November 4, 2025 • 31 mins
The podcast episode presents an enlightening discourse between hosts Aaron Siebert and Chef JB and their guest, Dr. Hector Reyes, a former Navy corpsman who has navigated the challenging path from military service to medical professionalism. The discussion begins with an overview of the podcast’s mission: to provide veterans a platform to share their experiences, thereby fostering a supportive community. As Dr. Reyes shares his story, listeners are drawn into the narrative of his life, which is marked by both adversity and triumph. He recounts his upbringing in El Paso, Texas, where early encounters with healthcare during his mother’s illness ignited a passion for medicine. This foundational experience ultimately guided him toward enlisting in the Navy, where he served as a corpsman, gaining valuable skills and insights that would serve him well in his future medical career.
The dialogue intricately explores the challenges veterans face when transitioning to civilian life, particularly in the context of pursuing higher education. Dr. Reyes illustrates the rigorous journey through medical school, characterized by repeated setbacks and the persistence required to overcome them. His candid reflections on the difficulties of adapting from military training to academic demands resonate powerfully, highlighting the mental and emotional hurdles that many veterans encounter. Throughout the episode, the theme of camaraderie among veterans emerges as a central pillar of support, reinforcing the idea that shared experiences can foster resilience and motivation in the face of adversity. Dr. Reyes emphasizes the importance of maintaining connections with fellow service members, underscoring how these relationships can provide crucial support during difficult times.
As the conversation progresses, Dr. Reyes shares insights into his current role as an emergency physician, illustrating how his military training has equipped him to handle high-stakes medical situations. The episode culminates in a profound message about determination and the relentless pursuit of one’s goals, advocating for veterans to remain steadfast in their ambitions despite the obstacles they may face. This podcast not only celebrates Dr. Reyes' remarkable achievements but also serves as an inspiring testament to the enduring spirit of veterans striving for success in their post-military lives.
Takeaways:
- The podcast serves as a platform for veterans to share their experiences and challenges, fostering a sense of community and support.
- Dr. Reyes' journey from corpsman to physician exemplifies resilience and determination in overcoming numerous obstacles throughout his life.
- The camaraderie among veterans is crucial for emotional support, particularly during transitions from military to civilian life.
- Challenges faced by veterans during their educational pursuits, particularly in understanding the differences between military and civilian medical practices, are significant.
- The impact of mentorship and guidance from fellow veterans can greatly influence a veteran's path towards achieving their goals.
- Engagement in community activities, such as charity events, strengthens bonds among veterans and enhances their roles in society.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Hey, how's everybody doing?
Hey.
This is Aaron Siebert and Chef jb.
He's my co host on Combat Vet Vision.
This is a place where ourveterans get to come and talk about
their issues, talk about theirthings, their lives, their pathways,
what they're doing in lifethat's cool and exciting, what they're
doing in life that reallycaused some problems and headaches,
whatever it may be.
You know, this is a placewhere we get to reflect those ideas
(00:31):
and those things as well asour, our sponsor, supporters and
volunteers that want to comeon here and tell a story or whatever
it might be.
That's what it's all about.
Hey, I'm at Warrior BuiltStudios today.
Normally I'm with JB in theVTRC studio, but, you know, he, he's
at his house.
I'm, I'm at the Warrior Built Studios.
I just had some opportunitiesto spend some time with Warrior Built
(00:54):
and doing some things.
Yesterday was a great golftournament with darts, only golf,
putting together a greatpackage for us as well as, you know,
just so many really awesomethings that I get to be involved
with.
Brian Colburn in thebackground here@sitradio.com making
this happen.
And JB, quick, quick littleshout out to you.
What do you got for a quicksecond just to say hi to everybody
and then we'll introduce ourguest for the day.
(01:16):
Well, good afternoon, Brian,and I'm glad to be here today.
Last week I had a littlecamera problem, so I wasn't able
to get on the show, but I'm great.
It's good to be here.
It's great to be here.
I'm glad to share this timewith you and to other vets and other
(01:37):
people listening today.
I just look forward to ourguest and seeing what he's doing
to help veterans and aroundthe country and, and keeping it real.
Thanks.
Good, good stuff.
Good stuff.
And we'll come back to JB'skitchen here in a little while and
we'll, we'll be talking to himtoo, a little bit after the, after
(01:58):
we, we talk to our guest.
Hey, my guest today, anotherLima company Corman from 3rd Battalion,
5th Marines that served withme, you know, before combat, after
combat and his transition.
His story will be awesomebecause he's not just Doc Reyes anymore.
He's actually Dr. Reyes out ofTexas and doing some stuff out of
(02:19):
New Mexico.
He's been an intern for awhile and now he's, you know, pretty
much in a more senior positiondoing some incredible things in the
er and that's where we aretrauma gods.
That's what they call us as corpsman.
Sometimes, you know, it's alittle bit on the ego side of things,
but we're really traumaexperts as being able to try to,
you know, fight death off aslong as we can, especially on the
(02:40):
battlefield or in any moment necessary.
And that's what we're trainedto do, and that's.
That's what we do.
Doc Reyes.
Hey, welcome to the show, brother.
Doctor.
Thank you.
From Texas, man.
Hey, it's good to have you on.
You know, I've had Lima Company.
I've had two Corman alreadyfrom Lima Company, you know, Otis
Miller and.
And Derek Hudnell over thepast two weeks.
(03:02):
It's great to have you.
You know, we're gonna havenext week.
I already talked to bz.
Uh, Chief B is retired.
He'll be on with me.
He's actually going to be inthe studio with me and jb, so it'd
be great, man.
Hey, tell us your story.
You know, let's go back to whyyou became a corpsman.
A little bit of family lifestuff where you're out of.
And then, you know, your.
(03:22):
Your time in the military.
And, dude, you have taken someawesome steps to make it to that
doctor position.
And super proud of you, andit's really an honor to have you
on the show.
Let's go.
Well, thanks, Chief.
Yeah, thanks for having me over.
Thanks for the introduction.
So, born and raised in ElPaso, Texas.
Spent a little time outside ofLubbock, but always wanted to be
a doctor growing up.
(03:43):
You know, my mother wasn'tvery healthy as a.
When I was a child, and so Isaw a lot of emergency medicine physicians
take care of her in the er andso seeing that grow up, growing up,
I. I wanted to be one of thoseER docs.
And so Texas Tech is where wewould always take her in Texas.
Thankfully, we had them there.
(04:04):
So after high school, I wasn'tready for the military.
Well, I wasn't ready for college.
Come from a very humble background.
Didn't have the money.
No one in my family was aphysician, so I didn't know how to
become one.
And so, you know, the militaryseemed like a good option for me.
And I'm from El Paso, Texas.
The Chihuahua Desert.
We have very little water.
The Rio Grande maybe threemonths out of the year, flows through
(04:26):
here.
And so I had to get out of the desert.
And I chose the Navy because Iwanted to see water.
And so my first three yearswere at Naval Hospital Bremerton
outside of Seattle, and Iworked labor and delivery there.
And I was just.
I wasn't mature yet.
Got in a little bit of troublethere with the Navy.
Had to go see the captain, youknow, and I won't get into the.
