The SCIIF International Podcast
Welcome to The SCIIF International Podcast — Situations and Conversations Inspiring Intellectual Futures.
Rooted in the spirit of the military term SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility), our podcast creates a secure and open space for meaningful dialogue between the military and civilian worlds. Here's the distinction that matters: a SCIF is built to keep information inside. The SCIIF is designed for information to go outside and spread — not classified material, but the culture, the social norms, the unspoken rules, and the lived experiences that shape life in uniform and the transition back out of it.
Our mission is simple yet powerful: to educate, inspire, motivate, and entertain through positive influence and authentic connection. We dive into real stories, share diverse perspectives, and explore the challenges and triumphs that shape who we are — both in and out of uniform. We're here to bridge the gaps between the military and the private sector, between the generation that served and the generation that doesn't understand what that means, between the family inside the fence and the community outside it.
What to expect:
SCIIF Unredacted — long-form deep dives into military true crime, DoD policy, recruitment crises, and the stories the official briefings leave out
Hosted by Christian "HYPEMAN" Sledge — active-duty Air Force, Millennial — alongside a crew of active-duty and veteran voices including BEE, LaRae, and Gen Z co-host MaKayla Morante. Together they break down the policies, culture shifts, and unspoken realities shaping the lives of service members, veterans, first responders, and their families.
This is not a recruiting commercial. It's not a TAPS class. It's not a classified briefing. It's the candid debrief you wish someone handed you the day you raised your right hand — unfiltered, operational, and built for the people who carry the weight.
At The SCIIF International, we're dedicated to giving back — building bridges between communities, creating conversations that matter, and connecting people with the resources and relationships they need to grow.
Enter The SCIIF — Your secure space for honesty, humanity, and hope.
New episodes drop every week. Subscribe and stay briefed.
The SCIIF International Podcast
Your Body Keeps Score: The Military Exit Interview Nobody Gives You
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
"They told me, 'You just know.' Respectfully — that's garbage."
In this episode of The SCIIF International Podcast — "You Just Know" Miniseries — Christian "HYPEMAN" Sledge and Chief B (The Rabble Rouser) pull back the curtain on what "knowing" is actually made of.
After 24 years in the United States Air Force, Chief B submitted his retirement paperwork. Not because of one dramatic moment — but because his body, his growth, and his Sunday nights had been telling him for years. He just wasn't listening. Until he was.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 — "You just know" is garbage
2:30 — The Tuesday meeting that changed everything
5:15 — The Parking Lot Moment
8:45 — Your body keeps score (before your mind admits it)
12:20 — Golden handcuffs and the cost of staying
16:40 — Identity autopsy: who are you without the uniform?
20:10 — Three questions everyone should ask themselves
24:30 — "You're not quitting. You're graduating."
27:50 — After-Action Review
🧭 THE GROWTH TEST:
1. Are you still learning?
2. When was the last time you were scared — the good kind?
3. If you stayed five more years, who walks out the other side?
This conversation isn't just for military members. If you've ever felt stagnant, checked out, or on the fence about walking away from something you've invested years into — this one's for you.
🎙️ Hosted by Christian "HYPEMAN" Sledge
🗣️ Featuring Chief B "The Rabble Rouser"
🔗 Connect with SCIIF:
https://youtu.be/oRjvUL1YUOQ
#SCIIF #militarytransition #YouJustKnow #veteranvoices #airforce #retirementplanning #IdentityAutopsy #ParkingLotMoment #militarylife #careerchange"They told me, 'You just know.' Respectfully — that's garbage."
Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a long time. We shouldn't have left you without a dope pod to tune to. Christian the hype man sledge, along with me, is B, the Rival Rouser, who is the SME for today's episode, the subject matter expert for those unfamiliar. Chief B put in his retirement paperwork recently, 24 years of active duty, United States Air Force, and he is not walking away because he stopped loving the mission. He's walking away because his body kept score before his mind was ready to admit it. Imagine this. The Tuesday meeting, the parking lot, the 20 minutes with the engine running, that changed everything. This is episode one of the walk away. And B is about to tell you what happened when the room outgrew him and didn't even notice he left the building two years ago. Before we break this down, if you were looking for a channel for service members, first responders, spouses, and extended family, past, present, and future, whether you're a private citizen, military, or first responder who is stateside, overseas, deployed in the field of the flight line, the break room, the smoke pit, getting your kids ready for school, driving to work. We will always meet you where you're at. We're gonna close the vault, rattle the cages, and walk down the valley where most fear to tread. So if you're liking what you hear, continue to listen to us. That's L S S C N. That is like, share, subscribe, comment, notifications, activation to continue the inquisition. Who are we? We are the Skiff International Podcast and we are unredacted. Note we've been down because we've been deployed, TDY overseas, over here working some new developments. We'll keep you all tuned in. The links to all the videos and all the traditional podcast audio will be in the comment section for your viewing and listening pleasure. And after you tune in, leave your answers in the comments so we can have some discussions from you, the people, the taxpayers, and all that. Without further ado, bring in that intro. Chief B, 24 years active duty, United States Air Force. What's going on, man?
SPEAKER_01You good out there? Hey man, I've been resting, recuperating, surgeries, this and that, but uh your boy still holding on strong, feeling good. I'm ready to get into what we do, helping the people, talking, having that real talk. And uh yeah, let's let's get it, man. Let's talk about some stuff.
SPEAKER_00Look, I've known this man for a long time. He's held positions that most people can't even pronounce, manage programs that don't make the news, and then trained airmen who are now senior NCOs running their own units. He's the kind of leader who builds other leaders, not the kind who sits on a throne and just chills out. And he just put in his retirement paperwork, which is going to be very, very damaging to the United States Air Force and Department Award. I'm personally at 23 years in the military. I filed my retirement paperwork. So between us, that's 47 years of combined service between the two career airmen, and we're both walking away for different reasons. Same underlying truth, though. When you stop growing, you start dying. And most people don't even notice the flat line that is coming. So this is a mini-series here. So the first episode, we're gonna talk about B's story. The second episode, we're gonna talk about my story. Third episode, we might have a couple of guests out there who might want to spill their stories. And then the last episode is gonna go live and it's gonna be your stories. We want an audience with you where you guys bring in your own stories into the briefing room so we can have those discussions. All right. So go ahead, lean in because we're about to get this started. B, again, 24 years, the Tuesday meeting, the parking lot. Take us there, man. What was going on through your head at the time?
