September 10, 2025 • 28 mins
A combat veteran shares his perspective on America's growing political division and makes an impassioned plea for unity following recent political violence. Drawing from military experience and personal sacrifice, he argues that service to others provides meaning in life while highlighting the dangers of forming opinions solely from social media.
• Growing up as a military dependent with frequent moves and family challenges shaped his perspective on service
• Joined the Army National Guard at 18, later commissioning as an officer during wartime
• Combat experience in Iraq provided perspective on real suffering compared to American complaints
• People with limited real-world experience often form strong opinions based solely on social media
• Being "uninvited to the table" by family and friends over political differences is damaging America
• Material success and wealth don't provide inner fulfillment without purpose
• The Bronze Star medal he earned belongs to his entire platoon – achievements are rarely individual
• Having seen war-torn countries provides perspective on America's relative prosperity
• Time is precious – a cord from an IED he narrowly survived serves as a daily reminder
• Americans need to invite estranged family members back to the Thanksgiving table
Check out Act Now Education, a non-profit helping military members transition to civilian life through certifications, coaching, and mentorship. We're working to reduce the "22 a day" veteran suicide rate by providing a softer landing spot for those leaving service.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Warriors fall in it's time for formation.
So today I'm in a lot of shockwith what which I feel like is
the final straw for what we'vebecome.
I want to acknowledge and givea prayer to the family of
(00:25):
Charlie Kirk who, whether youagreed with what he had to say
or not, did not deserve to bemurdered in front of his
followers, in front of hisfamily.
America is not built on theseideologies that have come up in
(00:51):
the last few years.
As a veteran myself, as acombat veteran myself, I can
tell you that there are timeswhere I have been uninvited to
the dinner table by friends andby family.
Because of my own beliefs,because I have different
(01:12):
experiences.
I am part of the less than 6%that serve this country.
Even less than 6% served duringa time of war.
(01:38):
I chose to serve because I wasraised to understand that a life
of service is a life worthliving.
My dad spent 20 years in thearmy and me being a military
dependent, I endured the life ofa military brat, a military
dependent, which wasn't easy.
Every four years you move um.
You know, if you're a familylike I was, we had domestic
(02:01):
issues um that we had toovercome.
I had to overcome.
My dad was drafted in 71, endup spending 20 years in the us
army, and I grew up with himbeing my hero.
(02:23):
A lot of my family looked at mydad as a hero because of his
sacrifice to be in the military,to live that life, to not
always choose where you want toreside, to not always choose
what school you want to put yourkids in.
(02:43):
It wasn't an easy life at all.
Being in the military and beinga family in the military is not
easy.
It's tough, it's really tough.
You are forced to meet newfriends.
You're forced to meet newpeople and that's how I grew up.
I grew up attending so manydifferent schools and my parents
unfortunately did not have agood marriage For 13 years.
(03:05):
I grew up in a domesticallyviolent situation and I was
forced to live in places Ididn't want to live.
I lived in a women's shelter,which was completely
embarrassing, but it washumbling at the same time and it
caused me to look at life inperspective and to hope that
(03:30):
someday that I could also servethis country and that maybe I
could make things better.
I joined the military at 18years old, army National Guard
enlisted, because my fatherwanted me to get an education.
He didn't want me to go activeduty, so I followed his wishes
and I did just that.
Upon getting my undergraduatedegree, I wanted to take it a
(03:56):
step further.
At the time, iraq andAfghanistan were going on and I
wanted to do more, so I chose tocommission in the United States
Army, which, during a time ofwar, wasn't easy.
I know a lot of men who chosenot to go into the military
during a time of war, giveneveryone has different
(04:19):
circumstances and their ownreasons.
I thought that serving in themilitary and living a life of
service would get me closer tomaking people proud of me.
And maybe I did it for all thewrong reasons.
(04:40):
I don't know.
I really don't know at thispoint.
For all the wrong reasons, Idon't know.
I really don't know at thispoint, um, but I can tell you
that it's hard for me to standby and every day have to see
what I'm seeing, whether it's onsocial media or it's dealing in
(05:03):
real life with family, um, andI can tell you I know.
Or it's dealing in real lifewith family, and I can tell you
I know what it's like to beuninvited, to be different when
I came back from Iraq.
I'll never forget.
I sat across the table from mysister's then-husband and he
(05:25):
proceeded to tell me about whatwas going on in Iraq, even
though my boots were still dirtyfrom being there.
And in 2007, I knew, I knewback then.
