From beach bum life to paratrooper and police officer – Tango Alpha Lima - Tango Alpha Lima Podcast

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
We're. We're coming in hot with
inspiring guests, witty banter and colorful commentary for
today's veterans and military community.
This is the Tal Podcast. Happy veteran's day Alphas.
Thank you for joining us today. We're joined by Eric Tanzi, who
is a former Army paratrooper andcombat veteran turned

(00:21):
professional podcaster and comedian.
He also served as a police officer in Raleigh and the on
the Raleigh Police Department. If you can believe that in
Raleigh, that's Raleigh and is the Raleigh, Raleigh, Raleigh.
Raleigh. And is the author of the book
pig Lawton, a seriously funny true story.

(00:43):
Eric has been featured in many viral social media skits and
then landed an acting part in the comedy series office Joe.
Oh, in case you guys didn't know, the legion created the
modern day 6 episode television comedy office Joe featuring the
All Star cast of military affiliated entertainers and
entrepreneurs. Written by the one and only Army

(01:04):
infantry officer veteran Nick Paul Misano, the show covers the
challenges that veterans face asthey hang up their fatigues and
try to make their way into civilian world.
At any rate, you can watch you can watch that episode,
including Eric in the show on Amazon, Apple TV and Google
Play. Any who it's Veteran's Day,

(01:27):
Veteran's Day, Veteran's Day. Bring out your coupons and your
discounts. Where's my hat, honey?
Dust off the hat. I need I can smell them Apple
Applebee's riblets right now. How about you, Joe?
I do love a good riblet. The Riblet basket.
Bring it. On a good a good riblet I keep
the bones in my pockets. That way if I die they'll be

(01:48):
like why does he have extra bones?
It's the Riblet baskets. He never wanted to give them up.
So today, as my cohort, Co host and Co anchor, we're not
anchors. But that sounded fun.
Stacy said. I don't know what to do with my
hands. I know that's not the same

(02:08):
movie. I like misquoting.
Today is veteran's day, which means businesses across the
nation are offering freebies anddeep discounts.
As a special thank you to veterans and service members,
The American Legion has once again published a handy guide to
help you navigate your way from free breakfast at IHOP, free
lunch at the in and Out, free dinner at Applebee's and even

(02:29):
including riblets and even a late night snack from Insomnia
Cookies, which is probably the one that I'll hit up they're.
Batter at Insomnia Cookies. They're like.
No. What do you want?
To go with this cookie Red Bull.I was.
I was at IMCON in October and I my coworkers were like there's a

(02:52):
drink that you can get from Sonic now that has Red Bull in
it. It's like a cherry limeade or
strawberry limeade but it has Red Bull in it and they were
like it will crank your chainsawAnd I didn't know what that
meant till I drank 1 sip of it and I was like.
So, but we'll have a link in theshow notes on Spotify to our

(03:14):
list. But in the meantime, are you
guys going out dill hunting today?
Andy and I will be and Andy's myhusband.
All you alphas out there who don't know will be going and
checking out some of the veterans deals, mainly at the
hardware store. So I can, I can shorten my honey
do list. You know what I'm saying?
Yeah. Yeah, I need to go to the
software store and get some stuff for my my the.

(03:38):
Software store for the softy, the hardware store for the hard
ass lady. Well, I mean, you know, I'm not
going to work in the yard. I got I got kids for that.
But there's, there's some, some,some cool editing software that
I'm looking at. So you go to the hardware store
and we'll meet. We'll meet at IHOP.
Let's get them riblets. Let's.
Get those riblets. Or join us at Applebee's for

(04:00):
some riblets. But before we do that, stick
around and we're going to have Eric join us right after the
break. What's up Legionnaires and
sports fans, this is Adam Mar, American Legion member and Army
veteran. I am beyond excited that the
American Legion is continuing their tradition of support for
the Army Navy Game presented by USAA, the first veteran service

(04:24):
organization to sponsor America's Game in its 126 year
history. That's right, the greatest
rivalry in sports just got even more meaningful for veterans
like us. We're honored to stand behind
the incredible student athletes who are not only competing on
the field, but are also committed to protecting the

(04:45):
freedoms we hold dear. And through this sponsorship,
we're shining a spotlight on ourprimary mission.
Be the one our fight to end veteran suicide.
So mark your calendars, let's tune into CBS on December 13th
at 3:00 PM Eastern to watch Armytake on Navy in this epic,
timeless showdown. To learn more about the American

(05:07):
Legions involvement in our mission, visit
legion.org/armynavy game. Let's cheer on our teams,
support our mission, and show the world what it means to be a
Legionnaire. Go Army beat Navy Hua.
Eric Tanzi is a former Army Scout and special Operations

(05:28):
military veteran who became a cop after service.
He joined the police force with a ton of unrealistic
expectations, and the reality ofthe job knocked him down and
changed his perspective on everything.
He actually wrote a book about it and is here to chat with us
today. Eric, thank you for your
service. Welcome to the Tal Podcast.

(05:50):
Well, thank you guys so much forhaving me.
Really appreciate it. Of course, so like, like Stacey
said, and she just said it, but I mean it, I do appreciate you
being here. I, I'd love to hear a little bit
of your back story about how youknow, what led you into the
military. I hear you've got a, a pretty
interesting sort of background story or I guess you wouldn't be

(06:12):
here. So, so let's let's hear a little
bit about about what got you started, man.
Yeah, I mean, not like unlike most, you want veterans.
I was watching the news in my senior year in high school and
of course, the Trade Center, the9/11 stuff.
After high school, I was workingon a deep sea fishing boat.
I was a surfer and living on theocean, living my best life.

(06:32):
I moved out like the minute I hit 18, I got a house on the
beach or an apartment and that was it.
And I was surfing and fishing onthis deep sea fishing boat every
day living life. And it was pretty awesome with
my two best friends. And one day I was just driving
into the dock real early in the morning and the Battle of
Fallujah was playing on the radio.
I had like really long hair and stuff.
And it was probably the first time I'd ever, you know, because

(06:55):
it was the first war that I had experienced as a as a, a
teenager. I think the Gulf War was when I
was a, a young boy and didn't really remember it.
So this was the first live war experience I ever heard was the
Battle of Fallujah in 2004 and or that initial invasion.
And so I was like listening to it and I don't know, man, I just
felt like in like I felt like a waste of life.

(07:17):
I was like, here I am going to the beach, getting on a boat
with my best friends and like literally guys my age are are
here right now. I'm listening to this like crazy
stuff. And I didn't know anything about
the military. I never thought I was going to
join the military. It wasn't really on my bucket
list or anything like that. That day, I got off of the boat
around 3:00 in the afternoon andthere was a recruiting station

(07:39):
that I had passed every day and it was the National Guard.
It was the Army National Guard. But I didn't, I didn't even know
what the National Guard was. I'd never heard of the National
Guard. I don't.
There weren't recruiters out there back then because I don't
know, a lot of people don't remember.
But before 911 or before the war, it's like, I don't even
know if recruiters were a thing.Like I think it was just like
you did that. I don't know.

(07:59):
I you know you. You almost had to go hunt them
down. Yeah, yeah.
And I walked in like covered in fish guts and blood into this
like Armory. And everybody was staring at me
like, what is this guy doing? And I, I'm sure I smelled
terrible. And I said, listen, I don't want
to be in the military. I just want to go to war.
So like, I want, I don't want todo like the Garrison stuff.

(08:20):
I like, I I just want to do likethe minimum service time and I'd
like to just go to war and do mypart and then get out.
Like I don't want to be really in military.
And, and I, the recruiter was like, yeah, great.
Well, we have this scout platoonthat's literally deploying in
like less than a year. And if we can get you to basic
training and out the door, we'lldo it.

