Latest / Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk / Conversations with a Vet - Marine Veteran Travis Partington

Transcript

Conversations with a Vet - Marine Veteran Travis Partington · Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk

1:06
Well, good evening, everybody. Welcome to Conversations with a
1:10
Vet. My name is Carol Lee, and I want
1:13
to thank each and everyone of you for being here this Sunday
1:16
evening. Before we get to my guest who's
1:19
waiting patiently in the wings, a huge shout out to a previous
1:24
guest and a friend. And his name is Tim Thomas and
1:29
he has sent me his book all the way from Australia.
1:33
Tim Thomas, fight, flight, feel, discover the power within to
1:37
transform your outside world. Great read.
1:41
If you all are interested in checking that out, you can do
1:44
so. And it's breath work in breath
1:48
works in bed is his company. So thank you very much, Tim, for
1:54
sending that all the way across the pond.
1:58
So if you would everybody help me welcome my friend and mentor
2:03
Travis Partington. Carol Lee, how are you doing?
2:08
Hello, I'm doing great. How are you?
2:12
I'm Savage. Carol Lee.
2:14
Are you Lori Savage? You are a rock star, so I have
2:19
to say it's it hasn't been long since I've talked to you.
2:25
We go. But no, no, I'm not going to go
2:29
there. I'm not going there today.
2:31
You sound very good and so you do a lot of of running all over
2:38
the place. You are like here and there.
2:41
You kind of just are traveling all over the place.
2:43
So I want to say thank you for taking the time to come on
2:46
tonight and helping me fill the spot.
2:51
So appreciate it. It's always great to hear you.
2:53
You've got a wonderful, wonderful voice.
2:55
So always soothing, kind of calms me, relaxes me down well.
3:00
Good stuff, good stuff, good to be here.
3:01
And yeah, it's been. Let's see here. 7:00 I drove 200
3:06
miles to Connecticut, did my Oscar Michael radio thing there
3:09
and then drove back to the same day.
3:11
And now I'm here talking with you.
3:12
It's it's just all part of the game.
3:14
That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about.
3:17
Yeah. So it's been a while.
3:20
We had you on as a guest once before, and I've been on your
3:25
podcast a couple of Times Now. And I want to know a little bit
3:30
for those who have not seen your original interview, I want to go
3:33
back to when you were a kid, what life was like growing up
3:38
for you, Travis. Well, it's in two phases,
3:42
really. The first Phase I was grew up in
3:45
Illinois is a, you know, on a 40 acre farm.
3:48
My dad was a coal miner and you know, we, we, we grew what we
3:53
ate, you know, and shovelled coal to heat our home milk cows,
3:59
you know, clean chicken coops, picked cockle burs,
4:03
blackberries, strawberry, you know, raspberries, whole 9
4:06
yards. There's a lot of work.
4:09
And you know how to can. No, I forgot.
4:12
Well, I did, but I forgot all about it.
4:14
But I don't, I don't care anymore.
4:15
I don't eat vegetables so. The green stuff, right?
4:18
I know I'm right there with you. I mean, gardens are a lot of
4:23
work early. I know I tried one last year, it
4:27
was like a 10 by 20 garden and yeah, it did not go over well.
4:33
Besides all the wedding which you know that's non existent but
4:37
I had somebody help mow and they mowed over my garden.
4:46
All that work. Well, I know it was like, well,
4:49
you know, I'm sure they'll probably be potatoes in the
4:52
ground, you know, for years to come, but nothing is sprouted
4:55
that I know of, so. Yeah, we went then.
4:58
Then you know, my, my dad got a job down South in a coal mine.
5:04
Strange that may sound because the South is so, you know, wet,
5:10
but there's coal down there. And I just, you know, long
5:15
stuffs, you know, happened and life happened.
5:18
And I joined the Marine Corps from Shreveport, Bossier, and,
5:21
you know, here we are. So it was something else.
5:28
And were you an only child? Oh no, no, I was adopted
5:34
actually, because my parents couldn't have children.
5:37
They adopted me and now I'm the eldest of nine.
5:41
My youngest brother is 20 years younger than me.
5:44
Oh wow. That's incredible.
5:48
That's amazing. I love the adoption stories.
5:51
I really do 'cause as you know, we adopted our oldest and yeah,
5:57
so I'm all for adoption. So you lived in a small town in
6:05
the South OR? No, a small town in, in, in
6:08
Illinois when we were out in the country, but the town nearest us
6:12
was 300 people and down in Shreveport, LA, which is about,
6:17
you know, 200, two, 100,000 people, give or take a few.
6:20
And it was much larger. You know, got to go to Dallas,
6:23
the big, big city, you know, it's like 180 miles away from
6:27
Shreveport and Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, things like that.
6:30
And you get to see the real city and, but then, you know, you go
6:34
back to Louisiana. I go 15 miles outside of
6:36
Shreveport and you're in the sticks in the swamp, in the
6:40
Bayou. So it's a very interesting life.
6:44
How was it for school, for your education?
6:48
What was that like? That was still in the South, in
6:50
Louisiana. Yeah, because we moved down
6:53
there when I was, you know, 1415 years old.
6:55
So I was homeschooled. My parents homeschooled me.
7:00
That's what they wanted to do. And you know, I'm, I'm, I'm like
7:03
in today's age, if you as a parent want to homeschool your
7:06
child, you should be able to, you should be supported.
7:09
You should be allowed to do that.
7:13
You know, it's interesting that you talk about being
7:15
homeschooled just for the fact that, and, and I'm not talking
7:18
about age and generalizing here, just to put that out there, is
7:24
that back in our day, right, homeschooling was not something
7:28
you heard about very often. So how difficult was that for
7:34
you being homeschooled versus public school?
7:41
Well, I don't know because I never went to public school, but
7:44
I, I will say this, and I've tried to be very nice to other
7:49
parents who are, you know, getting into homeschooling their
7:52
child. Now they asked me about that.
7:54
I said, well, the thing you have to remember is, and there's no
7:57
way to say this is the world you're teaching your children to
8:01
operate in is not the world they're going to encounter
8:05
outside the home. It's just, it's just not.
8:09
And man, did I learn that the hard way.
