Latest / The Stan R. Mitchell Show / The latest podcast episode of The View from the Front. This is the 5-2-24 edition.

Transcript

The latest podcast episode of The View from the Front. This is the 5-2-24 edition. · The Stan R. Mitchell Show

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: What is going on guys?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Hope everyone is doing great out there.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for joining us.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm honored that you're here.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got a lot to cover in this episode,
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: including some fearful news about China and some darker and much larger clouds on
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: the horizon,
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: perhaps.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: We've got some good news about Ukraine.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: We've got some bad news.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'll definitely get into that.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to talk about a couple of other things.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought maybe before we get into all that...
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Can we start with a little humor?
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Can we start with just,
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: man,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: everyone's all uptight about the election and just lots of things,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: these protests on campuses,
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: and I thought,
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: let's start with something a little bit lighter this week.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: I have to share with you guys something that I saw on X or what was Twitter that
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: had me start initially just kind of chuckling and then by the end I was rolling.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully this is as funny to you as it was to me.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now like all great arguments and fights that happen on Twitter or X,
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: it started with something kind of,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: just a small comment and then rapidly devolves into
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: into a massive food fight that is hilarious.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So here was the pretty innocuous tweet that started the entire thing.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: A guy from Australia who is a barrister,
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: or what we would call an attorney,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: puts out this pretty bland tweet.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: My parents once told me that on a holiday in Europe,
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: which of course is how they term the word vacation,
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: so on a vacation in Europe,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: the tour guide asked the group where they were from.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: The non-Americans mentioned their country.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: The people from the USA mentioned their state, taking the USA as a given.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've never forgotten that.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that was the entirety of the tweet.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then someone in the replies, there were a bunch, said,
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Someone said, and that is why I am proud to be an American, the greatest country in the world.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And this guy says,
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: LOL,
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: of course laughing out loud,
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: give me one single metric by which the USA is the,
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: greatest country in the world.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And from there, there's nothing but hilarity that just...
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I want to read some of these because they're too good.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is you know, when Twitter is good or X these days, it's great.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes these food fights are just they're amazing.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So let me just read some of these to you because I think you're going to laugh.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: First one.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're the only country that has sent people to the moon.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we did that 50 years ago.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty good.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Another one.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: We actually don't use the metric system.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Texas has a stronger GDP than your entire country, dude.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then there was a more serious one about how we have the largest GDP in the world.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Someone else said we have the highest military spending,
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: and that's one metric by which we are the greatest country in the world.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Another just took the facts and just started blasting the guy with them.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: He says, We're number one in the world for Nobel laureates, going back 79 years and counting.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: We have the most Olympic medals, almost double the Soviet Union, and that's for 120 years and counting.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: We've led on that.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: GDP, 134 years and counting.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Military power, 126 years and counting.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that person added, It's good to be king, brother.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then someone says, average migration to Australia per year, 550,000.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Average migration to the United States per year, 2.6 million legally, millions more illegally.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, maybe there's not millions more illegally, but that's pretty funny.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: He adds,
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: people don't flee their own countries on boats made of garbage through
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: shark-infested waters because it sucks here.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then we've got another person that writes,
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: nearly every innovation that the first world nations enjoy today came from the U.S.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Indoor AC,
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: refrigeration,
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: electricity,
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: mass production,
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: alloy steel,
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: computers,
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: airplanes,
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: and on and on and on.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hate America all you want, but the world is what it is today because of us.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: There were two more serious ones.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: One person mentions that we have the world's largest economy holding the currency
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: that's used as a metric by every other nation.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Someone else mentioned that almost every medical innovation or breakthrough happens in the United States.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then besides the military, the economy, the scientific breakthroughs,
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Someone even takes it to the point of talking about the arts.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: And the person says, How about inventing every form of popular music for the past 100 or 50 years or so?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Jazz.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Blues.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Pop.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Rock.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Rap.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Hip-hop.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: EDM.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: The person says, Other countries spring a few sub-genres, but the origin is all-American.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: This commenter,
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: someone named Billy,
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: said,
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: I say that as a Yank who happily lives outside the USA,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: but music,
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: we did that.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: the guy from Australia actually pushes back and says,
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: you understand that the Beatles,
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Led Zeppelin,
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Pink Floyd,
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: the Rolling Stones,