SPEAKER_01Hey, man. Only thing I'm gonna say is when you start, you're sitting back and you're thinking about, like, man, you're reflecting, you're sitting back, you're like, oh man, we're doing the same thing over and over again. And the one thing I didn't give, and that I talked about before, I knew that I was ready to do this two years before I did the paperwork. I I just wasn't ready to admit it. I was at a point in time in my career where I'm like, man, I I have worked, I've done so many different projects, led so many different teams, been through so many different tempos. And at this point in time with my family and everybody, like, I'm like, uh, it's time to make a transition. It is hard to actually admit that because they've in the military, what we do is we tend to build you up, get you ready. You have that armor on, you constantly are ready to go out there and fight the good fight. But at a point in time, it comes time for you to put your family and your loved ones first. And for me, that time just came like abruptly, like with health concerns and my family. I'm like, all right, man, it's it's it's time to see something different and do something different and pass the torch to the next generation, and it's time for me to transition and see something new and do something different.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So that's kind of reminded me of dare I say it, divorces. I mean, when the divorce happens, usually you're already checked out.
SPEAKER_01I mean, the person, right, bro. Hey, that that happened look, uh, we'd have both been through divorce, unfortunately. And that's a whole other topic for another day. But you already know what's gonna happen before it happens. So everybody out there, if you've been, if you've ever been in a relationship, you checked out before you checked out. You got me? So perfect.
SPEAKER_00So so with that being said, uh uh, if you knew that two years ago, why don't you just get out? Because most people nowadays, especially this new generation, they don't like something, they bail it. Real quick, they they just leave and they say, I'm not happy. Cool. So can you explain to the audience who's probably asking you that question, uh, what held you back? Why did you do the extra two years?
SPEAKER_01Well, what initially held me back is the internal want to just support and help the people around me. I know I have things and talents that I can bring to a unit and add value. And with that, it's almost like you're old and you go out there and you're like, man, I still got it, man. I can still shoot that J. I can still do hits the ring.
SPEAKER_00I can still take it dribble.
SPEAKER_01Dude, and you're playing that pickup game and you're going back and forth with them young'uns, and you don't recover quite as quickly as they do. I just the calling of wanting to help people, man, and help other people that have given back to me throughout my career and helped me through different things and just pay it forward and just take care of some people that I connected with at my last assignment. My last assignment at Charlotte Air Force Base, I had some tremendous people, CNCOs and NCOs around me, as well as uh FGOs and uh CGOs, and I just wanted to be there for him. It was like, dude, I can't just walk away. It's just not in my character. It's like the PT test. Should I run it with a twisted ankle? Probably not, but am I gonna run it with a twisted ankle? Yes. It's just one of those things, man. You it's just something that you do. You probably need to not do it, but and you probably need to walk away, but it's like I still got more juice left in the tank. I still have things that I want to accomplish, I still have people I want to help and put them in a position to succeed. So the Air Force is on the right footing moving forward, and especially whatever mission set I've uh inherited. I want to leave it better than I received it, and and that is the driving factor in me staying exactly where I'm yeah.
SPEAKER_00But DOD, USAF, all the services, they were there before us, they're gonna be there after us, with or without us. So, what is that driving factor that why why am I staying in? Was it just the people pretty much?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for for me, at a certain point in your career, you have to just look at you got I like to say you take an autopsy. And and I know that's a little bit morbid, but I just gotta be honest. It's like you're looking at a different version of yourself, a dead version of yourself, and you're looking at and you're seeing what transpired to basically kill this person. I'm looking at myself and looking at my career, and I'm like, all right, what else can I do? I've already taken advantage of everything the Air Force has to offer to me to help me become this leader and this person in the military. However, the people around me that are still in the system, that are fighting the good fight, that are at a 15-year mark, the 12-year mark, the person that never had an opportunity for a stratification, those people that are still in the system that are good people, and the system needs to work for the people. For people to actually plug into it. And I'm I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid, but you gotta, if you have the leadership skill set to pass on to people and to put people in the right position to succeed, I just couldn't pass it up. I had to do it. Now, did I want to? As many nights that I sat back and said, Why am I doing this? We're going through the same issue, we're going through the same problem. It's just the same thing over and over, unit after unit. It's just like this cyclical thing that we go through. But man, just the people, man, they made it fun. Those cats at Shaw made it great. They supported each other. It was a great unit, and and the vibe was all intense. Hey, it's alright. This this is a good final assignment. But that's not the end. Now I'm here.
SPEAKER_00So Okay, got you. So at that time, that's what uh pretty much identified you. Yeah, was that that's how you identified yourself. Do you think that leaving the United States Air Force or DOD, you were afraid of losing that identity and not knowing who you were on the other side?
SPEAKER_01I know right now, I think that's that's something that's more in my in my mind as I reflect, like, hey, who am I? You gotta understand that I've been in the military longer than I was on an adult on the outside. So that's something that a lot of people come to grips with. That's the only life I know. I'm going to base. I know I got a PT test once a year, actually now twice a year. I know I have this, I have that, have certain requirements I need to meet. I got CBTs I need to do. I got things that I have to handle. This is what it is. And now it's just a little bit different. So it's tough, man. It's tough to unpack, but my identity, like I'm still trying to figure out what that's gonna be, dude. I'm gonna honestly, really, I'm the when I when I discover it, it's gonna be when I actually leave and exit the military. Right while you're still in, you're in. It's kind of like when someone puts you in a game, are you gonna are you gonna half-ass it or are you gonna give it your all? Like, we're both of the same mindset. Like, dude, we run through the finish line and and we don't tiptoe up to it. So I'm gonna just keep running. And then once I transition out, then I will get the opportunity to kind of reflect and see who I actually am. And I I don't know. Without the military, I don't know because I I haven't had that opportunity. So it's gonna be a whole new discovery of who I am, what I like, the things that I don't like, the things that I want to dedicate time to, and that I actually want to be a part of, I can actually choose and and I have the ultimate say. So I'm looking forward to that level of freedom, but there is a a fear that comes with it. It's something that most people don't sit there and actually think about who are you without the stripes, with the bars, with the oak leaf. Who are you? With with the fulburr. Who are you? And as you sit back and you reflect and you think about what makes you you, you have to have the ability to look at character, morals, and values. And that those are my guiding principles, right? Because my family is first, my wife and everybody. So so as long as I keep them first, then I'll figure out the rest on the back end. But it's tough, man. When I I'm still trying to figure that out, and it's gonna be a minute.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's that's the thing. We when you go through taps and all the other transitional stuff, they they give you a checklist, they give you a plaque, they give you a ceremony, but they don't give you a mirror. So very, very often we forget to look at that. And we'll talk about this later, where some people like they they transition out and then they don't do well. They they end up becoming homeless or they end up dying or whatever the case may be. And it's pretty morbid because we never got a chance to look and do some self-reflecting of who we are inside. We're tied to what we were in the military, and we we don't figure out, oh, who was I before? Who did I leave behind? How do I catch them up and how do I push forward? So it's very important for you guys, you listeners, to self-reflect and evaluate who you are coming out. Are you the same person? The chances are the answer is no. So you have to figure out who that person is and be prepared to meet that person when you transition out. Cool. Because, like I mentioned, they don't hand you a mirror, and here's why because these transition classes are designed to process you out, they're not designed to rebuild you. That's not what they do. They hand you a checklist, they call it closure, but closure isn't a checklist, it's an identity autopsy. And most people never perform one. B, we were talking about this the other day. When people come back with they come back from taps because they're ready to get out, they're like, I'm getting out, I'm getting out. And then they come back from taps and they got doubts.
