Andy Vs. Michael 2025 Kick Off

Summary

Cleared Hot: Andy Vs. Michael 2025 Kick Off Host: Andy Stumpf Release Date: January 17, 2025

In the flagship episode of Cleared Hot, host Andy Stumpf engages in a dynamic and candid conversation with his co-host Michael, exploring a range of topics from martial arts to geopolitical antics. This detailed summary captures the essence of their discussions, featuring notable insights and memorable quotes to provide a comprehensive overview for both regular listeners and newcomers.

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1. Teaching Jiu Jitsu Foundations

[05:17] Michael: "It was really great."

Andy and Michael delve into Michael's recent experience teaching Jiu Jitsu Foundations. Michael expresses genuine enthusiasm for sharing his passion, highlighting how teaching not only benefits his students but also sharpens his own skills.

• Passion for Teaching: Michael emphasizes the joy of introducing others to Jiu Jitsu, stating, "I like sharing something that I'm really passionate about." This sentiment underscores the mutual benefits of mentorship in martial arts.

• Enhancing Personal Skills: Andy probes whether teaching improves Michael's own techniques. Michael responds, "When I did have a dedicated class, I felt that my Jiu Jitsu improved quicker," indicating that instructing others deepens one's understanding and proficiency.

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2. Pacifism vs. Violence

The conversation takes a philosophical turn as Andy and Michael discuss the concept of pacifism in the context of societal evolution and personal defense.

• Understanding Pacifism: Michael references an interview between a UFC fighter and a die-hard pacifist, contemplating the clash between advocating for non-violence and engaging in combat sports. He wonders, "Do true devout pacifists let harm come to them, even if it involves protecting their children?"

• Balancing Non-Violence and Self-Defense: Andy shares his perspective on avoiding violence unless absolutely necessary, stating, "Don't be violent. But then you have to be as capable as possible." This highlights the tension between striving for a peaceful existence and being prepared to defend oneself when required.

• Primal Instincts and Modern Society: They discuss how venues like the UFC tap into primal instincts, creating a controlled environment for violence that remains a popular spectator sport. Andy remarks, "The draw of the UFC is it kind of draws you back into that more primal baseline instinct."

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3. Military Training and BUD/S Challenges

Andy and Michael shift focus to the rigorous training involved in becoming a Navy SEAL, specifically the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) program.

• Overview of BUD/S: Andy provides an in-depth look at the three phases of BUD/S training, highlighting the physical and mental challenges candidates face. He mentions, "The average attrition rate in the summer months is 70th percentile, in the winter months, 80th percentile, sometimes 90th."

• Mental Toughness vs. Physical Prowess: Michael shares his concerns about the water component of BUD/S, expressing, "Being comfortable in the water. And fully." Andy counters by emphasizing the mental resilience required, stating, "It's more mental than anything. They make that choice to quit now."

• Accessibility and Preparation: They discuss how extensive preparation and understanding the demands of BUD/S can influence success rates. Andy notes, "The knowledge is out there to prepare yourself. So you'd have... research everything that I need to do and then practice doing it."

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4. UFC and Celebrity Fights

The hosts entertain a lighter segment discussing viral moments in the UFC, particularly a showdown between Conor McGregor and The Mountain from Game of Thrones.

• Analyzing Combat Videos: Andy and Michael watch and critique a video where McGregor faces off against The Mountain, debating its implications on physicality and technique. Andy states, "Jiu Jitsu is not magic, and leave it at that." Michael agrees, emphasizing the reality of physical advantages, "Gravity is real, weight is real, leverage is real."

• Leverage and Physicality: They discuss how size and strength play crucial roles in fighting, regardless of martial arts expertise. Andy comments, "You can level the playing field by knowing more, but gravity... is real."

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5. Police Misconduct and the Petraeus Scandal

Delving into more serious territory, Andy and Michael examine instances of misconduct within law enforcement and the military, using General David Petraeus's personal scandal as a case study.

• Petraeus Scandal Breakdown: Andy recounts the events leading to Petraeus's resignation, highlighting the consequences of personal misconduct. He explains, "She guided him through the literary journey and process. It was discovered by the FBI."

• Impact on Reputation and Career: The discussion underscores how individual actions can tarnish illustrious careers, questioning, "How much would it fucking suck if you made a mistake?" Michael adds, reflecting on societal views, "They all just decided to go for it anyways."

• Broader Implications: They consider how such scandals erode public trust in institutions, with Andy asserting, "Men and women do men and women things. That's what it comes down to."

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6. Geopolitical Antics: Trump’s Remarks on Canada and Greenland

Towards the episode's conclusion, Andy and Michael tackle recent controversial statements made by President Trump regarding the potential annexation of Canada and Greenland.

• Assessing Intentions: They debate whether Trump's comments are genuine policy proposals or strategic trolling. Andy muses, "Is he the world's greatest troll or he has like whatever filter there is that keeps people from saying stuff."

• Potential Consequences: The hosts explore the geopolitical ramifications of such actions, with Michael acknowledging the complexity, "There's so much geopolitics that goes into it."

• Audience Engagement: Andy invites listeners to ponder the seriousness of Trump's remarks, posing the question, "Once you leave in the old comments, which side of that do you fall?"

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Conclusion

The episode of Cleared Hot delivers a balanced mix of technical expertise, personal anecdotes, and critical analysis. Andy and Michael's interplay offers listeners valuable insights into martial arts, military training, ethical debates, and current geopolitical issues. Notable quotes and thoughtful discussions make this episode a compelling listen, embodying Andy Stumpf's mission to explore discomforting and challenging topics.