I knew this is how it's goingto be for the rest of your life,
kid.
I knew back then.
I knew this is how it's goingto be for the rest of your life,
(05:46):
kid.
I knew that I was going to haveto listen to people with strong
opinions about things they knownothing about, because they sat
back here in the safety ofAmerica and they watched the
news.
I knew back then that people,that people, were going to be
(06:06):
limited to the size of their TVsets.
But now, now we're limited tothe size of our phones because a
lot of you don't know much morethan what's the size, whatever
the size this phone is.
This is how you draw youropinions on things right.
(06:27):
I'm a very moderate person, veryreasonable, but what I will not
ever stand on is accepting thekilling of someone simply
because they have a differentopinion than you.
You don't have to like it, youdon't have to like it.
(06:51):
You don't have to like it.
That's fine.
That's the beauty about Americais that we're all different.
But I'm here to tell you rightnow, in my experience, my real
world experience, because I cantell you right now, all these
coins that are behind me righthere, I put those there for a
reason.
It's not for decoration, it'sbecause every single one of
those coins that I have behindme right here, I put those there
(07:12):
for a reason.
It's not for decoration, it'sbecause every single one of
those coins that I have behindme represents a partnership that
I had with another agency,another branch of the military
at some point in my life,because we wanted to make the
lives of others better.
We cared about our communityand I started this platform
almost four years ago nowbecause I wanted to give a voice
(07:35):
to the voiceless.
Most men that I know that havelived real lives don't have to
show you what kind of carthey're driving.
They don't have to show you thefancy watch on their wrist, but
what they do have is they haverelics like this Real world
(07:56):
relics.
I earned a bronze star.
This is the bronze star that Iearned in Iraq.
This is the bronze star thatwas pinned on my chest and I
don't even talk about it.
It's because I don't need to.
(08:19):
I don't need to walk aroundwearing those kind of things,
because the reality is I didn'tearn this.
I didn't earn this.
My platoon and everyone thatserved with me earned this.
This isn't mine.
I could have never done italone.
(08:45):
I could have never done italone.
I could have never done italone.
I live every day listening tothe opinions of people that
don't care about what myexperiences are.
They don't care because theygot this.
They have a phone that hassocial media on it and it tells
(09:08):
them everything they need toknow, that has social media on
it and it tells them everythingthey need to know.
And I'm sure that I speak onbehalf of first responders and
our military veterans out therewhen I say what I'm saying right
now, and I'm sick and tired ofus being so divided.
By no means do I want to turnthis platform into a political
(09:29):
platform.
I don't, because I'm a verymoderate person.
I get accused of being bothliberal and conservative all the
time, and it's not that I'mliberal or conservative.
It's about the issues that Icare about.
It's about my values.
I don't care about parties andI don't care about sides and I
(09:51):
don't care about politicians,because politicians, the only
thing that politicians have incommon is money.
That's it.
Americans are in this together.
We have to drive to the gasstation, we have to go to the
grocery stores, we have to livein our communities and it's time
(10:13):
for people to stop being sodivided on all these issues.
And another thing if you'reyoung but you have access to
social media, it doesn't meanthat you know shit.
It doesn't.
There was a time when I wasgrowing up where experience
(10:34):
mattered.
It doesn't mean that you knowshit.
It doesn't.
There was a time when I wasgrowing up where experience
mattered.
And if you pay attention, someof you guys are really into
professional sports.
Look at how professional sportsplayers are.
Look at the NBA.
Look at how Charles Barkley andShaquille O'Neal and Michael
Jordan and some of these oldschool guys are versus the new
school guys.
Some of the new school guysthink they know everything about
life and they don't know jackshit.
(10:58):
Some of you guys that have neverreally left your own towns need
to sit back and just absorblife.
Absorb life just a little bitand start humbling yourselves to
understand that you don't knowshit about shit.
You know nothing, because therewas a time where I had to tell
myself that as a youngLieutenant in Iraq, I didn't
(11:19):
know anything, but fortunately,I had NCOs.
I had NCOs that had 15 plusyears experience under their
belts and they knew more aboutlife than I did.
My job as a lieutenant in Iraqwas to remove obstacles.
My job was to try to save livesby supporting.
That's my experience, that's myleadership experience, and I've
(11:46):
sat back for all these yearswith the platform that I have
not saying anything, listened toand have grown from all these
conversations that I've had overthe last few years, man, and
(12:16):
that's why I do it.
That's why I do it.
