This year our Guest is Ryan Keogh: Ryan Keogh, originally from Caldwell, Idaho, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army upon his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Ryan served as a conventional Army infantry officer, leading a platoon of soldiers during a yearlong deployment to Northeast Afghanistan, before being selected to serve in the US Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Benning, GA.
While assigned to 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment Ryan completed multiple deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism as a Ranger Rifle Platoon Leader and Ranger Operations Officer.
After more than 8 years on active duty, including 3 years deployed to combat, Ryan retired from the Army after losing his right leg below the knee.
He has numerous awards and decorations including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and the Ranger Tab.
Ryan entered the corporate workforce in 2013 as the National Operations Manager from Mission Produce, the largest Avocado and Mango grower & distributor in the world.
While working at Mission, he completed his MBA from Emory University.
Since 2017, Ryan has worked in the Private Equity portfolio and holding company industry partnering with Oaktree Capital and the Stephens Group.
He currently is the Chief Commercial Officer for the Pearlman Group, the holding company that operates several multi-channel distributors of supplies, tools and equipment used by specialty contractors in various end markets.
He currently resides in a suburb of Atlanta (Berkeley Lake, Georgia) with his wife (Laura) and 3 daughters – Taylor (9), Sloan (8), and Chandler (6).
Video about Joe Kapacziewski: https://www.google.com/search?q=joe+kap+ranger&oq=joe+kap+ranger+&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30l2.3723j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:3f995416,vid:jPSVUDOqpjg
May is Mental Awareness Month Been observed since 1949
Some Generic mental health resources: National Alliance on Mental Illness nami.org
American Hospital Association https://www.aha.org/mental-health-awareness-month
Mental Health America https://www.mhanational.org/mental-health-month
National Council for Mental Wellbeing https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/mental-health-awareness-month/
Resources for enlisted people:
Department of Defense: News release on the Annual Report on Suicide in the Military https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3193806/department-of-defense-releases-the-annual-report-on-suicide-in-the-military-cal/
Link to the full report: https://www.dspo.mil/Portals/113/Documents/2022%20ASR/Annual%20Report%20on%20Suicide%20in%20the%20Military%20CY%202021%20with%20CY21%20DoDSER%20(1).pdf?ver=tat8FRrUhH2IlndFrCGbsA%3d%3d
Veteran Resources: The Veterans Crisis Line (confidential support) * 1-800-273-8255 * Or text 838255 * VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat
Stop Soldier Suicide * https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/ * 844.235.2764
A lot veterans struggle w/ transition out of service
Resource for Transition: * https://military-transition.org/
0:00 |
what's up y'all welcome back to another episode of the Owens recovery science podcast this is our 2023 Memorial Day |
0:09 |
episode where we step back and don't talk bfr but we dedicate this podcast to |
0:15 |
service members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and and died in |
0:21 |
combat and service for our country if if you didn't know that's actually the |
0:26 |
meaning that's the purpose of Memorial Day is to have a national holiday to |
0:33 |
remember those individuals that died serving our country and so we wanted to do our part to make |
0:41 |
sure that many of those soldiers that have died are not forgotten and so we invite |
0:47 |
people on the podcast to come tell their story so that we can |
0:52 |
remember and learn who they were what they did |
0:59 |
who they've left behind and kind of say thank you if you will |
1:06 |
this year all although we've alluded to it another previous Memorial Day episodes we wanted |
1:13 |
to try to put more of a focus on the mental health side of |
1:21 |
combat of serving our country of leaving the military and the structure that it |
1:26 |
provides and those sorts of things if you didn't know |
1:32 |
the suicide rate among veterans and active service members is five times greater than that of the general U.S |
1:40 |
population in fact since we started tracking veteran and active member suicide since |
1:46 |
2001 what we've learned is that on every year |
1:52 |
on average about 6 000 service members or veterans commit suicide |
1:58 |
that's over a hundred and twenty thousand veterans and service members in the last |
2:05 |
20 years that's a big number it's something that has hit a little too |
2:13 |
close to home for us that owns recovery science this year in a few different ways and not something that we're |
2:20 |
unfamiliar with but has maybe come a little closer then |
2:27 |
other times perhaps and so we wanted to just kind of tackle this head-on and |
2:35 |
talk about it provide you with some resources if you |
2:40 |
are unfamiliar and you know try to just do what we can |
2:45 |
to reduce I guess the stigma around mental health issues that potentially |
2:51 |
lead to suicide the good news is |
2:57 |
from a government perspective from a Department of Defense perspective from a |
3:02 |
VA perspective our leaders are very aware that this is a problem and they |
3:09 |
have dedicated resources in the form of money and jobs and programs and effort |
3:18 |
to try to help stop this but like the va's 43-page document that |
3:25 |
they published earlier this year on veteran suicide |
3:31 |
everyone can play a role in this if it's just the function of |
3:37 |
knowing that some of these resources are available and being able to connect someone |
3:43 |
or maybe plan more of an active role or donating money there's there's lots of |
3:48 |
options and ways that you and I can just try to help make a little bit of |
3:55 |
change for the good here and so I've put together a number of different resources |
4:00 |
in our show notes for you from just general groups within the U.S that are |
4:05 |
focused on mental health and mental awareness if you didn't know may is mental awareness month has been since |
4:12 |
1949. and you know that's something I had no clue of and it's literally been that way |
4:18 |
in my whole life so there are groups that are just kind of year round always |
4:24 |
trying to provide services to people that need it from a number of different |
4:31 |
mental health perspectives and then there are groups that are within the military and or specifically for |
4:37 |
veterans that provide resources to those individuals |
4:44 |
to help them address whatever mental health complications they they might be |
4:50 |
having and so I think you know a minimum if if you and I just kind of know that |
4:55 |
these groups and programs are available and and how to connect with them then |
5:02 |
that's a win and so one of those resources hopefully can be our show notes for you so |
5:09 |
um that's about all I wanted to say on that I you know there's a lot of stats and things you get through at this and talk |
5:15 |
about but you know that I think the the big thing from my perspective and and I |
5:21 |
think I speak for all of Owens recovery science when I say this is that a it's |
5:26 |
important that we know that there's a problem B it's important that we know that there are some resources available to people and and we can try to help |
5:34 |
Point folks in the right direction so without delaying any longer I'm gonna |
5:39 |
turn this over to Johnny he interviews a gentleman named Ryan Keough who is a |
5:47 |
former Army Ranger Johnny got to know him through his time at center for the Intrepid and Ryan does |
5:54 |
a fantastic job in this episode of talking about the ways that he coped with leaving the |
6:01 |
military that transitioned kind of out of the military and then also with how he approaches |
6:09 |
Memorial Day which was really really cool to hear honestly and he memorializes a good friend of theirs |
6:15 |
named Joe kapocheski who just recently committed suicide and we'll have some |
6:21 |
links to Joe's book and a video about some of the things Joe did while while |
6:28 |
he was in the service as a way of of remembering him and then as we typically |
6:33 |
do we'll play we'll play Taps at the end so hang around for that if you would and just kind of |
6:39 |