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Notable Quotes:

• Michael on Teaching: "I like sharing something that I'm really passionate about." [05:38]

• Andy on Avoiding Violence: "Don't be violent. But then you have to be as capable as possible." [12:16]

• Andy on BUD/S Attrition: "Average attrition rate in the summer months is 70th percentile, in the winter months, 80th percentile, sometimes 90th." [27:01]

• Andy on UFC and Physicality: "Jiu Jitsu is not magic, and leave it at that." [34:08]

• Andy on Mental Toughness: "It's more mental than anything. They make that choice to quit now." [32:24]

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This comprehensive summary highlights the depth and breadth of discussions in the "Andy Vs. Michael 2025 Kick Off" episode, ensuring listeners remain informed and engaged without needing to reference the original transcript.

Transcript

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[C]

CT mobile.com what's up everybody? Welcome back. As per Popular request, Michael and I are going to sit down again today and we're going to talk about whatever Michael brings to the table. And he often tells me that he's overly prepared and that he underwhelms me. And perhaps he underwhelms you, but man, what a wild juxtaposition between somebody two decades younger than me. And quite frankly, I've actually come to really enjoy these Andy versus Michael series. I don't know what number we're on Andy and what I'm thinking about doing occasionally. And perhaps let me know in the comments if this is something you would want to see. I do full Auto Fridays where I sit down and I answer from my perspective questions that are sent in. But perhaps given our two decades of difference in life, I was thinking about bringing Michael in from time to time and just sitting down and answering those questions collaboratively with him. Not always, but occasionally. So it wouldn't really be an Andy versus Michael. It would just be a Full Auto Friday with occasional Michael input. And I don't know how to abbreviate that properly, so we'll have to figure that out a little bit later. But that's it. Now stay with me. Give me 90 seconds. Let's pay the bills here, ladies and gentlemen. This episode is brought to you by Peak. That's right, we're gonna be talking about tea and if you know anything about me, you know I'm more of a coffee guy. Let's talk about something real quick. I didn't think that tea was something that was ecosystem that was gonna have a lot of evolution now. And I'm gonna hold up this particular box. I've already taken the top off to save me time. This is the way that it shows up it's in these little sachets, which is way more convenient than traveling around with all the things required. I mean, I guess it would just be a tea bag, but it's way quicker, way more convenient. Boil some water up. They have this little stir stick. This thing's kind of awesome. So this isn't your grandma and grandpa's tea. This is, this is 2025 T. Now let's get into what the product actually is here. Gut health is obviously incredibly important. That microbiome, it can drive a lot of different factors in your life. And a year ago I'm flat on my back, I'm in a hospital getting my guts literally pulled out of my stomach. Not really an experience that I recommend, but let me tell you it recenters how you think about your gut, your gut biome metabolism, all of those things. And I didn't really have a tool. I had some prebiotics or probiotics, that's the normal thing. The then recently I was exposed to the peaked pu erh tea bundle. Now I'm going to read this to make sure that I get all of the highlights correct. It is a duo of green and black pu erh teas designed to transform your gut health, support your metabolism and enhance your overall vitality. There's some key benefits and again, I'm going to read these because I don't want to make a mistake and I want to be sure that I can pass on this benefit to the listener. The teas, they're naturally fermented for living. Probiotics and prebiotics to balance your microbiome. I already talked about that. Right. Packed with antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and support cellular regeneration for radiant skin and vitality. And they dissolve instantly in water. No teabags, no brewing. Right. Like I showed already, these teas can help with your microbiome reset balance. Gut floor for better digestion and a smoother metabolism. Your energy immune, your immune system support. And they're incredibly high quality. Sourcing excellence is what peak is going for. Wild harvested from a 250 year old tree for unmatched purity and natural density and innovation. Cold extraction technology that helps retain maxim phytonutrients. If this sounds like something that you want to try, the peaked pu error bundle is going to come with everything that you need. So if you're ready to elevate your day and transform your health for a limited time, you can get 20% off on the puair bundle plus the free starter kit that I talked about, including a Rechargeable frother, the glass beaker. All you need to do is head over to peaklife.com ClearedHot that is Peak Life P I Q U E Life normal spelling.com ClearedHut to claim this exclusive offer. Again, that's 20% off plus free rechargeable frother and glass beaker with your first purchase with my link peaklife.com Cleared Hot. Let's dive into today's episode. Okay, I got the red smoke sun run north and south west of the smoke.

[D]

West of the smoke.

[C]

Okay, copy west of the smoke. I'm looking at danger close now. Come on with it, baby.

[D]

Give it to me. I mean it.

[C]

You're cleared hot campaign. Cleared hot. For the record, Michael just claimed he's never heard the term slap dick. As I said, waiting for you. Slap dick.

[D]

That was really funny.

[C]

Actually.

[D]

I've never heard that.

[C]

Yeah, it accurately describes you, but you can figure that out in your own time.

[D]

Yeah, I'll definitely do a lot of research.

[C]

Good. Far away. Why are you wearing headphones?

[D]

I don't really know, actually. I'm just so used to putting them on.

[C]

All right. It helps when we have a guest here, but it's just you and I talking.

[D]

Yeah, it doesn't really matter, I guess.

[C]

All right. You've had time to prepare.

[D]

Yeah, I guess so.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Okay. Oh, this is the Foundation's notes.

[C]

How was teaching Jiu Jitsu Foundations today?

[D]

It was really great.

[C]

Do you enjoy teaching?

[D]

Yes. Yeah, I like covering more than actually having a dedicated class.

[C]

So you like doing it sporadically? You don't want it to be your full time job?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

To me, what do you like about teaching?

[D]

I don't actually really like. I can't really pinpoint it. I like sharing something that I'm really passionate about. And so that I think is a big part of it. Because it's not so much like showing people what I know, but more of like, I know that I really love Jiu Jitsu. And when I see other people getting into it, I'm like really excited for them.

[C]

Do you find it makes your game sharper because it's a depth of your actual knowledge?