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Queen,
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Black Sabbath,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: and the Kings were all British,
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then someone says, yeah, and they were all playing American music.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I will end with one final one.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Someone simply put in basically like an image from Top Gun,
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: and they said,
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: how about 11 aircraft carriers?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway,
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm having too much fun with it,
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: but I am obviously very proud of our country,
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: and I know we can sometimes be a little bit of a loud country.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're a little loud when we're tourists, and
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know we drive other people crazy sometimes, but we've got to be proud of our country.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And we also probably need to pull it back a little bit sometimes when we're visiting other countries.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, I hope you got a laugh out of that before we get too serious on the news tonight.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because there is certainly some news to be serious about.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought I would begin by discussing China.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: China.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: a lot has happened in china with china in the past two or three weeks and things
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: are starting to deteriorate and honestly it's happening quite quickly there was
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: another incident that happened in the south china sea involving the philippines
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: and some ships from the Chinese Coast Guard, and I'm going to cover that in a second.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: But to set up the topic,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: I want to begin with a clip that came from Richard Haass,
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: who is a long,
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: just a long time State Department guy,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: who also was the president of the Council of Foreign Relations,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: and so has a lot of experience.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And he gave some interesting comments before the Secretary of State visited China
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: last week and before this recent incident with the ships again,
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: which it's like a repeat.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: This happened a few weeks ago, but it's happened again.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: But he talks about the troubling...
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're headed toward troubled waters.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And he just says it so well that I think if you just listen to this clip, you'll get a lot from it.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: So here again is Richard Haass and what he was saying before the visit ended with
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: the Secretary of State,
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Antony Blinken,
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: who visited China.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Richard,
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Secretary of State Antony Blinken just wrapped up a meeting with Chinese leader Xi
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Jinping to discussing the war in Ukraine and China's support for Russia in that war,
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: as well as Beijing's economic and trade practices.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: This is Blinken's second visit to China in less than a year.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Secretary Blinken said he had hoped to make progress on some of these issues.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Ahead of his meeting with Xi,
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: Blinken met with the Chinese foreign minister and described those talks as
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: extensive and constructive.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: So,
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Richard,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: what's the objective here as China,
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: now we know,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: continues to help Russia in the war against Ukraine,
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: obviously a polar opposite position from where the United States is?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: What does the secretary hope to get done in Beijing over these couple of days?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: Well,
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: to some extent,
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: Willie,
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: just the high-level meetings becoming more normal and more regular is one of the goals.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I think both sides are committed to that ever since November when Presidents
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: Biden and Xi met in San Francisco.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, as you just pointed out, there's a desire to put a limit on any Chinese aid to Russia.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's not working real well.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: China's not sending military arms, as best we know.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: But they're sending just about everything else short of that,
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: in many ways trying to strengthen the Russian arms industry so Russia can increase
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: its production of militarily relevant technologies and equipment and so forth.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: The emphasis is still to avoid a war,
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_02: not just over Taiwan,
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: but probably more imminently in the South China Sea.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: The fact that if you remember a couple of days ago when the Japanese prime minister here,
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: one day there was a trilateral.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: Because you wanted the leader of the Philippines to be part of it.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: That's probably the most immediate flashpoint.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: So sometimes for the United States and China,
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: it's not what the two can accomplish,
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: but it's what the two can agree to avoid.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that in some ways is at the heart, I think, of this relationship.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: Willie, just think about the backdrop.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: You just had Janet Yellen there,
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: tremendous pressure on the Chinese not to export all these electronic vehicles and stuff.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: Then you have the legislation was basically sell or ban TikTok.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: This is a troubled relationship and both sides want to calm it down.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: But there's no real basis.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_02: There's no real intellectual or political consensus for how to move it forward.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: And of course,
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: the Congress just passed and President Biden signed that foreign aid bill that
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: gives aid to our partners in the Indo-Pacific to bolster against China.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: That last part referred to $8 billion that was in the recent defense aid bill that
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: will be used to counter China.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: that was part of a larger package that included funding to Ukraine,
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: funding to Israel,
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: and I covered that in a previous podcast,
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: and it's been all in the news,
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: but that's what they're referring to there at the end.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: As I said a moment ago, China has had two Coast Guard ships attack another Filipino ship.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can see video on that.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link in the episode notes.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's a story in CNN about that.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a story in the Financial Times that I've got a link to.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: regarding the meeting with Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, and Xi Jinping.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you look at the two stories,
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: you'll see that President Biden has called the President of China,
