September 10, 2025 • 36 mins
Why do so many veterans face challenges that most of us never see? Today’s episode is going to be meaningful with Matthew Parker, as he shares his incredible life journey and what shaped his leadership principles of honor, kindness, and sacrifice.
We dive into the hard truths about veteran transition struggles, from underemployment and corporate bias to the heartbreaking veteran suicide crisis that claims dozens of lives every day, the gaps in significant support for veterans, the need to better translate military experience into civilian careers, the importance of real actions over empty words, and share ways all of us can better support veterans with gratitude, opportunity, and respect.
If you care about leadership, resilience, and building stronger communities in and outside of the transportation industry, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything hey oh Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm getting to the back hey Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them made them make a bigger balls.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey what is up ladies and gentlemen?
We are back.
We are live.
It is the free coach podcast, the top podcast in transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central to break down some industry headlines.
But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information.
This is your first time tuning in.
Welcome.
(00:45):
This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen.
And I do say that before every single show.
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals and transportation related topics because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve.
So you can take that information, apply it, utilize it and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life.
(01:08):
Today's show is going to be a little bit, and by that I mean a lot bit different than what we normally talk about here on the show.
But it's very relevant for the transportation industry.
I have never hidden my support for the veterans of this country and putting America first and everything.
And the individuals that are out there putting their lives on the line for us deserve the most utmost attention.
(01:32):
And you know, a really good friend of mine is raising some money for a, a cause that I hold near and dear to my heart.
And we're going to talk about this today and kind of break this down.
So I have my good friend Matt Parker on the show today.
Matt, thank you so much for taking the time to join me.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Thanks for having me.
This is great.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
No, absolutely man.
And you know, obviously I, I, I always start the show by asking people a little bit about like how they got their start in freight and everything, man.
But you're, you know, you and I have known each other since the sixth grade, you know, incorrect.
You have a, you know, leaving small town America, you took the route that I think like a lot of guys do across the country, right?
(02:11):
Where it's like it's military is the natural for first step for a lot of guys.
I know we graduated with a couple of other guys as well that took that round as well.
So let's kind of get, you know, give some people the background there, man.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, actually I have like a very unique story.
As you know, I was actually adopted by a US soldier and his wife at birth out of Turkey.
And on my dad's side of the family, they have fought in every war going back to the French and Indian War, so they can trace their lineage to our revolution.
And you know, my path to the army wasn't predetermined, as though many might assume.
(02:49):
When I was a young lad, my father showed me Saving Private Ryan, probably before his age appropriate.
And I remember having a debate with him about service and, you know, being young and naive and saying that these guys are drafted.
We got in a huge fight over it.
I remember telling him that if America was at war, I would go, I would join.
And obviously at 9 11, I knew almost immediately after that second plane hit when were watching in class that I was gonna go, so, you know, yeah, I think that's kind of my lineage of like how I got there.
(03:23):
I think for those who haven't served, everyone asked me what it's like and I tell them, like, you ever played golf?
It's a lot like golf meaning that you can play 17 half holes like crap and you hit that one shot in that 18th hole and you're like, it's the best day ever.
And I think that's a lot of what the service was like, A lot of hard times.
But the one thing they don't tell you is getting out is infinitely harder than getting in.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
What do you mean by that?
Because, you know, I think that people hear a lot of these stories, Matt.
And you know, I've met a lot of individuals that are inside of the transportation industry that are veterans and you know, they've all kind of ear, like talked about that, but not like in depth, you know.
(04:11):
And so like, what do you mean by that?
Is it, is it like a lot like when you're a part of a team and you have that mission and then you feel like you don't have that anymore?
Is that part of it or kind of explain that a little?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, you know, like that is definitely like a high level.
I'll give you like kind of like a more specific example to me.
So my first duty station, I left for the army two weeks after graduating high school.
And I was sent to Korea, which is a hardship tour.
And I was in Bravo 138 Field Artillery.
(04:43):
I was young, 18, just an 18 year old boy.
And I got to meet some of the finest leaders that this country has to offer.
I'll forget some of them, but, you know, the key ones that always, like, haunt me are Sergeant Berry, Sergeant Flatibo, Sergeant Fullmer, Drumhill, or Spain.
(05:03):
And like, each one of these men forever changed how I view life, and they've altered my trajectory.
You know, Sergeant Berry taught me how to lead with kindness and how to lead with your heart.
You know, Flatibo and Murphy, you know, they taught me how to live a life of honor, like, leading by example, doing the right thing every single time, even when it's difficult and you don't want to.
(05:29):
And like, Sergeant Fullmer showed me the importance of completing the mission, no matter the obstacle.
And, like, the true meaning of putting the men before yourself.
And, you know, all of them taught me that, you know, to lead, men or women, you need to demonstrate that you would sacrifice yourself.
And the interesting thing about these leaders is that we all.
(05:51):
They were all willing to demonstrate to us early on that they were willing to sacrifice for us.
And because of that, we never would let them.
Like, if I ever made a mistake in the Army, I didn't feel bad for the punishment that was going to happen.
And, you know, as these former NCOs can tell you, they forced me to do lots of pushups.
I had a big mouth when I was younger and.
(06:11):
But, you know, they.
They just.
They just change the way you think about things.
And because they, like, because they willing to show that they would sacrifice for we would never want them to sacrifice.
And when I made a mistake, I felt bad because I let them down.
So you have this, like, there's this idea, you know, people watch Band of Brothers, whatever, and they think like, this brotherhood just naturally forms and it doesn't.
(06:36):
You know, I had any of the guys that I served with in 138, they all went on to other.
They all either went on to other duty stations or they were in another duty station.
You know, a couple of them deployed directoring during the initial invasion.
And all of them will tell you that we just had something special there.
So when you get out, you know, that brotherhood is gone.
(06:58):
You don't have anyone there sitting next to you anymore making sure that you're doing the right thing or something that you're, like, living up towards.
Like, you know, there's a lot of just regular enlisted guys like Bakkens, Rush, Dixon, Rios, Sangerson, Tarragi, Austin that were older than me, and they taught me what it's like to be a team player, right?
(07:20):
Like, peer on peer correction.
You don't have that anymore.
It's kind of hard to find, like, what your purpose is.
Most can go to college ahead of time, so we struggle to find a purpose, you know, then we get out.
You know, I know some of my NCOs have gotten out.
For some reason, corporate America doesn't think that they can manage an aisle at Home Depot, but they were able to manage a section in war.
(07:41):
So there's like a huge gap between the skills that these guys have and the jobs that they're able to get, because people don't understand that.
Actually, no, this guy is qualified for this.
And there's no more, like, guidance, if you will.
Veterans kind of struggle connecting with each other, I think, and keeping those bonds going.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Do you think, like, that's a major miss by a lot of companies here in the United States dates?
And like, what do you think is the reason?
Because, like, I think we've, you know, like, at least like when we graduated high school, Matt, like, college was like the big push, right?
Like, you gotta go to school, you gotta go to college.
That's the only path to success in life.
(08:20):
A lot of us, myself included, took out way more student loans than I needed.
Financial irresponsibility.
And now here I am, 20 plus years later, and I'm like, why did I pay for that degree?
