🎙️ BWA Veterans Podcast – Featuring Jeremy Williamson & Travis Amerson

This episode of the Blackwater Addiction Veterans Podcast is one you don’t want to miss. We’re honored to sit down with Jeremy Williamson, a proud Veteran whose story is built on service, sacrifice, and strength. From his time in uniform to life beyond it, Jeremy brings a real, unfiltered perspective on what it means to serve this country and carry that mindset into everyday life.

Alongside him is Travis Amerson, founder of Blackwater Addiction, outdoorsman, and a man who deeply respects the men and women who’ve answered the call to serve. Travis brings his signature real-talk style to the table—diving into meaningful conversations about brotherhood, purpose, faith, and the transition from military life back into the civilian world.

Together, Jeremy and Travis open up about the highs, the struggles, and the bonds that never break. This isn’t just a podcast—it’s a conversation rooted in honor, grit, and real-life experiences that deserve to be heard.

🇺🇸 Real stories. Real sacrifice. Real talk.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Some little lemon juice and uh and uh what's that stuff called that red sauce? All right everybody thank y'all for dropping by. I see there's three people on here. We're gonna let it warm up a little bit, but uh tonight we got some pretty pretty awesome stuff going on. First of all, I just want to thank uh just wanna thank Jeremy for being on tonight with us and uh uh him coming out to be a part of what we got going on is awesome, and even him just being here to come up to come do this is awesome. So you guys uh you guys uh get prepared for uh what we have in store for you tonight. We're gonna we're gonna dig into Jeremy a little bit and uh get inside Jeremy's head a little bit just so you uh see how he uh what his thoughts and some of his concerns he had through the through his time in the service. And uh if anybody's on here, we are gonna take we are we are gonna take some comments, uh, but we're not gonna answer any right now, so guys, I'm not gonna be rude to you at all. Uh I'm gonna try to focus on Jeremy tonight. Uh something that's not focused on a lot with the better today is uh is attention. And uh that's something that we're here to do tonight is uh is be uh listening here, not a running mouth. And uh tonight we're gonna listen to Jeremy, and uh if you guys got anything to ask us, the last 10 minutes of this episode, we're gonna answer some questions. And uh you guys can ask us anything you want on here. And uh the last 10 minutes we're gonna open up some questions for Jeremy and myself, and uh Jeremy will be glad to answer what he can for you. So if you guys got any questions while we're in the process of this, just by all means hit us up on Facebook and we'll uh we'll get it to you once we're done. But uh Jeremy, hey man. Hey man, how are you? Good to see you and uh glad you glad you on here with us. And uh thank you for coming out and being a part of this uh this podcast. And uh I know these ain't things that uh that veterans love to do, but uh it's pretty brave of you, man, to show up and uh and do that. So I appreciate that. It means the world to us and uh to be on this podcast with us, and uh we want to thank you very much for all your service and uh what you did for this country uh was impeccable, very brave and outstanding, and I couldn't thank you enough personally. Uh real quick, just want to dive into a few things with you to begin in the beginning of things. Uh what were some things uh what made you back in the day when you were really young and you were what made you raise your right hand?

SPEAKER_02 2:50

So uh growing up, I mean, I had a good typical backwards life. Um daddy liked to hunt fish, mom was a cop. Yeah, you know, I I lived a decent life, but the later I got into high school, the the more I took that wrong path.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Um I was going down a bad road a bad way. I didn't know who I was. So I was laying in bed one night, believe it or not, and I seen the Go Army commercial, and the boys was jumping out the helicopter. And uh I laid there and I laid there and I thought about it. I said, man, you know what? I could probably do that. So I got up and I went the next day and I went and talked to a recruiter, and uh it took a couple weeks to get all the paperwork and stuff done. Um still wasn't sure about it, but um I I pushed through it because I felt in my heart it was something I needed to do to get back on the right track.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

Yeah, yeah. So you just jumped right in that thing, yes, hey, let's go, let's get into it. Oh yeah. Cool deal. Uh explain to me a little bit uh what your initial feelings was, you know, signing up and and and and and the day that they called you out to leave. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

Um the day I signed the paperwork, um it it's like any teenager. You don't really know what's happening until it happens. Right. So I signed that dotted line and they said, uh, be back tomorrow morning with your bags packed, and you're gonna go off to MEPS. I said, cool, we can make that happen. Yeah. Mom and Daddy pushed me for a long time to go to the military. But the day I signed them papers, no, no, no, no, don't go, don't go. A little different. A little different. So um I packed the bags, I loaded up in the van, I went to MEPS, and that's when it got real. That's when it got real too. That's when it got real. The physicals, the um, all the paperwork, you basically turned your life over to the government, and uh you had to you had to take that oath that you were gonna protect and defend everybody of the United States, and at 19 years old you don't really know what that means.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

Yeah, yeah. Uh I'm sure that was for anybody who hasn't ever been in the military and who has joined the military, I'm sure that was probably something that a 19-year-old man today couldn't even fathom.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah, a 19-year-old today, it's never even crosses that mind.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Yeah, and uh, you know, uh I'll be the first to say that the generation of people uh of men uh when you were 19 and I was 19, and the generation of kids today that's 19 ain't the same men.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

They are not. They they are not. It is definitely a softer culture. Um and you see it throughout, I mean, all walks of life. Yeah. Teenagers now, even the even the military, when I was getting out, they were transitioning into a a smarter base, not a tougher base. Not a tougher base. It wasn't pulling triggers anymore. It was yeah, it was behind the computer scenes, you know what I mean? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

Uh how did your family say your family when you when you signed the paper, you know, say you said you said your family was, you know, all about, you know, you going to the military until the day where you actually signed the papers, and uh you know, reality set in for your mom and you know, your mom and pause, and they were like, oh my god, you know, my son is really going to join the military. Yep. Uh how long uh what was that conversation like with you with them?

SPEAKER_02 5:57

So um I did a lot of it by myself. I didn't have mama go down there with me. Um I went and talked to the recruiter by myself, did all the paperwork, the drug tests, my ads about, all that good stuff. And um I talked to mama about two days before I signed the papers. Yeah. And I told her, I said, Mom, you know, you pushed me to go. You thought I needed discipline, needed to grow up. I said, here's what I'm doing. And you could tell it it took a minute. It took a minute, download. And you know, she uh she thought about it and she supported me 100%. Right. She didn't want to see her baby go.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Yeah. But well, number one thing was you probably didn't know whether she was going to build us to see you again. Exactly. You know, exactly. Uh in in her mind, yeah, I mean I'm sure you know everybody's heard all the all the unnecessary stories of uh sons and daughters not coming back home uh from from going to serve your country. Uh it takes a uh it takes a man to go serve your country.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

I I I'm just gonna say that.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

It it does, and and one thing I learned is when I signed that paper and I hit basic training, I I became a man. It was I was still a teenager going through, but when I hit boot. Well you had to, right? I had you had to grow up, man. And and it helped me in ways that I could never have imagined doing by myself.

