October 1, 2024 • 49 mins
STARRS held a Joint Town Hall with the MacArthur Society of West Point Graduates and the Calvert Task Group. The guest speaker was Amber Smith, former Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Outreach in Public Affairs. Amber is a former U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot and air mission commander in the 101st Airborne Division and flew two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is also the author of the recent book, "Unfit to Fight: How Woke Policies Are Destroying Our Military", a topic of great concern to all three organizations.
This episode only covers Amber's talk and Q&A portion, not the rest of the Joint Town Hall.
The woke agenda being pushed by the Pentagon is undermining the very fabric of our military. Listen to a talk by Amber Smith, an Army veteran, author, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Outreach, as she covers the critical issues facing the U.S. military today. Amber offers a sobering analysis from her book, "Unfit to Fight: How Woke Policies are Destroying Our Military," and reflects on her experiences as a Kiowa helicopter pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This episode unveils the pressing need for a mission-centric meritocracy, underscoring the complexities of global threats and internal woke policies in the military that jeopardize national security.
Amber dissects the alarming decline in accountability and professional standards among top military leadership. She draws stark comparisons between the rigorous standards of World War II and today's leniency, calling for Congressional intervention to enforce stricter oversight. She says that true meritocracy and diversity of thought are essential to restore the U.S. military's strength and effectiveness and to reject woke policies that do not contribute to its mission readiness.
Amber also shares her personal journey, revealing the inspiration behind her book and her mission to address the real crises within the military, such as recruitment and retention challenges and the infiltration of wokeism. She offers guidance to young women in the military on how to earn respect through professionalism and excellence. The Q&A portion concludes with reflections on courage, responsibility, and the indispensable role of integrity and effective communication in advocating for change. This powerful talk by Amber Smith is a must-listen for anyone passionate about the future of our armed forces.
Join us for future Town Halls:
https://starrs.us/
https://macarthursociety.org/
https://calverttaskgroup.org/
Amber's website
_______________________________________
For more information about STARRS, go to our website: https://starrs.us which works to eliminate the divisive Marxist-based CRT/DEI/Woke agenda in the Department of Defense and to promote the return to a warfighter ethos of meritocracy, lethality, readiness, accountability, standards and excellence in the military.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF r (00:03):
Amber , you are a great draw.
We broke the triple-digitbarrier in terms of numbers of
attendees for the first time inour history.
We thank you very much forbeing with us.
For those of you who don't knowAmber, I came to know about her
when I saw an article on thisbook, unfit to Fight how Woke
(00:24):
Policies are Destroying OurMilitary, and I said, wow, if
that's not down Stars Alley, Idon't know what is.
So with Matt Lohmeyer's help,we got a hold of Amber and come
to find out she was DeputyAssistant Secretary of Defense
for Outreach and I go, wow, ifthat's not what StarsARS is all
about.
So I had a nice chat with Amberand asked her if she'd become a
(00:48):
board of advisor members forSTARRS.
And she has.
But boy, she has one heck of aCV as well.
Aside from writing Unfit toFight, she's an author of Danger
Close.
She's flown in combat in Iraqand Afghanistan.
Army Kiowa helicopter pilot hasled overseas as well.
(01:09):
Member of the 101st member ofPresident Trump's transition
team the last time around.
Amber, we're just so delightedto have you aboard and look
forward to hearing what you haveto share with us.
Amber Smith (01:23):
Well, thank you so much for having me today.
It's great to be with you guysand I appreciate the STARS
mission and all the work thateverybody on here has been doing
.
And I apologize for my voice inadvance this is the best it has
sounded in probably two weeks,but still giving me some
problems.
So, as mentioned, I recentlywrote a book called Unfit to
(01:46):
Fight how Woke Policies AreDestroying Our Military.
It's for anybody that caresabout freedom, the future of our
country and ensuring the way oflife that we all have loved and
lived and want it to continuefor future generations, for our
kids, for our kids and reallywhat is at risk if we don't face
(02:09):
the reality of the state of ourmilitary and its leadership and
the path that is leading itdown.
And I wrote this book because Ihave a deep respect and
admiration for the military, forthose who serve, and I want
nothing more than to get themilitary back on track to a
mission-centric meritocracy thatis absolutely necessary to be
(02:30):
able to accomplish the mission.
Our nation is at an incrediblydangerous crossroads right now.
The military, it's the backboneof our nation, of our society,
it's what allows us to sleepsafe in our beds at night.
It deters our enemies.
It's what allows us to sleepsafe in our beds at night deters
our enemies.
It provides overwatch while weget to live the lives that we
want here at home and allows ourkids to grow up as free
(02:52):
Americans.
But sadly, as we all know, themilitary today is led by
Pentagon political leadershipthat has put it in a downward
spiral.
There's a rapid decline that weare witnessing that is
absolutely unprecedented.
What we saw is, once that youknow a lot of us have served in,
(03:12):
was a kill your enemies machine.
That was focused on was afocused meritocracy, but quickly
, rather quickly, evolved intoan indoctrination institution
that is more focused on pronounsand identity politics than it
is on accomplishing the mission.
You have heard people say thatthe military is, and should be,
(03:34):
a reflection of society, andthat notion makes it stronger,
but that could not be furtherfrom the truth.
The military should not be areflection of society, or should
it be a requirement?
It should be made up of youngmen and women who want to serve
with the purpose of destroyingour enemies so we can win wars
(03:55):
and we can protect the way oflife that we love, and that's it
.
Without a strong and focusedand capable military with
trustworthy leadership.
We don't have a country.
It's really as simple as that,and the seriousness of all of
that is what led me to write mybook Unfit to Fight.
(04:15):
So I had the privilege ofserving in the army for over
seven and a half years.
I was an OH-58 Delta Kiowawarrior pilot in command and air
mission commander in the 101stAirborne Division and spent two
years in the Middle East flyinglow-level combat missions in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our mission was unique becausewe flew very low level in direct
support of ground units.
(04:35):
So we provide close air support, close combat attacks, and we
take out enemy targets and more.
We supported the infantry andother ground units, which led us
to frequently be in the thickof the fight, and I'm incredibly
proud of my service.
I did not join for politicalreasons.
I joined because the nation wasviolently attacked and
(04:59):
thousands of innocentunsuspecting Americans were
killed in the most brutalfashion on 9-11.
And then I was in college atthe time and watching those
towers fall lit a fire inside ofme and I knew that I wanted to
help protect the nation that Iloved, and I'm forever proud and
grateful to be within theexclusive brotherhood and
(05:22):
sisterhood of those who haveserved within the exclusive
brotherhood and sisterhood ofthose who have served.
And what was really interestingwas after 9-11, watching the
nation unify and put ourindividual differences aside and
witness something that we havenot seen in decades now.
Uh, for example, the AUMF thewar authorization for
(05:43):
Afghanistan at the time had onedissenting vote in Congress.
So fast forward to today.
That's pretty unimaginable intoday's political climate.
Sadly, though, today, as we seein the news every single day, a
world war is now more realisticthreats than we've seen in some
(06:06):
time.
China continues to threaten toinvade Taiwan, us and Russia.
Tensions increase over Ukrainealmost daily.
Threats from Iran and NorthKorea continue US foreign
policies and a free fall aroundthe world.
And now what we are seeing inthe Middle East?
Our national debt isskyrocketing.
(06:26):
But these threats are not justfrom nation states.
Despite 20 years of war andtrillions of dollars in the
Middle East, terror groups stillremain a very significant
threat.
Our open southern border hasallowed countless terrorists
into our nation, just waiting toattack, waiting for the right
time.
Southern border has allowedcountless terrorists into our
(06:48):
nation just waiting to attack,waiting for the right time.
So that reality of a threat, ofa hot war with a near peer is
real, and the reality of thiswar would have dire consequences
, and the challenges that ourmilitary would face are
something that current militaryleadership and its force has
never seen.
In the past 20 years ofconflict in the Middle East it's
(07:10):
given many leaders and not justmilitary leaders but political
leaders as well an inflated egoand a false sense of security
when it comes to our ownmilitary capabilities, and we're
seeing that firsthand,especially with the war in
Ukraine.
So with these threats, youwould assume that military
leadership is focused on nothingmore than preparing, training,
(07:33):
readiness, effectiveness, butsadly that couldn't be farther
from the truth.
Wokeness has infiltrated themilitary and it has become a
focal point.
The military is focused onactivities that are weakening it
from the inside out and, as youknow, woke is a progressive
liberal ideology aimed atdestroying traditional norms in
(07:55):
every aspect of our society andour nation.
But the military for some timewas somewhat unassuming.
It sort of flew under the radarin terms of the vast changes
that it was undergoing and mostpeople didn't assume the
military was at risk forbecoming woke, like other
vulnerable institutions, likesort of the medical industry or
(08:16):
the public education system, butthe military recruited from red
states, and so people sort ofassumed that it would possibly
be exempt from what some ofthese other institutions were
facing, but in all actuality itwasn't an exception.
Dei, transgender gender policies, double standards, gender
(08:36):
quotas, these mismanaged wars,vaccine mandates, crt, critical
race theory and overall wokepolicies, combined with toxic,
failed leadership.
Zero leadership, accountabilityhas killed morale at every
level in the military.
It's contributed to the worstrecruitment crisis since the end
(08:57):
of the Vietnam War.
There's a current ongoingretention crisis and the
all-volunteer force couldcollapse.
The only way the all-volunteerforce works is if you get enough
people to volunteer to serve,and we're not seeing that
anymore.
Young Americans they're payingattention, they're seeing these
problems, they're seeing thisawful leadership and they don't
(09:19):
want to serve anymore.
So more and more servicemembers that are currently in
are not staying in to make acareer out of the military.
