to get into the specifics about why
you have found yourself as the president. Uh you know, uh,
you know, did you want to tell you a little
bit about how you fell into the selfless acts that
you're involved with? Or so it seems.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
Sure, you know, I I love doing this this kind
of work because it's so meaningful, and you meet great
people and very humble, very amazing people who come from
long lines of service in their families and uh and
they're just I enjoy being around them so much. So
(07:44):
my story, you know, I'm a civilian. I did not
serve in uniform, and you know that's something that you
know sometimes I wish I had, But you can't go
back and say should it, would have, could have? You
Just you do what you can from from the perch
where you sit. And so for me, it was when
(08:05):
I graduated high school, the country was in a position
where there wasn't a lot going on militarily. My parents
both came to this country from Ireland, so they did
not serve themselves or really have family that served. So
there was for me to a degree, I think a
large degree, military service was out of sight, out of mind.
(08:27):
I just didn't I didn't have that influence in my
life to push me in that direction. And so that's
how it worked for me. When I got to Freedom Alliance,
it was in the summer of nineteen ninety eight, so
it was pre nine to eleven, and the organization was
doing some great work. Was more on the policy side
(08:50):
as opposed to the veteran support, although there was some
of that. And I was on a plane on September
eleventh of two thousand and one, and it was just
an incredible experience for me. I was flying from Detroit
to Reagan National Airport and it's the only boarding pass
(09:12):
I've ever kept twenty five years of airline travel. But
we were probably one of the last flights to take
off that morning.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
And early am. Were you a seven am or something Detroit.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Eight thirty four Detroit time.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Oh, yeah, so that was right at the time of
like the first or second plane happening right there.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yeah, And shortly after we took off, all air traffic
was grounded, and so we were scheduled for Reagan National,
which for your viewers, that is in basically the heart
of d C. And it's in the flight path over
the nation's capital. And so our flight was diverted from
(09:52):
Reagan National out to Washington Dulles, which is in the
Virginia suburbs. And it was fine for me because it
was to my office. But you know, at the time,
we really couldn't understand. And I looked out the window
and it's a beautiful day, and so I'm trying to
think what's going on at Reagan, you know, was there
(10:12):
a crash, was there a fire? And at the time,
I had one of those pagers, you know, that pager
with the phone number that you called back, and it
got a little bit of text messaging news headlines, and
as the plane came down and got closer to where
those messages could get through, it just the scroll just
(10:36):
said bombings at the World Trade Center, bombings at the Pentagon,
bombings at the State Department, bombings across Washington, d C.
And And you know, some of it turned out not
to be accurate, but most of it was. And I
turned to my seat mate and I said, I think
we're at war. And and then shortly after that, the
(10:58):
pilot comes on and confirms that there were terrorist attacks
and that all traffic was being grounded, and so rad
we walked out into the airport and there was just
one shopkeeper who was closing the doors. It was empty.
It was a Tuesday morning, about ten thirty or so,
and it was eerie, and it was just an incredible
(11:22):
experience I'll never forget. But from that point on I
decided that, you know, Freedom Alliance needed to turn our
attention to this effort, what could we do and our
roots because we were founded during the time of the
First Golf War, we already had some programs in place,
and we brushed them off and updated them and just
(11:43):
kind of went to work. And so for me, it's
been a great experience to be able to help. You know,
our programs have evolved over the years. When nine to
eleven first happened, we were sending phone cards over to
the desert, and you know, and then as you know,
once the fobs got up in internet service was available,
(12:04):
that didn't need to happen. But but we we've always
been able to develop programs that meet the need to
the veterans where they are when they are.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
What a great introduction into how you found yourself doing
more with this company and and where it's gone from
when I wrote write down these notes, like thirty million
dollars in scholarships since night they're twenty twenty ish, you know,
I mean, or twenty twenty two whatnot. And from giving
phone cards to troops to make phone calls, you know,
(12:37):
homes and mortgages, you've really just like escalated the up
into the the you know, the way the bullhorns go
with the company, right, That's where I learned about the
bull market, the bear market. So bear swiped down. So
in the bear when when it's the bear market, it's down,
bulls go up when they're gonna ram their horns. And
that's the way that business should be. So I'm I
(12:59):
just have to share that for you. But uh, you know,
that's amazing. I just really feel it, you know, And
you know, growing up watching the whole situation unfold on
TV with nine to eleven, knowing that you were in
an aircraft coming from Detroit, flying over the same airspace
that was completely you know, shut down, like you guys
were tracked.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It was. It was really incredible. And then you know,
I remember getting off out of the airport that day
and uh, and there was a there was a taxi
near one of the convenience stores that so I was
I began walking to my office because it was a
long walk, but you had taxis and everything, and so
(13:41):
I walked past this car and the radio was carrying
the broadcast from NBCTV. So Tom Brokaw's voice was on
the radio, and that would to me as somebody who
had an interest in communications, that's that's not something you
hear unless it's something big, and that just kind of,
(14:04):
you know, suggested what a big event this was. And
then I got back to the office and the whole
way I just kept flipping back and forth on my
phone from my home to my office and you couldn't
get through. So for hours, you know, my I know,
my wife was was worried, and the office was worried.
(14:25):
And if I we were able to get through.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
You just got to walking around. Good to go, But
no one can get a hold of you. They know
you're flying, yes, so this is just unknown. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
My sister had called my wife that day and because
she knew I traveled a lot, and said, hey, where's Tom.
And my wife hadn't had the TV on or anything yet,
and she said, well, he's you know, he's traveling. I
think he's coming back this morning. And my sister just said, well,
turn on the TV and let me know when you
(14:58):
hear something. And that all pales in comparison to the
phone calls and the knocks on the gore that military
families got over the next twenty years. But it's really
been an honor for me to be able to step
in and help those families in the small ways that
(15:19):
we do. But you get to know them and you
see the sacrifice, and you see the patriotism, and you
see the desire to continue serving despite the hardships that
have befallen them.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You know, who is the veteran that needs to reach
out to you? Who are you guys saying hey, hit
us up? If you're thirty percent rated? Do you have
to be sixty percent? Should it be an adaptive you know,
should you be you know missing limbs? You know, is
there a certain percentage or can you have just gotten
out and said, hey, you know, can I reach out
(15:52):
to Freedom Alliance? So what is your you know, candidate
typically coming to you.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
Like, yeah, right. It depends on the program, but by
and large it is one hundred percent disabled or or
close to it. Some programs have you know, seventy eighty percent,
but we we try to take into account different situations.
(16:19):
In other words, you know, a program that might call
for you know, eighty percent or one hundred percent. Sometimes
that vet doesn't have that rating, but they've got twelve
deployments and they've got you know, a test full of metals,
and they've got sacrifices that just didn't accumulate up to
(16:41):
or eighty or ninety one hundred percent work in the VAA.
So you know, we we we try and look at
that in a in a holistic way, but by by
and large, it is Iraq a Afghanistan veterans, combat wounded
and a VA rating in the in the upper scale.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Yeah, in the uppers, yeah, yeah, And typically if they're
in their sixty seventy eighty percent, they can usually get
it to go to one hundred, you know, through the VA.
So keep pushing for your ratings, you know. Sorry, if
it has to be pushed like that, I have to
say that. But I watched it with my own father.
He went from being like, you know, rated to sixty
percent and then to one hundred percent. It's like, well,
you know, the only thing that changed was perseverance of
(17:23):
them saying hey, this is incorrect and getting denied and
then having it be like that's not right, let me
rewrite a letter, getting it denied, or then saying oh, hey,
you're right, you know, and and we're happy that the
VA is there, you know, to help out and do
what they can. And you know, this is this is
(17:44):
another avenue to have some assistance through the Freedom of
Alliance and so if you want to find out if
you would qualify, you just reach out through their social
media Orfreedom Alliance dot org.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Yeah, yeah, Freedom Alliance dot org is the best way.
There's an application on there and in it it's a
universal application, so it's you don't have to fill a
different one out for each of our programs to just
check interested in this or this or this and and
then we take a look at it and try to
help you in whatever way we can. But you know,
(18:15):
on the on the VA rating thing too, I just
mentioned that we talked about we're giving these customized wheelchairs,
all terrain wheelchairs, and a lot of times you know
it'll be an amputee who needs something like that. But
you've probably seen just as I have, where if you're
a single amputee, a single way amputee, your VA rating
(18:37):
might be thirty or forty percent, right, they don't consider
that one hundred percent disability. Right, So in that case,
we're not gonna we're going to look at the facts
on the ground as you and not necessarily follow what
the VA.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Does because it can be like you know, I was
talking to somebody about doing like you know, what is
the outdoor rehabilitation like adaptive skiing and adaptive you know,
writing a snowbill, et cetera, et cetera. But why you
have to be sixty percent for the VA to prescribe
that to you or some type of a high rating
(19:12):
when you know, maybe you're ten percent and you need
to go out and hit the slopes and get some
fresh mental bearing, you know, from the snow or something.
