What happens when the mission ends? For Josh Burch, a 20-year veteran Green Beret, the transition from elite warrior to civilian brought unexpected challenges that mirror those faced by countless veterans. From humble beginnings as a high school dropout working construction jobs in Tennessee, Josh's life changed course when his grandfather shared a simple but profound piece of wisdom: "As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another."
That moment set Josh on a path that would lead through the grueling Special Forces selection process, mastering Arabic, and numerous deployments to the Middle East. But perhaps his greatest challenge came after hanging up his uniform. Like many veterans, Josh initially planned to simply hunt and fish in retirement. Instead, he discovered a deeper calling that speaks to anyone facing major life transitions.
Now serving as the director of people for the Honor Foundation, Josh helps special operations veterans navigate the complex journey from military to civilian life. The three-month program addresses not just practical concerns like resume building, but the more profound challenges of identity and purpose. "For so long we've been a part of something bigger than ourselves," Josh explains, "and being a Green Beret, that's who I was, but that's not who I am."
His insights on finding purpose after losing a defining identity resonate beyond military circles. Whether you're leaving a career, changing direction, or searching for meaning in a new chapter of life, Josh's experience offers valuable perspective on what it means to remain part of something bigger than yourself.
Ready to be inspired? Listen now and discover how small town values of community, mentorship, and service continue to shape Josh's mission to ensure no warrior faces their next battle alone.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Josh, do you have a nickname?
What was your nickname in the?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
show.
Well, no, we have call signsthroughout, but your call sign
changes.
Everybody called me Banjo on myfirst team because they
couldn't understand what I said.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Neil wrote a song called Banjo.
Who's tougher, you or the Seals?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I always like to say who's smarter.
For so long we've been a partof something bigger than
ourselves and identity and beinga Green Beret or a Special
Operations Soldier, that's who Iwas, but that's not who I am.
Even in my role as director ofpeople for the Honor Foundation
(00:40):
here in Tennessee, I'm still apart of something bigger than
myself and I tell them I don'tcare if it's like helping a
little league soccer team youknow running for mayor in your
town.
Whatever, your leadership isneeded in our community.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
The Try that in a Small Town podcast begins now.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
All right, this is Cobb.
I don't know, and I'm coming toyou from the patriot mobile
studios.
I got my friend kaylo I gotthrash.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I just built his original glory I got tk to my
right.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
This is going to be a fun episode.
This is Cobb hey.
This is Cobb hey.
But we got to get seriousbecause we got a bad ass coming
to join us tonight Josh Birch heGreen Beret.
I don't even know if I need tosay any more than that.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
That's right.
20-year Green Beret that'sright.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
I mean that's Instructor at a ranger school.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Yeah, crazy.
Speaker 6 (01:48):
He's done it all.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
He's done it all.
Speaker 6 (01:50):
All the movies you've seen.
That's that guy.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Also just an amazing person.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, yeah and we're going to get to a lot.
I can't wait for you guysasking some fun questions.
We're going to get in serious.
He's doing some stuff now forthe honor foundation.
He helps veterans kind oftransition, figure out what
they're going to do when theyleave the service.
And you know, I'm wondering ifthat's kind of like when Tully
(02:16):
and I are done playing, you know, when we're done with our music
it's a lot like that.
Speaker 6 (02:20):
Is it a lot like that ?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
It'll be very much like that.
Speaker 6 (02:24):
It's a lot like that, I mean to be serious, though to
go from that.
It's two different things.
Obviously, combat and all thosethings, but you're at the
height and you're in it, right,yeah, and so if you're on stage,
if you're in battle, whateverthat is, and then all of a
sudden, you're not anymore Onstage or in battle.
It's one or the other, well, thewhole thing, josh.
(02:46):
He's going to tell us about thepurpose, because I've looked up
this guy.
It's really amazing and it'skind of the same thing.
It's purpose for you, me,anybody.
Once your job is kind of done,what are you going to do?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Are you going to sit in your chair and drink whiskey
and smoke cigars for the rest ofyour life and just die out on
the oxygen tank?
Some people can.
I don't know if that's what I'mgonna do, but it sounds anyway.
It's now.
You're right.
It is about, uh, and I think weseriously, if we're being
honest, we'd all say that, uh,you want to have purpose, and
it's kind of like with thepodcast too.
It's like you know, we wantthere to be a purpose, and even
when we're done on stage,whenever that that may be, it
might be a while.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
Hopefully a really long time.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Hopefully a really long time Super depressing
conversation.
But we're anxious for you guysto hear this, josh Birch, and
we'll get to it right now.
I was going to say listen,we're fortunate enough to have a
lot of cool guests on here.
We've been very blessed, buttonight it's kind of like what
it's all about.
This guy right here was in theservice for 26 years 20 as a
(03:54):
Green Beret let's go.
He's currently the director ofpeople for the Honors Foundation
.
It's Josh Birch.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yes, let's go.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Josh.
Thanks Josh, and there's goJosh.
Thanks Josh, and there's Joshand there's your introduction
Josh, do you have a nickname?
What was your nickname in the?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
service.
Well, no, we have call signsthroughout, but your call sign
changes.
Everybody called me Banjo on myfirst team because they
couldn't understand what I said.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Neil wrote a song called Banjo, so I'm pretty sure
.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Hopefully you all have subtitles for this podcast.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
You can probably see it in the background on his
camera.
So Banjo is good, no but that'snot.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, my mother called me Josh.
That's what I go by, whatevershe says.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
That's a great idea, that's right.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
So, before we get to the real reason that we're
having you on.
It's just a great cause.
I got to know some of the GreenBeret stuff.
He wants to get right to it, Iget right to it, because we've
got a lot of Navy SEAL buddiesthat we you know.
You guys are so amazing andwhat you do is so beyond
(05:00):
anything we can comprehend,which I know it's hard for you
guys to realize that, but thewhole special forces family and
what you guys do is soincredible.
How much little backstory.
So.
So when did you go into theservice and when did you know,
okay, I'm going to be a greenberet Cause?
That seems like a.
That's a good question.
(05:21):
It sticks a lot of training.
It is a great question.
Speaker 6 (05:24):
A lot of people just go in and they they want to do
that later yeah, that's a greatyeah.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Like are you going to go on the service and just do
it for a year and then whatpoint did it be like, oh, we got
something here well, I was, youknow, born and raised right
here in tennessee.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Um, you know, grandparents have a farm in
manchester uh area and, uh, Ilived in chattanooga area, spent
a lot of time between boththose locations and you know I
was a little bit more drawn tothe the countryside because I
enjoyed hunting fish and doingthings like that.
At 17 years old I had asked mydad.
(05:56):
I said, hey, I need to tell yousomething.
You need to promise you won'ttell this mom and it was that my
girlfriend was pregnant oh anduh yeah he's like you know, I
want you to, you know thinkabout what you
just told me.
And, uh, you know, tell me how.
I'm not supposed to tell yourmother that but and but.
That really is that's kind ofwhere my head placement was at
(06:16):
that point in my life.
Um, I dropped out of highschool.
I, uh, you know, immediatelywent into, you know, working at
a construction.
You know doing framing.
You know job, hop, went to workfor a lumber mill where, you
know, pulling logs off that were, you know, three times the size
of me.
That was not for me.
I was about 150 pounds, soakingwet then and, you know, I was
(06:41):
went into this apprenticeshipfor auto body and paint and I
was, you know, determined thatthat was going to be the route I
was going to take.
But after spending six, sevenmonths with some folks who had
been doing paint their entirelife, I was like there's not
much of a health future for mein this line of work.
So I was doing some work on mygrandfather's farm.
We were separating fences forcattle, putting in a lot of
(07:05):
fence posts.
He asked me to come sit down onthe back of his tailgate and,
uh, you know, shared proverbs 27, 17, as iron sharpens iron one
man does, mother.
And he said I know you look upto me he's.
You know my grandfather waslike the king of my world, you
know, like always inspired to belike him.
And uh, he said, I think youneed to surround yourself with
some people and inspire you tobe a better version of you, to
(07:27):
be the best dad you can be.
So I, you know, a couple weekslater, went and joined the
military, went in.
You know, I was a, you know,basic in AIT as a combat
engineer, which is essentiallylike explosives and demolition.
And then, you know, I went tomy first duty station, which is
where I met that other piece ofiron Iron sharpening iron is not
an easy task and the gentlemanI met, joe Fancher.
(07:49):
He became a lifelong mentor.
He, you know, he, put the bootto me.
He was determined to make meless of a dirt bag, and he did,
and so I went to ranger school.
He went to SF and I, you know,said I want to do that.
You know, I found someone thatinspired me to pull me out of
where I was as a young man, andit just kept that in the
(08:12):
forefront of my mind is I wantto continually try to be the
best person I can be andsurrounding myself with the best
people to make me a betterperson, and that's how I ended
up getting to SF and SpecialForces.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So they kind, of you know, like the SEALs, our buddy,
they literally break you downand build you back up.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Is that what it's like?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, you know, I think in the military in general
it's you know, people come fromall over the world and you're
coming together so they breakyou down so that when you leave
there you're a soldier.
You so they break you down sothat when you leave there you're
a soldier.
You know it's like you don'tsee a difference in the state
they're from the accent theyhave or the accent they don't
have.
You know, it's just you leavethere.
You know, I always say it'scommonplace to build bonds is
(08:55):
when you're in suck.
You know what.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So when you're in misery, everybody's your friend.
You know You're just lookingfor a lifeline, so, yeah, um,
yeah, that's uh, that's kind ofhow it was with uh special
forces, assessment and selectiontoo.
But there they really kind offocus on on two ways, you know.
Focus on you as an individual.
Um, how do you handle workingby yourself?
And then how do you handleworking as a member of a team?
(09:18):
Because when you're a smallteam navy seals, uh special
operations, special forcesyou're working in a small team,
so you need to be able to trustthe people to your left and
right.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
Curiosity, just because I was just a foot
soldier at Fort Benning so I didthat in like 87, 89, and you
said Ranger, and you were taughta Ranger school later.
Yeah, so to be Special Forces,do you need to be a Ranger first
?
Is that the way it is or isthat the that's?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
you don't.
Is or is that just twodifferent?
No, it's two different, twodifferent pathways.
Um, I just happened to go toranger school.
I wasn't in ranger regiment, Ijust went to ranger school.
Um, as kind of a stepping itwas actually my first school
right out of basic training was.
I went to a pre-ranger and thento ranger school and before
airborne did you do airborne I?
did airborne after ranger afterranger okay I was what you call
(10:06):
a leg ranger.
I was not airborne qualifiedfor a little while, um, but I'm.
I was thankful that I maderanger school.
Uh, you know that first goal,because it kind of set the bar
for the rest of them.
You know, I feel like it wasone of the most demanding
outside of special forcesqualification, if you can do
that you can do anything.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
yeah, it was one of the most demanding outside of
special forces qualification.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, If you can do that, you can do anything.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Yeah, it was just, you know, like go go all in, you
know, and you got the Rangershave that week like the hell
week with seals, right.
So that's a can you?
How's that differentiate?
That's a good question, youknow.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Uh, I'm actually the CEO of the Honor Foundation.
Who's?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
tougher, you or the SEALs?
I always like to say who'ssmarter.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
No, they're great.
I mean, you know we all giveeach other a hard time, but when
it comes down to it, whenyou're overseas, you're all
wearing the same flag, rightthat's right Amen.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
We appreciate that.
So is that Green Beret sowhat's is that?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
green beret so is.
Is the next step delta, or isthat just another branch?
They're a different, yeah, it'sa whole different different
organization?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
yeah, so how do you make that choice?
So at some point you have tomake the leap to be.
Is it another?
More training to be a greenberet after you've been a ranger
and all stuff, right yeah?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
So the Special Forces , army-wise going to Special
Forces, the first step isSpecial Forces Assessment
Selection, which is about 30days.