I want to give a voice to someof the voiceless people.
I want to put a mic in front ofpeople that actually have
perspective and have real lifeexperience.
Today was just a straw that isbreaking the camel's back for me
(12:36):
, like this is.
This is ridiculous, this is notwhat america stands for.
And then I go in on some ofthese social media profiles and
I see people making commentsabout oh well, you know,
negative, negative, negative,negative actually confirming
(12:59):
that they agree with whathappened.
What is wrong with you?
What is fucking wrong with you?
Why do you think that takinganother person's life because
they disagree with you or youdon't agree with them, or
whatever the case is, is okay?
This is not a third worldcountry.
This is the United States ofAmerica, and if you want that
(13:19):
shit, there are other countriesfor you to go to where you can
get that kind of shit, but it'snot America, it's not here.
We all have a right To voice ouropinions.
We all have a right To live howwe want to live.
Some of you are privileged andyou don't even realize it.
(13:43):
Some of you have pools in yourbackyard and you have all these
nice things and yet you complainabout how shitty our country is
.
What is wrong with you?
What is wrong with you?
What makes you think thatyou're living such a terrible
life here?
(14:03):
And I'm a man of action.
So, at the end of the day, ifyou feel that way, then put your
words into action and go livesomewhere else.
Go live somewhere else and showus how it's done.
Show us how great it issomewhere else, because the last
time I checked, what we havehere is not that bad.
(14:26):
I've been to war-torn countriesand I've looked into the eyes
of children who are reallysuffering.
You in America, you're not oneof them at all.
You're not.
The message for my podcast isthis A life of service is a life
(14:47):
worth living.
A life of service is a lifeworth living.
You want the proof?
Look at all these richHollywood actors.
All these rich people rightwhat happens to them?
They make all this money andthen inside, inside, there's
something missing.
There's something missinginside, so they're not whole.
(15:10):
Maybe they haven't foundreligion, maybe they feel like
I've just been doing this forthe almighty dollar.
I can point to a lot ofdifferent celebrities and and
tell you that they're emptyinside because they've been
doing things for entertainmentpurposes, not things that fill
(15:35):
their souls and enrich theirsouls.
And I once had a Medal of Honorrecipient.
Tell me a job will pay youmoney, but a career will fill
your soul, and I want you tothink about that.
Think about that when you go towork.
(15:57):
Whatever it is that you do,does it fill your soul?
How do you fill your soul?
How do you help your community?
How do you your fellow, yourfellow neighbor?
What have you done in your life?
How do you humble yourself?
Because I'll tell you what itis.
(16:19):
It's not shooting a, a reel ora tiktok of you showing off your
materialistic goods.
I have a dd214 that I will taketo my grave proudly.
I was awarded medals in themilitary that I will take to my
(16:40):
grave proudly, because I did itfor the right reasons.
It was about God and countryand I had to say what I had to
say today because I'm tired ofit.
A life of service is never aneasy path.
(17:01):
It never has been easy, butit's been the right one for me.
I don't care how many tables Iget uninvited to.
I don't care how many friendsand family unfriend me Doesn't
matter to me.
I don't care Because I know Godput me on this earth and had me
(17:23):
go through hell for a biggerpurpose.
I didn't grow up with a messedup childhood.
I didn't go live in a women'sshelter for a year and a half.
I didn't have everybody go tobat for me that went to bat for
me, for me just to do nothing.
(17:45):
And that's what this is allabout and that's what my podcast
is about.
That's what I'm about.
That's what I stand for.
It's not about the clicks, it'snot about the followers.
It's about my country and mycommunity.
That's what it's always beenabout for me.
(18:06):
I've been doing this shit on myown for the last four years.
I've had, fortunately, somefriends and family support me.
I've had some that havecompletely laughed at me.
I don't care.
I have never been a follower.
I did not go to basic trainingwith my battle buddy.
I did not need the acceptancefrom anyone, like when I went to
(18:32):
the military or when I havebeen serving as a first
responder.
It doesn't matter to me whatyou think, because he talks to
me and he tells me that I wasput on this earth for a greater
purpose, and I think you weretoo, and I think that, at the
end of the day, our country isbetter than this.
(18:57):
If you are guilty of uninvitingyour family members to the
Thanksgiving table, it's time tobring them back.
It's time to listen, it's timeto grow and it's time to heal,
because I am deathly worriedabout the direction that we're
(19:22):
headed right now.
Time is something you can neverbuy back.
Every day, every day, I'mreminded of this.
