Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Stories of Special Forces Operators Podcast. Listen to
some of the bravest and toughest people on the planet
share their stories. Sit back and enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome back everyone. Today we have a special guest, a
retired French sas Special Forces. I'm really excited about this
to learn more about how they operated. So this is
exciting today with us is Charles Ramone. Now he has
two companies he works for right now. He actually owns
one of is Vooky Bay Tour Operators over in Madagascar.
(00:47):
It's really cool. You can check it out on YouTube.
It's Voky Bee. Check it out on YouTube's with some
great videos. It's a beautiful place. Actually, it's a beautiful
I never really looked at Madagascar before. He also runs
the Bar Colorado Bar Cafe. It looks really cool. You
can see it on his Instagram at Rodman jar Head
r O d M A. N. Jar Head. You can
(01:09):
find out more about him there. You can see the
pictures of the bar. Actually, the pictures of the bar
are going to be at his Instagram page, which is
let me get you that for you and the instagram
handles Cafe dot Bar Colorado, Cafe dot Bar Colorado so
you can check it out there, and it's really a
cool place. I wish I was close enough. I'd stop
(01:31):
by myself, but we're a little bit far away right now.
So before we get started, make sure to share, subscribe,
hit that like button. Let's get started and find out
what the special Forces are like in France. The first
let's learn about Charles Ramo and welcome, Charles.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Welcome. Thank you very much to have me tonight.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thank you very much for being here. I truly appreciate it, Charles.
I always ask every special forces from whatever country. We've interviewed,
special forces from Alia, from the UK, a lot from America.
That's where I'm at easier. Let me ask you this,
what motivated you to get into special Forces.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
It's a long story, I think if you have to
spend all the time all night to.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Explain about that. But first of all, I want to
tell you.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Guys that English is not my mother tongue, so I
may have some some issue explaining stuff in English.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I will try my best.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, no problem.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
So why I joined the French Special Forces.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
It's just experience, you know, being in a mission in
Africa and seeing those big guys landing on a helicopter,
dressed up like like like contractors, you know, with the
weird glasses, with a with a big muscle.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
You're like, this is the ship, this is the good
work to do.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
So yeah, that's how I I I started to be
interested in special Force.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, any of you were any in your family military?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Oh yeah, I had my grandpa who used to being
a military.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
My my my great grandfather died in a in a
First World War, my great great grandfather. And I have
an uncle who was pilot, you know, jet pilot and
a mechanic. He started by mechanic and becoming jet pilot
in France. And I have some cousins in the military.
(03:31):
So for me just you know, actually I didn't I
didn't plan to be soldier at the at the beginning,
but my my, my childhood was trained to become a soldier.
That's when my my my my parents raised me, not
being a soldier, but being like living like a normal life,
(03:54):
a tough life. My dad teach us everything about about life,
like how to.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Live in in every kind of situation.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
So, you know, being the military for me was just
the end of my training was interesting.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
So they trained you like you lived a kind of
like a really disciplined life in your childhood.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Then yeah, yeah, my dad was very, very disciplined person.
He was handicapped guy, raising six kids. But his life
was very strict. You know, I've never seen my dad drunk, never, never,
So his life is like he needed to be strayed
(04:36):
on everything saying and he kept his words.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
When he said something, he do it. So that's how
I was raised up.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
And uh, life in Madagascar back back then was really
hard because it was under the communist regime, which is
very different from other country communist country. But also oh
it's a it's a very disciplined life.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Okay, now let me ask you this. So you grew
up in Madagascar or halftime inc.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I grew up in Madagascar.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
I grew up in Madagascar and see them twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And then you when you were able to get how
did you get into the French special Forces that you
were able to do that without being a French citizen?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Then yeah, yeah, my mom is French, so yeah, I'm
French there. Yeah, okay, my mother is.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
A part of these French who came in Madagascar and
never left, you know, my family.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
So I grew up really as a malagast person.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
I speak fluent the dialects and languages here, but I
had also my my French culture during my my chilehood.
So when I end up in France, I was a
little bit shocked about the the community.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Where I lived, but I dubbed myself really quick.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, well, France is different all over the place, right,
I'm not sure how how many places you went to France?
Did you ever go to Paris?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Of course? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, how'd you like?
Speaker 4 (06:16):
That is the place where you you land when you
come back from mission.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So most of the time I went to the Paris.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Oh interesting, let's start. Let's start off there when you
went Now you spent straight to the French military or
did you actually go to Madagascar military? Which one did
you start? Or do you even do any kind of
military and Madagascar or none at all?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
No?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
No, no, didn't do anything military in Madagascar. I just
start by being in the Foreign Legion. So I started
my career in the Foreign Legion and I didn't spend
a lot of time there because after my boot camp,
I have to to stop my contract for family's issue.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
I have my brother he was in Comma, So the
Foreign Legion do not give.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
You opportunity to visit your family before you get your
real h.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Pipper dumb done properly.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
So they refuse me to to to see my brother,
so I just break my contract.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Well sure didn't make them very happy, but I can
understand why you did that, that's for sure. Yeah, it's
very important. Let me ask you. Let me ask you this, Charles.
Then tell us a little bit about I know you
can't share everything about Special Forces training. We know that's
usual to keep it secret. I know I've talked to
green Berets down here and it's the same thing. But
(07:37):
tell us a little bit about anything that. Did you
find it difficult? How about that? Did you find it
difficult and challenging? The training for Special Forces?
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Okay, so you know the Special Force training.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Out of the selection, the selection is real rough, you know,
because they need to splitch people, like to separate those
who want to do something and those who don't want
to get hurt at all. Right, so you have different
tests and.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Different way to do that.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
But then once you join the Special Forces, you have
a training really hard but at the same time really technique,
you know, so they will never make you some try
to to give you something to do if you can
do it. So that's something really important to tell kids.
(08:36):
It's not because you're going in a Special Forces you're
gonna date more or they're gonna do something stupid about you.
You know you are you are your future weapon. You
are a future operator that they're gonna use to do
like special missions. So the one you to be in
a good shape and to be very stable. And of
(08:58):
course they need smart people. So basically, when you meet
Special Force gay, ninety percent of time there's a very
smart person, but they really do not know that they're smart.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
That's actually an interesting way I'm saying that because everybody
I've ever interviewed whose Special Forces has been extremely intelligent.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, they have always something different from people like they.
When you are in the team.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
There's always somebody who knows something to do. Let me
tell you something. I have a team. We almost everybody
speaks English. I have a guy who spoke Arah who
speaks Arab speaking Spanish, German, of course, French, Italian.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
I mean when we go somewhere, we don't need translators.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
It's important.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
So it's really important, it's really important.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I don't know, I don't know about how it's said
over there in France or Madagascar, but I know here
when I've talked to Forces, one of the things that
they think is the most one of the most important
parts of any kind of mission is working with the
indigenous people of that area and being able to.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah, so this is one of my my most skills
I think I had when I was in Special Forces,
when I traveled in the country. Because my experience in Madagascar,
I have a huge view hope people, especially people from
(10:34):
uh I don't like to say to use the word
indigenous because it's really really complicated words. I'm really about
my person, but you know, I would call people the
people from the country.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
That's what I use, you know.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
So my advantage is like I have a really easy feeling.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
And talking with the local people.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
And because I was really different from all my teammates.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
There's some people a special meeting Redmond in Emission.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Interesting. Yeah, And I'll get back to that later on
when we talk about some of your whatever. You can
share about some of your missions or stories and see
how that worked for you. But before we get to that,
I wanted to ask you this quick question. Again. I'm
not familiar very much with the French Special Forces. Everybody
in Europe. It seems like everybody in special forces is
usually pretty tight lip. They don't say anything, so it's
(11:33):
really been hard to get people. But yeah, let me
ask you this. Do you think that training the special
forces training also is very important for mindset? That was
one of the things they're looking for people who are
mentally tough. Did you see that kind of training going
on too?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
During the training, they test you all the time, so
you are in a constant test.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And when people can.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Do it, the just qued you know, to a lot
of people quit.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Oh yeah, there's enough quod quiting.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
How how long is the training?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
It's different.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
So the French Special Forces, especially in my unit, have
different ways to get in the special forces. So you
have the civilian part where people from the civilian civilian
life joined the military, so they have a different processes.
And then you have military guys who already in the military,
so they can be from the the army and they
(12:36):
come to do the Special Force test, especially for Army
Special Force because I was in the.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Army Special Force all right. And then you have UH for.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Soldiers, we have the officer UH training and then we
have the en SE training, which is different. So my
training was about one year and a half almost, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
What a year and a half?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Yeah, before you go you operate.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, yeah, so I was I'm just gonna just for
the audience sake, so they know, I'm assuming you're doing
all kinds of different types of training. You're coming out
of helicopters, you're going underwater, You're being exposed to really
cold weather. You're practicing shooting what they call here CQB
close quarter pattles and something. Okay, do a lot of
(13:33):
that stuff.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yes, sir, Where do you so?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
I don't know if you can tell us where, but
you do you have Do you have a special place
did you guys go to Is it a special like
mountain area or anywhere like that or.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
So we are based in the Sulfur Frience. So it's
a very very good place to train because we have
the ocean, we have lakes, we have river, we have
mountains in the small area. So the training was a
wrong on the town and we are lucky because it's
a seitadel, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
So we have a very cool place to work because
every day you go to work, you're getting in a
citadel you know, and actually.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
It was a jail before during the Middle Age, I think, and.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
My unit I have one of the best facilities where
you can train a person without leaving the citadel. You
can do shooting, you can do part shooting, you can
do helicopter, you can do sniping, you can do secub,
you can do close protection training inside the citadel. So
(14:45):
basically we have a lot of training going on inside.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
That's a big citadel.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
You can even blow doors, like we can blow until
forty gram of explosive inside, so all day long you
have boom boom people get there.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
It's that's very cool. I know my family likes to
go to Nice to visit their grandmaw. So yeah, the
south of.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
South Francis I wasn't the complete opposite.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Oh the other side.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Yeah yeah, near Yers.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh you're over there. Okay, got it got very nice.