You know, I would just ask for your local VA
representative to help you get adaptive style outdoor recreational therapy
is what I'm looking for you. While you're talking about
you say, hey, we go out on the fish for
(19:33):
that moment you're fishing. You know what I'm saying. You're
out there fishing, you're not thinking nothing else but fishing,
and you got one, okay, but now you got one,
and you're like, oh, there's a whole calamity going on,
the splashing of it coming up to shore, the net,
reaching in to try to get a buddy, trying not
to lose it. You know, all that is happening, and
for that time, it's it's so serene to be in
(19:58):
that environment. You know. So mental health is a huge
you know, aspect of just outside you know, adaptive sports,
recreational therapy, thrills before pills, you know, and and it
seems like you guys are just hey, you know, this
happened to so and so they got raided. How do
we help with a mortgage? How does that play? Like?
(20:20):
They just fill out an application and there's hey, here's
your mortgage? Or is there there's got to be so
many people well in.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
The let me just make a point on the on
the fishing, because you said it's eren and peaceful. Yeah,
you know, a lot of times when our vet gets
that big one on the line and he's pulling them in,
it's it's like being back in a combat zone because
all his buddies are making fun of him, like pull
it in, will you? You know, what are you're doing?
Stop being assisting?
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Get it in the boat, you know, use your other hand. Yeah, yeah,
come on, oh you know. Oh yeah, he's like, yeah, well,
why don't you stand up and tell me that. It's like,
oh fine, you know, and I hope that's how it is,
and I hope, you know, I had I have folks
(21:05):
that work for me who have had lost both their limbs,
their lower limbs. And you know, I do war games.
I do airsoft war games where we go out and
just basically do a lot of war games in all
the gear with airsoft guns. And I have a shoot
house here in Utah. And I've had folks that work
for me through all different Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine corps.
I'm waiting for a Space Force guy to work for me.
(21:28):
But still, like a Pokemon card, I kind of collect
them all. And I mean, you know, he'll be down
in his hands, just moving around with his pistol pop
pop down on his hands, pop pop pop, you know,
knee pads on his leg on the bottom of his legs.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
You know, in all seriousness, I mean, and we've got
videos of this kind of thing where so we've got
amputees who go out and they do catch, they do
get that big fish on the line. And if you're
even a single amputee, but certainly if you're double amputee,
legs uh there. We've got videos of of the teammates
(22:04):
holding the fishermen by the vest because you can't because
he can't get the the leverage in the traction through
the prosthetics that you can with your natural legs. And
so all that teamwork comes back where you know, somebody
might step in and take the rod for a little while,
or uh, you know, adjustin is gear or whatever is needed,
(22:28):
you know, pour the water over.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
The lieutenant Dan, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Is he's trying to get this thing in the boat.
It's a beautiful thing to see because the like that,
the teamwork comes back and the camaraderie is there, and
and everybody takes joy in getting that fish on the boat,
and then they all lie about it afterwards. You know, Yeah,
I didn't need that.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Belt to hold you down, bro, I was gonna get
pulled in like bait. No, I was not shut up,
you're the bait. Let's look.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
But I mean on the mortgages, so we have a mortgage.
All the all the accomplishments that I've mentioned cannot be
done without great partners that we work with and very
supportive Americans who are very generous to us. And with
the homes and the vehicles that we give away. The
partner that really helps us with that is US Bank,
(23:22):
and they really just provide so much support for us
to be able to give these big gifts. Now again,
it's an application process and word of mouth with what
we're working with vets across the spectrum, and we have
an idea of where many of them are in their
rehabilitation process or where they are in there's their life scenarios.
(23:49):
And when word comes to us that they might need
a home or need a car, in those cases, we
may be able to go to our partner and say, okay,
we've got one here or there. In other cases, our
partners coming to us and saying, you know, you've got
X number of vehicles to give away for the year
or x number of homes to give away, and they'll
be in these communities. And then we go out and
(24:11):
find the vets that that need that help. And and
it's a it is an application. So we're going to
check your your disability paperwork, your d D two fourteens,
your story. Make sure you know we don't God forbid,
we never want to run into a stolen valor kind
of a situation there and so and so we just
(24:32):
go through that process and we get to know them
and get and and come become close with them and
in some respects and then we we put them in
the home. And so, uh, the way we do it
rad is we we look for those who who need
(24:52):
a home, need a helping hand, are going to be
good neighbors, are going to take care of it, who
are going to use it as their primary residents. And
so we require that they Freedom Alliance will own the
home and we will lease it to them for a
period of two years. We charge them a whopping one
(25:14):
dollar per month during the lease period, and that for
us is sort of an extension of the approval process.
We want to make sure they're taking care of it,
they're doing all the things, a series of protocols that
we ask them to abide by, and then we ask
them once we give them the deed after two years,
(25:35):
we ask them not to sell it for at least
three years, and we hold a covenant on it to
say you can't sell it without our permission. But once
they clear that five years, then it's theirs to do
with what they want.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
And so that's the way we run it. And we've
been able to give away help about twenty three, twenty two,
twenty three families so far. And that program just began
a few years ago.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
You and Jimmy Carter bro she was still going by
the way. Okay, yeah, I'll.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Tell you what I was on a flight with Jimmy
Carter one time years ago. And if you ever want,
you know, to be cleared for takeoff and get to
your destination, fly with the former president for that's legit.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
That's great. Yeah, he was what I say, I was
born in seventy seven, so he was the president at
the time I think when I was coming to this earth,
my friend.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
So he was a Naval Academy grant, that's.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Right, that's right. And I mean so many homes that
he was a part of for you know, people that
were in need and just putting himself out there with
his project that he did. I mean, talk about selfless service. Okay,
right are percent?
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Isn't it interesting that that former President Carter, who was
in office during a kind of a tumultuous time in
our history, he's probably better known by everybody for his
work with Habitat than anything he did in office.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
I mean really, I mean I was born. That's a
good thing right there, baby, Thank you, President Carter. Jimmy
Carter doing the right thing for the people right here
by bringing me around. What's up, dude, that's awesome. So
so now with the horseback riding and the outdoor sports.
(27:35):
What what is it? Is it like you guys are
able to provide them with an experience or is this
a camp that you guys have under your you know,
under Freedom Alliance.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
So and yeah, and with the horses and equine therapy
and some of the other things we do this these
would all fall under what we call retreats. And we're
doing these with horses. We're doing we've got a great
one in on the Roague River in Oregon, in Montana, Wyoming,
(28:06):
down in Costa Rica.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
So we've we've got a variety of them. Some of
them are exclusively for the veteran themselves, some of them
are designed for the married couples. And in each case
it's it's rehab and it's trying to deal with the
emotional injuries. And so we have that experience, that fun experience,
(28:31):
whether it's fishing, snowboarding, doing something fun. But but when
you get back to the cabin or the base, it
is we're going to have conversation. Sometimes it's a prayer group.
Sometimes it's we'll give you questions or themes in advance,
(28:54):
you know, we want to talk about this and uh,
and that's what we do. And it's you know, a
lot of it is is uh. They just need to
be able to get it out. Oftentimes they're veterans uh
who are emotionally wounded or carrying feelings of sin and
(29:18):
guilt and remorse and survivors guilt and and a number
of these things that they need to talk about it,
and they need to talk about it in a trusted
environment and and with people who've been there, done that,
who get it, who understand what they're talking about. And
so our team they're they're really great at at facilitating
(29:43):
those kinds of conversations, of making everybody feel welcome, of
providing that that circle of trust, if you will, And
and that's really a that's a big part of what
we do RAD is you know, the veteran community, they
don't give their trust easily. You've got her, and you've
(30:04):
got to keep it. And and there's there's a number
of ways you can you can do that, but you
don't just put an ad in the paper and say, hey,
we're having this retreat and we want you to tell
us your you know, deepest darkest fears and sins and
all that. That doesn't work like that. You've so over
the years we've I think that we've been able to
(30:29):
develop a little bit of a reputation that says, hey,
these guys do it well. Uh not perfect, but they
do it well. And and so many of the vets
that are coming to us are coming through referral from
other vets or military families because they've had a positive experience.
And that's something that means a lot to me because
(30:53):
it speaks to what a great team we have and
how you know, we're we're we're trying not to put
anybody up on display or you know, be sure you
say this, or you know, let's let's pose you like
this for the camera. It's authentic, it's genuine. It's you know, talk,
(31:13):
don't talk, but we wanted we want to advance or
rehabilitation and sometimes just listening is is doing that even
though you don't know it in a moment. But but
our team is really good at that, and I'm proud
of them for that.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Seems like you guys celebrate Veterans Day not just once
a year, but every day of the year. You kind
of recognize that sacrifice that they make to raise their
hand and say I'll go, you can send me, I'll
do my best whatever the task is asked of me,
and then they go and do that, and then they
need the support of knowing that they went and did
that because we supported him to go do Oh. Yeah,
(31:52):
we're so proud of you, Johnny. Go see you later.