SPEAKER_04 7:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

I tell you, man, I'm sitting here and as you're talking about it, I'm just trying to envision, you know, and kind of almost put myself in your shoes during that time and all the all the heartfelt, you know, drama that your that your whole physical being was going through.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Oh yeah. It it was um there was a lot of ups and downs. I I doubted it like everybody would. Um, but with where my life was at at that point to me shipping off to MEPS, I knew there wasn't any other way. It it had to be this way. I had to grow up, I had to learn discipline, and and without the army, uh it just wasn't gonna be there. Yeah. You know, daddy and mom tried, but I was hard-headed, young and running around.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

So um you as tough as woodpecker lips. Oh, that's it. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Um looking back now uh at at the man you are today and uh what you've accomplished in your life, uh would you make the same choice again?

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Uh I'd make it a hundred times over. Um I've thought since the day I got out. Um I took some time, you know, tried to be a civilian, but um I I've thought about it day in and day out about going back in. Um but I've got kids, I've got a beautiful wife now. Yeah. I've got an 18-month-old daughter. I wouldn't shrink none of that for the world. But in the back of my head, sometimes I do wonder, you know, what it'd be like if I was still in. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

Uh I can imagine. I mean, I I well, I say I can imagine. I'm just I I I couldn't imagine because obviously I've I I've never joined. Uh, but I'm just trying to uh, you know, imagine to myself what that would feel like uh, you know, today's time.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Of where you're at right now in your life with your wife and kids and having to go back you know, to do that. Uh that's crazy as you would go to do that again.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

I would. I would. It was um it was a different life overseas. Yeah, I'm sure. And there's a difference, you know, a lot of people don't realize that um in the states, your day-to-day life as a military member, it's just like anybody else's. You know, you go to work 6 30 in the morning, you get off 5 in the afternoon. But those times being overseas to where it's like you've got one mission, one goal, and one mindset. And for however long you're over there, you just you dig, man.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Uh let's dive in for a second and let's go right into physical training. Let's go right look let's go right into your uh your weeks of uh these these guys preparing you to be the man that you that you were for those guys and the man that you are today. Let's go right into that and tell me a little bit about uh how the how the progression was going into uh going into training.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

Okay. Um they take everybody right as you are, they do a basic fitness test to see where you're at. Okay. Um you hit boots on ground and have what's called a shark attack. That's when you go to your company, your platoon, and them drill stars come out and they're yelling, screaming, pushing you around, dragging you bags. It's a whole it's a whole ordeal. Yeah. Um, but then you know you hit that barracks and day one, you're right off the rip. It's PT. It's getting up at 4.30 in the morning. Um, you eat chow together, uh, you PT together, you do training together, and from day one until that nine-week graduation, it is balls to the wall from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

Uh during that time that uh that you went through your nine weeks or eight, eight or nine weeks of training, how many people made it and didn't make it?

SPEAKER_02 10:57

Um luckily in my opportunity, everybody made it. Um we had a couple people um that were kind of teeter-tottering. Yeah. But, you know, physical fitness, man, that's a hard thing to get to get right with in nine weeks. Yeah. But now one of the guys that did that, I mean, I watched he become a well-known Apache mechanic. Yeah. So, I mean, it's it's there, you can do it. Yeah. Um, but luckily we all moved forward. Uh uh in your platoon, what was the biggest, the biggest guy you had on your platoon? Oh man, we had, God, there was a guy, he was about, he wasn't about five foot nine, but he was about 270 pounds of just solid brick. It was he's a big boy. Machine. Oh yeah, he was a machine, but he could out PT and outrun everybody there. It's crazy. You know, there's there's height and weight standards when you get in the military. Yeah. But you can be waived if your PT is that good. Well, he was that good. Really? And he was in his 30s. Jesus. My 18-year-old self out there trying to keep up and him walking the dog on me.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

He's one of them guys, you just uh yes, just say no. Yeah, yeah, you just walk away. Just say no. He it's it's his world we live in. It's his world. That's it. Yeah, that's uh that's good stuff, man. That's good stuff. Uh one thing, one thing that I always wondered was do you do you really think that people understand what true commitment is when you go to sign up like that? When you when do you think everybody understands what true commitment is to do something like that?

SPEAKER_02 12:21

I want to give the benefit of the doubt and think that everybody has a an idea of what that commitment is, but unless you do it and and you're put in those situations um from basic all the way to deploying, yeah, you don't know what that right hand means until you get there. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's um to me, honestly, it was almost like I hate to say it this way, but it was almost like a video game. If I can I understand you know what I'm saying? We move through, but that first bullet that was by It's no longer a video game. It's no longer a video game, and that's when I realized that, you know, damn, this is it. We're here. We're we're here now. It's it's time to man up. It's time to man up. Exactly. So you don't know until you're there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

I tell you, man, I'm just sitting here, you know, and I I I you know, for one time in my, you know, and I and I've said this to my wife several times, and I'll say it to you. I I wish I could see through your eyes, you know, where I can envision, and along with the world, uh, the world needs to see through not only yourself, but let's just say that the guys at the stop sign with the little thing saying they're hungry. Uh that uh 90% of Americans drive by every day and they got something foul to say about him out there on the side of the road not knowing that that man's a uh a United States veteran. Yes, sir. And not knowing that he has no place to live. Absolutely. That he lives up under a bridge somewhere, or he's staying in a food line shopping cart, and he's not gonna hold a sign saying he's a veteran because people's gonna make more fun of him. Exactly. Uh so he's out there doing that, and I ran into a situation like that a while back. Uh, and uh come to find out it was the most funniest thing ever, man. I you know me, I've always been a I I feel like I'm a really giving person. If I see something, I can I and if somebody asked for something, I'm I'm gonna give them something. And a guy was at the Burger King, this has been years ago, man. And uh had his camouflage on and stuff, and he was walking back and forth and he he reminded me of some money who was just hungry, you know. Yep. And I rolled down my wind and I said, Hey man, I said, Can I help you anyway? He said, uh, he said, yeah, you give me some money. And I said, sure. I said, what do you need? He said, man, he said, uh, I actually just want something to eat. I said, okay. I said, well, I'll be glad to buy you something, man. Come to find out, I give this guy 30 bucks. I come to find out it's a college kid. He was doing this little thing for school, and he was out and about as, you know, kind of seeing how the economy treated veterans. Absolutely. And he had been out for 30 days. Take a wild guess how much money that he got in 30 days. Just a just a wild guess. 250 bucks. $275. 30 days. Yeah. This college kid walked around with a little backpack and claimed to be a veteran. Nobody couldn't tell. He was just doing a uh a school uh test and he got $275.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

You can't even go buy groceries with $275.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

No, I mean $275 won't get you hardly anything these days. You can't, ma'am.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

And uh it's just very sad to me.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

It is, and a lot of people look at it as I mean, there's a lot of homeless um that aren't veterans, but they they look at these people and they think that they're just doing it to get alcohol, yeah, or to get drugs, or because they just don't feel like holding a job.

