Go for Donny! Audio Podcast with Billy Dunston

In this high-energy episode of "Go for Donny!" host Donny McGuire welcomes special guest Billy Dunston, a former Army Ranger turned actor. This episode dives into Billy's fascinating journey from his military service to his burgeoning career in the entertainment industry. Listen in as Donny and Billy reminisce about their time together working on the show "Ultimate Marksman," sharing behind-the-scenes anecdotes and on-set shenanigans from throwing knives to unexpected challenges. 

Billy talks about his unexpected casting journey, the rigors of being a contestant, and how his military background shapes his current work ethic. With the podcast's wide international audience, Donny also extends a warm greeting to listeners from around the globe, including Mexico, Ukraine, Russia, India, and Bangladesh.

Looking to pepper in some military humor? Donny and Billy share funny stories from their Army days, touching on the camaraderie, antics, and lifelong friendships formed in service. Billy also offers a look into his post-military life, juggling modeling and acting gigs, and his secret to navigating the trucking game that is Hollywood. 

Make sure to tune into "Switch to Channel Two" for more direct Q&A with Billy Dunston. Don't miss out on this dynamic conversation as Donny and Billy weave through tales of service, screen time, and everything in between. Perfect for fans interested in the intersection of military service and show business!

Don’t forget to check out Go for Donny! Switch to Channel 2 where we get to ask our guests some more in depth questions that you the listener want answers too.
“Go for Donny!” & “Switch to Channel 2” can be found on all available podcast platforms.
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Transcript

0:02

Camera for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Down for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Makeup for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Medic for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Grid department for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Production for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Billy. For Donnie. Go for Donnie. Billy Dunston. Hey, dude. Welcome to my podcast. Thanks for coming on. How you doing? I'm doing great, man. Man, so good to see your face. It's been, what, a couple of years since we've. We've worked together? Yeah, time flies. It's crazy. I think it's been two years, but I mean, of course I follow you on social media and I. I see everything that you're. You're into, so it's really cool to have you. We have some great stories from our time, but everyone, I want to make sure you stay tuned for for Switch to Channel two, where we'll get a chance to ask our guest, Billy Dunston, some more questions so you. The audience gets to know him just a little bit, a little bit better. And I also want to say thank you and hello to some different audiences or people out there that's listening to my podcast. They're from Mexico, Ukraine. I even have a Russian audience. A lot of Indians. India is a big market as well. Bangladesh. So I want to say hi to everyone out there and say thank you for listening. So anyways, back to you, Billy. Billy, let's talk about our time on that magical show. What was it? Mountain Men? Extreme Marksman? Ultimate Marksman. Ultimate. I'm sorry, you were the ultimate marksman. Dude, tell. Dude. Let's talk about your episode, man. How was it? What did you do? So they got us and was four contestants, including myself, and we were throwing knives. Knives, tomahawks, things that were error appropriate for that particular challenge. So we had one where we're throwing booty knives and trying to stick a can to a board. It was so. It was so, so much fun. I mean, we got to set up. Since I was 80 on it, I got to help set up, you know, the, the obstacle course, if you will, of what you guys had to. To throw these at. And, man, we were there testing with the, The. The marksman expert. I mean, those knives were kind of dull and kind of just not really good to throw, right? Yeah, like, there's. From the stuff that I do now, like, there's a kind of a happy medium about how sharp you want it, because, I mean, like, for the example, the can, if it's so sharp that it's just going to, like, punch straight through it and cut the can in half, then you're never going to pin it to the wall, right? Yeah. Now, you still doing any of that competition? Not really. And I could go into a story about that. I think the, the time limit for how they found me and all that, I think that's up now. Dude, let's hear it. Like, man, I, I, maybe I didn't know this. So how, how I they found me is they, I think they went through my Instagram or something and they saw me just like throwing axes at ax throwing place. And that was like really the first time I had thrown axes. But I hit a couple of bullseyes. It was cool, haha, fun. And hit me up. And they're like, hey, like, you can, you can do access. Like you're, It'll be just a whole bunch of beginners. I'm like, okay, this sounds kind of fun. And they're like, yeah, it'll be a survival show. So you'll actually