We'll see when you get home. So let's see him
when he gets home.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
Yeah. And and you know, that's that's a part that
we've begun to begun to incorporate over the last several years,
is you know, putting some of our supporters in those situations,
not a lot, but helping them to hear directly from
the veterans of what they are experiencing and addressing that
(32:22):
very point that you made, which is, hey, you know
we didn't serve, but you know, Rob rof or you helping.
How do I say this to try to explain that
in our society, we as civilians sent you off to
(32:43):
war because the military answers to civilian authority, and that
civilian authority answers to we the people. And so to
an extent, you know, we're signing off on that, whether
it's cheerleading forward on team or not protesting it, or
(33:03):
not requiring a stronger Act of Congress or something like that.
And so you know, we're we're a part of it too,
and we have to understand that we can't understand the
sights and the smells and the fears of combat, but
(33:24):
we can do our best too. And and so people
who are really invested in us, we try and get
them into those situations so they can hear directly what
the vets are telling us.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah, I see, it would be best to not to
have to have wars. Yeah, but then you have to
go and win if you're in the war, because you
don't want to lose your war per se, as long
as it's they're all just for the side of the guy.
There's so many veterans, both sides, equal combat veterans. Whatever
country is fighting each other. Those those two guys are
(34:00):
fighting for whatever their cause is, and whatever their cause is,
you know, to the death or to the you know. Yeah, man,
it's it's tough, you know. So hopefully we don't have
to have war, but if we do, we gotta we
got to be winning them inevitably, you know. So you're
here to support the veteran on either side of that aisle,
it seems like. But if they get disabled, that's even
(34:22):
more so with America's or excuse me, with a Freedom
Alliance dot org where they would be able to reach
out to you and get some assistance because it's tough
to navigate, you know, and you know, especially if you
might be by yourself and listening to my podcast right
now and you're just like, geez, you know, I'm so
glad that these two have become friends and started talking
(34:43):
and I'm going to reach out to Freedom Alliance dot org.
Thanks Rad, you know, and thanks Tom for talking about
this and explaining that I have someone out there that
wants to help me. I mean, that's if we help
one person, If somebody can reach out and they get
helped through this, that's that's what's up. We're just trying
to say, hey, Freedom Alliance dot Org is out there
(35:04):
for you to reach out to to see if you
qualify to have them help you. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:10):
And you know, the other thing that we've been trying
to do in more recent years is there's this, uh,
there's this saying or this this theme that when you
get out of the military, we need to return you
to civilian life, We need to transition you to being
back to a civilian again. We reject that we say, no,
(35:35):
that's not the case. So what we say to veterans
is you're a warrior and you're always going to be
a warrior. The fact that you are no longer in
the military doesn't change that. Now your warrior status might
change a little bit, but you can't undo the training,
(35:55):
the experiences that you had in the military, Harry and
in combat, So don't try to put them aside. Instead,
you should embrace them and become what we refer to
as an elder warrior who has wisdom and experiences that
(36:17):
can help the civilian community, that can help policymakers, that
can help all of us understand what they've been through
and how they now have to navigate it being out
of the military. And so that's as it's just a
theme that we hit on more and more as we
(36:38):
as veterans go through our programs.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Yeah, I think you're just kind of like cool. I
think you're cool, bro. I think you're doing a good job,
and you know, I'd be hard pressed to say otherwise.
And when you look at the website, you know, it's
easy to go and check out at Freedom Alliance dot org.
I just have a link here that Jack sent me earlier,
and it just goes right to it. I mean, you've
(37:01):
got a picture of a dude that's operator or gal
whoever that is on the front. They got the American
flag draped over him. Now let's kind of give it
a little bit of a like a show off. I
just straight up went to the you know, the app
while we're talking. It says learn more, and it says, uh,
our mission to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring,
(37:22):
encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States,
and promoting a strong national defense. Our vision a national
security strategy which deters wars that are avoidable, wins wars
that are inevitable, and never forgets those who go to
war on our nation's behalf. So you guys have you know,
solid mission, statement, core values. The whole history there, you guys,
(37:44):
anybody can look into this and see it's just right here,
you know, how convenient and yeah, the founder was founded
by the Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. Okay, how funny. See,
you know we all know him from being the United
States Marine colonel Naval Academy graduate, a slew a board
(38:04):
of directors. So go check out Freedom Alliance and see
if there is purpose for you to visit with them.
It's true.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Yeah, absolutely visit the website Freedom Aliance dot org. Check
out check us out on Facebook. That's Facebook is where
we put our most recent accomplishment, So things that we're
doing and what do we got. So this week we
have a big event coming up because it's the Army
Navy Game and and so we bring our supporters in
(38:38):
and have some great speakers and events, and then we
go to the Army Navy Game and that's a lot
of fun. If you go to our Facebook page, you'll
see some of our recent accomplishments. We're down in Tampa, Florida,
what was about two weeks ago, and gave a new
vehicle to a wounded female marine who it was in
(38:59):
the Milton Police and man checkpoints and man the customs
desk and did some some pretty extraordinary things for twenty
one twenty two years old she was at the time.
And a few weeks before that, we gave a mortgage
free home to a marine who was in the Second
Battle of Fallujah. That home was in Dayton, Ohio and
(39:25):
just a great guy, been through an awful lot. And
and we've had a number of events will be given away,
some of our alterrain wheelchairs coming up. And and this
week as we speak, we've got a group of of
service members down in Costa Rica where we have an
operation to get them out deep sea fishing and do
(39:49):
all the things that we were just talking about, and
you just you know, have a very really meaningful conversations
about where they are. And and rather the other thing
I would mention is, you know, obviously, so we're in
we're in the season of advent and and Christmas is
coming up, and it's a time and year where sometimes
(40:09):
you know, for us as Christians, it's a joyous time
of year. It's a time of anticipation for the birth
of our Lord and and and and so it's fun.
But many people don't have that same experience. They get depressed,
they get anxious, and and I would just encourage you
to to reach out to a friend. Uh, use the
(40:32):
nine eight eight number if you need it. Reach out
to an organization like Freedom Alliance or some of the
other great military support organizations out there if you need
somebody to talk to. And what I have seen, I
think the the absolute most heartwarming and effective things is
(40:53):
when one vet reachs out, reaches out to another. You've
probably seen this rap a lot more than I have.
I have literally seen a veteran combat veteran take a
phone call from a friend, a buddy who on the
other end of the phone he's saying, hey, man, I'm
having a tough time. It's it's getting dark, it's it's
(41:14):
it's hard. And the veteran who's on the receiving end
of that phone call says, I got you. I'll be
there in a few hours, and he throws a sleeping
bag and a cooler in the back of the truck
and drives, you know, five eight ten hours to wherever
he needs to be and spends the next two days
or two weeks with that person until they get through
(41:38):
that dark time. And that is it's unfortunate that it
has to happen, but it's a beautiful thing that's take
care of one another in that way.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
Yeah, and it is nice. And you know, I'm not
trying to just say this, but like, you know, I
have had folks reach out to me through social media's
and you know, I've had personal friends come up to
me with you know, hardcore Like I looked at him
in the eyes and I was like, I hope you
didn't try to do what I think you did. You know,
don't and if you if you ever think that way,
And then he's like, rad I did try earlier this year,
(42:10):
and now I'm in therapy and all this stuff. And
I could just see this, like under his eyes right here,
that he was just going through a hard time. And
so I told him that I loved him, and he
hugged me. And it had been a minute since we
had seen each other, and I said, well, now you're
here and I'm always around, and now I can be
helping you with your therapy. So if you need to
(42:30):
be in a good place, just be around me, because like,
and he's you know, he's welcome to be anytime if
he has to call me, hit me up whatever, you know.
And now that he's back in Utah, it's great to
have him around.
Speaker 4 (42:44):
And whose spirits wouldn't be lifted by hanging around you
with that great Christmas hat and big smile.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
It's true. And so he was so happy, you know,
and you know, and I'm six foot five, he's about
five foot six, So a hug is really like, come here,
my man, you need to full big bear hug from RAD.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
Right, we don't need anymore.
Speaker 3 (43:04):
Right, let me know. My service is available. I can
get Okay, you just let me know Freedom, Alliance and
RAD we've just collapsed. Okay, all right, we need a
shirt that shows that or something. Somebody out there make
it happen.
Speaker 4 (43:19):
You're gonna hug it out.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
Sometimes sometimes someone that can just take some of your pain.
You know, my mom was so good at doing that.
I would be like, how come you never like, Oh,
She's like I always do need a hug, And I'm
like here, you know, because she would always be the
ones that we'd go to, So be like.