And do you think, though, that, like, and I'm saying this because do you think that that's kind of like where leadership is in corporate America still?
(08:41):
Is.
Is there still that big believer that you need to go to college?
And then they're overlooking that real, tangible experience that our veterans have out there where it's like, you serve.
Like, I, I look at it like one of my good friends, he's a logistics manager in the United States here.
He did logistics in the military for 20 years.
(09:02):
And he came in and he was able to.
But he got lucky because he said that he knew people at that company.
He's like, I don't know if I would have got this role at that level right away, even though I had 20 years experience in the military doing this exact job.
Do you think that companies need to stop looking at those old school methods of, oh, you need 20 years experience in this desk, and then they're just discrediting the 20 years that they did that job in the military?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, no, like, even if it's less than 20 years, you know, I think they do discredit it because they don't understand it.
And I think that honestly, like, there's part of that responsibility on the veteran themselves too.
Everyone just a little additional background.
You know, I got my undergrad degree from Temple University and MBA from nyu and you know, taking resume writing classes.
(09:53):
Everyone tends to downplay what they do.
Right.
Like in your head, you kind of like, don't want to overhype.
I think that's to the next level with veterans where they really downplay what they did and they don't understand that like at an early age they actually had way more responsibility than the average person.
Like, you know, honestly, even today I look at some of the things I was responsible for and I've had more responsibility at 18 than, you know, grown men at 40.
(10:21):
And I think there's just this gap and maybe leaders of companies need to bring in other veterans to help them assess, like, what this guy's good at.
You know, I made my living working on Wall street for a while and I still deal with investors now.
And you know, if I were to start my own firm, there's not one guy on this list that I wouldn't hire to help get stuff done.
Whether it's operations, they don't have to know things about operations, but I know that they know how to go find the answer and how to get things done and how to push things forward.
(10:49):
And they just have like, I won't lose like, mindset where, you know, a lot of jobs in corporate America, we can't do it.
And you're like, well, why can't we do it?
Well, it's hard.
Yeah, well, yeah, so what if.
Sorry, that's.
That's the point.
Yeah, so, yeah, I think that's a big portion of it.
So, yeah, like, I think this kind of like, and I think in general, you know, we, a lot of people say like, support the veterans, but you know, all they do to really support them is say thank you for your service.
(11:20):
You know, they're not really doing much more than that.
And, and I think that helps with this unemployment rate and veteran suicide, which we'll get into today.
I'm not sure any of your listeners know, but in the wars in US or between in Iraq and Afghanistan, we lost about 6,800 due to combat related injuries.
(11:41):
And since 9 11, over 140,000 veterans have killed themselves.
So that's like 20 times more and more.
I think part of that is we're not as welcoming as a society to these veterans.
When they get out, we expect them to act the same way as people do in corporate America.
That they're gonna have the same mindset, same attitude, same norms, but they're not gonna have those same norms.
(12:05):
Right.
And there's this unacceptance of anything outside of the normal behavior in corporate America and a lack of tolerance for going, hey, maybe this guy views things differently, maybe he jokes around in a different way because he has life altering experiences that I can never understand.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
How, how did we get to this point though?
Matt?
I know, like, and I know this is a very open ended question, but it seems like at times they are overlooked.
Like I would say if there's any demographic of individual in this country today that has a megaphone to say, like, hey, we need help, it is our veteran community.
(12:48):
And it's seemingly there are a lot of people who, again, like, we're conditioned to say thank you for our service, but like, that's kind of like where it stops.
And I, and I don't know, again, I'm not a veteran, but like, it, does it ever seem like it's just like empty words to a lot of these individuals and they're like, yeah, thank you, but why can't I get the help that I actually need?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Yeah, I think that if you look at like the VA and like the VA scandals that have happened in the past, you know, it's problematic.
You know, I think both sides leverage veterans for political gain.
Unfortunately, actually, in Trump's first administration, he signed the VA Accountability Act.
(13:30):
I don't know if people remember, but back in Arizona there was a secret wait list where veterans died waiting for care.
And it seems like they only want to give support when it's politically advantageous.
You ask, like, how we got here.
I'm reminded of this quote, and I think this quote kind of summarizes it.
For those who serve, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.
(13:53):
And I do find that very true.
For me, being in the military was the greatest thing that I ever did in my life.
And I'm so blessed.
As you know, was kind of troubled in high school towards the end and was heading down the wrong path.
And those leaders that I had, they changed my life.
(14:16):
I didn't have good role models growing up for a big part of it.
And the guys that I mentioned earlier, each one of them, their own unique way helped shape who I became.
And I know, ironically enough, the only reason I decided to go to college is I was in my final duty station in Oklahoma and I met this officer that I thought was really stupid and I went, hey, sir, you went to College.
(14:38):
And he goes, yeah.
I looked at him like, well, if you could do it, I could do it.
He goes, what does that mean, Parker?
And I'm like, exactly what it sounds like.
And then I just turned around and walked away.
And I think he was like, wait, did this guy just call me dumb?
I'm like, so.
But, yeah, it's really unfortunate.
And I think I would love for there to be a national dialogue on how we can help our veterans.
(15:01):
44%.
Here's just some additional facts for you on what veterans are facing.
44% of veterans report that transitioning to civilian life is difficult.
It really is, especially if you're a single guy getting out.
Like, you never got married.
Like, you don't connect anymore with people that you knew in high school.
It's like this weird thing.
(15:22):
You're 22, 23 going on 40 for some reason.
So, like, you go to college and it's hard.
And maybe you don't know about different types of jobs, because the army does a very bad job of helping soldiers transition and showing them the possibilities that they could do, unfortunately.
And that definitely needs to get improved.
(15:43):
Like I already said, more than 60% of veterans were either underemployed or unemployed.
65% of veterans post 911 veterans have indicated that it took them a minimum of three years to kind of feel partially transitioned out.
And like I already said, like, the suicide rate is two times higher than the general population right now.
(16:05):
Today, 18 to 22 veterans a day kill themselves.
Like, it wasn't the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq that did it.
It's coming back and feeling isolated.
That.
That lack of purpose, that lack of brotherhood, you know, like, these men I love so much.
(16:25):
And words can never really fully describe, like, how much I love these guys.
And I never really felt anything like that outside of it.
And, you know, it's kind of one of the weird things of life.
You don't really realize what you have and until it's gone.
And I remember getting out and feeling relieved as I drove home back to Wisconsin.
But I remember getting back home and feeling like I made this huge mistake that I just left my brothers and I talked to you, and we'll get into a little bit later.
(16:54):
One of our brothers, Sergeant Michael Murphy, came to his wounds, his hidden wounds recently.
And I was talking with a couple of my buddies and asked them, like, what was it like getting out?
And unanimously, everyone just kind of had this feeling like, I just quit on my guys.
Even though it's horrible or not horrible, even though it's like not an ideal situation to be in and you're just excited to get out after the dust settles.
(17:19):
You're like, I just left my guys.
And that's just really hard to deal with.
I think.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah, it's, you know, I, I think there's a lot of individuals out there who after major life changes like that, you know, they do go through that period of feeling, you know, less than or like they lost their purpose and everything.