It's where they test who youare as an individual and as a
member of a team through aseries of events a lot of land
navigation, a lot of carrying aheavy ruck on your back and runs
, a lot of land navigation, alot of carrying a heavy ruck on
(11:45):
your back and runs.
And then, once selected, youattend what's called the
qualification course and that'swhere you're given an MOS, a job
specialty.
My first job was a weaponssergeant on a team, and then you
learn your job as an individualand then you're paired up with
other group and you go throughwhat what we call small unit
(12:06):
tactics, which is working as amember of a team in your mos.
And then you learn a languagemy second language was arabic um
and then you go through um,what we call robin sage, which
is, uh, the culmination exercisewhich puts it all together, and
you're a member of an oda in ain a mock environment.
Is.
Is that a year long?
It's about two years.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
I got to know what the average is city boys and
country boys that make it.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I'll tell you, there's a lot of country boys
and southerners.
Everybody was fearful of landnavigation because you're doing
I mean you're doing some longdistance movements.
When I say long, I mean you'reputting a lot of miles, I mean
lots of miles going through thewoods at night.
You're not allowed to use theroads and they'll catch you if
(12:54):
you use the roads.
But I loved it.
I was like I'm in the woods bymyself, no one's yelling at me.
This is heaven.
You know what I mean.
Mean I could stay out here allday, um, but you know, I think
you know that gets some peoplewho are not used to being in
that environment and thedifferent noises, those yeah
noises, put me to sleep, youknow, yeah, so, uh, yeah, that's
just incredible the arabicthing is blowing my mind, though
(13:15):
like how long does?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
that take to actually be I don't want to say fluent,
but I guess somewhat fluent yeah, well, like a rosetta stone
thing itetta.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Stone thing, so it's six months long, I mean, and it
depends on the language that youhave Six months.
That's it yeah but it's sixmonths of immersion.
You're all day long.
It's like college, all day andnight.
I wouldn't know what that'slike Me either.
Remember high school dropout?
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, okay, yeah, but so six months like all the time
, every day, all day, yeah,that's what you're doing and
that's what you're doing, andthen that you know it's.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
It's not a skill like .
Everything you learn throughoutthe course is not designed to
be like oh, I learned that nowI'm not ever going to use it
again yeah everything that youlearn you're going to be using
yeah, there's a purpose, yeahthere's a reason behind it and
people are going to use it again.
Everything that you learn you'regoing to be using later on.
Yeah, there's a purpose, yeah,there's a reason behind it and
people are going to rely on youto have those skills.
So we take it seriously.
It's something that youcontinue to train on when you're
(14:12):
at your unit and actually itbecomes a little bit easier
because you go on deployments.
The number of deployments inthose locations is full
immersion.
How much time did you spend overthere?
My wife and I were trying to dothe math.
I think we've been married for22 years and I think I may have
been home about eight and a halfof those.
So a lot of time Almostexclusively in that area.
(14:34):
Oh yeah, so each special forces.
So, unlike other soft units,special forces we are assigned.
Each group has an area ofresponsibility and 5th Special
Forces Group, where I'm out ofat Fort Campbell or where I was
out of, is assigned the MiddleEast.
That's our area ofresponsibility.
All the other groups have hadto help us and participate in
(14:59):
the Middle East, so it's notlike we've been solely there,
but it's just been a lot of work.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
When you say soft units, is that the other
branches of service?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, soft, that's your unit.
He's talking about you, caleb.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Hey, I was actually in the Army Special Operations
Forces, it's not fair that youwere in the Army too.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
This is not fair.
So you know you had to dig onthe Marines.
Speaker 6 (15:24):
No gosh no, how long did you do that?
Just two years, how long?
Speaker 4 (15:27):
are your socks, do you know?
Speaker 6 (15:28):
Arabic.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
I don't know Arabic.
No.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Different mission.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Now look you, look at these guys who've not served at
all.
No Making fun of somebody whohasn't.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
That's like on a day.
Speaker 6 (15:41):
No, you're making fun of it?
Speaker 4 (15:42):
No, I promise you I wouldn't laugh today.
What are you looking at me for?
Speaker 6 (15:44):
You've got guys that have been in for a year or two
and they're dead.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
And you're making fun of somebody that joined the
service.
He's looking right at me.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
I couldn't make it.
I wouldn't.
No, I mean as a matter of fact.
I mean I've got to know howmany Go ahead.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
No, I'm just Years ago we did like a USO kind of
tour in the Middle East.
What year was that?
When we served, when we served.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
We served drinks all night, yeah, we served drinks,
we served drinks all night.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
No, it's actually, truly, it's true, though we were
out there in the middle ofnowhere.
I mean Iraq, iraq in the desertsomewhere, secret, base, secret
base, night vision, you know155 degrees and you and blown
away by I mean truly what youguys do, and all joking aside,
it was a life-changingexperience.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
It was, yeah, it absolutely was, and just the
appreciation we had for what youguys do, which actually makes
me think did you guys ever haveanybody that came over and
played music for you guys?
Do you remember any of that oh?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
absolutely.
I remember Zach Brown Bandcoming, great Kid Rock came.
I enjoyed those was.
It was super cool to see.
You know, people take time, Imean, and this was during
christmas, right, you know it'slike they should be home with
their family.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
That's exactly when we did it and they're coming so
telling I couldn't believe howappreciative the military was
and we're like what are youtalking about?
You guys are the heroes.
Like the test for us come overhere is nothing but uh, just so
much appreciation.
And it's cool to hear that,like zach brown, I know kid rock
does that a lot yeah, of coursetoby keith.
(17:27):
Yeah, he did.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Yeah, three doors down yeah, there's a lot of
stuff.
I mean, I remember one of thecoolest things in, even maybe
before that this late 90s didone one at Guantanamo Bay and we
were in a bar and it wasprobably 20 Marines and they
were to this day.
I remember every one of theirfaces.
They were so appreciative andthey had so much fun and it was
(17:52):
like just to get back.
As Kurt said, I mean, we'remusicians and songwriters and
what we do, compared to you guys, is a job in the bucket.
So thank you for 100%, yeah,thanks for your service and for
being here.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
I know we want to get to what you're doing now.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
It's such an honor for us.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
None of us could do anything of what you've done.
We don't even know what you'vedone and things that you've seen
.
But just for the entertainmentside, before we get to what
you're doing, right now um moviewise cause.
You've been at the highestlevel of combat military, all
the training, the worst of theworst, best of the best.
Uh, do you have a couple ofmovies you would drop that are
(18:33):
as close to reality?
As you, as you think, like likefull metal jacket I know that's
a great question like fullmetal jacket.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I know that's marines , but like things like that, or
heartbreak, ridge or any, anykind of things that you would
say is kind of close to the waythey communicate and talk and
act as buddies and or rambo onethrough three that would throw
us off because we love thosemovies well, I always blame my
uh, my grandparents for allowingme to watch the a-team growing
up, because you know, like Ikind of wow, like man,
subliminally, they were tellingme I needed to be a green beret
five you know, but um, really,uh, the one I will say is you
(19:07):
know, tried and true isblackhawk down, yeah oh, yes,
okay, because it's you know.
You know sometimes it's, andI'll I'll caveat that with what
you see in the movies is onlyfive percent of what we do.
There's a whole lot of otherthings that we do to continue to
support our freedoms here.
But Black Hawk Down, there'sconfusion and one of the
(19:33):
characters in there says,talking about politics, he's
like when bullets start flying,politics go out the the window.
It's all about the person.
You're left and right andthat's really truly what it is
that's the air being yourcharacter.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
So have you seen the documentary that just came out
on netflix?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I thought that was great yeah, it was really really
good yeah what's it?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
called.
Do you know black hawk down ohit's surviving black hawk down I
believe is
Speaker 4 (19:56):
what it is on netflix and it's, and it's done and the
book is incredible.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Yes, it really is.
Um, but like that, the way theydid that documentary for the
most part, I thought was pretty,pretty true, getting both sides
of that yeah situation from acivilian standpoint and from the
american soldier standpoint,which I thought was interesting.
Yeah, 100, because I would havenever in my mind wasn't really
(20:21):
thinking about the somaliancivilian side of that yeah, that
could have turned into a muchbigger shit show than it already
was, and that's you know,that's one of the things that
you have to have on your mindconstantly as a small team is
you're there.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You know, in special operations we're there with an
indigenous partner, we're therewith a partner force and in a
perfect world scenario, we go in, we accomplish a mission, we
leave and they get the creditfor it.
But there are things that canflip the script on that real
quick and you have to have thatcombat maturity to be able to
(20:55):
say, hey look, we need to slowthings down, or you know when to
know, or when not to pull thetrigger um and you know, it's
just, that's where that's why wehave such a you know grueling,
um, you know selection processes.
So we have to have the rightpeople.
It's all about the right, youknow getting the right person.
Speaker 6 (21:14):
Yeah, yeah, it's not your basic soldier, you know,
because they did a study, I reada lot about vietnam, because my
uncle was in vietnam and thatyour your basic soldier, they
said.
They just said he like 15 wouldactually fire their weapon
because if you fired the enemywould know where you were.
Yeah, but in those kind ofdedicated teams all you guys are
firing.
(21:34):
I mean right and that's just awhole nother level and I could
see why people I mean, if you'rein a combat, you're in and
you're thinking, well, if Idon't shoot, nobody's gonna know
, I'm over here and you mightlive another day.
You know, I don't know, butit's kind of interesting that 85
percent weren't firing.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yeah, that they could live, or even, even when
tensions are high and you couldfire, knowing that you shouldn't
fire because it could causethis to spin out of control.
You know that's, that's one ofthe things is that operational
maturity to be able to you know,to make those decisions and
trust everyone around you.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
That's it's really I mean me and Kurt talk about
every now and then and Jason,where we're like after the Vegas
scenario with the shooter inVegas really made us.
I talked to a lot of my navyseal buddies after that and I
said, you know what, after goingthrough that, the amount of
training you guys need to gothrough to accept or know what's
(22:30):
happening, was crazy to mebecause when it was happening,
we were, you know, such adifference you couldn't even
fathom what was happening, rightand to know we're not equipped
for you guys run towards that,or or your mind works that way
yeah, it was so different towhat you know.
The everyday mind works likeyeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Well, I mean it's no different than the music
industry.
You know like very different.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
No, go on.
We are heroes.
We are heroes.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
No, josh, you're the reason, guys like you are the
reason that we wake up.
At 11 o'clock in the morning,you start waking up.
Speaker 6 (23:14):
Oh, that would be, a great day.
Draw that comparison.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
From a training aspect.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
When you first started playing the guitar, you
weren't singing along too.
You were still trying to figureout where you should put your
fingers for the chords.
We train a lot because thatneeds to become second nature,
so that your brain can actuallycomprehend what's going on in
the situation and make you knowthe decisions that it needs to
make.
So you know, it allows you tounderstand.
(23:42):
When you're playing yourinstrument, you know like, hey,
that's not in tune or we need toadjust that and be able to
communicate that's really niceof you, but it's pretty much
that, yeah, I can kind of seewhere you go.
Speaker 6 (23:53):
that's pretty much the same, so let's go on to what
you're doing today.
Tell him he won't even carryhis own bass, neil.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Stop.
Hey, listen guys.
This is a fascinatingconversation with Josh Birch.
Let's take a quick break forour sponsors.
We've got to come back and talkabout what he's doing now.
It's super important and wewant to make sure we get to it.
Stick with us here and we'll beright back.
Try that in a small-timepodcast.
But stick with us here andwe'll be right back.
Try that in a small-townpodcast.
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All right, we are back from thepatriot mobile studios.
This is try that in a smalltown podcast we have josh first
with us, badass green bray he iscurrently the director.