Speaker 4 (43:35):
Mom, Absolutely, it's yeah, it's just a great thing to see.
And I've seen it a lot.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
And and we don't want We can tell you that
we love you. We can tell you that you mean
something to us, and hopefully that helps helps you and
your decisions to make your choices. I'm a big believer
in freedom of choice. There's only so much I can do.
There's only so much we can do for somebody until
they they have to do it themselves. To show up
and go to the gym, you have to take your
(44:05):
pills at night, you have to fill out that paperwork
and get it submitted on time. You have to do
those things. It's up to you to follow through. So
you know, I can just let you know that I
encourage you to be supportive. I want you to be successful,
and I love you and care about you. You should
know that. And if that helps you get you through
your next day so that you can go through the
same things. Hey, hang around me. That's my work hanging. Okay. Now,
(44:34):
all you hardcore pipe hitters out there that are listening
to this that are smiling because you are too, and
you had to go perform a job and a duty
above yourself, you know, reach out to Freedom Alliance dot
org and see again if you can get some help
from them. And you know I've had I've had Tom's time.
You know, we've had We've listened to if we talk
for about an hour about this, and you guys should
(44:56):
hear that. It's just really you have to reach out
and you have to follow through, and you have to
take care of you because no one loves you more
than you. It's you. So you got to take care
of you. And so you have to reach out if
you have some questions or you want to reach out
to me, I'm on Instagram rad Rockin' r A D
R O c K I N send me a message.
(45:17):
I've gotten them. My wife's like, who are you talking
to about this? And I'm like, I don't know, babe,
I'm just laying to bed. But I think they just
need someone to talk to, and I'm just gonna go
with it. It doesn't seem like he's asking for twenty
million dollars to Nigeria, so I'm gonna like kind of
like play the cards here that this person has reached out.
So there you go, simple as that, Yes, and go
(45:40):
buy my merch. Don't forget soft reap dot com forward
slash merch, Merch, Merch, Merch, merch, merch. Okay, it keeps
the fireplace going. And shout out to my dad, who's
who was one hundred percent disabled until he's no longer here.
And I was able to have access to the school
benefits as a young nineteen years old. And you know,
(46:02):
I would encourage anybody whose father or mother has put
themselves in that position to get them one hundred percent
rating to follow through with the schooling. Don't take it
for granted, but take it for granted. Okay, use it
it's there and you're able to if you are for
like twenty four, you can get like your degree as
long as you're living at home. Man, you got school,
(46:24):
get on it. You know this. He's not an agree,
it's he's like, yep, it's true. And don't just sit
in the parking lot. Going to college doesn't mean you
just sit in the parking lot. Because you went to college.
You got to get out and walk to class. Okay,
you got to go do it. You got to get
a C. You got to get a C or higher.
They want their money back. Okay, so make sure you
get your c's because c's get those degrees. All right.
(46:47):
Now that said more time rant over.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I mean what you know, what you're saying is real,
rad It's it is the message. Because a lot of
people say, well you knowledge these days, it's this, it's that.
It's you get a lot of complaints about it. But
if you look back and you say, it's personal responsibility.
I'm going to go and I'm going to study what
I want to study. I'm going to take the good
subjects and I'm going to you know, putting the time
(47:15):
and effort. Then you're going to get something out of it.
If you're going to go there and sit in class
and be led astray or in directions that you don't
want to go, that's on you. But you know, there's
there's a lot of these kids whose parents sacrifice for
this country, who have hopes and dreams and aspirations of
(47:36):
their own, and we're just really just really fortunate to
be able to help them achieve them. And it's fun
to see. You know, I'm in a situation now where
students who we helped go to school, you know, fifteen
twenty years ago, now they're getting married and they're inviting
(47:59):
me to their ways and things like that, and it's
it's just it's a beautiful thing to know that you've
impacted them enough that they think of you in that way.
It's great.
Speaker 3 (48:10):
I mean, thirty homes, thirty million dollars worth of scholarships,
so many you know, retreats and fish caught and stories
to be told and prayers to have been had, and
you know, you've been doing this for a minute around
the sun, so circling, you know, with I feel selfless spirit.
So keep keep it up. Keep it up. Yes, losing
(48:33):
your team and to your producers and to the people
behind the scenes that help you get lit up and
making you look good and get your sound going. Big
shout out to them too for being a part of
your team. Right. So, and to jam who linked us
up to say, hey, let's get let's get Tom on
with rad. You'll see they'll match. And I'm going to
talk to Callum, my producer, and see if we can
get this up before Christmas, because I got the hat
(48:55):
on to see. Okay, every jolly yeah.
Speaker 4 (49:01):
Well, you know Christmas is a season, so it runs
well into January.
Speaker 3 (49:06):
Yeah, my pumpkins on my ports are still there from
October because November was harvest and you know, now it's
time I got to take them up to the mountains
and drop them off for snowboarding.
Speaker 4 (49:18):
Feed the movie since since you mentioned I'm looking at
your fireplace and it looks like you've got a pumpkin
in there the way it Oh.
Speaker 3 (49:25):
Yeah, I can see. Yeah, No, I here in Utah.
You know, we just got some snow last night. I'm
going to go enjoy it tomorrow morning. So yeah, you're great.
You're great. And and to my listener that's been listening
with us for the last hour of laughing and going on,
are these two talking about we're talking about Freedom Alliance
dot org and how you can reach out to them
(49:47):
if you are in a high rated you know, disability
with your veteran status through the VA reach out and
even if you have a disability or something from the
you know, military, reach out and see if they can
still help you. They might be able to point you
in the right direction or say hey, they'll look at
the facts versus what the VA rated you asked. So
Freedom Alliance listen to the president. Tom killed Gannon and
I have had the pleasure to talk with and now
(50:09):
become acquaintances and friends with. And you know, if you're
ever in Utah and you want to check out the slopes,
just hit me up. We'll do It's that simple. And
again please check out our book club. 'tis the season
and like he said, the season goes on. Let's just
make it all year of kindness because it's contagious, so
let's keep it up. And my name is rad On
(50:30):
behalf of my guest Tom kill Gannon with Freedom Alliance
dot org and Soft Rep. I say peace. Thanks anytime.
Speaker 2 (50:55):
You listening to self Rep.
Speaker 4 (50:57):
Lady
As if it doesn't work, you're just not using enough.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to SOFTWAB Radio Special Operations, Military Nails and
straight talk with the guys in the community.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's rad your host of soft Rep Radio and I'm
super stoked today to have a wonderful guest and we're
going to talk about wonderful things. Tis the season, as
you can see in the screen that you know, I
have some holiday decor going down, you know. So what
we're what we're going to talk about is, first, we
do have the merch store. Okay, so softwap dot com
(00:57):
Forward slash Merch, So go check out our merch the
branded items that we have out there, branded by branded
web get it branded branded, but look check it out.
We really appreciate all the support, all of the flare
that you guys show out there and gals and tagging
us on your Instagram, So thank you so much soft
Rep Mafia tag that. Also, I want to say that
(01:18):
we have a book club and it's soft Rep dot
com Forward slash book hyphen Club. That's book hyphen Club.
Those of you that are new today to this show,
welcome those of you who have been here and have
been following me for the last four or five years.
I can't do it without you, and to you that
just join again. Thanks, welcome and welcome aboard. Now today
we're going to be talking about veterans, wounded veterans, healthy veterans,
(01:41):
how they can get some help, and one organization, one
of the largest organizations that's in the US right now,
the dot org, which is Freedom Alliance dot org. And
today I have President Tom kilgannon of Freedom Alliance. Welcome
to the show. Tom, Happy holidays.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Hey, you're right great to be with you. Thanks so
much for having me on.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, and so you know, we were reached out to
by Jack. Let's give Jack a shout out. Okay, he's
sitting there saying, hey, let's get Tom on. You guys
would be a great fit you. He has books in
the background. Okay, he can't go wrong with a guy
with books. Okay. Now, Tom, you guys work with veterans
of a spectrum, right, Can any veteran first off, just
(02:24):
kind of reach out to the Freedom Alliance dot org
and look for any type of assistance And if so,
what kind of assistance would they be looking towards. Let's
go into that.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Sure again, thanks for having me On and Freedom Alliance
is a it's a military support and veterans support organization,
and we're providing help in a variety of ways. So
mostly what we're trying to help is the oe f
OIF generation of veterans, which is.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
An Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Right, correct, Yes,
I just want to make sure because acronyms right to
make sure. Yeah yeah, oh yes, And.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
I just want to make sure ye I rack in
Afghanistan mostly, and most of our programs are geared toward them.