(08:41):
And I was like, all right. And I think that was like a
Thursday. I took the Azmath like on a
Monday and that was it. So I joined the Army National
Guard, went to to basic and all that stuff and then deployed.
And then when I got overseas, a special operation an ODA rolled
through and was like we need 6 guys to go with us.

(09:01):
And I was one of those six. And then that's I didn't, again,
didn't know what a Green Beret was.
I'd seen Rambo early on in my life and but, you know, I'd
never registered to me that that's what that was.
That's a good documentary. Yeah, it is.
Yeah. It's exactly the way it is.
So I, I end up going with those guys and for about 6 months I

(09:23):
was with them and I knew I knew then like that's what I wanted
to be I was like, I want to be agreen Beret this like I can
never go back to anything else but this.
So I came home, I went to selection, got selected.
It was a long process when I gothome to get selected because I
had to get in like better shape.I was wildly immature though, at

(09:44):
this time. So now I'm like 20 years old
coming back from Afghanistan andjust wildly immature.
Like my perspective, my personalperspective of the military was
not like anyone else's because Iwas basically went from basic
training to war. But like as soon as I got there,
I got put with this ODA that hadno rank.

(10:05):
I didn't have any responsibilityexcept to play with all of the
big guns and just basically go on patrols and pull security
and, and you know, we went on some raids and got in some like
epic gunfights and blew up ordinances and just like every
day was just a wild adventure. I wasn't, I, I didn't have any
kids or really any responsibilities at the time.

(10:26):
So war was like a. Foreshadowing.
Yeah, yeah. It was kind of a joke, you know,
And it was like, I thought for sure I was going to die there
while I was there. I was like, there's no way I'm
coming back from this alive. I can just feel it.
But I did. I came back and, and so I joined
and I went to selection and I got selected and then I went to

(10:48):
the Q course and I was just thrown into being with these
guys who had Purple Hearts and they were snipers and Apache
helicopter pilots and Marine Corps MARSOC.
There was 2 Navy Seals in our, in, in our small unit tactics
class and, and it's just, you know, these superheroes and I
was not any of that. So when I got to small unit

(11:08):
tactics phase, which is like oneof the longer and harder phases
of the Special Forces qualification course, I, I was
so far behind everybody else. It was, it was very difficult
for me. And I knew early on that I had
one skill that I was good at andI was carrying heavy things for
a really long way and that was it.
I wasn't a good leader. I had no leadership skills at

(11:30):
all, right? Because I was the baby on this
deployment and nobody knew me and I was just head down, do
what I'm told. And you know, still this day, I
bet you none of those guys remember my name.
You know, aside from the pictures.
That's the dream, though, in TheMilitary, Man.
Right. So, you know, now I'm thrust
into this small unit tactics space with all these like guys

(11:51):
that are really accomplished andhave been in the military for a
long time and, and I wasn't doing very well and except for
carrying heavy things for a longway.
So I was like, well, I'm going to double down on that.
People seem to like it when I take people's heavy shit or
stuff and I put it in my my backpack.
It makes them happy. So I'm going to keep doing that.
And then every once in a while they would try to give me a

(12:13):
leadership role. That's why tactics and
unbeknownst to me, I thought at the time being in my younger
20s, it's like, OK, well, I'll go to Joe Worley, you know, the
certified silly goose. He's probably better at this
than I am. And I'll like kind of trade this
off. I'll be like, hey, man, listen,
like I don't like, I'll help me out with this part of this OP
order. I'll carry the radio batteries

(12:34):
or, you know, a couple bag, you know, a couple of sacks of of
240 ammo or whatever. Oh no.
No, that's that's OK. I looked the word shit up when
you said it and I I'm tracking now.
I was going to call it this, youknow, the sack, you know what
they call it, but I'm not, I wastrying to think of like a nice
way to say that, you know, and so that was working out for me.

(12:56):
And so I, I made it all the way through small unit tactics and,
and they go to the murder board,which is at the end where they
tell you how you peered and how you do all these things.
It's, it's exactly the way that they do Ranger School.
It's essentially the Ranger School portion of the Special
Forces school. And so I get there and they're
like, hey, you peered third highest in the class.
Like congratulations. And I was like, oh, cool.
Like this is great. Like I'm doing good.

(13:17):
And they're like, you know, you did this well, and you did this.
And we took bets on how far you can carry this stuff.
And when you jumped out of that one airplane carrying all this
heavy stuff, we were all shockedthat both your legs didn't
explode. And we were actually placing
bets on that. And, you know, great job.
And I was like, oh, that's great.
They're like, do you know why you peered so high?
And I was like, maybe because all those things you just said
about me and they were like, because you're a pack mule.

(13:40):
And but every time we gave you aleadership position, you pawned
it off on somebody else. Why did you do that?
And I was dumb and naive and I was like, because I'm not a
leader. I'm a pack mule.
Like that's what I am. I'm really good at that.
They're like, we're not looking for pack mules, we're looking
for leaders. And I was like, oh, that sucks.
And they were like, but since you appeared so high, we're

(14:01):
giving you a chance. We don't normally do this.
And and they don't like, if you look at the history of Swami
tactics, very few people get a chance to do it twice.
Very few. And they were like, if you were
to show up on Monday and start over from day one, would you do
it? And I thought then I read enough
books at that point that I knew that that was a trick question.
So I was like, yeah, of course I'd be here on Monday knowing

(14:21):
there's no way they're going to make me do this.
They just want to hear me say you just.
Did it. And you did?
Well, Yeah. So yeah, I'm with you.
I'm trying. I would have said the same
thing. We're both idiots.
It gets, it gets Dumber, more dumb.
So I said like, yeah, sure, I, Iwould definitely be here on
Monday. And they're like, great, we'll
see you on Monday. Well, at the time they had two

(14:42):
tents. They had a tent for the failures
and the tent for the people who were going on.
So I didn't know. I walk out the door and I look
at the two tents and I'm like, well, do I go to the failed tent
or do I go to the, I'm doing this again tent?
So I just ask and they're like, no, no, no, go to the tent where
everybody passed, 'cause you're not going back to, to brag with
those guys. You're going to do this again.

(15:02):
So I go in the tent, of course, and you'll walk in the toilet.
But he's like, Yo, Tansy made it.
Well, you know, everybody's excited.
And I was like, no, no, no, wait, wait, time out, time out.
I don't think I made it. And I tell them and they're
like, dude, they're messing withyou.
Of course they're not going to make you do this again on
Monday. Like, you know, just, you're
just the young guy, they're justfucking with you, messing with
you. So I said, you know, that's
awesome. That night we went back to

(15:23):
Fayetteville. Everybody celebrated that Friday
night. I I celebrated, but I had this
gut feeling that I shouldn't be celebrating so I didn't really
celebrate all that. Well, Saturday happened and I
get an e-mail with a packing list for Monday.
Oh gosh. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, it's,
it's seeming really real. There's a chance.
There's a chance. So, you know, now I'm depressed,

(15:45):
slightly hungover and I'm tryingto do, you know, repack and and
it's just so disheartening to repull out all this gear that's
shredded and of all these memories of like how it got
shredded and I'm going to have to go through that torture again
and I have to replace that. And so now I'm, I'm spinning the
whole afternoon driving around Fayetteville trying to buy all
this equipment and gear, you know, and I show back up on

(16:06):
Sunday, you know, I mean, Sunday, I check my emails and of
course there's no change. And so Sunday night was a real
come to, to Jesus. You know, I knew I was going
back on Monday. I, I knew I couldn't make it a
second time. Like physically my body wasn't
going to do it. You know, I think it was like
155 lbs at the time. And you know, the, the average
weight load was probably 100 to 112 lbs every single day for,

(16:30):
you know, 12 to 16 miles, sometimes 20 miles a day, fast
roping, repelling, parachuting, you know, just being just
getting lucky, not getting injured in that, you know, nine
week period. And so I called my best friend
and I was like crying. And I was like, dude, I, I, I'm

(16:50):
just going to, I guess I'm goingto quit.
And he was like, what do you, you know, that's not going to
happen? And he's like, guess what?
You're going to show up and you're going to walk until the
wheels fall off. And you know that.
So like, stop, stop crying, stoptalking about it.
Just put your pack on and show up tomorrow morning.
And whatever happens is going tohappen.
Like just, but you know, you're not going to quit.
Like that's just not in your blood.