be survival, like going over distance, staying the night, doing all that kind of. I'm like, oh yeah, I can like completely smash that. You know the knife throwing. Yeah, we'll see. And then they're like, okay, well you'll be fine, you'll be fine. So they're like, hey, you have your own throwing knives, right? Like, no, man, you guys like found me on the Internet. They're like, oh no, it'll be fine, it'd be fine. And then like the whole rest of the show was things like they would ask me on the spot where there was almost like a setup. So it was one of the interviews. They're like, so Billy, we heard that you didn't bring your own knives. I'm sitting there like, oh, oh, oh, yeah, the airport, man. Crazy, man. It's, you know, southwest, there's. And I was like, oh my God, they're really trying to put me on the spot. And then like later on, because I mean, obviously the other people, I think Walden was like eight time ax throwing and champion. Yeah, yeah. All these people were legit and they're like, Billy can throw really hard. Like that was like. Like that's what I got going for me. Not an eight time world champion or anything like that. Oh my God, that's so funny. Wow. Wait, so wait, so this was supposed to be like a survival show first before it morphed into just a competition show? Yes, that's what I was pitched. That's what I was gearing up for the whole time. They're like, hey, they're going to provide you with X. You have to survive for this long amount of time. And when I got out there, it was not that at all interesting. I didn't know that. I mean, I think that would have been cool. That would have been cool. You know, part to that show. I mean, I thought it was fun. I thought it was pretty good. It was well put together, and, you know, the competitions were good, and it was entertaining, I thought. But I think it's just the right time and place for every show, you know, to find that audience. And plus, at a time when there's so much content out there, I mean, this is crazy. So. But dang, that. But that was a lot of fun. That was up in Montana. We had a good time. But I was. I was just thinking about this and you. And I'm like, you know, I think the army really gravitates me towards people, so, I mean, I'll pass up anyone else. I don't care if you're famous or who you are. You know, if someone else that I see is either a vet or is active duty or something, and I'll go right to them and just strike up a conversation. It's just that strange brotherhood of the army one. And then if you break it down a little farther, the infantry, you know, and then you could break it down farther. But I'm not a Ranger, so. Oh, yeah, that's right. That's right. Billy's also a Ranger. Can you tell me a little bit about your time in the army as a Ranger? So I served active duty with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Ranger, so 275 out of Fort Lewis. I was there from 2006 to 2011. Wow. Very cool. Five deployments and a Purple Heart. Oh, my gosh. Well, thank you for your service, and I'm glad you're okay. Any. Any. Any kind of, you know. So what I wanted to do is this show came up of. It came out of all these crazy stories that I've had from set, and they're fun, and we've told a lot of them, and we're going to continue to tell some more. And so it's a great that you. It's really good that you worked on a show with me, so. Because there was some shenanigans that happened on that show, it was interesting. It was challenging, but it's kind of cool that I. I think that this can cross over into military stories as well. And that's what I'm trying to do is branch out to some of my veteran friends or active duty friends that served that would be able to come on and tell some stories from their time in the military. So, I mean, I know we did some stupid shit all the way from, you know, from basic training to active duty. The way we treated soldiers upcoming and was a rite of passage, and it was. I don't know, it was part of training as well. Like, I remember one time, my first time, getting told to go get the key to Whipple Field. Well, Whipple Field is a field like a parade field at Fort Myer on this hill that kind of overlooks Iwo Jima, you know, in the city. And there's no gate or key, and so here I go looking for it. And of course, whenever, you know, you ask someone, they kind of chuckle and they're like, oh, yeah, you're new. So it wasn't malicious, but still, like, you feel like an idiot, and then you want to send people down that path. So do you have any. Anything. Any fun stories like that from your time that you could share? Yeah, I'll not say his name because we're actually buddies now, now that we're both out. But after I got out of active duty, went to the National Guard, end up in the National Guard in Oregon, and we had this kid, and I. I try to be, or tried to be, you know, a decent NCO in terms of. I'm not gonna smoke guys. I would rather smoke guys than put them on or counsel them and make it on paper. Because a lot of guys are young, they're stupid. I remember being there, so they don't need paperwork to follow them. They just need, you know, someone to reach them a certain way. And there was this guy. I think he lived maybe 20 minutes from the. From the unit. I lived 45, and I made it there 10 minutes early before, like, if

