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#224: From Combat to Civilian Life: A Green Beret’s Story of Resilience and Grit with Darrell Utt
Join Deny Caballero and Darrell Utt in an inspiring journey through resilience, grit, and the power of storytelling in the military. From West Virginia to the streets of Baghdad, Darrell, a decorated Green Beret, shares his path to becoming part of Special Forces, emphasizing the pivotal role of mentorship, personal growth, and adapting to civilian life post-service. Dive deep into Special Forces selection challenges, combat lessons, and networking strategies. Discover insights from Darrell’s book, Grit to Glory: A Green Beret's Journey from West Virginia to the Streets of Baghdad, and learn how his story can inspire your journey. Tune in to explore the life-changing power of resilience and the untold stories of Special Forces.
👉 Listen now on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts! Don’t forget to follow, like, and subscribe to stay updated with more stories of courage and transformation.
Chapter
00:00 Introduction and the Importance of Storytelling
02:45 From Humble Beginnings to Military Aspirations
06:00 The Journey to Becoming a Green Beret
08:53 The Role of Mentorship and Role Models
12:01 The Decision to Write a Book
14:54 Lessons Learned from Military Experience
17:56 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Selection
20:57 The Importance of a Strong 'Why'
24:00 Experiences in Different Military Groups
26:57 Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life
29:56 Networking and Building Relationships
32:59 The Impact of Social Media on Opportunities
35:46 Final Thoughts and Book Promotion
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LinkedIn: Deny Caballero
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Buy Darrels’ Book Today!
https://www.amazon.com/Grit-Glory-Journey-Virginia-Streets/dp/1964934125
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LinkedIn: Darrel Utt
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrell-utt/
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Produced by Security Halt Media
security hot podcast. Let's go. You're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best with guns, with knives, with his bare hands, a man who's been trained to ignore, ignore weather to live off the land job was disposed of enemy personnel to kill period with nutrition. Happy for that. Uh, daryl, welcome security out podcast man. It's an honor to have you here, brother yeah, it's uh.
Speaker 2:It's an honor to be here. Uh feel privileged, so thank you for the opportunity absolutely man like, just like we started talking earlier.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, one of the most important things that we can do for the next generation of great Green Berets, paratroopers, rangers or Navy SEALs is to share our story. Everybody can relate. When we were coming up, I know that I read tons of stories of Vietnam Green Berets. That gave me that little idea that maybe I could do this, maybe I could be part of this great brotherhood. And if we don't do that, if we don't share our great stories, you know how are we going to inspire next generation? So I'm proud to be here to dive into your book. Uh, grit to glory. Uh, a green berets journey from West Virginia to the streets of Baghdad. Uh, and and I can only imagine that it was uh, uh, it was really tough to grow up in West Virginia.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was, man.
Speaker 2:It was a tough um definitely came from humble beginnings, like a lot of guys actually, I just we were off the air and I was telling you that I was recently in Fayetteville, North Carolina, uh, for uh, tom and Jen Satterley's all secure foundation one of their events, uh, where they help special, special operators and I was just sitting there amongst my people which really made me feel at home Active duty operators, retired operators, their spouses, man, I just felt I was just so much at home.
Speaker 2:But I sat there and listened to the whole weekend and I kept hearing about trauma, childhood trauma, childhood trauma and it was just just like I heard it over and over and I was like it kind of made me feel normal because you know, I came from, uh, from an abusive uh well, especially by today's standards, you know uh, getting beat with spatulas and all kinds of weird stuff, uh, but that was just kind of like a reoccurring theme. It's like, hey, there's a reason why you guys wanted to do what you ended up doing and going to selection and going to the Q course, so you could be a protector, because when you were growing up you probably didn't have anyone protecting you. So you guys make some of the best protectors and that's why you find yourself in a circle and everybody's had really similar backgrounds, so that was definitely reassuring for me to hear. Man, I was just like wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we all have. A vast majority of the Green Berets Rangers, seals, special operators that I've talked to throughout the course of this experiment all have the same origin story deeply traumatic. And it's exactly what you just said. You didn't have anybody protecting you. You didn't have anybody that would step in. So you wanted to become that superhero, you wanted to become that protector, and there's no reason why we gravitate to trying to look and act like we're the hardest, meanest motherfuckers out there, but then, when you get us amongst our family, when we finally recover and we get healed, we're just giant teddy bears Because, at the end of the day, we wanted to be the fucking protector, the guy that stood on that line and said, no, motherfucker, you're not going to be here knocking heads, and it resonates, our motto, resonates with all of us.
Speaker 1:We're not the Green Berets of the John Way era, these knights that everybody said, oh, they're clean cut. Always buy the books. John Way era. These, these nights that everybody's the other clean cut. Always buy the books Like no, the guys like Daryl and and everybody that I've talked to. They come from really bad backgrounds, man, and how did you find yourself having that like that little bit of you know bravado and guts to say you know what? I'm going to join the military.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a. It's a great question. Um, man, I was interested in joining the Marine Corps. That was what caught my attention and here's why. So you know, like my grandparents and my my one of my uncles was in the Air Force. Grandparents served during World War Two, but my dad told me that no one in my family had ever, ever, ever joined the Marine Corps. So I was like this is my chance to kind of make my name here for my family, part of the legacy, like I could be the first to go join the Marine Corps. So I was one of those kids running around in high school with the high and tight, wearing the red Marine Corps recruiting T-shirt, had the cool sticker on the back of my car, you know this is like years, years before joining.
Speaker 2:But I thought I was already man, I was already assimilated in a way, at least for the cool stuff and for the attention. But, and actually I went down that road, dude. I went down the road my dad was like hey, if you do join the service, why don't you try to learn a skill, so that way you can go in, learn your skill, get college money, because we were poor as hell, dude. Get the college money. Then you come out and you have a skill, you have college money and then you can go about your business. And I also, I had a football coach. I got so lucky man, I had a football coach that was National Guard Special Forces from West Virginia and he was a Sergeant Major. I would learn later that he ran our football team, much like a team Sergeant ran an ODA, but I didn't know that at the time. So so he was kind of intriguing, an intriguing figure for me, but it was like so far beyond my comprehension, like green beret sergeant man, like that was like uh, so I was just kind of focused on the Marine Corps thing. Uh, had a recruiter went all the way up to maps and had a recruiter went all the way up to maps and, uh, got through everything, check this out. I was going to be an air traffic controller, because that's what I wanted to do. And they were like yes, of course, you can be an air traffic controller, whatever you want. So then, when I got up to beckley beckley, west virginia, which is where the maps, you know, military entrance processing station for for those listeners out there Um, when I got up there, they were like hey, uh, you don't have the scores to be an air traffic controller. And I was like fuck, fuck, fuck. And I was like well, okay, uh, what what do I get to do? Then? Like, what, what do I have the scores for? And they're like well, let me tell you something. Let me tell you what, how bad do you want to be a Marine? I was like I want to be a Marine, really bad. Like, yes, sir, I want to be a Marine. It's like okay. So you want to be a Marine? Really bad, yes, sir. It's like okay, well, this is what we're going to do, an open contract. Uh, you go to paris island and at the end, uh, the marine corps will decide what job. And I was like, oh, okay, uh. And then in the in the meantime that this is going on.
