Latest / The Stan R. Mitchell Show / Podcast Episode 2-8-24 of The View from the Front. (Includes video.)
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, welcome to The View from the Front.
- 0:03SPEAKER_00: My name is Stan and I hope you're doing well from wherever you're joining us from.
- 0:07SPEAKER_00: I'm honored you're here.
- 0:10SPEAKER_00: Truly it means the world to me and not just personally, but it also makes my day because I know that if you're listening to this, you probably care about America.
- 0:17SPEAKER_00: And so that makes me feel good.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: We have a lot to cover in tonight's episode and I can't wait to get into it.
- 0:23SPEAKER_00: But first, just in case this is the first time you've ever tuned in, let me tell you what the show is about.
- 0:29SPEAKER_00: Every week I try to do three things.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: First, I cover defense news and hot spots happening around the world that could affect our country.
- 0:37SPEAKER_00: Secondly, I work to unite the nation, make you feel a little better, more optimistic about the country's future, because it's probably not as bad as you've been hearing.
- 0:47SPEAKER_00: And then finally, at the end of each episode, I share some motivation and inspiration, because as you get older, it is easy to become diminished and pessimistic as you encounter all the hits and setbacks that life throws at you.
- 1:01SPEAKER_00: I want to help you fight back against that.
- 1:03SPEAKER_00: In all honesty, I feel like by the end of this show, you'll be a little better informed about our military and the events happening out there that don't typically make the news.
- 1:12SPEAKER_00: You'll be a little more positive about our country and its future.
- 1:16SPEAKER_00: And then finally, you'll be a little stronger emotionally and mentally.
- 1:20SPEAKER_00: That's what my goal is, and I try to do that while working my hardest to unify our country.
- 1:25SPEAKER_00: Because without question, our wide division and animosity toward each other is our country's greatest threat.
- 1:33SPEAKER_00: So if you've been looking for a calmer, more optimistic news source, you've come to the right place.
- 1:39SPEAKER_00: In fact, you've probably come to about the only place.
- 1:43SPEAKER_00: We'll get started tonight with a little bit of good news.
- 1:46SPEAKER_00: What I'm kind of calling a timeline cleanser.
- 1:50SPEAKER_00: Well, here's so much bad news, so I wanted to start with something positive.
- 1:54SPEAKER_00: Now that positive bit of news involves some conservation efforts that are happening down in Florida and there was a new record set with the amount of manatees that were counted in this annual event they do and so this year they counted 932 which wasn't just a record so almost a thousand it wasn't just a record it blew past previous records including one year when they counted 736
- 2:24SPEAKER_00: and even crazier 40 years ago there were only 49 so they went from 49 or just under 50 to almost a thousand in 40 years so that's great news and so I wanted to share a little good news to start the show because we hear nothing but negative stuff all the time and to me conservation is one of those things where it shouldn't be a conservative or a liberal issue it's something we should all agree on and I think
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 3:18SPEAKER_00: Updating 2 Stories from the Last Podcast
- 3:39SPEAKER_00: There were two things that happened since the last episode, both of which I sent an email out to update folks.
- 3:46SPEAKER_00: And I'm actually kind of feeling pretty good because if you are just a podcast listener or one of those people watching on YouTube, you know I mentioned two things that could potentially happen in the last podcast.
- 3:57SPEAKER_00: The first thing I mentioned was that I thought the EU or European Union would potentially pass this
- 4:04SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 4:30SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 4:53SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 5:22SPEAKER_00: Now, the second thing that's a follow-up from the last podcast involves the strikes that I thought could happen at any time.
- 5:33SPEAKER_00: And if you recall in the podcast, I said, hey, they may even start on Friday.
- 5:37SPEAKER_00: Guess what?
- 5:38SPEAKER_00: They started Friday, late Friday afternoon slash Friday night.
- 5:42SPEAKER_00: So I put out a newsletter like emergency episode on that with some of the details
- 5:50SPEAKER_00: of The View from the Front
- 5:59SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't signed up for the email list, definitely do so.
- 6:02SPEAKER_00: I try to send out any kind of big news like that, just to keep you guys informed.
- 6:07SPEAKER_00: So I'm not going to go over that stuff, but I have links in the episode notes if you want, if you have no idea what I'm talking about and want to get caught up.
- 6:15SPEAKER_00: But both of those bits of news are from last week and they're kind of dated, so I don't intend to spend much time on them.
- 6:22SPEAKER_00: Now the next thing I want to cover is I want to update a story involving the Americans who were killed inside Jordan.