You got to explain to us whatthis is director of peoples for
(25:53):
the honor foundation.
This is what you're doing now.
You you said you should behunting and fishing somewhere,
but it led you somewhere, tothis right.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Well, when I was transitioning from service, well
, back up a little bit, at 18years, I thought about retiring
from the military.
A good friend of mine, jamieKornowski he was a command chief
warrant officer of 5th SpecialForce Group at the time called
me in and asked you know, like,what's your plan?
You know, you said you want toretire.
And I'm like I don't reallyhave a plan.
And it's kind of odd because,as you know, special operations
(26:23):
I'm always planning forwhatever's next.
But I didn't have a plan and itreally it got me thinking.
So I just elected to stay in.
A gentleman I worked with was onterminal leave and he was
overseas doing contract work,which was usually the fallback
plan for our folks.
There was a lot of money in it.
(26:44):
He was killed while he was onterminal leave and I was like I
don't want to take that path.
So I decided to stay in so Icould have the Air Force's
finest and medevac if I neededit.
While we, we uh, executed ourplan, my wife and I came up with
strategy which is to daveramsey, dave ramsey, essentially
pay everything off, uh, so thatyou know, you know, I could
(27:06):
pursue my dream of hunting andfishing every day.
Um as I was yeah and uh, youknow, I mean, sounds amazing,
yeah well, and at 26 years, whenwe finally uh, pulled the
trigger on retirement, my wifesaid I'm not used to you being
around this much, I'm going backto work full time.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
That's our first real true thing, that we have in
common.
Speaker 6 (27:30):
Connection right there.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
When the tour ends, my wife's like when do you leave
again?
Wait a minute, 100%.
So we are like we're you leaveagain Wait a minute 100%.
So we are like.
We're like Green Berets andmusicians.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Exactly, you know.
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Well, except for there may be one difference,
because I was going to ask this.
But now, since y'all stoppedthere, it's like you know, when
you get back from your missionsand all that, and you're fresh
off and she's glad to see youand everything, and you cry, you
embrace, do all the things, andshe's glad to see you and
everything, and you cry, youembrace, do all the things.
A few days, a few weeks goes byand then you're just a husband
and you're a dad and you'rethere Every night.
(28:05):
Does she lay on your chest andsay thank you for being such a
hero?
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Can I say yes?
Speaker 6 (28:13):
You better say yes when you're taking out the trash
and stuff.
Do you think special forces?
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Why am I taking out the?
Speaker 4 (28:17):
trash.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
I'm a freaking green beret.
No, I know who runs our house.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Well, amen, she, she takes care of it.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I mean she, you know she's taking care of our kids
and everything.
When I always say you know ourchaplains, when we come back we
have like reintegration,training and everything, and
they're like you know they callit passing the remote.
They're like don't, don't go inand take the remote on night
one.
I'm like I just don't take theremote because I know she's
going to need that remote in afew weeks.
You know I'm going to be goingback to do some training or or
(28:47):
on another deployment.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
So my wife, you know taking we need someone to help
us after tour.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Reintegration yes To the house.
I mean, it sounds like what'sthe severance?
Speaker 4 (29:04):
Do you?
Speaker 3 (29:04):
guys watch Severance.
Severance is greatReintegration, because anyway.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
Yeah, you do.
I mean people out there tuningyour bass.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
My wife goes Carrying your bass.
She always says she goes,you're treating this house like
a hotel.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
Yes, yes, you're treating this house like a hotel
.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Yes, Do you?
Speaker 6 (29:24):
know who I am.
Do you know who I think I am?
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Surely I'm not going to have to straighten this place
up.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
Have you ever taken the garbage out?
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Oh, come on, please Make my son do it In show
clothes.
That's why I have children.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
That's the whole point of this.
But when you guys come backfrom the road with Aldine, just
as a comparison, josh, Are theyat the edge of the?
Speaker 3 (29:48):
It's our deployment.
We have a 45-shot deployment.
Speaker 6 (29:51):
Do they run to the end of the driveway and are
there tears when you guys getback?
Oh, my God Father.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Oh Father.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Welcome home, Father.
Thank God you're back safe.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
No, not a lot of that .
Speaker 6 (30:03):
No, okay, not a lot of that.
I don't know.
If there's an exact comparison,go ahead, josh.
Which one are you talking?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
about.
That's one of the things.
At my retirement my daughtergot up and it broke my heart I
haven't even given my speech yet, like my retirement, you know,
like thank everyone.
And my daughter got up and shesaid my dad always said, you
know, I'm going on a deployment.
She never understood what thatmeant and it didn't really click
until my retirement that Inever really explained what is a
(30:32):
deployment.
All she saw is dad is going toget dropped off and he is going
to be gone for six months or whoknows how long.
And you know my son was thesame way.
You know they never explainedwhat was happening.
So you know it was kind of.
You know they resented me alittle bit for that because they
didn't understand why I wasleaving.
They just, you know, knew thatI was leaving.
(30:53):
So you know, fast forward tonow, you know they are extremely
appreciative.
But I've always said that Ivolunteer, my wife even
volunteers because she marriedme.
But my kids, they were putthrough it sacrificially, 100%.
They truly did not have anysay-so in it.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
We started to talk about it, but make sure we get
to this, because the HonorFoundation what they're doing
for veterans.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Please explain that, yeah, so the Honor Foundation is
a program.
It's a transition program, likeI mentioned earlier is you know
if you're a musician your wholelife and then all of a sudden
you can't be a musician anymoreand you have to find out what's
next.
You know that's what the HonorFoundation does for special
operations.
It's a three-month course thatreally takes you through.
(31:45):
You know, phase one is allabout you as an individual
introspective look of what areyour strengths, what are your
preferences, because this is thefirst time in our military
careers we've actually had like,you know, the world's your
oyster, what do you want to do?
And it's the first time thatour spouses and family have had
a say-so in it.
So we have a course that runsparallel with the Honor
(32:05):
Foundation which is calledTransition as a Team Sport,
which has the spouse do the samething Look at their strengths,
look at their preferences, andthen you put the two together,
because across my militarycareer, I've always planned as a
member of a team.
Now, when it comes totransition, I don't have that
team anymore.
So it was like, either I'mplanning or, you know, my wife
(32:26):
has her own ideas of what, youknow, transition should look
like, and our kids too, but wetry to bring everyone together
to plan.
And then you have the cohort andour volunteers.
You know we solely rely onvolunteers throughout our course
to help with the networking.
And then phase two is all about, you know, providing them the
tools you know, like LinkedIn,resume mock interviews.
(32:49):
We do business 101, just likewe learned Arabic and other
languages.
We're teaching them, you know,the business language and we're
not a job placement.
We want to help them dowhatever they want.
If it's hunting, fishingprofessionally, then by all
means let's help them do that,um, but if it's opening up their
own business, you know, smallbusiness startup, uh, whatever
(33:10):
the case may be, we want toprovide them the tools and the
network to do that, uh so that'sI, and I didn't mean to
interrupt, so that's a greatpoint, because I didn't really
know.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
This isn't like a job placement service.
This is just how do I get fromhere to here and transition into
what I haven't known for 25years.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
It's a structured process.
And that's completely likerewiring your brain.
Yeah Right, to enter intonormalcy.
And there is another parallelthat I see, as you, as you speak
, and it's we talk about this,like our identity is is in music
and what we do, and you have anidentity.
(33:49):
So how do you, when thatidentity is changing, like
there's a certain amount ofaccepting that too?
Yeah right, so we have thatdifficult.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
The brief that we give as a recruiting brief for
our fellows.
We have a word cloud in it.
It's all the stressors thatpeople say that they're dealing
with during transition frommilitary and you know one of the
ones.
That is, you know, probably youknow the different word clouds
where the words are differentsizes.
Identity and purpose are not thelargest, you know, usually it's
(34:22):
family, career, but identityand purpose are the two that
kind of stand out to me and it'sbecause for so long we've been
a part of something bigger thanourselves.
And identity and being a GreenBeret or a Special Operations
Soldier, you know, that's who Iwas, you know, but that's not
who I am, you know, even in myrole as the director of people
(34:44):
for the Honor Foundation here inTennessee, is, you know, I'm
still part of something biggerthan myself.
And I tell them I don't care ifit's like helping a little
league soccer team, you know,running for mayor in your town,
whatever your leadership isneeded in our community and we
really encourage them, you knowis needed in our community and
we really encourage them, youknow, to find, you know, purpose
(35:06):
in life, so something that'llfill that cup.
Because, looking back at youknow, and I really feel that
we're, you know, you know,suicide awareness, you know,
with veteran suicide, you know,is such a high rate.
I think that part of that ispurpose.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Like you, want to feel pride waking up every
morning.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
And I think that we are on the front end of that.
We're not suicide prevention,we're suicide prevention in the.
On the front end, um so youknow, like helping them find
purpose, helping them find avalue in themselves and a reason
to get out of bed every morning, so that you know that that's
not even a thought yeah, so it'slike some physical tools, but
it's a lot of mental tools tooright, absolutely yeah, so it's
like some physical tools, butit's a lot of mental tools too
(35:39):
right.
Yeah, absolutely, and it's thenetwork, I mean our alumni.
It's not, you know, we say withhonor for life, and you know we
are.
I mean, I have alumni who comein every cohort to share with
the next cohort their successesand to encourage them and
inspire them, and these arefolks who have accomplished
things that 99.9 of thepopulation would never even want
(36:00):
to do, and it's like going intothe normal society is like
scary, it's like we just we'rejust there to encourage them,
provide them the necessary toolsin the planning process to be
able to accomplish what theywant to do yeah, and that's.
Speaker 6 (36:15):
It's cool.
We kind of kidded about youknow being similar, but but it
really is.
Purpose is the thing.
When you said that, and readingabout you, that's the most
important thing for everybody.
At some point, the job that youdo, you're going to age out of
it physically, mentally,whatever.
And then what do you do?
Do you just talk about the olddays?
And some people do, and that'sfine too, but you're young
(36:40):
enough to where and we are toothat if something happened and
hey, we're not getting a lot ofsongs recorded or whatever what
are we going to do?
Are we just going to talk abouthow cool we were back here when
we were doing this stuff, or dowe do that?
Are we Christians?
Are we telling people aboutJesus?
Whatever that purpose is,people got to find it, and if
you don't have that purpose,it's hard to get out of bed.
Yeah, well, what's?
Speaker 3 (36:58):
interesting is, on a side note or serious note really
just the other night I texted,uh, kurt and jason.
I said is anybody missing thestage yet?
And that just kind of clickedin my brain as we're talking
about this, like how theidentity, that's how we're wired
right now, like it's it's thesame, it's for years, for
(37:22):
forever.
We're wired to have thatperception of us which is up
there and it's it's weird, likeI'm sitting around or we're, you
know, just in town, like okay,I can see that being an issue,
like you guys are trained at thehighest level military and
(37:45):
that's a certain pride in that.
And then when it's gone, it'slike okay, well, you know what?
Speaker 1 (37:53):
now, what now?
Speaker 5 (37:53):
yeah, um I did the same.
I went through the same thing,like not the same thing that you
did, but no one goes throughthe same thing, like not the
same thing that you did.
No one goes through the samething, but it's like, okay, I'm
going to wind it down here, I'mgoing to slow it down, I'm going
to go hunting and fishing.
That's what I'm going to do.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
I'm going to spend all my time and play golf.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
Yeah, I'm going to hunt fish and play golf.
It sounds fantastic.
And then once you start doingthat, you're like wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
I can still be relevant.
Speaker 5 (38:26):
I think I can still make up stuff.
I mean, you went through thesame thing.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
So you were saying that, like just how Neil was
saying.
That was like, hey, that's whatI'm going to do.
So what happened inside of youto say, no, I need to get
involved in something like thisI went through the honor
foundation.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Yeah, oh really yeah and I I turned down.