Speaker 2:I didn't know it at the time, but they had found a cyst in my wrist. No big deal, it was just. You know, I don really I'm not a medical guy, so I mean, actually they cut it out and it's, it's back again, but uh, non-cancerous, all that. But they found this cyst in my wrist so they were kind of going back and forth behind the scenes on the cyst. So, uh, this guy was pressuring me be a Marine, be a Marine. And I remember something my dad had told me if anything is different besides you graduating high school being an air traffic controller, you know, if anything changes, call me, call me. I was like, okay, I got you dad. So I ended up calling my dad. He and he didn't want me to call my dad, like he gave me a lot of pressure. He's like well, why do you?
Speaker 2:need to call your dad, you said you wanted to be a Marine. You're a man, right, you're getting ready to. You know, blah, blah, blah. So I got on the phone with my dad and I said hey, dad, I don't have the scores. And he's like OK, so what does that mean? Very, very many things. That could mean that you could be a cook on a big ass Navy ship. And I was like fuck, no, I don't want to do that. And he goes well, you don't want to do that. Open end contract. So he got, he got my mind right and then I went back in the office. I was prepared to stand up for myself and then the guy.
Speaker 2:The argument was over because the guy was like hey, we got your physical back. There's something wrong with your left wrist. You have a cyst. You're going to have to get that removed before you join. So I was like okay, and then I left, beckley, went back home to Huntington, west Virginia, which is where I'm born and raised, and once I had some time to kind of soak it in and then get my surgery, get the cyst removed, heal up all that stuff, it like I was able to think through things.
Speaker 2:I was like they fucking lied to me man and I say this like no disrespect to the Marine Corps, because I love the Marine Corps man those are some bad ass fucking dudes, some bad ass chicks. Like I got nothing but love and respect for my Marine Corps brother and sisters. But I'm just telling you my experience all the way back in like 1989, 1990, they kind of fucked me so, uh, so I didn't join the Marine Corps, I ended up joining the army and, uh man, best decision you know, because look at where I I ended up my career and all the things that I got to do.
Speaker 2:So, um, so I I know that's a long-winded answer to your question, but no, I was initially intrigued by you know the marines, and then my football coach, because my football coach was able to take me up to camp dawson, west virginia, which is you probably well know, yeah, where delta runs selection and, uh, we got to be practice dummies for the national guard drill sergeants uh, nice, we were practice dummies for them before they went to like their summer, you know, basic training and got to smoke all their trainees and stuff.
Speaker 2:So, uh, we got to experience it a little bit and uh, it was such a great experience. Man, I'm, I'm very thankful that my, that I had my dad and I had my football coach yeah, yeah, that's the importance of having male role models.
Speaker 1:Man, I, I, I can't stress it enough. When guys get you know, everybody goes to the identity issue. But one thing that we don't focus on is like reintegrating in a community, reestablishing yourself in sports, being a coach If you got kids, it's a no brainer being able to be that great mentor for another generation of great Americans. That's the thing that, like it always falls into the radar, but now more than ever we need it. Like just think if you didn't have that National Guard, you know star major that turned became a high school football coach there to support you and kind of mentor you along.
Speaker 1:Like that it's a dying breed man, yeah it really is Like alpha males that are willing to, you know, devote their time, because tons of kids are growing up without dads and the more we just kind of kick that can down the road, the more youth are going to continue moving along this line of just saying, man, fuck it, I'm not good enough for anything. It's a big role that we all need to step into, however we can find ourselves and I know it takes a lot of time and effort but man being that role model for a young, up and coming teen kid that doesn't know what he's going to do, maybe looking at the military, that's a huge part of why National Guard is such a vital aspect of our soft forces man Every day, when they're not at drill, they're a walking billboard man. So kudos to that guy and every other individual out there doing the same thing for the next generation of dudes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, and that was really one of the things that that drew me to writing the book. And actually I didn't want to write a book. It wasn't even something that crossed my mind. You and I both live this life, you know, quiet, professional, all that type of stuff, so it was something that really hadn't even crossed my mind. And I'm I'm a I'm a guy that loves to give shit to our navy seal brothers. Uh, you know, because they're always writing books and they're doing movies and, uh, I jokingly say that the navy seals are the kardashians of the special operations community. So, and that's healthy, man, just like I said with the marine corps I say that just kind of in jest, talking a little shit. I love the seals, man. I think they're badass dudes and badass chicks. Uh, nothing but respect and love. But you know, that's how, that's how the game is, man. We talk shit, but it, dude, it wasn't even in my mind, uh, to write a book until, um, until my very, very first podcast, and I think it was back in, uh, maybe the spring of 2022. And even this, like this, is kind of a humble story. But, um, my special forces team leader, uh, who's now uh, an instructor up at West point. He knows a guy's name. You probably know him too, uh, ryan Fugit. He, uh, he's now, uh, an instructor up at West point. He knows a guy's names you probably know him too Uh, ryan Fugit. He, uh, he runs combat story. Uh, that's his podcast and it's it's a successful podcast.
Speaker 2:And I reached out to my old team leader and I said, hey, can you get me in touch with Ryan Fugit? And he's like, yeah, of course, uh. So I got on the phone with Ryan. I said, hey, man, I just started working at the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation chief of operations. Our CEO is kind of an interesting dude. He's a Naval Academy grad, mit grad, navy SEAL and a fucking NASA astronaut, go figure, right. I was like, hey, you probably want this guy on your podcast, right? And he's like, oh, yeah, man, that'd be, he'd be a great guest, of course. And I was like, okay, so I was just trying to set my boss up Like I had no interest in being in the podcast, never been on a podcast, uh. And then Ryan was like, hey, man, actually I've heard your name a lot. Like, hey, man, actually I've heard your name a lot, uh, 10th group guy. And I was like yep, 10th group guy and uh, he goes.
Speaker 2:I'd like for you to be on the show and I was like no, no way man, he goes dude, seriously, I've heard your name before, um, I'd like for you to be on my show. So I went on Ryan show, did the episode and and afterwards he's like dude, you got a lot of really badass stories. I talked to a lot of people. I talked to Delta dudes, sf dudes, rangers, pilots. Like you got some really cool ass stories. You should consider writing a book. So that put it in my mind. That was that first little thing. And then I started doing more and more podcasts and I would say 75, 80% of the time the guys would say hey, dude, you should write a book. Uh, and then you know everything that happened with Iraq, everything that happened with Afghanistan, which I just want to be very clear, upfront. Uh, not be a Tim Waltz, sorry to get political, but I never served a day in Afghanistan.
Speaker 2:I only served in Iraq. I never did. But I never served a day in Afghanistan. I only served in Iraq. I never did anything, uh, in in Afghanistan. But I know my brothers and sisters were hurting from what happened in Afghanistan Like I could just man. I knew that there was a lot of hurt, so I thought that there's a good way for me to contribute and do something positive and it's like hey, like hey, man, we, we had no control over how iraq and afghanistan ended.
Speaker 2:But I know that I learned some really valuable lessons and I'm not just talking about cool shit like oh man, check out this cool mission that we did back in the day, back in the gunfighting days, or wild, wild west, like no man, I. I really learned some valuable lessons. Not just cool shit, but get punched in the face, type shit. And you got to put your big boy pants up and you got to man up because no one's coming to help you. You got to help yourself and I just thought I had some really valuable lessons. And one thing went to another and I ended up writing the book and something that you said earlier. It's like you know, I was a kid from humble beginnings, rough, rough childhood, and probably a lot of people was like this dude's not going to amount to much, like it's just true man, it's like.
Speaker 2:I don't. I don't blame those people for saying that, but I would say a lot of people were like man, this kid's not going to amount to much, if anything. And I was able to do it. I was able to go to really high levels uh, not only just in the military, but on the executive side as well, as the chief of operations, and I want this story to inspire. Hopefully, if one person reads my book and they're like man, if that fucking dude from West Virginia could do it just with you know, kind of having a stubborn, hard head, not quit like they're going to drag my fucking dead body out of here then I can do it too. Then I. Then it's like success and something we talked about earlier too.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of guys are a little sensitive to people writing books or getting their name out there or maybe doing podcasts and sharing stories and interviewing guys, talking to guys. That's just the nature of the beast and, like you said, I'm probably going to have to deal with it. But there are a lot of haters. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy. But, man, I'm with you. I think we got to tell these stories, we got to capture these stories Because, just like you, man, I grew up reading about the Rangers and the Lerps and Green Berets and Vietnam and the movies like those things matter. I don't give a fuck who you are, those things matter, it absolutely does.
Speaker 1:And then you said something I want to reiterate it's that grit that is. It's missing in in our american culture right now the ability to look at an uh, an obstacle, uh, an arduous task and say I'm gonna fucking do this, regardless of how difficult it may seem, it may seem impossible, and you'll always have that voice telling you you can't do it, you can't do it. There's that little voice you have to fucking hold on to an amplifier. I can't do it. Every day in selection, every, every last one of us that made it through there had that same fucking loud voice saying you're no good, you can't make it. But you had that little voice that said you can do it.
Speaker 2:One more day. I'm so glad you brought up selection because I know I'm I'm going to share a story with you and I'm going to know that you, probably you either felt the same way. You either saw the same thing, you experienced the same thing, and hopefully this could be powerful for folks out there that are maybe considering joining the army or or going to special force assessment selection or you know, the Marine Raider, their fucking pipeline, whatever. But I know when I got to special force assessment selection, I'd been in the military, I was an infantry guy, uh, and we got to talk about uh because I was just listening to you and earl plumley who I fucking love man, earl plumley's one of the funniest fucking dudes.
Speaker 2:So good man, yeah yeah, uh, I wrote a couple notes down. I wanted to circle back, but we need to talk about how I ended up in my group because you guys were talking about that.
Speaker 2:That shit made me laugh, uh so I have like three notes that I want to cover, hopefully at some point. But yeah, I won a special force assessment selection six years infantry. Uh, I was. I was a staff sergeant when I went to. I'm pretty sure I was a staff sergeant when I went to selection. But I remember showing up, dude, and like, looking around I was like holy fuck, there were some dudes that look like nfl size football players. And then I was like oh shit, man, this dude looks like the swede from heartbreak ridge. You know the dude that was like by clint eastwood.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like this fucking dude's the swede man.
Speaker 2:And then there's some dudes, like some dudes over here on this side that were like those fucking strong, wiry, like jackrabbits man that would just run like fucking 11 minute two miles and shit. And it's like holy fuck man, like I'm not in the category with the NFL football players, I'm not over here in the Jackrabbit pile with these dudes that are running 11 minute two miles. I'm like I had imposter syndrome, so bad, and I was like man, I'm just a normal dude, like I'm kind of an infantry knucklehead kind of dude, like how am I going to do this? But I think this is something that's you know it's hard to measure, and you see it with professional sports when they're drafting football players. You know Tom Brady is a great example. It's like man, it's hard to measure what's in that fucking dude's heart and his brain. So true, and if you got a guy that really like refuses to quit, like hey, I'm not quitting this bitch, they will have to drag my fucking lifeless body out of here. That's the only way they're getting me out of here.
Speaker 2:Because another thing you know and I know you probably remember this as well you know you would go to bed at night and then you wake up in the next morning and there's a bunch of dudes missing. They would wait until the middle of the night so there'd be less shame, yes. And then they say, hey, hey, I'm tapping out. And a lot of those guys that tapped out, man, were those big, strong ass dudes. So I'm so glad that I didn't listen, you know, to my mind and that imposter syndrome, because a lot of those guys didn't make it. Bro, did you have that same?
Speaker 1:experience abso-fucking-lutely. I remember one one at the same situation. I looked across and you see, I still remember this guy I can't remember his name Yoked out, huge white kid from Utah, just a beast. And I remember he was always heading me on the runs, always heading me. I'm like fuck dude, this guy's built to be a Green Beret. And then we got to the obstacle, the fucking the nasty neck. And this dude is just crushing, gets up to the tallest obstacle and it's that confidence one where there's no netting and shit. You just have to skip across all those logs and you're fucking high up. Motherfucker eats it oh, all the way down.
Speaker 1:Boom, I'm the next guy. Fucking, get up there and just go across. I'm like shit, okay. And that's when I realized it ain't about how fucking big you are, it ain't about how many fucking muscles. And if you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, if you're going to get back up from something like that and get back on that obstacle. And I realized I looked down and he gets back up, he's not hurt, but he just walks off. It was like like that was it for him, just that was it. And then that's when I realized, okay, I'm willing to die for this shit, I'm not going back to the 82nd, I'm not walking into that company area with my head down low, saying an obstacle fucking beat me or defeated me, like I'm.
Speaker 1:And the other great thing was just being able to look to your left and right and I went with a lot of guys from the 82nd and realizing like, okay, like, I'm not going to quit If that guy continues going, I'm not going to fucking quit. Like when you see guys drop off, it's like okay, that dude quit, I'm not going to quit and you just continue pushing through. And that little bit of like, like positive voice in your head is such a huge thing Like the negative one's gonna always be there. If you come from a background like ours, you know everybody always told you you're not gonna amount to shit, but you gotta amplify the little one, the little voice, and maybe I got it. Yeah, you gotta quit last night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you gotta you gotta be positive and, uh, you gotta say, like man, I'm built different, I'm gonna do this and I and I think another thing that I saw there too was having a strong why and having a strong purpose, because I really felt like in my mind I wanted to be a Green Beret for the right reasons, because I wasn't really exposed to Green Berets. My first duty station was Fort Ord, california Light Infantry, and then I went to fort lewis and we were right beside second ranger battalion. I had the fucking slightest idea. First special forces group was up there. Dude, I never saw those cats so they were like invisible to me.
Speaker 2:I saw second ranger battalion. Those dudes were fucking impressive but I I didn't know. First group existed. Then I got to fort campbell and where I lived, on post to where I worked, I was a rockasan, I would drive by the ranges and fifth group was always out there and in my eyes or in my mind, as a young infantry dude I didn't know there's fucking you know, 50, 60 odas, a fifth group like I thought it was like the same dudes out there training.
Speaker 2:All the time. I was like man. These dudes are intense, they're always shooting and they have boonie caps. They weren't wearing all the battle rattle that we were. So my why and my purpose I was like man. If I'm going to go to combat, I want to go with the best of the best. So I felt like I had a strong why and a strong purpose on why I wanted to be a Green Beret.
Speaker 2:And I'll tell you, man I know you saw this as well, or you heard this the guys that went to selection and they wanted to to be a green beret because the green beret was cool, or they wanted to wear Oakley sunglasses, or they wanted to pick up some chick uh, you know all that kind of bullshit. Yeah, when fucking your feet uh, look like hamburger and all your skin's gone and you still got to put that rucksack on your back and go for a 12 miler or a 20 miler or whatever, when your why and your purpose is I want to wear Oakley's cause they're cool, or I want to impress so-and-so back home Cause I know she's going to think I'm a cool dude If I got a green beret, like that shit doesn doesn't. That doesn't help you, it doesn't carry over. Those guys quit and I wonder do they still have the shack of shame out there at camp mccall, or they? Uh is that too? Uh is that's like no man, we can't do that anymore it was.
Speaker 1:it's um, it's funny you bring that up Cause that's something that I realized too it it has to be a deeper. Like I I get messages on the, on my inbox or social media and they're like well, it's always a like superficial reason as to why they want to be a green beret and it's like man, like it's a calling. Like I'm willing to help anybody. Like, but it's not for Instagram. Yeah, you're not going to do this career. So you can look good on Instagram Years later, afterwards, then you can post it and reminisce the times.
Speaker 1:But let me tell you, man, like you walk into that team room and you're walking into one of them. It is the most humbling experience for any human being. Walking in there and realizing, oh fuck, these dudes are about that life. Like, if you're not, if you're not killing yourself every day through your training and your selection, because you want to be with the very best. Like don't, don't go into the pipeline. Like you should have this drive to be better and be, achieve something that's greater than anything you could ever dream up. Not because you want to wear Patagonia uniform and you want to wear a cool guy. Can't like that.
Speaker 2:I don't want to blast my boots.
Speaker 1:I want my a blast to be out there. Yeah, like I I know for me it was. I wanted to be with professionals and and I saw the best guys from my company, all of them would go on through selection. Every one of the guys that I looked up to or wanted to like work with, everybody always knew that it's like okay, you come here at 82nd, get your associate's degree in combat, and then you, if you want to be a professional and get that master's and doctorate, you, you got to go to selection. Yeah.
Speaker 2:There's no other way. Dude, I got to say something about the 82nd because when I was listening to you and Earl Plumlee talk the other day, yesterday, you said something that I never fucking heard before. I spent 26 and a half years in the Army and retired back in January 2017 and still pretty much been linked and associated with the Army my son's in the Army now but you said a term that I'd never fucking heard about the 82nd and it really blew my mind. I was like how did I miss this? I mean, I was never part of the 82nd, but you said double aces, like those double aces on your sleeves, and I was like, dude, that's cool as hell. How did?
Speaker 1:I not do this.
Speaker 2:It's like well, I guess I wasn't part of the 82nd. You know the double shout out to my old platoon sergeant yeah, yeah, my platoon sergeant, sergeant mac.
Speaker 1:I'll never forget that guy. And is it funny? You think, as your platoon sergeant, like that, the most mature, amazing ncos. And you reflect back now. Mac was in his 30s and he looked at this guy like the the most professional and like know it all. Like oh, oh, this is God talking to us. I'm like fuck, he was trying to figure shit out on the fly too. He was just a 30-year-old man in combat with a bunch of fucking kids. Yeah, but I never forget that. It's like you know you get back from this trip, you're going to have those fucking double aces. You're going to be somebody I love it. Continue moving forward. Like it's not about just fucking being here and like, hey, great, you want to do this for your career, be conventional. But that man and every other great leader I ever had, they always wanted you to do something better, reach for something higher.
Speaker 2:Even if they never went to selection, even if they never aspired, they didn't want you to just sit there and just be the average second cat the average guy yeah guy yeah, yeah, but that was cool as hell, man, when I heard the double aces, that was, that was really neat, yeah yeah, I'm very proud of being able to have have that lineage man I talk about all the time like 18 x-ray.
Speaker 1:I have so much respect for those cats. Like you come off the street and you go into this life fuck yeah, dude like that, that is. That is fucking hard. But coming in from the active duty side, being an infantry cat or being a petroleum supply specialist, like that, that also takes a lot of fucking guts. Yeah, because everybody's gonna doubt, every motherfucker is gonna doubt you and when you go to selection, a lot of those dudes are gonna be like he's gonna be back in like three days. I mean, that's a lot of fucking, that's a lot of hate, that's negativity.
Speaker 2:That's a lot of pressure too, man. It's a lot of pressure, for sure yeah.
Speaker 1:What was it like for you when you finally decided to say like okay, yeah, I've had enough of the light infantry world, it's time for me to go yeah, you know it's interesting, um, in july of 1995, uh, I was with the 101st, I was in the third battalion, 187th rocassans, july of 95.
Speaker 2:I always remember this because my son was born july 1st of 1995. July 24th of 1995, we deployed to sign that egypt for six months. Fucking, really, really awesome, right, um? And you know now my son's, you know my son's in the army, uh, they just, you know him and his wife just had a daughter, my granddaughter, and they have 12 weeks of parental leave. So it, you know, it made my heart proud, dude, like the army has a fucking policy 12 weeks of parental leave. So it, you know, it made my heart proud, dude, like the army has a fucking policy, 12 weeks of parental leave. And they gave him every single day of that man, it really made my heart proud because you know that's, that's tough, if you know, for most people that have had kids, like man, you have a kid for a couple weeks and then you leave for six months, that's, it's not a really fucking great thing.
Speaker 2:But anyway, uh, I was in sign out egypt for for six months and didn't have shit to do really, um, I was an e5, I was a team leader at the time and my squad leader had a, had a mental breakdown and sign out egypt's like heavy squad leader, you know, because the outposts and all that shit. And uh, we were at checkpoint three, bravo, which was the checkpoint, uh, where everybody had to travel through. I can't remember the fucking mountain name, but it's where uh moses received, uh, mount sinai, it's where moses received the ten commandments, so a lot of people would go through that checkpoint. That's. That's where we were at.
Speaker 2:My squad leader had a mental mental uh breakdown and I got a call from up to sergeant Uh. He's like hey, man, uh is sergeant so-and-so in the area. And I was like, uh, no, he's, he's not here. And the like the you know it's a talk the tactical operation center, it's like no, he's not here, he goes. Okay, good, I don't want you to go get him, but I want you to make sure that he doesn't have any access to his weapon, any weapon, ammunition, bayonet. I was like this is fucking weird.
Speaker 1:I was like okay, Roger, that.
Speaker 2:But, um, so I was thrust, needless to say, I was thrust into the squad leader position. But so I was thrust, needless to say, I was thrust into the squad leader position. That was the time I started really focusing like, hey, I think I might be able to do something else. And because there wasn't a whole lot of shit going on in Sinai, you know, all we could do really is train and get in shape. So I was. I was in ridiculous shape, running, rockingucking, push-ups, set-ups, all that shit, and I was leading a squad. So I thought that was pretty cool.
Speaker 2:But unfortunately I came back from that January 96, right before we redeployed the 101st got into this huge fucking we're going to be fast rope, like a fast rope kick. So the first few times I started fast rope and was like, oh, this is kind of fun. And then, uh, I slid down the rope a little too fast and broke my fibula, uh, so that fucking sucked. But I came back from that deployment I was in, uh, you know, basically had a brace and I ended up getting a cask and shit once my flight was over. But uh, as soon as I got that bitch off, man, I started right back after it and I went to selection, uh, that September, september, october 96. And I just kind of like I had that bug and and I was fortunate enough to to make it through and funny story, because I heard you know you and earl talking about you know, uh, the different groups and how you came about. You know the different groups, so check this story out. So I was at fort campbell, uh, and because I'm from huntington west virginia, fort campbell is like, uh, five hours from huntington west virginia, so it's not a bad drive, right. You could four day weekends, you could go back see your family and all that shit. So I like that aspect. I also liked hunting and fishing and Fort Campbell is a great place to hunt and fish.
Speaker 2:So once I got through selection, I was like trying to strategize and figure out like how can I come back to fifth group? I didn't know like what fifth group was all about, or you know all this kind of shit. I'll tell you a little bit about that in a second. But I was in my mind. I was just thinking like, oh, fifth group is five hours from my house or from my home where I grew up and there's good hunting and fishing. That was kind of my thing, like seems like a good place to be for me.
Speaker 2:So someone, you know those like those lawyers in the in the ranks. They were like, oh, dude, what you need to do before you go to the Q course, you need to go make an appointment to see the fifth group command sergeant's major and make an appointment and get a letter of acceptance. You know, if you make it through the q course, you'll get to come back to fifth group. I was like, fuck, okay, bet, I'll do that. So I went through that process and uh, the day finally came. I had my appointment with the fifth group command sergeant's major and walked into his office and he was a very, very nice guy. For me just to be a e5 or e6, nobody, uh, very talkative, very, very nice guy, very professional, and uh, he says, okay, so how can I help you? I was like I would really like to get a letter of acceptance. Um, you know, past selection, I'm getting ready to go to the q course. I'd like to get a letter of acceptance from you so I could come back to fifth group, be part of this group.
Speaker 2:And I felt like I think this might have been before. Punked was a big thing. But it was kind of like he's looking around like man, is this dude fucking with me? And he's like so I got to ask you why? Why do you want to come to fifth group? And I was like, well, it's our major. It's. Well, it's our major, it's it's close to where I grew up. Uh, you know, I've lived here, my wife and I, my son, we've lived here for the last couple years. Love the area, love hunting and fishing. And he started shaking his head. He's like son, I just don't get a lot of people coming in here asking for letters of acceptance to come to my group.
Speaker 2:This is a little strange and how I could like, I was like, really, he's like, well, uh, I don't know if you know the places that we go, but there's typically no women and no booze and that's kind of two things that. And I think this goes back to the why and the purpose. Yeah, like that wasn't my why, that wasn't my purpose, but he goes, kind of those things. Uh, a lot of people are just like nope, you guys can keep fifth group, I'll pass. But uh, so I had this letter of acceptance.
Speaker 2:It didn't do shit for me. I went to the q course. I turned in my letter of acceptance. I was like, dude, this is fucking golden. And then I started talking to everybody in my class of acceptance. I was like, dude, this is fucking golden.
Speaker 2:And then I started talking to everybody in my class like I couldn't find anybody that wanted to go to fifth group. And then I was you know part of the 18 echoes. Uh, none of the 18 echoes wanted to go to fifth group. So I was like shit, I'm like the only dude like this is a no-brainer. And then, after robin sage called my name, they're like first battalion, 10th special forces group. I was like where the fuck is that at? Is that? It was like I'm going to Stuttgart, germany. Uh, I would find out much later that I am what you call a language rock. Uh, the aptitude, you know like they want a guys that that you know new Arabic. And they're like man, this man, this dude, can barely speak English and we might want to put him in like an English refresher training before he goes to his team, but they gave me German, an easier language, which I still kind of fucked that up too.
Speaker 2:But yeah, that was kind of my story. But yeah, that was kind of my story and I got man, I got such a big kick out of you and earl talking about, uh, you know how how you came about with different groups, that earl watching those videos and shit. I do have to ask you though, because I don't know if I heard how you ended up with seventh uh, how that all transpired I.
Speaker 1:I was looking for every edge I could in the q course and, uh, I remember to this day it was like I really want to be an 18 Delta and you go through selection and at the end you sit down with the instructor and they're going through all the things you did. Great. And I remember when I got selected it had a visual representation of all the things you did and it looked like a bullseye. Everything was like physical ability, Everything was right in the center and then there was one lone thing way off to the side and it was my math oh, that's right, that's right, the guy's like you know, you're creating this, you create that.
Speaker 1:What mos? And I'm like 18 delta. He's like you see that that's your math, you're an 18. Bravo, like 18, bravo 18, bravo it is what language.
Speaker 1:I was like. You know, I am from panama. There you go, can we get spanish? But at the same time I wanted to go to 10th group. That was. That was the thing. I'm like, man, really weasel my way in. Oh yeah, europe, the, uh, the, everything, everything about it. Like I was like I would love to go to 110 and I just figured, maybe I can weasel my way in.
Speaker 1:And it was all the way up all the way up through the end of Sage. I still remember my IOD at Cadre. He's giving out assignments and he comes up to me. I was like, before you say anything, is there any chance in hell I can go 10th group? And he's like your last name is fucking Caballero Going to 7th group. And he's like your last name is fucking Caballero going to seventh group. I'm like seventh group, it is, but you know what? Ultimately I I'm glad I went to where I went.
Speaker 1:I went to the rent and the rent empire. I can't say enough great things about my time at seventh group Some of the greatest friends I've ever had in my life to ultimately, you know a lot of us, like I said, guys that come from our background. We often are also looking for family, and I'll be the first to say that seventh group also gave me brothers. It gave me the family that I always wanted, people that I knew I could count on, individuals with moral integrity, individuals that when they say what something, they mean it and that's something that it is, you know across the board. And I've got friends from every group and it's one of the greatest things I've ever been able to accomplish in my life, outside of being a husband, outside of being a up and coming dad.
Speaker 1:Um, going to seventh group was like the greatest thing I could have gotten out of the. That experience it's. It's, it was humbling to go back now only to the country that I'm from, being able to go back to Panama, being able to go throughout the entire area and experience things that that I did. Um. That's why I always tell people like dude be grateful for whatever God gives you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's that's a great way to look at it and I know that you experience this too, man, when you get to that point and you're just so grateful that you're one of the guys that are graduating because there's probably a handful of dudes, maybe even more that got really bad news, like, hey, man, you didn't make it. Or hey, you just invested a whole year and a half of your life and you know you're not what we're looking for, so you're going to go back to 101st or the 82nd or whatever, so just to be able to make it to the end and then to get that news. It might be like a little bit crushing at first, because I really wanted to go to fifth group, but then it was like, hey, you're going to first battalion, tenth group. I was like, well, fuck, awesome, wherever that's at, I'm going to go. You're just so grateful that you were one of those guys.
Speaker 2:Um, it's funny you mentioned panama, man. My, uh, we went to panama for the what was that? They used to call it jotc or jotb the jungle operations, whatever the fuck it was. But uh, I went there as a? Uh, as an infantry guy man, and that was a fucking crazy experience, man, to be out in the jungle, and I've. That's the first time I ever heard grown men at night like fucking yelling, you know, screaming and shit because someone's crawling on them, or, and I was one of those guys too.
Speaker 2:Man, as a, as a younger dude, I was like a grabber, you know, like yeah, uh, you know like walking and trying to be quiet and shit like that. So I kind of like picked up this habit. I think it was from you know, I was born and raised in west virginia, so I went hunting fish and trap and all that shit and it was just the way I kind of like moved around the woods and I would kind of like use shit, um, and in panama, man, you cannot fucking do that shit, because I think it's called black palm or whatever. It's like those big ass fucking needles from the trees, like the first time I went and did that I was like, oh shit, I'm not doing that again we had a dude that got bit by one of those snakes.
Speaker 2:I think they travel in twos, I can't remember what they are. Uh, then they talked about like poison, dart frogs and shit.
Speaker 1:I was like man, this place is crazy, panama is crazy, dude yeah, there's a lot of shit out there and I remember the being in peru going into the jungles there. Same thing like you. You go to bed and your little cool guy uh, you know, hammock your, you know, got your netting and everything over you. And then you know, you fall asleep and you wake up in the middle of night and you turn on your lamp and you just see the entire thing is just covered with fucking all sorts of weird creepy crawlies and you're like you know, maybe I don't have to piss, I'm just gonna sit here. She's gonna hold it to the morning. Yeah, man, what a tough shit comes out at night, dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, our green berets from like the 80s and 70s that were out there, like you know, I think, I think we got lucky with iraq and afghanistan yeah yeah, man, the jungle is a whole different fucking scenario, man, yeah and and a cold weather too.
Speaker 2:I you know I got a kick out of listening you guys talking about the cold weather part too. Um, I was one of those guys, man, we were doing cold weather too. I got a kick out of listening to you guys talk about the cold weather part too. I was one of those guys. Man, we were doing cold weather training. My AT Delta was looking at my toes and my feet and shit. It's like man, I mean, it was just cold. It's so cold you can't really do much. There's not much we can really do to keep much warmer. But he's like man, you really need to stop dipping that copenhagen and shit like it got to that point I was like fuck man, this is bad.
Speaker 2:I can't even brother, can't even enjoy a dip of copenhagen man, but uh, but yeah, that dude, the jungle, the cold man, that's a whole different animal, you know, trying to fight that shit fuck, yeah, no next generation warfare.
Speaker 1:Um yeah, those guys are gonna have a tough one, and if they find themselves back in the jungle, good luck.
Speaker 2:Boys especially with all this shit going on with drones and stuff too. Man like russia, ukraine is like they're killing dudes when they're trying to take a dump out in the woods and stuff.
Speaker 1:Dude, we are so fucking lucky, our generation of guys that made it through Afghanistan, I mean, at the very end we were using Mavic drones. We were using it just to get a little more forward of the line, be able to see what's going on out there. But now you weaponize those systems and it's funny, the younger generation, they've been playing these video games utilizing drones as weapon systems and I was explaining this to a friend of mine. I'm like, dude, think about Call of Duty. You kill enough people, you get a drone.
Speaker 1:Like we've been talking, and these kids have grown up using drones and we, you know, we had switchblades, we had access to, to a little bit of it, but now drone warfare and being able to put this shit on social media. People are desensitized, it's. They've seen ukrainians and russians get murdered by winged robots for for over years two, three years now, yeah, on a repeated basis. Nobody gives a fuck, except for guys like us that know what it's like to go to combat and understand that like. At the end of the day, that is a human being. Yeah, it is. Kids should not be watching the shit on instagram, twitter and facebook just and looking at the, the human it like the last few seconds of that feed.
Speaker 1:You see that dude's face? Yeah, right before that drone hits and I'm just like this is going to fuck up our kids. We have to innovate and figure out how we're going to defeat this. But, man, it is insane. Warfare, yeah, insane. Yeah, it really is, man, it really is. And you retired at 2017? Yeah, january 2017. What was your transition like? Because that's the other part that we need to be able to talk about more as soft professionals, understanding that, whether you get out as an E7 or a CSM at the group level, transition is something that we're going to all have to face.