- 6:30SPEAKER_00: And I want to start by showing you where that base is and why it is so centrally located.
- 6:35SPEAKER_00: So let me see if I can't share my screen here, which I probably can't do while I'm... Alright.
- 6:43SPEAKER_00: Alright, so you should be able to see the screen now.
- 6:46SPEAKER_00: Let me make sure that you are, yeah.
- 6:49SPEAKER_00: So this screen, this illustration shows where Tower 22 is, and you can see how it's in the western corner of Iraq, and how it's right near the southern part of Syria, where it's near Saudi Arabia.
- 7:04SPEAKER_00: And I want to share that with you just
- 7:08SPEAKER_00: So you have an idea of what I'm talking about before I share these details.
- 7:11SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're listening to the audio podcast version, you can see an illustration in the episode notes.
- 7:18SPEAKER_00: But let me just briefly go over an update to the story that happened in the past couple of weeks.
- 7:26SPEAKER_00: Okay, so as an update to that story, so Tower 22 has about 350 American troops in it.
- 7:30SPEAKER_00: They were almost all
- 7:35SPEAKER_00: non-combat support personnel who do an important job.
- 7:40SPEAKER_00: Obviously anytime you have troops somewhere they have to be supplied with fuel, food, ammunition, etc.
- 7:47SPEAKER_00: And most people who haven't been in the military don't think about those things because when we watch war movies or anything exciting like that, those are the kind of things that don't make the script.
- 7:57SPEAKER_00: They're just not very exciting but it's very important work.
- 8:01SPEAKER_00: So Tower 22 has about 350
- 8:05SPEAKER_00: U.S.
- 8:06SPEAKER_00: troops who are support personnel.
- 8:08SPEAKER_00: They're supporting a military garrison that is called Al-Tanf, which is just across the border in Syria.
- 8:17SPEAKER_00: Now the 200 soldiers in Al-Tanf often come under attack and they're doing some important work, involve some special forces folks and some others that you would typically imagine when you think of U.S.
- 8:30SPEAKER_00: troops.
- 8:32SPEAKER_00: The Washington Post
- 8:51SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 9:21SPEAKER_00: Iranian
- 9:43SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 10:10SPEAKER_00: and so no one really pays attention until something bad happens so even though they've been there for years and years and years it wasn't until these casualties happened and the bombing campaign that followed that suddenly people are asking questions and the military sharing just a little bit more about the situation I'll put a free gift link to the Washington Post article so you can read just a little bit more about it more than we can compress into a short time limit on this podcast so that you can read a bit more about it if you're interested
- 10:41SPEAKER_00: Okay, another story involving the United States I wanted to make sure I shared tonight was the funding for Ukraine.
- 10:50SPEAKER_00: So there have been two big things that Ukraine has needed.
- 10:54SPEAKER_00: One was U.S.
- 10:55SPEAKER_00: funding, one was funding from the European Union.
- 10:58SPEAKER_00: The European Union has done its part.
- 11:01SPEAKER_00: The European Union has now far exceeded U.S.
- 11:03SPEAKER_00: funding for assisting Ukraine as it fights off the Russian invasion.
- 11:09SPEAKER_00: Now, if you've been listening for a while, you know that in November, early December, I kept thinking, hey, at some point, the US Congress might get a bill passed.
- 11:18SPEAKER_00: And then we started moving toward Christmas.
- 11:20SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you know, I don't know if it's going to happen before Christmas.
- 11:23SPEAKER_00: And then Congress started saying, hey, maybe beginning of January.
- 11:28SPEAKER_00: Now, unfortunately, going back to November, the Republicans wanted to tie a border bill with a funding bill of Ukraine
- 11:38SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 12:01SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 12:22SPEAKER_00: Former President Trump wants to kill the bill and it looks like it's probably going to kill or be killed So that leaves a lot of Ukrainian civilians at pretty serious risk because as you know Ukrainian forces are limited on ammunition on the front lines and the Russians have been making some small gains as They've sensed this opportunity.
- 12:44SPEAKER_00: That is very real so I'm hoping the pressure will begin to mount against Republicans and former President Trump to
- 12:53SPEAKER_00: Allow some kind of Ukrainian bill to be passed.
- 12:56SPEAKER_00: There was an Israeli bill.
- 12:57SPEAKER_00: That was a standalone bill that failed I'm not sure how it's all gonna play out in the next week or so But I do know and I still believe that a decent number of Republicans that are in the House of Representatives And in the Senate want to pass some kind of bill.