You know I had so many of mymentors.
You know talking aboutmentorship, you know mentorship
has been part of my whole life.
I mean, I went from high schooldropout I I do have college now
, but you know to a seniorleader in special operations and
I only got there because Ilistened to mentors.
(39:05):
But when it came to transitionand everybody was like, hey, you
need to go through the honorfoundation, you need to go
through the honor, I was like Idon't need that unless they're
giving me good fishing spots.
Speaker 4 (39:12):
I don't need it.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I love it.
I went through the course and,like I said, introspective look.
Phase one was when theysprinkled voodoo magic on me
because I started looking at whoI am, what are my strengths and
what are my motivators.
My primary motivator isaltruism helping other people.
And I look back over my career.
We do the Simon Sinek StartWith why program and if I think
(39:42):
about the stories, even back towhen my grandfather said, you
know, you need to find people toinspire you to be a better
version, it's all aboutmentorship and helping other
people.
I saw that, you know, in acommunity in Manchester,
tennessee, where you know, everytime somebody gets sick at
church, my grandma's making thema potluck to take to them or
something you know, just helpingpeople in your community.
And I'm like I need a reason toget out of bed.
(40:05):
I need to be a part ofsomething and helping other
people.
And then, as I was goingthrough the course, matt Stevens
, ceo, had offered me anopportunity to start a campus
here to support Fifth Group and160th Special Operations
Aviation Regiment and I knew Ihad to jump on it because I'm
not a believer in coincidence.
(40:27):
You know like I went throughthis course for a reason.
And then these opportunitiesopened up and you know, I've got
three jobs now.
I work for the Nashville AreaChamber of Commerce part-time in
a consultant role, workingveterans initiatives on the
business side and working withthe state.
I work for the Honor Foundationfull-time and then I'm a
volunteer at the Special ForcesAssociation vice president,
where we help Gold Star familymembers.
(40:48):
So I realized, like you, when Itook a break, I wasn't
accomplishing the things that Iwanted to accomplish and I said
I've got this laundry list ofstuff I need to do on our farms.
I need pressure to accomplishthis.
And having that busy schedulehelps me accomplish it.
Speaker 5 (41:05):
And guess what?
You still have time to gofishing and hunting.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Exactly, you still have time Went on my first elk
hunt this year.
There you go, got to harvestbulls, so it was a great
experience.
But yeah, wow.
Speaker 6 (41:17):
So you're one of those amazing people that make
everybody else feel bad about itno, taylor, I was just
self-reflecting.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
I was here talking my name every morning.
I'm kidding.
Speaker 6 (41:28):
I was going to say just be thankful for your
hardwiring, because in yourfamily DNA you've got some good
stuff in your mind and yourheart that helps you make those
decisions.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Well said, I'm grateful for the folks who
raised me and really you know,like I've always said, if I
owned and I appreciate you allhave me on here and listen to
some of your podcasts that youyou like to bring out the good
in the community, because I'vealways said, if I owned a news
agency, for every bad thing thatwas reported I'd report three
good things, because there's alot of good that goes on in the
community and that's whatinspires people.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
you know it's like well, you were the reason,
people like you are the reasonwhy we started this podcast,
amen yep.
It's to try to give back,especially to our military and
our veterans, because I I reallydo feel like over the last few
years, just a complete last lackof disrespect or lack of
respect for the military.
I feel that, um, I feel likemore.
I feel like we're getting itback, but I feel like it's
(42:20):
important that people know whatyou guys go through and how hard
you train, but also what you doafter and uh, it's incredible.
Thank you so much for well Iappreciate it.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
Yeah, josh I mean and seriously, we, we said at the
beginning we, you know, we'vebeen fortunate to have some you,
whatever guests on and we'vebeen like, oh, that that's cool,
that's cool, but this is whatit's all about.
This right here is what it'sall about, and what you do means
the world, and I can't eventell you what an honor it is for
(42:50):
you to come here and be with us.
I promise you it's been anabsolute pleasure.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
Well, I appreciate it .
And even with the HonorFoundation, nothing I've ever
done across my career has been ame, it's been a we.
And with Honor Foundation Ihave two great teammates.
I have Shane Minnick, who'sbeen a longtime teammate of mine
.
He's a Green Beret retiredSergeant Major.
He's just an excellent,excellent individual.
And then Jackie Edwards.
She's a spouse of a NightStalker, a retired Night Stalk.
(43:19):
You know, I've neveraccomplished anything by myself.
It's always been a part of ateam and I'm glad that it's
continuing that way.
Post-military Well, we thankyou for being here.
Speaker 6 (43:30):
Thank you very much, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
God bless you.
Yep.
All right, jimmy, I think thatwas great.
Do you want to get to?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
something.
Speaker 5 (43:42):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
So we've got, so the big thing all right, so we're a
nonprofit.
We have one fundraiser here ayear.
Speaker 5 (43:50):
Oh, let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
It's a Nashville Music City event.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Let's do it.
It's coming up.
Yeah, let's get right here,bring it back, bring it back on.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Hey, before we go, we got it, we got to uh, talk
about the fundraiser you gotcoming up right, yes, sir, what
is it?
Speaker 2 (44:05):
uh?
So, uh, we have one fundraiserwe do here in in uh in tennessee
every year and it's uh, this isour fourth annual uh music city
fundraiser.
It's for the honor foundation.
Uh, this year it's going to beon april 3rd, um, at the geotis
park.
Um, it's a great opportunity.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
How do people find out about it?
Is there a website we can?
Speaker 4 (44:23):
go to.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
Yeah, go to honororg forward slash events.
There's an opportunity to signup sponsor tables.
We have a live auction.
We have entertainment.
It's a good night.
You hear from our alumni.
We have business leaders in thecommunity that'll speak and
share.
You know folks who haveactually hired our alumni and
share the positive impactthey're making in their
(44:44):
organizations.
So great opportunity to getinvolved.
And if there's any other, likeI said, we rely on volunteers.
We have mock interviews, resumereview and we have what we call
cups of coffee, which is how weinform our fellows of different
you know careers, help themmake an informed decision on
what they want to do next.
So if anybody's interested ingetting involved, absolutely
(45:05):
check it out.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Give it what's the website again, or how they check
honororg, honororg forward,slash events or slash events go
there and check that out.
Hey, before you go, I do haveto ask you because I know you're
from a small town and you lovecommunity and paying it forward
and doing right by your neighbor.
Uh, did you know of the song?
(45:26):
Uh, try that in a small townjason, yes, I did yep, yeah,
what did uh?
What was your thought when thatcame out?
because there was a lot ofpeople that didn't like it, uh.
But I know that you're from asmall town and I've heard you
talk about just that sense ofcommunity and it kind of brought
a smile to my face and I waslike, man, that's, that's what
we were trying to do.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
Yeah, you know, I, you know, I think people can
read whatever they want, or or,you know, find conflict in
anything.
you know but that's really likeI think the small town, what
anything you know, but that'sreally uh, like I think the
small town.
What I learned from a smalltown is even the small town I
live in now in cooper town is Iknow more people within eight,
ten miles than I did when Ilived in a neighborhood, and
(46:10):
it's because you rely on eachother a lot more when it snows.
I know I need to go check on,you know, the elderly couple
down the road to make sure theydon't need anything so they
don't have to get out.
And I really think that's wherethe song resonated with me.
Like in a small town people area little bit closer than in a
bigger city, where everything isso rushed that you really don't
(46:32):
have time to acknowledge theworld around you.
And that's just me personally.
Speaker 1 (46:37):
By the way, that was unrehearsed.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
That was amazing.
Speaker 6 (46:43):
He is taking over our podcast would you like to join
us thursday?
Speaker 1 (46:48):
seriously, josh, thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
It's an honor.
Speaker 5 (46:51):
I appreciate the opportunity thank you so much,
brother.
Thank you, I mean.
Josh makes me want to get inshape, he makes me want to plank
every night before I go to bed.
When you sit across from aGreen Beret, you want to.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
I'm with you.
You feel so inferior.
Speaker 6 (47:14):
Well, because we are inferior.
You're right.
I don't even feel inferior, Iam inferior.
I'm not sure if planks is goingto level the playing field, if
we could do a minute plank oreven a 90-second plank or
two-minute plank like Telly saidif you can do a three-minute
plank, that's amazing, andthat's a whole other topic.
Speaker 5 (47:31):
A three-minute plank.
He can't do a three-minuteplank.
There's no way in hell.
Speaker 6 (47:35):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
Even if he could, let's end this episode right now
.
You can't.
There's no way to tell him howmuch.
Speaker 6 (47:39):
Tell him you can't.
Your hair weighs too much.
I can't do a three-minute play.
You can't do it.
This is about Josh Birch, aretired Special.
Speaker 5 (47:44):
Forces Green Beret.
I know right, we always make itabout us.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
You know what my favorite question was, for
whatever weird reason, was whatmovie I seriously thought that
was amazing.
Speaker 6 (47:57):
That's K-Lo magic right there.
Well, we all love movies.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 4 (48:01):
Thank you very much, guys.
My name is Kelly.
Speaker 6 (48:05):
Jim, can you turn this up please?
No, I really love that becausewe're obviously fans of all the
military stuff Rambo and allthose things which we know are
sensationalized and all that butfor somebody who's actually
been in combat, what do theythink what's?
Speaker 1 (48:18):
your favorite military movie.
Speaker 6 (48:19):
Well, I mean, I like all of them.
I like any Vietnam movie.
Speaker 5 (48:22):
He's a Rambo guy.
Speaker 6 (48:23):
I mean Rambo, but I like Chuck.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
Norris, I like Missing in Action.
Speaker 6 (48:28):
I mean, I like the old stuff too, but like Mission,
band of Brothers, that wholething you know a couple times,
Just so many, yeah, but when hementioned Black Hawk Down, Then
you think of the sniper ones andall the Middle East stuff,
which is there's a lot of combat.
I like a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (48:42):
It was fun hearing his take, that was incredible
Blazing Saddles.
Speaker 6 (48:49):
Yeah, and there's another great military movie.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
Blazing Saddles couldn't be made today, by the
way.
Speaker 5 (48:54):
No, it could not.
Speaker 1 (48:55):
No, not a chance, no chance, not a chance, not a
chance, no chance, not a chance,not a chance I wouldn't think
so.
Speaker 6 (49:01):
I wouldn't think so.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
Oh my gosh, Listen, we got to make sure everybody.
We got a lot of things to plughere.
Go to the.
Try that in a Small Townwebsite, right, you can get some
of that right there, get somesweatshirts, come on.
Sweatshirts.
Follow us on all the socials.
Follow us on all the socials.
Make sure you go to X.
Make sure you go to InstaTikTok.
Where else are we?
(49:24):
Are we missing any Facebook?
Follow us on all that stuff.
Allie, anything, allie is thatall of us.
What else do we need?
Speaker 5 (49:31):
We on Rumble, yet Are we on Rumble, we are Heck yeah.
Speaker 6 (49:39):
Let's get ready to Rble do it.
Speaker 1 (49:41):
Oh my god, we love you guys.
Thank you for uh sticking withus.
And just to reiterate,seriously, we we have a lot of
guests on here.
We've been incredibly blessed,but tonight I don't know.
It's what it's all about yeahit's special night yep special
night and the fact that he'sgiving back and making sure
we're taking care of ourveterans.
(50:02):
It is what it's all about.
These are the Patriot MobileStudios.
Why don't I say these?
Speaker 5 (50:11):
No, it's too bad that we can't do the plank off on
video.
It's too bad.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
I promise you it's going to be on video.
It's too bad.
I promise you it's going to beon video.
We'll figure it out.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
This is not going to be close.
Let's explain to people youcan't do a three-minute plank.
Speaker 6 (50:25):
Really no.