maybe say I don't know a little prayer or whatever you like to do for |
6:45 |
putting some good out in the world all right here's Johnny this is the Owens recovery science |
6:52 |
podcast [Music] |
6:59 |
all right welcome back to a special home recovery science podcast this is Johnny |
7:05 |
Owens here and I've got Kyle Kimbrough here running the Wheels of Steel in the background |
7:10 |
um and you know we do this I think this is our third year right Kyle of of doing a Memorial Day broadcast so this is um |
7:18 |
something that is very near and dear to our hearts this is a holiday that that |
7:23 |
we take very seriously in a time to reflect and that's Memorial Day and then not only to to reflect on |
7:30 |
those of the past in in the wars and and after the wars but also just some of the |
7:36 |
stories from from some amazing people as well and so today I have an amazing person on the podcast he's a he's a |
7:43 |
great friend of mine we became friends when when he spent time at the center for the Intrepid |
7:48 |
um I was his therapist so I got to to really pick on him a ton but |
7:54 |
we became friends uh like I did with so many of the folks there and along with his family so I love this this guy he's |
8:02 |
got an amazing family he punched way above his weight when he married his wife I mean uh yeah that is that is |
8:09 |
about it the truest statement yeah we always did to your Christmas card and my daughters are like oh my God they are so |
8:15 |
pretty about your daughters and your wife yeah thankfully my all my daughters look just like my wife so yeah no it's |
8:21 |
good that's good you know I I try to I try to provide at least a little bit there but you know thankfully the strong |
8:28 |
genes came from that side so I think the first person this card I got for you I text you uh who's the dad |
8:35 |
hey look there's you know I've regularly out kicked my coverage in |
8:42 |
most of my life and I continued I have as well man I have as well luckily we have weak genes the lady jeans take it |
8:49 |
over um but his name's Ryan Keough I'm gonna I'm gonna read your your bio directly |
8:54 |
just because there's there's more things in here than I'll bring remember but um he's from Caldwell Idaho he's a Boise |
9:01 |
State freaking fan I remember that with that stupid Blue Field they have over there I was always trying to understand |
9:07 |
what was going on over there but um he went to West Point and graduated |
9:13 |
obviously from from the academy there and joined the army Ryan served in the conventional Army as an infantry officer |
9:20 |
um leading in a platoon of soldiers during a year-long deployment in Northeast Afghanistan Afghanistan before being selected to serve in the US Army's |
9:27 |
Elite 75th Ranger regiment down there at Fort Benning in Georgia he's still down in the Atlanta area now while serving in |
9:34 |
third ranger battalion 75th regiment Ryan completed multiple deployments in the support of the global war on |
9:39 |
terrories of terrorism as well as a ranger Russell platoon leader and Ranger operations officer so after more than |
9:46 |
eight years on active duty including three deployments Ryan retired from the Army after losing his right leg below |
9:52 |
the knee um he's he's reserved he's received more Awards and than we could probably count in decoration including the Bronze Star |
9:58 |
Purple Heart combat infantry badge and the ranger Tab and now he's he's trying |
10:04 |
to rule the world in the private Equity world so he's he joined the corporate Workforce in 2013. |
10:11 |
um he worked for one of the largest avocado producers and mango growers in the world um he completed his MBA from Emory |
10:17 |
University and now he is with this private Equity Group and again taking over the world he's got beautiful kids |
10:24 |
like I mentioned earlier three daughters so he's got it worse than I do because I'm just dealing with two daughters but |
10:29 |
I've got the high school thing going on so um just wait dude just wait it's gonna get tough so a little scared a little |
10:37 |
excited I don't know which one is is more so but uh you know I'm thankful to |
10:42 |
have a pretty amazing wife uh and Laura and then the girls are you know they're close today so we had three in three |
10:48 |
years we call those uh we affectionately call that the Dark Ages in our life |
10:54 |
from zero to three kids fairly quickly and uh grad school working at the time |
11:00 |
you know and going from zero to three kids it was uh it was quite an interesting Journey during those times |
11:06 |
yeah lack of sleep and and it's amazing how we get through it well enjoy these |
11:11 |
times um my two daughters in high school um just got their belly buttons pierced |
11:16 |
the other day and my wife was all beat up about it um because I I gave him the go ahead but I said babe it's better |
11:21 |
than a neck tattoo and she was kind of tear it up she said no that's gonna be their boyfriends now |
11:27 |
uh I I I usually have effectively said um the uh The Matrix of good decision |
11:35 |
making and neck tattoos uh are perfectly inversely correlated yeah |
11:42 |
you know like they are they do not as one goes up the other Goes Down And so |
11:48 |
there's a lot of places you can get tattoos on the neck I would usually say is not a good idea |
11:54 |
yeah anywhere above the net we call that the we call that the tooth to tattoo |
12:00 |
ratio in physical therapy school |
12:06 |
oh man so Ryan it kind of all joking aside here if you don't mind you know I |
12:12 |
I know um you're such a humble guy you don't want to delve a ton into to your your background and injury but I kind of want |
12:19 |
to get into you know your background of joining the military and and sort of the story if you don't mind of of the |
12:26 |
Rangers because I think it's so cool um just how the Rangers kind of stood up and you know people don't understand |
12:31 |
that we geographically in the U.S there's the regiments are kind of in different spots as well as kind of how |
12:37 |
they deal with things around the world they also kind of let's get into more Memorial Day and then we have a huge |
12:42 |
tribute to someone that was it was someone else did both of them we really yeah and man looked up to a ton it |
12:48 |
really it really hurt us this year when this person passed yeah yeah so I mean |
12:54 |
uh you know originally from from Boise uh just outside of Boise my parents are you know Outdoors was how why we ended |
13:02 |
my parents you know move from from California to Idaho it was they always say they opened they uh affectionately |
13:07 |
call them big hippies from the 70s but uh you know they're um you know my dad is a super competitive triathlete and |
13:13 |
Outdoors my mom is I would say the quiet uh athlete of the family so she just she just goes out there and works and still |
13:20 |
like pulls my dad around everywhere when they they're you know in their 70s riding their bikes around Europe |
13:25 |
but uh Outdoors was what we did and that's why we grew up in Idaho and so uh |
13:31 |
my parents say they opened up a map and picked the greenest spot out there and that's how we ended up just outside of |
13:36 |
Boise and having a life where you could be in the outdoors and physical it was |
13:43 |
that was growing about was who I was and and then you know Sports were such a |
13:49 |
huge part of it and and I always I laughed where I said like I wanted to be a professional athlete and then realized I wasn't good at any sports so the next |
13:56 |
best place that you can get paid to work out and do things out is in the in the |
14:02 |
military and so I think every young you know boy you know and I think maybe |
14:07 |
where I grew up at the time was hey you played you know you played army man and had the little army soldiers and then in |
14:14 |
my formative years really you know would watch the news and do different things and I vividly remember Desert Storm one |
14:22 |
um so in 91 and then uh which I think for me was where I found out about the Rangers is in uh operation Gothic |
14:28 |
serpent right so that's Black Op down is what I think people effectively calls in 1993 and |
14:34 |
um that was such a huge piece to learn about this and so there's a obviously |
14:40 |
the famous book Black Hawk Down uh which read I think that book came out in like 95. |
14:47 |
um I think was when the book came out in the movies you know I would call it early 2000s |
14:53 |
but finding out about this incredibly Elite |
14:59 |
um traditional infantry force it I just that was for me it was one or two and |