SPEAKER_01Doubts, man. I look, I was sitting in tabs, bro. I'm sitting in tabs and you can see airmen from airmen on to officers, all are looking like, wait, I'm unsure. And and and it's almost like tabs, bro. Like, honestly, tabs is kind of like that class where it's like a scared straight class, like in those, those, um, you got those weird wayward kids, and you say, okay, I'm gonna scare you straight. Let me let me let me show you what it's like. But you did your resume. Bruh, I'm telling you, you sit back and people looking scared and people looking out of out of their mind, they're like, uh, can I really do this? And then sometimes people actually just say, What? Nah, let me go ahead and re-up and continue with the same old thing. And what I'll tell you for me in particular, nah. I have to ensure that I'm putting my family first. I have to ensure that I'm looking at the overall picture, what's the best thing for my uh my family, what's going on with them, uh, checking their pulse, seeing what they're willing to accept and not accept, and ensuring that real world ops is happening. People are deploying, people are uh dying. So you you cannot go into this half-ass. You cannot be like, nothing will happen to me, dude. Something can and will happen. So I want you to sit back and really think about like, all right, at what level of sacrifice am I willing to give at this point in my career? Is it the total, ultimate sacrifice, which could happen? Or is it, hey man, I've I've already done up to this point, and now I'm more or less willing. I I just want to be there with the kids, man. I just the TDYs, the deployments, the ops temple, it's just it's just a lot, man. And it's time for me to kind of move on.
SPEAKER_00Uh, when you decided it was time to go, take me back, B. Take me back to that Tuesday uh when it when you discover, hey, this is it. What happened that day?
SPEAKER_01Everybody wants to know, like, what is the triggering moment? Because you got to think about it. It's always something that this is enough or that workout. You're working out to a point of failure, and you just say, All right, I've had enough. So uh I distinctly remember it. It was Tuesday. I'm sitting in the same meeting, I sat down in a hundred times, same slides, same arguments, same problems. We've been discussing for three years. And I caught myself thinking, I already solved this, man. This the they just didn't listen, man. Like, and being in the positions that we are, a lot of times we aren't the people that actually make the decisions. The decision makers take in account your hey, your plan, and it's one of the coas, and they are the ultimate, like, I'm going with this COA, and it it changes. So that was a thought, uh, not anger. Like, I was just like, dang, um, not frustration, just clarity, man. I saw the problem five years ago, and nobody implemented it, nobody even remembered or brought it up. Uh uh it's a rerun, bruh. And I've been in this reruns for years. We've all encountered the same issues and units over and over again, bruh. It just, it's a like I said, a cyclical pattern, and and it's tiring, bro. It's tiring to see the same thing over and over again. So I sat there a whole hour, I nodded in the right places, uh, said the right things, because that's what leaders do. We take it on the chin. And then I went out to my car, I sat there in the parking lot for 20 minutes with the engine running. Now, I will tell you this. I I had I remember distinctly when I was a young, younger NCO, and I remember seeing like chiefs and CMA sergeants and senior officers. Yeah. They just sitting in the car. I'm like, why are they sitting in the car? What are they doing, man? What are they doing? And in your car, that's a place of solitude. You get an opportunity now, yeah, you reflect. It's San Antonio, it's hot as I don't know what. So the AC is on. Yeah, so you got the AC on, but you wonder, like, why the hell are they sitting in their car? You stay sitting in their car because they need time to get clarity, bruh. They're trying to, they're trying to think like, and how it is. If you're in your office, first of all, if you're in your office and your door is closed, they're like, Well, what's going on? And if you in your office and the door is open, people just walk in. And it doesn't give you a time to transition your thoughts and actually sit back and reflect. And I sat back and I said, uh man, 20 minutes, it hit me. Not the frustration, but clarity. I said, I've outgrown the institution. The institution hadn't even noticed I left the building two years ago. Let me finish up my projects, let me finish up what I'm doing. I gotta go. And it's a it's a hurtful, I'm not gonna even say hurtful. I I don't know, I can't even put into words. It's a sad moment, but a moment that's there. It's something that's crap. All right, I'm really gonna do this. And and after those 20 minutes, I was like, I can't do this again. I don't want to keep going through the same thing over and over again. So that was it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I that that parking lot moment, that's what I wanted people to hear from you because, like you said, it wasn't dramatic. It wasn't a blow-up with the commander, it wasn't a policy that broke you, it wasn't one thing. It was a regular Tuesday. It was the feeling of nothingness. When you you're passionate about something and the commander says, I hear you, but we're gonna go this way, and then you go into the car, and then you have frustrations, and you talk to your homies about the frustration, and then you get over it. You didn't even have that anymore. It was just nothingness. So at that point, Kay, I don't feel anything. It's numb. So I think that's what a lot of people feel. A lot of people are going through that parking lot moment right now and don't even realize that they've hit the same threshold that you just hit, that you've been going through for the last two years. So I'm glad you brought that out because that's where most life-changing decisions actually happen. In that car, in the Las Vegas heat, which will in the car, in the AC. That's where it happened. Yeah, reflecting. Reflecting, saying, uh, it's very hard for me to put one foot in front of the other without asking why. So, in between the meetings, while everybody else is checking on their phones, they hadn't even realized that you checked out. That's a hard realization.
SPEAKER_01Think about that for a second, though. You sitting back and they just are like, oh, Chief is doing a normal thing. But really, you just like, nah, I'm checked out this thing, bro. Like, nah, this is not what's up. This doesn't make sense. I can't stomach the answer to regurgitate it to the people that need the answer. Like, it's BS. So now I'm just like, What? It's over. And I remember being a younger in my career, and it was never any reflection. Because when I was younger, it wasn't a let me reflect, let me reflect. Like, as I've gotten older, it's more or less, let me reflect on how I'm moving. I want to be very intentional with my thoughts. I want to be very intentional with my actions and what I do. And with that intention, you have to have a step with it. And that reflection in that parking lot, right? The parking lot in the car with the AC running for that 20 minutes, that was that moment.