They're turning down battalioncommands and they're getting out
as soon as their contract is up.
So because of these divisivepolicies, there's been a
significant breach of trust.
Young soldiers trust theirleaders.
(09:41):
It's a blind trust to followthose who lead them.
They count on them, they relyon them that they will make the
best decisions for them incombat and they believe them.
That trust is absolutelycrucial to the commander
subordinate relationship andthat relationship is essential
to winning battles in combat.
When that relationship is takenfor granted, like it currently
(10:04):
is, that trust starts todissipate and that effectiveness
breaks down.
Men and women are not going tofight for a leader that they
despise or that they know.
They are merely a number two.
And that broken trust begins atthe individual leader level,
but it expands to the entireinstitution when a soldier sees
(10:24):
the reality of a woke,politically driven Department of
Defense and that vital trusthas been severed from the COVID
vaccine mandate, to theAfghanistan withdrawal, to this
forced DEI indoctrination.
Americans are saying no toserving in the military, as
reflected in recent recruitmentnumbers.
(10:46):
In 2022, the Army missed itsrecruitment goal for 25%.
In 2023, the Army missed it by10,000 recruits, the Navy 7,000.
The Air Force 3,000.
In 2023, in an annual defensesurvey by the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Foundation foundthat only 51% of Americans would
(11:07):
recommend their families orfriends to join the military.
That's down drastically from2018, when it found 70% of
Americans would recommendservice.
Half of those surveyed pointedto so-called woke practices
undermining the military'seffectiveness as the issue, so
(11:28):
that trust and confidence hasrapidly eroded, within active
duty, military as well, directlyrelated to these woke policies
that we've been discussing.
In 2022, a poll for HeritageThink Tank asked to what degree
have the following events orreports decreased your trust in
the military?
71% said the withdrawal fromAfghanistan.
(11:52):
64% said the fact that themilitary is pursuing an all
electric vehicles.
65% said that the militarybeing required to pay for travel
for service members abortions.
69% said CRT being on the CNO'sreading list.
70% said the reduction inphysical fitness standards to
(12:13):
even the playing field.
70% said focusing on climatechange as a national security
threat.
And the top reason for losingtrust in the military, at 80%,
was allowing unrestrictedservice to transgenders.
But you will never hear thattruth from Pentagon brass.
You hear excuses.
(12:33):
You hear them point to the factthat only 77% of Americans are
ineligible to serve.
Only 23% of the population age17 to 24 is eligible to serve
because of obesity, drug use andmental and physical issues that
disqualify people.
This is true, but it is alsonot new.
It has been this way fordecades.
(12:54):
What is new is that young,eligible Americans are suddenly
saying no to military service.
We live in an era of instantvisual communication.
Because of social media, peopleare able to see and learn about
the military firsthand frompeople posting videos Today.
(13:14):
I know it's hard to believe,but that is where a lot of young
people are getting theirinformation from and using to
make decisions off of.
They see this toxic militaryleadership.
They hear the stories.
They see these horrible,unhealthy living conditions.
They saw what happened toservice members with the vaccine
mandates and they see seniorleadership with a different set
(13:38):
of rules than everyone else.
They see these leaders who seemto be more concerned with
appeasing woke politicians in DCwho have a next election to win
.
Because of that, the militaryis no longer in control of the
narrative.
Pentagon, and this example thatI'm about to give as well
(14:01):
absolutely has been devastatingto Pentagon recruitment.
It has lost the veterans, whichis tried and true as a method
of their recruitment.
That military service hadalmost become a family business.
If someone in your closeimmediate family had served, you
(14:24):
were much more likely to serveyourself, but that's not how it
is anymore.
The 2023 RAND report found that54% of veterans would not
recommend military service,especially in the enlisted ranks
.
When I interviewed recentveterans and recent retirees for
my book Unfit to Fight.
(14:44):
Not one said they wouldrecommend service to their kids
or young people in theircommunities.
I had one that said maybe theAir National Guard once they
fixed itself but that will.
That fact that veterans are notrecommending service anymore at
a significant percentage willcontinue to provide devastating
(15:08):
results to military recruitment.
But you also can't expect thePentagon to fix a problem that
they refuse to acknowledgeexists or the effects it has on
the force.
The Secretary of the Army saidshe does not know what woke
means.
Secretary of Defense LloydAustin said that he doesn't get
the issue with critical racetheory and that the Department
(15:31):
of Defense doesn't teach itanyway, which is false,
including at the academies.
Others have openly embraced itGeneral Milley, the former
chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaffs.
He thinks critical race theoryin the military is essential and
a great idea.
He said he wants to learn moreabout white rage.
Dei, gender ideology, socialjustice have taken a priority
(15:57):
over mission focus and missionreadiness, yet it is not being
acknowledged.
And all of this is adistraction from allowing those
who are just trying to serve ourcountry and accomplish the
mission.
Sadly, service members arebeing told that they're the
problem.
They're racist, they're sexistand even extremists.
(16:18):
The military kicked outthousands of battle-trusted,
proven combat veterans withyears of experience and
leadership over their refusal totake the COVID vaccine that was
mandated by Secretary Austin,later rescinded in the 2023 NDAA
.
The military is spending yourtax dollars on recruiting ads
that solely appeal to the LGBTQplus community, and it's ordered
(16:43):
stand down days for extremism.
It's lowered physical standardsto ensure the retention of
women and has even allowed dragqueen shows on MWR facilities on
military bases.
Our military is not a socialexperiment.
It should not follow thepolitical agendas that change
every two to four years.
(17:03):
Woke policies are destroyingour military from the inside out
, and it has happened fasterthan most could believe.
So this is all happening whileChina, russia, iran, north Korea
they're all watching andlearning every single day what
our military is capable of and,even more important, what it is
not capable of.
(17:24):
We're seeing this decline inleadership at the Pentagon, both
political leaders and generals.
There has become this two-tierjustice system among flag
officers, where they have adifferent set of rules than the
rank and file.
The current SecDef went AWOL fora medical procedure that
required anesthesia and he didnot tell his boss, the commander
(17:45):
in chief, or give commandauthority to his deputy while he
was incapacitated during theprocedure.
If a private had done that, hewould be fired.
He would face UCMJ action andmore, would face UCMJ action and
more.
But you saw Secretary Austinsmirking during testimony on
Capitol Hill because he knewthere would be no accountability
(18:06):
.
There has been noaccountability and there will be
no accountability.
13 Americans were killed duringthe botched withdrawal from
Afghanistan.
General Milley called the dronestrike that killed 10 Afghan
civilians following the attack arighteous strike, and the
Pentagon held that narrative forweeks until the New York Times
investigation revealed that itwasn't a terrorist target, but
(18:28):
rather a civilian familyincluding seven children.
There has been noaccountability.
General Milley also called hisChinese counterpart to tell him
he would give him warning priorto a military strike.
Still no accountability.
We've seen generals and seniorenlisted leaders get in Twitter
fights with people they disagreewith.
(18:48):
It's embarrassing, it sets ahorrible example and our
adversaries are watching it.
All this lack of accountability, culture and decline of
professional standards haseroded military culture.
If you look back to World War II, generals were given a few
months to prove themselves to besuccessful on the battlefield.
If not, they were fired.
(19:09):
They were replaced.
It wasn't personal, but weneeded to win a war.
Fast forward to Vietnam.
You started to see asignificant shift.
The Pentagon started to viewfirings and replacing individual
generals as a black eye to themilitary rather than
accountability for individualperformance.
It was viewed as negative PRand generals began to get fired
(19:31):
less and less.
Now it is incredibly rare tosee a general get fired for
performance fired forperformance.
We still see them fired forpersonal conduct here and there,
but rarely for performance.
Just look at the post 9-11 wars.
The consistent testimony on theHill from wartime generals in
charge of combat operations wasthat the war was going great.
(19:53):
They just needed more time,more money and continued to
paint this rosy colored pictureof the war, which we know is
anything but general aftergeneral, and it's hurt the force
as a whole, especially becauseservice members who were there
saw it with their own eyes andthen they saw the televised
testimonies of their leaderssaying something different.
(20:16):
It's encouraged yes-men whoknew they just need to fall in
line to get promoted up theranks rather than actually have
to produce a successful in-state.
But we do not need yes-men whoare scared to speak the truth
about what is right and tell thetruth.
We don't need leaders who aresilenced and scared to tell the
(20:38):
truth.
Today, it seems Americangenerals are much more focused
on scheduling book interviews tobash former presidents or
scheduling media appearance toincrease their brand upon
retirement from the militarythan they are actually focused
on solving the current militaryproblems, including the current
(20:58):
recruitment and retention crisisor the department's significant
inability to innovate orpreparing for the next war.
Sadly, that group think thatyes-man mentality is what the
next generation of militaryleaders are being taught by
example.
We need diversity of thoughtand we need leaders who can
(21:18):
handle that, not one who focuson uniqueness and appeasement
over team and mission focus.
We need leaders who value meritand standards and mission
success.
Pentagon and military leadershipneed to self-reflect and they
need to acknowledge that theyhave to reverse course.
Firing generals for lack ofperformance must be the standard
(21:41):
.
Accountability is the wayforward.
Meritocracy is the way forward.
Top military generals have tostop looking outwards and making
excuses.
Dod has to operate like awarfighting institution rather
than a DC political bureaucracy.
Congress plays a big role infixing this.
Congress must perform itscongressional duties and provide
(22:05):
proper oversight.
They control the purse strings.
It's time to exert control overthe matter and start using this
power.
They must hold generals andpolitical leaders accountable
for these military failures, andthe Pentagon must no longer be
able to investigate itself andclear itself of all wrongdoing.