(17:11):
And if you break your legs, if you break your knees, I mean,
that's what you signed up for anyway, right?
Like you've always said, you will die trying.
So I showed up and they make me the class leader, which is
always a captain. So I'm this E4 class leader and
I, I cannot stress enough, like how amazing the people that make
it to the Q course really are. Like some of the like in the

(17:32):
gnarly, Like for an example, oneof the guys in my class, just
one of them, this is a loose example, was one of the lost
boys on 60 minutes. Do you remember the 60 minutes
where they had the Lost Boys of the Congo?
Yeah, like Pongo and rescue those lost boys that just were,
like, living in their own children's civilization, hiding
from cannibals and stuff. So we had this dude in my class.

(17:55):
He was literally shot a bird with a blow dart gun while we
were in the field just to, like,show us he could do it.
I mean these guys. Are you get a serve from me
after that, by the way, you you ever get a bird out of the air
with a blow dart, you're gettingserved or manned for the rest of
the week at least. Dude, forever.
And I mean, the guy's name was like, or so you know, I can't
even. Remember.

(18:17):
The guy's name, but it was, you know, it was like this crazy
African long name, but you know,and then we had like these, we
had two Apache pilots, but I guess I think the rumor was that
they had rescued these soldiers and they were told like they,
they these these Marines couldn't have a medevac.
And so instead this Apache like landed or something and the
gunner got out and took all the Marines equipment and put the

(18:37):
Marine in his in his thing and they flew off.
And I guess they got like, I don't know, like maybe they got
in trouble for it or something. But anyway, these two guys were
in our our class, not as Apache pilots, but going through his
green Berets. And so like there was a lot of,
you know, I never really talked to him about that, but there was
a lot of people are like, Oh, that's those guys.

(18:59):
You know, there's a lot of whispering and rumor mill going
around. And so, you know, again, I'm,
I'm looking at all these guys and now I'm in charge of all of
them as an E4 and trying to set up jump masters and jumps and
Expo platforms and getting demo and getting bullets and rounds
and, you know, planning all the operators and, and I was doing a
terrible job at all of it. And I don't think we made a

(19:20):
single Expo, you know, in nine weeks, which, you know, tax on
probably 50 miles more of, of walking, you know, and and so I
was really hated pretty much that whole class.
And I appeared almost dead last.And so I went back before the
murder board and they were like,you know, when you were the pack
mule and you weren't in charge, you were third highest in the
class and now you're in charge of everything.

(19:43):
And you were almost dead last. And they're like, you know, what
do you have to say for yourself?And I was just like, you know,
this was the best opportunity. And I've learned more in, you
know, however many weeks, 27 weeks that I've been there, that
I learned in my entire life combined.
And I, I just really appreciative of, of the
opportunity. And, and I was really just
pumped that I made it, you know,without quitting, you know, that
was the, you know, it was I, I got sick.

(20:05):
I, I, I think I made it through with the flu and it just
everything, you know, I combined, I was just proud of
myself for making it. And then they were like, well,
if we send you to sear, can you get somewhere in the middle?
And I was like, you, you're going to send me to sear.
And they were like, yeah. And I was like, I, I made it.
And they were like, yeah, I was like, Oh my.
I was like, can I hug somebody? Can I do it?
And they're like, oh man, you might be the most excited human

(20:25):
being to go to SERE of all time.Like this isn't, you know, I was
super stoked. And so I made it.
And then I made it through SERE.And then I was in language
school and I got called out of language school from the CID and
the Criminal Investigation Division.
And the guys I've been living with were defrauding the
government, allegedly. I don't really think what they

(20:46):
were doing was, I think they were being creative.
I don't think it was. Do you finally get remember back
then there was a, a, a, a federal freeze like there is
now. Nobody was getting paid.
And they had, they had bought a house and we're renting each
room out for Max Bah. So they were making tons of
money off of it. But I mean, that's creative on
them. But it helped me out too,
because I didn't have to put first and last month's rent down

(21:09):
and, you know, I didn't have to have all these background checks
and, you know, all this stuff. And it was an easy, you know, so
I was appreciative. But again, being young and
stupid, I didn't cooperate with CID.
And so they were like, you look,you're not in trouble.
All you have to do is tell us, like, who you paid and when you
paid them, which my response was, you probably have all the
checks I've written because I did it all in checks and not
cash. So just go back and look at it.

(21:31):
If you're a criminal investigation division, I
shouldn't have to hold your hand.
Again, not the right answer. Very, very foolish.
I'm 41 now. I was 23 or 24 back then.
And so I end up getting a general letter of reprimand for
being unethical. And I got removed from the
course. And, you know, that was pretty
much the end. I had to go back to a Special

(21:51):
Forces unit and. Landlords always screw people.
Jeez, sorry. That was kind of the beginning
of the end and I had met my wifeat a Green Beret wedding in that
time while I was under investigation and then of
course. Did you know her husband?
That's what, you know, you're not too far off on the tree, you

(22:12):
know, But no, she was very adamant that she was not going
to marry a, a Green Beret or anything like that.
So I made the decision to get out about a year later and she
had moved up to Raleigh, NC. And so I got out of the military
and I was like, hey, remember that guy you hooked up with at
that wedding and, you know, buttfuck no.
Or a bum, bum nowhere. And I was like, you know, you

(22:35):
said you would never be with a Green Beret or somebody in the
military. Well, guess what?
I'm out and I'm here in Raleigh and she's like, oh, that's
awesome. But I, I have AI have a
boyfriend like, and I was like, damn.
And I was like, well, do you, doyou like me still?
Like, I mean, do you think like,you know, she was like, yeah, it
was awesome. I like, I wish I would have

(22:55):
known. And I was like, well, I'll
handle the boyfriend. And and so she's like, what is
that? And I was like, oh, like, not
that dramatic. But I went to the guy's work.
He was a general manager of a restaurant.
I asked to speak with him and I just said, hey, look, this is a
story. I, I met this girl like a year
and a half ago at a wedding and we hit it off.
We talked on the phone a bunch and we had a couple of hookups
here and there. And, but now I'm out of the

(23:16):
military and I'm here and we caneither cheat on you or like you
can, you know, like be broken up.
And he was like is. This real?
Is this real life? Yeah, I was like, there's not
much you're going to do about iteither.
And I was like, you can check myresume, but I promise you,
there's nothing that you're going to do to stop this.
And he was like, this is the most messed up thing.

(23:36):
So he called her like right there on the spot.
And she's like, I'm so sorry. But anyway, yeah, now I have 5
kids with her and we've been married.
We've been together for 17 years, married for 14 of those
17. And yeah, that was my military
career in a nutshell. Wow.
Yeah. So and I, I did the only other

(23:56):
thing AC student without a college degree can do, and
that's become a cop. And so I became a police
officer. And again, as luck would have
it, when you have a resume that shows all this military stuff
and all of these schools and yougo to the police Academy and
they don't know all they, they like they didn't, you know, they
don't really know. All they see is like all these
references to special forces this, you know, they go through

(24:18):
your combat action badge and they see the big write up on it
and everything. So they have this grandiose
thought that you must be Rambo. And so I get there and of
course, you know, they call me SF, they make, they give all
this, you know, they make me do all the extra things.
And so it was very difficult because again, the imposter
syndrome, I'm not that guy. I barely make it through life,

(24:39):
obviously. And, and so then I graduate the
Academy, which was, which was very difficult.
And then I get thrown into the Southeast District D squad,
which is this crazy squad that you should definitely have some
years under your belt before showing up too.
And I'm throwing in the worst district, the worst beat in all
of Raleigh. And you know, I work a stabbing
and a shooting like every day ofmy life from that point forward.