So okay, so that's an interesting place to train. That's
not a bad place to train, not bad at all.
What did you like the most of the training. Did
you like the helicopter, the CQB explosives. What was your
favorite part?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
My favorite part is uh shooting sec oh shooting, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
definitely Interesting.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Can you now do you remember the very first time
you got deployed for a mission?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
H yeah, that was back in two thousand and two.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
You know, there we were deployed, but I wasn't Special
Force yet. So you want to ask as a special
force guy.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Uh, yeah, what's the first time we got deployed of
special forces? Oh?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
My first diplomat at a special force was in uh
in the Balkans, you know, uh coast, So my un
first one. No, no, no, it's not my favorite, but
I went my first one. That was my first one,
but that was.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
I want to protect the head of the metal issue
a general force starts. So my unit is specialized in
close protection. So we protect our VIPs or politicians or
some some people working for the government when they go
overseas in a war zone.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We have a special union to do that.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
And I was part of it. Interesting, Now, do you
remember the first time you ever got into combat?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
My first you mean my my my gunfight?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Yeah, your first gunfight. I know you were in there. Yeah,
you know.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
The first time I really be in a gun fight,
like being in a war zone was in Afghanistan and uh,
when I went to.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Syria in Afghanistan and Syria.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Yeah, we also we get a lot of diplomat in Africa,
you know, where we do special mission. But sometimes you
do mission, you hear just two gun shots, we got
shot and the job is done.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Oh that's around, that's at the end of it. What
did you think about the very first time you get
into a gun.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
There is a huge there is a huge amount of
time where you prepare a mission and sometimes you don't
need even to to engage people.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
But it's that's that's why you are. You are special for.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
What did you think about the first time you were
in a gunfight? Were you like, this is what I
wanted to do? What am I doing here? What were
you thinking?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, that's what I was saying, what I'm doing here?
Especially where when you do mission where we have zero
super who can come in in a few.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Towns, you are like, what the hell I'm doing here?
Speaker 4 (18:44):
But also you have all your friends around you, so
you were just there because of your friends.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
You don't care about the other things. When you're in
those kind of spot, you are more Yeah, I don't
worry about that. All the politics are not the bullshit.
You don't care about it. And most of the time.
What they're saying on the TV is just a fluid.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, that's in every country. Yeah, yeah, TV is a
bunch of nonsense. I don't know in regards to your
to your missions, did you have air support as well
sometimes or was it just yeah or you did have
air support?
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Yeah, yeah, we had a lot of air support.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
So basically the Special Force when you when you want
to do mission, you have preparation and then like some countries,
you have the they have a code for the mission.
So I don't want to say the code. I'll just
tell you example today you're gonna say D G one
(19:43):
or D T one, D D two, d D three,
So it's one.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
If it's one, you have no no, no percent of
gun fight. You know, when you start to have two,
it's like we're sure we're gonna have a gunfight on
the ground.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Ah.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
And when you have to be example, that's a that's
kind of example in the mission. Uh there is a
specific word for that, but I want I won't say that.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
So basically, some people spend all the life in Special
Forces and don't have one gun fight even once.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Really, yes, sir, so are you I don't know how
familiar how familiar you are with US Special Forces. But
you know, like for instance, we talked earlier about Delta.
Delta always gets in the gunfights.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
I mean we we we have people getting a gunfight.
You have gunfights, but it's not what people think about
the gunfight.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Most of the time. When you have a huge gun fight,
that means something went wrong, you know.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
So basically, when you're gonna you're going to clean the house,
you're gonna have a gun fight. But it's it's like more,
it's like being in a in a situation where you
have how we how we call this, You have doctors
and you have a surgery, and doctors and surgeon don't
(21:16):
work the same way. So especially first guys're gonna do
a job. You don't even need to shoot. Sometimes sometimes
there is only one person's gonna shoot in the team
and the job is done. Or if something goes wrong,
you have a hundred people coming up and you have
a huge gun fight. But I'm telling you something with
my experience, it's good to be in a gunfight.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
It's it's a lot of adournally, but you don't want
to be in a gunfight all the long.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Reminds me I don't. I'm sure you've heard a black
Hawk down in the Battle of Mogadishu.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Yeah, these things. Can you see that this kind of
mission you can turn really easy, like the guy in
the the.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Marcus Latural guy with his team, you know, the navicial guy.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Yeah yeah, so you when you see that this mission.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
If I was in that mission, I would I would
shoot the kid, the the the the the the the
young guy who hurt the goods because I've read the
book about anti mac now and now had the same problem.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
And they didn't shoot the person.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
So I understand why why largely didn't shoot the kid
because you have maybe kids, you have a nephew, and
it's really important to be to follow your your instincts,
you know. But I think I want I won't let
them go. I will shoot them and bury them and
then yeah, that's probably what we'll do.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I'm not rety that this that right.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
I'm not saying they're doing anything wrong, all right, But
that day the team leader thought that was the good
way is just to let these people believe in and
then they just faced the consequences.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I actually interviewed Andy mcnaw that's that's interesting that you
mentioned him.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, that's a tough situation, man. Yeah, but that's the thing, right, Charles,
That's the thing. The thing unique about special Forces is
that you guys have to think quickly. You have to
solve problems fast.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Really quick, really quick.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
So so sometimes we are doing today we are in
a mission hunting bad guys, and tomorrow night we are
in an embassy doing those potations.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
So your brain, your brain need to switch.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
From being in an operator in a helicopter landing on
in the middle of nowhere and being in a uh
in a suit getting a lady from from a place
to another place. And it's funny because people have no
idea who you are.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
What you have been through.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
That's a that's a very interesting point. So you're having
to walk somebody who has no clue who you are
as a Special Forces person. At the same time, you
probably had a gun fight a day before. Man, that's crazy.
You know, it's funny because I remember the I've.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
Never been in a crazy like crazy gunfight. I've been
I've been in a gunfight, but it's more I have
I had the advantage I will Let's let's.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Say that m hm.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Anytime anytime you were.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Really I controlled the good situation, so it was.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Easier anytime you were really in a scary situation where
you thought you weren't sure what was going to happen,
if you're gonna get out.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, I've been three four times in a very bad situation.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Oh really, yes, sir. I don't know if you can
share any one of those or are they just too personal?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Oh I can't share one of those.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
It was.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
I'm not going to talk about the country, but it
was just the morning I was doing my qurefe time
because we have we are split in two teams, so
one of the team went in mission and I was
the quick correction forces for the team in mission. So
my team, my teammate was was engaged by a tactical
(25:37):
in the house okay, and three of the three guys
were down, not killed, but they were really bad injury.
The vehicle was completely the door was opened away, you know,
was crazy.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
It was crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
The door was blown off or something.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Yeah, because the guard shooting the door and nobody nobody
was in the car. And so I got a phone call.
Was I was in the gym, you know, pumping irons.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
And I got a phone call like you need to
go right now because you have you have a serious
situation going on.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
So I went in the in the position and with
my teammates, so you're like six people. And when I
end up in the in the in the zone, we
prepared the the made the vac and everything.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So the other team was made a vac.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
Of the injured guy and then I get a I
get order I have to come back to the position.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
So it was.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Very difficult because I was with another team, another unit.
The guy didn't want to go.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
I didn't want to go.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
No, no, the guy told me in the ice, he
said it was hot down there, man, we're not going
back there.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
But I get the order to go back there. So
I was like, who want to come? And six people
resident him. We're coming with you, man. So even six
people was not enough because we had to switch cars
and and you need to have more people come in
with us because it's like no man's la. So I
(27:32):
was I was talking with the guy who want to
come with me?
Speaker 4 (27:34):
I said, you guys should were gonna go back there,
and they're like, hey, let's go back there. We didn't
want to let that the position get took it talk
him by by bad guys.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
So I was staying there trying to figure out how
I'm gonna do it, and three vehicle show up, three vehicle.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Toyota. I saw six. Guy came in out, Hey, what's
up man? You know speaking British? There was twenty two
sizes guy. They're like, oh, I heard the.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
We heard the news on the on the radio when
we came here to help you guys, So what is
the plane? So that was the team leader who's talking
to me, but he didn't tell me it was the
team leader. Okay, And I really I really appreciated bridge people.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Were they the.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Twenty two essays? Because very very very very good people. Okay,
really appreciate them. So the guy told me, you you
take the lead, we just follow you. So I took
these guys in my in my position where I need
to go, and it's like a huge valley and the village.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Okay. So I talked to the team leader. I said,
I'm gonna bring my team there. Can you do like
a ah like to support us.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Until we hit the position? So he started to shoot mortar.
And this is the cool thing about Special Force because
we get off from the car. We prepare all the
explosives and he said, do we want to shoot? I said,
I've never shoot mortar ready. He said, just to show you,
he explained to me how to shoot murder. Of course,
(29:21):
I'm not the guy who does the all the setting,
but I just shoot the mortar, which is in the
regular army.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
If you have to do that, we have to go
through a crazy training leg you know what I mean.
And this told me. He said, oh, let's do the
air support with with the mortar. So we start to shoot.
They start to shoot mortar, maybe one hundred and fifty
rounds going, and.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
It grows every They shoot every thirty second, I think because.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
The flying time was enough to do that. So while
they're shooting, I crossed.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
The valley and end up in the house. So now
we we are in the house and they join us
right after maybe one hour, and the first two hours
were we were there, we just tacticals, calm and you
start to have a gunfight with these guys, but we
just clean everything with our support. That was that was,
(30:25):
that was the main thing, because these guys were really smart.
So what they're doing is they they open up a house.