Speaker 2:Like what was your transition, like, well, I actually had a good transition, but at the same time, I just shared like one of my lessons learned. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. Um, I'm also on Instagram, but I'm still trying to figure out, like, what the fuck I'm doing on Instagram. But I'm still trying to figure out like what the fuck I'm doing on Instagram. And you know, me and a buddy were uh sending DMS and back on, uh back and forth on LinkedIn. It's like, hey, I just sent you a message, did you get it on uh Instagram? I was like no man. I was like maybe that explains why when I send other people messages I don't know if it's a follow thing or whatever, but anyway, I'm trying to learn my way on Instagram. I'm really really active, primarily on LinkedIn, and it's interesting that you just asked this question because I just shared this lesson learned probably a week and a half, two weeks ago on LinkedIn. I was like hey, what are the biggest mistakes I feel like, in my humble opinion, that I made when I transitioned?
Speaker 2:My official retirement date was January 2017. July of 2016, because I was just doing fucking transition stuff and appointments and all that. I actually started working July of 2016. I had my first big boy job working up in DC. I was actually working at the Museum of the Bible. So I was working from July 2016 through my retirement in January 2017. And I worked from July 2016, all the way up to the end of July of 2024, which just a couple of months ago. I worked straight. I worked at the Museum of the Bible as a director of security, director of operations. I worked at one of the top engineering firms in the country Thornton Tomasetti on the protective design and security side, worked for those guys for two or three years, and then I landed the job chief of operations at the national medal of honor museum foundation, which is where I got to know Earl and a bunch of other medal of honor recipients that are cool as hell. Uh, I did that job for two and a half years, uh, and now I'm, you know, focused on my book and all of those things.
Speaker 2:But, dude, I work straight, and the lesson that I would like to share with you and the audience is this fucking, take some time for yourself. Take some time to just take a breather, take a knee, drink some water, be in the shade, but just take a little bit of time for yourself, because I feel like I wrote hard man. I mean, all three of those jobs were very demanding and they took a lot of time away from my family and all of those things, and in my mind I was just like man, I got to work, I got to work, I got to get my daughter through school, my son had already had the GI bill and all that. But I really, really wish that I would have just taken a couple of months for myself and my family and kind of got a breather and then went and pursued something like the work is always going to be there. I don't give a fuck who you are or what kind of work you're trying to chase. The work is always going to be there, like you'll find it or it'll find you. But take a little bit of time for yourself. I didn't and just kind of felt like I was. I was a little bit burnout or a lot burnout, and it was so nice. You know, august, um, this past August and September, you know I've I've just been focused on the book and trying to set up events and trying to promote it, social media, all that shit. It's actually been nice to take a breather, man, and to go on vacations without you know answering emails and phone calls and all that shit. So that would be my biggest, biggest lesson and is to take some time for yourself and a lot of people really focus, you know, on the resume and all that shit. Man, nobody gives a fuck about your resume. I tried to. You know I I was sending cold resumes to like the NFL Cause that was one time that was like my dream jobs.
Speaker 2:Like oh, I'll fucking be a director of security for fucking Detroit lions or something you know, like whatever. Uh, man, fucking nobody looks at those things. Like all that shit Typically for like those bigger positions, it's like who you know, network type shit. Like really focus on your network and the relationships around, because that's how you're going to find something. All three of my jobs that I got post military Well, that one was kind of, you know, before I left the military but all three of the jobs that I got was a result of someone that I knew networking, you know, talking to people on the phone, all that type of stuff. It wasn't because, you know, I spent $3, $3,000 on a resume or some other bullshit. There's a lot of scams out there.
Speaker 1:Yep. A lot of scams telling you we'll generate a resume and we'll get in front of people. No Networking LinkedIn Guys refuse and constantly bash against it. And then they come back like okay, you're right, help me start up a LinkedIn. Too easy, it's too easy. And then it's starting to grow that network.
Speaker 2:Yeah, can I say one thing about LinkedIn real quick, man, absolutely I'm really active on LinkedIn. I try to post five days a week. I typically. You know, saturday and Sunday I don't typically do anything unless it's kind of like fun, bullshit type stuff. But um, and I'm trying to learn from other guys. You know, herb Thompson is one of the guys I look at Um and there's a few others Um, but LinkedIn has given me opportunities just because I post and I have kind of a system I'll typically post about like a lessons learned from my military days. I do like a feature Friday Today I did mine on Tom Satterley and typically do something like about a speaking engagement or something like that, because with my book coming out, I'm trying to do more speaking engagements and I'm actually interacting with other people too, because there's a ton of people that just post on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2:They just go in there and they make a post and they're fucking out, man, they don't, and that fucks up the algorithm, like they don't like their stuff's not as effective as the person that's actually interacting and doing it right, or at least what I consider doing it right. I mean, anybody can just go post and then fucking drop, you know, step away from it. But because I've made some of those posts about speaking engagements, I've had other people reach out to me and say hey, daryl, we need a keynote speaker. Would you come down and do something? San Antonio Veterans Day, it's like, absolutely, I get on the phone. I was like, hey, I'm just curious, like how'd you find me? I found you on LinkedIn because I see that your post and you, uh, like your speaking engagement stuff and it's me, you know, I have take a picture me speaking and then I'll say some cool shit that I was speaking about that day and that's what they saw.
Speaker 2:So the opportunities are there. You just got to be smart about it. Nick lavery's another guy that I try to learn from, uh, just to see how, cause he's been doing it forever. And Nick started with a book. You know his book, uh. So there's guys out there that you can kind of follow. But there are opportunities and there are tons. I will, I promise you this. And the audience out there listening there's tons of people that are reading your shit, that you don't know that are reading your shit, but they're just kind of like observing and they're just and something's going to entice them at some point, maybe something, that you do a post and they're going to reach out to you and they're going to want something, or hey, we'd love to have you come out. We're going to buy 150 copies of your book. You can do our keynote. Uh, what's your fee?
Speaker 1:boom, yeah, that's it right there, you know it's so true, and and the more, the more I engage, the more I learn, and then I'm just focus on authentic engagement yes, yes, that's it, dude shows.
Speaker 1:That's what I talk about. You can do the same thing at home Figure out what you're passionate about, figure out what you want to get into and start networking and working with these individuals that are already in the space I think one of the. I forget the gentleman's name. He documents his life, talks about what he works. He presents this image that he has a master's degree, a PhD, and he's super successful. But come to find out, the guy never went to college. He started from the ground up doing something that nobody else is doing, and he found a way to be successful in it and he shares his story.
Speaker 1:You can do the same thing at home. You just have to figure out what you're passionate about, figure out what you want to do. And here's again another plug for an organization that will help you when it comes to transition. You don't have to do it alone. When you get to the time when you're starting to look at being able to take advantage of programs, look up the Honor Foundation. Oh yeah, start taking advantage of these programs. That will help you transition and they will help you set up your LinkedIn for free. You don't have to pay anything.