This practice is embarrassingand the military must get out of
(22:28):
the appeasement business.
Wearing the US military is not aright and it is not a guarantee
.
Not everyone is qualified orshould be allowed to serve.
An important reminder about themilitary is that it is hard, it
is challenging.
It opens your eyes to the good,the bad and the very ugly
realities of the world.
But it makes you strong.
(22:49):
It pushes you to your limits.
It gives you confidence indealing with extremely hard
situations and that you'recapable of more than what you
could have ever imagined.
It is rewarding.
It gives you confidence in yourabilities, your decision-making
and your character.
You find out exactly who youare and what you are capable of,
that you will never give up onyour team, regardless of the
(23:14):
sacrifice.
That is what the military givesyou Discipline, structure,
purpose.
This is important and this islike one of the most important
parts of being a trusted memberof the team.
The team has to be required tosuccessfully accomplish the
mission.
The military isn't easy and itshouldn't be.
(23:36):
Becoming a kinder gentler.
Military is simply becoming aweaker military.
A simple question that can beasked in any military context is
does this make the military astronger, more lethal fighting
force capable of destroying ouradversaries?
If the answer is no, then itdoesn't need to burden the
(23:56):
military.
Does lowering the standards forwomen make the military better?
No, kay, we probably shouldn'tdo that.
Does requiring taxpayers to payfor transgender service members
, gender reassignment surgeries,make the military more deadly
force?
No, okay, probably shouldn't dothat either.
We should focus on war fighting.
The danger of this crisis isdifficult to overstate.
(24:20):
No-transcript.
(24:42):
Continually worried aboutfinding themselves the focus of
the wrath of the US military,we're in a perilous place, and
that's exactly where we aretoday.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF ret (24:54):
Wow , Amber, I guess you're finished
All done, pending any questions.
Amber Smith (24:57):
I guess you're finished, all done, pending any
questions.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF re (25:01):
Well , yeah, I'd like to turn to
questions specifically for youfirst, before we go to Lonnie,
and general questions.
I was noticing on the chat oneof the people that had to depart
called out your bravery and Iwould only second that.
And you're just so articulate.
Second that, and you're just soarticulate.
(25:24):
With your permission, I'd liketo ask Cindy to carve this
portion out, because it needs awider distribution than the 128
or nine of us that we have here.
So there's a number of people Iknow I and I'm sure a lot of
other folks would like to sendthat to, because it's a real
live experience from someonewho's been there done that, and
(25:45):
we just appreciate your words.
Amber Smith (25:48):
Well, thank you so much, Appreciate it.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF ret (25:50):
So I guess that's a thumbs up on.
We have your permission to dothat and then let's open it up,
ron, and if you want to run thissection to questions of Amber,
we'll let that go, maybe 10minutes or so, and then we'll
turn to Lonnie to close this outwith some good
thought-provoking ideas thatLonnie always has.
(26:12):
So, ron, over to you and to ourpopulace here for questions of
Amber.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Okay, well, we're waiting for hands to come up.
Boris Marion just published avery powerful article lately and
Cindy has put the link in thechat box.
The title A Serious PentagonMust Hold a Plucking Board Very
powerful and very closely alignswith your theme, amber Victor
(26:44):
go ahead, sir.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
Yes, amber, I just I'm going to be very blunt.
I praise God for you and foryour willingness to stand in the
gap.
Like so many others and I, justI was spent time non-combat.
I never want to step onpeople's, but I spent four and a
half years in the 82nd AirborneDivision and to hear your
danger close I'm an artillerymanyour danger close, willingness
(27:09):
to support troops is just a bighooah.
But how can we best supportyour mission?
Thank you.
Amber Smith (27:19):
Well, I am just so I'm noticing.
I wanted to get the word outbecause I saw in 2022, and this
sort of sparked my idea for thebook itself was I saw the.
I saw the at the time the ArmyChief of staff testifying on the
(27:41):
Hill about the recruitmentcrisis and I watched him, just
like every single general duringthe Afghanistan war, go up
there and give an answer.
That was every single.
That was an excuse.
It was anything but the truthof why the recruitment crisis
was happening, and I was likeyou know how today's media works
(28:05):
.
There's going to be headlines,soundbites, and people are going
to hear these things and makeexcuses for the military when
not acknowledging the realproblem, and you can't fix a
problem that you don'tacknowledge exists.
And I said I want people toknow the real problems that are
out there with the militaryright now.
So that is where I decided towrite the book.
(28:29):
Now, the big thing is justcontinuing to get the word out,
because you are seeing there isa population, especially within
the veteran community, actuallywho are denying that wokeism
exists at all in the militaryand they're completely
downplaying it and saying youknow, people are being alarmists
when I take the exact oppositestance is that if you care about
(28:54):
the military, if you care aboutour country, you're going to
want to fix the military.
You're not going to want totell everyone to shut their
mouths and deny what is going on.
So I think it's important tokeep the truth out there in any
way that you can.
So helping spread the word,helping spread it on social
media talks like this, it's allimportant.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Great Thanks, amber.
Two more hands, our Stars andStripes podcaster and host, al
Bigfoot Palmer.
You're up, sir.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Hey, Amber, Thanks for being with us here today and
as a Vietnam era combat guy,I'm proud to be here with you
today.
But here's my question for youand you pointed it out Flying
combat, and particularly flyingin the military, is a difficult
and arduous task.
How did you handle that?
And my second part of that ishow did your fellow aviators
(29:51):
handle it?
Amber Smith (29:53):
So I actually address a lot of this in my
first book, danger Close,because that's more of it is a
memoir about my time, especiallyas a young woman, in the
military, and then all of mytraining and then into Iraq and
Afghanistan.
But I will also tell you thatmy flight instructor was a
Vietnam pilot.
He flew bird dogs and Hueys andhe was just awesome.
(30:17):
He was amazing.
He had some incredible storiesto tell and that's also what I
want.
I want the Vietnam Wargeneration to tell their stories
as well.
So I think it's important.
But my experience was a wake-upcall, you could say.
(30:39):
I grew up with two sisters andI can you still hear me?
I grew up with two sisters andit was I joined the military
because I wanted to serve mycountry and I wanted to fly
after what happened on 9-11.
And I knew it was going to bechallenging.
(31:01):
I knew it was going to be tough.
I knew that it may be.
I knew that people that I wasserving with may possibly
perceive me as weird or notfitting in, because I was coming
.
I was young.
I was about 10 years youngerthan most.
When I went to like basictraining I was obviously, like,
(31:23):
actually kind of older, but whenI went to walk school and then
onto flight school and then tomy unit, I was about 10 years
younger than, I would say, mostpeople and so 10 years younger.
I was just coming out ofcollege as a University of
Washington cheerleader and wasnow going to be this Kiowa
(31:44):
helicopter pilot which, stillback back in the day when um I
got to my unit, was very rare tohave women.
So there was, uh, a femalepresident presence in um the
lift community, so Chinooks andBlackhawks, but in the patchy
and the cab world it was stillrare, and so, uh, they made me
(32:08):
earn it.
You know there was no handoutswhen I got to my unit, which is
what I wanted Because, like Isaid, I'm the biggest advocate
for merit.
Do the job that everybody elsecan do, no special treatment,
and you will earn the trust ofthe people that you serve with,
(32:31):
with, and I'll I'll be the firstto say that it wasn't easy, and
I think a lot of people werevery skeptical at first and, uh,
you know, keeping my head downdoing my job, doing it well, Um,
and then becoming that trustedmember of the team was, I think,
what then, um, you know,changed my experience.
It could have gone one way orthe other, Um, but I learned
(32:54):
very quickly, um, how to workwith everybody in that kind of
an environment.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Did you, uh, did you lose anybody over there?
Amber Smith (33:05):
I did yes, one of my.
Uh, I did yes, one of my.
Well, yeah, we lost a couple ofpeople and I and the Kiowa's
mission is different.
Are you familiar with the Kiowa?
Yeah, I am, yeah, so a lot ofpeople aren't.
(33:27):
It's like, for some reason,this mystery aircraft that most
people, even army peoplesometimes, I feel like aren't
the infantry guys, the guys onthe ground, that most people,
even army people, sometimes Ifeel like aren't the infantry
guys, the guys on the ground,like usually are very well
familiar with it.
But the Kiowa it's a lightattack reconnaissance aircraft.
It only has two seats.
We carry a 50 cal machine gun,a rocket pod that carries seven
high explosive rockets, and thenwe can also be configured to
carry four hellfire missiles,depending on your configuration.
(33:48):
We fly very low level, 50 feetabove the ground, 300 feet at
night, and that's only to avoidpower lines and cell towers,
different sort of man-madehazards.
But so we are very much in thethick of the fight.
I had an AK-47 round land about12 inches behind my spine when
(34:10):
my aircraft got shot up in Iraq.
It's like Kiowa pilots, it'sjust we go and fly into
firefights.
That's literally what our jobis is to go, then provide close
air support for the infantry,for convoys, for anybody that's
in trouble on the ground.
(34:31):
We come in and we take outenemy targets for them.
So we, you know, always pridedourselves on being able to
respond, like the fact that ouraircraft was sort of old
technology and not thatsophisticated like an Apache,
where it was very digital andhad you had to took 30 minutes
to crank it.
(34:51):
Um, we could run from the timewe got a call If we weren't
already in the air we could bein the air in seven minutes and
only need a call sign, a gridand a frequency to get to where
we were going and and help thoseguys out on the ground.
So it was a very it was a verycool aircraft.
(35:12):
That I'm very grateful.
I almost, if you read my bookDanger Close, it was like fate
that sort of shifted me to theKiowa versus a different
aircraft.