(25:00):
And and it was just crazy. And I wasn't good at being a
cop. Again, it wasn't that I wasn't
good. I would have been good as a
regular rookie. But when you go into something
and people having a huge expectation for you, I'm just a
huge let down, you know? We we call those lateral moves,

(25:21):
you know, downward tilting lateral moves.
So I, you know, and, and it justcascaded because you, you're
given responsibility that you haven't really earned yet and
you don't really know what you're doing.
And so of course you're going toscrew up a lot.
And I'm not a quitter. And so I just kind of grinded
through it and eventually, you know, life was so difficult back

(25:41):
then that I, I had to write. And because I wasn't a good
writer and I was messing up homicide reports and the
detectives hated me because I was a bad writer and this and
that. And so I just for catharsis, I
just started like writing stuff.And mentally it was bad because
I was living these extremely traumatic incidents, writing
about them in a report, testifying in court, and then

(26:01):
writing about them at home whilemy family is sleeping because
I'm on night shift and I'm staying awake on my days off
that it was just killing me. So I was like, I'm going to
start writing the funny stuff. And I just started writing about
like, oh, I lost a foot chase today.
And, you know, some, you know, person threw a beer can at me
while I was chasing him. Or, you know, I drove a murder
suspect around and help him get rid of evidence today.
Or I tased a woman in the vaginain her bathtub today on

(26:25):
accident, you know, and I was just like writing.
Actually. What's that?
Everybody? I mean, who hasn't done that
one? I said that happened to me last
night. I got tased in the vagina when I
was taking a bath. I was like, whoa.
You know, all jokes aside, I think that would be like, I
don't know if you've ever been tased before.
It sucks. But when it's over, it's the
most euphoric feeling in the world once the Taser stops.

(26:47):
And I just thought like, what ifyou could get to that moment and
then get tased and then the tasing stops?
And the moments, I think there'sprobably some people in the BDSM
sphere that would be really intotrying that out.
There's there's probably a word for that or an acronym.
Getting the timing right would be would be the hard part there,
but no. Are you ready?

(27:08):
No. Yeah.
It's like physical EDM. So that that story is really
funny and it is in the book. But you know, she was a Do you
want me to tell that story or no?
Yeah. Well, well, first of all,
Alphas, can you, can you tell that alphas the title of your
book and where they can find it and then and then share that
story with us? Yeah, So the title of the book

(27:30):
is called Pig Latin, a SeriouslyFunny true Story.
And it's 1 long story that I wrote.
And then I pitched over to Nick Palmiciano.
He's coming off the New York Times bestseller list through
mutual friends. They, they brought the book
before Nick and said like, Hey, our friend wrote this and we
think it's really good and you should take a look at it.
And he just was like, this is the funniest thing I've ever

(27:51):
read. And then he brought me in for a
meeting and was like, bro, I would love to, I would love to
collaborate with you on this and, and turn this into a real
book. And so he got me, you know, a, a
once in a lifetime 1% book deal from Simon Schuster, which blew
my mind. And, you know, the book was the
number one release. It's in every target Hudson's.
It's in Books-a-million Barnes and Nobles all across the

(28:12):
country. And it's literally a book of my
screw ups. Like it's, it's a self
deprecating book that just, it never was supposed to be a book.
It was just me making fun of myself basically.
And the messages I get now are like super funny.
Like hey, do you, do you need therapy or like I would really
like to analyze you and this andthat.
And I'm like, the book's over like that was years and years

(28:34):
ago. I wrote that book like 8 years
ago. So, you know, for me, you know,
those those days are past, but in the moment, it really is just
a funny story of lots and lots of screw ups.
And then I evolve into a, a a officer of the year.
And then I get fired the same year and I get a life saving

(28:54):
award the day I get fired. And it's amazing and it's epic
and and there's no hard feelingsthere had to happen.
But you know, the book just I, the, the messages I get from
people who read the book are, are way worth anything.
I would do this all over again with no money just to get these
messages. I mean, 25 year cop veterans, 18

(29:15):
year cops, I mean cops that are approaching me in, in the wild
and just saying like, hey, man, this book was literally the
funniest thing I've ever read. And it's, you know, I had my
favorite 1 is this canine officer called me.
He says, man, after 25 years, I,I did 4 years as a Marine Corps
handler, dog handler in the Marine Corps.
Then I was a dog handler for 25 years and as a police officer.
And he's like, when I read your book, I started laughing at

(29:36):
about chapter I. I never stopped laughing.
But in chapter 15, I was laughing and my laugh turned
into a train wreck sob session. I just could not stop crying.
And my wife came in and she didn't know why I was crying.
I couldn't get any words out. And she just helped me.
And it was like the first time my wife had ever seen any kind
of like emotional release. And he's like, it was just like

(29:57):
all my years of service. Like, I know that this is funny,
but we've all lived it. And it was so nice to to see it
through the lens of somebody else, to know that we've like
those are all like a very emotional and private moments.
They are funny, but like it's still it's still personal and
it's hard to articulate to somebody.

(30:18):
And I guess the book does a great job of just articulating
those, those moments. And so, you know, I, that was,
you know, one of the the most proudest things I've ever
accomplished was, was, was that book.
And again, never thought the book would ever do anything
really. Saved a marriage with your pig
Latin book. Buddy, I don't think I saved a
marriage, but you know, you definitely, you know, it's,

(30:38):
it's, it's such a funny book andit's full of just ridiculously
funny stories. And if the the great thing now
is now that the book is out and I see how people respond to
those stories, I feel better about them because a lot of
those stories hung so heavy on my shoulders.
Yes, they're funny, but like at the same time, they're very
serious. I mean, you know, one of the
stories in the book that you know, and you, they're all the,

(31:02):
the thing about this book is that every one of these stories
has a police report or is on thenews.
So it's not like, you know, a lot of people are like, is this
actually true? And it's, it's like, I could
send you the news article. I could send you the report.
You can read it for. Yourself.
The body Cam footage. Right, exactly.
You know, which is wild, but youknow, I did.
I got in a car chase with this man who just murdered somebody

(31:24):
and I was chasing him and and I'm getting close.
I'm gaining on him. It's really early in the morning
and I hit a gap in the road and the back end comes out of my car
and I. Think the murder guy.
Came. Back.
We lost you for a second, I think.
Oh, am I back? Yeah, you're back now, but you
said you were gaining on him is the last thing I heard.

(31:46):
I was gaining on him. Yep.
And I had a a dip in the road and I lost control of my car and
crashed my my patrol car. And it sucks to to wreck your
car during a a pursuit of somebody who just murdered
somebody. It's even worse when that person
gets off at the next exit, pullsinto a pawn shop, shoots the
pawn shop owner in the head, takes the keys, grabs a car,

(32:06):
breaks into a house, rapes a 15 year old girl getting ready for
school, and then flees to New York.
And so in the moment, you know, this is like one of the worst
stories of my life because I wasbehind him.
And if I wouldn't, if I would have just slowed down, if I
would have combat breathe, if I would have done all of the right
things, this dude wouldn't have gone on to murder somebody and

(32:30):
rape somebody else, ruining lives.
So, you know, these were like stories that I had like hanging
over me for a long time. And and although like the build
up is kind of funny and it gets serious, but you know, getting
all those stories off my chest and just being honest with
everybody because one of the like veterans, right, Like thank
you for your service. Well, when when you say that,
all you think about are these like really stupid things that

(32:53):
you've done or you did or the things you didn't do and you're
just like, please don't like youreally don't know who you're
thinking right now. And so like for me, I really
live that. And after this book, all the
people who have like, reached out to me and called me to, you
know, to give me their opinion on these stories.