- 13:13SPEAKER_00: We know the Democrats do so I keep thinking that somehow they will eke out at least the portion to fund Israel which is a big important issue for many of
- 13:23SPEAKER_00: of Stan R. Mitchell
- 13:41SPEAKER_00: The most horrible thought to consider is that nothing happens and that we start to pack or grind in through the spring and the summer and all the way to November.
- 13:50SPEAKER_00: That is a nightmare scenario to think that we could leave the Ukrainian people hanging.
- 13:56SPEAKER_00: Now, the United States has fallen short of supporting its allies in the past.
- 14:01SPEAKER_00: We can name several groups that we've left high and dry.
- 14:05SPEAKER_00: Stan R Mitchell Podcast Episode 2-8-24
- 14:16SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 14:38SPEAKER_00: He will see NATO as something that is kind of an alliance on paper, but isn't very real, and that he could start messing with Baltic states, which are members of NATO, a little bit more.
- 14:48SPEAKER_00: He's already doing some things like messing with their GPS, some of the communication systems, doing small things to just see how far he can push.
- 14:57SPEAKER_00: And so that's the fear is that we cannot show too much weakness because China is watching, Russia is watching, and certainly Iran is watching.
- 15:06SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 15:30SPEAKER_00: Alright, so let's update the story about the Secretary of Defense.
- 15:33SPEAKER_00: Just a brief little update on that.
- 15:36SPEAKER_00: He obviously made big news when he kind of went off the grid.
- 15:40SPEAKER_00: No one really knew where he was for a day or so.
- 15:42SPEAKER_00: That was pretty big news and although I am a big fan of Secretary Austin, who's a retired general, I obviously was pretty frustrated about that as well.
- 15:52SPEAKER_00: He has done a kind of public apology, made some comments.
- 15:59SPEAKER_00: Stan R Mitchell
- 16:16SPEAKER_00: The View from
- 16:31SPEAKER_00: and the American public and I take full responsibility, Austin said.
- 16:36SPEAKER_00: He said, I quote, I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.
- 16:40SPEAKER_00: Then he went on to say, quote, as a rule, I don't talk about conversations with my boss.
- 16:45SPEAKER_00: But I can tell you I have apologized directly to President Biden.
- 16:50SPEAKER_00: And I've told him that I'm deeply sorry for not letting him know immediately that I received a heavy diagnosis and was getting treatment.
- 16:58SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 17:22SPEAKER_00: clown show so there will be lots of people yelling at him trying to embarrass him and he will be treated horribly and so some of it a small amount of it is is justified but what our public servants have to go through sometimes it's no wonder that more people aren't willing to run for office or public service because it will be a clown show when it happens
- 17:50SPEAKER_00: We're going to get to one more news story and then to the motivation and inspiration section.
- 17:56SPEAKER_00: But I did want to mention, just in case, as I try to do every episode, just in case you didn't know, there's a way to support the show.
- 18:02SPEAKER_00: You can sign up for $5 per month.
- 18:05SPEAKER_00: You can do that through Substack or through Patreon.
- 18:07SPEAKER_00: It's a great way to support the show.
- 18:10SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I love doing this and as we get more supporters, hopefully I can put a little bit more time and effort and
- 18:17SPEAKER_00: Stan R Mitchell Podcast Episode 2-8-24
- 18:34SPEAKER_00: So let's move to a final news story.
- 18:37SPEAKER_00: I wanted to do an update.
- 18:40SPEAKER_00: We talked last week about Ukraine potentially getting rid of its top general, and I wanted to just do an update.
- 18:49SPEAKER_00: President Zelensky did do an interview with an Italian news station, and he did confirm that he's considering getting rid of it, and I wanted to read a couple of quotes from that.
- 18:59SPEAKER_00: Now we're talking about General Valery Zelensky, he's pretty popular, but he hasn't been there for a bit.
- 19:06SPEAKER_00: And as part of the kind of the overview of the comments, Zelensky said that he's contemplating the move to ensure the country, meaning Ukraine, is led by individuals who are, quote, convinced of victory, end quote, against Russia.
- 19:23SPEAKER_00: Now if this is the first time you've ever listened to the show you know going back several months that Zaluzny had done an interview with The Economist and he was the first to use the word stalemate
- 19:36SPEAKER_00: when most Western analysts were still hoping that Ukraine could have some kind of breakthrough.
- 19:41SPEAKER_00: That was not good timing.
- 19:44SPEAKER_00: President Zelensky was surprised by the news, probably not happy, and I even speculated back then he might get fired.
