Order of Man - FFN 029： Honored： A Veterans Day Tribute

00:00:00.000 You're a man. You're committed to the work required to forge your own destiny.

00:00:04.600 Your blood. Your sweat. Your tears.

00:00:07.720 You will not be defeated. You cannot be deterred.

00:00:11.480 Nothing stands between you and the victory you seek.

00:00:14.640 You're a rock. Steadfast, resolute, and unwavering.

00:00:18.420 And, at the end of the day, the job will be done.

00:00:22.460 Welcome to your Friday Field Notes.

00:00:25.000 Men, what is going on today? My name is Ryan Michler, and I am the host and founder of Order of Man.

00:00:29.600 Now, Order of Man is the podcast. It's the movement that every man on this planet should know about.

00:00:34.820 I want you, as a man, to level up in your life, your relationships with your wife and your kids and your friends, your business.

00:00:41.100 Whether that's an entrepreneur or an employee, I want you to level up with your health and your fitness,

00:00:45.740 your opportunity to build wealth in your life, and your ability, frankly, to live as the man that you know yourself to be.

00:00:51.500 And that's why we're here. Hopefully, that's why you're listening to this podcast.

00:00:55.280 Now, I don't know how you stumbled upon us, but I am glad that you're here, and I'm glad that you did.

00:00:58.680 But before I get too much into the show, into this unique conversation that we're going to have today,

00:01:03.280 I do ask that you share this show with your boys. Share it with your dad, your son, your brother, your friends, your coworkers,

00:01:09.080 any other man, basically, that you think would benefit from all the lessons and the insights that we share here.

00:01:14.340 And I've seen too many men live this idle life.

00:01:17.480 They're living in a constant state of default, and they're allowing life to happen to them

00:01:21.780 rather than exerting their will and their authority over their own lives.

00:01:25.740 We've literally seen now thousands of men pick up what I call the mantle of masculinity.

00:01:31.540 They're taking control of their own lives, their families, their businesses, their communities,

00:01:35.240 and this idea of what it means to be a real man, a masculine man, a man of honor and integrity

00:01:40.740 and hard work and resilience.

00:01:42.880 This is something that the world needs more than ever.

00:01:45.140 Now, with that said, I want to jump right into the show.

00:01:47.780 If you're listening to this one as one of my American brothers, this is a big day for us.

00:01:51.720 It is Veterans Day here in the U.S.

00:01:53.160 This is a day that we have the chance to honor the men and women who sacrifice everything,

00:01:58.660 in some cases, to serve this great nation.

00:02:01.520 And how fortunate we are that there will always, always be the select few who are willing to step up

00:02:08.200 to the plate and defend our way of life and our freedoms and our liberties that we enjoy.

00:02:13.040 I want to honor you today.

00:02:14.460 Now, I've had a lot of people ask me about my military service.

00:02:17.160 And frankly, some of our most popular episodes to date within the podcast are my interviews

00:02:22.320 with other military members, Navy SEALs like Jocko Willink and Leif Babin and Mark Devine.

00:02:28.120 But today, I wanted to do something different.

00:02:29.880 I thought I'd share some of my military experience with you and give some background into who I am

00:02:34.600 and how I was fortunate enough and had the honor to serve you and this incredible nation.

00:02:39.460 Now, I joined the Army National Guard in high school with a couple of buddies.

00:02:43.060 Anyways, right out of high school, we all ended up shipping out to Fort Sill in Oklahoma for basic

00:02:48.240 training and AIT.

00:02:49.340 That's advanced individual training.

00:02:51.180 I really enjoyed it.

00:02:52.100 Me and the couple of buddies I went with, we had the opportunity to do our weekend drills.

00:02:56.200 That's what we did in the National Guard while we were still in high school.

00:02:58.900 So we had the chance to wrap our heads around what the military life would actually be like.

00:03:03.340 So we had a glimpse into what it would be.

00:03:05.560 But guys, when we were at basic training, I mean, we got chewed out every single day.

00:03:08.860 We were constantly being smoked, which is a basically a term for doing brutal exercise

00:03:13.940 after getting in trouble for doing something or doing nothing at all.

00:03:17.360 Just looking at a drill instructor the wrong way.

00:03:19.380 But the bottom line is that they are looking for reasons and excuses to jump you.

00:03:24.680 But after we finished up basic training, we started our advanced individual training as

00:03:29.740 red legs.

00:03:30.480 We all trained as artillery men.

00:03:32.000 We were training to fire the paladin, which is a howitzer. 1.00

00:03:34.160 It fires 155 millimeter rounds of death and destruction.