15:04 |
then I think for once you get into the military and you realize how much of a small population actually |
15:11 |
does that yeah uh you're like well try it and then if it works out it's that'd |
15:17 |
be awesome and um but if you bank on that usually those are the folks that that don't right like |
15:23 |
I remember you know I'd go to West Point find out about West Point in the mid 90s and man you mean because you know my |
15:29 |
parents are Educators finding out about hey this is what the military is and I |
15:35 |
wanted to be a military oh and you can go to school and this is what West Point is I was like this is all I want to be |
15:41 |
this is all I want to do and so I was able to go there for like a kind of Summer uh experience Camp uh I think |
15:48 |
before my junior year came back and was like all right that's what I want to do um and 911 had had just happened |
15:56 |
um and so it was very you know 9 11 happened literally as I got back and that kind of sealed the deal for me and |
16:04 |
was like this is what I want to do and this is how I want to go be part of it and thankfully you know uh Iowa says I'm |
16:12 |
you know I'm sure it would have been harder from other places uh but Idaho it's like you know I I could get it was |
16:18 |
easier I think from just a population standpoint to get a nomination but was luckily to get accepted and uh to go you |
16:25 |
know we but I will you probably know this story actually I know you do Johnny my wife will regularly tell me that uh |
16:31 |
West Point was her safety school because she turned it down and so she she got in |
16:36 |
and and decided not to go uh because her dad and uncles are grads but uh she'll |
16:42 |
regularly tell me that it was her safety school so always reminding who you know who's better at most yeah my safety |
16:49 |
school was Austin Community College if I didn't get into UT I thought you would have said A M I mean |
16:54 |
yes I should have my I have such a good friend here uh |
17:01 |
locally uh now and he's he's big Longhorn guy and he uh he won't even |
17:07 |
refer to that them as a college um and um so but uh yeah so that was |
17:14 |
kind of what I wanted to do um and when I you know I was in them at West Point and you know you've got to |
17:20 |
compete for what you do want to do in the army you know your class rank determines what job what what you want |
17:27 |
to do and was really thankful enough to be able to to get selected as infantry because normally in years past and I |
17:34 |
think now it's not really competitive to to pick infantry most folks want to you |
17:39 |
know be helicopter Pilots or they want to go be doctors or they want to go be Military Intelligence like my years a |
17:47 |
huge population wanted to be infantry that's why you joined after 9 11 like that was a 911 thing right yeah and it's |
17:53 |
super competitive um and we we joke now and then I you |
17:59 |
know and so like when I was there and we pick infantry all of my friend group |
18:05 |
um we would this is how I ended up this was like what I always think signifies |
18:11 |
most people compete when you go compete about what unit or what place you want to post you pick uh a place based on a |
18:20 |
location so infant you know Hawaii or Italy a lot of guys in my unit what we would do is we they'd pick out this it |
18:26 |
was a calendar we called it the patch chart that's what it was referred to and it had a deployment calendar and so you |
18:32 |
knew what units were deploying at what times and so we would lay this out and be like okay what unit is going to |
18:38 |
deploy at the time I will get there after Ranger school and infantry officers like |
18:44 |
that's what you picked yeah was about how the fastest can I get to the fight |
18:49 |
and and you know again luckily is graduated went to Ranger school which is |
18:55 |
obviously Leadership School in uh airborne and kind of did the basic infantry officer stuff and and deployed |
19:01 |
pretty quickly afterwards to Afghanistan and so um you know got expense the chance to to |
19:08 |
do that which was you know what we call the Wild Wild West at the time um was because a lot of focus was on |
19:14 |
Iraq and it was a very informative you know I would call it transformative and uh |
19:19 |
developmental for me as a human as a leader as an officer because it was it was unique and you |
19:27 |
know you're you're um at that time in Northeast Afghanistan if you got in trouble like there was |
19:33 |
nobody coming and so it was it was you and um but thankfully and I you know this is I |
19:40 |
think what we're getting to the Rangers was able to put a packet in and get invited to come selected to be part of uh the ranger regiment and so how that |
19:47 |
process works is you put in a paper application and they have a board or they select and say sure we'd like to |
19:52 |
invite you to come to rasp which is called Ranger assessment assessment and selection |
19:58 |
um program uh it's called rasp 2 for officers and you go there for I think three or four weeks it's been a decade |
20:04 |
or longer since I'm in but um and you go and you go through the physical process you go through a board |
20:09 |
and then you know was luckily enough to get selected to go to third range Battalion and is that down at Benning |
20:15 |
did she go through yeah Benning rasp is it bending and then um you get selected and you go to the |
20:21 |
one of the three battalions so there's third second and first I was you know selected and and had kind of been |
20:26 |
penciled in by Third um and I will tell you is there's few |
20:32 |
things in life that I have found um that live up to the hype that what |
20:38 |
you put on something on a pedestal um about an organization or a group of |
20:44 |
people or you know like sometimes he says like you know in in uh in the civilian world or corporate world you're |
20:50 |
like oh that business looks great oh man those guys have a menu again it's like the grass is greener and then you get on |
20:56 |
the other side of the fence and it's AstroTurf and you're like yeah or you know it's it's fertilized with with |
21:02 |
manure right that's another thing but uh I got to range regimen and and it lived |
21:09 |
up to every bit of the hype uh the professionals that exist in that |
21:14 |
organization at every level um it is you know you see why the and |
21:20 |
you not only are you selected to be there you earn your right to stay there every day |
21:25 |
and so it you know it was it was such a great time and and |
21:31 |
um had a really uh good experience there um obviously you know getting hurt while |
21:37 |
I was there and then leaving the military and um that was obviously not my choice now my |
21:43 |
life is is great and I love it now yeah but uh and I think at the time it was right for me to get out when I did |
21:50 |
obviously you know went to San Antonio and and spent obviously the great time with you but the ranger regimen is not |
21:55 |
sure if it's a great time but yeah there were some good times not a great time I could admit it was |
22:02 |
not my favorite time of my life but uh you know I said I left uh left with a |
22:08 |
kid and I'll never you know that was uh a super great thing for my life but uh the |
22:15 |
ranger regiment you know for those that don't know it is the Army's Premier light infantry unit right it's it's |
22:23 |
um a a piece of uh Special Operations that |
22:28 |
specializes in direct action so whether that's um season airfields that's really kind |
22:34 |
of the national command Authority right when you think of Panama or Grenada or jumping into Iraq or Afghanistan those |
22:40 |
were Rangers right season airfields but in the global Wars on terrorism days |
22:45 |
it transformed into a raid force and so all the blood Ranger regiment what we |
22:51 |
did every night was we planned raids uh to go after guys that are not good and |
22:59 |
not just guys but gals but most of the time all guys right into these are these are guys that that uh uh if they came up |
23:06 |
on the radar of Special Operations they're not good people and they were moving against what would be you know |
23:12 |
life limb happiness of of either our soldiers or the population and that was what we were tasked to do and so it uh |
23:20 |
it was uh it was a very unique um ability and and they're very good at |
23:26 |
it I was lucky enough to uh to be along for a ride short period of time but uh |
23:32 |
it was it was a great experience and um they they are pretty special organization and it's uh they got some |
23:39 |
pretty special people which I know a little top of my Joe cap and yeah I will tell you it TR it it allowed me I |
23:47 |
think to be who I am today um just you know the expectations of |
23:53 |
professionalism and the expectations of Excellence that you know you have to bring every day with it and that's |
23:59 |
that's the Excellence is the standard not not the the goal yeah well I know that's probably a long |
24:06:00 |
answer no no I love it I mean I'm gonna back up on a little bit of things but um |
24:11:00 |
yeah you know I'm also a just for ease of the conversation of Black Hawk Down Baby because I was in college when that |
24:19:00 |
happened right um and so I remember how much those pictures affected me of seeing them |
24:26:00 |
dragging our servicemen down the you know just down the road you know they were basically naked I remember it also |
24:33:00 |
made me really want to keep my grades up because I was worried there was going to be a draft of that you know that was the first award forever I was like oh |
24:39:00 |
my dad was the right I'm gonna I'm gonna abuse in the service um but I I do remember that was just you |
24:46:00 |
know like wow and then I read the book yep and then that was the first you know I was like what this Ranger's thing is |
24:53:00 |
crazy and then kind of when I get into you know the how you guys kind of work hand in hand with the you know I think |
24:58:00 |
we can say their names at this point in time I remember my boss always said you don't say their names out loud but you |
25:04:00 |
know work talking with the working with the Deltas and then Black Hawk Down came out and if you haven't seen that I mean |
25:09:00 |
that's a great movie and just seeing how rangers are as well as the Deltas Blackhawk Down is one uh and it's it's |
25:16:00 |
even my girls at this point know and I and I you know people that I work with and they know and it's one of the few |
25:22:00 |
TNT it's one of those movies that are on TNT that I have to if it's a Saturday afternoon Black Hawk Down it's like well |
25:28:00 |
I know what I'm doing today I know what I'm I know what I'm getting into you cannot if it's on you cannot walk away I |
25:35:00 |
mean you have to watch it and dude it's got like now when you watch it you're like it has every like male stud looking |
25:42:00 |
dude in the world from Tom Hardy like I know Eric Bana right I mean the the |
25:48:00 |
geeky dork is you and McGregor it's like that's how that's how many |
25:54:00 |
studs are in it and I'll I'll go back to also you know I've been lucky enough to go to all the ranger battalions and |
26:00:00 |
Delta and all that you know I would get to go visit dude when you leave these Rangers science I felt so pumped up and |
26:07:00 |
like God Bless America like you know there's something they bump in the air there I'm like this is just it is also |
26:15:00 |
the most competitive place that I've ever heard it is yeah I did not think it could get worse than like my friend friend group at West Point yeah |
26:23:00 |
no it'd be like in Kyle they wear basically underwear for sure so that's the only problem I have with the Rangers |
26:31:00 |
Ranger panties uh nobody it would be like well I'm gonna be here at 5 30 and |
26:37:00 |
then the next day it's like well I'm gonna be here at 5 25 and then I'll be here at five o'clock doing push-ups so |
26:42:00 |
like you know and it just it just it's the culture that is bred there and right |
26:48:00 |
there's all the good and all the bad that come with it but it is it creates such a |
26:53:00 |
uh infectious culture of Excellence that is is really I have never seen anything |
27:01:00 |
like it obviously my my good friends uh uh uh left Ranger regimen and gone on to other you know very specialized Mission |
27:09:00 |
units um here kind of maybe so them I I can't speak to those uh but I can speak of you |
27:17:00 |
stick 800 18 19 to 27 sometimes you get you |
27:23:00 |
know the colonel law or general all rats they're you know the commanders but they're only in their 40s of the most |
27:29:00 |
competitive testosterone filled you know humans on the planet and it creates |
27:36:00 |
something pretty special how hard was it to get through Ranger School uh well |
27:41:00 |
Ranger school obviously different than Ranger regiment um Ranger school is is just a Leadership |
27:46:00 |
School right and a lot of folks can go to it uh yeah I mean is it impossible no |
27:51:00 |
because you know a lot of folks do it that uh is it would I ever want to do it again absolutely not I went in dinner |
28:00:00 |
um and I went uh you know it so it was cold and it was rainy and folks got hypothermia I think one of the |
28:08:00 |
um you know there's a few things obviously now living in Atlanta and close to Dahlonega where Mountain phase is and I remember a saying is you know |
28:16:00 |
you get there first time the mountains you look up and you see the huge mountains the Tennessee Valley divide you're going to climb and |
28:21:00 |
there's nothing but character in them Hills is saying is |
28:27:00 |
that's awesome uh you know I work with a A you know a guy in another business uh |
28:33:00 |
that has our same Financial sponsor and he's a Navy SEAL and uh he and I were just kind of talking about some shared |
28:39:00 |
experiences he's very similar age as mine and he said you go into the surf and you come out of a changed human |
28:46:00 |
yeah and I I wouldn't I don't you know Ranger schools obviously it's very different the buds and you know they're |
28:53:00 |
totally different experiences and the longevity of it versus hell week versus the food deprivation it's a very very |
28:59:00 |
different experience um but I still think it's the same way you you you you're just different and in |
29:07:00 |
terms of what you can push yourself to what you you find very differently |
29:12:00 |
around what the difference of between pain and discomfort is and you if |
29:17:00 |
anybody have I think you taught me that more than anybody in my life is there's a difference between pain and discomfort |
29:23:00 |
yeah when you're learning and going through Rehabilitation after a major injury it's hey what is what is pain and |
29:30:00 |
what is discomfort because discomfort is good and pain is not and right right I think where you got to learn when you |
29:36:00 |
come through it on the other side you're a changed person that's for sure yeah I remember being down in San Diego and just looking at their buds training and |
29:42:00 |
we didn't get to see it because it was going to be the next morning but they had this giant rope that went from one |
29:48:00 |
end to the other it was like 80 feet in the air on these two towers and at the |
29:53:00 |
end of all this like crazy stuff they would have to get on that rope and and Scoot across the rope and right over |
29:59:00 |
there we're like so how do y'all what do you all harness them in case they're falling the guy goes oh no man we don't |
30:05:00 |
harness them man there's sand below we call them lawn darts if they fall they just go down and their legs are sticking |
30:11:00 |
out of the sand when they're done like yes it's a different world than what I'm used to yeah yeah I want to clarify too |
30:19:00 |
and I I did misspeak because this is something that gets confused to people people are going through Ranger school |
30:24:00 |
they're like I'm a ranger you hear this with some of these politicians you know yeah verse you know you know they're |
30:29:00 |
like I got my tab versus I actually went through regiment yeah just clarify that yeah and I I think some folks uh you |
30:35:00 |
know I I there are some folks that still kind of beat their chest around it at the end of the day like it's uh |
30:42:00 |
it's a it's a way around it right and now I will tell you there's a very different uh pathway of Ranger regiments |
30:48:00 |
I I always say say once you put on a tambourne that's a it's a different life and you live it you've done different |
30:54:00 |
things and but uh yeah it's it's a uh it is it's a there are two very different |
31:00:00 |
uh aspects of it not to Discount one or the other it's just they're different |
31:05:00 |
and people if you watch Black Hawk Down we see Rangers and Delta or these tier |
31:10:00 |
one kind of groups working very close together can you can you speak under that relationship how those missions kind of work |
31:16:00 |
yeah uh again it's probably totally different than it is now but they work really Co you know we we would work with |