we're six, you know, I'm there at 5: 8:51

50, and then

formation says 6: 8:55

30. So that's standard. You know, you get there early. Yep. This kid would show up, like, during formation, and I was just losing my mind multiple times. Like, I would smoke him on Friday, and we show up for Saturday, and he'd be late Saturday. I was just like, I don't know what to do. So eventually I had him just mopping. And this is Portland, so always raining. So I just had him Mark. Mopping the parking lot in the race. There you go. You got to go make sure all those puddles are gone. He was out there for, like, about six hours before I finally brought him in. And that was kind of the one to change this of, like, his attitude started to change after that and he was more consistent. But I was like, finally, this is like the one thing. Like, it has to be so stupid. There's no way you could. It's mistaken for something else. What an idiot. I mean. I mean, we've all been there, you know, we've all done stupid, and, you know, we've gotten smoked. I'll never forget Drill Sergeant C, Drill Sergeant Cody, and Drill Sergeants Dorsey. My. My three drill sergeants, man, they were just. There was something else. And they would totally mess with you, but rightfully so. And I think. I think I was actually in during a time where they tried to phase out, like, any. I don't know, any kind of punishment, any kind of vulgar language at all. They were giving out stress cards to. Yeah, some. Some. Was it a platoon or a battalion behind us? They were testing it out and gave him stress cards. And you're like, what the hell is this about? Like, you know, so you think back and you're like, okay, I made it through unscathed, and I made it through for a reason, so. And I have some funny stories to tell. You know, like we had this dude named Shoquette. He looked like a Simpson character. Like, he straight up looked like he was from the Simpsons and he acted like he was from the Simpsons. He could have been. Now I think about it. But, you know, you just think about these fond memories, you know, of these idiots that you're with. I don't know. I mean, mine's a little farther back than yours and then. Right. And you were at Benning as well. Yes. Nice. Nice. And what is it called there now? It was hand held before it was hand hill. Yeah. Probably not changed. Funny on that is. So I'm actually having a kid here soon. Oh, congratulations. Thank you. The first kid and my battle buddy who I haven't seen gods, you know, since 2006 when I joined. He's actually having his first kid, I think a month before me. Like, they're playing like a month before me. And this is like, we haven't planned this. I mean, we talk to each other maybe like once a year just to kind of keep up. But I haven't talked to him. And, you know, like, I feel like at least a year and a half had gone by. And then I saw something on Instagram. I'm like, dude, no way you're having a kid. Like, almost the same, like, time frame, like about a month. Like a month or three weeks. Like, it's pretty close. And like, that's just wild. That, like, my battle buddy from then would be having a kid at the same time. That's pretty awesome. Is he close by or is. No, he's in North Carolina. North Kakalaki, isn't it Isn't crazy the friends that you make and how. How everywhere around the world in the US they are. You know, I just fun. That's the cool thing about my job is I get to travel around a lot for work and it seems like I'm always going to places where I have a friend, a lot of army friends, you know, that I get to hang out with and. And see every once in a while. One just hit me up today or a little bit ago asking if I was okay with all what's going on around la. So it's always good to have those friends you man, I mean a lifetime, you know. And they're good to talk to as well. Now are you. How long you been out? Since 2019. Nice. Then what did you do after that? So I originally had wanted to train for a sports team up in Portland because I was going to PSU at the time Pandemic shut down like everything and I had like just started like kind of a little bit of modeling, but nothing, nothing serious. And when everything shut down, one of the things that sucked is that that was the year that I was supposed to do all my internships because Portland State University is a D1 school. So like my ultimate goal was to just be a sports trainer, you know, for like a D1 school. Like a training conditioning coach for. I don't care what team. It could have been basketball to, I don't know, chess, I don't care. Doesn't matter. It's just like, you know, like there's something cool about taking athletes and like seeing them achieve like just another level of fitness. Yeah. Helping them. Yeah. Yeah. But all that stopped. So I was like, man, maybe I should lean into this, this acting thing. So got a bunch of books. Once people started doing online classes, started taking online classes. When people had in person classes, small groups, I took those and yeah, I just started working out. I got my agent in 2000 or yeah, 2021, like the really beginning