(33:13):
I put them out there to be made fun of and ridiculed.
You know, I thought this book, when it came out, I was just
going to be like, wow, you're a piece of crap.
Like, you were the worst person on the planet.
I was willing to be that guy anyway because I don't care.
There's nothing you can say to me that I haven't said in my
mirror to myself ever. So I was like, I don't really
care what people think about me.I know I'm apos.
Like, I get it. Like, that's why I wrote the

(33:34):
book because of all the POS shitI did.
But it's not like every, if you go and look at all the reviews
on Goodreads and, and Amazon, man, they're all just filled
with so much love And man, just the compassion.
It really, it really lifted those, those weights off my, off
my back. So I'm, I'm glad I wrote it, you
know, and you know, so. And I'm glad to have you here,

(33:59):
man. I mean, honestly.
Yeah, it's fun. On Earth and in the podcasts.
Yeah, yeah. Definitely.
Yeah, the audio book is unhinged.
I mean, I highly recommend if you're an.
Audio. I listen to the sample, yeah.
It's so fun. It's so it's really funny.
Is it inaudible? Yeah, yeah, It's inaudible.
Spotify really, really funny. And and, and and.

(34:21):
Yeah. Right.
So the, the book's not gonna make you like, love cops or hate
cops any more than you already do.
It's it's not about that. It's not gonna make you love me
at all. It's, it's literally just a tale
of I think everybody can relate to because we all have like so
many screw ups at a new job or like new relationships and new

(34:43):
stuff. And you know, to have somebody
kind of just put it out there like very honestly and very
candidly is, is kind of, I thinkeverybody can just relate to it
in some way, form or fashion. Everybody that's read it,
including the lawyers that did the, the legal read, you know,
these are like 40 hour reads. So, you know, I don't know if
you've ever written a book or done an audio book, but you

(35:04):
write this book and then you rewrite it and then an editor
gets it and then a senior editorgets it and then a line editor
gets it. So you're reading this book 25
times after you've already written it.
Then you've got to go over a legal read, which they're going
to go through paragraph by paragraph, page by page.
You have to explain yourself andthen you go do the audio book
and you've got to read every paragraph 10,000.
And then you have to do pickups and then you.
Yeah, so much, so much. Right.

(35:25):
So you've, you've done this bookand gone over and so I did the
legal read 40 hours worth or more.
And then Saturday the the lawyercalls me and I was like, Oh no,
like what could we possibly havemissed in these 40 hours?
Or are they calling me back to say it didn't pass?
You know the legal read. And we're we're not.
Gonna yeah, you've got to cut out six of those Casey Anthony

(35:45):
references. Yeah, yeah.
And he just called me back and he's like, hey, man, I know this
is like a little bit borderline inappropriate.
I'm not calling you on behalf ofthe publishing house or of of
anybody. I'm literally just calling you,
as you know. And he put his first and last
name out there. He's like, you don't have to
talk to me. And he's like, I just have some
like, like insider questions like I need, I want to know like
what what happened here? What was the real story behind

(36:08):
this? And what was that?
And how did you overcome? They're like, and he was like,
man, this is like, honestly, I was like, I've probably done
over 3000 books and he's like, this is like this book.
I can't like I, I made my wife read this book and I never tell
her to read stuff that I'm working on.
And he's like, it's just, it's so wild.
He's like, I never knew that lawenforcement, you know, dealt

(36:29):
with it like this, you know, andI was like, dude, we're all
that. That's the thing.
It's like we're all human beings, cops that generally we
don't have the answers. We don't have the answers.
We're literally making up whatever's in front of us for
the day. We don't know.
We're just making it up. And sometimes we do a really bad
job. Sometimes we do a great job.
Most of the time we just get lucky if it's a great job.

(36:49):
But you know, you know, every time, every single time, we are
literally just making up a cure.If it works, it.
Works riding the Lightning. That's it.
You know, we don't know the the answer to fix your marriage.
We don't know how to to fix thisscenario or solve this crime.
You know we're literally making up.
There's no book that shows you how to deal with every one of

(37:12):
these little nuances that go into the job, and I think that.
I think the book there is now. It's called Pig Latin.
Yeah, right. Yeah.
I think it's pig Latin just shows you that we're all very,
very flawed people who are trying to do something noble.
And just like anybody else, man.Like just because you're trying
to do something noble doesn't mean that everything you do in
your life is going to be great and noble.

(37:33):
You know, people, people are very flawed human beings.
And you know, we're all just trying to do our best and you
know, it sucks when it doesn't work out.
And you know, it's great when itdoes work out.
So, but it's 5050, honestly. Well, alphas, we're gonna have
the link to the book in our shownotes, so be sure to check that

(37:53):
out. I wanna switch gears for a
minute, Eric, because I happen to love podcasts, in particular
true crime podcasts, and my husband claims that I'm studying
for his murder, which might, might be true on some days, if
I'm being really honest. He's in grave danger, yeah.

(38:14):
Most days, yes. But anyway, you're you, you've
got a podcast Failure to stop. Is that right?
Tell us a little bit about what?What, Because it's more than
just one podcast or a number like sub podcast?
Yeah, it was a network. It's back down to 1 now.
But basically how that happened was I got out of policing and

(38:38):
went on a podcast, told some funny stories way before the
book. This is, you know, because the
book just came out this year. I told so many stories and it
was with a podcast that was attached to Black Rifle Coffee
Company. It's a really big podcast.
And then George Floyd died shortly after I did this board
podcast. And so they brought me back on
to break down the George case scenario, the George Floyd

(38:58):
scenario. So I, I flew back out and I, and
I, I did, you know, a good review of that.
And then they asked me if I'd ever wanted a podcast for a
living. And they flew here to me and
they built me a studio and set up all the stuff and they gave
me all the cameras and lights and all these things.
And then I podcasted full time for them with a guy named Mike
the Cop who's a legend. He had like over, I'm like, I

(39:21):
don't know, a couple million, like 5 million followers across,
across the board, just massive audience.
You know, he was the first law enforcement or military
influencer ever like on Vine. And then Officer Daniels was his
protege. Like that's Officer Daniels came
up, you know, behind him. So Mike the Cop was the first

(39:42):
ever like military or veteran police influencer of all time
and wildly successful guy and, and well known very well through
the the police community. And they were like, Hey, if we
could get him to podcast with you, would you do it?
And I was like, that would neverhappen.
Like that dude, like he was one of the first YouTube viral

(40:03):
people of all time. Like that dude's probably not
doing anything. And they put us together on a
phone call and, you know, we fell in love on on the phone.
And yeah, we started this podcast or under their umbrella
and we podcasted on that networkfor a couple of years.
Mike retired and gave me all therights to the show and I decided

(40:29):
like I wanted to start like a network of, of other police
officers that wanted to get intopodcasting.
And so we had a sports show withall first responders that ran
the sports show and I ran ads for those.
And then I, we had a comedy showon Monday nights and, and then
we, and then I did and then we had a political show on
Wednesdays and case breakdowns was on Fridays.

(40:50):
And so I had all these paid, youknow, people are getting paid,
these other first responders to,you know, be podcasters and
things. It was really fun.
We did live shows all around thecountry, which was so fun, man,
because we, you know, we'd pack out an Irish bar with all these
cops and firefighters and, you know, we'd bring a celebrity
with us like Ken Shamrock or Pamela Touch or like, you know,

(41:11):
some conservative. Anthony was one of them.
Yeah. Like a lot of these big
influencers, like Kyle Rittenhouse, band appearance,
Sergeant Mattingly, actually oneof my favorites.
He'd be good one for your podcast.
But Lieutenant Colonel Scheller together remember him, He was
the Marine Corps Colonel that got arrested for speaking out

(41:32):
against the Afghanistan pull out.
He's the first one to be court martialed and like.
Yeah, I know you're talking about.
And he wrote a leadership book. It's one of the the best
leadership books I've ever read.But he literally, like,
sacrificed his entire career to kind of expose all the flaws in
that mission. And but, you know, I got to, you

(41:54):
know, we had him as a special guest.
And so. Yeah, that's where the
podcasting came from. Now as of today officially I am
the the social media marketing manager for Ranger Up and I get
to work with mandatory fun day now and all those guys making
skits and doing all the social media marketing for Ranger Up

(42:14):
and now. We love him.
Yeah, he's great, right? Nick's a great guy for.
Sure. So you're now a travelling
homeschooling dad of of five, Yes.
And skateboarding. And I mean I've got 4 kids and
sometimes that feels like that'sfive too many.