And you know, it's, to me it's like when we sit back and we look, we, you know, you hear that number 18 to 22 veterans a day.
(17:52):
And then you know, you see some of these campaigns that come about where it's like there's a bunch of people who are like, you know, doing the push ups and stuff like that to honor, but it's also like, well why do we stop there?
You know.
And it's like, I look at it is as like what we need to do more I think as a society here to bring and reintegrate them back into the civilian life.
(18:18):
And you know, I'm not going to get into the government here too much.
But I think that it's been proven to a lot of us veterans and non veterans that like it's on us, right?
Like it's on us as citizens to step up and really help and push these narratives forward and push a lot of this forward.
Because nobody's coming, right?
(18:38):
Like, I've just accepted that the older I've gotten, like nobody's coming to do anything.
Like we were raised to feel and think a certain way.
But then it's like the older you get, the more you realize like, damn, those are just all empty words.
And you know, when you reached out to me about the cause that you're raising money for today, I, I wanted to help in ways that I'm like I, I need to do more and what more can I do to get this message out?
(19:04):
And you know, I'm fortunate you were able to come on the show today to talk about this because you know, going through that and I remember, you know, when it happened and you called and you know, when were talking about it this last weekend and it's just like, you know, how did he get there?
You know, and like is this one of those things where, you know, this is another opportunity that society is, you know, I like, I don't want any of this stuff to be a fad, you know, where it's like, yeah, people are gonna post about it a few times and then people are going to go back to their daily lives because there's another headline that pisses them off and they got to put in a, you know, a thing out there.
(19:40):
So it's like, what is this?
Cause though, Matt, that we are here to talk about and raise money for today.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yeah, we started the men of Bravo138, started a GoFundMe.
You know, we lost one of our brothers the other week due to the hidden wounds of war.
You know, he served with us in artillery and then spent the last 14 years of his 20 year career in Army Special Operations Command, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, North Africa.
(20:11):
And unfortunately he left behind two children, Mallory and Ellie.
Mallory's 19.
She dreams about being an attorney and Ellie's still in high school trying to figure out, you know, what he wants to do.
So right now we're trying to raise money to help these children with college or trade school or whatever they want.
(20:33):
And we want to create, you know, we want to create a fund for them to help cover their costs.
Initially we're just trying to raise $30,000.
By Veterans Day we're at, you know, 5,000, just over 5,000 right now, which is like amazing.
What we really want to do is give this money, the money go right to the school.
We want to make sure that these kids are staying on the straight narrow, that they know that they can always rely on the men of Bravo 1 through 8 to be there if they have questions about their dad, what he meant to us, you know, if just general life advice.
(21:07):
Like I think each one of us, the gentleman I listed, we all have like different perspectives and we all had our own path.
So yeah, we're really trying to like raise money and make sure that they don't go off at the deep end.
We want to send the money directly to the school or trade school or they don't do it and they go another route.
Find use to like, for that fund to like help them in their career and have like a good life.
(21:29):
Because, you know, I couldn't imagine being that age and losing your father, especially when it's, you know, the terrorists didn't even get him.
That's the worst part.
They didn't even get him, you know, so yeah, that's what we're trying to do.
And a little bit about Michael Murphy, you know, he was.
Or John Murphy, sorry, he was 14 or he was 44 years old.
(21:54):
And I think everyone, at least everyone I know in Bravo 138.
What they would say is he was a man who lived by honor.
He really did.
He really cared about doing the right thing, even if it came at the detriment of a soldier making a mistake.
(22:14):
He was there to enforce the standards.
Hold the line.
And he really was a really good man.
And I think it shocked all of us when we found out that he was no longer with us.
So that's what we're trying to do.
I think you're gonna put, you know, the GoFundMe in the show links.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah, I just dropped it in there, you guys, and, you know, I put it out there this morning and I'm gonna match the first 500 bucks that people from this show donate so we can at least get a thousand bucks from.
From this today.
That'd be awesome.
I know the, you know, the community that watches this show always tends to step up and we talk about causes such as this.
(22:55):
So, you know, put that, you know, it's over on YouTube right now, you guys, but I'm going to put it up in the show notes for this today as well as we're going to continue to share this out on social media up until Veterans Day on November 11th.
And that's like the big push out there, you guys.
So I know that the community and, you know, again, inside of the transportation industry, you know, there's millions of people that are veterans.
(23:18):
You know, there's at least 4 or 5,000 that are on the driver's side.
And the amount of individuals that I know that are on, you know, the warehousing side, the leadership side legis all of that stuff.
So this industry, you know, steps up and, you know, when it boils down to it's like it's gonna take such drastic measures by us as people to stop looking at the mental health of these individuals as just like a quick fix, you know, And I feel like we, we.
(23:54):
I don't know, man.
For me, we just got to get back to the way things were, like when were kids about a lot of this stuff and really taking care of your neighbors and being there for your neighbors so people don't feel forgotten.
They don't feel that void that I, I would assume that individuals feel and they don't know who to reach out to or even worse, they.
(24:18):
They don't feel like they can reach out to people.
And it's, you know, it's one of those things where it's like it only takes one right in the, in the Sense of, like, having one person that, you know, you can call at any time of day.
Right.
And this doesn't have to be, you know, like, you have that person in your life.
And you know what?
Maybe.
Maybe it's because I'm getting a little bit older, Matt.
(24:39):
But I know I got a couple of people in my phone that if I needed to call at 2 in the morning, I could reach out to.
And I feel like that support system.
And I know how a lot of guys think, like, oh, I don't want to put that out there, but it's like, you got people in your corner, and you just got.
You just got to be willing to ask for it.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah.
I think a couple of tangible things that people could take away is like, I remember when I was at another company, a regulator, a financial regulator.
We were sending care packages to soldiers in Afghanistan, and they asked me, like, oh, what should you do?
I'm like, well, don't just say, right.
Thank you for your service.
Like, they don't know you.
That is a meaning thing.
And I remember this lady supervisor came up and asked me, a manager, she came up and asked me, what should I do?
(25:22):
I'm like, well, tell them what you're thankful for.
And she wrote this beautiful card about, like, thank you for answering our nation's calling so I can stay with my family and I can live this amazing life because you said you'll go so I don't have to.
I think veterans generally find that a lot better.
(25:43):
I speak for myself, but a couple others that I know, I think they would find that way more meaningful than just on Veterans Day saying thank you for your service.
You're like, well, makes me kind of feel awkward because I'm like, well, I didn't really know you.
And it's kind of just like, well, thanks.
Right?
It's kind of how it comes across.
And then, you know, the world of tolerance.
(26:03):
Right?
Like, just understand that these guys are probably going to have a different sense of humor.
Right?
They're probably gonna make jokes that might be off coloring or something.
You don't know.
And, like, just kind of like, well, this is what happens.
I'm gonna accept them, give them the benefit of doubt.
Let's see what they can do.
If you're looking for leadership positions, there's no better.
There's no better school of leadership than what comes out of the military.
(26:26):
And now, to be fair, military was great, but I saw some of the worst leaders the army has to offer, and then some of the best there was Kind of like a really, a rare in between.
But, you know, I took a leadership course at nyu, you know, top business school.
And I mean, the stuff that they were teaching there was just nonsense.
