Jocko Podcast 46: Jeremiah “JP” Dinnell & Jocko Discuss War, Fighting, and Life

This is Joo podcast number 46 with Echo Charles and me Jaco Willink Good evening Ekko Good evening There is a little survival instinct It’s It’s very subtle but I would notice it sometimes in a combat situation when guys are thinking that enemy fire at any time could open up and kill them You’d see some guys subconsciously they just they just try and make themselves a little bit of a smaller target They just kind of slouch their backs down a little bit and they just kind of bow their head just a tad It’s not a It’s not a bad thing to do I don’t think guys actually think about it I don’t think they consciously do it I think it just kind of happens I think it happens when you think you could get shot at any moment and it it’s likely a good instinct to have And when we first got to Ramani we were out on patrol and I saw one of my guys on a real patrol was my first time seeing this particular guy on a real patrol and it was in the Malab district of Ramani which was just an enemy controlled cesspool of violence with threats everywhere And as I saw this guy he was standing straight up Just standing straight up His head was held high His weapon was at the ready He was scanning He was hunting There was no slouch in his back There was no lowering of his head There was no fear apparent on his face or in his posture He was just boldly facing the threat standing tall Now you’ve heard me talk about some of my guys in Task Unit Bruiser that I worried about I just some of the guys I I I thought that they basically had too much courage too much bravery and and it just didn’t seem like that kind of attitude was survivable day after day after day after bloody day in Rammani But somehow some way through some divine providence this particular brave soul did survive and actually thrived in that environment in the battle of Rammani with task unit bruiser Now tasking a bruiser was made up of two SEAL platoon Charlie Patoon and Delta platoon And Charlie Patoon we’ve talked about before Leif Babin was the platoon commander Tony Arad who’s been on the podcast BTF Tony he was the platoon chief And the lead sniper for Charlie platoon was was Chris Kyle And in the other platoon Delta platoon where Andrew Paul who’s also been on the podcast he was the assistant platoon commander and the point man and sniper the lead point man and lead sniper for Delta platoon was was that guy was the guy that I just described walking through the literal valley of death with his head held high and his name is Jeremiah Denell also known as JP Dell that’s what I always called him and we have him as a guest on the podcast tonight Now when JP was in tasking to Bruiser he was a kid When we when we were in workup I think he was 22 years old When we deployed he was 23 years old And I love JP He was like a brother And to be quite honest with you he’s like a little brother to me And I loved his aggressiveness And when we were going through workup he would just just straight up execute anything I told him to do Anything Like a like a hyperaggressive Terminator robot I would look at him and I’d say “JP take that room ” Or “JP get on that high ground ” Or “JP get those prisoners out of here ” And he would just get after it and make it happen and just destroy or outmaneuver anything that was in his way Like one one time we were going through mount training which is urban warfare So we’re in kind of a fake city with buildings and all this and there was a building across the street and we were taking massive paintball fire Again it’s just training but we’re getting shot up with paintball And in my mind I’m thinking okay we’re we’re if this is real we’re getting killed And I know that we need to get aggressive to stop this And I’m kind of give the command of “Hey we need to hit that building across the street “ And like as the last word is coming out of my mouth I see JP just bust out of the door of the building we’re in go running across the street with his gun blazing just caveman smash through the door of the target building He goes in there and I just see muzzle flash as he’s just machine gunning people And I thought to myself “Okay JP can bring it At least he can bring it during training because courage against paintball in training is actually not that big of a deal at all In fact it’s borderline meaningless but it is an indication Now courage in sustained combat is another thing And JP proved himself as a true warrior over and over and over again during the battle of Romani And I’m honored to have my brother JP Denell on the podcast today JP welcome to the show Thank you for having me here And we have to start with trying to understand where you come from How much time do we have? um where you grew up and and and all that and it’s pretty cool I mean I know I know your mom and dad and I’ve actually grappled against your dad Yeah it’s one of his highlights He loves that He talks about it all the time Think I have a roll Strong strong man Scary strong Yeah Like Well and how old So how old is he now? Um he is 54 55 No kidding Yeah So 10 years ago he was my age Yeah So would I have grappled with him? He was my age Yeah And I thought he was all old No And right now if you called me old I’d be pissed Yeah I know you would be So Mr Dell I apologize I thought you were old back in the day Nope He grabbed a hold of my head and you were than I am right now Oh that’s crazy isn’t it? Yeah Sorry to interrupt Yeah No that’s true So tell tell us about where you come from Uh what was like growing up? All that stuff Um I had a good life My parents are awesome you know Um very hard workers Um you know grew up tight on money you know My my dad did construction and framing in the 80s and my mom taught step aerobics Not a lot of money there Yeah So but uh they they just they constantly worked for our family It was awesome Now we you know every Sunday we were at church Um you know not having a lot of money to go out and do stuff We’d go for for drives You know that’s what we did our family we’d go for drives and just go you know see the you know we’re in Northern California Sacramento Within 20 minutes he can be in the foothills and it’s just beautiful We go to my grandparents property Um you know my dad’s parents were a very big part of my our life as well growing up Uh grandfather’s old World War II vet was on the destroyer on a destroyer Um my grandmother is amazing woman you know wakes up every morning still at 5:00 a m to pray for everybody in the family Uh they have five acres up in the foothills the pasture with horses So for kids it was awesome Um you know brother and sister um my parents you know they didn’t wait for having kids you know I had me and then you know I think it was like 15 or no 17 months later my brother comes then 17 months later after that my sister comes So you know I’m I’m a dad you know I have kids Irish twins they call that Yeah It was just like boom boom boom Um yeah awesome You know my brother and my sister are like two of my closest best friends still you know Um we just always used to grow up playing Navy Seals you know and uh where’d you get Okay so going into the next question which which I am always curious is how did you hear about the teams? Um actually my brother saw something on TV there’s some special about the forming of the seals and you know JFK’s speech and all this stuff and he had my parents record it and we would watch that every morning that we could you know we’re young you know we’re trying to go to school my brother’s popping that in the V the VCR and so every weekend we definitely watched it and then we would you know dress up in camies and paint our faces and stuff that we got from old Army Navy surplus store or just from garage sales and we would go play Navy Seals you know and uh we go up to my grandparents as like a haven you know and it’s it’s funny now like I didn’t know what I was doing but I used to like do make up little ghillie suits and I would have my parents drop me off at the front entrance of my grandparents property I’d wait until they got up to the house and I’d say “Hey I want I want to see if you can see me sneaking up there ” I would try to stalk up to my grandparents house Good training I mean yeah And uh you know so that you know it was a really good life You know all my all my aunts and uncles and cousins you know we’re all really close and um just really close family You know my uncle uh one of my closest uncles you know he’s a cop um back where we grew up and you know he’s still serving the community He’s a legit badass And you know so I was surrounded by a lot of good people that didn’t know anything other than working hard Like you just have to work hard There’s no excuses for that There’s no handouts Like you’ve just got to get after it And uh and that’s just kind of how I learned about the teams And you know as you get older in high school you kind of forget about that stuff But yeah it was a pretty good solid base Great life Did you enlist right out of high school there? Yeah Yeah I was in um the senior year of high school Um where didn’t you break your leg or have some weird situation? I I had I broke my hand Broke your hand Yeah So my hand was in a cast Um how’d you do that? Well you know no I just think it’s interesting that you you just told this story of this kind of uh uh you know picture perfect childhood with all this goodness around you but just I’ll just going to straight up tell people JP might crack a few people once in a while if they need it when he was a young kid Yeah definitely definitely never went out looking for it and starting it but if it was there I you know anyways we had a party with my buddies and uh no actually we’re just like kind of hanging out at the house and I don’t know I happened some guys like showed up anyways got in a fight broke my hand um don’t you know like a smart young man don’t go to the hospital that night my hands like ballooning up well you know the next day we’re going to go white water rafting sounds like a good plan so I mean I can’t not do that with all my friends So I just put my hand in the river the whole time cuz I’m like “That’s like ice right?” I get home I thought my mom was going to just beat me and she’s a short little just thin athletic woman and I was just like terrified of You afraid she was going to do some step aerobics on your head Yes exactly She was going to get after it Um and uh so I I go you know so she’s like “Yeah we’re we’re going to the hospital ” And so we go there and they’re like “Yeah you broke your knuckle this bone and fractured the wrist ” And I’m like “Okay ” So I get into cast Of course my dad’s pissed off you know and um he’s just like you know just it’s my senior year I’m getting close to graduation And there was no talk of college Um I played water polo my senior year and one of the JC’s was or my coach said “Hey you know if you go to this JC UC Davis you know you could be going over and playing over there ” I just knew college wasn’t what I wanted to do at the time It just wasn’t for me I wasn’t going to waste time or money doing something I just wasn’t driven to do And um you know my dad’s like “What are you going to do? What are you going to do with your life?” And I was like “I don’t know I’ll probably be a whitewater rafting guide and live up in up in the mountains ” And he’s like “What are you going to do with your life?” He’s like “Nothing wrong with that ” But you know he’s like “No like you’re no ” And uh cuz one of my best friends did that and uh which it was just cool chill lifestyle but seems cool Yeah It would be great for the soul right? And um so anyways my dad was like “What about the military?” Like “What about being a Navy Seal? You used to always talk about it ” And at the time all I could think about was just like the regular Fleet Navy recruiters that would come to the high school And this was pre 911 so nobody’s really very motivated And you know they they would come to the high school but they never really engaged with the students or anything So I was like “Uh that’s the Navy I don’t know “ I go to work that next day and because I’m in a cast they have me at the front register and for the first time ever I noticed across the street is a Navy recruiting office I was like “Huh I’ll go in there ” So I went in there and of course they’re like “Oh what are you going to do?” Blah blah blah What are you here for? I was like “I was thinking about joining the Navy You want to be a Navy Seal?” They all start laughing I was like “Check ” I was pissed Like I was like real mad They’re like “Well you know all the SEAL wannabes have to talk to Petty Officer so and so and yeah that dude when he said the SEAL wannabe part I was fired up ” And then he goes “And we can’t do anything with your cast on “ I’m like “All right roger that “ They’re like you know if you want to come talk to him he’ll be on Thursday It was on Tuesday So I go go back to work I’m just staring at the Navy recruiting office the whole time just stewing So I’m like “Dude I’m in good shape you know like I’m a very good athlete Like I can do this ” And go back home and um tell my dad My dad’s like “Hey how you know how’s work? Am I good?” I was like “Hey I’m joining the Navy and I can’t go do anything for boot camp with this cast on ” Like I don’t know Like you know in my mind I’m like “I’m going to leave for boot camp tomorrow ” Something like that right? And so he’s like “Cool Go start the bathtub start soaking it I’ll get some tools out of the garage “ And so my dad comes in there and he has like some like sheet metal shears and something else Uh um a sawzaw Yeah And we just got out there and we cut off my cast Dude I thought my mom was going to beat my dad Like she was like “What?” And of course I was like “Yeah I’m joining the Navy I’m going to go be a Navy Seal ” So all of a sudden I cut off my cast and now her her baby boy’s leaving to you know go join the military And she’s my poor mom you know And so I go back on a Thursday I walk in they look at me they look at my cast not being there they’re like “You need to talk to Petty Officer Stone ” So I’m like “All right roger that ” And so that just started the rest of the process And um you know a lot of rehab My parents had a cafe Um they sold that Um so me and my dad could do construction together to spend as much time together as possible And my mom was able to spend time with her mom that was passing away And that’s how I rehab my hand And uh my dad would actually wrap my hand up in some of my old kickboxing wraps and boxing wraps Tape it up and then we would tape the hammer to my hand because I couldn’t grip it Like I could not grip anything And you know that’s what he did cuz I’d see my old man go to work with a caston and he would have to tape tools to his cast to work I mean your dad’s not the kind of guy that’s going to let broken limbs stop him from getting a good day’s work in No Just tape that tool to your body and make something happen So that’s what he did with me and it was awesome And he knew like I wanted to go to BUDS and I was going to go to Buds And so he would push me to my absolute limit every day at work Like I mean every day mentally I mean I would be pissed sometimes borderline crying cuz I was so mad not like tears of like you know pain or whatever but I was so mad at him and he’d see it and he’d throttle back a little bit and he’d make me go you know some days like I’d come in to work hung over sometimes and he would be like “Hey I need you to go rent a a 90 lb jackhammer ” There was no need for a 90 lb jackhammer Yes there is Needs to jackhammer your brain back into And so for eight hours I would be jackhammering concrete with a 90 lb jackhammer while he was doing what he was doing And then I mean it was awesome though I mean he he would push me to the absolute limit and my mom and him were awesome with communications and helping me out with stuff and it was good And so then I I went I left September 5th 2001 Uh had a seal contract Dang I was in BUDS I’m sorry I was in boot camp when 911 happened and uh you know it was just weird I was I was so pissed Did they tell you guys about it? Yeah we’re on lockdown And they’re like “Hey the nation’s being attacked We’ll give you guys more info ” And we’re like “What?” Of course you have all the weakminded people in there that start crying Like I’m I’m 18 right? Like barely 18 And there’s just grown men crying like “I didn’t sign up for this ” I’m like like getting fired up like you need to shut up sit down Like I’m just like he’s looking for a battle axe at this point Yeah I’m like “How do I go to Buds right now? Do I have to finish boot camp? Can I just go?” you know and but yeah so I was in boot camp when 911 happened and I I always felt like well I didn’t feel like I knew that being a Navy Seal is what I needed to do and what I wanted to do and it’s what God wanted me to do and uh just everything just fell into place you know it was pretty awesome So So then you uh go to Buds You went to BUDS right around the same time as Leif and Andrew Paul I was one class behind them They were class 241 I was class 242 And then you but you ended up in SQT with those guys al which is the which is like the training after you get through the basic SEAL training buds which is where you do push-ups and all that stuff and do pull-ups and have a boat on your head and all that stuff and a bunch of people quit Then you go to something a little bit more advanced called SQT where you actually learn some SEAL skills Yeah And then you check into a team and then you get So you you check into team three Yep checking in team three and knock out your first platoon as a new guy What was that like? It was uh it was good It was cool You know I checked in team three and uh you know it was like “Hey we need some volunteers to go to a driving school It’s an off-road Hummer racing and navigation school ” And I was like “How do I get my hand up fast enough for that?” And it was just worked out great Like I literally checked into the team Isn’t the team’s ridiculous? It is I mean you’re 18 years old and they’re like “Hey we’re going to send you an off-road racing school for free and we’re going to give you a bunch of money to go there by the way so you can buy good meals ” Yeah You’re going to go for a month Two weeks straight is going to be off-road driving racing and two weeks going to be navigation I was like I literally just you know I just come back from Kodiak Alaska We were doing our cold weather training So I was up there I was gone for a month Come back legitimately for a couple days And you know my girlfriend at the time was like “Oh you’re back I’m so happy And then all a sudden I was like “Hey I’m leaving tomorrow ” And I mean I was just like I I was just happy you know? I was like “Yes this is awesome This is legit I’m in the teams Like I’m getting to do stuff you know ” And um I went out there and there’s a freaking war going on Yeah And I just wanted to be as well equipped as possible And uh one of my good bros uh Derek Benson uh he was uh killed on Extortion 17 Um he’s from Northern California as well and he was one buzz class ahead of me So he had checked into team a little bit uh to team three prior to me We both went to that driving school together And uh that’s where we just became like best friends you know So it was awesome It was a good time out there you know learned a lot And um and you know there’s older team guys out there too you know that I got to actually interact with and you know just guys not from my platoon so they weren’t