SPEAKER_04 16:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Well, take a minute and look at them and talk to them, and you'll realize that this is all they have in the world. And they're they're doing their best to get on their feet, but they just they can't, man.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

Yeah, they got a had a bad card.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Yes, they got dealt a bad hand, and um with the mental and emotional issues that go on being a veteran, um I 100% believe that people just can't stand up with it. Yeah, I think so, man.

SPEAKER_03 16:31

I see I I tell you, man, it it it's really a heartbreaker. I s I, you know, down towards the beach area, I see it more and more and more every day. Uh just just people who, you know, and don't get me wrong, I I'm gonna go out on limb and say that maybe 15% of those people may just want it for drugs and booze. Exactly. You know what I mean? But the rest of those people are actually at some point in time in their life were up on top, just like we are.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Oh, absolutely, 100%.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

And they got doing a bad hand. Yep. And they're down and out, and they've lost everything they have. And n I wouldn't say 90%, m maybe close, 80 uh people drive right by. They drive right by.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Oh, they'll drive by, they'll look at them, and they talk about how badly they're dressed.

SPEAKER_03 17:14

Yeah. Uh their shoes they have on, their clothes they're wearing, they'll uh they'll constantly downplay them uh to be some person that's just uh a loser. Yep. And uh it's just really heartbreaking.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

It it is. It it breaks my heart every day to see it. It really is. And anytime I can lend an ear or a hint or whatever, I mean I I try to help them all, you know.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

And that's why we're here today. Uh we're here today for the same reason. And not that you're going through any tough times by no means, but we're here today just for our ear. Yes, sir. That's all we're here for. Absolutely. Uh what's something about uh the military and you know, joining the military, being in the military, being a part of a government deal that people get wrong uh with the ideas. Uh just just uh uh a point of someone joining the military today and saying, oh, that's a bad idea. What what what's some what what's some things you could you could for the young kids today, let's say that we got some 18-year-old or some 16-year-old kids today that's going through a hard time in their life and maybe they got dealt a bad hand. Uh what's some advice that you can give a 16-year-old boy today?

SPEAKER_02 18:30

My advice honestly would be don't watch movies. Movies are meant for action and fun. Um the military is not like that in in a lot of aspects. Um they will help you. If you're down and out, they will, I mean, they'll give you a place to live, they'll put clothes on your back, food in your mouth, they'll give you training. What whether you do two years or twenty years, you get to grow up and have that discipline and become a man that can be proud and respects themselves. Yeah. So for for every kid, high school on up, take the chance, man. If you have that thought and and you think, oh, well, I watched too many movies, it's too crazy.

SPEAKER_04 19:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

It can get bad, of course. I'm not going to sugarcoat that at all. It gets wild out there.

SPEAKER_04 19:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

But I will tell you, the first year, you can get on your feet and figure out who you are. Yeah. And then you can move in and you can make a difference. Yeah. And while you're making a difference for yourself, you make a difference for this country.

SPEAKER_03 19:30

So I want to take a few key points out of what you just come across there and just kind of analyze what you just told us. And the biggest thing that I want to say to everybody on here and all the kids out there today is what I want to analyze out of what you just said is that the biggest thing I see is make a difference. Yes. I don't feel like, and I'm not trying to get off of our subject by no means, but I feel really led to see. I feel like today, uh, and I'm not saying all kids and all fathers and mothers today, but I feel like kids today, specifically young boys, don't feel like that they make a difference today. Do you feel the same way?

SPEAKER_02 20:10

I feel I do feel the same way. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

I feel like there's no sense of direction of them knowing how to make a difference. And it really means something to somebody.

SPEAKER_02 20:20

Do you think that's I mean, what do you think that's honestly uh, you know, growing up, I mean, we grew up around these parts. We were I mean, we had our tails handed to us. Yeah. It's a softer generation these days. Yeah. And without discipline in the right direction, uh, you know, these boys don't think that they can make a difference, that it's all fun and games, that it's all expensive clothes and jewelry and trucks and this and that and the other. Yeah. But at the end of the day, I mean they're only doing it, you know, to flash off to the friends. You know, instead of going out there and and helping that boy just riding a bicycle every day. You know, or uh helping somebody in school, or just making a difference in anything. If it's just going out and cleaning your mama day's driveway, is they don't feel like they have to do anything because it's a softer generation.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

It's an entitled generation, wouldn't you agree?

SPEAKER_02 21:12

Absolutely, 100%, yes sir.

SPEAKER_03 21:13

Entitled. Um you know, I and not jumping off the desk subject whatsoever, but years ago, my granddaddy told me that. He he looked at me one day and he said, Hey, he said, I want you to know something. One you won't understand now, but later on in life, if you get older, you'll understand what I'm saying. But the generation of kids that stop following when their daddy's around, you know, uh picking up tools, carrying a wrench, you know, holding the flashlight, shooting deer, whatever it may have been. Absolutely. That generation of kids, once them kids stop doing that, I think that's where I th I I think that's where the decline went down. It did.

SPEAKER_02 21:57

Uh of good men. It did. It we And when it's I mean it's a hard topic to get into, but it's when the dad stop doing stuff for themselves, stop working on the truck, or taking a youngin' out to play ball, or teaching them what a 10 millimeter is, that you can't lose that bad boy because it ain't never coming back. Yeah, don't panic. Don't panic because they're gonna grow. Exactly. It's just everybody's lost track of that. And if if we could steer it back, I think, you know, the kids these days, they might have a little bit of um might be proud of themselves a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 22:33

You know what I mean? Yeah, I tell you, man, I'm uh I'm right there with you. I I'm just you know, it's funny that we're talking about this because I because I feel like there's a lot of people out there that probably need to hear this. Um man, you know, the world is a busy place. It is. And I think, honestly, uh, you know, my wife and I, we talk about this a lot, and I'm sure other families and other husbands and wives also do also, but the world's so busy we can get caught up in this thing called life of the hamster wheel of of work, uh your kids travel ball, uh soccer, uh what softball, wrestling, whatever it may be. And uh I tell you, man, I you know, it's one of those things where you miss all the small stuff. Exactly. You know, I mean you're too busy with this stuff, but you miss all the small, important things. Uh and I think that's where the generation of kids went went wrong.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