Didn't, like, the professors didn't know how to inspire, didn't know how to lead people.
(26:49):
They didn't.
They just were like, well, you got to pay people more.
And you're like, well, that's not how that works.
You know, we had guys making, you know, what, 15, 16,000 a year that were willing to die for their boss.
I saw guys at Goldman Sachs that were like, if their boss got hit by a bus, they'd walk over them, you know, like.
So I think that, like, you know, giving, when you find out somebody's a veteran, give them the benefit of doubt.
Like, maybe that one benefit, the doubt, that one little bounce of the coin going their way, like, changes things, right?
(27:16):
I'm not saying give things to them, make them earn it, for sure.
But, you know, if you got a role and you're looking for a leader, like, these guys figure out how to get stuff done, right?
If they're infantry, artillery, cavalry, you know, the combat arms jobs, they get stuff done.
You give them a mission, they'll go get it done.
They'll figure it out.
And I think the more people realize that, I think everyone's organization can benefit from veterans.
(27:38):
And even when I was first out of school and my bosses, when I was selling products at Best Buy, they're like, if I tell you exactly what, go and sell, you're like a rabid dog.
You go and sell that one thing again and again and again.
But if I don't give you a mission, you're kind of wandering around, talking, socializing.
But if I give you missions, you go and hit them, right?
And I think that's true with a lot of veterans.
(28:00):
So I say be more tolerant.
You know, don't just say thank you for your service.
Ask how you can help.
Reach out to your local vfw, American Legion.
You know, we have more veterans today than probably, you know, World War II.
20 years of war will do that.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, it's.
I think that, you know, you're right.
Everybody that I know that has served is that exact emulation that you're describing right there as an employee.
And, you know, and, and I think that I, I, I think a lot of people, like, they want to do more, Matt.
You know, I truly do.
(28:36):
I, I just think that we're.
That that appreciation factor is seemingly going away.
And from the society, right, like, where it's like, oh, hey, thank you.
Like, they'll just stop right there.
And you know what you said earlier about, you know, that your boss writing that letter about like, why they're thankful for it, you know, and it's like, and I've said this on this show in the past, and I'm going to say it again right here and right now is like, I couldn't do over the last five years what I've done to build my company up in any other setting than the United States of America.
(29:12):
I couldn't talk the shit that I talk on this show.
I couldn't do the things that I've done without those sacrifices by men and women throughout our country's history to get us here.
And that doesn't, that hasn't lost sight on me.
And, and I hope more people come to realize that it goes deeper than that, right?
(29:32):
And it's like, it's doing that.
It's embodying and living the way that Americans used to live.
And we got to get that back.
But it has to start with the individual, right?
Like, at the end of the day, all of the changes that a lot of people, like, they'll post about and talk about generally stop right there because they're afraid to take action.
You know, and I look at it like this.
(29:53):
Like, at the end of the day, I, like, I'm going to live the life that I want to live.
I am going to try my best to be the best man that I possibly can and lead by that example and set a higher standard.
Because I feel like at the end of the day, it's a standards issue first and foremost.
That is why we are in the position that we're in, is people have such low standards and we need to work on that as an individual and just start with that first step.
(30:18):
We all look stupid when you take that first step, but I feel like if you know that there's others out there, you're going to be a lot more confident to take that first step forward.
About, like, I got to raise the standards.
I got to be the one that's going to fix it because it starts with you and your little community.
You don't need to be a social media influencer to make change out there.
It's, it's, you know, I'll use this example.
(30:39):
When I bought my house back in 2022, first time home buyer, 36 years old, society was like, oh, that's so much older than everybody else.
But regardless, the first thing I did as I hung an American flag on my house, and guess what happened to pop up in my neighborhood over the next two months, about 14 more American flags popped up after that one small action.
(31:00):
I didn't go door to door.
I didn't go knock on and say, hey, you should.
I. I hung that up because, again, like I said, I was able to buy that home because of the country that I live in and the opportunities that are afforded to me.
And I'm going to fucking exercise my rights, whether you want to hear it or not, I am going to fully exercise my fucking rights out here to honor everybody that has given me this opportunity.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Yeah, you know, it doesn't even matter if you're like, pro Iraq, Afghanistan.
It doesn't matter.
The reasons went, doesn't matter.
What matters is you had a bunch of men and women that when the country said, hey, we need you, they were there.
They said, I'll go so you don't have to.
And every one of them.
That's what makes the 911 veterans so special.
(31:43):
Similar to, you know, The World War II veteran class is that were attacked, and they all said, I'll go.
They, like, clamored.
I don't know if you've seen Band of Brothers, but, you know, at the very beginning, one of the gentlemen talk about how people in his hometown killed themselves because they couldn't go fight in World War II.
And he said, it was a different time.
(32:05):
And I agree.
But, yeah, it doesn't matter.
Your opinion on the war, was it good?
Was it bad?
Was the government right or wrong?
That doesn't matter.
We need a country where we have men and women that are willing to step up when the nation calls.
Because the fact of the matter is, most people won't.
And these are less than 6% of the population.
Less than 6% is responsible for everyone's freedom.
(32:27):
And I know for me, when I got out, it was hard.
And the thing that really switched things for me is I went to Temple University in Philadelphia, and were creating a veterans club, and one of the students had to walk through campus, and he was late.
And he shows up in a room, he goes, you know, who created Temple?
And we had the dean of the business school there.
And I'm like, no.
And they're like, a World War II or a Civil War veteran lost his buddy.
(32:48):
And within it.
And to make up for his loss of life, he worked an additional eight hours a day.
And for me, I wasn't doing great in school was just kind of okay.
Like, that.
That story changed something.
So it wasn't about my friends who deployed, didn't come home anymore.
It was about, like, okay, I have this opportunity that the men and women who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan would kill for, literally kill for.
(33:15):
So I need to make the most out of every day I have, because if I don't, I'm just respecting them.
And that's the kind of, like, mind shift that, like, changed me and helped me, you know, go from small country boy where we had one stoplight in our town.
We remember when it got put in.
It's still the only stoplight in that town, to eventually making my way to working in a couple Wall street banks and having the great life that I do.
(33:38):
And, like, it's the men that I mentioned earlier that to me made this happen.
Sure, I had to do the work, but they gave me the backbone, the.
The fortitude to do it and do it the right way by not taking, cutting corners and making sure I live a life of honor and virtue.
(33:58):
And without them, I don't think any of this is possible.
I think I would have fallen off just like other people and would have continued to be lost.
And I had a couple.
I met a couple of people along the way that were not veterans that gave me a shot.
The, The.
The.
The coin bounce just flipped, right?
I was prepared, but, you know, they gave me that shot, and that's what helped.
(34:19):
And if you know, give a veteran a shot, like, I think you.
I think a lot of people be pleasantly surprised, honestly.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
I. I would agree with that, Matt.
You know, I. I appreciate you taking the time to jump on here today and talk about this.
We're going to continue to push this message, you guys.
And again, the GoFundMe link is in the YouTube comment section right now.
If you want to jump over there and donate, you guys donate, and the amount doesn't matter, you guys.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
All right?
$5.
Everything is so great.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
All right.
Everything helps to.