So we have we have a few things. One is
our scholarship program, and we give college scholarships to kids
whose parents were killed or disabled in military service. And
this year alone will give just about three million dollars
(03:26):
to about seven hundred and fifty eight hundred kids. And
each of these kids as a parent who sacrifice life
or limb for our country. So, as you probably know,
the cost of a college education keeps rising and rising,
and every military parent wants for their kid, you know,
a better life and better opportunities, and oftentimes college or
trade school provides that. So we give that to help
(03:50):
with that the practical costs. But what's really special about
this scholarship, and many of our students acknowledge it is
that the students qualify because of their parent and it
is the parent's sacrifice that qualifies them for the scholarship.
(04:10):
So every scholarship sends a message. It says, to that
kid and to that family, your parents sacrifice is not
going to be forgotten by a grateful nation. And that's
the message and the motive behind the scholarship. Now, once
they get on, the student has to do the work
and they you know, they have to be able to
get into a school and to keep their grades up
and go to class and things like that, and you
(04:33):
stay away from the frat parties.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
But it's all true. A lot go to the parking
lot doesn't mean you went to class. They go into
the quad, go into the classroom, and keep your c
average so that they don't come back for it.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
That's right. We ask them what the inside of the
library looks like exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
You know you should go and teachers are going to
stay in college. Hey, here's still of us. Here's the
whole year schedule, and we understand that you may not
be able to make the class all the time. But man,
you're the customer in this situation. They're there to provide
the education and you got to go or else you're
just going to That's right.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
I'm just and I think I mean about this rat
is that you know, most of the kids who are
on scholarship with us, they are working hard and they
do want to do well because they understand that they
got this scholarship because of their dad, in some cases
their mom. So that's that's one aspect of what we
do is providing those scholarships. Now, since September eleven of
(05:33):
two thousand and one, we've given out almost thirty million
dollars in scholarship assistance and we're really proud of that.
That's something that means a lot to us because of
you know, how the kids qualify. The second part of
what we do is what we call support our Troops,
and we have a variety of things under that. So
we're giving mortgage free homes to wounded veterans, in some
(05:58):
cases new vehicles. You may have seen these all terrain
wheelchairs that have treads that look like a tank, and
those are going out to vets who are paralyzed or
amputees or just have you know, struggles walking but want
to get to the lakeside, want to go deep into
the forest and do some hunting, and we give out
(06:19):
those and we have a lot of recreational rehab. So
it's fishing trips, but as you know, it's not just
a fishing trip. It's going out on the water, going
out on the boat, having a great time catching fish.
But when you come back, we're having meaningful, structured conversation
about where you are in your rehab, what's bugging you,
what triggers you, how can we put together a plan
(06:42):
to help you get through it, and and really just providing,
you know, our time and attention to people who sometimes
just need to talk or you know, have somebody to
listen to them. And and and so that's a that's
an overview, and I'm happy to get into the specifics
of any of those the homes or the vehicles or
any of what we do.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Well, I want to get into the specifics about why
you have found yourself as the president. Uh you know, uh,
you know, did you want to tell you a little
bit about how you fell into the selfless acts that
you're involved with? Or so it seems.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
Sure, you know, I I love doing this this kind
of work because it's so meaningful, and you meet great
people and very humble, very amazing people who come from
long lines of service in their families and uh and
they're just I enjoy being around them so much. So
(07:44):
my story, you know, I'm a civilian. I did not
serve in uniform, and you know that's something that you
know sometimes I wish I had, But you can't go
back and say should it, would have, could have? You
Just you do what you can from from the perch
where you sit. And so for me, it was when
(08:05):
I graduated high school, the country was in a position
where there wasn't a lot going on militarily. My parents
both came to this country from Ireland, so they did
not serve themselves or really have family that served. So
there was for me to a degree, I think a
large degree, military service was out of sight, out of mind.
(08:27):
I just didn't I didn't have that influence in my
life to push me in that direction. And so that's
how it worked for me. When I got to Freedom Alliance,
it was in the summer of nineteen ninety eight, so
it was pre nine to eleven, and the organization was
doing some great work. Was more on the policy side
(08:50):
as opposed to the veteran support, although there was some
of that. And I was on a plane on September
eleventh of two thousand and one, and it was just
an incredible experience for me. I was flying from Detroit
to Reagan National Airport and it's the only boarding pass
(09:12):
I've ever kept twenty five years of airline travel. But
we were probably one of the last flights to take
off that morning.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
And early am. Were you a seven am or something Detroit.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Eight thirty four Detroit time.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Oh, yeah, so that was right at the time of
like the first or second plane happening right there.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yeah, And shortly after we took off, all air traffic
was grounded, and so we were scheduled for Reagan National,
which for your viewers, that is in basically the heart
of d C. And it's in the flight path over
the nation's capital. And so our flight was diverted from
(09:52):
Reagan National out to Washington Dulles, which is in the
Virginia suburbs. And it was fine for me because it
was to my office. But you know, at the time,
we really couldn't understand. And I looked out the window
and it's a beautiful day, and so I'm trying to
think what's going on at Reagan, you know, was there
(10:12):
a crash, was there a fire? And at the time,
I had one of those pagers, you know, that pager
with the phone number that you called back, and it
got a little bit of text messaging news headlines, and
as the plane came down and got closer to where
those messages could get through, it just the scroll just
(10:36):
said bombings at the World Trade Center, bombings at the Pentagon,
bombings at the State Department, bombings across Washington, d C.
And And you know, some of it turned out not
to be accurate, but most of it was. And I
turned to my seat mate and I said, I think
we're at war. And and then shortly after that, the
(10:58):
pilot comes on and confirms that there were terrorist attacks
and that all traffic was being grounded, and so rad
we walked out into the airport and there was just
one shopkeeper who was closing the doors. It was empty.
It was a Tuesday morning, about ten thirty or so,
and it was eerie, and it was just an incredible
(11:22):
experience I'll never forget. But from that point on I
decided that, you know, Freedom Alliance needed to turn our
attention to this effort, what could we do and our
roots because we were founded during the time of the
First Golf War, we already had some programs in place,
and we brushed them off and updated them and just
(11:43):
kind of went to work. And so for me, it's
been a great experience to be able to help. You know,
our programs have evolved over the years. When nine to
eleven first happened, we were sending phone cards over to
the desert, and you know, and then as you know,
once the fobs got up in internet service was available,
(12:04):
that didn't need to happen. But but we we've always
been able to develop programs that meet the need to
the veterans where they are when they are.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
What a great introduction into how you found yourself doing
more with this company and and where it's gone from
when I wrote write down these notes, like thirty million
dollars in scholarships since night they're twenty twenty ish, you know,
I mean, or twenty twenty two whatnot. And from giving
phone cards to troops to make phone calls, you know,
(12:37):
homes and mortgages, you've really just like escalated the up
into the the you know, the way the bullhorns go
with the company, right, That's where I learned about the
bull market, the bear market. So bear swiped down. So
in the bear when when it's the bear market, it's down,
bulls go up when they're gonna ram their horns. And
that's the way that business should be. So I'm I
(12:59):
just have to share that for you. But uh, you know,
that's amazing. I just really feel it, you know, And
you know, growing up watching the whole situation unfold on
TV with nine to eleven, knowing that you were in
an aircraft coming from Detroit, flying over the same airspace
that was completely you know, shut down, like you guys
were tracked.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It was. It was really incredible. And then you know,
I remember getting off out of the airport that day
and uh, and there was a there was a taxi
near one of the convenience stores that so I was
I began walking to my office because it was a
long walk, but you had taxis and everything, and so
(13:41):
I walked past this car and the radio was carrying
the broadcast from NBCTV. So Tom Brokaw's voice was on
the radio, and that would to me as somebody who
had an interest in communications, that's that's not something you
hear unless it's something big, and that just kind of,
(14:04):
you know, suggested what a big event this was. And
then I got back to the office and the whole
way I just kept flipping back and forth on my
phone from my home to my office and you couldn't
get through. So for hours, you know, my I know,
my wife was was worried, and the office was worried.
(14:25):
And if I we were able to get through.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
You just got to walking around. Good to go, But
no one can get a hold of you. They know
you're flying, yes, so this is just unknown. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
My sister had called my wife that day and because
she knew I traveled a lot, and said, hey, where's Tom.
And my wife hadn't had the TV on or anything yet,
and she said, well, he's you know, he's traveling. I
think he's coming back this morning. And my sister just said, well,
turn on the TV and let me know when you
(14:58):
hear something. And that all pales in comparison to the
phone calls and the knocks on the gore that military
families got over the next twenty years. But it's really
been an honor for me to be able to step
in and help those families in the small ways that
(15:19):
we do. But you get to know them and you
see the sacrifice, and you see the patriotism, and you
see the desire to continue serving despite the hardships that
have befallen them.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You know, who is the veteran that needs to reach
out to you? Who are you guys saying hey, hit
us up? If you're thirty percent rated? Do you have
to be sixty percent? Should it be an adaptive you know,
should you be you know missing limbs? You know, is
there a certain percentage or can you have just gotten
out and said, hey, you know, can I reach out
(15:52):
to Freedom Alliance? So what is your you know, candidate
typically coming to you.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
Like, yeah, right. It depends on the program, but by
and large it is one hundred percent disabled or or
close to it. Some programs have you know, seventy eighty percent,
but we we try to take into account different situations.