[D]

I think so. I haven't had a dedicated class in a long time, so I guess I can't really say with super certainty. But when I did have a dedicated class, I felt that my Jiu Jitsu improved quicker.

[C]

What'd you teach today?

[D]

What did I teach today? Like self defense, like cover and crash kind of stuff? Yeah.

[C]

Cool.

[D]

Which is just where we were in the lesson plan and we did Oompa escape to a knee slice, pass, knee cut, pass. Neat. Same thing.

[C]

It is. But I'm gonna take my points where I can get them. The old Oompa Escape often forgot about.

[D]

Yeah, by me, too. Like, I don't really do it that often.

[C]

Also known as the trap and roll.

[D]

Yeah, trap and roll. I don't know why we call it Oompa. Or if that's.

[C]

I actually think it's upa. I think it's Oopa escape.

[D]

Oh, that makes more sense.

[C]

I don't know. Why does John Danaher only speak in Japanese? I don't think that's true when he's teaching. If I were to take one of his classes, which I'm not qualified to in any way, shape or form, I would spend three quarters of my time asking if there was an English translation for the word that he just said.

[D]

Yeah, there are a lot of Japanese words in jiu Jitsu. Yeah.

[C]

I don't know any of them.

[D]

I know a few of them because I did judo, but that's. My knowledge is still very, very limited.

[C]

All right, what do you got for today?

[D]

Let's see, what do I have for today? Probably nothing good. As you often remind me, you've known.

[C]

About this for a week. This provides you ample opportunity to set aside at a maximum two minutes a day to think deeply on something. Prepare yourself.

[D]

I'm not saying I don't think there's anything good, but you always say there's nothing good.

[C]

I'm fascinated by the topics that you. That they get their hooks into you, and you're thinking, yes, this is the one. Like, I don't know, like, that's what makes this panda shaped gummy bears or some other. It really highlights the difference between your generation.

[D]

Yeah, the generation difference, which I think is really funny.

[C]

Fire away.

[D]

Have you seen the interview of that UFC fighter? I don't remember which one. And he's talking to this, like, die hard pacifist that thinks all violence in any form should be outlawed.

[C]

No, I haven't seen that.

[D]

It's very interesting.

[C]

Hold on. How did these two very different ideological headspaces collide?

[D]

It was for a separate YouTube channel that brought them together.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, interesting. No. How long was the interview?

[D]

It was. It's like 45 minutes. It's really interesting.

[C]

So I can understand conceptually the idea of pacifism. It is. I'm going to call it an academic principle.

[D]

Mm.

[C]

It sounds good in an academic principle. Right. Why can't we live and let live. Everybody get along. There's no need for violence. I would ask, though, for anybody outside of the human species to point me at any other species on Earth that we are aware of, probably even at a molecular level where there's not. I mean, you. I don't know if you would classify it as violence at a molecular level, but there are things competing for survival and one is not going to survive where the other one is. Yeah, so I kind of get it.

[D]

So I guess this channel is called Fight Front.

[C]

Fight Front. And they brought on a die hard pacifist. Where does the guy live? Or is it. Is it a guy or gal? Uk. Okay.

[D]

I don't know if he's active right now.

[C]

Active?

[D]

What, in the ufc?

[C]

No, I want to know where the pacifist lives.

[D]

I think also uk and it's just.

[C]

Nice to be nice. It is nice to be nice. Okay.

[D]

And so that's kind of the highlights, but it's a 30 minutes, so obviously we're not gonna watch the whole thing.

[C]

But what's her premise? So she doesn't like violence?

[D]

Yeah, it doesn't like violence. She is like disgusted, basically, when she watches clips. Like they showed her some clips of UFC and she just thought it was barbaric and basically that we've evolved past that point, that there should be no need for that.

[C]

Barbaric. I mean, I can understand the lens that she's viewing it through. What would be her stance if somebody was trying to attack her? What is the philosophy of that person?

[D]

Yeah, that. I don't know. I don't know if they got into that, but that would be an interesting question to ask.

[C]

Do they? Is there some type of. I don't know if it'll be the correct usage of the word, but cognitive dissonance, where self defense, like protection of oneself, that would be considered. Okay. Or does a true devout pacifist, if somebody wants to harm you or kill you, you let that happen? What do we got going on here?

[D]

I don't know. I mean, I have heard of some pacifists that are that extreme, that say, even if somebody's attacking me, there's no need for violence. And to me that just is.

[C]

What if they have kids? My question to them is, okay, you have children, they're here. And this person now, it's a. It's a pedophile in a Ronald McDonald suit with a massive 12 inch dong hanging out of his pants. I know you're digging this visual. Where this is coming from is just prefrontal Cortex. That's Leah's question for me, not yours. And he's got a sack lunch. You know, you don't know what's in the sack lunch. It's probably tapioca and a tiger's tail sticking out the top of it. And he's coming for your kids, and he's going to grab them and pull them into a. A van down by the river, and it's the last time you're ever going to see him.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, does a pacifist let that happen?

[D]

I mean, I would certainly hope not.

[C]

I would hope not, too. That's where I would. I would love to understand the backstory of that person. I would want to understand kind of where their station in life. And I mean, here's my thing. I don't think. I'm not here to tell anybody how to party. Right. I'm not here to tell anybody how to live their life. My personal stance is that you should avoid violence at all costs. For one, you can get hurt. You can win a fight and still end up in the next ambulance that comes by. We live in a litigious society, so there's a chance that you could have legal consequences and ramifications as well. You could get into a fight with somebody who's carrying a weapon, whether it be an edged weapon or a gun. Personally, the edged weapon scares me a lot more.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Just spend two minutes on Google Images looking at knife injuries and you will never want to be on the other end of a knife. Not that being on, you know, it's a false choice, but would you rather be stabbed or shot? Option C, please. Which is run away and have neither. Yeah, don't be violent. But then the. You have to be as capable as possible. So then when the times for violence occur, you can handle your shit.