And something I've noticed, and and I'm guilty of it. Yeah. 100%. Work, man, it's it's not like when we were growing up, daddy could work eight hours a day, bring home a decent paycheck, support the family, and still have time to spend with you youngins. Yeah. We're out there working 12, 13 hour days just to make ends meet. So that takes away from a lot of what you can do with those kids in the afternoon. You know, it's harder to carve out time, I do believe.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

I'm with you there a thousand percent. Uh I find it ironic uh that the world is like that today. Uh the funny thing is, is, is uh I feel like you work your tail off all day long just to make ends meet. Yeah. And a lot of people uh they work just to pay bills. Absolutely. Uh and I see a lot of people, you know, don't get me wrong, for each their own uh and living outside of their means.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

Uh that's something that you and I never had the luxury of doing. You're right about that. Uh but you know what, man, I tell you, and I'm not bashing anybody by no means by building any big houses or anything like that. That's all fine and well. Uh you know, when we come up, we come up really hard, really rough, really tough. And we didn't have much. But you know, looking back at it now as we got older, uh, you know what, man, we had everything we needed. We had it made. We had it made. In the shade, I'm telling you. We had it made. And we didn't even we didn't even know we did it. Yeah. Cell phones, we had them. What was that?

SPEAKER_02 25:02

That's what I'm talking about. We had to go to a payphone jack. That's what I'm talking about. You come in with the street lights come on.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:23

Uh what did uh what did the brotherhood slash sisterhood uh mean to you in that environment and and how did it translate to you outside in the real world?

SPEAKER_02 25:40

Man, the brotherhood was all you had. Um when when you stepped outside the wire, it was it was your brother in arms that had you back. They had you six, and you had to have their six. So you build a bond with you know multiple people, crowds of people in the military that are stronger than most brothers are on the outside. I mean, like I would take bullets for these dudes any day of the week. All they'd got to do is call and I'm gone.

SPEAKER_04 26:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

And and you build that, and then transferring outside of the military, you try to have that same brotherhood. Yeah. You try to bring people in and show them that brotherhood's all you got. Y'all have to have each other, you can't have anything. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. It's you you have to take care of one another. You know, when you're down, I'll pick you up. When I'm down, you pick me up. And that's how it is. But in the military, it was just, it was so strong. It was, I felt love for these guys that I haven't felt ever. Yeah. You know, I'd give them the shirt off my back. They could move in with me right now if needed be.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

I think that's needed today, don't you?

SPEAKER_02 26:38

Oh, absolutely, 100%. Nobody looks out for each other anymore. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:42

I feel you. I feel you on that big time. Uh I think everybody'd go to the military.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

I I was gonna bring that up. I am a firm believer that when you get out of high school, you ain't got to go in for six, eight, ten years. Pull your little two years, you'll do a little stint-based training, AIT, you'll get a good career path under you, you'll get some discipline. You may have to see a little bit, you may go overseas for a little bit. But if you don't want to go past that two years, at least you brought something out of it. You're a man. You're disciplined. At least you got some good discipline. Oh, absolutely, 100%. Yeah, learn how to respect one another. Yeah, the respect and you know, taking care of each other, taking care of your family, you know, uh being able to take care of yourself is the biggest one.

SPEAKER_03 27:24

It's one thing that's really, really needed today.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 27:29

I'm talking about revered men. Absolutely. Because, dude, I I I'll be honest with you. Uh, you and I both know it's not there anymore, dude.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

It it's it's not. It it it it almost makes me sick to watch kids nowadays. Oh, I I I'm with you. It just nobody has each other's backs, man. It's it's it's one for all. You know what I mean? Oh, I I get it. It's yeah, it's scary. I mean, they they throw the boys under the bus for no reason. They don't take care of each other. Yeah. It's sad, man. It's it really is sad. Yeah, I'm uh wow, wow.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

Uh was there a moment in your life uh while you were serving, during this time, that changed your life forever? That that just that just was there was there one certain moment uh that that that you captured that you said to yourself, you know, silently, or maybe to a brother or sister, that you'd never forget.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

Yeah, um, and sadly, um I wish I had a great, you know, outside of the wire story for this man, but it it hit home because it happened at home. One of my best friends, he brought me up through the ranks. Um he got me promoted to sergeant. You know, he held me under his wing. He was a hell of an NCO and hell of a guy. And um he retired out of the military. We kept in touch, hung out on the weekends, and um he got killed in a fooler accident in front of his family. And um going to his house and going to that funeral and watching them babies and his wife have to lay that man to rest in his late 30s. Yeah, it um it it took it out. I mean it it proved to me that life can be really short that it and it can happen either way, you know, inside the military, outside the military. Yeah. Um but I mean we've I mean I've lost a lot of people during deployments and stuff of that nature. Yeah. But that won because of the um that brotherhood we had, man, and and how he took me under his wing and he showed me what it meant to be a soldier and to be an NCO and to take charge and to lead my guys in the battle. When he died, I lost a part of me. And I haven't been right since. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Um man, I'm, you know, uh uh from the bottom of my heart, I'm uh I mean, I, you know, it really uh it really saddles me to just to hear that. Uh and the stories that, you know, people have, and it's just uh, you know, it's reality for me as well. Uh is something I don't think that a lot of people understand is the reality of, you know, hearing these stories and understanding the mindset, the concept, the, you know, getting a full understanding of what you went through. And not only at that point in time in your life, but now as a father, as a husband, and the battles that you the battles that men fight every day, but you fight alone.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 30:43

Uh my hat goes off to you. Uh I know uh I know it's tough. Uh I know it's tough. It's tough for men, period, to even talk about certain things, and I I I guarantee you that's even tougher for you.

SPEAKER_02 30:55

It is. Um, it's taken a long time to be able to uh to show that side of me and uh props out to my wife and her family. They're the ones that's helped me through it and and pushed me to God and and changed my faith. And um I didn't realize I was worthy enough to get help and for people to understand what I've been through. Yeah. Um God works. Hey man, God works in mysterious ways, but I tell you what, if you if you don't let him lead the way, you're gonna go the wrong way. That's all I can say.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

You can believe that. You can believe that. Uh getting out of the, you know, getting out of the military and and serving your time and everything. And uh what was what was your health like? Uh what was your what was your mental state and your health like getting out of the military from that time until now? Can you tell us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_02 31:58

Absolutely, man. Um when I first got out as every young mid-20s guy is, I've got this. I can handle this. I don't need no help. And um I run with that for the last 10 years. Um the last year, year and a half, um, I've broken down. I've been in some dark spots. Um, but once you get out, you think it's all good, and then the the nightmares and then the PTSD sets in, and then you just have all these memories of of of stuff you've been through and people you've lost and this, that, and other, and you don't realize how hard it it takes a toll on you mentally until you break. And I've been there, I've broken. Yeah. I I've I've hit rock bottom and then went farther. It's um a lot of people don't understand um getting out isn't an easy transition, and it's not. Yeah. Once you step foot out of the military, everybody expects you to go into civilian life like like you were never gone. Yeah. And they don't see, they can't read you. They can't read you. Because we're macho men, you know? We don't show no weakness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But underneath it all, I mean, I was I was crying every day. Yeah. Multiple times a day. I was breaking every day.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

Now you had two dogs, one one good one and one bad one.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

Yeah, absolutely, 100%.