(16:19):
In other words, you know, a program that might call
for you know, eighty percent or one hundred percent. Sometimes
that vet doesn't have that rating, but they've got twelve
deployments and they've got you know, a test full of metals,
and they've got sacrifices that just didn't accumulate up to
(16:41):
or eighty or ninety one hundred percent work in the VAA.
So you know, we we we try and look at
that in a in a holistic way, but by by
and large, it is Iraq a Afghanistan veterans, combat wounded
and a VA rating in the in the upper scale.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Yeah, in the uppers, yeah, yeah, And typically if they're
in their sixty seventy eighty percent, they can usually get
it to go to one hundred, you know, through the VA.
So keep pushing for your ratings, you know. Sorry, if
it has to be pushed like that, I have to
say that. But I watched it with my own father.
He went from being like, you know, rated to sixty
percent and then to one hundred percent. It's like, well,
you know, the only thing that changed was perseverance of
(17:23):
them saying hey, this is incorrect and getting denied and
then having it be like that's not right, let me
rewrite a letter, getting it denied, or then saying oh, hey,
you're right, you know, and and we're happy that the
VA is there, you know, to help out and do
what they can. And you know, this is this is
(17:44):
another avenue to have some assistance through the Freedom of
Alliance and so if you want to find out if
you would qualify, you just reach out through their social
media Orfreedom Alliance dot org.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Yeah, yeah, Freedom Alliance dot org is the best way.
There's an application on there and in it it's a
universal application, so it's you don't have to fill a
different one out for each of our programs to just
check interested in this or this or this and and
then we take a look at it and try to
help you in whatever way we can. But you know,
(18:15):
on the on the VA rating thing too, I just
mentioned that we talked about we're giving these customized wheelchairs,
all terrain wheelchairs, and a lot of times you know
it'll be an amputee who needs something like that. But
you've probably seen just as I have, where if you're
a single amputee, a single way amputee, your VA rating
(18:37):
might be thirty or forty percent, right, they don't consider
that one hundred percent disability. Right, So in that case,
we're not gonna we're going to look at the facts
on the ground as you and not necessarily follow what
the VA.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Does because it can be like you know, I was
talking to somebody about doing like you know, what is
the outdoor rehabilitation like adaptive skiing and adaptive you know,
writing a snowbill, et cetera, et cetera. But why you
have to be sixty percent for the VA to prescribe
that to you or some type of a high rating
(19:12):
when you know, maybe you're ten percent and you need
to go out and hit the slopes and get some
fresh mental bearing, you know, from the snow or something.
You know, I would just ask for your local VA
representative to help you get adaptive style outdoor recreational therapy
is what I'm looking for you. While you're talking about
you say, hey, we go out on the fish for
(19:33):
that moment you're fishing. You know what I'm saying. You're
out there fishing, you're not thinking nothing else but fishing,
and you got one, okay, but now you got one,
and you're like, oh, there's a whole calamity going on,
the splashing of it coming up to shore, the net,
reaching in to try to get a buddy, trying not
to lose it. You know, all that is happening, and
for that time, it's it's so serene to be in
(19:58):
that environment. You know. So mental health is a huge
you know, aspect of just outside you know, adaptive sports,
recreational therapy, thrills before pills, you know, and and it
seems like you guys are just hey, you know, this
happened to so and so they got raided. How do
we help with a mortgage? How does that play? Like?
(20:20):
They just fill out an application and there's hey, here's
your mortgage? Or is there there's got to be so
many people well in.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
The let me just make a point on the on
the fishing, because you said it's eren and peaceful. Yeah,
you know, a lot of times when our vet gets
that big one on the line and he's pulling them in,
it's it's like being back in a combat zone because
all his buddies are making fun of him, like pull
it in, will you? You know, what are you're doing?
Stop being assisting?
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Get it in the boat, you know, use your other hand. Yeah, yeah,
come on, oh you know. Oh yeah, he's like, yeah, well,
why don't you stand up and tell me that. It's like,
oh fine, you know, and I hope that's how it is,
and I hope, you know, I had I have folks
(21:05):
that work for me who have had lost both their limbs,
their lower limbs. And you know, I do war games.
I do airsoft war games where we go out and
just basically do a lot of war games in all
the gear with airsoft guns. And I have a shoot
house here in Utah. And I've had folks that work
for me through all different Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine corps.
I'm waiting for a Space Force guy to work for me.
(21:28):
But still, like a Pokemon card, I kind of collect
them all. And I mean, you know, he'll be down
in his hands, just moving around with his pistol pop
pop down on his hands, pop pop pop, you know,
knee pads on his leg on the bottom of his legs.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
You know, in all seriousness, I mean, and we've got
videos of this kind of thing where so we've got
amputees who go out and they do catch, they do
get that big fish on the line. And if you're
even a single amputee, but certainly if you're double amputee,
legs uh there. We've got videos of of the teammates
(22:04):
holding the fishermen by the vest because you can't because
he can't get the the leverage in the traction through
the prosthetics that you can with your natural legs. And
so all that teamwork comes back where you know, somebody
might step in and take the rod for a little while,
or uh, you know, adjustin is gear or whatever is needed,
(22:28):
you know, pour the water over.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
The lieutenant Dan, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Is he's trying to get this thing in the boat.
It's a beautiful thing to see because the like that,
the teamwork comes back and the camaraderie is there, and
and everybody takes joy in getting that fish on the boat,
and then they all lie about it afterwards. You know, Yeah,
I didn't need that.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Belt to hold you down, bro, I was gonna get
pulled in like bait. No, I was not shut up,
you're the bait. Let's look.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
But I mean on the mortgages, so we have a mortgage.
All the all the accomplishments that I've mentioned cannot be
done without great partners that we work with and very
supportive Americans who are very generous to us. And with
the homes and the vehicles that we give away. The
partner that really helps us with that is US Bank,
(23:22):
and they really just provide so much support for us
to be able to give these big gifts. Now again,
it's an application process and word of mouth with what
we're working with vets across the spectrum, and we have
an idea of where many of them are in their
rehabilitation process or where they are in there's their life scenarios.
(23:49):
And when word comes to us that they might need
a home or need a car, in those cases, we
may be able to go to our partner and say, okay,
we've got one here or there. In other cases, our
partners coming to us and saying, you know, you've got
X number of vehicles to give away for the year
or x number of homes to give away, and they'll
be in these communities. And then we go out and
(24:11):
find the vets that that need that help. And and
it's a it is an application. So we're going to
check your your disability paperwork, your d D two fourteens,
your story. Make sure you know we don't God forbid,
we never want to run into a stolen valor kind
of a situation there and so and so we just
(24:32):
go through that process and we get to know them
and get and and come become close with them and
in some respects and then we we put them in
the home. And so, uh, the way we do it
rad is we we look for those who who need
(24:52):
a home, need a helping hand, are going to be
good neighbors, are going to take care of it, who
are going to use it as their primary residents. And
so we require that they Freedom Alliance will own the
home and we will lease it to them for a
period of two years. We charge them a whopping one
(25:14):
dollar per month during the lease period, and that for
us is sort of an extension of the approval process.
We want to make sure they're taking care of it,
they're doing all the things, a series of protocols that
we ask them to abide by, and then we ask
them once we give them the deed after two years,
(25:35):
we ask them not to sell it for at least
three years, and we hold a covenant on it to
say you can't sell it without our permission. But once
they clear that five years, then it's theirs to do
with what they want.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
And so that's the way we run it. And we've
been able to give away help about twenty three, twenty two,
twenty three families so far. And that program just began
a few years ago.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
You and Jimmy Carter bro she was still going by
the way. Okay, yeah, I'll.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Tell you what I was on a flight with Jimmy
Carter one time years ago. And if you ever want,
you know, to be cleared for takeoff and get to
your destination, fly with the former president for that's legit.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
That's great. Yeah, he was what I say, I was
born in seventy seven, so he was the president at
the time I think when I was coming to this earth,
my friend.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
So he was a Naval Academy grant, that's.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Right, that's right. And I mean so many homes that
he was a part of for you know, people that
were in need and just putting himself out there with
his project that he did. I mean, talk about selfless service. Okay,
right are percent?
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Isn't it interesting that that former President Carter, who was
in office during a kind of a tumultuous time in
our history, he's probably better known by everybody for his
work with Habitat than anything he did in office.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
I mean really, I mean I was born. That's a
good thing right there, baby, Thank you, President Carter. Jimmy
Carter doing the right thing for the people right here
by bringing me around. What's up, dude, that's awesome. So
so now with the horseback riding and the outdoor sports.