(04:49):
Details, but known asCaptain's Master the United States
Navy, if you have to.
Yeah.
So I got captain's mass and,uh, Doc Hudnall, who you had on two
weeks ago, I met out there onthe smoke deck one night, and he
said, you know, he's, like,looking at your shoes.
I had some K Swiss on.
He said, you're either fromTexas or you're from California.
(05:10):
I said, I was from Texas.
And we kind of hit it off.
We became roommates, and weboth went to captain's mass individually
probably within a year.
And so I figured, well,listen, I'm wasting the Navy's time
right now because I'm just upto no good, and I don't want to show
up on my mom's doorstep beingkicked out.
So I was like, you know, atleast we had the insight to say,
(05:30):
hey, we need to get our headsout of our ass and, you know, take
this seriously.
And so I had seen some Navycorpsmen in the hospital, were very
sharp at their cammies, youknow, looking really good.
Boots were shined, theirmedical knowledge was above ours
and had their sleeves rolled.
And they were green sideforeman, fmf, Fleet Marine Force.
(05:50):
And so I talked to Hudna one night.
I said, hey, listen, man, Iwas like, we're going to end up getting
booted out of the Navy, bro.
Like, we need to get some disciplines.
So how about we go to 1stMarines and change it up a little
bit?
Because I'm not going to dothis for the rest of my life.
I'm on my way to be a doctor,and so I'm only going to do the military
for a short period of time.
And so our next duty station,I went to 1st Marines.
(06:14):
You know, he had a C schoollined up that he canceled to come
with me.
So I went first.
I checked into 1st Marines.
I was sent to 3rd Battalion,5th Marine Regiment.
And I wanted to go to a line company.
I said, don't put me in.
You know, send me to a line company.
I need to get, you know, Ineed to get my head out of my ass
for a little bit.
And so I checked into LimaCompany, and that's where I met Doc
(06:35):
Bo.
Bo Horez and Doc Miller Otisthat you had on last week.
And so I checked in with them,and about two Months later, Hudnall
checked in and, you know,thankfully he got sent to the same
company as us, as, as me.
So we, we worked up and wetrained up, you know, we started
doing hikes and you know, westarted to, to mature, get a little
(06:58):
bit more discipline, you know,with the Marines.
And then we, we got sent overto Okinawa for a six month deployment
where we worked up, you know,I think it's the 31st Mew with.
That's right, 31st Mew.
Right.
You know, so we did somereally cool stuff.
I was with Hilo's, so we flewaround, you know, fast roped out,
lived in the jungle and.
(07:18):
And then, you know, I slowlystarted to, you know, walk that straight
line.
And so I was like, okay, wellI guess I'm ready to get out of the
military and go to medicalschool now.
And then 911 happened and sowe deployed to Iraq.
Yeah, so we deployed to Iraq.
So in Iraq, you know, I waswith Lima company and you know, we
got a couple of other corpsmento get with us.
(07:40):
And I think that's where Igrew up a lot.
Right?
It's like, it's not a game anymore.
Guys, like, people are gettingblown up, people are getting shot,
people are trying to kill us.
And so I did that for nine months.
And I remember sitting in afighting hole in Iraq, looking up
at the moon one night, and Isaid, bro, like, if I make it back
home, I need to get my headout of my ass and take life seriously.
(08:04):
And I did.
So I got out of the militaryin 2004.
Thank God I made it back and Iwas hungry.
I was ready for school, youknow, so I enlisted.
I went to UT El Paso and I gotmy bachelor's degree and I took the
medical school exam.
And I didn't do that well, youknow, and so I took it again and
(08:25):
still I couldn't.
I just, you know, I was a nontraditional student.
You know, I was now 25, now30, still taking the entrance exam.
And I took it five times, youknow, and I applied in Texas for
about five, you know, fivedifferent times.
I didn't get in.
I got wait listed at a couple universities.
So I said, listen, I'm gonnahave to apply outside of Texas.
(08:48):
And that's where I applied allover the country.
And thankfully I got intomedical school in Puerto Rico, which
is a US Med school.
And I was, I think, the onlyMexican American and a class full
of Puerto Ricans.
Right?
But it was a US Med school.
And so I took it well withoutyou know, and so.
So then my first year of med school.
(09:09):
Oh, man.
How did that go?
Not too well.
Failed all my classes.
So, you know, now I didn't getinto med school until I was 35.
I have a quick question for you.
Do you.
Yeah.
Do you think the failure ofthose med classes and the fact that
it was hard to get into medschool and.
And you.
When you fail these tests, doyou think it's because we were trained
to do stuff that we weren'treally allowed to do in the civilian
(09:32):
because of the rules?
But when you.
When you have this knowledgethat cross references all that stuff,
it can confuse your ability tokind of take tests regarding all
the rules that are required inthe public sector, because we can't
do all those things that wewere trained to do that we could
do in the Marine Corps and inthe Navy's, you know, positioning.
(09:53):
What's your thought on that?
Just.
Just because that's one thing.
You know, I saw Marinesgetting better, you know, grades,
doing EMT courses than thecorpsman, because we were like, well,
we.
We can really.
We can do that, but I guess wecan't, because the laws.
And do you think.
Yeah.
Do you think that was acontributing factor in your toughness
and trying to dive into allthe things that are legally a problem
(10:16):
and all the barriers to that sometimes.
So, yeah, you have a greatpoint there.
So as a corpsman, you know howto do certain things, but you don't
necessarily know why you'redoing them.
Okay.
And so you're absolutely right.
You know, in the field, wecould do chest tubes, you know, start
IVs, intubate people, push morphine.
(10:38):
But then I got to med school,and it's like, now I needed to know
the pharmacokinetics of morphine.
And I had been doing in thefield for so long, like, I never
sat and cracked the books theway that I needed to in med school,
and I didn't know how to study.
So, thankfully, there was abuddy in med school, his name was
(10:59):
also Hector, and he failedmost of his classes that year, too.
And we were in the back of theclass looking around like, what the
hell are we?
Because we were studying hard.
We just weren't studying correctly.
And so we kind of went throughthe motions and we figured it out.
And so, you know, in thesecond year of med school, I got
the hang of things and Istarted passing my classes, you know,
(11:21):
and.
And so I was like, okay, we're.
I think we're on the righttrack now.
And then.
And then Hurricane Maria hitthe island of Puerto Rico and devastated
the island, you know, so it's like.
It's just been like one, youknow, thing after another, right?
So, you know, I'll tell you aquick story.
(11:42):
I don't know how much time wehave, but, you know, so I. I repeated
my first year of med school.
Second year, I kind of figuredit out.
And I was waiting for my buddyto pick me up to go take an ex.
You know, I was poor, youknow, as in med school, I rode a
bicycle for the first threeyears, you know, and so after I met
this guy, he would pick me up,and one day he didn't show up.
(12:04):
And so I called him and Isaid, hector, man, what's going on,
man?
We have an exam in 30 minutes.
You haven't picked me up.
And he said, bro, you didn't hear?
There's a Hurricane Category 5on the way to Puerto Rico.
Like, the school's canceled.
And I'm like, well, damn,nobody told me.
So he's.