Every day, I'm reminded of thisbecause I have.
What I have here is I have thiscord.
(19:43):
This cord right here, thisrubber cord that I still have
with me today was part of animprovised explosive device that
I pulled off my tire after Iran it over near the Syrian
(20:04):
border.
This cord was the mostresponsible for me not being
here today.
This is my reminder that lifeis short and if you're here,
you're here for a purpose.
(20:25):
You only have one chance atthis.
Make your time worthwhile,because in combat, I can tell
you, this man, fate of justsomething so small and
(20:49):
insignificant could have takenme out.
The guys that I ran over thiswith, we all survived my
memorial bracelet that I wear onmy wrist Lieutenant Aaron
Season.
He had a job in Iraq clearingmy routes for me.
I've wore this bracelet formore than 20 years now and it's
(21:15):
a reminder of sacrifice and it'sa reminder that those who go to
bat for you, you owe themsomething.
You owe them to live a greatlife.
Stop being so divided, stopbeing so divided, stop being so
(21:44):
divided.
This isn't the America that Ichose to serve.
This is headed in the wrongdirection.
(22:06):
I hope that this message todayand I hope that the death of
Charlie Kirk and what we had towitness on video helps a lot of
you, no matter if you're on theleft or the right.
I hope it helps you.
Come back to the table.
On video helps a lot of you, nomatter if you're on the left or
the right.
I hope it helps you.
Come back to the table andthink about what's important.
(22:27):
Think about your family.
Think about the people who madesacrifices for you, because you
only get one chance at thislife.
Talk to anyone that's retiredand aged.
You can't turn back the hands oftime and make up for the wrongs
(22:49):
that you did.
All you can do is grow and tryto get better.
I am not the perfect personnever have been.
Don't claim to be, but I havenever given up.
I am not the perfect personnever have been.
Don't claim to be, but I havenever given up, and we should
(23:09):
neither.
As Americans, we should notaccept the divide, we should not
accept politicians, we shouldnot accept celebrities or any of
these people to separate us,because, at the end of the day,
I shop at the same grocery storethat you do.
I go to the same gas stationsas you do Most of these people
that get online and have thesebig followings.
They don't have to worry aboutwhat we worry about.
(23:31):
We need to get back to thebasics and I just felt like I've
been meaning to do a solopodcast because there's so many
things that I want to talk about, but part of it is getting the
(23:52):
courage to do so, and I thinktoday kind of just put it
together for me where, like, Ijust thought, man, I really need
to say something, I really needto do a podcast because we are
getting so veered off the pathof who we are.
(24:15):
I hope this message finds youwell.
If you listen to this podcast,you listen to my podcast, you
subscribe.
I just want to say thank youfor supporting me.
I don't get paid anything to dothis.
I haven't.
I'm the worst when it comes tomonetization.
I'm the worst when it comes tothe money is not important to me
(24:35):
, but I don't want any of myexperiences and I don't want the
people who have gone to bat forme I don't want any of that to
ever go in vain.
I want to share my experiences.
I want to help others.
I want to help you grow howeverI can.
Before I get off here, I justwant to give a shout out to the
(24:56):
non-profit that I've been a partof for the last three years Act
Now Education, ran by theirfounder, jay Salters, who is a
serviceman himself.
A lot of selfless service, alot of sacrifice that man puts
up the board members for Act NowEducation.
(25:18):
Anyone that's ever helped ActNow Education on a project,
thank you.
Act Now Education is a greatnon-profit that helps our
military community.
Act Now Education.
We go out and we raise money tohelp our military community
transition into the civilianworld, because everyone talks
(25:38):
about the 22 a day and no oneever talks about a solution to
it.
Our solution is to help ourmilitary members.
Our military families have asofter landing spot when it's
their time to get out of themilitary.
So we go out and we raise moneyand we turn around and we get
(25:58):
those meaningful certifications.
We do coaching, mentorship, somany different things.
And everyone on the board iseither a current service member
or a veteran or a militaryspouse.
So shout out to them forbelieving in me early on.
Shout out to Jay Salters fromAct Now Education.
(26:19):
Found me on Clubhouse when wefirst met.
It was just voice to voice.
Didn't even know what the manlooked like.
He didn't know what I lookedlike.
He just heard me talk and I'vebeen so blessed over the years I
told a buddy of mine the otherday.
I said you know, I've beenblessed to have worked with some
of the best in the world,whether it be military, whether
(26:43):
it be law enforcement, whetherit be non-profit work.