(27:35):
What what is it? Is it like you guys are
able to provide them with an experience or is this
a camp that you guys have under your you know,
under Freedom Alliance.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
So and yeah, and with the horses and equine therapy
and some of the other things we do this these
would all fall under what we call retreats. And we're
doing these with horses. We're doing we've got a great
one in on the Roague River in Oregon, in Montana, Wyoming,
(28:06):
down in Costa Rica.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
So we've we've got a variety of them. Some of
them are exclusively for the veteran themselves, some of them
are designed for the married couples. And in each case
it's it's rehab and it's trying to deal with the
emotional injuries. And so we have that experience, that fun experience,
(28:31):
whether it's fishing, snowboarding, doing something fun. But but when
you get back to the cabin or the base, it
is we're going to have conversation. Sometimes it's a prayer group.
Sometimes it's we'll give you questions or themes in advance,
(28:54):
you know, we want to talk about this and uh,
and that's what we do. And it's you know, a
lot of it is is uh. They just need to
be able to get it out. Oftentimes they're veterans uh
who are emotionally wounded or carrying feelings of sin and
(29:18):
guilt and remorse and survivors guilt and and a number
of these things that they need to talk about it,
and they need to talk about it in a trusted
environment and and with people who've been there, done that,
who get it, who understand what they're talking about. And
so our team they're they're really great at at facilitating
(29:43):
those kinds of conversations, of making everybody feel welcome, of
providing that that circle of trust, if you will, And
and that's really a that's a big part of what
we do RAD is you know, the veteran community, they
don't give their trust easily. You've got her, and you've
(30:04):
got to keep it. And and there's there's a number
of ways you can you can do that, but you
don't just put an ad in the paper and say, hey,
we're having this retreat and we want you to tell
us your you know, deepest darkest fears and sins and
all that. That doesn't work like that. You've so over
the years we've I think that we've been able to
(30:29):
develop a little bit of a reputation that says, hey,
these guys do it well. Uh not perfect, but they
do it well. And and so many of the vets
that are coming to us are coming through referral from
other vets or military families because they've had a positive experience.
And that's something that means a lot to me because
(30:53):
it speaks to what a great team we have and
how you know, we're we're we're trying not to put
anybody up on display or you know, be sure you
say this, or you know, let's let's pose you like
this for the camera. It's authentic, it's genuine. It's you know, talk,
(31:13):
don't talk, but we wanted we want to advance or
rehabilitation and sometimes just listening is is doing that even
though you don't know it in a moment. But but
our team is really good at that, and I'm proud
of them for that.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Seems like you guys celebrate Veterans Day not just once
a year, but every day of the year. You kind
of recognize that sacrifice that they make to raise their
hand and say I'll go, you can send me, I'll
do my best whatever the task is asked of me,
and then they go and do that, and then they
need the support of knowing that they went and did
that because we supported him to go do Oh. Yeah,
(31:52):
we're so proud of you, Johnny. Go see you later.
We'll see when you get home. So let's see him
when he gets home.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
Yeah. And and you know, that's that's a part that
we've begun to begun to incorporate over the last several years,
is you know, putting some of our supporters in those situations,
not a lot, but helping them to hear directly from
the veterans of what they are experiencing and addressing that
(32:22):
very point that you made, which is, hey, you know
we didn't serve, but you know, Rob rof or you helping.
How do I say this to try to explain that
in our society, we as civilians sent you off to
(32:43):
war because the military answers to civilian authority, and that
civilian authority answers to we the people. And so to
an extent, you know, we're signing off on that, whether
it's cheerleading forward on team or not protesting it, or
(33:03):
not requiring a stronger Act of Congress or something like that.
And so you know, we're we're a part of it too,
and we have to understand that we can't understand the
sights and the smells and the fears of combat, but
(33:24):
we can do our best too. And and so people
who are really invested in us, we try and get
them into those situations so they can hear directly what
the vets are telling us.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah, I see, it would be best to not to
have to have wars. Yeah, but then you have to
go and win if you're in the war, because you
don't want to lose your war per se, as long
as it's they're all just for the side of the guy.
There's so many veterans, both sides, equal combat veterans. Whatever
country is fighting each other. Those those two guys are
(34:00):
fighting for whatever their cause is, and whatever their cause is,
you know, to the death or to the you know. Yeah, man,
it's it's tough, you know. So hopefully we don't have
to have war, but if we do, we gotta we
got to be winning them inevitably, you know. So you're
here to support the veteran on either side of that aisle,
it seems like. But if they get disabled, that's even
(34:22):
more so with America's or excuse me, with a Freedom
Alliance dot org where they would be able to reach
out to you and get some assistance because it's tough
to navigate, you know, and you know, especially if you
might be by yourself and listening to my podcast right
now and you're just like, geez, you know, I'm so
glad that these two have become friends and started talking
(34:43):
and I'm going to reach out to Freedom Alliance dot org.
Thanks Rad, you know, and thanks Tom for talking about
this and explaining that I have someone out there that
wants to help me. I mean, that's if we help
one person, If somebody can reach out and they get
helped through this, that's that's what's up. We're just trying
to say, hey, Freedom Alliance dot Org is out there
(35:04):
for you to reach out to to see if you
qualify to have them help you. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:10):
And you know, the other thing that we've been trying
to do in more recent years is there's this, uh,
there's this saying or this this theme that when you
get out of the military, we need to return you
to civilian life, We need to transition you to being
back to a civilian again. We reject that we say, no,
(35:35):
that's not the case. So what we say to veterans
is you're a warrior and you're always going to be
a warrior. The fact that you are no longer in
the military doesn't change that. Now your warrior status might
change a little bit, but you can't undo the training,
(35:55):
the experiences that you had in the military, Harry and
in combat, So don't try to put them aside. Instead,
you should embrace them and become what we refer to
as an elder warrior who has wisdom and experiences that
(36:17):
can help the civilian community, that can help policymakers, that
can help all of us understand what they've been through
and how they now have to navigate it being out
of the military. And so that's as it's just a
theme that we hit on more and more as we
(36:38):
as veterans go through our programs.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Yeah, I think you're just kind of like cool. I
think you're cool, bro. I think you're doing a good job,
and you know, I'd be hard pressed to say otherwise.
And when you look at the website, you know, it's
easy to go and check out at Freedom Alliance dot org.
I just have a link here that Jack sent me earlier,
and it just goes right to it. I mean, you've
(37:01):
got a picture of a dude that's operator or gal
whoever that is on the front. They got the American
flag draped over him. Now let's kind of give it
a little bit of a like a show off. I
just straight up went to the you know, the app
while we're talking. It says learn more, and it says, uh,
our mission to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring,
(37:22):
encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States,
and promoting a strong national defense. Our vision a national
security strategy which deters wars that are avoidable, wins wars
that are inevitable, and never forgets those who go to
war on our nation's behalf. So you guys have you know,
solid mission, statement, core values. The whole history there, you guys,
(37:44):
anybody can look into this and see it's just right here,
you know, how convenient and yeah, the founder was founded
by the Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. Okay, how funny. See,
you know we all know him from being the United
States Marine colonel Naval Academy graduate, a slew a board
(38:04):
of directors. So go check out Freedom Alliance and see
if there is purpose for you to visit with them.
It's true.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Yeah, absolutely visit the website Freedom Aliance dot org. Check
out check us out on Facebook. That's Facebook is where
we put our most recent accomplishment, So things that we're
doing and what do we got. So this week we
have a big event coming up because it's the Army
Navy Game and and so we bring our supporters in
(38:38):
and have some great speakers and events, and then we
go to the Army Navy Game and that's a lot
of fun. If you go to our Facebook page, you'll
see some of our recent accomplishments. We're down in Tampa, Florida,
what was about two weeks ago, and gave a new
vehicle to a wounded female marine who it was in
(38:59):
the Milton Police and man checkpoints and man the customs
desk and did some some pretty extraordinary things for twenty
one twenty two years old she was at the time.
And a few weeks before that, we gave a mortgage
free home to a marine who was in the Second
Battle of Fallujah. That home was in Dayton, Ohio and
(39:25):
just a great guy, been through an awful lot. And
and we've had a number of events will be given away,
some of our alterrain wheelchairs coming up. And and this
week as we speak, we've got a group of of
service members down in Costa Rica where we have an
operation to get them out deep sea fishing and do
(39:49):
all the things that we were just talking about, and
you just you know, have a very really meaningful conversations
about where they are. And and rather the other thing
I would mention is, you know, obviously, so we're in
we're in the season of advent and and Christmas is
coming up, and it's a time and year where sometimes
(40:09):
you know, for us as Christians, it's a joyous time
of year. It's a time of anticipation for the birth
of our Lord and and and and so it's fun.