so hard on me because I was a new guy But at the same time like I was just learning the balance of the teams because I I’m a I’m a little overly nice and social and I like to talk to everybody and be everybody’s friend And when you’re a new guy in the SEAL teams that’s usually not the best thing when you’re like “Hey how are you doing buddy?” You know and they’re like “Shut up ” Like or like “Why are you talking to me?” And I’m like cuz we’re going to be friends Like we’re going to war together Let’s be friends You know so it um but it was cool you know And then um I come back and um then all of a sudden we’re headed out on our first trip and we’re headed out to Shaw to do shooting school and um I remember we’re getting ready to fly out there and I just see this big huge Native American dude I’m like I hope he’s in my platoon You know what I mean? I was just like you’re drawn to like just awesome warrior looking guys right? And he’s just very stoic and just I was like dude I really hope he’s in my platoon And he was he’s my boy Steve Chyra you know he lives out in Vegas and um you know he’s he was an awesome old guy to have in the platoon you know and then the rest of the other guys in platoon um you know they’re still active duty so I’m not going to drop their names Um you know my boy Pepper was his nickname He was like the perfect old guy to have because he was so hard on you Like you were just waiting for him to whoop your ass But he also mentored and guided you and and actually taught you stuff you know and it wasn’t just I’m going to hammer you because you’re a new guy He’s like I’m gonna hammer you because you’re a new guy but show you what you need to be doing and why what you did was wrong Um so I was fired up Super fired up So we go out to the Chaws You know your first trip super overwhelming you know you’re just a little nervous as it is And they even told us like hey this is usually a trip where you want it to be halfway or towards the end so you can get a solid grasp of what you’re doing and grow Um but we got after it was awesome Like I said all the you know the older guys um were solid Uh we had a really weak LPO and um he actually got fired on that trip So that was a little just you know a little concerning to me at first like okay first LPO and then he’s a complete turd It’s one of the uh myths of definitely of the SEAL teams is when you’re coming in you think every guy is a hardened combat warrior and then you get in and you look at some guys and you go “Wait a second that’s not that’s not who that’s not who I was thinking I was going to be working with ” Yeah And of course on the other end of the spectrum you meet guys where you’re like I want to be like that guy So So you guys were get you guys wrapped through that workup and you go on your first deployment How was that first deployment? You went to Iraq on your first deployment right? Um yes Well for the second half First half went to Guam which was disheartening you know I’m like dude there’s a war going on Let’s go to war Oh cool You’re going to go to Guam But you know it’s part of it you know It’s just part of it You know part of the mission Part of the mission One you know Yeah Again military people deploy all over the world all the time to maintain stability And that includes all units of the military even special operations So seals sometimes you get deployed to places where there’s no you know really visible threat Yeah And it’s not what SEALs generally want to do Yeah So we we did training We cross trained with a couple different countries Um you know some other platoon went to the PI we were in Guam you know we went to Thailand to work with the Thai SEALs for nine days And I mean it was cool getting to see how other countries do stuff And it now that I look back at it it did give me a much bigger picture you know overview of stuff But at the time like I’m not even 21 Like I’m just wanting to get after it you know and uh I didn’t uh for the first half but then we rip and we go to Iraq I’m like yes going to Iraq Well I knew what we were headed over there to do but I was hoping we there’d be you know the ability to do a lot of different stuff and end up doing uh personal security um for some higher dignitaries over there during the elections And I mean it it was cool You know what looking back now you look at what you did and you put that on your resume people are like “What? Wow you did that?” I’m like to me I was thinking “Yeah that sucked ” You know but it didn’t It was also very good It was a very good learning experience Um and it was part of the mission And the problem is when they had a a a gap in that protection you know some team guys came to do it and team guys do what they do and they just knocked it out of the park So guess what? Team guys now have the mission for that And u but it was cool You know we worked with u some different units some Marines and Army guys and they were phenomenal over there as well And it was it was awesome to be able to learn from them you know guys have been on their you know couple deployments already and the war is hasn’t really really kicked off and um it was good Um you know and then our chief got fired I was just like geez Um but the headsh was solid like our OIC AOIC who became our the Delta platoon commander Solid dudes you know and so we just had to weed out some of the weak ones Right on And that’s the the nature of that mission you know is defense And I don’t want to be on defense ever right? I want to be on offense It’s where I want to be So it’s a tough it was a tough mission for the guys to mentally I mean of course you you would never know this from their from their professionalism but no one was saying jumping up and down saying “Hey great We we get to be on defense ” Yeah All the time for a long period of time and the fact that the guys did perform so well and that we kept the mission again like you said we kept the mission because we did a good job not that we were jumping up and down excited about doing it because we don’t even be on defense we want to be on offense Yeah absolutely Um and you know now I look back I’m like you know some of the thing and I did get to do a pretty cool thing there Um and then I mean we got to see all of Iraq you know I got to go up to northern Iraq up in Kurdistan and Oh yeah Because those dignitaries were traveling around Well he was Kurdish and he was from from northern Iraq and it was it was gorgeous up there you know We actually didn’t you know so I had a little come to Jesus talk with um one of the older guys to you know he was just kind of reeling me back in because I Yeah I wasn’t very happy I was pissed that other guys were out doing direct actions DAS and I want to be doing that and you know my boy Pepper you know he talked to me and he sat me down and he’s like man this is big picture thing you know and this is part of it he’s like and you’re a new guy he’s like I know you want to get after I know you’re aggressive but it’s a good deal you know like yes it’s not the ideal thing that we want to do he’s like but this is not a bad deal you know we’re in civilian clothes and fully armored SUVs you getting to travel around with this guy and he just was like you just need to change your mindset you know and he’s like “You need to stay focused because after this deployment it might be something completely different you know and he’s like just stay the course stay focused and you know get the mission done “ And it was awesome talk I needed that you know I just needed that guidance and mentorship cuz I was young you know Pepper’s an older guy He had had a good amount of experience and um you know he just he just knew what I needed to hear and you know roughed me up a little bit and continued on Man it was good It was awesome Learned a lot from it So yeah So you get back from that deployment Yep And this is when you start this is when we formed up when we started working together in TU Bruiser Yep Again you went come back from or well I come back from deployment and then all of a sudden I was like “Hey we we need snipers ” I’m like “How fast does my hand get up for this one?” you know and uh literally gone like again within a week and uh went through the NSW short course Um which you know we didn’t get our sniper certificates from that because we didn’t do everything but I didn’t care You’re giving me sniper guns You’re you know I know how to use them They’re doped in I get to kill savages Okay You know um you know what’s crazy is remember when they used to try and they had rules about how much we could be gone from home Remember those days? Oh we violated and for Yes we vi violated them but then young guys in the teams and a lot of old guys too they they literally are raising their hand for everything Like yeah get me out of here man Oh you’re going to send me that school or you going to send me on another deployment? And it’s weird because there’s some people that you know a guy that’s married and has a family they they’re they don’t want to do that anymore And they shouldn’t have to but they blanket apply the rules across the board to everybody Cuz I’ll tell you what when you’re 19 years old and you’re in the single teams you don’t want to be at home any night of the week you want to be either on deployment or getting trained and getting after it and that’s what’s awesome But they they blanket those rules which is a bummer Yeah I mean I was just fired up and to go be able to go to sniper school you know like cuz um you know it’s a big deal It’s a huge deal to get to go to sniper school Huge deal And one of the older guys in the platoon he’s still active uh in the team so I won’t say his name but he was one of my really good buddies and I really looked up to him We did an awesome mission together on that that first deployment And um Oh I know who you’re talking about Yeah he’s one of my favorite guys The Badger Yeah the Badger And um you know he’s just just an awesome guy and he was a sniper you know and he would always talk to me about little things I was just and even before I went he was like teaching me stuff and he’s like “Yeah you know this this this ” So I don’t know if he had a say in me going there or what but I went I was super excited And then also Chris you know Chris was a big influence as well as you know he was a successful sniper from on that his second deployment my firstloyment Yeah And you’re just hearing about what he’s doing at Fallujah and I was like please please Lord like I just want to do this so badly And you hear Chris you know telling stories and hear other people telling stories about Chris you know and I even had a buddy who was back from Sacramento He was a Marine who he was the Marine officer in charge of Chris and those guys over there So he’s telling me stories that were just like I was like what dude this is awesome And so anyways go we go through the short course Um it was it was legit It was in the summer out in the mountains in the desert doing everything Guys are blacking out on their stocks because it’s 120 degrees and you’re trying to do a 4-hour stock in a ghillie suit and but uh which was awesome because it prepared us for Ramati It’s like dude the worst stuff you know you’re just okay you know and um you know had a great time The instructors were pretty solid you know and um then all of a sudden it was like cuz we had a condensed workup you know they’re like “Hey we got to get going ” So normally what it would take 18 months we had to condense into 11 months And uh you know all then we’re headed out to our desert training facility Our desert training facility for our first trip Yeah And that’s where that’s where we met for the first time First met Yeah I had heard about this guy Jo And guys were fired up because like dude this guy is fired up He’s just another you know thing It was just a you know this bigger stoic guy that was professional who had a good amount of experience in the teams and who just wanted to get in the fight And I was like yes this is what we need You know it was pretty apparent when I first met you that you wanted to get in the fight too Yeah I might have been bandaged up a little bit from smashing out a car window Yeah But uh you know Yeah some some idiots downtown and um what were you saying I was saying to you when I saw that? So when you saw it uh you know you’re like “Hey I’m Joo ” I was like “I’m JP ” You’re like “I know who you are ” I was like “Roger that ” You know kind of like “Uh okay ” And uh you’re like “So what’s up with the wrist?” And I was like “Uh got a couple stitches ” And you’re like “From what?” I was like “I you know smashed out a car window with my elbow and I got caught ” He’s like “Huh? You gonna stop doing that stupid shit?” I’m like “Yeah ” He’s like “You need to be training here with the guys and with us and focused on work up ” And he’s like “If you want to fight we fight ” You know and I was like “Roger that sir “ And I was like “I’m going to go work out ” So because I remember I was walking to the gym you know I just changed out the bandages I had stitches and staples in my arm and I had all bandaged up and trying to get after it I was going to go work out and there I see the silverback gorilla So it was awesome It was good You know just and you just set the precedence you know you set the tone for hey yeah it’s cool to be aggressive and want to fight and get after it but you do it in the right place in the right time And don’t forget you know at the end of the day we’re going to war to kill bad guys That’s the number one focus Yeah And it was just like that just kind of really opened up my eyes So it was cool Yeah And that workup was that workup was awesome We were so excited Yeah It was so much fun I mean just just the energy there I mean everyone was ready to get after it And you you drove it and all of us you know I remember you coming up to me when we’re in between IDs and you’re like “Hey every time like someone gets a door I want you to be the dude that’s as loud as possible you told me to go put to tape JP on the back of my helmet You’re like I always want to be able to find you And um you know maybe you did maybe you didn’t but you I did I mean that’s that’s legit right there So hey I’ll tell you right now I say this all the time Well I should I shouldn’t exact say I say this all the time but there’s people that have certain qualities right? certain qualities whether they’re leadership qualities whether they’re u skills at art or at speaking or at basketball right? People have certain qualities You had a good ability You you had a great ability to get command of something and make something happen very quickly right? And that’s it’s a because you’re loud and you’re loud number one Number two you’re aggressive Number three you can take whatever that problem is and like get it into some quick words You can simplify it into something quickly and say it Yeah But when I saw that you had that skill I said “Okay he’s a guy that I can utilize and that his platoon commander can utilize and that the that the whole troop can utilize to handle such certain situations when there’s some chaos going on and something needs to be straightened out ” So what I want you to do is take some riggers tape and I want you to write JP on your helmet So whenever I’m looking around on my night vision or or during the daytime and I see you just see a bunch of helmets that look the same now I know it’s JP When I see them coming I go “JP make this happen right here ” And JP can make it happen right there I still have that helmet with the tape Boom Sitting in my garage on the shelf That’s awesome It’s kind of cool That’s awesome Yeah So we get we get obviously orders two weeks prior to deployment that we’re going to Romani We we had thought we were going somewhere else We thought we were going to Baghdad We thought we were going to have kind of a cookie cutter deployment of what the teams had been doing for a few years And we find out two weeks before deployment that we’re going to Romani And how did you find out? Did I call Did the Delta platoon commander the chief call you? How did you find out we were going to Romani? Because you guys were all on leave Um you remember? I don’t I don’t think they even told us till we got back told you guys I mean because it was all over the news what was going on over there you know So I don’t you know I don’t think they told us Yeah I probably didn’t tell I I know I told you know the the leaders Yeah and said “Hey guys stand by to get some ” Yeah Yeah Cuz I remember we found out we were on leave We came home came back to San Diego and we’re getting to roll out and that’s when we found out where we’re going And we were getting ready and we had all had our families We had our families you know with the day we’re shipping off to say goodbye and there’s a couple guys like reading like news reports and articles about the area we’re going to And I’m like trying to like pull my mom away so she doesn’t hear this You know what I mean? And my dad’s just like listening like getting fired up He’s like “Yes ” And you know my dad you know you could tell as a father he’s very excited for me My mom’s terrified nervous But my dad was nervous as well rightfully so you know like your son’s going off to war in combat But he was just it was this mix of emotions for him And so he was like trying to hide like the nervousness by saying “When are you leaving? Come on we’ve been waiting It’s about time for you to go ” And I’m like “Get out of here ” Jeez I just I just remembered when I got told when they said they when when the commanding officer brought me in and he’s like and and he was trying to sell to me going to Ramadi instead of going to Baghdad He he’s like proposing it I like “Hey you know this could be a good thing ” And inside I’m like “Oh my god I’m like so and and I remembered I bargained for something There’s something there’s something that I said “Well well we want this If we can do this then then we can make it happen ” I think it was gear some kind of gear swap we did But but anyways I remember them trying to sell it to me and I knew I was in such a good position cuz it’s like someone trying to sell you free money You know what I mean? I was like “Oh you want a scooter money? Okay Uh let me think about that for a second And inside I’m going don’t don’t blow it Just act cooler face Don’t get too excited Just you know maybe you might be able to leverage something Just relax inside Like okay you know I think we can make it happen I I need a little bit of this I might need a couple more support personnel out there to give us a hand getting acclimated and getting the turnover done But if I can get five or six more person I’m just I’m just gathering logistics support for my troop That’s what I was bargaining for I was gathering logistics support for the troop getting more CBS to come help us and more intel guys like as long as we can have this and that And he’s like “Yeah I I’ll talk to them We’ll see if we can make it happen ” And it happened Yeah Um the CEO was awesome Solid dude Yeah So solid I remember Yeah Cuz I got in trouble when I went home on leave during Christmas time Am I seeing some kind of a pattern of trouble here or you know if you want to say that you know what deal one of my best friends didn’t have the outlets one of my best friends in the seal team when I was younger right we were the same way we were maniacs and one time he got into really big trouble and the the platoon commander who’s one of my favorite guys and a guy that inspired me to go the officer route cuz he was a prior enlisted guy and he was