SPEAKER_00All right. So a lot of people would say, especially with the last statements you had, there's a lot of I's, there's a lot of me's, there's a lot of that in there. Uh, a lot of people say, Well, it's chief, it's not about you, it's about something bigger than yourself. You just need to be more resilient when that feeling comes around. Uh, that's what we hear from time to time. That's what we're coached and we're raised into uh accepting. But this is from people who don't know you, they don't know your journey, they don't know where you have been or where you're trying to go. So, what would you say to those who are probably what I would argue not understanding and at the extreme case apathetic to what you just told the audience?
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, I understand. First of all, I'm always open to feedback. So when people push back on stuff, I just want to connect the dots. That's my that's my thing. That's my big thing. So when you when you say, well, no, it's not about you, it's about the mission, you're right. I'm I'm still in. But I'm talking about the point at where I have the opportunity to make a decision. There's a decision point in that matrix where I own the decision versus the Air Force or versus any other entity. And at this point, it's similar to if I don't pass my PT test, hey. Guess what? The commander at the certain threshold of failures, that decision is hers now. I I've relinquished the ability to affect the decision and handle it myself. And now it's at her level, and then it goes up to the next level. So I own this at this point in time in my career because I've put over 20 years in. I'm eligible to retire. So I can just do it. Now, so that's that piece. So let's let's just let's just call that a spade a spade. I can make the decision at this point in time in my life because I've already put the 20 plus years in. I own it. So got it. Now cool. Now, as far as some people might say, oh, you're giving up on your people, you're not, you're not really plugged in. Now it's about something else. No, that's not the case. Everybody serves within their own right. So at a certain point in time, when when it becomes time for you to maybe transition and do something different, that's a decision that has to rest with you. And you have to sleep at night. So whether whether you're retirement eligible or not, you have to sleep with the decisions that you make it throughout your entire life. That's why I don't have any regrets. People always ask me, hey, do you have any regrets? No, I don't have regrets because at the time I really look at the decisions that are in front of me and I try to make the best decision for not only myself, but my family. And at this point in time, based off of all the variables that I have, this is the proper way forward. If you remember, earlier this year, I lost someone very close to me. Like a lot of things have been driving me to this decision. I don't want to get too deep, but dude, this has been a very trying year for me and my family. My girls and my family, we lost somebody very, very near and dear. And that's why I was out earlier this year for several weeks. It's just a lot, man. And at this time, dude, I just can't continue on this path. I gotta be there more. I have to, more is required of me now than before. And the girls and my son, they need me. And I have to show up for him, and it's it's gonna be at the detriment of my ability to show up for airmen, uh, big Airmen, civilians, officers, and enlisted members. It's gonna, it's gonna be at their detriment. Like I can't give you uh 24-7-365 anymore. I can do it for an amount of time, but that time is coming to an end. I cannot do it indefinitely or or for the next four or five years and at the expense of my family and and at the expense of their mental health.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So let me push, let me push up on something. Let me come and revisit something because I really want to revisit this. Uh, you we kind of discussed that you said you knew two years before uh you hit the button that you were ready to transition out. What changed within those two years physically? We kind of talked about physical. What what changed with you with you physically within those two of those two years? What tipped you off that said, hey, this is this is this is it, this has been it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. Thank you for that question. I mean, I I think that's an awesome statement. This this might help a lot of different people. Dude, my bar my body started keeping score. Just really, honestly, that's the truth. My body is keeping score. Your body is always keeping score. I don't care what you do. Like when we're younger, we're partying, we're playing pickup basketball, we're doing all that other stuff, we're not properly recovering, we're not using ice, we're not elevating, we're not doing eight hours of sleep, not stretching, we're just going right back at it. Right.
SPEAKER_00Wildin'.
SPEAKER_01I'm having health issues, bro. I've never had before. Uh, the stress, you got to remember, we've been at some kind of conflict since my time getting in the military. It has been nonstop. And my and my association with that level of conflict and my involvement has been at different levels and at different stress points and in operations, that becomes that that's a that is a telltale sign right there. The doctors ran every test. Uh, nothing's technically wrong, blood work is fine, scans are clean, but the body was telling me what the mind wasn't ready to hear. You are done here. And if you don't leave voluntarily, you're gonna leave on a stretcher. And and a lot of people have this moment of clarity where they your body can't do what it normally would do. Dude, I will wake up and everybody knows this, uh, who's been around me, wake up at three in the morning, work out for two and two, two hours, two plus hours, then go to work at six, six thirty, be the first person in the building so I can see everybody. You can see the the uh last shift, uh leaving work, and you can see the a new shift coming on, and maybe stay late. Those things catch up to you over time. And I've been doing this for 20 plus years, and after that, it's just like, oh man, okay. I don't want to leave on a stretcher, and that's not to be dramatic, man. I'm not I'm not trying to be dramatic, but people, you gotta take your health into consideration because once you start hitting that 40, once you get the 40s, bruh, everything changes, bruh. Everything changes, and and and I don't know what it is about that decade, but that's the decade of change. The 30s kind of still, you spry, man. But 40s, I'm still good. But I'm not, you it's just a little bit the things are like I'm I'm lifting weights and I'm just not as strong as I used to be. I don't have that level of endurance I used to have. And it's it's just it's nothing in particular I'm doing, but that that nagging pain is not going away. That that that that pull in my Achilles and and my feet are hurting and my back is hurting, and your back hurts, and then it goes away at a certain point. But after you run, it's just those things are catching up, and then you still you still hang out with your kids, and you gotta go do soccer, and I coach soccer, and I do all these other things. It's a lot, man. So I know for at least five people watching this right now, who are they in this same exact position, military or not? We have we have first responders that deal with the same level of stress and the same level of commitments that the military do. Your body knows before the brain admits it. You feel the pain, you feel just moving your fingers hurt, putting on those boots, wearing those boots for 20 plus years, your feet go through changes, bruh. That's why you have a even back in the day when we came in, you had a break-in period of wearing your boots. Yeah, they break those boots there, right? And that's a real thing. Your body knows, and then the headaches that don't have a cause. The insomnia that isn't about caffeine, the Sunday night dead that's there creeping in at 2 p.m. That it that's not ambition fatigue. That's your system screaming at you to move, man. You're you're sitting there telling it to be quiet because the paycheck is comfortable, but bruh, and to be honest, it's time for you to like to move. So, so just the the overall physical conditioning. I just had a surgery two weeks ago. I'm on convalescent leave now. And that it that tells you, like, everybody always says this, Chief, why are you having so much surgeries? I was like, Well, guys, I've I've put things off for the entirety of my career. Yep, yep. I I had these problems. It's not like these problems just started.
SPEAKER_00Duh. Now they've been there.