But many people don't have that same experience. They get depressed,
they get anxious, and and I would just encourage you
to to reach out to a friend. Uh, use the
(40:32):
nine eight eight number if you need it. Reach out
to an organization like Freedom Alliance or some of the
other great military support organizations out there if you need
somebody to talk to. And what I have seen, I
think the the absolute most heartwarming and effective things is
(40:53):
when one vet reachs out, reaches out to another. You've
probably seen this rap a lot more than I have.
I have literally seen a veteran combat veteran take a
phone call from a friend, a buddy who on the
other end of the phone he's saying, hey, man, I'm
having a tough time. It's it's getting dark, it's it's
(41:14):
it's hard. And the veteran who's on the receiving end
of that phone call says, I got you. I'll be
there in a few hours, and he throws a sleeping
bag and a cooler in the back of the truck
and drives, you know, five eight ten hours to wherever
he needs to be and spends the next two days
or two weeks with that person until they get through
(41:38):
that dark time. And that is it's unfortunate that it
has to happen, but it's a beautiful thing that's take
care of one another in that way.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
Yeah, and it is nice. And you know, I'm not
trying to just say this, but like, you know, I
have had folks reach out to me through social media's
and you know, I've had personal friends come up to
me with you know, hardcore Like I looked at him
in the eyes and I was like, I hope you
didn't try to do what I think you did. You know,
don't and if you if you ever think that way,
And then he's like, rad I did try earlier this year,
(42:10):
and now I'm in therapy and all this stuff. And
I could just see this, like under his eyes right here,
that he was just going through a hard time. And
so I told him that I loved him, and he
hugged me. And it had been a minute since we
had seen each other, and I said, well, now you're
here and I'm always around, and now I can be
helping you with your therapy. So if you need to
(42:30):
be in a good place, just be around me, because like,
and he's you know, he's welcome to be anytime if
he has to call me, hit me up whatever, you know.
And now that he's back in Utah, it's great to
have him around.
Speaker 4 (42:44):
And whose spirits wouldn't be lifted by hanging around you
with that great Christmas hat and big smile.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
It's true. And so he was so happy, you know,
and you know, and I'm six foot five, he's about
five foot six, So a hug is really like, come here,
my man, you need to full big bear hug from RAD.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
Right, we don't need anymore.
Speaker 3 (43:04):
Right, let me know. My service is available. I can
get Okay, you just let me know Freedom, Alliance and
RAD we've just collapsed. Okay, all right, we need a
shirt that shows that or something. Somebody out there make
it happen.
Speaker 4 (43:19):
You're gonna hug it out.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
Sometimes sometimes someone that can just take some of your pain.
You know, my mom was so good at doing that.
I would be like, how come you never like, Oh,
She's like I always do need a hug, And I'm
like here, you know, because she would always be the
ones that we'd go to, So be like.
Speaker 4 (43:35):
Mom, Absolutely, it's yeah, it's just a great thing to see.
And I've seen it a lot.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
And and we don't want We can tell you that
we love you. We can tell you that you mean
something to us, and hopefully that helps helps you and
your decisions to make your choices. I'm a big believer
in freedom of choice. There's only so much I can do.
There's only so much we can do for somebody until
they they have to do it themselves. To show up
and go to the gym, you have to take your
(44:05):
pills at night, you have to fill out that paperwork
and get it submitted on time. You have to do
those things. It's up to you to follow through. So
you know, I can just let you know that I
encourage you to be supportive. I want you to be successful,
and I love you and care about you. You should
know that. And if that helps you get you through
your next day so that you can go through the
same things. Hey, hang around me. That's my work hanging. Okay. Now,
(44:34):
all you hardcore pipe hitters out there that are listening
to this that are smiling because you are too, and
you had to go perform a job and a duty
above yourself, you know, reach out to Freedom Alliance dot
org and see again if you can get some help
from them. And you know I've had I've had Tom's time.
You know, we've had We've listened to if we talk
for about an hour about this, and you guys should
(44:56):
hear that. It's just really you have to reach out
and you have to follow through, and you have to
take care of you because no one loves you more
than you. It's you. So you got to take care
of you. And so you have to reach out if
you have some questions or you want to reach out
to me, I'm on Instagram rad Rockin' r A D
R O c K I N send me a message.
(45:17):
I've gotten them. My wife's like, who are you talking
to about this? And I'm like, I don't know, babe,
I'm just laying to bed. But I think they just
need someone to talk to, and I'm just gonna go
with it. It doesn't seem like he's asking for twenty
million dollars to Nigeria, so I'm gonna like kind of
like play the cards here that this person has reached out.
So there you go, simple as that, Yes, and go
(45:40):
buy my merch. Don't forget soft reap dot com forward
slash merch, Merch, Merch, Merch, merch, merch. Okay, it keeps
the fireplace going. And shout out to my dad, who's
who was one hundred percent disabled until he's no longer here.
And I was able to have access to the school
benefits as a young nineteen years old. And you know,
(46:02):
I would encourage anybody whose father or mother has put
themselves in that position to get them one hundred percent
rating to follow through with the schooling. Don't take it
for granted, but take it for granted. Okay, use it
it's there and you're able to if you are for
like twenty four, you can get like your degree as
long as you're living at home. Man, you got school,
(46:24):
get on it. You know this. He's not an agree,
it's he's like, yep, it's true. And don't just sit
in the parking lot. Going to college doesn't mean you
just sit in the parking lot. Because you went to college.
You got to get out and walk to class. Okay,
you got to go do it. You got to get
a C. You got to get a C or higher.
They want their money back. Okay, so make sure you
get your c's because c's get those degrees. All right.
(46:47):
Now that said more time rant over.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I mean what you know, what you're saying is real,
rad It's it is the message. Because a lot of
people say, well you knowledge these days, it's this, it's that.
It's you get a lot of complaints about it. But
if you look back and you say, it's personal responsibility.
I'm going to go and I'm going to study what
I want to study. I'm going to take the good
subjects and I'm going to you know, putting the time
(47:15):
and effort. Then you're going to get something out of it.
If you're going to go there and sit in class
and be led astray or in directions that you don't
want to go, that's on you. But you know, there's
there's a lot of these kids whose parents sacrifice for
this country, who have hopes and dreams and aspirations of
(47:36):
their own, and we're just really just really fortunate to
be able to help them achieve them. And it's fun
to see. You know, I'm in a situation now where
students who we helped go to school, you know, fifteen
twenty years ago, now they're getting married and they're inviting
(47:59):
me to their ways and things like that, and it's
it's just it's a beautiful thing to know that you've
impacted them enough that they think of you in that way.
It's great.
Speaker 3 (48:10):
I mean, thirty homes, thirty million dollars worth of scholarships,
so many you know, retreats and fish caught and stories
to be told and prayers to have been had, and
you know, you've been doing this for a minute around
the sun, so circling, you know, with I feel selfless spirit.
So keep keep it up. Keep it up. Yes, losing
(48:33):
your team and to your producers and to the people
behind the scenes that help you get lit up and
making you look good and get your sound going. Big
shout out to them too for being a part of
your team. Right. So, and to jam who linked us
up to say, hey, let's get let's get Tom on
with rad. You'll see they'll match. And I'm going to
talk to Callum, my producer, and see if we can
get this up before Christmas, because I got the hat
(48:55):
on to see. Okay, every jolly yeah.
Speaker 4 (49:01):
Well, you know Christmas is a season, so it runs
well into January.
Speaker 3 (49:06):
Yeah, my pumpkins on my ports are still there from
October because November was harvest and you know, now it's
time I got to take them up to the mountains
and drop them off for snowboarding.
Speaker 4 (49:18):
Feed the movie since since you mentioned I'm looking at
your fireplace and it looks like you've got a pumpkin
in there the way it Oh.
Speaker 3 (49:25):
Yeah, I can see. Yeah, No, I here in Utah.
You know, we just got some snow last night. I'm
going to go enjoy it tomorrow morning. So yeah, you're great.
You're great. And and to my listener that's been listening
with us for the last hour of laughing and going on,
are these two talking about we're talking about Freedom Alliance
dot org and how you can reach out to them
(49:47):
if you are in a high rated you know, disability
with your veteran status through the VA reach out and
even if you have a disability or something from the
you know, military, reach out and see if they can
still help you. They might be able to point you
in the right direction or say hey, they'll look at
the facts versus what the VA rated you asked. So
Freedom Alliance listen to the president. Tom killed Gannon and
I have had the pleasure to talk with and now
(50:09):
become acquaintances and friends with. And you know, if you're
ever in Utah and you want to check out the slopes,
just hit me up. We'll do It's that simple. And
again please check out our book club. 'tis the season
and like he said, the season goes on. Let's just
make it all year of kindness because it's contagious, so
let's keep it up. And my name is rad On
(50:30):
behalf of my guest Tom kill Gannon with Freedom Alliance
dot org and Soft Rep. I say peace. Thanks anytime.
Speaker 2 (50:55):
You listening to self Rep.
Speaker 4 (50:57):
Lady
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