an awesome guy and he was made the platoon awesome for us that guy So I’m I’m thinking he’s going to he must be so angry at my buddy that got in big trouble like borderline international incident And I kind of said “Hey you know are are you mad at him for what happened or what do you think of this?” And he goes he said something along the lines of he’s a warrior You can’t stop these things from happening It’s it’s in your guys’s blood We have to just deal with it the best we can Yeah And you you guys did you know that’s what I always that’s was always my attitude You know I look back now I’m 33 and I’m like man but you know you learn from your mistakes and you make sure you don’t you know pay them again I got you know I got I was up in Reno I got arrested for um you know that older guy started a fight with me and my friends and I was with non-team guy friends They’re super passive guys and he’s an older like much bigger guy you know and um you know was coming at me He had a bottle in his hand It just Yeah Anyways do some damage to him He ends up in the hospital for a long time I get rolled up I get arrested I go there They’re looking through my wallet They’re like “Security clearance Seal Team 3 ” And I’m like “Yeah ” And the cop goes “Why didn’t you tell me this when we were out there?” He’s like “I would have dropped you off around the corner ” I was like “Well I didn’t want you know I’m not going to try to pull that card I made a mistake ” He’s like “Well you’re here now so we have to deal with it ” So I go home I remember I I tell uh the LPO about it He’s like “All right we got to go tell Chief ” And Chief’s like “All right we got to go tell the OIC We got to go tell the command master chief ” Command Master Chief you know and off Master Chief was press on And bro two phenomenal leader I mean just couldn’t get better higher listed leaders ever right? So of course you know they’re hearing the story and they kind of like give me the rundown And then you know Mastery Press on goes “JP you think you’re the first team guy to get arrested for fighting? Let me tell you some stories ” He just kind of he’s like “Hey we just got we got to fix this ” You know what I mean? He’s like “Obviously it was clearly self-defense ” And he’s like “Whatever you need from us ” Yeah that was good Cool Whatever What I do is I make the mistake is I go back home on Christmas leave shortly after that and I got a wet and reckless Mhm So not a DUI but you know whatever Close enough I was an idiot And um you know I’m Superman You know I’m I’m only 22 You know I’m not even 23 yet And um you know I’m we were crushing the work up So it was my I was built I felt even better about life and everything else like that And we know we’re going to war And you know I just made a mistake And um you know pay the consequences You know I come home and I’m like “Oh dude what do I do?” I’m like “They’re gonna kill me ” I was like I’m I’m possibly not going to deploy And I remember I broke down Like I just broke down like emotionally I’m like I just threw everything away you know like for what you know and I was really upset and I went and told the Badger you know about it first I was like “Hey man I need some advice ” I was like you know I think I can take leave and take care of this on my own and everything He goes “Yeah I think we can ” He’s like “But if not you know it’s a big risk you know He’s like “Dude we have solid leadership right now Now is the time that you just get your butt kicked for this and just deal with it you know?” He’s like “Dude just take what comes at you ” And I’m like “All right bro ” You know I was like sick to my stomach I was like “Well I don’t know how this is going to turn out We go to the LPO dude ” He’s like “You I’m like “Yep Roger that Go to the Chief ” Chief same thing I’m go AIC It was Andrew Paul And Andrew Paul’s like JP really? Like he was dis what hurt is how disappointed he was Everyone was disappointed They’re like “You’re better than that ” And I was you know and then so we go back over there to go talk to Master Chief Yarro and Press on and I was just like I was so ashamed Like I I was just you know I just got the chills I was just I was disgusted myself you know So you know they go through they’re like “All right well we’re going to have a chief’s review board see if you got to keep your trident stay in the teams I was just like trying not to throw up right then and there I’m like like go back to platoon space Like how do you even function the rest of the day after that? Like I was like so I’m looking at the badger I’m like maybe we shouldn’t have said this You know what I mean? I was like dude So anyways um long story short they uh I had the chief review board and luckily they were doing remodeling over at the compound So I was two rooms over but the ceilings were open and vaulted Oh yeah that’s right So I could hear them all talking about me beforehand And of course he had a bunch of like it was all the chiefs in the command You know there’s some chiefs there that you were support personnel They’re like “Screw this kid Let’s blah blah blah ” Like you know blah blah blah And then like Yarro goes “Hold up ” Like the kid’s a good kid I I was with him at SQT You know he made a mistake And so like I remember him taking my back because he’s like “Oh really? Let’s get rid ” And he so he starts pulling up like other guys that had made mistakes He’s like “What about when you did this and what about when you did that?” He’s like “No he’s good ” And press on’s like “Nope we’re keeping them We’re going to crush him but we’re keeping them “ So I go in there and luckily I’d heard that And so I went in there and just you know faced the man and you know the whole rest of workup I was on restriction You know we’re on the road We’re awesome trips We’re going to Vegas for a work trip And guess who has a curfew? Did you have a curfew during that? Oh I do remember that Yeah Yeah Absolutely Like if I was to go grab food I had to be back within a certain time frame You’re like “Oh wait Actually guess what? They serve food here so you don’t need to leave the building You can get room service cuz you don’t need to be sitting down at the uh the tables ” And I’m like you know but whatever You know I It’s good It’s good that you had that kind of sense of fear in there I mean just looking back I can tell you right now you could have like you could have committed a broad series of crimes against humanity and I would have still taken you on deployment and I basically told bro that for sure Like hey I don’t give a [ __ ] Yeah You know it’s just I was very lucky and blessed We were blessed to have you know good leaders like you and and bro and and press on and those guys that were just like “Hey man Guys make mistakes We’re going to we’re going to fix it “ you know it’s not like you guys were like “Oh no big deal ” You’re like “Oh cool Hey you gotta learn You got to learn from it you know and um you know I definitely learned from it ” And the CEO was super cool and the CEO stood by what you guys stood and that said a lot to me about him as a leader as well because he trusted you guys’ judgment And I remember he comes out like towards the end of our deployment when we be getting it We’ve been getting it the whole time He’s like “Man I’m really glad I listened to them and kept you around ” Like so it was just awesome So it all kind of turned around because it was basically you guys were like “Hey we’re going to hold it where it’s at and we’ll see how he does on deployment and when he comes back we’ll we’ll hammer him and if we need to ” So yeah All right So we go on deployment Yep And like you said like people are reading the newspaper I mean I knew cuz I was reading all the intel I mean I was totally read in and was trying to explain to you guys and telling you guys stand by to get some We show up there and do some do some you know basically the forces almost instantly We divide into five different teams and we end up doing big operation over in eastern Rammani and that kind of set the tone and and carved out a little space for a certain crew And actually if you in the retirement speech that I gave you know I I talk about hey we’re going to send some guys over here If you want to go volunteer you got to put your name on this list And of course everyone put their name on the list which made it go back to the original plan which was the Delta platoon platoon commander saying you know these are the guys I’ll take I need whatever eight guys I’ll take these guys And you know had a little make sure that we weren’t making anything too unbalanced But obviously obviously he wanted you with him And um so you guys roll out to Corodor with the first of the 506 band of brothers Yeah those guys are phenomenal Yeah love those guys Talk about Full Metal Jacket A blown out old school I think it was old school or like a university Old university just completely blown out like walls I mean there’s more bags of sand than concrete I think there holding the place up Um you know we had the Army and Marines living with us in there And uh I remember we show up and we’re just like dude Yeah When we first when when I went there for that big first kickoff Yeah That place was just dirt floors mosquitoes everywhere bugs everywhere Yeah I don’t even think there was AC No there wasn’t It was like one dangling light in every room Yeah That was hard living But that was all but that was all one big room They had like thing they had like a sheet of plywood that divided the big room that we all ended up eventually like building our own rooms into Yeah I remember getting over there and you know guys like kind of I was so fired up I’m like yes I’m in I’m in it Like this is horrible It’s horrible because there’s a fight going on right here You know what I mean? Like the nice builtup bases There’s not a fight there where it’s like horrible You know there’s a fight I I was just super excited Yeah Gregor was awesome And there was guys with the first the 506 that that place was getting morted every day That place was getting attacked every day I mean remember when we first went there and I was like I said um you guys are like “Can we can we go up on the walls? Can the snipers go up on the walls and like defend?” And I was like “Um yes ” And we and we did Yeah You guys went up and started whacking people almost immediately It was awesome You didn’t even have to leave base to kill guys Yeah What What kind of a joy is that right there? It’s like the best Christmas present ever But it was also at the same time like if you want to go grab chow you have to be in full body armor helmet and your gun because the gun got constantly um attacked You know there’s a couple times you hear and you just hear the incoming mortars and you’re sprinting to try to either get you’re like when you’re in the middle you’re like do I go back? Do I go to the chow hall? Are they aiming for our building this time? You know I remember this one time I was going out to take a shower Decisions decisions decisions Just make one and go And um this is a complete I had my angels god thing and we come back from an op and guys are smoked right? And most guys are just like I’m just going to get get into bed like my baby wipe shower and just lay down I just wanted to actually just go take a shower right? And so the army guys are awesome They gave us the code so we could use it on our times when we came back you know instead of the standard scheduled army shower times So I go out there and I get to the shower tent I’m like I forgot my lofah sponge you know so I can actually like try to like wash with my soap and everything Hardcore JP Denell in combat You know what you got to bring to combat with you? You got to bring your lofah sponge That’s what I’m talking about You got to you got to clean the body You know what I mean? So anyway so I go back and um as I’m walking back up the steps to get into the thing shower tent gets hit by three mortars and I was Yeah destroyed gone Like I was just like “Okay ” That was that that was a shower tent that was like 20 mters from full metal jacket right? Yeah I legitimately was just like in there and I was like “Oh ” I remember I was like “I’ll just put the soap in my hands “ And I was like “Nope ” That was complete I had my angels you know God was like “No you need to get out of here ” And so I walk back and I’m literally taking the last step like into that little dark hallway and and I was like “Okay where’s my baby wipes?” Like I have to go get some baby And that’s what was so crazy is like something like that It was just like “Okay [ __ ] Now I’m pissed ” You know? And so baby wipes up And until we got that fixed we were doing bottle water showers You know you poke holes in the top of a water bottle and your buddy squeezes it over you and that’s how we showered You know it was it was awesome Yeah And that’s that’s another thing The uh the the army guys from the first of 506 I mean obviously they’re living that way too But every day you’d see them they’re always in the squared away uniforms always you know shaving every day No slack no [ __ ] slack whatsoever to the first 506 And and that was the attitude that you guys went over with You know I made sure our guys had shaved head cuz I was the acting LPO Uh the Badger was the acting chief and uh we I mean we rocked the Army Cam We put you guys in Army Army Camies Um and we all had shaved heads and we shaved every day you know We just looked like the Army I mean cuz who cares about a haircut and a shave you know unless I needed to have a beard which I mean I have a red beard So who am I blending in with? Russians or Irish you know what I mean? Like I’m in Iraq you know what I mean? Like bright blue eyes and a red beard Oh you must be a local you know like we’re being attacked by leprechauns Giant leprechauns Giant tattooed leprechauns And so um you know we just shaved our heads and got after it And uh I mean dude you know like why? That doesn’t matter That doesn’t make you a less effective you know either way you know And you could tilt that you you could flip that the other way It’s like “Hey well if I have long hair and a beard what does that matter?” It really doesn’t But it’s the Army’s battle space and we respected and loved those guys They were phenomenal guys to work for So why are we going to do something that is just to piss them off you know? Why? Who cares? Like so we just shaved and you know had our kept our heads shaved which was awesome actually cuz your your helmet stuck to that like a little bruo pad and it didn’t move around a lot And uh you know and then the Marines that were with us the Anglico guys those phenomenal guys you know they started doing the same thing They were shaving their heads And my boy Nick Hobbs you know he was with us He’s out He’s an awesome stud Marine And you know we always joke about he’s like “Man like he’s I just remember like just we all like just would hang out in our free time ” And he’s like “You come really close with somebody when they’re standing in their like boxer breeze and you’re having to pour water over them for them to shower ” And we’re up on the rooftop right? like doing bottles of water shower and it’s just just funny man Like I I miss those days Yeah You know? Yeah And just so everybody knows now I mean just to kind of give an overview if you don’t know what the what the overall operations that were taking place were pushing in the the campador which we’ve been talking about which is where this building Full Metal Jacket was was on eastern Rammani And the first of the 506 was responsible for the eastern part of Ramani the really the southeastern and then some other sections But where the SEAL platoon was or the SEAL squad now is a basically a smaller group was working was inside this area called the Malab district And as the first first the 506 would do big clearance operations You guys would go out and primarily do sniper overwatch Although you of course you did you did other stuff you did clearances and all that but the primary mission thank God you went to sniper school because you were the lead sniper and you and you did a lot of uh a lot of sniper work over there Yeah it was awesome We got um just right place right time you know It was just that’s all I can really explain you know Now now we worked to get work and we you know we pushed the envelope constantly but I mean we’re no better than anybody over there Just we’re just hungry you know We we wanted it so bad And I remember when we showed up there um the colonel you know won’t say his name but um he was awesome you know awesome I mean I wish he was running for president Absolutely I would I would vote for him and obviously I would vote for him instantly Yeah He was just unbelievable Go on the campaign trail like in a heartbeat No doubt about it But anyways um awesome guy And you know you talk about communication from leadership You talk about a guy you can’t say his name by the way He’s a general now He It’s It’s very obvious who it is The commander of the first of 506 during the battle of Romani Okay A guy by the name of Ronald Clark Ron Clark was just an unbelievable leader And I Yeah Just an unbelievable leader Yeah Ronald Clark 2020 Yeah But um awesome awesome guy But he you know he had the ability to communicate with us to where we wanted to help him of course And he was just like “Hey guys I need help you know and that’s one thing I learned later on in life is like when I was doing sales I’m like people don’t want to be helped but they want to help “ And he knew that you know and so he’s like “Guys I need help We’re losing guys every day This is what we’re going on Hey here’s your roses Please go get some ” And we’re like “Oh yes “ Like “This is it ” And we had that connection with them And you know just being able to go out and work for them was phenomenal and just it was awesome I mean the uh the Delta platoon commander formed such a good relationship with those guys and was and you know my relationship with him Yeah I mean he was um just solid dude and wanted to get after it Yes wanted to get after it and wanted to get after it as much as humanly possible Yeah And then some and then a little bit more Yeah And with a little bit more on top of that Wow So yeah it was a great great combination And you actually you did a lot of those operations too So kind of the the standard Well we called them standard It wasn’t that standard at the time Daytime presence patrols Get some you know and when I did that I carried the Mark 46 5 56 beltfed action and it was awesome You know you have 200 rounds on the gun and I threw another 800 rounds on my front and I had another 200 in the back So 1 200 rounds with body armor grenades smokes water And that’s when I was when I was telling that story in the beginning it’s like one of those first big operations we did out there And that’s where that’s where that’s from That’s where that memory is from is seeing you walking and being okay guess all those way that he acted during training with paintball he’s going to act the same way right here with his life on the line either walked uh it was cool because I either walked uh point or rear security because I was a machine gunner you know and that you want a machine gun up front and you want one in the back because they’re coming from the rear I just remember that you know first push that you were talking about the first real firefight I got into just cut these dudes in half and it was awesome And uh you know it was you know everything the colonel told us was going to happen happened Hey usually within this amount