[D]

Yeah, for sure.

[C]

I mean, the down by the river scenario, I mean, if you think a cop is going to get there in that amount of time, at which point you would just be kind of outsourcing your violence anyway.

[D]

Yeah, I don't know what people have to get violent.

[C]

Yeah. I don't know what people think the solution is to that. I mean, again, live your life how you want to live it. I would want to have a pretty deep conversation about how that woman arrived at her position. I can understand the us for people. You know why I like the ufc? Because I do jiu jitsu. I didn't like the UFC as much when I didn't because I didn't understand what they were doing in the octagon. Especially when they were either up against the cage or on the ground. My thought in my head always was, well, why don't you just move? Just get off the cage.

[D]

Yeah, it's that easy.

[C]

I would just stand up if I was that person. That's what I would tell myself. Yeah, until you're literally being smothered and can't move and then you realize you can't do that at all times. So I can understand and I'm going to make an assumption. She doesn't come from a martial arts background because all of them are, at least in some way, shape or form, are conceptually tied to violence. So I get that. Barbaric. Sure. Have we evolved as a society and as a species? Yeah. But I think the draw of the USC is it kind of draws you back into that more primal baseline instinct.

[D]

Like Coliseum, kind of. Yeah.

[C]

Did you see the new Gladiator?

[D]

No, I heard it was not that good.

[C]

Ladies and gentlemen, this episode is brought to you by Stopbox. I live in Montana, a. I'm going to call it, I don't want to say a firearm friendly state. But firearms are oftentimes a part of the culture here. And it to this day shocks and surprises me how people treat firearms. It seems like they only believe that there are two options. One is locked away in Fort Knox inside of a. Whether it be a biometric, a. A large safe, or the other end of that spectrum, completely unsecured and just left sitting on a counter or a desk, there are more options than that. Firearms. These tools can be incredibly dangerous and they should be treated so at all times. And that's what I'm gonna talk about. A portable storage, secure firearm solution. Stopbox Pro. Recognize this problem and they designed a groundbreaking solution. They call it the Stopbox Pro. With the Stopbox Pro, you're never gonna have to choose between security and readiness again. It's an ingenious push button, as you can see on the top here. Locking system that gives you fast, reliable access when every second matters. It also doesn't require batteries. And another additional part of this is it's TSA compliant. Don't put it in your carry on. Obviously you need to put it in your checked bag. But it meets the TSA requirements for traveling with a firearm as well. All right, I'm going to show you how easy it is to open this. Now, normally this would be sitting on the table. I have to elevate this here just a little bit to show you for the camera angle. No batteries required. Three fingers, you push Them in, you push down and it opens up. Now, inside of here, I have a firearm, obviously unloaded, but that's how simple this can actually be, right? Secure storage that is portable as well. All Stopbox products are proudly made in the USA in their own facility. Not only does this ensure the high quality craftsmanship of every product that is sent out, it creates meaningful jobs and opportunities for American workers. Traveling with peace of mind is easy because as I mentioned, it is TSA compliant. And StopBox also offers a range of other innovative products, including their vehicle Safe Chamber lock and other essential gear designed to keep you prepared and protected wherever you are and whatever situation you may find yourself in. For a limited time only, listeners to the show are going to get a crazy deal. Not only do you get 10% off your entire order when you use the code cleared hop@stopbox USA.COM, but they're also going to give you buy one, get one free for their Stopbox Pro, which is the item that I just held up. That is 10% off and a free Stop Box Pro. When you use code cleared [e-mail] Discover a better way to balance security and readiness with Stopbox. Let's get back into the show. Tyler rented it among several other movies that he didn't ask for permission to rent or buy on my account when he was back from college. Haven't heard from that little fuck stick since he went back to college. I'm sure I will when there's something that is needed.

[D]

Of course. Of course. Yeah.

[C]

Needed or required?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, they showed the scene where they, you know, they flooded the Coliseum. Did you know they used to fill it with water? Naval battles.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

In the movie there was some sharks in there. We had a very thorough discussion on whether it would be possible to capture said sharks and then put them.

[D]

That would be a tough. Yeah, I feel like that would be.

[C]

As tough as filling up the Coliseum with water. It's catching multiple sharks.

[D]

Yeah. And keeping them alive and transported.

[C]

Exactly.

[D]

To. To the. I think they might be. You could have sharks in there. They just might not be alive.

[C]

I mean, look at every sport. I'm. I might take baseball out of that.

[D]

And golf.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. Golf. Well, hold on. Maybe I should just say like football and rugby. Basketball.

[D]

It gets there sometimes, I guess.

[C]

Hockey. Oh, yeah.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

I mean, there's some sports. If you look at them, it's still. I mean, is it violence? No. Is it brute force and strength paired with technique and teamwork and all that stuff? Yeah. But there's that essence of it. And those are really popular sports. Yeah, yeah. We might have evolved past it. Like, we're going to be working for our robot overlords for our water ration shortly.

[D]

But yeah, I mean, and it's consensual, too, like the.

[C]

In those arenas. Yes, it is.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's. And that was the interesting part to me is even though it was consensual, she still had a huge problem with it. And that's like, to me, if two people want to fight, like, why. Why would. Why is that even.

[C]

Well, you know what else is consensual and optional is her watching it.

[D]

That very true. She doesn't have to watch it.

[C]

Yeah, it's not for her. I enjoy it. How about you go have a rewarding and enriching life doing what you want to do?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And I will do what I want to do and do those things. And guess what? We can totally cohabitate on this earth. Yeah, but don't call me when old Ronald McDonald's coming out.

[D]

Crazy thing to go to. But yeah.

[C]

I mean, have you ever seen one of the. Have you ever been inside of McDonald's?

[D]

I have, yeah.