He said, you need to go.
You need to go find some waterand some food.
So there I am on my bicyclelooking for water and food.
(12:28):
I bought and I bought.
I remember standing in linefor three hours just to buy rope.
I didn't know what a hurricane was.
I'm from West Texas, El Paso.
We don't get rain out here.
You know, I figured I'd justclimb up as high as I could and tie
myself to a building and hopefor the best, you know.
But medical school was canceled.
We lost electricity.
And so now I'm in my apartment.
(12:50):
No lights, you know, verylittle water.
And, you know, so med schoolwasn't easy.
I guess a long story short.
So med school wasn't easy, butI made it through med school, finally
graduated 2001.
And then from there I went toNew York Medical College for my residency,
(13:10):
and I did residency in familymedicine at St. Joseph's Medical
center in Yonkers.
Then after that, family medicine.
Being a Navy corpsman and thengoing into family medicine was a
little bit difficult for mebecause I'm used to very critical,
(13:33):
high acuity situations.
And family medicine is at thecornerstone of primary medicine.
But it didn't fit mypersonality type.
So thankfully, I was able toget into Texas Tech in the Permian
Basin, and they have afellowship for family medicine, trained
physicians to get extratraining in emergency, and then become
(13:55):
an ER doctor.
So I just graduated from theirprogram July of this year.
And so I've taken a job outhere in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
So this will be my first jobas an attending, actually be my second
job.
I did some moonlighting out inWest Texas as an ER doctor where
I was the only ER doctor andat night, the only doctor in the
(14:18):
hospital.
So that was pretty cool.
Hey, no, it's.
It's.
It's great to hear your story, man.
And, you know, just.
Just the way that you had to,you know, collectively go through
these things.
And, you know, we had some time.
We.
We went on deployment together.
We've spent time together, andit's great to see where you're at
now, brother.
It's great to see that you're,you know, taking on all this stuff.
(14:40):
And I know, you know, that we,as, you know, veterans sometimes
need a doctor's advice or wemight need some, you know, some.
Some letter from you orsomething like that that's going
to help.
Help along.
And I want to say that becausewe have this great brotherhood, and
we.
We're in a three, fivecorpsman, you know, group, we're
constantly staying in touchwith each other and sending each
(15:02):
other, you know, crazy littlesayings or whatever we're doing for
the day or whatever we'redoing for the weekend.
It's great to have the supportnetworks that exist, especially,
you know, after coming backfrom combat.
And if.
Can you talk about what thatmeans to you, to have the brotherhood
and.
And maybe some of the thingsthat you capitalized on in your transition.
But it's great that you cameout hungry, right?
(15:23):
You had a plan and you triedto attempt these plans and you ran
into all these barriers andyou still found a way.
And, you know, obviously, youknow, the uphill battle was still
there because we step out ofthe military and it's kind of like,
well, it doesn't really matterwhat you did in the military.
You now have to start at BaseZero and move your way up kind of
(15:44):
thing.
Because a lot of us, stuffthat we do in the military doesn't
translate into anything that'svaluable in society sometimes.
And, you know, I think thatthat becomes a little bit of an issue.
But your pathway is super important.
It's really cool.
You know, we have.
We have about five moreminutes, and I got 10 minutes for
JB section.
So if you can capitalize onthat and then we'll talk about how
(16:06):
we can find you and all thatgood stuff.
So go ahead.
Yeah, so, you know, that's agood point.
The camaraderie that I havewith the guys that I served with
35 continue today.
I'll tell you this.
My first duty station at NavalHospital Bremerton, I couldn't name
anybody that I served withthere, and I don't talk to anybody
there.
But the guys with 35 I talk toalmost on a daily basis.
(16:31):
And so being a physician now,yeah, I can help out with letters
and support because thecredentials and the letters after
my name now mean something toa couple of people.
And they reach out to me.
So I'm still their doc.
You know, I still got Marinessending pictures of abscesses they
have, you know, and say, hey,Doc, what should I take for this?
(16:52):
And I'll call them in a prescription.
And it's surreal.
And so the second point thatyou were saying, for me, I never
thought once about giving up.
You know, as many times as Igot kicked in the teeth, I wasn't
going to quit.
So, you know, it's like I'mgoing to figure it out.
And it wasn't because I'm notthat smart of a guy, to be honest
(17:15):
with you.
And the degrees after my nameare only because I didn't get into
med school the first time, thesecond time, or the third time.
And I figured I got to do something.
And so that's why I got acouple extra degrees, you know, in
addition to the MD degree.
But for me, you know, I guessI'll say this.
You know, there is no secret sauce.
It's hard work, faith anddiscipline and, And.
(17:39):
And if, you know, you.
You mess up one day, then, youknow, just start again and take little
baby steps.
But don't ever quit.
For me, it was like, I'm notgoing to quit.
You know, when Puerto Rico, the.
We got devastated there, Iwent and lived at the med school.
You know, they brought in thepresident and a psychiatrist because
I was sleeping in the library.
And they said, what are you doing?
(18:00):
I said, well, I'm trying toget some rest.
You guys keep knocking on the door.
And they said, well, what areyou doing here?
I said, I burned the ships.
I'm not leaving until I getthe MD degree.
And I have no electricity athome and you guys have a generator,
so I'm staying here.
You know, I did for fourmonths, so don't quit.
If you want it, go get it.
(18:20):
There's no excuses.
Nobody's coming back to saveyou, you know, and.
Yeah.
Hey, brother, thanks.
Thanks for sharing this storyand I look forward to getting you
back on doing some, you know, whatever.
Whatever we might need to talkabout, I will say, you know, with.
With You.
I. I mean, I remember you gotyour doctor's degree.
(18:42):
I ended up in a situationwhere my service dog became an issue,
where it was going to requirea letter.
You already know my story.
You were already ready to.
To write that letter, to makethings happen from a doctor's perspective.
Like, you're my doctor, and I.I can't say, you know, that.
You know, there's all thesechannels you have to go through and
(19:03):
the hoops you have to gothrough, and the VA is like, well,
I can't really write thatbecause I need to do this, like,
study on you and this, this,and that.
That you were willing to makeit happen immediately.
And that that kind of supportfor veterans that are dealing with
PTSD or dealing with thesesituations is.
Is ever so incredibly awesome.
(19:23):
So thank you for that.
Thanks for being part of thebrotherhood that we are with 3, 5,
and.
And.
And the fact that you're adoctor still serving our nation,
doing incredible stuff, savinglives, because I know you talked
to us, telling us a storyabout the life that you had to save.
No names were involved, nohippo was given, but the stories
are real.
Reyes is a true doc doctor.
(19:44):
So thanks a lot for that, brother.
Hey, if somebody wants to geta hold of you, they definitely can
through my show.
But, you know, I know youdon't want to put too much information
out there because you don'twant to get bombarded with a bunch
of stuff.
But please go through mebefore you need to talk to Reyes
so that I could filter some ofthat stuff out if you need to.
But if they want to get a holdof you, feel free to put that information
out there.
I mean, obviously, you can befound on Facebook and some things
(20:05):
like that, but feel free togive that information out.
And then we're going to go toChef JB's corner here.