To help support Sergeant Murphy's children here to ensure that they.
They get a leg up here in life.
And, you know, I appreciate you for joining me today, you guys.
And that's going to be it.
You guys know what to do.
I appreciate you guys.
I love you guys.
And we'll be talking to you soon.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey, let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them make a bigger ball.
(35:34):
Hey.
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything hey oh Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm getting to the back hey Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them made them make a bigger balls.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey what is up ladies and gentlemen?
We are back.
We are live.
It is the free coach podcast, the top podcast in transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central to break down some industry headlines.
But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information.
This is your first time tuning in.
Welcome.
(00:45):
This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen.
And I do say that before every single show.
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals and transportation related topics because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve.
So you can take that information, apply it, utilize it and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life.
(01:08):
Today's show is going to be a little bit, and by that I mean a lot bit different than what we normally talk about here on the show.
But it's very relevant for the transportation industry.
I have never hidden my support for the veterans of this country and putting America first and everything.
And the individuals that are out there putting their lives on the line for us deserve the most utmost attention.
(01:32):
And you know, a really good friend of mine is raising some money for a, a cause that I hold near and dear to my heart.
And we're going to talk about this today and kind of break this down.
So I have my good friend Matt Parker on the show today.
Matt, thank you so much for taking the time to join me.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Thanks for having me.
This is great.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
No, absolutely man.
And you know, obviously I, I, I always start the show by asking people a little bit about like how they got their start in freight and everything, man.
But you're, you know, you and I have known each other since the sixth grade, you know, incorrect.
You have a, you know, leaving small town America, you took the route that I think like a lot of guys do across the country, right?
(02:11):
Where it's like it's military is the natural for first step for a lot of guys.
I know we graduated with a couple of other guys as well that took that round as well.
So let's kind of get, you know, give some people the background there, man.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, actually I have like a very unique story.
As you know, I was actually adopted by a US soldier and his wife at birth out of Turkey.
And on my dad's side of the family, they have fought in every war going back to the French and Indian War, so they can trace their lineage to our revolution.
And you know, my path to the army wasn't predetermined, as though many might assume.
(02:49):
When I was a young lad, my father showed me Saving Private Ryan, probably before his age appropriate.
And I remember having a debate with him about service and, you know, being young and naive and saying that these guys are drafted.
We got in a huge fight over it.
I remember telling him that if America was at war, I would go, I would join.
And obviously at 9 11, I knew almost immediately after that second plane hit when were watching in class that I was gonna go, so, you know, yeah, I think that's kind of my lineage of like how I got there.
(03:23):
I think for those who haven't served, everyone asked me what it's like and I tell them, like, you ever played golf?
It's a lot like golf meaning that you can play 17 half holes like crap and you hit that one shot in that 18th hole and you're like, it's the best day ever.
And I think that's a lot of what the service was like, A lot of hard times.
But the one thing they don't tell you is getting out is infinitely harder than getting in.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
What do you mean by that?
Because, you know, I think that people hear a lot of these stories, Matt.
And you know, I've met a lot of individuals that are inside of the transportation industry that are veterans and you know, they've all kind of ear, like talked about that, but not like in depth, you know.
(04:11):
And so like, what do you mean by that?
Is it, is it like a lot like when you're a part of a team and you have that mission and then you feel like you don't have that anymore?
Is that part of it or kind of explain that a little?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, you know, like that is definitely like a high level.
I'll give you like kind of like a more specific example to me.
So my first duty station, I left for the army two weeks after graduating high school.
And I was sent to Korea, which is a hardship tour.
And I was in Bravo 138 Field Artillery.
(04:43):
I was young, 18, just an 18 year old boy.
And I got to meet some of the finest leaders that this country has to offer.
I'll forget some of them, but, you know, the key ones that always, like, haunt me are Sergeant Berry, Sergeant Flatibo, Sergeant Fullmer, Drumhill, or Spain.
(05:03):
And like, each one of these men forever changed how I view life, and they've altered my trajectory.
You know, Sergeant Berry taught me how to lead with kindness and how to lead with your heart.
You know, Flatibo and Murphy, you know, they taught me how to live a life of honor, like, leading by example, doing the right thing every single time, even when it's difficult and you don't want to.
(05:29):
And like, Sergeant Fullmer showed me the importance of completing the mission, no matter the obstacle.
And, like, the true meaning of putting the men before yourself.
And, you know, all of them taught me that, you know, to lead, men or women, you need to demonstrate that you would sacrifice yourself.
And the interesting thing about these leaders is that we all.
(05:51):
They were all willing to demonstrate to us early on that they were willing to sacrifice for us.
And because of that, we never would let them.
Like, if I ever made a mistake in the Army, I didn't feel bad for the punishment that was going to happen.
And, you know, as these former NCOs can tell you, they forced me to do lots of pushups.
I had a big mouth when I was younger and.
(06:11):
But, you know, they.
They just.
They just change the way you think about things.
And because they, like, because they willing to show that they would sacrifice for we would never want them to sacrifice.
And when I made a mistake, I felt bad because I let them down.
So you have this, like, there's this idea, you know, people watch Band of Brothers, whatever, and they think like, this brotherhood just naturally forms and it doesn't.
(06:36):
You know, I had any of the guys that I served with in 138, they all went on to other.
They all either went on to other duty stations or they were in another duty station.
You know, a couple of them deployed directoring during the initial invasion.
And all of them will tell you that we just had something special there.
So when you get out, you know, that brotherhood is gone.
(06:58):
You don't have anyone there sitting next to you anymore making sure that you're doing the right thing or something that you're, like, living up towards.
Like, you know, there's a lot of just regular enlisted guys like Bakkens, Rush, Dixon, Rios, Sangerson, Tarragi, Austin that were older than me, and they taught me what it's like to be a team player, right?
(07:20):
Like, peer on peer correction.
You don't have that anymore.
It's kind of hard to find, like, what your purpose is.
Most can go to college ahead of time, so we struggle to find a purpose, you know, then we get out.
You know, I know some of my NCOs have gotten out.
For some reason, corporate America doesn't think that they can manage an aisle at Home Depot, but they were able to manage a section in war.
(07:41):
So there's like a huge gap between the skills that these guys have and the jobs that they're able to get, because people don't understand that.
Actually, no, this guy is qualified for this.
And there's no more, like, guidance, if you will.
Veterans kind of struggle connecting with each other, I think, and keeping those bonds going.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Do you think, like, that's a major miss by a lot of companies here in the United States dates?
And like, what do you think is the reason?
Because, like, I think we've, you know, like, at least like when we graduated high school, Matt, like, college was like the big push, right?
Like, you gotta go to school, you gotta go to college.
That's the only path to success in life.
(08:20):
A lot of us, myself included, took out way more student loans than I needed.
Financial irresponsibility.
And now here I am, 20 plus years later, and I'm like, why did I pay for that degree?
And do you think, though, that, like, and I'm saying this because do you think that that's kind of like where leadership is in corporate America still?
(08:41):
Is.
Is there still that big believer that you need to go to college?
And then they're overlooking that real, tangible experience that our veterans have out there where it's like, you serve.
Like, I, I look at it like one of my good friends, he's a logistics manager in the United States here.