Speaker 5 (50:26):
Really no, you can't.
Your hair weighs too much.
Speaker 6 (50:28):
It's not going to happen, your head will be
sagging like I can't keep myhair up and I'm not going to say
you can't do it.
If you do a three-minute plank,that's beyond impressive,
that's really impressive.
Speaker 3 (50:41):
I want to see your abs.
Well, we can't end this fastenough.
Let's go Three-minute plank,all right.
Speaker 6 (50:46):
Right after the golf tournament Ten tops everyone.
Speaker 1 (50:50):
This is Try that in a Small Town podcast.
Thanks for joining us, guysMake sure to follow along.
Speaker 4 (50:55):
Subscribe.
Share, rate the show.
Josh, do you have a nickname?
What was your nickname in the?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
show.
Well, no, we have call signsthroughout, but your call sign
changes.
Everybody called me Banjo on myfirst team because they
couldn't understand what I said.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Neil wrote a song called Banjo.
Who's tougher, you or the Seals?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I always like to say who's smarter.
For so long we've been a partof something bigger than
ourselves and identity and beinga Green Beret or a Special
Operations Soldier, that's who Iwas, but that's not who I am.
Even in my role as director ofpeople for the Honor Foundation
(00:40):
here in Tennessee, I'm still apart of something bigger than
myself and I tell them I don'tcare if it's like helping a
little league soccer team youknow running for mayor in your
town.
Whatever, your leadership isneeded in our community.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
The Try that in a Small Town podcast begins now.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
All right, this is Cobb.
I don't know, and I'm coming toyou from the patriot mobile
studios.
I got my friend kaylo I gotthrash.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I just built his original glory I got tk to my
right.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
This is going to be a fun episode.
This is Cobb hey.
This is Cobb hey.
But we got to get seriousbecause we got a bad ass coming
to join us tonight Josh Birch heGreen Beret.
I don't even know if I need tosay any more than that.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
That's right.
20-year Green Beret that'sright.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
I mean that's Instructor at a ranger school.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Yeah, crazy.
Speaker 6 (01:48):
He's done it all.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
He's done it all.
Speaker 6 (01:50):
All the movies you've seen.
That's that guy.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Also just an amazing person.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, yeah and we're going to get to a lot.
I can't wait for you guysasking some fun questions.
We're going to get in serious.
He's doing some stuff now forthe honor foundation.
He helps veterans kind oftransition, figure out what
they're going to do when theyleave the service.
And you know, I'm wondering ifthat's kind of like when Tully
(02:16):
and I are done playing, you know, when we're done with our music
it's a lot like that.
Speaker 6 (02:20):
Is it a lot like that ?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
It'll be very much like that.
Speaker 6 (02:24):
It's a lot like that, I mean to be serious, though to
go from that.
It's two different things.
Obviously, combat and all thosethings, but you're at the
height and you're in it, right,yeah, and so if you're on stage,
if you're in battle, whateverthat is, and then all of a
sudden, you're not anymore Onstage or in battle.
It's one or the other, well, thewhole thing, josh.
(02:46):
He's going to tell us about thepurpose, because I've looked up
this guy.
It's really amazing and it'skind of the same thing.
It's purpose for you, me,anybody.
Once your job is kind of done,what are you going to do?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Are you going to sit in your chair and drink whiskey
and smoke cigars for the rest ofyour life and just die out on
the oxygen tank?
Some people can.
I don't know if that's what I'mgonna do, but it sounds anyway.
It's now.
You're right.
It is about, uh, and I think weseriously, if we're being
honest, we'd all say that, uh,you want to have purpose, and
it's kind of like with thepodcast too.
It's like you know, we wantthere to be a purpose, and even
when we're done on stage,whenever that that may be, it
might be a while.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
Hopefully a really long time.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Hopefully a really long time Super depressing
conversation.
But we're anxious for you guysto hear this, josh Birch, and
we'll get to it right now.
I was going to say listen,we're fortunate enough to have a
lot of cool guests on here.
We've been very blessed, buttonight it's kind of like what
it's all about.
This guy right here was in theservice for 26 years 20 as a
(03:54):
Green Beret let's go.
He's currently the director ofpeople for the Honors Foundation
.
It's Josh Birch.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yes, let's go.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Josh.
Thanks Josh, and there's goJosh.
Thanks Josh, and there's Joshand there's your introduction
Josh, do you have a nickname?
What was your nickname in the?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
service.
Well, no, we have call signsthroughout, but your call sign
changes.
Everybody called me Banjo on myfirst team because they
couldn't understand what I said.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Neil wrote a song called Banjo, so I'm pretty sure
.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Hopefully you all have subtitles for this podcast.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
You can probably see it in the background on his
camera.
So Banjo is good, no but that'snot.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, my mother called me Josh.
That's what I go by, whatevershe says.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
That's a great idea, that's right.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
So, before we get to the real reason that we're
having you on.
It's just a great cause.
I got to know some of the GreenBeret stuff.
He wants to get right to it, Iget right to it, because we've
got a lot of Navy SEAL buddiesthat we you know.
You guys are so amazing andwhat you do is so beyond
(05:00):
anything we can comprehend,which I know it's hard for you
guys to realize that, but thewhole special forces family and
what you guys do is soincredible.
How much little backstory.
So.
So when did you go into theservice and when did you know,
okay, I'm going to be a greenberet Cause?
That seems like a.
That's a good question.
(05:21):
It sticks a lot of training.
It is a great question.
Speaker 6 (05:24):
A lot of people just go in and they they want to do
that later yeah, that's a greatyeah.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Like are you going to go on the service and just do
it for a year and then whatpoint did it be like, oh, we got
something here well, I was, youknow, born and raised right
here in tennessee.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Um, you know, grandparents have a farm in
manchester uh area and, uh, Ilived in chattanooga area, spent
a lot of time between boththose locations and you know I
was a little bit more drawn tothe the countryside because I
enjoyed hunting fish and doingthings like that.
At 17 years old I had asked mydad.
(05:56):
I said, hey, I need to tell yousomething.
You need to promise you won'ttell this mom and it was that my
girlfriend was pregnant oh anduh yeah he's like you know, I
want you to, you know thinkabout what you
just told me.
And, uh, you know, tell me how.
I'm not supposed to tell yourmother that but and but.
That really is that's kind ofwhere my head placement was at
(06:16):
that point in my life.
Um, I dropped out of highschool.
I, uh, you know, immediatelywent into, you know, working at
a construction.
You know doing framing.
You know job, hop, went to workfor a lumber mill where, you
know, pulling logs off that were, you know, three times the size
of me.
That was not for me.
I was about 150 pounds, soakingwet then and, you know, I was
(06:41):
went into this apprenticeshipfor auto body and paint and I
was, you know, determined thatthat was going to be the route I
was going to take.
But after spending six, sevenmonths with some folks who had
been doing paint their entirelife, I was like there's not
much of a health future for mein this line of work.
So I was doing some work on mygrandfather's farm.
We were separating fences forcattle, putting in a lot of
(07:05):
fence posts.
He asked me to come sit down onthe back of his tailgate and,
uh, you know, shared proverbs 27, 17, as iron sharpens iron one
man does, mother.
And he said I know you look upto me he's.
You know my grandfather waslike the king of my world, you
know, like always inspired to belike him.
And uh, he said, I think youneed to surround yourself with
some people and inspire you tobe a better version of you, to
(07:27):
be the best dad you can be.
So I, you know, a couple weekslater, went and joined the
military, went in.
You know, I was a, you know,basic in AIT as a combat
engineer, which is essentiallylike explosives and demolition.
And then, you know, I went tomy first duty station, which is
where I met that other piece ofiron Iron sharpening iron is not
an easy task and the gentlemanI met, joe Fancher.
(07:49):
He became a lifelong mentor.
He, you know, he, put the bootto me.
He was determined to make meless of a dirt bag, and he did,
and so I went to ranger school.
He went to SF and I, you know,said I want to do that.
You know, I found someone thatinspired me to pull me out of
where I was as a young man, andit just kept that in the
(08:12):
forefront of my mind is I wantto continually try to be the
best person I can be andsurrounding myself with the best
people to make me a betterperson, and that's how I ended
up getting to SF and SpecialForces.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So they kind, of you know, like the SEALs, our buddy,
they literally break you downand build you back up.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Is that what it's like?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, you know, I think in the military in general
it's you know, people come fromall over the world and you're
coming together so they breakyou down so that when you leave
there you're a soldier.
You so they break you down sothat when you leave there you're
a soldier.
You know it's like you don'tsee a difference in the state
they're from the accent theyhave or the accent they don't
have.
You know, it's just you leavethere.
You know, I always say it'scommonplace to build bonds is
(08:55):
when you're in suck.
You know what.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So when you're in misery, everybody's your friend.
You know You're just lookingfor a lifeline, so, yeah, um,
yeah, that's uh, that's kind ofhow it was with uh special
forces, assessment and selectiontoo.
But there they really kind offocus on on two ways, you know.
Focus on you as an individual.
Um, how do you handle workingby yourself?
And then how do you handleworking as a member of a team?
(09:18):
Because when you're a smallteam navy seals, uh special
operations, special forcesyou're working in a small team,
so you need to be able to trustthe people to your left and
right.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
Curiosity, just because I was just a foot
soldier at Fort Benning so I didthat in like 87, 89, and you
said Ranger, and you were taughta Ranger school later.
Yeah, so to be Special Forces,do you need to be a Ranger first
?
Is that the way it is or isthat the that's?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
you don't.
Is or is that just twodifferent?
No, it's two different, twodifferent pathways.
Um, I just happened to go toranger school.
I wasn't in ranger regiment, Ijust went to ranger school.
Um, as kind of a stepping itwas actually my first school
right out of basic training was.
I went to a pre-ranger and thento ranger school and before
airborne did you do airborne I?
did airborne after ranger afterranger okay I was what you call
(10:06):
a leg ranger.
I was not airborne qualifiedfor a little while, um, but I'm.
I was thankful that I maderanger school.
Uh, you know that first goal,because it kind of set the bar
for the rest of them.
You know, I feel like it wasone of the most demanding
outside of special forcesqualification, if you can do
that you can do anything.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
yeah, it was one of the most demanding outside of
special forces qualification.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, If you can do that, you can do anything.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Yeah, it was just, you know, like go go all in, you
know, and you got the Rangershave that week like the hell
week with seals, right.
So that's a can you?
How's that differentiate?
That's a good question, youknow.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Uh, I'm actually the CEO of the Honor Foundation.
Who's?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
tougher, you or the SEALs?
I always like to say who'ssmarter.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
No, they're great.
I mean, you know we all giveeach other a hard time, but when
it comes down to it, whenyou're overseas, you're all
wearing the same flag, rightthat's right Amen.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
We appreciate that.
So is that Green Beret sowhat's is that?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
green beret so is.
Is the next step delta, or isthat just another branch?
They're a different, yeah, it'sa whole different different
organization?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
yeah, so how do you make that choice?
So at some point you have tomake the leap to be.
Is it another?
More training to be a greenberet after you've been a ranger
and all stuff, right yeah?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
So the Special Forces , army-wise going to Special
Forces, the first step isSpecial Forces Assessment
Selection, which is about 30days.
It's where they test who youare as an individual and as a
member of a team through aseries of events a lot of land
navigation, a lot of carrying aheavy ruck on your back and runs
, a lot of land navigation, alot of carrying a heavy ruck on
(11:45):
your back and runs.
And then, once selected, youattend what's called the
qualification course and that'swhere you're given an MOS, a job
specialty.
My first job was a weaponssergeant on a team, and then you
learn your job as an individualand then you're paired up with
other group and you go throughwhat what we call small unit
(12:06):
tactics, which is working as amember of a team in your mos.