But I'm so grateful I got tohave that experience because I
would have had a very differentexperience if I hadn't got to
fly that aircraft.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
And the tough part about that is, after getting
shot or even losing somebody, goback to your quarters, go to
sleep and then get up and do itagain the next day.
Amber Smith (35:38):
Yep, it certainly is, and yeah, it's crazy and it
was like I always and it waslike I always.
(35:59):
I knew the look on someone'sface when they were coming to
tell me that you know, someonehad been killed, whether it was
a result of, like, enemy fire,we also lost people because of
maintenance, because of thosehazards that I told you about.
So it was a very, verydangerous job.
Um, I, I, in Iraq too, myroommate actually, um, was out
(36:25):
on a mission, you know, and I Ihad somebody she got, she got
shot during a firefight throughher leg, through her ankle
actually, and so, yeah, somebodyknocks on the door and tells
you and it's, yeah, it's.
It's hard for people that haveto relay that information, but I
also think you know they have,they have a look on their face
that you learn when they come togive you that information.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Well, thanks so much, amber, for being with us here
today, and can we get you on oneof my podcasts?
Amber Smith (36:51):
Sure, yeah, you can just get my email from
everybody.
I'll send it and then we'llconnect.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
We'll do it, thank you.
Speaker 4 (36:59):
Well, amber, I can tell you, having some time in
the Kiowa when I was a forwardair controller in West Germany,
pilots pride themselves on youknow good hands and whatever.
Yeah, pilots pride themselveson you know good hands and
whatever.
Amber Smith (37:11):
But that Kiowa requires some real coordination
with the anti-torque pedal andwhatever it's the last
helicopter that requiredpiloting and I know some people
are going to get really mad atme for saying that.
No, but it is true because it islike it's the oldest aircraft.
But it is true because it islike it's the oldest aircraft,
if, if, um, and if, if you paidattention to it, to the progress
(37:33):
of them trying to do thereplacements, it was a uh, it it
was 30 years they've beentrying to replace it and then
they finally ended up, uh, justretiring it completely, but it
was.
You still had to wiggle thesticks and the pedals and all of
the other like models of theaircraft that the army had.
(37:56):
And I say that talking aboutthe army too, because I know
army aviation and the other oneswere continuing to advance with
technology and we still had allthe old technology that's still
required.
Like if you lost hydraulics,you know, you had to really
muscle it, which was anemergency procedure.
So it didn't happen that often,but it was um, that's what they
(38:17):
say.
Speaker 4 (38:18):
Yeah, amen to that.
Okay, we've got some more handsup.
Uh, the honorable Fred Rice,you're up, sir.
Speaker 8 (38:28):
There we go.
Uh, thank you very much.
Uh uh, amber, I really enjoyedyour talk.
Um, I've got a little bit incommon with you.
My son was a cobra pilot andyou talk about when you have to
fly.
You really have to fly thosethings yeah, and I wonder, did
you ever, uh, fly with somebodyby the name of holly mitchell?
Amber Smith (38:48):
no, I don't think so.
Speaker 8 (38:51):
I'm wondering if you may have bumped into my son
while you were in the 101st.
He was a division aviationofficer there.
Maybe I was in.
Amber Smith (38:59):
There were two aviation cabs in the 101st and I
was in the 101st, airborne inthe cab, and then there was
159th as well, so there was twodifferent brigades.
Speaker 8 (39:12):
He was the division aviation officer.
Amber Smith (39:14):
Oh, okay, he was a major I was a lowly warrant
officer, so I never got toprobably meet those guys.
Speaker 8 (39:22):
Okay, well, let me tell you I read your book as
soon as I heard about it and Ireally really enjoyed it.
Right after I read your book, Ialso read Pete Hegses' book,
which kind of attacks the sameproblem, but he comes at it from
a much different point of view.
He comes at it from thepolitical side of it A lot more
(39:43):
politics than yours.
I think yours was much moreaimed at the gut and aimed at
the real nut of the problem, soto speak, because you don't pull
any punches on it.
Of course he doesn't either,but it's in a different way.
But I think you've started anextremely important movement and
(40:06):
I hope you will help to jointhis movement to get former
military officers such as are onthis call, right here, to speak
out and make their voice heard.
It's hard hitting stuff likeyou're doing that gets out into
wide print.
That is going to do a lot morethan all of the guest
(40:31):
appearances on, even if it's onFox.
Not enough Democrats read Foxto convert them.
But I think people who havesons and daughters in the
military will really feelsomething from your book.
So I want to congratulate youon having written it.
I think you did a great jobwith it and I hope we get Trump
(40:52):
elected.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
Thank, you Thanks, fred.
Okay, one more, matthew Nugent,and then we'll hand it back to
General Bishop.
Speaker 9 (41:01):
Thank you, amber.
Great job.
Thanks for your courageousservice.
Real deal.
I'm on the board of theMacArthur Society.
We're in the fight with you,rod Ron.
It was great, great idea tohave this.
So I want to tell you, amber,my daughter is a sophomore at
West Point and she is a hardcharger.
She wants to be in the thick ofbattle, just like you shared
(41:24):
with us.
What advice would you give to ayoung female willing to serve
in the combat space?
Amber Smith (41:32):
Well, I want to.
I know a lot of women don'tlike to hear this or acknowledge
this as reality, but it is verymuch the reality that you have
to as a young female.
You have to prove yourself LikeI'm not kidding.
It took me years.
I feel like to be able to admitthat that's what you have to
prove yourself Like I'm notkidding.
It took me years.
I feel like to be able to admitthat that's what you have to do
(41:53):
, but that's actually what youdo.
People are going to be judgingyou more harshly than your peers
and you may not like it atfirst, but you can complain and
get upset about it or you canignore it and do your job and
get really good at your job andstay focused and move forward.
(42:13):
So I would say stay above thedrama, because it is going to
come for you, and be veryprofessional.
Be so good at your job thatwhen that, when the dramatic
people and the naysayers comefor you which they will be so
good at your job that it's notgoing to matter what they say
(42:36):
and she'll have thoseexperiences.
I will also say the military isa different place than when I
served, but be the best that sheabsolutely can at her job and
people will take her seriously.
People will respect herprofessionalism and will include
her and trust her as a memberof the team If, like I said, she
(42:59):
stays above um uh, above thenaysayers and the traumatic
people.
Speaker 9 (43:08):
I look forward to sharing this be lots of stories
for you.
I look forward to sharing thisinterview with her.
Thank you.
Amber Smith (43:13):
Thank you so much.
Best of luck to her as well.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Great.
Thank you, General B, back toyou sir.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF ret (43:19):
Hey , thanks, Ron and Amber.
You'll be a tough one to top inthe future, Believe me.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Amber Smith (43:26):
Well, thank you for having me.
It was Thank you so much forjoining us.
Well, thank you for having me.
It's great to be on with you.
Speaker 4 (43:30):
guys are doing great work, all of you, so thank you,
jim Wyman had his hand up thelast time.
Jim, you go first.
Speaker 6 (43:36):
Well, first I want to thank you for excellent talk
and very deep and inspirational.
My question is do you regard adifference between, say, combat
courage or the courage to enterthe military and social courage,
because you seem to exhibitboth.
Amber Smith (43:53):
I think they're probably two separate things.
In combat, you train before,hopefully, you are going into
war and you train and train andtrain.
And then you go and have beenputting my thoughts and analysis
(44:18):
and opinions out there for sometime now Some of them popular,
some of them very unpopular beconfident in what you're saying
and what you believe in and whatmessage you are delivering and
stand by it.
So I think that it requirescourage because in today's
(44:42):
social media world, you know,you know there's going to be the
haters out there.
Everybody loves to um comeafter you no matter what.
And, uh, I think you just haveto not care in all honesty, like
you have to believe in um, yourmessage, and not care about
(45:06):
what and maybe I did learn thisfrom, like, my time in the
military is not it's noise right, like people who are telling
you you're wrong or that theydon't like what you have to say
about something.
It's noise, it's a distractionand stay focused on what it is,
that, whatever message it isthat you're delivering.
(45:26):
And some people like to getinvolved in the weeds and talk
back and forth, especially onsocial media.
I'm not one of those people.
I'm not ever going to arguewith you to change your own mind
.
I'm going to tell you what Ibelieve and why, and if you
choose not to, then I personallylike, okay, I'm not there, we
(45:47):
go like okay, I'm not there, wego.
Speaker 7 (45:54):
Great thanks, amber.
Going back to the previousquestion about courage and I
think it's a superb question andthat's why I raised my hand as
I used to teach at the NationalLaw College, clausewitz, writing
in the 19th century during theNapoleonic Wars, said Courage is
(46:15):
of two kinds.
One is the courage in the faceof physical danger that every
veteran, every warrior, everyfirst responder demonstrates by
running toward the fire, notaway from the fire, which is the
(46:39):
human instinct ofself-preservation.
Clausewitz teaches that thatphysical courage is the lesser
kind of courage, that the moreimportant courage is the courage
to accept responsibility, andthat is what you spoke about as
(47:07):
social courage.
He calls it the courage toaccept responsibility.
And that courage you measurenot in battle but at the
tribunal of your own conscience,meaning you are able to look
(47:28):
yourself in the mirror and say Idid my best not to allow evil
to happen to my country, whetherit's in uniform or it's by
speaking out and by volunteeringOver.
Speaker 4 (47:49):
Great.
Thank you, dr Katz.
All right, general B looks likewe had a great workout today.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF re (47:55):
Over to you to close it out.
Yeah, good prep for our fourhours on Wednesday.
Really appreciated the lastdiscussion and, al, your
comments about the Americanpeople.
Remember our line of effortssince the beginning the court of
public opinion, of course.
We have a bevy of outstandinglawyers in the halls of Congress
(48:17):
.