of time frame they start coming out Here’s what they do They come around the corner then they distract you and they do this and and this is when the attack happens And like like clockwork I mean these savages were just coming at us exactly how we were told it was going to come at us Yeah And that I think that helped us gain even more respect for the army that we worked for because they could have just been like “Hey go get some “ But they’re like “Hey go get some and come back so you can continue getting some ” Yeah No the turnover that we would get from those guys was phenomenal and the professionalism that they had like what you’re talking about like the the Charlie company commander Yeah Crazy Joe And and he was freaking awesome And one of the things that he would do and this is when I said “Oh this guy’s on the next level He’s doing something that that I never even thought of Every time he went on patrol in the Malab he was recording it He was video recording it And then he’d come back and review every street corner every building every signpost He knew everything about it He knew that city He he took his job like so seriously It was it was phenomenal I remember the Delta platoon commander had told me that he was doing that or we knew that and it really emphasized us to hey we need to know this area just as well And it I mean it didn’t take long I’m not trying to be cocky or anything but within a couple weeks like I didn’t need my map Like I knew that city you know what I mean? Now I had the map on me to so if I needed to look at it and be like “Oh I’m at this building and hey we’re pushing over here ” So I can scan real quick and go But like I I knew exactly where I was at all times because I those guys did and we needed to know that you can’t have a delay in communication when you’re in a firefight you know or you know guys are down you know and it was just everyone you know just hearing over the radio when Cowi got shot just like I’ll never forget that you know and knowing exactly where they were at and there was a little confusion leaving and I was like “No we need to go this way ” I legitimately just started running that way you know because you just hear Mikey opening up and the Badgers trying to pull them out and you just your boys are in a firefight and you just don’t know what’s going to happen and we’re trying to get there as fast as we could and it was just like we got I mean we legitimately got there as fast as we could and it was because we knew we had to be prepared you know And could you imagine if we didn’t know where exactly they were or where we were and you’re sitting there like trying to listen to a map you know read a map when you hear your boy over the radio like “Hey I’ve been shot I’ve been shot ” And you just hear a huge machine gun just going off and you’re just like like but dude the boys we were with Delta Platoon commander deep breath JP where we at? You know he knew where we’re at but he’s like “Hey where do we need to go?” You know exactly And you know because he’s a he could have gotten us there but he wanted me to get us there because I was pointing about other things and he doesn’t need to be worried about that because he’s working two radios trying to get in C you know he’s got to figure out like hey let’s get some tanks in here to mow the city down to get our boy out and get him to the hospital you know And so that what the story that JP’s talking about right there was like the first significant casualty that we had We had some other guys get fragged a little bit but that was the first one Uh Kawi Yeah Kawi got shot and uh about lost his leg but they were able to save it and now he’s a stud Yeah still Yep But uh what is it? Cheetahs or leopards don’t lose their their spots Yeah No doubt No doubt He’s still a warrior inside and out Solid solid dude He’s a guy I tell the story about where like when I went to see him in Charlie Med so he’s all morphined up We we rolled in there and I I like went to shake his hand like a bro handshake and and like when I grabbed he reached up he grabbed my hand and he like pulls me down right and and he and he’s like in my ear and he goes let me stay Oh yeah He was I’m like I’m like hey bro you’re about to lose your leg I’m I didn’t tell him that but I was like hey bro let’s make sure you get healed up and I think you’re going to have to leave to do that And he’s like “Just” he’s like “Just let me stay ” He goes “I don’t care I’ll I’ll I’ll I’ll clean you know but just let me stay ” Yeah And I was like “Bro we’re uh it’s just go get healed up If you have to go go get healed up We’ll bring you back ” And of course he didn’t heal up fast enough cuz it was pretty jacked up He got an armor-piercing round in his leg that entered like down by his knee and exited up by his groin Yeah It hit the femur right? Just traveled I mean he’s nasty He’s lucky to have his leg Absolutely I mean he’s legitimately lucky So I got to get him on the podcast sometime His whole life is awesome All right Well you know what? You know what I was thinking? There’s one more op that I was thinking of besides the kind of urban sniper operations you were doing and presence patrols You did a cool op that was a little bit more like Leif and I were talking about how oh you know what? You know it’s not like you see in the movies because these sniper Overwatch positions we’d have a bunch of people with us you know we have 20 15 20 10 30 people You have a lot of people to be in these buildings and hold security and all that Whereas in the movies they always portray like two guys out in the middle of nowhere Mhm And we always go “Oh yeah No that’s not that realistic ” But you guys actually did one off like that Yeah we did It was full on Full on It was pretty awesome Um yeah So up in uh northern Sophia we’re getting just hammered by mortars you know just constantly We knew that’s where they’re coming from So uh we get dropped off at a little outstation north of you know the Malab district and we just did a patrol It was a long patrol up there And I remember you know we’re you know hugging the river trying to stay as close to the river as we can It’s you know you go from the dry just dead city to this lush ve vegetation and you’re trying to patrol through that and I’m just like oh dude hands like all the guys in Vietnam all those guys that just got after it like I’ve always respected them but that just brought a new level of respect like cuz we have night vision Yeah They didn’t most of the time you know? I was just like and it is it is hard for people to understand that that area north of Rammani that was like well irrigated by the river by the Euphrates River It looked like Vietnam Yeah It had palm trees It had like patties and dikes and all that stuff It looked like Vietnam Yeah And Leif was talking about the other day and he’s like “Yeah there was like the uh bull pulling a plow type situation Straight up looked like Vietnam ” Yeah It was crazy So anyways we go up there and uh man it was we had dogs that were following us So um I can’t say his name He’s still in but he always he carried a uh suppressed MP5 with subsonic rounds So he he was our dog killer Mhm And uh it was pretty funny And so he just you know these are bad savage dogs so don’t worry And um and so we’re getting up there you know they’re you know barking giving away our location And so we you know handle them We keep going and um we get set up at night and you know we get all OP set up and you know we’re right on the river like that’s right on the river because we we know if we need the boats to come in support us they can come in we can get a fast extract out of there and um you know so me and the Badger we you know we have change out into all of our stuff you know like we’re carrying gear for like three to four days right? Like it’s almost physically impossible to carry that much water like and all your ammo and everything else like that And so we get it done and uh we change out get on our ghillie suits and I just remember like thinking like dude this is legit This is it Like you see like the ambient light like coming in through the trees where we’re all like hidden and veged up and the guys are set their perimeter We’re in our we’re in our ghillie suits and we just boom And one of the other guys like “Dude it was awesome You know you guys were there and we’re turning around ” He goes “And you guys are gone like you just disappeared in the dark and you know we went and got set up you know and like I said um you know the badger was you know he he was a sniper before you know so I learned a lot from him and but at this time we both had a good amount of experience of actually on the gun and whatnot and so he was you know no ego with him you know he’s just so like easy back he’s like hey man this is what we’re going to do what do you think I’m like yeah let’s do it and then they’re saying I’m like hey maybe we should change up that he’s like all right yeah let’s do that and so we end up veging up in area that I mean it was the only the the opportunity for where we had to be wasn’t ideal You know we legitimately were on the other side of these bushes out in the open It was like thick bushes around us so we could veg up and blend in but we were out there by ourselves and we knew that and we after we did our recon we told the guys like “Hey this is the only place we can go This is legitimately like the only place we can go to be able to you know get these guys ” And so our contingency was if something happened we’re going to have to wait a while before the guys could actually move to a position to provide cover fire and you know everything else like that And we’re like “All right cool ” You know not a big deal you know? And so we’re like “Cool We have our pistols and sniper rifles you know what I mean?” And so we go off we get veged up we you know help veg each other get ourselves into position Rifles are laying like kind of underneath the drag bags which are veged up And we had our pistols out just because I mean there’s I know people can’t see us right now but there’s the distance from me to you We had people walking past us and it was just one of those things So three four five meters away is Yeah 5 meters There’s there’s people walking by Yeah Just walking by us and we’re out there you know all throughout the night the day you know it’s one of those things where you’re like “All right I have to pee ” You know you’re not trying to drink too much water because you don’t have to use But at the same time you’re like “It’s hot so I need to ” Luckily since it is that hot and you’re in a ghillie suit you’re sweating most of it out anyways But you know a couple times we had to pee So you like slightly roll over dig a hole relieve yourself cover back up and lay back on top of it you know And it was good though Um you know we actually uh we got got morted at that position And um we uh we got lucky You know we definitely had our angels there because you know it messed up our radios temporarily and um everything around us was just kind of tore up like all the bushes and everything and we didn’t get hit by one thing and you know it was just like hey what do we do? Do we stay here? Do we move them? Well our radios are jacked up so you know luckily you know they didn’t move to us you know and start laying out cover fire while we’re trying to move back to them So we just waited a little bit made sure like we weren’t trying to get suckered out or you know ambushed or anything and then we just slowly made our way back to the group We told him what happened I mean dude me and me and him were pretty jacked up from that Like we were throwing up like the just the blast and everything I was like 12s you think? Dude honestly I have no idea There’s a couple of them but like if they rocked you that hard then they were big We were throwing up the whole patrol back Yeah I mean we were both throwing up Um we both were we both had blood in our our urine and stool Yeah After that and it was just I mean yeah it was but you know whatever I mean we we got the guys and you know we called in uh counter stuff and we came back and everyone was happy cuz they didn’t get m the base didn’t get morted for a while cuz I remember after that the laundry guys you know the these guys over there they’re doing the laundry like they’re so stoked that we did that and we’re like man we’re we’re stoked we got to do that you know what I mean? That’s awesome They would come and like come and pick up our laundry for us and we’re like “Dude no we’re good “ Like “This is awkward ” Like you know what I mean? Like you know go pick up your boys laundry Like we we’re good But it was it was really cool to be able to do that You know something completely outside the box that we hadn’t been doing the whole time So we were able to go from and it just came from good planning We had like I said we had solid leadership So we had good plans in place Yeah Yeah And it was the amount of of sustained combat operations for the whole task unit was was was damn it was an incredible op tempo Yeah I mean it was just like op every day One unit two unit three elements going out Four elements all the time Yeah So we start getting towards the end of this deployment Mhm And obviously Mark got killed on August 2nd and then September 29th um Mikey gets killed Yeah And we’re I mean we’re we’re not we’re not done operating by any stretch because we did a bunch more operations but it was definitely winding down at that point Yeah We had to start thinking about redeployment Yeah And uh I mean we were all packed up I remember cuz we weren’t out at uh out of Corri anymore Yeah We had guys that were you were one of the guys that had come back from Corodor as we started trying to filter guys back consolidate I was so mad I had to come back You know I think about every day when I feel this finger cuz I I you know I cut my finger down to the bone and uh they actually had to cast me out uh to go get surgery on my finger cuz they thought I was going to lose it cuz we tried to work on it across the street at the AIDS station which those guys are phenomenal combat medics over there And when they were like “Dude we need a bird for you You’re going to lose your finger “ Um thought the platoon commander and the badger were like “Dude we have Yeah absolutely ” You know so I went back grabbed some gear and um you know I feel that every day just hard Um like that was the only op I wasn’t on you know and every time we went out I always said a group prayer for the guys It didn’t matter if it was like “Hey we have to go right now ” Delta Platoon Commander or the Badger or someone would be like “Hey we got to get JP real quick ” And I’d say a group prayer and we’d roll And that was the only one that I wasn’t a part of And uh you know Mikey was my Aub gunner You know he was always next to me when I was doing my sniper overwatches and he was next to me when I was rocking point you know cuz you need an ad gunner And JP might have gotten a little crazy towards the last half of the deployment and started to walk in point with the 300 win mag and Mikey was there and I wasn’t there you know and I don’t know So well the good news is you got to go home with him Yes Yeah got to escort his body home which was unlike anything else You know you’re like “Cool ” You know you get to be a part of that but also at the same time you’re like “This is really shitty to be a part of ” You know what I mean? Like I don’t know It’s like yeah I wanted to be there and uh make sure everything went well And I just remember us flying back and just just just staring at the flag over his coffin you know and some guys would you know lay next to the casket and we’d lean up against it and yeah it was just getting to bring him home was important to be a part of that But uh you know everybody felt so much guilt and uh we all we all try to keep each other accountable on that you know it’s like hey man this is war you know Mikey saved a lot of lives you know and we made an impact over there and so it wasn’t like it was for nothing and what he did I mean the guys lives that he saved they all now have families and kids you know a couple of them had kids Mikey had the easy out And just like he always did he never took the easy road He took the harder road the road that would actually make a difference And this time it was alive to those of those guys around him And it was just the ride back I mean you’re just thinking about all that And you know it was also kind of a a blur as well you know like I remember you know I just like just rubbing the flag you know and the flag’s always been very important to me I remember graduating how we can just sing the the flag fly and then you hear it in the national anthem and just seeing it over one of your boys caskets was just brought a new level of connection and love for that amazing flag that we have And I just remember I just sat there and I just would just rub the flag Just rub it you know because I had flags that I carried with me on every deployment every mission I still do that sometimes Like my wife Amanda will just I’ll be doing something and I’ll find a flag and I’ll just I just kind of rub it and she’s like she knows you know she’s like that’s like my little trigger You know I’m just my trigger point I’m just I just started thinking about things again And you know I’ve taught my kids Aiden Kora and Nola to love and respect the flag Like whenever they see a flag they’re like “Daddy daddy it’s your favorite thing Daddy is daddy’s favorite thing ” You know they love getting American flag t-shirts and shorts Uh they saw some American flag cowboy boots Of course my daughters want those now And I’ve been honest with my kids You know my boy Aiden I call him my bonus boy He’s my stepson I love him just like mine You know he he asked me about the flag and why is it so important to me? And I told him I’m like you know it was it’s been draped over a lot of caskets of my buddies that didn’t make it home that were killed overseas And he’s such a special kid He was just like “That makes sense ” And you know and he just he sees a flag and I explained to him why a flag’s at half mass and he’s even said “Hey I’m sorry that flag’s at half mass ” Like he doesn’t know why but he knows something happened and he knows what it does to me And guys like you whatever the flag’s at half mass something horrible has happened and he knows that you know and so I just remember you know we I think he went to Bethe Bethesda and then we continued on to San Diego and um just tried to mentally reset for a couple days You know you’re back in San Diego it’s awesome but it just didn’t Yeah It had nothing you know cuz you knew you’re waiting to receive your one of your boys bodies you know? So it didn’t matter where we were It didn’t matter that we’re in San Diego Like we didn’t want to be in San Diego We wanted to be back overseas still you know When when we went to Habania to put him on the bird and casket was Yeah And we were just filing by Yeah And I remember you were ahead of me We were walking into like a mill van It wasn’t It wasn’t like a one-way thing It was a cold no van It was a cold no van And you were ahead of me You know you were one you were just You were literally right ahead of me and you walked in and you know you you you know you took your last look at Mikey and you put your hand on the on the casket and you turned around and I was right you know we were just looking at each other and when I saw your face the look in your face I is I felt super worried because I could tell that you were tore up And I said to