And then you learn a languagemy second language was arabic um
and then you go through um,what we call robin sage, which
is, uh, the culmination exercisewhich puts it all together, and
you're a member of an oda in ain a mock environment.
Is.
Is that a year long?
It's about two years.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
I got to know what the average is city boys and
country boys that make it.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I'll tell you, there's a lot of country boys
and southerners.
Everybody was fearful of landnavigation because you're doing
I mean you're doing some longdistance movements.
When I say long, I mean you'reputting a lot of miles, I mean
lots of miles going through thewoods at night.
You're not allowed to use theroads and they'll catch you if
(12:54):
you use the roads.
But I loved it.
I was like I'm in the woods bymyself, no one's yelling at me.
This is heaven.
You know what I mean.
Mean I could stay out here allday, um, but you know, I think
you know that gets some peoplewho are not used to being in
that environment and thedifferent noises, those yeah
noises, put me to sleep, youknow, yeah, so, uh, yeah, that's
just incredible the arabicthing is blowing my mind, though
(13:15):
like how long does?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
that take to actually be I don't want to say fluent,
but I guess somewhat fluent yeah, well, like a rosetta stone
thing itetta.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Stone thing, so it's six months long, I mean, and it
depends on the language that youhave Six months.
That's it yeah but it's sixmonths of immersion.
You're all day long.
It's like college, all day andnight.
I wouldn't know what that'slike Me either.
Remember high school dropout?
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, okay, yeah, but so six months like all the time
, every day, all day, yeah,that's what you're doing and
that's what you're doing, andthen that you know it's.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
It's not a skill like .
Everything you learn throughoutthe course is not designed to
be like oh, I learned that nowI'm not ever going to use it
again yeah everything that youlearn you're going to be using
yeah, there's a purpose, yeahthere's a reason behind it and
people are going to use it again.
Everything that you learn you'regoing to be using later on.
Yeah, there's a purpose, yeah,there's a reason behind it and
people are going to rely on youto have those skills.
So we take it seriously.
It's something that youcontinue to train on when you're
(14:12):
at your unit and actually itbecomes a little bit easier
because you go on deployments.
The number of deployments inthose locations is full
immersion.
How much time did you spend overthere?
My wife and I were trying to dothe math.
I think we've been married for22 years and I think I may have
been home about eight and a halfof those.
So a lot of time Almostexclusively in that area.
(14:34):
Oh yeah, so each special forces.
So, unlike other soft units,special forces we are assigned.
Each group has an area ofresponsibility and 5th Special
Forces Group, where I'm out ofat Fort Campbell or where I was
out of, is assigned the MiddleEast.
That's our area ofresponsibility.
All the other groups have hadto help us and participate in
(14:59):
the Middle East, so it's notlike we've been solely there,
but it's just been a lot of work.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
When you say soft units, is that the other
branches of service?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, soft, that's your unit.
He's talking about you, caleb.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Hey, I was actually in the Army Special Operations
Forces, it's not fair that youwere in the Army too.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
This is not fair.
So you know you had to dig onthe Marines.
Speaker 6 (15:24):
No gosh no, how long did you do that?
Just two years, how long?
Speaker 4 (15:27):
are your socks, do you know?
Speaker 6 (15:28):
Arabic.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
I don't know Arabic.
No.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Different mission.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Now look you, look at these guys who've not served at
all.
No Making fun of somebody whohasn't.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
That's like on a day.
Speaker 6 (15:41):
No, you're making fun of it?
Speaker 4 (15:42):
No, I promise you I wouldn't laugh today.
What are you looking at me for?
Speaker 6 (15:44):
You've got guys that have been in for a year or two
and they're dead.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
And you're making fun of somebody that joined the
service.
He's looking right at me.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
I couldn't make it.
I wouldn't.
No, I mean as a matter of fact.
I mean I've got to know howmany Go ahead.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
No, I'm just Years ago we did like a USO kind of
tour in the Middle East.
What year was that?
When we served, when we served.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
We served drinks all night, yeah, we served drinks,
we served drinks all night.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
No, it's actually, truly, it's true, though we were
out there in the middle ofnowhere.
I mean Iraq, iraq in the desertsomewhere, secret, base, secret
base, night vision, you know155 degrees and you and blown
away by I mean truly what youguys do, and all joking aside,
it was a life-changingexperience.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
It was, yeah, it absolutely was, and just the
appreciation we had for what youguys do, which actually makes
me think did you guys ever haveanybody that came over and
played music for you guys?
Do you remember any of that oh?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
absolutely.
I remember Zach Brown Bandcoming, great Kid Rock came.
I enjoyed those was.
It was super cool to see.
You know, people take time, Imean, and this was during
christmas, right, you know it'slike they should be home with
their family.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
That's exactly when we did it and they're coming so
telling I couldn't believe howappreciative the military was
and we're like what are youtalking about?
You guys are the heroes.
Like the test for us come overhere is nothing but uh, just so
much appreciation.
And it's cool to hear that,like zach brown, I know kid rock
does that a lot yeah, of coursetoby keith.
(17:27):
Yeah, he did.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Yeah, three doors down yeah, there's a lot of
stuff.
I mean, I remember one of thecoolest things in, even maybe
before that this late 90s didone one at Guantanamo Bay and we
were in a bar and it wasprobably 20 Marines and they
were to this day.
I remember every one of theirfaces.
They were so appreciative andthey had so much fun and it was
(17:52):
like just to get back.
As Kurt said, I mean, we'remusicians and songwriters and
what we do, compared to you guys, is a job in the bucket.
So thank you for 100%, yeah,thanks for your service and for
being here.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
I know we want to get to what you're doing now.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
It's such an honor for us.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
None of us could do anything of what you've done.
We don't even know what you'vedone and things that you've seen
.
But just for the entertainmentside, before we get to what
you're doing, right now um moviewise cause.
You've been at the highestlevel of combat military, all
the training, the worst of theworst, best of the best.
Uh, do you have a couple ofmovies you would drop that are
(18:33):
as close to reality?
As you, as you think, like likefull metal jacket I know that's
a great question like fullmetal jacket.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I know that's marines , but like things like that, or
heartbreak, ridge or any, anykind of things that you would
say is kind of close to the waythey communicate and talk and
act as buddies and or rambo onethrough three that would throw
us off because we love thosemovies well, I always blame my
uh, my grandparents for allowingme to watch the a-team growing
up, because you know, like Ikind of wow, like man,
subliminally, they were tellingme I needed to be a green beret
five you know, but um, really,uh, the one I will say is you
(19:07):
know, tried and true isblackhawk down, yeah oh, yes,
okay, because it's you know.
You know sometimes it's, andI'll I'll caveat that with what
you see in the movies is onlyfive percent of what we do.
There's a whole lot of otherthings that we do to continue to
support our freedoms here.
But Black Hawk Down, there'sconfusion and one of the
(19:33):
characters in there says,talking about politics, he's
like when bullets start flying,politics go out the the window.
It's all about the person.
You're left and right andthat's really truly what it is
that's the air being yourcharacter.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
So have you seen the documentary that just came out
on netflix?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I thought that was great yeah, it was really really
good yeah what's it?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
called.
Do you know black hawk down ohit's surviving black hawk down I
believe is
Speaker 4 (19:56):
what it is on netflix and it's, and it's done and the
book is incredible.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Yes, it really is.
Um, but like that, the way theydid that documentary for the
most part, I thought was pretty,pretty true, getting both sides
of that yeah situation from acivilian standpoint and from the
american soldier standpoint,which I thought was interesting.
Yeah, 100, because I would havenever in my mind wasn't really
(20:21):
thinking about the somaliancivilian side of that yeah, that
could have turned into a muchbigger shit show than it already
was, and that's you know,that's one of the things that
you have to have on your mindconstantly as a small team is
you're there.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You know, in special operations we're there with an
indigenous partner, we're therewith a partner force and in a
perfect world scenario, we go in, we accomplish a mission, we
leave and they get the creditfor it.
But there are things that canflip the script on that real
quick and you have to have thatcombat maturity to be able to
(20:55):
say, hey look, we need to slowthings down, or you know when to
know, or when not to pull thetrigger um and you know, it's
just, that's where that's why wehave such a you know grueling,
um, you know selection processes.
So we have to have the rightpeople.
It's all about the right, youknow getting the right person.
Speaker 6 (21:14):
Yeah, yeah, it's not your basic soldier, you know,
because they did a study, I reada lot about vietnam, because my
uncle was in vietnam and thatyour your basic soldier, they
said.
They just said he like 15 wouldactually fire their weapon
because if you fired the enemywould know where you were.
Yeah, but in those kind ofdedicated teams all you guys are
firing.
(21:34):
I mean right and that's just awhole nother level and I could
see why people I mean, if you'rein a combat, you're in and
you're thinking, well, if Idon't shoot, nobody's gonna know
, I'm over here and you mightlive another day.
You know, I don't know, butit's kind of interesting that 85
percent weren't firing.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yeah, that they could live, or even, even when
tensions are high and you couldfire, knowing that you shouldn't
fire because it could causethis to spin out of control.
You know that's, that's one ofthe things is that operational
maturity to be able to you know,to make those decisions and
trust everyone around you.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
That's it's really I mean me and Kurt talk about
every now and then and Jason,where we're like after the Vegas
scenario with the shooter inVegas really made us.
I talked to a lot of my navyseal buddies after that and I
said, you know what, after goingthrough that, the amount of
training you guys need to gothrough to accept or know what's
(22:30):
happening, was crazy to mebecause when it was happening,
we were, you know, such adifference you couldn't even
fathom what was happening, rightand to know we're not equipped
for you guys run towards that,or or your mind works that way
yeah, it was so different towhat you know.
The everyday mind works likeyeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Well, I mean it's no different than the music
industry.
You know like very different.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
No, go on.
We are heroes.
We are heroes.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
No, josh, you're the reason, guys like you are the
reason that we wake up.
At 11 o'clock in the morning,you start waking up.
Speaker 6 (23:14):
Oh, that would be, a great day.
Draw that comparison.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
From a training aspect.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
When you first started playing the guitar, you
weren't singing along too.
You were still trying to figureout where you should put your
fingers for the chords.
We train a lot because thatneeds to become second nature,
so that your brain can actuallycomprehend what's going on in
the situation and make you knowthe decisions that it needs to
make.
So you know, it allows you tounderstand.
(23:42):
When you're playing yourinstrument, you know like, hey,
that's not in tune or we need toadjust that and be able to
communicate that's really niceof you, but it's pretty much
that, yeah, I can kind of seewhere you go.
Speaker 6 (23:53):
that's pretty much the same, so let's go on to what
you're doing today.
Tell him he won't even carryhis own bass, neil.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Stop.
Hey, listen guys.
This is a fascinatingconversation with Josh Birch.
Let's take a quick break forour sponsors.
We've got to come back and talkabout what he's doing now.
It's super important and wewant to make sure we get to it.
Stick with us here and we'll beright back.
Try that in a small-timepodcast.
But stick with us here andwe'll be right back.
Try that in a small-townpodcast.
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All right, we are back from thepatriot mobile studios.
This is try that in a smalltown podcast we have josh first
with us, badass green bray he iscurrently the director.
You got to explain to us whatthis is director of peoples for
(25:53):
the honor foundation.
This is what you're doing now.
You you said you should behunting and fishing somewhere,
but it led you somewhere, tothis right.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Well, when I was transitioning from service, well
, back up a little bit, at 18years, I thought about retiring
from the military.
A good friend of mine, jamieKornowski he was a command chief
warrant officer of 5th SpecialForce Group at the time called
me in and asked you know, like,what's your plan?
You know, you said you want toretire.
And I'm like I don't reallyhave a plan.
And it's kind of odd because,as you know, special operations
(26:23):
I'm always planning forwhatever's next.
But I didn't have a plan and itreally it got me thinking.
So I just elected to stay in.