That's our focus and when wefirst started and thank you
because your podcast is a bigpart of that court of public
opinion, you know what we'retalking about.
In Lonnie's last remarks went to, you know, marketing, our ideas
, our ideas are some of arecertainly aligned with some of
(48:38):
the most amazing thoughts thatman has ever thought the
founding father's vision.
And when we first got startedin the stars, we had a company,
had a company which aligned withus or advised us.
And, lonnie, it goes to yourpoint about stories.
They said you, everybody, needsto have a PhD.
(48:59):
You need to PhD thispersonalized, humatize and
dramatize, and I guess that's agreat segue for me to thank
amber for doing that for ustoday, uh, and for for your
thoughts and everybody else forwhat you're doing out there.
Uh, thanks to all.
(49:20):
And uh, maybe ron, we shouldlook at these combined uh
meetings in the future and justkind of pass around.
Uh, you know who's hosting thembecause, uh, I don't know whose
idea it was, but I thought itwas, you know, our best town
hall.
Good Thanks, everybody.
Speaker 4 (49:36):
I'll take the blame for it.
Amber , you are a great draw.
We broke the triple-digitbarrier in terms of numbers of
attendees for the first time inour history.
We thank you very much forbeing with us.
For those of you who don't knowAmber, I came to know about her
when I saw an article on thisbook, unfit to Fight how Woke
(00:24):
Policies are Destroying OurMilitary, and I said, wow, if
that's not down Stars Alley, Idon't know what is.
So with Matt Lohmeyer's help,we got a hold of Amber and come
to find out she was DeputyAssistant Secretary of Defense
for Outreach and I go, wow, ifthat's not what StarsARS is all
about.
So I had a nice chat with Amberand asked her if she'd become a
(00:48):
board of advisor members forSTARRS.
And she has.
But boy, she has one heck of aCV as well.
Aside from writing Unfit toFight, she's an author of Danger
Close.
She's flown in combat in Iraqand Afghanistan.
Army Kiowa helicopter pilot hasled overseas as well.
(01:09):
Member of the 101st member ofPresident Trump's transition
team the last time around.
Amber, we're just so delightedto have you aboard and look
forward to hearing what you haveto share with us.
Amber Smith (01:23):
Well, thank you so much for having me today.
It's great to be with you guysand I appreciate the STARS
mission and all the work thateverybody on here has been doing
.
And I apologize for my voice inadvance this is the best it has
sounded in probably two weeks,but still giving me some
problems.
So, as mentioned, I recentlywrote a book called Unfit to
(01:46):
Fight how Woke Policies AreDestroying Our Military.
It's for anybody that caresabout freedom, the future of our
country and ensuring the way oflife that we all have loved and
lived and want it to continuefor future generations, for our
kids, for our kids and reallywhat is at risk if we don't face
(02:09):
the reality of the state of ourmilitary and its leadership and
the path that is leading itdown.
And I wrote this book because Ihave a deep respect and
admiration for the military, forthose who serve, and I want
nothing more than to get themilitary back on track to a
mission-centric meritocracy thatis absolutely necessary to be
(02:30):
able to accomplish the mission.
Our nation is at an incrediblydangerous crossroads right now.
The military, it's the backboneof our nation, of our society,
it's what allows us to sleepsafe in our beds at night.
It deters our enemies.
It's what allows us to sleepsafe in our beds at night deters
our enemies.
It provides overwatch while weget to live the lives that we
want here at home and allows ourkids to grow up as free
(02:52):
Americans.
But sadly, as we all know, themilitary today is led by
Pentagon political leadershipthat has put it in a downward
spiral.
There's a rapid decline that weare witnessing that is
absolutely unprecedented.
What we saw is, once that youknow a lot of us have served in,
(03:12):
was a kill your enemies machine.
That was focused on was afocused meritocracy, but quickly
, rather quickly, evolved intoan indoctrination institution
that is more focused on pronounsand identity politics than it
is on accomplishing the mission.
You have heard people say thatthe military is, and should be,
(03:34):
a reflection of society, andthat notion makes it stronger,
but that could not be furtherfrom the truth.
The military should not be areflection of society, or should
it be a requirement?
It should be made up of youngmen and women who want to serve
with the purpose of destroyingour enemies so we can win wars
(03:55):
and we can protect the way oflife that we love, and that's it
.
Without a strong and focusedand capable military with
trustworthy leadership.
We don't have a country.
It's really as simple as that,and the seriousness of all of
that is what led me to write mybook Unfit to Fight.
(04:15):
So I had the privilege ofserving in the army for over
seven and a half years.
I was an OH-58 Delta Kiowawarrior pilot in command and air
mission commander in the 101stAirborne Division and spent two
years in the Middle East flyinglow-level combat missions in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our mission was unique becausewe flew very low level in direct
support of ground units.
(04:35):
So we provide close air support, close combat attacks, and we
take out enemy targets and more.
We supported the infantry andother ground units, which led us
to frequently be in the thickof the fight, and I'm incredibly
proud of my service.
I did not join for politicalreasons.
I joined because the nation wasviolently attacked and
(04:59):
thousands of innocentunsuspecting Americans were
killed in the most brutalfashion on 9-11.
And then I was in college atthe time and watching those
towers fall lit a fire inside ofme and I knew that I wanted to
help protect the nation that Iloved, and I'm forever proud and
grateful to be within theexclusive brotherhood and
(05:22):
sisterhood of those who haveserved within the exclusive
brotherhood and sisterhood ofthose who have served.
And what was really interestingwas after 9-11, watching the
nation unify and put ourindividual differences aside and
witness something that we havenot seen in decades now.
Uh, for example, the AUMF thewar authorization for
(05:43):
Afghanistan at the time had onedissenting vote in Congress.
So fast forward to today.
That's pretty unimaginable intoday's political climate.
Sadly, though, today, as we seein the news every single day, a
world war is now more realisticthreats than we've seen in some
(06:06):
time.
China continues to threaten toinvade Taiwan, us and Russia.
Tensions increase over Ukrainealmost daily.
Threats from Iran and NorthKorea continue US foreign
policies and a free fall aroundthe world.
And now what we are seeing inthe Middle East?
Our national debt isskyrocketing.
(06:26):
But these threats are not justfrom nation states.
Despite 20 years of war andtrillions of dollars in the
Middle East, terror groups stillremain a very significant
threat.
Our open southern border hasallowed countless terrorists
into our nation, just waiting toattack, waiting for the right
time.
Southern border has allowedcountless terrorists into our
(06:48):
nation just waiting to attack,waiting for the right time.
So that reality of a threat, ofa hot war with a near peer is
real, and the reality of thiswar would have dire consequences
, and the challenges that ourmilitary would face are
something that current militaryleadership and its force has
never seen.
In the past 20 years ofconflict in the Middle East it's
(07:10):
given many leaders and not justmilitary leaders but political
leaders as well an inflated egoand a false sense of security
when it comes to our ownmilitary capabilities, and we're
seeing that firsthand,especially with the war in
Ukraine.
So with these threats, youwould assume that military
leadership is focused on nothingmore than preparing, training,
(07:33):
readiness, effectiveness, butsadly that couldn't be farther
from the truth.
Wokeness has infiltrated themilitary and it has become a
focal point.
The military is focused onactivities that are weakening it
from the inside out and, as youknow, woke is a progressive
liberal ideology aimed atdestroying traditional norms in
(07:55):
every aspect of our society andour nation.
But the military for some timewas somewhat unassuming.
It sort of flew under the radarin terms of the vast changes
that it was undergoing and mostpeople didn't assume the
military was at risk forbecoming woke, like other
vulnerable institutions, likesort of the medical industry or
(08:16):
the public education system, butthe military recruited from red
states, and so people sort ofassumed that it would possibly
be exempt from what some ofthese other institutions were
facing, but in all actuality itwasn't an exception.
Dei, transgender gender policies, double standards, gender
(08:36):
quotas, these mismanaged wars,vaccine mandates, crt, critical
race theory and overall wokepolicies, combined with toxic,
failed leadership.
Zero leadership, accountabilityhas killed morale at every
level in the military.
It's contributed to the worstrecruitment crisis since the end
(08:57):
of the Vietnam War.
There's a current ongoingretention crisis and the
all-volunteer force couldcollapse.
The only way the all-volunteerforce works is if you get enough
people to volunteer to serve,and we're not seeing that
anymore.
Young Americans they're payingattention, they're seeing these
problems, they're seeing thisawful leadership and they don't
(09:19):
want to serve anymore.
So more and more servicemembers that are currently in
are not staying in to make acareer out of the military.
They're turning down battalioncommands and they're getting out
as soon as their contract is up.
So because of these divisivepolicies, there's been a
significant breach of trust.
Young soldiers trust theirleaders.
(09:41):
It's a blind trust to followthose who lead them.
They count on them, they relyon them that they will make the
best decisions for them incombat and they believe them.
That trust is absolutelycrucial to the commander
subordinate relationship andthat relationship is essential
to winning battles in combat.
When that relationship is takenfor granted, like it currently
(10:04):
is, that trust starts todissipate and that effectiveness
breaks down.
Men and women are not going tofight for a leader that they
despise or that they know.
They are merely a number two.
And that broken trust begins atthe individual leader level,
but it expands to the entireinstitution when a soldier sees
(10:24):
the reality of a woke,politically driven Department of
Defense and that vital trusthas been severed from the COVID
vaccine mandate, to theAfghanistan withdrawal, to this
forced DEI indoctrination.
Americans are saying no toserving in the military, as
reflected in recent recruitmentnumbers.
(10:46):
In 2022, the Army missed itsrecruitment goal for 25%.