31:23:00 |
a lot of different units whether it's a CL unit um that exists or it's a Delta unit that |
31:29:00 |
exists or um you know there are some other ones out there right and we all have diff |
31:34:00 |
like what we bring to bear uh to the fight is very different right it's uh |
31:40:00 |
um there is uh uh Rangers right when you bring you know 60 to you know 50 to 60 |
31:48:00 |
heavily armed uh very uh well-trained infantry |
31:54:00 |
um soldiers like that's what you bring with Ranger regiment versus you know maybe somebody that's strained in counterterrorism or something like that |
32:00:00 |
and so it's a they're complementary forces right like uh Rangers show up with machine guns and you know all |
32:06:00 |
different types of things that uh mortar systems that you know that maybe not a different special Mission Unit might not |
32:12:00 |
have because they're just different organizational structures but they'll go to missions and we do we work collaboratively together right yeah um |
32:19:00 |
at least I mean again that was how it was again when I was it was very different but uh |
32:26:00 |
um they have different different Mission sets and so but they they're all you |
32:31:00 |
know at the same end goal of trying to trying to be that Elite raid for us if that's what the mission is I thought |
32:37:00 |
that was so cool when we were all together at the center for the Intrepid was you know you had across the spectrum |
32:43:00 |
of all these these different groups your your young infantry Kid Young Marine you |
32:48:00 |
know up to you know them all looking up to you and Ranger guys and you'd have the the other special horses guys but |
32:54:00 |
everyone it was almost like a an even playing field but you guys were able to drive those other other folks so well |
33:01:00 |
you know just seeing the way they looked up to y'all because sometimes they got sick of my and I would have to ring |
33:08:00 |
in like a Ryan Keough or some of our other buddies that were there to you know kind of like okay I think some of |
33:14:00 |
it comes yeah some of it comes with age um some of it comes but I think too is like just the expectations right I mean |
33:20:00 |
we both know young Rangers they were young SEALS or or the marsok we both |
33:26:00 |
know some folks that were from the marine Special Operations unit it's that same the same people that |
33:32:00 |
gravitate to those organizations they just uh they have like the expectation about |
33:38:00 |
it and then a lot of times what you found and even you know and obviously me trying to to go back |
33:44:00 |
um is you don't uh people ask it's like you don't want to leave the All-Star team once you make it yeah you know there |
33:51:00 |
were folks their entire life have been spent hey I want to go be a MARSOC Raider or I |
33:57:00 |
want to go be a Navy SEAL or I want to go back to the unit right to going back to being a an operator |
34:03:00 |
and that's what they do that's what they know um I think you know as we'll talk about |
34:09:00 |
I'm sure later on that that strikes both ways if that's all that you know |
34:16:00 |
and that is what you define Yourself by man that's tough that is so tough to get |
34:23:00 |
over it is um and I think everybody's got to find a way |
34:28:00 |
um to do it and I you know um we can kind of transition to that too |
34:34:00 |
as I yeah I thought about as you know as we were talking about it um somebody asked me a long time ago about |
34:41:00 |
how you deal with the transition and uh if you've never been to Arlington |
34:47:00 |
you should go um it is it is |
34:52:00 |
when you I'm out I go to the West Point Cemetery when I'm near there because I just have some very close friends that are buried there or Arlington is another |
34:58:00 |
way and if you've never been there it is such a powerful |
35:04:00 |
visual representation yeah of of the sacrifice that have been made by |
35:12:00 |
such a small portion of the population and one of the things that which I I put |
35:19:00 |
on that I uh that that really has made me kind of think about is if you think of people on |
35:26:00 |
earth um that have been here that should that could be or should be |
35:32:00 |
um resp like proud of their professional accomplishments that would you know the |
35:39:00 |
medals on their chest or the the units that they LED or the things that they |
35:45:00 |
did it would be in that Cemetery yeah but the common things that you see |
35:52:00 |
beloved father um you know uh um |
35:57:00 |
cherished husband uh friend those are the things that they |
36:03:00 |
wear yeah on their head right it is and that really kind of impacted me it was |
36:08:00 |
like what matters and like what am I like what what do I want to be defined by and I will not let myself be defined by |
36:16:00 |
my injury or my time in the Army like that doesn't mean that I'm less proud of it it is just like what you like what |
36:23:00 |
are you going to be defined by and I think that that is where our I think some folks sometimes struggle is they |
36:31:00 |
they're not allowing themselves to Define themselves other than what they did yes |
36:39:00 |
dude you couldn't have said that better and I I think that is one of the keys that in the code that we haven't been |
36:45:00 |
able to crack is not being defined by that and it is so indoctrinated that this is who you are this is who you are |
36:51:00 |
this is who you are um yeah making that transition is crazy tough and I think what what another |
36:57:00 |
piece is is realizing how and you with that that's all you know right and |
37:03:00 |
you've been in the military for 20 years in your game you know what success looks like the |
37:10:00 |
next rank the next position the next job that it is defined a lot of times it's |
37:18:00 |
by time it's or it's by experience it's this unit |
37:23:00 |
will define success for me and that is like really powerful and |
37:29:00 |
easy for folks to view when you get out of the military you don't have that and |
37:36:00 |
so you have to Define your own success and I've you know for me it's it's even I've struggled in ways of saying like |
37:44:00 |
where I'm you know I'll a huge you know if I'll take a new role or get something here and I'm like man I I do |
37:51:00 |
not believe I can be successful and like that that self-doubt of Jesus this is |
37:56:00 |
hard I've watched a lot of people fail and um I think what what you get to is |
38:02:00 |
you gotta Define your own success because I had you know somebody kind of give me some feedback when I was really |
38:08:00 |
strong he said look your your problem is you have a view of Success Through one lens and that's Excellence that's it it |
38:15:00 |
is if this is the goal there is it is a pass or fail there is no other thing |
38:22:00 |
other than Excellence is success but what you have to help redefine is |
38:28:00 |
like you get to Define Excellence by the way and that was what he told me it was like it's time and resources to achieve |
38:34:00 |
the mission in which you have it stand and so if you you get to Define accidents and I think people struggle |
38:40:00 |
that's another aspect when people struggles they're like I can't I'm not successful I'm not I don't I don't know |
38:45:00 |
where the next move is or I don't I see other these other people doing these things that I'm not doing and they that |
38:51:00 |
is such a deflating for somebody that has had such a defined success so when |
38:57:00 |
you take that and you lose your identity for a lot of folks again this is how I |
39:03:00 |
viewed it so I'm not saying this is you know this is Ryan keough's opinion it is I think that's where a lot of |
39:11:00 |
folks really struggle and I you know it's not that I haven't struggled at |
39:17:00 |
times but like I didn't I didn't allow myself and I didn't have a partner in Laura that would allow me to yeah you |
39:23:00 |
know and it was like Hey I get out and I have three kids in three years and it's like no no you are a dad and this is |
39:30:00 |
what we do here um and this is you know like this is we're successful like this is what's |
39:36:00 |
we're gonna do as a team and uh that helped me |
39:41:00 |
I also know that that's been that's been huge and I think that's where when I call it the good the bad the ugly |
39:48:00 |
of getting out of the military is you have that is is like those sometimes hit people with just it's a brick wall for |
39:55:00 |
some folks it's hard yeah yeah one excellence |
40:00:00 |