He did logistics in the military for 20 years.
(09:02):
And he came in and he was able to.
But he got lucky because he said that he knew people at that company.
He's like, I don't know if I would have got this role at that level right away, even though I had 20 years experience in the military doing this exact job.
Do you think that companies need to stop looking at those old school methods of, oh, you need 20 years experience in this desk, and then they're just discrediting the 20 years that they did that job in the military?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, no, like, even if it's less than 20 years, you know, I think they do discredit it because they don't understand it.
And I think that honestly, like, there's part of that responsibility on the veteran themselves too.
Everyone just a little additional background.
You know, I got my undergrad degree from Temple University and MBA from nyu and you know, taking resume writing classes.
(09:53):
Everyone tends to downplay what they do.
Right.
Like in your head, you kind of like, don't want to overhype.
I think that's to the next level with veterans where they really downplay what they did and they don't understand that like at an early age they actually had way more responsibility than the average person.
Like, you know, honestly, even today I look at some of the things I was responsible for and I've had more responsibility at 18 than, you know, grown men at 40.
(10:21):
And I think there's just this gap and maybe leaders of companies need to bring in other veterans to help them assess, like, what this guy's good at.
You know, I made my living working on Wall street for a while and I still deal with investors now.
And you know, if I were to start my own firm, there's not one guy on this list that I wouldn't hire to help get stuff done.
Whether it's operations, they don't have to know things about operations, but I know that they know how to go find the answer and how to get things done and how to push things forward.
(10:49):
And they just have like, I won't lose like, mindset where, you know, a lot of jobs in corporate America, we can't do it.
And you're like, well, why can't we do it?
Well, it's hard.
Yeah, well, yeah, so what if.
Sorry, that's.
That's the point.
Yeah, so, yeah, I think that's a big portion of it.
So, yeah, like, I think this kind of like, and I think in general, you know, we, a lot of people say like, support the veterans, but you know, all they do to really support them is say thank you for your service.
(11:20):
You know, they're not really doing much more than that.
And, and I think that helps with this unemployment rate and veteran suicide, which we'll get into today.
I'm not sure any of your listeners know, but in the wars in US or between in Iraq and Afghanistan, we lost about 6,800 due to combat related injuries.
(11:41):
And since 9 11, over 140,000 veterans have killed themselves.
So that's like 20 times more and more.
I think part of that is we're not as welcoming as a society to these veterans.
When they get out, we expect them to act the same way as people do in corporate America.
That they're gonna have the same mindset, same attitude, same norms, but they're not gonna have those same norms.
(12:05):
Right.
And there's this unacceptance of anything outside of the normal behavior in corporate America and a lack of tolerance for going, hey, maybe this guy views things differently, maybe he jokes around in a different way because he has life altering experiences that I can never understand.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
How, how did we get to this point though?
Matt?
I know, like, and I know this is a very open ended question, but it seems like at times they are overlooked.
Like I would say if there's any demographic of individual in this country today that has a megaphone to say, like, hey, we need help, it is our veteran community.
(12:48):
And it's seemingly there are a lot of people who, again, like, we're conditioned to say thank you for our service, but like, that's kind of like where it stops.
And I, and I don't know, again, I'm not a veteran, but like, it, does it ever seem like it's just like empty words to a lot of these individuals and they're like, yeah, thank you, but why can't I get the help that I actually need?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Yeah, I think that if you look at like the VA and like the VA scandals that have happened in the past, you know, it's problematic.
You know, I think both sides leverage veterans for political gain.
Unfortunately, actually, in Trump's first administration, he signed the VA Accountability Act.
(13:30):
I don't know if people remember, but back in Arizona there was a secret wait list where veterans died waiting for care.
And it seems like they only want to give support when it's politically advantageous.
You ask, like, how we got here.
I'm reminded of this quote, and I think this quote kind of summarizes it.
For those who serve, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.
(13:53):
And I do find that very true.
For me, being in the military was the greatest thing that I ever did in my life.
And I'm so blessed.
As you know, was kind of troubled in high school towards the end and was heading down the wrong path.
And those leaders that I had, they changed my life.
(14:16):
I didn't have good role models growing up for a big part of it.
And the guys that I mentioned earlier, each one of them, their own unique way helped shape who I became.
And I know, ironically enough, the only reason I decided to go to college is I was in my final duty station in Oklahoma and I met this officer that I thought was really stupid and I went, hey, sir, you went to College.
(14:38):
And he goes, yeah.
I looked at him like, well, if you could do it, I could do it.
He goes, what does that mean, Parker?
And I'm like, exactly what it sounds like.
And then I just turned around and walked away.
And I think he was like, wait, did this guy just call me dumb?
I'm like, so.
But, yeah, it's really unfortunate.
And I think I would love for there to be a national dialogue on how we can help our veterans.
(15:01):
44%.
Here's just some additional facts for you on what veterans are facing.
44% of veterans report that transitioning to civilian life is difficult.
It really is, especially if you're a single guy getting out.
Like, you never got married.
Like, you don't connect anymore with people that you knew in high school.
It's like this weird thing.
(15:22):
You're 22, 23 going on 40 for some reason.
So, like, you go to college and it's hard.
And maybe you don't know about different types of jobs, because the army does a very bad job of helping soldiers transition and showing them the possibilities that they could do, unfortunately.
And that definitely needs to get improved.
(15:43):
Like I already said, more than 60% of veterans were either underemployed or unemployed.
65% of veterans post 911 veterans have indicated that it took them a minimum of three years to kind of feel partially transitioned out.
And like I already said, like, the suicide rate is two times higher than the general population right now.
(16:05):
Today, 18 to 22 veterans a day kill themselves.
Like, it wasn't the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq that did it.
It's coming back and feeling isolated.
That.
That lack of purpose, that lack of brotherhood, you know, like, these men I love so much.
(16:25):
And words can never really fully describe, like, how much I love these guys.
And I never really felt anything like that outside of it.
And, you know, it's kind of one of the weird things of life.
You don't really realize what you have and until it's gone.
And I remember getting out and feeling relieved as I drove home back to Wisconsin.
But I remember getting back home and feeling like I made this huge mistake that I just left my brothers and I talked to you, and we'll get into a little bit later.
(16:54):
One of our brothers, Sergeant Michael Murphy, came to his wounds, his hidden wounds recently.
And I was talking with a couple of my buddies and asked them, like, what was it like getting out?
And unanimously, everyone just kind of had this feeling like, I just quit on my guys.
Even though it's horrible or not horrible, even though it's like not an ideal situation to be in and you're just excited to get out after the dust settles.
(17:19):
You're like, I just left my guys.
And that's just really hard to deal with.
I think.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Yeah, it's, you know, I, I think there's a lot of individuals out there who after major life changes like that, you know, they do go through that period of feeling, you know, less than or like they lost their purpose and everything.
And you know, it's, to me it's like when we sit back and we look, we, you know, you hear that number 18 to 22 veterans a day.
(17:52):
And then you know, you see some of these campaigns that come about where it's like there's a bunch of people who are like, you know, doing the push ups and stuff like that to honor, but it's also like, well why do we stop there?
You know.