I mean, kitchen here, in a minute.
Yeah, definitely.
So my email is reyes hectorJr.gmail.com and so if there's any
veterans out there, you know,that are transitioning out and, you
know, need some help on how touse the GI Bill or how to succeed
(20:29):
in college or if you want to,if you have a crazy dream that you
want to be a doctor and youdon't know how to, you can always
reach out to me.
Or if you find yourself in ahurt Locker and have the pistol in
your mouth and, you know, callme, text me.
There's other veterans out there.
You're not the first onethat's been in that Hurt Locker before.
But stay connected don't isolate.
(20:49):
Definitely.
Hey, we're going to trans over.
Trans over to jb.
Jb.
You got any questions for themor anything you want to throw out
there real quick before we goto your.
Your.
Your kitchen?
Yeah, you know, great to hearyour story, Doc.
And, boy, can I relate.
I.
My first duty station afterboot camp was Pier 91 on the Wachusetts
(21:11):
up in Seattle, so.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
So I knew Bremerton well, and,you know, the Straits of Juan de
Fuca, it's.
Boy, what a rough time that iswhen you go out of that in a.
In a ship.
You know, I was seasick forabout two months before I finally
(21:32):
got my sea legs.
It was a long time, maybe justtwo weeks.
But, you know, it's great tohear your story and how, you know,
it's so important not to give up.
You know, God's got the masterplan, and, you know, sometimes we
don't know it.
You know, I'm.
I'm retired now, but I stillgive back my time, and I. I can't.
(21:55):
There isn't anything I won'tdo for a veteran.
I mean, that's just.
And, boy, if you ever come outto Vegas, look us up, man.
I'd love to take you out todinner and.
And talk with you.
Okay?
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Chief.
Yeah, thanks a lot for beinghere, brother.
(22:15):
Hey, we're gonna try.
Cool, cool.
We're gonna transition over toJB's kitchen here.
I just want to remindeverybody, hey, after the show, we
have the open house at 1400kicking off, you know, just to have
a discussion if you want topop on, do a check in, talk about
the show, talk about somethings that you want to talk about
(22:37):
or whatever it is that youwant to kind of take some accountability
for.
Make it happen, Chef.
Jb, brother.
Hey, I know you got a lot ofstuff going on.
It's great to have you.
And again, you know, a great,great, great chef and.
And Coast Guard vet and allthese cool things, and my co Host.
Yeah, brother, take it away.
Thanks, Chief.
(22:58):
You know, welcome to everybody today.
A few things that are going on in.
In the Henderson and Las Vegasarea is we're having the Honor Flight
pancakes for patriots andBrian might.
Yeah, there we go.
Thanks, Brian.
Here's our flyer for it.
(23:20):
It's Saturday, November 15th,8am to 12pm it's at the Fraternal
Order Vehicles 310 WestPacific Avenue in Henderson.
And they graciously give ustheir kitchen and their banquet facilities
at no charge.
So that we can send veterans,mostly senior veterans, out to Washington
(23:45):
D.C. to see all the different memorials.
I think it's a great project.
I've been involved with it.
I cook all the pancakes andthe scrambled eggs and, and I make
like a strawberry topping anda blueberry topping.
I do sausage and turkeysausage for the ones that don't eat
(24:07):
pork and some French toast too.
We have French toast.
And it's just a real good camaraderie.
The girls that run thatprogram, Melinda and Gretchen and
Donna, they're great gals.
They, they really give ittheir all.
(24:28):
They do some really nicegiveaways or raffle tickets on baskets
and all sorts of things.
So great program.
I, I really love beinginvolved with it and, and being able
to touch a lot of lives.
You know, it's really greatbecause God gave me this ability
(24:51):
to cook and then the, the VAgave me the ability to become a chef.
And through the OJT on the jobtraining bill in 1974, I joined the
ACF.
So thank you Lord for theveterans and teaching me how to cook.
(25:11):
And you know, I told God along time ago that if he let me live
and had a good life that Iwould take care of his children and
feed everybody that I could.
And I've always lived to that.
And he keeps up his part ofthe bargain.
I'm, I'm very blessed.
I have a wonderful wife, a wonderful.
(25:32):
And in a great city of Las Vegas.
What else could be better?
And now I got my co host here, Chief.
You know, Aaron and I arestarting to do a lot of things together
and it's just the camaraderie,you know, and, and Doc was talking
about Captain's Mass.
(25:52):
I remember Captain's Mass.
In fact, I had an old whitehat captain that had been in the
military for 38 years and hewas captain of our ship.
And when I came to him thefirst time on a Captain's Mass, he
said, chef.
Well, he didn't call me Chef.
He called me James Brown.
(26:13):
So JB James Brownie said,well, Brownie, tell you what, if
you tell me a story I haven'theard, you go free.
If I've heard this story over38 years serving as, as this, you'll
do double time.
So how would you like to plead?
(26:33):
I mean, what is it?
The UCMJ has 99.9% convictionrate on a Captain's Mass.
So chances are you did, didthe deed and you're going to do the
time.
You know, that's just the wayit is.
But that's the part of growingup, you know, the process that we
(26:55):
learn that nobody's above it.
You know, we're all in it together.
And, you know, we do thisbecause our brothers are in it, too,
and there's nothing greaterthan that, brothers and sisters,
you know, and here at theVeterans Transition Resource center,
we don't just help veterans.
(27:17):
We help their spouses, their children.
We try to.
We give away food boxes once ayear, usually at Valentine.
It's a.
You know, everybody gives awayat Christmas, so Valentine's, it's
still winter.
We give away socks, blankets.
(27:39):
We try to make it comfortablebecause there is a lot of veterans
on the street, you know, andit's just the way it is.
And, you know, it's like Docwas saying, if you're in that hurt
Locker, you know, give us acall or give us a shout out.
We'll be glad to help out ifwe can.
(28:00):
So, you know, Chief, it's.
It's so good to reach out topeople and.
And starting this podcast aswe did.
I just appreciate you and.
And look forward to workingwith you.
You know, we're going to bringyou on as a board of directors for
the vtrc, the veterans.
(28:21):
And we just really lookforward to touching people's lives
and helping people, fellowveterans and their families, because
we all need help in life, youknow, and.
And we've seen that, whetherit be, you know, the pain locker
that the Doc was talkingabout, you know, and.
(28:43):
And suicide rate is way up,and it's just.
It's devastating.
And, you know, anything thatwe can do to help, that's what we
want to do.
So, you know, Chief, I loveyou, buddy.
I'm glad.
I'm sorry you're down inCalifornia, but next week we'll be
in the studios, so it's really good.
(29:04):
So my hat's off to you and, And.
And Doc, you know, thank youfor serving with us and for us.
Hey, thanks you.
And I appreciate it.
Thanks, jb.
You know, it's.
It's awesome.
You know, JB has made this possible.
He sponsors this through theVTRC there.
(29:25):
There in Las Vegas.
It's usually at the studio there.
You know, and there's so manyimportant things that I. I'm fortunate
enough and he's fortunateenough to be involved in, as well
as all the veterans that Iassociate with.
You know, I'm at War BuiltStudios right now, but I do a lot.