SPEAKER_01Didn't just pop up, they've been there for a long time. And now I'm at a point where I'm like, hey, all right, these are my issues. Doc, can you give me an x-ray? Can you give me this? Can you give me that? And as you go through the process, they say, Oh yeah, you do have this issue. Oh yeah, you are messed up here. Oh yeah, you got this problem. And they, and they just they they try to repair it. And here's here's a kicker that people are gonna be like, oh, all right, got it, got it. He's getting ready to retire and he put it off for this amount of time and blah blah. No, hey, here's the problem. When you have an injury and you choose to continue, you're making that injury to the point where it's not gonna re-repair back to what it needs to be. I've hurt myself, but I keep going. And instead of getting the the treatment or the surgery or whatever it is, at like at that moment, I put it off for years and years, and now your body moves in that way. It has adjusted. So now you're trying to turn it around, and it just is totally different. It cannot heal to that level, it's not going to snap back into place. Now your arm, instead of it being able to bend fully, has it's at a it's at a 15-degree loss of motion. You got to think about those things. When you have those injuries and you work through that pain, well, guess what? That's at a cost. And maybe a cost for the rest of your life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's a cost that uh I mentioned that in my solo video. There's a there's a constant cost of service, period. Dot. And you have to pay that each time you get up and put on that uniform. There's a there's a cost you have to pay. At some point, you're gonna get up and be like, I don't want to pay this bill. You know what I mean? It's like I can't pay this bill. And that that comes physically, and it also comes mentally, uh, when it's time to get out, when it's time to transition out. A lot of people have that Sunday night dread. Everybody's like, dang, tomorrow's Monday. People don't like Sunday because Monday is coming. Everybody has that kind of anxiety, but when it's overwhelming to the point where you're not really doing much because you have this dread, this anxiety, this depression, or whatever you left on Friday is gonna be looking at you on Monday, and you just can't find the motivation to go handle that, but that's a sign. We ignore that for years and years and years. But that is a sign to say that, hey man, maybe it's time to get on to a new challenge, or maybe it's time to move on or do something else. But I want to park on that for a second because civilians know exactly what that is. If you feel that every week for years, that's not a job, y'all. That's a sentence. Military and first responders and all that other stuff just give you a ceremony when it's finally time for you to walk away. But we have seen it, be people pass away after they retire. I taught him, we gotta mention it earlier. They pass away, they they don't know what to do with themselves.
SPEAKER_01Remember that first sergeant uh at Creech when we was up there? He retired, he was a CMS sergeant, he just passed. I can't remember his name. God rest his soul. He got out, retired, dead.
SPEAKER_02Just dropped.
SPEAKER_01Dude was 45.
SPEAKER_02That yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01Bruh, listen.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're looking I have no medical data or any old body of evidence, but I'm gonna argue that it was probably the mental and the physical beatdown that that person took over the years finally caught up. Caught up with no way out. And it just they just drop. It happens like that. So again, like we said before, with taps, you gotta realize who you are before you transition out. That should be a part of the process, not just here's your checklist and do these things and get out. It should be more to that because if you don't understand who you are physically, mentally, spiritual, emotionally, all that before you transition out, you're going to get a what I like to call a reality check. And it's not gonna be necessarily good. So, with that being said, I want to continue to press on. Would you want to be the guiding, deciding factor of when you got out versus all the militaries administratively or medically kicking me out?
SPEAKER_01Keeping it honest, because I almost stayed until the decision was made for me. That's not retiring. That's getting medically evicted from your own career. And I made a choice. I wasn't going to let that happen. And I was gonna walk out on my own terms while I still had something left to build within, not on a stretcher, on my feet, man. I believe in uh leaving out how you came in and with some extra stripes on top of that. So I will say sitting back is tough, but I wanted to make the decision for myself.
SPEAKER_00Okay, that makes sense. Doing that while you still have something left to build, that's important, dude. Because we've seen this too. You warned that if you don't leave when you're supposed to, you're leaving a stretcher, you're leaving them in a hearse. But yeah, another part that we're missing is your family. You keep giving that energy to the same direction, you're gonna lose out on family. We have both, like we mentioned, we have both been through that process at least once. We know people who've been through it twice, three times, because they because they they they fail to transition. They don't know how to transfer that energy in the right direction. Sometimes people get that where the family says, What you if you get another PCS, we're not going. So I'm Brad.
SPEAKER_01Look, hey, Megan already told me that to your point. Now, this is another. So you have multiple different things that are going on around you. It's never just a singular, just a solely singular thing. It's a multitude of things. And that was one of the things that Megan said. She was like, Look, listen, hey, haha, chief, guess what? Um, I'm gonna let you just write down. Yes, right now. Uh yeah, I'm gonna let you. She said, You ain't you ain't the chief here. I'm gonna let you, I'm an airman at the house. I'm a straight airman at the house. Look, here it is. She's the colonel. Amaya's the damn. She's the commander. Yeah, she's the commander, yeah. Uh, we got a couple lieutenants in the house. I'm just an airman doing what they tell me to do. I'm gonna tell you this right now, bruh. She said, if you get orders to PCS, we will not be joining you. And that and that's final. I'm just I'm just letting you know now. Well, we've been through this year, and I don't have the capacity. And she hasn't used these kind of words with me in a long, long time, but I don't have the capacity to go anywhere else right now. I can't do it. I can't move. I can't pack up. I can't reorganize and then set up another house. She is, she's like, I am done. And I'm not playing. And just like that. No, no room for discussion. And and what the military tries to do, man, they they dangle these carrots, man, these things in your mind where you do, you wanna help everybody. But the honest truth is we can't. We want to, but we can't. I cannot sacrifice everything for everyone. I want to help. My soul tells me to help, but at a certain point, you gotta just, we gotta push away and say, all right, I gotta break off this thing. I can't, I can't go the command chief route. And then now I'm as now I'm a geographically separated member from my family. Now I encounter additional stress. So now when she's encountering problems, parent-teacher conferences, she needs my help putting the kids to bed, she needs this and that. I'm no longer there. I'm here. I'm plugged in, doing whatever I can for the airmen around me and for the base, and I'm not taking care of my actual family. Which then leads you to guess what, on your front row when you retire, which doesn't even matter, but when you retire, guess who's at your front row? Nobody. Family not even there. The people that matter are not even there, the people while you did the sacrifice are not even there. So you've missed out on the whole opportunity. It's rough, man. It is no one singular thing, it's always multiple things. And to your point, she said, and I quote, I'm not going with you if you PCS.
SPEAKER_00So I I do have the same issue. So uh Yusingya said the same thing. She's like, no, we're not going anywhere. So I mean, you can go to my not or or wherever you are, wherever you want. That's fine. But I'm we're not going anywhere. And I'm just like, they don't make that lightly.
SPEAKER_01They don't make that light lightly. No, they don't. Yeah, they just been through a lot.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. We asked a lot of our spouses who are non-military or whatever to to get on there and do that. Again, another bill that we have to pay for service. Now, granted, we get a paycheck and we get we get all that cool stuff, but at some point in time, the ask is more than what I'm willing to pay. So we have to think about that, evaluate that, and and not feel guilty about that. Service is service.