And it's like, I look at it is as like what we need to do more I think as a society here to bring and reintegrate them back into the civilian life.
(18:18):
And you know, I'm not going to get into the government here too much.
But I think that it's been proven to a lot of us veterans and non veterans that like it's on us, right?
Like it's on us as citizens to step up and really help and push these narratives forward and push a lot of this forward.
Because nobody's coming, right?
(18:38):
Like, I've just accepted that the older I've gotten, like nobody's coming to do anything.
Like we were raised to feel and think a certain way.
But then it's like the older you get, the more you realize like, damn, those are just all empty words.
And you know, when you reached out to me about the cause that you're raising money for today, I, I wanted to help in ways that I'm like I, I need to do more and what more can I do to get this message out?
(19:04):
And you know, I'm fortunate you were able to come on the show today to talk about this because you know, going through that and I remember, you know, when it happened and you called and you know, when were talking about it this last weekend and it's just like, you know, how did he get there?
You know, and like is this one of those things where, you know, this is another opportunity that society is, you know, I like, I don't want any of this stuff to be a fad, you know, where it's like, yeah, people are gonna post about it a few times and then people are going to go back to their daily lives because there's another headline that pisses them off and they got to put in a, you know, a thing out there.
(19:40):
So it's like, what is this?
Cause though, Matt, that we are here to talk about and raise money for today.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yeah, we started the men of Bravo138, started a GoFundMe.
You know, we lost one of our brothers the other week due to the hidden wounds of war.
You know, he served with us in artillery and then spent the last 14 years of his 20 year career in Army Special Operations Command, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, North Africa.
(20:11):
And unfortunately he left behind two children, Mallory and Ellie.
Mallory's 19.
She dreams about being an attorney and Ellie's still in high school trying to figure out, you know, what he wants to do.
So right now we're trying to raise money to help these children with college or trade school or whatever they want.
(20:33):
And we want to create, you know, we want to create a fund for them to help cover their costs.
Initially we're just trying to raise $30,000.
By Veterans Day we're at, you know, 5,000, just over 5,000 right now, which is like amazing.
What we really want to do is give this money, the money go right to the school.
We want to make sure that these kids are staying on the straight narrow, that they know that they can always rely on the men of Bravo 1 through 8 to be there if they have questions about their dad, what he meant to us, you know, if just general life advice.
(21:07):
Like I think each one of us, the gentleman I listed, we all have like different perspectives and we all had our own path.
So yeah, we're really trying to like raise money and make sure that they don't go off at the deep end.
We want to send the money directly to the school or trade school or they don't do it and they go another route.
Find use to like, for that fund to like help them in their career and have like a good life.
(21:29):
Because, you know, I couldn't imagine being that age and losing your father, especially when it's, you know, the terrorists didn't even get him.
That's the worst part.
They didn't even get him, you know, so yeah, that's what we're trying to do.
And a little bit about Michael Murphy, you know, he was.
Or John Murphy, sorry, he was 14 or he was 44 years old.
(21:54):
And I think everyone, at least everyone I know in Bravo 138.
What they would say is he was a man who lived by honor.
He really did.
He really cared about doing the right thing, even if it came at the detriment of a soldier making a mistake.
(22:14):
He was there to enforce the standards.
Hold the line.
And he really was a really good man.
And I think it shocked all of us when we found out that he was no longer with us.
So that's what we're trying to do.
I think you're gonna put, you know, the GoFundMe in the show links.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah, I just dropped it in there, you guys, and, you know, I put it out there this morning and I'm gonna match the first 500 bucks that people from this show donate so we can at least get a thousand bucks from.
From this today.
That'd be awesome.
I know the, you know, the community that watches this show always tends to step up and we talk about causes such as this.
(22:55):
So, you know, put that, you know, it's over on YouTube right now, you guys, but I'm going to put it up in the show notes for this today as well as we're going to continue to share this out on social media up until Veterans Day on November 11th.
And that's like the big push out there, you guys.
So I know that the community and, you know, again, inside of the transportation industry, you know, there's millions of people that are veterans.
(23:18):
You know, there's at least 4 or 5,000 that are on the driver's side.
And the amount of individuals that I know that are on, you know, the warehousing side, the leadership side legis all of that stuff.
So this industry, you know, steps up and, you know, when it boils down to it's like it's gonna take such drastic measures by us as people to stop looking at the mental health of these individuals as just like a quick fix, you know, And I feel like we, we.
(23:54):
I don't know, man.
For me, we just got to get back to the way things were, like when were kids about a lot of this stuff and really taking care of your neighbors and being there for your neighbors so people don't feel forgotten.
They don't feel that void that I, I would assume that individuals feel and they don't know who to reach out to or even worse, they.
(24:18):
They don't feel like they can reach out to people.
And it's, you know, it's one of those things where it's like it only takes one right in the, in the Sense of, like, having one person that, you know, you can call at any time of day.
Right.
And this doesn't have to be, you know, like, you have that person in your life.
And you know what?
Maybe.
Maybe it's because I'm getting a little bit older, Matt.
(24:39):
But I know I got a couple of people in my phone that if I needed to call at 2 in the morning, I could reach out to.
And I feel like that support system.
And I know how a lot of guys think, like, oh, I don't want to put that out there, but it's like, you got people in your corner, and you just got.
You just got to be willing to ask for it.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah.
I think a couple of tangible things that people could take away is like, I remember when I was at another company, a regulator, a financial regulator.
We were sending care packages to soldiers in Afghanistan, and they asked me, like, oh, what should you do?
I'm like, well, don't just say, right.
Thank you for your service.
Like, they don't know you.
That is a meaning thing.
And I remember this lady supervisor came up and asked me, a manager, she came up and asked me, what should I do?
(25:22):
I'm like, well, tell them what you're thankful for.
And she wrote this beautiful card about, like, thank you for answering our nation's calling so I can stay with my family and I can live this amazing life because you said you'll go so I don't have to.
I think veterans generally find that a lot better.
(25:43):
I speak for myself, but a couple others that I know, I think they would find that way more meaningful than just on Veterans Day saying thank you for your service.
You're like, well, makes me kind of feel awkward because I'm like, well, I didn't really know you.
And it's kind of just like, well, thanks.
Right?
It's kind of how it comes across.
And then, you know, the world of tolerance.
(26:03):
Right?
Like, just understand that these guys are probably going to have a different sense of humor.
Right?
They're probably gonna make jokes that might be off coloring or something.
You don't know.
And, like, just kind of like, well, this is what happens.
I'm gonna accept them, give them the benefit of doubt.
Let's see what they can do.
If you're looking for leadership positions, there's no better.
There's no better school of leadership than what comes out of the military.
(26:26):
And now, to be fair, military was great, but I saw some of the worst leaders the army has to offer, and then some of the best there was Kind of like a really, a rare in between.
But, you know, I took a leadership course at nyu, you know, top business school.
And I mean, the stuff that they were teaching there was just nonsense.
Didn't, like, the professors didn't know how to inspire, didn't know how to lead people.
(26:49):
They didn't.
They just were like, well, you got to pay people more.
And you're like, well, that's not how that works.
You know, we had guys making, you know, what, 15, 16,000 a year that were willing to die for their boss.