All right, The go inside the open the ceiling, so
the roof don't have there is.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
A hole on the roof.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Okay, yeah, so they shoot.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
From inside the house, so you can't see any ah,
anytime you can see anything. You just heard the first.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
And then we can't to and we know that after
thirty second it's gonna land somewhere in our position. So
these motherfuckers were shooting at us like twenty or forty
mortar and every time we have to go from the
roof and coming down.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Coming down, you know.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
So every time the mortar come, we go down and
we have to go back because you need to see
where the shooting is from. But that day we saw
where it's from, so we dropped. We called b B
fifty two I think that they were or.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Are you called the the F twenty two twenty two? Yeah,
raptor it's a raptor. Yeah, I think we have a
airth supportose a raptor like for.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
All day longmen, and it starts from eleven to the
next day, but it's like ten minutes.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
And so the funny thing about that is I got
another story about that.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
So we spent like one day, like almost one day
and a half in that position, and we did our
job and we came back.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
So it was a nice, nice meeting with the SIS.
The first time I met SI S people. Yeah, and
one of my dream when I read and like, oh,
I was someday.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
I'm gonna see these guys. And I made these guys
in the film. And when we went home, they came back.
The team leader came back and he brought a whiskey.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Single them out with the with the SI sign and everything,
you know, like beautiful whiskey bottle. And you show up
in my in my h Q.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Where did you drink? Sorry, did you drink as well?
Speaker 3 (33:05):
No?
Speaker 4 (33:05):
No, no, they brain the bottle. We don't drink admission,
We don't drink it. No no, no, no, no no
no no, that's what you want to give it as
a gift.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Oh but but but do you drink alcohol? Cause you
said I think you said your dad didn't drink alcohol
or did he drink too? He just never got drunk?
Who me? Yeah you said your dad didn't drink alcohol.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
No no, no, my dad did drink alcohol.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
My dad is not okay, But you do drink alcohol.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Yeah, I drink alcohol like everybody you know. I drink sometime,
but I'm not. I'm not a guy who have a
problem if I don't drink.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Do you like the whiskey? Oh?
Speaker 4 (33:40):
So my story with the whiskey was like, the guys
show up, the tim leaders show up with the six
whiskey and my officer that they said, oh, this is
a good gift for for you the unit, so you
can bring it back to the unit and give it
to the to the head of the unit.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
I'm like and she's like, sorry, this is not for you,
this is for Remond.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
Who were the guy we went to mission and everybody's like,
what's going on? And he's like, I want to see
the team leader who come with me last time.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
So I went. I came out and talked to him like,
hey man, his name was George. Hey George. And he's like,
hey everyone, I had I had a good time with
you guys. I'm very happy I work with the French
Special fortune. We have a gift for you. So he
gave me the photo. I still have it still. Yeah, yeah,
(34:34):
don't I don't want to drink?
Speaker 4 (34:35):
Are we drinking? When my one of my kids get
married and have simple that they need to be a
good friend of mine.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Now have you met anybody else? You worked the green
Berets too in cag right.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
Yeah, yeah, so the the Greenberry training we we worked
with them in Afghanistan.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
How was that for you?
Speaker 3 (35:01):
It was great.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
I met great people, good friends. We're still friend until today.
You know, I still talk with these guys. It's almost
about twelve years now. But there is this brotherhood between
the soldiers. Even though we are friends through American We
don't care about how politics role.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
We're just soldiers. We're just school between each other, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
So, and the story about that is one of the
Greenberrys I went to see in America.
Speaker 5 (35:32):
I went in Oregon. So one of the guys was
he was our medic and he when he came back
in America, he.
Speaker 4 (35:43):
Studied to be doctor and he became a doctor and
he ran a hospital near in Oregon.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
I forgot the name of the town, but I did
a right trick with my family and I went to
see him. And he's like, he's like a cool guys.
I have a beer, you know, not very big.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
He looks like Native American, a little bit like or
a little bit like Mexican, you know, mixed. I'm sure
he's have these roots somewhere there. But the funny thing
is everybody there didn't know that he done was a hero.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
He's so simple.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
So you know, that's interesting you mentioned that because I
think that sometimes I have that problem when I bring
on to the show green Berets or Navy seals. I
think they're too humble to share stories. Yeah, they don't
want to share these stories. Sometimes they don't. They feel
like it's, oh, it's not a big deal. It's not
a big deal.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Yeah it's not a big yeah, sure, but it is
a big deal.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I mean my heart, my heart was racing listening to
your story. Oh, I mean, it's amazing what you guys
do compared to what you know. There's a lot of people,
you know this on the internet that think they're tough,
and they type a lot of things and they say
a lot of things, but they haven't done anything.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Yeah. Oh, I think I think that's the part of
the culture.
Speaker 4 (37:05):
I mean, before people like us, people will say we
are Some of my friends think that I'm I'm crazy
sharing my experience.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
But the world turn.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Today, you know, there're more what today.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
I mean I said, some of my friends think that
I'm crazy sharing my experience, sharing experience.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
But it's the same time it allowed me to to
be in peace with myself.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Oh that's interesting, you know because.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
In many missions, I feel like I didn't do the job.
So I feel really really guilty on some situation, you know.
Speaker 4 (37:48):
So I don't talk about people about what I've been
doing and everybody. But sometimes I talk with people and
I tell them, you know, when I talk with my kids,
sometimes the grown up you know, they ask me why
I'm sad, sometimes because I went to I want. I'm
still having my PTSD. I got a PTSD, you know,
(38:10):
and she's really really hard. And my case, I see
somebody every week.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
I talk to somebody every week, somebody from France. I
really appreciate that she's helping me.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
But be able to talk and be able to share
your experience, it's really important for me.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
You don't you don't need to tell all the details
or what do you think about the stuff, But you
can tell stories to people. Don't don't need to like,
just don't like. But what do you what do you
tell people?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
It's a very important message. I think a lot. And
we'll talk more about your transition out of the military,
because I think a lot of soldiers have a hard
time with that. Yeah, it's a very different world. I
mean it sounds like your world is really similar to
a lot of the other special Forces. Very fast, a
lot of actions.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
It's like the train, sir, It's like there's a train
going on.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
You jump in the train and for all the years
you want the special Forces, the train go fast, and
once you get out, you are dumb.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
You're over.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah, that's hard. That's hard to get adjusted to.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yay, and and you're forgot people forget it. Just you're
just number.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
I was going to ask you that I've had other
special Forces from Britain, from Australia, and they tell me
they don't have they don't see that support that America
gives their special forces or their military. Does France do
the same or they don't do very much of that either.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
No, they don't do much either.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
And it needs to change because right now I'm having
really hard time even though like all my medical treatment
pay myself. I don't have any help, you know, really,
so I spent about two hundred bucks a month to
treat myself, but I pay with my money, I pocket money.
(40:13):
So it's really tough sometimes but I can't give up
because of my family. So I always tell myself, this
is my struggle. I will struggle until I day, I think,
because I don't think you can.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
Cure the things, but you can. You can control it
in a different ways, you know. So right now when
I have my when the stuff come up, you know,
my my sleeping.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
Or I'm really nervous or I'm really I feel really
stressed or unsecured, I try to handle myself in my
in my way, and it started to pay us.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
But I wish the military would pay me my my treatment, leg.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
My my.
Speaker 3 (41:05):
My doctor, all the things. But they don't.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (41:10):
Left the military, it was over.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
They don't pay you anything at all after anything, after
you're done. They don't pay your retirement nothing.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
I don't know. I have my return.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
I got your retirement.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Okay, yeah, but but but like I tried to get
there is a.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Some association in France where the fight for your right
to get some money from what you get damaged from.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Yeah, and I apply for that things.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
But because I was in Madagascar at the time that
the letter comes to Managaustar, it takes six months. So
basically they tell you if you don't answer after one month,
we just delayed everything. So that's how how might happened.
I received all the letters like six months or eight
months after that, especially with it, and and I have
(42:04):
nothing from the military, rhythm, nothing, just just my pension.
So I pay all my bill with my medical bill,
with my pension.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
And that's tough news. That's tough news. Hopefully that will change.
And for the other soldiers, I.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Hope, I hope we're gonna change.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
And we need to change this because these guys give
their on trend life for the nation and for to
protect everybody. And I don't go into politics. I don't
go through the politics. What the politician does, it's not
my business. But we just need to respect those soldiers.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
Absolutely, You're right, they're they're giving a lot up and
they should have given a lot back. I mean, I
complain about this there too. Well. I definitely admire and
respect you for sharing what you just shared and for
your service as well. Even though I'm not French, I
thank you for your service, for doing what you were doing.
You will come, sir, because I know we do have
(43:00):
common enemies, so we have to be united on those.
Let me ask you this. Any funny stories during your time.
I always hear something funny going on, and there's always
somebody who does some kind of joke or prank sometime along.
Special Forces, you guys seem to be.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
I have a funny drug.
Speaker 4 (43:21):
So you know, all the all the Special Forces guys
with the good mission, we tried to be in a
good ship, like go in a gym every day. Our
goal is to go back home feet like strong, you
know what I mean. So in the team we have,
I wasn't in that team, but it's another team.
Speaker 3 (43:43):
So their officer he take prutty.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
You know.
Speaker 3 (43:49):
So for six months, the guy is puttin into chocolate.
He's thinking his checker. He said, this person is weird,
but it's it's really good. So he's taking both. Well,
I was a trucking chocolate. He was drinking chocolate. Six
(44:15):
was getting fun.
Speaker 4 (44:17):
He can't get in shape, and it's like, motherfucker, what's
going on? And after four months he realized that you
have been drinking chocolate.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
He was pissed off. Like this the kind of things
that Special for the guys does, right, Oh man, that's bad.
Speaker 4 (44:37):
An another story. We you know, we drove those four
by four our vehicle.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
For our training in France.
Speaker 4 (44:46):
So we had three vehicles driving in the highway and
I was driving one of the vehicles.
Speaker 3 (44:54):
No, no, no, I was not driving. I was a
pat passenger. Our vehicle have radio, have satellites, we have.
Speaker 4 (45:03):
We have speakers, the car car can speaks near you everything.
So we were driving on the highway and there is
a guy driving his girlfriend, beautiful blonde girl, and the
guys start to look at me, and I was looking
at her, his girlfriend, because she was beautiful, you know, but.