myself “Hey man Jaco you need to get your [ __ ] game together right now and be strong and you were and that’s what we needed and guys like the Delta platoon commander super super strong for us but you saw them hurt I mean everybody’s hurting you know it was you know that deployment you can’t not be close with somebody you know and especially someone like Mikey man like he he knows I like my sleep so he would make sure I didn’t get my sleep just cuz Mikey didn’t sleep and we were we you know our rooms right next to each other you know I was back in this corner he was over in this other corner there was a sheet of plywood between the two of us and he was always like what’s up homes he’s like hey homes you sleeping I’m like yeah I’m trying to homes he’s like he’s like cool and he’d open up the tarp you know the little cammy you know tarp that I had over for my door and just come in and sit on the edge of the bed I’m What’s up buddy? He’s like nothing Just wanted you know he just talk about family stuff and you could tell a lot was on his mind you know and uh he’s like “Hey you want to watch the newest episode of Thirsty Traveler?” My parents sent me The Thirsty Traveler I was like “No but I’m awake so I guess we’re going to watch The Thirsty Traveler ” Because there’s a couple times where I’d be like “Hey bro Like I’m trying to sleep Like just go do your own thing ” You know what I mean? and he had a little hole that he carved into the plywood between our rooms and he would crack Kim lights and push them through and they’d fall right next to where I was sleeping and I’m like I’m going to strangle this guy but it was my boy Mikey you know like he was my boy um you know we were real close in the workup and then obviously deployment you know we used to ride street bikes together and anyway so deployment he was just fun it was just I say all that say is he did that with everybody body Yeah it was hard not to be close to them It was um you know there’s a different connection when you’re at when you’re legitimately at in war with your boys You know that’s why all the army and marine guys that we served with like anytime I see I still see some of them once in a while I randomly ran into one of them up in Ohio I was just like dude and I just I was up there on a sales trip and I just ditched my sales team guys you know because I wanted to hang out with them you know I just and then there’s been other trips where I same thing another one my boy Nick Hobs you know I ran into him I was with him on sales team and it’s like come on you know it’s just that connection is just it’s hard to explain I mean you guys know how it is doing jiu-jitsu and combat sports where you’re rolling with guys and you you legitimately you’re helping guys cut weight and just all this stuff like there’s that bond and that connection take that times it by a thousand and then add some more and that’s the connection you get with these boys in combat So it was it was just real hard I mean and part of it is that’s just who I am Like I I wear my heart on my sleeve I I just connect and attach to people very closely And you know Mikey is just it was it was it was really hard And and that’s the look that I saw on your face That’s the look that I saw on your face I was like and I know I mean obviously I know what kind of personality you have I knew what kind of personality you have and I saw that look of devastation And it was the first time because we’d been together I mean we we were we heard the news We you know but it was the first time that I saw your your look where it was almost like that was the first time that you really realized that Mikey was gone That was it Yeah Maybe I’m right or wrong but from the look in your face I was like “Okay he is he is devastated right now ” And and that’s what I thought to myself And again I mean I don’t I saw you as my little brother I mean for sure I don’t mean that in any kind of derogatory way in any sense but I literally saw you as like my blood little brother Yeah And so to see you just devastated like that And I knew that you were looking at me like well okay what’s Jaco going to do? And I knew that I I knew what I had to do was I had to show like listen this is what we do This is who we are Get your [ __ ] together Joo And and handle this And not saying I didn’t you know not saying I was a a robot but I knew that I had to maintain strength You have to and find that so that you guys could go all right we’re going to be okay What What have we what’s been pounded into our minds since Buds? Win the fight Like if you’re in a fight win the fight Win the firefight Right And right then that our fight was you had to keep the guys together you That’s why it’s always self- aid buddy aid right? You get shot you get hurt you take care of yourselves because if you’re in a firefight your boys are going to win the firefight first before they can take care of you That’s just part of it That’s how we operate And you had to do that No doubt I mean that you’re in that highest leadership position like Yeah It just and the same thing like I had to get myself together you know just cuz other guys in the platoon like I thought or at least I felt like they looked up to me as well and you know especially after that deployment you know I just you had to keep yourself together you know and it was just it’s just a weird weird sit you know I don’t know it was the first time I ever experienced that you know at that level so and then you know obviously Mikey’s funeral which you were at I I obviously wasn’t there cuz like you said we we were still you know most of us were still in Iraq and had to had to finish out the deployment and and do the turnover with the guys that were coming in from from team five and you know that was that was another thing was just you know I mean I talk about all the time like and even when we were talking prior to prior to recording today you know I was like “Hey this is this is kind of blurry to me ” like I was asking you who went home with you I mean I was like “Okay you know these guys are gone Okay here’s what I got to do I got to focus on the next thing ” I like couldn’t get dragged down or think about that anymore cuz I had to like you said I had to do my work I had to do my job And you know I think that’s the good thing is for guys that were able to go to the funeral and everything it’s like you get to you get to get that like bit of closure Yeah a lot of you know the guys that were still over there we were just we didn’t get that you know until we got home Yeah We got home and and you know get to go see Mikey’s grave and and um meet with his family and get to know his family and and get to be together again as a as a troop And so all those things are kind of how you you you go from that anguish Yeah or I should say for me the buried anguish of you know that you have to bury on deployment when you get home you go okay now we can get this stuff out and discuss it and at least maybe not discuss it I don’t need to say anything to you JP I don’t need to talk to you about it you know I know but we can we can settle it you know yeah and I think when guys don’t do that when guys don’t think about it when they keep it buried all the time that’s when it can be really problematic is you know you you got to you got to you got to face the fact and you got to be okay with it eventually that hey this is what happened Yeah And you know when we talk about like who who’s I I guess you could say you know who’s to blame? And I I told this to multiple people Matter of fact I told everybody You want to blame somebody you blame the [ __ ] moosh Yeah They’re the ones that did this Absolutely Yeah That’s what happened Yeah And what we’re going to do is kill more of them Continue to go kill more of them Yeah So that deployment obviously was a was a was a game changer for us Yeah For a huge impact on our lives and and you know everything really that that we’re doing to this day And you when you got home I moved over to you know take over the training command there You started another workup but you got hurt Yeah So um yeah I was just the desert I was smoked you know just you know coming home from that deployment you know initially just still kind of messed up Well not still kind of I was messed up with the whole Mikey thing I remember I went and told Yarl I was like “Hey I just want to go pay like just let me reset ” He’s like “Okay ” And then he I mean he he knows and he knows me and he’s like “All right cool Yeah roger that ” Knowing that’s not what he’s going to do And uh I’m driving back up to Sacramento on leave He’s like “Hey um I know you said you want to go to Paycom but yeah we need to get after it again So you’re going to go to Iraq again or or possibly Afghanistan?” I was like “Yeah roger that ” Yeah I don’t even know why I said that You know like it was just it was one of those things where you’re just like ah you know I’m go do paycom go to Thailand You stay in Delta Platoon Uh no they switched it all up So I I remember that but there was a couple guys that stayed there Yeah Yeah So no I was going to be Alfa Bravo It So after our deployment with TU Bruiser they took it instead of keeping it together because there was all this experience in these two platoon Instead of keeping it together they just split everybody apart into different platoon So other other platoon would have these guys in their platoon with a ton of combat experience Guys were pissed Yeah everyone was pissed Like super pissed But yeah so we start work up and um rip my shoulder out a joint my right one and it was a bad one Not like I’d done that multiple times before Like I mean we’re out at Nyl the you know doing our Desert Warfare getting it on and my shoulder came out and I just relocate the shoulder and you know suck it up a little bit and keep going This was a bad one So ended up having to have surgery They’re like “All right cool ” You know have surgery You’ll miss a little bit of work up but you know we’ll catch it up and we’ll get going And when I had surgery they punctured my brachial nerve or did some damage to it So I would actually drop stuff And um can’t be in an active duty platoon when you’re dropping stuff you know randomly because I was at rehab and I just I couldn’t grab onto stuff or I would just drop stuff So then they pulled me and I went to Buds um for a little bit as an INDOC instructor and um had a good time over there learned a lot about you know just professionalism and you know things change and evolve and you know um so went over to Trade with you guys and um you and uh Z you guys pulled me over there and it was awesome you know stepped into uh assaults and where we’re doing all the CQC and urban warfare training and trade It was awesome you know I’m working for you again which is I’m like yes get after it as it should be Yes absolutely And um learned a lot at trade it about good leadership and bad leadership You know there’s some guys at Trade It um that hadn’t really done anything and Jo was pushing those guys out of there Not in a bad way but just like “Hey man like you’re not going to be you know the war’s really been going on for a while training’s you know combat is getting intense Training needs to be intense and it needs to come from guys that actually have experience or are willing to listen to the guys that have the experience and apply that you know and so it really shaped and changed the the platform of training for all the West Coast SEAL teams And so I was super proud to be a part of that And um I learned a lot about leadership and growth You know I learned good bosses and bad bosses and um actually ended up becoming the LPO for for Mount I guess it’s now called Stout you know So I ran all the urban warfare training for a year and that was awesome I got to learn actually how to work with guys and actually manage guys you know effectively like and um which it’s funny you know you get on the outside and you’re like man what you do on the outside is no big deal you know compared to the teams where you’re like in charge of like 100 plus role players and 17 instructors and logistics for travel and hotel and making sure all the training is set up and managing the guys that need to be talking with the other units that we’re talking to And at this time I’m still only 24 you know maybe 25 I don’t even think I was 25 Well no I was 25 you know and maybe And uh so I just learned a lot about that And uh that was pretty cool And then I spent a lot of time at CQC which every good team guy loves of course urban warfare land warfare and CQC you know and um you know had some really good bosses over there as well my boy Chucky he’s still in so I’ll respect his name as well Uh we actually lived together and I worked for him and that was a huge lesson of you know which we all have in the teams is balancing personal and professional because the teams are very tight you know you could go out and drinking with your bosses hang out with them and then at work the next day But different when you’re living with somebody and um man I was late for work one day We’re on the road and I was like “Hey man I’m running a little late ” He’s like “You better not be late ” You know something along those lines So I get there and I’m like a minute late right dude? And I’m up on like restriction Not like really full-on restriction like military thinks about it but it was like he was like “Yeah you got to do this ” Basically I was little little go-to guy where I got to do all the work you know and and it was good though you know because I expected that of him Like I knew like I made a mistake I got to pay the man and he you know I put him in a hard position you know which was unfair to him And you know you can’t be doing that to your boys you know like you can’t take advantage like “Oh well my buddy’s my boss so I can do this ” No my buddy’s my boss so I’m going to work even harder for him And you know and that’s what you know I was again a little upset with myself and you know there’s a couple times like he’d have to sit me down and we just talk and he’s like “Hey man you know you can’t be doing this stuff or you need to be focused on this ” and he really helped with my professional development you know really helped and helped me learn a lot of stuff that I was able to apply to the outside and be successful And um you he’s still a great friend of mine He’s got a beautiful family and he’s just it’s just it’s awesome seeing him grow over the years Still kicking ass in the team dude He’s a legit boss Like the guy type of guy like I really want to work for him you know? And so I just took a lot of the stuff that I learned from him and I’ve applied it to the outside and uh it’s been awesome And you I mean you ended up on the outside because you made the decision to to get out Yeah And I’m a quitter Yeah The joke is in the SEAL teams if you know no matter what you’ve done or how long you’ve been in for if you ever get out of the SEAL teams you’re a quitter So um that’s what they tell you So you decided to get out pretty much based on your family right? Yeah I got out Um you know I’d already had a failed marriage Um you know I have a son that’s here in California that I don’t ever get to see cuz his mom is awesome And um you know I met Amanda and just I mean she’s the love of my life She’s amazing She deals with me and deals with me very well I give her big props for that Absolutely Nice work Amanda Yeah she’s you know you watch the movie 300 you know the queen Yeah that’s her right? 100% You know and um you know she was going to move to San Diego with with Aiden and I was super fired up about that And then uh she was pregnant Like okay cool Still still happening And then pregnant with twins She’s like “Nope I’m not leaving mama in my support group “ I remember I was so mad and it caused a lot of issues because I held on to that anger longer than I should have you know and um I was just so angry and upset but now that I look at it you know she’s a small town Mississippi girl I mean she’s gorgeous you know she’s awesome but she’s a small town girl And you know sometimes we’re back home she’ll be driving she’s like “Hey you can drive you know because she doesn’t want to drive in the traffic on you know the road the main roads “ I think about that I’m like that’s like no traffic here in San Diego So it wouldn’t have been fair And then all a sudden it’s like for me to expect her to move to San Diego with Aiden and a you know I’m taking him away from his dad So that wasn’t really fair you know Um and I could relate to that And you know her parents are awesome So then all and her friends you know she’s a good support group And it’s like you know I was just like man and a couple things didn’t work out when I had screened You know I had another surgery when I was out You I just took it as hey you know this is maybe the time I need to move on It’s a good chapter in my life an amazing chapter that I’ll never forget and it’s very important It’s who helped mold me as a man Um but I absolutely was not I was not not going to be there for Amanda and the kids you know and so I got out and there’s a lot of guys are upset about that in the teams you know and talking about me Yeah You and a couple other guys couple other guys that are still active you know but um so I got out and um it was a rough transition You go from I’m born and raised in Sacramento California and lived in San Diego my whole life or I mean I’m sorry lived in San Diego the whole time in the Navy and then I’m in North Mississippi Mhm Yeah Awesome Just I just man you talk about culture shock It’s cool to go visit You know I used to always love when we go out there for work but you’re leaving after two weeks and now all a sudden I’m living there And it was just nothing bad with the South or where I live It just for me it was a huge change And I go from being a SEAL to now I’m doing sales at a financial job a financial company which of course I get after it because that’s just you have to provide for your family But just the transition and I made the mistake of not reaching out to people and asking and helping you know what I mean? Like um one of my boys is still in Los you know go by his little nickname And I did reach out to him a couple times and he was really solid He would reach out to me He’d be like “Hey man how you doing? How is JP really doing?” You know and I’d talk to him about stuff He’s like “Man that’s not good bro Like we need to you know whatever “ And there’s times where he’s like “All right well you know you just know what you need to do ” And you know uh Chucky same thing Chucky would reach out to me as well and he’d come out there for training and he’d come over and hang out with the family and the kids you know he’s my boy you know and so I found a gym and uh a new MMA gym was opened up like right around the corner from the house And I was like boom yes You know what I mean? And uh came really close with a couple guys uh Jake and Zach Underwood They’re actually from Union City same city Aaron Vaughn was born and raised in Oh right on Uh so they already knew about him and I didn’t tell them what I did you know they had no idea what I did and uh I was like “Yeah they’re like Union City ” I was like “Oh cool I know Aaron Vaughn ” And they’re like “How how do you know Aaron Vaughn?” I’m like “We used to work together ” Like “Well what do you mean you used to work with them?” You know and I told them they’re like “What? Oh cool ” And uh you know a couple other fighters from the gym Joe Pass Andy and Teddy like just my boys you know like out there They became like they