8:12
Certain things that my parents would premium on were not seen
8:17
as, you know, worthwhile attributes.
8:20
That being said, there were several other things that they
8:22
did and focused on that definitely, you know, help me
8:26
out. You know, this funny story.
8:28
The Marine Corps didn't want to take me at the time.
8:31
They were absolutely not taking anybody with a GED.
8:35
And at the time, it's not this way now is in Louisiana because
8:40
I was homeschooled. The only way to get some
8:42
conscious it was to take the GED.
8:45
And you know, I took the GED about halfway through the the
8:48
teachers are like, you're done. I mean, you know, you're you're
8:51
acing every test. There's no reason to have you go
8:53
through all of them. You're, you're good.
8:56
So I, I, I'm like, I want to join the Marine Corps.
8:58
Can you at least give me the ASVAB?
9:01
I mean, and, and you know, I said because they have ASVAB
9:03
waiver. I knew this, they had ASVAB
9:06
waivers. I mean, if you're not smart
9:07
enough, you can get an ASVAB. We would go in.
9:10
So I'm like, well, just give me the same shot as somebody else.
9:13
I mean, you, you have a way. So you give me the ASVAB and I
9:16
scored high enough, really high enough.
9:19
I'm the top, you know, 5 percentile on the Marine Corps.
9:23
And all of a sudden, and it was like, well, we can get that
9:28
waiver drafted next week, Don't you go anywhere.
9:30
I said, well, you know, after all this, I might as well just
9:32
go check out the Army and the Air Force while I'm at it.
9:35
No, no, no, no, no, no. But you know, you had, you know,
9:40
I learned, you know, you, you had to, you had to produce.
9:43
You had to, you know, put out when the time came.
9:47
And if you, you know, put out a good product, you know, people
9:50
want to get behind it. So, you know, did the Marine
9:53
Corps thing, did the hawk thing where, you know, I was a radar
9:56
operator for the hot missile system and you know, it is, is a
10:01
cool MOS. There's, there's no two ways
10:03
about it. I, I really enjoyed it and, you
10:05
know, but long, Long story short, Hawk, Hawk, Hawk went
10:10
away and I got hurt and, you know, I, I wound up beating my,
10:14
you know, then wife and moved to the New England area and, you
10:20
know, got used to being a stranger in a strange land
10:24
again. You know, New England is not
10:26
like other parts of the US. It's just not.
10:28
I try to tell people it's they're, they're, they're
10:30
different than us and, and they really are, you know, in, in a
10:35
good way, sometimes in a bad way.
10:36
Other times I feel, but you know, I've been here a long time
10:41
and they're like, you're still not from around here.
10:43
You, you can you still say your Rs, you don't sound like us.
10:47
What's the deal? But you know, that's where it
10:51
was. And, you know, when I got on the
10:53
Marine Corps, you know, I had to get a job.
10:55
I had provide for my family. And, you know, that was that
11:00
was, you know, a stressful time. Because, you know, one thing I
11:03
am pleased to say is, you know, now there's some real programs
11:08
and real meat for people who if they want to get out and they
11:11
want to start a career in something, you know, companies
11:14
have figured out the value of veterans in their workforce and
11:18
have made mentorship programs, onboarding programs, OJT, on the
11:22
job training programs for veterans.
11:25
And, you know, there was none of that when I got out.
11:28
I mean, you know, I remember, you know, being told, well, you
11:32
know, you know, we're an elite organization.
11:36
I don't think you'd survive here.
11:39
I'm like, well, you know, maybe not, but, you know, I've, I've,
11:41
I've been a member of an elite organization myself and I know
11:44
what it takes to, you know, succeed there.
11:49
And I was very surprised that people actually had the the hot
11:52
spot to say that. But, you know, things have
11:55
changed. And I'm, I'm glad to see this
11:58
changing in certain areas and, and something I still think need
12:01
work on. But, you know, overall it's, I'm
12:04
very proud of my Marine Corps time, short time to be sure.
12:09
But you know, I tell anybody, you know, it's, it's, I got a
12:13
lot out of it and it's still today it's, it's teaching me
12:16
lessons and supporting what I do.
12:18
You know the the mental mindset, the will to succeed, and you
12:23
know the will to get things done.
12:25
Absolutely. So let's talk, let's go back and
12:28
talk a little bit about the Hawk missiles.
12:29
So was that your original MOS? Is that what you signed up to
12:34
do? I signed up for the aviation, so
12:36
the Marine Corps had where you can sign up for the aviation
12:38
support MOS group. And in that group of MO s s was
12:42
like Weather Service, air traffic control, crash, Fire
12:45
Rescue, avionics, cryogenics, you know, a whole bunch of other
12:52
things, Stingers and Avengers, but mainly, you know, support MO
12:58
s s for the air wing, everything from, you know, aircraft
13:05
mechanics up to, you know, Avion's ejection seats, you
13:09
know, flight instruments, all that stuff.
13:11
And Hawk was one of them. And I made the score, I made the
13:16
aptitude score, the other scores to be a Hawker.
13:19
So that's how I got it. That's awesome.
13:23
And tell me, OK, knowing what they are, right, Obviously it's
13:29
a missile. Were you ever thinking to
13:31
yourself, God I hope I don't screw this up?
13:36
Well, I mean, the main thing I was hoping if I ever had to get
13:39
behind the scope and, and you know, tell my Lieutenant to fire
13:42
1 is May. I sure hope I lock up on the
13:44
right airplane and identified it because right as a time we're
13:48
going to Hoc school, the Patriot battery had hit a friendly and
13:52
it hit a friendly Saudi plane, then F15.
13:56
And you know, so they put a premium, a lot of emphasis on
13:59
aircraft ID and Hawk school. And you know, I, I, I ate that
14:04
up. I'd grown up, you know, around
14:06
the Air Force town and you have the stuff.
14:07
Look, I went to every air show. That wasn't a problem.
14:10
But you know, yeah, there there's I tell people all the
14:14
time and, you know, it was a combination of, you know, very
14:18
physical job with the radars and the missile launch and building
14:22
the missiles, you know, physical with, you know, driving those
14:26
big trucks in the desert, what that took out of you.
