Security Halt!

From Failure To Force Multiplier: Mentoring The Next Green Berets

• Deny Caballero • Season 7 • Episode 365

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SPONSORED BY: PURE LIBERTY LABS, TITAN SARMS, PRECISION WELLNESS GROUP, and THE SPECIAL FORCES FOUNDATION

In this powerful episode of Security Halt!, host Deny Caballero sits down with JD, an active-duty Green Beret and member of the FM Training Cadre, to explore the gritty realities and transformative lessons of the Special Forces journey. JD shares his personal path—from overcoming early setbacks to earning the coveted Green Beret—and how mentorship, character, and faith shaped his growth along the way.

 

The conversation dives deep into how training, resilience, and community support are essential to mission success. JD reflects on the Q Course, the importance of embracing failure, and the evolving standards of today’s Special Forces candidates.

Whether you're a young warrior aspiring to serve, a veteran navigating transition, or someone seeking purpose and growth, this episode offers raw insights and powerful takeaways on leadership, personal development, and the enduring brotherhood of the Green Beret community.

 

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SPEAKER_00:

I feel bad for the 18 Echoes. You guys have so much to deal with, but it's never like the it's the unsung hero. You need fucking comps for a mission. You need to have the stat com up, but none of that shit's ever sexy. So guys are always shitting on the Echoes and their capabilities until you're doing your combo circle and it's like, I can't fuck, I can't fix my own radio. It's like, I need an echo. Yeah. Unsung heroes of the force, man.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. When it's down, everybody hates you. When it's up, nobody cares. That's how it's supposed to be.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, my red side up.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

JD, welcome to the show, man. How are you? Thanks, brother. I'm doing great. How are you? Doing well, man. It's great to see guys that are are still in and doing great things to help bring about the next wave, next generation of Green Berets. We talk about a lot of things on the show: mental health, resilience, grit. But one of the greatest things we can do for our own sake is mentorship. How do we bridge that gap and help usher in the next generation of great warfighters? I think what you're doing and what all your friends are doing is helping bring that out in a big way. Right now in social media, all of us have access to each other. And I couldn't imagine a greater group of guys for young men to reach out to and engage with to ask, how do I achieve this unachievable dream? How do I achieve the impossible? So today, man, I want to dive into your journey, but I also want to dive into why you started this, why you guys came up with the idea of like, hey, let's gather around and bring the next generation of uh next great soft uh green berets into the fold.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, 100%, man. Uh thank you for having me. First and foremost, that means a lot coming from you. I uh I'm definitely stoked to be here. I think what you've built is uh super cool, and uh I've learned a lot. You've had some some titans on your your show, as you know. Uh Chim Ritter, Earl, you know, you've had some great ones. So I'm really excited to be here, so I appreciate it. Um a little bit of backstory, I guess, for myself. I grew up in Nevada, uh in Las Vegas, and uh was kind of a hood rat getting into any and all the trouble you could imagine, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And I've I've heard you talk about it before, you know, there's something to this career field, especially SF, that kind of attracts broken people.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely, man.

SPEAKER_01:

And yeah, I experienced that. I mean, as a kid, my my parents separated when I was young, and it took a lot later in life to realize maybe how that affected how I treated people, how I looked at people, um, how I thought about myself, stuff like that. Um, but you know, everything happens for a reason, and and thank God that it did. Um, my parents were were awesome about it. They never sought to tear each other down, you know, in that regard. So and I uh I gained some additional family members out of it, you know, stepbrother, half-brother, that kind of thing. But yeah, um in no way could I have imagined being where I am today. Um very grateful for everything that you know God has given me and and put in my life um to get out of Las Vegas for whatever reason. I had a little bit of a an understanding, my moral compass, I think, was pinged near the end of high school, and I just knew I wanted to get out. Uh and in my hubris and with my delusions of grandeur, I joined the Navy on a BUDS contract.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, at 18, and very quickly, I mean I was physically prepared for it. Um, but very quickly I was humbled, and that was one of the first big life lessons that I learned. Um, went through a large portion of large uh portion of first phase in BUDS for those that are familiar with that looks like, and uh it's just nothing but suck. And I I pulled the trigger and I and I I left that behind, you know, rang the bell, did the whole the whole DOR thing, and that that haunted me for a long time, you know, as a as a young kid. Took a big hit to my ego. Um definitely affected the rest of my career. I went on to have a pretty awesome career after that, though. You know, I I was able to reclass luckily, still had a six-year contract, became an air rescue swimmer, served as a crew chief.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, no shit.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the back of 860s. It was cool. It was cool until it wasn't, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

Those guys don't get a lot of credit, man. That takes a lot of guts to do that job, man.

SPEAKER_01:

It is a cool job, man, and um, it was fun. I'm uh some of my best friends that I'm still in group chats with today are from that community. Um great, great guys, great individuals. It just it wasn't for me in the long term, you know, uh, especially with that desire uh that I buried for a little bit for special operations in into the future, you know. So um served out the six years, got my my deployment out of the way with the Navy in that one. Uh ended up getting out in 2012 and spent a lot of time racking up some more failures, as you can imagine, you know, as a bearded, dirty civilian. Um and somewhere along the way, around six or seven years into it, maybe a little less than that, I uh I realized I was getting older. I was, you know, coming up on 30 years old, and you know, nothing was working out for me in the civilian world, and I missed the structure, I missed the military in general. Um and I wanted to get back in, so I started doing some research and I was bit by the special operations bug, you know, as as you know, and that doesn't go away. And I realized that I was either going to be I was either going to live with the regret of not knowing, not trying again, or I could give it a shot, lar, you know, big chance that I was gonna fail again, but at least I would know and and try. And so I started doing research and was really interested in the combat controller route and the Air Force Special Warfare that had me gripped, you know. And um, but luckily, uh somewhere along the way between um deciding I wanted to get back in and actually doing it, um, I lived out here in Florida, adjacent to a company you're probably familiar with, Ghuk. Oh yeah. Uh yeah, good guys, man. And um I didn't know much, but I got roped into one of their events, you know, one of the 12-hour rucking events had never rucked before in my life. Um got yelled at immediately for having too light of a pack. You know, you will never forget that in selection. No, yeah, yeah. Luckily it happened in Goruck event, not not actual selection, you know. Um, but that was my first exposure to Green Berets, and I had no idea what the Army had to offer, you know. And after that event, I immediately started doing research and kind of put that in my back pocket. But I thought something that was really cool about special forces uh after looking into it and learning about the the broad mission set and what the ODA does, what it looks like, and just I'm I'm kind of obsessive when it comes to that kind of stuff. And so I dug in really deep and was like, man, the quiet professionals, like I I spent the better part of a decade thinking about and aspiring for special operations, and somehow I never stumbled across across the Green Brace. So that quiet professional moniker uh was playing out in real time in front of my eyes, you know. So when I uh when I decided I want to get back in, um things didn't work out with the Air Force, and I learned about the uh SF National Guard component. And it's like, wow, so I get this kind of pick mount adventure, that's how it was painted for me, you know. I get to kind of go and get fully qualified and do everything and be capable of everything that an active duty green beret would be capable of, but I could do it on my own terms um and be able to build a civilian career and be more at home with the family and stuff like that. Um, so like I said, it was pretty obsessive. Um figured out how to go through the whole MEPS route again. And three weeks after I was cleared for MEPS, I shipped off for infantry OSIT and uh got my butt kicked every day, you know, learning how to army. Um had a pretty interesting qualification course. Uh being an older guy, I went through at 31. Always tell the guys I train and and other people that contact me, you know, just I graduated with gray hairs. So if I can do it, you know, chances are you can do it too.

SPEAKER_00:

But there's an advantage too, though, of being mature. Like that's one thing I realized. Like, there's an advantage in in in any age that you go in, whether you're a young guy, because you got, you know, you're straight off the street, 18 x-ray, you don't have any bad habits. You're you're you're clay, bud. You can get molded into the perfect guy we need you to be. If you're a senior, more seasoned individual, you've got life experience, man. We you were talking about failure, and we don't say this enough, but failure is part of the process, man. Like it's part of the scientific method. Like you're gonna fail at something. Scientists have figured out that failure is part of the path. If you're gonna reach and and and strive for greatness, you gotta embrace a failure, man. I mean, don't go in it expecting to fail, but understand that if you stumble, you fall down, you you don't get through the first pipeline. All right, first first hit right in the face. What am I gonna do? Get up or I'm gonna sit here and sulk. And I have to imagine, man, like approaching the cue course, already knowing that like fuck, uh, a a beast already slayed me. I already got my fucking uh my my metal tested. Well, how's it gonna be this time? Did you find yourself going in with reservation or having a little bit of trepidation or fear? Or were you able to finally say, you know what? New path. I'm leaving this shit behind me.

SPEAKER_01:

That's a good question. Um, and yeah, that was something I wanted to hit on and I missed, but there was about a 10-year period between being 18 and around 28 years old or something. I I don't remember exactly what it was. Um, you know, I didn't grow up with faith or, you know, being a Christian or believing any of that. And at one of the at some point in that rock bottom uh phase between getting out of the Navy and getting into the army, I started asking and I think humbly seeking the truth. And I came to realize that I believe in Jesus and I believe and I have faith, and uh I'm a practicing Catholic myself and my whole family, so I know you are as well. So that was another huge reason I was excited to come talk to you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, man. Um this episode is brought to you by Titan SARMS. Head on over to TitansArms.com and buy a stack today. Use my code CDny10 to get your first stack. I recommend the Lean Stack 2. Start living your best life. Titan SARM. No junk, no bullshit, just results.

SPEAKER_01:

But I I I stopped defining myself by that failure at some point. And I realized that it was a huge lesson learned, you know, and it was it I was grateful for all of those things. Now I shifted my mindset where I was ashamed before I had realized that that was the fuel that I needed. Um and that I think combined with my faith and believing that I, you know, I believe that, you know, as you know, God has a perfect will and a permissible will. Um and I just want to align myself with his will in one way or another. And I know that he loves us and he wants, he knows our heart and he wants for us to have what we want, provided it it falls within one of those categories, right? And so I think there were enough signs along the way, be it from my amazing wife and her support, um, her family, my family, and little things along the way that just kind of seem to click and only that a way that I think God could could line it out for me. And I was like, okay, I'm supposed to be here. I remember where it putting on the OCPs for the first time in OSIT, and just looking down and looking at all the chaos and just thinking, like, this I I put it on, like this is what I'm supposed to have on me. You know what I mean? This is my armor, this is my my uniform, you know. And and kind of a crappy situation I think that happened there is prior service guys are supposed to go through kind of an expedited version of OSIT, and I didn't get that. I didn't know that shit. And and my recruiter did not know that, I guess. And when I got there, I was at day zero. Oh and then I didn't know until about like just about turning was it turning green, right? You graduate the the the army portion of it, like 12 dudes roll in their prior service. I'm like, oh, what who are you guys? You know, why why have I been here? Uh but it was cool, man. It gave me an opportunity. I I needed it, you know. I was terrified of land navigation, I was scared of rucking. I was, you know, a lot of things in the army that that just uh set you know, I was I was facing those dragons. And uh so I had rapport with all the the other recruits, uh, with the drill sergeants, stuff like that. So again, one of those situations where it's like, yeah, I went through some extra stuff, but I was grateful for it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's it's part of God's plan. It's understanding that like, wait a second, like I could have showed up at this phase, but look back, like, well, I could have. I could have showed up after all this, but would I have would have been a benefit of for me in this in this journey, would have been a benefit? Or is it better for me to have gone through every part of the phase, got to know these kids, got to learn from them, got to understand a different set of you know our the army values, started land naving and understanding like, okay, maybe it sucked a little bit, but there's rewards here. There's a benefit of it. Absolutely, man. It's it's important to highlight this because I often find myself talking with guys are like me. We find our faith afterwards. But going through this and having your faith, man, that's something that you can rely on. That's an extra voice in here and in here that when you're in your absolute lowest, like you can you can take a knee, you can pray the rosary, or whatever, whatever outlet you need, you can say to yourself, like a deep breath, I got this, I'm not alone. Or for a lot, for a vast majority, we were going through this and relied on anger, relied on sheer determination of like, I'm not fucking quitting. It's the quiet resolve. It's that's the man that you want to eventually lead your team or eventually become the quiet resolve, the man that doesn't have to res to turn into the false anger or tap into that that false emotion that you can just say, no, like this is for me. I'm gonna get through it. Regardless of how I'm regardless of what comes my way, I'm going to fight through, I'm going to persevere. Um, and that's man, that's a powerful fucking dude right there, man.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. It uh it definitely it helped, it shaped me, you know, being older. Like you said, um, your younger comes with benefits. Being older, it also comes with some benefits. And if you could hold on to your fitness into later years in your life, I'll take the the latter any day. You know, I tell candidates I've got some young guys, I got some some older dudes, and I let them know, you know, the young guys, you're expected to be immature, you're gonna have to prove the cadre, you know, the uh the inverse. And then the opposite is true for the older dudes. You're expected to be mature, you're gonna have to, you know, rise up and obviously past the gates and all the physical physical aspects, you've got to be a stud. Um, they have to know that they can rely on you physically, you're not gonna break. Um, but they're expecting to see something out of you, and if you don't show it, that's gonna be a ding on you for being older.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, absolutely, man. And I would imagine making it through infantry, you go to airborne school, you're getting wins. What was it like finally getting to Bragg and starting the Q course? It was humbling.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh Bragg's a big place, as you know. Um but I was definitely very grateful. I felt like for the moment I got bust up there, I was on hollowed ground, and that just compounded even more when I got out to Camp McCall. Um, and I was one of the ones that was up and excited on the bus, looking out the windows, you know, and taking, you know, uh unapproved photos of the street signs and stuff. You know, just stoked to be there, you know, just absolutely stoked. And uh that was the prep course, you know. Yeah. Was able to go through that, which was definitely a blessing for somebody like me. It helped definitely give me another look, another rep. Um, some you know, I was met with with issue after issue though, man, the Q course. And uh at the end of the prep course, I uh were out there at Land Navigation for the last night iteration, and that's where the cadre ordered pizza, and like everybody's kind of ready to just finish land nav, get a day off Thursday. I think the next Friday morning was like the 12-mile ruck test, and then you go back to Bragg and then class up for selection. I uh I had some issues. I my stomach started hurting, I didn't know what it was, and I remember getting uh paired up with a battle buddy to do the the last night iteration. I was like, look, man, I don't know what's going on with my stomach, but um how how intent are you on finding these points? So we did it though. We we chucked through, I think we felt like three out of four or something like that, and then pack up, and you know how it is late night. They're shoving you on the the back of the LMTVs and busting your back, whatever. I slept until about noon the next day because they gave us kind of an off day. And my buddies were like, What's going on? Like, wake up, man. I think you need to go get checked out. Like it something might be up because I I guess I slept through them trying to wake me up for breakfast and all this stuff. So I go to the medic, he uh sends me to the actual doc out there, and he did some palpitations and he knew exactly what was going on real quick, but apparently my uh appendix had ruptured. Yeah, I was gonna say appendix fuck. And I had no no thoughts of that, dude. I was like, I'm constipated from these MREs or something like you know what I mean? And it but meanwhile, I'm dying.

SPEAKER_00:

Running a fever, it's yeah, it's got to be these MREs.

SPEAKER_01:

It can't be anything, you know?

SPEAKER_00:

And uh I would have done the same fucking thing.

SPEAKER_01:

Dude, I'm telling you, I was so like again just being grateful though. Like I tell people when they I tell them that story, and I follow it up with like that could have happened at any other time too early, and I would have failed PC and had to do it again too late. And uh, if that selection, I definitely wouldn't have said anything to anybody, I could have died. Yeah, you know, so um, but you know, after going down for that surgery, it kicked the can down the road for selection for me. And then COVID was on the heels of that after selection and all these other things.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh shit, it was during that time frame.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh damn, yeah, yeah, early 2020, that kind of that time frame. Yeah, uh it just it was just one thing after another. But like you said, I I think I don't think I would have survived off of just hate and pride and anger, you know. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, there I would imagine there's a lot of nights of prayer. Absolutely. Yeah, that's um that's another conciliation, too. Yeah. You know, it's funny, like uh my wife is like I call her the family oracle because she's always has like an additional prayer for an additional thing that I'm going through. It's like, oh, small business, there's a saint for that. Yes. Like there's oh yeah, problems with the computer, there's a saint for that. Like, there's always Philip Beary, man. When I learned about Philip Beary, the patron saint of special forces, he was my brother. That was my battle buddy. Yeah, dude, there's uh there's a there's a power in coming at your lowest moment where you think you're absolutely alone, where you think you're you there's no role, you're at the absolute rock bottom. There is a power in coming to to Jesus, coming to Mary, and praying, man. And uh, if it's an injury, if it's you know, that whatever it is, whatever you're you're going through, it's happening your faith, man. Like it's one thing to believe, but it's another to actually sit down, get on your knees, and just pray to Rosie or pray, man. Give yourself some comfort and some release because we tend to think that we own this problem, that we own this issue. You can't force your body to heal faster after a surgery, but you can give yourself some mental reprieve by praying. Hey, I I I can't control this. I can't control when I get back in the pipeline. I'm just asking for your help. I'm asking for you to be here with me to make this happen. Don't let me fall out by the wayside. Don't let some angry cadre friggin' strike my name and send me, send me somewhere name. Yep. Yep. When you put that pat when you put that that uh all that unknown into God and you say, hey, here's what I'm dealing with. Please take it from me. You feel yourself finally take a deep breath and say, hey, it's not in my control. What I can do is I can follow the doctor's orders. I can not rush out of bed and try to do sit-ups and push-ups, do something crazy, and and understand that I have somebody watching over me. There is somebody who is out there watching over me. He has a plan. I have to trust in his will. I have to trust and let it go. Is that something that you found yourself doing in that time period? Because I haven't imagined the recovery is a cut at least a couple weeks, right?