[C]

Okay. Have you ever seen the statues around McDonald's?

[D]

Yeah, no. They're.

[C]

They're a little creepy.

[D]

Yeah. A little weird.

[C]

A little weird. Always around kids. Just saying, look into it, bro.

[D]

You jumping on the conspiracy bandwagon?

[C]

I'm just saying, let's just look into it. If you. That was your particular proclivity, and those are people you were targeting, you're not going to spend your time at an old, old person. So.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, that's fair. Yeah, yeah. Do you keep your rifle from the military?

[C]

As in, do they allow you to keep it? No, you do not. Nor are you allowed to use personal weapons in the conduct of your military service as well.

[D]

Okay. So only issued weapons, only issue weapons.

[C]

And I believe that is something to do. I'm a little over my skis on the exact regulation that might limit that. I think it has something to do with the Geneva Convention, the rule of armed conflict, or law of armed conflict. However, there are. I. And this was something that the army did, and I've only heard about this second or third hand. So I'm not trying to be an expert on this system. And I think it had specifically had to do with a certain type of pistol. And this was only from one command that I heard that they would allow this, but essentially they would retire the weapon and allow you to buy it. So it wasn't free.

[D]

Oh, interesting. Okay.

[C]

Yeah. But it wasn't the AR platform or your. Your primary weapon system. Yeah, yeah, it's you. Let me just tell you right now, there are some people out there who have weapon systems that are way better than what we were issued in the military, meaning they have dumped a lot of money into it. You can't take your rifle home and modify the trigger or put your own light onto it. You could. I have been at commands where they had armorers and you could ask them to do those things and they could source all of those things through the military system. But you can't just say, hey, can you throw this personal. Actually, if you brought them a flashlight or whatever.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

They would probably assume like a flashlight level that that was sourced through the military system because you could open purchase that. But it has to be done through those systems. You can't take it home as much as you may like it.

[D]

How, when you were. Do you get issued one and you kind of keep that one for the whole time, or do you go through multiple.

[C]

The answer to that would vary depending on where you are. So one, serialized inventories are a real thing.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So your suppressors are going to be serialized. Your weapons platform, pistol and rifle are going to be serialized. Your night vision goggles are going to be serialized. So you will individually be issued those things and then you have inside of a. An element. And this again, this is from when I was in. Might have changed, might not. In a crew of 16 guys, you'll have an armory rep, or actually probably a couple because of the volume of stuff. Although it is issued to you, it is kept in a secured location. They are doing inventories all the time on all the serialized items. But let's say that you were a sniper on top of that. So you'd have your. We'll just call it an AR platform. Yeah, you'd get that. And then you'd probably get a long gun suite as well. That would be a.300 win mag. Whatever else they have gone to, whether it's a LAPU or they're still issuing Barretts or all that stuff, you could have two or three long guns as well. I have seen it. Depending on the command and the budget and the weaponry, they may not have enough for everybody. So maybe two guys would share that suite. But oftentimes you want to. You want to get one of your own. And so again, they're yours. And I'm using air quotes for people who are audio only. They're yours, but they're the government so you are responsible. Let me just tell you, it will be your ass if said serialized item goes missing. Even that stuff does get lost. I mean, it's legitimate. What is less legitimate, and this happened at the first team that I was at, is, you know, when you put something down as missing and then it's used in the execution of a crime elsewhere, and the serial number is traced backwards to said ordinance rep. That is, I believe, still now in prison. And then when they search said person's house, they might have found some plastic explosives.

[D]

Oh, my.

[C]

Listen, here's what I can tell you about the SEAL community. When we do a good job, we generally do a pretty good job. When we get off the rails, we up galactically.

[D]

Yeah, I feel like. Yeah, I feel like you kind of have to be a different person to be a, like, mentally kind of have to be a little bit tougher and maybe a little bit more extreme to go into being a SEAL or Special Forces. Would you agree with that?

[C]

You've known me for a long time.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

There's absolutely nothing different about me from a mentality perspective, a toughness perspective. I mean, I'm down the middle of the road as far as what's possible. I'm like, if there's a bell curve, I'm halfway up it. I'm not at the top, and I'm hopefully not at the bottom most times. Yeah, there's not. You know what I mean? It's exceptionally ordinary people that are asked to do exceptionally. What's the correct word? Disordinary, unordinary. Extraordinary things.

[D]

Probably. Extraordinary be the better word.

[C]

Yeah. It's very normal people tasked with doing something that is extraordinary or exceptional.

[D]

You don't think that you have to be more tough than the average person.

[C]

How do you measure that?

[D]

I mean, I don't know. I mean, I guess the. What? What's it? BUDS is a good measurement.

[C]

The question becomes, though, what is BUDS measuring? Because most people think it's physical in nature. I want to be very clear here. The physical demands of the program are robust. Yeah, they're hard. But that's not the muscle that fails people in the program.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So they're making a choice to quit now. There are. People ask me this question all the time. Are you born tough or can it be taught mental toughness and physical toughness? And my answer is yes. Meaning some people are born more physically gifted. Not you, of course.

[D]

No, of course not.

[C]

And mentally gifted puts you in the same category. Right. It's a bell curve. There's people who have out of the box. A little bit less capacity, if you will. Needle's trending a little to the left. And then there's some people like, holy, that person's probably going to change the world.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Both of those people can improve their station in life. They have a different glass ceiling. So whatever you have, it can be taught. And honestly, we don't teach it in the training pipeline. There are some really, what I'm about to say, I'm not trying to make this sound easy. There are some easy mental approaches that if you can wrap. No pun intended, if you can wrap your head around them, they can change the trajectory of your life. Because it'll prevent you from throwing in the towel.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

When your body is screaming at you that you need to. Because that's not actually the time that you need to throw in the towel. Just because your body is telling you that you need to quit or somebody's screaming at you that you should quit doesn't mean that you should.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

That nobody can make you quit except for yourself. You learn those a little bit later on. And I don't even know if it would make a difference if we taught it before because it's something that requires practice. But the people who understand that, I mean, they can appear to be incredibly mentally tough. And maybe they are, but it's more their approach, their mental approach, their self talk, how they are viewing and parsing their goals in their view of time. The combination of those things. I mean, it can make you appear as if you are tougher than most people. Because the normal metric is who quit and who didn't.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

What if somebody has a little bit more. A better mental approach. Does that mean that they're tougher or does that mean that they have tools that make them look tougher? So I'm saying it's really, you know, I mean, there's no metric.

[D]

Very nuanced. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

I never really thought of it that way.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

I don't.

[C]

But I mean anything, dude, you know, I've known each other for years. There is nothing exceptional about me.

[D]

Besides your retardation.

[C]

I tried to get a disability rating for that and the military said it was a pre existing condition, so they refused to rate it.

[D]

Damn it.

[C]

I know.

[D]

That's.

[C]

We all have our cross to bear.

[D]

Yeah, I know.

[C]

They're like, no, that's actually been since birth. So you can go ahead and just sit with that one we gave you. We did you a solid by letting you come in in the first place. So you can carry the lunch pail on that one for the rest of your life.

[D]

All right, let's see what else we got.

[C]

Do you think you would make it through buds? What do you think? So looking at it, I'll give you an overview. Right?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

There's three phases.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

First phase, second phase, third phase in the military's brilliance. For a long period of time before my time, they went third phase, then second phase, then first. Right. Because why not do backwards? Of course, it's in San Diego. I think they've, they're, they have completely rebuilt the, the areas that the SEAL teams exist in. I don't know if they have rebuilt or removed where they do buds, but here's the main tools for the instructors. You have the sand all along the Pacific Ocean. You have the water, telephone poles, some IBSS or inflatable boat. Small, because in the military you would never say small inflatable boat, because why would you. Make sense. Yeah, yeah. Just doesn't make sense to make sense. So we won't do it that way. There's going to be some sleep deprivation. We can't really play around with your food that much. There's a lot of time immersed in both the ocean. Maybe you're doing surf passage where you take the boats out and you go through the surf. So also a lot of pool evolutions.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

There is some underwater stuff with open circuit, meaning when you exhale, you can see the bubbles. Closed circuit, meaning when you exhale, it's a closed circuit and it scrubs out. So the sneakier way to dive, if you will. Okay, there's going to be some basic land warfare, land navigation, basic explosives, stuff like that. Six months long. Average attrition rate in the summer months, 70th percentile. In the winter months, 80th percentile, sometimes 90th. And I believe there's been two classes where nobody graduated. That's not because anybody. Yeah, that's not because every single person in the class quit, I think. But if you only have a couple people left, how are you going to do anything that requires 6, 10, 12 people?

[D]

Right.

[C]

So I think they just rolled them. That's how I think those classes actually went down to zero. What in that do you think would be the hardest for you?

[D]

Water.

[C]

What portion of the water laying in cold water or actually being comfortable in the water?

[D]

Being comfortable in the water. And fully. Probably the. Because I've seen the videos where they tie your hands and stuff, so.

[C]

And here's the thing, though. Yes. There's those videos that's called the Drown proofing Test with your hands are tied behind your back, your feet are tied together. The first time you do that, the first few times you do that, you just jump in the water, though, and you practice that. Just holding your hands behind your back. No restraints on anything.

[D]

I see. Okay.

[C]

Crawl, walk, run, then maybe they'll do your feet. They'll probably do your feet first to save your. I mean, we're looking at. This is 20 plus years back in the rearview mirror, so actually 30 at this point almost. So I don't remember if they did the feet first, but point being, they don't. Just tie your hands behind your back and feet together and huck you into the water. Because the actual drown proofing test is you bob for an hour.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You cover the length of the pool by swimming on the surface with your hands and feet still tied together. Isn't that hard? I'm gonna be honest with you. I say that with a water polar background, though. And growing up in a surfing community, have you ever seen the ocean?

[D]

Yes.

[C]

When.

[D]

When I was in. Wait, have I seen the. I'm pretty sure I have, yeah. Oregon.

[C]

You're lying to me.

[D]

I'm not lying to you.

[C]

When did you see the ocean?

[D]

It was probably 2019. I think we went to Oregon. 20, 20. 2019.

[C]

Mother of God. Okay, so anyway, you swim the length of the pool. I was there as an instructor one time, and this student, I. I was out, forget what I was doing by the berm, which is a large sand berm that they. There's some actually pretty gnarly swells in the wintertime, so they build up a berm so it doesn't actually soak everything. And there was a student standing out there in awe, and I was asking, like, what are you doing? He's like, I've never seen the ocean. He did not last long. So, um, can imagine things to consider before going into training. You do that, you come back to the. They throw a mask into the water, you bob down, you pick up the mask with your teeth. I forget how many times you have to bob. It might be a. It might be a time requirement. You end up doing a front flip and then you get out. That's the actual test. So I think it takes about an hour and 20 minutes. You think that's what will get you?

[D]

Um, I. I think so. I mean, I just don't have that much. Like, I can swim and everything, but I do not have a lot of experience with water, especially like, rough water.

[C]

Yeah, but what do you think you would do if you Wanted to go down that pipeline. You're smart enough, you know the answer to this.

[D]

Well, I would have to, like, get used to water practice exposure. Yeah.

[C]

Student. I mean, when I was trying to join the military in the late 90s, it's a concept I have to explain to my children. There was things called libraries because the Internet.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, wasn't a thing. I couldn't find anything on information. And when I went to the Navy recruiter, neither of the Navy recruiters had anything to do with naval special warfare, which is the tranche the SEAL community falls under. I think they handed me. This is eight and a half by 11 pieces of paper, five or six pieces of paper thick. And it was, hey, this is how you train for SEAL training. It was running and like pyramids of doing push ups. And there is, there are websites and forums that contain almost every evolution that occurs at buds. Yeah. The day of the week, how long they're going to last. Point being the knowledge is out there to prepare yourself. So you'd have. If you wanted to go down that pipeline.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I could definitely, like, you know, obviously research everything that I need to do and then practice doing it.

[C]

Let me tell you, a lot of those guys do that doesn't change the attrition rate.

[D]

So it's more mental than anything.

[C]

Yes. But I don't want to make people think that there's no physical requirement. It is for sure super taxing.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

But the muscle that fails and gets people to ring that bell is above the neck.

[D]

Is always your brain.

[C]

I mean, I don't know of any instructor ever that took a student's hand and put it around the rope on the bell and run it for him.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

They make that choice.

[D]

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Right. Have you seen. Wait, did we talk about McGregor versus the mountain?

[C]

I don't think so.

[D]

Dude, this is a wild video. So Conor McGregor, are you talking about.

[C]

The mountain from Game of Thrones? What type of competition was this?

[D]

It wasn't like an official fight. Yeah, they just did like at McGregor's gym.

[C]

So they're messing around. How'd that go?

[D]

They're messing around. Not good for McGregor. I mean, you think he danced around?

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Like tried to do things, but the guy is just so huge.

[C]

Once he gets his hands on you, there's nothing you're going to do.

[D]

Yeah, let me, I'm sharing the video right now. Similar to that Eddie Hall 2v1.

[C]

Yeah. Which was pretty amazing though.

[D]

Which was so awesome. Yeah.

[C]

Oh, my God. What? What do you think £150, £200 difference.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

I don't know exactly what he was.

[C]

Right there, but I appreciate one of them is just wearing jeans. Oh, and shoes on, too. Nice. Connor's there in some spats. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, yeah, they're just playing around.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, they definitely are. Just messing around.

[C]

Yeah. Can we just be honest? That size and strength are real and Jiu jitsu is not magic, and leave it at that.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, dude. Like, you can kind of level the playing field by knowing more, but gravity.

[C]

Is real, weight is real, leverage is real. And every leverage point, I mean, unless we're talking about some Egyptian stuff, and extending that lever out so far, which is not possible, given you are the size that you are, you. You reach a maximum point of usefulness.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

That man laying on top of you would be horrendous, dude.

[D]

Yeah. I don't even know.

[C]

I mean, that's when I would sit there like, I don't know if you know this, sir, but I am a pacifist. I don't believe in violence whatsoever. To tie it back into our first.

[D]

Question, it's a really good idea.

[C]

Yeah. I don't believe in violence in any way. And you disgust me for your. Your portrayal of violence in Game of Thrones.

[D]

Yeah, Y. Yeah. No, so that. Because he's got to be close to like £300 in that video.

[C]

Like, it's hard to say because I know McGregor is not that tall. I think he's maybe 5, 5, 5, 6. And I don't know what he walks around at. I bet you maybe 165, 175. That other guy's got to be over 250 for sure.

[D]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, this happened.

[C]

I always get concerned when you start giggling over there while you're looking at your phone notes.

[D]

This happened a few years ago, but to you. No, no, no, no.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

What? I just. I don't know where that link went.

[C]

What is it from memory? Tell me what it is.

[D]

It's a. So this police department in, like, Tennessee, there was this, this woman police officer, okay. And she was having sex with, like, five of the other policemen.

[C]

I know exactly what you're talking about.

[D]

Yeah, Let me see. I don't know where the link went, so I'm just gonna look it up right now.

[C]

What are you asking me about this particular incident?

[D]

Let me just look it up.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Let's go to images. There she is.

[D]

Yeah. I was just wondering if you have heard of this, because yeah, I've heard of it. Funny story.

[C]

What's funny about this? This is our taxpayer dollars at work. Not me, not necessarily yours and I's.

[D]

But not necessarily at work, I would say.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

More at play. What's funny about it is just the. How blatantly obvious it is that you are going to get in trouble for this and how stupid of a decision this is. But they all just decided to go for it anyways.

[C]

Have you not spent time around human beings?

[D]

No, I know, but it's just like.

[C]

Like this behavior. There's zero percent of this that shocks me. I mean, what, what is shocking to you about this? That people knew that if they participated in an activity like this, they were going to end their careers. And they still did. Welcome to being a human being.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

We could Google all day long. Okay. I mean, like, you know, this has happened in the medical profession.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, this has happened in probably the psychiatrist, psychologist profession, law enforcement. I mean, you know what I'm surprised about? This doesn't make the headlines more.

[D]

Yeah. Actually, I bet there's a lot more that happens that nobody just.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, Jesus. Scroll back up. Let's read some of these charges. Oh, that's a video. My gosh.

[D]

Wild hot tub party. Whoa. Well, let's go back to that.

[C]

And then there's like a pagoda garden right there.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, there was a cop. I don't know where this was. They got stuck in the back of his own car. He pulled it down an alley and spoiler alert, most cop cars have, like, geolocated devices on them. They recognize it wasn't moving.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Somebody else rolls up and he's just stuck in the back. I don't think it was a prostitute. I think it was somebody that.

[D]

Somebody he arrested.

[C]

Yeah. Well, hadn't arrested him yet.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I think their definition of arrested might be a little bit.

[D]

A little bit different. Yeah.

[C]

I mean, I don't get me wrong, I haven't seen it all by any stretch. I am at a point where I am shocked by less things now than I was when I was your age.

[D]

Yeah. Maybe that's. That's why I'm always so surprised. I just haven't seen as much.

[C]

Because you think, is it that the. The profession or occupation is at a standard that these people would know they shouldn't do that?

[D]

Yeah. Not necessarily that being in that position makes them invulnerable to this, but then.

[C]

They would think twice perhaps.

[D]

Yeah. Them going into that position would maybe mean like, hey, maybe don't do Stupid shit like that.

[C]

They probably thought about it more than twice. A couple of times. If you don't say, I think so.

[D]

I think so. Yeah.

[C]

That's not something that happened overnight.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And yeah. It's a ticking time bomb, dude.

[D]

Oh.

[C]

Is it even worth getting into this? I mean, you might think that Seal. Here's the deal. Men and women do men and women things.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And I'm gonna assume that at some point in time in your life, you got the birds and the bees speech.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

It's shocking to me when people say, yeah, I don't know how they got pregnant.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

I mean, it's really, really simple.

[D]

Outline the steps for you.

[C]

A basic scientific approach that. I'm not a scientist or have ever worn a white lab coat, but I think I can help you out with this.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

One of the issues, it's a, It's a broad conversation. One of the issues with women in combat units. And maybe it's not talked about as much. It's not in my opinion, which only counts for me. It's a bifurcated conversation. One is a standards. And if you meet the standard, you meet the standard. I don't give a shit what your gender is. The other one is what do men and women do when they're in close proximity to each other? They do men and women. Shit. Yeah, I know. Do I want to use the term a lot? I know of. I know of instances every single time, both in conus, meaning here, training trips inside of the United States and oconus, whether that's a training trip or a real world deployment to a war zone overseas, when men and women in close proximity to each other in positions that you would think would. Would at least give them. Let's tap the brakes for a second and think about what would be the cascading effects to myself, my professional career, and maybe if this blows up internationally, the community. Here's an example.

[D]

Petraeus got General right? General, yeah.

[C]

Was. It was discovered he was banging a reporter.

[D]

Really?

[C]

Yes. This was years ago. So this isn't anything new. And this is something that popped into mind. There was a conversation about Petraeus. Right. Because he is or was married at the time. He was. I don't know if he is or not anymore, but I think he was a four star at that time. We're talking about at the apex of his military career. I think he was overseeing Petraeus scandal. How much would it fucking suck if you made a mistake? And there was a Wikipedia page dedicated to your mistake. Okay, hold up. A Petraeus scandal is a series of events that garnered strong media attention when an extramarital affair between retired four star general. Okay, that's for those of you who don't know. Pretty fucking high up there on the rank structure. And then director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell became public information. Patrace had chosen Broadwell to be his official biographer. That's right. She co authored his biography. Yeah, yeah, she co authored.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

She guided him through the literary journey and process. You could say it was. Oh, it was discovered by the. She was reported to have been involved in an extramarial affair that triggered his resignation as director of the CIA when it was discovered by the FBI. Damn. Scroll down. I just want to see the chronology here a little bit. Keep going. Go, go, go. They met in 2006. Okay, whatever it. Live your life the way that you want to make that you want to live your life. Marital vows can mean to you what they want to mean. Choices have consequences. That one though is one where. You know what I mean, the dude was the director of the CIA.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Perhaps a position where people would think very well vetted morals and integrity or without question. Or there's the other side of that where they would think that you're just a government, you know, agent and your morals and integrity don't exist to begin with. But that. That mean. That's a perfect example of an individual's consensual adults at this point making decisions that has a Wikipedia page associated with it. Men do men and women do. Men and women. That's what it comes down to.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So don't let that surprise you.

[D]

I won't let it surprise me. It's just more funny than anything.

[C]

As long as it doesn't involve you. Yes, it is. We gotta head over to do our manager meeting soon. You get one more question. What do you got?

[D]

One more question. See if I have a good one.

[C]

It's unlikely, but yeah, keep hoping.

[D]

How about the Trump talk about Canada and Greenland?

[C]

I can't figure out if he is the world's greatest troll or he. He has like whatever filter there is that keeps people from saying stuff. I suffer from this from time to time too.

[D]

Yeah, I know you do.

[C]

And it just. Stuff comes out. I mean, I think it would be cool. Yeah. If Canada was two more states. Yeah. Greenland I've heard is very resource rich. They're a Dutch colony or associated right now.

[D]

Danish.

[C]

Danish.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

What's the difference between Danish and Dutch?

[D]

It's basically the same thing.

[C]

Jesus. Sorry. Danish And Dutch people. I'm just not educated on the particular nuances there. I honestly can't figure out if he's serious. Don't forget the Panama Canal.

[D]

Oh, that's right. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. And the Gulf of America. That's what I'm saying. Is a guy literally just trolling the entire world.

[D]

Yeah. Or is he serious about this?

[C]

Both could be true simultaneously.

[D]

Yeah. That is a good point.

[C]

Which I'm not prepared for. Somebody who controlled that level but is also serious at that level.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

That was not ready for that.

[D]

No. But that would be a crazy thing to see in my lifetime. If we like annexing a whole other country.

[C]

I could see it if somebody wanted to leave a legacy. Little Louisiana Purchase, esque.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, I wouldn't put it past anybody. I don't know the mechanics of that. I just truly don't understand.

[D]

I don't either. Like, there's so much geopolitics that goes into it.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

And I don't even know the process of. Yeah.

[C]

Again, I'm still stuck at the phase of trying to figure out if he is the world's single best troll or if he's serious.

[D]

Both.

[C]

Yeah. And I'll leave. Maybe that's. That's the question for the audience. Once you leave in the old comments, which side of that do you fall? Either one is kind of spectacular in its own right. I'm not advocating for it, but it's spectacular in itself.

[D]

It really is. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

The president of the most powerful country.

[C]

In the world just talking about. Just gobbling about some other territory.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah. No matter your opinion on him, you got to say, that's wild.

[C]

I can't argue that.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Cool. All right, man. Until next.

[A]

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