became my team guy buddies out there Like they’re cut from the same cloth as us you know and just down to earth guys that legitimately always they have my back out there and they it was weird because I never really explained much to them about my time in the teams but they knew I was having a hard time transitioning and they were just there for me you know? They’re just there at the gym They’d push me to my limits you know They’re like “Hey you’re going to start fighting ” I’m like “Awesome ” you know and so you know I have seven amateur MMA fights and just a challenge of cutting weight and just training with the boys and sparring and you know I do it as a stress reliever which is funny you know cuz like you watch some of my YouTube videos and uh the announcers is like “Yeah and Jeremiah Patrick says he trains as a stress reliever ” That’s unique like they don’t know how to like you know they don’t know how to react to it because everyone else is like I want to be the next USC champion and I had a horrible life and I hate my parents and I’m just you know I’m like I have an awesome life and make really good money and um I just want to have a little stress reliever you know It’s funny you know like you know I wasn’t fighting to turn pro because I need to make money I was just like there’s my stress reliever And it was being around guys that were likeminded There’s fighting Yes there’s fighting is fun and sometimes if you can’t get a machine gun to fight with it’s fun to fight with your fists and it’s fun I mean it’s it’s in your it’s in your it’s part of your instinct as a human Yeah Oh it should be Well yeah If it’s not Yeah I mean I guess I guess for some people it’s not but for the people that I know it’s part of their instinct as a human is you should be able to defend You want to be able to fight You know you should watch little kids little six-year-old seven-year-old kids If you bring any random six-year-old or seven-year-old boy into a jiu-jitsu place and put them on a room with padded walls and padded floor and you say do whatever you want they’re going to end up attacking each other That’s the way it works Uh that was my daughter’s like I got them in jiu-jitsu two weeks before they turned three Nice It was mostly the owners of the gym and uh Joel uh he’s a former team one guy He’s a part owner of the gym He’s a five-time world champion in I believe it’s Ghee Four-time world champion No ghee Nice I don’t think he’s had one point scored on him in the last five years dude Yeah Just bringing the team guy reputation into jiu-jitsu world You know people are just just terrible Who is it? Joel Ginger I don’t know Team one dude He’s so solid How old’s he’s 50 something? How the hell do I not know him? He must have been in the teams the same I mean I was at Team One for like eight years Maybe it was when you went to the East Coast huh? I don’t know Anyway super solid guy Uh I remember you when you started when you started fighting Yeah And you were like I’m you like I’m going to fight you you know cuz you send me texts too And you sent me a text like hey I’m going to I’m I’m starting to train And then like a month later you’re like dude I’m I’m I’m getting into it And then a month later you’re like bro I can’t believe I didn’t train with you all the time Cuz you I used to train occasionally but like I’ll train with anybody any time And you would train with me like once a month when you could have been training with me seven days a week And I was furious I was I was I was laughing inside and I was also pissed and I was like I tell people that I’m like yeah So I basically could have been doing jiu-jitsu since 2005 with Joo Yeah And people are like what? I’m like yeah I could have but you know I just I I guess I never really got like the taste like I like to stand I don’t know I’m an idiot That’s why I did it I’m just an idiot actually called yourself you called yourself an idiot when you were talking about your youth before and I realized that when I bring um team guys on here when they talk about like their past the term idiot comes up all the time I know I do it all I’m like I was an idiot and Tony’s like I was an idiot it’s just like classic you know you know I mean like and and then when I tell people like yeah you know since 2005 with Jaco I could have been rolling and training all the time and then when you opened your gym you know guys like Ekko and his brother and Dean Listister And you? No I was there but I was always doing the standup stuff And I was doing jiu-jitsu just to do jiu-jitsu I didn’t do any of the MMA stuff you know? I look back and I just legitimately get upset about it sometimes I’ll tell people like “Yeah I could have ” And they’re like “You’re an idiot ” You know what I mean? I’m like they’re like “Jo Dean Listister ” And you know like it’s just whatever I mean hey everything happens for a reason I mean I’ I’ve done pretty well so far I’m six and one And you know the guys out there are solid You know solid coach last night you know cuz we trained last night and I hadn’t done anything in like 16 months You know I had that I had that injury I went into my last fight you know my coaches were like “I’m pulling you ” And Joel dude he’s such a legit badass Just tough Like people are terrified of him But he has the other side that people don’t realize team guys have where he’s like “Hey I’m pulling you from this fight Like I can’t let you get hurt ” You know like the nurturing like you got to take care of your boys because I went into it with a a facial fracture from here down to here All these teeth are still numb from it I had a deviated septum crushed sinuses and a herniated disc in my neck What’d you do? Get in a fight with a bear Yeah Uh sparring Teddy Holder you know who knocked out Thiago Silva Yeah that’s one of my boys And Andy Urick Bellator fighter I mean Zack all these guys I mean just they get after it you know and um I hope they get after it a little bit less in your sparring sessions from now on Yeah we learned that Well and also it was pretty that’s old school man I’m telling you right now that is old school You don’t need to spar like that You shouldn’t spar and you know and the guys have changed it up Guys are legitimately changed up because guys were getting knocked out in fights And anyway we could talk that that could be a whole another podcast but they get really changed it up Um and so but I had you know when I got the call for that fight I had I had fought not too close before that uh with this uh guy a tough tough guy You know ours was like a grudge match You know everyone thought we hated each other and you know we just d we sold so many tickets It was insane Like we each sold over 110 tickets So you’re like the you’re like the Conor McGregor of amateur fighting The Conor McGregor amateur fighting in the Midsouth the mids south thinks it’s like the next big thing and it’s like you know and so um so anyways me and that guy uh Danny Shell good guy you know he’s awesome uh dude he really is a really good guy you know what I mean but we just we’d get after it on social media just to you know just cuz we’re bored I guess and uh uh but we came down you know we had a tough fight you know what I mean and um yeah I mean it was it was awesome like you watch it we’re just What weight do you fight at I fought anywhere between 170 to 205 five My first fight What are you walking around at right now? Uh 215 Nice Um not nice Not a good 215 I tried to be gentle over here No that’s fine You don’t have to you know but uh my first Yeah exactly You You used to walk around like in the in the in Tina Bruiser you were like 185 No I that was my heaviest Like I couldn’t break 185 Like I was trying to like do like all the bodybuilding lifts like get as big as I could I could never break 185 And then my dad’s like “Dude wait until you get your 30s ” I’m like “Whatever ” He’s like “Oh okay “ Because your body has legitimately done everything Mine has at every age increment And then yeah get big But my first fight fought at 205 but I only weighed 190 U because I was going to fight at 185 for my first fight But um that’s why I normally don’t go by Jeremiah Denell on like social media because guys started googling Jeremiah Denell You know I testified against Jesse Ventur with the whole Chris Kyle thing and whatnot So you Google Jeremiah Denell there’s a bunch of Navy Seal stuff out there And so I ch that’s why I changed my Facebook page to Jeremiah Patrick just because you know fighters would look that up I had like two my coaches were like they didn’t want to tell me and I knew there was something weird with Jake and Zach and my dad Like I knew there was something going on My fighter backed out Oh And then they were trying to find like another fighter and then he backed out I think it was like two or three guys I had sold on my first fight over a hundred tickets Also like I had I had people flying in from California driving out like like driving east coast west coast Washington You know my aunt and uncle were flying out It’s like first amateur fight This is ridiculous right? Should have just traveled somewhere where this better be a good show Exactly I flew out from Washington son Yeah exactly You know and um I remember telling uh my buddy Jake I’m like “Dude I don’t care if it’s a heavyweight Get me a fight ” like I can’t not fight you know what I mean? Like all right we’re fine So I found some good he had a a good amount of uh fights already and like he cut down to 205 and I weighed in with shoot or flip flops my cut off cammy shorts all my stuff in my pockets at 191 and um it was awesome It was good Good little first fight Um got myself way too amped up for it You know I should just gone in I That one’s on video right? I think you sent it to me Yeah I sent you everyone Yeah I was looking at him I was looking at that fight and I’m like “Yes this is the JP that’s extremely amped right now ” Yeah You know I finished him in the second fight Uh second round um TKO in the second fight Finished that guy in the first round U third fight which was hilarious They had me as the main event on this card for the third fight That’s what you get when you’re selling a hundred tickets I know You know like put you in the main event Yeah that’s Yeah not good for adding just unneeded stress You have You know what? You know what? No kidding Like in watching your your fights and everything you do have the I mean you have this anyways but you you have like a level of charisma that makes people want to watch you fight because you’re just fired up and you have a good level of charisma It’s like you you know you’re like I compared you to Conor McGregor jokingly but it’s a reality If you watch some of your fights it’s like yeah I could see in the Midsouth people going I want to go watch Jeremiah Dell Get after it Punch him in the face Like dude you should come watch some fights in the South It’s hilarious Sell me some tickets man I think I can get you a ticket bro But uh you know so the fights have been awesome Uh my fourth fight I lost Um I actually went into that fight I had I was in the hospital or not the doctors in and out of the doctor’s almost hospital like the week prior Uh I was cutting down to 170 again also uh with hand foot mouth disease And is that is that your method of cutting weight? Get get yourself hand foot mouth disease Dude I would not recommend it at all Uh I had to take this uh medicine to numb my mouth and throat just to drink water So it did help with cutting weight except for it was horrible Amanda was legitimately taking care of me hand like everything And she’s helps with she preps all my meals you know I come home from the gym and she know you went out for I mean are you you think you’re going to fight again? Yes Check you know Check Got to heal up But yeah it’s been good You know I mean you and you almost had a rough rough little rough patch with Amanda right? Yeah Yeah we did Um you know I get a little emotional thinking about that sometimes It’s just you know we’re so lucky what we have We got a second chance you know we actually full on had a divorce moved out had my own house You know she was doing her own thing I was doing my own thing And um yeah it just came down to lack of communication which when I really look at it and we both look at it and we were both just being selfish which like I I try to think that’s not me And with Amanda like that’s not her You talk about somebody who’s not selfish that’s her like to an extent but we just I don’t know Yeah Well it’s it’s bizarre too and because you you are I mean in the teams you are obviously extremely selfless and but I see how these things happen for whatever reason with your with your team guy bros It’s like I’ll do anything for you And I’ve had situations with you where I’ve been like hey I need this right now And you’ve been like I’ll be there in 3 minutes and 30 seconds And I’m like “Okay cool “ You know and and but for some reason guys don’t always guys and girls both don’t always do the best job of translating that selflessness into that relationship at home So it happens But I’m glad that you guys were able to kind of Yeah through that man That’s awesome Like I said you know it was about a year you know we’re doing our own thing and um you we just kept getting drawn back to each other and it was the kids and you know everyone says “Oh my kids are so smart ” Dude our daughters and Aiden are incredibly intelligent like you know my daughters will be five in January so this time frame you know they’re they’re they’re they’re three you know and they know what’s going on you know and they’re trying to be like hey you know you know my daughter N is like well you know daddy if you and mommy didn’t argue so much maybe we could all live together And to hear that from your kids you know I was just like it was rough It was really hard And you do anything for your kids you So what do you think is the key element that made you go you know what jackass idiot you need to get in the game here and make this work? Like what? And then what method did you use where you said okay next time that she does this I’m going to counter instead of attacking or instead of getting defensive I’m just going to be like “All right ” Yeah So what made me get back in the game is I still loved her Like I was just I’m still you know head over heels in love with her and head over heel in love with my kids and I didn’t want somebody else raising my kids and Aiden you know like I would still pick him up and take him to school you know even though you know and so Okay so there’s a pretty clear answer Then what did you have to change to to make it work when you went back when you when you said “Hey all right I’m going to this is in your own mind What did you do differently that’s made it successful?” We put each other first Boom and we learned to communicate you know and I was sitting and Amanda you know I don’t know we both just had like this come to Jesus with somebody like I can’t remember who I was talking to I don’t know who she was talking to And you know she’s crafty she’s smart she knows how to deal with me right? So she calls and she knows it’s my weekend It’s Well obviously she’s calling me to talk to the kids and she’s like “Hey can I talk to the girls?” I’m like “Yeah absolutely ” So I put on speaker phone She’s like “Hey girls I love you Hey girls do you want daddy to pick me up for a church so we can all go together? Dude I was so pissed And of course the girl’s like “Yeah ” And she was like I was like “Cool Hey outside in 5 minutes or I’m driving Still going to keep driving “ You know she’s waiting outside in this dress Looks stunning Just I was like “All right ” You know that was at the beginning you know and then we just learned to communicate with each other and we we put each other first and you know cover and move Exactly Maybe a lot of cover move There’s a lot of cover and move and we legitimately have to put each other first instead of you know just doing it as a team Like my focus and I’m I don’t do this all the time I’m not trying to act like we have this perfect relationship and everything’s phenomenal now but we legitimately try to put each other first in almost everything that we do to try to take care of each other And out of all the arguments that we’ve ever had or anybody else has ever had with their significant other it was because it was too complicated something was complicated and messed up and so we just had to simplify things Let’s just go ahead to uh you know law of combat number two Exactly We got one covered cover and move Keep things simple Cover move Keep things simple And I know what you’re talking about You know what that is? That’s when you when you take a look at this argument that you’re in and you go “Wait a second What are we arguing about right now? Oh we’re arguing because I put my spaghetti in the microwave before you did ” You know what? I’m sorry Yeah I’ll let you have the spaghetti first Let’s simplify cuz cuz that little thing of who’s using the microwave first all of a sudden spirals into you know a major blowout if you’re not careful It’s over something stupid That’s what I’m saying And but I mean she’s an alpha female I’m an alpha male So of course we’re just like at times we just want to challenge each other but then we’re like “No this is stupid ” You know hey I got an idea Instead of challenging each other why don’t we work together and take over the world? I know That’s well that’s our plan right now and we’re doing it Uh and then you know I mean and then just legitimately figuring out what was priorities in our life like we just had to be so we could be on the same page Echo prioritize execute Exactly Exactly Booyah Look at that And uh and no and I was I’ve talked to a couple pe different people about this You know what? You know it’s awesome that you’re saying this cuz I’ve heard a bunch of times from people that like oh extreme ownership saved our marriage but I’ve never I’ve always said “Cool thanks ” But I’ve never said like “Explain that to me ” But now you’re explaining to me and I it it absolutely does I mean I always thought they focused on the ownership part meaning oh don’t worry Hey I’m going to take ownership of this I’m going to I I made a mistake Here’s what I’m going to do to fix it I’m sorry It’s my fault Yeah I always thought that that’s just what they were talking about but you’re going ahead and applying other laws of combat to your marriage and making things happen That’s pretty legit Yeah I mean and you know Amanda’s the one that you know just recognized a lot of these these shortfalls that we’re having and would just communicate with me and she’d be like “Hey if you’re upset with me over something I probably didn’t mean to do that on purpose so just let me know ” That’s a good point And so that’s simple Yeah I know And so as far as us prioritizing things like we just you know and we still we need to get like an actual full-on detailed detailed game plan for what we’re doing but we realize what was important and what wasn’t important And some of these certain things like the the things that truly weren’t important like I don’t think twice about it and she doesn’t either and we just focus on our goals for her business my business raising our kids the right way trying to be involved in the church as much as possible trying to give back to others Like those are our priorities not the stupid like well you said you’re coming home at 10:00 but you stayed out drinking wine with your girlfriend until 11:00 Who cares? She came home to me She was relaxing with her girlfriends