SPEAKER_01Right. But self-service, they they want you self-sacrifice. They teach us this. This is ingrained in us. Self-sacrifice. But what we have to understand, I think Gen Z knows this better than anybody. And the next generation after them will know it. At a certain point, they're just like, nah, I'm not doing this. I'm not doing it. They have the they have the ability to say no. We don't have the ability to say no. We still have this in this ingrained in our DNA, give everything to the last drop. Give, squeeze all of the toothpaste out of the out of the tube. I'm talking about every little bit and roll it up and get that little piece out too. Cut it over. Cut it open like a little block and then and then get the rest out. Hey, cut it open and roll that toothbrush in there. Getting everything, bruh. They getting everything out you, bruh. They they not clean, bro. You get, hey, that pool bottle, cut it open.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Man, everything. Good tactics, baby.
SPEAKER_01Bruh, hey, that's why they like, they hey, that's what the military teaches us, and we have we we got that culture from Gen X.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And Gen X was serious about that kind of like teaching millennials. Be a part of the system, the system's gonna take care of you, blah, blah, blah. You won't be rich, but you'll be fine, da-da-da. And you just sacrifice everything. And at the end of the day, you might not be left with holding anything.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's what I want the audience to understand. Whether you did four years or 40 years, is at some point you reach that threshold where you are you're putting in energy, but your return of investment on what you value, what you need, which is important. I don't want you to think that what you value is not important because it is. That's what motivates you to get up in the morning and do what you need to do. It's important. But I want you guys to understand that at some point you're gonna send energy out there, it's not it's gonna come back to you, but it's not what you expected. But it's not what it used to be. Back in the day, it was, man, this is what I'm asking for. I it matches my values, but after a certain amount of time, whether it's three years or 39 years or whatever, it doesn't align anymore. Sometimes it comes to you before you realize it mentally. So when you get that feeling, don't be ashamed, don't be embarrassed, don't be frustrated. That is the feeling. It's a flag, it's an indicator. Just take it for what it is, analyze your situation, figure out what you want to do about it, and make an informed decision. That's what we're asking you to do. We're not asking you to go be a rebel and all this other extra stuff. Just take the indicators and make informed decisions based on your values and what you want. That's it. That's that's the difference between our generation and Gen Z. Their value, they are stuck to their values, and that's why everybody, oh, they're lazy. They're not lazy, they just value different things. So we're gonna have that whole nother conversation when Michaela gets back in the seat because she'll tell you. But here's what I want to bridge. Yeah, they're not crazy. They're not crazy. It's not just a military conversation. This is for the first responders or extended families, such as spouses and dependents. We want to talk about the golden handcuffs that you may or may not be wearing. See, you guys, the first responders and stuff like they have something similar, but they don't have what tri-carrot are attached or anything else like that. But they still have handcuffs. B, you want to enlighten folks on that and how that applies to them so they understand that this they're connected to us too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love, I love how you call it, hey, the golden handcuffs, the golden parachute, the things that keep you like just held to this, like it's like that carrot, that that thing. Like, if I just complete this threshold, I get this. Whether they come with a 401k match, right? Because that's mostly what they do now, or a pension after 20 years. I've watched civilians stay in jobs uh for 15 years past their expiration date, not because they love the work, not because they were building anything, but because the paycheck was comfortable, because starting over at 45 is terrifying, and because I've already got 18 years in, so might as well do 20. We've all said that. I've said that. I'm like, 100%. You get to the point and it's like, dude, I've already put all this equity. Why in the world would I then go ahead and sell my house? I've been paying for this thing for 28 years. Two more years I own this thing, no, but I'm selling it. That's it. That that just don't happen. Like, nah, I'm not doing that. Does that sound familiar, bro?
SPEAKER_00Doesn't that sound familiar? Hey, man, they also say that about relationships and dating too. Marriages, all that. They've been like, oh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, oh, did I hit a spot? Did I hit a spot? I've invested so much time into this person, I'm afraid to move on to the next thing. Sound familiar?
SPEAKER_01Bro, bro, because they put all that time, they put all that effort, and then when that person starts bearing fruit and you start seeing the actual work being put in, you're like, oh my God, I'm about to lose out on that. But the military gives you a formal ceremony when you walk away. It's this beautiful, whatever. Everybody, hey, hey, hey, hand clap. Uh they give you a certificate and all this other BS. And um in the private sector, they give you cake in the break room or your managers uh out the door before you finish your speech. Uh the fear is the same. The identity crisis is like just what is paramount. The only difference is the logo on your paycheck. So we all deal with the same thing, but in reality. That those golden handcuffs, you gotta really take notice of what your values are, what what drives you, what keeps you, what sustains you. And that's gonna be a part of the self-reflecting piece that I go on as I transition. Now, I'm gonna say, what do I value? What do I care about? Because I've been doing something for 20 plus years that meant a lot to me. But now that is no longer part of my daily routine. So what do I value? What means the most to me? And it can't be just some, oh, I want to make sure the mission happens. Well, I have no mission now. Or or I could translate it to my family's my mission now. I have to uh I have to adapt that piece. And those are what first responders and military members deal with.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so all the stuff that you that you laid out on the table, the way that you're you're sounding, you're making it sound right loud right now is making it look like you got a grudge with the USAF, the DOW, and all of that. And I I've thrown some stuff out there too, but bottom line, the we wouldn't be who we are today without the USAF, DOW, DOD, and all the stuff that they they've done a lot for us and our families. So I would argue that we probably sound a little bit ungrateful right now to the audience. So uh Chief, you want to expound on that? Because there's some people out there that are probably saying that right now, listening be like, y'all sound real ungrateful right now.
SPEAKER_01Y'all sound real cynical right now. Like, y'all hating all the things. Y'all, hey, don't bite the hand that feeds you. Right. Uh here's the deal. And I want to be very, very clear. I am not bitter. I love the Air Force. I love what it's done for me. It basically was my father. Remember, I so I grew up without a father. And the Air Force was pretty much my dad for a majority of my career. It basically taught me a whole bunch of different things, introduced me to different people, different experiences. I love what I did. I love the airmen I built, but love and readiness to leave aren't opposite. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for yourself and the institution is to walk away before you become the person who's just collecting a paycheck. And while the fire has been out for five years, that person hurts everyone. The mission, the airmen, and themselves. The person that's retired on active duty, Road, when they call you Road, you don't want to be that person. You don't want to, you don't want to have a ding to your reputation and who you are as a person. I hate to see, and this is me. This is me talking. The fat ass chief can't could barely fit in his uniform, uh, pockets busting at the seams, belly hanging over the dam, belt, yeah, the seams is busting and all that stuff, bro. You just look like trash and you don't make the the stripes look good, man. We we you don't care about yourself anymore. You don't, you got a five o'clock shadow before you when you show up to work.