Speaker 1:There's people out there that will market themselves as a LinkedIn guru. You don't have to pay them. Don't go for those people. Just go to their place. Go find resources that can help you with the entire transition process, such as the Honor Foundation. They helped me. They helped tons of individuals that come on the show. So figure out what you want to do, but then actually take some time Like that's the one thing that not enough people are saying, and I'm so glad you brought that up Take some frigging time. You've got to figure out how to be, you know, a full present father, husband. Take a knee, relax. You owe it to yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm so glad you brought up the Honor Foundation too. They've changed since, you know, I've retired and I don't know if the names I think I think the names changed the one that I went through but I did go through something similar to the Honor Foundation and I'll never forget this man. I thought this was kind of important too. It's an important point as a, as a learning point. So I was working with a gal and we were going back and forth and she was going to help me with my transition and, uh, doing interviews and all that shit, and I did all the tests and and then finally she had some feedback for me and she said, daryl, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but, um, do you know what self-deprecating is? And I was like, uh, not really, I not, not really. It's a fucking big ass name word. And she said, hey, I get the humble part that you know, green berets are humble, but it's almost like too much. It's too much the way you are Like I think it's cool in a way, but it's too much.
Speaker 2:Because here's the thing, daryl, you're getting ready to transition and you're going to be on the civilian side and you've been around guys that you know can can like look at your uniforms, like, oh, you know Green Beret or you know special forces, ranger, airborne, blah, blah, blah. You know you can look at someone's uniform real quick and kind of do an assessment. Or you've served with that person and you know what they're like in combat, like your reputation. It's like okay, well, those guys aren't going to be there, you're not going to be wearing special forces, ranger, cab, all that shit. So you can't be self deprecating, you can't be so humble because you're talking to someone that doesn't fucking know you from Adam.
Speaker 2:So you got to know you. You got to be able to sell yourself and those skills that you had in the military, how those translate to help them. You know how are your, your ability is going to help their company. You need to be able to articulate that. And if you're just mr humble guy and it's just like, hey, you're the gray guy, like that shit's not going to work on the civilian side. You got to fucking come out of your shell. You got to be able to sell yourself. And that was man, that was fucking. That was a big, uh, learning point for me, dude.
Speaker 1:That was a big one that's a huge one the guys need to understand. It's once you transition out. You have to be able to sell yourself. You have to be able to tell you know that provider, that or that hiring manager who you are and what you're about. Like you have to. You have to be able to talk about yourself and it doesn't have to be from a place of, like you know, boastfulness and ego driven. But, yeah, be proud of what you've done. Be able to translate that on paper, because that's how you're going to get the job. No one's going to walk in there and just throw it at you If you don't talk about yourself. You got to get comfortable doing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure man For sure, darrell, it's been great having you on the show again.
Speaker 2:What's the name of the book? So the name of the book is Grit to Glory A Green Beret's Journey from West Virginia to the Streets of Baghdad. It's primarily focused on an eight-month rotation, from January to August 2006, that me and my team were in Baghdad, and what's significant about that time period is for for maybe some that don't know in February of oh six um, a Shia shrine was bombed by Al Qaeda and it ignited a civil war across Iraq and we just happened to be at ground zero of this fucking of the civil war igniting and it got crazy. It got crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. So, uh, there's a lot of uh stories and missions and and the you know the things that we went through during that rotation also talks about my, you know, kind of growing up from humble beginnings in west virginia all the way to to where we ended up, but but it's a, it's a great story. I'm obviously biased, but I had a very talented coauthor, uh, laura Noon Gowdy. Uh, that helped me with the book and, man, she was great.
Speaker 2:You can get it. It's available right now for pre-order and I don't know if we can have the link, you know, once this episode goes live or whatever, but if you go to ballastbookscom you can find grit to glory and if you buy it now, uh, if you pre-order it, you're going to get a signed copy. You'll get one of my special forces coins and you'll get it before anybody else. You'll get it on november 11th, uh, so a little over a month away. Uh, it's going to go public on the 26th of November. So the pre-orders, you're going to get it a couple of weeks. So that's for pre-order. Once it hits on the 26th it'll be available Barnes Noble, amazon, all that shit.
Speaker 2:Another thing, if there's any San Antonio listeners or anybody that wants to join, we're doing a launch party, a book launch. Uh, november 20th from 5 to 8 pm in san antonio, texas, at long tab brewery. Excuse me, it's a brewery that's owned by a fellow green, beret, dave holland, if you know dave I don't know if you do or not, but uh, he was one of the guys, one of the early guys into Afghanistan. I think he was over there in 02, but him and I are pretty good friends and we're going to have a great launch. There's going to be food, beer, a few guys from the team that some of the main stars from from grit to glory are going to be there. So it's going to be an awesome time and it's going to be a great, uh, networking event. So we're super pumped about that and I just hope that people will go and get the book and pick it up. And it's not just for green berets, it's for military folks, it's for first responders, it's for business people Uh, for military folks, it's for first responders, it's for business people.
Speaker 2:I lay out at the end of the book the principles that really helped me get over some of those times when you get punched in the face or you want to elevate and go from exceptional to something even higher. Call it the grit code. So there's a lot of great things in the book and there's some funny dark humor, special forces you got to be on a team to get it. There's a hilarious story, hilarious story about a Hooters outfit and I'm just going to leave it at that A Green Beret, hooters outfit story. I mean, you got to gotta tune in to listen to that one. But, uh, I appreciate the opportunity to be on here just to talk a little bit about it. I'm not a hard guy to find on social media. You can find me on Instagram. Uh, my name and I got the little blue check and all that shit, whatever that means. Uh, you can also find me on LinkedIn. Uh, darrell, uh, not a hard guy to find. I'm really active. So, yeah, man, I look forward to connecting or following or whatever.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and we'll have all those links on the episode description. So if you're listening right now, pause, go there, click the link, order the book now or just connect with Daryl as soon as you can, because it's all about growing your network as you're getting out, and I'm sure once you read the book you realize you have a lot in common with Daryl and you want to get a hold of him so you can share some stories. That's how we grow our Green Beret team on the outside. That's a great thing about when you get out. Your Green Beret team isn't limited to 12 or 13 guys. You can make it as big, as powerful as you want. Daryl again, thank, as powerful as you want, daryl. Again. Thank you so much for being here, man.
Speaker 1:I can't wait Appreciate you brother, I'm going to place my order and, yeah, thank you all for tuning in and we'll see you all next time. Until then, take care, if you like what we're doing and you're enjoying the show, don't forget to share us. Like us, subscribe, thank you.