- 19:52SPEAKER_00: But let me just read a couple of quotes.
- 19:55SPEAKER_00: So in this interview, Zelensky says that he's going to replace more than, or he's considering replacing more than just Veseluzhny.
- 20:05SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 20:26SPEAKER_00: When we talk about this, I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military.
- 20:34SPEAKER_00: If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory.
- 20:41SPEAKER_00: We cannot be discouraged or let our arms fall.
- 20:45SPEAKER_00: We must have the right positive energy.
- 20:49SPEAKER_00: So that's his quote.
- 20:51SPEAKER_00: Now, one other small footnote to the story is that
- 20:55SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 21:21SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front
- 21:42SPEAKER_00: There's also a chance that maybe Zelensky's not being completely realistic.
- 21:46SPEAKER_00: Those are just the kind of things that happen between a civilian leader and a military commander.
- 21:52SPEAKER_00: You can read that throughout history.
- 21:54SPEAKER_00: A good example is the Civil War when you had President Abraham Lincoln constantly having to change generals as they would fight these very bloody battles and almost become, I don't want to say gun-shy, but just
- 22:08SPEAKER_00: This is the Motivation and Inspiration section.
- 22:12SPEAKER_00: I share these each week because I think all of us could use a few words of encouragement.
- 22:28SPEAKER_00: And I think it's important that we all remember that we all influence those around us.
- 22:34SPEAKER_00: The work we do at our jobs, in our homes, and in our communities, it is important.
- 22:39SPEAKER_00: And so we can't ever forget that.
- 22:41SPEAKER_00: So let's all dig a little deeper.
- 22:43SPEAKER_00: Let's step up our game for our customers, our kids, our spouse, our friends.
- 22:49SPEAKER_00: Let's all spread a little more love and a few more smiles.
- 22:53SPEAKER_00: So here is the first one.
- 22:56SPEAKER_00: This is a quote from Ernest Hemingway.
- 22:59SPEAKER_00: Never mistake motion for action.
- 23:02SPEAKER_00: Never mistake motion for action.
- 23:22SPEAKER_00: Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
- 23:29SPEAKER_00: One needs something to believe in.
- 23:31SPEAKER_00: Something for which one can have wholehearted enthusiasm.
- 23:52SPEAKER_00: One needs to feel that one's life has meaning.
- 23:56SPEAKER_00: That one is needed in this world.
- 24:00SPEAKER_00: It's a pretty good one.
- 24:01SPEAKER_00: So you gotta have something that you can believe in.
- 24:03SPEAKER_00: Something for which you are wholeheartedly enthusiastic.
- 24:08SPEAKER_00: Alright, here's the next one.
- 24:11SPEAKER_00: This is a quote from Dolly Parton.
- 24:12SPEAKER_00: I thought it was pretty good.
- 24:13SPEAKER_00: We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.
- 24:20SPEAKER_00: Gosh, that is so good.
- 24:21SPEAKER_00: We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.
- 24:26SPEAKER_00: The next one's a quote from Helen Keller.
- 24:29SPEAKER_00: Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
- 24:33SPEAKER_00: Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
- 24:36SPEAKER_00: So again, optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
- 24:40SPEAKER_00: Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
- 24:42SPEAKER_00: You have to be optimistic.
- 24:44SPEAKER_00: It's so simple, but it's so true.
- 24:46SPEAKER_00: You have to be optimistic.
- 24:50SPEAKER_00: 1.
- 24:51SPEAKER_00: Act as if what you do makes a difference.
- 24:53SPEAKER_00: 2.
- 24:54SPEAKER_00: The Lord is good to all.
- 25:17SPEAKER_00: He Has Compassion on All He Has Made The Lord is good to all, He has compassion on all He has made Philippians 1
- 25:30SPEAKER_00: He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
- 25:38SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we just got to be patient, right?
- 25:39SPEAKER_00: We're getting better, but day by day or week by week, you don't notice it.
- 25:43SPEAKER_00: But again, the quote is, he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
- 25:52SPEAKER_00: So that's a good one there as well.
- 25:56SPEAKER_00: I always like to end with this one.
- 25:57SPEAKER_00: Be the reason someone smiles.
- 26:00SPEAKER_00: Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness of people.
- 26:06SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's the goal, right?
- 26:08SPEAKER_00: Regardless of your faith, be a decent human being.
- 26:11SPEAKER_00: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
- 26:14SPEAKER_00: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- 26:16SPEAKER_00: So thanks so much for joining us on this episode.