SPEAKER_03 33:22

Both of them fighting at one another all the time.

SPEAKER_02 33:24

Oh yeah. Yeah, it was um it was a rough go at it. It was. And me getting out, making it home, you know, buddies that make it home, commanders that make it home, lieutenants that make it home, and I'm the one that made it home. Me, Jeremy from Anders, South Carolina, made it home. I didn't feel like I was worthy enough to have that help. Yeah. And then the Lord showed me like He had a plan for you. Hey, buddy, it's it's time. Yeah. You need to stop before you hurt somebody else or yourself.

SPEAKER_03 33:55

Yeah. Had a plan bigger than what you could see. Oh, absolutely, 100%. Uh did you ever feel like a part of you, you know, the day, the day that they said, Jeremy, man, it's time to go, brother. You're free to go. Was at that point in time, uh, when your commanding officer come to you and said, Jeremy, you know, you guys are all free to go home. And you knew you had that feeling inside of you that there was never gonna come a time again. Yeah. What what did that feel like? What what did how did that set home with you? When what what initial feeling you got when you were leaving the know that you may not never come back?

SPEAKER_02 34:39

It um it was tough. Once I joined and my first two two deployments were out of the way, um, combat action badge, like I'd been I'd been through some work, man. Yeah. And once I got home that second deployment, I didn't think there was a a back end to it. Right. The army's the only thing I knew. It's the only thing I was gonna know. I thought this was forever. My life was this forever. And then when I got out, uh the I think it was 12-hour drive home from Kansas, 13-hour drive home. Yeah, it was uh I went through a roller coaster of emotions. Like, what the hell am I gonna do now? I don't have any job experience. All I know, I was one thing, I was trained to shoot people. That's it.

SPEAKER_04 35:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

You know, I was trained to call in artillery, run around with infantry guys. That's that that was my job.

SPEAKER_04 35:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

It didn't relate to the outside world.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:34

So just trying to figure out where life was gonna take me, it um it was a big ball of anxiety for sure. And and it lasted for a while until I got my got my feeding. Yeah. When I got out, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:47

Uh, what was the uh one of the biggest uphill battles you had uh coming back to a civilian land where where you're now where you're now back to real life, to to to to being free, that doing the very same thing that you went to serve for, but now you know you're back here and you're free. You know, you you know, you once was a military man, now you've made it back home, and you're just kind of wandering around. Uh what was your initial thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_02 36:19

It was rough, man. It was rough. Um, like I said, when I came home, I I found the first job that would take me. And I worked my ass off from sunup to sundown. I didn't take no free time. I didn't go hang out with nobody, ain't do nothing. Yeah. Um But just having to do that transition, people don't realize. They never take into account when they meet you that, hey man, you did time in the military. If you're not acting right or you're off, there may be something wrong. Everybody just expects you to jump in right off the rip and roll with it.

SPEAKER_03 37:01

Yeah, it's uh it's like they they just want you to, you know, and I've always asked a question and I'll ask you the same thing. Um, and I don't think we have it here on this form here, but uh tell me how you coped with the on and off switch.

SPEAKER_04 37:20

Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

It it was tough. Um to have to turn that fight or flight off, yeah, or that just that soldier in you to turn it off and be in a decent member of society, it's tough. Because I mean, every day it's you want to go through those same emotions, man, keep that same standard, you know, and hold people accountable. And me being an NCO, I couldn't run around and yell at people and and and tell them they messed up as a soup sandwich. Yeah. I had to be it was a hard adjustment, man. It it's really hard.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

Uh a question that I have for you is is what was it like being somewhere in a place where you were somebody? Where you were where you where you knew you were somebody.

SPEAKER_02 38:07

That was and you meant something. It was the proudest moment of my life. And then to come back here. Once I come back, I didn't have that pride anymore. And I think that's where a lot of my um darkness fell to. Yeah. Is just not having a purpose anymore. Yeah. You know, when I was in in the military, I had a purpose. Um you know, defend the United States at all costs. And to make sure I was there, training my soldiers, leading them, all that, and then getting out and not having to do that, it's a wild ride.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

Yeah, I mean, it's it's mind-boggling. It really is. I mean, uh, it's a lot to go through. It's a lot to analyze. It is. Uh you look like you've done a great job with it. I mean, your physical appearance, who you are as a person. Yes. Person that I've always known since, you know, you and I have been friends for since day one. Never been a bad moment between you and I. We've always been good buddies. We've always hung out together. We've always had each other's backs coming up, uh, even when you got back. Yes, uh, you know, we've always been really close and I've always thought of world of you. You know, man, I uh something I always think about is people that like my buddy Reading. You know, he God only knows what he went through, you know what I mean? Uh and I think about that sometimes. I try to I try to like feel like, you know, Jesus, man, that's a lot that they that they go through. You know what I mean? And he don't have nobody to really talk to. Yeah. Uh what do you find purpose in now? What what what do you what's something that that that you have now that that you know that you got some purpose into?

SPEAKER_02 40:05

Um as as as hard as it is sometimes and how I still feel like I'm failing in multiple aptitudes, um, being a father and and and being a husband is is it's what I look forward to. It's it these are my proudest moments being outside the military. Yeah. Is raising, you know, we you know, me and my wife have four kids between the two of us, and just trying to raise them the best we can. And now we got an 18-month-old and making sure that daddy's around. Daddy ain't off, you know, yeah, overseas or nothing like that, making sure that I'm here for her and here for my wife. It's yeah, those are my proud moments.

SPEAKER_03 40:42

How many boys and girls you got?

SPEAKER_02 40:43

Oh man, I got two boys and two girls.

SPEAKER_03 40:47

Two girls, how old are you?

SPEAKER_02 40:48

Uh my oldest boy is 16, uh, my next boy is 14, uh, my oldest girl is 14, and my youngest is 18 months. Nice, man, nice, nice.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

I tell you, that's a kind of a little legacy there. You know what I mean? Kind of can't kind of got the same thing I got going on over there, you know?

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Man, I started young and uh I missed a lot, and and me and my wife sat down and you know, we wanted to make make these memories together, yeah, and and bring up a kid and and just show her the love and support of any that any mother and father wants to give their daughters. But I missed so much. I just wanted to experience that experience that. I did.