Speaker 3 (45:18):
I didn't do anything wrong. Just watching it. I told
my friend, oh, she's really pretty, and he's like, fuck you.
He's doing that to me, like what girl is doing.
And he started to dread next to us and getting nervous.
And you were driving three vehicle separated, and.
Speaker 4 (45:35):
I'm like, let's give him a lesson, guys, because this
guy think he's fucking top.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
So I started to run the serenge, you know.
Speaker 4 (45:47):
The guy started to freak up because he's like these
guys are cops or something like that. So I told
him follow us. So he followed us, and the three
vehicle was one was in front, one was behind, and
the third one was the left so you couldn't run away.
And I told one of my teammates, I said, let's
(46:09):
take this card to what you want to bring them.
It's like our training today, and let's give him a listen.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
So we stopped in the middle of nowhere and there's
a school not far from me, right, and I get
up from the car and like, good morning, sir, and.
Speaker 4 (46:24):
They got like, oh, good morning, officer. I said, I'm officer.
I said, oh, good door, good morning.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
From down because from dark is like a national guard,
Like I'm not darn. He's like, good morning you were whoever?
Are you?
Speaker 4 (46:45):
Just the kind of guy that you should never mess with.
And I was dressed up like simplon closed.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
I have a big jacket and.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I had my can, my MP and I get off
my m for just in the front of the guy right,
so he was looking at me.
Speaker 3 (46:59):
He was freaking up.
Speaker 4 (47:01):
And all my friends on the radio said, my mom,
stop that ship man. You cannot have trouble with the poli.
I said, no, worry about it. I'm gonna take care
of it. I'm the boss, but I'm gonna take her
of it.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
So I told the guy, said, why you were you
were so rude with us. I didn't do anything. I said,
your girlfriend is beautiful, look at her, and you are
doing stupid things and you think you're tough. Oh, I'm sorry,
it's mystery. I'm sorry, officer, right.
Speaker 4 (47:24):
I just my my driving lessons is almost over. I
have only two points left because in France you can
lose your points if you drive too fast or you
you you cross a line, red line, you know. Oh yeahah,
So he was scared shitless because on his driving lessons
you don't have enough points anymore. I'm like, I'm not
(47:45):
gonna take your points. But I said, you are lucky.
Your girlfriend is beautiful. So I let you go today,
but next time be careful because you're fucking shoot your car.
And one of my friends on the radio on the
speakers like more and let's leave.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
They just leaving them. Okay, you're gonna live. You're lucky.
My friend's lucky. Look calling me, so we lift.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
It's crazy, this is crazy.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
I think this guy was never again.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
No, I don't think he will. By the way, folks,
we're talking again to French retired French sa s Charles Ramon.
You can find out on Instagram at Rodman jar head
it's r O D J R O D m A
n jar head j A r H e A D.
You can also find out his other two Instagram accounts.
Vote Vooki Bay which is v O k y Underscore
(48:40):
b E, and then you can go to Cafe Dot Bar, Colorado.
It's got a lot of counts but really cool stuff. Charles.
I know, we got a couple of minutes left, and
I just wanted to thank you again so much for
taking the time out. Any movies that motivated you to
get into the military, or any move means that you
(49:00):
think today that you like. Every time I ask the
Green Berets, they always say Green Beret with John Wayne,
or they'll say Rambo. Anything for you, Oh that was that?
Speaker 3 (49:14):
And Schwartz Snigger the Terminator. I'm a big fun of
Schutz Snigger and and and Sotis tell them it was kid.
Speaker 4 (49:22):
So it's like our they weren't glad, but because they
were fighting a bunch of die it's just sitting crazy,
you know. So everybody loves loves Rumbo and uh and
the Shrutz Nigger.
Speaker 2 (49:36):
Let me tell you about this in the last couple
of minutes. Tell us a little bit about what is
Vuki Bay tour operators.
Speaker 4 (49:43):
Okay, so booky Bay means you are beautiful. Vookie is
belly belliful. Oh okay, yeah, and Bay's a lot so
you are very beliful. You know, it's a really easy
word for everybody around the world that we picked that
name because everybody can say Bookibe. You know, either you
are Japanese, Chinese, French, everybody just the accent changed. But
(50:08):
it's a really easy word. And what I'm doing here,
I try to give people the best of my tongue.
I'm living in a small tongue or Calledfordia, and in
the area of five.
Speaker 3 (50:23):
We have legs, we have ocean.
Speaker 4 (50:25):
You can serve here, best surf spot, you have montage,
you have legs, have river, we have waterfall.
Speaker 3 (50:33):
You can't do quads here. You can do buggies, you
can do uh kayaks, pado surf, you can do some parading,
you know.
Speaker 2 (50:48):
Oh wow, I can do a lot. Yeah you can.
Speaker 3 (50:51):
You can do a lot of things here. And this
town is very beautiful. I call it the Malas California.
It's like California, but better the for you.
Speaker 4 (51:01):
So I just start my tour and Cobbins Cam so
we just stopped working for two years, but I hope
it's gonna start soon.
Speaker 3 (51:12):
So my tour can give you can make you visit Madagasta,
especially in.
Speaker 4 (51:18):
My area, with a special forced guy who can make
sure that you're gonna be safe everywhere you go. Okay,
So I plan the tree for the people from the
capital to my town and I take care of everything.
So people just pay me up front and they have
all their holidays taking care of so people can work
(51:40):
out in the morning with me if they want to.
Speaker 3 (51:43):
Sometimes people come and learn how to shoot, you know,
and I just teach people how too maney plate gun.
Sometimes people that. Yeah, and people come they do cost
fit at me in the morning, and some people just.
Speaker 4 (51:58):
Hand out go serve with me, visiting, going doing quads, bikes, motorbikes,
you know. So if you want to visit Madagasta and
especially in my tone, head ucab dot com and you're
gonna have Rudman Drahead taking all.
Speaker 2 (52:13):
Around bookabay dot com. Folks. Again, it's v o k
y underscore b. You can also see that channel on YouTube,
like I was mentioning earlier, you can see how beautiful
it is. Really cool stuff. Do you do any CQB
training over there now.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
No, I abtoually. I go overseas for my training. I
still go training overseas.
Speaker 4 (52:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
So if you take on my Instagram, I used to
work with some folks to go.
Speaker 4 (52:38):
Before, but we with the COVID, we stop working together
and they're doing their business and.
Speaker 3 (52:44):
I'm starting something else.
Speaker 2 (52:46):
Yeah, I got it.
Speaker 4 (52:47):
And right now I'm just waiting for the border to
be open because Madagasta is still posed.
Speaker 2 (52:54):
COVID. It's a whole big different mess. Ask you one
more question. In the US, we have, you know, the
green Berets, and then you have the Delta that comes
out of the Green Berets. Do you have anything similar
in France like Delta Yeah?
Speaker 3 (53:06):
Yeah, so my unit is like Delta Force. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (53:08):
Oh your unit was like Delta Force.
Speaker 4 (53:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (53:11):
So you have the Covenant of the Greenberry and then
we have the my unit.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
What's it called? Can we can we know that or now?
Speaker 3 (53:20):
So it's called first R P R M A but
the it's called French s A S.
Speaker 4 (53:29):
It's not it doesn't stand from UH Special Earth Service,
but it's stemmed from UH stick Option Special.
Speaker 2 (53:39):
Stick Action Special.
Speaker 3 (53:41):
Yeah. Interesting, So that means a group of people who
do special things.
Speaker 2 (53:48):
Stick action special. Wow, that's fascinating. I never even heard
of that.
Speaker 4 (53:51):
Is it? Is it?
Speaker 2 (53:52):
Is that how it's translated into English? Or is that
how it's actually called, or.
Speaker 3 (53:56):
That's what it's called in French? But yeah, I think
in English itselmost something.
Speaker 2 (54:00):
Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't sound as it was created from.
Speaker 4 (54:03):
My need was credit from the British Essays back in
nineteen forty forty four.
Speaker 2 (54:09):
Yeah, that's where I got the funny feeling when I
saw the Says things. I know, I learned that from
the Australians. They got theirs as well from there.
Speaker 3 (54:17):
Yeah, so we had to get the seventh grade color.
Speaker 2 (54:21):
Well, Charles, I could keep you here all night, but
I know it's about nine o'clock over there, nine fifteen.
It's already late. He's about ten hours ahead of me, folks,
So I'm going to let him call it at night.
But I would love to bring it back and continue
our conversation, maybe when we have more time and we
can continue to talk about stories and more about Madagascar.
(54:43):
I also think it might be kind of fun. I
don't know if you're willing to do it, and I'll
ask you. I'll keep it a surprise for my listeners.
But thank you so much, Charles again for doing this.
I truly appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (54:55):
Thank you very much for having me.
Speaker 4 (54:57):
And I thought my English was an off clear and
and and uh and good for you guys, and uh
we we we love America, you know, one of my
favorite country. My kids, my kids are American. I'm the
only friends in the house. So just just keep this
(55:18):
fights and in one end up tomorrow, you know. So
just we need just to respect of our soldiers, give
more more credit to the soldiers, all the soldiers, not
only special for the guy. Everybody working for the government,
everybody trying to help, you know, from from medics to
soldiers to policemen, everybody. I just want to thank to
(55:43):
everybody and keep it up because we're still fighting bad,
bad things all day long.
Speaker 2 (55:52):
The same thing to you. I wanted to say thank
you as well for your service over there. Again, we're
all fighting that common enemy. No matter if you're from
France or Italy, you're Sweden, doesn't really matter. Thank you
so much, Charles. Thank you everyone for listening. Make sure
to share, subscribe, and hit that like button. Go check
out Rodman jar Head on Instagram. Also check out.
Speaker 3 (56:10):
Who who Kee.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
He says it was easy for everybody, Vooki Bae, Vooki Baye,
v O k Y, Underscore ve E and Cafe Dot Bar, Colorado.
Thanks for listening, everybody,
Welcome to Stories of Special Forces Operators Podcast. Listen to
some of the bravest and toughest people on the planet
share their stories. Sit back and enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome back everyone. Today we have a special guest, a
retired French sas Special Forces. I'm really excited about this
to learn more about how they operated. So this is
exciting today with us is Charles Ramone. Now he has
two companies he works for right now. He actually owns
one of is Vooky Bay Tour Operators over in Madagascar.
(00:47):
It's really cool. You can check it out on YouTube.
It's Voky Bee. Check it out on YouTube's with some
great videos. It's a beautiful place. Actually, it's a beautiful
I never really looked at Madagascar before. He also runs
the Bar Colorado Bar Cafe. It looks really cool. You
can see it on his Instagram at Rodman jar Head
r O d M A. N. Jar Head. You can
(01:09):
find out more about him there. You can see the
pictures of the bar. Actually, the pictures of the bar
are going to be at his Instagram page, which is
let me get you that for you and the instagram
handles Cafe dot Bar Colorado, Cafe dot Bar Colorado so
you can check it out there, and it's really a
cool place. I wish I was close enough. I'd stop
(01:31):
by myself, but we're a little bit far away right now.
So before we get started, make sure to share, subscribe,
hit that like button. Let's get started and find out
what the special Forces are like in France. The first
let's learn about Charles Ramo and welcome, Charles.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Welcome. Thank you very much to have me tonight.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thank you very much for being here. I truly appreciate it, Charles.
I always ask every special forces from whatever country. We've interviewed,
special forces from Alia, from the UK, a lot from America.
That's where I'm at easier. Let me ask you this,
what motivated you to get into special Forces.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
It's a long story, I think if you have to
spend all the time all night to.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Explain about that. But first of all, I want to
tell you.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Guys that English is not my mother tongue, so I
may have some some issue explaining stuff in English.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I will try my best.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, no problem.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
So why I joined the French Special Forces.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
It's just experience, you know, being in a mission in
Africa and seeing those big guys landing on a helicopter,
dressed up like like like contractors, you know, with the
weird glasses, with a with a big muscle.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
You're like, this is the ship, this is the good
work to do.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
So yeah, that's how I I I started to be
interested in special Force.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, any of you were any in your family military?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Oh yeah, I had my grandpa who used to being
a military.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
My my my great grandfather died in a in a
First World War, my great great grandfather. And I have
an uncle who was pilot, you know, jet pilot and
a mechanic. He started by mechanic and becoming jet pilot
in France. And I have some cousins in the military.
(03:31):
So for me just you know, actually I didn't I
didn't plan to be soldier at the at the beginning,
but my my, my childhood was trained to become a soldier.
That's when my my my my parents raised me, not
being a soldier, but being like living like a normal life,
(03:54):
a tough life. My dad teach us everything about about life,
like how to.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Live in in every kind of situation.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
So, you know, being the military for me was just
the end of my training was interesting.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
So they trained you like you lived a kind of
like a really disciplined life in your childhood.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Then yeah, yeah, my dad was very, very disciplined person.
He was handicapped guy, raising six kids. But his life
was very strict. You know, I've never seen my dad drunk, never, never,
So his life is like he needed to be strayed
(04:36):
on everything saying and he kept his words.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
When he said something, he do it. So that's how
I was raised up.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
And uh, life in Madagascar back back then was really
hard because it was under the communist regime, which is
very different from other country communist country. But also oh
it's a it's a very disciplined life.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Okay, now let me ask you this. So you grew
up in Madagascar or halftime inc.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I grew up in Madagascar.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
I grew up in Madagascar and see them twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And then you when you were able to get how
did you get into the French special Forces that you
were able to do that without being a French citizen?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Then yeah, yeah, my mom is French, so yeah, I'm
French there. Yeah, okay, my mother is.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
A part of these French who came in Madagascar and
never left, you know, my family.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
So I grew up really as a malagast person.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
I speak fluent the dialects and languages here, but I
had also my my French culture during my my chilehood.
So when I end up in France, I was a
little bit shocked about the the community.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Where I lived, but I dubbed myself really quick.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, well, France is different all over the place, right,
I'm not sure how how many places you went to France?
Did you ever go to Paris?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Of course? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, how'd you like?
Speaker 4 (06:16):
That is the place where you you land when you
come back from mission.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So most of the time I went to the Paris.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Oh interesting, let's start. Let's start off there when you
went Now you spent straight to the French military or
did you actually go to Madagascar military? Which one did
you start? Or do you even do any kind of
military and Madagascar or none at all?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
No?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
No, no, didn't do anything military in Madagascar. I just
start by being in the Foreign Legion. So I started
my career in the Foreign Legion and I didn't spend
a lot of time there because after my boot camp,
I have to to stop my contract for family's issue.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
I have my brother he was in Comma, So the
Foreign Legion do not give.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
You opportunity to visit your family before you get your
real h.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Pipper dumb done properly.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
So they refuse me to to to see my brother,
so I just break my contract.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Well sure didn't make them very happy, but I can
understand why you did that, that's for sure. Yeah, it's
very important. Let me ask you. Let me ask you this, Charles.
Then tell us a little bit about I know you
can't share everything about Special Forces training. We know that's
usual to keep it secret. I know I've talked to
green Berets down here and it's the same thing. But
(07:37):
tell us a little bit about anything that. Did you
find it difficult? How about that? Did you find it
difficult and challenging? The training for Special Forces?
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Okay, so you know the Special Force training.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Out of the selection, the selection is real rough, you know,
because they need to splitch people, like to separate those
who want to do something and those who don't want
to get hurt at all. Right, so you have different
tests and.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Different way to do that.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
But then once you join the Special Forces, you have
a training really hard but at the same time really technique,
you know, so they will never make you some try
to to give you something to do if you can
do it. So that's something really important to tell kids.
(08:36):
It's not because you're going in a Special Forces you're
gonna date more or they're gonna do something stupid about you.
You know you are you are your future weapon. You
are a future operator that they're gonna use to do
like special missions. So the one you to be in
a good shape and to be very stable. And of
(08:58):
course they need smart people. So basically, when you meet
Special Force gay, ninety percent of time there's a very
smart person, but they really do not know that they're smart.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
That's actually an interesting way I'm saying that because everybody
I've ever interviewed whose Special Forces has been extremely intelligent.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, they have always something different from people like they.
When you are in the team.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
There's always somebody who knows something to do. Let me
tell you something. I have a team. We almost everybody
speaks English. I have a guy who spoke Arah who
speaks Arab speaking Spanish, German, of course, French, Italian.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
I mean when we go somewhere, we don't need translators.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
It's important.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
So it's really important, it's really important.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I don't know, I don't know about how it's said
over there in France or Madagascar, but I know here
when I've talked to Forces, one of the things that
they think is the most one of the most important
parts of any kind of mission is working with the
indigenous people of that area and being able to.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah, so this is one of my my most skills
I think I had when I was in Special Forces,
when I traveled in the country. Because my experience in Madagascar,
I have a huge view hope people, especially people from
(10:34):
uh I don't like to say to use the word
indigenous because it's really really complicated words. I'm really about
my person, but you know, I would call people the
people from the country.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
That's what I use, you know.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
So my advantage is like I have a really easy feeling.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
And talking with the local people.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
And because I was really different from all my teammates.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
There's some people a special meeting Redmond in Emission.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Interesting. Yeah, And I'll get back to that later on
when we talk about some of your whatever. You can
share about some of your missions or stories and see
how that worked for you. But before we get to that,
I wanted to ask you this quick question. Again. I'm
not familiar very much with the French Special Forces. Everybody
in Europe. It seems like everybody in special forces is
usually pretty tight lip. They don't say anything, so it's
(11:33):
really been hard to get people. But yeah, let me
ask you this. Do you think that training the special
forces training also is very important for mindset? That was
one of the things they're looking for people who are
mentally tough. Did you see that kind of training going
on too?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
During the training, they test you all the time, so
you are in a constant test.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And when people can.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Do it, the just qued you know, to a lot
of people quit.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Oh yeah, there's enough quod quiting.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
How how long is the training?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
It's different.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
So the French Special Forces, especially in my unit, have
different ways to get in the special forces. So you
have the civilian part where people from the civilian civilian
life joined the military, so they have a different processes.
And then you have military guys who already in the military,
so they can be from the the army and they
(12:36):
come to do the Special Force test, especially for Army
Special Force because I was in the.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Army Special Force all right. And then you have UH for.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Soldiers, we have the officer UH training and then we
have the en SE training, which is different. So my
training was about one year and a half almost, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
What a year and a half?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Yeah, before you go you operate.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, yeah, so I was I'm just gonna just for
the audience sake, so they know, I'm assuming you're doing
all kinds of different types of training. You're coming out
of helicopters, you're going underwater, You're being exposed to really
cold weather. You're practicing shooting what they call here CQB
close quarter pattles and something. Okay, do a lot of
(13:33):
that stuff.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yes, sir, Where do you so?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
I don't know if you can tell us where, but
you do you have Do you have a special place
did you guys go to Is it a special like
mountain area or anywhere like that or.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
So we are based in the Sulfur Frience. So it's
a very very good place to train because we have
the ocean, we have lakes, we have river, we have
mountains in the small area. So the training was a
wrong on the town and we are lucky because it's
a seitadel, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
So we have a very cool place to work because
every day you go to work, you're getting in a
citadel you know, and actually.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
It was a jail before during the Middle Age, I think, and.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
My unit I have one of the best facilities where
you can train a person without leaving the citadel. You
can do shooting, you can do part shooting, you can
do helicopter, you can do sniping, you can do secub,
you can do close protection training inside the citadel. So
(14:45):
basically we have a lot of training going on inside.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
That's a big citadel.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
You can even blow doors, like we can blow until
forty gram of explosive inside, so all day long you
have boom boom people get there.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
It's that's very cool. I know my family likes to
go to Nice to visit their grandmaw. So yeah, the
south of.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
South Francis I wasn't the complete opposite.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Oh the other side.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Yeah yeah, near Yers.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh you're over there. Okay, got it got very nice.