A gentleman I worked with was onterminal leave and he was
overseas doing contract work,which was usually the fallback
plan for our folks.
There was a lot of money in it.
(26:44):
He was killed while he was onterminal leave and I was like I
don't want to take that path.
So I decided to stay in so Icould have the Air Force's
finest and medevac if I neededit.
While we, we uh, executed ourplan, my wife and I came up with
strategy which is to daveramsey, dave ramsey, essentially
pay everything off, uh, so thatyou know, you know, I could
(27:06):
pursue my dream of hunting andfishing every day.
Um as I was yeah and uh, youknow, I mean, sounds amazing,
yeah well, and at 26 years, whenwe finally uh, pulled the
trigger on retirement, my wifesaid I'm not used to you being
around this much, I'm going backto work full time.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
That's our first real true thing, that we have in
common.
Speaker 6 (27:30):
Connection right there.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
When the tour ends, my wife's like when do you leave
again?
Wait a minute, 100%.
So we are like we're you leaveagain Wait a minute 100%.
So we are like.
We're like Green Berets andmusicians.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Exactly, you know.
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Well, except for there may be one difference,
because I was going to ask this.
But now, since y'all stoppedthere, it's like you know, when
you get back from your missionsand all that, and you're fresh
off and she's glad to see youand everything, and you cry, you
embrace, do all the things, andshe's glad to see you and
everything, and you cry, youembrace, do all the things.
A few days, a few weeks goes byand then you're just a husband
and you're a dad and you'rethere Every night.
(28:05):
Does she lay on your chest andsay thank you for being such a
hero?
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Can I say yes?
Speaker 6 (28:13):
You better say yes when you're taking out the trash
and stuff.
Do you think special forces?
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Why am I taking out the?
Speaker 4 (28:17):
trash.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
I'm a freaking green beret.
No, I know who runs our house.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Well, amen, she, she takes care of it.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I mean she, you know she's taking care of our kids
and everything.
When I always say you know ourchaplains, when we come back we
have like reintegration,training and everything, and
they're like you know they callit passing the remote.
They're like don't, don't go inand take the remote on night
one.
I'm like I just don't take theremote because I know she's
going to need that remote in afew weeks.
You know I'm going to be goingback to do some training or or
(28:47):
on another deployment.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
So my wife, you know taking we need someone to help
us after tour.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Reintegration yes To the house.
I mean, it sounds like what'sthe severance?
Speaker 4 (29:04):
Do you?
Speaker 3 (29:04):
guys watch Severance.
Severance is greatReintegration, because anyway.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
Yeah, you do.
I mean people out there tuningyour bass.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
My wife goes Carrying your bass.
She always says she goes,you're treating this house like
a hotel.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
Yes, yes, you're treating this house like a hotel
.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Yes, Do you?
Speaker 6 (29:24):
know who I am.
Do you know who I think I am?
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Surely I'm not going to have to straighten this place
up.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
Have you ever taken the garbage out?
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Oh, come on, please Make my son do it In show
clothes.
That's why I have children.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
That's the whole point of this.
But when you guys come backfrom the road with Aldine, just
as a comparison, josh, Are theyat the edge of the?
Speaker 3 (29:48):
It's our deployment.
We have a 45-shot deployment.
Speaker 6 (29:51):
Do they run to the end of the driveway and are
there tears when you guys getback?
Oh, my God Father.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Oh Father.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Welcome home, Father.
Thank God you're back safe.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
No, not a lot of that .
Speaker 6 (30:03):
No, okay, not a lot of that.
I don't know.
If there's an exact comparison,go ahead, josh.
Which one are you talking?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
about.
That's one of the things.
At my retirement my daughtergot up and it broke my heart I
haven't even given my speech yet, like my retirement, you know,
like thank everyone.
And my daughter got up and shesaid my dad always said, you
know, I'm going on a deployment.
She never understood what thatmeant and it didn't really click
until my retirement that Inever really explained what is a
(30:32):
deployment.
All she saw is dad is going toget dropped off and he is going
to be gone for six months or whoknows how long.
And you know my son was thesame way.
You know they never explainedwhat was happening.
So you know it was kind of.
You know they resented me alittle bit for that because they
didn't understand why I wasleaving.
They just, you know, knew thatI was leaving.
(30:53):
So you know, fast forward tonow, you know they are extremely
appreciative.
But I've always said that Ivolunteer, my wife even
volunteers because she marriedme.
But my kids, they were putthrough it sacrificially, 100%.
They truly did not have anysay-so in it.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
We started to talk about it, but make sure we get
to this, because the HonorFoundation what they're doing
for veterans.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Please explain that, yeah, so the Honor Foundation is
a program.
It's a transition program, likeI mentioned earlier is you know
if you're a musician your wholelife and then all of a sudden
you can't be a musician anymoreand you have to find out what's
next.
You know that's what the HonorFoundation does for special
operations.
It's a three-month course thatreally takes you through.
(31:45):
You know, phase one is allabout you as an individual
introspective look of what areyour strengths, what are your
preferences, because this is thefirst time in our military
careers we've actually had like,you know, the world's your
oyster, what do you want to do?
And it's the first time thatour spouses and family have had
a say-so in it.
So we have a course that runsparallel with the Honor
(32:05):
Foundation which is calledTransition as a Team Sport,
which has the spouse do the samething Look at their strengths,
look at their preferences, andthen you put the two together,
because across my militarycareer, I've always planned as a
member of a team.
Now, when it comes totransition, I don't have that
team anymore.
So it was like, either I'mplanning or, you know, my wife
(32:26):
has her own ideas of what, youknow, transition should look
like, and our kids too, but wetry to bring everyone together
to plan.
And then you have the cohort andour volunteers.
You know we solely rely onvolunteers throughout our course
to help with the networking.
And then phase two is all about, you know, providing them the
tools you know, like LinkedIn,resume mock interviews.
(32:49):
We do business 101, just likewe learned Arabic and other
languages.
We're teaching them, you know,the business language and we're
not a job placement.
We want to help them dowhatever they want.
If it's hunting, fishingprofessionally, then by all
means let's help them do that,um, but if it's opening up their
own business, you know, smallbusiness startup, uh, whatever
(33:10):
the case may be, we want toprovide them the tools and the
network to do that, uh so that'sI, and I didn't mean to
interrupt, so that's a greatpoint, because I didn't really
know.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
This isn't like a job placement service.
This is just how do I get fromhere to here and transition into
what I haven't known for 25years.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
It's a structured process.
And that's completely likerewiring your brain.
Yeah Right, to enter intonormalcy.
And there is another parallelthat I see, as you, as you speak
, and it's we talk about this,like our identity is is in music
and what we do, and you have anidentity.
(33:49):
So how do you, when thatidentity is changing, like
there's a certain amount ofaccepting that too?
Yeah right, so we have thatdifficult.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
The brief that we give as a recruiting brief for
our fellows.
We have a word cloud in it.
It's all the stressors thatpeople say that they're dealing
with during transition frommilitary and you know one of the
ones.
That is, you know, probably youknow the different word clouds
where the words are differentsizes.
Identity and purpose are not thelargest, you know, usually it's
(34:22):
family, career, but identityand purpose are the two that
kind of stand out to me and it'sbecause for so long we've been
a part of something bigger thanourselves.
And identity and being a GreenBeret or a Special Operations
Soldier, you know, that's who Iwas, you know, but that's not
who I am, you know, even in myrole as the director of people
(34:44):
for the Honor Foundation here inTennessee, is, you know, I'm
still part of something biggerthan myself.
And I tell them I don't care ifit's like helping a little
league soccer team, you know,running for mayor in your town,
whatever your leadership isneeded in our community and we
really encourage them, you knowis needed in our community and
we really encourage them, youknow, to find, you know, purpose
(35:06):
in life, so something that'llfill that cup.
Because, looking back at youknow, and I really feel that
we're, you know, you know,suicide awareness, you know,
with veteran suicide, you know,is such a high rate.
I think that part of that ispurpose.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Like you, want to feel pride waking up every
morning.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
And I think that we are on the front end of that.
We're not suicide prevention,we're suicide prevention in the.
On the front end, um so youknow, like helping them find
purpose, helping them find avalue in themselves and a reason
to get out of bed every morning, so that you know that that's
not even a thought yeah, so it'slike some physical tools, but
it's a lot of mental tools tooright, absolutely yeah, so it's
like some physical tools, butit's a lot of mental tools too
(35:39):
right.
Yeah, absolutely, and it's thenetwork, I mean our alumni.
It's not, you know, we say withhonor for life, and you know we
are.
I mean, I have alumni who comein every cohort to share with
the next cohort their successesand to encourage them and
inspire them, and these arefolks who have accomplished
things that 99.9 of thepopulation would never even want
(36:00):
to do, and it's like going intothe normal society is like
scary, it's like we just we'rejust there to encourage them,
provide them the necessary toolsin the planning process to be
able to accomplish what theywant to do yeah, and that's.
Speaker 6 (36:15):
It's cool.
We kind of kidded about youknow being similar, but but it
really is.
Purpose is the thing.
When you said that, and readingabout you, that's the most
important thing for everybody.
At some point, the job that youdo, you're going to age out of
it physically, mentally,whatever.
And then what do you do?
Do you just talk about the olddays?
And some people do, and that'sfine too, but you're young
(36:40):
enough to where and we are toothat if something happened and
hey, we're not getting a lot ofsongs recorded or whatever what
are we going to do?
Are we just going to talk abouthow cool we were back here when
we were doing this stuff, or dowe do that?
Are we Christians?
Are we telling people aboutJesus?
Whatever that purpose is,people got to find it, and if
you don't have that purpose,it's hard to get out of bed.
Yeah, well, what's?
Speaker 3 (36:58):
interesting is, on a side note or serious note really
just the other night I texted,uh, kurt and jason.
I said is anybody missing thestage yet?
And that just kind of clickedin my brain as we're talking
about this, like how theidentity, that's how we're wired
right now, like it's it's thesame, it's for years, for
(37:22):
forever.
We're wired to have thatperception of us which is up
there and it's it's weird, likeI'm sitting around or we're, you
know, just in town, like okay,I can see that being an issue,
like you guys are trained at thehighest level military and
(37:45):
that's a certain pride in that.
And then when it's gone, it'slike okay, well, you know what?
Speaker 1 (37:53):
now, what now?
Speaker 5 (37:53):
yeah, um I did the same.
I went through the same thing,like not the same thing that you
did, but no one goes throughthe same thing, like not the
same thing that you did.
No one goes through the samething, but it's like, okay, I'm
going to wind it down here, I'mgoing to slow it down, I'm going
to go hunting and fishing.
That's what I'm going to do.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
I'm going to spend all my time and play golf.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
Yeah, I'm going to hunt fish and play golf.
It sounds fantastic.
And then once you start doingthat, you're like wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
I can still be relevant.
Speaker 5 (38:26):
I think I can still make up stuff.
I mean, you went through thesame thing.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
So you were saying that, like just how Neil was
saying.
That was like, hey, that's whatI'm going to do.
So what happened inside of youto say, no, I need to get
involved in something like thisI went through the honor
foundation.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Yeah, oh really yeah and I I turned down.
You know I had so many of mymentors.
You know talking aboutmentorship, you know mentorship
has been part of my whole life.
I mean, I went from high schooldropout I I do have college now
, but you know to a seniorleader in special operations and
I only got there because Ilistened to mentors.
(39:05):
But when it came to transitionand everybody was like, hey, you
need to go through the honorfoundation, you need to go
through the honor, I was like Idon't need that unless they're
giving me good fishing spots.
Speaker 4 (39:12):
I don't need it.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I love it.
I went through the course and,like I said, introspective look.
Phase one was when theysprinkled voodoo magic on me
because I started looking at whoI am, what are my strengths and
what are my motivators.
