Cleared Hot Podcast — Ep. 432

"When War is The Easy Part" | Mike Glover
Host: Andy Stumpf
Guest: Mike Glover
Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a raw, candid, and thoughtful conversation between Andy Stumpf and Mike Glover. The central theme is resilience and personal reinvention after profound adversity—exploring how the true “hard part” of life isn’t war, but facing public and personal fallout, divorce, custody battles, and losing nearly everything, including one’s business and public reputation. The episode weaves together war stories, difficult life lessons, reflections on faith and fatherhood, and a sharp, sometimes dark sense of humor about starting over.

Key Discussion Points

1. Book Project Misadventures

• Origin Story: Andy recounts how Mike “tricked” him into starting a book project—Mike’s idea, but Andy ended up doing most of the work.
  • "We have to open with: Nobody believes me that you tricked me into writing a book." (00:34, Andy)
  • "I think you never intended to. I think it was your long term play to trick me into writing a book." (01:34, Andy)
• Leadership Translation Gap: Both discuss how military leadership doesn’t translate neatly into the civilian sector, especially when teams aren’t self-motivated or selected.
  • "Most of [those principles] don't translate...You can't replicate the environment that got us to the places we were at." (03:30, Andy)
  • [See also: 04:18-05:01] Mike's failed attempt to run a "sergeant major’s board" at his civilian company and its disastrous consequences.

Timestamp: 00:34–06:00

2. Life Falling Apart: Divorce, Loss, and Public Fallout

• Mike’s Hardest Season: Open about the gravity of his situation: public allegations, loss of custody, legal battles, loss of his company (Fieldcraft Survival), and financial devastation.
  • "I've been quietly fighting that for a year...it has been the most difficult year of my entire life...The most significant trauma is the prospect of losing my children." (31:19, Mike)
  • "You think SEAL training is hard? ...The hardest thing I've ever done in my life was my divorce." (33:47, Andy)
  • Both recount struggling for contact with their children and battling feelings of self-worth.
• Systemic Biases Against Fathers: Mike shares statistics about custody cases and the emotional/financial toll.
  • "83% of men lose custody overall...I'm over $200,000 in legal fees..." (29:23, Mike)
• Community Support and Caution Against Public Judgement:
  • "People were like, what are you guys doing?... you're putting his children on blast and you're populating this thing for likes..." (27:05, Mike)
  • Andy calls out how public/family rifts are not unique, comparing special operations “brotherhood” with average family tension. (25:21)

Timestamps: 12:50–44:30

3. Resilience and Advice for Divorced Parents

• Approach to Parental Alienation:
  • "Don't ever insult their mother... the truth will come out eventually..." (38:36, Andy)
  • Andy explains how eventually, children will see character for themselves—relationships after estrangement (e.g., with his son) can be rebuilt, but it takes years.
• Mike’s Ongoing Recovery:
  • Starting “from scratch” in life, focusing on reconnecting with his kids and simplifying his work and routines.
    • "Now that it's all settled and having to restart, I'm actually following your model a lot… where you used to tell me years ago, it's like, man, you need to simplify things..." (44:39, Mike)

Timestamps: 35:00–46:28

4. Faith, Surrender, and Spiritual Growth

• Profound Surrender:
  • Mike recounts crawling on the ground in grief, begging God for relief as he lost contact with his twins and his dog died.
    • "I'm like low crawling through dirt... and it broke me..." (68:45, Mike)
  • The “turning point” was letting go of control (after a vivid dream of reuniting with his children), surrendering to God, and learning the problem was wanting too much control.
    • "For the first time in my life, I relinquished control and realized, I'm not in charge...and that hard lesson was learned over that experience. And when I came out of that, it changed my life forever." (70:12, Mike)
• Religion’s Role:
  • Discusses personal vs. public faith, not needing church but finding strength in prayer and introspection during crisis.
    • "Ever since I've integrated him [God] back in... my life is squared away... the more I integrate God foundationally..." (61:25, Mike)
  • Andy—agnostic, largely critical but open, reaffirming respect for others’ faith journeys.

Timestamps: 60:45–77:45

5. Starting Over and New Projects

• New Business Plans:

  • Mike details the genesis of “Long Haul Supply Company” — a body-care/adventure hygiene line for "the long haul" (e.g., field wipes, anti-chafing, and novelty ‘ass-to-mouth’ chapstick—a tongue-in-cheek idea).
    • "Long haul supply company... for body care solutions to allow you to operate and live for the long haul..." (89:25, Mike)
  • The challenges/quirks of starting a new company (product ideas, branding, marketing).

• Reflections on Brand and Entrepreneurship:

  • Mike as the “brand” of Fieldcraft Survival—what he’d do differently, dangers of becoming synonymous with a single company.
    • "You were the brand... That brand went where you went... You kind of have a blank canvas." (88:03, Andy)

Timestamps: 86:07–96:53

6. Law Enforcement, Minneapolis, Political Polarization, and Public Outrage

• Analysis of Minneapolis Police Shootings:
  • Both with experience in use-of-force training, dissect recent fatal police shootings and the aftermath in public/LEO communities:
    • "Was it a good shoot? In my opinion, it was not a good shoot." (113:00, Mike)
    • The importance of actual legal/policy standards over viral internet opinions; dangers of agitators, poor federal tactics, and public ignorance.
  • Condemnation of political leaders and agency heads for immediate, inflammatory statements and lacking accountability.
    • "If you are unsure of what you're going to say, don't say anything..." (126:31, Andy)
  • Broader worries about rising agitation, political division, and the trend toward “proxy civil war”–the US becoming more like a collection of deeply divided, ideologically homogeneous states.

Timestamps: 106:05–152:07

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Resilience and Letting Go:
  • "The most significant trauma is the prospect of losing my children. Not fighting for my children. That's easy. It’s the prospect of losing them and not being able to see them again."
    — Mike, (32:07)
  • "Just show them who you are. You don't have to say anything... That is literally years. Months and years."
    — Andy, (38:36)
  • "For the first time in my life, I relinquished control and realized, I'm not in charge."
    — Mike, (70:12)
• On Public Outrage/Cancellations:
  • "You're putting his children on blast and you're populating this thing for likes..."
    — Mike, (27:05)
• On Leadership and Military Culture:
  • "That type of leadership—although there is a huge difference in risk—is more complex and difficult than leading a group of solid overachieving performers."
    — Andy, (05:01)
• On Faith and Suffering:
  • "I’m like, Andy, I'm like, low crawling through dirt on my hands and knees, begging God...and it broke me..."
    — Mike, (68:45)
• On Political Climate:
  • "You elicit emotions, you exploit confrontation. The perfect recipe for disaster."
    — Mike, (116:32)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Book project origins & the military-civilian leadership gulf: 00:34–06:00
• Mike’s divorce, legal battle, and personal fallout: 12:50–44:30
• Navigating parent/child estrangement and advice: 35:00–46:28
• Spiritual breakdown and breakthrough in adversity: 60:45–77:45
• Leaving Fieldcraft, lessons of personal branding, and Long Haul Supply: 86:07–96:53
• Breakdown of Minneapolis shootings, law enforcement judgment, and political fallout: 106:05–152:07

Tone and Language

• Frank, often darkly humorous (“Chapstick for ass-to-mouth”), unvarnished honesty about suffering
• Buddy-banter and ribbing, but deeply vulnerable when discussing family, trauma, and loss
• Intellectually sharp but cautious about reaching conclusions on complex issues (law enforcement, politics)
• Higlight moments of gratitude to friendship, community, and the “long game” of being a present father

Memorable Funny/Comic Relief

• Start-up “Ass-to-Mouth” Chapstick:
  • "Two ends to it. One side for your ass and one side for your mouth... Not to confuse."
    — Mike, (92:42)
  • "I'm terrified of this product."
    — Andy, (93:19)
• Height Debates and Fake Studio Guns:
  • Ongoing jokes about military records, studio props, and physical stature
    — (16:02–16:35)
• The “K-Hole” Ketamine Surgery Experience:
  • Mike’s wild story about accidentally living an entire alternative-lifetime in 10 real-world minutes after a hospital overshot his anesthesia dosage
    — (99:18–104:27)

Conclusion

This is a dense, honest episode that goes well beyond combat heroics—exploring real-life “trenches” like divorce, public cancellation, and the spiritual/mental reckoning that follows. It ends with hope, humor about starting new (“Ass to Mouth” and “Mud Butt”) and a renewed commitment to fatherhood, faith, and “playing the long game.”

Listen for:

• Candid advice for parents in custody battles
• Insights on modern law enforcement and America’s deepening divides
• Rare, open dialogue about regret, faith, and letting go

Find more:

• Andy Stumpf's Cleared Hot Podcast
• Mike Glover on YouTube & Long Haul Supply Co.

For the full context, listen to the full episode. If you’re a parent, veteran, entrepreneur, or anyone recovering from a major life storm, you’ll find something here worth hearing.