So okay, so that's an interesting place to train. That's
not a bad place to train, not bad at all.
What did you like the most of the training. Did
you like the helicopter, the CQB explosives. What was your
favorite part?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
My favorite part is uh shooting sec oh shooting, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
definitely Interesting.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Can you now do you remember the very first time
you got deployed for a mission?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
H yeah, that was back in two thousand and two.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
You know, there we were deployed, but I wasn't Special
Force yet. So you want to ask as a special
force guy.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Uh, yeah, what's the first time we got deployed of
special forces? Oh?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
My first diplomat at a special force was in uh
in the Balkans, you know, uh coast, So my un
first one. No, no, no, it's not my favorite, but
I went my first one. That was my first one,
but that was.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
I want to protect the head of the metal issue
a general force starts. So my unit is specialized in
close protection. So we protect our VIPs or politicians or
some some people working for the government when they go
overseas in a war zone.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We have a special union to do that.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
And I was part of it. Interesting, Now, do you
remember the first time you ever got into combat?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
My first you mean my my my gunfight?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Yeah, your first gunfight. I know you were in there. Yeah,
you know.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
The first time I really be in a gun fight,
like being in a war zone was in Afghanistan and uh,
when I went to.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Syria in Afghanistan and Syria.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Yeah, we also we get a lot of diplomat in Africa,
you know, where we do special mission. But sometimes you
do mission, you hear just two gun shots, we got
shot and the job is done.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Oh that's around, that's at the end of it. What
did you think about the very first time you get
into a gun.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
There is a huge there is a huge amount of
time where you prepare a mission and sometimes you don't
need even to to engage people.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
But it's that's that's why you are. You are special for.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
What did you think about the first time you were
in a gunfight? Were you like, this is what I
wanted to do? What am I doing here? What were
you thinking?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, that's what I was saying, what I'm doing here?
Especially where when you do mission where we have zero
super who can come in in a few.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Towns, you are like, what the hell I'm doing here?
Speaker 4 (18:44):
But also you have all your friends around you, so
you were just there because of your friends.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
You don't care about the other things. When you're in
those kind of spot, you are more Yeah, I don't
worry about that. All the politics are not the bullshit.
You don't care about it. And most of the time.
What they're saying on the TV is just a fluid.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, that's in every country. Yeah, yeah, TV is a
bunch of nonsense. I don't know in regards to your
to your missions, did you have air support as well
sometimes or was it just yeah or you did have
air support?
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Yeah, yeah, we had a lot of air support.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
So basically the Special Force when you when you want
to do mission, you have preparation and then like some countries,
you have the they have a code for the mission.
So I don't want to say the code. I'll just
tell you example today you're gonna say D G one
(19:43):
or D T one, D D two, d D three,
So it's one.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
If it's one, you have no no, no percent of
gun fight. You know, when you start to have two,
it's like we're sure we're gonna have a gunfight on
the ground.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Ah.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
And when you have to be example, that's a that's
kind of example in the mission. Uh there is a
specific word for that, but I want I won't say that.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
So basically, some people spend all the life in Special
Forces and don't have one gun fight even once.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Really, yes, sir, so are you I don't know how
familiar how familiar you are with US Special Forces. But
you know, like for instance, we talked earlier about Delta.
Delta always gets in the gunfights.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
I mean we we we have people getting a gunfight.
You have gunfights, but it's not what people think about
the gunfight.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Most of the time. When you have a huge gun fight,
that means something went wrong, you know.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
So basically, when you're gonna you're going to clean the house,
you're gonna have a gun fight. But it's it's like more,
it's like being in a in a situation where you
have how we how we call this, You have doctors
and you have a surgery, and doctors and surgeon don't
(21:16):
work the same way. So especially first guys're gonna do
a job. You don't even need to shoot. Sometimes sometimes
there is only one person's gonna shoot in the team
and the job is done. Or if something goes wrong,
you have a hundred people coming up and you have
a huge gun fight. But I'm telling you something with
my experience, it's good to be in a gunfight.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
It's it's a lot of adournally, but you don't want
to be in a gunfight all the long.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Reminds me I don't. I'm sure you've heard a black
Hawk down in the Battle of Mogadishu.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Yeah, these things. Can you see that this kind of
mission you can turn really easy, like the guy in
the the.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Marcus Latural guy with his team, you know, the navicial guy.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Yeah yeah, so you when you see that this mission.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
If I was in that mission, I would I would
shoot the kid, the the the the the the the
young guy who hurt the goods because I've read the
book about anti mac now and now had the same problem.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
And they didn't shoot the person.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
So I understand why why largely didn't shoot the kid
because you have maybe kids, you have a nephew, and
it's really important to be to follow your your instincts,
you know. But I think I want I won't let
them go. I will shoot them and bury them and
then yeah, that's probably what we'll do.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I'm not rety that this that right.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
I'm not saying they're doing anything wrong, all right, But
that day the team leader thought that was the good
way is just to let these people believe in and
then they just faced the consequences.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I actually interviewed Andy mcnaw that's that's interesting that you
mentioned him.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, that's a tough situation, man. Yeah, but that's the thing, right, Charles,
That's the thing. The thing unique about special Forces is
that you guys have to think quickly. You have to
solve problems fast.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Really quick, really quick.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
So so sometimes we are doing today we are in
a mission hunting bad guys, and tomorrow night we are
in an embassy doing those potations.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
So your brain, your brain need to switch.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
From being in an operator in a helicopter landing on
in the middle of nowhere and being in a uh
in a suit getting a lady from from a place
to another place. And it's funny because people have no
idea who you are.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
What you have been through.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
That's a that's a very interesting point. So you're having
to walk somebody who has no clue who you are
as a Special Forces person. At the same time, you
probably had a gun fight a day before. Man, that's crazy.
You know, it's funny because I remember the I've.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
Never been in a crazy like crazy gunfight. I've been
I've been in a gunfight, but it's more I have
I had the advantage I will Let's let's.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Say that m hm.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Anytime anytime you were.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Really I controlled the good situation, so it was.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Easier anytime you were really in a scary situation where
you thought you weren't sure what was going to happen,
if you're gonna get out.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, I've been three four times in a very bad situation.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Oh really, yes, sir. I don't know if you can
share any one of those or are they just too personal?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Oh I can't share one of those.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
It was.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
I'm not going to talk about the country, but it
was just the morning I was doing my qurefe time
because we have we are split in two teams, so
one of the team went in mission and I was
the quick correction forces for the team in mission. So
my team, my teammate was was engaged by a tactical
(25:37):
in the house okay, and three of the three guys
were down, not killed, but they were really bad injury.
The vehicle was completely the door was opened away, you know,
was crazy.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
It was crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
The door was blown off or something.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Yeah, because the guard shooting the door and nobody nobody
was in the car. And so I got a phone call.
Was I was in the gym, you know, pumping irons.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
And I got a phone call like you need to
go right now because you have you have a serious
situation going on.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
So I went in the in the position and with
my teammates, so you're like six people. And when I
end up in the in the in the zone, we
prepared the the made the vac and everything.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So the other team was made a vac.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
Of the injured guy and then I get a I
get order I have to come back to the position.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
So it was.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Very difficult because I was with another team, another unit.
The guy didn't want to go.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
I didn't want to go.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
No, no, the guy told me in the ice, he
said it was hot down there, man, we're not going
back there.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
But I get the order to go back there. So
I was like, who want to come? And six people
resident him. We're coming with you, man. So even six
people was not enough because we had to switch cars
and and you need to have more people come in
with us because it's like no man's la. So I
(27:32):
was I was talking with the guy who want to
come with me?
Speaker 4 (27:34):
I said, you guys should were gonna go back there,
and they're like, hey, let's go back there. We didn't
want to let that the position get took it talk
him by by bad guys.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
So I was staying there trying to figure out how
I'm gonna do it, and three vehicle show up, three vehicle.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Toyota. I saw six. Guy came in out, Hey, what's
up man? You know speaking British? There was twenty two
sizes guy. They're like, oh, I heard the.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
We heard the news on the on the radio when
we came here to help you guys, So what is
the plane? So that was the team leader who's talking
to me, but he didn't tell me it was the
team leader. Okay, And I really I really appreciated bridge people.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Were they the.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Twenty two essays? Because very very very very good people. Okay,
really appreciate them. So the guy told me, you you
take the lead, we just follow you. So I took
these guys in my in my position where I need
to go, and it's like a huge valley and the village.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Okay. So I talked to the team leader. I said,
I'm gonna bring my team there. Can you do like
a ah like to support us.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Until we hit the position? So he started to shoot mortar.
And this is the cool thing about Special Force because
we get off from the car. We prepare all the
explosives and he said, do we want to shoot? I said,
I've never shoot mortar ready. He said, just to show you,
he explained to me how to shoot murder. Of course,
(29:21):
I'm not the guy who does the all the setting,
but I just shoot the mortar, which is in the
regular army.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
If you have to do that, we have to go
through a crazy training leg you know what I mean.
And this told me. He said, oh, let's do the
air support with with the mortar. So we start to shoot.
They start to shoot mortar, maybe one hundred and fifty
rounds going, and.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
It grows every They shoot every thirty second, I think because.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
The flying time was enough to do that. So while
they're shooting, I crossed.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
The valley and end up in the house. So now
we we are in the house and they join us
right after maybe one hour, and the first two hours
were we were there, we just tacticals, calm and you
start to have a gunfight with these guys, but we
just clean everything with our support. That was that was,
(30:25):
that was the main thing, because these guys were really smart.
So what they're doing is they they open up a house.