SPEAKER_01:

It was. So actually, if you receive a any sort of puncture to the abdomen, it's a six-month down uh minimum. Yeah. So that that put that six-month window. So all my buddies went on and they all got selected. That was another thing, too. Statistically, right? You're with this group of guys. I met a bunch of bunch of awesome dudes in airborne, came really close. There's like nine or ten of us. I think like eight of the nine of the other ones had gone through selection at that point, all got selected. I was like, all right, well, obviously I'm not getting selected because statistically we aren't all gonna make it, you know. Yeah. Um, but you know, same, like you just said, like, yeah, you're not going through it alone. Um, and you can tell, and then God knows your heart, right? But he wants you to come to him and bring those those issues to him and say, you know, I don't understand, but I'm willing to do what you you're asking of me.

SPEAKER_00:

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SPEAKER_01:

And a lot of it, like you said, was definitely slowing myself down and taking a uh an extra knee when I felt like I could go and start building myself back up. And um, it was it was definitely very helpful. And same with my wife, you know. Um, I know her prayers carried me through uh my family and my my friend and stuff like that. So absolutely uh beneficial. And and to the to the guys that I mentor um and that we talk to and we coach, the the ones that that is their proclivity, you know, I encourage them to really lean on that first and foremost. Um, that's first, family second, and then your country being a green beret is actually third. And only because you put that in that right order can you be the best Green Beret and live up to your full potential, or at least that's what I believe, and and try to encourage them to lean into themselves, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, it's a it's a I want to pause and reflect on that right there, man. Like we we tend to hyperfocus on the the career, the green beret, what we want to become, what we want to achieve. And oftentimes when we look for a mentor, we're we're only looking for somebody to give us information about an obstacle, uh a phase in the Q course. But what we need is strong men that are willing to help us understand the importance of being well-rounded. It's not just about becoming a green beret, it's about becoming a great man. A good man isn't good enough. You have to become a great man, help develop us. Like they are as we come to you as a as a mentor, as a fitness influence, when men come to you, young men come to you, help them find what it means to be a great man. And we don't have enough people talking about that. It's not just focusing on one small target, it's multiple targets. Like, how do we become the best version of ourselves? Because when you get that guy through the Q course, you don't want him to just be good at selection, just good at being, you know, the perfect uh candidate. We want them to be good men, great men, and be able to provide the force with that new culture. That's something that we we don't talk about enough. The G Watt era created a lot of issues because we didn't have real mentorship, man. Guys were falling by the wayside, guys were bitter, guys were angry, and it's very much hey, focus on your fucking job, focus on doing the what I need you to do, being the best at this job. But there wasn't a real a lot of like true goodness being provided to that young individual coming through. Very, very few. You know, one of the few things that we we don't talk about is that faith, that ability to talk about everything else. It's not just about being good at the weapon system, being good at the radios, it's about being a good and a great man, and that needs to come across somewhere. And I'm glad you guys are doing that, man, because that's gonna give them something to fall back on when they inevitably meet an obstacle that they can't pass on the first try.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. No, it's huge. Um, you absolutely hit the nail on the head, and it's a very hard thing to do, too, because like what does that actually mean? You know, because I fail continuously now, you know, all the time. Yeah. And uh it's just I guess it's just about picking yourself back up, you know, and and applying yourself. Like at selection, you know, I tell guys you get spot reports, and I remember at the end of my selection, had some buddies and pretty comfortable with each other, and like in our heads, we're racking up how many spot reports we think we have. And I'm like, tell me, tell me I'm gonna be okay, man. Tell me I'm gonna make it. And he's like, You're gonna make it, dude. Now you tell me I'm gonna make it. You know, we're like hyping each other up. So true, man. Uh I tell guys, you know, it's like they're not looking for perfection, they're looking for the guys that if you know you're gonna make mistakes. Then the whole man concept, right? But what do you do with that mistake? Do you make it do you say make the same mistake twice? That's where it starts to get dangerous. You know, you're not showing adaptability, coachability, that kind of thing. So those little things, man, like you said, um, people come often looking for like some specific insight. And I was the same way, you know, I didn't have any mentors. I mustered up the courage to reach out to one of the Green Beret uh go rut cadre before I left and asked him for any advice. He's like, You want me to give you advice? I was like, Yeah, I mean, you don't have to give anything away, but like, what would you recommend? You know, I think about he's like, when you get to land navigation, don't be afraid to walk a little extra to go around the draws or take the high ground. And I was like, okay, cool. And then that that was it.

SPEAKER_02:

That's all I got.

SPEAKER_01:

I was like, damn, dude. Love it, yeah. Uh I asked. You delivered, so you know, and I didn't ask anybody else, you know. I didn't have the courage to to really approach. I didn't want to tell anybody what I was doing, you know. Like you said, of coming.

SPEAKER_00:

There's a fear. There's a fear if I talk about it or I engage that I'm gonna put it out in the universe and then it's not going to happen for me. Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

There's people expect it, and then I come back and they're like, hey, what happened about that thing? I'd rather them just not know. You know, so that's that's that's kind of how I try to approach it, man. I try to give people some of the intangibles. Uh definitely no G2. Like it's not gonna help you at all. Um, it didn't help me when I, you know, I I thought it was gonna be run ruck, run, ruck, and it was like the first thing, ruck, ruck. I was like, wait, whoa, everything I know is just I need to put it out of my head.