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Xi Jinping,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: and talked about the South China Sea.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: President Biden has reinforced that we do consider the islands that the Philippines claim to
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: as does China, as ground that we will defend.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely a pretty tense situation, and I'm not sure how it resolves itself.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: I've been saying that for a couple of months.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's just now it's starting to make the news a little more and a little more.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll see how this plays out, and I will definitely keep you guys posted as things happen there.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: But there's some great details in those articles about these islands and these reefs
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: that both countries are claiming and why it's important.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: There's great fishing there.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's some other potential benefits,
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: such as potentially even oil,
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: but it's also about putting basically military bases and airfields and airstrips on
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: some of these,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: essentially these unpopulated islands.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: But
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you claim one of these,
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: then you get to control a large area around it with your military,
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: as well as commercial fishing,
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: exploration of oil,
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: and other minerals.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: it's kind of hard as an American to wrap your arms around,
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: but it's just,
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: this is the story that I've been covering since,
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: more than a year now,
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: that China has increasingly been more aggressive in
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: in encroaching on the Philippines and other countries such as Vietnam and some of
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: the smaller countries around there.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And as we've been saying with this theme that I've been talking about for the past year,
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: all of these countries alone cannot individually prevent China from basically
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: bullying them economically and militarily.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so they're all beginning to bond.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: band together with the United States and other countries in Europe such as the UK
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: and France and Australia to essentially get a larger alliance so that we can
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: hopefully contain China and keep it from doing what it seems is certainly starting
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: to seem more and more as if what they want to do.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let me share one other point on this and try to give a fair
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: view of the Chinese perspective.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: They see the recent aid to Taiwan and the recently signed bill that would force TikTok,
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: which is owned by China,
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: to sell the app or be banned in the US as things that are just very offensive to them.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's a quote that
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: comes from their Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson,
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: who said that they have lodged serious representations to the U.S.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: The package gravely infringes upon China's sovereignty.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: It includes large military aid to Taiwan,
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: which seriously violates the one-China principle and sends a seriously wrong signal
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: to Taiwan independence leaders
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: separatist forces.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then the spokesperson went on to say that the TikTok legislation undermines the
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: principles of market economy and fair competition by going after other countries'
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: companies in the name of quote,
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: national security,
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: which the spokesman says once again reveals the US's hegemonic and bullying nature.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: China sees us as the aggressor.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: As some background, the reason U.S.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: lawmakers passed the bill about TikTok is that they see TikTok as a risk to U.S.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: national security since it collects tons of user data and has increasingly been
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: used to spread propaganda.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And if there were to be some type of conflict or something,
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: since so many people are starting to get their news from TikTok,
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: that's seen as a potential national security threat.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: So these are definitely pretty bumpy waters that we're going to have to go through with China right now.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move from China to Ukraine.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: I want to share some good news and some bad news regarding Ukraine this week.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: in the good news category,
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: the U.S.,
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: as a part of that larger bill a couple of weeks ago,
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: did announce another...
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: package they sent a billion dollars a week ago and the most recent one is six
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: billion I won't go too much into the details just because it's been out there for
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: several days now and most of the stuff is just what you would you know would
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: imagine we were sending more ammunition for artillery more long-range or rockets
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: for those high Mars the multiple launch rocket system
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: More ATACMS, things like that.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to it if you want to read up on what all is in it that is announced at least.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so, not going to spend much time on that.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: The other bit of good news is that the U.S.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: recently just announced that it purchased 81 Soviet-era jets.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: They purchased these for only $2.26 million or about $20,000 each.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: And while these are older, Ukraine does know how to fly them.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them will only be used for parts to refurbish fighters that are currently
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: grounded inside Ukraine.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: But these are expected to be inside Ukraine and available to be used in fairly short order.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got a link to that if you want to take a look at that article in the episode notes.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that will be some great news for Ukraine.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now there is a flip side to the good news, and that is the bad news that I need to share.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you go to the episode notes, you can see two different links to maps.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: And if you click the links and actually go onto X or Twitter,
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: you will see moving GIFs of how much ground the Russians have gained.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: over the past month,
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: and they have a couple of small breakthroughs happening as we speak,
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: but the short of it is,
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Russia has gained about 75 square kilometers in the Donetsk region the past month
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: or so,
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: and like I said,
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: there's a couple of breakthroughs happening as we speak,
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: where they're making a few rapid advances,
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: so...
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: The reality is that the delay in getting much of the ammunition and the artillery
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: shells from the U.S.,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: we had a delay that went all the way back to November,
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: and that has unfortunately cost Ukraine about 75 square kilometers so far.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm hoping...
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: that as we get that aid there,
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: the Ukrainians can restabilize their lines into at least a stalemate in the short term.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: But the sad reality is that the delay has cost Ukraine ground, not to mention lives.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: So they have paid for this in blood and treasure,
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: and it's really sad,
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: especially when you consider how many of the eight U.S.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: senators, Republicans, who switched their votes and actually voted for it,
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned in the last podcast, it was just nothing but a bunch of, you know, showboating and delay.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it was just really a sad situation for Ukraine that that happened.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: But you can see the ground that the Russians have gained.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to see that in the episode notes, I've got links to both of those two maps.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's worth taking a look at if you've got a couple of moments.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to take a quick break,
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: but when we come back,
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: we've got two stories I want to cover regarding Africa.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: One of them involves the withdrawal of U.S.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: troops from a part of Africa,
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: and the other involves four dead American troops from a few years ago,
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: and something that has happened since then that I think you'll be interested in hearing.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: We'll cover that in just a moment after this break.
• 20:34
  Thank you.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you're enjoying the show so far.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't figured out the format of the show or what I'm about, let me just briefly explain it.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Every week I do three things.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: First, I cover defense news and hot spots happening around the world that could affect our country.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly,
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: I work to unite the nation and make you feel better and more optimistic about the
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: country's future.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally,
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: at the end of each episode,
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: I share some motivation and inspiration because we all can use a little of that.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: I also, during that section of the show, recognize a Medal of Honor recipient.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy the show, you can help support it.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, we have no sponsors or commercials.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: But for $5 per month, you can help me grow this into something bigger.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: I will be completely honest and transparent here.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: I work a full-time job that I actually do enjoy, but I feel almost compelled to do this.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we need to unify this country.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there are people that need some optimism, some motivation, some inspiration.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I feel like there are some people who need God.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to push that too much, but I also don't want to shy away from that.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: The honest truth is, when I'm not working or spending time with my family, I feel drawn to do this.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: I would love in a perfect world to devote myself to this full time.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: But there's absolutely no pressure.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to continue doing this, whether there are a ton of supporters or not, just in my free time.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if you would like to grow this into something better,
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: if you would like to support,
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: if you think what I'm doing is important,
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: you would like to see this effort flourish,
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: then definitely sign up.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know that I could make these better with more time and with better quality and more preparation.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps I can reach more people.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: So there you have it.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: We are in a public square.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: I am performing as best I can with the instrument that I have and with the amount
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: of time that I've been able to devote to this.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: And there is a bucket sitting in front of me.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to throw a few dollars in, that would be awesome.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't, I will be here next week performing again.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: All the details for how to do this are in the episode notes on my Substack page,
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: or you can also do so through Patreon.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about Africa now.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: there is a story from Task and Purpose,
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: which is a defense news related outlet,
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: that is saying that forces that are allied with the United States have potentially
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: killed the leader of ISIS in Africa that claimed to be one of the leaders that
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: was involved in the death of four U.S.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: troops.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got a link to that story.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: But this leader of ISIS down there named Abu Huzaifa,
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: if I said that right,
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Abu Huzaifa,
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: actually,
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: in most of the photos that he's been in,
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: is usually carrying a rifle that he said belonged to the dead Green Berets.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: This was part of a 2017 ambush that happened inside Niger.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: That was pretty big news back then,
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: although now it's been almost,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: what,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: eight years,
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: so it seems like it's not something that's in the consciousness of a lot of people
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: right now.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to read that link,
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: there was a very large reward on the head of this leader of ISIS,
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: and the US is trying to determine if indeed...
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: He has been taken out,
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: and there are photos of someone that potentially looks like him,
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: so it's still a little too early to know for sure,
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: but there is a chance that he has been taken out by an ally of the United States.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: In other news in Africa, CNN is reporting that the United States has withdrawn
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: Special Operation Forces from a base in Chad after their government demanded that the U.S.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: depart.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: CNN had previously reported that fewer than 100 troops were at the base inside Chad.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: They were at a French base there, but most of them were actually part of the U.S.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Special Operations Task Force there.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: But those have been withdrawn and moved to Germany.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: So wanted to get that news out.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot of reason as to why that withdrawal was required or was even requested.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the CNN article said that there were upcoming elections and that the dispute with the U.S.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: between Chad and our special operations is largely a paperwork issue that they
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: think will be resolved after an election in a month,
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: so this may not be that big a news.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: But there have been some issues inside Africa where lately Russia seems to be doing
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: a better job on the PR front than the United States.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, there has been some news that inside Niger itself that where over a thousand U.S.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: troops are,
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: there's a lot of discussions about how to negotiate a safe and orderly withdrawal
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: of the thousand troops inside Niger because they want us to leave as well.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's get to the best part of the show.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: I call this the Never Ever Give Up segment.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I call it the Never Ever Give Up segment because we must never ever give up as a country.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Though we face great division,
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: a massive debt burden,
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: and probably future problems that none of us could even predict.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: But we must never give up as a country.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe we must stay united.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And also, as individuals, we must never, ever give up.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: We've got family and friends counting on us.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: So in this section, I'm going to share some motivation to help encourage you.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to begin by honoring a Medal of Honor recipient.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't know,
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: the Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration you can possibly earn in the military.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: and it's awarded to service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: The medal is typically awarded by the President of the United States upon the
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: recommendation of the armed services.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: One final footnote before I read this week's.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: As I said when I first began this back in April,
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: I am just going in alphabetical order because I could not possibly decide which
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: wars to begin with,
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: which services,
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And since there's more than 3,000 of these, it was just too much.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just going very simplistic alphabetical order.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: This week we're going to honor someone who served in the Vietnam War and this is a
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: pretty incredible story.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: The name of the soldier was Sergeant First Class Benny Adkins.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: Adkins served in the Special Forces and in Vietnam
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: He actually did three tours of duty, one of which is after the story I'm about to tell you.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: But in 1966,
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant First Class Adkins was serving at a camp or a combat outpost called Camp
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: A-Shaw in the Republic of Vietnam when the camp was attacked by a large Viet Cong
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: force and eventually overrun.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Here is Adkins' citation.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: On March 9,
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: 1966,
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant 1st Class Adkins was serving during combat operations at Camp A Shaw in
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: the Republic of Vietnam.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: When the camp was attacked by a large Viet Cong force,
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant 1st Class Adkins rushed through intense hostile fire and manned a mortar position.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Although he was wounded,
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: he ran through exploding mortar rounds and dragged several of his comrades to safety.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: When the hostile fire subsided,
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant First Class Adkins exposed himself to sporadic sniper fire and carried his
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: wounded comrades to the Camp First Aid Station.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: During the evacuation of a seriously wounded American,
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant First Class Adkins maneuvered outside the camp walls to draw fire and
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: successfully covered the rescue.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: During the following morning on March 10th, a Viet Cong regiment launched their main attack.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: Within two hours, Sergeant First Class Adkins was the only man firing a mortar weapon.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Although he was painfully wounded and most of his crew was killed or wounded,
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: he fought off the fanatical waves of attacking Viet Cong.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: After withdrawing to a communications bunker,
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: where several Americans were attempting to fight off a company of Viet Cong,
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant First Class Adkins killed numerous insurgents with his suppressive fire.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Running extremely low on ammunition,
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: he returned to the mortar pit,
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: gathered the vital ammunition,
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: and ran through intense fire back to the communications bunker.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: After being ordered to evacuate the camp, all signal equipment and classified documents were destroyed.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant First Class Adkins and a small group of men fought their way out of the
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: camp and invaded the Viet Cong for two days until they were rescued by a helicopter.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Sergeant First Class Atkins' extraordinary heroism in close combat against a
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: numerically superior hostile force was in keeping with the highest traditions of
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: the military service and reflect great credit upon himself,
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: his unit,
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: and the United States Army.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: What an incredible story, right?
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then this guy ended up going back and doing another tour several years later.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Just unbelievable heroism.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: if you wonder why I share these stories,
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: I share these Medal of Honor stories because I want to remind us of the sacrifices
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: that have been made through the nearly 250 years of American history.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: through so so many major wars more than a million americans have sacrificed their
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: lives and died getting us to this place and time in wars such as the american
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: revolution the war of eighteen twelve
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Civil War,
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: World War I,
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: World War II,
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: the Korean War,
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: the Vietnam War,
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: Then after September 11th, there was Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: And these were just the major wars that I've listed.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: and i know i overlooked so many smaller conflicts in total we've had more than
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: forty-one million americans serve over the course of our nation's history and as i
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: said earlier more than a million have died and tens of millions have been wounded
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: or had their lives shattered
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's always important we remember these facts,
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: particularly when we have people regularly saying we face a potential civil war or
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: that we should split up our country because of whatever the latest culture war is
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: or any other number of silly reasons.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think our grandparents and our great-grandparents and those who came before them
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: would be dumbfounded to think we could rip apart this great nation over such
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: trifling issues as we face today.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let's share some motivation to make sure that we never, ever give up in our own personal lives.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: if you're a regular listener,
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: you know I also speak about never giving up when I discuss PTSD at the end of the show.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: But for now, let's just talk about some motivation, and we've got some great ones this week.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the first one.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a quote from John Maxwell, who you've probably heard of.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the quote.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: They vary in their desires to reach their potential.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: So successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: They vary in their desires to reach their potential.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: How bad do you want it, right?
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good one.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you want an abundant harvest tomorrow, you have to be willing to plant the seeds today.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's another great one.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: This next one's a quote from Jon Bon Jovi.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously a great musician that hopefully all of you guys know, unless you're really young.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the quote.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: Miracles happen every day.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: Change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty deep.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: Miracles happen every day.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: An entire sea of water can't sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Similarly, the negativity of the world can't put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's another good one.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think I've heard that one before, but it's been a while.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: But guard your heart, right?
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Don't let the negativity get inside of you.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: Your life is happening right now.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're enjoying it.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: Again, your life is happening right now.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're enjoying it.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Again when everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Next one, life has a way of testing you to see if you are ready for the next level.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Again, life has a way of testing you to see if you are ready for the next level.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: And as you guys know,
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: I always like to share a few from the Bible just because this book has become such
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: a source of strength and wisdom and even calm for me during the past year.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope by sharing a few,
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: it might encourage you to get into the Bible yourself because I think it will
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: really help you.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the first one.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's from 1 Chronicles 16, verse 11.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: Look to the Lord and His strength.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: Again, look to the Lord in His strength.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Seek His face always.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: Next one's from Psalm 29, verse 11.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord blesses His people with peace.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good one.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord gives strength to his people.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord blesses his people with peace.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: The next one's from Isaiah chapter 58, verse 11.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: and make your bones strong.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: great verse and the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: scorched places and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered garden
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: like a spring of water whose waters do not fail and the last one is Psalm chapter
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: 22 verse 19 but you Lord do not be far from me you are my strength come quickly to
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: help me
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for joining us this week.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: I hope as you go through this week that you act a little nicer on social media and in the world as well.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: Smile at folks in the grocery store.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Do small acts of kindness.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: And remember that most Americans are good and they will help you in an emergency,
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: even if you don't agree politically.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I have to finish with two things.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: I want to say a bit about myself and my books in case you're new to the show,
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_00: and then I need to say some words for those struggling with PTSD or mental illness,
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: especially since veterans are at a 57% higher risk of suicide.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: First, a bit about myself and my books.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: I am a military vet.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: I spent four years in the Marine Corps, all of that time in the infantry.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, that does matter.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: After my enlistment, I went to college at the University of Tennessee.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: I became a journalist.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: I spent more than 10 years in the news business.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: Besides all of that, I've also written 12 books.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: Those books include a series about a Marine Corps sniper,
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: several novels about a police detective and a private investigator,
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: and a few books about war,
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: such as World War II and Afghanistan.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: Basically,
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: these are all fast-moving books with lots of action and plot twists,
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: because those are the kind of books I've always enjoyed reading.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: You can find all of those books in the link in the episode notes,
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: or you can look on Amazon by just searching my name,
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Stan R.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Mitchell.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: Buying a book,
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: telling a friend about a book,
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: or buying one as a gift for someone,
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: friend or loved one,
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: is a great way to help support the show.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in all seriousness,
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: they're pretty highly rated,
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: and I've been very fortunate to have sold 70,000 copies to date.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you, even though I live in Tennessee, I do not have that many cousins.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: The second thing I need to talk about is PTSD and suicide for just a moment.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't just for our veterans,
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: although I know PTSD does seem to affect veterans at a much higher rate.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: But it's for anyone.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: We can all get in a really low situation.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: Spot.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: But we have to remember that it's a season.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a valley.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you're having serious issues, please call 988-SELECT-1.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can talk to a crisis line responder anytime, day or night.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're a civilian or a veteran, it doesn't matter.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I do know this is hard to do, and I know most of you won't, so I have to be a little mean here.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: The fact is that when we had a drill instructor in boot camp pushing us or maybe a
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: tough coach back in high school,
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: you know that you can go further than when it's just yourself pushing you.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to be that person.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be mean for just a moment.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to remind you that you cannot give up.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do not lose this fight.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: Do not make your parents or your family have to plan your funeral.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: Don't make them feel guilty that they did not check on you, that they could not reach you.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: You can hold on another day.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if you do, I promise the next day will be a little easier.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, if you're in a fight that you worry you may lose, call someone.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Call a friend or a family member.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: Please, just do that.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: Or call 988-SELECT-1.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: But whatever you do, do not quit.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: You're in a valley, and this world needs you.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: Probably, your parents need you.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, seriously.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: Who's going to take care of your parents in 30 years?
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm being dead serious here.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: I just helped take care of my mom while she fought with cancer, before she passed.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm helping take care of my dad now.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: But who's going to do it for you?
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: Are you going to let the system take care of them?
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: How horrible is that?
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you cannot quit.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: And believe me, there's something you're meant to do.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: You just can't see it because you're in this immediate fog and pain.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can't see that end result.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a mission for you to do.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's to coach Little League.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's to help others with PTSD.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's to run for office.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: But there's some calling for you.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: You just haven't found it.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: But you need to get involved.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: You need to stop isolating yourself.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: Go visit a veterans group, the VFW.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: Visit a church near you.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to some family that you have lost touch with.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe reach out to that friend that you've grown apart from.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: They're probably dying to talk to you.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: But seriously, if you're struggling...
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: Call the hotline 988 and select 1.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: Or you can also start moving toward God.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not willing to make that phone call, read the Bible if you never have.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think it will help.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: Read some of Psalms or Proverbs or start with the New Testament, maybe Luke.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think you'll find that the Bible will start drawing you in and changing your life.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a Bible, you can download a Bible app on your phone, or you can look it up online.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: There are dozens of sites with it.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Even simpler, I have a link in the episode notes that I think can help you.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: I write a faith-based blog about the Bible and God,
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: and I have a link in my episode notes to a pretty powerful story about my dog,
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: who is a stray that we adopted from the shelter.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: The title of the article is Be Like Ozzie.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: Go Near Your Master.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a lot of people tell me that story really helped move them, that it was very impactful.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's free to read.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: You got nothing to lose by going to read it.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I always like to end each show by reminding people that you can comment anytime.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: I try to monitor those.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can also reach out privately by email to me at authorstanrmitchell at yahoo.com.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that's in the episode notes, by the way.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it's authorstanrmitchell at yahoo.com.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, here's one other thing.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is about defense news, but I also do a political blog.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: So if you love my moderate, optimistic views, you might enjoy that.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's called Thoughts from a Southern Gentleman.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can find a link to the episode notes to that as well, or you can just search that on Google.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks for hanging with me this week.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's truly an honor to talk with each of you and to know that there's a few of you
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: out there who are listening and who care about our country and our military and all
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: the issues that we face.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know there are a lot of scary issues out there,
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: but we're going to get through them together,
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: the same way America's gotten through everything before this.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love you all, but never forget that God loves you more than you can possibly imagine.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: He is our true Father, so I hope you spend some time with Him this week.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you want true peace and strength and wisdom, make sure you read your Bible some this week.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: It'll help you a lot.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: And also, reach out to a friend or anyone who you know is struggling, whether they are young or old.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: Life is truly hard.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_00: We know this.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: But the true strength of this country is its people,
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: and that includes you folks listening to me right now.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: So be a leader.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: Be a doer.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: Be a servant to someone.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: With all of that being said, I'll catch you all next week.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_00: You have been listening to The View from the Front.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed the show.