All right, The go inside the open the ceiling, so
the roof don't have there is.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
A hole on the roof.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Okay, yeah, so they shoot.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
From inside the house, so you can't see any ah,
anytime you can see anything. You just heard the first.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
And then we can't to and we know that after
thirty second it's gonna land somewhere in our position. So
these motherfuckers were shooting at us like twenty or forty
mortar and every time we have to go from the
roof and coming down.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Coming down, you know.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
So every time the mortar come, we go down and
we have to go back because you need to see
where the shooting is from. But that day we saw
where it's from, so we dropped. We called b B
fifty two I think that they were or.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Are you called the the F twenty two twenty two? Yeah,
raptor it's a raptor. Yeah, I think we have a
airth supportose a raptor like for.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
All day longmen, and it starts from eleven to the
next day, but it's like ten minutes.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
And so the funny thing about that is I got
another story about that.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
So we spent like one day, like almost one day
and a half in that position, and we did our
job and we came back.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
So it was a nice, nice meeting with the SIS.
The first time I met SI S people. Yeah, and
one of my dream when I read and like, oh,
I was someday.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
I'm gonna see these guys. And I made these guys
in the film. And when we went home, they came back.
The team leader came back and he brought a whiskey.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Single them out with the with the SI sign and everything,
you know, like beautiful whiskey bottle. And you show up
in my in my h Q.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Where did you drink? Sorry, did you drink as well?
Speaker 3 (33:05):
No?
Speaker 4 (33:05):
No, no, they brain the bottle. We don't drink admission,
We don't drink it. No no, no, no, no no
no no, that's what you want to give it as
a gift.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Oh but but but do you drink alcohol? Cause you
said I think you said your dad didn't drink alcohol
or did he drink too? He just never got drunk?
Who me? Yeah you said your dad didn't drink alcohol.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
No no, no, my dad did drink alcohol.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
My dad is not okay, But you do drink alcohol.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Yeah, I drink alcohol like everybody you know. I drink sometime,
but I'm not. I'm not a guy who have a
problem if I don't drink.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Do you like the whiskey? Oh?
Speaker 4 (33:40):
So my story with the whiskey was like, the guys
show up, the tim leaders show up with the six
whiskey and my officer that they said, oh, this is
a good gift for for you the unit, so you
can bring it back to the unit and give it
to the to the head of the unit.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
I'm like and she's like, sorry, this is not for you,
this is for Remond.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
Who were the guy we went to mission and everybody's like,
what's going on? And he's like, I want to see
the team leader who come with me last time.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
So I went. I came out and talked to him like,
hey man, his name was George. Hey George. And he's like,
hey everyone, I had I had a good time with
you guys. I'm very happy I work with the French
Special fortune. We have a gift for you. So he
gave me the photo. I still have it still. Yeah, yeah,
(34:34):
don't I don't want to drink?
Speaker 4 (34:35):
Are we drinking? When my one of my kids get
married and have simple that they need to be a
good friend of mine.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Now have you met anybody else? You worked the green
Berets too in cag right.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
Yeah, yeah, so the the Greenberry training we we worked
with them in Afghanistan.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
How was that for you?
Speaker 3 (35:01):
It was great.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
I met great people, good friends. We're still friend until today.
You know, I still talk with these guys. It's almost
about twelve years now. But there is this brotherhood between
the soldiers. Even though we are friends through American We
don't care about how politics role.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
We're just soldiers. We're just school between each other, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
So, and the story about that is one of the
Greenberrys I went to see in America.
Speaker 5 (35:32):
I went in Oregon. So one of the guys was
he was our medic and he when he came back
in America, he.
Speaker 4 (35:43):
Studied to be doctor and he became a doctor and
he ran a hospital near in Oregon.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
I forgot the name of the town, but I did
a right trick with my family and I went to
see him. And he's like, he's like a cool guys.
I have a beer, you know, not very big.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
He looks like Native American, a little bit like or
a little bit like Mexican, you know, mixed. I'm sure
he's have these roots somewhere there. But the funny thing
is everybody there didn't know that he done was a hero.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
He's so simple.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
So you know, that's interesting you mentioned that because I
think that sometimes I have that problem when I bring
on to the show green Berets or Navy seals. I
think they're too humble to share stories. Yeah, they don't
want to share these stories. Sometimes they don't. They feel
like it's, oh, it's not a big deal. It's not
a big deal.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Yeah it's not a big yeah, sure, but it is
a big deal.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I mean my heart, my heart was racing listening to
your story. Oh, I mean, it's amazing what you guys
do compared to what you know. There's a lot of people,
you know this on the internet that think they're tough,
and they type a lot of things and they say
a lot of things, but they haven't done anything.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Yeah. Oh, I think I think that's the part of
the culture.
Speaker 4 (37:05):
I mean, before people like us, people will say we
are Some of my friends think that I'm I'm crazy
sharing my experience.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
But the world turn.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Today, you know, there're more what today.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
I mean I said, some of my friends think that
I'm crazy sharing my experience, sharing experience.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
But it's the same time it allowed me to to
be in peace with myself.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Oh that's interesting, you know because.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
In many missions, I feel like I didn't do the job.
So I feel really really guilty on some situation, you know.
Speaker 4 (37:48):
So I don't talk about people about what I've been
doing and everybody. But sometimes I talk with people and
I tell them, you know, when I talk with my kids,
sometimes the grown up you know, they ask me why
I'm sad, sometimes because I went to I want. I'm
still having my PTSD. I got a PTSD, you know,
(38:10):
and she's really really hard. And my case, I see
somebody every week.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
I talk to somebody every week, somebody from France. I
really appreciate that she's helping me.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
But be able to talk and be able to share
your experience, it's really important for me.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
You don't you don't need to tell all the details
or what do you think about the stuff, But you
can tell stories to people. Don't don't need to like,
just don't like. But what do you what do you
tell people?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
It's a very important message. I think a lot. And
we'll talk more about your transition out of the military,
because I think a lot of soldiers have a hard
time with that. Yeah, it's a very different world. I
mean it sounds like your world is really similar to
a lot of the other special Forces. Very fast, a
lot of actions.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
It's like the train, sir, It's like there's a train
going on.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
You jump in the train and for all the years
you want the special Forces, the train go fast, and
once you get out, you are dumb.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
You're over.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah, that's hard. That's hard to get adjusted to.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yay, and and you're forgot people forget it. Just you're
just number.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
I was going to ask you that I've had other
special Forces from Britain, from Australia, and they tell me
they don't have they don't see that support that America
gives their special forces or their military. Does France do
the same or they don't do very much of that either.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
No, they don't do much either.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
And it needs to change because right now I'm having
really hard time even though like all my medical treatment
pay myself. I don't have any help, you know, really,
so I spent about two hundred bucks a month to
treat myself, but I pay with my money, I pocket money.
(40:13):
So it's really tough sometimes but I can't give up
because of my family. So I always tell myself, this
is my struggle. I will struggle until I day, I think,
because I don't think you can.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
Cure the things, but you can. You can control it
in a different ways, you know. So right now when
I have my when the stuff come up, you know,
my my sleeping.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
Or I'm really nervous or I'm really I feel really
stressed or unsecured, I try to handle myself in my
in my way, and it started to pay us.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
But I wish the military would pay me my my treatment, leg.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
My my.
Speaker 3 (41:05):
My doctor, all the things. But they don't.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (41:10):
Left the military, it was over.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
They don't pay you anything at all after anything, after
you're done. They don't pay your retirement nothing.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
I don't know. I have my return.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
I got your retirement.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Okay, yeah, but but but like I tried to get
there is a.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Some association in France where the fight for your right
to get some money from what you get damaged from.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Yeah, and I apply for that things.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
But because I was in Madagascar at the time that
the letter comes to Managaustar, it takes six months. So
basically they tell you if you don't answer after one month,
we just delayed everything. So that's how how might happened.
I received all the letters like six months or eight
months after that, especially with it, and and I have
(42:04):
nothing from the military, rhythm, nothing, just just my pension.
So I pay all my bill with my medical bill,
with my pension.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
And that's tough news. That's tough news. Hopefully that will change.
And for the other soldiers, I.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Hope, I hope we're gonna change.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
And we need to change this because these guys give
their on trend life for the nation and for to
protect everybody. And I don't go into politics. I don't
go through the politics. What the politician does, it's not
my business. But we just need to respect those soldiers.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
Absolutely, You're right, they're they're giving a lot up and
they should have given a lot back. I mean, I
complain about this there too. Well. I definitely admire and
respect you for sharing what you just shared and for
your service as well. Even though I'm not French, I
thank you for your service, for doing what you were doing.
You will come, sir, because I know we do have
(43:00):
common enemies, so we have to be united on those.
Let me ask you this. Any funny stories during your time.
I always hear something funny going on, and there's always
somebody who does some kind of joke or prank sometime along.
Special Forces, you guys seem to be.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
I have a funny drug.
Speaker 4 (43:21):
So you know, all the all the Special Forces guys
with the good mission, we tried to be in a
good ship, like go in a gym every day. Our
goal is to go back home feet like strong, you
know what I mean. So in the team we have,
I wasn't in that team, but it's another team.
Speaker 3 (43:43):
So their officer he take prutty.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
You know.
Speaker 3 (43:49):
So for six months, the guy is puttin into chocolate.
He's thinking his checker. He said, this person is weird,
but it's it's really good. So he's taking both. Well,
I was a trucking chocolate. He was drinking chocolate. Six
(44:15):
was getting fun.
Speaker 4 (44:17):
He can't get in shape, and it's like, motherfucker, what's
going on? And after four months he realized that you
have been drinking chocolate.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
He was pissed off. Like this the kind of things
that Special for the guys does, right, Oh man, that's bad.
Speaker 4 (44:37):
An another story. We you know, we drove those four
by four our vehicle.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
For our training in France.
Speaker 4 (44:46):
So we had three vehicles driving in the highway and
I was driving one of the vehicles.
Speaker 3 (44:54):
No, no, no, I was not driving. I was a
pat passenger. Our vehicle have radio, have satellites, we have.
Speaker 4 (45:03):
We have speakers, the car car can speaks near you everything.
So we were driving on the highway and there is
a guy driving his girlfriend, beautiful blonde girl, and the
guys start to look at me, and I was looking
at her, his girlfriend, because she was beautiful, you know, but.