In 2023, the Army missed it by10,000 recruits, the Navy 7,000.
The Air Force 3,000.
In 2023, in an annual defensesurvey by the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Foundation foundthat only 51% of Americans would
(11:07):
recommend their families orfriends to join the military.
That's down drastically from2018, when it found 70% of
Americans would recommendservice.
Half of those surveyed pointedto so-called woke practices
undermining the military'seffectiveness as the issue, so
(11:28):
that trust and confidence hasrapidly eroded, within active
duty, military as well, directlyrelated to these woke policies
that we've been discussing.
In 2022, a poll for HeritageThink Tank asked to what degree
have the following events orreports decreased your trust in
the military?
71% said the withdrawal fromAfghanistan.
(11:52):
64% said the fact that themilitary is pursuing an all
electric vehicles.
65% said that the militarybeing required to pay for travel
for service members abortions.
69% said CRT being on the CNO'sreading list.
70% said the reduction inphysical fitness standards to
(12:13):
even the playing field.
70% said focusing on climatechange as a national security
threat.
And the top reason for losingtrust in the military, at 80%,
was allowing unrestrictedservice to transgenders.
But you will never hear thattruth from Pentagon brass.
You hear excuses.
(12:33):
You hear them point to the factthat only 77% of Americans are
ineligible to serve.
Only 23% of the population age17 to 24 is eligible to serve
because of obesity, drug use andmental and physical issues that
disqualify people.
This is true, but it is alsonot new.
It has been this way fordecades.
(12:54):
What is new is that young,eligible Americans are suddenly
saying no to military service.
We live in an era of instantvisual communication.
Because of social media, peopleare able to see and learn about
the military firsthand frompeople posting videos Today.
(13:14):
I know it's hard to believe,but that is where a lot of young
people are getting theirinformation from and using to
make decisions off of.
They see this toxic militaryleadership.
They hear the stories.
They see these horrible,unhealthy living conditions.
They saw what happened toservice members with the vaccine
mandates and they see seniorleadership with a different set
(13:38):
of rules than everyone else.
They see these leaders who seemto be more concerned with
appeasing woke politicians in DCwho have a next election to win
.
Because of that, the militaryis no longer in control of the
narrative.
Pentagon, and this example thatI'm about to give as well
(14:01):
absolutely has been devastatingto Pentagon recruitment.
It has lost the veterans, whichis tried and true as a method
of their recruitment.
That military service hadalmost become a family business.
If someone in your closeimmediate family had served, you
(14:24):
were much more likely to serveyourself, but that's not how it
is anymore.
The 2023 RAND report found that54% of veterans would not
recommend military service,especially in the enlisted ranks
.
When I interviewed recentveterans and recent retirees for
my book Unfit to Fight.
(14:44):
Not one said they wouldrecommend service to their kids
or young people in theircommunities.
I had one that said maybe theAir National Guard once they
fixed itself but that will.
That fact that veterans are notrecommending service anymore at
a significant percentage willcontinue to provide devastating
(15:08):
results to military recruitment.
But you also can't expect thePentagon to fix a problem that
they refuse to acknowledgeexists or the effects it has on
the force.
The Secretary of the Army saidshe does not know what woke
means.
Secretary of Defense LloydAustin said that he doesn't get
the issue with critical racetheory and that the Department
(15:31):
of Defense doesn't teach itanyway, which is false,
including at the academies.
Others have openly embraced itGeneral Milley, the former
chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaffs.
He thinks critical race theoryin the military is essential and
a great idea.
He said he wants to learn moreabout white rage.
Dei, gender ideology, socialjustice have taken a priority
(15:57):
over mission focus and missionreadiness, yet it is not being
acknowledged.
And all of this is adistraction from allowing those
who are just trying to serve ourcountry and accomplish the
mission.
Sadly, service members arebeing told that they're the
problem.
They're racist, they're sexistand even extremists.
(16:18):
The military kicked outthousands of battle-trusted,
proven combat veterans withyears of experience and
leadership over their refusal totake the COVID vaccine that was
mandated by Secretary Austin,later rescinded in the 2023 NDAA
.
The military is spending yourtax dollars on recruiting ads
that solely appeal to the LGBTQplus community, and it's ordered
(16:43):
stand down days for extremism.
It's lowered physical standardsto ensure the retention of
women and has even allowed dragqueen shows on MWR facilities on
military bases.
Our military is not a socialexperiment.
It should not follow thepolitical agendas that change
every two to four years.
(17:03):
Woke policies are destroyingour military from the inside out
, and it has happened fasterthan most could believe.
So this is all happening whileChina, russia, iran, north Korea
they're all watching andlearning every single day what
our military is capable of and,even more important, what it is
not capable of.
(17:24):
We're seeing this decline inleadership at the Pentagon, both
political leaders and generals.
There has become this two-tierjustice system among flag
officers, where they have adifferent set of rules than the
rank and file.
The current SecDef went AWOL fora medical procedure that
required anesthesia and he didnot tell his boss, the commander
(17:45):
in chief, or give commandauthority to his deputy while he
was incapacitated during theprocedure.
If a private had done that, hewould be fired.
He would face UCMJ action andmore, would face UCMJ action and
more.
But you saw Secretary Austinsmirking during testimony on
Capitol Hill because he knewthere would be no accountability
(18:06):
.
There has been noaccountability and there will be
no accountability.
13 Americans were killed duringthe botched withdrawal from
Afghanistan.
General Milley called the dronestrike that killed 10 Afghan
civilians following the attack arighteous strike, and the
Pentagon held that narrative forweeks until the New York Times
investigation revealed that itwasn't a terrorist target, but
(18:28):
rather a civilian familyincluding seven children.
There has been noaccountability.
General Milley also called hisChinese counterpart to tell him
he would give him warning priorto a military strike.
Still no accountability.
We've seen generals and seniorenlisted leaders get in Twitter
fights with people they disagreewith.
(18:48):
It's embarrassing, it sets ahorrible example and our
adversaries are watching it.
All this lack of accountability, culture and decline of
professional standards haseroded military culture.
If you look back to World War II, generals were given a few
months to prove themselves to besuccessful on the battlefield.
If not, they were fired.
(19:09):
They were replaced.
It wasn't personal, but weneeded to win a war.
Fast forward to Vietnam.
You started to see asignificant shift.
The Pentagon started to viewfirings and replacing individual
generals as a black eye to themilitary rather than
accountability for individualperformance.
It was viewed as negative PRand generals began to get fired
(19:31):
less and less.
Now it is incredibly rare tosee a general get fired for
performance fired forperformance.
We still see them fired forpersonal conduct here and there,
but rarely for performance.
Just look at the post 9-11 wars.
The consistent testimony on theHill from wartime generals in
charge of combat operations wasthat the war was going great.
(19:53):
They just needed more time,more money and continued to
paint this rosy colored pictureof the war, which we know is
anything but general aftergeneral, and it's hurt the force
as a whole, especially becauseservice members who were there
saw it with their own eyes andthen they saw the televised
testimonies of their leaderssaying something different.
(20:16):
It's encouraged yes-men whoknew they just need to fall in
line to get promoted up theranks rather than actually have
to produce a successful in-state.
But we do not need yes-men whoare scared to speak the truth
about what is right and tell thetruth.
We don't need leaders who aresilenced and scared to tell the
(20:38):
truth.
Today, it seems Americangenerals are much more focused
on scheduling book interviews tobash former presidents or
scheduling media appearance toincrease their brand upon
retirement from the militarythan they are actually focused
on solving the current militaryproblems, including the current
(20:58):
recruitment and retention crisisor the department's significant
inability to innovate orpreparing for the next war.
Sadly, that group think thatyes-man mentality is what the
next generation of militaryleaders are being taught by
example.
We need diversity of thoughtand we need leaders who can
(21:18):
handle that, not one who focuson uniqueness and appeasement
over team and mission focus.
We need leaders who value meritand standards and mission
success.
Pentagon and military leadershipneed to self-reflect and they
need to acknowledge that theyhave to reverse course.
Firing generals for lack ofperformance must be the standard
(21:41):
.
Accountability is the wayforward.
Meritocracy is the way forward.
Top military generals have tostop looking outwards and making
excuses.
Dod has to operate like awarfighting institution rather
than a DC political bureaucracy.
Congress plays a big role infixing this.
Congress must perform itscongressional duties and provide
(22:05):
proper oversight.
They control the purse strings.
It's time to exert control overthe matter and start using this
power.
They must hold generals andpolitical leaders accountable
for these military failures, andthe Pentagon must no longer be
able to investigate itself andclear itself of all wrongdoing.
This practice is embarrassingand the military must get out of
(22:28):
the appeasement business.
Wearing the US military is not aright and it is not a guarantee
.
Not everyone is qualified orshould be allowed to serve.
An important reminder about themilitary is that it is hard, it
is challenging.
It opens your eyes to the good,the bad and the very ugly
realities of the world.
But it makes you strong.
(22:49):
It pushes you to your limits.
It gives you confidence indealing with extremely hard
situations and that you'recapable of more than what you
could have ever imagined.
It is rewarding.
It gives you confidence in yourabilities, your decision-making
and your character.
You find out exactly who youare and what you are capable of,
that you will never give up onyour team, regardless of the
(23:14):
sacrifice.
That is what the military givesyou Discipline, structure,
purpose.
This is important and this islike one of the most important
parts of being a trusted memberof the team.
The team has to be required tosuccessfully accomplish the
mission.
The military isn't easy and itshouldn't be.
(23:36):
Becoming a kinder gentler.
Military is simply becoming aweaker military.
A simple question that can beasked in any military context is
does this make the military astronger, more lethal fighting
force capable of destroying ouradversaries?