14:30
And plus we were doing this and 100 and 15120° heat.
14:35
You know, there's a lot of lot of potential for human error and
14:38
human problems. You know, like to think that,
14:41
but but we drilled this stuff every day.
14:43
I mean, the Sergeant have a stopwatch out there timing us,
14:47
you know, and providing remedial education and encouragement if
14:52
we didn't. Get it?
14:55
So you're motivated to, you know, get it done.
14:57
You know, if you got all your stuff for the week, you know, he
15:01
might let you go 1/2 hour early, you know, on a Friday, you know,
15:06
you know, 15173530 versus 6:00 was a pretty sweet deal.
15:12
But then there's a mental side of putting it all together.
15:16
I mean, we had these big armored laptops, we could go to the gear
15:19
and program the launchers and program the radars and you had
15:22
to know how to maneuver through the laptop's operating system.
15:27
It was like a Unix system really was what it was.
15:30
And, you know, make all this stuff work and, you know, the,
15:35
the standard for Hawk battery emplacements 45 minutes from
15:40
when the the main control van hits the the area to have a
15:43
missile rate of fire. And that's, that's hard to do,
15:48
which is why if you go and look at some of the European sites,
15:51
some of them are still there, some of them are not.
15:53
Most of them are stationary. It's, it's a very complex
15:57
operation to what we call March order the equipment, getting
16:00
ready to move, moving somewhere, saying it all up, making sure
16:05
all the equipment works and getting ready to fire.
16:07
It's much easier to take, you know, you know, 10 different
16:11
batteries and have them in a line over 100 miles and you
16:14
might get coverage that way. Just keep them there.
16:17
So it was an interesting MOS. It was a very different kind of
16:21
MOS. It was kind of against the
16:23
Marine Corps ethos. It's a defensive MOS versus
16:26
offensive, which is what we are. But, you know, as we're seeing
16:30
Ukraine right now and the very cool thing we're seeing is a,
16:34
you know, we've been told and we, we've figured it out that a
16:37
lot of equipment that we mothballed back in 9899 is being
16:41
used in Ukraine right now. I mean, and they, they, they
16:46
took it out of mothballs, ran new cables, update all the
16:49
software, you know, got everything ready to go and ship
16:52
it over to Ukraine. And sure enough, it's doing its
16:54
job. It's I think it's shot down
16:56
three different aircraft right now.
16:59
And then that was pretty cool to see.
17:00
It's like, OK, you know what we did and how we train and, you
17:03
know, somebody else learned from it, were able to defend
17:06
themselves. And when you start understanding
17:09
how fast, you know, Mach 1 and Mach 1.5 is and you know how
17:14
fast that is and how fast I can drop a missile on your your
17:17
target where there's a hospital, a base, a command center, you
17:21
know, fuel depot, you know, all of a sudden now and with the
17:24
aspect of drones, there's a huge emphasis on air defense.
17:29
So it's, it's kind of weird how what's old is new again.
17:33
And you know something, you know, borrow something blue.
17:36
But here we are. We're we're trying to figure out
17:38
ways to stop much smaller aircraft now.
17:40
I mean, it's crazy. You know, that's that's really
17:44
interesting and and it's coming, this new technology is coming so
17:49
quickly, not just to the military, but the public sector
17:54
too, right? I mean, things are happening
17:57
quickly there. I'm sure that they'll find a
17:59
defense for drones if they haven't already.
18:05
But that, you know, it's interesting too that you went
18:08
went there with that because that was kind of a question I
18:11
had on my mind as far as do you ever see them bringing the Hawk
18:16
missile back? It's still being used.
18:19
It is a Korean War era system and it's still being used
18:24
because it's, it's reliable, it it's scalable.
18:30
And for what it is, it does what it does very, very well.
18:34
And it's, it's relatively compared to the Patriot systems,
18:38
some other air defense systems now inexpensive.
18:42
And if you're one of those countries or regions that use it
18:45
in a static way where you're not having to March or in place
18:49
every week, it's once you get those the system up and running,
18:54
as long as you have power going to it.
18:56
I mean, we had, we had radars we could run for three weeks in the
18:59
field. They wouldn't even cough 24
19:02
hours a day. We take, we, we, we shut them
19:04
down, haul them back to the main side, get them up and going
19:07
again. And after sitting for a week,
19:09
they were cantankerous. They they, you know, leaks in
19:12
the hydraulic hoses, you know, electrical boards acting up.
19:16
These things were, were designed to run 24/7, 365.
19:21
So when you, when you get that in and, you know, right where
19:24
what to do, it's not that much money to, to run these.
19:29
Yeah. So your time in the Marine
19:35
Corps, you get injured or become injured.
19:40
And how did how did that occur? I wish it was something, you
19:44
know, John Wayne asked or, or you know, but it's simply I was
19:49
on a boots in the used front and or in the desert and stepped in
19:52
a crevice and, you know, wrenched my my right leg really
19:55
bad. And you know, I had, I damaged
19:57
my Patella tendon and you know, just started, could not maintain
20:03
the speed in a, in a formation run or the PFT.
20:07
And it just started getting worse and worse where I'm like,
20:10
you know, I can't really PT anymore, you know, waste going
20:13
to start coming on and you know, I got it.
20:17
And if you can't PT, you can't do the job.
20:21
They're going to separate you. And you know, my lieutenants
20:24
like, hey, look, you know, he's a captain at the time.
20:30
If you try to stay in, you can't make the stand.
20:31
I'm going to have to, you know, treat you differently than if we
20:35
just, you know, Med you out right now.
20:37
You don't give you an honorable discharge and you know, you can
20:41
do life that way. And it it made sense to me.
20:43
There was our our MOS was shut down.
20:45
It was being replaced by the patriot battery.
20:48
The the cutting score for corporal was higher than it was
20:52
for Sergeant. So we couldn't get promoted
20:53
anymore. And I didn't want to re up
20:56
because I didn't want to go to some, you know, other job I
21:00
didn't really like or want to do.
21:03
And it just made sense. So and and and right at that
21:07
time I met my, you know, now ex-wife.
21:10
And you know, I'm like, OK, I'm I'm, I'm in love.