I saw guys at Goldman Sachs that were like, if their boss got hit by a bus, they'd walk over them, you know, like.
So I think that, like, you know, giving, when you find out somebody's a veteran, give them the benefit of doubt.
Like, maybe that one benefit, the doubt, that one little bounce of the coin going their way, like, changes things, right?
(27:16):
I'm not saying give things to them, make them earn it, for sure.
But, you know, if you got a role and you're looking for a leader, like, these guys figure out how to get stuff done, right?
If they're infantry, artillery, cavalry, you know, the combat arms jobs, they get stuff done.
You give them a mission, they'll go get it done.
They'll figure it out.
And I think the more people realize that, I think everyone's organization can benefit from veterans.
(27:38):
And even when I was first out of school and my bosses, when I was selling products at Best Buy, they're like, if I tell you exactly what, go and sell, you're like a rabid dog.
You go and sell that one thing again and again and again.
But if I don't give you a mission, you're kind of wandering around, talking, socializing.
But if I give you missions, you go and hit them, right?
And I think that's true with a lot of veterans.
(28:00):
So I say be more tolerant.
You know, don't just say thank you for your service.
Ask how you can help.
Reach out to your local vfw, American Legion.
You know, we have more veterans today than probably, you know, World War II.
20 years of war will do that.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, it's.
I think that, you know, you're right.
Everybody that I know that has served is that exact emulation that you're describing right there as an employee.
And, you know, and, and I think that I, I, I think a lot of people, like, they want to do more, Matt.
You know, I truly do.
(28:36):
I, I just think that we're.
That that appreciation factor is seemingly going away.
And from the society, right, like, where it's like, oh, hey, thank you.
Like, they'll just stop right there.
And you know what you said earlier about, you know, that your boss writing that letter about like, why they're thankful for it, you know, and it's like, and I've said this on this show in the past, and I'm going to say it again right here and right now is like, I couldn't do over the last five years what I've done to build my company up in any other setting than the United States of America.
(29:12):
I couldn't talk the shit that I talk on this show.
I couldn't do the things that I've done without those sacrifices by men and women throughout our country's history to get us here.
And that doesn't, that hasn't lost sight on me.
And, and I hope more people come to realize that it goes deeper than that, right?
(29:32):
And it's like, it's doing that.
It's embodying and living the way that Americans used to live.
And we got to get that back.
But it has to start with the individual, right?
Like, at the end of the day, all of the changes that a lot of people, like, they'll post about and talk about generally stop right there because they're afraid to take action.
You know, and I look at it like this.
(29:53):
Like, at the end of the day, I, like, I'm going to live the life that I want to live.
I am going to try my best to be the best man that I possibly can and lead by that example and set a higher standard.
Because I feel like at the end of the day, it's a standards issue first and foremost.
That is why we are in the position that we're in, is people have such low standards and we need to work on that as an individual and just start with that first step.
(30:18):
We all look stupid when you take that first step, but I feel like if you know that there's others out there, you're going to be a lot more confident to take that first step forward.
About, like, I got to raise the standards.
I got to be the one that's going to fix it because it starts with you and your little community.
You don't need to be a social media influencer to make change out there.
It's, it's, you know, I'll use this example.
(30:39):
When I bought my house back in 2022, first time home buyer, 36 years old, society was like, oh, that's so much older than everybody else.
But regardless, the first thing I did as I hung an American flag on my house, and guess what happened to pop up in my neighborhood over the next two months, about 14 more American flags popped up after that one small action.
(31:00):
I didn't go door to door.
I didn't go knock on and say, hey, you should.
I. I hung that up because, again, like I said, I was able to buy that home because of the country that I live in and the opportunities that are afforded to me.
And I'm going to fucking exercise my rights, whether you want to hear it or not, I am going to fully exercise my fucking rights out here to honor everybody that has given me this opportunity.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Yeah, you know, it doesn't even matter if you're like, pro Iraq, Afghanistan.
It doesn't matter.
The reasons went, doesn't matter.
What matters is you had a bunch of men and women that when the country said, hey, we need you, they were there.
They said, I'll go so you don't have to.
And every one of them.
That's what makes the 911 veterans so special.
(31:43):
Similar to, you know, The World War II veteran class is that were attacked, and they all said, I'll go.
They, like, clamored.
I don't know if you've seen Band of Brothers, but, you know, at the very beginning, one of the gentlemen talk about how people in his hometown killed themselves because they couldn't go fight in World War II.
And he said, it was a different time.
(32:05):
And I agree.
But, yeah, it doesn't matter.
Your opinion on the war, was it good?
Was it bad?
Was the government right or wrong?
That doesn't matter.
We need a country where we have men and women that are willing to step up when the nation calls.
Because the fact of the matter is, most people won't.
And these are less than 6% of the population.
Less than 6% is responsible for everyone's freedom.
(32:27):
And I know for me, when I got out, it was hard.
And the thing that really switched things for me is I went to Temple University in Philadelphia, and were creating a veterans club, and one of the students had to walk through campus, and he was late.
And he shows up in a room, he goes, you know, who created Temple?
And we had the dean of the business school there.
And I'm like, no.
And they're like, a World War II or a Civil War veteran lost his buddy.
(32:48):
And within it.
And to make up for his loss of life, he worked an additional eight hours a day.
And for me, I wasn't doing great in school was just kind of okay.
Like, that.
That story changed something.
So it wasn't about my friends who deployed, didn't come home anymore.
It was about, like, okay, I have this opportunity that the men and women who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan would kill for, literally kill for.
(33:15):
So I need to make the most out of every day I have, because if I don't, I'm just respecting them.
And that's the kind of, like, mind shift that, like, changed me and helped me, you know, go from small country boy where we had one stoplight in our town.
We remember when it got put in.
It's still the only stoplight in that town, to eventually making my way to working in a couple Wall street banks and having the great life that I do.
(33:38):
And, like, it's the men that I mentioned earlier that to me made this happen.
Sure, I had to do the work, but they gave me the backbone, the.
The fortitude to do it and do it the right way by not taking, cutting corners and making sure I live a life of honor and virtue.
(33:58):
And without them, I don't think any of this is possible.
I think I would have fallen off just like other people and would have continued to be lost.
And I had a couple.
I met a couple of people along the way that were not veterans that gave me a shot.
The, The.
The.
The coin bounce just flipped, right?
I was prepared, but, you know, they gave me that shot, and that's what helped.
(34:19):
And if you know, give a veteran a shot, like, I think you.
I think a lot of people be pleasantly surprised, honestly.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
I. I would agree with that, Matt.
You know, I. I appreciate you taking the time to jump on here today and talk about this.
We're going to continue to push this message, you guys.
And again, the GoFundMe link is in the YouTube comment section right now.
If you want to jump over there and donate, you guys donate, and the amount doesn't matter, you guys.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
All right?
$5.
Everything is so great.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
All right.
Everything helps to.
To help support Sergeant Murphy's children here to ensure that they.
They get a leg up here in life.
And, you know, I appreciate you for joining me today, you guys.
And that's going to be it.
You guys know what to do.
I appreciate you guys.
I love you guys.
And we'll be talking to you soon.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey, let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them make a bigger ball.
(35:34):
Hey.
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