of that and it just. Bossman's been rolling since then. That's really cool. I mean, you know, it doesn't work for a lot of people in such a grind, you know, which I was going to ask you about the industry and how you see it, you know, on your side of things because I mean it's still, I mean it's January, it's early, you know, but it's still kind of slow. So I really hope, you know, things change. But it sounds like you're getting work and it looks like you're getting work in, you know, all types of areas. So, like video games, you know, I see all your shoots you do with video games. Man, that's really cool. That's some. That must be some fun stuff being able to. To throw your gear back on and, you know, and. And do a little action and then be able to stop and take it off and go home. Yeah. So that's one of the things I've been lucky for, is that I got hooked up with this company called Tac Ass. And they're a third party. They do media for everyone from Call of Duty to Oakley to Sig and Fleer. I mean, if you've been to shot show, which is like a. For people who don't know, is probably, I think, the largest firearms, first responder, kind of EMS type show in the world or convention in the world. And they do a lot of their media. So, like, I mean, I've seen my face, you know, 20, 30ft tall. Wow. @ my, at these places, like, you know, with firearms or selling helmets and stuff like that. That's really awesome, man. That's got to feel good. Yeah, it's. It's super. It's. It's cool because I'm always. I haven't been yet in person, but everyone's like, oh, you're here. I'm like, I'm there with you in. Spirit, you know, it's so. That's so cool. I just did this vertical shoot. These vertical shoots of this new, new way of filming for. I think it's reels plus. You know, these different apps have these romance vertical, like they're mini movies and they're like one to two minute episodes. Anyways, we did one about the military and so I was the military expert and I was like, oh, man, this is so much fun. Like, you know, learn forgetting the lingo and trying to remember the lingo of how it should have been said. But we had a couple of the background actors that were veterans and it was great because we didn't do much, but they got it and it was easy to get them to do things where they kept talking about the background actors and we can't ask them to do this or that. I'm just like, what the hell? I mean, they need to harden the fuck up. But that's why I was like, well, if we hired real veterans, because they're playing, you know, like they're active duty. I mean, they'll do anything. So it's so nice to work with, with veterans on set because, you know, we seem to be able to harden the fuck up. We're not dandies, you know, we're not afraid to get our hands dirty. So it really shows, I think. Yeah. Another part to that is, like, especially with the larger sets, it's weave to kind of come to that realization that, like, I. If I'm coming on as an actor, like, I can't touch anything. Like, I'm there to act. And like, that said, whereas smaller sets and being for the military, it's just like, okay, well, someone needs help. Yeah. Then we're a team. I'm gonna help them. So, like, I mean, there's been times I'm like, hey, man, like, you know, hand me sandbags. I. I can't break those. Like, you know, like, it's not a big deal. And they're like, no, you can't. You can't do that. You can't help. You can't xyz. I'm like, ah, no wonder it takes. Is it bizarre for us to move from. Yep. Do a location move or company move. It's like, I got hands, man. I can't break the sandbags. But. Yeah, I know, I. You're right. On the larger shoots, the union shoots. Yeah, that's. That's a. No, no, you don't. You stay in your lane. But on non union, smaller shoots, you know, you definitely help out. And I'm the type. I can't just stand there and watch people load gear and carry sandbags and gak, you know, I just can't stand there and watch them do that. So I'll always, you know, lend a hand. And I want to get to hell as well. I don't want to stay around and. And do nothing. But that's awesome. So you found a career. Your. Your career now is modeling and acting. Actually acting. Modeling. What. What would. What would Zoolander say? And actor slash modeling? Or is that Ty or one of those guys? That's funny. Oh, man. So any other fun stories from the army? I mean, I can think of. We did so much stupid shit. I mean, and especially in the field, man, I hated it. I was. I was always. I could run fast because I played soccer. And my. Lt was on my soccer team and he had longer legs than me. So since we were friends, I was his rtl. And so wherever he went, I went. And, man, he would walk so damn fast. And that's back when we had these. The radios were called the Prick 70 97s. Oh, my God. They're a big pack. Like a big. Like, it's huge, big whip antenna, and you have, like, an extra battery or two. But, God, that sucked, man. I remember thinking, why did I run so fast in that run? So that way they knew that I could run fast, so they always maybe run in the faster group or be the RTO with the LT that ran, that walked fast. I'm like, you know, why did I do that? But I did. But I was so