SPEAKER_00Your vice is trash. Right, guidance is garbage.
SPEAKER_01Your advice is you just cookie-cutter it. You don't, you don't, you don't, you don't no analysis, no nut. You don't you don't analyze anything, you just you just say, hey man, yeah, for that person, this, yeah, you're just about the same. And I can buy it. So you just slap some shit, you throw noodles against the wall and hope it's thick. And and it doesn't help, it doesn't help the uh reputation of the rank or you, because people are gonna remember this, right? They're gonna remember the fact that, oh yeah, Chief, Chief was uh to the day he left, he was in it. And that's and that's the legacy I'm gonna leave. And you gotta know when to fold them. We I don't know if everybody played poker or or uh Texas hold them, but I know when people are raising that pot too high, and I know it's in my hand, and I see the flop. I see the flop, I'm like, it might bluff a little bit, but at a certain point, when people are really putting the chips in, bruh, you might lose it all. And you gotta be willing to say, you know what, I wanna live the fight another day, and I wanna reinvent myself and do something different that is going to uphold this new version of myself because you are not the same version of yourself that you were last year. Remember, you're constantly evolving and becoming different. And as you evolve, if that does not align with the Air Force core values, and if your if your stuff don't align with that at some point, I'm saying you gotta go ahead and break off. Like I got things that I want to do, things I want to see, things I want to try. I got stuff out there that is just not, it does not align with the Air Force, and I know it. And that's okay.
SPEAKER_00That's okay.
SPEAKER_01That's okay, bruh. That's okay.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely okay.
SPEAKER_01I serve honorably for over 20, 20 plus years. So if it doesn't align, guess what? All right. Hey, may God bless you. I'm I'm off to the next, I'm gonna see, I'm gonna leave it better than I found it, and then that's it. That's all you can do, bro.
SPEAKER_00Bingo. That's that's what I was asking for. That's what I was trying to get at, especially for the people in the back uh who are hard of hearing. Because some people like blah, blah, blah. Like, no, you're harder hearing. But we value all of your service. Service is service, no matter what. Honorable service is honorable service. So whether it's four years or 40 years, service is service. We thank you guys for it. We want you, but we care about you guys' mental health and your status of living and ROIs. You gotta care about that too. We can't care about it more than you care about it. You gotta care about it more than we care about it. So just keep that in mind when you're determining when it's time to move on from something. And it doesn't have to be the military, it could be anything. That's what we're trying to get at. Just be aware of the factors because people think stank past your expiration is uh expiration date is loyalty. Me and B have done that, and we would probably tell somebody, you might want to think about it a little bit more. If it aligns to you, that's what we would say. If it if it aligns to you, great, push. But if it you have to talk to yourself, you have to talk to your family, you have to look at your situation, and you have to really ask yourself, it do we want to continue to pay that bill of service? Because that matters. Those kind of things matter. And loyalty, you already did your time. That is loyalty. You did it, you paid the bill. Yeah, and how much more do you want to pay the bill? How much, how much more do you want to be cooked, as a new generation would say? Okay, all right. So it it's not loyalty, it's damage disguise is dedication, right? Because what B just told you, you get that senior master sergeant, that chief master sergeant, that old that's fitter, or or you get that that that FGO, that commander that's bitter, they're upset, they're angry because whatever, and they take it out on those airmen, man. That's what really gets me, man. It really gets, it really pisses me off when you make your pain their pain because you won't move on. There's somebody else that's perfectly equipped to do your job better, but you won't move on. So that they so they suffer. They have to suffer in silence. I hate that. So you have to, it is because they're their failure to look inside themselves and say, you know what? The values don't align. I gotta do better by these airmen. I care about them too, and I think it's better for me to move on. I'm at that stage too, where I'm just like, it's better for me to start looking forward, looking towards my family. The airmen will be fine. The DOW has been here since 1776. It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. My retirement ceremony is gonna be about me. The next day, it's back to the DOW. It's back to the USAV. They are going to move on. So you're you gotta let that part go so that you can realize who you are, okay? So don't let the damage or the disguise as dedication get you, okay? My elders always told me as I was growing up, if you love something or someone you enough, you you gotta let it go sometimes. And that's how you express your love for the the Air Force and department or wherever you are in life. That's how you express your love when it's time to go. Um you can point your energy to where you want it to go and where it's valued, okay? I I wanted to highlight that to the apathetic naysayers out there who call themselves extensive patriots or whatever. Uh whatever, dude. Like, you're not in my spot, you're not living this life, you're not living their lives. You gotta wish them well and and and just guide them to wherever they want to go.
SPEAKER_01Hey, hey, hey, probably never served. That's why we're the 1%. People don't do it. First responders, us, we're the one percent. We're doing things that other people won't do. So if you've done one year, thank you for your service and done it honorably without any other stuff, thank you for your service, man. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00So let us all put this in a framework to help you because you guys are probably like, well, I don't even know what to ask myself when it comes to analyzing if I'm still in the right spot. We're gonna help you today. We we got some action items, we got some self-reflecting questions for all of y'all, okay? I'm gonna call this the growth test, okay? Three simple questions that you can ask yourself, and I'm gonna ask P these questions and see what he gets out, and then you guys are gonna be able to analyze that and use that to reflect and see in where you're at in life, okay? And I'm sure that you guys are gonna sit there in that parking lot with the engine on. Yeah, AC blasting on. A C blasting, like after you got out of that meeting, what you I solved this problem two years ago. Why are we here again? Okay, but you're not gonna be frustrated. You're just gonna be, you're gonna have a nothingness feeling. It's gonna be numb to you. One, are you still learning? B, I tell you. Are you still learning?
SPEAKER_01Hey, from my perspective, I'll tell you right now, two years ago, no. No. I was teaching, I was mentoring, I was coaching, I was executing, I was doing things like that, but I wasn't learning anything particularly new. It was very nuanced changes based off of the direction of the DOW, DOD, but nothing in particular that was kind of growing my mental capacity. And I and I convinced myself that teaching was the same as growing. And it's not. You you just gotta understand it's not. You're you're exporting knowledge, you're not growing yourself and your mental capacity and ability to learn new things and being well read. Teaching is giving away what you've all what you already have. Growth is acquiring what you don't. I hadn't acquired anything new personally or professionally in years, man. Once you make, once you're at the pinnacle, at that pinnacle, you're like, all right, what what else is there for me to do out there besides get a couple more feathers in my cap? I want, I want a new cap. I'm trying to, I'm trying to ascend. I'm trying to continually self-improve. So, no, I wasn't learning.