is life or death when you're in the military almost you know and so it's easy to say like I'm gonna put everything into this and like you said |
40:07:00 |
how do you redefine what Excellence is going to be for you at this point when it could just be this is just to get a |
40:13:00 |
promotion in this job and they're almost looking down on it but it's like man you gotta again there's way more that |
40:19:00 |
defines you and and the dad the father all of those pieces were such huge game |
40:26:00 |
changers for guys like you and so many other of our folks that we saw that that succeeded was that I mean I always would |
40:34:00 |
tell the spouse you are the key component here |
40:39:00 |
that is the like the anchoring you know it was it was such an anchor for me |
40:44:00 |
there it's been an anchor everywhere is like you know it's you I mean I think you guys know this too is picking the |
40:52:00 |
right spouse a partner is probably the most important decision you'll ever make |
40:57:00 |
it is and you know and I think that's that is where you know for me it's |
41:05:00 |
helped me be successful and and help me and that transition out of |
41:12:00 |
right there is no there is no end there is what what even in the military times there's there's end lines right there's |
41:19:00 |
Finish Lines I'm going to finish command and then I'm gonna go do something else |
41:24:00 |
in this you know in the civilian World there is no Finish Line I know the |
41:30:00 |
journey is the the entire aspect that is the race yeah and uh you know there's |
41:37:00 |
the accreditations oh I got this badge that means I can do this like that |
41:43:00 |
doesn't exist yeah I know I wish you did I would win my email badge every day |
41:52:00 |
20 emails today exactly and then I think that those are but I you know I think |
41:59:00 |
we're we're at you the balance is is not allowing |
42:04:00 |
the military to Define you but not allowing you to lose the things |
42:11:00 |
that are special about you it and what it did for you and I think that's where |
42:17:00 |
like that's a constant I would say like back and forth for me is you know if you've |
42:24:00 |
ever done a disc personality right um the high D the drive I'm about as |
42:31:00 |
high like there literally is no higher D on a disc for me uh than that exists and |
42:36:00 |
but knowing is like that has equal ramifications the other way |
42:42:00 |
right and being aware of yeah and uh that's those are all like |
42:47:00 |
aspects that I think people deal with in the transition I I hopefully this is you know what what we wanted to talk about |
42:53:00 |
and you know kind of pieces yeah the transition is what worked for me and so I that's going to lead us into |
42:59:00 |
[Music] Memorial Day and difficulty with the transition because you know we lost |
43:06:00 |
someone special and it's in ripples through our community of friends I know through your Ranger Community |
43:13:00 |
um and this guy is a Legend um and you know yeah I just wanna I |
43:19:00 |
don't wanna I know it's hard for you to even talk about it but if you want to kind of give the the backstory of Joe |
43:25:00 |
cap and yeah um you know Memorial Day uh at first is |
43:31:00 |
you know uh I don't view it as a holiday that can't be celebrated and |
43:38:00 |
some people do they're like it's a sad you know it's a sad day and yeah it is but it is meant like I view it through |
43:46:00 |
we get the opportunity to celebrate the sacrifices of people |
43:52:00 |
and folks that have that have made such an impact on me and |
43:59:00 |
community and in our country and I I use that so that's the thing we were talking |
44:04:00 |
earlier like I'm I'm looking for we leave tomorrow for the beach we're gonna go down to South Carolina to the beach |
44:09:00 |
and I do a thing that and this will now be the fourth year in a row that we've done |
44:14:00 |
it um and I'm gonna make it a you know tradition is I literally like put together a presentation like this is the |
44:22:00 |
nerve like work nerd in me about a friend or a soldier Ranger of mine |
44:29:00 |
that passed away and I make a slideshow presentation this is who they are this |
44:35:00 |
is where they're from this is what they did this is where they grew up here's a pictures of us together here is |
44:42:00 |
um here is what where they where they died this is what they were doing when they died and it puts a face and a name |
44:50:00 |
actually it puts an my way I described it it puts an address on Memorial Day |
44:57:00 |
yeah and my girls have like ingrained this now and so they go into Memorial |
45:03:00 |
Day and they're like who are we celebrating this year uh like Daddy tell me about who we're |
45:08:00 |
celebrating this year wow I'm like you get like we're gonna find out about it and like |
45:13:00 |
being able to like put an address to Memorial Day not only is it helpful for |
45:21:00 |
me and it's like um therapeutic right because I get to like dig up old pictures of like me and |
45:27:00 |
this guy together and I'm like holy smokes I was in shape |
45:33:00 |
what happened yeah or or B and then |
45:38:00 |
to like it's therapeutic to like think of the good times and not |
45:43:00 |
what has been very hard uh is looking at the things that they missed |
45:51:00 |
out on um you know I got um a guy that we did last year such a |
45:57:00 |
very close friend his name is Jay Jones who's my West Point classmate and uh was in seven special portions group and uh |
46:04:00 |
was killed in Afghanistan in 2000 and um uh I believe it's 2000 yes 2014. and |
46:13:00 |
um and it was incredibly tough for me to |
46:18:00 |
think about he didn't get to be a dad and he didn't get like the world didn't get to see how |
46:25:00 |
unfairly it was of how good he was at everything how smart he was how athletic he was |
46:32:00 |
like the things like how it was annoyingly good at everything and the world we missed out on that |
46:42:00 |
that was sad for me but I was able to like therapeutically talk about it with my girls about you |
46:48:00 |
guys let me tell you about Jay and like I gotta tell you some funny stories and my wife Laura gets to sit there about |
46:54:00 |
you know we had him and our other friend over for dinner one night she's like I just had to listen to you three idiots |
46:59:00 |
just make fun of each other for an hour and a half yeah like that was what we did yeah yeah and uh and |
47:08:00 |
so but that's how I use Memorial Day one like I'm always like that's I will like |
47:13:00 |
for me I will never work on a Memorial Day in my life like I don't yes I don't care what it is and that is like you can |
47:21:00 |
you know when somebody wants to hire me it's like yeah that's great I'll do that except if it's on Memorial Day like I will not that is one I'll work on |
47:27:00 |
Veterans Day you know it is what it is and like hopefully I cannot have to and I get to go do something but Memorial Day is so |
47:34:00 |
it carries so much emotional weight from me in a good and bad way so |
47:40:00 |
that's interesting this is cathartic and um you know my Latino wife and her |
47:45:00 |
family they celebrate Day of the Dead it's a very it's you know pre-coco |
47:51:00 |
they've been doing this forever you know and it's very serious to them and my |
47:56:00 |
father-in-law he basically died from drinking himself to death from from |
48:01:00 |
Vietnam you know three tours my mother-in-law said I don't remember him ever sleeping through a night you know he always had these night terrors and |
48:08:00 |
but it is almost the same for her she she brings out all his medals and you |
48:14:00 |
know Day of the Dead and we celebrate him and it's that's interesting because we we always kind of do the flag in the |
48:20:00 |
ground and talk about him on Memorial Day that I'm gonna I'm gonna bring this up this weekend I think that's a great idea and I um you know it is such a it's |
48:29:00 |
such a great way of like one like forcing myself to like go look at pictures and go look at and like think |
48:36:00 |
of memories um you know I always say sometimes like time itself uh it's like a it's like a |
48:44:00 |
sine wave right like it's easy and then it's hard and then it's easy and you know it's like because you get to view |
48:50:00 |
at least I do view these sacrifices through the lens that I carry with me |
48:57:00 |
today right because like I look at like incredible men and women uh that don't |
49:05:00 |
get the opportunity to experience the things that I've gotten to experience |
49:10:00 |
and that's uh that is I think is is been fairly sad |
49:15:00 |