SPEAKER_03 41:26

And so far it's been a blessing in skies, man. Yeah, but good for you, and and congratulations to you and your wife and your kids and and what you know what God's done for you guys and and y'all's life, y'all deserve it and uh you know what you've been through. And uh congratulations, y'all. Appreciate it, man. I appreciate it. Uh what keeps you grounded today? What's what's some things that kind of you know grounds Jeremy to a point where it kind of locks Jeremy into a certain a certain being, a person that keeps you kind of locked down?

unknown 41:56

Man.

SPEAKER_02 41:57

Keeps your mind straight. To be honest with you, the funny side of it is uh medication. Um I went a long time without it, and I realized how bad that was for me. Yeah. Um so getting that right balance of medication, but also uh uh putting myself around people that that that hold me to a standard and that pick me up when I'm down. Yeah, between my in-laws, my mom, and my new stepdad, my grandmother, my wife, kids. Just holding you accountable. They hold me accountable, they hold me grounded, man. And when I mess up, they sure let me know. Yeah. And then then we fix it together.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

You know what I'm saying? Well, you know, man, that's people who really love you. Absolutely. That's people who really, really, you know, is looking out for the best interest of Jeremy. Absolutely. You know, uh everybody needs people like that in their lives. Absolutely. I agree. Uh Did you how long did it take you to relearn yourself outside of the uniform? Outside of, outside of Jeremy, you know, the get or done crew. What how'd you have to do that?

SPEAKER_02 43:08

Uh be honest with you, man, I'm still learning myself every day. Um it took a good five, ten years. Um, I know that's a big jump, but I was lost for a while when I first got out. Um but you know, now I take it day by day. I learn something new every day. I try something, try to try something new every day. Um, I try to be a better man every day. And you know, everybody makes mistakes, everybody fails. But if that happens the next day, I pick up and I move forward. And I just try to do that every day and be better for everybody in my life right now. Yeah. And trying to live by God and and and and walk in the light and just try to be a better version of myself.

SPEAKER_03 43:53

You know, just because you know, only because you said you were trying is what makes it. You know what makes a It is the trying word.

SPEAKER_01 44:01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 44:02

The problem is a lot of men today don't try. No. They think trying is the hardest daygone thing to start. Absolutely. Just to try. Try. As long as you're trying, I mean, that's more than a lot. I mean, as long as you're trying, you can't fail.

SPEAKER_02 44:16

I mean, do you may have a setback, but as long as you fail you if you keep moving.

SPEAKER_03 44:20

It's only a setback. That's it. I mean, yes, it just makes you a better person. Yes, sir. Well, there are moments during uh your term that you hit the rock bottom, that you just you were just like, man, what am I doing? Like what like what's going on right now? You know while I was in the military? Yeah, while you was in the military.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

Yeah, um I got back from a second deployment and um things started getting a little rough. Um alcohol. Yeah. It was a big thing. Um I abused it in in ways that I'm not proud of. You know what I mean? And um I was always told, man, don't go to the doctor, don't get medicine. It shows you're weak, and then you can't do your job. If you can't do your job, you can't be a soldier. That was instilled in me from day one. Yeah. Um, so instead of going to get the help I needed, I masked it with alcohol. That dude that did nothing but drive me farther down. And um when I drank my paycheck up and I lay in bed, I was like, what the hell am I gonna do now? That's when I I hit rock bottom. I was like, you know what, we gotta something's gotta something's gotta give it to you. Yeah, something's gotta give. And um started getting help, man. And and started going to therapy and getting with the doctors and trying to get medicated and and just try to get everything back on track. That was the biggest the biggest goal for right then.

SPEAKER_03 45:48

Yeah. Uh during those moments, what pool what what pulled you through? What what what was in Jeremy's mind? What kept what kept what picture, what moment, what memory in your mind kept pulling Jeremy through to say, I've got to, I have got to do this right now for this reason.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Um it's always been the kids, man. Um I wasn't around a lot, and and I'll never forgive myself for that. Um But it was the people that I lost, my kids. The guys I deployed with that didn't make it home. It was almost disrespectful to them to not succeed. And when I got down, it was I just had to do better for them, man. I had to I had to be a big boy, put on my big boy shorts, and I had to move forward. Yeah, you know, ain't nobody gonna pity me but me, and that's not me. I don't pity myself. It's time to pick up and move forward. And um just having those thoughts, man, of my buddy Danny, I told you about earlier. Yeah, yeah. Not letting him down. Um, all the guys I serve with, uh, not being an embarrassment to them. And you know, I didn't want my kids to see me that way. So that just stuck right here, and I was like, you know what, it's it's time. We gotta do some fixing.

SPEAKER_03 47:14

It's self-pities for the week.

SPEAKER_02 47:16

It is, it is, and it will bring you down faster than anything.

SPEAKER_03 47:19

Yeah. Yeah, you're you're 100% right. Yes, sir. You're 100% right. Uh what would you if you could if you had one message for anybody who's watching for us tonight that might be uh going through a struggle uh that was a veteran, uh, unless you'll say that they're not a veteran, unless you'll say that they they are slash they're not. What what would you what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 47:50

Well, for both sides, veterans and non-veterans, man, the the biggest piece of advice I can give, just talk about it, man. Um find somebody, a therapist, a friend, um, a family member, just somebody. You've got to let it go. You can't live with this stuff by yourself. You can't bottle it up because that's when you explode. And and I've been there and I've done that. The the biggest advice is let it out. Talk it through, man. The more you talk about it, the better you're gonna feel. And I know that sounds cliche, but I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_03 48:22

Yeah, it's not. I mean it's not.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

It's not. I had to go through a lot and a lot of talking to get where I'm at now. And biggest thing, man, just talk about it. Find help. Get help, man. It don't make you weak. No man weak to get help. That man's just trying to better himself.

SPEAKER_03 48:38

Yeah, that was awesome. That was an awesome word.

SPEAKER_02 48:41

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 48:42

Uh that was uh that was that was something special. Uh what's something uh that you never really talked about publicly? About the military. What's well and I hate to even ask you that, but uh what's something what's something that you never really, you know, what's what what's uh what's something that's during during your time in the military, what's something you never really just never really talked about publicly? Something that you may have wanted to talk about, and maybe it wasn't the most easiest thing for you to talk about.

SPEAKER_02 49:18

Um you know, without getting into into detail too much, um the hardest thing for me was uh my first deployment, that first gunfight. Holding somebody else's life in my hands. Making that decision whether they live or die. You know, it's me. I I'm gonna choose me every day. Uh Jeremy's going home. Yeah. But that was the hardest thing I fought with myself was am I making the right decision or am I not?

SPEAKER_03 49:47

Put yourself last.

SPEAKER_02 49:48

Yeah.

unknown 49:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Who says it's right or it's wrong? Yeah. You know, but it I guess you're the only person that can make that decision. Exactly. At the end of the day, it's you or them, and I choose me every day. I've got a family to come home to. I've still got a job to do, but at that moment at 19 years old, that's that's what you don't talk about. Yeah. All you all you war stories and stuff, they're fun. But that initial first time you actually took somebody's life and held it right here.