since I’ve been gone for 3 weeks for work Like she should have stayed out all night and just relaxed You know what I mean? like “Hey have a sleepover at your friend’s house so you don’t have to wake up to the kids three times during the night That’s what I should have done you know and she’s done the same with me you know like there’s a couple times where I’m just like super stressed out or whatever “ And she’s like “Hey you know what do we need to do? Like what do you what do you need?” She’s like “You know what? You need to go work out ” I’m like “Yeah but we need to go do this right now ” And she’s like “No what we need to do is you need to go work out and I can handle this ” That’s awesome And it’s just been awesome you know night and day I think about it like dude she’s such a hard worker you know and she runs everything and then she’ll make sure I have a cup of coffee like on the nightstand like next to me in the morning so I wake up you know and it’s just like you woke up early to go do that So now like I’ll try to like do stuff for her or whatever And it’s just it’s awesome Oneupsmanship Yeah Of of kinds right? I don’t know I hope my wife doesn’t start that game with me I’ll lose It’s it’s hard though with her because she is she’s so thoughtful and crafty like all of a sudden like you know I don’t know she it’s awesome So life has been good you know it’s really turned around I mean there’s a real dark time I’m not going to lie like there was the divorce was rough you know and there was some other times before that that was real rough you know I was I was drinking a lot taking painkillers just because I had injuries but I was like oh I have an injury so I can take this painkiller Oh I can take two to three and drink at the same time I just trying to numb a lot of stuff that was going on which is not the path to go It’s not the path to go at all You and we know that And uh you know one of the things I’m I mean there’s so many things I’m appreciative that Amanda helped me through but I remember when I went to the VA cuz I was having a real hard time sleeping and just my body was all out of whack Turns out I had like my body wasn’t producing testosterone anymore Didn’t know that right? Well so I didn’t know that but so I go to the VA I come home with like a bag of like no kidding like eight different meds that they wanted me to start taking I was like “Okay ” So I take it first day I’m like “Oh my “ like she had to like get me out of bed for me to go to work cuz I was like a zombie And it start and then like the second day and then that stuff started to become really addicting Like I wanted that like numb feeling And she was just like “You’re not the same person ” Like quick like she recognized it And uh we got off like I I was able and I wasn’t even on that stuff for like a full week And it was so hard for me not to take it Damn Like she had to straight up like help me detox Like now I’m not saying detox in a bad way like somebody who’s like but it was bad you know? And she identified that right away And it was just like “Oh I know ” And was just like “Nope “ Like we’re flushing this Like this is gone and like we’ll figure something else out And she’s always been the one to you know figure something else out and make make sure we you know work as a team on it So it’s been awesome man She’s amazing That is awesome And where does this where does all this leave you right now? What do you got going on right now? So um started my own company called Never Settle Consulting You know I did sales at a financial company for a while Uh a lot of good relationships My sales team was awesome U but I wanted to do my own thing Um I wanted a little more fulfillment it was taking time away from me being able to do what I wanted to do to be able to grow and you know spend more time with my family Um because I had a second chance you know I had a second chance with Amanda and with my kids and I I wanted to do something that fulfilled me that would help us grow you know So I started Never Settle Consulting teaching uh tactics combives and shooting to law enforcement uh trying to work out some stuff with some smaller military units and groups and uh for private civilian groups as well And uh able to incorporate leadership and sales team building events into that you know just doing what I love like what I’m I’m decently good at you know as well And so had a couple buddies who have said “Hey I need a second instructor for this ” Um you know so I helped teach a long range shooting course for NRA Outdoors and then taught a carbine course for them as well Um so it’s it’s been good You know it has ups and downs You know I’ve worked with a couple clients that I thought was going to be a long-term thing and it didn’t But hey it’s business You’re out on your own You learn your lessons and you just keep moving forward And you know a lot of people are like “Well why why never settle?” Like they’re like “I get it It’s awesome ” And I was like “Well I just miss being in the seal teams ” You know I miss being around guys that for the most part legitimately did not settle with average or you know a mediocre lifestyle Like it just didn’t happen You know you’re always constantly driving and pushing each other to be better to be stronger to be faster to be smarter You know I remember multiple times like you would come in and be like “Hey have you ever heard of this website?” I’m like “No “ You’re like “You need to start reading it every morning ” I’m like “Okay ” So I go in and I’d print off the articles and I’d read them and highlight them and Jo later on he’s like “Hey did you hear about this?” I’m like “Yeah actually blah blah blah blah blah “ Boom Yeah And so you know I just miss being around that you know and that’s not in the for the most part you don’t find that in civilian life outside you know in business You don’t And I really wanted to be able to have an impact Like I want to work with veterans that have issues that are going through problems I want to give back to law enforcement you know because they have a hard job man And they’re underfunded they’re undertrained and I just I wanted to give back you know and I enjoy that I like doing that stuff and it gives me freedom to be able to choose you know to help out with different projects and help people And you know Amanda has been super supportive And you know the the other logo of never settle is win the fight No matter what you just win the fight And it’s not a physical thing It’s life is a fight We all go through our fights We just have to establish what we want Like you talk about the commander’s intent Like if you don’t have your own commander’s intent for you and your family you’re screwed You’re going to wander around and you’re just going to waste your life away And so I just you know and then under it’s in Latin you know sign meu which means without fear You know fear is the opposite of faith like you read about Mikey you know you know fear fear is no match for my faith and I believe that and I want others to believe that and I don’t think a lot of people out there believe that and if we can paint that message and I would love you know for my company to be more of like a lifestyle you know and dude some dude went and got my logo tattooed on his calf because he’s like I want it to be a reminder and he incorporated his kids’ names into the tattoo He’s like “Dude it’s a daily reminder for me not to settle for average and just get after it ” And I’m like “All right I’m doing something right hopefully ” You know? So and Amanda’s super supportive of it you know and she’s just doing everything to help me out with it And you know she has her business and she still takes the time to help me grow mine So it’s awesome man Just helping people figure out what they want in life Like because I don’t think a lot of people take the time to establish that And um you know I think if we can help that and if we can help veterans and if we can help the youth figure out what they want out of life and where they need to go then I think you know we can actually make an impact in this nation And that’s important right now Yeah there’s no doubt about that And I guess that kind of brings us up to speed for this or up to present day with with where JP’s at right now been a pretty good chunk of time Um so that’s probably about good for tonight And obviously thanks for coming on the podcast I mean one of the one of the best things for me about this podcast is that there’s heroes like you that people don’t know about And there’s heroes from the past that people don’t know about and being able to bring heroes like yourself and heroes from the past to the present time and let people know and introduce that there’s warriors in the past you need to know about and there’s warriors walking with us today that you need to know about And that’s one of my favorite things about the podcast is having the opportunity to do that And if if you like listening to this podcast well guess what? I believe Echo Charles can tell you how to support the podcast I have a question Oh man here we go Hot seat Why Why you gonna flank me like that? I remember um actually the day I met you a long time ago before I actually knew you real good Um you know me real good now Is that the deal? Oh dang But like you you always and actually listening to you now like you kind of I kind of realize like you live in the moment a lot Yeah Yes Like I remember we were sitting at the when we had sushi that night The first night I met you like when was that like 07 or something? 2007 Yeah Um and I remember you and you had another guy with you I forget Yeah My buddy uh um Kurt Yeah And I remember um we’re all talking what you know everyone’s talking and I hear you kind of on the side You’re like like this is good man You know eating sushi with good people you know we’re we’re doing something you know kind of like you’re totally it’s like you’re explaining to him but you’re explaining to yourself like what what am I experiencing right now and how good is this? How cool is this? You know almost like you had this stuff coming up and you’re but you’re living in that moment just like just like with the stories with like you mentioned like the you saw the ambient light coming down This is awesome This is awesome You know why like why is that do you think? Or I mean is there a specific reason do you think? Cuz a lot of people not like that You know how like they’ll be like “Oh we’re about to do this I’m excited “ Or “That thing happened and that’s that’s whack or whatever ” And they don’t really you know what I mean? I’ve always been like that Um you know my parents taught us just to enjoy what you have You know it doesn’t have to be material stuff Just enjoy the life that you have And I’ve also always realized that people have it a lot worse And then after two deployments you know cuz I met you after my second deployment like I’d seen the worst I’d seen evil firsthand I’d seen actual oppression not what some of these idiots are talking about right now You know I had seen you know kids with underwear on and sandals in the streets and that’s all they had I’ve seen you know women holding their kids crying You know I’ve seen guys use kids as human shields because they’re cowards And I’m getting to sit and enjoy sushi in San Diego California with my best friend Curtis from high school And a new group of guys that I met you know through other team guys And I’m like man life is good You know we were with the Cake Nuts by the way Oh Cake Nuts makes another appearance podcast Yeah Solid dude Like he tried to rip a tree out of the ground once right? Probably No he did Someone convinced him that he could he couldn’t pull a tree out of the ground so he tried Yeah Jeremy probably tried to convince him that I think you’re right on that Yeah Yeah Also second thing what um did they find out why you you were you you had like you weren’t producing testosterone? Um just the the pituitary gland um the sacram my pituitary gland was damaged and destroyed pretty bad from the from the blast or something or from Yeah from from that blast and just multiple other like explosions and blasts overseas I mean we use breaching charges to open up doors you know where you’re in a gunfight and the machine gun is legitimately going off right next to your head that’s providing like cushion that there’s times after gunfights like I felt like I was just drunk Yeah I felt like I was drunk just cuz I was just out of it And so just that much And then just combat sports and other stuff like that And so um you know when Amanda finally got me to go to the VA to get my my levels tested you know normal male we’re supposed to be between 600 to 900 Uh I was 81 Yeah it was bad And they were just like “How?” Like they called I didn’t answer my phone because I was at work and I was on the other line or something like that And they called Amanda They’re like “He needs to come back in right away ” So of course they freak my wife out right? She thinks I’m dying or something like that Like and then so I go and I they get it retested again It was 87 And they’re like “Are you on steroids right now?” I’m like “Look at me Doesn’t look like I’m on steroids ” Now granted like when I was younger you know I’d taken some real strong supplements from like Max Muscle and different places like that that had them available and I’m sure that might have had an effect but you know I don’t know You know what I mean? I mean I know you know like I try to like get you know so own up to some of the mistake you know cuz Jo used to joke he’s like JP just wants to be 205 pounds walking around Yeah nothing wrong with that Well now I wish I could get down to 200 but you know um so yeah my levels are really messed up And they’re like “How do you even get out of bed? How do you do this and this?” I’m like “Um well I have a family I have to provide for I really don’t have another option so just got to get out there and get after it ” We call that BTF Just BTFing throughout the day Yeah that’s crazy And that’s another part remember how we talked about where that’s the part that you don’t really hear that much about just those little detail like you say in a gunfight if the machine gun is right here and and it hits you kind of like someone’s hitting you physically you know? No it’s it’s a shock to your system Yeah I mean and I’ve been uh I was actually going through some videos and I’ll try to get you guys some of these the other day where I’m laying down on the sniper rifle and we’re in a big firefight and they come and straddle over me to start firing off rockets and I’m getting that blast coming down just crushing me you know? And then then Mikey you know right next to me with the ADUB gun He’s like I’m just like oh my goodness I’m going to like need coloring crayons for Christmas next year or something like yeah man By the way when you fire a rocket in training you put on two levels of ear protection I had none You don’t need earro in combat Your ears naturally squeeze It’s pretty awesome Yeah Yeah I remember um one of my friends went who’s who went through sniper school too He’d talk about the um I think it was like the the 50 cal 50 cal Yeah He’s like “Bro the thing is like just shooting it is like you’re getting punched in the face just shooting it ” Yeah Well I mean considering we mount those to the tops of Hummers and if you don’t have your foot on the brake and it’s in park it’ll move the vehicle And even that and you see a vehicle going like just moving like and you know I was also a lead driver so there’s times where the machine like 50 cal is right over us in the front like the barrel’s like sticking out and you’re getting that blast and you’re like oh I mean it’s just but it’s part of it You know what I mean? Like I would not change any of that Yeah It’s crazy how like those detail like to to someone who hasn’t been that’s kind of a big deal cuz you watch movies and the guy’s shooting and the guy’s reaching across the guy shooting the guy on the street corner and all this stuff and then if you know those details you’re like whoa whoa you you skipped over this whole big kind of element of this situation you know Yeah And I just so much respect you know the guys that are still in the teams you know I just did under 12 years in the Navy I didn’t I didn’t do my full-time and you look at these guys that do 20 22 25 years like I’m just like dude hats off to those guys you know and like the guys that are still some of the same guys that I deployed with you know it’s weird me talking about it like I did anything special like as a team we did something special and those guys are still in the fight you know they’re still deploying they’re still doing workups you know they’re battling divorces they’re you know dealing with new babies being born and you know taking care of their wives and you her family and it’s just like just so much respect to those guys and and you know you look at all the other branches that we served with and those guys just dude 18mon deployments 18-month deployments 15mon deployments you get to go home for two weeks halfway through guys are going home to like their families moved out gone like have I mean some you know you hear that I mean a couple guys came home they came back and from on leave and I was like hey how was it like oh my wife and kids are gone on I don’t know where any of my stuff is I’m like so jacked up Do you want a hug? I don’t know what to do Yeah Yeah It’s It is You know JP and I were talking about that earlier like we’re visible Well I’m definitely visible and I was telling JP like you will now be visible more visible I mean he’s he’s been maintained a pretty low profile and yeah because if you’re fighting has a little bit of profile but um like you know you’re going to be more visible and when you get visible people automatically think that you’re special in some way And like I’m telling you there nothing special here Definitely not from me because you know like like I I did 20 years in the Navy but okay great There’s guys that do 30 years there’s guys that do 14 different deployments There’s guys that you know get wounded and then you like JP just said you branch that out to all the services and you know I’m another guy and and we’re just other guys We’re we have a little bit of a of a higher profile but that’s not due to our you know anything special that we did just just the way things shook out in the end So I always want to make that clear And and like law enforcement they’re doing it every day Like my uncle I was telling you about like every day Now we do a workup and then we just go get after for six months and come home do a work go get after it But he’s like legitimately getting after it every day for 15 plus years and you’re like it’s a 23-year deployment Yeah To a combat zone Yeah With limited resources limited support and limited training limited training and in a and a hostile environment on both the criminal side and actually oftentimes on the civil side of people that are you know lashing out at at police officers from that whole other angle now So yeah it’s unfortunate You done with your questions Mr Charles? Uh for now? Yeah Okay But I I do have good news though You do? My krill oil came in Oh got that krill oil Right That’s good news That is good news We are happy about that You uh you take krill oil I take shark cartilage Shark cart Is that the same thing? No No That’s like what? Glucose Glucose to me It’s good for your joints Joint My My dad got me on it but I I’ll I’ll get on what you guys have I’ll give it a run Yeah If you do or when you do on it It’s