21:14
You know, this must be ordained, you know, you know, that's a
21:18
whole different story. But you know, it just makes
21:20
sense to get out. I did.
21:23
And your your time in reflecting back, was there, was there
21:28
anything that you could think of that you would have done
21:31
differently while you were in other than not stepping in the
21:35
crevice? Yeah, I wish.
21:37
I wish I had done my it's really, really weird that the
21:40
Marine Corps has like, you know, courses you can take and, and
21:46
this might sound crazy, but I wish I'd put a lot more effort
21:49
into those easy promotion points.
21:52
And I wish I had really, you know, in normal.
21:56
I know now I would have put a lot more effort into trying to
22:00
get meritoriously promoted. There was a couple of
22:06
meritorious boards. I just wasn't ready.
22:08
And and not that it's a big deal, no one cares I was Lance
22:12
Corporal versus a corporal or NCO.
22:14
It doesn't, it really doesn't mean anything out here in the
22:16
civilian world. It really doesn't.
22:18
But just personally I I wish I'd worked harder.
22:23
Yeah, and and I think reflecting.
22:26
Yeah, I was just, I was just like, once they cancel the MOS,
22:29
it's like, you know, what are we doing here?
22:31
You know, how could they get this so wrong?
22:34
You know, let's not do this again.
22:36
And I was ready to get out. Right.
22:39
So obviously, you know hindsight, right?
22:43
Claudius Claudius, since you can't hear.
22:46
And I think I haven't seen anybody else say can if
22:49
everybody else can hear, go ahead and post that for me if
22:52
you can hear what's going on. I can hear, I can hear on the
22:56
YouTube. I keep my volume down but.
23:02
I just I just I can hear on the YouTube it, it's good.
23:06
OK, and they're probably it looks like they're on Facebook.
23:10
So I don't know, just double check Claudia, your your volume,
23:18
make sure you're not I don't know.
23:22
I I'm not sure. So you get out of the Marine
23:30
Corps. Yeah, Jason can hear on YouTube.
23:34
I just heard. So.
23:35
Yeah. So you you get out, you're
23:39
medically discharged. And did you already have
23:43
something in place as far as a job went?
23:47
Not really, no. No, your job at that time was
23:50
just recovering from your injury.
23:53
It was slash recovery slash, you know, trying to find a job.
23:57
And. My first job at the Marine Corps
23:58
was working at CVS, which actually I take that back.
24:03
No, no, no, that was right. I worked at CVS and that was
24:11
just brutal. What did you do there?
24:14
I worked in the pharmacy and I just, I'm, I'm like, I wasn't a
24:20
pharmacist. I had to deal with old men
24:24
wanting to entertain their ladies, if you know what I mean.
24:28
The Viagra, is that where we're going?
24:30
Yeah, he had run out. He had run out and he was trying
24:37
to calm the the pharmacist and to give him a little extra
24:40
something, something. I got a hot date in the car and
24:43
you all suck. I'm trying to like that.
24:46
It's just not enough money. That's great.
24:50
That is a great story, though that's not one that you you hear
24:53
about every day, right? So what was it like for you
25:03
mentally, right? I mean, you don't have that
25:07
daily direction and that you had in the Marine Corps of, you
25:13
know, you need to be here at this time and and do this at
25:16
this time. How did you deal with that
25:19
mentally? What kind of strain did that
25:22
provide, if any? Well, I think one of the things,
25:25
unfortunately, I didn't deal with it and, and you know, not
25:29
not then, but several years later, I realized, you know,
25:33
that was, that was a hard time for me, a lot harder than I
25:37
wanted. Went on because I didn't have
25:39
any of my family around. I had none of my friends around.
25:43
I'd known my battery mates around.
25:45
I had to figure out a new environment.
25:47
I'd never been to New England before all the, the, the, you
25:51
know, the cultural customs, you have to learn how to get around
25:56
and, you know, hey, you need to get a job and get some money
26:00
coming in to, you know, do your part as a, you know, as a
26:04
husband and soon to be father. So it wasn't until much later
26:09
because, you know, I'm like, you know, I don't really hang out
26:13
with people. I really don't, you know, do
26:15
this and do that. And it's because, well, I just
26:18
didn't find people in my lane. And I, I got asked, you know,
26:23
about 1015 years late, Hey, you know, why don't you come to the
26:25
end of the American Legion? Like, no, because I went to the
26:28
American Legion, you know, right after we got out and tried to
26:31
say, Hey, I'm, I'm new here. I'm trying to figure it out.
26:34
And you know, those, those old guys, American Legion wanted
26:36
nothing to do with me and made it very clear that, you know,
26:39
hey, don't bother coming back. And I didn't for almost 20
26:42
years. I just, I just didn't have
26:43
anything to do with them. So it, you know, at the time it
26:47
was very stressful just trying to, you know, get life going
26:52
again. But looking back now, yeah, I, I
26:56
was partially homesick, partially, you know, this is my
27:00
battery mates and you know, partially like, you know, in a,
27:03
in a strange land. Right.
27:06
And how did, how did you end up dealing with that?
27:08
How did you get through that? I don't really think I did,
27:14
Carol Lee, to tell you the truth, I don't really think I
27:16
ever really took the time to invest in that part of myself.
27:20
I was, I got, I had, you know, three sons in a relatively short
27:25
amount of time. And then they, you know, started
27:27
school with sports and hockey and other things.
27:30
And it's just go, go, go. And, you know, we're doing this.
27:34
And then I realized something's wrong with my marriage.
27:37
And then I realized, oh, snap, something really is wrong with
27:40
my marriage. I mean, not my choice.
27:42
And, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't until I was divorced and
27:48
living on my own again and having to rebuild myself.
27:51
I'm like, you know, this sucks. This is absolutely terrible.
27:54
I didn't ask for any of this. You know, I gave up so much to
27:57
be here. But then on the other hand, I'm
27:59
like, you might get a chance to kind of rebuild it all over
28:01
again. And it was at this time, you
28:06
know, I got connected with some guys at, you know, an AM radio
28:11
station in Taunton, MA. And I would do guest hosting
28:15
when they had a, a military or veteran topic on or a guest on
28:20
and found out, I really liked it and found out that, you know,
28:24
some people like, hey, you know, you're, you're kind of good at
28:26
this for never having done it before.