I got three warrior groupswith the PTSD foundation of America
every week to include thefourth group.
Really with the open houseright after this at 1400.
(29:47):
You know, there's a lot ofpeople behind the scenes.
You know, Brian Colburn withSitRadio.com to so many other veteran
coordinated efforts that wefind when we're out and about, and
there's so many people insociety that want to make and be
part of it.
You know, just.
Just guys that I was able tomeet yesterday on the golf course
that, you know, said, hey,man, if you guys need anything, let
(30:08):
me know.
To, you know, just somesupport that we may or may not be
able to use at any given time.
But it's.
It's important that I have anetwork of people just like Dr. Reyes
that I can reach out to at anygiven time and say, hey, man, I got
a veteran dealing with somemedical issues that he wants to discuss
right now because he's dealingwith something that's super important.
Can we alleviate that?
Is there a lawyer that I mightneed to talk to?
(30:28):
Is there a realtor that needsto help somebody out?
And all these resources exist.
But, hey, we will be back at 1400.
Chef JB, you got any lastcomments that we got to close this
out?
Just love and peace.
Hey, thanks, brother.
Hey.
Until next time, this is AaronSeart signing off.
Strength and honor out theonly way.
(30:50):
And we need nothing more thethe only way Together forever that's
for sure.
Hey, how's everybody doing?
Hey.
This is Aaron Siebert and Chef jb.
He's my co host on Combat Vet Vision.
This is a place where ourveterans get to come and talk about
their issues, talk about theirthings, their lives, their pathways,
what they're doing in lifethat's cool and exciting, what they're
doing in life that reallycaused some problems and headaches,
whatever it may be.
You know, this is a placewhere we get to reflect those ideas
(00:31):
and those things as well asour, our sponsor, supporters and
volunteers that want to comeon here and tell a story or whatever
it might be.
That's what it's all about.
Hey, I'm at Warrior BuiltStudios today.
Normally I'm with JB in theVTRC studio, but, you know, he, he's
at his house.
I'm, I'm at the Warrior Built Studios.
I just had some opportunitiesto spend some time with Warrior Built
(00:54):
and doing some things.
Yesterday was a great golftournament with darts, only golf,
putting together a greatpackage for us as well as, you know,
just so many really awesomethings that I get to be involved
with.
Brian Colburn in thebackground here@sitradio.com making
this happen.
And JB, quick, quick littleshout out to you.
What do you got for a quicksecond just to say hi to everybody
and then we'll introduce ourguest for the day.
(01:16):
Well, good afternoon, Brian,and I'm glad to be here today.
Last week I had a littlecamera problem, so I wasn't able
to get on the show, but I'm great.
It's good to be here.
It's great to be here.
I'm glad to share this timewith you and to other vets and other
(01:37):
people listening today.
I just look forward to ourguest and seeing what he's doing
to help veterans and aroundthe country and, and keeping it real.
Thanks.
Good, good stuff.
Good stuff.
And we'll come back to JB'skitchen here in a little while and
we'll, we'll be talking to himtoo, a little bit after the, after
(01:58):
we, we talk to our guest.
Hey, my guest today, anotherLima company Corman from 3rd Battalion,
5th Marines that served withme, you know, before combat, after
combat and his transition.
His story will be awesomebecause he's not just Doc Reyes anymore.
He's actually Dr. Reyes out ofTexas and doing some stuff out of
(02:19):
New Mexico.
He's been an intern for awhile and now he's, you know, pretty
much in a more senior positiondoing some incredible things in the
er and that's where we aretrauma gods.
That's what they call us as corpsman.
Sometimes, you know, it's alittle bit on the ego side of things,
but we're really traumaexperts as being able to try to,
you know, fight death off aslong as we can, especially on the
(02:40):
battlefield or in any moment necessary.
And that's what we're trainedto do, and that's.
That's what we do.
Doc Reyes.
Hey, welcome to the show, brother.
Doctor.
Thank you.
From Texas, man.
Hey, it's good to have you on.
You know, I've had Lima Company.
I've had two Corman alreadyfrom Lima Company, you know, Otis
Miller and.
And Derek Hudnell over thepast two weeks.
(03:02):
It's great to have you.
You know, we're gonna havenext week.
I already talked to bz.
Uh, Chief B is retired.
He'll be on with me.
He's actually going to be inthe studio with me and jb, so it'd
be great, man.
Hey, tell us your story.
You know, let's go back to whyyou became a corpsman.
A little bit of family lifestuff where you're out of.
And then, you know, your.
(03:22):
Your time in the military.
And, dude, you have taken someawesome steps to make it to that
doctor position.
And super proud of you, andit's really an honor to have you
on the show.
Let's go.
Well, thanks, Chief.
Yeah, thanks for having me over.
Thanks for the introduction.
So, born and raised in ElPaso, Texas.
Spent a little time outside ofLubbock, but always wanted to be
a doctor growing up.
(03:43):
You know, my mother wasn'tvery healthy as a.
When I was a child, and so Isaw a lot of emergency medicine physicians
take care of her in the er andso seeing that grow up, growing up,
I. I wanted to be one of thoseER docs.
And so Texas Tech is where wewould always take her in Texas.
Thankfully, we had them there.
(04:04):
So after high school, I wasn'tready for the military.
Well, I wasn't ready for college.
Come from a very humble background.
Didn't have the money.
No one in my family was aphysician, so I didn't know how to
become one.
And so, you know, the militaryseemed like a good option for me.
And I'm from El Paso, Texas.
The Chihuahua Desert.
We have very little water.
The Rio Grande maybe threemonths out of the year, flows through
(04:26):
here.
And so I had to get out of the desert.
And I chose the Navy because Iwanted to see water.
And so my first three yearswere at Naval Hospital Bremerton
outside of Seattle, and Iworked labor and delivery there.
And I was just.
I wasn't mature yet.
Got in a little bit of troublethere with the Navy.
Had to go see the captain, youknow, and I won't get into the.
(04:49):
Details, but known asCaptain's Master the United States
Navy, if you have to.
Yeah.
So I got captain's mass and,uh, Doc Hudnall, who you had on two
weeks ago, I met out there onthe smoke deck one night, and he
said, you know, he's, like,looking at your shoes.
I had some K Swiss on.
He said, you're either fromTexas or you're from California.
(05:10):
I said, I was from Texas.
And we kind of hit it off.
We became roommates, and weboth went to captain's mass individually
probably within a year.
And so I figured, well,listen, I'm wasting the Navy's time
right now because I'm just upto no good, and I don't want to show
up on my mom's doorstep beingkicked out.
So I was like, you know, atleast we had the insight to say,
(05:30):
hey, we need to get our headsout of our ass and, you know, take
this seriously.
And so I had seen some Navycorpsmen in the hospital, were very
sharp at their cammies, youknow, looking really good.
Boots were shined, theirmedical knowledge was above ours
and had their sleeves rolled.
And they were green sideforeman, fmf, Fleet Marine Force.
(05:50):
And so I talked to Hudna one night.
I said, hey, listen, man, Iwas like, we're going to end up getting
booted out of the Navy, bro.
Like, we need to get some disciplines.
So how about we go to 1stMarines and change it up a little
bit?