If the answer is no, then itdoesn't need to burden the
(23:56):
military.
Does lowering the standards forwomen make the military better?
No, kay, we probably shouldn'tdo that.
Does requiring taxpayers to payfor transgender service members
, gender reassignment surgeries,make the military more deadly
force?
No, okay, probably shouldn't dothat either.
We should focus on war fighting.
The danger of this crisis isdifficult to overstate.
(24:20):
No-transcript.
(24:42):
Continually worried aboutfinding themselves the focus of
the wrath of the US military,we're in a perilous place, and
that's exactly where we aretoday.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF ret (24:54):
Wow , Amber, I guess you're finished
All done, pending any questions.
Amber Smith (24:57):
I guess you're finished, all done, pending any
questions.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF re (25:01):
Well , yeah, I'd like to turn to
questions specifically for youfirst, before we go to Lonnie,
and general questions.
I was noticing on the chat oneof the people that had to depart
called out your bravery and Iwould only second that.
And you're just so articulate.
Second that, and you're just soarticulate.
(25:24):
With your permission, I'd liketo ask Cindy to carve this
portion out, because it needs awider distribution than the 128
or nine of us that we have here.
So there's a number of people Iknow I and I'm sure a lot of
other folks would like to sendthat to, because it's a real
live experience from someonewho's been there done that, and
(25:45):
we just appreciate your words.
Amber Smith (25:48):
Well, thank you so much, Appreciate it.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF ret (25:50):
So I guess that's a thumbs up on.
We have your permission to dothat and then let's open it up,
ron, and if you want to run thissection to questions of Amber,
we'll let that go, maybe 10minutes or so, and then we'll
turn to Lonnie to close this outwith some good
thought-provoking ideas thatLonnie always has.
(26:12):
So, ron, over to you and to ourpopulace here for questions of
Amber.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Okay, well, we're waiting for hands to come up.
Boris Marion just published avery powerful article lately and
Cindy has put the link in thechat box.
The title A Serious PentagonMust Hold a Plucking Board Very
powerful and very closely alignswith your theme, amber Victor
(26:44):
go ahead, sir.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
Yes, amber, I just I'm going to be very blunt.
I praise God for you and foryour willingness to stand in the
gap.
Like so many others and I, justI was spent time non-combat.
I never want to step onpeople's, but I spent four and a
half years in the 82nd AirborneDivision and to hear your
danger close I'm an artillerymanyour danger close, willingness
(27:09):
to support troops is just a bighooah.
But how can we best supportyour mission?
Thank you.
Amber Smith (27:19):
Well, I am just so I'm noticing.
I wanted to get the word outbecause I saw in 2022, and this
sort of sparked my idea for thebook itself was I saw the.
I saw the at the time the ArmyChief of staff testifying on the
(27:41):
Hill about the recruitmentcrisis and I watched him, just
like every single general duringthe Afghanistan war, go up
there and give an answer.
That was every single.
That was an excuse.
It was anything but the truthof why the recruitment crisis
was happening, and I was likeyou know how today's media works
(28:05):
.
There's going to be headlines,soundbites, and people are going
to hear these things and makeexcuses for the military when
not acknowledging the realproblem, and you can't fix a
problem that you don'tacknowledge exists.
And I said I want people toknow the real problems that are
out there with the militaryright now.
So that is where I decided towrite the book.
(28:29):
Now, the big thing is justcontinuing to get the word out,
because you are seeing there isa population, especially within
the veteran community, actuallywho are denying that wokeism
exists at all in the militaryand they're completely
downplaying it and saying youknow, people are being alarmists
when I take the exact oppositestance is that if you care about
(28:54):
the military, if you care aboutour country, you're going to
want to fix the military.
You're not going to want totell everyone to shut their
mouths and deny what is going on.
So I think it's important tokeep the truth out there in any
way that you can.
So helping spread the word,helping spread it on social
media talks like this, it's allimportant.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Great Thanks, amber.
Two more hands, our Stars andStripes podcaster and host, al
Bigfoot Palmer.
You're up, sir.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Hey, Amber, Thanks for being with us here today and
as a Vietnam era combat guy,I'm proud to be here with you
today.
But here's my question for youand you pointed it out Flying
combat, and particularly flyingin the military, is a difficult
and arduous task.
How did you handle that?
And my second part of that ishow did your fellow aviators
(29:51):
handle it?
Amber Smith (29:53):
So I actually address a lot of this in my
first book, danger Close,because that's more of it is a
memoir about my time, especiallyas a young woman, in the
military, and then all of mytraining and then into Iraq and
Afghanistan.
But I will also tell you thatmy flight instructor was a
Vietnam pilot.
He flew bird dogs and Hueys andhe was just awesome.
(30:17):
He was amazing.
He had some incredible storiesto tell and that's also what I
want.
I want the Vietnam Wargeneration to tell their stories
as well.
So I think it's important.
But my experience was a wake-upcall, you could say.
(30:39):
I grew up with two sisters andI can you still hear me?
I grew up with two sisters andit was I joined the military
because I wanted to serve mycountry and I wanted to fly
after what happened on 9-11.
And I knew it was going to bechallenging.
(31:01):
I knew it was going to be tough.
I knew that it may be.
I knew that people that I wasserving with may possibly
perceive me as weird or notfitting in, because I was coming
.
I was young.
I was about 10 years youngerthan most.
When I went to like basictraining I was obviously, like,
(31:23):
actually kind of older, but whenI went to walk school and then
onto flight school and then tomy unit, I was about 10 years
younger than, I would say, mostpeople and so 10 years younger.
I was just coming out ofcollege as a University of
Washington cheerleader and wasnow going to be this Kiowa
(31:44):
helicopter pilot which, stillback back in the day when um I
got to my unit, was very rare tohave women.
So there was, uh, a femalepresident presence in um the
lift community, so Chinooks andBlackhawks, but in the patchy
and the cab world it was stillrare, and so, uh, they made me
(32:08):
earn it.
You know there was no handoutswhen I got to my unit, which is
what I wanted Because, like Isaid, I'm the biggest advocate
for merit.
Do the job that everybody elsecan do, no special treatment,
and you will earn the trust ofthe people that you serve with,
(32:31):
with, and I'll I'll be the firstto say that it wasn't easy, and
I think a lot of people werevery skeptical at first and, uh,
you know, keeping my head downdoing my job, doing it well, Um,
and then becoming that trustedmember of the team was, I think,
what then, um, you know,changed my experience.
It could have gone one way orthe other, Um, but I learned
(32:54):
very quickly, um, how to workwith everybody in that kind of
an environment.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Did you, uh, did you lose anybody over there?
Amber Smith (33:05):
I did yes, one of my.
Uh, I did yes, one of my.
Well, yeah, we lost a couple ofpeople and I and the Kiowa's
mission is different.
Are you familiar with the Kiowa?
Yeah, I am, yeah, so a lot ofpeople aren't.
(33:27):
It's like, for some reason,this mystery aircraft that most
people, even army peoplesometimes, I feel like aren't
the infantry guys, the guys onthe ground, that most people,
even army people, sometimes Ifeel like aren't the infantry
guys, the guys on the ground,like usually are very well
familiar with it.
But the Kiowa it's a lightattack reconnaissance aircraft.
It only has two seats.
We carry a 50 cal machine gun,a rocket pod that carries seven
high explosive rockets, and thenwe can also be configured to
carry four hellfire missiles,depending on your configuration.
(33:48):
We fly very low level, 50 feetabove the ground, 300 feet at
night, and that's only to avoidpower lines and cell towers,
different sort of man-madehazards.
But so we are very much in thethick of the fight.
I had an AK-47 round land about12 inches behind my spine when
(34:10):
my aircraft got shot up in Iraq.
It's like Kiowa pilots, it'sjust we go and fly into
firefights.
That's literally what our jobis is to go, then provide close
air support for the infantry,for convoys, for anybody that's
in trouble on the ground.
(34:31):
We come in and we take outenemy targets for them.
So we, you know, always pridedourselves on being able to
respond, like the fact that ouraircraft was sort of old
technology and not thatsophisticated like an Apache,
where it was very digital andhad you had to took 30 minutes
to crank it.
(34:51):
Um, we could run from the timewe got a call If we weren't
already in the air we could bein the air in seven minutes and
only need a call sign, a gridand a frequency to get to where
we were going and and help thoseguys out on the ground.
So it was a very it was a verycool aircraft.
(35:12):
That I'm very grateful.
I almost, if you read my bookDanger Close, it was like fate
that sort of shifted me to theKiowa versus a different
aircraft.
But I'm so grateful I got tohave that experience because I
would have had a very differentexperience if I hadn't got to
fly that aircraft.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
And the tough part about that is, after getting
shot or even losing somebody, goback to your quarters, go to
sleep and then get up and do itagain the next day.
Amber Smith (35:38):
Yep, it certainly is, and yeah, it's crazy and it
was like I always and it waslike I always.
(35:59):
I knew the look on someone'sface when they were coming to
tell me that you know, someonehad been killed, whether it was
a result of, like, enemy fire,we also lost people because of
maintenance, because of thosehazards that I told you about.
So it was a very, verydangerous job.
Um, I, I, in Iraq too, myroommate actually, um, was out
(36:25):
on a mission, you know, and I Ihad somebody she got, she got
shot during a firefight throughher leg, through her ankle
actually, and so, yeah, somebodyknocks on the door and tells
you and it's, yeah, it's.
It's hard for people that haveto relay that information, but I
also think you know they have,they have a look on their face
that you learn when they come togive you that information.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Well, thanks so much, amber, for being with us here
today, and can we get you on oneof my podcasts?
Amber Smith (36:51):
Sure, yeah, you can just get my email from
everybody.