- 26:19SPEAKER_00: I hope as you go through this week that you act a little nicer on social media.
- 26:24SPEAKER_00: and in the world as well as you go about your errands and all I know social media is really what gets us in trouble because for many of the people out there you are anonymous and so you're more willing to kind of spout off at the mouth but just remember that most Americans are good and they would help you in an emergency even if you don't agree politically
- 26:43SPEAKER_00: I want to say a bit about myself and my books and say a few words for those who are struggling with PTSD or mental illness which I do every single show because veterans are 57% higher risk of suicide than their peers.
- 27:01SPEAKER_00: of the same age group who haven't served so first just a bit about myself and my books i am a military vet i spent four years in the marine corps all of that time in the infantry after my enlistment i went to college the university of tennessee i became a journalist i spent more than 10 years in the news business
- 27:18SPEAKER_00: And besides all that, I've written 12 books.
- 27:20SPEAKER_00: Those books include a series about a Marine Corps snopper, several novels about a police detective, and a private investigator.
- 27:27SPEAKER_00: Those are both veterans as well.
- 27:29SPEAKER_00: And I've written a few books about war, such as World War II and Afghanistan.
- 27:34SPEAKER_00: These books have thankfully been decently successful thanks to all of y'all's help and in fact I've been fortunate enough to have sold 70,000 copies.
- 27:42SPEAKER_00: So if you're one of those who have bought a copy, I really, really appreciate it.
- 27:46SPEAKER_00: If you're one of those who've told a friend or someone, I really appreciate that as well.
- 27:50SPEAKER_00: If you've never seen them, have no idea where to find them, there are links in the episode notes or you can go to Amazon and just type in Stan R Mitchell.
- 27:59SPEAKER_00: Make sure you include the R or it will not come up.
- 28:04SPEAKER_00: Now secondly, I have to talk about PTSD and suicide for just a moment since veterans are at a 57% higher chance of suicide, which is just horrific.
- 28:14SPEAKER_00: But this isn't just for veterans.
- 28:15SPEAKER_00: It's for all of us because all of us can get in really low spots in our life.
- 28:19SPEAKER_00: But I think it's important that we remember it's just a season.
- 28:22SPEAKER_00: It's just a valley.
- 28:23SPEAKER_00: So if you're having serious issues, you can actually call someone.
- 28:26SPEAKER_00: You can call 988 and select one
- 28:28SPEAKER_00: Stan R Mitchell Podcast Episode 2-8-24
- 28:41SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 29:00SPEAKER_00: Stan R Mitchell Podcast Episode 2-8-24
- 29:22SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 29:46SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 30:11SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 30:33SPEAKER_00: 988-SELECT1
- 30:54SPEAKER_00: If you have some other kind of faith, you can definitely lean on that, but if you don't, like, consider reaching out to Jesus.
- 31:01SPEAKER_00: I think, and I know, speaking from ways he's helped me, that he can drive out the devil and all of those horrendous evil thoughts that are in your head.
- 31:11SPEAKER_00: They've been in mine too, but he wants to reach you.
- 31:13SPEAKER_00: You can reach him anytime.
- 31:14SPEAKER_00: You can pray.
- 31:15SPEAKER_00: You can read the Bible some.
- 31:16SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a Bible, you can download a Bible app.
- 31:19SPEAKER_00: You can look up Bible websites online.
- 31:22SPEAKER_00: Even simpler, on my episode notes, I think I have something that might help you.
- 31:27SPEAKER_00: It's a story about my dog who was just a stray dog that we rescued, adopted from a shelter.
- 31:32SPEAKER_00: The title of the article is Be Like Ozzy, Go Near Your Master.
- 31:37SPEAKER_00: And it's a pretty good little article, I think, that it's helped some people.
- 31:41SPEAKER_00: So give that a read.
- 31:42SPEAKER_00: I think it'll help.
- 31:42SPEAKER_00: Or just start reading the Bible.
- 31:43SPEAKER_00: You can read some of Psalms.
- 31:45SPEAKER_00: The View from the Front by Stan R Mitchell
- 32:14SPEAKER_00: Thoughts from a Southern Gentleman
- 32:34SPEAKER_00: I put that in the link as well, but thanks for hanging me hanging with me tonight It's truly an honor to talk each of you every week And to know that there's a few out there who are listening who care about our country and our military And all these issues the same way I do so I love you all never forget that God loves you more I will catch you next week.
- 32:53SPEAKER_00: You have been listening to The View from the Front.
- 32:56SPEAKER_00: My name is Stan and I am out