the best one Okay Well done Is that the best one? It’s the best one Straight up the best one Everyone knows that or most people know How do I get it? Where do I go? You go to onit com But if you’re down to support the podcast Yeah which I know you are cuz you’re here Yeah Go on com/joo Oh and support your wallet 10% off Boom Dude savings and the best Boom Get some Someone asked me uh this is not yesterday day before Like they’re like “Hey I know I know you know you guys are down with on it and all that stuff but hey is that the only supplements you take for real?” I was like “Yeah that is krill oil Alpha Brain sometimes shroom tech ” Mhm Warrior bars too but I don’t know if that’s a supplement Anyway dude those are so good It definitely supplements your your your need food intake Yeah Yeah Big time Tasty But yeah you can support that way if you’re in the mood too Also the Amazon if you this kind of so I was trying to analyze the whole Amazon thing like how how does that kind of fit in the whole I mean we kind of know how but okay so you click through when you do your shopping on Amazon you click through before you do your shopping click through the website jooodcast com or jootore com so boom you support that way but so how does this fit in right so it’s kind of like okay we’re here putting out this message right and people who like click through or they buy shirts or something like that They’re kind of like the backup kind of like the reinforcement you know They’re actually the full-on supporting mechanism never mind the backup Yeah So okay They’re on the field on the battlefield So backup is That’s a bad one That’s like they’re like the reinforcement you know They’re the full-on support mechanism The enforcement Yes The enforcement Yes Very good Very good I like that Um and yeah man So so the Amazon clickthrough that’s a good one Good way to support this podcast you boy Um and of course subscribe right? Yes Yeah I used it Yeah you did use it So I should I’m getting asked this a lot right? And and I’m not I I’m just going to lay it out there So podcast Shibboha where does that come from? It’s a really quick story Here’s where it comes from There’s a guy whose name is Hanach Lange Henato langa for just for clarity Okay For clarity But those of us that speak with a fake Portuguese accent from time to time we’ll just say hach Right Right Yeah Yeah that’s a really So anyways um there’s a a video production company called Flex Point Videos which is which is Echo Charles’s company and they did a series that starred this Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Hanacha Lange and my son actually was very into the Hanach program and they’re and in being into the program he started to adapt his own fake Brazilian Portuguese accent Yes And since he speaks no Portuguese whatsoever he just simply does the the pigeon of it and and he adds words or or parts to words that he thinks in his mind sound like they might be Portuguese Is that correct? Yeah So one day he said to me in a broken imitated fake Portuguese accent he said “Dad are you going to record that podcasta?” And I said “Yes I am ” And then that is where it came from It doesn’t mean anything It doesn’t have any spelling It’s just my 13-year-old son with his comedic um vibe going on Yeah So he and so but he where he how he got that from or what he got that from is podcast that’s like the just podcast that’s podcast and then poha and boa this two things right pa like poa is like this expression it’s like it means something specific but it’s it’s ultimately it’s an expression of but ultimately oh let’s be clear here it’s also a very bad word yes it’s it’s like the worst swear word is the worst it’s a very bad swear word in Portuguese Yeah that that’s poa poha Yeah it’s like slang It’s it’s a mix Yeah So there’s that Then there’s Boa which means good Poa means good right? The exact opposite So you know your son’s thing I don’t know if it was Poha or Boa I’m assuming Poha because Henato says Poha all the time Yeah So that’s He also says Boa from time to time And my son when he says it is podcast So I’m not 100% sure but that’s where it came from when we’re gonna listen to that pashi boy right here Yeah that’s what we’re gonna do That’s crazy what our kids say Yes indeed And still when you think of it that’s still kind of an ambiguous explanation really So where does that leave us? You know like okay so what does it mean? It the thing is is meaning although I guess it does mean that we’re talking about this particular podcast you have Yeah And we’re excited about it Yes we are There it is Boom So back to the support thing Um you know subscribe if you haven’t already That’s a good way to stay in the game You know when the new one comes out it just boom on your phone Listen ready? I know I am You know me too And you know I’m on it YouTube channel video coming out I think I’m going to do a more of a comedy video See how that goes over Well it won’t go over well with me obviously Yeah Hey we’ve got the the the heavy podcast and everybody loves it and let’s get after it and let’s crush people and let’s do the darkness and you’re going to do a comedy video Is that where we’re going with this? Yeah All right Just to see how it goes over We’ll trust that judgment I guess Yep We’ll let the troopers decide on that one Yeah Also Jaco Store that’s where uh you know we we slang these shirts Um but it’s less about selling shirts It’s more about hey if you want to support the podcast you want to wear a cool shirt with multiple layers By the way I talk about the layers but let’s just say I don’t want to go into a big thing about the layers but don’t but there’s more to it than just the saying you know discipline equals freedom What does that even mean? It sounds cool What does that mean? Anyway there’s a meaning Darkness does a meaning And um all the shirts have What’s the meaning behind the t-shirt that says the one that you’re wearing with it just says Joo podcast? That’s just the meaning Well if you look on the back you can see the meaning Oh there you go See what are you gonna find? That’s the layers I’m talking about Yep Anyway women’s stuff coming out Tank tops are already out but the women’s t-shirts are coming out as well Just kind of give all the girls or the women and a small update Some girls with some women are at the muster They certainly are Asking about some stuff I told in force Yep They’re enforcing in force Um got some new patches the two the three by two that so they’re they can fit on the you know the standard velcro situation and I think and there’s like a tan color right it’s like the official kind of color that sometimes for the troopers that are going out into the desert I believe that’s FDE federal dark earth good cuz I was trying to Google that and find out and there’s a bunch of them so FD FD I got the new Sig 320 in so sick Of course I had to get one for Amanda So each have Oh Sig 320 compact FTE FTE Nice Yeah Dang Actually that was that’s coincidentally really helpful I was looking for a long time for that Awesome Yeah Uh rash cards are good too Uh look at multiple layers Like I said just trust me on that And that those are the ways to support if you’re in the mood You can also support the podcast by buying some Jaco White tea Yes If you want to just improve every single aspect of your life uh no If you if you want to get some tea you can get it If you don’t think you like tea you probably will like this tea cuz even though it’s technically tea it doesn’t actually even taste like tea It It tastes like a nectar that you need to try I can’t explain it I had it last couple days Yeah at uh the mustard and man that was awesome It’s tasty and plus as we know from the Amazon reviews it it it has added there’s a guy who deadlift went from 400 lb to 8 000 lb So that’s a 7 600 lb increase legit in your in your deadlift And so that’s right there Again that’s good to go So get yourself some some Amazon t Also when you’re on Amazon you can pick up you can get yourself a copy of a a book called Extreme Ownership that I wrote with my brother Leif Babin And the thing is if you have a copy that’s cool Get a couple more You want to have them on standby because sometimes you’re just you’re just dealing with someone at work and all of a sudden you realize that they’re not taking ownership of something It’s no problem You’re not you’re not stressing out You just reach in your desk you grab a copy you go “Hey why don’t you take a quick look at this right here?” Up the chain of command the chain of command Now when you do that not only better because they’re going to be able to figure some stuff out you’re also going to make your life easier because now you’re surrounding personnel are in the game and you’re taking extreme ownership in and of it to that action Because remember you know how like a lot of people That’s the question That is deep No cuz that’s the question people out there be like “Hey what do I do when my colleague is not taking extreme ownership?” You’re like “Whoa whoa whoa ” See the just the the the mere nature of you saying “Hey you’re not taking extreme ownership ” That’s you not taking extreme ownership So now you you’re owning it You’re saying “Hey I recognize this situation of you doing and not doing certain things Let me take action What can I do to take extreme ownership over this situation?” Bro it’s true That is true That is true Also you know as you are on Amazon just just nod your head a little bit and say thanks to Brady Lantern Brady Trooper who has been the backside support to the podcast with all kinds of stuff So shout out to Brady for getting after it technically He’s getting after it technically Technically Yeah Technically and technically now you just talked about the muster too We just had the muster in San Diego California Um it was freaking awesome Yes it was it was really cool We had a bunch of people there The the guy that helped run the event named Matt Yep Matt um he’s been running events for 20some years and he and he came up to me two hours into the event You know this is after people were ptinging at 4:45 in the morning This is after everyone was in their seats at 0800 ready standing by to get after it No stragglers Like like when I say no stragglers I mean no stragglers zero 350 people boom in their seats ready to rock and roll He came up to me during the first little break and he says “I I’ve actually never seen anything like this where an entire conference is so just on board in the game and getting after I’ve never seen this in any kind of conference “ So major pro and okay I come down the schedule says “Hey hey Eko film some stuff ” Right? That’s kind of the loose order Commander Intent I look at the schedule Hey 4 optional optional 4:45 workout A M Okay I’m going be honest I’m not used to the 445 a m It’s cool Don’t get it wrong But I’m not just not used to 4:45 filming workouts whatever being awake So I’m like you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go I’m going to show up on time I’m going to show up ahead of time But really though optional really first day let’s face it How many people are really going to be at this thing? maybe 25 30 and people were traveling to 20 you know what I mean? We had guys from the UK you know five different countries were represented Uh 42 different states Like it was insane So people are all over Yeah There’s no way I was like I was even I’m not a morning person like you Like I’m usually a guy that’s up until 2 or three working on stuff So I was like I got to get up I was like dude I’m here with Joan Le and Eko I’ve got to get after it I was like I’m going to be pissed if there’s like five people out there Yeah I’m thinking 10 20 would be solid But I pull around and I’m ahead of time by the way I’m I’m pulling up at like 428 you know 429 I come around the corner and I see a straight up riot Like not not rioting but like the the type of crowd that’s like in a in a protest or something Guys stretching you know? I’m like dang So I go I park like on the side I come and you guys already had worked out already Yeah So what what Le and I Yeah What Leif and I did was we went I said “Hey Leif we might get contingency is there’s 150 people We’re not going to be able to direct this thing if we’re doing it We need to get in leadership position So we need to go work out before the 0445 must uh workout We need to go work out before that ” Optional by the way So we went and hit it before and it’s a it was a pretty hardcore workout It’s one of those workouts where it can suck as much as you want to suck And of course we want it to suck So we we’re dripping with sweat We come walking over and it’s the same thing for us We are walking back from the workout area which was down by the San Diego Convention Center We’re walking back to the hotel We’re a little jog We turn the corner Now we’re really close So we start walking and we see the same thing We see like all these people and and it it was you know 250 or 300 people are ready to rock and roll at 4 It’s It’s only 4:28 right? Sun’s not even out It’s night time The sun’s not even thinking about coming up It’s straight up night time So we got after it And that was a good representation of the attitude that was at the muster And the other funny thing was people kept when people would ask questions they’d say “Oh I just got promoted in this new position and this is going on “ And then someone else would say you know I just got promoted three times in the last six months and I want to know And so you’re thinking “Okay all these people are just fasttracked They’re in the game they’re on it It’s just uh it was it it was really an awesome event Great job with the uh the video Echo Charles made some some really killer videos for that and it was awesome Those videos were awesome Like very captivating You know me sitting there in the crowd Yeah It was just like there’s a couple times I had to get up and the first day I stood in the back or sat in the back and I have to get up and I’d pace because I was just like so connected It just brought me back you know or just emotional connection And then you know everyone else did the same thing The second day I’m sitting up there in the front row and I was like I can’t stand up and pace right now But just everyone you just watching other people and it’s just dude great job Those videos were insane man Great You were in one of those I know I had the uh I had the the doctor’s mask on so nobody recogniz somebody asked me about it They’re like um pretty blonde and the guy holding twins babies I’m like yeah Yeah That’s right That’s right That’s the rough transitions video Yeah Yeah So the rough transition video that Ekko made is um the the person holding the baby The babies twins Yeah Yeah That’s that’s JP right there So there’s a little layer right there isn’t there? So now that’s what you’re talking about Yeah If you’re if you’re kind on the inside you’re going to see them and you’re going to recognize them That’s I think the fun part One of the many fun parts Awesome And a also so if you like what we’re talking about here and you want to continue maybe you didn’t get enough of this today you want to keep talking to us you can actually just find us cruising cruising hard cruising hard apparently on the interwebs on Twitter on Instagram and you know we even on that Facebooky echo is echo Charles and I am Joo Willilink and Jeremiah JP Denell is at where you at on Twitter JP or JP Denell uh Instagram would be Never Settle Consulting and Facebook page never settle consulting LLC So if you like the page uh able to put out any upcoming events or anything that’s going on just try to connect with people through social media Awesome Dig it Echo Any final thoughts from you? I don’t Really good to see you again man I mean we’ve kept in touch you know online and stuff which is cool but Ben yeah really good to see you again Awesome Oh if you go to neversettle consulting com that’ll be up in the near future as well But you can contact me through the social media but the website will be up and running soon But yeah but yeah it’s great seeing you again bro Like coming out here I was like you know just you know I got the call from Joo You know I um you know turned down a couple different gigs or you know switched some work around I was like “Dude I got to get out of here ” Like you know and Amanda was like “Yeah yeah don’t be an idiot You’re going you know what I mean? We’ll find a way ” And uh it was awesome You know able to work it out and be able to be on the podcast You know I just appreciate you guys having me out here man Of course Awesome You got any final thoughts? Yeah Um obviously I just want to thank um all the troops overseas uh all the troops that are home uh the family members of the troops that never made it back We appreciate you guys uh all the law enforcement officers out there firefighters medics you guys are getting after it serving your community every day And of course I want to thank Amanda um just for her continued support and love And uh my kids you know I love those kids Um I look forward to the day where they’re old enough where they can actually listen and process this So Aiden Cora Nola I love you guys And um yeah it’s awesome Well thanks for coming on Appreciate it Obviously Thank you And thanks for everything you’ve ever done for me brother I appreciate that Above and beyond anything I could have ever hoped for the kind of performance and the kind of the kind of attitude and the the bravery and the courage Always thank you Thank you Always thank you And you know the other day when we were at the muster we were in that big crowd and we had kind of we kind of turned the corner and we were getting to the area where we were going to start the the workout thing and I knew I assessed real quick and I said “I’m going to need some help getting some organization stuff going on here ” And we really didn’t have a plan for 300 people right? We had a plan for 30 or 40 people Way different And so I’m sitting there and I’m going into okay what am I going to do? Gotta prioritize and execute I need some help And it’s just dark you know dark four o’clock in the morning So I just yell out I go JP And instantly I hear some distance away I hear “Yes sir ” And I look up where that came from and I see JP and he like made quick eye contact with me I see him moving you know down the stairs He’s coming to me And in in that split second that split second I remembered all the times that I had called your name and I had asked you to do what needed to be done and you always stepped up without question without without regard for your safety or for your own security You always stepped up just with your the mission and the team and your brothers in mind always putting others before yourself like so many others in our task unit did like Mark and Mikey and Ryan and like the many soldiers and Marines did in the Battle of Rammani and in the rest of Iraq and in Afghanistan and on battlefields all over the world throughout history putting others before themselves with their heads held high And everyone else that is out there listening think about that Think about putting the mission before your own needs Think about putting others before yourself And think about walking through the world with all the threats and challenges in front of you Think about walking through the daily battles that you face with your back straight and your head held high Facing the threat facing the fear scanning for what is next so you can engage and get after it So until next time this is Echko and Joo and my brother JP Dell out