Speaker 3 (45:18):
I didn't do anything wrong. Just watching it. I told
my friend, oh, she's really pretty, and he's like, fuck you.
He's doing that to me, like what girl is doing.
And he started to dread next to us and getting nervous.
And you were driving three vehicle separated, and.
Speaker 4 (45:35):
I'm like, let's give him a lesson, guys, because this
guy think he's fucking top.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
So I started to run the serenge, you know.
Speaker 4 (45:47):
The guy started to freak up because he's like these
guys are cops or something like that. So I told
him follow us. So he followed us, and the three
vehicle was one was in front, one was behind, and
the third one was the left so you couldn't run away.
And I told one of my teammates, I said, let's
(46:09):
take this card to what you want to bring them.
It's like our training today, and let's give him a listen.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
So we stopped in the middle of nowhere and there's
a school not far from me, right, and I get
up from the car and like, good morning, sir, and.
Speaker 4 (46:24):
They got like, oh, good morning, officer. I said, I'm officer.
I said, oh, good door, good morning.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
From down because from dark is like a national guard,
Like I'm not darn. He's like, good morning you were whoever?
Are you?
Speaker 4 (46:45):
Just the kind of guy that you should never mess with.
And I was dressed up like simplon closed.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
I have a big jacket and.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I had my can, my MP and I get off
my m for just in the front of the guy right,
so he was looking at me.
Speaker 3 (46:59):
He was freaking up.
Speaker 4 (47:01):
And all my friends on the radio said, my mom,
stop that ship man. You cannot have trouble with the poli.
I said, no, worry about it. I'm gonna take care
of it. I'm the boss, but I'm gonna take her
of it.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
So I told the guy, said, why you were you
were so rude with us. I didn't do anything. I said,
your girlfriend is beautiful, look at her, and you are
doing stupid things and you think you're tough. Oh, I'm sorry,
it's mystery. I'm sorry, officer, right.
Speaker 4 (47:24):
I just my my driving lessons is almost over. I
have only two points left because in France you can
lose your points if you drive too fast or you
you you cross a line, red line, you know. Oh yeahah,
So he was scared shitless because on his driving lessons
you don't have enough points anymore. I'm like, I'm not
(47:45):
gonna take your points. But I said, you are lucky.
Your girlfriend is beautiful. So I let you go today,
but next time be careful because you're fucking shoot your car.
And one of my friends on the radio on the
speakers like more and let's leave.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
They just leaving them. Okay, you're gonna live. You're lucky.
My friend's lucky. Look calling me, so we lift.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
It's crazy, this is crazy.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
I think this guy was never again.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
No, I don't think he will. By the way, folks,
we're talking again to French retired French sa s Charles Ramon.
You can find out on Instagram at Rodman jar head
it's r O D J R O D m A
n jar head j A r H e A D.
You can also find out his other two Instagram accounts.
Vote Vooki Bay which is v O k y Underscore
(48:40):
b E, and then you can go to Cafe Dot Bar, Colorado.
It's got a lot of counts but really cool stuff. Charles.
I know, we got a couple of minutes left, and
I just wanted to thank you again so much for
taking the time out. Any movies that motivated you to
get into the military, or any move means that you
(49:00):
think today that you like. Every time I ask the
Green Berets, they always say Green Beret with John Wayne,
or they'll say Rambo. Anything for you, Oh that was that?
Speaker 3 (49:14):
And Schwartz Snigger the Terminator. I'm a big fun of
Schutz Snigger and and and Sotis tell them it was kid.
Speaker 4 (49:22):
So it's like our they weren't glad, but because they
were fighting a bunch of die it's just sitting crazy,
you know. So everybody loves loves Rumbo and uh and
the Shrutz Nigger.
Speaker 2 (49:36):
Let me tell you about this in the last couple
of minutes. Tell us a little bit about what is
Vuki Bay tour operators.
Speaker 4 (49:43):
Okay, so booky Bay means you are beautiful. Vookie is
belly belliful. Oh okay, yeah, and Bay's a lot so
you are very beliful. You know, it's a really easy
word for everybody around the world that we picked that
name because everybody can say Bookibe. You know, either you
are Japanese, Chinese, French, everybody just the accent changed. But
(50:08):
it's a really easy word. And what I'm doing here,
I try to give people the best of my tongue.
I'm living in a small tongue or Calledfordia, and in
the area of five.
Speaker 3 (50:23):
We have legs, we have ocean.
Speaker 4 (50:25):
You can serve here, best surf spot, you have montage,
you have legs, have river, we have waterfall.
Speaker 3 (50:33):
You can't do quads here. You can do buggies, you
can do uh kayaks, pado surf, you can do some parading,
you know.
Speaker 2 (50:48):
Oh wow, I can do a lot. Yeah you can.
Speaker 3 (50:51):
You can do a lot of things here. And this
town is very beautiful. I call it the Malas California.
It's like California, but better the for you.
Speaker 4 (51:01):
So I just start my tour and Cobbins Cam so
we just stopped working for two years, but I hope
it's gonna start soon.
Speaker 3 (51:12):
So my tour can give you can make you visit Madagasta,
especially in.
Speaker 4 (51:18):
My area, with a special forced guy who can make
sure that you're gonna be safe everywhere you go. Okay,
So I plan the tree for the people from the
capital to my town and I take care of everything.
So people just pay me up front and they have
all their holidays taking care of so people can work
(51:40):
out in the morning with me if they want to.
Speaker 3 (51:43):
Sometimes people come and learn how to shoot, you know,
and I just teach people how too maney plate gun.
Sometimes people that. Yeah, and people come they do cost
fit at me in the morning, and some people just.
Speaker 4 (51:58):
Hand out go serve with me, visiting, going doing quads, bikes, motorbikes,
you know. So if you want to visit Madagasta and
especially in my tone, head ucab dot com and you're
gonna have Rudman Drahead taking all.
Speaker 2 (52:13):
Around bookabay dot com. Folks. Again, it's v o k
y underscore b. You can also see that channel on YouTube,
like I was mentioning earlier, you can see how beautiful
it is. Really cool stuff. Do you do any CQB
training over there now.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
No, I abtoually. I go overseas for my training. I
still go training overseas.
Speaker 4 (52:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
So if you take on my Instagram, I used to
work with some folks to go.
Speaker 4 (52:38):
Before, but we with the COVID, we stop working together
and they're doing their business and.
Speaker 3 (52:44):
I'm starting something else.
Speaker 2 (52:46):
Yeah, I got it.
Speaker 4 (52:47):
And right now I'm just waiting for the border to
be open because Madagasta is still posed.
Speaker 2 (52:54):
COVID. It's a whole big different mess. Ask you one
more question. In the US, we have, you know, the
green Berets, and then you have the Delta that comes
out of the Green Berets. Do you have anything similar
in France like Delta Yeah?
Speaker 3 (53:06):
Yeah, so my unit is like Delta Force. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (53:08):
Oh your unit was like Delta Force.
Speaker 4 (53:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (53:11):
So you have the Covenant of the Greenberry and then
we have the my unit.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
What's it called? Can we can we know that or now?
Speaker 3 (53:20):
So it's called first R P R M A but
the it's called French s A S.
Speaker 4 (53:29):
It's not it doesn't stand from UH Special Earth Service,
but it's stemmed from UH stick Option Special.
Speaker 2 (53:39):
Stick Action Special.
Speaker 3 (53:41):
Yeah. Interesting, So that means a group of people who
do special things.
Speaker 2 (53:48):
Stick action special. Wow, that's fascinating. I never even heard
of that.
Speaker 4 (53:51):
Is it? Is it?
Speaker 2 (53:52):
Is that how it's translated into English? Or is that
how it's actually called, or.
Speaker 3 (53:56):
That's what it's called in French? But yeah, I think
in English itselmost something.
Speaker 2 (54:00):
Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't sound as it was created from.
Speaker 4 (54:03):
My need was credit from the British Essays back in
nineteen forty forty four.
Speaker 2 (54:09):
Yeah, that's where I got the funny feeling when I
saw the Says things. I know, I learned that from
the Australians. They got theirs as well from there.
Speaker 3 (54:17):
Yeah, so we had to get the seventh grade color.
Speaker 2 (54:21):
Well, Charles, I could keep you here all night, but
I know it's about nine o'clock over there, nine fifteen.
It's already late. He's about ten hours ahead of me, folks,
So I'm going to let him call it at night.
But I would love to bring it back and continue
our conversation, maybe when we have more time and we
can continue to talk about stories and more about Madagascar.
(54:43):
I also think it might be kind of fun. I
don't know if you're willing to do it, and I'll
ask you. I'll keep it a surprise for my listeners.
But thank you so much, Charles again for doing this.
I truly appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (54:55):
Thank you very much for having me.
Speaker 4 (54:57):
And I thought my English was an off clear and
and and uh and good for you guys, and uh
we we we love America, you know, one of my
favorite country. My kids, my kids are American. I'm the
only friends in the house. So just just keep this
(55:18):
fights and in one end up tomorrow, you know. So
just we need just to respect of our soldiers, give
more more credit to the soldiers, all the soldiers, not
only special for the guy. Everybody working for the government,
everybody trying to help, you know, from from medics to
soldiers to policemen, everybody. I just want to thank to
(55:43):
everybody and keep it up because we're still fighting bad,
bad things all day long.
Speaker 2 (55:52):
The same thing to you. I wanted to say thank
you as well for your service over there. Again, we're
all fighting that common enemy. No matter if you're from
France or Italy, you're Sweden, doesn't really matter. Thank you
so much, Charles. Thank you everyone for listening. Make sure
to share, subscribe, and hit that like button. Go check
out Rodman jar Head on Instagram. Also check out.
Speaker 3 (56:10):
Who who Kee.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
He says it was easy for everybody, Vooki Bae, Vooki Baye,
v O k Y, Underscore ve E and Cafe Dot Bar, Colorado.
Thanks for listening, everybody,
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