00:03:38.540 If you ever get the chance to see one of these machines at work, I promise you will not be

00:03:42.660 disappointed.

00:03:43.300 I excelled in AIT.

00:03:44.540 In fact, I graduated as a top graduate from our class.

00:03:47.160 But after that, it was back to our one weekend a month, our two weeks per year.

00:03:51.600 We did the occasional extra duty.

00:03:53.200 I actually spent 45 days in Salt Lake City manning the Olympics.

00:03:56.440 I did another summer tour in Fort Lewis in Washington.

00:03:59.080 And we trained ROTC cadets over the summer.

00:04:01.620 But my real service came in 2004 when our National Guard unit was called Iraq.

00:04:06.660 I remember that phone call, guys, like it was yesterday.

00:04:09.220 My wife and I at the time had only been married for five months and we had just moved to Southern

00:04:14.080 California to open up a clothing store, which I worked for at the time.

00:04:17.460 But she had already left for home in Southern Utah for Thanksgiving.

00:04:20.660 And I was going to be following her up the next day after I closed the store down.

00:04:24.200 But that night, my section chief called me, delivered the news that in January we would

00:04:29.120 be deploying for a year and a half.

00:04:31.280 Six months was going to be training stateside.

00:04:32.980 And the remaining year of that would be spent in Iraq, one of the most, at the time, horrible 1.00

00:04:38.460 places on the map.

00:04:39.780 But the long story short, we completed our training.

00:04:41.860 We were allowed a quick leave of absence before we would be shipping to Iraq.

00:04:45.360 I remember what it was like, guys, to see my wife for the last time in a year.

00:04:49.520 I remember how nervous I was that there was a real possibility that I or my brothers would

00:04:56.280 not be coming home.

00:04:57.140 I remember how quiet that bus ride was as we drove off and left our wives and our parents

00:05:02.560 and our children.

00:05:03.900 Fortunately, I didn't have children at the time.

00:05:05.840 You know, I saw how hard that was on the fathers who were in my unit.

00:05:09.560 And it was a real surreal feeling flying the helicopter that we flew up the Urefrades River

00:05:14.220 that took us to Camp Ramadi.

00:05:15.780 We landed, we got off the helicopter, and we were welcomed to the base by our sergeant who

00:05:19.540 was on an advance party to what we would call home for the next 12 months.

00:05:23.220 It was an old Iraqi detention facility, and it was situated right smack in the middle of the

00:05:28.040 province of Ramadi.

00:05:29.200 You know, we were surrounded by unknown territory on three or four sides, and it also bumped

00:05:34.360 up against an old abandoned glass factory that looked like something that belonged on

00:05:38.520 call of duty, not really my life.

00:05:41.680 You know, our unit was tasked with three missions.

00:05:43.760 Number one, we were to patrol the streets of Ramadi.

00:05:46.520 Number two, we had a base defense mission for the soldiers and Marines stationed there on

00:05:50.280 Camp Ramadi.

00:05:50.780 And then we had an extremely small counterfire artillery mission.

00:05:54.220 That was what we actually were formally trained to do, but we didn't do much of that.

00:05:57.960 We called ourselves the infantillery because we were artillery trained, but we were acting

00:06:02.380 more as infantrymen.

00:06:03.580 But personally, I was assigned to a base defense mission, which meant that as we face threats,

00:06:08.040 it was my job to act as the liaison between our guard post around the base and the front

00:06:13.260 gate and then our quick reaction force.

00:06:14.960 We had to determine how best to respond to those threats, whether that was a situation at

00:06:18.360 the front gate or an incoming mortar or a rocket lobbed at our base, and then we had

00:06:22.280 to act accordingly.

00:06:23.200 And we got hit with rockets and mortars just about every day.

00:06:27.040 I remember that first day that I walked into what I would be calling my office for the next

00:06:31.660 year of my life.

00:06:33.240 And as I walked in, I saw that there was 14 pictures on the wall representing each of the

00:06:37.540 soldiers that had lost their lives from the unit that we would be replacing.

00:06:42.180 And that's when the severity of the situation that I had found myself in hit me.

00:06:46.840 Now, I'm not going to get into all the details of what went on in Iraq.

00:06:50.340 I can tell you that I had the privilege of serving with some of the finest men and women

00:06:56.000 this country has to offer.

00:06:57.100 I can tell you that not a single soldier from our unit lost his life, which is a testament

00:07:02.060 in my mind to the divine protection that we were afforded in our time overseas.