28:29
You know, you can have your own show if you wanted.
28:32
Well, you know, our airtime on the AM spectrum is it starts at
28:36
500 bucks. And I'm like, OK, we're not
28:38
doing that an hour. So I do 4 shows a month is $2000
28:42
before you, you, you, you, you break even at all.
28:46
So I'm like, well, that's not, that's not doable.
28:49
And, you know, right around that time I had joined the Marine
28:53
Corps League. And it's something that I wish I
28:55
had known about, you know, several years before because
28:59
they were primarily, you know, Korean War in Vietnam, Arab
29:05
actions there, Marines and and yeah, these are old guys and,
29:10
you know, they're cranky sometimes and honoree.
29:13
But on the other hand, you know, they had seen a whole lot of
29:15
stuff. You know, life had kicked some
29:17
of them in the rear end before. And it was just a place to go.
29:23
And we were going to, you know, do our ritual for funerals.
29:29
And between 2014 and 2018, we did a bunch of them is because
29:35
of the suicide epidemic really started taking hold like who
29:38
were killing themselves with alarming regularity.
29:42
And this is where the ideas start OM radio came from.
29:46
So yeah, Timothy, I get it. You know, it it I was written on
29:52
a small a very, you know, 800 square foot apartment with
29:56
nothing in it. Everything from Facebook
29:58
marketplace. I get it dude, but but I have I
30:03
have come out on the other side swinging.
30:07
You just got to, you know, figure out who you are, right
30:11
what, what you want to be and how you want to live your life.
30:17
And I and I think that takes a lot of insight and sometimes it
30:23
takes a little time before mentally you're prepared to look
30:26
inside and see what's there and what you got to do to, to move
30:33
forward. Absolutely.
30:36
So you start OM Radio and what was it then specifically that
30:45
just said I need to do something like OM Radio for those of you
30:50
who don't know. Also if you could explain OM
30:54
Radio for the for our listeners. Sure.
30:57
I'll answer both questions and one answer.
30:59
So, you know, I start asking my radio, like I said when I was in
31:02
the Marine Corps League, and we would do these, the Marine Corps
31:07
League nationwide as a burial ritual we will do for veterans.
31:11
And we did a lot of these for veterans that commit suicide at
31:15
the end of the ritual. You shake hands or, you know,
31:18
hug the family and I'm walking in line and a mother says, you
31:23
know, why did he do it and not you guys that shot me to my
31:28
core. Because, you know, I, I will
31:30
never say that I had PTSD from my military service.
31:33
I went some bad times. I, I lost some Marines that I
31:37
served with in peacetime through accidents, but I don't have PTSD
31:41
for service. But I absolutely will say that
31:44
during the time of divorce and cupsea battle and other things,
31:49
I, I, I knew where the abyss was.
31:53
I knew where it was. I had looked down into the abyss
31:56
and couldn't see the bottom. I had stepped right up to it and
31:59
I knew exactly where that line was.
32:02
And I think for me, my sons, more than anything else, you
32:07
know, I've got to hang in there for them somehow, someway.
32:11
I've got to draw and all the stuff I learned in the Marine
32:14
Corps and, and beat this thing. So I'm, I'm doing that with the
32:20
Marine Corps League and I'm doing the guest hosting.
32:24
And it's like I want to do something that will give people
32:30
hope. You know, my story, other other
32:33
stories. There's got to be a way to
32:34
share, you know, the guys who figure out a way to get through
32:39
their valley of the shower, the death and stay in their fight.
32:42
And maybe if I talk about enough, somebody somewhere will
32:46
be impacted to a point where they will stay in, in their
32:51
fight and I'll learn and I, I'll be able to serve with the
32:56
people. And I, I, I April 2016, I'm, you
33:02
know, just out of pure happenstance.
33:06
I had a voice teacher at the time, you know, I was trying to
33:09
see if I could, you know, get back in the singing long story.
33:12
And you know, I went to this Dale Dorman media day, Ms. Swick
33:16
Community College and I met Keith Hayes.
33:19
He's doing this breakout session on podcast.
33:21
And I told him afterwards when I was trying to do things like
33:24
this could work in between April and July.
33:27
I worked in the concept in July, launched a podcast in 2016.
33:33
And you know, the first three shows were asked terrible.
33:37
It wasn't wasn't until, you know, really, I think episode
33:41
112, one 15117 that it got going. 117 was special in me
33:47
because I was interviewing an Army National Guard veteran who
33:52
ran his own contracting business.
33:56
And I was very interested in how he did.
33:58
He's a very unique guy, you know, and I really respected,
34:03
you know, the work he did and how he did it.
34:07
And like, hey, you know, I don't have a studio, but could we meet
34:09
at Dunkin' Donuts? I'll set my rig and we'll go
34:12
there. Like, OK, sure.
34:16
And we get to the end of that show.
34:18
I finished recording up. I said, well, you know, Steve,
34:20
what you think he's like, you know, you don't know much with
34:23
this podcast and stuff. And it's kind of weird being
34:26
Dunkin' Donuts, to be honest with you, Travis.
34:27
Like he doesn't even have his own studio.
34:29
But I remember we're in Massachusetts.
34:31
This this is this is how they do it up here.
34:34
So it's kind of weird. But he's like, you know what, I
34:37
will tell you this. I feel pretty at ease with you.
34:41
I felt really comfortable with what you were doing.
34:42
And I liked how you asked the questions is like, you know, I
34:46
don't know much, you know, and it's kind of weird, but you got
34:49
something going. So I'll tell you this.
34:51
If, if you can figure out a way to keep adding value to your to
34:57
your guest, I don't think you'll be wrong.
35:01
And, and that was something because he's right.
35:02
I mean, you know, I had, you know, a Zoom H6, a couple of
35:06
mics and a laptop and that was it.
35:09
I have, you know, you look at the equipment I have now and
35:12
we're, we're, we're getting, it's nice.
35:14
Like I've got, I've got like extra stuff, even this, it's
35:18
fantastic. I got all kinds of tools for,
35:21
you know, whatever the need is. And I didn't have that back
35:25
then. I was only like a year and a
35:26
half into this man. And it was just like, man, we
35:29
are, we are pinching pennies, recycling cans.
35:32
Any way to, to keep this going? But he was like this, the value
35:36
of what you provided, that stood out to him.
35:40
And so ever since then, I have stuck with this thing that, you
35:44
know, it's not about trying to be the big name, It's not about
35:48
this or that. It's about adding value to the
35:52
person in front of me. And then other people get value
35:57
from that. And that's worked for me so far.
36:00
I think that's wonderful. I absolutely think that's
36:03
wonderful. And you've been doing this now
36:05
for 10 years, 10 years, 10 years.
36:10
And you, I know you hit over, you've hit your 500th interview,
36:16
but what else? And where else?
36:20
Because I know, but I don't know that our guests know that our,
36:24
our audience knows. Where else have you been to
36:30
share your experience with the military and been like a
36:35
commentator, if you will, for for that?
36:40
Well, you know, I've gotten to talk to people, the VA, I'm
36:44
going to talk to people in all different areas.
36:47
But you know, a couple years ago I got asked to go on C-SPAN on
36:51
national TV. I've been asked to be on C-SPAN
36:53
five times. And basically it's, it's during
36:57
the veterans or Memorial Day weekend, I get asked to come on
37:00
and take questions from people nationwide about certain
37:05
veterans issues. And it's very interesting.
37:08
I have no idea what's coming, who I'm talking to, and I cannot
37:14
see. People don't believe it, but I
37:16
can't see the host that you see on TVI am looking at a screen
37:21
that says C-SPAN on it with a black background.
37:24
That's it. So, you know, before I go on,
37:29
I'll, I'll see who the host is and get an idea of who they are
37:32
so I can kind of in my mind see them as I talk to them.
37:36
But yeah, I, I, I have no idea what questions coming next.
37:40
I have no idea how this is going or really how I do.
37:44
I just, I just try to really stay calm and cool and, and, you
37:48
know, try to meet that person where they are.
37:49
You get some cranks, you get some people just trolling,
37:51
trying to be agitators, but you know, you're just cool there.
37:55
But that's been a very unique experience through this.
38:00
I started doing some voice over work.
38:01
So there's some, if you know where to look, there's some
38:04
stuff with me doing voice over stuff.
38:07
And most recently I got asked to, I had a Pulitzer Prize
38:12
winning photographer on off Mike radio and he did a book called
38:16
Boston Veterans Appreciation and his you know #2 and, and guy who
38:23
handles all the logistics and everything.
38:25
Paul Doyle wrote a poem in the front of that book, and he asked
38:29
me to try to read it for him. So I'm going to read the poem,
38:33
put it to it up really, really nice and maybe, maybe see what
38:37
happens there. And The thing is, I'm getting
38:39
asked to do more and more that, you know, vocal work stuff which
38:42
I am starting to really enjoy. And you do such a great job of
38:47
it. I know you and I have had that
38:50
conversation a while back and that you just have one of those
38:56
soothing, calming voices that I think really help benefit
39:01
anybody listening to you. It just, you know, especially
39:04
anybody who's in that really active mindset and you know,
39:11
just hearing your suit, it just calms you down.
39:14
It just really does. You have the great voice.
39:17
I saw, so I got told that one of my friends said, hey, you know,
39:21
you did this reading. It was like 6 minutes long and
39:24
my blood pressure dropped. Yeah, we're on to something
39:29
here, so more to follow. Yes, and and definitely we'll be
39:34
following up on that. You have been, you know, you,
39:40
you work full time, you're giving back to veterans by
39:44
giving them a platform to speak and tell their story.
39:48
But not just veterans. Now you also do a show there for
39:57
what is that? I mean, it's for veterans, but
40:00
what is that? So for the town of Abington,
40:03
yes, excuse me, town of Abington, I do a show called
40:06
Abington Veterans Muster. So the director of Veterans
40:10
Services and I'm gone. He's a Navy U.S.
40:12
Navy chief, retired one to show that would be able to connect
40:19
people to what he's doing the town of Abington.
40:22
So and I'm like, well, you could do this like, no, I don't want
40:25
to do it. You know, I think you'd be
40:27
better suited for it. And so I thought about how I
40:30
would do it, how it approach it came up with the name that came
40:34
up with the, the concept. And you know, I've been doing it
40:38
for almost three years now. And it's, it's different than
40:43
podcasting. Whereas with a podcast, I have
40:46
to do everything, watch everything like you're doing
40:49
right now with ATV show, you kind of go in there to the
40:52
studio, the cameras already set up, They, they mic you up, get a
40:55
sound check, check your levels, check your angles, and then
40:58
you're off and running. It's like, oh, wow.
41:00
There's a whole lot of mental overhead.
41:02
I just don't have to worry about.
41:03
It's just like all done for you. Wow.
41:06
So, but, but what's happened is, is people in Abington are
41:10
connecting with what the, the director of services wants to do
41:14
certain updates to Massachusetts has the chapter 115, a section
41:19
of our, our, our code of law and that governs how veterans are
41:24
provided for in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
41:26
So some good information there. But the the the the coolest
41:29
thing that happened a couple months ago is a gentleman in
41:32
Louisiana caught the show on YouTube and wrote the show in
41:40
saying, hey, I'm struggling with my VA benefits.
41:43
Can you help me? Adam gets with the the the
41:47
contact out of the New Orleans office for who's down South
41:50
Louisiana and they got him help. And I just thought that was the
41:54
coolest thing. Like, we had no idea that
41:58
somebody from Louisiana was watching this.
42:01
And, and you just never know. And it's really kind of
42:04
different when I'm at the grocery store at the American
42:07
Legion or somewhere else and someone comes with me and says,
42:10
hey, I watched your show the other week.
42:12
And, you know, I got a lot out of it.
42:14
And it was, it was cool. Thank you very much.
42:16
So it, it's been a really different way to be creative,
42:21
but also, you know, grow my skills and then, you know,
42:26
again, meet people in Abington where they are.
42:29
During all of this and where you are today in your journey after
42:34
the Marine Corps, would your younger self have ever thought
42:41
of you being where you are today with with what you're doing?