SPEAKER_04 50:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

And you're like, mmm, no, it's gonna be me.

SPEAKER_03 50:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:27

That was the hardest thing I had to deal with.

SPEAKER_03 50:30

Uh, something funny I wanted to ask you, and I I say it's funny because I I've asked myself this a couple times. How old are you right now? I forgot.

SPEAKER_02 50:38

I am 35.

SPEAKER_03 50:39

35 years old, all right. What would 35-year-old you say to 19-year-old you at 19? What would you say to yourself at 19 years of age?

SPEAKER_02 50:53

You can't carry anger with you, is the biggest thing I tell myself. I tried to act like that anger country boy my entire Army career, man. Drinking, having fun, partying, doing the whole thing. Um, if I could have went back and told myself, hey man, like, this ain't what you need. You need to work out, you need to study, you need this, you need that, progress as fast as you can, I would have just taught myself into being better.

SPEAKER_03 51:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:21

I mean, I had an immaculate ERB. I did really good throughout my military career. I was I was one of the targeting NGOs for my battalion as an E5. Right. You know, that's an E7 position. I would go back and, hey man, put the beard down. Put the beard down. Have it on maybe a Saturday, put it down. Let's work on this career we got going on.

SPEAKER_01 51:42

I think that's the biggest thing I have to tell myself. That's pretty good, man. You know. That's pretty daggone good. You know, I should write that down in that journal. I will.

SPEAKER_02 51:51

I will because um that's the first time I've been asked that. And that's uh That's pretty good, dude. That's off the top. And honestly, if I went back, that that'd have to be it, man. It's just calm down and do you have a journal? I d well I don't, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:07

Um uh you need to.

SPEAKER_02 52:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:11

I tell you, it's a uh it's a way for you to escape.

SPEAKER_02 52:17

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 52:18

And also help yourself. Right. Uh try it. Absolutely. What would you say to a young man or young woman today that uh that are going into the military? What what what what was one little small piece of advice that you could that you could say to those guys and they're maybe there, maybe they're right on the fence today uh uh and they're graduating here in the next two or three months, leaving leaving your high school. Uh what's the what's a little bit of uh advice that you can just say to those guys about joining the military right now?

SPEAKER_02 52:48

Don't stop. Keep going. Sign the papers, do your basic training, get your schooling. Like I said earlier, if you only do two years, you can follow a career path in the military that rolls over to the civilian world that can make you a lot of money to make you a wealthy person. Yeah. And if nothing else, do it for yourself. Learn to grow up, get that discipline, man. Because ain't nobody gonna teach it but yourself.

SPEAKER_03 53:15

Yeah. That's great advice. Um What does strength really mean to you today? What what what does strength, the word strength, is really mean to you today?

SPEAKER_02 53:31

Man, that's uh that's a good one. It's um keeping your head above water, man. Realizing that you're not alone, that you do have people in your corner, and that um you can only you can only do as much as you allow yourself. That's just strength. You have to have the strength to get up every day to push forward, to work through these demons. So your family can rely on you and everything else, man. It's yeah, you got that that's what strength is to me, is getting up every day and and just keep pushing. Don't give up. That's pretty good. I appreciate it. That's pretty good, brother. I've been thinking about that a lot here lately. That's pretty good, brother. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_03 54:12

Uh what would you say to an old veteran right now that's going through something really tough, something really dark right now? Call me. Uh that doesn't have anyone.

SPEAKER_02 54:30

Call me. I'm here. My phone's on 24-7. And if you can't get it, there is a crisis line. I don't try to push it to people. People are a little nervous about calling crisis lines, but they're here to help. Um, a lot of horror stories with the VA, the crisis line will help. But you can reach out to me on Facebook. I'll give you my number. You can come eat dinner at my house. But if you have anything going on and you need help with anything, man, if you're in a dark spar, you come call me. I've been through it, man, and I'm still working on it. We can work on it together.

SPEAKER_03 55:02

Man, that was uh that was pretty heartfelt. Um that was freaking awesome, dude. I appreciate it. That's freaking awesome, man. I mean, we gotta have each other's backs, man. I tell you. That almost got me. That was pretty good. Sorry, that was pretty good. I ain't gonna lie to you. Uh that was uh I tell you, man. You know, one thing I've always uh We've been friends for so long, man. We have, we have, it's been a while. And uh man, we've had some we've had some great times together. We have man. We have we've had some great times. And you know, as wild as we all were, we made it.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

We did. We did. We went from hellons to uh I mean we're living our best life right now.

SPEAKER_03 55:54

Uh do you find it easier today, uh, and and and and I'm a little bit older than you are, but you really don't mean nothing, but uh do you find it easier today for 35 to 40 year old man to kind of, you know, do you find it more like Pete like more people respect you today? Yes. Do you see an age group there as a difference of uh age from let's say 35 to 40? Uh when I was 35 years old and I got to 40 and I, you know, um I'll be 45 here in a couple months. Um I find there's a threshold there where people kind of respect you more.

SPEAKER_02 56:32

Yeah. They um they know we've been through it. Um we we come from that generation growing up, man, to where daddy still pulled switches out and beat us with belts. Got us with the boat paddles, you know what I'm saying? You can believe that. And um they they know this. I mean, if you're from around here, you're around these parts, you know what happened back then. Yeah, you know. And they look at us and they respect us because we've been through it, and we're only trying to help, man. Yeah. And I feel 20s, that early to mid-20s, they look at us, I hate to say it, but they look at us like old folks, man.

SPEAKER_03 57:09

And uh this is funny, and I and I'm gonna throw this out there, just just it's just as a little joke, because me and the kids, you know, I got yeah, I got a bunch of little kids that they love to hang around, and I love, you know, I love the young kids. The young boys, they love to watch me and hunt with me and stuff, and we always pick back and forth about who's the toughest. And uh, real quick, for everybody watching right here, let's just say that uh there was a hundred of the 17-year-old boys today against a hundred of the 17-year-old boys in 1999.

SPEAKER_02 57:41

Oh, they'd have their tail whips that it wouldn't take nothing. You can probably cut down that that down to about 25. We'd we'd we'd work over. We'd take them to the old woodshed, man. I'm telling. Oh my lord have mercy. It was a different breed, man.

SPEAKER_03 57:56

Yeah, it was. Man, I tell you, I've uh I've enjoyed this podcast more than I've enjoyed any podcast that I've I that I've done that I've done. And I'm not taking away from anything, anybody that I've had on. Uh I've had some a couple great podcasts. Uh but this podcast has been the most heartfelt podcast that I've had.