immature, like, back then, Like, I mean, I wanted to get out so bad. I did my time, and I was like, I'm gone. You know, I really wish I would have, you know, stayed a little longer, you know, been a little more disciplined. Like, how many. How many years did you do? I did a. Was it 13 total active duty and the Guard. And how'd you. Like, how was it getting out and going to the Guard? I. Because I got out and I tried doing the Reserves, and it was a drill sergeant unit, and I was just like, I can't do this. Like, that's not. That's not me. And I wasn't. I mean, they were just like weekend warriors, you know, especially coming from active duty. So how do you. How did you make that transition? Was it difficult? Easy? So when I first got out, I went to the Maryland Guard, which was completely different unit. They're not. I think they got disbanded in 2015 or so, right after the Baltimore riots or. Because, like, we were recon Cav unit and also airborne, and they didn't see, like, a use for that anymore because, I don't know, they were just drawn down because I think we were only one of three recon units in the army that was with the National Guard. And the nice thing about that is that because you work in such small units, I mean, you know, you're working as a detachments, which is like, you know, eight guys max. Big boy rules. And a lot of guys were from 173rd for Ranger Battalion. We had a couple guys from SF, so it was dudes that had, you know, combo. We had one guy, he was muma. He was third bat, and he had a. Get a mustard stain so that he had a combat jump. It's like, these guys are legit. Like, Holy. Yeah. So like. And that. But. And these were all National Guard guys. So it was a very different. Huh. Just kind of like everyone there had a combat experience. Everyone there had done some things, and they. They brought that over to the Guard. Unit and made sure that even if we got guys who came in, you know, straight from basic training, that they were still held to that same standard. Now, when I went to the Oregon Guard, that was completely different. That was when I was like, man, I. I gotta get out of here. I went to the Oregon Guard and I had to end up going to be a cadre at essentially fat camp. They called it something else, but it was fat camp. Oh, my God. Because at the time, I think something like 60 or close to 60% of the Organ Guard couldn't pass a PT test, either because of they couldn't pass height and weight or they couldn't pass the pt, the PT standards. And this is for anybody going into it. The mindset that I've. And I've told the story before is that when you're in these specialty units, you know, your airborne, your Ranger, whatever, you know, whatever it is, people know their hundred percent of what they need to do. For example, PT test. And they. They try to exceed that every time. And there's something in that mindset of like, I want to be better than my maximum in the lower part of it. Like the. Or the Oregon Guard was. There were people who know, like, their minimum. So they're 60%, the bare minimum to pass. They would know their minimum and continuously fail to meet that. I was like, I. I can't do it, man. It's two different groups of people speaking different languages. Yeah, no, I guess, I guess that just goes into why I just always ran the fastest I could because I couldn't. I couldn't slack off. I wasn't that, you know, I always try to do 120%, you know. Yeah, you're right. Oh, man, it's. But then you had Garrison, that they didn't care, and it showed. Imagine a talk. I went to Garrison after the old garden. It was pretty cush. I won't lie. There wasn't a lot of PT going on in. In Garrison, you know, until the PT test came along. And it's a good thing I played soccer. So I was always in shape. So it wasn't. It wasn't a problem, you know, for me at all. But, oh, man, I had so much fun. We, you know, I talk about being in the army, being about just being professional drunks. Pretty much, yeah. It feels like that's all, you know, we, you know, we were. We were always on edge to do something. We were, you know, there was always something going on, but we would always, you know, cut loose. And we cut loose a Lot. I mean, do you think that's across the board for all units there, Billy? Yeah. So we were lucky being up in Fort Lewis that it was only like a three or so hour drive to Canada. And on long weekends we would just go up to Canada with drinking age is 19 and we would just get like crazy drunk. Oh man. Nothing like good times in Canada. I mean that's, you know, everyone, you know, we all look the same, you know, so you just grab someone's ID. So I was, you know, 21 when I was 18, you know, my unit then I remember, I remember my 21st birthday. It was like so anti climatic. I was like, I didn't even want to go out. I was like, why? I'm like, you know, what's so special about it now? But, but yeah, the things you do, the training you did and the proficiency you, you had to, to have was pretty crazy. Especially being in a Ranger bat. You're in the Ranger bat up there, right? Yeah, man. To talk about cut loose. I mean, what you guys do to cut loose. Come on. So again, going up to Canada, so we got lucky. We met