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Travis Bader: I'm Travis Bader,
and this is the Silvercore Podcast.

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Silvercore has been providing its
members with the skills and knowledge

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necessary to be confident and proficient
in the outdoors for over 20 years, and

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we make it easier for people to deepen
their connection to the natural world.

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If you enjoy the positive and educational
content we provide, please let others

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know by sharing, commenting and
following so that you can join in on

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everything that Silvercore stands for.

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If you'd like to learn more
about becoming a member of the

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Silvercore Club and community,
visit our website at Silvercore.ca

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today I am joined by a man who, when he
isn't flying helicopters or operating

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his company, Raven Hill Risk Control.

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He's writing books, detailing his time
with the French Foreign Legion, or

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working as a private military contractor.

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Author of the books, Appell and
Civil welcome to the Silvercore

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Podcast, Joel Struthers.

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Joel Struthers: Thank you, sir.

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Appreciate it.

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Thanks for having me, Joel.

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Travis Bader: I've been looking
forward to this for a while.

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This is, um, I've read your books.

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Love 'em.

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They're amazing.

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Uh, really interesting background.

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Your name's been floating around.

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For a long time now.

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Uh, some similar people, similar circles.

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I've done a little bit of,
uh, uh, research on the past.

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I'm really, really, um, really
pleased to be able to have this

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Joel Struthers: opportunity.

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No, I, well, thank you for having me.

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I appreciate it.

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Vice versa.

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Um, yeah.

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Glad we could, we could do this.

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. Well,

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Travis Bader: this isn't
your first podcast.

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In fact, you were on a pretty
big podcast in the past,

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which was, uh, uh, a neat one.

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That was a long, long episode
with a ton of great information.

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But you were on Jocko's podcast

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Joel Struthers: before, eh?

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It was as in, yeah, it was long, correct.

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Yeah.

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That was the first, uh,
first podcast I'd ever done.

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So it was a bit of a, an
introduction trial by fire.

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No kidding.

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Um, and yeah, talking for, I think
we almost talked for four hours.

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That's tough.

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That's about my quota for six months.

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fact.

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That's right.

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This would be my second in person.

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Um, so I haven't done another
one since, since Jocko.

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I've done a couple Zoom ones.

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Yeah.

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But, uh, yeah, I'm happy to,
do I find this much more Yeah.

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Effective?

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Travis Bader: Yeah.

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Zoom's never the same.

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Get getting online.

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He, yeah.

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Trying to pick up on this nuances,
the para verbal, the non-verbal,

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and it's just if someone's kicking
you under the table, alright.

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You just don't get that anymore.

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Yeah, no, true.

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So, okay.

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I'd imagine it's gotta be pretty
nerve-wracking to go in and do your

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very first podcast to be on such
a large platform like that where

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hundreds of thousands of people will
be listening to your, to your story.

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How, we'll, we'll talk about some
of the earlier stuff, but I'm just

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kind of curious on that podcast
one, how did that come about?

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And I got a bit of an idea from reading
your books and, um, what was it like?

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Like what, what was that whole experience

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Joel Struthers: like?

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Oh, great.

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Um, good question.

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Um, so the Jocko podcast came.

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Someone suggested actually sending
him a Hail Mary copy of the book

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Appell, which I did and I'd forgotten
about it to be honest with you.

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And then one day in the mail
was a card from Jocko saying,

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Hey, you know, enjoy the book.

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Would you be interested in coming
down and, and doing the podcast?

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Wow.

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So obviously I was, yeah, yeah.

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I committed at that point.

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Um, so then what I did, I had a, a
couple months before I had to fly

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down to, uh, San Diego, I watched
as many episodes as I could.

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Uh, obviously his podcast.

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Yeah.

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Get a, get an idea of, of
his, um, interview style.

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Mm-hmm.

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, what type of questions he likes,
what he'd focus on, and also

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just the setting of the room.

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Right.

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Hoping that when I got there, I would
be comfortable and it would be, cuz

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obviously that was gonna be my first
kick of the cat, the fact that it

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was filmed and a big part of the, um,
well, not depredation, but you know,

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obviously the, the worry was that.

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In a podcast as such, I would be
representing somewhat Legionnaire, right?

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Because albeit I'm out, I'm
no longer Legionnaire, I'm not

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representing all Legionnaires.

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I would be, you know, potentially
the first, kind of, first look at

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Legionnaire for a lot of that demographic.

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Certainly the States and North America,
you know, which is obviously the yeah.

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The Prime Watcher for
that, uh, that podcast.

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So I had to choose, um, my wording
carefully on how I answered

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certain things and came across.

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So I think you, you know, for those
that have watcher or do watch it, I

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think you can tell at the beginning
I'm kind of a bit, you know, um,

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less forthcoming  and more careful.

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It's like, I'm not saying a
word , and then you forget, right?

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I mean, obviously I have
microphone in front of me, I've

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got the cameras in my face.

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There's, you know, echo sitting there.

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Yeah.

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Um, so it took a while to kind of just
relax and then once the con conversation

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started to flow, then you forget.

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Right?

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And then I would answer somewhat, uh, you
know, Get a little bit more comfortable.

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Yeah.

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So I think it, you know, the
latter half of the, the interview's

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a little more flowing and, and
easier to, to listen to perhaps.

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I haven't listened to the whole thing.

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I, I can't stand listening to
myself to be honest with you,

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but I watched parts of it.

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Yeah.

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Um, just to see, you know, it
didn't come across like a total

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idiot, but, uh,  Yeah, it was.

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Uh, but obviously Jocko was very
good and skilled at what he does.

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Yeah, he is.

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And, uh, that four hours flew
by him before he knew it.

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It was, it was over and I was sucking
back his, his Jocko drink there.

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So I had Oh yes.

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The old, uh, yeah, old Jocko
Juice talk flow was gone.

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Yes.

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But yeah, no, it was, um, yeah,
it was quite the introduction.

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Uh, and then obviously opened up that,
uh, you know, that whole demographic

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for, so it was big for, for Appelle.

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Travis Bader: What did you
find the response after

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Joel Struthers: that?

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Um, it was good.

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I don't spend too much time,
you know, looking at comments

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or all kind of stuff mm-hmm.

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But I think we're all human and we do,
so I, I was keen on kind of seeing what.

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The reception or what the view
was from, from watchers and Yeah.

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It seemed, uh, it seemed positive.

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Um, so I, I monitored that obviously
the sales of the book Right.

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Took it, took an increase as a result.

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But what I noticed, or sorry, what
I noticed the most was I had a

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lot of people reach out that were
interested in the Legion and that had

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questions about, you know, potentially
joining and asking questions.

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Um, no, obviously, I mean, I
left the Legion what, in 2000,

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so it's been a chunk of time.

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Sure.

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I think I did that podcast two
years ago, just over two years ago.

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Mm-hmm.

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. So I'm not a recruiter.

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The legion's obviously changed,
but you know, I respect that

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people asking and reaching out.

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So I do respond, um, and I try to,
Point them in the right direction.

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And that was, at the end of the day,
the objective of Appell was to educate.

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There's so much bullshit out there
and misconceptions and, you know, um,

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I just kind of finally came around
and said, listen, maybe it's on me

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to share a story that's factual.

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Um, and in the case of Appell, there
was three things that I, I needed

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for it before I would let it go out.

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It was that the Legion
approved the narrative.

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Mm-hmm.

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, um, I had a Ford from a, an
acting officer within which, you

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know, gives the story legitimacy.

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Totally.

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And that there was a, um, a
reputable publisher that would

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put it out and you got all three.

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So, so, yeah.

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So that was, and I knew
nothing about books.

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I'm not a writer per se,
you know what I mean?

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This was just something I felt
like maybe it was on me to do.

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And for those who wanted to, to know
the facts, they could read a book

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and be educated factually, you know?

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Travis Bader: Um, isn't that funny?

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I'm not a writer.

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I've got a couple books, you
know, I'm not really a writer.

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Well,

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Joel Struthers: yeah, but I'm not,
you know, I mean, I don't know.

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Yeah.

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How do you, it takes a lot of work.

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Um, obviously I'm able to share a story
because I was obviously the main actor

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in that story, but with like Appell and
Seville, obviously an editor is a big

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help just for the, uh, grammatical side
of stuff, you know, you know, um, and,

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uh, well, we can get into that putting
book together is, is is challenging.

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Yeah.

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Well,

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Travis Bader: it was, it's funny,
uh, Dean Nugent was on a podcast

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with Ja Spud, who, friends of mine.

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Yeah.

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Um, British Army talking about, uh,
uh, mental health and a nu number of

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diff different things transitioning and
from the army life to civilian life.

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And, uh, Jace has gotten
into mountain guiding.

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Mm-hmm.

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, he's a firefighter, a Acmg mountain
guide, and he's out in the, the

00:08:03.090 --> 00:08:04.620
hills and climbing all the time.

00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:08.010
And Dean was out there climbing
with him, and some girl says,

00:08:08.010 --> 00:08:09.150
oh, so you're a climber?

00:08:09.200 --> 00:08:10.110
He is like, no, no, no, no.

00:08:10.110 --> 00:08:10.860
I'm not a climber.

00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:11.040
Right.

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I just, he's like, oh,
you got all the kit.

00:08:13.350 --> 00:08:14.430
You're going up and down the rock.

00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:15.560
You kinda look like climber.

00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:15.800
Climber.

00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:17.880
He's like, Well, I, I guess so.

00:08:17.880 --> 00:08:20.580
It's cuz I'm, I guess I'm comparing
myself to these other people

00:08:20.580 --> 00:08:23.670
who, I view them as climbers, but
people are all looking at you.

00:08:23.790 --> 00:08:24.719
Oh, I'm not really a writer.

00:08:24.780 --> 00:08:26.400
Well, you've got a couple
great books out there.

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You're a writer.

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Fair.

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Joel Struthers: Yeah.

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Um, yeah, it's having books
is a bit of a weird thing.

00:08:32.135 --> 00:08:32.340
Right.

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. I mean, it's, you put yourself out there.

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Um, but yeah.

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Uh, I will say I'm proud of them.

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Yeah.

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Um, but it's not something that
I actively look and seek to do.

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Like, would they be a third?

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I, I certainly don't think so,
unless life put a story out there

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that I felt was worth sharing.

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Um, but yeah, these two just came
to be for, for whatever reason.

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Travis Bader: Well, what were some of
the most common questions that you'd get

00:08:55.680 --> 00:08:59.819
from people after doing the last podcast
and people were interested in the Legion?

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What, what do you see
come up over and over?

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Joel Struthers: A lot of times
they were asking if they thought

00:09:05.069 --> 00:09:09.630
they would gimme a brief rundown of
their situation in life and he did.

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I think they would get accepted.

00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:11.550
Hmm.

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Um, and typically, My answer would
be, you won't know unless you try.

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Right?

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I'm certainly not the, you know, I
don't have the, the facts and I don't

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know if they're gonna get in out.

00:09:21.885 --> 00:09:24.735
All you can do is go, if that's
what you want to do, and you be

00:09:24.735 --> 00:09:25.635
careful on what you wish for.

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We, we'll get to that.

00:09:26.564 --> 00:09:26.655
Mm-hmm.

00:09:26.925 --> 00:09:29.535
. Um, just be prepared.

00:09:30.015 --> 00:09:31.064
Go over and give it a shot.

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And then you've, you know, life is short.

00:09:32.324 --> 00:09:33.135
You only got one shot.

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If that's something you
wanna do, you gotta do it.

00:09:34.935 --> 00:09:38.925
But if you're asking me 20 questions,
, chances are it's not for you.

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You know what I mean?

00:09:39.505 --> 00:09:39.625
Yeah.

00:09:39.625 --> 00:09:41.985
I think typically the people that
join us, they see this thing, the

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legion, they, they look into it.

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That's something I'd like to
try and you just go, right.

00:09:45.765 --> 00:09:49.245
Um, another case, I've actually
talked to one person on the phone.

00:09:49.245 --> 00:09:53.175
I gave him, you know, the respect that
he reached out and he was a young, uh,

00:09:53.205 --> 00:09:58.245
Navy officer, went to, uh, went to the
academy and I guess in the SEAL system,

00:09:58.335 --> 00:10:01.935
you know, I'm not, not that I'm a, I
know much about it, but from what he told

00:10:01.935 --> 00:10:06.015
me as the officers pre, uh, selection
buds, whatever, they go through a

00:10:06.015 --> 00:10:09.615
pre-screening for the officers to make
sure that they're of a proper quality.

00:10:09.675 --> 00:10:13.095
He, he had to, his class, I think
at the academy was a wrestler.

00:10:13.515 --> 00:10:17.115
Um, you know, fit young guy went
through buds and got injured.

00:10:17.565 --> 00:10:17.775
Mm.

00:10:17.835 --> 00:10:23.115
Um, went through the rehab process,
got back in, did a second attempt,

00:10:23.115 --> 00:10:26.655
got through the, uh, you know, the
initial phase and was in the training.

00:10:26.715 --> 00:10:28.275
You know, it takes about a year
and a half before they're given

00:10:28.275 --> 00:10:29.355
their, their tri and whatever.

00:10:29.475 --> 00:10:29.745
Mm-hmm.

00:10:30.135 --> 00:10:30.735
He was injured.

00:10:30.735 --> 00:10:33.105
Again, I think it was
a diving incident and.

00:10:34.199 --> 00:10:38.219
In the blood tests, they found a,
uh, spiked level of testosterone.

00:10:38.219 --> 00:10:42.270
So in his recovery period, he
had taken tears or whatever Sure.

00:10:42.420 --> 00:10:43.829
As I think probably 80%, whatever.

00:10:43.859 --> 00:10:44.969
Sure, sure.

00:10:45.089 --> 00:10:45.660
They kicked him out.

00:10:45.660 --> 00:10:46.530
The Navy had said, that's it.

00:10:46.530 --> 00:10:47.219
You're, you're out.

00:10:47.489 --> 00:10:47.640
Hmm.

00:10:47.699 --> 00:10:49.439
Um, so he had called me.

00:10:50.069 --> 00:10:52.140
Um, he was obviously, you know,
a young man wanted to service

00:10:52.145 --> 00:10:53.459
country and he was a bit lost.

00:10:53.520 --> 00:10:55.199
He felt that was unfair and I, I agreed.

00:10:55.199 --> 00:10:56.640
I thought that was unfair, and
that's why I talked to him on the

00:10:56.640 --> 00:10:59.609
phone and he said he was thinking
about going over to France to join.

00:11:00.239 --> 00:11:06.719
Um, so we had a, a frank discussion
about his level of education, his place

00:11:06.719 --> 00:11:09.839
in life, what he was looking for, and
I just, I was just honest with him.

00:11:09.839 --> 00:11:13.949
I said, listen, you know, it's an
option, but it's not the only option.

00:11:14.969 --> 00:11:16.589
Choose wisely and Right.

00:11:16.594 --> 00:11:18.240
I didn't, you know, I
won't go into it too much.

00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:19.680
That's between him and I, but Sure.

00:11:20.099 --> 00:11:21.150
I, I never heard from him again.

00:11:21.155 --> 00:11:25.890
I don't know if he went over and did
it, but, You know, I think certain

00:11:25.890 --> 00:11:28.110
people, it would be a, a good experience.

00:11:28.110 --> 00:11:28.830
Others not.

00:11:29.160 --> 00:11:29.370
Yeah.

00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:32.250
Travis Bader: Who, what sort of
personality type would you say this

00:11:32.255 --> 00:11:33.660
is gonna be a good experience for you?

00:11:35.310 --> 00:11:38.970
Joel Struthers: Typically, the Legion
looks for people with a bit of life skill.

00:11:38.970 --> 00:11:40.440
So, early twenties, mid twenties.

00:11:40.470 --> 00:11:40.500
Mm.

00:11:40.590 --> 00:11:42.930
So you're not just, you know,
a knee-jerk reaction or you're

00:11:42.935 --> 00:11:43.890
running away from something.

00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:44.430
Right.

00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:44.740
Right.

00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:49.410
That life experience can be positive
and negative, but you're in that phase

00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:52.080
as a, as a young man where you're
kind of learning from your errors and

00:11:52.085 --> 00:11:55.380
you're, you kind of see that, listen,
I gotta get myself on the right path.

00:11:55.380 --> 00:11:56.850
If not, things aren't gonna go well.

00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:01.410
Which I think they like, because
then you're, you're open to

00:12:01.410 --> 00:12:03.120
instruction and, and forming.

00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:03.300
Right.

00:12:03.300 --> 00:12:05.760
They're pretty good at, they've been
doing this for a long time so they

00:12:05.760 --> 00:12:08.850
can, they can make a soldier out
of a certain type of individual.

00:12:08.855 --> 00:12:09.380
Mm-hmm.

00:12:09.550 --> 00:12:15.000
. Um, so to answer your question more
directly is I think it's just someone

00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.620
that says, I wanna fucking try that.

00:12:17.010 --> 00:12:17.250
Yeah.

00:12:17.250 --> 00:12:22.305
Can you go, um, But what I do say to the,
the people do ask, I don't go into detail.

00:12:22.305 --> 00:12:25.694
I just say, listen, make sure
you're, you're ready for this.

00:12:25.694 --> 00:12:28.365
It's, it's more mental than
physical and know the language.

00:12:28.755 --> 00:12:28.845
Mm-hmm.

00:12:29.085 --> 00:12:31.215
, knowing French before you
show up is a huge benefit.

00:12:31.245 --> 00:12:33.555
You don't have to be fluent, but
you have a good grasp at because

00:12:33.555 --> 00:12:36.285
that is the biggest struggle
and that's the difference.

00:12:36.290 --> 00:12:40.515
And I get into that in Seville
and um, you know, that was kind

00:12:40.515 --> 00:12:44.895
of, cuz I would say 80% of the
people that reach out are American.

00:12:45.105 --> 00:12:48.855
Um, so there's a lot of them and it's,
it's tough because up until recently,

00:12:49.215 --> 00:12:52.545
uh, I think for their, their young men
and women who wanna join you can't have

00:12:52.545 --> 00:12:55.064
any type of criminal record every year.

00:12:55.425 --> 00:12:58.755
You know, so you might make stupid
mistake, you get a DUI when you're 18, 19,

00:12:58.755 --> 00:13:00.645
whatever, as you know, happens to people.

00:13:00.824 --> 00:13:00.885
Yeah.

00:13:00.885 --> 00:13:02.025
Doesn't mean you're a bad person.

00:13:02.025 --> 00:13:04.275
But now you can't even join your
own, your own military and they're

00:13:04.814 --> 00:13:06.615
disillusioned and looking for a way out.

00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:08.900
It worked for me.

00:13:08.900 --> 00:13:09.140
Mm-hmm.

00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:10.080
the pill was a good experience.

00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:11.850
Or sorry, the lesion was
a good experience for me.

00:13:12.150 --> 00:13:15.030
Um, but it's also time and place and luck.

00:13:15.030 --> 00:13:17.220
And then what you bring to the
table and what you make of it.

00:13:17.225 --> 00:13:18.000
That's the big thing.

00:13:18.150 --> 00:13:18.600
Yes.

00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.690
If you think you're gonna go over
there, you know, in a, in a month

00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:25.020
you're gonna be jumping into Africa
to , you know, that's not the way it is.

00:13:25.020 --> 00:13:27.150
It's, it's a tough go and
it's, and it's mental.

00:13:27.270 --> 00:13:31.410
Um, you know, it's, first of all, you're
in a, a foreign country, a foreign army,

00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:33.300
foreign language, food's different.

00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:34.140
Everything's different.

00:13:34.920 --> 00:13:35.880
It's old school.

00:13:36.180 --> 00:13:37.170
The discipline is there.

00:13:37.680 --> 00:13:39.090
You're not going out on the weekends.

00:13:39.210 --> 00:13:39.300
Mm-hmm.

00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:41.700
. You're not going back to your
girlfriend at, at Christmas.

00:13:41.760 --> 00:13:41.850
Mm-hmm.

00:13:42.260 --> 00:13:42.720
not for a while.

00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:43.140
Yeah.

00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:44.850
Um, and that weighs on people.

00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.150
Um, and a lot of people in
the ranks and the legion, they

00:13:48.150 --> 00:13:49.350
don't have much to go back to.

00:13:49.530 --> 00:13:51.270
They're there for different reasons.

00:13:52.380 --> 00:13:55.380
You're, you know, north American
that goes over, it's probably

00:13:55.385 --> 00:13:58.590
easy to talk yourself into going
home where you have the good life.

00:13:59.070 --> 00:13:59.610
You know what I mean?

00:13:59.610 --> 00:14:02.910
It's, it's something that's,
uh, pertinent and I try to.

00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:04.890
put across.

00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:08.040
I don't wanna dissuade people, but I also
wanna say, Hey, be careful what you wish

00:14:08.040 --> 00:14:10.560
for because it's, it's not necessarily
what you, what you think it is.

00:14:10.560 --> 00:14:11.280
You know, you know,

00:14:11.280 --> 00:14:13.380
Travis Bader: when you read through
different books of people who have

00:14:13.380 --> 00:14:20.070
gone through, uh, elite schools, uh, I
mean, and Andy McNabb, what's his name?

00:14:20.070 --> 00:14:21.660
Steven, uh,

00:14:21.665 --> 00:14:23.370
Joel Struthers: what
whatever is Yeah, probably

00:14:23.730 --> 00:14:24.290
Travis Bader: Bravo.

00:14:24.290 --> 00:14:24.490
Yeah.

00:14:24.495 --> 00:14:24.690
Yeah.

00:14:24.690 --> 00:14:25.500
Bravo two Zero.

00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:26.190
Immediate action.

00:14:26.190 --> 00:14:26.670
All the rest.

00:14:26.670 --> 00:14:31.350
And, uh, a lot of these guys come
from backgrounds that were, were

00:14:31.355 --> 00:14:35.910
difficult, that were harder, that, um,
and, and it seems to be that's the,

00:14:35.910 --> 00:14:42.300
um, uh, the type of person that the,
the Army or the Special Forces groups

00:14:42.300 --> 00:14:46.050
would really kind of attract people
looking for discipline in their life.

00:14:46.050 --> 00:14:50.650
A new way to, uh, to approach things,
to be something that they're, they're

00:14:50.670 --> 00:14:52.980
lacking options outside of that.

00:14:53.430 --> 00:14:58.020
So I should imagine if your toes are
really easy to touch the ground and, and

00:14:58.050 --> 00:15:02.910
kind of walk on outta there mentally,
that would be, Yeah, it'd be tough to stay

00:15:02.910 --> 00:15:05.790
in something that's gonna be difficult
for 'em, but if you're, if you got

00:15:05.790 --> 00:15:08.910
nothing else to grasp onto, this is it.

00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:10.080
Let's give it at all.

00:15:10.140 --> 00:15:10.380
Yep.

00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:11.130
Joel Struthers: No fair one.

00:15:11.670 --> 00:15:12.960
Whereas I wasn't of that.

00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:13.470
No, you weren't.

00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:14.250
You know, I was, yeah.

00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:15.000
Who knows?

00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.500
I mean, I'm still trying
to figure myself out too.

00:15:16.650 --> 00:15:17.940
So let's  let's not go there.

00:15:17.945 --> 00:15:18.570
That'd be, yeah.

00:15:18.570 --> 00:15:18.730
Yeah.

00:15:18.730 --> 00:15:18.930
Okay.

00:15:18.930 --> 00:15:19.130
Yeah.

00:15:19.130 --> 00:15:19.920
A difficult podcast.

00:15:19.925 --> 00:15:22.020
But, um, yeah, who knows?

00:15:22.020 --> 00:15:25.800
And that's, I think I had, it was
an off, A British officer reached

00:15:25.805 --> 00:15:26.910
out at some point just talking.

00:15:26.910 --> 00:15:29.430
He'd been in Afghanistan about the
same time period that I was there.

00:15:29.730 --> 00:15:33.270
Uh, and he was talking about, he
had a, uh, young squad in his group

00:15:33.275 --> 00:15:34.380
that had served in the Legion.

00:15:34.830 --> 00:15:37.710
And he said he was quite a character,
got himself into a lot of trouble.

00:15:37.710 --> 00:15:41.130
But when it came down to the shit
he was, he was the guy that he went,

00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:43.110
he trusted the most, like he right.

00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:43.890
He got the job done.

00:15:43.890 --> 00:15:48.495
And I think, you know, , there's
peacetime, armies, wartime armies.

00:15:48.615 --> 00:15:48.735
Mm-hmm.

00:15:49.005 --> 00:15:50.925
, different types of people rise to the top.

00:15:51.015 --> 00:15:51.225
Mm-hmm.

00:15:51.465 --> 00:15:55.605
. Um, and when shit gets tough, it's,
it's interesting the individuals and

00:15:55.605 --> 00:15:58.665
the type of people that are actually
the ones that step up, you know?

00:15:58.785 --> 00:16:01.725
Well, it's not necessarily always the
ones you think that would be Yeah.

00:16:01.725 --> 00:16:02.025
The ones that

00:16:02.115 --> 00:16:02.565
Travis Bader: step up.

00:16:02.565 --> 00:16:02.745
Yeah.

00:16:02.925 --> 00:16:05.595
Well it's the ones that maybe had
a little bit of assorted past.

00:16:05.625 --> 00:16:05.745
Yeah.

00:16:05.745 --> 00:16:09.705
And it's, it's unfortunate in a way
perhaps that, that there is that

00:16:09.705 --> 00:16:12.765
criminal record barrier cuz of people
who are pushing their boundaries.

00:16:12.765 --> 00:16:12.925
Oh.

00:16:13.604 --> 00:16:17.895
Getting into trouble, challenging
themselves and others and coloring

00:16:17.895 --> 00:16:22.545
outside the lines, so to speak,
can oftentimes be the best soldiers

00:16:22.545 --> 00:16:23.895
cuz they can think outside the

00:16:23.895 --> 00:16:24.824
Joel Struthers: box a hundred percent.

00:16:25.094 --> 00:16:27.194
And I think that's why the
Legion has been successful.

00:16:27.199 --> 00:16:29.204
They take people with
a bit of life skills.

00:16:29.295 --> 00:16:32.564
Ah-huh . And then they're able to
shape them, give them that discipline

00:16:32.564 --> 00:16:34.005
that they're potentially looking for.

00:16:34.005 --> 00:16:36.375
A lot of times we get in trouble
cuz there's a lack of, you know,

00:16:36.525 --> 00:16:39.135
guidelines and discipline and
we're trying to prove ourselves.

00:16:39.314 --> 00:16:42.704
We're young, we've got all that adrenaline
in our testosterone in our system.

00:16:42.704 --> 00:16:46.994
You know, Legion, you show up, they're
like okay, you can use that focus

00:16:46.994 --> 00:16:49.844
and adrenaline but these are the the
guidelines and you will respect them

00:16:49.844 --> 00:16:52.365
and you'll do this, you know, properly.

00:16:52.484 --> 00:16:54.494
Travis Bader: What are some of
the myths cuz you say, you know,

00:16:54.494 --> 00:16:55.665
dispelling some of the myths.

00:16:55.665 --> 00:16:57.615
What are some of the more prevalent myths?

00:16:58.125 --> 00:17:00.555
Joel Struthers: Um, well a lot of things.

00:17:01.695 --> 00:17:02.145
Annoyed me.

00:17:02.145 --> 00:17:05.474
And that was the big thing is when
the subject of I served in the French

00:17:05.474 --> 00:17:09.675
royal angel comes up in a small
conversation, it's impossible to explain.

00:17:09.765 --> 00:17:12.105
And that's not my, I'm not
good at small talk anyway.

00:17:12.105 --> 00:17:14.714
And people would always have a
misconception, misconception story

00:17:14.714 --> 00:17:19.964
that it's, you know, murders and stuff
that run away to France to join the

00:17:19.964 --> 00:17:23.055
French Foreign Legion, which, right,
which, which in its inception was true.

00:17:23.055 --> 00:17:28.335
They would take, you know, um, people
of that, uh, you know, background,

00:17:28.335 --> 00:17:30.375
they would give them a choice to
go to prison or, or certain legion.

00:17:30.405 --> 00:17:31.185
But it's changed.

00:17:31.245 --> 00:17:33.225
The Legion is now a part
of the French military.

00:17:33.555 --> 00:17:33.585
Mm.

00:17:33.585 --> 00:17:34.875
Same rules and regulations.

00:17:35.145 --> 00:17:39.555
Um, they don't, they take, you know,
I served with some pretty, pretty

00:17:39.555 --> 00:17:44.025
damn good people, respectable people,
um, that I respect to this day and.

00:17:44.805 --> 00:17:45.585
So it annoys me.

00:17:45.585 --> 00:17:46.365
So I have a hard time.

00:17:46.365 --> 00:17:49.065
I might come across short and it's like,
you know what, shut the fuck up, man.

00:17:49.095 --> 00:17:49.485
Yeah.

00:17:49.545 --> 00:17:51.045
Um, but that's not fair.

00:17:51.105 --> 00:17:52.695
So that's repelled.

00:17:52.695 --> 00:17:56.085
But that is the big misconception,
is the type of in individual

00:17:56.085 --> 00:17:57.405
story that joins the Legion.

00:17:57.405 --> 00:17:57.705
Mm-hmm.

00:17:57.945 --> 00:18:01.995
. Um, I think in this day and age, it's
a young man that's looking to soldier

00:18:02.325 --> 00:18:06.735
and for whatever reason he can't in
his own country for what, whatever.

00:18:06.765 --> 00:18:06.975
Sure.

00:18:06.975 --> 00:18:07.605
Whatever that may be.

00:18:07.605 --> 00:18:08.445
There's not the options.

00:18:08.445 --> 00:18:09.785
They don't have the military
they're looking for.

00:18:09.785 --> 00:18:10.105
Mm-hmm.

00:18:10.185 --> 00:18:13.605
, they're not active, or they have that
background where they're no longer able.

00:18:13.995 --> 00:18:15.225
Um, well, that's what happened

00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:15.645
Travis Bader: with you,

00:18:16.155 --> 00:18:16.365
Joel Struthers: right?

00:18:16.365 --> 00:18:16.935
Yeah, a hundred percent.

00:18:17.025 --> 00:18:17.445
Yeah.

00:18:17.505 --> 00:18:17.685
Yeah.

00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:22.425
No, I was exactly the, uh, the Legion
did me a big favor, and that's why,

00:18:22.755 --> 00:18:25.605
you know, I put in the time and
effort to, um, to share that I have

00:18:25.605 --> 00:18:28.035
a lot of respect for the Legion in
France, for what they did for me.

00:18:28.035 --> 00:18:28.875
It worked well for me.

00:18:28.985 --> 00:18:29.385
Mm-hmm.

00:18:29.685 --> 00:18:32.055
. It's not something I'd like my
son to experience, for example.

00:18:32.445 --> 00:18:32.505
Mm.

00:18:32.535 --> 00:18:34.725
And I don't think it's for
everybody, but for me, for

00:18:34.725 --> 00:18:36.135
whatever reason, it, it worked.

00:18:36.225 --> 00:18:36.915
You needed it.

00:18:37.455 --> 00:18:37.755
Yeah,

00:18:37.815 --> 00:18:38.205
Travis Bader: definitely.

00:18:38.385 --> 00:18:38.595
Yeah.

00:18:38.715 --> 00:18:38.895
Yeah.

00:18:39.105 --> 00:18:42.705
So you grew up military,
family, military backgrounds.

00:18:42.705 --> 00:18:43.185
You were.

00:18:43.830 --> 00:18:44.490
over here.

00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:45.990
Reservist with the Correct.

00:18:45.990 --> 00:18:46.230
Yep.

00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:47.100
The West Asia.

00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:47.400
Yeah.

00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:49.860
For all Westminster Regiment
here in New Westminster.

00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:56.670
And, um, said, I'm just, I don't see the
options over here that I do over there.

00:18:56.675 --> 00:18:56.750
Joel Struthers: Exactly.

00:18:56.750 --> 00:18:57.270
Essentially.

00:18:57.270 --> 00:18:57.550
Exactly.

00:18:57.550 --> 00:19:01.200
I was in Wayne Wright doing our battle
school and the Canadian military

00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:03.900
was going through its restructuring
and the West east at that point,

00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:08.760
were tasked with the, um, uh, p
and the next course, theoretically,

00:19:08.760 --> 00:19:11.070
once there's a spot available,
would be a jump course in Edmonton.

00:19:11.070 --> 00:19:13.200
And that's always something I was
interested in doing, was jumping.

00:19:13.530 --> 00:19:18.060
Um, and I think it stems from
my grandfather, my dad's dad,

00:19:18.060 --> 00:19:19.470
who was second wave, uh, Juno.

00:19:19.830 --> 00:19:23.520
He had given me, uh, I think he was
a hundred first, uh, jump smock that

00:19:23.520 --> 00:19:25.290
he traded with a, a guy so cool.

00:19:25.290 --> 00:19:25.680
A D-day.

00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:28.500
And I think my mom threw
it out, but come on.

00:19:28.505 --> 00:19:29.730
She says, she says, no,

00:19:29.730 --> 00:19:31.020
Travis Bader: but I, it's gone.

00:19:31.020 --> 00:19:31.410
I still love

00:19:31.415 --> 00:19:33.420
Joel Struthers: my mum, but
that's, that'll stick with me.

00:19:33.840 --> 00:19:34.170
Who knows.

00:19:34.350 --> 00:19:34.670
Yeah.

00:19:34.675 --> 00:19:34.680
Yeah.

00:19:34.710 --> 00:19:35.610
Um, I'm sure she didn't.

00:19:35.615 --> 00:19:37.650
But anyway, I wore that thing.

00:19:38.265 --> 00:19:42.315
. And I always wonder if that gave me
the, uh, that itch to be a, be a jumper.

00:19:42.525 --> 00:19:45.285
But, um, you know, I watched all
the, the Vietnam War movie anyway.

00:19:45.435 --> 00:19:45.705
Yeah, yeah.

00:19:45.735 --> 00:19:47.085
Um, I'm in Wayne Wright.

00:19:47.925 --> 00:19:50.865
It kind of comes down the pipeline
that we're gonna be re-tasked to be

00:19:50.865 --> 00:19:56.145
anti-tank tow, you know, and, uh, it just
happened that there was an NCO and one

00:19:56.145 --> 00:19:59.085
of the other courses who had recently
come back from the Legion and he had

00:19:59.085 --> 00:20:01.965
served five years with the rep, which
is the Airborne Regiment in the Legion.

00:20:02.115 --> 00:20:02.395
Yeah.

00:20:02.535 --> 00:20:05.955
And one of our master corporals that
was on the course, he was a westy,

00:20:05.955 --> 00:20:08.865
but you know, they detached some of
the NCOs for the, for the course.

00:20:08.865 --> 00:20:10.995
He said, Hey man, you know, if
you're, if you're itching to

00:20:10.995 --> 00:20:12.465
jump, go to France, you can join.

00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:13.335
And I was like, what?

00:20:13.575 --> 00:20:15.945
I knew nothing about right
at, he's like most people.

00:20:15.945 --> 00:20:17.025
So I, I looked into it.

00:20:17.295 --> 00:20:20.985
Um, I had actually called the recruiter
across the board in Washington, I

00:20:20.985 --> 00:20:25.395
think it was Marine Corps, um, and
asked, you know, and I was basically

00:20:25.395 --> 00:20:29.325
told it would take a year, two years
to get the green card at that time.

00:20:29.385 --> 00:20:29.595
Mm-hmm.

00:20:29.715 --> 00:20:31.965
I have no American family,
so it would take a while.

00:20:32.025 --> 00:20:33.075
And I was a young man.

00:20:33.255 --> 00:20:33.945
You're impatient.

00:20:34.005 --> 00:20:35.625
So I was like, yeah, I'm going to France.

00:20:35.625 --> 00:20:35.745
And

00:20:36.405 --> 00:20:36.585
Travis Bader: yeah.

00:20:36.590 --> 00:20:37.565
That timeline's different

00:20:37.665 --> 00:20:38.355
Joel Struthers: when you're young, right?

00:20:38.355 --> 00:20:38.535
Oh yeah.

00:20:38.625 --> 00:20:41.115
So I went over and uh,
and I spoke, that's right.

00:20:41.115 --> 00:20:44.235
I wrote to the Legion, they sent me a
letter back with all the different, uh,

00:20:44.235 --> 00:20:45.975
recruiting depos some of the information.

00:20:46.455 --> 00:20:49.905
Um, and I was fortunate because my
dad, as we mentioned, he was a fighter

00:20:49.905 --> 00:20:51.165
pilot in the Canadian Air Force.

00:20:51.600 --> 00:20:55.020
And I grew up, you know, a big chunk
of my youth was in uh, Germany.

00:20:55.230 --> 00:20:55.530
Yeah.

00:20:55.530 --> 00:20:58.560
And the Canadian Forest base,
um, all the schools are French

00:20:58.560 --> 00:21:00.450
immersion, so I took Right.

00:21:00.570 --> 00:21:02.310
French immersion until grade eight.

00:21:02.820 --> 00:21:02.940
That's

00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:03.600
Travis Bader: a huge help.

00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:03.720
Joel Struthers: Eh?

00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:05.070
So I had, yeah, had a really good base.

00:21:05.070 --> 00:21:08.640
So that was, that was a big part
of my, you know, I would assume

00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:10.320
favorable experience in ages.

00:21:10.350 --> 00:21:13.590
I had the language and it opens up
a lot of doors early on because if

00:21:13.590 --> 00:21:16.860
you don't pick up the language, it's
not, uh, it's not a good experience.

00:21:17.010 --> 00:21:20.520
Travis Bader: So you contact
them, they get back to you.

00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:23.670
Are you sitting there thinking
like, what the hell am I doing?

00:21:23.675 --> 00:21:26.130
Like when you're younger, that
timeframe, cuz there's a commitment

00:21:26.310 --> 00:21:30.150
that you're gonna be having to give
them a, a certain portion of your life.

00:21:30.150 --> 00:21:30.570
Five years.

00:21:30.575 --> 00:21:30.680
Yeah.

00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:30.960
Yeah.

00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:31.400
Yeah.

00:21:31.620 --> 00:21:33.180
And five years, you were
how old at the time?

00:21:33.630 --> 00:21:35.760
Joel Struthers: I was 20,
21 I believe when I was

00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:36.200
Travis Bader: 21.

00:21:36.205 --> 00:21:36.240
Yeah.

00:21:36.810 --> 00:21:37.260
Okay.

00:21:37.380 --> 00:21:41.310
So like another quarter of your
life from that date anyways, right?

00:21:41.490 --> 00:21:41.640
Yep.

00:21:41.670 --> 00:21:44.250
Joel Struthers: Um, now, . Yes.

00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:45.960
Now my life was big.

00:21:46.110 --> 00:21:46.320
Yeah.

00:21:46.320 --> 00:21:48.810
The, I needed a, a change of direction.

00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:49.380
Okay.

00:21:49.800 --> 00:21:53.040
And something to focus on that
was a little more positive.

00:21:53.130 --> 00:21:59.610
Um, so it was pretty much, I'm going,
for whatever reason, it just hit

00:21:59.610 --> 00:22:01.860
a hit, a hit, hit a mark with me.

00:22:02.090 --> 00:22:07.320
Um, I had seen the old pictures of,
uh, the predecessor to the rep, the be

00:22:07.325 --> 00:22:13.980
jumping in, into China, you know, and,
uh, uh, MBM Fu and then in Algeria and

00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:15.600
those, you know, black and white pictures.

00:22:15.600 --> 00:22:19.575
The guys jumping out DC three s and stuff
was just, for me, it was like, You know,

00:22:19.665 --> 00:22:21.135
that wasn't an option for me in Canada.

00:22:21.135 --> 00:22:21.705
I gotta go.

00:22:21.705 --> 00:22:23.475
And yeah, I didn't really
think too much of it.

00:22:23.475 --> 00:22:28.215
Now, when I got over there and I
found the, um, the Legion, uh, depo

00:22:28.215 --> 00:22:33.405
in, uh, Strasberg where I was gonna
sign up, I sat across from the, the

00:22:33.405 --> 00:22:35.415
depo for an hour or two on the stairs.

00:22:35.774 --> 00:22:38.385
There's a church I think, across the way,
and there's, you know, the big steps.

00:22:38.385 --> 00:22:43.004
So I just sat there, kind of looking at
the door, reflecting on my, on my choices.

00:22:43.004 --> 00:22:44.925
But at that point I had
already committed there.

00:22:44.925 --> 00:22:46.815
I was in, in France, you're
there, and it was happening.

00:22:46.815 --> 00:22:48.075
And so I rang the little

00:22:48.975 --> 00:22:50.175
Travis Bader: butterflies in the stomach.

00:22:51.195 --> 00:22:51.315
Joel Struthers: Oh, fuck.

00:22:51.315 --> 00:22:52.305
It was a long time, I'm sure.

00:22:52.365 --> 00:22:52.695
Yeah.

00:22:52.695 --> 00:22:56.355
Um, I think the big thing for me was
if I was doing this, I didn't want to

00:22:56.355 --> 00:22:59.534
be, I knew at the point, I think I'd
been told that, you know, typically

00:22:59.534 --> 00:23:05.835
they take one in six or seven, depends
on, uh, but during my time period,

00:23:05.985 --> 00:23:07.485
that's when the iron wall had come down.

00:23:07.605 --> 00:23:07.695
Mm-hmm.

00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:08.355
on the iron curtain.

00:23:08.355 --> 00:23:12.524
So there was an influx of Eastern
blockers so they could pick and choose.

00:23:12.524 --> 00:23:16.125
So the odds of getting in
were, were, were tough.

00:23:16.185 --> 00:23:16.514
Right.

00:23:16.514 --> 00:23:19.590
Because they only can take certain amount
and they have, you know, , the pick of

00:23:19.590 --> 00:23:23.010
the crop, not the crop, but they have
the ability to pick and choose, um,

00:23:23.010 --> 00:23:24.330
based on the criteria they look for.

00:23:24.330 --> 00:23:27.120
So my fear, to be honest with
you, was that I would have to

00:23:27.125 --> 00:23:29.250
come home saying I didn't even get
into the French foreign Legion.

00:23:29.250 --> 00:23:29.400
Yo.

00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:30.210
Yeah.

00:23:30.210 --> 00:23:31.280
I hate to say it, but yeah.

00:23:31.280 --> 00:23:34.050
And I didn't, I didn't necessarily
know how tough it would be to get

00:23:34.050 --> 00:23:38.220
in, but I hadn't a, I didn't have
a plan B for me that was, I'm

00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:40.890
going there, I want a soldier as a
young man, I wanna do it for real.

00:23:41.310 --> 00:23:44.820
And uh, you know, hopefully touch
wood, it, it worked and it did.

00:23:45.060 --> 00:23:45.390
Lovely.

00:23:45.540 --> 00:23:49.650
Travis Bader: So you have pictures
of the rep and the be and this idea

00:23:49.650 --> 00:23:51.930
of what the legion's gonna be like,
and you've had a little bit of an

00:23:51.930 --> 00:23:54.090
opportunity to correspond with them.

00:23:54.210 --> 00:23:54.360
Yep.

00:23:54.780 --> 00:23:58.080
But all up into that point,
nothing was truly real.

00:23:58.080 --> 00:24:00.900
They were just the thoughts of what
you had in your head of what it's gonna

00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:02.130
be like or what others have told you.

00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:04.770
When did things really
become real for you in the

00:24:04.770 --> 00:24:05.520
Joel Struthers: legion sense?

00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:09.000
Um, well I had read
Legionnaire by Simon Murray.

00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:09.180
Yes.

00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:11.910
That was a big, from his time
during the, uh, the war in Algeria.

00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:13.890
That was a big, a big one for me.

00:24:14.070 --> 00:24:15.840
I liked the, I liked the story.

00:24:16.350 --> 00:24:20.415
Um, . So I had my limited
interaction with Allegion.

00:24:21.105 --> 00:24:22.545
I knew I needed to do something.

00:24:22.545 --> 00:24:22.605
Yeah.

00:24:22.815 --> 00:24:28.665
Um, so I, I went and once that door
opened up and that big corporal chef

00:24:28.670 --> 00:24:32.625
asked for my passport and said, you
wanna join ? I went in and they showed

00:24:32.629 --> 00:24:34.485
me, uh, they put in a VHS cassette.

00:24:34.545 --> 00:24:36.345
This is all old, back in the day.

00:24:36.524 --> 00:24:38.805
This was 90, when did I go over 94?

00:24:38.985 --> 00:24:39.254
Okay.

00:24:39.315 --> 00:24:43.065
Um, they put in all, all these
cassettes with the different languages.

00:24:43.065 --> 00:24:46.095
So we put in English cassette and
it showed, luckily to me, for me, it

00:24:46.095 --> 00:24:49.785
started off with the, the legion or
the rep, sorry, jumping uh, out of

00:24:49.785 --> 00:24:51.645
the Trans ELs and C one 30 and Calvin.

00:24:52.125 --> 00:24:55.125
Um, so it just, right
there I was like, I'm sold.

00:24:55.125 --> 00:24:55.815
This is a good sign.

00:24:55.820 --> 00:24:55.935
Yeah.

00:24:55.935 --> 00:25:01.575
This is, uh, um, and really at that
point they could have showed me anything.

00:25:01.575 --> 00:25:03.435
I mean, I was kind of, I was in, you know.

00:25:03.675 --> 00:25:03.825
Yeah.

00:25:03.825 --> 00:25:05.745
It doesn't matter what
they showed you and then.

00:25:06.210 --> 00:25:10.170
From there, it was about a month
before I actually went off to basic.

00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:11.340
There's a whole f from there.

00:25:11.340 --> 00:25:14.820
It's like from Strassburg, there's a,
they do a, a quick recruitment where

00:25:14.820 --> 00:25:18.630
they, you know, you go to a, a medical,
uh, it's a military medical facility.

00:25:18.630 --> 00:25:23.715
They do a quick uh, um, you know,
survey, whatever you wanna call medical.

00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:24.135
Yeah, yeah.

00:25:24.135 --> 00:25:25.395
Um, they pick and choose from there.

00:25:25.665 --> 00:25:28.455
Uh, and then you're sent down to
Obeying, which is the Allegiance

00:25:28.455 --> 00:25:29.715
headquarters, the Premierer.

00:25:30.044 --> 00:25:34.635
Um, and there you're in like
a re a recruitment area and

00:25:34.635 --> 00:25:35.804
you spend typically a month.

00:25:35.835 --> 00:25:39.165
And there they, they go through all the
different, uh, phases and criteria and

00:25:39.165 --> 00:25:43.725
pick and choose, and then off you go to
Costell, which is the catch hammerer,

00:25:43.725 --> 00:25:45.044
and that's their training regiment.

00:25:45.315 --> 00:25:45.405
Okay.

00:25:45.405 --> 00:25:46.365
Not far from Tolu.

00:25:46.695 --> 00:25:49.335
Where they build the Airbus and
basic training is four months.

00:25:49.665 --> 00:25:49.695
Okay.

00:25:50.054 --> 00:25:53.355
So the first, first month there's
50 of you and you're at a farm.

00:25:53.715 --> 00:25:56.534
And it's basically these old,
there's four, uh, training

00:25:56.534 --> 00:25:57.524
companies in the regiment.

00:25:57.615 --> 00:26:01.995
And each training company, they bought
these, uh, basically a farm with an old

00:26:01.995 --> 00:26:04.695
farmhouse rebuilt them for, for barracks.

00:26:04.754 --> 00:26:05.054
Yeah.

00:26:05.175 --> 00:26:09.135
And you go there and your first month
is basically just learning the, what it

00:26:09.135 --> 00:26:10.845
is to be a Legionnaire, the discipline.

00:26:11.715 --> 00:26:13.125
How they go about doing things.

00:26:13.185 --> 00:26:13.395
Yeah.

00:26:13.425 --> 00:26:16.455
Their way of doing business,
learning the language and the

00:26:16.455 --> 00:26:18.565
songs, because they're big on songs.

00:26:18.565 --> 00:26:19.305
Big on the songs.

00:26:19.305 --> 00:26:24.254
But you know, in a, in in
Appell I get on it, I do shit

00:26:24.254 --> 00:26:25.965
on it, but yeah, I respect it.

00:26:26.024 --> 00:26:26.175
Yeah.

00:26:26.180 --> 00:26:28.605
And it's done for a reason
and it's, it's effective.

00:26:28.815 --> 00:26:31.004
Um, and it's, yeah,
it's, it's, it's smart.

00:26:31.545 --> 00:26:35.715
But yeah, for that first month it's tough
and that really weeds out, um, yeah, not

00:26:35.715 --> 00:26:39.045
the week per se, but the people that are
not mentally there for the right reasons.

00:26:39.465 --> 00:26:45.825
And then at the end of basic, you're given
a chance to go back to the civilian life.

00:26:45.830 --> 00:26:48.495
So you can either do your five years Yeah.

00:26:48.524 --> 00:26:49.185
Or get out.

00:26:49.455 --> 00:26:52.485
But once you commit, you're
theoretically you're in stunt for five.

00:26:52.815 --> 00:26:56.415
Um, and I think in our group there
was a dozen that decided to go back.

00:26:56.745 --> 00:26:56.955
Okay.

00:26:57.014 --> 00:26:59.835
And, uh, depending on where you
finish and basic, you can pick

00:26:59.835 --> 00:27:01.365
and choose where you want to go.

00:27:01.875 --> 00:27:03.375
Um, the different regiments.

00:27:03.675 --> 00:27:07.665
Um, so I was fortunate, finished
well, and then I chose the rep and.

00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:08.790
Wow.

00:27:08.940 --> 00:27:09.870
That's where, that's where I

00:27:09.870 --> 00:27:10.140
Travis Bader: went.

00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:14.820
So you spent your time, people,
if they really want to get into

00:27:14.850 --> 00:27:17.250
the ins and outs or that's like,
that's in your book Appell.

00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:17.610
Yep.

00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.770
And, uh, great book by the way.

00:27:19.800 --> 00:27:20.970
Really enjoyed that for sure.

00:27:21.210 --> 00:27:25.980
Um, you do your time with the
French Foreign Legion and you

00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:28.590
say, okay, I got these skills.

00:27:28.590 --> 00:27:31.710
Now how can I apply this
in the civilian market?

00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:36.120
And started looking at the,
being a private military

00:27:36.120 --> 00:27:36.810
Joel Struthers: contractor.

00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:37.920
Yeah.

00:27:38.070 --> 00:27:43.710
Uh, so I get to the rep, I do basically
a year with the first company, which

00:27:43.715 --> 00:27:47.220
is, uh, they specialize in fibia, uh,
if I didn't built up areas mm-hmm.

00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:51.000
. And then I did selection further the
gcp, which is similar to the, uh, the

00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:52.800
British or the, the Canadian Pathfinders.

00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:53.070
Yep.

00:27:53.160 --> 00:27:56.430
But they have a second role where
they support the French operations.

00:27:56.550 --> 00:27:56.670
Yep.

00:27:56.670 --> 00:27:57.360
Special command.

00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:01.140
Um, so they can work as pathfinders
for the regiment or as a tier

00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:02.760
two group for the, for the cuss.

00:28:03.060 --> 00:28:05.190
Um, so I did selection for that.

00:28:05.820 --> 00:28:08.190
and that was, uh, 10 Man Halo team.

00:28:08.430 --> 00:28:08.640
Okay.

00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:13.620
Um, so I worked, I was fortunate in that,
and I'll get to your, your question.

00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:13.891
Yeah, yeah.

00:28:13.896 --> 00:28:17.460
The reason for this is, you know,
it was small 10 man team, so it'd be

00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:21.060
an officer, senior NCOs and junior
ranks, and you had to be a minimal,

00:28:21.150 --> 00:28:23.220
uh, rank of corporal to be in the gcp.

00:28:23.400 --> 00:28:23.760
Yeah.

00:28:23.820 --> 00:28:25.080
But we were treated differently.

00:28:25.085 --> 00:28:27.150
It was more of a, a team environment.

00:28:27.210 --> 00:28:29.400
The hierarchy was there, the
discipline was there, but it

00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:30.720
was a little, little looser.

00:28:30.780 --> 00:28:31.050
Yeah.

00:28:31.140 --> 00:28:33.660
And a lot of times we were
away from the regiment and the

00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:35.820
legion, so we could relax a bit.

00:28:35.820 --> 00:28:43.050
It wasn't quite as, um, discipline,
but as long as we were doing our jobs,

00:28:43.050 --> 00:28:46.440
maintaining, you know, a proper level
of professionalism and, and fitness, all

00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:47.610
that kind of stuff, there's no issue.

00:28:47.610 --> 00:28:48.600
Maybe start to fuck up.

00:28:48.600 --> 00:28:48.960
Obviously.

00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:50.040
They'll, they'll be all over that.

00:28:50.070 --> 00:28:50.550
Yeah, they would.

00:28:50.790 --> 00:28:54.510
But so I was working, we were
always in the back of helicopters,

00:28:54.515 --> 00:28:58.710
the super pumas, super falo,
um, And I was 29 at this point.

00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:01.410
So it was kind of the, the
phase of my career in Legion.

00:29:01.410 --> 00:29:07.140
Whereas I would have to decide if I
wanted to go NCO and do the 15 years,

00:29:07.140 --> 00:29:13.380
which allows for a, a small pension or,
and this was just for myself, I'm 29.

00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:17.100
Is this something I want to do for the
rest of my life for those 15 years or

00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:21.240
a, a new career, but I need to get on
now at 29 you're kind of at that cusp.

00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:21.630
You are.

00:29:21.660 --> 00:29:21.960
Yeah.

00:29:22.080 --> 00:29:24.930
And then being in those helicopters
and watching the pilots and stuff,

00:29:24.930 --> 00:29:26.070
that was something I was interested in.

00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:29.760
Um, and uh, in fact my father
had mentioned, you know, actually

00:29:29.765 --> 00:29:32.580
before the Legion, hey, would
you wanna do, do helicopters?

00:29:32.580 --> 00:29:35.040
But at that point in life, I was
not ready for that kind of, yeah,

00:29:35.040 --> 00:29:35.880
I need to do something else.

00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:36.330
So I.

00:29:37.510 --> 00:29:40.590
Actually had my interview with,
uh, Vancouver Island Helicopters

00:29:40.590 --> 00:29:45.495
Training School from the, um, the
phone booth in the regiments or in

00:29:45.630 --> 00:29:47.850
our company's, uh, parade Square.

00:29:47.910 --> 00:29:48.480
Very cool.

00:29:48.485 --> 00:29:50.040
So I remember Dave was his name.

00:29:50.040 --> 00:29:52.590
He was the chief or the,
uh, the main training pilot.

00:29:52.590 --> 00:29:54.150
And he was like, where
are you calling from?

00:29:54.150 --> 00:29:57.960
I was like, oh, I'm calling from the, uh,
parade Square from the, uh, dium rep in

00:29:58.080 --> 00:29:59.640
Calvin Corco with French Foreign Legion.

00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:06.450
And there was a, a discernible pause, you
know, like what ? Anyway, so that for me

00:30:06.450 --> 00:30:14.270
was the, um, the Exodus, um, was to start
a new, a new career, but two twofold.

00:30:14.760 --> 00:30:16.890
Um, I felt bad.

00:30:17.580 --> 00:30:23.490
Um, you know, the rep had given a lot
of, um, given me a good opportunity,

00:30:23.490 --> 00:30:24.480
put in the time and effort.

00:30:24.485 --> 00:30:27.270
You know, I'm now with the gcp, so I'm,
you know, I've done my commander course,

00:30:27.275 --> 00:30:29.520
I've done my halo free fall course.

00:30:29.610 --> 00:30:34.530
Um, you know, I'm, I'm still fairly new
and here I'm pulling the pin, right?

00:30:34.535 --> 00:30:34.670
And.

00:30:35.520 --> 00:30:39.330
My captain at the time, um, who's
general now, general Damu, um,

00:30:40.590 --> 00:30:43.590
you know, kind of gave me a hard
time for everybody he understood.

00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:43.920
Sure.

00:30:43.950 --> 00:30:49.080
Um, and I think as a Canadian, they
understood that, you know, my situation's

00:30:49.080 --> 00:30:53.340
a bit different and I had always come to
Legion, not to leave Canada, but just to

00:30:53.460 --> 00:30:54.960
experience something different elsewhere.

00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:55.649
Right.

00:30:55.649 --> 00:30:59.850
And I always felt like, you know, I was
a guest in, in the French Army in France.

00:31:00.090 --> 00:31:01.020
I would always go home.

00:31:01.080 --> 00:31:04.170
I'm Canadian at the end of the day
and I never, I had the opportunity

00:31:04.170 --> 00:31:06.629
and the option to go and get my
French passport, but I never did.

00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:08.430
Um, you know, I was a Canadian.

00:31:08.760 --> 00:31:10.110
Um, so Interesting.

00:31:10.139 --> 00:31:10.379
Yeah.

00:31:10.379 --> 00:31:12.659
So for me that was, you know, I felt.

00:31:13.635 --> 00:31:14.685
I dunno what the word is.

00:31:14.895 --> 00:31:17.774
Um, but I felt bad leaving.

00:31:17.774 --> 00:31:19.514
But the draw was, it was time to go.

00:31:19.514 --> 00:31:24.044
And unfortunately, um, you know,
this is pre, pre nine 11, right?

00:31:24.675 --> 00:31:30.794
So we were, Francis is active, um, but
it wasn't Iraq, Afghanistan type active.

00:31:30.800 --> 00:31:31.125
Right.

00:31:31.185 --> 00:31:34.094
Um, so you're kind of looking at
your, what you've experienced.

00:31:34.185 --> 00:31:35.475
I did six years at this point.

00:31:35.804 --> 00:31:39.375
Um, and it, it's somewhat repetitive.

00:31:40.004 --> 00:31:43.365
You look at your, your peers, your
senior NCOs, you see their career

00:31:43.370 --> 00:31:44.955
path and what, what they're doing.

00:31:44.955 --> 00:31:46.725
Is that something you
necessarily want to do?

00:31:47.054 --> 00:31:49.455
Um, and that's no knock on them.

00:31:49.695 --> 00:31:51.794
No respect, cuz that's,
that's tough, you know?

00:31:51.975 --> 00:31:52.995
But your ambitions are different.

00:31:53.024 --> 00:31:56.205
I had some different ideas and
so I, so I came, I came home.

00:31:56.365 --> 00:31:56.725
Yeah.

00:31:57.314 --> 00:31:59.504
Travis Bader: You come back
and you say helicopters.

00:31:59.564 --> 00:32:00.314
That's the thing for me.

00:32:00.375 --> 00:32:02.655
I wanna learn how to fly
a helicopter from one.

00:32:04.064 --> 00:32:08.774
People will view what you were doing
before as sort of a high level ambition.

00:32:08.834 --> 00:32:08.985
Mm.

00:32:09.690 --> 00:32:12.690
Helicopter flying is a high level
of ambition in a few different

00:32:12.690 --> 00:32:15.090
ways, uh, for, for most people.

00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:15.240
Yeah.

00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:18.450
What, what was, what
was that like to square?

00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:20.190
Joel Struthers: Um, it was tough.

00:32:20.190 --> 00:32:22.050
There was, it was a tough
transition, to be honest with you.

00:32:22.170 --> 00:32:25.290
It's, I think that's something I
didn't really realize till later on.

00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:32.310
Um, but I was in Victoria at the, the
airport there in, on the island, uh,

00:32:32.310 --> 00:32:36.540
where the VH had its training school, uh,
within a couple months of getting out.

00:32:37.110 --> 00:32:41.700
So there was that real, you know, here
I am a city now, you know, it was going

00:32:41.700 --> 00:32:46.560
from a life of his Legionnaire living
in Garrison rules and regulations.

00:32:46.560 --> 00:32:50.670
Pretty, pretty strict and uniform, you
know, to now these newfound freedoms.

00:32:50.670 --> 00:32:51.720
So focus was tough.

00:32:51.750 --> 00:32:51.870
Mm-hmm.

00:32:52.305 --> 00:32:55.650
. Um, and I, I struggled with
helicopters at the beginning.

00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:59.100
I didn't, we were initially
training these R 20 twos, which

00:32:59.100 --> 00:33:00.990
is this little dinky helicopters.

00:33:00.995 --> 00:33:01.020
Okay.

00:33:01.020 --> 00:33:03.960
Like there's no room for one person
there, let alone you and your instructor.

00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:04.290
Yeah.

00:33:04.320 --> 00:33:10.740
Um, and it was just, Yeah, I, I,
I didn't trust them and everything

00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:14.730
was kind of new, so it, I was, I
was not a, a natural if that Okay.

00:33:14.850 --> 00:33:15.720
That sounds right.

00:33:15.810 --> 00:33:16.080
Yeah.

00:33:16.085 --> 00:33:18.000
But I, but I got, I got
through it, I got the job done.

00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.740
Uh, um, I knew nothing about
the, the commercial helicopter

00:33:22.740 --> 00:33:23.940
industry in Canada at all.

00:33:24.060 --> 00:33:24.330
Yeah.

00:33:24.600 --> 00:33:27.179
All I knew was that I wanted
to give this, give this a shot.

00:33:27.750 --> 00:33:33.149
So I, um, I started working for a company
up, uh, in Fort Nelson, Northern bc, oil

00:33:33.149 --> 00:33:35.490
and gas type stuff, learning my trade.

00:33:35.495 --> 00:33:40.740
And, uh, yeah, it was, uh,
it was challenging, but, you

00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:44.190
know, um, also enjoyable.

00:33:44.280 --> 00:33:44.610
Mm-hmm.

00:33:44.970 --> 00:33:47.985
, um,  and Yeah, no regrets.

00:33:48.105 --> 00:33:52.365
And from there, you know, my, my
career just continued on, but as a

00:33:52.365 --> 00:33:56.535
low time pilot in Canada, uh, the
winners are, are sparse for work.

00:33:56.535 --> 00:33:57.225
There's not a lot of work.

00:33:57.225 --> 00:33:58.935
There's hell skiing and some, some stuff.

00:33:58.935 --> 00:33:59.025
Right.

00:33:59.030 --> 00:34:01.335
But, so typically you're kind
of, you know, you're doing the

00:34:01.335 --> 00:34:04.305
summer months and then you're
off for the, uh, for the winter.

00:34:04.310 --> 00:34:04.525
Mm-hmm.

00:34:04.785 --> 00:34:08.595
. And that's where I kind of started to look
into the, uh, the overseas type stuff.

00:34:08.685 --> 00:34:09.074
Right.

00:34:09.074 --> 00:34:09.195
Yeah.

00:34:09.795 --> 00:34:12.885
Travis Bader: So how does,
how does that develop?

00:34:12.885 --> 00:34:17.115
Because there's, I know there's a certain
allure to the overseas type stuff Yeah.

00:34:17.115 --> 00:34:18.945
To outsiders often.

00:34:18.949 --> 00:34:20.505
And they say, look it,
I've got this skills.

00:34:20.510 --> 00:34:23.115
I've, I've been to the, I've
got some basic training.

00:34:23.115 --> 00:34:25.755
I've been, um, trained to be a soldier.

00:34:27.165 --> 00:34:28.395
I can use this.

00:34:28.725 --> 00:34:31.514
There's some good money in certain ways.

00:34:31.574 --> 00:34:36.255
Um, h how did, how did you kind of decide.

00:34:36.900 --> 00:34:38.580
How did that transition happen for you?

00:34:38.580 --> 00:34:40.830
Did you have somebody else that
says, Hey look, come on over here.

00:34:40.830 --> 00:34:41.490
This is what you gotta do.

00:34:41.610 --> 00:34:41.940
Well,

00:34:42.210 --> 00:34:43.860
Joel Struthers: and that's
Seville that's brought to it.

00:34:43.889 --> 00:34:47.340
It's basically once I leave the Legion
and it gets into this, and again,

00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:48.510
careful what you wish for, right?

00:34:48.540 --> 00:34:48.690
Yeah.

00:34:48.810 --> 00:34:54.659
Um, so I had a couple friends that had
gotten out prior to me, uh, including

00:34:54.870 --> 00:34:56.250
Keith, who was the partner in Raven Hill.

00:34:56.340 --> 00:34:57.090
We'll get into that.

00:34:57.120 --> 00:34:57.420
Yeah.

00:34:57.480 --> 00:35:03.180
And they were working for, um, back in the
day there was two primary security firms

00:35:03.180 --> 00:35:06.030
outta London, uh, control Risk group.

00:35:06.300 --> 00:35:06.570
Jg.

00:35:06.570 --> 00:35:06.840
Yeah.

00:35:06.845 --> 00:35:10.890
And, and Armor Group were kind of
the two main, and they would hire X

00:35:10.895 --> 00:35:15.120
Legionnaires, um, Anglophones that
had the, the French language for

00:35:15.120 --> 00:35:16.860
their contracts in Africa mm-hmm.

00:35:16.860 --> 00:35:19.440
With their clients, which was
predominantly exploration, oil

00:35:19.445 --> 00:35:20.670
and gas, that type type of stuff.

00:35:20.670 --> 00:35:24.300
So they liked the Legionnaires
cause we had that bilingual ability

00:35:24.390 --> 00:35:27.120
and we were, you know, familiar
with the African continent.

00:35:27.780 --> 00:35:34.200
Um, so I got out, I'm
flying winners coming.

00:35:35.030 --> 00:35:36.750
, you're not paid anything.

00:35:36.755 --> 00:35:36.910
Right.

00:35:36.910 --> 00:35:38.100
As a low time pilot.

00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:39.960
Um, just enough to survive.

00:35:40.290 --> 00:35:44.160
And, uh, so yeah, I threw my, um,
resume together and, and sent them

00:35:44.160 --> 00:35:45.900
both off to CRG and Arbor Group.

00:35:45.930 --> 00:35:48.570
And a long story Short
Armor Group took me on.

00:35:48.630 --> 00:35:48.810
Yep.

00:35:49.080 --> 00:35:53.220
Um, and I started almost
right away in Algeria.

00:35:53.250 --> 00:35:57.870
So North Africa, um, armor Group
had, uh, a relationship with Kellogg

00:35:57.870 --> 00:36:01.320
Braner Root, which at that point in
time was a part of Hall Burton Oil.

00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:01.410
Mm.

00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:08.220
Um, and they were drilling, uh, in the
Sahara for natural gas and, and oil.

00:36:08.310 --> 00:36:13.770
So Armor Group would provide, uh, KBR
r Hall Burton with oil seas, which

00:36:13.770 --> 00:36:15.690
were operations liaison coordinators.

00:36:15.870 --> 00:36:15.930
Yeah.

00:36:15.930 --> 00:36:19.260
And we would be on the rigs,
which were secured by the Algerian

00:36:19.260 --> 00:36:22.590
police or Army cuz there was a
terrorism issue in, in Algeria.

00:36:22.860 --> 00:36:23.040
Hmm.

00:36:23.070 --> 00:36:26.340
Um, and we would just be the,
uh, the liaison between the.

00:36:27.015 --> 00:36:30.105
, the protect, the, the army or
the, or the police and the client.

00:36:30.105 --> 00:36:33.315
So anything for road moves,
you know, just what have you.

00:36:33.525 --> 00:36:33.795
Hmm.

00:36:33.855 --> 00:36:37.185
So I basically just sat on a, an oil
rig for three months and the money was,

00:36:37.275 --> 00:36:40.155
was good, um, which helped the cause.

00:36:40.275 --> 00:36:40.605
Yes.

00:36:40.605 --> 00:36:44.505
And then, uh, you know, I'd go back
to the, uh, back to Canada, well, back

00:36:44.510 --> 00:36:45.975
to, for the flying in the summers.

00:36:46.365 --> 00:36:52.215
Um, and that relationship remained
with Armor Group for, I did that for a

00:36:52.215 --> 00:36:57.615
couple years, Algeria, in fact, I wrote
a pill on the rig my first, first tour.

00:36:57.615 --> 00:36:58.695
I sat there for three months.

00:36:58.695 --> 00:37:04.065
And when I got out from the Legion, my
grandfather who had retired as a, um,

00:37:04.395 --> 00:37:06.945
a brigadier general, um, dso mm-hmm.

00:37:07.205 --> 00:37:14.505
, um, was doing his degree at uic, at, I
think he was get on, I think he was 86.

00:37:14.625 --> 00:37:17.505
But anyway, yeah, he was doing his
degree and he was writing his, um,

00:37:17.565 --> 00:37:19.515
his thesis, whatever, and he hadn't.

00:37:20.580 --> 00:37:23.160
Kept the dire during in the war,
which he regretted and he was trying

00:37:23.160 --> 00:37:25.050
to piece together cuz it, right.

00:37:25.110 --> 00:37:27.750
He had written, uh, it's
called, uh, amateur Soldier.

00:37:28.110 --> 00:37:32.010
Um, and uh, so he said to me, he
said, Joel, you know, if you didn't

00:37:32.010 --> 00:37:35.490
keep a a journal, I suggest you write
everything down now, because if not,

00:37:35.490 --> 00:37:36.900
you were regretted down the road.

00:37:37.260 --> 00:37:37.800
Good advice.

00:37:37.800 --> 00:37:38.580
Yeah, no doubt.

00:37:38.730 --> 00:37:38.970
Yeah.

00:37:38.970 --> 00:37:40.170
Um, smart man, obviously.

00:37:40.170 --> 00:37:40.230
Yeah.

00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:44.700
Um, so I, I took his, his advice and I
just basically put together, you know, I

00:37:44.700 --> 00:37:46.200
sat on the radio, I had nothing but time.

00:37:46.890 --> 00:37:53.490
I think it was, you know, I dunno,
80,000 words, just zero respect

00:37:53.490 --> 00:37:55.860
for the, uh, English language.

00:37:55.860 --> 00:37:58.350
Not that I could have, but it
was like all in caps, a lot of

00:37:58.350 --> 00:38:02.790
explanation Marks, , and that, that
sat for 10 years just on a Word doc.

00:38:02.850 --> 00:38:06.510
Um, but it was there and that was the
really, that's where the book came from.

00:38:06.510 --> 00:38:06.750
Okay.

00:38:06.750 --> 00:38:11.820
And over time with, with work life
and just, uh, certain things, I was

00:38:11.825 --> 00:38:14.970
like, you know what, maybe, maybe
there's something in that, in that.

00:38:15.720 --> 00:38:17.940
We're Doc and I worked
on that, created Apel.

00:38:18.120 --> 00:38:21.840
But anyway, so with with
Armor Group, um, I do that.

00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:26.970
And then, uh, they were, when Iraq
kicked off Ke Brown route at that

00:38:26.970 --> 00:38:30.270
point had split Cuz j Jch, you know,
the Dick Cheney history, whatever.

00:38:30.270 --> 00:38:30.560
Yep, yep.

00:38:30.565 --> 00:38:36.150
Hall Burton and KBR R Split and KBR were
awarded the log cap, uh, contract by the,

00:38:36.150 --> 00:38:41.190
uh, um, American, uh, what do you call it?

00:38:41.190 --> 00:38:44.280
The, um, what's the military,
what's the terminology for anyway,

00:38:44.370 --> 00:38:46.770
um, to build all the bases.

00:38:46.950 --> 00:38:47.370
Okay.

00:38:47.490 --> 00:38:54.330
So, um, so early on, uh, armor Group sent
over, there's a group of us, uh, there's

00:38:54.330 --> 00:39:00.390
two, uh, one next, the lead guys was,
one was sas, um, the other one was Depp.

00:39:00.420 --> 00:39:02.010
There's an SPS guy on there.

00:39:02.010 --> 00:39:05.370
There's an Ozzie SAS guy, two r
and p, which is the British Royal

00:39:05.720 --> 00:39:08.400
Military Police that were, um, were.

00:39:09.030 --> 00:39:12.840
PSD and they had worked with, uh,
the SAS in, uh, in Ireland and

00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:14.340
then myself, the Lone Legionnaire.

00:39:14.520 --> 00:39:21.330
And, uh, we were in Baghdad early, it was
2003, so it had been only a couple months

00:39:21.330 --> 00:39:22.950
since the Americans enrolled into Baghdad.

00:39:23.040 --> 00:39:30.720
And, um, the idea was to train vetted
in bracket Iraqis on P S D and then

00:39:30.810 --> 00:39:34.620
we would work with them so that when,
uh, KBR R execs came in the country,

00:39:34.620 --> 00:39:37.440
we would be there to pick them up
at the airport and then move them

00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:40.290
to these different installations
that they were going to mm-hmm.

00:39:40.380 --> 00:39:41.970
Um, so this was Earl.

00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:46.620
So that was my first kind of kick of
the kack in, uh, in Iraq, come back

00:39:46.620 --> 00:39:52.530
to flying and then come back the next
winter and things in racket picked up.

00:39:52.890 --> 00:39:55.890
Um, so then I did some low
profile stuff with the, the

00:39:55.890 --> 00:39:58.320
Iraqis and yeah, so that was the.

00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:03.450
Back and forth, um, flying the
overseas stuff, which was tough.

00:40:03.510 --> 00:40:04.980
Um, yeah, I'd think so.

00:40:05.070 --> 00:40:09.450
It, uh, cuz as a low time pilot, you're
trying to learn your trade and, you know,

00:40:09.450 --> 00:40:12.510
you, you have a good summer, you get your
hands and feet, you start to pick it up,

00:40:12.510 --> 00:40:16.650
and then you're gone and you, you're on
a whole different level and you come back

00:40:16.655 --> 00:40:18.330
and it's, yeah, it was, it was stressful.

00:40:18.330 --> 00:40:19.140
You gotta learn it again.

00:40:19.140 --> 00:40:19.530
Yeah.

00:40:19.530 --> 00:40:22.170
And then you're, you know, as I got
a little more experience and I'm

00:40:22.170 --> 00:40:24.870
on fire, so there was no room for,
it's kinda like you're just thrown

00:40:24.870 --> 00:40:26.240
into the, into the fire, right?

00:40:26.240 --> 00:40:26.400
Mm-hmm.

00:40:26.480 --> 00:40:28.140
, you're on a fire, you're slinging
and all that kind of stuff.

00:40:28.140 --> 00:40:29.670
And yeah, I didn't like that.

00:40:29.970 --> 00:40:33.660
And that's what's one thing I didn't
like about flying early on was I didn't

00:40:33.665 --> 00:40:36.570
like that you couldn't do it full-time.

00:40:36.780 --> 00:40:37.320
Um Right.

00:40:37.380 --> 00:40:40.380
Which I'm unfortunate now I can, but
early on it was a challenge and I think

00:40:40.385 --> 00:40:45.030
that's why, you know, um, not to go off
on a tangent, but becoming a commercial

00:40:45.030 --> 00:40:46.560
helicopter Canada is, is challenging.

00:40:46.560 --> 00:40:47.820
A lot of people quit for that reason.

00:40:47.970 --> 00:40:48.330
Yeah.

00:40:48.335 --> 00:40:49.110
It's, it's tough.

00:40:49.110 --> 00:40:49.290
Travis Bader: Yeah.

00:40:49.680 --> 00:40:49.860
Yeah.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:51.000
I, I, I would think so.

00:40:51.060 --> 00:40:51.270
Yeah.

00:40:51.600 --> 00:40:54.510
And you seem like a real all or
nothing sort of personality type.

00:40:54.510 --> 00:40:56.910
Like if you're gonna get into
it, you're gonna give it 110%.

00:40:57.315 --> 00:40:58.125
Yeah, exactly.

00:40:58.125 --> 00:40:59.895
And then to be forced
off of it for a while.

00:40:59.895 --> 00:40:59.955
Yeah.

00:40:59.955 --> 00:41:00.795
And have to get back in.

00:41:00.795 --> 00:41:01.635
It's like, oh, come on.

00:41:01.635 --> 00:41:02.505
I mean, I suck.

00:41:02.595 --> 00:41:02.925
That's right.

00:41:02.925 --> 00:41:05.265
I was just doing this and I
was doing okay and now Yeah.

00:41:05.595 --> 00:41:06.225
Joel Struthers: I still do.

00:41:06.405 --> 00:41:10.365
I I shit you not, so the company I
worked for was out of uh, um, spring Bank

00:41:10.365 --> 00:41:11.925
Airport, which is outside of Calgary.

00:41:11.925 --> 00:41:12.285
Yeah.

00:41:12.375 --> 00:41:15.885
And, you know, I'd come back and they'd
fly me in, you know, red Eye into Calgary.

00:41:15.885 --> 00:41:19.155
I'd go to the hangar, do some groundwork,
and I'd do a training flight, and

00:41:19.155 --> 00:41:22.575
then I'd have my check flight with
Transport Canada probably the same day.

00:41:23.265 --> 00:41:24.525
And it was just like a, yeah.

00:41:24.525 --> 00:41:25.005
You know.

00:41:25.695 --> 00:41:27.795
Information overload,
shock into the mouth.

00:41:27.795 --> 00:41:30.225
You know, if , you know, can
I still hover her doing it?

00:41:30.225 --> 00:41:32.595
And I st I sh you know, whenever
I fly into Calgary, I think I

00:41:32.595 --> 00:41:35.335
still get anxiety from really
just a, it's like a flash attack.

00:41:35.335 --> 00:41:35.775
That's interesting.

00:41:35.775 --> 00:41:36.735
Acting like, holy shit, you know?

00:41:36.795 --> 00:41:37.605
That's interesting.

00:41:37.610 --> 00:41:37.815
Yeah.

00:41:37.905 --> 00:41:40.725
Anyway, it all worked
out for, for the good.

00:41:40.755 --> 00:41:41.295
Travis Bader: It does.

00:41:41.385 --> 00:41:41.565
Yep.

00:41:41.995 --> 00:41:43.944
How those helicopters, I tell you.

00:41:43.975 --> 00:41:46.404
So I've, I've flown a few planes.

00:41:46.435 --> 00:41:46.615
Yep.

00:41:47.065 --> 00:41:51.805
Basic understanding and you know, buddy
of mine's got me up in, uh, his helicopter

00:41:51.805 --> 00:41:54.505
and he looks over is like, take control.

00:41:54.505 --> 00:41:57.714
So I'm like, okay, . It's like holy crow.

00:41:57.714 --> 00:41:58.944
Are those things ever touchy?

00:41:58.950 --> 00:42:00.924
I mean like, you just think
about it and they move.

00:42:00.924 --> 00:42:01.105
Right?

00:42:01.105 --> 00:42:01.315
Yeah.

00:42:01.435 --> 00:42:02.455
I wasn't expecting that.

00:42:02.455 --> 00:42:02.924
That's, that's

00:42:02.924 --> 00:42:03.775
Joel Struthers: the first
mistake is thinking.

00:42:03.964 --> 00:42:04.325
Yeah.

00:42:04.325 --> 00:42:04.645
Yeah.

00:42:05.575 --> 00:42:07.075
we over, we overthink it, but yeah.

00:42:07.075 --> 00:42:10.045
I mean they, you can te Yeah, they're,
once it's like riding a bike, you know,

00:42:10.315 --> 00:42:11.575
you remember when you were a kid up first.

00:42:11.580 --> 00:42:12.085
It's like what?

00:42:12.085 --> 00:42:13.884
And then once you get it,
you don't think about it.

00:42:14.005 --> 00:42:16.315
It, uh, but there is skill fade for sure.

00:42:16.319 --> 00:42:17.935
I mean that's the easy
part when it comes to Yeah.

00:42:18.005 --> 00:42:20.005
The, the finer precision stuff.

00:42:20.035 --> 00:42:21.714
Um, it's, yeah.

00:42:21.985 --> 00:42:23.424
You need to be on it for sure.

00:42:23.875 --> 00:42:28.795
Travis Bader: Well, so, okay, so
Appell, you've got a book basically

00:42:28.795 --> 00:42:33.025
roughed out in the works in your
kind of memoirs diary kind of format.

00:42:33.029 --> 00:42:33.245
Yep.

00:42:34.185 --> 00:42:35.595
, but you didn't have that with Seville.

00:42:35.595 --> 00:42:36.525
You approached Seil.

00:42:36.585 --> 00:42:37.545
I, I'm imagining Yes.

00:42:37.550 --> 00:42:38.085
No, true.

00:42:38.145 --> 00:42:38.355
Yeah.

00:42:38.355 --> 00:42:40.995
You approached totally different
Seville as I'm going to write a book.

00:42:41.025 --> 00:42:41.235
Yeah.

00:42:41.325 --> 00:42:43.065
As opposed, I've got
this platform, I can kind

00:42:43.065 --> 00:42:45.135
Joel Struthers: of, so once, so yeah.

00:42:45.135 --> 00:42:46.425
Word doc with Apel on it.

00:42:46.575 --> 00:42:52.875
Um, 10 years passes, life's changed,
you know, with circumstances and,

00:42:52.875 --> 00:42:54.285
and stuff I found interesting.

00:42:54.290 --> 00:42:56.985
And then there was never a
book that came out that was a

00:42:57.485 --> 00:42:58.605
positive portrayal of Legionnaire.

00:42:58.935 --> 00:42:59.085
Mm-hmm.

00:42:59.085 --> 00:42:59.775
Which annoyed me.

00:43:00.135 --> 00:43:03.615
Um, typically the guys that did write
about their experience in Legion are

00:43:03.615 --> 00:43:06.915
deserters and their story supports
their narrative, but at the end of

00:43:06.920 --> 00:43:07.725
the day, they're quitters, you know?

00:43:07.845 --> 00:43:08.025
Yeah.

00:43:08.025 --> 00:43:10.365
And that kind of stems from the,
the three things that I needed.

00:43:10.365 --> 00:43:13.905
So if I put this out, I wanted
the Legion to a, to approve its

00:43:13.905 --> 00:43:15.795
narrative in the before, because
then, you know, it's legit.

00:43:15.825 --> 00:43:16.785
You're getting a, yeah.

00:43:17.115 --> 00:43:21.945
And I think to this day, um, Appell is
the only, you know, um, story of its kind

00:43:21.945 --> 00:43:26.625
that's, you know, has Allegion's approval
and a forward from an acting general.

00:43:26.625 --> 00:43:27.285
That's really cool.

00:43:27.405 --> 00:43:27.555
Yeah.

00:43:27.555 --> 00:43:28.125
I, I think so.

00:43:28.125 --> 00:43:28.275
Yeah.

00:43:28.275 --> 00:43:29.415
I'm, that's really cool.

00:43:29.475 --> 00:43:29.745
Yeah.

00:43:29.745 --> 00:43:31.605
I take that on the, on
the, on the chest side one.

00:43:31.605 --> 00:43:32.145
But anyway, so.

00:43:33.720 --> 00:43:35.160
I just said, okay, maybe it's on me.

00:43:35.550 --> 00:43:37.560
I need to share the story perhaps.

00:43:37.620 --> 00:43:37.800
Mm-hmm.

00:43:38.100 --> 00:43:38.370
, you know.

00:43:38.550 --> 00:43:42.780
Um, so then I worked on it
with a friend, um, for a while.

00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:47.640
And then I hired a, um, and the friend
was a, an ex Legionnaire too, so I wanted

00:43:47.640 --> 00:43:50.070
him to go through and kind of look us
up because, you know, I get stuff wrong.

00:43:50.075 --> 00:43:53.700
And as I said, I, a lot of, when
I did initially put it down,

00:43:53.700 --> 00:43:54.870
it's just all based on memory.

00:43:55.140 --> 00:43:57.090
Um, so we worked on that.

00:43:57.090 --> 00:44:00.240
And then when I hit my limit, I
hired a, a professional editor.

00:44:00.360 --> 00:44:00.780
Mm-hmm.

00:44:00.900 --> 00:44:04.230
Um, which is challenging
because they would know nothing

00:44:04.230 --> 00:44:05.130
about the subject matter.

00:44:05.190 --> 00:44:07.320
So you spend most of your
time just asking questions.

00:44:07.740 --> 00:44:08.190
Right.

00:44:08.190 --> 00:44:12.240
Your questions, so you get nowhere
until finally they kind of understand

00:44:12.240 --> 00:44:13.620
and get a grasping of the story.

00:44:14.310 --> 00:44:19.740
But then the big thing for me was that,
and I, I get that a lot of you read a

00:44:19.740 --> 00:44:24.480
lot of these in this genre in particular,
They use a lot of ghost writers, right?

00:44:24.540 --> 00:44:27.900
So it's not necessarily
their voice, right?

00:44:27.960 --> 00:44:30.300
And some of the wording you used or
some of the stuff you think, oh, really

00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:31.440
doesn't sound like a soldier to me.

00:44:31.440 --> 00:44:33.810
It's a right, I'm not no
judgment, but typically sometimes

00:44:33.810 --> 00:44:35.279
you, you know, you lose that.

00:44:35.550 --> 00:44:38.640
So the deal with my editor was,
listen, you can't change my words.

00:44:38.640 --> 00:44:42.930
You can maybe add a comma or say, Hey,
let's, right, you know, let's, let's think

00:44:42.930 --> 00:44:45.000
about, you gotta add something here, Joel.

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:45.330
You can't.

00:44:45.330 --> 00:44:48.270
And I remember she said that to me early
on, you can't be a sociopath and tell

00:44:48.270 --> 00:44:52.590
a story . Cause you know, well, I guess
could, you could, but, you know, like, I'm

00:44:52.590 --> 00:44:56.370
more introvert so I'm like, you know, my
individual, this was like, no, you gotta,

00:44:56.370 --> 00:44:59.400
you gotta tell us a bit about yourself so
that the, the readers, and as I said, I'm

00:44:59.400 --> 00:45:00.720
not Ari, so I knew nothing about that.

00:45:00.720 --> 00:45:03.900
So I learned a lot in writing Appell.

00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:04.200
Right.

00:45:04.205 --> 00:45:05.220
Just the process.

00:45:05.580 --> 00:45:09.779
Um, so for Seville, uh, it was different.

00:45:09.840 --> 00:45:13.650
I went back to France
last November, um, and.

00:45:15.134 --> 00:45:17.775
The idea wa I was, you know,
it's, it was for some family

00:45:17.775 --> 00:45:19.335
research that that's in the book.

00:45:19.335 --> 00:45:19.395
Yeah.

00:45:19.634 --> 00:45:23.295
Um, and I met up with some friends
from the Legion that are in Appelle.

00:45:23.625 --> 00:45:28.935
Um, and during that visit, a
story kind of came together.

00:45:29.055 --> 00:45:29.145
Mm-hmm.

00:45:29.415 --> 00:45:32.535
and I was like, and some people,
you know, since Appelle, cuz I make

00:45:32.535 --> 00:45:37.005
reference to my, my, you know, going
Iraq, Afghanistan, post, uh, right.

00:45:37.214 --> 00:45:39.415
Postell and people say, Hey, you
should write, you know, you should

00:45:39.674 --> 00:45:41.444
consider a, a follow up book.

00:45:41.865 --> 00:45:42.645
And I never have.

00:45:43.095 --> 00:45:45.315
Um, cause I didn't think there
was anything to share there.

00:45:45.315 --> 00:45:48.105
But that, that during this trip, it
seemed like, you know, this would

00:45:48.110 --> 00:45:52.125
be actually a good, there were some
things that happened and, uh, I was

00:45:52.125 --> 00:45:53.384
just, yeah, there's a story there.

00:45:53.384 --> 00:45:57.105
So when I came home, I shut myself
down in my house for like three months.

00:45:57.105 --> 00:45:57.615
Not totally.

00:45:57.615 --> 00:45:58.455
But I just, yeah.

00:45:58.964 --> 00:46:02.025
Just wrote same, same, same way.

00:46:02.444 --> 00:46:03.884
Just verbal, you know?

00:46:03.975 --> 00:46:04.125
Yeah.

00:46:04.125 --> 00:46:04.605
Diarrhea.

00:46:04.605 --> 00:46:06.464
No respect for anything.

00:46:06.585 --> 00:46:07.065
Anything.

00:46:07.065 --> 00:46:11.370
And then, And the same thing I did
with Appell is I would share the

00:46:11.370 --> 00:46:13.260
early drafts with family and friends.

00:46:13.470 --> 00:46:13.710
Hmm.

00:46:14.310 --> 00:46:16.830
And I would say, you know, if, if you
were willing, I'd appreciate, have a

00:46:16.830 --> 00:46:18.390
read and tell me if it has potential.

00:46:18.390 --> 00:46:20.730
Like, are you interested in
the, the core of the story?

00:46:20.820 --> 00:46:21.210
Mm-hmm.

00:46:22.049 --> 00:46:23.040
. . If yes, I'll continue her.

00:46:23.040 --> 00:46:25.440
If you know it's boring, well
then I'll, I'll shut her down.

00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:25.620
You know?

00:46:25.620 --> 00:46:27.090
So I did the same thing with Seville.

00:46:27.180 --> 00:46:32.009
Um, so my dad's always been a huge help
on that, uh, cuz I trust his voice.

00:46:32.100 --> 00:46:32.340
Mm-hmm.

00:46:32.430 --> 00:46:38.275
Um, I and, uh, friends and family,
um, and I tried to,  send it to

00:46:38.365 --> 00:46:41.155
different people that would typically
read different type of stuff.

00:46:41.215 --> 00:46:44.515
So you get a right, a wide range
of, because when you tell a

00:46:44.515 --> 00:46:46.105
story you can't please everybody.

00:46:46.405 --> 00:46:47.065
You never will.

00:46:47.275 --> 00:46:50.935
And then, you know, if you get your
demographic that's former military

00:46:50.935 --> 00:46:54.835
or or into that genre, they kind
of need something different than

00:46:54.840 --> 00:46:56.245
someone that's only interested.

00:46:56.245 --> 00:46:59.995
You know, typically doesn't read
that they don't want to get dumbed

00:46:59.995 --> 00:47:03.385
or I can't dumb it down too much
to right to ruin it for one group.

00:47:03.385 --> 00:47:05.815
But at the same time I gotta
explain some things for the others.

00:47:05.905 --> 00:47:06.235
Right?

00:47:06.235 --> 00:47:07.975
So you gotta find that nice middle ground.

00:47:07.975 --> 00:47:09.565
So I use that to gauge.

00:47:09.985 --> 00:47:13.225
Um, and then I just, you know,
focus on spots, say, Hey, I like

00:47:13.230 --> 00:47:14.305
that, you gotta tell me more here.

00:47:14.905 --> 00:47:20.155
So within three months I had
that story, um, pretty much done.

00:47:20.365 --> 00:47:24.475
And then same thing, I hired two
different editors that had, um, their

00:47:24.475 --> 00:47:28.135
strengths and certain things to help
me get it to where it had to be.

00:47:28.945 --> 00:47:33.535
And the big one on that
is cuz editors cost money.

00:47:33.865 --> 00:47:34.285
Yeah.

00:47:34.345 --> 00:47:35.245
So time is money.

00:47:35.335 --> 00:47:35.575
Yeah.

00:47:35.635 --> 00:47:41.040
Um, I had learnt cuz Wilfred
Laurie, uh, published Apel.

00:47:42.359 --> 00:47:46.919
So I knew nothing obviously about the
publishing world and I was fortunate

00:47:46.924 --> 00:47:51.479
that, I think it was through, it was a
friend of my father's who had, uh, flown

00:47:51.479 --> 00:47:53.850
1 1 0 4 s with him and he worked at rmc.

00:47:54.270 --> 00:47:58.109
Um, and he heard from my dad that I
was working on, he said, Hey, you know,

00:47:58.290 --> 00:48:02.790
do you mind asking Joel if, if, uh, if
I could read his, uh, his manuscript?

00:48:02.970 --> 00:48:06.359
He had, uh, he had actually published
a couple books, um, about, uh, I

00:48:06.359 --> 00:48:09.479
think it was the Canadian, um, fighter
Piloter in the Second World War.

00:48:09.509 --> 00:48:09.750
Okay.

00:48:09.754 --> 00:48:10.109
Flyboy.

00:48:10.109 --> 00:48:10.350
Anyway.

00:48:10.560 --> 00:48:10.709
Yeah.

00:48:10.714 --> 00:48:11.790
Um, nice man.

00:48:11.790 --> 00:48:14.310
Anyway, he read it and he said, you know,
Joel, I think he got something here.

00:48:14.580 --> 00:48:16.649
Do you mind if I show it
to my, to my publisher?

00:48:17.310 --> 00:48:20.220
So I had never, I didn't shop out
or look, I knew nothing about.

00:48:20.580 --> 00:48:21.270
Oh, that's awesome.

00:48:21.330 --> 00:48:25.470
Um, and they actually put me in touch
with, they said, you know, I think

00:48:25.470 --> 00:48:29.520
Wilford Laurie would like this and
they did, but they, how it works

00:48:29.524 --> 00:48:30.870
is so Wilford Laurie took it on.

00:48:30.990 --> 00:48:34.260
Um, , they worked on it for a year.

00:48:34.320 --> 00:48:37.830
Cuz they, they do their stuff that's
beyond my, you know, like Sure.

00:48:38.130 --> 00:48:40.380
The tents and all the, all
the stuff that goes with it.

00:48:40.380 --> 00:48:40.440
Yeah.

00:48:40.560 --> 00:48:45.630
And, um, but basically you sign over
your story to them so they own copyright.

00:48:46.140 --> 00:48:46.670
Um Okay.

00:48:47.160 --> 00:48:48.630
And which is fine.

00:48:48.750 --> 00:48:48.870
Yeah.

00:48:48.870 --> 00:48:50.160
Like it didn't, it didn't matter to me.

00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:52.500
They give you, you know, the
percentage that you get as, as

00:48:52.500 --> 00:48:53.910
the author if there's any sales.

00:48:54.270 --> 00:48:54.840
That was fine.

00:48:55.290 --> 00:48:56.400
This book was never about money.

00:48:56.580 --> 00:48:56.700
What

00:48:56.700 --> 00:48:57.720
Travis Bader: happens
when the movie's made?

00:48:58.590 --> 00:49:00.180
Joel Struthers: It's a little
more, I think it's 50 50.

00:49:00.240 --> 00:49:00.630
Okay.

00:49:00.990 --> 00:49:02.040
But yeah, I can't say fair enough.

00:49:02.040 --> 00:49:05.130
But anyway, but you know what I mean,
that wasn't, but I, I learned a lot.

00:49:05.430 --> 00:49:08.880
Um, and then the onus is on
the author to market that book.

00:49:08.910 --> 00:49:12.210
Once it's published, it's you,
the author that's gotta be

00:49:12.210 --> 00:49:13.320
really gotta get out there.

00:49:13.320 --> 00:49:13.560
Yeah.

00:49:13.770 --> 00:49:16.260
I mean if it's, it's,
you know, I'm not Yeah.

00:49:16.430 --> 00:49:16.870
Is what it is.

00:49:16.870 --> 00:49:17.400
It's not Harry Potter.

00:49:17.400 --> 00:49:18.060
You don't have, you know what I mean?

00:49:18.065 --> 00:49:21.180
Like this is a different . Yes.

00:49:21.240 --> 00:49:21.390
Yep.

00:49:21.395 --> 00:49:23.400
So I have to get onto the Jockos.

00:49:23.550 --> 00:49:23.760
Yep.

00:49:23.760 --> 00:49:27.750
This type of thing, you know, podcast,
get on social media, which pre-book, I

00:49:27.750 --> 00:49:29.010
didn't have a Facebook, I had nothing.

00:49:29.010 --> 00:49:29.910
So I had to learn.

00:49:31.235 --> 00:49:31.965
Navigate that war.

00:49:32.295 --> 00:49:36.135
Um, learning how to put yourself out
there and, and try to, you know, draw

00:49:36.345 --> 00:49:38.385
a attention to your, to your story.

00:49:38.415 --> 00:49:39.015
Well, it's tough.

00:49:39.015 --> 00:49:39.495
It's, uh,

00:49:39.615 --> 00:49:41.715
Travis Bader: that's really difficult
that it is, that that's a tightrope

00:49:41.715 --> 00:49:47.085
because you don't want to talk
about things that would, um, spoil

00:49:47.085 --> 00:49:48.345
the plot in the book, so to speak.

00:49:48.345 --> 00:49:48.405
Yeah.

00:49:48.410 --> 00:49:51.135
You don't want to do things that
are gonna be offside for the legion.

00:49:51.135 --> 00:49:51.195
Yeah.

00:49:51.315 --> 00:49:55.005
Um, you're, you've got all these different
goals in mind, but you still want to

00:49:55.005 --> 00:49:58.035
be able to promote it out there and
you don't wanna do it in some flashy

00:49:58.035 --> 00:50:00.225
way where it's, uh, gonna be looked at.

00:50:00.225 --> 00:50:00.645
Um, yeah.

00:50:00.645 --> 00:50:01.875
Joel Struthers: Like ego,
like, oh, look at this guy.

00:50:01.875 --> 00:50:02.085
Right.

00:50:02.085 --> 00:50:02.985
Here's a story about me.

00:50:03.075 --> 00:50:05.445
Which, you know, it is, but it's
not, it could be any legion.

00:50:05.475 --> 00:50:05.775
But yeah.

00:50:05.775 --> 00:50:10.155
So I, I struggled with that, but I
learned, and I learned a lot with Apel.

00:50:10.575 --> 00:50:15.825
And then when Sevelle came up, um, you
know, I had actually, I sent an early

00:50:15.825 --> 00:50:20.055
draft to a Canadian, uh, publisher
out east that, uh, deals in this

00:50:20.055 --> 00:50:22.515
genre more, more as a litmus test.

00:50:22.605 --> 00:50:22.845
Yeah.

00:50:22.875 --> 00:50:26.775
To see And, uh, they, they, they were
interested in wanting take it on.

00:50:26.775 --> 00:50:28.155
And I had initially
said, well, what about.

00:50:28.785 --> 00:50:29.415
You know, partnership.

00:50:29.415 --> 00:50:33.944
I'm not gonna give, cuz in Seville,
I obviously begin the book with

00:50:33.944 --> 00:50:35.805
the last paragraph from Appell.

00:50:35.895 --> 00:50:36.295
Mm-hmm.

00:50:36.380 --> 00:50:40.545
, I had to ask Wil for lawyer for
approval to use, you know what I mean?

00:50:40.545 --> 00:50:41.565
Which is weird, which is fine.

00:50:41.565 --> 00:50:42.585
They were, they were great about it.

00:50:42.654 --> 00:50:42.815
Yeah.

00:50:42.815 --> 00:50:42.816
Yeah.

00:50:42.821 --> 00:50:43.904
And all the, you know, respect.

00:50:43.904 --> 00:50:47.085
But, uh, it was just weird that I
had to ask someone else approval

00:50:47.085 --> 00:50:47.835
to use my lawyer, you know?

00:50:47.975 --> 00:50:48.375
Yeah, I know.

00:50:48.404 --> 00:50:51.944
But, um, my business part at Raven Hill,
Keith, we said, well, why don't we,

00:50:52.485 --> 00:50:53.715
you know, things have changed a lot.

00:50:53.715 --> 00:50:56.205
You have that first book that
was out by a reputable publisher.

00:50:56.205 --> 00:50:57.194
It's, it's done well.

00:50:57.255 --> 00:50:57.465
Yeah.

00:50:57.915 --> 00:51:02.085
Why don't we self-publish,
um, which you can in this day

00:51:02.085 --> 00:51:03.075
and age to a certain extent.

00:51:03.105 --> 00:51:03.194
Mm-hmm.

00:51:03.435 --> 00:51:07.694
. And so I created for Appell, I
had created a non-profit called

00:51:07.694 --> 00:51:09.535
Legion Engineered where Okay.

00:51:09.540 --> 00:51:13.305
My small percentage of, um,
author proceeds would go to that.

00:51:13.694 --> 00:51:14.955
So it wasn't about me.

00:51:15.435 --> 00:51:18.285
So what I did is I just,
we created, we made that a.

00:51:19.515 --> 00:51:21.915
A not-for-profit, incorporation, whatever.

00:51:21.975 --> 00:51:25.545
And that was the, the publisher Le
Projects, which is Legion Engineered.

00:51:25.935 --> 00:51:29.175
And so we, we went through the effort
and we said, okay, we'll do this ourself.

00:51:29.175 --> 00:51:31.635
So, but there's a cost incurred, right?

00:51:31.635 --> 00:51:31.785
Right.

00:51:31.785 --> 00:51:32.185
So, right.

00:51:32.475 --> 00:51:36.915
There's not a lot of money in books
anyway, so it, it's gonna be how much

00:51:36.915 --> 00:51:39.015
you gonna spend, what's the objective?

00:51:39.315 --> 00:51:40.605
So we had a number in mind.

00:51:42.105 --> 00:51:44.595
Seville is a bit shorter than Appelle.

00:51:44.895 --> 00:51:48.345
Um, it's probably rougher.

00:51:48.495 --> 00:51:49.835
It's a little more edgier.

00:51:50.505 --> 00:51:52.365
Um, it's different.

00:51:52.365 --> 00:51:53.865
I, I, I like it per se.

00:51:53.865 --> 00:51:55.995
I mean, Appelle was educational.

00:51:56.415 --> 00:52:00.825
It was a little, you know, this
one's a little more, um, yeah.

00:52:01.005 --> 00:52:05.955
What harder as in Yeah,
it's, I mean, so Postell.

00:52:07.065 --> 00:52:12.135
Seville, I do the flying, you know, I'm
newly married, young family doing the

00:52:12.135 --> 00:52:14.175
Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria kinda stuff.

00:52:14.595 --> 00:52:18.675
It has, its, its challenges and
yes, it probably, you know, cost

00:52:18.675 --> 00:52:20.055
me a marriage to a certain extent.

00:52:20.325 --> 00:52:22.965
Um, the transition back
and forth wasn't easy.

00:52:23.925 --> 00:52:24.915
That's life, you know?

00:52:24.915 --> 00:52:27.405
I mean, there's people out there
that have a lot, lot harder mm-hmm.

00:52:27.645 --> 00:52:30.825
. Um, but I also got to see,
you know, the war and terror.

00:52:30.825 --> 00:52:34.635
I saw, you know, the Americans, the
Brits, all these different countries

00:52:34.635 --> 00:52:36.735
out there slogging away going at it.

00:52:36.945 --> 00:52:41.055
Where I was, I was, I was a part of
it, but I wasn't in the frontline

00:52:41.055 --> 00:52:42.135
drown range with these guys.

00:52:42.255 --> 00:52:46.665
And as a soldier who, you know, had done
my time in the Legion, and unfortunately

00:52:46.665 --> 00:52:50.325
I didn't really have, you know, I
saw combat, but not at the level that

00:52:50.325 --> 00:52:52.395
these guys were and girls were seeing.

00:52:52.695 --> 00:52:54.885
It was, it was an eye-opener.

00:52:54.890 --> 00:52:55.545
It was good.

00:52:55.695 --> 00:53:01.815
Um, so I wanted, I felt maybe I
could share, share that, um, that

00:53:01.815 --> 00:53:04.665
respect, but also that experience.

00:53:04.755 --> 00:53:06.795
So,  and it's grittier.

00:53:07.305 --> 00:53:07.575
Travis Bader: Yeah.

00:53:07.580 --> 00:53:08.355
And I really like, yeah.

00:53:08.355 --> 00:53:08.745
It's, it's, yeah.

00:53:08.805 --> 00:53:11.745
The realness that you get out of it,
I mean, did you see the difference?

00:53:11.745 --> 00:53:12.525
Joel Struthers: Did you
feel the, the difference?

00:53:12.525 --> 00:53:12.585
Yeah.

00:53:12.715 --> 00:53:12.835
Oh yeah.

00:53:12.835 --> 00:53:13.065
Oh, definitely.

00:53:13.065 --> 00:53:13.365
That's good.

00:53:13.365 --> 00:53:13.515
Yeah.

00:53:13.515 --> 00:53:13.695
Cuz

00:53:13.695 --> 00:53:16.185
Travis Bader: it's, and I
like the blemishes, right?

00:53:16.215 --> 00:53:16.275
Yeah.

00:53:16.275 --> 00:53:21.705
Like you're okay talking about the,
the areas that other people with more

00:53:21.705 --> 00:53:23.835
ego might, might have a difficult time.

00:53:23.865 --> 00:53:24.045
Yeah.

00:53:24.075 --> 00:53:24.915
Joel Struthers: Talking about fair one.

00:53:24.915 --> 00:53:25.125
Yeah.

00:53:25.215 --> 00:53:25.365
Yeah.

00:53:25.365 --> 00:53:29.085
It's, and that's, and that's something
I said to, to my, um, to editors is

00:53:29.085 --> 00:53:30.855
I can't, let's not change the past.

00:53:31.485 --> 00:53:34.785
So I might write something down in
the regret and say, eh, because you

00:53:34.790 --> 00:53:36.045
can easily change things, right?

00:53:36.195 --> 00:53:36.404
Totally.

00:53:36.404 --> 00:53:37.755
Here you're younger and
you're, you're an idiot.

00:53:37.755 --> 00:53:38.265
It's easy.

00:53:38.265 --> 00:53:40.005
Anyway, so , that was a big one.

00:53:40.005 --> 00:53:42.495
And then when you pull the trigger it
sent, and anyway, so we decided to do

00:53:42.495 --> 00:53:48.225
ourselves, um, the audio book, which
I think that was a big one for me.

00:53:48.285 --> 00:53:52.605
Um, so Wilford Laier, they
went the audiobook, uh, route.

00:53:52.665 --> 00:53:52.725
Yeah.

00:53:52.725 --> 00:53:56.205
In the, one of the first three
books that they did was, was appell.

00:53:56.445 --> 00:53:56.865
Mm-hmm.

00:53:57.045 --> 00:53:59.174
. And when they mentioned that to me,
I said, that's, you know, it's cool.

00:53:59.174 --> 00:54:01.785
But I think typically people
like to hear the author.

00:54:01.965 --> 00:54:02.295
Right.

00:54:02.355 --> 00:54:02.685
Which you

00:54:02.685 --> 00:54:03.404
Travis Bader: did in Seville.

00:54:03.435 --> 00:54:03.795
Yeah.

00:54:03.799 --> 00:54:03.995
So,

00:54:04.860 --> 00:54:08.940
, 
Joel Struthers: they didn't, um,
they went with a professional company

00:54:08.940 --> 00:54:10.290
that has professional narrators.

00:54:10.290 --> 00:54:10.380
Mm-hmm.

00:54:10.845 --> 00:54:12.780
. And I had, I had respectfully asked 'em.

00:54:12.780 --> 00:54:14.640
I said, listen, well if you
go that route, that's fine.

00:54:14.880 --> 00:54:15.990
Um, obviously it's prerogative.

00:54:15.990 --> 00:54:20.130
You can do what you wish, please
avoid using a French Canadian

00:54:20.430 --> 00:54:24.200
narrator for the French . And that's
not, no, that, that makes sense.

00:54:24.205 --> 00:54:26.960
But it's just because Legion French is not
kibble different French, different, it's

00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:28.680
a different sound, different twang to it.

00:54:29.280 --> 00:54:32.400
And unfortunately they went, they
went with a gentleman who, you

00:54:32.400 --> 00:54:35.970
know, this is no bang on him or
Judge, he did an excellent job.

00:54:35.970 --> 00:54:36.990
He reached out a couple times.

00:54:36.990 --> 00:54:39.600
In fact, I think he listened to
Jocko to get a sense of my tone

00:54:39.600 --> 00:54:40.890
and, and all that kind of stuff.

00:54:40.980 --> 00:54:43.350
And he's anglophone uh, Francophone.

00:54:43.350 --> 00:54:45.300
So his English is his
acting like it doesn't Yeah.

00:54:45.900 --> 00:54:52.920
But when he says the, like the
rep, it's got that Quebec ah, yes.

00:54:52.925 --> 00:54:53.340
Twang.

00:54:53.700 --> 00:54:54.870
Um, which, hard to get rid of that.

00:54:54.900 --> 00:54:55.140
Yeah.

00:54:55.140 --> 00:54:57.000
Hopefully he doesn't hear this
cuz it's, it's not his fault.

00:54:57.000 --> 00:55:00.810
And I respect he did a great job, but
it's just not, it's not Legion French.

00:55:00.810 --> 00:55:01.020
Right.

00:55:01.020 --> 00:55:04.545
So, Whatever that's,
they did what they did.

00:55:04.545 --> 00:55:08.145
But for Seville, that's what we,
we said I would obviously do it.

00:55:08.145 --> 00:55:11.775
So we invested and I think, I don't
know, I think it listens better than

00:55:11.780 --> 00:55:14.175
Reads and I typically write that way.

00:55:14.655 --> 00:55:15.855
I mean, it's just the voice in my head.

00:55:15.860 --> 00:55:18.735
Travis Bader: So, so, so I actually,
I listened to it cuz I was, uh,

00:55:18.795 --> 00:55:22.005
in airports on flights, so just
back and forth from Halifax there.

00:55:22.005 --> 00:55:25.185
And so that was, uh, and I've taken
notes on my phone as I'm going through.

00:55:25.185 --> 00:55:26.595
I got a whole ton of notes here too.

00:55:26.655 --> 00:55:26.985
Oh, okay.

00:55:27.165 --> 00:55:27.315
Yep.

00:55:27.315 --> 00:55:31.635
But, uh, I, I really enjoyed that
and having done voiceover work in

00:55:31.635 --> 00:55:36.885
the past for courses, I could only
imagine the amount of retakes and time.

00:55:36.885 --> 00:55:37.845
And dude, were you doing i'll into

00:55:37.850 --> 00:55:39.315
Joel Struthers: yourself
or So, so here we go.

00:55:39.315 --> 00:55:43.185
So I, I found a studio in Vancouver
that does that type of thing.

00:55:43.605 --> 00:55:49.365
Um, and, uh, I said to them the book's,
you know, 60 plus thousand words.

00:55:49.395 --> 00:55:49.515
Yeah.

00:55:49.515 --> 00:55:52.095
Typically, how long would
that take to, to record?

00:55:52.095 --> 00:55:53.265
So they came back with a quote.

00:55:53.355 --> 00:55:53.655
Yeah.

00:55:53.865 --> 00:55:56.685
So I went in and blew that
fucking quote outta the water

00:55:57.015 --> 00:55:58.005
Um, but.

00:55:58.725 --> 00:56:01.245
. What was interesting is
we made some mistakes.

00:56:01.245 --> 00:56:03.375
I mean, obviously publishers know what
they're doing and there's a reason why

00:56:03.375 --> 00:56:07.275
they exist and they do it, and us doing
it ourselves, you know, we made some

00:56:07.280 --> 00:56:12.885
mistakes and, um, so in fact the, the
producer made a couple b reels where

00:56:12.885 --> 00:56:14.715
I'm reading and then I hit a typo.

00:56:14.715 --> 00:56:17.175
I'm like, at this point
it's already, yeah.

00:56:17.175 --> 00:56:22.185
We had, uh, , we actually
released the wrong, like when the

00:56:22.185 --> 00:56:23.775
actual paperback book went Yeah.

00:56:23.780 --> 00:56:24.165
Live.

00:56:24.615 --> 00:56:27.015
We were supposed to do a
test print and there was some

00:56:27.015 --> 00:56:28.305
switch ology area on our part.

00:56:28.305 --> 00:56:28.365
Yeah.

00:56:28.395 --> 00:56:29.985
And we went live and Oops.

00:56:30.045 --> 00:56:33.555
So yeah, handful of books went out
that weren't the actual edited anyway,

00:56:34.845 --> 00:56:35.115
Right.

00:56:35.115 --> 00:56:35.505
That's love it.

00:56:35.535 --> 00:56:36.075
We're not, yeah.

00:56:36.305 --> 00:56:38.475
So, so I'm reading, so
I'm in the studio reading.

00:56:38.970 --> 00:56:41.370
And then I'd run into these typos
and I'd be like, mid-sentence,

00:56:41.370 --> 00:56:43.200
I'd be like, what the fuck?

00:56:43.710 --> 00:56:46.200
? You know, so he made a B reel
where I'm talking, then I

00:56:46.200 --> 00:56:47.069
would lose my shit, you know?

00:56:47.069 --> 00:56:51.330
Or , you talk too fast, you
mumble, you say a word wrong.

00:56:51.330 --> 00:56:53.310
So he would, you know, say, okay, stop.

00:56:53.310 --> 00:56:54.120
Let's, let's do this.

00:56:54.270 --> 00:56:56.939
So anyway, we basically doubled
the budget on the, uh, so we're

00:56:56.939 --> 00:56:57.779
gonna, it's so easy to do.

00:56:57.810 --> 00:57:00.689
We're gonna have to sell a lot of
audio books to, to recover that one.

00:57:00.689 --> 00:57:01.649
But hey, well the audio

00:57:01.649 --> 00:57:02.310
Travis Bader: book is awesome.

00:57:02.339 --> 00:57:02.819
I appreciate that.

00:57:02.819 --> 00:57:02.939
Let's

00:57:03.220 --> 00:57:03.569
Joel Struthers: just say that.

00:57:03.575 --> 00:57:03.700
Yeah.

00:57:03.705 --> 00:57:03.750
I

00:57:03.750 --> 00:57:04.710
Travis Bader: was happy
with the end result.

00:57:04.890 --> 00:57:05.910
Yeah, no, it was really good.

00:57:05.939 --> 00:57:06.149
Yeah.

00:57:06.149 --> 00:57:09.240
Little things I found like how you're
sitting in a chair will change the

00:57:09.299 --> 00:57:13.290
inflection of how it comes across
words that I thought I said properly.

00:57:13.350 --> 00:57:13.410
Yeah.

00:57:13.415 --> 00:57:16.200
They're like, it's firearms, not firearms.

00:57:16.379 --> 00:57:16.460
. 
Joel Struthers: Yeah.

00:57:16.609 --> 00:57:17.180
A hundred percent.

00:57:17.180 --> 00:57:17.540
Yeah.

00:57:17.910 --> 00:57:19.830
And I'm a, a mumbler by trade.

00:57:19.859 --> 00:57:20.189
Yeah.

00:57:20.194 --> 00:57:20.339
Yeah.

00:57:20.345 --> 00:57:21.629
So yeah, the big focus.

00:57:22.650 --> 00:57:23.490
Yeah, you're right.

00:57:23.490 --> 00:57:24.210
It's, it's a lot.

00:57:24.210 --> 00:57:25.830
And there's a reason why
they use professionals.

00:57:25.890 --> 00:57:26.310
Yeah.

00:57:26.460 --> 00:57:29.220
And the comeback, it makes sense
why Wilfred Laurie did that cuz

00:57:29.279 --> 00:57:30.509
sure it'd be cost effective.

00:57:30.720 --> 00:57:33.000
You know, it gets done
fairly fast and properly.

00:57:33.000 --> 00:57:35.250
He's, he's drilled, you know,
he knows what he's doing.

00:57:35.250 --> 00:57:39.839
It's not me making him walk,
move , but whatever you live and

00:57:39.839 --> 00:57:41.430
learn and I'm happy with him results.

00:57:41.430 --> 00:57:42.540
So it's, I'm, I'm glad you

00:57:42.540 --> 00:57:42.870
Travis Bader: enjoyed it.

00:57:42.870 --> 00:57:43.319
That's cool, man.

00:57:43.500 --> 00:57:44.190
It's really good.

00:57:44.194 --> 00:57:44.339
Yeah.

00:57:44.339 --> 00:57:46.230
You know what, I'm gonna look at
a couple of things that I wrote

00:57:46.230 --> 00:57:47.339
down as it went through here.

00:57:47.400 --> 00:57:48.960
One of them, okay.

00:57:48.960 --> 00:57:51.870
Joel Struthers: So I think you get
the sense of humor too, easier.

00:57:51.870 --> 00:57:52.500
I mean, it's,

00:57:52.620 --> 00:57:54.120
Travis Bader: you do because
you put your inflection

00:57:54.120 --> 00:57:54.330
Joel Struthers: on it.

00:57:54.330 --> 00:57:54.569
Yeah.

00:57:54.629 --> 00:57:54.900
Right?

00:57:54.904 --> 00:57:55.560
Yeah, exactly.

00:57:55.560 --> 00:57:58.680
Whereas on paper it's like,
is he serious or, yeah.

00:57:58.685 --> 00:58:01.589
Yeah, because I am, you know, I
do, humor is a big part of my,

00:58:02.009 --> 00:58:04.710
I might be dry and, but yeah.

00:58:04.710 --> 00:58:08.444
If people don't pick up on it,
, I've ruined a lot of relat early

00:58:08.444 --> 00:58:11.714
relationships with, uh, girls on
text because they don't get my humor.

00:58:11.895 --> 00:58:13.065
Well, that's, they think, you know what,

00:58:13.125 --> 00:58:13.515
Travis Bader: yeah.

00:58:13.785 --> 00:58:15.645
that's why a moticon are,
how would you say that?

00:58:15.645 --> 00:58:18.795
Born, I think, like I said,
that and there's a smiley face

00:58:18.799 --> 00:58:20.295
because it's supposed to be funny.

00:58:20.299 --> 00:58:20.625
Right.

00:58:20.625 --> 00:58:21.165
And Exactly.

00:58:21.165 --> 00:58:21.315
Yeah.

00:58:21.495 --> 00:58:21.674
Yeah.

00:58:21.680 --> 00:58:24.615
You just, you, you tend to lose
that unless you're really good at

00:58:24.615 --> 00:58:26.265
the written word of which I'm not.

00:58:26.295 --> 00:58:27.365
So same.

00:58:27.370 --> 00:58:28.845
You really need to be able to have that.

00:58:28.964 --> 00:58:29.115
Yep.

00:58:29.535 --> 00:58:30.524
Non-verbal.

00:58:30.585 --> 00:58:33.795
Let's, this is why doing podcasts
in person is so much better.

00:58:33.884 --> 00:58:33.944
Yeah.

00:58:33.944 --> 00:58:33.975
A

00:58:33.975 --> 00:58:34.815
Joel Struthers: hundred percent agreed.

00:58:34.815 --> 00:58:34.995
Yeah.

00:58:35.234 --> 00:58:36.075
The para verbal.

00:58:36.134 --> 00:58:36.345
Yeah.

00:58:36.375 --> 00:58:38.504
So anyway, so yeah, the second
book was totally different.

00:58:38.835 --> 00:58:43.185
Um, but at least I had the lessons learned
and experience from the first to draw

00:58:43.185 --> 00:58:49.065
from, and it was probably as a result
quicker and, you know, on our terms.

00:58:49.335 --> 00:58:49.694
So we'll

00:58:49.694 --> 00:58:49.935
Travis Bader: see.

00:58:50.085 --> 00:58:52.935
Well, I, I took a few notes as I was
going through there and one of them

00:58:52.935 --> 00:58:58.065
that I, uh, stuck out was, uh, George
Albert, Raven Hill, between Yes, sir.

00:58:58.065 --> 00:58:58.785
Cross.

00:58:58.875 --> 00:58:59.115
Yeah.

00:58:59.415 --> 00:59:01.725
Something about six Iron Shillings.

00:59:01.730 --> 00:59:02.205
Yeah.

00:59:02.205 --> 00:59:02.805
Um, yep.

00:59:03.435 --> 00:59:03.705
. Yeah.

00:59:03.915 --> 00:59:07.785
He was the, and he was like,
Silvercore is named after my

00:59:07.785 --> 00:59:09.204
grandfather, silver Armeneau.

00:59:09.225 --> 00:59:11.834
My other grandfather, Cornelius
Bader, Silver Core put 'em together.

00:59:12.015 --> 00:59:12.404
Very cool.

00:59:12.645 --> 00:59:12.825
Yep.

00:59:12.854 --> 00:59:14.444
You've got a relation here Yes.

00:59:14.444 --> 00:59:16.845
To George Raven Hill, which
you've named your company after,

00:59:16.875 --> 00:59:17.265
Joel Struthers: correct?

00:59:17.354 --> 00:59:17.595
Yeah.

00:59:18.134 --> 00:59:18.375
Yeah.

00:59:18.379 --> 00:59:21.345
He, um, Raven Hill on my mom's side.

00:59:21.435 --> 00:59:22.424
Uh, brave man.

00:59:22.935 --> 00:59:29.924
Um, Bo War, first World War, uh, won
the vc, um, you know, survived, which

00:59:29.924 --> 00:59:30.944
is, you know, wasn't posthumous.

00:59:30.944 --> 00:59:33.975
So that and those, and back in the
day, if you're given a, a VC and

00:59:33.975 --> 00:59:35.055
you're survived, it's gotta be.

00:59:35.234 --> 00:59:35.564
Yeah.

00:59:35.564 --> 00:59:35.924
Legit.

00:59:36.225 --> 00:59:40.095
Um, but, you know, he went on to
serve in the First World War, got

00:59:40.095 --> 00:59:43.575
thrown into a, a, like a penal
regiment for disciplinary issues.

00:59:44.850 --> 00:59:46.740
and then he lived in Birmingham.

00:59:47.010 --> 00:59:51.030
Uh, him and his wife had, you know, quite
a few kids and he wasn't being paid.

00:59:51.180 --> 00:59:53.310
What he felt was his, his fair amount.

00:59:53.350 --> 00:59:53.700
Mm.

00:59:54.240 --> 00:59:59.340
So he was stealing, um, steel from
the yards to sell, to pay for food.

00:59:59.550 --> 00:59:59.910
Okay.

00:59:59.910 --> 01:00:01.950
It was like six shillings worth, whatever.

01:00:01.955 --> 01:00:03.330
And anyway, he was caught.

01:00:03.630 --> 01:00:03.780
Okay.

01:00:03.870 --> 01:00:07.170
And, uh, he was one of eight VC
recipients that had the VC taken

01:00:07.170 --> 01:00:08.760
back by the Queen back in the day.

01:00:08.760 --> 01:00:12.570
Like it's, they were reinstalled, but
he was one of those original eights.

01:00:13.050 --> 01:00:16.590
Um, anyway, at, at, at a certain point
they had to make the decision to send, uh,

01:00:16.590 --> 01:00:18.360
three their kids to Canada to be orphaned.

01:00:18.480 --> 01:00:18.780
Mm-hmm.

01:00:18.780 --> 01:00:20.460
Cause they couldn't afford anyway.

01:00:20.460 --> 01:00:21.390
He died at 49.

01:00:21.390 --> 01:00:21.990
Destitute.

01:00:22.140 --> 01:00:26.310
Obviously, you know, sheesh alcohol
was, Alco is probably involved.

01:00:26.310 --> 01:00:26.490
Yeah.

01:00:26.610 --> 01:00:28.380
You know, that would be
definitely, I mean, if you

01:00:28.380 --> 01:00:29.820
served in France and all, yeah.

01:00:29.910 --> 01:00:30.900
There's p anyway.

01:00:31.875 --> 01:00:35.685
Sad story of a brave man who served
his country and was kind of left

01:00:36.045 --> 01:00:40.815
to the side and wasn't, which is
something that, you know, I take to

01:00:40.815 --> 01:00:42.464
heart, I respect, but it's also family.

01:00:42.464 --> 01:00:42.855
It's sad.

01:00:42.855 --> 01:00:46.694
He's got like a little, little marker
with a number on it of his grave.

01:00:46.795 --> 01:00:47.285
Yeah.

01:00:47.290 --> 01:00:53.895
Um, so when my partner Keith and I were,
you know, discussing starting a company,

01:00:54.225 --> 01:00:57.915
um, actually I had come up with a name and
I had reached out to Keith and say, let's,

01:00:58.004 --> 01:00:58.694
you know, are you interested in mm-hmm.

01:00:59.115 --> 01:00:59.775
doing this with me.

01:01:00.194 --> 01:01:03.495
Raven Hill was obviously the name that
I went with for, for obvious reasons.

01:01:03.495 --> 01:01:03.555
It

01:01:03.555 --> 01:01:04.785
Travis Bader: was just,
well, isn't that cool?

01:01:04.785 --> 01:01:05.295
Respectful.

01:01:05.565 --> 01:01:05.654
Yeah.

01:01:05.865 --> 01:01:07.065
49 years old.

01:01:07.395 --> 01:01:12.015
He's got his things ups and downs, but,
but he's now the name is living on.

01:01:12.075 --> 01:01:12.254
Yeah.

01:01:12.254 --> 01:01:12.435
Which

01:01:12.435 --> 01:01:13.964
Joel Struthers: is No,
no, a hundred percent.

01:01:14.174 --> 01:01:14.865
Um, huge respect.

01:01:14.924 --> 01:01:15.165
Yeah.

01:01:15.165 --> 01:01:18.884
And I, you know, these are
real soldiers, you know?

01:01:18.915 --> 01:01:19.185
Yeah.

01:01:19.185 --> 01:01:20.565
I mean, I, yeah.

01:01:20.654 --> 01:01:22.365
I don't, what do you say to that?

01:01:22.370 --> 01:01:22.380
Right?

01:01:22.515 --> 01:01:24.165
These, these guys that
really fucking went at it.

01:01:24.225 --> 01:01:24.855
Yeah.

01:01:25.395 --> 01:01:26.565
And paid the price set.

01:01:27.134 --> 01:01:27.404
So, yeah.

01:01:27.404 --> 01:01:28.904
So respect to George,

01:01:29.984 --> 01:01:33.420
Travis Bader: um, So, okay.

01:01:33.720 --> 01:01:34.610
Steve Mitchell.

01:01:34.615 --> 01:01:35.370
Andy McNabb.

01:01:35.490 --> 01:01:35.670
Yep.

01:01:35.700 --> 01:01:37.500
You and he crossed
paths in the green zone.

01:01:37.500 --> 01:01:38.940
You talk about that a little bit, judge.

01:01:39.000 --> 01:01:39.360
Yeah.

01:01:39.360 --> 01:01:40.020
In the book.

01:01:40.620 --> 01:01:44.760
Uh, why do you think he uses
pseudonym and why did you choose

01:01:44.760 --> 01:01:45.240
Joel Struthers: not to?

01:01:45.420 --> 01:01:46.380
Yeah, that's a good question.

01:01:46.440 --> 01:01:48.600
Uh, to be honest, I've never,
I've never thought of it.

01:01:49.050 --> 01:01:52.530
Um, I'm thinking maybe
for his professional life.

01:01:52.680 --> 01:01:52.920
Hmm.

01:01:53.100 --> 01:01:57.990
Um, trying to just disconnect his, you
know, efforts as a security consultant.

01:01:58.140 --> 01:01:58.380
Yeah.

01:01:58.440 --> 01:02:00.240
On that side of stuff,
being excess s whatever.

01:02:00.240 --> 01:02:01.290
And then an author.

01:02:01.920 --> 01:02:02.370
I don't know.

01:02:02.550 --> 01:02:03.810
I mean, obviously I can't speak for him.

01:02:03.810 --> 01:02:05.190
That would be my, my only guess.

01:02:05.280 --> 01:02:05.970
Um, but did it

01:02:05.970 --> 01:02:06.750
Travis Bader: cross your mind?

01:02:06.870 --> 01:02:07.170
Maybe, well,

01:02:07.410 --> 01:02:08.400
Joel Struthers: you think it'd
working against him, right?

01:02:08.400 --> 01:02:11.100
I mean, at that point with Bravo
two Zero, you're, you know, you're,

01:02:11.910 --> 01:02:13.470
everyone knows who you are, right.

01:02:13.980 --> 01:02:18.810
Um, but then he goes from, that's,
well, we, non-fiction, theoretically.

01:02:18.810 --> 01:02:19.210
Right, right.

01:02:19.560 --> 01:02:20.460
And then he goes fiction.

01:02:20.465 --> 01:02:22.050
So I don't know if that's
there theoretically, right.

01:02:22.170 --> 01:02:22.370
Yes.

01:02:22.370 --> 01:02:22.650
Yeah.

01:02:22.655 --> 01:02:25.110
Um, myself, I don't know.

01:02:25.110 --> 01:02:25.860
I just never went.

01:02:25.860 --> 01:02:28.830
Uh, I just put my name on it.

01:02:28.830 --> 01:02:30.510
I didn't really think about too much.

01:02:30.510 --> 01:02:31.500
Uh, And

01:02:31.650 --> 01:02:36.240
Travis Bader: I mean, so you also had the
option, the allegiance famous for having

01:02:36.240 --> 01:02:38.130
the option of people having new names.

01:02:38.160 --> 01:02:38.280
Yep.

01:02:38.340 --> 01:02:40.760
When they leave and
having, uh, their passport.

01:02:41.580 --> 01:02:44.430
If you got a French passport, you
would've been able to keep your

01:02:44.430 --> 01:02:45.480
Canadian as well, wouldn't you?

01:02:45.480 --> 01:02:46.590
Or would you have to announce it?

01:02:46.890 --> 01:02:47.160
No, I

01:02:47.160 --> 01:02:48.780
Joel Struthers: think
you'd be able to keep it.

01:02:49.080 --> 01:02:51.630
Um, I don't think the, I mean the
now you can, I don't think the

01:02:51.630 --> 01:02:52.860
laws were any different back then.

01:02:53.760 --> 01:02:54.420
In retrospect.

01:02:54.420 --> 01:02:55.020
I wish I had.

01:02:55.260 --> 01:02:55.710
Okay.

01:02:55.950 --> 01:02:57.930
Just for European Union work.

01:02:57.930 --> 01:03:02.280
Every travel it would be, you know,
um, but I didn't, at the time I

01:03:02.280 --> 01:03:04.500
was stubborn and I'm Canadian,
you know, whatever surprise.

01:03:04.500 --> 01:03:05.070
It's big or what?

01:03:05.250 --> 01:03:05.460
Pardon

01:03:05.460 --> 01:03:05.550
Travis Bader: me?

01:03:05.580 --> 01:03:06.390
Was it a pride thing?

01:03:06.750 --> 01:03:07.590
I think so, yeah.

01:03:07.620 --> 01:03:07.950
Probably.

01:03:07.950 --> 01:03:08.010
Yeah.

01:03:08.070 --> 01:03:08.310
Proud

01:03:08.310 --> 01:03:08.760
Joel Struthers: Canadian.

01:03:08.765 --> 01:03:09.390
That's what I am.

01:03:09.450 --> 01:03:09.720
Yeah.

01:03:10.380 --> 01:03:12.240
That being said, I have, you know, yeah.

01:03:12.360 --> 01:03:12.750
Whatever.

01:03:12.810 --> 01:03:14.280
Travis Bader: There's a lot
that he said for being stubborn.

01:03:14.310 --> 01:03:14.490
Yeah.

01:03:14.490 --> 01:03:16.260
I think we talked about
that before a little bit.

01:03:16.260 --> 01:03:16.350
True.

01:03:16.860 --> 01:03:18.750
Joel Struthers: But, um, yeah.

01:03:18.780 --> 01:03:21.930
The Legion, you know, you can,
I, I kept my name in the Legion.

01:03:21.930 --> 01:03:23.790
There is no reason for
me to change my name.

01:03:23.850 --> 01:03:24.000
Yeah.

01:03:24.005 --> 01:03:27.120
It's not, Illegal for a Canadian
to join a foreign military?

01:03:27.299 --> 01:03:27.720
Others?

01:03:27.720 --> 01:03:28.500
It is, yes.

01:03:28.500 --> 01:03:29.819
So they change a name for that reason.

01:03:30.089 --> 01:03:34.770
Um, it's just a admin formality so they
can give him documentation and stuff.

01:03:34.799 --> 01:03:38.430
Um, if someone else figures out
your new name and they ask Allegion

01:03:38.430 --> 01:03:40.170
like, is Bob, who's now Charles?

01:03:40.170 --> 01:03:42.000
Is he in the have to say Yes, he's here.

01:03:42.089 --> 01:03:42.420
Gotcha.

01:03:42.600 --> 01:03:47.609
Uh, it's not ne for nefarious reason,
it's just documentation type thing, but I

01:03:47.609 --> 01:03:50.790
kept my name and then, um, yeah, it, uh,

01:03:51.779 --> 01:03:51.990
Travis Bader: yeah.

01:03:52.379 --> 01:03:56.339
So there's a interesting story about
hearing protection when Oh, yeah.

01:03:57.060 --> 01:03:57.509
, yes.

01:03:57.569 --> 01:03:57.990
Okay.

01:03:57.995 --> 01:04:02.129
I, but I, I e d something that's going off

01:04:02.190 --> 01:04:03.120
Joel Struthers: that was, uh, yeah.

01:04:03.125 --> 01:04:05.220
Coming out of, um, down south.

01:04:05.790 --> 01:04:07.410
Um, yeah.

01:04:07.415 --> 01:04:11.910
So we had, you know, we're doing
low profile PSD with, uh, Iraqi.

01:04:11.910 --> 01:04:15.359
So my second time back into
Baghdad, things are kicking off.

01:04:15.750 --> 01:04:20.490
Uh, , the jihadist, the, you know,
bathis, whatever you wanna call 'em, the

01:04:20.490 --> 01:04:22.830
insurgent are definitely more active.

01:04:23.220 --> 01:04:23.250
Mm.

01:04:23.310 --> 01:04:29.250
Um, and up to then they had been
focusing their efforts on the American

01:04:29.250 --> 01:04:34.170
military or the, the early parts of
the, the new Iraqi or, or the police.

01:04:34.500 --> 01:04:38.310
Um, and there was a lot of Ps, PSD
teams starting to ramp up in country.

01:04:38.330 --> 01:04:38.810
Mm-hmm.

01:04:38.815 --> 01:04:42.210
Um, you know, from different
countries, different companies.

01:04:43.410 --> 01:04:49.590
And again, I can't comment for, for
everybody, and it's just my view, but

01:04:50.400 --> 01:04:54.210
I got the gut feeling that a lot of
these guys and these teams were, had

01:04:54.210 --> 01:04:58.350
served, they're now civilians, but they
had served in the military pre nine 11.

01:04:58.380 --> 01:04:58.620
Mm-hmm.

01:04:58.700 --> 01:04:59.620
, so they hadn't really done much.

01:04:59.620 --> 01:05:00.140
Right.

01:05:00.270 --> 01:05:03.510
Now, they find themselves in a war
zone and they're, they're out to

01:05:03.510 --> 01:05:04.860
prove something for themselves.

01:05:05.040 --> 01:05:05.430
Sure.

01:05:07.045 --> 01:05:11.400
, unfortunately, you know, innocent
Iraqi civilians were being shot, right?

01:05:11.400 --> 01:05:13.200
For many a reasons.

01:05:13.560 --> 01:05:15.120
Lack of due care and attention.

01:05:15.600 --> 01:05:18.509
Not necessarily their fault, but guys
were just happy to, you know what I mean?

01:05:18.540 --> 01:05:18.690
Yep.

01:05:19.049 --> 01:05:26.910
Um, so as I would, and that's something
I always do when I put myself in, in a

01:05:26.910 --> 01:05:30.089
scenario country, what have you, is I
put myself in their other people's shoes.

01:05:30.089 --> 01:05:33.029
If I was a young Iraqi did the
same in Africa, if I was, you know,

01:05:33.035 --> 01:05:37.170
whatever in Afghanistan, if I was
one of them, what would I be doing?

01:05:37.620 --> 01:05:41.009
And, you know, kind of watching what was
going around me, I would've done the same.

01:05:41.009 --> 01:05:44.220
And what they were doing was the baths
and the, the judges, whatever, they said,

01:05:44.279 --> 01:05:47.190
let's just lay off the military for a
while and we're gonna go after the PSD

01:05:47.190 --> 01:05:49.049
teams, cuz these guys are fucking scum.

01:05:49.319 --> 01:05:49.680
Right.

01:05:49.980 --> 01:05:51.600
Um, in their, in their view.

01:05:51.990 --> 01:05:53.069
Um, and fair dues.

01:05:53.400 --> 01:05:57.420
So at this time in country,
everyone was, um, overt.

01:05:57.750 --> 01:06:00.630
So driving around in the big trucks
and pushing through traffic and.

01:06:01.935 --> 01:06:03.405
You know, so we went low profile.

01:06:03.405 --> 01:06:08.025
So what we did is we bought local
vehicles, um, put run flat tires on

01:06:08.025 --> 01:06:11.985
them, tried to up our bed as we can
around the doors, and it would be

01:06:11.985 --> 01:06:13.815
two vehicle moves, so two expats.

01:06:14.415 --> 01:06:18.345
Um, so I worked with Mo mostly
Brits, some Kiwis and Aussies.

01:06:18.855 --> 01:06:20.805
And the rest were Iraqi, uh, teammates.

01:06:20.805 --> 01:06:21.915
So we'd have two cars.

01:06:22.365 --> 01:06:28.695
Um, we were armed with AKs, pkm and uh,
we had their shitty macoff pistol too.

01:06:29.190 --> 01:06:32.535
. Um, and we would just try to
blend into the, uh, the traffic,

01:06:32.865 --> 01:06:34.845
which Baghdad was just cer block.

01:06:34.845 --> 01:06:36.285
It was just a traffic traffic jam.

01:06:36.285 --> 01:06:36.345
Yeah.

01:06:36.795 --> 01:06:40.335
And our biggest fear was obviously we're
stuck in traffic trying to blend in.

01:06:41.295 --> 01:06:45.615
is if a, uh, a military call sign pulled
up beside us or another PSD team, and

01:06:45.615 --> 01:06:48.884
they look down and they see an Iraqi
sitting there with an AK on their lap.

01:06:49.065 --> 01:06:49.395
Right.

01:06:49.395 --> 01:06:50.085
No questions asked.

01:06:50.085 --> 01:06:53.355
So we would have a laminated, uh,
union Jack, and as soon as they did,

01:06:53.355 --> 01:06:54.555
we just put those up in the window.

01:06:55.185 --> 01:06:57.675
Um, same thing for, and that worked.

01:06:58.125 --> 01:06:58.695
It would, yeah.

01:06:58.695 --> 01:06:59.865
And you get a lot of weird looks.

01:06:59.925 --> 01:06:59.985
Yeah.

01:06:59.985 --> 01:07:02.985
I remember like one of the
early mill units pull up beside

01:07:02.985 --> 01:07:03.705
us and they were like, what?

01:07:03.735 --> 01:07:06.225
They're like , because
that was somewhat new.

01:07:06.315 --> 01:07:06.555
Yeah.

01:07:06.585 --> 01:07:08.475
Um, so yeah.

01:07:08.475 --> 01:07:09.525
But that it was a handful.

01:07:09.525 --> 01:07:12.855
And then working with, I get into
it with, uh, in Seville, I end up

01:07:12.975 --> 01:07:14.565
actually punching one of my Iraqis out.

01:07:14.715 --> 01:07:14.955
Mm-hmm.

01:07:15.015 --> 01:07:19.665
Um, it was, it was a, it was
a handful, um, an eyeopener.

01:07:20.595 --> 01:07:22.860
Um, . But yeah.

01:07:22.980 --> 01:07:26.040
Um, and then I went up to,
uh, they sent me up to decree.

01:07:26.640 --> 01:07:26.790
Yeah.

01:07:26.819 --> 01:07:30.870
Um, and there I took over a, uh,
all expat, uh, PSD team when we

01:07:30.870 --> 01:07:35.970
were supporting the, uh, US Corps of
Engineers, um, looking for weapons of

01:07:35.970 --> 01:07:37.620
mass destruction, which we never found.

01:07:37.620 --> 01:07:39.480
P and uh, where were they?

01:07:39.485 --> 01:07:39.790
Where were they?

01:07:39.790 --> 01:07:40.110
Yeah, exactly.

01:07:40.110 --> 01:07:42.509
Where were they hidden
and um, anyway, whatever.

01:07:42.690 --> 01:07:47.850
And, uh, blowing up old ordinances
and what had happened, uh, early days

01:07:47.850 --> 01:07:50.700
of the first golf and then the second
one they had bombed all these, uh,

01:07:50.819 --> 01:07:53.069
cuz decree is where Saddam was from.

01:07:53.075 --> 01:07:59.700
And actually where we was found is, um,
guard and a lot of huge, uh, installations

01:07:59.700 --> 01:08:02.220
were built there where they had bunkers,
actually the French and Brits building

01:08:02.220 --> 01:08:04.860
bunkers, where they would store all
the armament for the Iran Iraq War.

01:08:05.520 --> 01:08:08.250
The Americans bombed them and left them.

01:08:08.865 --> 01:08:12.524
Unsecured and a lot of those shells
that, you know, got thrown, didn't

01:08:12.975 --> 01:08:17.505
explode, were recovered and used
his IDs for, you know, right.

01:08:17.925 --> 01:08:20.595
So they went in after that and then
started cleaning up, you know, but

01:08:20.599 --> 01:08:23.205
unfortunately, that probably killed
a lot of American soldiers leaving

01:08:23.205 --> 01:08:24.825
those, uh, those places unsecured.

01:08:24.854 --> 01:08:25.014
Mm-hmm.

01:08:25.095 --> 01:08:29.625
. But, so we, I did that for a while
and, um, you know, we had my driver

01:08:29.625 --> 01:08:31.305
lost a leg to an anti tank mine.

01:08:31.425 --> 01:08:32.474
We lost a couple guys.

01:08:32.984 --> 01:08:35.264
Efp were starting to make
their, their appearance mm-hmm.

01:08:35.505 --> 01:08:36.255
from the Iranians.

01:08:36.285 --> 01:08:40.085
And they were, cuz we started to get
issued, um, actually brand new, uh, 4,

01:08:40.085 --> 01:08:41.835
3 50 s that were built here in Canada.

01:08:42.404 --> 01:08:44.354
Um, but those EFP would just go right.

01:08:44.835 --> 01:08:45.014
Mm.

01:08:45.014 --> 01:08:45.705
And fuck it through it.

01:08:45.854 --> 01:08:52.125
Um, so I was like, I'll starting, my son
was, Born at that point, young, I was kind

01:08:52.125 --> 01:08:56.685
of looking at the, the risk versus the
reward, what was happening in country.

01:08:56.685 --> 01:08:58.215
And I was like, this place
is a fucking shithole.

01:08:58.315 --> 01:08:59.265
How, how old was your son?

01:08:59.265 --> 01:09:02.444
Just like, now he's, he's, uh, 17,
but no, at the time he was just

01:09:02.444 --> 01:09:04.725
born like newborn, a year type

01:09:04.730 --> 01:09:04.995
Travis Bader: thing.

01:09:05.115 --> 01:09:09.465
It's nothing that really brings your
own mortality into a focal point than

01:09:09.465 --> 01:09:11.055
having kids, eh, no, a hundred percent.

01:09:11.295 --> 01:09:11.505
Joel Struthers: Yeah.

01:09:11.505 --> 01:09:12.435
It's funny how that works.

01:09:12.435 --> 01:09:13.665
Leaving them was, was tough.

01:09:13.665 --> 01:09:14.355
And I Yeah, I get it.

01:09:14.355 --> 01:09:17.505
That's so it was, uh, yeah, a big factor.

01:09:17.595 --> 01:09:22.484
But, um, then, uh, armor Group
had the, they awarded the, uh,

01:09:22.484 --> 01:09:23.745
foreign Commonwealth Office.

01:09:24.240 --> 01:09:27.299
The Brit foreign common,
uh, contract in Afghanistan.

01:09:27.389 --> 01:09:27.630
Mm-hmm.

01:09:27.929 --> 01:09:31.229
Um, and they're only taking,
uh, Brits at the time, but then

01:09:31.229 --> 01:09:32.969
it opened up to Commonwealth.

01:09:33.599 --> 01:09:35.729
So I was always interested in doing
that, having read, you know, read

01:09:35.729 --> 01:09:39.090
books and watched all the documentaries
on the, uh, you know, the Russians

01:09:39.090 --> 01:09:41.880
in Afghanistan and obviously the war
being gone, going out for a while.

01:09:42.359 --> 01:09:43.500
So I was keen to get over there.

01:09:43.559 --> 01:09:48.330
So, um, yeah, I went over, uh,
he had to commit for a year, so I

01:09:48.335 --> 01:09:49.290
went back to flying for a while.

01:09:49.290 --> 01:09:51.630
So all this time I'd, you
know, I'd fly the summers fires

01:09:51.634 --> 01:09:52.710
and then come back, do this.

01:09:52.715 --> 01:09:55.320
And, um, so I went over to Afghanistan.

01:09:55.320 --> 01:10:00.059
Initially I was up, we were up in, uh,
Kabul supporting the Brit police that

01:10:00.065 --> 01:10:03.210
were men doing the mentorship program
for their, um, narcotics police.

01:10:03.240 --> 01:10:03.450
Yeah.

01:10:03.870 --> 01:10:06.480
Uh, so we'd, we'd fly around.

01:10:06.485 --> 01:10:10.259
We had a, it was a South African
company that had a C one 30 herk painted

01:10:10.259 --> 01:10:14.549
in un colors, but it wasn't un  and
we'd, cuz we were embassy, we had.

01:10:15.495 --> 01:10:15.975
Nice kit.

01:10:16.335 --> 01:10:16.394
Yeah.

01:10:16.394 --> 01:10:17.684
Best, best we could buy in the market.

01:10:17.684 --> 01:10:22.425
We had Nice, uh, new armored, uh,
the latest ECM technology, which

01:10:22.425 --> 01:10:25.515
put out a electronic countermeasure
bubble around the, um, yeah.

01:10:25.515 --> 01:10:25.845
The vehicle.

01:10:25.850 --> 01:10:29.385
So that if they try to set off an
ID by, by phone or what have you,

01:10:29.385 --> 01:10:30.644
it wouldn't, it wouldn't go through.

01:10:30.705 --> 01:10:30.945
Yeah.

01:10:31.275 --> 01:10:34.815
Uh, we had the, um, HK 360.

01:10:35.265 --> 01:10:38.175
We had the, uh, the Glock and the Mini Me.

01:10:38.835 --> 01:10:42.495
So we had nice, nice tools and we'd
load this, our armored into the, into

01:10:42.495 --> 01:10:47.415
the H and fly off to, you know, uh,
CANDUs, all these different areas.

01:10:47.415 --> 01:10:48.585
And we'd go there for a couple days.

01:10:48.585 --> 01:10:51.644
We'd stay in the American, uh, SF
bases, and we'd go out and they'd mentor

01:10:51.644 --> 01:10:56.115
these, uh, these Afghan, uh, police
set checkpoints and all kind of stuff.

01:10:56.115 --> 01:10:56.175
Yeah.

01:10:56.595 --> 01:11:01.275
And then, um, , the Brits obviously
controlled Hellman area, Hellman Province.

01:11:01.305 --> 01:11:01.395
Mm-hmm.

01:11:01.695 --> 01:11:06.345
, they were building a, uh, a P R T in
Lash, which a p rt, which was like their

01:11:07.395 --> 01:11:08.985
provincial Rebuilding, rebuilding team.

01:11:08.985 --> 01:11:09.015
Okay.

01:11:09.020 --> 01:11:12.795
So they, they would build these,
they'd take over small compounds

01:11:13.215 --> 01:11:16.665
in these towns in, uh, in Hemond,
and then that's where the Brits

01:11:16.665 --> 01:11:18.465
would go, uh, and do their thing.

01:11:18.585 --> 01:11:25.605
Um, so the FCO had, uh, their main
guy, Tom Tugen Tugen, who was actually

01:11:25.610 --> 01:11:27.166
just, uh, in the elections there.

01:11:27.171 --> 01:11:29.365
He, he, he lost, but he was
one of the, uh, one of the

01:11:29.370 --> 01:11:30.255
names to be the Prime minister.

01:11:30.255 --> 01:11:36.165
And anyway, he was a young, uh, well,
Paul Fco politician identity, but he was

01:11:36.165 --> 01:11:42.195
ex uh, reservist, Brit Mill, served with
the s sps, uh, Iraq and did some stuff

01:11:42.195 --> 01:11:45.465
in, had actually been involved in a, in
a pretty good contact in Afghanistan.

01:11:45.795 --> 01:11:48.015
But he was the advisor
to the Governor Heman.

01:11:48.195 --> 01:11:48.685
Okay.

01:11:49.215 --> 01:11:55.035
So the FCO needed, uh, three teams
from Armor Group to go down and live

01:11:55.095 --> 01:12:00.045
in the, uh, p R T with, uh, With
Tom and some of his, his people.

01:12:00.045 --> 01:12:04.335
But, uh, at that time it was the, uh,
para reg, uh, that were, they did six

01:12:04.335 --> 01:12:05.684
month tours, so it was a para reg.

01:12:05.835 --> 01:12:12.705
And then, so we went down, um, I took,
uh, leadership of a team, um, and

01:12:12.705 --> 01:12:14.055
we went in and, and learn our trade.

01:12:14.055 --> 01:12:17.595
And basically we would
take Tom to his compound.

01:12:17.595 --> 01:12:23.265
So the governor of, of Af of, of Hellman
had a compound not far from the p r t,

01:12:23.535 --> 01:12:25.335
uh, which was secured by the Afghan army.

01:12:25.695 --> 01:12:29.235
And he had a little, uh, a
building in there on its own.

01:12:29.235 --> 01:12:30.705
And we'd basically drive Tom.

01:12:31.184 --> 01:12:34.455
Most of our days were that we'd drive
there, it's a two-story building.

01:12:34.485 --> 01:12:37.335
Tom would go into his office,
we'd put a BG at the front of his

01:12:37.335 --> 01:12:38.535
office just to make sure you know.

01:12:38.625 --> 01:12:38.715
Mm-hmm.

01:12:39.045 --> 01:12:40.545
, no one was coming and going,
that didn't need to be.

01:12:40.545 --> 01:12:43.785
And we would sit outside the
building just beside his windows

01:12:43.995 --> 01:12:45.495
in the armored all, all day.

01:12:45.495 --> 01:12:45.975
Mm-hmm.

01:12:47.085 --> 01:12:51.555
. And, uh, then obviously
things, this is 2006 right?

01:12:51.555 --> 01:12:53.655
Things were not going well
for the Brits and helmet.

01:12:53.745 --> 01:12:53.955
Right.

01:12:54.165 --> 01:12:55.815
Then the general, uh, the two, sorry.

01:12:55.815 --> 01:13:00.195
He would come down ex uh, s a guy, nice
man and we would have him, so we would

01:13:00.195 --> 01:13:03.615
drive from the p r t to the governor's
compound cuz they would do late

01:13:03.620 --> 01:13:05.565
evenings at the governor's residence.

01:13:06.045 --> 01:13:07.665
Discussing what was, what was happening.

01:13:07.665 --> 01:13:12.885
Sang in Gresh, um, cuz the
Brits were having a hard time.

01:13:12.905 --> 01:13:13.345
Mm-hmm.

01:13:13.425 --> 01:13:13.785
and.

01:13:14.250 --> 01:13:17.640
I just remember we'd have this two star
general on our back of our armored.

01:13:18.000 --> 01:13:20.850
It's about a 50 minute drive from
the, uh, the compound to the p r t.

01:13:20.850 --> 01:13:24.570
And man, a good, uh, an RPG seven
man would, would do the trick.

01:13:24.575 --> 01:13:25.800
Like it's a hell of a target, you know?

01:13:25.890 --> 01:13:26.190
Yeah.

01:13:26.190 --> 01:13:28.920
I was always nervous with him
inside because it would, and

01:13:28.920 --> 01:13:29.820
that's, that's a big thing.

01:13:29.820 --> 01:13:31.470
I was always wondering, when are
they gonna, you know, when are

01:13:31.470 --> 01:13:34.080
you gonna take a run, man, this
is, that's, this is where it's at.

01:13:34.110 --> 01:13:35.610
We're back and forth the same.

01:13:35.610 --> 01:13:35.700
Right.

01:13:36.090 --> 01:13:37.110
That's gotta play in the mind.

01:13:37.110 --> 01:13:39.750
We only had like three different
roots we could theoretically use.

01:13:39.750 --> 01:13:41.340
Like they're, and your enemy's never dumb.

01:13:41.490 --> 01:13:42.060
Yeah, right.

01:13:42.060 --> 01:13:43.530
They're, they're more than capable.

01:13:43.535 --> 01:13:47.340
And, uh, so it was always a waiting
game, like, when are they gonna, but,

01:13:47.340 --> 01:13:51.870
um, in the end, we had a suicide bottom,
take a run at, uh, the governor of, of

01:13:51.870 --> 01:13:56.850
Hellman, uh, young, 17 year old, uh,
um, Pakistani boy that they brought up

01:13:56.850 --> 01:13:59.490
across the border, put a fake uniform.

01:13:59.490 --> 01:14:01.530
He made his way through the
checkpoints and walked up and

01:14:01.535 --> 01:14:04.620
then detonated himself about 10
meters from 10, 15 meters from us.

01:14:04.620 --> 01:14:07.140
But he, he did it with our
Afghan counterparts that were

01:14:07.145 --> 01:14:10.080
standing around their, uh, their
technicals, you know, their, Hmm.

01:14:10.980 --> 01:14:11.580
Blue show them.

01:14:11.580 --> 01:14:14.100
And for me that was
again, another eye-opener.

01:14:14.100 --> 01:14:14.220
Yeah.

01:14:14.220 --> 01:14:15.630
How do you, how do you combat that?

01:14:16.290 --> 01:14:17.850
What 17 year old kid feels?

01:14:17.850 --> 01:14:19.830
That's, what were you doing ats at 17?

01:14:19.830 --> 01:14:21.480
I was thinking about not

01:14:21.480 --> 01:14:22.680
Travis Bader: that boobs, you

01:14:22.680 --> 01:14:23.700
Joel Struthers: know, . There you go.

01:14:23.700 --> 01:14:27.120
I wasn't thinking about strapping a vest
on and blowing myself up for a cause.

01:14:27.120 --> 01:14:30.300
So anyway, it was, uh, again, it
was at that point I done a year.

01:14:31.470 --> 01:14:34.380
I'd seen Afghanistan, you know,
there's some beautiful countryside.

01:14:34.380 --> 01:14:37.830
I'd seen these young men and women doing
their thing, which, you know, I respected.

01:14:38.640 --> 01:14:44.490
But it was, it was time to move on
and, uh, I kind of got away from that.

01:14:45.600 --> 01:14:51.360
KBR built, uh, an l and g project in,
uh, north Africa, and they asked, um,

01:14:51.630 --> 01:14:54.120
a couple officers we wanted to come
on for the security side of stuff.

01:14:54.510 --> 01:14:58.320
And I ended up doing that straight for
eight years, built this l mega train.

01:14:58.710 --> 01:14:59.040
Wow.

01:14:59.130 --> 01:15:01.800
And we had a twin star, a French,
we hired a, a French twin star to

01:15:01.805 --> 01:15:04.080
move our people from the airport
to the camps back and forth.

01:15:04.140 --> 01:15:04.440
Yeah.

01:15:04.530 --> 01:15:07.620
And so I was in the helicopter all
the time and I started to miss it.

01:15:08.160 --> 01:15:08.550
Yeah.

01:15:08.550 --> 01:15:12.390
And, uh, that was about eight
years ago, and I said, fuck it.

01:15:12.390 --> 01:15:14.910
I came back to Canada and flew full-time.

01:15:14.915 --> 01:15:18.030
And I've been with, um, Mustang,
I did the Ebola stuff for

01:15:18.090 --> 01:15:19.380
the old company I worked for.

01:15:19.890 --> 01:15:20.910
Um, you had an

01:15:20.915 --> 01:15:21.810
Travis Bader: Ebola scare, didn't you?

01:15:22.350 --> 01:15:22.830
Joel Struthers: Yeah.

01:15:22.950 --> 01:15:23.430
Not really.

01:15:23.435 --> 01:15:26.250
It was more comical than anything,
but, uh, and then I've been with yeah.

01:15:26.250 --> 01:15:28.260
Mustang for coming up in eight years now.

01:15:28.440 --> 01:15:28.770
Okay.

01:15:28.770 --> 01:15:29.130
Full-time.

01:15:29.130 --> 01:15:32.430
You know, we do fires in the summer hall,
skiing in the winter, so it's, yeah.

01:15:32.640 --> 01:15:34.350
It's, it's come, it's come together.

01:15:34.380 --> 01:15:34.620
Okay.

01:15:35.580 --> 01:15:37.680
I'm behind compared to
a lot of my colleagues.

01:15:38.160 --> 01:15:38.610
In what way?

01:15:38.610 --> 01:15:40.260
Um, experience wise, just time.

01:15:40.410 --> 01:15:40.740
Okay.

01:15:40.800 --> 01:15:43.860
Um, you know, a lot of, a lot of the
guys I fly with, the type of flying

01:15:43.860 --> 01:15:48.720
we do, um, you know, the summer went
two 12 with the tanks and BC and

01:15:48.720 --> 01:15:51.630
then the hell ski Rebel Stok, the
2 0 5 s and a stars in the winter.

01:15:51.930 --> 01:15:56.040
Um, you know, a lot of guys,
they start at 18, 19, 20.

01:15:56.190 --> 01:15:56.850
Right.

01:15:56.880 --> 01:16:01.200
I start at 29, 30, you know, so I'm,
when it comes to time in the seat,

01:16:01.530 --> 01:16:03.630
I'm a little halfway compared to them.

01:16:04.170 --> 01:16:06.150
It's, uh, and you can't,
you can't compensate.

01:16:06.150 --> 01:16:09.960
So I'm always working harder,
struggling compared to some of my, yeah.

01:16:09.960 --> 01:16:10.740
It'd be a lot of work.

01:16:10.770 --> 01:16:10.980
It

01:16:10.980 --> 01:16:13.530
Travis Bader: is, but it's all, it's
kinda like learning how to drive a car

01:16:13.560 --> 01:16:17.970
early in life as opposed to later and
the way the brain works and how you

01:16:17.970 --> 01:16:20.760
pick things up, you're always gonna
have that little bit of an advantage

01:16:21.030 --> 01:16:22.830
having those hundred percent Yeah.

01:16:22.860 --> 01:16:25.560
Years on the early side as
opposed to the, the inside,

01:16:26.100 --> 01:16:26.940
Joel Struthers: but no regrets.

01:16:26.945 --> 01:16:27.840
It's, it's all worked out.

01:16:27.845 --> 01:16:27.960
Yeah.

01:16:28.320 --> 01:16:30.330
Travis Bader: So obviously.

01:16:32.190 --> 01:16:33.090
Events like that.

01:16:33.090 --> 01:16:37.500
In, in the, the earmuff one I was thinking
about was, uh, firing inside the vehicle.

01:16:37.500 --> 01:16:37.590
Yes.

01:16:37.590 --> 01:16:38.280
And thinking, okay.

01:16:38.280 --> 01:16:39.270
I hear he protection might have

01:16:39.480 --> 01:16:40.350
Joel Struthers: went off on, uh, yeah.

01:16:40.350 --> 01:16:42.690
So we were coming out
of, it was down south.

01:16:42.690 --> 01:16:47.040
Um, Where the Brits were, what's
the name of, um, the airport there?

01:16:47.220 --> 01:16:52.530
Um, anyway, we were leaving, so we had
with our Iraqis, and that's where we

01:16:52.535 --> 01:16:56.400
went off on the, we would, we'd put them
on the range and we'd, we'd teach 'em.

01:16:56.730 --> 01:17:00.450
So PSD worked with the vehicles,
so, you know, reaction to the combat

01:17:00.450 --> 01:17:01.800
or to to contact, you know, right.

01:17:01.800 --> 01:17:02.490
Left rear.

01:17:02.580 --> 01:17:02.820
Yeah.

01:17:02.880 --> 01:17:05.719
Um, Getting away from
the vehicles, yada, yada.

01:17:05.724 --> 01:17:08.780
So we would, we spent a lot, well, as
much time as we could on the range with

01:17:08.780 --> 01:17:10.490
them to get them proficient and safe.

01:17:10.820 --> 01:17:15.080
Cuz me being in a, in a vehicle
with, uh, you know, three Iraqis

01:17:15.440 --> 01:17:16.879
pumping rounds out the windows.

01:17:16.910 --> 01:17:19.429
Last thing I need is an nie or
side of my head getting blown

01:17:19.429 --> 01:17:20.660
off by Yeah, by mistake, right?

01:17:20.665 --> 01:17:22.519
So we were, I was a stickler on that.

01:17:23.059 --> 01:17:24.500
And uh, that was a big one.

01:17:24.589 --> 01:17:28.400
Um, safety, but getting them in
the vehicle, doing their stop,

01:17:28.400 --> 01:17:30.230
which is mag changes communicating.

01:17:30.500 --> 01:17:33.740
And of course during training we had
our, our earmuffs on and it was good.

01:17:33.740 --> 01:17:37.009
And then real word we're out
there and stupid mistake,

01:17:37.009 --> 01:17:38.419
but never really anticipated.

01:17:38.419 --> 01:17:41.450
And we, they took a shot at us
with an i e d missed, but then

01:17:41.450 --> 01:17:42.379
there's some smaller fires.

01:17:42.379 --> 01:17:45.440
So I said at this point we're on the
route Tampa, which is the main highway

01:17:45.769 --> 01:17:47.089
past the kills, like we were past.

01:17:47.089 --> 01:17:50.570
But I just, out of interest, I said
to one of 'em, the guys on the left.

01:17:52.035 --> 01:17:55.125
Open up with rounds on that berm in
the distance wherein sure enough,

01:17:55.125 --> 01:17:58.575
he unloaded his AK mag and we didn't
have any, I was like, holy fuck.

01:17:58.575 --> 01:18:02.595
It was like  on the shopping
list at the PX was a, a good set

01:18:02.595 --> 01:18:03.895
of, uh, . You know what I mean?

01:18:03.900 --> 01:18:04.845
Things you just, yeah.

01:18:04.845 --> 01:18:06.825
You're focused, you never
thought about it and Yeah.

01:18:07.005 --> 01:18:09.015
Made a, made a hell of
a racket inside that.

01:18:09.225 --> 01:18:13.215
Anyway, so those are some of
the, the obvious things that

01:18:13.305 --> 01:18:14.205
you ever think about, right?

01:18:14.265 --> 01:18:14.595
Yeah.

01:18:14.595 --> 01:18:16.755
Travis Bader: Obvious in hindsight,
right when your ears are ringing.

01:18:16.755 --> 01:18:18.405
You got tinnitus now, but Yeah.

01:18:18.405 --> 01:18:18.465
Yeah.

01:18:19.395 --> 01:18:26.835
Um, the mental toll that this can take,
and I know a lot of people will, um,

01:18:27.405 --> 01:18:31.155
uh, mental health has become a lot
more common place and talked about in

01:18:31.155 --> 01:18:33.795
a, um, in a much more positive way.

01:18:34.005 --> 01:18:39.015
It's interesting how you're talking
about feeling bad leaving the legion

01:18:39.015 --> 01:18:40.635
because they put this time into you.

01:18:40.635 --> 01:18:40.725
Yep.

01:18:40.785 --> 01:18:47.400
And, uh, there's this level of, um,
um, I, I find it a lot with others when

01:18:47.400 --> 01:18:51.179
they're leaving the army, leaving the,
um, air Force, whatever it might be.

01:18:51.969 --> 01:18:55.050
There's this team that they feel like
they might be disappointing if they

01:18:55.054 --> 01:18:59.490
leave and there's this, um, uh, sense
of obligation and yeah, a lot of times

01:18:59.490 --> 01:19:02.910
people go out and they somehow start
gravitating their way back, but it's never

01:19:02.940 --> 01:19:04.500
gonna be the same when they come on back.

01:19:04.530 --> 01:19:04.740
True.

01:19:05.389 --> 01:19:11.760
I, I, I gotta wonder if, if that process
of, uh, building someone in and having

01:19:11.760 --> 01:19:17.940
a, uh, a very rigid out process as well
would be a huge help to the, um, the

01:19:17.940 --> 01:19:19.740
mental health of soldiers as they leave.

01:19:20.370 --> 01:19:20.940
I don't know.

01:19:21.000 --> 01:19:28.920
It's, um, uh, yeah, the, the PTs D
side of things and the stress seems to.

01:19:30.120 --> 01:19:35.820
, uh, from my observations, a, a
reframing of or how people interpret

01:19:35.910 --> 01:19:37.140
things that have happened before.

01:19:37.230 --> 01:19:37.350
Yep.

01:19:37.560 --> 01:19:37.830
True.

01:19:37.950 --> 01:19:42.570
And if you come back and you're
greeted like a hero and warrior and

01:19:42.570 --> 01:19:44.430
everything you did was well and good.

01:19:44.550 --> 01:19:44.700
Yep.

01:19:44.820 --> 01:19:49.830
The, um, uh, the mental health aspects
seems to be diminished compared to those

01:19:49.830 --> 01:19:55.740
who, uh, don't share that it's contrary to
their, uh, personal or religious beliefs.

01:19:55.745 --> 01:19:59.370
So society says that they're, uh,
they're now on the outside of things.

01:19:59.370 --> 01:19:59.640
True.

01:19:59.850 --> 01:20:00.030
Yep.

01:20:00.180 --> 01:20:06.180
Um, and I, and I guess like obviously
without delving into your observations

01:20:06.180 --> 01:20:10.800
where you're at, but on the, uh,
military side, formal French foreign

01:20:10.800 --> 01:20:14.760
Legion, you're in there and you come
out, there's a level of acceptance on

01:20:14.760 --> 01:20:16.680
the private military contractor side.

01:20:16.680 --> 01:20:17.970
Does that get a lot more great?

01:20:17.970 --> 01:20:22.140
Does that get more difficult
to, uh, um, to navigate?

01:20:24.540 --> 01:20:24.870
Joel Struthers: Yeah.

01:20:24.930 --> 01:20:27.630
Um, that's a tough question.

01:20:27.635 --> 01:20:27.990
Mm-hmm.

01:20:28.260 --> 01:20:28.670
, I think.

01:20:30.180 --> 01:20:34.260
As you make reference to, I mean, everyone
reacts differently to their environment

01:20:34.260 --> 01:20:35.790
and what's going on around them.

01:20:36.000 --> 01:20:36.180
Mm-hmm.

01:20:36.420 --> 01:20:41.460
, um, you know, coming outta the
Legion, I think the way they vet

01:20:41.700 --> 01:20:46.140
and they take on people and the
training and the discipline and stuff.

01:20:46.140 --> 01:20:50.010
I think once you're kind of thrown into
the shit, a lot of those people are,

01:20:50.070 --> 01:20:52.260
you know, somewhat prepared for it.

01:20:52.260 --> 01:20:52.700
Mm-hmm.

01:20:52.780 --> 01:20:57.460
, I think in the western world where it's
all squeaky feely, happy love, , we don't

01:20:57.465 --> 01:21:00.930
prepare our, our young men and women
for what they're about to encounter.

01:21:00.930 --> 01:21:05.460
And that's has a huge bearing on the
amount of, um, that being said, there's

01:21:05.820 --> 01:21:07.320
guys in the leagues on the suffer for psc.

01:21:07.320 --> 01:21:09.660
I mean, sure it is where it
is, but I think you need to

01:21:09.780 --> 01:21:12.180
prepare, uh, people properly.

01:21:12.210 --> 01:21:13.800
If you're gonna ask 'em
to do a nasty job, you.

01:21:14.370 --> 01:21:15.120
Put him through the test.

01:21:15.120 --> 01:21:19.380
And that's why, you know, Appell was
kind of, cuz um, um, the former, uh,

01:21:19.590 --> 01:21:24.179
CEO of the PP C l I, uh, general Kra
had written a, a small Ford and he

01:21:24.179 --> 01:21:26.009
had written a read, an early version.

01:21:26.009 --> 01:21:29.340
And the reason I think he liked it
is cuz I kind of make reference to

01:21:29.340 --> 01:21:33.719
that, is, you know, the allegiance
discipline and the harsh training

01:21:34.769 --> 01:21:37.200
isn't, they're doing you a favor.

01:21:37.200 --> 01:21:39.719
They're trying to show you, do you
want to, do you want to be here?

01:21:39.719 --> 01:21:40.469
Is this for you?

01:21:40.469 --> 01:21:40.670
Right.

01:21:40.670 --> 01:21:44.670
You know, if you can't handle this, you,
you know, you have no place in, in combat.

01:21:44.674 --> 01:21:47.429
And then do you want someone
beside you that shouldn't be there?

01:21:47.700 --> 01:21:50.759
Um, now going into the, the
private military type stuff,

01:21:50.790 --> 01:21:55.200
we were all ex, you know, um,
military, so we had our background.

01:21:55.200 --> 01:21:57.750
So theoretically and Armor Group,
you know, they do their vetting.

01:21:58.049 --> 01:22:03.150
Um, and then later on, a lot of these
guys were getting outta the Brit mill.

01:22:03.150 --> 01:22:06.110
So they had done
Afghanistan, Iraq, mm-hmm.

01:22:06.190 --> 01:22:06.349
and.

01:22:07.935 --> 01:22:12.315
We didn't have to do the time in country
like your, your other soldiers did.

01:22:12.315 --> 01:22:14.565
You know we were two
months on, one month off.

01:22:14.955 --> 01:22:19.005
Um, I think the challenge for us more
so was that back and forth coming out

01:22:19.005 --> 01:22:23.925
of a, an environment like Lashcar,
two days later you're in Langley with

01:22:23.925 --> 01:22:25.935
your, your, your wife and young son.

01:22:25.935 --> 01:22:26.625
That would be tough.

01:22:26.905 --> 01:22:27.405
You know what I mean?

01:22:27.525 --> 01:22:31.125
Whereas, not that it's easier,
but you know, guys that do.

01:22:31.925 --> 01:22:34.175
Six months and they come
back for their week off.

01:22:34.505 --> 01:22:37.475
It's not easier, but it's
not quite as, it's a one-off.

01:22:37.475 --> 01:22:40.775
Like they do it once, whereas
we're back and forth all the time.

01:22:40.925 --> 01:22:42.905
Travis Bader: And you wouldn't wanna shut
it off when you come home, would you?

01:22:43.145 --> 01:22:43.385
Well, I don't

01:22:43.385 --> 01:22:44.135
Joel Struthers: think you can.

01:22:44.255 --> 01:22:44.345
No.

01:22:44.345 --> 01:22:44.735
Shut it off.

01:22:44.740 --> 01:22:47.525
And that's, I think I, I mentioned Seville
is, you know, like driving back from the

01:22:47.530 --> 01:22:51.995
airport, my wife would pick me up and
we'd be in traffic and she'd be like, as

01:22:51.995 --> 01:22:55.835
everyone does, well, you know, when you're
stopped at a, a light or a stop sign, you,

01:22:56.045 --> 01:22:57.245
you're right behind the other vehicle.

01:22:57.275 --> 01:22:57.545
Yeah.

01:22:57.755 --> 01:23:01.145
Whereas in my world that I just
left, you need that space to Right.

01:23:01.145 --> 01:23:03.365
To get outta jobs if shit kicks off.

01:23:03.365 --> 01:23:03.545
Right.

01:23:03.545 --> 01:23:06.575
So I'd be like, and then I'd
be looking at, you know, a, a

01:23:06.575 --> 01:23:07.835
vehicle parked off to the side.

01:23:07.835 --> 01:23:11.915
I'm like, you know, I d uh, or, you
know, dead dogs, they would fill

01:23:11.915 --> 01:23:16.415
them with a 1 0 5 shower right on the
side, so you can't switch that off.

01:23:16.655 --> 01:23:20.885
Um, but you just, you deal with it.

01:23:20.885 --> 01:23:23.255
And, you know, I, I was,
I was fortunate and.

01:23:24.015 --> 01:23:26.715
, you know, in my, you know, touch
wood in my career and stuff,

01:23:26.715 --> 01:23:29.985
I haven't really experienced
anything that's out of the norm.

01:23:30.135 --> 01:23:33.765
People have experienced a lot more
than me, so I've been able, I'm sure

01:23:33.765 --> 01:23:37.875
it's, it's definitely affected me,
but I don't, you know, I don't suffer.

01:23:37.875 --> 01:23:38.835
I wasn't right.

01:23:38.835 --> 01:23:40.425
Beating the shit outta my
wife or, you know what I mean?

01:23:40.430 --> 01:23:40.665
Like right.

01:23:40.670 --> 01:23:42.855
As unfortunately that it happens.

01:23:42.915 --> 01:23:43.095
Yeah.

01:23:43.095 --> 01:23:45.975
Like the, wasn't the 82nd airborn and
they shut down the completed regimen.

01:23:45.980 --> 01:23:47.895
Cause the amount of murder,
suicides, you know, post.

01:23:48.075 --> 01:23:48.285
Right.

01:23:48.285 --> 01:23:50.805
It's, it's a legit, you know, issue.

01:23:50.805 --> 01:23:54.345
So I think our challenge was
probably more, um, and that's

01:23:54.345 --> 01:23:57.795
something I think the military look
at is the counseling for families.

01:23:57.795 --> 01:24:02.505
That back and forth, because I would
leave as, as you know, many soldier

01:24:02.505 --> 01:24:06.075
would do, and whoever's staying home be
at the, the male or the female, they're

01:24:06.075 --> 01:24:09.015
left behind to run the, the household.

01:24:09.195 --> 01:24:09.285
Mm-hmm.

01:24:09.530 --> 01:24:11.475
deal with the children,
get everything done.

01:24:12.165 --> 01:24:14.895
You can't expect to come back
and just like become the,

01:24:15.375 --> 01:24:17.025
the alpha male or whatever.

01:24:17.030 --> 01:24:17.205
Right.

01:24:17.205 --> 01:24:20.895
No, you need to kind of just slowly,
and I think there's a lack of.

01:24:22.900 --> 01:24:25.320
preparedness for that, where they
say, Hey, listen, hey, you know, as

01:24:25.320 --> 01:24:26.759
a family now you've been separated.

01:24:27.210 --> 01:24:29.429
Your partner now has been in an
environment that's, you know,

01:24:29.429 --> 01:24:32.849
highly, you know, kinetic, and
there's gonna be some stress and some

01:24:32.849 --> 01:24:36.059
emotion, and it's gonna take 'em a
while to, to switch off and mm-hmm.

01:24:36.144 --> 01:24:38.250
just relax, give him a bit of leeway.

01:24:38.910 --> 01:24:43.019
But vice versa, Joel, when you're
coming back to, to Langley, just

01:24:43.889 --> 01:24:45.870
wind your neck in and just relax.

01:24:45.900 --> 01:24:49.950
She's, you know, she had the, she's
been running the household for the

01:24:49.950 --> 01:24:52.590
last whatever, just do her thing.

01:24:52.594 --> 01:24:54.330
And then, you know,
unfortunately I make reference.

01:24:54.360 --> 01:24:56.550
You know, you've been home for two
weeks and you're driving back to the

01:24:56.554 --> 01:24:59.880
airport and you're, you're gutted cuz
it was a bad experience and that you

01:24:59.880 --> 01:25:01.290
got your two year old in the back.

01:25:01.290 --> 01:25:04.259
You're like, fuck, I'm going
back to, yeah, that's, that,

01:25:04.349 --> 01:25:05.790
that I remember the most as.

01:25:06.559 --> 01:25:09.860
Um, challenging and perhaps some regrets.

01:25:10.190 --> 01:25:10.429
Yeah.

01:25:10.429 --> 01:25:11.179
But that's life, right?

01:25:11.480 --> 01:25:12.200
It is life.

01:25:12.320 --> 01:25:16.010
And you know, in retrospect post, you
know, post the book, and I, I get into

01:25:16.014 --> 01:25:20.150
it, it's interesting because I have a good
relationship with my, she's remarried, has

01:25:20.150 --> 01:25:24.019
a son, and we have a, a good relationship
where we co-parent, well, our two kids.

01:25:24.139 --> 01:25:25.130
I like her husband.

01:25:25.130 --> 01:25:26.090
He respects my place.

01:25:26.090 --> 01:25:27.080
I respect his place.

01:25:27.080 --> 01:25:28.460
I like their, their son.

01:25:28.700 --> 01:25:30.470
I think it's, we're lucky in that manner.

01:25:30.679 --> 01:25:30.860
Yes.

01:25:30.860 --> 01:25:32.480
You know, the kids,
it's all about the kids.

01:25:32.480 --> 01:25:33.889
So we've, we've, we've done well.

01:25:33.889 --> 01:25:38.780
But, uh, it was funny when I, when I
wrote the story, I, I reached out to her

01:25:38.780 --> 01:25:40.580
and I said, listen, I'm, you know, I got

01:25:41.365 --> 01:25:46.040
This story, it obviously dwells, jumps
into our, our marriage and it's, you

01:25:46.040 --> 01:25:49.099
know, it's not about that, but it's
obviously has its place, you know.

01:25:49.490 --> 01:25:52.880
Um, if you, if you want, you
can read it, you can comment.

01:25:53.504 --> 01:25:55.575
But, um, and I'll, you know, yeah.

01:25:55.844 --> 01:25:59.804
But if you don't, and then it comes out,
you gotta, you can't say it's too late.

01:25:59.804 --> 01:26:00.375
Right, right.

01:26:00.674 --> 01:26:03.795
Anyway, so that was an interesting
something I never really Yeah, yeah.

01:26:03.795 --> 01:26:04.754
Never really considered.

01:26:04.754 --> 01:26:06.795
And then her, her husband
read it, actually.

01:26:06.795 --> 01:26:07.785
I don't think she ever read it.

01:26:07.844 --> 01:26:08.085
Yeah.

01:26:08.625 --> 01:26:09.705
That was a weird scenario too.

01:26:09.705 --> 01:26:12.045
Like, holy shit, , you know what I mean?

01:26:12.045 --> 01:26:13.634
Something you never, you never consider.

01:26:13.674 --> 01:26:13.995
Yeah.

01:26:13.995 --> 01:26:14.115
Yeah.

01:26:14.115 --> 01:26:18.644
But, um, yeah, the guys I worked with in
Arbor Group and stuff, um, I think, to

01:26:18.644 --> 01:26:23.865
answer your question, we, we weren't in
the shit like, like, like we'd fly into

01:26:23.865 --> 01:26:27.795
Gresh and sang with the, the Paris and
the last six months I was, there was a

01:26:27.795 --> 01:26:32.264
Royal Marines and they were just getting
the, the shit kicked in with the man.

01:26:32.264 --> 01:26:34.605
And, you know, we'd fly back with
a dead, dead guy in the Chinook.

01:26:34.605 --> 01:26:37.485
And yeah, I was just more
humbled by these young kids and

01:26:37.634 --> 01:26:38.684
what they were experiencing.

01:26:38.684 --> 01:26:41.415
So I, you know what, I had
nothing to complain about.

01:26:41.445 --> 01:26:43.889
And if I felt sorry for myself,
it's like, shut the fuck up, man.

01:26:44.325 --> 01:26:44.684
Mm-hmm.

01:26:45.134 --> 01:26:45.315
Yep.

01:26:45.930 --> 01:26:46.170
. Yeah.

01:26:46.170 --> 01:26:47.070
I think we're all the same, you know?

01:26:47.370 --> 01:26:47.670
Yeah.

01:26:47.940 --> 01:26:48.120
Yeah.

01:26:48.720 --> 01:26:51.270
Travis Bader: There's a number
of people who, uh, ask questions.

01:26:51.420 --> 01:26:51.510
Oh, yeah.

01:26:51.600 --> 01:26:52.680
Something on social media.

01:26:52.680 --> 01:26:54.600
Some of 'em you've actually
already kind of answered.

01:26:54.660 --> 01:26:54.930
Okay.

01:26:55.170 --> 01:26:58.170
Um, yeah.

01:26:58.170 --> 01:27:02.940
And, you know, talking about, uh, coming
back and not being able to switch off

01:27:02.945 --> 01:27:06.600
yet a, uh, a public transit and maybe
they gotta read the book that, oh,

01:27:06.600 --> 01:27:08.100
I, that was kind of a, uh, the bus.

01:27:08.160 --> 01:27:08.700
Yeah.

01:27:09.330 --> 01:27:10.350
The bus incident.

01:27:10.350 --> 01:27:11.160
The bus incident.

01:27:11.165 --> 01:27:11.250
Yeah.

01:27:12.060 --> 01:27:13.260
Uh, it is, uh, yeah.

01:27:13.890 --> 01:27:18.960
But, uh, yeah, lucky everything turned
out as an ought to, and we're, um,

01:27:19.290 --> 01:27:23.220
Joel Struthers: yeah, I was, uh, there
was a, um, a gentleman that was sitting

01:27:23.220 --> 01:27:27.300
beside us that had watched the whole, so
luckily I had someone to collaborated for.

01:27:27.840 --> 01:27:28.080
Yeah.

01:27:28.320 --> 01:27:30.330
Um, do we, are we gonna tell that story?

01:27:30.330 --> 01:27:30.420
Or?

01:27:30.425 --> 01:27:35.730
If you want to, so I was just
back from RME and my wife,

01:27:35.735 --> 01:27:37.290
we had a, a condo in kits.

01:27:37.440 --> 01:27:40.500
And so I was on my three weeks
off, I think, at that point.

01:27:40.920 --> 01:27:45.330
And my, the guy I flew for, um, Called me.

01:27:45.480 --> 01:27:46.470
He's based outta Calgary.

01:27:46.710 --> 01:27:48.690
And, uh, he said, Joel,
what are you doing?

01:27:48.690 --> 01:27:51.240
I was like, oh, I'm just watching
Sopranos or whatever, you know?

01:27:51.440 --> 01:27:52.490
I was like, cast a favor.

01:27:52.559 --> 01:27:53.519
I was like, yeah, by all means.

01:27:53.519 --> 01:27:56.910
He said, I, his brother, who's a big,
uh, construction guy, was putting in

01:27:56.910 --> 01:28:00.720
a, a bid to do the soil reclamation
at the, the airport up in Fort Nelson.

01:28:00.724 --> 01:28:00.970
Okay.

01:28:01.250 --> 01:28:03.180
BC and government bid.

01:28:03.210 --> 01:28:06.960
You had to put in a certified check on the
cert certain time for, you know, whatever.

01:28:07.110 --> 01:28:07.890
However that works.

01:28:07.890 --> 01:28:09.150
It just shows that you're Yeah.

01:28:09.150 --> 01:28:10.290
You're a legit company, you know?

01:28:10.590 --> 01:28:11.790
Um, it's not a bribe.

01:28:11.790 --> 01:28:14.730
It's just part of the It's not a bribe.

01:28:14.730 --> 01:28:15.050
The pro.

01:28:15.050 --> 01:28:15.130
Yeah.

01:28:15.240 --> 01:28:16.930
A pro not, it's not a bribe.

01:28:16.930 --> 01:28:17.410
It's, yeah.

01:28:17.415 --> 01:28:20.220
Part of their, anyway, he said
it has to be at the, uh, the

01:28:20.220 --> 01:28:21.330
government building by noon.

01:28:21.780 --> 01:28:25.080
I'm gonna send a, uh, an
envelope by Air Canada Cargo.

01:28:25.080 --> 01:28:26.610
Do you mind grabbing
it and dropping it off?

01:28:26.610 --> 01:28:27.690
I said, yeah, Al me's too easy.

01:28:27.720 --> 01:28:31.050
And my, my wife at the time worked at
a golf course not far from the airport.

01:28:31.170 --> 01:28:31.650
Okay.

01:28:31.655 --> 01:28:33.900
Um, so she dropped me
off at Air Canada car.

01:28:33.900 --> 01:28:36.930
I grabbed this, this envelope, and I
walked down to the main bus station,

01:28:36.930 --> 01:28:38.550
which is by the old Delta Hotel.

01:28:38.610 --> 01:28:38.820
Yep.

01:28:39.150 --> 01:28:40.620
And there was two or three buses.

01:28:41.130 --> 01:28:41.790
Rush hour.

01:28:42.150 --> 01:28:43.470
So there's a seat at the very back.

01:28:43.470 --> 01:28:45.210
So I sit down side seat.

01:28:45.690 --> 01:28:49.890
Um, and what I remember is I look
across and there's an attractive

01:28:49.890 --> 01:28:51.690
girl, and she had a Russian book.

01:28:51.690 --> 01:28:52.590
She was like studying.

01:28:53.520 --> 01:28:56.700
And then next I see this like
leg twitching beside her.

01:28:56.700 --> 01:28:59.080
And I look over and it's like a
guy in a hoodie, and he's mm-hmm.

01:28:59.400 --> 01:29:03.360
like, you know, just kind of looks
like skateboard type by tire, but, you

01:29:03.360 --> 01:29:04.620
know, tweaking, you know, tweaking.

01:29:05.130 --> 01:29:09.720
And then within, I don't know, whatever
it was, seconds, he stood up and

01:29:09.990 --> 01:29:11.730
went to rip the envelope out my hand.

01:29:11.790 --> 01:29:13.230
Like I kinda had it on my, yeah.

01:29:13.260 --> 01:29:17.670
Two hands holding it so that, so my
reaction was just to stand up, pull

01:29:17.675 --> 01:29:21.210
the envelope back, and then put,
kind of put my hand on its chest

01:29:21.210 --> 01:29:23.400
and, and push him down back to his,
I was like, dude, what the fuck?

01:29:23.400 --> 01:29:23.640
You know?

01:29:23.700 --> 01:29:23.970
Yeah.

01:29:24.000 --> 01:29:24.750
Why are you touching my shit?

01:29:24.750 --> 01:29:25.920
Like, oh, I'm weirded out, right?

01:29:25.920 --> 01:29:26.520
Like, totally.

01:29:26.820 --> 01:29:28.410
And he's like, fuck you, you know?

01:29:28.410 --> 01:29:29.430
I was like, dude, man, just relax.

01:29:29.430 --> 01:29:32.070
And he, he starts going for
his, something in his pocket.

01:29:32.310 --> 01:29:32.580
Nope.

01:29:32.640 --> 01:29:34.710
So I grabbed his other arm and I pull it.

01:29:34.715 --> 01:29:35.730
I said, keep your fucking hands there.

01:29:35.730 --> 01:29:36.390
What's your problem?

01:29:36.390 --> 01:29:38.790
He's like, fuck you, you're,
you're high in crystal meth.

01:29:38.790 --> 01:29:39.240
And I was like, well, what?

01:29:39.764 --> 01:29:42.045
No, not . Wait a second.

01:29:42.355 --> 01:29:44.655
I thought you might do my, yeah, now
I, now I know what I'm dealing with.

01:29:44.655 --> 01:29:47.205
Anyway, he starts kicking up
at me, you know, like, yeah.

01:29:47.925 --> 01:29:53.264
So, you know, I just drilled him as
hard as I could in the, in the mouth.

01:29:53.295 --> 01:29:53.955
Knocked him out.

01:29:54.224 --> 01:29:54.554
Yeah.

01:29:54.615 --> 01:29:55.965
And then right away I was like, fuck.

01:29:56.474 --> 01:29:56.865
Whoops.

01:29:56.865 --> 01:29:57.405
Yes.

01:29:57.495 --> 01:29:59.865
That was probably little over the top.

01:29:59.865 --> 01:30:04.094
And then I do, I just remember the look
and that poor girl, she just looked at

01:30:04.094 --> 01:30:05.745
me like with a complete whore, you know?

01:30:06.035 --> 01:30:08.505
I was like, man, so I walked
to the front of the bus.

01:30:08.509 --> 01:30:08.925
Worst.

01:30:08.929 --> 01:30:10.695
I'm like, I'm like, sir, because
we're still sitting there.

01:30:11.325 --> 01:30:13.995
I was like, sir, I just had an altercation
with the gentleman in the back.

01:30:14.384 --> 01:30:18.105
And then he's at this point,
starts hobbling up the back.

01:30:18.585 --> 01:30:19.455
He's got the phone.

01:30:19.455 --> 01:30:21.195
That's what was in his pocket phone.

01:30:21.195 --> 01:30:22.245
He's calling nine one one.

01:30:22.394 --> 01:30:24.644
So he is like, you know what, just
the bus driver says just get off and

01:30:24.644 --> 01:30:26.144
get on the bus in the front of us.

01:30:26.205 --> 01:30:27.974
So I go into the front of
the bus, the guy lets me in.

01:30:28.155 --> 01:30:28.394
Yeah.

01:30:28.514 --> 01:30:32.355
And then buddy basically stands in front
of that bus, so it can't go anywhere.

01:30:32.455 --> 01:30:32.804
Mm.

01:30:33.554 --> 01:30:36.554
Long story short, poor victim, both buses.

01:30:37.005 --> 01:30:39.585
Dismounted, there must have
been about five or six rp.

01:30:39.585 --> 01:30:40.185
They have a Yep.

01:30:40.725 --> 01:30:42.165
There was transit police were there.

01:30:42.555 --> 01:30:48.585
Uh, luckily he had been, uh, arrested the
day prior for hasling old people or so.

01:30:48.585 --> 01:30:50.385
He was hogtied in the back
of one of the cop cars.

01:30:50.405 --> 01:30:50.885
Right.

01:30:51.135 --> 01:30:51.510
Freaking out.

01:30:51.645 --> 01:30:53.475
Why I'm bleeding, why am I being arrested?

01:30:53.475 --> 01:30:56.445
You know, . But there was a young
gentleman that had been sitting beside

01:30:56.445 --> 01:30:58.245
us and he had seen the whole thing.

01:30:58.245 --> 01:31:00.015
So he collaborated my side of the story.

01:31:00.915 --> 01:31:03.465
I had called my, my wife
as this was happened, said,

01:31:03.465 --> 01:31:04.575
come back to the bus station.

01:31:04.580 --> 01:31:05.025
She's like, why?

01:31:05.025 --> 01:31:05.835
I was like, just come back.

01:31:05.835 --> 01:31:09.285
So she showed up to see me standing there
with like all these police officers,

01:31:09.285 --> 01:31:13.815
all about a hundred people, all these,
you know,  red flag, I'm sure for her.

01:31:13.815 --> 01:31:15.256
Like, holy shit, 1:00 AM
I dealing with, you know?

01:31:15.261 --> 01:31:15.525
Yep.

01:31:16.365 --> 01:31:17.325
Anyway, they took a picture.

01:31:17.325 --> 01:31:20.415
I went back to the, uh, little
precinct and, uh, nice police lady

01:31:20.415 --> 01:31:21.974
took a picture of the envelope.

01:31:22.394 --> 01:31:24.945
I don't think they actually, we took
the checkout, but they took my story.

01:31:25.035 --> 01:31:25.275
Yeah.

01:31:25.335 --> 01:31:29.175
And, uh, you know, I was concerned that
I had got above and beyond, and she said,

01:31:29.179 --> 01:31:34.575
well, we don't really, you know, suggest
that type of action, but perhaps the

01:31:34.575 --> 01:31:35.894
other individual won't do that again.

01:31:36.045 --> 01:31:36.315
Yeah.

01:31:36.315 --> 01:31:37.155
Perhaps you had it coming.

01:31:37.155 --> 01:31:37.845
You're good to go.

01:31:37.845 --> 01:31:41.295
Anyway, so I, my wife dropped me off at
the building, in the government building.

01:31:41.295 --> 01:31:45.195
I had to check in on a time, and then
about a minute after 12, my boss calls

01:31:45.195 --> 01:31:47.804
me any problems, . I was like, no.

01:31:47.865 --> 01:31:48.165
Nope.

01:31:48.894 --> 01:31:49.385
, nope.

01:31:49.389 --> 01:31:49.724
All good.

01:31:50.625 --> 01:31:52.275
. But I've never been,
never been on a bus since.

01:31:52.934 --> 01:31:53.205
There you go.

01:31:53.235 --> 01:31:53.745
Travis Bader: Yeah.

01:31:54.045 --> 01:31:54.585
Well, that's,

01:31:54.585 --> 01:32:00.195
Joel Struthers: so yeah, that was, uh,
probably, uh, um, not the wisest choice,

01:32:00.195 --> 01:32:05.144
but it was a, a direct correlation
to my, my environment and Headspace.

01:32:05.144 --> 01:32:05.775
I, yeah,

01:32:06.315 --> 01:32:06.795
Travis Bader: totally.

01:32:06.915 --> 01:32:07.155
Yeah.

01:32:07.965 --> 01:32:09.735
Uh, you ever watch a Bear Grills episode?

01:32:09.735 --> 01:32:11.224
I think it was called
Escape to the Legion.

01:32:11.759 --> 01:32:12.450
You ever see that?

01:32:12.519 --> 01:32:12.879
Yeah.

01:32:13.230 --> 01:32:13.379
Yeah.

01:32:13.379 --> 01:32:15.269
What were your thoughts on No, no, no.

01:32:15.269 --> 01:32:15.719
Were that, no.

01:32:15.920 --> 01:32:16.280
Okay.

01:32:16.480 --> 01:32:16.679
? No.

01:32:16.950 --> 01:32:20.009
Just that was a, uh, a lot of Hollywood.

01:32:20.429 --> 01:32:20.879
Yes.

01:32:21.059 --> 01:32:21.240
Yeah.

01:32:21.240 --> 01:32:21.599
Gotcha.

01:32:21.719 --> 01:32:21.870
Yep.

01:32:22.650 --> 01:32:24.269
Um, got a note here.

01:32:24.269 --> 01:32:27.719
Haiti watch big tales of how
the Haitians are being helped.

01:32:28.469 --> 01:32:28.769
Yeah.

01:32:28.830 --> 01:32:29.190
It's funny.

01:32:29.195 --> 01:32:31.500
I actually, I reached
out to a buddy yesterday.

01:32:32.040 --> 01:32:35.519
My wife's like looking at flights
and accommodations everywhere

01:32:35.519 --> 01:32:36.750
is like really expensive.

01:32:36.839 --> 01:32:38.700
It's like, you know, we haven't
been outta town for a while.

01:32:38.700 --> 01:32:39.240
She's like, wow.

01:32:39.420 --> 01:32:41.040
Hey, there's some stuff real cheap.

01:32:41.045 --> 01:32:42.299
Flights down to Haiti right now.

01:32:42.299 --> 01:32:42.900
Joel Struthers: I bet there is.

01:32:42.900 --> 01:32:43.049
Yeah.

01:32:43.870 --> 01:32:46.679
. 
Travis Bader: I, I'm like, and she's
like, uh, what do you think of Haiti?

01:32:46.684 --> 01:32:49.360
And I'm like, in the middle of
something else and I'm, uh, I

01:32:49.379 --> 01:32:50.910
give a text over to, to Seb.

01:32:50.910 --> 01:32:54.900
Uh, yeah, he's was down there doing
some work while about it, Hey, Seb,

01:32:54.900 --> 01:32:57.360
thinking about doing a family thing
down in Haiti, . And he was like,

01:32:57.960 --> 01:32:59.250
uh, brother, I hope you're joking,

01:32:59.759 --> 01:33:00.570
And he said, what?

01:33:00.570 --> 01:33:01.799
After the other, I'm like, okay.

01:33:02.040 --> 01:33:05.940
He's like, clearly, clearly your political
science and your geography needs some

01:33:05.945 --> 01:33:06.299
Joel Struthers: work.

01:33:06.299 --> 01:33:06.360
Yeah.

01:33:06.365 --> 01:33:07.740
You need to, yeah.

01:33:07.799 --> 01:33:10.019
Talk to your, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:33:10.019 --> 01:33:14.490
No, um, Yeah, we went in there for a
short span of time right after the,

01:33:14.490 --> 01:33:15.930
uh, within the week of the earthquake.

01:33:15.960 --> 01:33:16.050
Mm-hmm.

01:33:16.290 --> 01:33:16.890
or close too.

01:33:17.220 --> 01:33:19.080
Um, just to see if we could Yeah.

01:33:19.080 --> 01:33:22.200
Maybe help out on logistics side for some
of these NGOs, you know, other people.

01:33:22.350 --> 01:33:22.620
Yeah.

01:33:22.680 --> 01:33:24.840
Um, yeah, twofold.

01:33:24.840 --> 01:33:26.010
It was more to see, it was interesting.

01:33:26.015 --> 01:33:27.420
It worked out, uh, schedule wise.

01:33:27.460 --> 01:33:32.610
I, I was working in, uh, Algeria at the
time and, um, yeah, we thought why not?

01:33:32.670 --> 01:33:36.780
Um, my dad's brother at the east
passed, unfortunately, but he was a, uh,

01:33:36.780 --> 01:33:40.581
commander in the, the, uh, Canadian Navy
and he was in charge of the, uh, the

01:33:40.586 --> 01:33:42.210
Canadian military efforts at the time.

01:33:42.690 --> 01:33:46.050
Um, so he put me in touch with
someone at the un So we showed up

01:33:46.440 --> 01:33:51.000
and we drove in from, uh, across the
border and rendered ourselves a villa

01:33:51.000 --> 01:33:56.070
and how a driver and, um, showed
up at the UN facility installation,

01:33:56.070 --> 01:33:57.269
whatever, which was at the airport.

01:33:57.900 --> 01:34:00.300
And, uh, they invited us
to their morning meeting.

01:34:00.870 --> 01:34:04.935
So it was just all UN people and us,
and, uh, I don't think they realized

01:34:04.995 --> 01:34:06.825
who exactly or what we were, right.

01:34:06.825 --> 01:34:07.025
Mm-hmm.

01:34:07.105 --> 01:34:08.505
. And they went through their
whole spiel, what they were

01:34:08.510 --> 01:34:09.405
doing, and blah, blah, blah.

01:34:09.405 --> 01:34:12.525
And the end, end of the, uh, meeting
they had, I stood up, they asked

01:34:12.525 --> 01:34:15.555
me to stand up and, you know,
introduce myself and explain why we

01:34:15.560 --> 01:34:16.335
were there, all that kind of stuff.

01:34:16.335 --> 01:34:20.955
And then I could see the main,
the main guy kind of like, huh,

01:34:22.035 --> 01:34:23.955
And then at the end of it, he's
like, uh, do you mind if, could

01:34:23.955 --> 01:34:24.555
I talk to you for a second?

01:34:24.555 --> 01:34:24.675
Yeah.

01:34:24.675 --> 01:34:25.215
By all means.

01:34:25.215 --> 01:34:29.745
And, uh, yeah, we were no longer welcomed
into the . I didn't, I don't think they

01:34:29.745 --> 01:34:32.445
really realized what we were doing,
but at, we were basically just saying,

01:34:32.445 --> 01:34:34.485
listen, if you have NGOs out there, mm.

01:34:34.485 --> 01:34:35.805
Because it, it was a bit of a shit show.

01:34:35.805 --> 01:34:38.925
Things were, yeah, they had their
hands full, but there was a lot of,

01:34:38.930 --> 01:34:41.325
you know, these companies that were
there willing and wanting to help.

01:34:41.505 --> 01:34:44.505
But there was obviously risks involved
with that, that part of the country.

01:34:44.775 --> 01:34:47.175
We said, you know, if they're concerned
about their safety and they just want,

01:34:47.175 --> 01:34:50.685
you know, people with that kind of
background, SOPs and help them set up a

01:34:50.690 --> 01:34:54.375
safe way of doing things, we're around
and willing and able, you know, so.

01:34:54.375 --> 01:34:54.465
Right.

01:34:54.555 --> 01:34:57.735
Um, did the same thing with Canadian
Embassy, but it wasn't really a.

01:34:59.175 --> 01:35:01.875
Yeah, a, uh, favorable experience.

01:35:01.875 --> 01:35:05.805
And we, um, we ended up just kind of
hanging out with this, uh, old hotel,

01:35:05.805 --> 01:35:09.525
which had wifi and a lot of the NGO groups
were, were staying there too, so we just

01:35:09.525 --> 01:35:13.875
befriended quite a few of them and just
helped them put together some procedures

01:35:13.875 --> 01:35:18.465
and plans and suggestions, like just
hung out and then we, we headed home.

01:35:18.825 --> 01:35:19.155
Very cool.

01:35:19.155 --> 01:35:22.995
But, uh, yeah, it's a, um, the
history in Haiti is, is interesting.

01:35:23.205 --> 01:35:23.355
Mm-hmm.

01:35:23.385 --> 01:35:26.325
Um, yeah, how they came to the freedoms.

01:35:26.330 --> 01:35:30.165
I mean, obviously there's the French
involvement Napoleon stuff, and they're,

01:35:30.165 --> 01:35:34.575
um, yeah, they've had a hard run, but,
uh, they're, they're a tough people.

01:35:34.755 --> 01:35:34.995
Well, you're

01:35:34.995 --> 01:35:37.095
Travis Bader: quite the history
buff that really kind of comes

01:35:37.095 --> 01:35:38.325
through and you're your books.

01:35:38.325 --> 01:35:38.475
Yeah, I

01:35:38.805 --> 01:35:42.225
Joel Struthers: do like, I do like
the history and that's always the main

01:35:42.225 --> 01:35:47.085
thing for me in my travels is kind of
like, you know, where and why is this

01:35:47.085 --> 01:35:48.855
happening and what's the history here?

01:35:48.855 --> 01:35:53.115
And, uh, it obviously repeats itself,
but, uh, yeah, just touching old.

01:35:53.710 --> 01:35:56.220
You know, castles or old
forts or, that's cool.

01:35:56.220 --> 01:36:00.270
Being, uh, there's a shit that's, I
think that's a result of my growing

01:36:00.270 --> 01:36:01.260
up in Germany as a youngster.

01:36:01.260 --> 01:36:04.260
You know, just castles were, were neat
or anything to do with the war, you know?

01:36:04.530 --> 01:36:04.710
Yeah.

01:36:04.710 --> 01:36:06.660
Um, and it's just always stuck with me.

01:36:06.665 --> 01:36:08.820
I really enjoy the, the
historical side of things.

01:36:09.030 --> 01:36:11.130
Travis Bader: Well, you had a neat
thing with the, uh, sword as well, too.

01:36:11.640 --> 01:36:11.970
Yeah.

01:36:11.970 --> 01:36:13.800
That was a pretty, uh, yeah,

01:36:14.070 --> 01:36:15.000
Joel Struthers: no, agreed.

01:36:15.000 --> 01:36:16.680
Yeah, no, I'm, I'm glad you liked that.

01:36:16.710 --> 01:36:24.240
Um, yeah, that's at the end of civil,
and that was, so my dad's dad was a, um,

01:36:24.570 --> 01:36:29.940
missionary doctor, and he went into ch and
in fact, my dad's dad was born in China.

01:36:30.240 --> 01:36:34.560
Um, they went over there to teach
a Chinese medicine and how to, you

01:36:34.560 --> 01:36:37.200
know, they're starting to build
hospitals and how to run them.

01:36:37.200 --> 01:36:40.050
And he was there when the
Japanese, so he's in Manchuria

01:36:40.080 --> 01:36:41.160
when the Japanese came through.

01:36:41.340 --> 01:36:46.380
Um, and he wrote a book, um, and
I read it, but, and this sword,

01:36:46.410 --> 01:36:47.640
so there's a samurai sword.

01:36:47.645 --> 01:36:50.370
So my, my dad's dad was, uh, artillery.

01:36:50.790 --> 01:36:51.660
second wave, Juneau.

01:36:52.140 --> 01:36:55.890
Uh, and then he finished off,
um, he worked for, uh, NATO

01:36:55.980 --> 01:36:57.450
in Brussels for the Canadians.

01:36:57.870 --> 01:37:01.110
And I just remember, and then he,
he retired in Santon on the island.

01:37:01.500 --> 01:37:01.530
Okay.

01:37:01.535 --> 01:37:06.720
And they always, and from early days they
had their like wicker basket at the front

01:37:06.725 --> 01:37:08.250
door with the canes and the umbrellas.

01:37:08.250 --> 01:37:08.310
Yeah.

01:37:08.315 --> 01:37:11.580
But there was always the samurai sword
in there that I was enamored with.

01:37:11.790 --> 01:37:12.360
Yeah, totally.

01:37:12.360 --> 01:37:16.350
And, um, anyway, when my grandma
passed, she left it to me in her will,

01:37:17.190 --> 01:37:18.660
cuz she knows into that kind of stuff.

01:37:19.110 --> 01:37:24.990
And, uh, it's a legit samurai sword,
um, that he had brought back with him.

01:37:24.995 --> 01:37:27.900
But in his book, the only time
he references, like, there's no

01:37:27.900 --> 01:37:29.760
history or story behind that sword.

01:37:30.180 --> 01:37:33.480
Um, the only run he had with the,
uh, the Japanese military was, and

01:37:33.480 --> 01:37:37.590
they had, the Japanese had given, uh,
free passage to, to whites or, you

01:37:37.590 --> 01:37:39.990
know, four nationals in that area.

01:37:41.325 --> 01:37:43.875
, but there had been an altercation
where a Japanese soldier,

01:37:43.875 --> 01:37:44.925
soldiers had been killed.

01:37:45.405 --> 01:37:47.565
So as we know, the Japanese
were fairly brutal.

01:37:47.595 --> 01:37:50.475
They went into one of, of these
hospitals, but it was a hospital for

01:37:50.475 --> 01:37:52.695
the, the Chinese military size stuff.

01:37:52.700 --> 01:37:54.615
And they basically ban everybody.

01:37:54.675 --> 01:37:54.765
Mm-hmm.

01:37:55.005 --> 01:37:55.185
doctors.

01:37:55.395 --> 01:37:55.885
Yeah.

01:37:55.890 --> 01:37:57.075
Nurses, patients.

01:37:57.135 --> 01:38:02.145
And one of the, um, staff was able to get
a message to my grandfather to come help.

01:38:02.625 --> 01:38:06.405
And when he got there, he confronted
the Japanese officer in charge

01:38:06.405 --> 01:38:08.535
and he said that's the one time
he was, he feared for his life.

01:38:08.565 --> 01:38:08.655
Mm-hmm.

01:38:09.085 --> 01:38:12.075
. Cause he basically said, this is a
place of medicine, not a place of, but

01:38:12.075 --> 01:38:15.765
you don't, you can imagine you don't
tell a Japanese officer shit Right.

01:38:15.765 --> 01:38:16.395
In that setting.

01:38:16.395 --> 01:38:16.575
Right.

01:38:16.580 --> 01:38:17.085
Not in that setting.

01:38:17.090 --> 01:38:20.265
Um, but anyway, he came back and he
wasn't into military or any type of

01:38:20.265 --> 01:38:21.645
that, but he came back with a sword.

01:38:21.645 --> 01:38:24.375
And that would not be something
that someone just gives away, right?

01:38:24.375 --> 01:38:24.795
No.

01:38:24.885 --> 01:38:28.845
Um, so I had the sword, I looked at it.

01:38:30.450 --> 01:38:31.530
And I gave it to my son.

01:38:31.620 --> 01:38:32.460
This is family arm.

01:38:32.460 --> 01:38:33.240
I said, you know what son?

01:38:33.240 --> 01:38:34.350
This is, this is yours.

01:38:34.620 --> 01:38:35.220
There's two things.

01:38:35.220 --> 01:38:40.940
We could just let it rot away, you know,
or we could track down its original

01:38:40.945 --> 01:38:45.120
family and see if we could give it
back to the rightful owners, you know?

01:38:45.240 --> 01:38:45.480
Cool.

01:38:45.750 --> 01:38:49.290
Um, so I had reached out to a
gentleman through a LinkedIn.

01:38:49.290 --> 01:38:52.470
I found, uh, using Tokyo, he
runs, uh, Paul's his name.

01:38:52.470 --> 01:38:55.440
He runs a, a company called the
Japanese Sword, and he had been a

01:38:55.440 --> 01:38:58.380
curator for the British Museum in
London there for the, that department.

01:38:58.380 --> 01:39:02.190
And then gone over to, done really
well for himself, but he just loves the

01:39:02.190 --> 01:39:03.510
samurai sword and culture and stuff.

01:39:03.540 --> 01:39:07.380
So I sent him pictures, shipped
him the sword, like we went

01:39:07.380 --> 01:39:08.250
back and forth for a year.

01:39:08.250 --> 01:39:09.420
So I, you know, I trusted him.

01:39:09.420 --> 01:39:11.850
He said, you know, the only
way I can tell you more, um,

01:39:11.850 --> 01:39:13.080
is by getting my hands on it.

01:39:13.085 --> 01:39:16.830
So I shipped it to him and he said,
yep, this is an old family sword.

01:39:17.250 --> 01:39:18.510
It's over 500 years old.

01:39:18.870 --> 01:39:19.290
Wow.

01:39:19.290 --> 01:39:22.020
The tip had been broken off at some
point and they repaired it, so it was

01:39:22.020 --> 01:39:25.140
no longer legally, uh, but whatever.

01:39:25.200 --> 01:39:25.410
Yeah.

01:39:25.800 --> 01:39:28.770
Um, but there was no
markings on the handle where.

01:39:29.519 --> 01:39:31.410
Typically the blacksmiths would
leave a mark and they could

01:39:31.410 --> 01:39:32.519
from there maybe figure it out.

01:39:32.519 --> 01:39:32.670
Right.

01:39:33.809 --> 01:39:36.660
But what he said is, gimme some
time and I'll, I'll get back to you.

01:39:36.660 --> 01:39:37.110
So he did.

01:39:37.110 --> 01:39:42.179
And what happened is, um, the, uh,
shrine, uh, for the emperor go Toba

01:39:42.299 --> 01:39:45.969
on the Oakey Islands, which is on
the north between, uh, Japan and, and

01:39:45.974 --> 01:39:52.740
Korea, um, he was an original ever
that fought the samurai and lost, and

01:39:52.740 --> 01:39:54.360
he was exiled on this, on this island.

01:39:54.360 --> 01:39:59.969
But he was a, a keen, um, sword enthusiast
and made his own swords and stuff.

01:39:59.969 --> 01:40:03.330
Anyway, so that's, they were willing
to take it on and they would look

01:40:03.330 --> 01:40:06.960
after it and, uh, you know, put
it on display for people to see.

01:40:06.960 --> 01:40:09.330
And so I said, fuck yeah.

01:40:09.330 --> 01:40:11.040
But the deal is the family.

01:40:11.040 --> 01:40:13.019
We go over and we hand over the sword.

01:40:13.200 --> 01:40:15.960
And so the kids and I,
we flew to oak okay.

01:40:15.964 --> 01:40:18.210
In Japan and, uh, yeah, handed the sword.

01:40:18.269 --> 01:40:19.019
Good deal.

01:40:19.080 --> 01:40:19.200
Yeah.

01:40:19.200 --> 01:40:21.120
So my, my son, uh, you
know, I stood there.

01:40:21.389 --> 01:40:25.500
It was interesting cuz uh, you
know, there's this, uh, shrine.

01:40:26.400 --> 01:40:30.180
Um, priest in his full on garb, and we
go through the whole procedure to show

01:40:30.180 --> 01:40:31.710
our respect and honors to the gods.

01:40:31.920 --> 01:40:32.010
Mm-hmm.

01:40:32.016 --> 01:40:37.019
and the Emperor and my son there, and
he's, uh, his white socks had gone through

01:40:37.019 --> 01:40:38.519
the washing machine, so they're now pink.

01:40:38.940 --> 01:40:42.120
Anyway, so he's in his, you know,
I thought it was in interesting

01:40:42.120 --> 01:40:43.650
juxtaposition of culture and stuff.

01:40:43.650 --> 01:40:46.019
So there he is with his Samurai
sword handing it, you know, in his,

01:40:46.200 --> 01:40:48.390
it was Pink Socks and that's why
the chapter's called Pink Socks.

01:40:48.630 --> 01:40:48.870
Yeah, yeah.

01:40:49.220 --> 01:40:52.350
. But, uh, yeah, I know it was, it was
really a, it was a good experience for,

01:40:52.620 --> 01:40:54.000
for them and I, to be honest with you.

01:40:54.000 --> 01:40:55.650
And that was, I was quite taken in Japan.

01:40:55.650 --> 01:40:58.560
If you have the opportunity to go
there, it's, they got their shit dialed

01:40:58.710 --> 01:40:59.460
Travis Bader: at some point.

01:40:59.519 --> 01:41:00.269
Yeah, I think I

01:41:00.269 --> 01:41:00.990
Joel Struthers: should probably do that.

01:41:00.990 --> 01:41:02.519
Yeah, it's, uh, it's a neat spot.

01:41:02.670 --> 01:41:06.960
Anyway, so yeah, that's, uh, and I thought
that was kind of, I mean, I don't say

01:41:06.960 --> 01:41:09.600
it, but I think in, in a way it kind
of comes, it's kind of soldier's honor.

01:41:09.600 --> 01:41:14.940
You know, you, this was, you know,
politics were side, I mean, we know they

01:41:14.940 --> 01:41:18.269
were brutal, but, um, you know, at the
end of the day, it was probably just a

01:41:18.269 --> 01:41:20.760
soldier doing what he was told to do.

01:41:20.760 --> 01:41:24.360
And I, I get into that too with Seville
on the, on the German side of stuff.

01:41:24.365 --> 01:41:24.380
Mm-hmm.

01:41:24.460 --> 01:41:27.435
, you know, it's like, And I
see it, to be honest with you.

01:41:27.435 --> 01:41:31.515
I see it right now with, you know, the
shit show in, uh, over in the Ukraine is,

01:41:31.515 --> 01:41:34.845
you know, I, I feel sorry for the young
soldiers, whatever side, they're just

01:41:34.845 --> 01:41:35.985
being thrown into the shit, you know?

01:41:36.135 --> 01:41:40.395
So I've, I've always taken that from
my, I see the soldiering side of it

01:41:40.400 --> 01:41:43.335
where it's just young men and women
doing what they're, what they're told.

01:41:43.340 --> 01:41:45.525
It's not, you know, it's not
the leaders that are swaying

01:41:45.525 --> 01:41:46.395
them in the wrong direction.

01:41:46.400 --> 01:41:50.505
But, uh, so that was my effort to kind
of maybe give something back that didn't

01:41:50.505 --> 01:41:53.865
belong to us and belonged to a family that
obviously, probably lost, lost family.

01:41:54.165 --> 01:41:54.495
Yeah.

01:41:54.495 --> 01:41:57.615
And there was a gentleman there, um, Mr.

01:41:57.615 --> 01:42:00.765
San as I called him, but he was
the, um, the sword specialist,

01:42:00.765 --> 01:42:01.905
the government sword specialist.

01:42:01.910 --> 01:42:04.125
And, uh, he was probably in his eighties.

01:42:04.125 --> 01:42:07.005
It's hard to tell, they're hard
to gauge, but he had, knowing the

01:42:07.005 --> 01:42:09.885
history of, you know, Japan and the
military, he guaranteed he served.

01:42:10.395 --> 01:42:14.475
And uh, but um, in the morning
we were leaving really early.

01:42:14.925 --> 01:42:18.735
And, uh, when he found out the story
behind the sword, cause I think a lot

01:42:18.735 --> 01:42:20.965
of swords had been returned because.

01:42:22.094 --> 01:42:25.325
The Japanese military, mass producing
World War I, world War ii, right?

01:42:25.325 --> 01:42:25.485
Mm-hmm.

01:42:25.565 --> 01:42:28.514
, but this one's an old, an
old family sword, really.

01:42:28.844 --> 01:42:29.205
So when.

01:42:30.045 --> 01:42:33.945
when the, um, translators explained
to him the story behind it.

01:42:33.945 --> 01:42:37.815
He was, I could tell that he was
like, oh, he's quite, um, and then

01:42:37.875 --> 01:42:41.505
during dinner, uh, you know, through
the translator, we kind of talked.

01:42:41.535 --> 01:42:43.875
Unfortunately, I never, I, one
of my regrets is I never asked

01:42:43.875 --> 01:42:46.425
him what his background, but I
didn't know the protocol on that.

01:42:46.430 --> 01:42:46.715
Mm-hmm.

01:42:46.795 --> 01:42:49.005
, and I don't know how comfortable
they would feel sharing.

01:42:49.005 --> 01:42:49.095
Right.

01:42:49.725 --> 01:42:52.065
But in the morning, we had to catch
an early ferry off the island.

01:42:52.275 --> 01:42:54.735
And when we showed up at
like seven, there was Mr.

01:42:54.735 --> 01:42:57.885
Sand, and he had a gift
for my son and my daughter.

01:42:57.945 --> 01:43:00.555
And I think he, you know, I didn't
speak Japanese, obviously, he

01:43:00.555 --> 01:43:03.675
didn't speak English, but we had,
we had learned how to bow properly.

01:43:03.885 --> 01:43:04.125
Okay.

01:43:04.125 --> 01:43:08.025
And so we, we bowed and then I grabbed
his hand and shook it and he laughed.

01:43:08.565 --> 01:43:08.955
, you know what I mean?

01:43:09.405 --> 01:43:12.735
But I think he appreciated that
we were giving something back.

01:43:12.945 --> 01:43:13.995
That is really cool.

01:43:13.995 --> 01:43:14.055
Yeah.

01:43:14.085 --> 01:43:17.250
So that, for me, that was the neatest
part of the, the experience was his.

01:43:18.045 --> 01:43:19.815
Travis Bader: Well, that definitely
came across in the book too.

01:43:19.820 --> 01:43:20.025
Yeah.

01:43:20.055 --> 01:43:20.625
Which is, that's cool.

01:43:20.685 --> 01:43:21.225
Which is pretty neat.

01:43:21.225 --> 01:43:21.525
Appreciate.

01:43:21.765 --> 01:43:22.005
Yeah,

01:43:22.785 --> 01:43:23.295
Joel Struthers: yeah, yeah.

01:43:23.300 --> 01:43:24.705
You never know how things come across.

01:43:24.705 --> 01:43:24.885
Right.

01:43:25.200 --> 01:43:25.740
Totally.

01:43:26.430 --> 01:43:29.940
Travis Bader: I think we covered a lot of
the things on here without going, uh, too

01:43:29.940 --> 01:43:33.150
deep in some of the, uh, the more personal
ones that they're, they're asking there.

01:43:33.930 --> 01:43:37.740
Um, is there anything that we should be
talking about that we haven't covered?

01:43:39.510 --> 01:43:41.790
Joel Struthers: Um, no.

01:43:41.795 --> 01:43:48.210
I mean, I think Seville, it's a tough,
so it's been out since what may?

01:43:48.330 --> 01:43:52.350
Um, it's a tough sell because
it's, yeah, it's a follow up book.

01:43:52.350 --> 01:43:54.630
I don't know how many of those
exist, cuz if you haven't read Apel.

01:43:55.184 --> 01:43:57.344
It wouldn't, you could probably
comment, but if you know what I mean?

01:43:57.344 --> 01:44:00.045
If you read Seville without knowing No,
you could, you could reads on its own.

01:44:00.045 --> 01:44:01.485
You could, but some of the names

01:44:01.815 --> 01:44:02.144
Travis Bader: Sure.

01:44:02.144 --> 01:44:02.384
Yes.

01:44:02.835 --> 01:44:02.894
Illa.

01:44:02.894 --> 01:44:05.625
Well, what it does is it'll make
somebody want to read a pill too.

01:44:05.655 --> 01:44:05.865
Right?

01:44:06.315 --> 01:44:06.525
Yeah.

01:44:06.764 --> 01:44:07.605
But agreed.

01:44:07.665 --> 01:44:08.714
It, it's totally a standalone.

01:44:08.714 --> 01:44:10.335
You don't have to do one to get the other.

01:44:10.365 --> 01:44:15.915
Cuz I, I really enjoyed reading the, uh,
the perspective from the, um, uh, the pm

01:44:15.915 --> 01:44:17.684
c side and all the references you made.

01:44:17.745 --> 01:44:18.165
And,

01:44:18.165 --> 01:44:19.214
Joel Struthers: uh, but I
think that was lacking, right?

01:44:19.245 --> 01:44:21.855
Cause I think there can, I might
be wrong, but there can be kind of

01:44:21.855 --> 01:44:24.255
a, a negative connotation to the.

01:44:24.580 --> 01:44:26.830
You know, the, the Blackwater
stuff and whatever, like

01:44:26.890 --> 01:44:28.030
Travis Bader: some
people have that, right?

01:44:28.240 --> 01:44:28.300
Yeah.

01:44:28.305 --> 01:44:32.380
And actually one of the questions
that they, they had was, um, um, uh,

01:44:32.380 --> 01:44:34.390
juggling the, cuz it's a positive thing.

01:44:34.394 --> 01:44:34.450
Yeah.

01:44:34.450 --> 01:44:38.860
But there is that negative, uh,
sphere around it and the, uh, some

01:44:38.860 --> 01:44:40.300
ethical quandaries at times too.

01:44:40.305 --> 01:44:40.480
Yes.

01:44:40.510 --> 01:44:41.559
Being able to, yeah.

01:44:41.740 --> 01:44:42.940
Uh, and how you might juggle

01:44:42.940 --> 01:44:43.269
Joel Struthers: that.

01:44:43.390 --> 01:44:44.800
And I found, and that.

01:44:45.315 --> 01:44:49.485
Similar reason Seville made sense because
it does educate to a certain extent and

01:44:49.485 --> 01:44:53.715
it shows, it portrays, you know, like
the guys on my team, uh, in Afghanistan

01:44:53.715 --> 01:44:54.855
team too, they're Aaron and Chris.

01:44:54.855 --> 01:44:58.995
Like Aaron, he was, um,
ex uh, British officer.

01:44:59.475 --> 01:45:02.355
Um, so it, it was interesting cuz I'm,
you know, I've been with Armor Group

01:45:02.355 --> 01:45:05.385
for a while, had my experience, you
know, Iraq in Afghanistan, so I took

01:45:05.385 --> 01:45:09.255
over, you know, as team leader, but
then I got, you know, my subordinate

01:45:09.255 --> 01:45:11.355
is, you know, a fresh officer out
of the, you know, obviously mm-hmm.

01:45:11.360 --> 01:45:12.795
He's more than capable and Sure.

01:45:12.825 --> 01:45:13.425
But we were all good.

01:45:13.425 --> 01:45:16.965
We understood, like we were a team
with, there wasn't that hierarchy, it

01:45:16.970 --> 01:45:18.525
was more just a, a positional thing.

01:45:18.525 --> 01:45:23.265
But Chris was ex uh, Royal Marine,
uh, we actually had two Royal Marines.

01:45:23.475 --> 01:45:28.425
Um, the other two guys were, uh,
Brit, uh, Brit Army, one in one,

01:45:28.425 --> 01:45:30.675
you know, an mc, a military cross.

01:45:30.855 --> 01:45:32.445
So they're all experienced guys.

01:45:32.445 --> 01:45:35.175
But, uh, Aaron went on,
he's a, he's a doctor now.

01:45:35.655 --> 01:45:38.775
Um, so he got med school after
and did really well for himself.

01:45:38.780 --> 01:45:42.645
Chris is still out there doing the health
and safety type of stuff, so, There was,

01:45:42.735 --> 01:45:44.385
you know, some really some good people.

01:45:44.415 --> 01:45:48.285
And when it came to ethics, we were
not out there looking the fuck around.

01:45:48.285 --> 01:45:49.605
We were just there to do a job.

01:45:49.665 --> 01:45:52.785
And I think Armor Group, you know,
especially for the fco, cuz they vetted

01:45:52.875 --> 01:45:57.105
the FCO had final call on who, so your
resume and stuff would go to the FCO

01:45:57.105 --> 01:45:58.755
before they allowed you on that project.

01:45:59.235 --> 01:46:02.385
Um, and I think they, they did a good
job, you know, where you had people

01:46:02.385 --> 01:46:03.855
that were there for the right reasons.

01:46:04.425 --> 01:46:07.605
That can't necessarily be said everywhere,
but I can't comment for, for anyone else.

01:46:07.815 --> 01:46:07.905
Mm-hmm.

01:46:08.145 --> 01:46:13.755
. But I know within my group and the
way I am, we were there to provide

01:46:13.755 --> 01:46:19.215
a, a skillset and a, a job not out
there to, to fuck around and Yeah.

01:46:19.635 --> 01:46:19.875
Yeah.

01:46:20.445 --> 01:46:21.405
I'm not, yeah.

01:46:21.525 --> 01:46:22.065
Travis Bader: That's not me.

01:46:22.335 --> 01:46:25.845
So if people want to get the book,
what's the best place to place to do it?

01:46:25.965 --> 01:46:28.545
Joel Struthers: Um, so yeah, both
books are obviously on Amazon.

01:46:28.605 --> 01:46:28.785
Yeah.

01:46:30.290 --> 01:46:34.740
Seil, uh, whether it's both audiobook, but
for Seil it's only on Audible and Apple.

01:46:34.890 --> 01:46:35.100
Yeah.

01:46:35.310 --> 01:46:39.720
Um, or you could go, you know, I'm on
Instagram, there's the Legion engineer

01:46:39.720 --> 01:46:41.430
website, which has links to the books.

01:46:41.435 --> 01:46:41.740
Yeah.

01:46:41.760 --> 01:46:43.650
But yeah, it's, it just
takes you straight to Amazon.

01:46:43.800 --> 01:46:44.310
Well, I'll put,

01:46:44.820 --> 01:46:45.720
Travis Bader: I'll put
those links up there.

01:46:45.720 --> 01:46:46.140
Joel Struthers: Appreciate that.

01:46:46.140 --> 01:46:46.260
Yeah.

01:46:46.440 --> 01:46:49.380
And if, yeah, if they want it, I don't
keep a lot of books, but if people, every

01:46:49.380 --> 01:46:52.800
once in a while they, people ask for
a, a signed copy, what I do basically,

01:46:52.800 --> 01:46:55.170
so I just order a handful from Amazon.

01:46:55.200 --> 01:46:55.470
Yep.

01:46:55.800 --> 01:46:58.650
And uh, basically I just sign
them and ship 'em and it's just

01:46:58.830 --> 01:47:01.950
the cost of whatever it was on
Amazon and the shipping and yeah.

01:47:02.010 --> 01:47:02.580
I'll send it off.

01:47:02.580 --> 01:47:03.090
It's crazy.

01:47:03.210 --> 01:47:03.840
Interested in that.

01:47:04.110 --> 01:47:04.290
Yeah.

01:47:04.620 --> 01:47:05.280
Travis Bader: That's awesome.

01:47:06.090 --> 01:47:08.010
Joel, thank you very much
for me, another podcast.

01:47:08.010 --> 01:47:08.370
Thank you.

01:47:08.490 --> 01:47:09.990
Really enjoy urge conversation.

01:47:10.020 --> 01:47:10.530
Joel Struthers: Appreciate you.

01:47:10.700 --> 01:47:11.060
Thank.