Because I'm not going to dothis for the rest of my life.
I'm on my way to be a doctor,and so I'm only going to do the military
for a short period of time.
And so our next duty station,I went to 1st Marines.
(06:14):
You know, he had a C schoollined up that he canceled to come
with me.
So I went first.
I checked into 1st Marines.
I was sent to 3rd Battalion,5th Marine Regiment.
And I wanted to go to a line company.
I said, don't put me in.
You know, send me to a line company.
I need to get, you know, Ineed to get my head out of my ass
for a little bit.
And so I checked into LimaCompany, and that's where I met Doc
(06:35):
Bo.
Bo Horez and Doc Miller Otisthat you had on last week.
And so I checked in with them,and about two Months later, Hudnall
checked in and, you know,thankfully he got sent to the same
company as us, as, as me.
So we, we worked up and wetrained up, you know, we started
doing hikes and you know, westarted to, to mature, get a little
(06:58):
bit more discipline, you know,with the Marines.
And then we, we got sent overto Okinawa for a six month deployment
where we worked up, you know,I think it's the 31st Mew with.
That's right, 31st Mew.
Right.
You know, so we did somereally cool stuff.
I was with Hilo's, so we flewaround, you know, fast roped out,
lived in the jungle and.
(07:18):
And then, you know, I slowlystarted to, you know, walk that straight
line.
And so I was like, okay, wellI guess I'm ready to get out of the
military and go to medicalschool now.
And then 911 happened and sowe deployed to Iraq.
Yeah, so we deployed to Iraq.
So in Iraq, you know, I waswith Lima company and you know, we
got a couple of other corpsmento get with us.
(07:40):
And I think that's where Igrew up a lot.
Right?
It's like, it's not a game anymore.
Guys, like, people are gettingblown up, people are getting shot,
people are trying to kill us.
And so I did that for nine months.
And I remember sitting in afighting hole in Iraq, looking up
at the moon one night, and Isaid, bro, like, if I make it back
home, I need to get my headout of my ass and take life seriously.
(08:04):
And I did.
So I got out of the militaryin 2004.
Thank God I made it back and Iwas hungry.
I was ready for school, youknow, so I enlisted.
I went to UT El Paso and I gotmy bachelor's degree and I took the
medical school exam.
And I didn't do that well, youknow, and so I took it again and
(08:25):
still I couldn't.
I just, you know, I was a nontraditional student.
You know, I was now 25, now30, still taking the entrance exam.
And I took it five times, youknow, and I applied in Texas for
about five, you know, fivedifferent times.
I didn't get in.
I got wait listed at a couple universities.
So I said, listen, I'm gonnahave to apply outside of Texas.
(08:48):
And that's where I applied allover the country.
And thankfully I got intomedical school in Puerto Rico, which
is a US Med school.
And I was, I think, the onlyMexican American and a class full
of Puerto Ricans.
Right?
But it was a US Med school.
And so I took it well withoutyou know, and so.
So then my first year of med school.
(09:09):
Oh, man.
How did that go?
Not too well.
Failed all my classes.
So, you know, now I didn't getinto med school until I was 35.
I have a quick question for you.
Do you.
Yeah.
Do you think the failure ofthose med classes and the fact that
it was hard to get into medschool and.
And you.
When you fail these tests, doyou think it's because we were trained
to do stuff that we weren'treally allowed to do in the civilian
(09:32):
because of the rules?
But when you.
When you have this knowledgethat cross references all that stuff,
it can confuse your ability tokind of take tests regarding all
the rules that are required inthe public sector, because we can't
do all those things that wewere trained to do that we could
do in the Marine Corps and inthe Navy's, you know, positioning.
(09:53):
What's your thought on that?
Just.
Just because that's one thing.
You know, I saw Marinesgetting better, you know, grades,
doing EMT courses than thecorpsman, because we were like, well,
we.
We can really.
We can do that, but I guess wecan't, because the laws.
And do you think.
Yeah.
Do you think that was acontributing factor in your toughness
and trying to dive into allthe things that are legally a problem
(10:16):
and all the barriers to that sometimes.
So, yeah, you have a greatpoint there.
So as a corpsman, you know howto do certain things, but you don't
necessarily know why you'redoing them.
Okay.
And so you're absolutely right.
You know, in the field, wecould do chest tubes, you know, start
IVs, intubate people, push morphine.
(10:38):
But then I got to med school,and it's like, now I needed to know
the pharmacokinetics of morphine.
And I had been doing in thefield for so long, like, I never
sat and cracked the books theway that I needed to in med school,
and I didn't know how to study.
So, thankfully, there was abuddy in med school, his name was
(10:59):
also Hector, and he failedmost of his classes that year, too.
And we were in the back of theclass looking around like, what the
hell are we?
Because we were studying hard.
We just weren't studying correctly.
And so we kind of went throughthe motions and we figured it out.
And so, you know, in thesecond year of med school, I got
the hang of things and Istarted passing my classes, you know,
(11:21):
and.
And so I was like, okay, we're.
I think we're on the righttrack now.
And then.
And then Hurricane Maria hitthe island of Puerto Rico and devastated
the island, you know, so it's like.
It's just been like one, youknow, thing after another, right?
So, you know, I'll tell you aquick story.
(11:42):
I don't know how much time wehave, but, you know, so I. I repeated
my first year of med school.
Second year, I kind of figuredit out.
And I was waiting for my buddyto pick me up to go take an ex.
You know, I was poor, youknow, as in med school, I rode a
bicycle for the first threeyears, you know, and so after I met
this guy, he would pick me up,and one day he didn't show up.
(12:04):
And so I called him and Isaid, hector, man, what's going on,
man?
We have an exam in 30 minutes.
You haven't picked me up.
And he said, bro, you didn't hear?
There's a Hurricane Category 5on the way to Puerto Rico.
Like, the school's canceled.
And I'm like, well, damn,nobody told me.
So he's.
He said, you need to go.
You need to go find some waterand some food.
So there I am on my bicyclelooking for water and food.
(12:28):
I bought and I bought.
I remember standing in linefor three hours just to buy rope.
I didn't know what a hurricane was.
I'm from West Texas, El Paso.
We don't get rain out here.
You know, I figured I'd justclimb up as high as I could and tie
myself to a building and hopefor the best, you know.
But medical school was canceled.
We lost electricity.
And so now I'm in my apartment.
(12:50):
No lights, you know, verylittle water.
And, you know, so med schoolwasn't easy.
I guess a long story short.
So med school wasn't easy, butI made it through med school, finally
graduated 2001.
And then from there I went toNew York Medical College for my residency,
(13:10):
and I did residency in familymedicine at St. Joseph's Medical
center in Yonkers.
Then after that, family medicine.
Being a Navy corpsman and thengoing into family medicine was a
little bit difficult for mebecause I'm used to very critical,
(13:33):
high acuity situations.
And family medicine is at thecornerstone of primary medicine.
But it didn't fit mypersonality type.
So thankfully, I was able toget into Texas Tech in the Permian
Basin, and they have afellowship for family medicine, trained
physicians to get extratraining in emergency, and then become
(13:55):
an ER doctor.
So I just graduated from theirprogram July of this year.
And so I've taken a job outhere in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
So this will be my first jobas an attending, actually be my second
job.
I did some moonlighting out inWest Texas as an ER doctor where
I was the only ER doctor andat night, the only doctor in the
(14:18):
hospital.
So that was pretty cool.
Hey, no, it's.
It's.
It's great to hear your story, man.
And, you know, just.
Just the way that you had to,you know, collectively go through
these things.
And, you know, we had some time.
We.
We went on deployment together.
We've spent time together, andit's great to see where you're at
now, brother.
It's great to see that you're,you know, taking on all this stuff.
(14:40):
And I know, you know, that we,as, you know, veterans sometimes
need a doctor's advice or wemight need some, you know, some.
Some letter from you orsomething like that that's going
to help.
Help along.
And I want to say that becausewe have this great brotherhood, and
we.
We're in a three, fivecorpsman, you know, group, we're
constantly staying in touchwith each other and sending each
(15:02):
other, you know, crazy littlesayings or whatever we're doing for
the day or whatever we'redoing for the weekend.
It's great to have the supportnetworks that exist, especially,
you know, after coming backfrom combat.
And if.
Can you talk about what thatmeans to you, to have the brotherhood
and.
And maybe some of the thingsthat you capitalized on in your transition.
But it's great that you cameout hungry, right?
(15:23):
You had a plan and you triedto attempt these plans and you ran
into all these barriers andyou still found a way.
And, you know, obviously, youknow, the uphill battle was still
there because we step out ofthe military and it's kind of like,
well, it doesn't really matterwhat you did in the military.
You now have to start at BaseZero and move your way up kind of
(15:44):
thing.
Because a lot of us, stuffthat we do in the military doesn't
translate into anything that'svaluable in society sometimes.
And, you know, I think thatthat becomes a little bit of an issue.
But your pathway is super important.
It's really cool.
You know, we have.
We have about five moreminutes, and I got 10 minutes for
JB section.
So if you can capitalize onthat and then we'll talk about how
(16:06):
we can find you and all thatgood stuff.
So go ahead.
Yeah, so, you know, that's agood point.
The camaraderie that I havewith the guys that I served with
35 continue today.
I'll tell you this.
My first duty station at NavalHospital Bremerton, I couldn't name
anybody that I served withthere, and I don't talk to anybody
there.
But the guys with 35 I talk toalmost on a daily basis.
(16:31):
And so being a physician now,yeah, I can help out with letters
and support because thecredentials and the letters after
my name now mean something toa couple of people.
And they reach out to me.
So I'm still their doc.
You know, I still got Marinessending pictures of abscesses they
have, you know, and say, hey,Doc, what should I take for this?
(16:52):
And I'll call them in a prescription.
And it's surreal.
And so the second point thatyou were saying, for me, I never
thought once about giving up.
You know, as many times as Igot kicked in the teeth, I wasn't
going to quit.
So, you know, it's like I'mgoing to figure it out.
And it wasn't because I'm notthat smart of a guy, to be honest
(17:15):
with you.
And the degrees after my nameare only because I didn't get into
med school the first time, thesecond time, or the third time.
And I figured I got to do something.
And so that's why I got acouple extra degrees, you know, in
addition to the MD degree.
But for me, you know, I guessI'll say this.
You know, there is no secret sauce.
It's hard work, faith anddiscipline and, And.
(17:39):
And if, you know, you.
You mess up one day, then, youknow, just start again and take little
baby steps.
But don't ever quit.
For me, it was like, I'm notgoing to quit.
You know, when Puerto Rico, the.
We got devastated there, Iwent and lived at the med school.
You know, they brought in thepresident and a psychiatrist because
I was sleeping in the library.
And they said, what are you doing?
(18:00):
I said, well, I'm trying toget some rest.
You guys keep knocking on the door.
And they said, well, what areyou doing here?
I said, I burned the ships.
I'm not leaving until I getthe MD degree.
And I have no electricity athome and you guys have a generator,
so I'm staying here.
You know, I did for fourmonths, so don't quit.
If you want it, go get it.
(18:20):
There's no excuses.
Nobody's coming back to saveyou, you know, and.
Yeah.
Hey, brother, thanks.
Thanks for sharing this storyand I look forward to getting you
back on doing some, you know, whatever.
Whatever we might need to talkabout, I will say, you know, with.
With You.
I. I mean, I remember you gotyour doctor's degree.
(18:42):
I ended up in a situationwhere my service dog became an issue,
where it was going to requirea letter.
You already know my story.
You were already ready to.
To write that letter, to makethings happen from a doctor's perspective.
Like, you're my doctor, and I.I can't say, you know, that.
You know, there's all thesechannels you have to go through and
(19:03):
the hoops you have to gothrough, and the VA is like, well,
I can't really write thatbecause I need to do this, like,
study on you and this, this,and that.
That you were willing to makeit happen immediately.
And that that kind of supportfor veterans that are dealing with
PTSD or dealing with thesesituations is.
Is ever so incredibly awesome.
(19:23):
So thank you for that.
Thanks for being part of thebrotherhood that we are with 3, 5,
and.
And.
And the fact that you're adoctor still serving our nation,
doing incredible stuff, savinglives, because I know you talked
to us, telling us a storyabout the life that you had to save.
No names were involved, nohippo was given, but the stories
are real.
Reyes is a true doc doctor.
(19:44):
So thanks a lot for that, brother.
Hey, if somebody wants to geta hold of you, they definitely can
through my show.
But, you know, I know youdon't want to put too much information
out there because you don'twant to get bombarded with a bunch
of stuff.
But please go through mebefore you need to talk to Reyes
so that I could filter some ofthat stuff out if you need to.
But if they want to get a holdof you, feel free to put that information
out there.
I mean, obviously, you can befound on Facebook and some things
(20:05):
like that, but feel free togive that information out.
And then we're going to go toChef JB's corner here.
I mean, kitchen here, in a minute.
Yeah, definitely.
So my email is reyes hectorJr.gmail.com and so if there's any
veterans out there, you know,that are transitioning out and, you
know, need some help on how touse the GI Bill or how to succeed
(20:29):
in college or if you want to,if you have a crazy dream that you
want to be a doctor and youdon't know how to, you can always
reach out to me.
Or if you find yourself in ahurt Locker and have the pistol in
your mouth and, you know, callme, text me.
There's other veterans out there.
You're not the first onethat's been in that Hurt Locker before.
But stay connected don't isolate.
(20:49):
Definitely.
Hey, we're going to trans over.
Trans over to jb.
Jb.
You got any questions for themor anything you want to throw out
there real quick before we goto your.
Your.
Your kitchen?
Yeah, you know, great to hearyour story, Doc.
And, boy, can I relate.
I.
My first duty station afterboot camp was Pier 91 on the Wachusetts
(21:11):
up in Seattle, so.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
So I knew Bremerton well, and,you know, the Straits of Juan de
Fuca, it's.
Boy, what a rough time that iswhen you go out of that in a.
In a ship.
You know, I was seasick forabout two months before I finally
(21:32):
got my sea legs.
It was a long time, maybe justtwo weeks.
But, you know, it's great tohear your story and how, you know,
it's so important not to give up.
You know, God's got the masterplan, and, you know, sometimes we
don't know it.
You know, I'm.
I'm retired now, but I stillgive back my time, and I. I can't.
(21:55):
There isn't anything I won'tdo for a veteran.
I mean, that's just.
And, boy, if you ever come outto Vegas, look us up, man.
I'd love to take you out todinner and.
And talk with you.
Okay?
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Chief.
Yeah, thanks a lot for beinghere, brother.
(22:15):
Hey, we're gonna try.
Cool, cool.
We're gonna transition over toJB's kitchen here.
I just want to remindeverybody, hey, after the show, we
have the open house at 1400kicking off, you know, just to have
a discussion if you want topop on, do a check in, talk about
the show, talk about somethings that you want to talk about
(22:37):
or whatever it is that youwant to kind of take some accountability
for.
Make it happen, Chef.
Jb, brother.
Hey, I know you got a lot ofstuff going on.
It's great to have you.
And again, you know, a great,great, great chef and.
And Coast Guard vet and allthese cool things, and my co Host.
Yeah, brother, take it away.
Thanks, Chief.
(22:58):
You know, welcome to everybody today.
A few things that are going on in.
In the Henderson and Las Vegasarea is we're having the Honor Flight
pancakes for patriots andBrian might.
Yeah, there we go.
Thanks, Brian.
Here's our flyer for it.
(23:20):
It's Saturday, November 15th,8am to 12pm it's at the Fraternal
Order Vehicles 310 WestPacific Avenue in Henderson.
And they graciously give ustheir kitchen and their banquet facilities
at no charge.
So that we can send veterans,mostly senior veterans, out to Washington
(23:45):
D.C. to see all the different memorials.
I think it's a great project.
I've been involved with it.
I cook all the pancakes andthe scrambled eggs and, and I make
like a strawberry topping anda blueberry topping.
I do sausage and turkeysausage for the ones that don't eat
(24:07):
pork and some French toast too.
We have French toast.
And it's just a real good camaraderie.
The girls that run thatprogram, Melinda and Gretchen and
Donna, they're great gals.
They, they really give ittheir all.
(24:28):
They do some really nicegiveaways or raffle tickets on baskets
and all sorts of things.
So great program.
I, I really love beinginvolved with it and, and being able
to touch a lot of lives.
You know, it's really greatbecause God gave me this ability
(24:51):
to cook and then the, the VAgave me the ability to become a chef.
And through the OJT on the jobtraining bill in 1974, I joined the
ACF.
So thank you Lord for theveterans and teaching me how to cook.
(25:11):
And you know, I told God along time ago that if he let me live
and had a good life that Iwould take care of his children and
feed everybody that I could.
And I've always lived to that.
And he keeps up his part ofthe bargain.
I'm, I'm very blessed.
I have a wonderful wife, a wonderful.
(25:32):
And in a great city of Las Vegas.
What else could be better?
And now I got my co host here, Chief.
You know, Aaron and I arestarting to do a lot of things together
and it's just the camaraderie,you know, and, and Doc was talking
about Captain's Mass.
(25:52):
I remember Captain's Mass.
In fact, I had an old whitehat captain that had been in the
military for 38 years and hewas captain of our ship.
And when I came to him thefirst time on a Captain's Mass, he
said, chef.
Well, he didn't call me Chef.
He called me James Brown.
(26:13):
So JB James Brownie said,well, Brownie, tell you what, if
you tell me a story I haven'theard, you go free.
If I've heard this story over38 years serving as, as this, you'll
do double time.
So how would you like to plead?
(26:33):
I mean, what is it?
The UCMJ has 99.9% convictionrate on a Captain's Mass.
So chances are you did, didthe deed and you're going to do the
time.
You know, that's just the wayit is.
But that's the part of growingup, you know, the process that we
(26:55):
learn that nobody's above it.
You know, we're all in it together.
And, you know, we do thisbecause our brothers are in it, too,
and there's nothing greaterthan that, brothers and sisters,
you know, and here at theVeterans Transition Resource center,
we don't just help veterans.
(27:17):
We help their spouses, their children.
We try to.
We give away food boxes once ayear, usually at Valentine.
It's a.
You know, everybody gives awayat Christmas, so Valentine's, it's
still winter.
We give away socks, blankets.
(27:39):
We try to make it comfortablebecause there is a lot of veterans
on the street, you know, andit's just the way it is.
And, you know, it's like Docwas saying, if you're in that hurt
Locker, you know, give us acall or give us a shout out.
We'll be glad to help out ifwe can.
(28:00):
So, you know, Chief, it's.
It's so good to reach out topeople and.
And starting this podcast aswe did.
I just appreciate you and.
And look forward to workingwith you.
You know, we're going to bringyou on as a board of directors for
the vtrc, the veterans.
(28:21):
And we just really lookforward to touching people's lives
and helping people, fellowveterans and their families, because
we all need help in life, youknow, and.
And we've seen that, whetherit be, you know, the pain locker
that the Doc was talkingabout, you know, and.
(28:43):
And suicide rate is way up,and it's just.
It's devastating.
And, you know, anything thatwe can do to help, that's what we
want to do.
So, you know, Chief, I loveyou, buddy.
I'm glad.
I'm sorry you're down inCalifornia, but next week we'll be
in the studios, so it's really good.
(29:04):
So my hat's off to you and, And.
And Doc, you know, thank youfor serving with us and for us.
Hey, thanks you.
And I appreciate it.
Thanks, jb.
You know, it's.
It's awesome.
You know, JB has made this possible.
He sponsors this through theVTRC there.
(29:25):
There in Las Vegas.
It's usually at the studio there.
You know, and there's so manyimportant things that I. I'm fortunate
enough and he's fortunateenough to be involved in, as well
as all the veterans that Iassociate with.
You know, I'm at War BuiltStudios right now, but I do a lot.
I got three warrior groupswith the PTSD foundation of America
every week to include thefourth group.
Really with the open houseright after this at 1400.
(29:47):
You know, there's a lot ofpeople behind the scenes.
You know, Brian Colburn withSitRadio.com to so many other veteran
coordinated efforts that wefind when we're out and about, and
there's so many people insociety that want to make and be
part of it.
You know, just.
Just guys that I was able tomeet yesterday on the golf course
that, you know, said, hey,man, if you guys need anything, let
(30:08):
me know.
To, you know, just somesupport that we may or may not be
able to use at any given time.
But it's.
It's important that I have anetwork of people just like Dr. Reyes
that I can reach out to at anygiven time and say, hey, man, I got
a veteran dealing with somemedical issues that he wants to discuss
right now because he's dealingwith something that's super important.
Can we alleviate that?
Is there a lawyer that I mightneed to talk to?
(30:28):
Is there a realtor that needsto help somebody out?
And all these resources exist.
But, hey, we will be back at 1400.
Chef JB, you got any lastcomments that we got to close this
out?
Just love and peace.
Hey, thanks, brother.
Hey.
Until next time, this is AaronSeart signing off.
Strength and honor out theonly way.
(30:50):
And we need nothing more thethe only way Together forever that's
for sure.
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