these girls in Canada and we would hang out with them a lot. They were from Bellingham, Washington, which is about like, honestly about 30, 40 minutes from the border. So we meet up there, we go up to Whistler. We'd snowboard all the time. And for us, again, you know, a lot of guys get into the army and they're kind of stuck in the barracks because either, you know, no one has a car or no one is 21. Yeah. And we had one guy with a car. Oh yeah, he had a jeep. So we all just pilot his jeep and we just hit the border. And I mean, the bars. Yeah, everything, clubs. I mean we had like a table at like a, at this one, like local Irish bar. Because we did. Every time we get a chance, we go up there, we just like clear out the place. Did you guys have like a command and control where you guys had to do like one week a month? Like where we, you know, we're at, at Fort Lewis maybe It was just us. We always had to like in the old guard, we were like every, every company, like one week a month or once every other month you had to be like on command and control. So you had to be on call basically. And so they'd always call you up like, you know, three in the morning and you had to get in by four. And then they'd throw in helicopters and take you down to Belvoir and do some Stupid, stupid training. But. And it sucked because, you know, I mean, we didn't listen. We would go still go out and get drunk and you get called in and you're like, you know, still drunk, trying to get your ruck and everything together in formation to get on helicopters and just. Man, of course the pilots knew you're. You're drunk because they'd be like, you know, they'd. With you. Those are the days to be young. Be young in, in the army. But, but I don't agree. I had a good time. I had a lot of fun, you know, in the army. I did some interesting things in my time. Like I was thinking, bebopping down. My last time at the White House, I was dropping off a flag. Boris Yeltsin was in town. This is in 94. And. And I had to get a flag from the warehouse and take it over to the White House and drop it off at the Rose Garden. And I remember just walking downstairs just like, I'm like, what the hell am I doing here? Like, holy shit. Like, I'm at the White House. So. But you think about these memories and they seem so long ago, but they're pretty fond, you know, the older you get. And I'm sure you stay in touch with a lot of your, your battle buddies, right? Yeah. Actually this year we just had the 50th anniversary of 2nd Ranger Battalion. Oh, nice. That was fun. I think the biggest shock of that was, so we're at the bar and so on one of the last days, I guess we had figured that we were going to go to a bar, not that we needed to make reservations. And luckily it was a McMinimans. And McMinimans is a. I don't know if they have them in LA or not or in California, but it's usually multi storied building in there. Each floor has a different bar with a different theme. So we go there and they're like, yeah, we don't, we don't have an event today. I'm like, whoa, you don't mean this. The Alpha Company, like 2nd Range Battalion, like rendezvous is going to be here. And they're like, no, we haven't heard anything. I'm like, oh, that's bad, because there's going to be like 200 or something of us coming. And they're like, oh, they called the rest of the bar people in. And it worked out, but it was crazy because the whole, the whole company's there and I mean, this is like through errors. So, you know, we had Vietnam guys, you know, we had the current guys, but we're sitting at the bar. We're sitting at different bar, like, different parts of the bar. I remember it was like my group, the G wat guys, we're looking at the Vietnam guys and then we're looking at new guys. And new guys are kind of like, you know, oh, man. Like, how was war? Because, you know, like, we're like, oh, like, that's where the Vietnam guys now. Like, it's like. Or, right? Kind of like that war. Like, our war is over and like, we're old and, like, we're done. It's like, oh, man, that. That definitely like the age hit me. With that one in a trip. Did you know it always hit me with the age is one. When someone would question me being in the Vietnam War, I'm like, what the fuck, bro? I'm like, I'm not that old or two. It's like. No, the first time it really hit me is we met a soldier in Vegas and he was. He had his BlackBerry, I think BlackBerry back then, and he was talking about how it's comp. His company issued or his military issued BlackBerry. I'm like, what? He's like, yeah, we all get issued these. I'm like, what? I'm like, what are you talking about? You all get issued these? He's like, yeah, it's how they. We, you know, keep track of us, how we take time off. You know, it's our calendar. And I'm thinking back, I remember going in our first sergeant's office, man, and it's like a board. It's like this, just a wall. And on the wall they have nails, right? And on each nail is like a little circle and it has your name right for each company. And. And that's where if you're, like, on, you know, active duty, or if you're on, you know, disability or wherever you are on leave, that's how they move you around. That's how archaic