I have been so blessed and I'mso grateful and I thank God for
that.
Thank you for giving me thislife.
I want you guys to reflect oneverything, everything you've
done.
It's never too late to turnaround.
Invite your friends and familyback to the table.
(27:05):
Let's come together as a nation.
Let's stop being dividedbecause that person that you
think is totally different thanyou is not far apart from you.
As always, I want you to staytuned, stay focused, stay
(27:25):
motivated.
I will continue doing what I'mdoing on this podcast.
As long as my brain and my bodycan hold it, I will do it.
I will do it.
Warriors fall out.
Warriors fall in it's time for formation.
So today I'm in a lot of shockwith what which I feel like is
the final straw for what we'vebecome.
I want to acknowledge and givea prayer to the family of
(00:25):
Charlie Kirk who, whether youagreed with what he had to say
or not, did not deserve to bemurdered in front of his
followers, in front of hisfamily.
America is not built on theseideologies that have come up in
(00:51):
the last few years.
As a veteran myself, as acombat veteran myself, I can
tell you that there are timeswhere I have been uninvited to
the dinner table by friends andby family.
Because of my own beliefs,because I have different
(01:12):
experiences.
I am part of the less than 6%that serve this country.
Even less than 6% served duringa time of war.
(01:38):
I chose to serve because I wasraised to understand that a life
of service is a life worthliving.
My dad spent 20 years in thearmy and me being a military
dependent, I endured the life ofa military brat, a military
dependent, which wasn't easy.
Every four years you move um.
You know, if you're a familylike I was, we had domestic
(02:01):
issues um that we had toovercome.
I had to overcome.
My dad was drafted in 71, endup spending 20 years in the us
army, and I grew up with himbeing my hero.
(02:23):
A lot of my family looked at mydad as a hero because of his
sacrifice to be in the military,to live that life, to not
always choose where you want toreside, to not always choose
what school you want to put yourkids in.
(02:43):
It wasn't an easy life at all.
Being in the military and beinga family in the military is not
easy.
It's tough, it's really tough.
You are forced to meet newfriends.
You're forced to meet newpeople and that's how I grew up.
I grew up attending so manydifferent schools and my parents
unfortunately did not have agood marriage For 13 years.
(03:05):
I grew up in a domesticallyviolent situation and I was
forced to live in places Ididn't want to live.
I lived in a women's shelter,which was completely
embarrassing, but it washumbling at the same time and it
caused me to look at life inperspective and to hope that
(03:30):
someday that I could also servethis country and that maybe I
could make things better.
I joined the military at 18years old, army National Guard
enlisted, because my fatherwanted me to get an education.
He didn't want me to go activeduty, so I followed his wishes
and I did just that.
Upon getting my undergraduatedegree, I wanted to take it a
(03:56):
step further.
At the time, iraq andAfghanistan were going on and I
wanted to do more, so I chose tocommission in the United States
Army, which, during a time ofwar, wasn't easy.
I know a lot of men who chosenot to go into the military
during a time of war, giveneveryone has different
(04:19):
circumstances and their ownreasons.
I thought that serving in themilitary and living a life of
service would get me closer tomaking people proud of me.
And maybe I did it for all thewrong reasons.
(04:40):
I don't know.
I really don't know at thispoint.
For all the wrong reasons, Idon't know.
I really don't know at thispoint, um, but I can tell you
that it's hard for me to standby and every day have to see
what I'm seeing, whether it's onsocial media or it's dealing in
(05:03):
real life with family, um, andI can tell you I know.
Or it's dealing in real lifewith family, and I can tell you
I know what it's like to beuninvited, to be different when
I came back from Iraq.
I'll never forget.
I sat across the table from mysister's then-husband and he
(05:25):
proceeded to tell me about whatwas going on in Iraq, even
though my boots were still dirtyfrom being there.
And in 2007, I knew, I knewback then.
I knew this is how it's goingto be for the rest of your life,
kid.
I knew back then.
I knew this is how it's goingto be for the rest of your life,
(05:46):
kid.
I knew that I was going to haveto listen to people with strong
opinions about things they knownothing about, because they sat
back here in the safety ofAmerica and they watched the
news.
I knew back then that people,that people, were going to be
(06:06):
limited to the size of their TVsets.
But now, now we're limited tothe size of our phones because a
lot of you don't know much morethan what's the size, whatever
the size this phone is.
This is how you draw youropinions on things right.
(06:27):
I'm a very moderate person, veryreasonable, but what I will not
ever stand on is accepting thekilling of someone simply
because they have a differentopinion than you.
You don't have to like it, youdon't have to like it.
(06:51):
You don't have to like it.
That's fine.
That's the beauty about Americais that we're all different.
But I'm here to tell you rightnow, in my experience, my real
world experience, because I cantell you right now, all these
coins that are behind me righthere, I put those there for a
reason.
It's not for decoration, it'sbecause every single one of
those coins that I have behindme right here, I put those there
(07:12):
for a reason.
It's not for decoration, it'sbecause every single one of
those coins that I have behindme represents a partnership that
I had with another agency,another branch of the military
at some point in my life,because we wanted to make the
lives of others better.
We cared about our communityand I started this platform
almost four years ago nowbecause I wanted to give a voice
(07:35):
to the voiceless.
Most men that I know that havelived real lives don't have to
show you what kind of carthey're driving.
They don't have to show you thefancy watch on their wrist, but
what they do have is they haverelics like this Real world
(07:56):
relics.
I earned a bronze star.
This is the bronze star that Iearned in Iraq.
This is the bronze star thatwas pinned on my chest and I
don't even talk about it.
It's because I don't need to.
(08:19):
I don't need to walk aroundwearing those kind of things,
because the reality is I didn'tearn this.
I didn't earn this.
My platoon and everyone thatserved with me earned this.
This isn't mine.
I could have never done italone.
(08:45):
I could have never done italone.
I could have never done italone.
I live every day listening tothe opinions of people that
don't care about what myexperiences are.
They don't care because theygot this.
They have a phone that hassocial media on it and it tells
(09:08):
them everything they need toknow, that has social media on
it and it tells them everythingthey need to know.
And I'm sure that I speak onbehalf of first responders and
our military veterans out therewhen I say what I'm saying right
now, and I'm sick and tired ofus being so divided.
By no means do I want to turnthis platform into a political
(09:29):
platform.
I don't, because I'm a verymoderate person.
I get accused of being bothliberal and conservative all the
time, and it's not that I'mliberal or conservative.
It's about the issues that Icare about.
It's about my values.
I don't care about parties andI don't care about sides and I
(09:51):
don't care about politicians,because politicians, the only
thing that politicians have incommon is money.
That's it.
Americans are in this together.
We have to drive to the gasstation, we have to go to the
grocery stores, we have to livein our communities and it's time
(10:13):
for people to stop being sodivided on all these issues.
And another thing if you'reyoung but you have access to
social media, it doesn't meanthat you know shit.
It doesn't.
There was a time when I wasgrowing up where experience
(10:34):
mattered.
It doesn't mean that you knowshit.
It doesn't.
There was a time when I wasgrowing up where experience
mattered.
And if you pay attention, someof you guys are really into
professional sports.
Look at how professional sportsplayers are.
Look at the NBA.
Look at how Charles Barkley andShaquille O'Neal and Michael
Jordan and some of these oldschool guys are versus the new
school guys.
Some of the new school guysthink they know everything about
life and they don't know jackshit.
(10:58):
Some of you guys that have neverreally left your own towns need
to sit back and just absorblife.
Absorb life just a little bitand start humbling yourselves to
understand that you don't knowshit about shit.
You know nothing, because therewas a time where I had to tell
myself that as a youngLieutenant in Iraq, I didn't
(11:19):
know anything, but fortunately,I had NCOs.
I had NCOs that had 15 plusyears experience under their
belts and they knew more aboutlife than I did.
My job as a lieutenant in Iraqwas to remove obstacles.
My job was to try to save livesby supporting.
That's my experience, that's myleadership experience, and I've
(11:46):
sat back for all these yearswith the platform that I have
not saying anything, listened toand have grown from all these
conversations that I've had overthe last few years, man, and
(12:16):
that's why I do it.
That's why I do it.
I want to give a voice to someof the voiceless people.
I want to put a mic in front ofpeople that actually have
perspective and have real lifeexperience.
Today was just a straw that isbreaking the camel's back for me
(12:36):
, like this is.
This is ridiculous, this is notwhat america stands for.
And then I go in on some ofthese social media profiles and
I see people making commentsabout oh well, you know,
negative, negative, negative,negative actually confirming
(12:59):
that they agree with whathappened.
What is wrong with you?
What is fucking wrong with you?
Why do you think that takinganother person's life because
they disagree with you or youdon't agree with them, or
whatever the case is, is okay?