um so I say all that is you know around Memorial Day it's such a you know and some folks like oh no it's |
49:22:00 |
it's not a beach holiday and it's like look it that is on us to educate people |
49:28:00 |
um I don't you know where folks will you know they the the the the difference the chasm between you know the folks that |
49:36:00 |
have served that don't serve it's not because they don't want to know it's they just don't right and it's hard you |
49:44:00 |
know I got especially like moving to Atlanta and being you know the Social Circle of like not around anybody that |
49:51:00 |
that was in the military a lot of folks don't even know somebody that was in the military which is so |
49:57:00 |
hard to Fathom if that's all you've ever known right like I went to college but folks that went to the military I went |
50:03:00 |
you know my grant and it's like oh my God you know this person well my grandfather served in the Navy and then there was no one in their lives |
50:10:00 |
that serve or they know I knew this one kid in high school 20 years ago that joined the army and |
50:18:00 |
that's their only connection to it that is um that's on us you know as veterans and |
50:25:00 |
the folks that you know that know the sacrifice to help educate folks and it's not shouldn't be like a hammer that |
50:33:00 |
you're not celebrating the sacrifices you know right it's like no no no let me tell you about how awesome this dude was |
50:41:00 |
let me tell you about the sacrifices they've made and that's what I try to do |
50:46:00 |
and I try to celebrate it with my girls because it you know that's what matters to me it's fantastic are you doing Joe |
50:52:00 |
this year uh yeah yeah we'll do Joe this year so um you know so so Joe cap man |
51:00:00 |
um I I I'm gonna be very proud if I get through this next time uh I'm being emotional uh man I I don't |
51:08:00 |
even know where to start with Joe other than |
51:14:00 |
um he was in my opinion specialty made by God that people like that they don't |
51:21:00 |
like that is one of one and um so if the government said I'm |
51:27:00 |
gonna make a ranger out of parts they yeah Joe they they built Joe |
51:33:00 |
basically yeah so if for those physical and and mental mental spiritual everything even though look you just |
51:40:00 |
look it's kind of like when he shows a picture of um what's his name uh Tillman uh Pat Tillman Pat Tillman you're like |
51:46:00 |
yeah he looks like special you're like okay he had muscles he had muscles in his chin I didn't even know they had |
51:52:00 |
muscles that's Joe man um but for Joe kapocheski |
51:58:00 |
for for those that don't don't that know who who Joe is so Joe uh from |
52:04:00 |
um just outside of uh is in the Northeast I believe just outside of Boston joined the army |
52:09:00 |
um before just just before right after 9 11 um and enlisted to become a ranger |
52:15:00 |
um so Joe you know uh jumped into Iraq has a you know had a mustard stain from jumping in that's a mustard Sansa an |
52:22:00 |
award you get from from a combat jump there's only been three since 2001 all of them down by third ranger battalion |
52:28:00 |
um I'm from Special Operations there's some other folks that have obviously done them but um and uh |
52:35:00 |
uh in 2005 was in Iraq and lost his uh was is injured in a grenade attack |
52:42:00 |
and um injured his leg tried to have limb salvaging and ended up being an elective |
52:47:00 |
amputee and so when I showed up the ranger regiment in 2009 |
52:53:00 |
um Joe uh yeah 2009 Joe 2019 2010 Joe |
52:58:00 |
was a newly promoted platoon Sergeant so it was the second McMahon of a platoon |
53:03:00 |
right there was the senior NCO of platoon and I believe it done like four or five deployments post amputation yeah |
53:12:00 |
and was a he was a rasp instructor which is like for the June grasp one the |
53:17:00 |
unlisted guys and the aura that Joe |
53:22:00 |
carried around because of his ability he was a physical |
53:27:00 |
freak of nature where we would work out together and go |
53:32:00 |
on runs and he had one leg and I had two and I could not keep up yeah sub hour 10 miler |
53:39:00 |
with a prosthetic um you know uh he he ran on a Pathfinder |
53:46:00 |
which is like this walking prosthetic he ran five miles and under four minutes in |
53:51:00 |
a prosthetic that is not designed to run yes like that have you told the the |
53:58:00 |
manufacturer of that they couldn't fathom that somebody could do that yeah |
54:03:00 |
and he he had just an Outlook of life that there was no obstacle |
54:11:00 |
that he could not overcome and I think people you know we see pictures of these |
54:16:00 |
service members missing a missing a limb you know in a prosthetic and in their uniform you're like oh these guys are |
54:22:00 |
just all redeploying and doing stuff like that that is not a common thing at all it's it's extremely rare and he was |
54:30:00 |
the first and to be able to do it as a ranger correct and you know it did a |
54:35:00 |
total of 11 deployments with or without his limb which is I believe he did not I want to say he did seven after |
54:42:00 |
um and like I mean literally like in one deployment that that we did at the same time like he took like he would always |
54:49:00 |
carry an extra leg like he took a he took shrapnel in a prosthetic like you know bronze start with Valor for |
54:56:00 |
carrying a guy off the battlefield like I mean just I think that that story is amazing you know that there's he's got a |
55:04:00 |
prosthetic he's backing out as a Ranger a ranger gets shot in the battlefield and fire everywhere and who runs out and |
55:12:00 |
drags this guy back with his prosthetic like it's no nobody's business his joke I would tell you you know how mad he |
55:19:00 |
would be that we were talking about him wearing a prosthetic right now |
55:24:00 |
but and I think you know and obviously with when I got hurt and I remember him walking into my hospital room and being |
55:31:00 |
like what's wrong with you man let's go we got things to do and um I think for him like having that |
55:39:00 |
connection that I had with him allowed me to know it's going to be okay and like I'm gonna get through this and like |
55:46:00 |
that is such an infectious way of viewing like I you know I remember when |
55:51:00 |
we went to the Boston bombing and people were like how'd you get here I'm not uh we got on a plane and drove |
55:58:00 |
and they're like you can drive like yeah dude like I can definitely drive and but |
56:05:00 |
it like when I you know just experience is like Joe can do everything I could do better |
56:11:00 |
than me before my injury and and um I will tell you Joe was an incredible |
56:18:00 |
father of you know two young boys um and this year you know I think got |
56:25:00 |
out of the military a number of years ago um did did retire |
56:30:00 |
um did some some other stuff with the government for a while and I think ultimately uh continue to struggle with |
56:38:00 |
some demons and uh you know unfortunately uh uh took his uh took his own life this year and it |
56:45:00 |
um I think it would have been uh I I really I think struggle with it of |
56:53:00 |
of knowing that I probably should have been there for him more ultimately uh |
56:59:00 |
you know folks are or that's a that's a that's a battle you have to deal with internally and |
57:05:00 |
um you know he had a private I I even said my wife and I were talking about it and uh his service was was fairly |
57:11:00 |
private because I said man um if they were you know he's barely in Arlington and not if they would have had |
57:18:00 |
a public service that I had to have it at like FedEx Field yeah um that was the impact that he he had in |
57:25:00 |
the community not just uh wounded people wounded |
57:31:00 |
soldiers amputees the Special Operations community um Ranger regiment is he he carried with |
57:39:00 |
him I think a lot of that um of being that |
57:44:00 |
you know when you think of Rangers like that's who I think of yeah is is that |
57:52:00 |
he he really was such a |
57:57:00 |
powerful you know symbol and uh man uh I |
58:03:00 |
think obviously the the the worst tragedy is is the fact that you know you get two |
58:08:00 |
boys that don't have their dad and Kim that doesn't have her husband anymore but uh man uh |
58:15:00 |
we're all we're all at a loss because he's not here and |
58:22:00 |
um you know I I've made uh a conscious effort to try to reach out to to more folks in my circle because of |
58:30:00 |
it um if anything just to tell folks hey I love you man and and uh |