I'll send it and then we'llconnect.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
We'll do it, thank you.
Speaker 4 (36:59):
Well, amber, I can tell you, having some time in
the Kiowa when I was a forwardair controller in West Germany,
pilots pride themselves on youknow good hands and whatever.
Yeah, pilots pride themselveson you know good hands and
whatever.
Amber Smith (37:11):
But that Kiowa requires some real coordination
with the anti-torque pedal andwhatever it's the last
helicopter that requiredpiloting and I know some people
are going to get really mad atme for saying that.
No, but it is true because it islike it's the oldest aircraft.
But it is true because it islike it's the oldest aircraft,
if, if, um, and if, if you paidattention to it, to the progress
(37:33):
of them trying to do thereplacements, it was a uh, it it
was 30 years they've beentrying to replace it and then
they finally ended up, uh, justretiring it completely, but it
was.
You still had to wiggle thesticks and the pedals and all of
the other like models of theaircraft that the army had.
(37:56):
And I say that talking aboutthe army too, because I know
army aviation and the other oneswere continuing to advance with
technology and we still had allthe old technology that's still
required.
Like if you lost hydraulics,you know, you had to really
muscle it, which was anemergency procedure.
So it didn't happen that often,but it was um, that's what they
(38:17):
say.
Speaker 4 (38:18):
Yeah, amen to that.
Okay, we've got some more handsup.
Uh, the honorable Fred Rice,you're up, sir.
Speaker 8 (38:28):
There we go.
Uh, thank you very much.
Uh uh, amber, I really enjoyedyour talk.
Um, I've got a little bit incommon with you.
My son was a cobra pilot andyou talk about when you have to
fly.
You really have to fly thosethings yeah, and I wonder, did
you ever, uh, fly with somebodyby the name of holly mitchell?
Amber Smith (38:48):
no, I don't think so.
Speaker 8 (38:51):
I'm wondering if you may have bumped into my son
while you were in the 101st.
He was a division aviationofficer there.
Maybe I was in.
Amber Smith (38:59):
There were two aviation cabs in the 101st and I
was in the 101st, airborne inthe cab, and then there was
159th as well, so there was twodifferent brigades.
Speaker 8 (39:12):
He was the division aviation officer.
Amber Smith (39:14):
Oh, okay, he was a major I was a lowly warrant
officer, so I never got toprobably meet those guys.
Speaker 8 (39:22):
Okay, well, let me tell you I read your book as
soon as I heard about it and Ireally really enjoyed it.
Right after I read your book, Ialso read Pete Hegses' book,
which kind of attacks the sameproblem, but he comes at it from
a much different point of view.
He comes at it from thepolitical side of it A lot more
(39:43):
politics than yours.
I think yours was much moreaimed at the gut and aimed at
the real nut of the problem, soto speak, because you don't pull
any punches on it.
Of course he doesn't either,but it's in a different way.
But I think you've started anextremely important movement and
(40:06):
I hope you will help to jointhis movement to get former
military officers such as are onthis call, right here, to speak
out and make their voice heard.
It's hard hitting stuff likeyou're doing that gets out into
wide print.
That is going to do a lot morethan all of the guest
(40:31):
appearances on, even if it's onFox.
Not enough Democrats read Foxto convert them.
But I think people who havesons and daughters in the
military will really feelsomething from your book.
So I want to congratulate youon having written it.
I think you did a great jobwith it and I hope we get Trump
(40:52):
elected.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
Thank, you Thanks, fred.
Okay, one more, matthew Nugent,and then we'll hand it back to
General Bishop.
Speaker 9 (41:01):
Thank you, amber.
Great job.
Thanks for your courageousservice.
Real deal.
I'm on the board of theMacArthur Society.
We're in the fight with you,rod Ron.
It was great, great idea tohave this.
So I want to tell you, amber,my daughter is a sophomore at
West Point and she is a hardcharger.
She wants to be in the thick ofbattle, just like you shared
(41:24):
with us.
What advice would you give to ayoung female willing to serve
in the combat space?
Amber Smith (41:32):
Well, I want to.
I know a lot of women don'tlike to hear this or acknowledge
this as reality, but it is verymuch the reality that you have
to as a young female.
You have to prove yourself LikeI'm not kidding.
It took me years.
I feel like to be able to admitthat that's what you have to
prove yourself Like I'm notkidding.
It took me years.
I feel like to be able to admitthat that's what you have to do
(41:53):
, but that's actually what youdo.
People are going to be judgingyou more harshly than your peers
and you may not like it atfirst, but you can complain and
get upset about it or you canignore it and do your job and
get really good at your job andstay focused and move forward.
(42:13):
So I would say stay above thedrama, because it is going to
come for you, and be veryprofessional.
Be so good at your job thatwhen that, when the dramatic
people and the naysayers comefor you which they will be so
good at your job that it's notgoing to matter what they say
(42:36):
and she'll have thoseexperiences.
I will also say the military isa different place than when I
served, but be the best that sheabsolutely can at her job and
people will take her seriously.
People will respect herprofessionalism and will include
her and trust her as a memberof the team If, like I said, she
(42:59):
stays above um uh, above thenaysayers and the traumatic
people.
Speaker 9 (43:08):
I look forward to sharing this be lots of stories
for you.
I look forward to sharing thisinterview with her.
Thank you.
Amber Smith (43:13):
Thank you so much.
Best of luck to her as well.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Great.
Thank you, General B, back toyou sir.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF ret (43:19):
Hey , thanks, Ron and Amber.
You'll be a tough one to top inthe future, Believe me.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Amber Smith (43:26):
Well, thank you for having me.
It was Thank you so much forjoining us.
Well, thank you for having me.
It's great to be on with you.
Speaker 4 (43:30):
guys are doing great work, all of you, so thank you,
jim Wyman had his hand up thelast time.
Jim, you go first.
Speaker 6 (43:36):
Well, first I want to thank you for excellent talk
and very deep and inspirational.
My question is do you regard adifference between, say, combat
courage or the courage to enterthe military and social courage,
because you seem to exhibitboth.
Amber Smith (43:53):
I think they're probably two separate things.
In combat, you train before,hopefully, you are going into
war and you train and train andtrain.
And then you go and have beenputting my thoughts and analysis
(44:18):
and opinions out there for sometime now Some of them popular,
some of them very unpopular beconfident in what you're saying
and what you believe in and whatmessage you are delivering and
stand by it.
So I think that it requirescourage because in today's
(44:42):
social media world, you know,you know there's going to be the
haters out there.
Everybody loves to um comeafter you no matter what.
And, uh, I think you just haveto not care in all honesty, like
you have to believe in um, yourmessage, and not care about
(45:06):
what and maybe I did learn thisfrom, like, my time in the
military is not it's noise right, like people who are telling
you you're wrong or that theydon't like what you have to say
about something.
It's noise, it's a distractionand stay focused on what it is,
that, whatever message it isthat you're delivering.
(45:26):
And some people like to getinvolved in the weeds and talk
back and forth, especially onsocial media.
I'm not one of those people.
I'm not ever going to arguewith you to change your own mind
.
I'm going to tell you what Ibelieve and why, and if you
choose not to, then I personallylike, okay, I'm not there, we
(45:47):
go like okay, I'm not there, wego.
Speaker 7 (45:54):
Great thanks, amber.
Going back to the previousquestion about courage and I
think it's a superb question andthat's why I raised my hand as
I used to teach at the NationalLaw College, clausewitz, writing
in the 19th century during theNapoleonic Wars, said Courage is
(46:15):
of two kinds.
One is the courage in the faceof physical danger that every
veteran, every warrior, everyfirst responder demonstrates by
running toward the fire, notaway from the fire, which is the
(46:39):
human instinct ofself-preservation.
Clausewitz teaches that thatphysical courage is the lesser
kind of courage, that the moreimportant courage is the courage
to accept responsibility, andthat is what you spoke about as
(47:07):
social courage.
He calls it the courage toaccept responsibility.
And that courage you measurenot in battle but at the
tribunal of your own conscience,meaning you are able to look
(47:28):
yourself in the mirror and say Idid my best not to allow evil
to happen to my country, whetherit's in uniform or it's by
speaking out and by volunteeringOver.
Speaker 4 (47:49):
Great.
Thank you, dr Katz.
All right, general B looks likewe had a great workout today.
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF re (47:55):
Over to you to close it out.
Yeah, good prep for our fourhours on Wednesday.
Really appreciated the lastdiscussion and, al, your
comments about the Americanpeople.
Remember our line of effortssince the beginning the court of
public opinion, of course.
We have a bevy of outstandinglawyers in the halls of Congress
(48:17):
.
That's our focus and when wefirst started and thank you
because your podcast is a bigpart of that court of public
opinion, you know what we'retalking about.
In Lonnie's last remarks went to, you know, marketing, our ideas
, our ideas are some of arecertainly aligned with some of
(48:38):
the most amazing thoughts thatman has ever thought the
founding father's vision.
And when we first got startedin the stars, we had a company,
had a company which aligned withus or advised us.
And, lonnie, it goes to yourpoint about stories.
They said you, everybody, needsto have a PhD.
(48:59):
You need to PhD thispersonalized, humatize and
dramatize, and I guess that's agreat segue for me to thank
amber for doing that for ustoday, uh, and for for your
thoughts and everybody else forwhat you're doing out there.
Uh, thanks to all.
(49:20):
And uh, maybe ron, we shouldlook at these combined uh
meetings in the future and justkind of pass around.
Uh, you know who's hosting thembecause, uh, I don't know whose
idea it was, but I thought itwas, you know, our best town
hall.
Good Thanks, everybody.
Speaker 4 (49:36):
I'll take the blame for it.
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