My primary motivator isaltruism helping other people.
And I look back over my career.
We do the Simon Sinek StartWith why program and if I think
(39:42):
about the stories, even back towhen my grandfather said, you
know, you need to find people toinspire you to be a better
version, it's all aboutmentorship and helping other
people.
I saw that, you know, in acommunity in Manchester,
tennessee, where you know, everytime somebody gets sick at
church, my grandma's making thema potluck to take to them or
something you know, just helpingpeople in your community.
And I'm like I need a reason toget out of bed.
(40:05):
I need to be a part ofsomething and helping other
people.
And then, as I was goingthrough the course, matt Stevens
, ceo, had offered me anopportunity to start a campus
here to support Fifth Group and160th Special Operations
Aviation Regiment and I knew Ihad to jump on it because I'm
not a believer in coincidence.
(40:27):
You know like I went throughthis course for a reason.
And then these opportunitiesopened up and you know, I've got
three jobs now.
I work for the Nashville AreaChamber of Commerce part-time in
a consultant role, workingveterans initiatives on the
business side and working withthe state.
I work for the Honor Foundationfull-time and then I'm a
volunteer at the Special ForcesAssociation vice president,
where we help Gold Star familymembers.
(40:48):
So I realized, like you, when Itook a break, I wasn't
accomplishing the things that Iwanted to accomplish and I said
I've got this laundry list ofstuff I need to do on our farms.
I need pressure to accomplishthis.
And having that busy schedulehelps me accomplish it.
Speaker 5 (41:05):
And guess what?
You still have time to gofishing and hunting.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Exactly, you still have time Went on my first elk
hunt this year.
There you go, got to harvestbulls, so it was a great
experience.
But yeah, wow.
Speaker 6 (41:17):
So you're one of those amazing people that make
everybody else feel bad about itno, taylor, I was just
self-reflecting.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
I was here talking my name every morning.
I'm kidding.
Speaker 6 (41:28):
I was going to say just be thankful for your
hardwiring, because in yourfamily DNA you've got some good
stuff in your mind and yourheart that helps you make those
decisions.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Well said, I'm grateful for the folks who
raised me and really you know,like I've always said, if I
owned and I appreciate you allhave me on here and listen to
some of your podcasts that youyou like to bring out the good
in the community, because I'vealways said, if I owned a news
agency, for every bad thing thatwas reported I'd report three
good things, because there's alot of good that goes on in the
community and that's whatinspires people.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
you know it's like well, you were the reason,
people like you are the reasonwhy we started this podcast,
amen yep.
It's to try to give back,especially to our military and
our veterans, because I I reallydo feel like over the last few
years, just a complete last lackof disrespect or lack of
respect for the military.
I feel that, um, I feel likemore.
I feel like we're getting itback, but I feel like it's
(42:20):
important that people know whatyou guys go through and how hard
you train, but also what you doafter and uh, it's incredible.
Thank you so much for well Iappreciate it.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
Yeah, josh I mean and seriously, we, we said at the
beginning we, you know, we'vebeen fortunate to have some you,
whatever guests on and we'vebeen like, oh, that that's cool,
that's cool, but this is whatit's all about.
This right here is what it'sall about, and what you do means
the world, and I can't eventell you what an honor it is for
(42:50):
you to come here and be with us.
I promise you it's been anabsolute pleasure.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
Well, I appreciate it .
And even with the HonorFoundation, nothing I've ever
done across my career has been ame, it's been a we.
And with Honor Foundation Ihave two great teammates.
I have Shane Minnick, who'sbeen a longtime teammate of mine
.
He's a Green Beret retiredSergeant Major.
He's just an excellent,excellent individual.
And then Jackie Edwards.
She's a spouse of a NightStalker, a retired Night Stalk.
(43:19):
You know, I've neveraccomplished anything by myself.
It's always been a part of ateam and I'm glad that it's
continuing that way.
Post-military Well, we thankyou for being here.
Speaker 6 (43:30):
Thank you very much, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
God bless you.
Yep.
All right, jimmy, I think thatwas great.
Do you want to get to?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
something.
Speaker 5 (43:42):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
So we've got, so the big thing all right, so we're a
nonprofit.
We have one fundraiser here ayear.
Speaker 5 (43:50):
Oh, let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
It's a Nashville Music City event.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Let's do it.
It's coming up.
Yeah, let's get right here,bring it back, bring it back on.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Hey, before we go, we got it, we got to uh, talk
about the fundraiser you gotcoming up right, yes, sir, what
is it?
Speaker 2 (44:05):
uh?
So, uh, we have one fundraiserwe do here in in uh in tennessee
every year and it's uh, this isour fourth annual uh music city
fundraiser.
It's for the honor foundation.
Uh, this year it's going to beon april 3rd, um, at the geotis
park.
Um, it's a great opportunity.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
How do people find out about it?
Is there a website we can?
Speaker 4 (44:23):
go to.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
Yeah, go to honororg forward slash events.
There's an opportunity to signup sponsor tables.
We have a live auction.
We have entertainment.
It's a good night.
You hear from our alumni.
We have business leaders in thecommunity that'll speak and
share.
You know folks who haveactually hired our alumni and
share the positive impactthey're making in their
(44:44):
organizations.
So great opportunity to getinvolved.
And if there's any other, likeI said, we rely on volunteers.
We have mock interviews, resumereview and we have what we call
cups of coffee, which is how weinform our fellows of different
you know careers, help themmake an informed decision on
what they want to do next.
So if anybody's interested ingetting involved, absolutely
(45:05):
check it out.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Give it what's the website again, or how they check
honororg, honororg forward,slash events or slash events go
there and check that out.
Hey, before you go, I do haveto ask you because I know you're
from a small town and you lovecommunity and paying it forward
and doing right by your neighbor.
Uh, did you know of the song?
(45:26):
Uh, try that in a small townjason, yes, I did yep, yeah,
what did uh?
What was your thought when thatcame out?
because there was a lot ofpeople that didn't like it, uh.
But I know that you're from asmall town and I've heard you
talk about just that sense ofcommunity and it kind of brought
a smile to my face and I waslike, man, that's, that's what
we were trying to do.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
Yeah, you know, I, you know, I think people can
read whatever they want, or or,you know, find conflict in
anything.
you know but that's really likeI think the small town, what
anything you know, but that'sreally uh, like I think the
small town.
What I learned from a smalltown is even the small town I
live in now in cooper town is Iknow more people within eight,
ten miles than I did when Ilived in a neighborhood, and
(46:10):
it's because you rely on eachother a lot more when it snows.
I know I need to go check on,you know, the elderly couple
down the road to make sure theydon't need anything so they
don't have to get out.
And I really think that's wherethe song resonated with me.
Like in a small town people area little bit closer than in a
bigger city, where everything isso rushed that you really don't
(46:32):
have time to acknowledge theworld around you.
And that's just me personally.
Speaker 1 (46:37):
By the way, that was unrehearsed.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
That was amazing.
Speaker 6 (46:43):
He is taking over our podcast would you like to join
us thursday?
Speaker 1 (46:48):
seriously, josh, thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
It's an honor.
Speaker 5 (46:51):
I appreciate the opportunity thank you so much,
brother.
Thank you, I mean.
Josh makes me want to get inshape, he makes me want to plank
every night before I go to bed.
When you sit across from aGreen Beret, you want to.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
I'm with you.
You feel so inferior.
Speaker 6 (47:14):
Well, because we are inferior.
You're right.
I don't even feel inferior, Iam inferior.
I'm not sure if planks is goingto level the playing field, if
we could do a minute plank oreven a 90-second plank or
two-minute plank like Telly saidif you can do a three-minute
plank, that's amazing, andthat's a whole other topic.
Speaker 5 (47:31):
A three-minute plank.
He can't do a three-minuteplank.
There's no way in hell.
Speaker 6 (47:35):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
Even if he could, let's end this episode right now
.
You can't.
There's no way to tell him howmuch.
Speaker 6 (47:39):
Tell him you can't.
Your hair weighs too much.
I can't do a three-minute play.
You can't do it.
This is about Josh Birch, aretired Special.
Speaker 5 (47:44):
Forces Green Beret.
I know right, we always make itabout us.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
You know what my favorite question was, for
whatever weird reason, was whatmovie I seriously thought that
was amazing.
Speaker 6 (47:57):
That's K-Lo magic right there.
Well, we all love movies.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 4 (48:01):
Thank you very much, guys.
My name is Kelly.
Speaker 6 (48:05):
Jim, can you turn this up please?
No, I really love that becausewe're obviously fans of all the
military stuff Rambo and allthose things which we know are
sensationalized and all that butfor somebody who's actually
been in combat, what do theythink what's?
Speaker 1 (48:18):
your favorite military movie.
Speaker 6 (48:19):
Well, I mean, I like all of them.
I like any Vietnam movie.
Speaker 5 (48:22):
He's a Rambo guy.
Speaker 6 (48:23):
I mean Rambo, but I like Chuck.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
Norris, I like Missing in Action.
Speaker 6 (48:28):
I mean, I like the old stuff too, but like Mission,
band of Brothers, that wholething you know a couple times,
Just so many, yeah, but when hementioned Black Hawk Down, Then
you think of the sniper ones andall the Middle East stuff,
which is there's a lot of combat.
I like a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (48:42):
It was fun hearing his take, that was incredible
Blazing Saddles.
Speaker 6 (48:49):
Yeah, and there's another great military movie.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
Blazing Saddles couldn't be made today, by the
way.
Speaker 5 (48:54):
No, it could not.
Speaker 1 (48:55):
No, not a chance, no chance, not a chance, not a
chance, no chance, not a chance,not a chance I wouldn't think
so.
Speaker 6 (49:01):
I wouldn't think so.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
Oh my gosh, Listen, we got to make sure everybody.
We got a lot of things to plughere.
Go to the.
Try that in a Small Townwebsite, right, you can get some
of that right there, get somesweatshirts, come on.
Sweatshirts.
Follow us on all the socials.
Follow us on all the socials.
Make sure you go to X.
Make sure you go to InstaTikTok.
Where else are we?
(49:24):
Are we missing any Facebook?
Follow us on all that stuff.
Allie, anything, allie is thatall of us.
What else do we need?
Speaker 5 (49:31):
We on Rumble, yet Are we on Rumble, we are Heck yeah.
Speaker 6 (49:39):
Let's get ready to Rble do it.
Speaker 1 (49:41):
Oh my god, we love you guys.
Thank you for uh sticking withus.
And just to reiterate,seriously, we we have a lot of
guests on here.
We've been incredibly blessed,but tonight I don't know.
It's what it's all about yeahit's special night yep special
night and the fact that he'sgiving back and making sure
we're taking care of ourveterans.
(50:02):
It is what it's all about.
These are the Patriot MobileStudios.
Why don't I say these?
Speaker 5 (50:11):
No, it's too bad that we can't do the plank off on
video.
It's too bad.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
I promise you it's going to be on video.
It's too bad.
I promise you it's going to beon video.
We'll figure it out.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
This is not going to be close.
Let's explain to people youcan't do a three-minute plank.
Speaker 6 (50:25):
Really no.
Speaker 5 (50:26):
Really no, you can't.
Your hair weighs too much.
Speaker 6 (50:28):
It's not going to happen, your head will be
sagging like I can't keep myhair up and I'm not going to say
you can't do it.
If you do a three-minute plank,that's beyond impressive,
that's really impressive.
Speaker 3 (50:41):
I want to see your abs.
Well, we can't end this fastenough.
Let's go Three-minute plank,all right.
Speaker 6 (50:46):
Right after the golf tournament Ten tops everyone.
Speaker 1 (50:50):
This is Try that in a Small Town podcast.
Thanks for joining us, guysMake sure to follow along.
Speaker 4 (50:55):
Subscribe.
Share, rate the show.
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