This is not a third worldcountry.
This is the United States ofAmerica, and if you want that
(13:19):
shit, there are other countriesfor you to go to where you can
get that kind of shit, but it'snot America, it's not here.
We all have a right To voice ouropinions.
We all have a right To live howwe want to live.
Some of you are privileged andyou don't even realize it.
(13:43):
Some of you have pools in yourbackyard and you have all these
nice things and yet you complainabout how shitty our country is
.
What is wrong with you?
What is wrong with you?
What makes you think thatyou're living such a terrible
life here?
(14:03):
And I'm a man of action.
So, at the end of the day, ifyou feel that way, then put your
words into action and go livesomewhere else.
Go live somewhere else and showus how it's done.
Show us how great it issomewhere else, because the last
time I checked, what we havehere is not that bad.
(14:26):
I've been to war-torn countriesand I've looked into the eyes
of children who are reallysuffering.
You in America, you're not oneof them at all.
You're not.
The message for my podcast isthis A life of service is a life
(14:47):
worth living.
A life of service is a lifeworth living.
You want the proof?
Look at all these richHollywood actors.
All these rich people rightwhat happens to them?
They make all this money andthen inside, inside, there's
something missing.
There's something missinginside, so they're not whole.
(15:10):
Maybe they haven't foundreligion, maybe they feel like
I've just been doing this forthe almighty dollar.
I can point to a lot ofdifferent celebrities and and
tell you that they're emptyinside because they've been
doing things for entertainmentpurposes, not things that fill
(15:35):
their souls and enrich theirsouls.
And I once had a Medal of Honorrecipient.
Tell me a job will pay youmoney, but a career will fill
your soul, and I want you tothink about that.
Think about that when you go towork.
(15:57):
Whatever it is that you do,does it fill your soul?
How do you fill your soul?
How do you help your community?
How do you your fellow, yourfellow neighbor?
What have you done in your life?
How do you humble yourself?
Because I'll tell you what itis.
(16:19):
It's not shooting a, a reel ora tiktok of you showing off your
materialistic goods.
I have a dd214 that I will taketo my grave proudly.
I was awarded medals in themilitary that I will take to my
(16:40):
grave proudly, because I did itfor the right reasons.
It was about God and countryand I had to say what I had to
say today because I'm tired ofit.
A life of service is never aneasy path.
(17:01):
It never has been easy, butit's been the right one for me.
I don't care how many tables Iget uninvited to.
I don't care how many friendsand family unfriend me Doesn't
matter to me.
I don't care Because I know Godput me on this earth and had me
(17:23):
go through hell for a biggerpurpose.
I didn't grow up with a messedup childhood.
I didn't go live in a women'sshelter for a year and a half.
I didn't have everybody go tobat for me that went to bat for
me, for me just to do nothing.
(17:45):
And that's what this is allabout and that's what my podcast
is about.
That's what I'm about.
That's what I stand for.
It's not about the clicks, it'snot about the followers.
It's about my country and mycommunity.
That's what it's always beenabout for me.
(18:06):
I've been doing this shit on myown for the last four years.
I've had, fortunately, somefriends and family support me.
I've had some that havecompletely laughed at me.
I don't care.
I have never been a follower.
I did not go to basic trainingwith my battle buddy.
I did not need the acceptancefrom anyone, like when I went to
(18:32):
the military or when I havebeen serving as a first
responder.
It doesn't matter to me whatyou think, because he talks to
me and he tells me that I wasput on this earth for a greater
purpose, and I think you weretoo, and I think that, at the
end of the day, our country isbetter than this.
(18:57):
If you are guilty of uninvitingyour family members to the
Thanksgiving table, it's time tobring them back.
It's time to listen, it's timeto grow and it's time to heal,
because I am deathly worriedabout the direction that we're
(19:22):
headed right now.
Time is something you can neverbuy back.
Every day, every day, I'mreminded of this.
Every day, I'm reminded of thisbecause I have.
What I have here is I have thiscord.
(19:43):
This cord right here, thisrubber cord that I still have
with me today was part of animprovised explosive device that
I pulled off my tire after Iran it over near the Syrian
(20:04):
border.
This cord was the mostresponsible for me not being
here today.
This is my reminder that lifeis short and if you're here,
you're here for a purpose.
(20:25):
You only have one chance atthis.
Make your time worthwhile,because in combat, I can tell
you, this man, fate of justsomething so small and
(20:49):
insignificant could have takenme out.