(42:35):
I mean I'm literally no joke. I have in the last 24 hours
spent time looking at real estate in Japan.
So like, you know, sometimes youjust feel like I could get away
if I wanted to, but I'm not going anywhere.
It's all talk. All joking aside, though, like
I, I let things in my life get really crazy for a while.
I was not enjoying things. I, I felt like I was at a point

(42:57):
where I was doing so much for other people that I was not
making any time to do anything that meant anything to me
outside of, I love doing stuff for veterans and nonprofit, but
none of it was personal and I can give for so long.
But I realized that I was, I wasgiving pieces of myself away and
I was running out. And so I, I started deciding to,

(43:19):
you know, add stuff in and unfortunately I couldn't drop
anything. So it was just like a piled into
the mix weirdly. Writing music, narrating, dog
treat modeling. Despite all that chaos and
adding all this stuff in and me being even busier than I was
when I was super stressed, I feel more fulfilled.
I'm happier now than I was because some of the chaos is

(43:42):
mine. It's like a measure of control
over it now. And so for you, it seems like
you've got all these things going on.
What is your downtime? Like?
What is it for you that you get fulfillment out of, you know,
other than your family that thatgives you that opportunity to
sort of say, OK, I can, I can doanother year of this and then
we'll reassess like what, what'syour, what's your, your point?

(44:03):
Your you know your soft spot. Yeah, so for, like, I and most
cops and veterans and pastors fall into this, maybe nurses
too, where it's like we're so dedicated, our teachers a lot,
right? We're so dedicated to helping
everybody around us that we forget to help our own family,

(44:24):
right? Like pastors use all the time.
That's why that's like notoriousfor having like, oh, that's the
pastor's kid. You know, like the pastor's kids
are always like, notoriously effed up.
And it's because, like, the pastors are spending so much
time trying to help everybody around them that they don't
really help their own family. I fell into the same category
when I left policing and startedmy own distillery, which I owned
a rum distillery for about 6 years and, and a rum bar.

(44:47):
And during that, that, that early days, I noticed that my
kids were like, you know, I, I had two kids at the time and,
and the one was like 5 and he was, you know, we couldn't even
keep him in a preschool because he was so gnarly.
And, and I was that guy. And I made a point then that my
family was going to be the most important thing and, and nothing

(45:10):
else was really going to matter.We made the decision at home
school. My wife and I got really, really
close. I just I took everything that
like Jocko and you know, Goggins, all the all the things
that they talk about working out.
I just applied that to my familyinstead of working out because I
had the six pack abs. I had all the like the CrossFit.

(45:30):
I was getting up at 4:00 in the morning, but my family life was
crap. I wasn't happy.
I wasn't fulfilled by having allthat.
So I, I don't know, like I was on a run, I was on a jog and I
was like, instead of doing this now, like I should be doing this
with my kids or I should be doing, I should be spending
every inch and every amount of energy that I, that I give into
being an entrepreneur and to being in shape.

(45:51):
I just put that back into my family and I did that.
It was the best decision I've ever made.
We home birth, we home school, we have 5 kids.
My kids are fully sponsored escape.
But matter of fact, yesterday wehad a meltdown, a family
meltdown. A family meltdown because we
couldn't figure out which sponsors to make a video for and

(46:11):
how we were going to make enoughvideos to account for.
We went out of town for a week because I had to do a book tour
stuff. We came home to packages of
shoes, socks, shirts, I mean, you name it, My kid skateboard
decks from multiple companies onon our porch.
And like our yesterday's stressful moment was how are we

(46:34):
going to make videos as a familyto to give back, you know, And I
was like, man, this is fun. Like what a third world.
I mean, what a first world problem to have.
And it was great because the kids wrote the scripts yesterday
and we were able to combine two of the sponsors.
We just had like a really great day together, making content and
skateboarding literally all day.Long.

(46:55):
That's fun. Man, that's so cool.
But when you go all in and you invest in your children, you
know it is such a load off of your back.
My kids are responsible for making one meal a day.
And, and So what that has turnedinto is now some days we don't
even, my wife and I don't even think about what we're going to

(47:17):
eat because my one son wants to do eggs for breakfast.
My other son wants to make eggs for dinner, and my other son
wants to do eggs for lunch. You know, and, and you, they're
in charge of grocery. Shops.
That's a lot of eggs. It's a lot of, oh, it's a lot.
It's a lot in there. No, you said, you said XI was
doing a word play. I'm I'm so sorry.
Keep going. Joe means the the the joke did

(47:39):
not land. Yeah.
Well, we do. You know, a failed paratrooper.
Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I mean, it's cool,
like investing in your kids. Like now they do everything on
their own. They're so self-sufficient.
You know, we made the joke that,you know, who was going to take
the kids if my wife and I ever die and and my brother was like,
bro, like I'm pretty sure your kids would just raise themselves

(48:00):
at this point. Like they're so self-sufficient
and that's really great. So, you know, my biggest thing
in life right now is just investin your children, man, and give
them responsibility and be with them and teach them stuff.
I mean my kids, they work on their own dirt bikes, their own
4 Wheelers. I mean, they kill their own
squirrels. They skin them and clean them
themselves. I need your kids to come help me

(48:21):
with my kids dirt bike and four Wheeler man geez.
Yeah, I mean, I don't do anything with my kid.
Like I don't have to anymore. Like they just do everything,
you know it. There's also, it took a lot of
work to get there and a lot of patience.
But man, I'm so happy that I went all in on my children
because now my 12 year old and my 11 year old, they could move

(48:41):
out. Honestly, right now they could.
Be they would be OK. Yeah, and you can follow them on
Instagram. They're in, they're in, they're
gnarly. And it's like, we'll, we'll be
on these shoots. We'll be on these shooting
commercials or, you know, they're they're in, they've gone
on a lot of podcasts. Ryan Sheckler took them to
Pennsylvania for a week. They've skated with Richie
Jackson and Tim Poole, you know,from Timcast IRL and they, they

(49:04):
do all these things and, and almost every time there people
are always like, dude, I totallyforgot I was talking to a 12
year old. And like, you know what I mean?
Like we have some crazy conversations today.
I was like, I have to stop myself and be like, yo, this
kids 12 because like you, you, you can talk to them and, you
know, they, they are so, you know, into the culture of
things. It's like it's hard to, it's,
it's crazy to think that they're, they're only 12 and 11

(49:27):
and they're, they've had the life experiences that they've
already had. But yeah, I mean, I could put
them on a plane, the two of themtoday and fly them to California
and I would be OK. I'd be like, they'll be fine.
They'll figure it out. Nice.
Well, good on you man. Fucking killer.
You're amazing. Thank you for taking the time to
be with us today, Alphas. We'll have Eric's social media

(49:47):
handles in the show notes and besure to connect with him on
social media. You can follow his kids too,
apparently, and we'll have thoselinks in our show notes as well.
If you want to do that, don't forget to pick up a copy of Pig
Latin digitally for your e-reader or go old school and
get your paperback copy. I'm going to actually listen to
it on Audible so I'm. Going to get so much better.