SPEAKER_02 58:16

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 58:16

And uh I think I'm gonna do more of these rare because I I really like this. This is this setting uh and reaching people on a level where they feel like they can talk and about just it's anything. Absolutely. Just anything that you know that you want to talk about, uh it's free to do so. It's a free country. You can say what you want to say, it really don't matter. Nobody's here to judge you or or uh or downplay any situation. Uh I know here at this BWA family, we uh we're very we're we're very thankful and very grateful for your service. Uh we've always thought the world of you, always will. You'll always be a great friend of mine uh to the day that I die. And if you ever need me for anything, I'm only a phone colorway. I know our I you know our worlds are totally different. You know, you're there, we're here, we just back and forth, never see each other. It's funny how we're so close so far.

SPEAKER_02 59:12

Exactly. Yeah, I get it, man.

SPEAKER_03 59:14

It's just so it's just so crazy. Uh uh guys, listen, we're we're we're winding down on our uh on our podcast, and it's been such a such a great uh great, great, great time this afternoon with with Jeremy and hearing some stories and stuff. And if anybody is on Facebook that that would like to uh ask us any questions in the next uh it's nine o'clock, we're gonna run questions to like 9.07. So if anybody's got anything to ask Jeremy or or say to Jeremy while we're here, uh please do so now. Uh if you guys want to give him a uh I thank you and just a big round of applause, big hand clap, uh whatever that may be, uh would be really awesome if you guys on Facebook would do so. So if anybody's got anything to ask, you guys, uh the door is open for uh for questions, so I can see everything. Yeah, I can see everything. I I just don't see um I think they're pushed up now. I think you're rolling up so hot. All right, so you all the guys. All right.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:33

Seth Harrison said, Jeremy, I appreciate you and thanks for your service. What gives her strength did the military build in you that you're designed to use for God's kingdom now, like mentoring, leading, helping other vets, or something else.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:52

Hey Seth, I appreciate that, man. And and uh uh uh to go off what you said, um my strength, man, is is just to be there for anybody that needs it, man. At the end of the day, um we all got a struggle, and and that leadership and discipline that was built in me and instilled in me through the military, I still run with that every day and do my best, man. And um I just want to follow in the Lord's way, bring anybody I can, and make sure that you know nobody's left out, nobody feels alone. I've been alone and it sucks.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:25

Um Misty Gore said, Proud of you, thank you for your courage and to help others. I can't read in the comments. Marie Graham said I was so proud of you, dude. Nick Common said it takes a strong man to sit there and share everything. Thank you for your service. Uh Nikita said thank you for your service. Tim, Amanda, I won't for him.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:51

I know who you're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:54

Love you, brother, Jeremy. Christ has plans for you, and I'm happy to see you all get out, sir. Thank you for serving our country. Um said, thank you, Jeremy, for your service. My Mall. And Marsh Trash Outdoors said, thank you for your service, Jeremy.

unknown 1:02:11

And Billy Todd said, What's up, guys?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:14

What's up, Billy? Uh Jeremy on Marsh Trash. We got two Jeremies. Hey, man. Uh Jeremy's a buddy of mine uh that runs a little runs a little Marsh Trash Outdoors. Okay. He's out in Texas. Oh, okay. And uh so he's uh awesome, awesome, awesome people, man. And uh one thing that we have done is meet so many people. Yeah. Since we started BWA. And I tell you, man, it is crazy how many good people's out there.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:42

It's it really is.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:43

It really and and you know, don't get me wrong, I mean, you know, there there's there's some there's some bad ones out there, but the number of good people that you run into that's just honest good people compared to the bad ones are don't even count.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:58

No, it don't even they don't add up. It don't it don't add up. Once you get in your heart that that you're here to do good, you're trying to walk a life, all the good people come out, man. Everybody's ready to help you. Like my boy Tim, man. He he's pulled me under his wing and helped me walk this this this journey with God and and I can only thank him so much, man. Yeah, but he's a beautiful wife said I'm so proud to call you my husband.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:23

Thank you for your service.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:24

Thanks, babe.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:25

Appreciate it. A lot of love on here tonight for Jeremy, which uh Zach Ricketts said from one classmate to another, thank you, brother.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:32

I appreciate that, Zach. I do.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:34

A lot of love on here for you, brother. Uh guys, we we appreciate. I I know Jeremy does as well. Absolutely. Uh, and I know I do. I appreciate all you guys again for being on here with us tonight. Um thank you for all the all the all the love, all the comments. Um, and thank you guys for just staying with us. I know we've been on here for uh a little over an hour. Uh so you guys have been dedicated. Uh you guys will sit here and watch us. It must have been pretty interesting for you guys to hang out with us for a solid hour because uh your wife wants to know what was your favorite part of the military for the military.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:12

My favorite part? Yep. Man. Um it was deploying. Um, feeling that sense of purpose and and being over there with your brothers, and it's just it's a different world over there, man, than it is in the States. And I just I loved every minute being over across the pond over there. And I I can't say it was all fun, but I think that was the highlight of my military career was what I got to do overseas and and the and the impact I got to make over there. So thanks, babe. Appreciate that.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:48

Yeah. You know one thing that I probably would love to do the most? What's that? It's sing those great songs.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:53

Oh, cadences? Cadence. That was my favorite. Dude, I would love to sing. You get them good drill stars in there, man, that got that deep voice dude. Hey.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:02

I mean, you know, I mean, honestly, and I'm not trying to take anything away from what it is, but I'm and I'm not trying to be a funny guy here. But one thing that I've always loved is that cadence.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:12

Oh, yeah. It's um, it's amazing how pumped up it'll get you. God, it'll make it'll and I don't mean to be rude, but it'll make a fat man run a long way.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:20

It makes me want to go there and you know, get my gun and call the four.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:22

That's what I'm saying. You know, it's it's it's a good time, man. And they all have good meanings.

unknown 1:05:26

It's uh baby girl Kaylin's on there and said, Hey daddy.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:30

Hey baby. I love you.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:32

Hello, hello, hello. Uh our other dollar too.

unknown 1:05:36

Always and forever.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:38

Oh yeah, I got yeah, you gotta go right. I got the I got the I forgot the dollar from another mother. What's up? Hope everybody's doing good and uh thanks thanks thanks everybody for everybody being on listening. Uh Mallory, Jenna, and Kyle, Zach, uh Mary Partnell, I'm sure there's Marie. Uh there's a lot of people on here other than that, Mr. Himmy. Uh thank you guys, uh Billy Todd. I'm sure there's a ton of guys on here that I can't see. But uh thank you guys so much for being a part of tonight's live and uh and uh and for tonight's podcast. And uh we want to thank Jeremy so much. Uh we hooked Jeremy up with some merch. Just here show him a little bit of just a little bit of love. Uh and uh and we uh we thank him so much for his service to our country and uh we love Jeremy very much. So uh you guys have a good night. We'll see you guys soon. See you guys in the woods. How was it?