SPEAKER_02:

What?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because I'm gonna have to adapt out here, you know. And that's what they're looking for. They they're looking for uh, you know, your character, your intellect, and your physical capability, and they measure that against the RSOF attributes. And I tell my guys, look at it like those are buckets, and at the end of selection, you you should find yourself getting selected and moving on to the cue course if uh all those buckets are more than halfway full, you know. Yeah, and you haven't you haven't shown any real integrity issues or immaturity issues or anything like that. And and also getting selected um does not mean you arrived by any means. Yeah, you know, you're in the you're in the cue course and that's it. You just get to try out. That was your ticket just to give it a shot. And then getting your beret is not mean you've arrived. You know, once you get to your team, nobody cares that you have a uh a hat that's that's the same color as theirs. So you've got to prove yourself every day, earn it every day. Um, and I try to instill in guys to do that, starting now. Like you don't you don't have to be a green beret to think like one. That's not stolen ballor any by any means, you know. Yeah. Um your mistakes, um, try to improve your character. Obviously, um be a man of your word and you know, be really fit. Yeah, you know, day in and day out.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, the character piece right there, that's a great one that a lot of people don't talk about. And I I often get guys that reach out and hey, can I plug you in with my my nephew, my son? They want to go to selection. Um and and the big thing people focus on, I've I've had young men that reach out, it's like, hey, should I go into a uh a bulk phase before I go to selection? I'm like, like calling you out, dude. I'm just saying that was a really dumb question. And I kept asking, I kept asking, I kept telling them, I'm like, no, absolutely not. But more importantly, where's your mindset? What's your character like? What how would your friends and family describe you? You know, ask those hard questions. Ask, sit down in front of somebody and say, hey, honest audit, how good of a human being have I been to you as a friend, as a son? Like, what are some things and and and don't sugarcoat it? Am I a person that you would rely on? And if those friends and family members say, hey man, like you don't come through, you don't follow through with anything that you do, like you leave us hanging, um, don't work as hard as you think you do. Like all those things, write them down, take it into account. Yep. And it's not not to be, you know, not not for it to hurt you, but to make you think about how can I improve? Because these these attributes, these characteristics, they're gonna shine through. Yep. And you don't have to start the cue course today, tomorrow, you don't have to go to selection. If you're a young person, take the time, be methodical, mold yourself into the man that you need to be, the past, the man that you need to be to be a husband, a father down the road. You don't have to be perfect today. You never have to be perfect, and hey, guess what? You'll never will be. But you can work towards being the best version of yourself. Yeah, and it starts with that honest broker, and that will do a far more for you in the in selection, in the cue course, than worrying about a bulk face.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the physical man. I that's it. That's another thing. That's a great point. Like, we want to focus on the physicality because we can see those results. You know, we can we can measure the push-ups, we can measure the pull-ups, it's tangible. Um, it's not as scary to just show up and be like, yeah, I'm out of shape or my run is slow. But if you're saying, like, hey, am I am I a person of integrity? Am I a team player? You know, personal responsibility, professionalism, all that. Um, and to have somebody, you know, you mentioned them saying, like, you know, you don't come through, or no, you're not as committed as you you say you are or you think you are, like, those are the people you want around to be able to be honest with you. Because most people are just gonna blow smoke. And because at the same time, they're they're thinking in their head, like, you know, I don't want that mirror held up for me either. You know, so um that's definitely the biggest piece that I tell guys because there's our our physical. Physical training methodology is somewhat unconventional, you know, to compared to I think what I've seen that's out there. But I also tell guys it's not the end-all be-all. Like there's a there's a hundred different ways to get physically ready. As long as you pick a program, know your weaknesses, work on your weaknesses every day, improve one to two percent, like depending on your timeline, you're gonna get there to where you can exceed those standards. Um but a lot of really fit guys find themselves at the end of selection being 21-day non-selects because they didn't work on those character traits.

SPEAKER_00:

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SPEAKER_01:

And at the end of selection too, they don't they're not gonna tell you those things. None of those cadres really care. You know what I mean? Then it's not their job. Like you just showed up for the for the challenge or for the job interview or whatever. They're gonna tell you yes or no, and they're moving on to the next. They got their own lives, you know. So um it's much better, like you said, to learn those things prior than coming from you know, failure and then feeling lost. And you know, I've I've seen guys do some crazy things for getting even six-month returns. Yeah, you know. So yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00:

And and I want to dive into forming this, into creating this. You make it through the Q course. At what point did you look in the mirror or or sit down with friends and realize like, yeah, we can do something more for the next group of guys? Honestly, I I wish it was that noble.

SPEAKER_01:

It was uh being in the National Guard, I didn't I didn't have much else to fall back on. Um and honestly, it started out force multiplier fitness, which were now force multiplier training solutions, but um, I was leaning more into like high-ticket civilian uh coaching and and mentorship. Yeah, not I wouldn't even call it mentorship at that point. It was just fitness and coaching that I wanted to build into the business. Um, but then it started to grow word of mouth through um the the training company that's down here for we have opportunities every month for guys to come through and do a little four-day special forces evaluation.

SPEAKER_00:

Man, that's one thing I absolutely fucking love about the National Guard. Come try out. Come hang out and come try out. Kudos to you guys, man. That is like I don't know why the fuck active duty has to figure that shit out. They yeah, they they can learn something from it, I think, because it's a great opportunity.