(50:09):
Download right now. Is there anything that we
haven't covered that Eric, that you want the alphas to know
about? No, I'm, I, I like being a part
of the Legion and not something I ever thought I was going to be
a part of in my life, but being able to hang out at the Legion
and just the, the community and it's, it's, you know, I, I hated

(50:31):
being a part of what's the when,when you're a business owner and
you have to be a part of this. Like I call them mafias, but
that's not the real word. Like the Rotary?
It could be the mafia. As well though, Yeah, the Rotary
Club. Yeah.
And what's the other one? The Rotary and Chamber of
Commerce? Yeah, you know what I mean?
Those things suck so bad for me.And literally the American

(50:54):
Legion for me is like, it's likethe Chamber of Commerce and
Rotary, but it's full of like minded individuals that are
veterans and I don't have to deal with all the same crap.
So I like the networking capabilities hanging out,
talking like it's so much more meaningful at the Legion than it
ever was for me at like the chamber or the Rotary.
And I, I just, I've been so happy with being a part of the

(51:16):
Legion and, and I'm stoked beyond you guys's podcast and it
means the world to me. So thank you guys.
Aw, man. We appreciate that.
Thank you so much. Well, we've got everything in
the in the show notes here, and if you need anything else, feel
free to reach out to us, brother.
And thank you so much for visiting us today.
Alphas, please stick around for some scuttlebutt after the

(51:37):
break. This year we have a golden
opportunity. No, make that a red, white and
blue opportunity to do somethingtruly special.
That's right, commander. This year, America is
celebrating its 250th birthday. And the American Legion family
will be leading the nationwide celebrations.
The American Legion Family USA 250 Challenge is a year long

(51:59):
celebration honoring our nation.You can participate in the
challenge by choosing one of thethree categories.
The three categories are community service, mental
Wellness and physical activity. Whether you are doing 1-2 or all
three categories, you are makinga difference in the lives of
veterans and their families. Visit legion.org/USA 2:50 to

(52:22):
learn more and register for $30.00.
For your registration fee, you will get to choose a commutative
tech shirt and your donation support the American Legion
Veterans and Children Foundation.
Be a part of what makes our nation great.
Help us celebrate America. Join us in the USA 2:50
Challenge. Welcome back, Alphas.

(52:53):
We're changing up the scuttlebutt this week.
Since this episode is dropping on Veteran's Day, we're focusing
our scuttle booties, all our ourscuttle cheeks, on things that
mean something to each of us. Yeah.
I'm trying to be sincere as I say, scuttle cheeks.
You just can't, Joe. You're just so full of it.
I can't say butt without laughing.

(53:14):
I know I can't. Anyway, yes, this veteran's day
I want to encourage you to Shareyour story of service or sit
down with a veteran in your lifeand ask them to share theirs.
I have dedicated my post military career to documenting
veterans stories through my Veterans Portrait Project and my
PBS show After Action. And as you all know, I I'm also

(53:36):
on Reddit reading other people'sstories.
So of course, I took to Reddit to go down the rabbit hole and
see what I could find in terms of veteran stories on my
favorite platform. And there are plentiful amounts
of stories there. And I've just picked a couple of
them that really tugged hard at my heartstrings that I want to
share with you in honor of Veteran's Day at Paul's Reddit

(54:01):
username, which is such a clevername.
My he said my friend John was a Marine.
By the way, he, Paul probably doesn't know this, but once a
Marine, always a Marine. So I'm going to fix this for
him. My friend John is a Marine
former formerly he was in Danangand also fought in Huey during
the Tet Offensive. Those are the only things I

(54:22):
remember specifically. But one night John was on sentry
duty and he saw someone sneakinginto camp.
The VC were always sneaking in and causing trouble, so it was a
serious problem. John caught the guy and the guy
tried to run away, so John shot and killed him.
It turned out that it was the Barber, The camp Barber, a local

(54:42):
guy who cut hair for all the Marines and who was popular and
will Light. Maybe the guy was actually AVC
undercover and was up to no good.
Maybe he was just sneaking around for other reasons and was
a really good guy. But he was dead, and he's dead
now, so there was no way to know.
And John went out, went without a haircut for a month or two.

(55:06):
One day a Colonel saw him like colonels in the flagpoles often
do, and started yelling at him about his appearance and asked
him why he didn't get a haircut.John replied, Sir, I shot the
Barber. John told me that story with a
hearty laugh, but it was the kind of funny but not really
funny kind of laugh that you do sometimes when telling a story
like that. John also added that he thinks

(55:29):
that the guy, whenever he thinksof the guy, whenever he gets his
own haircut. He sort of dropped that little
comment in the end and like, it didn't mean much, but of course
it had a big impact on me, whichI'm sure it did on him, too.
Don told me that story 30 years after the war had ended.
I thought about how many haircuts he'd gotten in the past

(55:49):
30 years and how every time he sat in the barber's chair, he
thought about the man he killed.That's war.
It's not all the big, the big terrible stuff.
It's living the rest of your life not being able to do
something simple like get a haircut or brush your teeth or
eat a hamburger without being haunted by a memory.
It's pretty, pretty compelling. Yeah, at Monster 6 reply to to

(56:13):
this user, This is a good example of what being a veteran
is like. It's sad, but it's very true and
very near the good end of what acombat veteran can expect.
I dream of my buddies who didn'tcome back and have moments like
those described here. The occasional nightmare.
I consider myself lucky at Toivashared close.

(56:35):
A close friend of mine was AUS Air Force SAR.
I come from Massachusetts and atthe time we had a very large
Vietnamese population in flux. Well he got to talking to a
Vietnamese guy who just started working at his shop since they
were of age. They started talking about the

(56:55):
war after some after some time turns out that the other guy was
shooting at my friend as he was getting a downed pilot and he
was shooting back. Best thing was they laughed
about it now and proceeded to goand get shitface drunk to
celebrate that neither of them were really good shooters and

(57:16):
and that straight up saved both their lives.
Had they? They had remained friends until
until my friend passed away. That's pretty incredible.
And here's 11 more story for youat the Dude Abides 46.
Another one of my favorite handles shared.
My dad did 2 tours in Vietnam and one of them was during the

(57:38):
decades after a Vietnamese family moved into our town in
the early 80s and the ugly racism came out.
My dad not only shamed the town for their actions, but fronted
the money to the family so that they could open a restaurant.
It's still open today and when Igo home to visit they have no
idea who I am in relation to my father, but there's a huge photo

(58:01):
of my dad with his Tommy gun anddonang in 1968, with the words
on the photo that say FOUNDER inscribed on the frame.
It really ties the photo together.
Yes, there are a ton more anecdotes, of course, but please
go on to Reddit and and check them out.
I'll have the link to this thread in the show notes.

(58:21):
But while you're here, while you're there, don't forget to
follow us the Tal podcast on on Reddit.
Joe, what do you got? So this veteran's day I want to
encourage you to support a veteran owned small business.
After all, Veteran's Day isn't just about getting a free meal
or or make a discount. I think it's safe to say that
most veterans are looking for a hand up, not a hand out.
They want to be of service, to have meaning and purpose.

(58:43):
So many go on to start small business ourselves.
And what's more, they want to affect positive change in their
communities. If not direct involved, involved
directly. Many veteran businesses owners
improve their communities by donating a portion of their
sales to support various community improvement missions.
I have no affiliation to these people, but I had a friend of

(59:04):
mine tell me about a place called the Wisconsin Meat
Company. And if you write them a letter
with your order telling them that you're a veteran, he'll
send you a little, a letter and a gift like a, you know, an
extra, some different type of jerky to try or something like
that. That's nice.
And it's just like, that's really cool to do that.