58:35:00 |
I wish we could you know I wish we lived near closer we'd get some beers and yeah but uh God he he really was something |
58:43:00 |
special man one of one and uh I miss him and I I I I I thank for every |
58:51:00 |
thankful for everything that he did for me and whether he knew it or not and |
58:56:00 |
what he meant to me whether he knew it or not and I tried to tell him and we'd get together and |
59:01:00 |
um you know we'd have beers and we'd talk about random thing I mean he's just he was |
59:07:00 |
super special yeah well and I think this is you know this is mental |
59:14:00 |
health month in May and also we want to point out for Memorial Day that it's not only for those that you you know might |
59:20:00 |
think it's just on the battlefield the the battle is continuous lots of times and you've done such an amazing job with |
59:26:00 |
yourself um with this but you know you and I both know lots of times if I see a text come |
59:32:00 |
up from you or from anyone back in these days together I I'm really nervous because yeah you know half the time it |
59:40:00 |
is bad news like this so you're and I can't tell you how many times I'm just like no way Joe like and they do feel |
59:48:00 |
like like I said you feel like an ass because you're like dude they got it so together it's always like yeah like and |
59:55:00 |
I should have done something you know I had a I had another very uh close friend of mine |
1:00:01 |
um from the army that we went to West Point together and he was a ranger and then he went to to another special |
1:00:06 |
Mission Unit and he died last April um March late March early yeah last late |
1:00:12 |
March uh of a heart attack um just a Widowmaker and um |
1:00:18 |
I after and then obviously then Joe passed away not too |
1:00:23 |
um soon after and um I I had called two folks |
1:00:29 |
to tell them both and I was like man I haven't talked to this person in seven years and I'm both the times that I've |
1:00:37 |
called them are about things that I should not be having to tell people yeah |
1:00:42 |
and uh that was when I said for me it's like okay I am going to make a concerted effort |
1:00:48 |
to reach out to folks even if it is just if I call them and |
1:00:54 |
they don't it's like look man it's not a I'm not calling you to say one of our other friends is dead yeah and uh that's |
1:01:01 |
I think that's been the uh the hardest thing around |
1:01:07 |
leaving the military is knowing how hard it is and folks |
1:01:13 |
knowing that it it folks struggle and you you know and thankfully I'm like you know I've been |
1:01:21 |
out now longer than I was in which is mind-boggling crazy to me that's crazy we're all now yes you know and I've got |
1:01:28 |
my my you know my first like my classmates are Lieutenant Colonels and like my friends are like full bird |
1:01:35 |
colonels and like next up to be generals and like my you know mentors are multiple star generals retiring |
1:01:42 |
but they all have to leave at some point and you try you know and I think for me |
1:01:48 |
it's like what I've tried to do is just be that sounding board of hey look like this is how this is the things you're |
1:01:53 |
going to run into this is hard and like because I uh I would say incorrectly did it my I like |
1:02:03 |
most of my things my life are done my way and like how I when I got out of the army I just muscled through a lot of |
1:02:10 |
things without resources or people to lean on or things like that I remember this old Ryan Kia |
1:02:18 |
back in the day you know it was like hey uh and I |
1:02:23 |
laughed it was like some people were like well how was your transition and I was like well in the two years after I |
1:02:29 |
got out I went from one to three kids bought two houses moved went to grad |
1:02:35 |
school and switched jobs uh so like I didn't have a time to think |
1:02:40 |
about it other than these were the tasks at hand and how you get through it and I |
1:02:48 |
um it's you still think about it and you still try to get better but that's |
1:02:54 |
um that's where I think you know there's always try to be better and try to help other folks behind you and say hey |
1:02:59 |
here's some resources and I think hopefully uh we as a is a military and that |
1:03:07 |
organization have gotten better as well yeah yeah well man |
1:03:12 |
um this is great stuff and we just want to honor Joe and all the other folks |
1:03:18 |
that have passed on this Memorial Day this is like you said it's not a day of Sorrow it's a data of remembrance and |
1:03:26 |
it's not a joke celebration yeah |
1:03:32 |
there is a book about Joe out there called back in the fight which is really cool and and some really good leaks I |
1:03:38 |
saw a video yesterday I was just looking at it uh Gary sadista thing about Joe um not not on his passing but actually |
1:03:45 |
of some of his accomplishments it was pretty cool on YouTube so there's some great stuff yeah that's you know and I |
1:03:51 |
think uh it's uh what I would imagine uh Chris Kyle was like in in the steel |
1:03:57 |
Community or um you know there's there's certain folks like we know in the Marsa |
1:04:03 |
community everyone knew Joe everyone and it's like |
1:04:08 |
you know like uh obviously Joe and I were were you know I think closer because of our far our similar injuries |
1:04:14 |
we joke that like we would buy shoes together he would get the left I would get the right um but like |
1:04:21 |
um but what I would say is um I fell very lucky that I was one of |
1:04:28 |
the many many people that got to know him and uh you know there are folks that no one better or you know and that's not |
1:04:35 |
I was just not a contest but I'm just fortunate enough to be in that group that um that that got to call him a you know |
1:04:42 |
a friend whether you know that's how I view them and uh he uh he was pretty special and I you know I think I would |
1:04:49 |
say the same thing about about folks about you and and uh well you Johnny and I and I'm gonna I'll use this as a way |
1:04:56 |
because I know you will not toot your own horn um in this way is for those that don't |
1:05:02 |
know what Johnny means to a lot of us um I wouldn't |
1:05:08 |
I could not have done and I couldn't do the I couldn't be who I am today without |
1:05:13 |
Johnny have been there and what I would consider the darkest time of my life |
1:05:19 |
um and it I didn't know how to get out of a whole lot of times and when you have somebody |
1:05:27 |
like Johnny even though he is uh you know pain in the ass a lot of times |
1:05:33 |
um was always there but always answer the phone would always be there and wasn't just a physical |
1:05:39 |
therapist and I I'm not going to let this opportunity go by without saying |
1:05:46 |
thank you and thank you for being there for me my |
1:05:52 |
family and being a friend I'm not going to let this opportunity because you know you |
1:05:58 |
probably don't you won't talk about it about how good you are and were as a therapist but mostly as a friend |
1:06:04 |
awesome man I love it that's why I love just being able to stay in touch with you guys it was the best of times it was |
1:06:11 |
the worst of times right yeah you and I just reflected last summer on man I |
1:06:16 |
don't know if we could do it again but I really miss our times with with everyone we missed you at uh at Johnny's wedding |
1:06:22 |
I know it sucks I know we gotta we had uh Dr Shu and I got to uh to spend a lot |
1:06:29 |
of quality time together and I I a lot we laughed and I was like man these are the fun times when like none of us are |
1:06:36 |
in stressful situations and like we get to like be a part of like a good thing |
1:06:42 |
and we're years and years removed from trauma and it's like we get to celebrate |
1:06:47 |
I was like man it was it was pretty awesome to do that and we missed you there so but but I still have it uh |
1:06:55 |
you see it the flag you gave me man still one of my coolest gifts of all |
1:07:00 |
time right after he recovered and redeployed and carried a flag out on his |
1:07:06 |
first mission and then gifted it back to me it was it was super cool never sitting here |
1:07:13 |
all right man that that was amazing Ryan happy Memorial Day brother I miss you |
1:07:18 |
let's keep all reaching out for for the good things and not the bad things and |
1:07:23 |
um I appreciate you doing this my man yeah man of course by the way you know I'll always do that and uh again appreciate you |
1:07:29 |
foreign |
1:07:41 |
[Music] |
1:08:09 |
all right [Music] |
1:08:25 |
[Music] |