it was. So when I see this kid with this BlackBerry, I'm thinking, holy, I'm old. I'm like, you know that. Or. Or Gore Tex, you know, because we weren't issued Gore Tex. I think we talked about this, I think when we were in Montana. Not that I have an issue with it at all, but we had, like, canvas and like, the shittiest, like, cold weather gear, man. It was horrible. It was horrible being a grunt, so. So, yeah, whenever I see those age gaps, I feel it too, Billy. Mike, I'm old. Yeah. But it's cool. I encourage anyone like any young kids that question the military, even in this time where it's really uncertain what the hell's going on, you know, I still encourage it because there's so many good jobs, skill sets to learn and have and to. To transition, you know, to the. To the civilian world. Unlike, you know, in my time when they didn't really have that many moss, and it wasn't that easy to transition from 11 Bravo to, you know, anything, so. But yeah, you live in there, so. But I'm. I'm. I'm really glad I did it, so. I'm sure you are, too. Yeah. I mean, especially now with the, you know, post 911 GI Bill, you go to school on it or transfer to your kids, and there's. There's so many benefits you get for, you know, doing a active duty full. Full years or full term, and then you can go do whatever you want. And like, four years seems like a lot, but it's. It goes so fast. It's such up. Yeah, it's so quick, especially what you're doing because you're always busy. It's not like you're, you know, you're in school, we have summers off or, you know, all these breaks. I mean, because, you know, you get your leave, but you're. You're pretty busy. I mean, we were training all the time. You know, if we weren't doing ceremonial training, we were off doing grunt, so it's not like we had a lot of time to. To do things. So the time did cruise by, you know. God, I just wish, you know, we didn't have, like, you know, these smartphones back then. Rose. I would have had more photos, you know, some for the good, some for the bad. But, like, I just. I. I swear I only have, like, maybe five or six photos of me in uniform, and that's it. It's so crazy, you know, transition of. Of technology. That time was. Yeah, that's. I think that's the biggest thing. If there's any, you know, anybody in right now, especially if you're young, take way too many photos of you and your buddies. Like, you're gonna. You're gonna miss that. I wish we had taken more because we kind of got in, like. It's weird. The first batch of photos that I have are all, like, from a disposable camera. Yeah. I don't know if I have to explain to some of your audience what a disposable camera is. Right. But, yeah, we did it on film. Yeah. You had to give it to someone to Develop and hopefully, you know, you didn't have your finger over the lens because you had no idea. That's. Dude, that's exactly what I had. That's all I had was either a little 35 millimeter camera, which I rarely had, or the disposable ones. And you'll take those out and there's no photo zoom or like, you know, there's none of that crap. I mean, it just looks like crap. And then, yeah, you have to develop them and you have to hang on to them. If you don't store them right, then they stick together, you know, so you don't have any memories, you know, unlike today, where you can take all these memories and storm on the cloud and have them for years. So, yeah, you're right. Take all those photos, enjoy those memories, because, you know, they're fun to. To reference and then they're fun to come on and chat about on Go for Donnie about some crazy experiences you may have had in the military, you know, so. But dude, it's always good catching up with you, Billy. I just want everyone to stay tuned for switching channel two. Next, where we're going to get to ask Billy, you know, five random questions that the audience really wants to know about. Don't forget to check out my website@gofordany.com, billy. This is not only an audio podcast, but it's also video podcasts as you receive. So that's on my YouTube channel at go for Donnie, so don't forget to check that out. And I also have a bunch of merch. I usually have it. And you know what? I don't know where it all is, but you can go to the website. I have hats, blue and black hats, and some cool stick. Oh, I know. I have my stickers here. See my Go for Donnie stickers. Off to send you some. Send you a little package and you know, it'll Go for Donnie Go for Donnie sticker. So. But anyways, come check it out. Thanks, Billy. I can't thank you enough for coming on. Dude, it's so good to see your face, man. I'm so glad you're doing so well. I mean, I do track what you're doing and I think it's really cool. So remember the little guys, when you're blown up to this big action star, man, Billy Dudston in something or other, you can do it. And. And as my mother in law always said, hashtag htfu. Htfu. Billy, thanks for coming on, bro. I appreciate you having me. All right, man, take it easy. Production for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Locations for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Paddy bar for Donnie. Go for Donnie. Hey, Donnie. What the hell are they doing?