SPEAKER_01:

We we weed out, I think it's because there's a vested interest, right? We they're gonna have to pay uh the way for the guys to go up there, the state will, or whatever, you know, whatever the the reason that they do it, but it is such a great opportunity to come and put yourself out there in a low threat environment. Like it's gonna feel heavy, you know, but it you can get you can go through as many SFREs as you were willing to put yourself through, and that's not gonna affect selection, you know, once you get up there. Um but yeah, what I started getting uh some interest from guys that were not doing so well, and somehow along the way it just shifted. And um I had owned a gym in the past uh in between getting out of the Navy and getting the army and ended up selling that. Um, but I had kind of fallen out of love with it and I was willing to try it again because I found that I I cared a little bit more than most of my clients cared about their situations. And I'm all for helping people, but uh there's something about it that I want to see people that want to help themselves first, and then then I can kind of help fill some gaps and help them. I don't want to have to hold their hand, I don't want to care more about their situation than they do. Um but I was willing to give it a shot again because I I need it was what I knew, you know, out of the Q course, and I didn't have a full-time uh National Guard position at that time, so I was you know, deciding what to do, uh, you know, balancing that with maybe the police department, maybe the fire department or whatever, you know, typical jobs that guys get. Um and it just molded and shifted into more of a prep only, you know, for for guys just joining the military, um special operations in general, got a couple guys that go in for the Marines, um, guys trying to go to the Navy. Uh but most most guys, you know, I try to stick to you know what I know um with the special forces. Um and uh yeah, it it shifted into that, and and I really am enjoying it again, you know, training people, mentoring people. It it helps me too. I tell the guys all the time, like uh talking with them. I've become friends with a lot of them. Like one of my buddies is in he's in SUT right now, but he drove down and hit me up. He's like, I'll bring my jet skis, you want to bring your son out and go jet skiing and like become friends with these guys, you know? And it's super cool. Um, shout out to all of them. And um, yeah, I really enjoy it and I want to see them succeed because they're they're good dudes. Uh and that's another thing I think the National Guard does really well. Uh, it'll pull quality guys out of the workforce because they wouldn't normally commit to an army full-time career, right? Because they've got a really good job, really good making good money, they're smart. But the National Guard, they're willing to go through a couple years of training and then be able to do it part-time. Um, so I think you know that is one aspect where the National Guard is really, really strong in pulling guys that are, you could say, overqualified in some of the regards, you know, they're nailing the AzVab on the first try, and they know what it's like to be challenged in the real world and the business world and stuff like that. So um, and we've got quite a few of those guys uh in our in our pipeline.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, you know, one of the things that we we hear a lot, and it it's a negative negative thing that just gets I think every generation deals with it, but specifically right now, we we attack our our young men, and we tend to identify them as being weak, being frail, being the online generation, being the the basement dwellers. What have you seen firsthand from this new generation of young men and how are they showing up trying to become the next next great green beret?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, um I don't really buy that too much, you know. As I get older and I get more gray hairs, and creeping up on 40, I'm I'm more inclined to be like that. Like, oh, the next generation is so soft and this kind of thing, you know, but uh they there's a lot of good good guys um now, and arguably it's harder for them to be good and and strong now, right? Because the world is so catering uh to anything and everything that is not challenging. Um so I I see that as especially the ones that reach out to us, you know, they're already somewhat of a self-starter. They're they're already trying to go down this path on their own. And uh typically they've exhausted a certain amount of their own researching abilities. And nowadays, I think it arguably could be said that the mentorship and this business model is maybe more needed than ever because there's so much information to digest that it's kind of hard to pick and choose and know what's actually accurate or what's going to help you. Um and I think that the uh the one-on-one model or the model where you're actually engaging with Cadre or with a mentor is super valuable too because you need that um tailored approach, you know, and that's what we try to do too. I I kind of going back to what I was saying about um wanting people that want to help themselves when it comes to the physical aspects of it, uh our methodology when they run through the program, you know, hold their hands a little bit in the beginning, but I want them to kind of take ownership of their training. I'm not right there with them like I was, you know, when I owned a gym, right? So I can have them video submissions for movement mechanics and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, they need to be able to make decisions, you know. And um it's it's it it would be a shame for anybody to make it through the Q course and want to do a team that had to have their hand held all the way to get there. You know what I mean? So uh I think I think there's a strong, there's a strong case to be made that you know this generation is is gonna rise to the occasion for whatever comes next.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely, man. It's all about being able to find individuals such as yourself or or other mentors that are willing to give them, you know, a path to build resilience, a path to like, hey, like it's not gonna be easy, but there's a way you can get stronger. There's a way that you can get fit and ready for this if you're wanting to take up this challenge. I I think that I think every generation struggles to get credibility and support and buy-in from the older generation, yeah. Um until you know, duty calls and we go to war. Like that's ultimately the only time anybody gave us respect was when when shit kicked off, and it's like, oh, all right, these motherfuckers are about it. Um that's the litmus test, huh? But it's like at like at this point in your career, what are some of the metrics that you're seeing? Uh what are some of the successes that you're seeing across the board as you're starting to see more people come and approach and get programs and get programming from you? What are the success rates that you're seeing? Um two-thirds or so, at least so far.

SPEAKER_01:

Um still relatively new and you know, given giving guys enough time to have trained, completed uh, you know, a training workup with us, and then going through and enlisting and all that stuff. Um got a couple guys in the Q course, so nobody donned their green beret just yet. Um, but I have a a lot of confidence in these dudes. Um the one of the ways that I I I know that I have confidence in one of them is he'll just disappear from the group chat and he's at S U T. And I'm like, okay, he just Irish goodbye. You know, he's not looking for last-minute advice or help or anything like that. He goes and he's he's gonna knock it out. He did that with selection and BLC and all the other other things prior, you know. It's just like, okay, cool, he's got it, you know. Yeah, he comes back, we'll we'll ping him for some some information for the other guys that are coming up behind him. Um but the the you know, some of the main metrics, I think, um, aside from being a self-starter, they take seriously, like you said, um, those character traits. And, you know, we get on group calls every Monday. Um, we do kind of an AAR style sync with the guys that are on on the uh the program, and they kind of go over last week, next week, you know, cover questions and um kind of get them to share in a group setting maybe some of the problems that they're seeing, and and typically that snowballs into other guys asking questions or or you know, building each other up. And I I tell them all the time, like, yes, I'm here, or the other cadre, we're here, but there's a lot more value in each other than you guys think. A lot of them are spread throughout the country, they're little islands, and nobody around them is training or pursuing and wouldn't even understand you know what it takes to want to do what they're trying to do. So for them to have this little online remote community essentially um is super powerful. And I think the guys that tend to um be grateful for that and lean into that tend to see more success, at least so far in like their their daily metrics, because we track all their workouts day in day in and day out, you know, and make tweaks and adjustments. So um just yeah, that kind of um humility and you know, putting in the work and and not uh not letting your failures, you know, or your issues define you, just coming back better the next day and being willing to put in the work again.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's that brotherhood, that's a thing that is missing for so many people. Um you can't succeed in life on your own in a vacuum. When you're preparing for something like this, like you have to rely on on brothers, and and now more than ever with with uh you know the cell phones are a problem. Social media are is a problem, but when you can utilize the tools for for positives like creating a community of support for achieving big dreams, that's huge, man. That gives everybody that extra when you see your brother succeed or hit a PR or or hit their goals, that amps you up. That gets you motivated. And when you're able to give that to the guys, like that's like that's a no-brainer, man. That that gives them gets them into the team room mentality before they even get there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep. It helps me too, man. I'll uh a day in, I'll do my workouts, and you know, like you were saying, you knocked out your training session, I'll go in the the Discord server and post my results and and you know, I'm right there shoulder to shoulder with them, and my other cadre do the same. Um, and I think that's uh that's good for them to see that, you know. And and also um, you know, being really close to Goruck is great because you got so many uh down here in Florida, there's a lot more SF presence than I could have ever imagined. Yeah. Uh but a lot of them got you know, our old heads and a couple Mac V SOG dudes, like um, and I've taken some of our candidates there to hang out with them, and at the afterwards I'm like, so what do you think? And it's like, man, like how can I fail now? You know what I mean? How can I quit now? You know what I mean? I got all this exposure and this experience. Um, and a big part of it, I think they get to see like uh you know, Green Berets are not some superheroes or yeah, you know, just normal dudes that set our sights high and and didn't quit and you know try to improve every day, and like you can do it too, you know, if you put your mind to it. Um and so yeah, I uh I really enjoy it and it it's helped me almost just I would say almost as much as I think you know the business and we helped them.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's important, man. And and the other thing that I want to tap into is how do you help the young man that doesn't make it, that has that similar experience like you did all those years ago at BUDS. Like how do you help that guy?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Um it's a good uh it's a good segue because I actually have a candidate who was in that circumstance or has experienced that. So he went, he's in the Navy um and was debating with getting out of the Navy or taking this route. Um and went through the SFRE process and was able to go to selection with the approval of his commander and you know our unit. Um and he got into the middle of land navigation and realized that you know he valued his family more than where he thought this career was gonna take him. And um at his stage of his life, he was out there and instead of thinking about the next evolution or the team or the mission, he was thinking about his wife and his children. And he kind of had a premonition that, you know, if I'm feeling this now, how am I gonna feel when I'm on a team and they're asking this and that of me or if I'm downrange? And he's a little bit older, and I I totally respected that. You know, I told him, like, I'm not gonna look down at you at all, my friend. Like, you tried, you gave it your all. And like I said earlier, like I knew I was either going to live with the regret of not trying or try and potentially and probably fail, right? And so he went and he put laid it all out on the line, and I was like, told him he can hold his head high. You know, you you tried and you know it's not for you. Now you get to follow a path and be the best husband and the best father that you can be and go on and do great things, you know, somewhere else. You're still a patriot.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah. If it's not your path, ultimately, like your path will find you'll find it or it'll find you. Yep. Um it's failure, like we said earlier, like it's not it's not the end all be all. I mean, when you're out there, like I've seen it, I went through it, I I saw friends fall by the wayside, and in initially you feel that gut hit too. You're like, I know this man, I know this person, like this sucks, this sucks for me, it sucks for them. You see them get taken off in the the back of the truck, and you're like, man, like where's life's gonna take them? Like, don't feel don't feel pity, don't feel bad for them. Like everything happens for a reason. Check in on your friends for everything whenever you get a chance, but understand that everybody has a path. And if they came to understanding that, hey, this this wasn't for me, like then encourage them to find the right path, be there for them, be able to say, Hey, you know what? Hey, if it wasn't for you, it wasn't for you. But you'll figure it out, you'll figure out where you're meant to be. And that's something I don't feel enough people talk about. It's always in a negative connotation, oh if he just fucking quit. Well, yeah. Maybe it wasn't for him. Maybe he thought about his family and decided that at 34 he'd rather figure out a better path so he could be at home with his wife and kids, and that's okay too. Yeah, that's okay. But everybody has to figure their out figure that out for themselves. That's the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it's something SF does very well. It's a very professional organization, and selection is no different. The cadre are not looking down on you. You know, we talk, talk shit and and all that stuff and that that fun stuff, but at the end of the day, they they respect the guys that come out there and give it a shot. Um, I've had guys, uh, you know, or another example, I guess, when my appendix rupture and they were taking me to the hospital, one of the instructors, you know, drove me, and he's just talking to me like I'm a normal person. I'm like, what is going on right now? You know what I mean? Like uh I'm a student, you know, and he's just like, hey bro, da da da da. And it's just like it's it's super humbling, super professional. Um, and uh really I think most guys wish well on people that try. Um, and there's definitely no hard feelings or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, no, it's it's a hard thing to go through, and very few people want to do it. And there's no there there's no malice for anybody listening. If you're going through and you have that fear, wipe it completely away from your mind. Like you have people that want to see you succeed. Like very few people go out there, so everybody wants you to get through there and be your best version of yourself while you're out there. Um, and now more than ever, man, like you've got tons of guys out there like JD that friggin' will give you every bit of prep to get there and put your best foot forward. Because at the end of the day, it's it's um it's an interview process that leads to another interview process, that leads to another fucking trial until it's an OML and you're fighting for schools or whatever, whatever, dude. Never stop. Until the very end when you walk out. Because one of the greatest things I ever heard from from an NCO is uh you you rent that beret and rents due every single fucking day. Like it it's it's it's not a feeling of like, oh, I made it. Not until you're done, not until the very end when you walk away and you sign out and you take it home with you for the very last time to put in that shadow box. And and until then, you're trying out every single day. Um, you never know when you're not gonna make it on the team, when you're not gonna make it on deployment because you weren't that good and now you're on the B team. Yeah, it's just no, you're right. It's that fucking stressful. No. Don't do it.