SPEAKER_00So, with that being said, write this down, you guys. Teaching is giving away. That's not a problem. That's a good thing. Growth is acquiring. Again, those are good things. But you have to ask yourself the question and say, answer that truthfully, and then determine if you're in the right spot of that. Question two, when was the last time you were scared? Like the good kind of scare, like, man, are we gonna pull this thing off kind of deal? Not the bad kind of scare. Well, I'm in trouble and I gotta go to the commander's office. Not that. Like, for example, you're in tech school or you're in school, you're like, man, I don't know how we're gonna pull this off. But it's a because there's a challenge behind it. When was the last time you had something like that?
SPEAKER_01Honestly, man, uh, years. I I couldn't tell you, man. And that should have been the biggest red flag, honestly, when you sit back and you think about it. When you stop being scared, you stop being challenged. You have that nervousness in a mission set or something that you're doing. And when you stop being nervous and you stop having that, like, oh, all right, this outcome is something like you kind of know around a roundabout way it's gonna happen. You're not being challenged, bro. And that's when you you've stopped being challenged. So you're not operating, you're coasting. And coasting is just another word for declining and slow motion, bro. Slow motion for you, slow motion for me, juvenile style.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's what I'm about to say, man. If you know where that's from, we locked in. We from the same grind, all right? So, with that, coasting is declining in slow motion. That's gotta go on a wall somewhere or somebody's album, all right? So, B, question three. If you stayed five more years in the military, who walks out on the other side? Who is who's coming out?
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, great question, but uh I'm gonna tell you straight up right now someone I wouldn't recognize, bro. Someone who'd be going through the motions, someone who long forgot what motion was for, pretty much, someone who traded his ambition for comfort and then convinced himself it was wisdom. That's not wisdom. That's surrender dressed up in a service dress uniform. Just and then on top of that, I wouldn't have my family. Man, five more years, nah. No. With the ops temple, nah, not gonna go down.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you yeah, especially with that. In that case, yeah, surrender dressed up in a service dress uniform. Name tag got boo-boo the fool on it. Absolutely 100%. Yeah. If you in that state, like it's a those who are they got value, they got purpose, they got why, they got alignment, they got all that, great, press. But if you don't have any of those, and there are some zombie type people in uniform that have this, then you're in the wrong spot. I need you to analyze this and understand and use that to uh determine where you are in life. I'm not I'm not saying go here or there. That's not what we're saying. We're saying just put that in your cross check so that you can make an informed decision on what you want to do. So if you if you're watching this, whether first responder, military, or extended family, aka my framers, and to ask yourself those three questions. And if those three questions just made you uncomfortable, freaking good. That discomfort isn't anxiety, it's truth trying to get your attention. You need to listen to it and make some decisions based off of that, okay? Talk to some people, talk to your family, talk to your spouse, talk to your kids, and you'll be surprised what you learn. All right? Now, next week on episode two, it should be interesting because I'm up. I'm gonna be answering those questions. I'm gonna be going. I wanna yeah, you guys got it from uh a Chief Master Sergeant's perspective. This time you're gonna get it from a prior enlisted field grade officer's perspective. And which which may be similar and different depending on the personalities, but the expectation is you're gonna get even more information so that you can determine without a reasonable doubt when it is time to go move on to the next adventure in life, whether you're military or not, it doesn't matter. You need to understand the signs, okay? So B, final word 24 years in the bricks, you're about to close the book. What do you want the people listening and watching, especially the ones still in uniform? What do you want them to hear? If anything, within this episode, what do you want to stick to them?
SPEAKER_01Don't wait for that parking lot moment. You might not get one. Some people don't get the quiet Tuesday with the engine running. Some people get the heart attack, uh, the divorce papers, the disciplinary action. They stopped caring and it showed. Don't let that be you. I have friends out there, such as Daniel Kane, retired chief, he had a heart attack that really changed his whole entire outlook on everything and his perspective. I don't want that to be you. Please don't let that be you. Don't wait. Ask the questions now. Are you still learning? Are you still scared? The good kind, the good kind of scared, like, oh man, I care about this outcome. If you stayed five more years, who walks out? If you can't answer those honestly and like the answers that you hear in your head, you already know what you need to do. You just need someone to tell you it's okay to do it. So let me be that someone, it's okay. You're not quitting, you're graduating. There's a difference. You put in the time, you put in the work, you've done things that other people won't do, and you're in the 1%. So congratulations, that's something to be held in high esteem. 24 years I'm walking out on my own feet, on my own terms, with fuel stool and the tank. That's not a failure. That's the cleanest exit I could have written, and I wrote it myself in my own words and on my own terms, and I don't know owe anybody anything. I did it my way. Back over to you, hype.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. You heard the man 24 years, and the thing he values most about this conversation isn't the benefits, it's the honesty. Look out for episode two, that's gonna drop next week. We're gonna get my story, and I promise you, they don't call me hype man for nothing. Y'all gonna get everything because I want y'all to understand what this is about and how important this is, is to know when to go. So until then, grow test, guys. Three questions. We already said that. Be honest, and if you're brave enough to answer them, man, put them in the comments. We want to see what you guys are thinking out there, what your experiences were, what questions would you ask to help these people determine where they are, engage. Man, we go, we can't wait to jump in there and talk to you guys about some of the experiences you guys have had, man. Stay tuned for the live because we're gonna go live for that too, man. So we are excited to talk to y'all. So start thinking about those things now. We will have announcements coming up soon. With that being said, you know who we are. Christian the hype man Sleg. Be the rabble rouser. We are not from the old school. What goes on in this house stays in this house. We are not about that. We are not about that dysfunction. We need to get this information out, think about it, share it, bring a friend to the table. We are just we are debunking, we are in the art of debunking dysfunction up in this vault. Okay? Amen. So make sure you guys subscribe, hit the bell, listen. L S S C N like, share, subscribe, comment, notifications. Wednesday, guys, we're gonna have comment reactions. We're gonna look in there and see what you guys got and respond.
SPEAKER_01Hey, you might hear some shit that you don't want to hear, too.
SPEAKER_00Okay. But it's what you need to hear. It might not be what you want to hear, but it's what you need to hear. Okay. You need to hear that. All right. So, with that being said, Chief B, as usual, thank you for your 24 years of service. Thank you for hanging with us and giving us your knowledge, all right? Uh, and showing us, the rest of us in the world, what a clean exit looks like with honor.
SPEAKER_01Cool, man. Hey, I appreciate you, hype. And to everyone watching out there, just remember, don't wait. Ask the questions now, man. Ask the questions now. As always, it's been beautiful, man. Love you guys out there. Hey, be safe. Take care of your loved ones, take care of yourself. We out.
SPEAKER_00For sure. We out. See you guys next week.