42:44
No, no, I mean when I started this 10 years ago, I, I was just
42:48
saying if I could, you know, get out of my own way and, and try
42:52
to feel like I had some work and value.
42:54
Again, I had no idea any of this was available or even possible.
43:02
There are a lot of veteran podcasters, as you know, who
43:05
have a lot more money, funding, sponsorship, so on so forth that
43:11
in, in my view, don't enjoy the success I have and, and, and
43:16
what I've been able to, you know, I mean, just as a side,
43:19
you know, I had my 10th year show rolls in and I'm honored by
43:23
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for my work in
43:26
Austin, like radio official citation, you know, and they
43:28
vetted me out pretty, pretty thoroughly and I didn't think
43:32
that was going to happen. I wasn't asked for that.
43:33
That was a complete surprise. Like they did that right at the
43:37
end of your show, right? They, they worked hard because
43:40
they knew, you know, it's hard to pull one over on me like
43:43
that. So that was a that was a multi
43:45
pronged effort and they really coordinate well on ass off to
43:50
them. But as far as being on TV, as
43:53
far as seeing some of the things I'm able to see and participate,
43:56
some of the things like today, you know, I got to do.
43:59
No, no, no, I I was just hoping to put out some shows, see what
44:05
happens. Maybe, you know, someone would
44:07
would like it, maybe not because you know, that's at the end of
44:12
the day, I'm like, you know, when I end this, it'll end
44:16
someday, 9 times soon, but I just want to know that I
44:20
impacted one life in a positive way and and that's all I'm I'm,
44:24
I'm thinking about more than anything else.
44:26
So I had no idea. None.
44:32
And now you What do you do in your spare time?
44:36
Spare time. So I compete in weightlifting,
44:39
get ready for a meet next March. And then, you know, I find time
44:45
to, you know, do my, you know, freedom flinger, whether it's a
44:49
string finger freedom flinger or another one.
44:51
You know, I do that and run a motorcycle.
44:53
That's that's pretty much it. And then I like playing my Xbox,
44:57
I really do. So do you.
44:59
Have my favorite game. Gears of the new Gears of Wars
45:02
coming out in next in October. I'm taking a day off.
45:07
Well, Gears of War has a very emotional like attachment to me
45:11
because when I was going through my divorce, I'd play that game.
45:16
And there's a couple guys I played with and I think I
45:19
remember, I think I thought about it, they were just kind of
45:21
keeping tabs. But you have to show up and go
45:25
through the boards together, and, you know, that was the game
45:28
during that time. And so, you know, Gears of War
45:31
was always as a special place for me.
45:34
So I can't wait for the new one. That's funny.
45:37
Big Gears of War fan? Big Skyrim fan?
45:40
Big Borderlands fan? Yeah.
45:43
OK. All right.
45:45
And now one of the things that I know that you do and probably
45:50
doing at this very moment while we're talking is is crochet.
45:55
So tell me how you got into crocheting?
45:59
Well, you you are right. Oh, I love that pattern.
46:04
So I've been crocheting for almost 10 years.
46:08
I think I got I got exposed crochet in September 10 years
46:14
ago and then got going in November.
46:16
So my first, you know, call to action altruistic moment with OM
46:23
radio was one of my friends said, hey, there's this lady in
46:28
George. Her name is Jill Saint Jake's
46:30
and she is trying to get yarn to give, you know, blankets to
46:35
veterans. She takes the yarn, makes
46:37
blankets out and gives it to veterans and she needs help and
46:40
it cuz yarn cost money and she makes a lot of them.
46:43
And I didn't know Jack about, you know, shite with, you know,
46:47
crochet at all. I'm like, OK, I don't know
46:52
anything about this, but start asking around.
46:55
And then some of my Co workers at the time had a project Linus
46:59
Club and Project Alliance is a group it's nationwide that makes
47:03
blankets for kids with cancer. So like, you know, Boston has a
47:07
big pediatric cancer hospital up here.
47:11
And so a lot of people make blankets for, you know, those,
47:14
those individuals, right? So my coworkers had like 8 bags
47:22
of yarn and they said, you know what, we'll, we'll give him the
47:25
yarn, we'll give him the yarn. But you have to learn how to
47:29
crochet typical New England woman.
47:32
And it wasn't because they didn't like crochet.
47:36
It was just to to watch the big marine with the big huge mitts
47:40
work the crochet hook. You're going to laugh at the New
47:43
England women will help you, but they're going to laugh at you
47:46
first before they help you. They, they get theirs upfront,
47:49
whereas someone will just bless your heart, honey, I'll help you
47:52
out. You know, New England women want
47:53
to laugh at you first. So and they did.
47:56
But I'm like, you know what? I'm doing this thing and you
47:58
know, I'm trying to get the hook to do do this thing.
48:01
I'm like, I am not going to let some string, a piece of metal
48:05
beat me. No freaking way.
48:06
I'm going to learn this thing. And so I, I just stuck with it
48:11
and, and then all of a sudden, you know, like in this is, this
48:14
is November 2016. I really got started and she got
48:17
her yarn story and a great wasn't until like April 2017
48:23
that all of a sudden it clicked and, and the movements became
48:26
good. And now I can, I can sit here
48:28
and, you know, crank out a blanket while I'm talking to
48:30
you. Yeah, I don't know how you do it
48:33
because I still end up skipping because of you, I have to say.
48:37
And and I hadn't crocheted anything since I was like 10.
48:43
And it was, you know, like some crooked potholder with.
48:46
Yeah, Anyway. And so I was like, you know, I'm
48:50
going to, I'm going to try this. I'm going to give it a shot.
48:53
And I, I did this baby blanket for a Co worker, a crocheted
48:57
baby blanket for the Co worker and they were having a newborn
49:02
coming up and I didn't count my stitches.
49:06
So the whole thing, although it was it, it was beautiful.
49:09
It's a beautiful stitch. But it started out like this
49:12
long and pretty soon it went like this.
49:18
So I gave it to him. Anyway, I was like, here you go.