SPEAKER_02:

Stay away from everybody.

SPEAKER_00:

Go to the Air Force, do something easier. It's not that cutthroat, but I I am saying that you will be with giants. You're gonna work with people that are far greater than you and they're better than you, and they will push you to be better than yourself every single day. And that's the environment you want to be on. That's a winning football team. That's a team that's gonna go to the Super Bowl. That's what you want. Um, and you're gonna constantly face challenges. So every day you're earning that bread. Every day you're earning that spot on that team, and that's what you want. You don't want to be the guy that takes it light, uh, takes it lightly and just thinks, I fucking made it. Because that guy doesn't try hard. Right. He doesn't give everything. Right. Earn it every single day. Earn it, man. Earn it as soon as you walk in and you fucking check in and get to your cage. Like work hard to earn it every single day. And be be understanding that there is a greater force out there that helped you. Build all those pillars, man. Yeah mind, body, and spirit. You're not gonna really you're not gonna make it through this journey without all three. I know I tried and I failed fucking miserably. But now I have all three. And I will tell you, one of the greatest things you can do before you start this endeavor is explore your connection with your faith. Because when everything else is taken from you, that's what you can lean on that can recharge you. Because it's like I said earlier, it's not about the angry, the false motivation, it's that quiet resilience, that that dude that understands that he's unshakable. When you look down the line and you've already been rucking for 12 miles, and that cadre looks be looks at you and says, Yeah, we got a couple more miles, but you know that they know that you're like 20 miles away from fucking the training camp. You're like, what the fuck? When you look behind at the line of dudes that are with you, look at the dude that's just quietly smiling and championing everybody up, and maybe passing up some friggin' chocolate or passing up some some extra candy he saved from his M E R M R E and trying to hype everybody else up. Yep. That's the guy you want on your team. That's the guy you want to be. Quiet motivation, resilience, the understanding that like no matter what they serve up, I'm gonna fucking go through it because I know I'm meant for it. That's what you want to be, man. And and uh man, JD, I can't thank you enough for being here. Where can people go to find out more about what you're doing?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh man, thank you uh so much. This has been an awesome conversation. I really appreciate it. Um, so you can mainly engage with us on uh on Instagram at fm.training underscore solutions is our handle. And then trainfm.com. Uh, but if you go to the website anytime soon, at least, you'll see a uh coming soon little kind of landing page. I've got a buddy of mine reworking it since we revamped from uh FMF force multiplier fitness to the uh the training solutions. So um that's it really. Uh primarily though that Instagram to hit the DMs, let me know that you uh you found it from Denny and uh and the Security Halt podcast, and uh I'll send you some stickers or something.

SPEAKER_00:

Hell yeah. We're gonna amp the fuck out of this. You know, we put out thousands and thousands of reels. Um so if you're a young man out there um struggling to figure out what you want to do in the soft world, you don't know how to quite approach it, dude. Hit up my guy, JD, go to the link right here, get an episode description, pause right now, click on it. Look, life isn't a remark, it's a remarkable journey. And I will tell you right now, if you're a young man filled with doubt about what to do, take a moment, do some research, figure out the militaries for you. And if it is, go to selection. Try being a green beret. Sign up for the 18X uh program, be willing to test your medal, be willing to figure out if it's right for you. And if you're an older candidate, if you're an older person and you've been out there and you've struggled through life, you've had some failures, you've had some successes, and uh you got that wild hair growing in your ass. Let me tell you, being a green beret is for you. Uh there's nothing greater than that seasoned guy. Man, I will tell you, I have teammates from various walks of life, guys that went and got their their bachelor's and masters from maybe amazing universities. I've had dudes that were chemical engineers, I've had dudes that had entire careers were entrepreneurs and businesses. And I tell you that the the spirit and the drive to do something impossible lives within every man. I 100% believe that that calling can take us to become a firefighter in midlife, it can it can take us to become an EMS professional, EMT professional. But a lot of guys get called to become a special forces operator. There's nothing wrong with it. Be willing to try. Look at the age requirements. If you meet the age requirements, fucking jump. Hit up JD, figure out a training plan, and go for it, man. Life is short. Life is not guaranteed to go perfectly for everybody. And the last thing you want to do is to be on your deathbest wishing that you would have become a badass 18 Bravo, 18 Charlie, 18 Echo. So do yourself a favor and try. Try. Why the fuck not? Why sit at home and play the video game when you can do the real thing right now? Exactly. JD, so much, man. It's been an absolute pleasure. Uh again, please hit up my man on Instagram. You'll see the link in the episode description or here. JD, one last time, where can they go to uh link up with you? Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh that would be uh Instagram at fm.training underscore solutions or trainfm.com. Pretty soon that'll be up and running, and they'll be able to sit siphon through that uh the website and and contact us through there.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go, guys. Thank you all for tuning in. JD, thank you for being here. We'll see you all next time. Till then, take care. Secured Hub Podcast is proudly sponsored by Titan's Arms. Head up the episode description and check out Titans Arms today.

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Deny Caballero

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