(59:25):
And, and, you know, as a small business, to be able to, to take
the time to write. He wrote a handwritten letter
telling me that his son had served.
It was just a really sweet. So anyway, that's my my meat
company now, but not mine. I don't own it.
I'm just saying like when I wantjerky you could.
Say you. Didn't want affiliated well yeah
I'm not affiliated outside of I bought meat from them three

(59:45):
times and sent some to somebody else but you know that's why
this year I encourage you to celebrate veteran's day by
supporting veteran owned businesses.
You don't have to limit your sport to one day a year.
You can consider buying your holiday gifts from veteran owned
businesses. Try to prioritize hiring a
veteran for your next home project like.
Pressure washing or reroofing. Hire a veteran turned plumber
for your unexpected backed up toilet.

(01:00:06):
Stacy, I'm just. Joking, I know it.
Happens all the time. They call her Thunderbutt and
leave your beloved pet with a veteran owned kennel.
And hey, if you need someone to do a voice over a book
narration, I'm available. I can do that.
If you need help finding a veteran owned small business,
you can use sites like Vet Biz or Veteran to
ownedbusinesses.com listings. And here's a great example I

(01:00:29):
found of a veteran small business owner who's out there
making it happen. Baby.
The KC Cattle Company was born from the battlefield, not the
boardroom. After serving with the 1st
Ranger Battalion, Patrick Montgomery returned home
carrying more than gear. He carried the weight of a
brotherhood in the memory of those who didn't make it back.
One of them was his brother-in-law and fellow Ranger
Staff Sergeant Jeremy Cuts Katzenberger, who was killed in

(01:00:52):
action in 2011. That loss became the fuel for a
mission bigger than himself. I, I just want to say being
motivated by those who didn't make it is a beautiful,
beautiful thing. And being able to do things in
their honor, whether it's addingthem into a song, adding them
their initials into a book. My characters, my two of my main

(01:01:13):
characters are two, 121 and Fox.And I was with 21 Fox.
And a lot of people don't even realize that because, you know,
it's not the character's name. Is it 21?
It's 2/1, but, you know, findingways to honor people is, is so
great. And what this person has done
is, is just incredible. This, this, you know, Mr. Jeremy

(01:01:35):
Katzenberger must have been a heck of a guy to inspire this
guy to start an entire cattle company to honor Jeremy's
legacy. But he's created meaningful work
for veterans to produce some of the highest quality beef in
America. What started as a way to find
purpose after service has grown into a calling to lead with
values, to work with integrity, and to deliver something real in
every bite. KC Cattle Company started with

(01:01:56):
no land, no cattle and no playbook, just a relentless
drive to build something meaningful.
And in 2016, Patrick Montgomery traded his Ranger uniform for
work boots and set out to createa first generation cattle
operation from the ground up. With no ranching background,
Every skill was learned the hardway through trial, error and
sheer determination. Fences were built by hand.

(01:02:17):
Lessons came from early morningsand long nights.
The result? A herd raised with purpose,
precision and respect. This ranch is a tribute to
fallen brothers, a gift of family and proof that excellence
isn't given, its earned. Every day on this land reflects
the values that shaped US. Discipline, resilience and a
commitment to doing things the right way.
What do you think about this, Miss Stacy?

(01:02:39):
I mean, I think this basically epitomizes every veteran
entrepreneur out there. And look, even if you don't know
something, you can always learn it.
But this I built didn't know anything about ranching.
And he's like, I think I'm goingto have a cattle company.
Let's just do it. I think that's the way that's
the way to go, you know? So his journey from combat to

(01:03:01):
cattle ranching is more of a career shift.
It's a it's purpose, you know, and we've talked about purpose
over and over on this show. And it's so important.
For other transitioning veterans, this story may be a
beacon reminding them that there's life and impact even in
loss and beyond military service.
And whether it's entrepreneurship, agriculture,
advocacy, these stories prove that your story doesn't end when

(01:03:22):
the uniform comes off. And Stacey, you did an episode
on Veteran Farmers for your showAfter Action, right?
Yes, I had, you know, there wereso many veteran farmers out
there. But I had Devon Goodwin on the
show. He's got his own little farm in
North Carolina. I had Steve Jimenez, who was the
founder of Hives for Heroes, helping veterans establish their

(01:03:43):
own like beekeeping outfits, andthen Karen Rudder and her.
Yeah, there's a lot of buzz around that one.
Too, that was really well played.
So Karen Rudder and her husband have project victory Gardens
where they they bring veterans to their farm to teach them how
to pursue a farming post military farming career.

(01:04:04):
It's it's a really popular thing.
You know, the majority of the farmers were military veterans
and that is not the case anymore.
And our our farmers are aging out and veterans are now
starting to take their place again.
And there are a lot of incentives from both the VA and
the USDA. So for all you alphas out there

(01:04:26):
who are sitting back and thinking I don't have a green
thumb, you can do any kind of farming, whether it's plant
crops, grow crops, livestock, you can grow flowers.
That's farming. Anyway, there's a lot of really
fun advantages out there. And there's a thing called
agrotherapy. And I truly believe it.
As a horse, as somebody who has a horse farm, my horses are

(01:04:49):
wonderful for my mental health and they do great things.
And I highly encourage y'all to to look into these programs
where you can start up your own little farming biz on the side
and from your own backyard with a beehive or a raised garden
bed. So I'll have those links in the
show notes as well for those forall the things.
That and the information for your show, for the episode that

(01:05:10):
has these these farmers on it, right?
Because I need to watch that one.
Episode. That's right, yeah.
You can watch it on PBS, and it's available on iTunes, Apple
TV, rather Amazon, wherever you watch your shows.
Yeah. And I just want to say though,
you know, and, and you know, we,we mentioned this before, but
you know, veteran's day, we, we support each other.

(01:05:31):
We go into the military and it is a service.
It doesn't feel like that sometimes, but it is a service.
And, and the reason we really truly know that is because when
we get out, that's what we ache to do is to serve, is to still
be a part of veterans lives. And so you can do that by being
a part of, of veteran service organizations like the American
Legion. Get involved.
There's some really, really big stuff happening.

(01:05:53):
This is whatever idea. If you haven't been to an
American Legion in a while, I'm telling you, you are missing
out. It has grown in some really,
really beautiful ways. There's a lot of young men and
women that are that are being, you know, given leadership
positions and things like that. And the American Legion is so
open arms right now and it's incredible.
There's a lot of of this is a great way, even if you join and

(01:06:17):
don't get active, it's so important that we, when we go to
DC to talk to, you know, some ofthese politicians that are
making all these decisions for us, that they know that we speak
with a loud voice. We speak for each other and
we're not going to let this stuff go.
You joining gives us that power so you can have a measurable

(01:06:37):
impact, not just not just today,but but all year long.
Hey, it's the holidays approach now that we're now that we're
into November and you look into the holidays, think about maybe
gifting the veteran in your lifean American Legion membership if
if they're not a member yet. So that's a a nice little
stocking stuffer and it has a 22good two good deeds.

(01:06:58):
They get something a family of American Legionnaires.
And you're, you're also giving to what what Joe said, what
they're doing in DC for, for veterans as well.
Advocacy work Alphas. Thanks for listening.
Don't forget that we are now hosted on Spotify.
You can find our audio and videoversions of our podcast.
You can subscribe to the podcast.
You can rate US, rate US, give us all the stars, give us a

(01:07:19):
really good comments. If you've got some feedback, you
can e-mail that to us. You can also find the our
podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, iHeartRadio, YouTube,
wherever all the best podcasts are hosted.
And of course, we're, we're it, we're #1 Subscribe to our
newsletter and send us mail, recommend mail and guest
recommendations at legion.org. Back slash Tal happy.

(01:07:42):
Joe Rogan, we're coming for you.No, not really.
Riblets. Riblets, we're coming for you
and we're bringing Riblets. We'll see you guys next week.
Thanks.

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From beach bum life to paratrooper and police officer – Tango Alpha Lima

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}From beach bum life to paratrooper and police officer – Tango Alpha Lima