49:21
And then come to find out, it's like only one of two blankets
49:23
that they use for their child. And I was like, aw, so it's
49:28
quite interesting to, you know, I've learned though, I'm better
49:32
off when I, when I do everything in like groups, like groups of a
49:36
stitch of four or something like that.
49:38
So, but yeah, so because of you, I, I started crocheting.
49:43
So yeah, yeah. And what do you do with these
49:48
blankets for yourself when you get them completed?
49:52
One of three things, they'll go to either the local project like
49:55
a Michael's or Jo Ann Fabrics. They're a collection point for
49:59
project lines, blankets. I'll give them to the New
50:02
England Center and Home for Veterans for the veterans there.
50:05
And then, you know, like, like this one's going to go to the,
50:09
the Veterans Center, but there's a camera one I'm working on and
50:13
I'll make a couple of these a year for fundraisers.
50:18
And it's really weird seeing once some of these women figure
50:23
out that, you know, I made it and, you know, it's like, Oh
50:26
yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll definitely get that.
50:28
So I mean, an American one, one time US flag, one that did
50:33
really well. And then the, the last one I did
50:37
helped raise money for a mobility ban for veterans.
50:40
So it's, it's cool. I don't, I've never kept any of
50:43
my blankets. I, I, I, I be done with them,
50:47
tag them and give them away. And that's good with me.
50:50
I can't really tell you why I do it, you know, but I just do it
50:53
and it's, I just do it. Kind of gets you out of your
50:57
head though, right? Yeah, it's a different
50:59
headspace. Can't really think about it too
51:01
much. You can't not think about it so.
51:04
It's great. Yeah, yeah, 'cause that's that's
51:08
amazing. So for anybody watching, if you
51:11
guys have some questions for Travis, go ahead and put those
51:13
out in the chat and then I have. OK, so Tony Hendricks said.
51:20
Didn't know you were a jarhead Travis Semper fi brother.
51:24
Semper, Fi. Tony.
51:25
And he said he was in the Iraq war and divorce is worse in some
51:29
ways. Amen.
51:31
Jason says thank you Travis for being here.
51:34
No problem. I see, and Timothy said he spent
51:38
nearly a year and a half of the last two years in the VA
51:41
hospital and domiciliary. Great place to share with other
51:46
veterans and recovering from divorce.
51:50
While dealing with all of this, what helped the most?
51:58
I think helping people help me the most because as bad as my
52:02
day got sometimes there was always somebody who had it
52:06
worse. And sometimes those people who
52:09
you're going to the VA and you're you're you're helping out
52:11
a little bit, doing whatever. And and you realize that this
52:14
person is living in a 10 by 20 room with a 13 inch TV and as
52:19
happy as all get out that you brought them a donut and some
52:23
coffee just made their freaking month.
52:27
And so, you know, throughout all this, I've I've learned to be
52:34
very grateful in life and have a true sense of gratitude.
52:38
Love it, absolutely love it. He also said that he had just
52:44
started playing WO. Is that World of War OK with a
52:49
Navy vet and my Iraq Army vet roommate?
52:51
Let's go. I can't play any of the first
52:57
person. I have to be looking down.
53:03
Well, it makes me it makes me sick.
53:07
Like literally makes me sick to my stomach to where like I get
53:11
dizzy and nauseous and all of that just because of that
53:15
constant. It's so quick and my eyes just
53:20
aren't like they used to be. So if there was one thing that
53:26
you wanted to pass along to the younger generation of military
53:37
individuals, regardless of branch, what would that be?
53:43
I guess the one thing I would say is you're getting a whole
53:45
lot out of life right now that other people will never have.
53:49
Be proud of the service that you gave to our country and then
53:52
when you get out, remember there are there are things you can do
53:56
and places you can go to be welcomed, celebrated and you
54:01
know, have purpose again. So find your purpose after you
54:05
serve. Love it, absolutely love it.
54:11
I'm not seeing any additional comments or questions for you.
54:16
I want to say again, Travis, thank you so very much for
54:19
popping on today. I know, like I said, you're a
54:22
very busy, busy guy and which is good, right?
54:26
It just keeps you moving. I know I watch you and your
54:31
videos that you post for your weight lifting as well.
54:36
And it's amazing watching you hit those personal goals that
54:43
you have, and hitting those records and just seeing you
54:47
staying true to yourself, I think is such an uplifting thing
54:53
for anybody watching. Well, thank you very much.
54:58
I mean, we could do a whole show just on on that.
55:00
What went on during that, You know, some of it is a result of
55:04
military service. But again, that that is just a
55:07
gratitude. I had to be able to do that
55:09
again. And, you know, it is something
55:13
that means a lot to me, and I'm just happy to do it.
55:17
And you know, that's the thing, whether it's weightlifting or
55:23
basket weaving or kayaking or canoeing or whatever, there's
55:27
something out there that you can do that you can make your own.
55:29
And I'm encouraged to do that. And you're not limited to just
55:33
one thing. I I can tell you and my husband
55:37
can tell you probably drives him nuts.
55:39
I have like 12 different things that I rotate in and out.
55:43
I'll do something, you know, gung ho for 2/3, four months in
55:48
a row. And then I get, I get bored and
55:50
I'm like, I need something else. And pretty soon I'm.
55:53
Yeah, constantly in and out of different things and going back
55:57
and forth. Yeah, keeps me out of trouble
56:02
and keep, I mean, I can get into trouble if I'm not careful.
56:08
So well, again, thank you, Travis.
56:10
It has been an absolute pleasure.
56:12
And for the rest of you, join me next Sunday if you would.
56:18
I have another guest coming up and we will see you next Sunday
56:23
at 6:00 PM Central time. So thank you everybody for
56:26
joining and Trav, if you want to hold tight for me, I'll be with
56:33
y'all with you in just a second. Everybody else, have a great
56:36
rest of your week. Hi, I'm beaker with military
56:41
broadcast radio TV. We're your.
56:43
Virtual. MWR bringing veterans radio,
56:46
podcasts, gaming, animation, 3D printing and a community that
56:51
never leaves you behind. Download.
56:54
Our Roku or mobile app today you listen this week so pull.
56:59
Up a chair and stay for a spell. We're heading down a trail.
57:02
We're good. Stories dwell.
57:03
It started.