The guys that I ran over thiswith, we all survived my
memorial bracelet that I wear onmy wrist Lieutenant Aaron
Season.
He had a job in Iraq clearingmy routes for me.
I've wore this bracelet formore than 20 years now and it's
(21:15):
a reminder of sacrifice and it'sa reminder that those who go to
bat for you, you owe themsomething.
You owe them to live a greatlife.
Stop being so divided, stopbeing so divided, stop being so
(21:44):
divided.
This isn't the America that Ichose to serve.
This is headed in the wrongdirection.
(22:06):
I hope that this message todayand I hope that the death of
Charlie Kirk and what we had towitness on video helps a lot of
you, no matter if you're on theleft or the right.
I hope it helps you.
Come back to the table.
On video helps a lot of you, nomatter if you're on the left or
the right.
I hope it helps you.
Come back to the table andthink about what's important.
(22:27):
Think about your family.
Think about the people who madesacrifices for you, because you
only get one chance at thislife.
Talk to anyone that's retiredand aged.
You can't turn back the hands oftime and make up for the wrongs
(22:49):
that you did.
All you can do is grow and tryto get better.
I am not the perfect personnever have been.
Don't claim to be, but I havenever given up.
I am not the perfect personnever have been.
Don't claim to be, but I havenever given up, and we should
(23:09):
neither.
As Americans, we should notaccept the divide, we should not
accept politicians, we shouldnot accept celebrities or any of
these people to separate us,because, at the end of the day,
I shop at the same grocery storethat you do.
I go to the same gas stationsas you do Most of these people
that get online and have thesebig followings.
They don't have to worry aboutwhat we worry about.
(23:31):
We need to get back to thebasics and I just felt like I've
been meaning to do a solopodcast because there's so many
things that I want to talk about, but part of it is getting the
(23:52):
courage to do so, and I thinktoday kind of just put it
together for me where, like, Ijust thought, man, I really need
to say something, I really needto do a podcast because we are
getting so veered off the pathof who we are.
(24:15):
I hope this message finds youwell.
If you listen to this podcast,you listen to my podcast, you
subscribe.
I just want to say thank youfor supporting me.
I don't get paid anything to dothis.
I haven't.
I'm the worst when it comes tomonetization.
I'm the worst when it comes tothe money is not important to me
(24:35):
, but I don't want any of myexperiences and I don't want the
people who have gone to bat forme I don't want any of that to
ever go in vain.
I want to share my experiences.
I want to help others.
I want to help you grow howeverI can.
Before I get off here, I justwant to give a shout out to the
(24:56):
non-profit that I've been a partof for the last three years Act
Now Education, ran by theirfounder, jay Salters, who is a
serviceman himself.
A lot of selfless service, alot of sacrifice that man puts
up the board members for Act NowEducation.
(25:18):
Anyone that's ever helped ActNow Education on a project,
thank you.
Act Now Education is a greatnon-profit that helps our
military community.
Act Now Education.
We go out and we raise money tohelp our military community
transition into the civilianworld, because everyone talks
(25:38):
about the 22 a day and no oneever talks about a solution to
it.
Our solution is to help ourmilitary members.
Our military families have asofter landing spot when it's
their time to get out of themilitary.
So we go out and we raise moneyand we turn around and we get
(25:58):
those meaningful certifications.
We do coaching, mentorship, somany different things.
And everyone on the board iseither a current service member
or a veteran or a militaryspouse.
So shout out to them forbelieving in me early on.
Shout out to Jay Salters fromAct Now Education.
(26:19):
Found me on Clubhouse when wefirst met.
It was just voice to voice.
Didn't even know what the manlooked like.
He didn't know what I lookedlike.
He just heard me talk and I'vebeen so blessed over the years I
told a buddy of mine the otherday.
I said you know, I've beenblessed to have worked with some
of the best in the world,whether it be military, whether
(26:43):
it be law enforcement, whetherit be non-profit work.
I have been so blessed and I'mso grateful and I thank God for
that.
Thank you for giving me thislife.
I want you guys to reflect oneverything, everything you've
done.
It's never too late to turnaround.
Invite your friends and familyback to the table.
(27:05):
Let's come together as a nation.
Let's stop being dividedbecause that person that you
think is totally different thanyou is not far apart from you.
As always, I want you to staytuned, stay focused, stay
(27:25):
motivated.
I will continue doing what I'mdoing on this podcast.
As long as my brain and my bodycan hold it, I will do it.
I will do it.
Warriors fall out.
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