00:07:06.540 And I can tell you that as difficult as that experience was, it is some of the most memorable

00:07:12.080 experiences of my life.

00:07:13.760 Some good, some not so good.

00:07:15.820 You know, I know one thing for certain that we have, again, the finest military men and

00:07:20.620 women protecting our way of life that this planet has to offer. 1.00

00:07:23.980 I had to step away from everything that I knew and leave my family for 18 months of my

00:07:29.000 life.

00:07:29.360 I had to go to a foreign land where people hated us and they wanted us dead.

00:07:34.020 I saw an oppressed people that were fighting for their lives in the face of fear and tyranny

00:07:40.460 and destruction.

00:07:41.300 And I saw grown men weeping.

00:07:43.260 One of the most vivid memories I have is walking past a convoy that had just returned from a

00:07:48.340 patrol mission.

00:07:49.620 And I saw grown men weeping because they had just lost one of their brothers.

00:07:53.780 I saw men literally giving up every single thing that they had, the ultimate sacrifice

00:07:58.280 for a cause that they believe in.

00:08:00.360 And I've had people, believe it or not, question my honor for serving this nation.

00:08:04.960 I've cried with soldiers who lost their families while they were away.

00:08:08.040 And I can tell you that if I had that chance to do it all over again, I would not change

00:08:13.660 a thing.

00:08:15.040 I'm proud to say that I've served this nation along men and women who are greater heroes

00:08:21.240 than I'll ever be.

00:08:22.260 As hard as we think things are, we live in an incredible time.

00:08:25.900 For those of us who are blessed to live in this great nation, I pray that every single

00:08:29.920 day you and me live worthy of the sacrifices of so many great heroes.

00:08:35.780 I know that America has had its challenges.

00:08:38.300 I know that we have a checkered past.

00:08:40.020 We certainly are not perfect, but with all that said, we're free.

00:08:44.660 We're free to do the things that we want to do.

00:08:46.560 We're free to chase the dreams that we have.

00:08:48.600 We're free to worship the way we see fit.

00:08:50.660 We're free to live the life that we want to live.

00:08:52.240 But most importantly, we are free, each and every one of us, to become, to become who we

00:08:58.260 were meant to be.

00:08:59.380 You know, I used to feel really awkward when people would thank me for my service.

00:09:02.720 I just didn't know what to say.

00:09:03.800 I didn't know how to respond to that.

00:09:06.060 I didn't know how to express how I truly feel about my time in the military.

00:09:11.180 And in many ways, I still don't.

00:09:13.120 But I can tell you one thing for certain, and from the bottom of my heart, it was my honor.

00:09:19.080 Guys, I just want to give you a quick reminder that if you know a veteran, I ask that you

00:09:23.300 please reach out to him or her with a text or a phone call or drop by.

00:09:27.580 These men and women have sacrificed so much to protect our way of life and allow you and

00:09:32.940 me to do what it is that we do every single day.

00:09:35.700 If you see a veteran in line today or at any time, pay for their coffee, pay for their lunch.

00:09:41.340 This is just a small way, a small token to say thank you.

00:09:45.140 And I can tell you from experience that it is welcomed and it goes a long way in saying

00:09:51.340 thank you.

00:09:52.120 And one other thing, you guys, if you do run into a veteran today, I want you to post a

00:09:55.500 picture with him or her.

00:09:56.760 And I want you to post it in our Facebook group.

00:09:58.680 We are reserving the group today only for Veterans Day posts.

00:10:02.620 So I want you to upload those pictures.

00:10:04.120 Just go to facebook.com slash groups slash order of man.

00:10:07.320 All you're going to see today is Veterans Day posts.

00:10:09.680 And remember also that the best way to honor our veterans is to live a life every single

00:10:16.040 day worthy of their sacrifice.

00:10:18.380 It's to be a great husband.

00:10:20.140 It's to be a great father.

00:10:21.380 It's to be a great citizen of this nation and to be a great man.

00:10:25.940 So today I want to say, as I wrap things up, thank you from the bottom of my heart to

00:10:30.800 our veterans who have served us, who have served this nation, who have given the ultimate

00:10:35.620 sacrifice, who have done everything they can to protect our way of life.

00:10:39.760 And as always, take action and live worthy of their sacrifice.

00:10:44.100 Those are your Friday Field Notes.

00:10:45.920 Now it's time to crush your excuses, own your choices, accept responsibility, and live manfully.

00:10:52.200 Learn how at orderofman.com forward slash field notes.

Order of Man - November 11, 2016

FFN 029： Honored： A Veterans Day Tribute

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript