Jocko Podcast 88 w/ Echo Charles - Importance of Fortitude. "Excursion To Hell"

2017-08-16T21:44:05Z

Join the conversation on Twitter: @jockowillink @echocharles 0:00:00 - Opening 0:07:28 - "Excursion To Hell", by Vince Bramley 2:04:40 - Final thoughts and Take-aways. 2:22:14 - Support, Cool Onnit, JockoStore stuff, with Jocko White Tea and Psychological Warfare (on iTunes). Extreme Ownership (book), The Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual. Origin Brand, Origin Jiu Jitsu Immersion Camp.  Origin Brand. Extreme Ownership Muster 004 in San Diego.  2:52:01 - Closing Gratitude.

AI summary of episode

but that's kind of a good thing about this is that that's not what it is you know how like you'll explain like you know part of it and this is a total pair of phrasing situation but you said it in a really good way before when you're like memorize the feeling after you're working or something like that see that's like that's not you're not inspiring me to go work out you're kind of pragmatically telling me like this is how you mentally wage an effective war on that little weakness there that's what it is you know in tracks doing this for all kinds of situations called psychological warfare joc go willing that's a good one also I have some other options now if you want to kind of support this podcast you can check out origin main dot com for your due to your needs we are now unified fully with origin made in America like me I would say like echo but echo is actually made in Canada I see that the whole task force was my friend I watched a marine sergeant in a TV documentary his eyes showing the emotion of his story and the site told me we were all the same I still feel a bit angry that the wounded went unnoticed a propaganda film on the task force as a rival home showed only the pairs in the Marines in the navy homecoming can you remember seeing the badly wounded coming through the gates I think not nobody wants to see the effects of carnage never again will I think that war is just a game like they showed on TV it is very different from how it is portrayed in books and films we call ourselves into the killing game don't we I remember very clearly watching from a window of my quarters five or six kids playing a war game some were even dressed in combat gear and carrying small toy machine guns I watched with interest in their tactics and attacking a cardboard box that was meant to be an enemy held position the two kids defending rolled over and pretended to die went over run by the goodies after being tegged by their friends they got up to resume the game from me high we start to practice what is in human nature to defend and kill the one big difference between their game and the real one is that you don't get up after really being shot who are as the legal killing of people and can be very scary who are as killed or be killed we also must remember that a lot of the command structure at junior rank level can almost be too difficult to maintain in the heat of battle then what becomes a winning factor is the determination of the private soldier his loan get up and go and do attitude we must take our hats off to the junior ranks of all services for they are the backbone of the war machine in that they have to kill a close range we are lucky to have what is perhaps one of the best fighting forces in the world thanks to our system of training and to our discipline even today I feel frustration about the war I was so psyched up to carry on with the fight into Stanley that the Argentinian surrender may be disappointed as well as happy I try very hard to keep out of fist fights now as I wouldn't like to lose myself control do my alone in feeling this or their hundreds or thousands of other time bombs out there other experience veterans may be sympathetic to all of said we can only wait for the next war now to practice the art of killing again I hope I'm there to help finally I must quote a first world war veteran who told me so many years before I joined the army you'll like the army events but not war it's horrible boy he was right that therefore when I came up to and said hey man look we gotta we gotta do better than that or hey we we can't be acting like that they knew that I wasn't coming to them from a from a what's that we're from the ivory tower I wasn't looking down on them like all I can't believe you're not that way we don't act out way we're naval representatives I wasn't coming to like that I was coming to and hey we're professionals we gotta get we want to get hired to do jobs we want to kill bad guys we got to get missions we got to get mission approval those were the things that that you know I kind of passed on to to my guys was hey that's cool be a frog man but be a disciplined frog man so now you have a bunch of little sodium's boom huge reaction huge support wide spread huge support by this little action from these you know what it is actually the sodium's better because of if I'm clicking through I'm a listen I'm listening to this podcast I'm like you know I'm gonna support I'm by one of these books I'm gonna you know by lawnmowers treadmill whatever I click through the website just that two seconds of going to the website first clicking through that's like so much potential in my click just like the the sodium so much potential energy in there especially when you mix it with the water you mix it with the Amazon the click boom support you follow we can move on Corpore Stephen hoped 27 private Timothy Jenkins 19 private Craig Jones 20 private Stewart Lang 20 Lance Corpore Christopher Love it 24 Corpore Keith McCarthy 27 Sergeant Ian McCay Victoria Cross 29 Corpore Stewart McCoffland 27 Lance Corpore James Murdock 25 Lance Corpore David Scott 24 private Ian Skriven's 17 Corpore Alex Shaw 25 private Philip West 19 and you notice those names those men their ages and their ranks they're all their all junior ranks the one sergeant sergeant Ian McCay who was awarded the Victoria Cross for storming 50 caliber machine gun mission but the rest of those men are privates and Lance Corpore's and Corpore's young men and as Kipling pointed out they're no plaster saints by any stretch but damn they might not be saints but I've no men like these and I've seen them with my eyes and as I have said and as this tale of the Falquins confirms once again war is hell and it's a hell that can bring out the worst in men but it can also bring out the best and don't forget these young men who like so many others answered the call fought and died in that awful place to protect their brothers and for the more and if you read this book you will realize that we all have a little bit more to give mentally and physically you can go further you can push harder you can be more ruthless if you have to be and you can also show more mercy you can be better I can be better we can all be better and we most often get better not from the easy things and not from the good times but from the hard times then the challenges and the suffering in life that pushes you to your breaking point and demands that you give absolutely everything you have but you have to keep going so no matter what keep going and I think that's all that I've got for tonight to be yeah he's not doing this whole part here in that my hands are going like this they're going like this so they're above my head I don't know what I'm gonna like it maybe Brandon Peckworth is doing eight inch or 12 inch vertical leap on each one like a beast and we're calling him out and he's actually I know he's doing it the cracker and yeah legs fully shoulders not chest like I think you know do it a push up one every you know second isn't that much for me but strangely my shoulders and this part that like what you call these the serrats they're like sore next day you know weird way it was weird man none the last I got a self-cuff police anyway back to these books if yeah if you want to get any of these books one or more whatever they're listed by episode on the website jocopotcast.com and and by the way we started off today before he record record record I said to echo you know you heard the book the what's that saying don't judge a book by its cover the cover of this book you can judge it by it's called excursion to hell by Lance Corporal Vincent Bramley and the picture on the cover looks like hell it looks like it's a picture of him it's blown up real big oh yeah for sure like you're like I'm not fully participating you know training exercise I wanted those guys to be prepared to put a grenade in my mouth and be there so you get some awesome well speaking of lots of stories maybe you could tell some stories about how to support this I'd be happy to know no short story hey did you get into drinking pomegranate white tea and subsequently jockel white tea because your wife is a Brit I know now that I wasn't alone the most comforting words I ever had to help me did not come from any of my family my family were concerned but could never really understand what I was going through those words came from my friends in the pub as we drank during leave Johnny turned to me and said vents I've had a few turns in the night you know that made me sit up and see clearly that I wasn't alone and when you're not alone you're stronger so that's something that I hear from a lot of vets and maybe you're thinking that this is something you're experiencing that no one else is not true not only are other guys going through it other guys have always gone through it you're not alone back to the book I fully believe that we as a nation performed the most excellent of tasks I'm fully behind the decision to send the task force and I wouldn't hesitate to fight again for a country and its beliefs people who win jibbout the decisions taken in war they weren't involved in to me are the most misguided of all the most striking events to affect me throughout the war were obviously the deaths of my friends eight years ago I regarded those friends as those in two and three pairs only now after learning about others experiences and after watching and reading others accounts It's a crack more, but then when they get far enough away, you don't hear that anymore and it just sounds like he's talking about like a little zip, like a little, you know, but I knew it was the first time I ever got shot at, I knew exactly what it was. but I feel like if I would have put my hands above my head on those four it wouldn't have made a difference that's what I think but if I'm like you know the kind where I'm filming at the master you know I'm filming this girl she's doing the perfect burpy while I'm filming her chest to the ground in fact when she went chest to ground her hands came up off the ground oh just for like a second I'm like dang this feels like you know what do they call the girls I think they call this game day pushups I don't know how like you know how like let's say you had like a pimple or something or is it I know I'm going deep so I'm like you know all my clothes are all wet from my sweat and usually that's not part of the movie when you watch the movie you know or like these guys is for just feet are falling off you know because it's cold and I was sitting in a combat outpost in Ramadi and it was nighttime yeah like what like a like a 100 terabyte hard drive how much is that cost like four to five grand I was kind of hesitating but listen we have some supplements coming for you as soon as we as soon as as soon as I started with Pete who is my partner at origin as soon as we kind of started talking as soon as we soon as it looked like we were going to solidify a deal we started we started he's got these got a little supplement line which gives the opportunity gave the opportunity gives the opportunity for me design the supplements so a little while back we had that opportunity designed him made him went on him legit you're gear alone you're your body armor helmet ammo magazines you know magazines an ammo grenades you're your 60 70 pounds then you put water that you're talking I think I think I weighed like 310 or something with like you're on seriously like roll well like what you're thinking yeah people want to know what the thing about big deal for some reason they ask me like what do you think in there I answer it that's why wrote that book right it's like it's like that's you know when you didn't do a burpee let's face it if we wanted to you know get some Guinness Book of World's right scenario then because I don't like saying journey that's what I'm saying message you and said hey quit saying journey say campaign against weakness which is actually from the podcast which is legit layers big time anyway thanks Andy for that one but that's the one I'm using for right now until like a better one comes up if that's even possible so in your campaign against weakness every single day for the rest of your life now that's you're in the game right now it's for the rest of your life no actually we didn't do that you know why it's going strong because of word a mouth that's what it's going strong for because one person gets it they buy it for this person that person buys it for someone else that person buys it for their team that's why we're still selling that thing like crazy why and why was it going through word a mouth because it works functionally works it's not theoretical it is pragmatic it's functional it'll make you a better leader and it'll make your team better period we've seen this over and over and over again that's why it's selling a lot so get yourself and your team so you can implement that but I didn't touch my chest and there were like four of them that I didn't put like four because when I started the set I'm like oh shoot those you know two or three I didn't put my hands above my head so I didn't show it and they start driving back to their compound back to the book always very quiet on the journey the English countryside made me feel like an alien Johnny tapped my shoulder from behind Vince the trees man look at them I looked at the trees they were part of what was making me feel like an alien they were all in full bloom bright green leaves in the wind there was traffic on the roads shops people walking about doing their own thing it all seemed unreal after only three months away it was a shock to see civilization again the odd thing was I felt anger anger and everyone for doing their own thing it was as if something in my head was urging me to shout at them as they walked along the streets so what I mean over the head like technically has to be above the head so if I go like this or doesn't have to be well this you guys do this I do a little bit of everything and depending on how tired I am okay if you see when I'm really tired my clap was barely happening and it's happened and like six inches in front of my belly yeah that whole island they don't really like iced tea like you can't go to restaurant all so iced tea they look at you like you're weird I'm gonna recommend it if you're into kettlebells you want to you know get your kettlebells on get on it once they're cooler that's my opinion good a lot of cool stuff I got a jump rope and stuff like that too um you know what I'll say did hundred burpees in 10 minutes And, you know, it's like, Lave talking, I've ever, you know, getting ready to go into Somalia or Rwanda, I had like hundreds of pounds of gear, grenades. I know the general public was concerned but it just didn't seem like it then I wasn't expecting a metal or even a pad on the back I really didn't know what to expect even so I found it hard to become there was no way I could relax if I had been asked to go do a torn Ireland I would have gone more than anything I felt the pinch of no longer having my friends around me we had been together so tightly over the last few months that it was as if now I had had a set an arm severed the buddy buddy system that we had needed to literally survive wasn't there anymore and the sheltered life now seemed too far but now seemed to me far too boring to endure I made a point of not talking about my experiences to any member of my family including my wife

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Episode transcript

[00:00:00] This is Jocco podcast, number 88.
[00:00:04] With echo Charles and me, Jocco willing.
[00:00:07] Good evening, echo.
[00:00:08] Good evening.
[00:00:13] I went into a public house to get a plane of beer.
[00:00:18] The public anye up and says, we serve no red coats here.
[00:00:23] The girls behind the bar, they laughed and giggled fit to die.
[00:00:29] I outstint to the streets again.
[00:00:32] And to myself says, I, oh, it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy go away.
[00:00:39] But it's thank you, Mr. Actons, when the band begins to play.
[00:00:43] When the band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play.
[00:00:48] Oh, it's thank you, Mr. Actons, when the band begins to play.
[00:00:55] I went into a theater as sober as could be.
[00:00:59] They gave a drunk civilian room, but they hadn't known for me.
[00:01:05] They sent me to the gallery around the music halls.
[00:01:10] But when it comes to fighting Lord, they shoved me in the stalls.
[00:01:15] For it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy wait outside.
[00:01:19] But it's special train for Actons when the troopers on the tide.
[00:01:24] The trooperships on the tide, my boys, the trooperships on the tide.
[00:01:29] Oh, it's special train for Actons when the troopers on the tide.
[00:01:36] Yes, make and mock a uniforms that guard you while you sleep.
[00:01:41] Is cheaper than them uniforms in their starvation cheap.
[00:01:46] And hustling drunken soldiers when they're going large a bit
[00:01:51] as five times better business than parade in full kit.
[00:01:56] Then it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy house your soul.
[00:02:01] But it's thin red line of eros when the drums begin to roll.
[00:02:06] The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll.
[00:02:11] Oh, it's thin red line of eros when the drums begin to roll.
[00:02:17] We are no thin red eros.
[00:02:20] No, we aren't no black guards too.
[00:02:24] But single men and barracks most remarkable like you.
[00:02:29] And if sometimes our conduct is an all-year fancy paints,
[00:02:34] why single men and barracks don't grow into plaster saints.
[00:02:40] While it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy fall behind.
[00:02:45] But it's please walk in the front sir when there's trouble in the wind.
[00:02:49] When there's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind.
[00:02:53] Oh, it's please walk to the front sir when there's trouble in the wind.
[00:02:59] You talk a better food for us and schools and fires and all.
[00:03:05] We'll rate for extra rations if you treat us rational.
[00:03:09] Don't mess about the cookroom slops but prove it to our face.
[00:03:14] The widows uniform is not the soldier's men's disgrace.
[00:03:20] For it's Tommy this and Tommy that and chuck him out the brute.
[00:03:25] But it's safe your other country when the guns begin to shoot.
[00:03:29] And it's Tommy this and Tommy that and anything you please.
[00:03:33] And Tommy ain't a blooming fool.
[00:03:36] You bet that Tommy sees.
[00:03:45] And that is another poem from Kippling.
[00:03:52] It's actually one of my favorites from Kippling.
[00:03:57] And you can follow it and you can go back and read through it,
[00:04:02] look it up online and it's explaining how the soldier doesn't get me respect during peace time.
[00:04:11] But when it's time to fight, when the troop ship is on the tide,
[00:04:17] then it's Tommy, which is slang for the British soldier, then it's Tommy to the front of a line.
[00:04:22] But the point that I wanted to focus on is the line in the poem where it says,
[00:04:32] and if sometimes our conduct is in all your fancy paints,
[00:04:39] why single men and barracks don't grow into plaster saints.
[00:04:42] And what that means is that soldiers and marines and sailors and those men that go out
[00:04:52] into harm's way voluntarily, they're not always boy scouts.
[00:04:59] They're not going to be plaster saints.
[00:05:00] You know plaster saint, like you have, the little statue of a saint of a Christian saint.
[00:05:07] The soldiers are going to be a little rough around the edges.
[00:05:10] They might be a little bit rowdy, they might be a little bit brash, they might be a little bit
[00:05:14] drunk, they might be trouble makers.
[00:05:16] Now they're not all like that, obviously.
[00:05:23] But some of them are.
[00:05:25] And guess what? Who else is going to go forward?
[00:05:30] Who else is going to go put their life on the line?
[00:05:36] It's these guys. And by the way, when you are raised in barracks,
[00:05:40] a single man in barracks, you're going to find some trouble from time to time.
[00:05:47] And then once you take these young men and you put them in a battle,
[00:05:52] once you subject them to fear and terror and death,
[00:05:59] can we assume now and expect them to act like saints?
[00:06:10] Can we somehow expect that their behavior is now going to transition to becoming beyond
[00:06:16] reproach in the way they carry themselves?
[00:06:21] I don't think that's a realistic outlook.
[00:06:23] Now the book that we're going to look at today is an example of war and it shows once again that war
[00:06:34] is brutal.
[00:06:38] Not just in actions, but also in attitude, in language.
[00:06:45] And in the way it impacts men both physically and mentally.
[00:06:50] And this book is raw, it's graphic, it's brutish and it's real.
[00:07:00] And the language that's in it, that's offensive. I leave it in.
[00:07:07] Why? Because war is offensive.
[00:07:11] And the language used in war is also offensive and if you don't want to hear offensive
[00:07:16] language or graphic descriptions or completely politically incorrect statements being made,
[00:07:24] then don't listen to this podcast. The book is called Excursion in Hell.
[00:07:36] And it tracks the experience of its author, or guy by the name of Vincent Bramley,
[00:07:45] who's a young corporal in third battalion of the British armies, parachute regimen,
[00:07:56] otherwise known as the three Paris.
[00:08:03] Now the book starts off kind of with the way the the Falkland Islands is starting to escalate
[00:08:11] and as it's starting to escalate, they get put on their England.
[00:08:16] The three Paris get put onto a cruise ship, a chartered cruise ship called the SS Cannebara
[00:08:24] and their sailing south towards the Falkland Islands. And now we, they're starting to get
[00:08:30] information, they're starting to get intelligence and start to get briefed on what's happening.
[00:08:34] Because these guys didn't even know where the Falkland Islands were. I mean, a lot of them,
[00:08:37] they didn't know where they were. Some random island out in the middle of nowhere. They couldn't
[00:08:41] find it on a map, a lot of them. Well now they're definitely looking at it and they're trying
[00:08:44] to figure out what's going on there. So, they're starting to get some of these briefs. We're going
[00:08:50] to the book now. Our lectures were in the early afternoon now. The most memorable was by some of the
[00:08:57] very keen Marines who had been serving in the Falklands at the time of the invasion.
[00:09:01] The Falkland Islands were in a British, I guess you'd call it a colony, but not a colony. It's
[00:09:09] a little British, it was owned by the British at the time. And the Argentinians invaded it.
[00:09:18] So, here we go. Obviously, listening to first-hand experience was better than listening to
[00:09:27] some officer lecturing us on his personal beliefs at the time. However, an intelligence officer
[00:09:33] from way up top gave a graphic account of what the RGs that's what they call the Argentinians. The
[00:09:38] RGs were up to at the time. The intelligence constantly coming in was essential to all levels.
[00:09:46] What I remember most about this lecture was the officer standing proudly in front of us saying
[00:09:51] the Argentin Army is the best and strongest in South America. He told us you will be in for a big
[00:09:58] scrap if it comes to war jense. Have no qualms about it. At the last recorded reports,
[00:10:04] the RGs have about 9,000 men in fortified positions around Stanley, the capital.
[00:10:11] But we also have good reports that they are underfed, Morales low, and they have taken a eating
[00:10:17] horses and sheep, which they have been stealing from the inhabitants. That's the local people
[00:10:23] that lived on the Falkland Islands. This tells us that they are very undisciplined and goes to
[00:10:29] show that conscription is going to be their mistakes. So, they have some of their soldiers are
[00:10:34] conscripts, meaning they're forced into the army. Like a draft? Like, yes. My immediate feelings
[00:10:43] were 9,000 fucking men, and we only have 2 or 3,000. What the fuck is the big brass up to?
[00:10:54] So, what was interesting about this is one of the things that I really
[00:10:58] this reminded me of is these guys have never been to work before. That matter fact he doesn't even
[00:11:03] mention anyone that has any prior combat experience. So, this reminds me of when I was on all my
[00:11:10] first deployments. Like, I talked about being off the coast of Somalia. I talked about being off
[00:11:15] the coast of Rwanda. And that's the position that these guys were in. And what our mindset was,
[00:11:21] if I was to go into Rwanda when I was a kid, when I was, you know, however old I was 22 years old,
[00:11:27] never been in combat before, I would be completely different person than if I went in right now
[00:11:32] with my, you know, all the things that we talked about all the time. I mean, I would be, I just
[00:11:36] understand combat. I understand Warbetter. I'm 45 years old. I've been in combat leadership positions,
[00:11:44] been in fire fights. I understand these things. It might add it to you to be completely different.
[00:11:51] Almost completely different than it would be than it was when I was 22 or 23 years old,
[00:11:59] sitting there fired up with a million rounds. And, you know, it's like, Lave talking, I've ever,
[00:12:03] you know, getting ready to go into Somalia or Rwanda, I had like hundreds of pounds of gear,
[00:12:08] grenades. We were so loaded. I was too heavy. Because we're, if I were going to World War 3.
[00:12:14] And that's the, that's what these guys are like. They don't, they're, they're, they're,
[00:12:19] they just don't, they never in a combat. And I think, you know, everything. Yeah, they're trying to be
[00:12:24] ready for everything. And, and just their attitude, and you can see it actually carries through
[00:12:28] this thing is almost like, and this is what he says too. A lot of times it's almost like they're on
[00:12:34] this giant, really hard training exercise. Obviously it turns very,
[00:12:40] sour at some points and very much, much more beyond that. But this is what a lot of this reminds
[00:12:47] me of these guys. Now, some of these guys have been in, I guess the combat experience that these
[00:12:52] guys would have had, and I, and I should have remembered this. I didn't, you know what these guys
[00:12:55] had combat experience, they had combat experience from being in Northern Ireland. So most of them
[00:12:59] had done deployments over in the Northern Ireland. But I think that was a little bit more of a,
[00:13:05] not, it's not, it's not the full kind of combat that are about to get engaged in here. So,
[00:13:12] that's what it reminds me of here in the way they're talking. All right. So, back to the book on
[00:13:20] three May the submarine HMS conquer sank the Argentinian ship general Belgrano with a loss of about
[00:13:29] 300 lives. When this news was first brought to us, we were skeptical thinking, yeah, okay.
[00:13:37] Once the news was official, it wasn't greeted with total enthusiasm. In the bar that night,
[00:13:42] most of us were solemn. We now knew war was inevitable. They have a bar. It's a cruise ship that
[00:13:50] they're on. So they have a bar and they're drinking. They're getting some allotment of beers in there.
[00:13:53] That's where they're hanging out. But all of a sudden this is real. You know, you don't kill 300,
[00:13:58] you know, enemy sailors and think you're not going to go to war. And it comes back back to the
[00:14:03] book the night of four May while we were playing Bingo in the bar. News came that the HMS
[00:14:09] Sheffield had been hit by an RG exeset, which is a type of missile and was sinking. The loss of a
[00:14:15] hair your jet was also reported. The news hit the troops on board like a sledgehammer.
[00:14:21] Until now, everything we had heard had been in our favor. South Georgia had been retaken and the
[00:14:26] RG's submarine patrol boats had all been hit even their inland positions had been bombed by the navy
[00:14:32] and now the Belgrano, which was the ship that it sunk, sinking the Sheffield was the first of
[00:14:38] their strike backs. Moral in the bar that night swung from an incredible high to an almost
[00:14:45] sickening silence. And he talks about this, but the waiting, these guys are now,
[00:14:53] it's a long cruise down there. I think it takes about three or three weeks to get down.
[00:14:58] Back to the book, the day after the Sheffield's hit, we knew our weight was coming to an end.
[00:15:03] The atmosphere was quiet and a morale booster was now much needed. The only thing possible for the task
[00:15:08] force was revenge. The sinking of the Sheffield had hit us as if we had lost a personal friend,
[00:15:15] tension mounted, frustration showed in everyone's eyes. The fitness drills were now carried out
[00:15:21] in full kit and pounding the decks in the heat was gutty work. So the whole time they've been
[00:15:26] steaming down there, they've been out there running laps on the all the deck of the cruise,
[00:15:31] ship trying to get in shape for what's coming. Back to the book, the main info we picked up
[00:15:40] suggested a possible move on 20 May. So they're trying to figure out what's going on. They're
[00:15:45] down. These guys, you know, pretty low on the total pull, they're trying to figure out what's going
[00:15:49] on. They're hearing all these different rumors and now they picked up that maybe they're going to
[00:15:52] go on 20 May. Back to the book, our nerves now started. The move south was steady and without any
[00:15:58] real complications, but further south we went, the further we were going in. Somehow, I and many others
[00:16:06] still didn't quite believe the war was going to happen. We were lost in our own thoughts on many
[00:16:11] different subjects. Home became secondary now. I thought about the ifs and winds of our arrival
[00:16:17] in the exclusion zone and to the landings and battles to follow. Home was not my immediate thoughts.
[00:16:23] Survival was speculation was now rife as to what the landing procedure would be. We were still
[00:16:33] very much in the dark as to what was happening. But the next within the next 24 hours, all the bullshed,
[00:16:39] rumors and personal beliefs were corrected by the platoon commander. Gents, he said,
[00:16:45] it's the green light. So they know they're now going in. And now they're getting
[00:16:53] into the serious preparations, packing and repacking to make our webbing as comfortable as possible.
[00:16:59] We began to psych ourselves up for the days ahead. It was nerve-racking beyond belief.
[00:17:04] Yet morale seemed remarkably high throughout the ship, though the laughing and joking among the
[00:17:09] lads was partly to cover the fear. Not that anyone thought death was going to hit him. That was
[00:17:15] for the guy you were talking to. Getting the common belief that the common belief that we hear
[00:17:21] quite a bit, which is not going to happen to me. And I will say this as I say it for all these
[00:17:30] shows that we do. I'm skipping a bunch of stuff. I'm giving you some of the high points, but the
[00:17:37] way he lays this out, the tension that he builds, he does an outstanding job,
[00:17:42] getting the tension and capturing it. And I'm going through it pretty quickly, but it's worth reading
[00:17:48] because, and I think it's worth reading because if you're in one of these situations,
[00:17:52] especially when you're in charge of guys that have never been to combat before, this is what you
[00:17:55] got to, it gives you a good lessons about keeping guys informed about preparing them for combat
[00:18:03] and keeping them with the right mindset going in. So now they actually transfer from the cruise ship
[00:18:09] now they get onto a warship and eventually they end up on a landing craft. That's, that's
[00:18:13] heading to shore because they're going to war. Again, I covered that what in six minutes right now,
[00:18:20] it's, it's much more well detailed in the book. But right now they're getting ready to
[00:18:26] do their landing. Back to the book. The area now looked like an overcrowded tube train. The
[00:18:32] troops had pushed so close together that you could count the blackheads on your neighbor's face.
[00:18:36] I sat on my kit observing the order to keep all noise down, no talking.
[00:18:41] I looked around, I looked around me at the hundreds of cammed faces so they got cammed camouflage
[00:18:48] paint on at hundreds of cammed faces all with big wide eyes. Each face told its own story.
[00:18:55] Each, each soldier had his own thoughts about the coming battle and the lads as the
[00:19:01] lads quietly sat about waiting, always waiting. The story of all soldiers.
[00:19:06] Myself, I couldn't help but think that it was still a joke and that we wouldn't be going to
[00:19:12] shore. My stomach was not and the nauseous, hard to control. The nervousness running through
[00:19:18] me was the worst of all waiting, waiting for that fucking green light.
[00:19:24] Doc Murdock, Doc Murdock sat next to me pulling faces like a comedian. Fuck off, Doc, I said,
[00:19:30] I've got the gidders. We've all got to go somewhere, then, don't worry. The frustration of waiting
[00:19:40] and all the hassles of the last six weeks disappeared as we watched in stunned silence.
[00:19:45] The battle for fanning head to our left. Fanning head was the RGOP near San Carlos.
[00:19:52] The SAS had mounted an attack there to allow our landings to go ahead without interference.
[00:19:57] The tracer rounds and naval bombardment on the tip of the bay brought us abruptly into the
[00:20:02] real world. Jesus, look at that. It's a fireworks display shouted a lad at the front of the craft.
[00:20:10] Shut up and face the coming beach. We hadn't noticed we were moving towards the beach. All heads
[00:20:15] had been turned to watch the battle. So that's a little wake-up call. They're going into
[00:20:20] do their beach landing and there's a massive firefight going on where the SAS is doing a hit. Now,
[00:20:29] as they get on, they do their landing their landing is on a post and they're starting to
[00:20:34] patrol movement towards one of their objectives. Here we go. When we passed San Carlos,
[00:20:43] two gazelle helicopters had just been shot down by some of the fleeing enemy.
[00:20:48] Word very quickly went around that the crew had been shot in the water while trying to swim
[00:20:54] ashore. Our anger brought home the reality of war and introduced us to the type of enemy we would
[00:21:00] be fighting. I would personally felt that if we could have caught those responsible,
[00:21:07] we would have killed them for the cowardly act. So there's some,
[00:21:16] well, cowardly acts. I guess is the word used. So the guys are trying to swim to safety and
[00:21:23] they get shot in helicopter pilots. They get into a position and they they hold up for a while
[00:21:31] in a security position. Back to the book, guard sat behind the SF gun for two hours on,
[00:21:38] for off, there's no sleep to be had. What with the cold rain, ponchos,
[00:21:45] flapping all over the place and everyone restlessly changing positions all the time.
[00:21:50] It was a great first night. So they're out there, they're freezing. It's, that's one thing. They
[00:21:56] weren't really prepared for, they weren't really prepared for this cold weather.
[00:22:00] And, but that's how they kick off. No enemy contact yet other than what they can see off in the
[00:22:08] distance. They get gathered up for a little morning meeting. Back to the book, Pete Gray,
[00:22:17] gathered the NCOs around him for a daily brief and informed us of the things we weren't interested in.
[00:22:23] But also informed us that A company and C company had had a blue on blue sometime earlier.
[00:22:29] Apparently, both companies had patrols out to look for the RGs who had escaped on our landing.
[00:22:37] One patrol had spotted the other and asked for mortars on their position seen.
[00:22:42] In turn, the other company asked for artillery on the first company.
[00:22:46] So a battle between A company and C company both firing small arms at each other.
[00:22:51] Within minutes, the operations officer in charge realized the arrow, error, and radioed for a ceasefire.
[00:23:00] But not before three to four lads and been badly shot up to them suffering head wounds.
[00:23:08] The ops officer was temporarily removed from the task. So again, we got relatively unexperienced
[00:23:16] guys. They're out there and again, obviously I highlight that because blue on blue is real thing.
[00:23:25] And people don't think it's going to happen. I think Laf was talking about this.
[00:23:29] If you would have asked someone in T.U. Bruser,
[00:23:33] he said, one of the chances that we're going to have a blue on blue on our deployment. People would have
[00:23:38] been like zero percent. They would have the zero percent because it was that, that's that taboo.
[00:23:43] And the fact that, you know, there's a blue on blue that we talk about in extreme ownership,
[00:23:49] but there's blue on blues all the time in our body. And this is another example of how easy it is
[00:23:57] to have it happen between two companies in the same battalion.
[00:24:00] Hmm. Back to the book, well lads, bad news said Pete, the Atlantic conveyor has been sunk.
[00:24:15] How the fuck did that get hit as someone from the rear? You tell me,
[00:24:20] Pete wasn't a happy man nor were we for the ship had been carrying the chinooks and luxury
[00:24:25] kit like tents, overboots and so on. So there was a supply ship, well a ship that had a bunch of
[00:24:34] supplies on it, including helicopters and helicopters was what's supposed to transport the
[00:24:39] Paris around Falkland. That was the plan. That just got sunk. And not only to get sunk with the
[00:24:44] helicopter's on it, it got sunk with the things like tents and sleeping bags that's going to allow
[00:24:49] them to be, you know, operate comfortably in this cold environment. If you don't know where
[00:24:55] Falkland Islands is, it's down by Antarctica. Back to the book, some bastard should fall for this.
[00:25:03] We thought all that kit on one bloody ship. Bad news of our choppers being sunk hit us
[00:25:10] sorely and many of us were still thinking about it when Pete announced the next info. No choppers.
[00:25:16] So the big wigs have decided that we start walking ASAP like today. Pete gave us a break
[00:25:24] down of what was happening. Two parah was on the march to Goose Green. 45 commander were
[00:25:30] were to head north to a settlement called Douglas. We of three parah were to take Tiel inlet.
[00:25:38] Within an hour, all kit was packed tightly away. Last meals and bruised demolished, weapons
[00:25:44] oiled and ready and bunkers evacuated. Bruise. He's talking about tea.
[00:25:50] And the brits, if you don't know, they like their tea. It's epic. And I saw that with brits that I've
[00:26:01] worked with, obviously, I'm married to a brit, so I know how much they like tea and drink tea.
[00:26:07] I saw it overseas. Guys would be ready to brew tea at any given time. The first people
[00:26:13] the Sri Lankan, when I was working with the Sri Lankan guys back in the burr of Kronin. They
[00:26:19] have had the influence by the British army and by the British culture. Because that was a
[00:26:24] British settlement for a long time. They got their tea on too. They would brew any, you know,
[00:26:30] you need to take a break for 10 minutes. These guys would be over there with a little stove,
[00:26:34] little hex lamp brewing up a tea. So that's something that you're going to, and I'm talking
[00:26:40] about it now. I don't highlight as much as I could in this podcast, but that's what they're talking about.
[00:26:46] Having a cup of tea. Yeah, doing a brew. When I worked with guys, the SAS guys that would
[00:26:53] come and stay with us here, those guys were the same way. Get the brew tea on. Yeah, got to have
[00:26:58] the guy that had a cup of tea. Solid. Back to the book, we made our way up the prominent part
[00:27:08] of windy gap where most of the baton was gathering. The CSM, that's the command sergeant major
[00:27:13] of B company was organizing which kit we were to carry and which to leave. No tried, no trypots
[00:27:20] for the SF guns and the SF guns are sustained fire guns. Basically a big heavy machine gun.
[00:27:26] That that takes a crew to operate. So you have a tripod. Someone cares the tripod. Someone cares
[00:27:32] the gun. Someone cares the ammunition. At least I think that's how they break it up.
[00:27:36] No trypots for the SF guns and no sleeping bags. No burdens. Bergen's is what the Brits
[00:27:42] call their big backpack or big rucksacks. All unnecessary weight to be left. We repacked our kit.
[00:27:50] The Bergen's and Tripods were centralized for a later pick-up. They were to be choppered
[00:27:55] forward if a chopper became available. We all felt pissed off about the conveyor being sunk
[00:28:02] and the prospect of the coming tab. So they call a march or hump they call it a tab.
[00:28:09] We were pissed off about the coming tab. We knew that the march would be about 50 kilometers.
[00:28:21] But we were all glad to be moving breaking out across the island on the offensive. We set out at about
[00:28:27] two-thirty in the afternoon on what was to be an epic march for the regiment.
[00:28:30] With the GPMG, that's a general purpose machine gun. Weeping order and ammo slung over
[00:28:39] every part of our bodies, we tabbed or rather hobbled as fast as we could.
[00:28:45] Once over the first hill we started to march around the side of an adjoining hill.
[00:28:49] At this time the Marines were walking alongside us ready to break northwards toward Douglas
[00:28:54] towards the Douglas settlement. Unlike us, they carried full kit, Bergen's and all.
[00:28:58] Within 30 minutes we had a short break to let the stragglers catch up. A young Marine was
[00:29:04] propped on his back beside me with his Bergen as a support. You lot have the right idea he said.
[00:29:09] No fucking extras. We look like donkeys here. I couldn't help but agree with him. But thought
[00:29:16] to myself that while we may move faster we'd be coldest at night. At that time I didn't
[00:29:21] know we'd be marching flat out all the way day and night. In less than an hour our bodies were
[00:29:31] struggling under the weight of kit and ammo. The GPMG seemed away at ton. We swapped it on every
[00:29:38] short break within the first two hours. The night march orders were passed slowly back along the
[00:29:43] length of the battalion that we'd be stopping for 15 minutes in every hour. Some even started clock
[00:29:49] watching. Our boots and wet socks were becoming unbearable to march in rubbing badly on the feet
[00:29:56] most. If not all of us. Blisters and spraying ankles added unexpectedly to the injury tool.
[00:30:04] I haven't done a good job of describing the terrain. It's miserable terrain. Just rocks,
[00:30:10] slippery rocks, big steep hills. It's go look at it on, you look at some images of what the terrain
[00:30:18] in the Falkland Islands is like. It's nightmare to patrol along. It's going to snow.
[00:30:26] It's not snowing yet but it's going to snow. It's actually in some ways worse. It's
[00:30:34] worse to have because if it's cold enough that it's snowing snow is generally dry. If that makes
[00:30:41] sense rain is rain. You get rained on your wet. If you get snowed on you can maintain your
[00:30:49] dryness. If you're in a really cold environment where it's snowing that's okay. It doesn't make
[00:30:54] you wet and wet makes you cold. It's the worst thing is right on that borderline between
[00:31:03] because then you get rained on but then when the sun goes down it turns into freezing. So this is the worst
[00:31:07] worst environment you could want for the situation that they're in and all they're given. They
[00:31:14] only have what limited gear they should have got sunk on a boat or it's in their burdens but
[00:31:21] even the stuff that's in their burdens isn't the best winter equipment they would want. All that
[00:31:26] stuff got sunk. So he's got a guy that's starting to slack a little bit. His name is Taft.
[00:31:39] Taft moved up. Move up by screamed. I can't vent some fucked. I was losing my rag. I could see
[00:31:45] he was out of it but I couldn't stand the fact that he was going to let us down before we'd even
[00:31:49] got there. Taft was trying to keep up and mumbling out loud that he could do it if only we were
[00:31:54] to slow down a little bit but this was impossible. Nobody could tell the lead elements to slow down.
[00:32:00] The gap got bigger, the swearing got louder. Taft wasn't the only one to feel the strain.
[00:32:06] Many of the lads were struggling. At last exhausted we stopped on the slope of yet another wind swept
[00:32:13] hill. Taft shook uncontrollably. He had a bad cramp and lay there totally out of the game.
[00:32:20] I informed the medics. Steve was sitting beside his usual when the unusual order came from the
[00:32:29] CO. The commanding officer. Brew up a hot cup of and make a snack. That was the order.
[00:32:36] This shocked a lot of us. Theoretically it was a no-no sitting in the middle of an advance
[00:32:40] in the open and pitch dark practically though. It was the best order yet. A welcome brew was
[00:32:46] what we needed. The CO was obviously aware that the lads were suffering from the speed of the march.
[00:32:53] To me, Taft looked as though he was about to die. His nine stone frame wasn't strong enough
[00:32:59] for the rest of the march. Taft could run the British, the army's British fitness test in
[00:33:04] around eight minutes and was considered our best runner. This proves as do other accounts I heard
[00:33:11] after the war that the fitness of troops cannot be determined by how fast they can run.
[00:33:17] The peros always pride themselves on tabbing with kit. That means marching with gear.
[00:33:22] And rightly so. But I learned to lesson on our first night's march. You must have body fat on
[00:33:29] you to waste for that kind of long tab that we had embarked on. So got a guy that's like,
[00:33:35] you know, a super thin triathlete. Now he's now you put a bunch of weight on him.
[00:33:39] He's hurting. And I'll tell you that that also, that's a generalization too. That's not a waste
[00:33:47] too. I know some guys that were lean and could run fast and they could also haunt the rock. Like it was
[00:33:53] there, like it was there business. Now they start gathering up kind of the guys that
[00:34:00] can't continue and they lead, they actually leave these guys that can't continue in a
[00:34:05] perimeter area. And then we're going back to the book. We slogged it out for another two or three
[00:34:11] hours of continuous hills, bogs, rocks, holes in the ground, everything that we could possibly,
[00:34:17] everything that could possibly make you trip or get wet. On top of the bloody awful terrain,
[00:34:23] we had the rain, sleet, wind and freezing climate to cope with. Exhausted and near the point of
[00:34:30] collapse, we came to the first man-made thing I'd seen, apart from the small houses at San Carlos.
[00:34:36] It was a barbed wire fence. There, right in the middle of nowhere, sat the fence,
[00:34:41] stretching far into the darkness on either side. Orders from above, told us to rest up until first
[00:34:46] light. We had been marching for 15 hours across the worst terrain you could imagine.
[00:34:52] Stephen, I attached our poncho with bunges, our ponchos with bunges to the fence and skitty,
[00:34:59] cave and johnny bashed up on the other side, creating a tent like accommodation. That's like
[00:35:04] their term for making shelter. We'd call it Bivvy Up, which is where we're going to sleep. They
[00:35:10] call it Bashed Up. We'd say Bivvy Up, here. We're going to Bivvy Up here. The rain hard for
[00:35:17] the remaining four hours of darkness. The wind blew the rain in on us as we all lay there trying
[00:35:23] to rest in the Bashar. But although we were exhausted, someone snoring, soon broken to my thoughts
[00:35:29] and outside around the Bashar little whispers could be heard, and other voices shouting for silence.
[00:35:36] I closed my eyes dreaming of a bath, clean sheets, and a letter from home. I didn't mind the
[00:35:41] rain as it hit my face. The chance to rest was welcome and I eventually managed to sleep.
[00:35:46] I was a woken by a nudge from skitty, who was already half packed and ready to move.
[00:35:51] Steve and I crawled from our refuge and quietly packed our kit into our webbing.
[00:35:57] The rain and cold had shrunk the webbing so that it was difficult to fasten.
[00:36:02] Cold and numbness had us swearing out loud. We tapped over more hills,
[00:36:10] through more bogs and marshes. My legs ached more than I had fought possible. Steve was,
[00:36:17] if anything, better than me with the weight. Every time I started to struggle with the GPMG,
[00:36:23] he took it without complaining. Kary that weapon he could.
[00:36:29] So brutal march, they get to their next destination where they're going into a lay-up point or a
[00:36:36] perimeter where they're going to stop for a while. Back to the book, my stomach felt hollow.
[00:36:40] The wind and rain drain me of life. Lying there, feeling near to total exhaustion,
[00:36:46] I couldn't even think of what was to come. The battle for Tiel inlet. My feet didn't exist any more.
[00:36:52] They were just two blocks of numbed ice attached to my legs, tapping them together, brought a
[00:36:57] pain that felt as if they would shatter and fall off. Steve lay next to me, lighting up a
[00:37:04] fag, which is a cigarette. He looked up through the rain clouds at the dark and sky.
[00:37:09] If we carry on at this rate, we'll all drop that of exhaustion he murmured. Steve said
[00:37:17] that he didn't want to look at his feet because they felt like they were falling off. I peeled
[00:37:21] back my wet socks, saw blood on my right foot and discovered that the nail of my big toe was hanging
[00:37:27] off. Numbness had masked, what normally would have been agony. Cleunching my teeth, I pulled the nail
[00:37:33] away by its remaining roots. Soon, the shot went out that we were to get ready to move. We
[00:37:44] were moving earlier than expected to catch the last of the daylight. When I stood up, my body
[00:37:49] ached from head to foot. I was minus one toenail. I took up my kit and moved into line with the
[00:37:55] others ready to go the last 13 kilometers to Tiel. So far to take us about 14 hours to March
[00:38:02] 40 odd kilometers. That was still good going. We set off very slowly spaced out in one long line.
[00:38:12] We hobbled over the hill in front of us only to see more hills and marshes. I began to become
[00:38:18] conscious of my toe and the more I thought about it, the worse it felt. However, the thought of
[00:38:24] dropping out at that stage seemed to fate worse than death and so I fought the pain. It's funny,
[00:38:31] looking back, but the further we went into the campaign, the less I thought of my home or family.
[00:38:38] I wasn't thinking of Queen and Country either. I fought of myself and the lads around me.
[00:38:45] Letting the side down was my biggest fear. That fear kept me walking.
[00:38:55] Just doesn't want to let his boys down.
[00:38:56] That's his driving force, not even thinking about his family anymore. Not thinking about God and
[00:39:02] Country. Not thinking about the Queen.
[00:39:09] Here's a little thing that I had to highlight. We were annoyed by the lack of info coming down the
[00:39:14] marching line to Tielus where we were and how far we had left the march. This is as the last
[00:39:19] night learned a long time ago. When I was a young junior guy in a pontoon and if you're in the
[00:39:26] back of the pontoon or you're in the back of the patrol and you don't know where you're going,
[00:39:28] it is the worst feeling. It's the worst feeling. You have no idea how much longer, where you're
[00:39:33] going, where you are. Not only is it a bad feeling for the people on your team. It's tactically
[00:39:40] unsound because they don't know where they are. What happens if you get contact, you get split up,
[00:39:43] where they're supposed to go, they don't even know where they're. What if they're going the wrong
[00:39:46] directions? They could get going to enemy formation. It's a horrible scenario.
[00:39:51] Obviously, as a leader in any position, you gotta think, does the back of your patrol know where
[00:39:58] you are? Does your company know where you are? I was working with a company recently. They had
[00:40:02] that big transition to make. No one knew what quantified that transition. It just seemed like this
[00:40:10] open-ended prospect and no one knew where it ended or what quantified, hey, we can move to the next phase.
[00:40:18] It was a tough phase that they were going through. Cutting costs and being restrictive on
[00:40:24] expenditures, I guess that is cutting costs, but getting rid of some people is a tough time.
[00:40:31] But no one knew when that was going to end. They knew that there was some kind of go-off
[00:40:36] there, but they didn't know what it was. That was really tough for them in the transition.
[00:40:40] I said, you need to set clear goals. If you know what they are, which is actually the leadership
[00:40:44] did know, they knew there was a certain line, a certain amount of costs that they needed to cut
[00:40:49] a certain operating expense that they needed to get down to, but they didn't tell anybody.
[00:40:55] So everyone just thought, well, we might just be cutting my job next or who, you know,
[00:40:59] how long am I going to be here? If we're just shutting down, I don't know. So keep your people
[00:41:04] informed. The people that are in the back end of your patrol, you gotta keep them informed.
[00:41:10] Back to the book, we came to a fourth river smaller than the rest and stumbled across
[00:41:14] it in the dark. The cold water mixed with our sweat to cause yet more sores on our feet.
[00:41:21] We were now about one and a half kilometers from the settlement of Tiel inlet.
[00:41:26] The agony of the marching disappeared quickly as it became clear that the task of the battle
[00:41:31] would soon confront us.
[00:41:35] And how does that go? One and a half hours of lying in the cold with the wind shooting through us
[00:41:41] was all the action they had that night. So they get to Tiel and Lett and really nothing really
[00:41:45] happens because the RGs had left. They do get some updates. Back to the book, we found out that
[00:41:53] some of the platoon had dropped out on the march. More importantly, though, Mick Coleman, one of our
[00:41:58] gunners had just been shot in the leg, not by the enemy, but by a knob in a company. So their first,
[00:42:07] you know, casualty besides someone getting hurt from marching is something that gets shot,
[00:42:12] one of my one of their own people. It's a knob just in a derogatory term for a tool.
[00:42:20] A turtleneck. It's not a military turn. It's not a official military
[00:42:29] doctrinal term knob. Just say a turt. The CO and his back to the book. The CO and his band of
[00:42:40] followers and spectatilines later that morning. So now they're dug in another position. We thought
[00:42:44] they might instruct us to move our trench or something. The usual thing, but we were still thinking
[00:42:49] is that we were on exercise. So classic point right there, the commanding officer comes around and
[00:42:54] they think, oh, he's going to tell us to redig these trenches because that's what we'd be doing
[00:42:57] if we were on exercise. Hey, you need to move this over here. That could be a little bit better.
[00:43:00] It doesn't do any of that. The CO looked grim as he approached the six of us taking a tea break.
[00:43:09] Listen in lads said the RSM. That's the regimental sergeant major. We looked at him wondering what was
[00:43:16] coming. During the March, two parrots. So that's their sister battalion. Two parrots attacked
[00:43:23] goose green and Darwin settlements. After a long battle, the regiment liberated the settlement
[00:43:30] with the loss of 18 lives, including their commanding officer Colonel H Jones.
[00:43:37] Many have been wounded and a casualty list is being drawn up. They captured hundreds of
[00:43:43] arches. The war is now a different concept for the enemy are believed to have shot down members of
[00:43:50] two parrots showing a white flag. More information will be given once known.
[00:43:59] The CO have smiled and proceeded to the next line of partly dubbed trenches.
[00:44:06] Skitty, Kev, John and I looked at each other with open mouths.
[00:44:11] The fought of 18 members of two parrots dead outweighed the victory for us.
[00:44:16] I for one couldn't have given a shit about goose green or anywhere else on the island at that time.
[00:44:26] It was a thought of losing our mates in the sister battalion that worried me.
[00:44:33] So they think they've got it bad. But this other battalion had been an a serious gunfight
[00:44:40] and taken some pretty significant casualties including losing their leader, the leader of the battalion.
[00:44:53] Back to the book, the condition of our feet was becoming a major problem for the battalion.
[00:44:58] An old complaint suffered by troops during many wars was afflicting us in modern war,
[00:45:04] trench foot. Our boots, badly and cheaply made coupled with our old fashioned socks and putties
[00:45:13] caused this condition and putties are like, let me have you ever seen those old kind of school
[00:45:18] world war one. They're like leggings or like gators. No gators are. They kind of cover your shoes.
[00:45:25] They kind of cover your boots. It was characterized by a dull, fumping ache all over the
[00:45:33] foot with blueness at the edges. Some say it's similar to frostbite, which some lads also got.
[00:45:43] Now they hold up for the night and then as he's sleeping, we get this corpal bee corpal bee.
[00:45:51] That's who we're talking about right now. That's Vince, Vince Bramley,
[00:45:54] he's the column corpal bee a bunch. Corpal bee a voice whispered into the trench.
[00:45:59] Steve and I came around together. I looked up to see four platoons officer looking down at me.
[00:46:05] Yes, sir, I replied. Vince isn't it? Yes, sir. Being asked your first name wasn't unusual
[00:46:11] between officers and men in the field. Sorry old boy, bad news for you. In my half sleep,
[00:46:16] I couldn't think of anything worse than being woken up. Or just from the boss. We're pulling
[00:46:21] out at first light and marching to a stansia. He said, a stansia, where the fuck is that I asked?
[00:46:27] It was another 30 to 50 kilometers away towards Stanley. We learned. Stanley again is the capital.
[00:46:34] Steve and I looked at each other. As we sat, the bottom of our trench too numb to speak.
[00:46:40] I broke the silence first. This is getting fucking stupid, Steve. March here, dig there. We're dropping
[00:46:46] down like flies and now more. Do we're die marching without resting? Steve started laughing at my
[00:46:54] morning. His teeth shining in the dark. What are you so happy about? I said, just thought of
[00:47:00] more pain for the cause. Pain. Jesus, he was right. My feet would die before me. I thought,
[00:47:08] as I drifted back to sleep, I thought of my old corporal who trained me,
[00:47:13] corporal daring. We hated him for his hard methods. He used to say, pain doesn't matter. The mine
[00:47:19] does the work. He was right. So right. His voice was screaming in my ears now four years later.
[00:47:27] It was going to be mind over matter. There is wisdom in the pair's training method.
[00:47:33] Methods. I thought briefly of my parents who over the years had had a rough time with my
[00:47:39] slobbish attitude. I had been in and out of all sorts of trouble before joining the army.
[00:47:44] I said to myself that if I died with a bullet in the head, at least it would be better than
[00:47:49] worrying them into an early grave with my attitude. But to drop out now and be branded a
[00:47:55] wanker would be unbearable. I owe a lot to everyone. My old NCO, my parents, and above all,
[00:48:04] to the lads around me. A pair of team cannot work without everyone giving their best.
[00:48:09] It's the lads you fight and work for. You come second.
[00:48:21] So obviously more patrolling, more boots, boots, boots, over the Falkland Islands,
[00:48:29] another 30 kilometers up and down, crappy terrain. Back to the book. We are now within the
[00:48:36] enemies artillery range. The CO has ordered that we will dig shell scraps for protection.
[00:48:43] No movement like walking around, etc. until ordered tomorrow. So now they're within
[00:48:49] enemy artillery range, which we don't like artillery around here. Not when it's coming towards us at
[00:48:56] least. They're taking a look at each other, seeing where they're at. Steven Tom will look to my
[00:49:04] feet wondering if I would be able to carry on. I found a bandage hidden in my webbing and
[00:49:09] cut it up to make small dressings for my blisters and toes. I thought the fresh air would do them
[00:49:15] help. Leaving my boots off that night was by leaving my boots off that night was to be my worst
[00:49:23] mistake so far. After a freezing cold and sleepless night, the morning light showed me
[00:49:29] two swollen feet and the hardest frozen pair of boots imaginable. Putting those boots back on
[00:49:37] was agony. We marched for about four hours until the whole battalion and rendezvoused.
[00:49:45] By the time we reached this point, I was nearly crying in pain. My hips had bad webbing burns
[00:49:52] and my feet were too raw blobs as I slumped against a peak, a peat bank, Jimmy Morham murmured
[00:50:00] that I looked like death warmed up. I felt like it too. Within two weeks, we looked like a
[00:50:10] ragged bone army. Our faces were drawn with a loss of weight. Our uniforms matted and soaked.
[00:50:16] Our boots were damaged and we were hungry for solid food. Despite all this, Morau was very
[00:50:22] high in the reassuring knowledge that we had marched and taken most of the island without a bottle
[00:50:28] or a loss of life so far. So they're making rapid progress. And they're not really coming
[00:50:33] up against the enemy. The enemies were treating it. Every time they roll into a place, they find
[00:50:37] remnants of where the enemy was or when they have intelligence that was the enemy was there,
[00:50:41] but the enemy is just leaving. So it's just them against nature. That's where it's been for the
[00:50:45] most part at this point. They keep pumping. We shuffled together and we were informed that we
[00:50:53] would be marching straight onto Mount Longden that night. The battle was about to begin. So this
[00:51:00] is a prominent piece of terrain called Mount Longden. We had no time for last letters or anything else.
[00:51:07] We packed our kit and were briefed and ready to go within two hours. The battalion formed up
[00:51:13] and marched uphill again, spilling out of the settlement towards the summit of Estancia.
[00:51:19] The route we took was atrocious. We crossed a rock field of some sort. The rocks were sharp and
[00:51:25] jagged. In four hours, we only covered three kilometers. Sweat ran down us like water. I stopped
[00:51:32] the one stage to take off my soaking long jones. We came to hold as the order turned back,
[00:51:39] turned back, hit our ears. What's the fucking matter now someone shouted? Just turn back and do as
[00:51:46] your told screamed in officer. Just on the other side of the hill, out of the view of Stanley, which
[00:51:51] is the capital, allowed the lads had been ordered back. Why? Shortly after, we learned that the
[00:51:58] cabbage heads. So they called, that's the Marines and there's Marines, Rome, Marines are down
[00:52:02] there working and running some of the major operations and they call them cabbage heads. Shortly after
[00:52:10] we learned that the cabbage heads were running the show, hadn't agreed to our advance. They didn't
[00:52:14] think we should take the risk of going into battle on our own. So the Marines wanted to be there.
[00:52:18] With them, so they said, don't go to long to yet. Back to the book, as we were milling around a
[00:52:29] peat fire with nine squadron, a chopper came down from one of the mountains. Some nosy lads ran
[00:52:35] towards an quickly brought back report that some Marines had been in a blue on blue contact that
[00:52:40] night. So another blue on blue, a returning patrol had stumbled upon a mortar-based team of sleep
[00:52:47] and it shot them as they lay in their sleeping bags. There were three to four dead.
[00:52:53] Whatever we felt about the Marines, we were sorry for them on that day. If you're out there
[00:53:02] and you use a gun for part of your job, whether you're in the police department, whether you're
[00:53:07] in a SWAT team, whether you're in the military, I'm telling you the blue on blue happens
[00:53:14] and you gotta do all you can to train for situations and always be aware that it can happen.
[00:53:20] People don't think it can happen. That's why it happens. Back to the book on 10 June, we had orders
[00:53:27] that something was going down soon. We stripped our weapons thoroughly, oil and oil,
[00:53:33] and greased them. The PC issued 50 rounds per gun for balancing. That's basically test firing
[00:53:42] and probably doing some kind of a timing drill on your weapon to make sure that it's good to go.
[00:53:47] Bob Gettison immediately balanced his gun by firing across the water, inlet into the sea.
[00:53:53] Tony Jones was just setting up his when the QM, that's a quarter-master guy in charge of
[00:53:57] supplies and logistics, came screaming over and ordered us not to waste ammo.
[00:54:02] We pointed out that the guns needed balancing, but his narrow mind wouldn't have it.
[00:54:08] He walked away pleased by the thought of saving ammo. In fact, he caused a major
[00:54:13] fuck up with all the guns in the battle. Only two of the six worked. 50 rounds through each might
[00:54:20] have saved lives and would have at least provided better firepower for the battalion.
[00:54:27] So you gotta guy, the supply guy, hey don't, don't test fire your weapons. Don't do that right now.
[00:54:34] Save the ammunition. Now they did realize that they were an ammunition shortage. That was going to be a
[00:54:38] problem, but you're not going to have an ammunition shortage if your guns don't work. Back to the
[00:54:45] book, the PC came down and we gathered round him eagerly. He stood faintly, grinning at us.
[00:54:52] Spitted out Sir, said Johnny Cook orders in a half an hour, tonight lads, green light.
[00:54:58] See you by the model in a half an hour. So, they're in the model. He's talking about they built
[00:55:04] a little terrain model so that they could kind of draw out where everyone's going, kind of go through
[00:55:11] the plan. And this is what they're talking about now is the assault on Mount Longden, which is about
[00:55:18] to begin. Begins with getting into position and finally they are in position. The assault
[00:55:28] is getting started. Things start going sideways pretty damn quickly. Back to the book. We tend
[00:55:33] Oliver rushed over to our position. Right, listen in he said, I felt like saying I was anyway,
[00:55:38] but for the time joking was over. Be company of had to change their tactics a bit.
[00:55:44] Corporals, Bramlies and Cook's teams will follow myself and Captain Mason into A company positions.
[00:55:50] While Corporal Tomo, Rawlings and Pears will go to another task. Okay, so things are going crazy.
[00:55:58] They start to move. He starts to move with Lieutenant Oliver towards this other position. Back to
[00:56:05] the book. We'd run about 200 meters. We were all still together, but now the run had become a fast
[00:56:10] stumbling walk. The noise of battle continued to grow. Continue to our right now as we moved around
[00:56:15] the slope. Suddenly a zipping sound whipped across my face. I didn't think anything of it as I walked
[00:56:21] and stumbled to keep up. Then three or four more zips hit the ground in front of in front and
[00:56:27] at my feet. I still carry on. I was walking behind Lieutenant Oliver. As I was walking behind Lieutenant
[00:56:34] Oliver, we saw bodies lying all over the place. I thought what the fuck are they doing lying there?
[00:56:40] Jesus Christ fucking lying there and we're struggling. I saw lad kneeling over a guy in a sleeping bag.
[00:56:47] I remember as I got to them just watching him. A low moaning was coming from the sleeping bag.
[00:56:53] I'd gone about 20 pieces when several more zips hit the ground sending a small shockwave all around me.
[00:57:01] For fuck's sake are you completely nuts or what some guy shouted? What?
[00:57:06] Ask Lieutenant Oliver. Do you know a sniper's picking at us? We stopped frozen solid in our
[00:57:12] trucks, then filled the ground. Our small column now joining the bodies lying all over the place.
[00:57:17] We'd walked into a company's form up where they had been stopped by a sniper.
[00:57:24] Lying there and hit me like a sledgehammer. The zips had been that had been missing me by inches.
[00:57:30] They were sniper fire. I lay there thinking you fucking idiot Vince.
[00:57:36] I cursed myself all the time. We lay there blaming myself for an unprofessional act. But then I'd never been
[00:57:42] shot at before. My mind had been so occupied with moving that the zipping sound seemed
[00:57:48] unconnected with the battle. So like I said first time being shot at and he didn't know what it was.
[00:57:56] I told this story on here before. The first time I got shot at,
[00:57:58] well the first time I was receiving fire was in the rum piece and I thought someone was going
[00:58:02] to cigarette out onto the road. I was like who the hell smoking in that home via enemy? But it was
[00:58:05] rounds hitting the Humvee. I was the same way. I was just like didn't it didn't occur to me.
[00:58:10] When it hit to you that their bullets are you like in shock or or do you just kind of shift into
[00:58:17] you know. Yeah, it's a game time. But it took me. It wasn't it was a pretty slow transition.
[00:58:24] You know, it took me to think through the whole process of who's smoking a cigarette.
[00:58:30] Wait, why are they throwing cigarettes? Wait, why do they have so many cigarettes?
[00:58:34] Where's the entire Humvee smoking a cigarette and putting them all out right now?
[00:58:38] And it wasn't like a massive volume of fire, but it was rounds hitting.
[00:58:42] Well, yeah. Can be won. Yeah, that's the answer. Wait, so you saw it on another Humvee in
[00:58:47] front of the Sparks. Yeah, I saw the Sparks on the ship. I thought. Yeah, so what's going on?
[00:58:52] Why someone's throwing cigarettes? Same same thing. I will say this though.
[00:58:57] When the first time I got shot at when I wasn't in the vehicle,
[00:59:01] you I heard the rounds going over and I knew what it was because I was used to it from when we do
[00:59:06] butts, I don't know how I'll explain it. When you shoot on a range, like when you go sight in your rifle,
[00:59:13] you shoot on the range and and some of us guys, you go down and you work the targets for the other
[00:59:19] guys. So you're in basically in a bunker kind of or you behind a big berm. Yeah. And you put the
[00:59:24] target up for your guys and then when they shoot at, you pull it back down, you mark it with these
[00:59:29] discs so that they know where their shots it so they can make adjustments and you put it back
[00:59:32] up again. So when you're doing that and you do it at different distances, they shoot from different
[00:59:38] distances, they shoot from 100 yards and they shoot from 300 yards and they shoot from 500 yards and
[00:59:42] they shoot from 800 yards. So you can just hear all these different ones and the further out they get
[00:59:46] the more you hear the actual sound of the round going over you. Right. And at certain ranges,
[00:59:52] you can hear a breaking the sound barrier and it's pretty loud. It's a crack more, but then when they
[00:59:57] get far enough away, you don't hear that anymore and it just sounds like he's talking about like a
[01:00:03] little zip, like a little, you know, but I knew it was the first time I ever got shot at,
[01:00:08] I knew exactly what it was. Yeah. It's crazy. I knew what was good. Well, that's the first time I got
[01:00:13] shot at not in a humbry. Right. And then in a humbry. Which by the way, I got shot at first. That was
[01:00:18] the first time I ever got shot at. Was it in the humbry? Yeah. All right, going back to the book,
[01:00:24] the battle was raging on the hill. Artillery shells were landing there, adding to the ricochet of bullets.
[01:00:31] If you slowly raised your head, you could watch the free firework display because that's what it
[01:00:36] looked like. The odd shout could be heard and the odd scream, but it was the sound of rifle
[01:00:41] machine gun and artillery that dominated the night. So we've gone from hay we're out on patrol and we're
[01:00:45] looking now they're in full. There's a full battle going on. After about an hour, we were all getting
[01:00:52] pissed off with this fucking sniper. Something had to be done and quick. He was holding up 130
[01:00:57] months. So these guys are pinned down. They're pinned down. And the idea was finding the plan that
[01:01:03] they come up with is they're going to use a malond called a malond. It's like a short range kind of
[01:01:10] it's like a bazooka, but it's wire guided so you can actually steer it a little bit. It's a missile,
[01:01:15] a little hand-carried missile. And that's the plan is to use that to shoot from where they think this
[01:01:21] sniper is shooting from. So they get in position, they get them malond in position, and then they're
[01:01:24] going to once they shoot with them malond, they're going to shoot their machine guns and add it.
[01:01:29] Stand by shouted captain Mason. My feet were forgotten. My mind empty to many thoughts,
[01:01:35] but my eyes were completely alive staring at the area of the fin. He's talking about this
[01:01:40] terrain feature that looks like a shark fin and possible target. Fire.
[01:01:44] Ginge let off the malond. The rocket rushed off the small portable frame and picked up
[01:01:51] its deadly speed. After 120 meters it was at its deadliest. We were only about 90 meters from the target.
[01:01:58] By the way, if you're sniper shooting at you from 90 meters, that is scary. He's not missing.
[01:02:04] Ginge managed to guide the wire missile to wire guide the missile on target.
[01:02:09] The explosion ripped into the night sending sparks everywhere. Bob pressed the trigger and
[01:02:14] are gunned burst to life for a few seconds. Then stopped. Stop it, screamed Bob. I tried to lift the
[01:02:21] feed the cover off the top of the GPMG, but the night sight was in the way. I ripped off the night
[01:02:28] sight from the weapon and threw it into sass's hands. It's another guy's sass. I cleared the gun
[01:02:33] and reloaded. Bob was just about to fire again when a zipping sound ripped into the ground right
[01:02:38] in front of our tripod. We both ducked behind the bank. The enemy's bullets whist over our heads
[01:02:44] and all around us. Ginge was laughing and shouted. They've seen you all right. Fucking brilliant
[01:02:49] isn't it? My night and the bloody guns packed up. Captain Mason shouted over from behind us.
[01:02:56] Reload. Reload. CS9 wants another one up there. So they wanted to hit again. We'll hit that sniper
[01:03:03] position to get with a me on which they do and they eventually take care of that problem and
[01:03:12] and are able to move on. Now they start coming back down from that supporting position because
[01:03:22] that's what they're doing is the most part they're assigned into supporting positions to get the
[01:03:26] high ground and support the assaultes they're happening. They come back down from that. We reach the
[01:03:31] bottom of the hill at about zero zero three zero hours. The battle had been going for some three
[01:03:37] and a half hours. We came up to the FAP. That's our first aid post and walk past the line of
[01:03:42] guys lying there moaning in half silence. The medics were busy with all the wounded. They're
[01:03:49] seem to be about 25 guys working and wounded in the group. We were sitting some 20 meters from them
[01:03:54] in the darkness and we could only just see the scene by the light of the moon. A sergeant from
[01:04:00] batalion HQ came over and told came over to us and they sent it all over and Captain Mason stood
[01:04:05] up to meet him. We have three confirmed dead at this moment. He said Murdock, Scott, and Greenwood.
[01:04:13] We know that are more but we can't get to them as yet. So Murdock, if you remember the guy that was
[01:04:17] making fun of making funny faces when they were on the boat coming in, confirmed dead. Their conversation
[01:04:24] continued around our coming task and that the RSM was coming to meet us. I sat in a trance. I
[01:04:32] couldn't believe that we had lost guys. Today it seems crazy that I should think like this. Why?
[01:04:38] I can only put it down to the fact that I was still in my own little world of make believe.
[01:04:42] We would win the war without getting anyone killed. The death of those three guys hit me like a brick
[01:04:48] total shock. Murdock were simply docked. docked who I'd been chatting with on the way to our
[01:04:56] start line after we bumped into B company now dead. Scotty from the MT Platoon. That's the motor
[01:05:04] transport Platoon. Like Greenwood recently nicknamed Fester because of his sleeping habits.
[01:05:11] My mind was blank to the conversation around me. Johnny nudged me. Vence were moving mate.
[01:05:17] This woke me to the reality of it all. I was now fully alert for Shirley that it was more to come.
[01:05:26] So now they're getting to another, like I said, their job has been doing supporting
[01:05:30] supporting arms, which is basically covering move on a big scale. That's what they're doing. You
[01:05:34] got to a group. This machine gun, Platoon, with the Milan, with the heavy machine guns,
[01:05:39] they're getting into elevated positions to cover for another element, another company, or another
[01:05:44] battalion to go in an assault target. This is classic cover move situation and they're in the
[01:05:49] cover position in most of these situations. And that's what's going on where we come back to the
[01:05:54] book. They're in another elevated firing position back to the book. Corporal B get ready.
[01:06:00] I waited for the command sergeant major to give the orders to fire. The weight was longer than I
[01:06:05] expected in my fingers stayed on the trigger frozen waiting. As I sat waiting for the command,
[01:06:11] other voices came to my ears from among the sounds of battle. The voices of the wounded.
[01:06:18] Everywhere their cries pitched in with those survivors still struggling and screaming
[01:06:23] frantically at each other to move their or move here. But the wounded were unlike anything else.
[01:06:31] Their cries could be heard above the uningered. Their shouts were desperate.
[01:06:35] My mind went blank. My eyes were wide open with fright for them.
[01:06:42] My mouth dried as I lay there. The second seemed like hours. Their anguished moaning and crying
[01:06:49] is here in my ears now as I write. No matter what eye or others did to try and ignore them,
[01:06:57] they somehow grew seemed to grow louder and louder. I burned with frustration. One victim
[01:07:06] who I later found out was bads bare it. Seems so near, groaning and shouting,
[01:07:12] help me, please don't leave me. For fuck's sake help, I can't move.
[01:07:19] Someone further along to our left called out for Christ's sake, I'm dying. Don't let them
[01:07:24] bury me here, please, please. I shouted out. Hang on, don't move, don't move. For fuck's sake,
[01:07:33] keep quiet. I started to crawl from my position. I wanted to help them.
[01:07:41] But to come and regret my arm. Leave it, corporal be. Leave it.
[01:07:46] I looked at him. Why? Because a sniper has already picked off about five or six guys that have
[01:07:55] tried to help, the top says no more. Okay? I slumped to the ground with a feeling of total helplessness.
[01:08:05] It was the worst feeling that anyone can imagine. As I tried not to think it was real,
[01:08:11] the cries continued. Oh God, I'm hitting the chest. I'm all wet. Please help.
[01:08:20] The crying went on and on. Some wounded guys had been dragged or had crawled away from the main
[01:08:28] impact area. Only to be pinned down elsewhere. My mind's seeth with anger.
[01:08:35] Corporal be, stand by the CSM screamed. The command to follow killed off all the cries and
[01:08:46] moaning. The weapon broke a stream of fire at the Argentinian positions three to five rounds
[01:08:52] bursting across the summit. The steady rate of fire continued as the CSM shouted across to change
[01:08:59] direction using our tracer rounds as indicators. All six guns opened up. Our tracers were
[01:09:05] ripped across the summit to the other end of the mountain. The bullets bouncing and ricocheting in all
[01:09:09] directions. So hammering the target, hammering the enemy from where the enemy is shooting and
[01:09:23] obviously, I mean, what a wretched description of being within the sound of the voices of your wounded
[01:09:30] man who you cannot help because they're pinned down by snipers. Eventually, they
[01:09:41] this, I mean, this goes on for a long time. They're in the supporting position. They're laying
[01:09:44] down five or shooting thousands and thousands and thousands of rounds. Back to the book,
[01:09:50] the CSM shouted, stop, stop. War now, we rested our heads on the ground.
[01:09:56] The battle had now been going on for some 11 hours. How long we had laid their firing? I did not
[01:10:06] know the CSM came over well done. A company are moving through to our left now. We've covered
[01:10:16] them and given them all the help we could give. The rest is up to them. We can't fire anymore.
[01:10:21] It get to them. It's too close now. It'll be light in an hour or so. Pull the gun back and dismount it.
[01:10:30] Surred did we get any ass bob? More than enough he replied and walked away.
[01:10:37] Had we killed? We must have. I felt nothing afterwards. Just relaxed. I hadn't seen our targets.
[01:10:47] They had been hidden in darkness. We hadn't killed at the end of a bayonet or through a rifle site.
[01:10:53] We had killed with a spray of machine gun bullets. It didn't seem personal.
[01:11:00] It was as if the enemy hadn't existed at all.
[01:11:03] They complete that mission.
[01:11:24] They crawl back to a little bit of a covered position away from where they had been
[01:11:29] supporting. And then here we go back to the book about 70 meters away. The ground exploded in a
[01:11:37] massive earth, shrapnel and rock. Then another shell came over this time further to our right.
[01:11:43] I looked down the hill as the shell exploded and saw an unbelievable display of flying red sparks
[01:11:49] dead be shrapnel. The ground shook as shell after shell fell behind us. The first minutes of
[01:11:56] shelling were terrifying. So they've been, this is it. Now they started. We mentioned that they
[01:12:04] were in artillery range and we all know what an absolute horror show artillery is.
[01:12:13] Back to the book and the distance a booming sound began. That carried over the area. Someone's
[01:12:18] screen incoming. Sure enough the air disappeared. There was a wash and the explosion killed any
[01:12:24] remaining piece. The shells came in thick and fast. I lay watching the red glowing shrapnel flying by.
[01:12:32] Now the shrapnel was creeping up towards me. The explosions getting so loud I thought they would
[01:12:37] defen me. The shells were landing about 50 meters away. Four or five shells would hit an area in a
[01:12:43] salvo. Then the next batch would hit about 10 meters nearer. The booming from Stanley could still be
[01:12:50] heard in the gaps between explosions in our areas. As I lay there watching the shrapnel getting
[01:12:56] closer I found myself shaking. Was it from cold or fright? My legs shook and I couldn't control
[01:13:03] them at all. The next salvo landed 30 meters away. I curled up into a ball as the shrapnel
[01:13:10] splintered the rocks around me. A piece of shrapnel landed in my little alcove still burning with
[01:13:17] fury sizzling into the dirt by my waist. Four or five more shells landed around us and then it stopped
[01:13:26] as if it had never begun. The air was misty as though a fog had swept over us. I lay back praying
[01:13:33] it was over. In the half light of the false dawn I could now hear shouting all down the hill.
[01:13:40] Some guys were screaming like mad. One voice went right through me. The scream of a man who knows
[01:13:45] he's about to die. All over the hill people were shouting medic medic. I was about to crawl
[01:13:55] from my hole when another shell hit the ground. I hadn't even heard it coming. I fell on my face and
[01:14:02] stayed there for a few seconds. Another shell landed nearby. This time a shower of dirt fell on my back.
[01:14:08] I crawled back into my hole and crawled up again, waiting. My body shook uncontrollably.
[01:14:17] The shells landed in thick salvo's, the noise and explosions around me, making my head spin as if
[01:14:23] someone were banging in against a wall. I wielded the to stop, but the shells carried on. I'm landing
[01:14:31] around me. Then this second bar bombardment within minutes ended as suddenly as it had begun.
[01:14:42] So horrible, horrible situation that they're in. And much like we talked about the Germans having
[01:14:54] their mortars dialed in and they're artillery dialed in. It's the same thing. You're in the
[01:14:58] Falkland Islands. There's obvious terrain features. So when you're holding a city like the
[01:15:03] the Argentinians military is in the city of Stanley, well they know where they're going to get
[01:15:09] attacked from and they know what are good firing positions. So they have those positions dialed
[01:15:12] into their artillery and they can just start hammering them. Back to the book, I can remember the O.C.
[01:15:20] shouting behind me. Move, move. There artillery will be here soon again. So now they're trying to move.
[01:15:24] Sergeant P waited only for me to squeeze myself through the gap before he took off again.
[01:15:30] After we had gone about four or five steps, a hand dropped out of the rocks grabbing at my ankle
[01:15:36] and denoms. The shock of it made us jump instantly. Sergeant P was back with me.
[01:15:44] We both looked at my feet. Still holding my denoms was a wounded argy.
[01:15:48] His eyes were staring at me pleading perhaps full of sorrow. Sergeant P shouted step back
[01:15:56] Brammer's. I tried to step back but the wounded soldier tightened his grip on me. I leaned
[01:16:02] back as Sergeant P pointed his weapon and fired two bullets into the man's head. The noise of his
[01:16:07] weapon echoing around the small gap. Tomo and Johnny were behind me now. The argy's head bounced
[01:16:14] quickly as the two rounds entered him. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his mouth opened
[01:16:19] to the release of trickle of blood and saliva which ran down his chin onto his shirt collar.
[01:16:26] At the same time his hand gave up its grasp on my denoms and dropped onto my boot.
[01:16:32] I flicked my boot as if I was playing football. His hand and arm dropped across his body and from
[01:16:39] his mouth came a low whistle of air mixed with blood. All this took seconds but it seemed like a
[01:16:45] lifetime to me. Each date detail remains with me today. The sight of this guy dying at my feet
[01:16:52] shocked me but I was growing harder. Although shaken I felt no remorse at the time.
[01:16:59] The deadly game of war lay at my feet. Only I mattered.
[01:17:04] The rights of wrongs, the rights and wrongs of war can never be argued from the armed chair.
[01:17:13] Decisions are made on the spot questions asked afterwards.
[01:17:18] That lone argy could have been rigged to a booby trap or even armed.
[01:17:24] The kill was done quickly and professionally. I felt that I should have acted as quickly as
[01:17:30] Sergeant P. Come on move he shouted. Sergeant P screamed in order for me to follow him.
[01:17:38] As we trotted further into the clearing we had to jump over the twisted pile of corpses.
[01:17:45] My mind was never nor has since been so alert. A adrenaline was rushing through my body so
[01:17:52] quickly that I felt I was floating with excitement mingled with fear. A little further into the
[01:17:58] clearing lay three or four Argentinians visibly shaken. Shaking visibly close together on the ground.
[01:18:06] We ran half walked through a deadly sickening area of death. They looked up as we arrived.
[01:18:13] All had been seriously wounded and were moaning and crying.
[01:18:18] One held up his hands across his eyes and shouted mama.
[01:18:21] I felt he thought that we were or I was about to shoot him. He was known calling for his mama
[01:18:31] in a low whale. One Argentinian sat in a trance. His eyes wide and staring at nothing.
[01:18:40] Tears ran down his face the only sign that he was alive. None of them moved.
[01:18:46] All looked like they expected to be shot by us but we ran past. The whole area was littered with weapons,
[01:18:56] helmets, clothing and food and ammo. A few bullets whizzed overhead and smashed into the rocks.
[01:19:05] A corpus shouted that tumble down. This is another prominent terrain feature.
[01:19:10] Tumble down was firing at us. We ran into a tight gap in the gpath and all came to an abrupt
[01:19:17] halt as it was a dead end. Four or five bodies lay sprawled their close together.
[01:19:25] This time they were our own men. The camouflage pair of smocks hit my eyes immediately.
[01:19:34] CSM Wix was standing over them like a guardian, screaming at some of his men to cover the further
[01:19:39] end of the path in the small crest. The CSM and Sergeant P exchanged quick words. I wasn't listening.
[01:19:47] My mind was totally occupied with looking into the crags for the enemy. I turned to look at
[01:19:53] our own lads dead on the ground, mode down when they tried to rush through this gap.
[01:20:00] I felt both anger and sadness. The CSM's face showed the strain of having seen most of his company
[01:20:08] either wounded or shot dead. That night's fighting was written in every line of his face.
[01:20:17] We all doubled back into the clearing we had just run through. We spread out and waited for our next move.
[01:20:24] A wounded Argentinian lay right next to me 10 meters away. He'd been hitting the chest and
[01:20:31] screamed as he held the wound. A lad from B company ran across the clearing atom and ran his
[01:20:38] bayonet through him. The screaming Argentinian tried to grab the bayonet from him before it took his life.
[01:20:49] Our lad screamed shut up, shut up you cunt. The enemy soldier died as the bayonet was withdrawn.
[01:20:57] The lad walked back to his seat among the rocks as if nothing had happened.
[01:21:07] To my right, three Argentinians were crying with their heads in their hands.
[01:21:13] Were they the dead men's friends? At their feet lay one of our lads,
[01:21:18] moaning in pain as a medic attended to him. I could see his back was peppered with trappinol.
[01:21:24] I swung to my left and fell against some rocks. I now felt the shock of it all coursing through my body.
[01:21:34] I wailed softly, my throat feeling like I wanted to choke.
[01:21:40] My eyes watered and I shook my head to force myself into reality.
[01:21:47] But this was reality.
[01:21:48] I looked for Bob and Johnny. I couldn't see Bob, but Johnny was there staring right at me.
[01:22:00] Our eyes met telling each other that we felt the ended come.
[01:22:07] A lad resting with his rifle pointed towards tumble down,
[01:22:11] turned, fell into a tight ball, curling himself up as he hit the ground, screaming, incoming, incoming.
[01:22:20] We all dropped to the ground, crawling behind rocks wherever we could.
[01:22:24] The first shell went over us onto the west side of the mountain.
[01:22:28] Then the shell started to creep up towards us, and one bump into the clearing, hitting a rock
[01:22:35] about 30 meters away. The ground shook as if we'd been hit by an earthquake,
[01:22:40] shrapnel prite pierced the ground or bounced off of rocks all around us.
[01:22:46] Grant, grinned him, screamed out, the shrapnel had hit his leg.
[01:22:50] Two of his mates were pulling him into better cover as the shells rained down us around us again.
[01:22:58] Soon after, corpus Stuart McLaughlin was hit in the back
[01:23:04] by shrapnel. He was later killed by a direct mortar hit as he was being taken to a first aid post.
[01:23:13] I laid their trembling as shells roared over us, each explosion shook more fear into us.
[01:23:26] We had centered our group about halfway along the mountain.
[01:23:32] The O.C. shouted us to split up a bit, otherwise a direct hit would cause a heavy loss.
[01:23:38] Through your four anti-tank lads got up and ran to a bunker on the other side of the hill,
[01:23:43] as another salvo came rushing in on us. A shell crashed into the rock above the O.C.
[01:23:49] sending shrapnel and rock in the opposite direction to us.
[01:23:54] He looked up at all of us, as we looked at him expecting him to be dead.
[01:23:58] Since the shell had only landed a few meters from us all, he shouted across.
[01:24:03] Well, that was an oddie. One wasn't it.
[01:24:06] We laughed unanimous in appreciation of his complete calm.
[01:24:14] The shells came in for over an hour.
[01:24:17] We just laid their hoping, praying that it would end soon.
[01:24:21] I lay looking straight into Johnny's face who at times would poke out his tongue or do his grin again.
[01:24:32] The shell and stopped as usual as suddenly as it had began.
[01:24:38] I stood up and saw Cav Connery crouched by a rock.
[01:24:42] Cav I screamed. He looked over and smiled.
[01:24:45] Get your arms over here, you twop!
[01:24:46] He had started to walk towards us when two or three more shells hit home.
[01:24:53] We all flopped the ground once more. The vibration of the explosions shook us on and the earth landed
[01:24:59] on our backs. We jumped up to see Cav running towards us. He jumped into our little opening.
[01:25:06] Jesus, fuck me, he said, I've had a right night of it too.
[01:25:11] Where's Johnny Crow and Skitty? Mate, I asked.
[01:25:14] Cav looked into my face and said, Johnny's dead.
[01:25:20] He's dead, Vince killed outright. Skitty's been wounded. Only me left.
[01:25:26] Oh, for fuck's sake, how?
[01:25:30] In the attack, a burst around's head, Johnny Square in the chest. I reckon he was dead before
[01:25:34] he hit the ground. Cav explained. We carried on chatting about the situation in general.
[01:25:40] Rick Westy was brewing up for us when we heard the booming sound again from Stanley.
[01:25:47] Incoming someone screamed, not again Johnny shouted.
[01:25:52] We were getting more scared with each bombardment. We hit the ground and fought to get legs,
[01:25:56] arms, and bodies more comfy and secure than each others.
[01:26:01] At this rate they'll get us. We can't have luck on our side forever, you know, I shouted,
[01:26:06] as the shells exploded around us. I lay next to Cav, we both faced the mess tin, where a couple
[01:26:12] was brewing. A shell landed not three meters away, sending shrapnel and dirt in our direction.
[01:26:19] Rocks and earth fell around us, then over us, as if we were about to be buried alive.
[01:26:26] Both Kevin and I automatically reached out to cover the mess tin and the water that was coming to a
[01:26:31] boil. The dirt landed on our hands and the brew was saved. Everyone burst out laughing.
[01:26:41] Talk about a time of crisis to all let's have a cup of tea Johnny shouted.
[01:26:53] Brutal. The, you know, great account and I know we've been done gone through a lot of
[01:27:00] accounts of being sheldered with artillery. That's a very descriptive and granular one.
[01:27:09] And it's not over. Back to the book, Kevin, I walked up and over the hill.
[01:27:17] Ricky followed us armed with a smock order with every pocket filled with mags for SLRs. We came to
[01:27:24] a clearing. Ricky was busy looking to one side of us when suddenly Kevin I heard moaning. We stepped
[01:27:30] up on a ledge and came face to face with a wounded argy. Sitting beside him was his friend who
[01:27:37] obviously wouldn't leave him. The wounded soldier had been shot in both knees and in his chest and arms.
[01:27:45] Blood showed on all the wounds his face showed no pain merely pleading. His mates stood up and put his hands
[01:27:53] up. No one had seen these two until now. I pointed my rifle and bay in that and nodded towards
[01:28:01] the wounded guy. He started wailing and moaning and put both hands together as if praying to me.
[01:28:09] Kevin pulled a pistol from his belt. Well, Vince, we either shoot them or help them.
[01:28:16] What will it be? Kevin lowered his pistol and looked at me. I raised my rifle and framed the wounded
[01:28:22] argy's head right in the sight. The man looked down as if he was expecting death knowing that he could
[01:28:29] do nothing about it. He wailed louder. I lowered my rifle.
[01:28:40] Kevin, he looks like my neighbor. I'll help them, okay? Yeah, okay. I'm off the find some goodies.
[01:28:46] He walked off. I motioned to his mate to sit on the other side of the wounded guy while I
[01:28:53] placed my weapon to one side of me and went down to help. The wounded argy's mate shook his head,
[01:28:59] looking at my rifle. Me, friend, me, friend, you, friend. You helped my friend. We all friends now.
[01:29:07] He pleaded. I looked at him and gave him a small grin. He grinned back. I didn't trust him one bit.
[01:29:17] The wounded guy started to cry. It was then that I felt sad. Sad that I had fought of killing
[01:29:24] them and that we were all in this mess together. We had different views and different homes,
[01:29:31] but there we were all together. I still hated the enemy, but just then when that guy started to cry,
[01:29:39] I felt different. We all had to be hard, hard to the facts of what was happening to all of us.
[01:29:48] Killer be killed.
[01:29:49] I made my way back to where our team was stationed. I got there as Rick was sitting down.
[01:30:00] The O.C. was busy with orders. Vince, we're out of water. Got me. Johnny asked. No,
[01:30:06] I replied. Just then Captain Mason shouted. And Avv you've seen Peter Headaker around.
[01:30:12] I saw him last night with Gith with Jin, with Jin and West Sir. I shouted. Perhaps West
[01:30:20] you'll know. Captain Mason looked at me with serious eyes. All the support team who were sitting there
[01:30:29] looked at Captain Mason and me. I felt something was wrong. The O.C. motioned me over.
[01:30:36] I got to him and crouch down. Corporal B. Jin's McCarthy was killed and so was Philip West.
[01:30:47] The shell was meant for your gun team. A flashback of what had happened filled my mind.
[01:30:54] The smock pulled from my back, the spinning head, the deafness.
[01:30:58] It must have missed you by inches. Corporal B. U.K. Yeah. I'm okay. I'll go find Headaker then.
[01:31:10] Captain Mason came over. Sir, he said to the O.C.
[01:31:15] Pete Headaker was killed also. The bearers have now found his body.
[01:31:20] I stood up and walked back to my spot. I was gutted beyond belief. Pete had always been my mate.
[01:31:35] We spent many times together drinking in the shop. I met his family too.
[01:31:41] Now he was dead. Only a short while ago I'd been sitting beside him.
[01:31:52] He'd said what a good spot he had. Now he was dead. Killed by a shell that was meant for me.
[01:31:59] I'll never forget that I survived while he was killed.
[01:32:07] So they do some movement. They actually get back up into their positions to where they were.
[01:32:31] Actually, the word, where gingit been when he had been killed. Going back to the book, we turned around to where
[01:32:37] gingit lane and walked back from the skyline to find a gap through which to find the gap through which
[01:32:44] sergeant P. had led us. In this way, we avoided being seen from tumble down.
[01:32:50] On the ground, I saw bits of clothing and flesh everywhere resembled a slaughter yard.
[01:33:03] We walked down 10 meters or so and there was more and more.
[01:33:08] Stuck on the side of Iraq was clearly a large piece.
[01:33:12] Johnny and I moved closer to it and my stomach turned as I saw the nose and cheek of a face.
[01:33:22] We looked at each other, our eyes wide. I put my bandet under the flesh and flicked it to the ground before
[01:33:30] bearing it quickly. Neither of us spoke. I had no doubts and P. N. confirmed to me that this was the
[01:33:43] remains of a mate. P. told me later that he had died instantly, from only the waste down remained.
[01:33:51] I felt good at beyond belief. I had been told of the direct hit that it also killed two others
[01:34:04] to see it with my own eyes. The body and remains was another story.
[01:34:08] Over walking over the crest, we bumped into Pat Harley. With him were one or two others,
[01:34:21] although I no longer remember who they were. As I was talking to Pat, I noticed a helmet on the
[01:34:27] end of an SLR planted in the rock face. Notting towards this, Pat mentioned that he had come up
[01:34:35] and found Jordi Lang dead. We rounded the rock face and at our feet laid dock and Jordi,
[01:34:44] both on their backs. They had died in an open space with the infamous tumble down looking down on them.
[01:34:54] Jordi had died trying to save dock. The bastard sniper had caught him in the open as he reached him.
[01:35:01] Jordi lay with his mouth slightly open. Gunshot wounds to his chest and stomach meant he died quickly.
[01:35:13] Evidence around him showed that he had tried to reach dock. He had been
[01:35:18] had he been calling for him, help himself. Pat looking cut up took Jordi's
[01:35:25] bags, saying he'd want us to have these rather than the re-election on. Returned our attention to
[01:35:33] dock who was more depressing. docked head and died quickly. Quickly. He must in fact
[01:35:41] have been fully aware of his injuries. The top part of his skull was blown away the brain visible
[01:35:49] smashed by a sniper's bullet. Only the fragmented skull had prevented the complete collapse
[01:35:56] of the side of his head. How he survived the impact God knows, laying beside him were items from
[01:36:03] the first aid kit he'd been carrying. Field dressing half open, safety pins in his right hand fingers
[01:36:09] near the ground. His left hand held a morphine syringe. This had been used the thin needle point
[01:36:18] towards him. It must have been his dying act. His radio mic was still attached to his throat.
[01:36:27] Her close friend told me many months later, dock fell on his radio, the sending switch was stuck
[01:36:34] and he was on permanent send to all of us. We could hear him gurgling and moaning as he became
[01:36:42] aware that he had been shot badly. Vince and sent the signalers nuts, but we were all helpless.
[01:36:52] The sniper picked it anyone that moved. Jordey tried and lost his life for it.
[01:36:59] We eventually had to turn on to the emergency frequency to establish communications again.
[01:37:04] Doc had remained conscious and eventually died on a part of that mountain, alone with a lad
[01:37:13] who would bravely try to rescue him.
[01:37:15] So, just to explain that on your... Yeah, what's called a push to talk button on your radio
[01:37:35] and however he fell, he landed on that push to talk so that he was broadcasting his death
[01:37:47] and his dying was broadcast over the network for everyone to hear.
[01:37:52] These guys, they still have to fight and they start gathering against some intelligence.
[01:38:10] They think there's a counter attack coming in. By the way, this intense fighting is a matter of gaze.
[01:38:16] So, everything that we're talking about is happening in a couple days.
[01:38:19] And now they think that there is a counter attack coming.
[01:38:23] So, they dig in, they get in position, they set their machine guns up from where they think the counter
[01:38:30] attack from the Argentinians is going to come from. And then they start getting mortar again.
[01:38:38] Hit with artillery, here we go back to the book. We all hit the ground again as the shell landed.
[01:38:42] No sooner had I started to pick myself up. When a high-pitched scream rushed into my ears,
[01:38:47] a deadly sound, I can still hear it today. I looked down to where the shell had hit in the same
[01:38:54] areas before. The ground was smoldering, smoke lifting and evaporating.
[01:39:00] Five meters away from the hole, lay two bodies. The sight of one of them will stay with me until I die.
[01:39:08] His parasmoc was riddled with smoke escaping from every corner. The arms, bottom and collar.
[01:39:17] The lad turned on to his back screaming, oh God, help me, help me, please.
[01:39:24] I ran down the hill in fright and concerned. I dropped to my knees by the screaming soldier. His eyes met mine.
[01:39:31] Did he register me? I only saw Denzel. Denzel, the character we all loved.
[01:39:41] I wrenched my eyes to his legs. One was hanging off ripped to shreds. The bone clearly visible.
[01:39:49] His screaming churned by stomach. It was like nothing I'd ever heard. He tried to look down at his
[01:39:54] leg. Don't fucking look this way. I barked, lay back down, hear me. He dropped to his back holding his
[01:40:00] spot. Five. Jonah Jones, a nine squadron lad came to my side. Vince, I'll deal with him. You see
[01:40:08] the him. He said pointing to Craig Jones. Craig lay very close to Denzel.
[01:40:15] Clive rushed to help me. Craig hadn't any visible wounds. He lay quietly as
[01:40:20] Clive tried to talk to him. I tried to pull a smock open and pull his trousers down to check
[01:40:27] for a wound. Denzel screamed and moan behind me. Help me. Jonah was busy seeing to his leg.
[01:40:35] I pulled out my knife and started to cut through Craig's denoms and quilted art at clothing.
[01:40:40] My friend at cutting was too slow and I knew it. The doctor skitted him beside me.
[01:40:44] Pulled out his scissors and started to cut through Craig's leggings.
[01:40:50] I pulled the ripped material to one side. We had reached the skin.
[01:40:53] His legs had massive laceration and all directions spilling muscle and bone,
[01:41:00] but there wasn't hardly any blood. The doctor shouted at me to tie his muscles together.
[01:41:06] I pulled out my field dressings and tied the laceration together. The doctor was joined by a
[01:41:11] medic who went to Denzel. I was half conscious of cries of medic. Metic stretcher bearer all
[01:41:18] down the hill. Craig was lying still. I slid up beside him and looked into his face.
[01:41:25] It was pale with no color at all. His eyes stared into my face.
[01:41:32] You'll be okay Craig. Just hang on mate. Hang on.
[01:41:36] Clive held his head. Stroking his forehead repeating my words,
[01:41:40] Craig, can you hear me? I shouted. The doctor pulled in tubed frantically at Craig's clothing
[01:41:45] trying to reach more obvious wounds. Craig, you'll be okay. Hang on.
[01:41:53] You looked at me and his slight smile came across his face. His eyes laughed at me.
[01:42:02] Bright and wild. His grin spread. Then all expression faded.
[01:42:11] And he faded away. Craig, Craig, don't keep in there. His eyes closed. He died then and there.
[01:42:34] He was a young soldier 20 years of age. The records will say,
[01:42:44] private Craig Jones. The doctor motioned a bearer to get him on and away.
[01:42:55] Dencil was also lifted and carried away. I fell onto my bottom.
[01:43:06] Jones and Clive padded me on the shoulder. I tried to get up but felt to my knees again.
[01:43:13] I hadn't realized until then that I was crying crying without knowing it.
[01:43:17] I cried with all the pain and sadness. It didn't seem fair.
[01:43:30] Johnny came to my side and picked me up. He picked up my weapon and started to guide me to our bunker again.
[01:43:37] I glanced at Steve and Sass. Sass was crying as well and Steve had his
[01:43:41] head buried in his hands. I stumbled to our bunker weeping. When I sat down Steve
[01:43:55] wake put around his arm around me and whispered, you'd done a brave thing Vince.
[01:44:00] I couldn't have gone down there after those shells landed in the same spot.
[01:44:04] You done all right mate. His gesture didn't register. I cried with exhaustion, hatred, and pity.
[01:44:19] Craig and Dencil remain with me today. Craig who died and Dencil lost a leg and so nearly as life.
[01:44:25] When people write or tell of experiences of this kind, I know now that they can never
[01:44:35] really tell the facts for anyone to totally understand. For often the reader is wrapped in his own
[01:44:42] make-believe game of war. For me personally this five-minute experience changed my whole life
[01:44:50] and attitude towards war. War's will always be fought and I would go again for my beliefs,
[01:44:59] but I hope never again to see a face fade from me. It took me nearly a year.
[01:45:08] After this war for Craig's face to go before I slept. Newly a year to wipe out Dencil's
[01:45:17] smock on fire and his scream. Until I die it will remain a part of me.
[01:45:26] And because it is war there is no time to mourn and soon after that they are marching for their final
[01:45:53] assault on Stanley, which is the capital city. Going back to the book after we had tabbed about
[01:46:00] 1000 meters with wireless ridge clearly visible above us. The absence of troops and the silence of
[01:46:09] guns in Stanley began to produce some puzzle looks along the line of support company.
[01:46:15] Our O.C. shouted for a halt. We collapsed on the frosty ground to wait for orders. I looked
[01:46:21] up at the sky thinking what now? Who's fucked up this time? Let's just get this part started.
[01:46:29] A few shouts came down the line. I lent forward and saw that the line was breaking up in the
[01:46:33] men laughing. Sergeant McMathus was sitting behind me. Besides me. What's going on? Make I asked
[01:46:41] fucknose events. The shouting continued as messages passed down towards us. A guy three or four
[01:46:50] positions down from us suddenly turned round and shouted the wankers have surrendered. A white flag
[01:46:56] is flying over Stanley. Put your braze on index index. The last part of the message had an ironic
[01:47:05] ring because for some of the task force the whole thing had seemed like an exercise. So index is a
[01:47:12] term. We say it all the time and training. When you want to stop the exercise you say index
[01:47:17] it's short for index or size. So that's one of those things where it seemed like for some of the
[01:47:22] guys they were just on this big exercise. And so they literally said hey it's index and to the exercise
[01:47:28] right now. Make and I looked each other. Bollocks I said we stood up to see the remains of free
[01:47:35] pair of coming off longden in their red braze. Joy washed through my body. Make and I hugged each
[01:47:43] other. Nothing more was said. The message had reached everyone. I slipped off my helmet and put
[01:47:51] on my beret which had stayed close to hand throughout. As I stood looking down at moody brook
[01:47:59] the red braze stuck out like sore thumbs against the grass. I felt proud. The beret on my head
[01:48:08] meant more than any task the army had ever thrown at me. It meant victory. The feeling is
[01:48:18] indescribable. Now that's that and they spend obviously it's over but it's not like you just
[01:48:33] get to step and it's instantly over. They spend time there. They go through some pretty significant
[01:48:40] looting and he talks about that a bunch and he kind of comes to he goes kind of berserk and looting
[01:48:48] and they're all just gathering up war trophies and whatever they can find to value and they go into
[01:48:53] this one sort of a bunker position to loot and they on one side of the bunker it's all a bunch of
[01:49:01] weapons and the other side is other kind of more personal type items and they have so many weapons
[01:49:07] if they don't need anymore so they go and they start taking stuff from the other side.
[01:49:12] Mem a little like I said personal items I think it was and they walk out of there and then the next
[01:49:19] day they find out that the side with the weapons on it was all booby trapped with 70 pounds of explosive
[01:49:26] so they went in there if they would have picked up like two or three things off of that it was
[01:49:29] a pressure plate a pressure release so if they were picked up two or three things they would have
[01:49:34] gotten killed his him and his crew would have gotten killed and that's when he realized you know when
[01:49:38] he talks about he's like I was so greedy I wasn't even thinking anymore they go through that they eventually
[01:49:45] they get done they ship away and eventually end up two and I wonder then from from a different
[01:49:52] island they fly back to back to England and here we're going back to the book we stepped off the plane
[01:49:59] at RAF Brise Norton the next morning we were hit by the English summer in full blaze as we entered
[01:50:07] the airport lounge the doors were slung open to screaming crowd of relatives who charged towards us
[01:50:14] my mother climbed over chairs to hug me with all the rest of my family and close pursuit
[01:50:18] my wife came up to me I was tense and made unsure by all the noise and shouting it made me
[01:50:26] scared in a peculiar way Karen looked hard and almost angry hello Vince was all I got from her
[01:50:36] so he's home obviously his wife was a little bit tense about some things back to the book
[01:50:43] he actually before he go back to the book he they they do a little quick greeting with their
[01:50:48] family but then they get back on a bus with the rest of the the people the Italian members
[01:50:55] and they start driving back to their compound back to the book always very quiet on the journey
[01:51:00] the English countryside made me feel like an alien Johnny tapped my shoulder from behind
[01:51:06] Vince the trees man look at them I looked at the trees they were part of what was making me feel
[01:51:12] like an alien they were all in full bloom bright green leaves in the wind there was traffic on the
[01:51:19] roads shops people walking about doing their own thing it all seemed unreal after only three months
[01:51:26] away it was a shock to see civilization again the odd thing was I felt anger anger and everyone
[01:51:36] for doing their own thing it was as if something in my head was urging me to shout at them as they
[01:51:41] walked along the streets hey you looking your fucking ice creams there's a fucking lot of injured
[01:51:47] guys over there friends have been killed but all you're interested in is yourselves
[01:51:58] just frustration I know the general public was concerned but it just didn't seem like it then
[01:52:07] I wasn't expecting a metal or even a pad on the back I really didn't know what to expect
[01:52:11] even so I found it hard to become there was no way I could relax if I had been asked to go
[01:52:19] do a torn Ireland I would have gone more than anything I felt the pinch of no longer having my
[01:52:25] friends around me we had been together so tightly over the last few months that it was as if
[01:52:32] now I had had a set an arm severed the buddy buddy system that we had needed to literally survive
[01:52:40] wasn't there anymore and the sheltered life now seemed too far
[01:52:46] but now seemed to me far too boring to endure I made a point of not talking about my experiences
[01:52:54] to any member of my family including my wife but I do remember sitting up in bed one evening
[01:52:59] turning my wife and giving her a very mild insight into what had really happened I was sick
[01:53:07] to death of the presses views and of the publicity of a country still high on war
[01:53:14] I told Karen what had happened to Denzel and Jones the blank look she gave me
[01:53:22] with a half smile told me she wasn't interested and couldn't understand me at all
[01:53:29] I never said anything again I tried to look at it from her point of view instead she was sick of
[01:53:37] the war of the army and of me going away whenever I bumped into one of the lads I see more at home
[01:53:45] and relax talking our private language with him then I did with civis and my own family
[01:53:54] if I had had my own way I would have gone out on the biggest bend or ever
[01:53:58] but I knew that was the easy way out
[01:54:10] these remind me of one soldier's war you know you come back and there's no doubt
[01:54:18] when you come back from war you're gonna feel some of this I'm gonna tell you right now
[01:54:22] you're gonna feel some of this when you see civilians walking around
[01:54:25] looking their ice cream cones it's gonna it's gonna it's good it's a it's a rough transition
[01:54:32] you know back to the book there's no doubt that I was slowly unwinding over the long leave
[01:54:40] but the board I'm also gave me more time to think about my experiences
[01:54:45] worst of all were my nightmares about the war
[01:54:48] at first they came nightly later they faded and returned intermittently
[01:54:56] I always had the same dream of Denzel's smock and Jones's face passing before me
[01:55:04] I would wake up in a bed so wet that a bucket of water might have been thrown over me
[01:55:11] the nightmares lasted about six months or so today I can see and understand everything that has
[01:55:16] happened to me I know now that I wasn't alone the most comforting words I ever had to help me
[01:55:24] did not come from any of my family my family were concerned but could never really understand
[01:55:30] what I was going through those words came from my friends in the pub as we drank during leave
[01:55:38] Johnny turned to me and said vents I've had a few turns in the night you know
[01:55:44] that made me sit up and see clearly that I wasn't alone and when you're not alone
[01:55:53] you're stronger
[01:56:00] so that's something that I hear from a lot of vets
[01:56:05] and maybe you're thinking that this is something you're experiencing that no one else is
[01:56:14] not true not only are other guys going through it other guys have always gone through it
[01:56:23] you're not alone back to the book I fully believe that we as a nation performed the most
[01:56:27] excellent of tasks I'm fully behind the decision to send the task force and I wouldn't
[01:56:33] hesitate to fight again for a country and its beliefs people who win jibbout the decisions taken
[01:56:41] in war they weren't involved in to me are the most misguided of all the most striking events
[01:56:52] to affect me throughout the war were obviously the deaths of my friends
[01:56:56] eight years ago I regarded those friends as those in two and three pairs only
[01:57:04] now after learning about others experiences and after watching and reading others accounts
[01:57:09] I see that the whole task force was my friend I watched a marine sergeant in a TV documentary
[01:57:17] his eyes showing the emotion of his story and the site told me we were all the same
[01:57:31] I still feel a bit angry that the wounded went unnoticed a propaganda film on the task force
[01:57:38] as a rival home showed only the pairs in the Marines in the navy homecoming
[01:57:42] can you remember seeing the badly wounded coming through the gates I think not
[01:57:52] nobody wants to see the effects of carnage never again will I think that war is just a game
[01:58:04] like they showed on TV it is very different from how it is portrayed in books and films
[01:58:09] we call ourselves into the killing game don't we I remember very clearly watching from a window
[01:58:18] of my quarters five or six kids playing a war game some were even dressed in combat gear
[01:58:24] and carrying small toy machine guns I watched with interest in their tactics and attacking
[01:58:31] a cardboard box that was meant to be an enemy held position the two kids defending rolled over
[01:58:38] and pretended to die went over run by the goodies after being tegged by their friends they got
[01:58:46] up to resume the game from me high we start to practice what is in human nature to defend and kill
[01:58:59] the one big difference between their game and the real one is that you don't get up after really
[01:59:06] being shot who are as the legal killing of people and can be very scary
[01:59:15] who are as killed or be killed we also must remember that a lot of the command structure
[01:59:25] at junior rank level can almost be too difficult to maintain in the heat of battle
[01:59:29] then what becomes a winning factor is the determination of the private soldier
[01:59:39] his loan get up and go and do attitude we must take our hats off to the junior ranks of all
[01:59:49] services for they are the backbone of the war machine in that they have to kill a close range
[01:59:54] we are lucky to have what is perhaps one of the best fighting forces in the world
[02:00:02] thanks to our system of training and to our discipline
[02:00:09] even today I feel frustration about the war I was so psyched up to carry on with the fight
[02:00:15] into Stanley that the Argentinian surrender may be disappointed as well as happy
[02:00:20] I try very hard to keep out of fist fights now as I wouldn't like to lose myself control
[02:00:31] do my alone in feeling this or their hundreds or thousands of other time bombs out there
[02:00:43] other experience veterans may be sympathetic to all of said
[02:00:46] we can only wait for the next war now to practice the art of killing again
[02:00:55] I hope I'm there to help
[02:00:59] finally I must quote a first world war veteran who told me so many years before I joined the army
[02:01:07] you'll like the army events but not war it's horrible boy he was right
[02:01:20] I didn't like it then again I did
[02:01:27] I'm going to close this book out with the beginning of this book and it reads
[02:01:48] this book is dedicated to the soldiers of three parah whose comradeship and determination
[02:02:00] throughout the campaign make the author proud to have served with them
[02:02:08] so that the members of three parah who never returned are not forgotten their names and ages
[02:02:14] at death in action are listed below
[02:02:20] private Richard Absalon military metal 19 years old
[02:02:29] private Gerald Bull 18 private Jason Burke 17
[02:02:36] private John Crow 21 private mark Doddsworth 24
[02:02:48] private Anthony Greenwood 22
[02:02:54] private Neil Gross 18
[02:03:00] private Peter headaker
[02:03:01] 22 Lance Corpore Peter Higgs 23
[02:03:13] Corpore Stephen hoped 27
[02:03:19] private Timothy Jenkins 19
[02:03:25] private Craig Jones 20
[02:03:26] private Stewart Lang 20
[02:03:36] Lance Corpore Christopher Love it 24
[02:03:42] Corpore Keith McCarthy 27
[02:03:45] Sergeant Ian McCay Victoria Cross 29
[02:03:57] Corpore Stewart McCoffland 27
[02:04:01] Lance Corpore James Murdock 25
[02:04:12] Lance Corpore David Scott 24
[02:04:15] private Ian Skriven's 17
[02:04:19] Corpore Alex Shaw 25
[02:04:29] private Philip West 19
[02:04:35] and
[02:04:53] you notice those names
[02:04:58] those men their ages
[02:05:01] and their ranks they're all their all junior ranks
[02:05:08] the one sergeant sergeant Ian McCay
[02:05:14] who was awarded the Victoria Cross for storming 50 caliber machine gun
[02:05:20] mission but the rest of those men are privates and Lance Corpore's and Corpore's
[02:05:32] young men and
[02:05:39] as Kipling pointed out
[02:05:41] they're no plaster saints by any stretch
[02:05:51] but damn
[02:05:52] they might not be saints
[02:06:12] but I've no men like these
[02:06:14] and I've seen them with my eyes
[02:06:27] and as I have said
[02:06:32] and as this tale of the Falquins confirms once again
[02:06:37] war is hell and it's a hell that can bring out the worst in men
[02:06:49] but it can also bring out the best
[02:06:58] and don't forget these young men
[02:07:00] who like so many others
[02:07:10] answered the call
[02:07:14] fought and died in that awful place to protect their brothers
[02:07:22] and for the more and if you read this book you will realize that we all have a little bit more to give
[02:07:40] mentally and physically you can go further you can push harder
[02:07:46] you can be more ruthless if you have to be and you can also show more mercy
[02:07:59] you can be better
[02:08:03] I can be better we can all be better and we most often get better not from the easy things and not from the good times
[02:08:12] but from the hard times then the challenges and the suffering in life that pushes you to your breaking point
[02:08:26] and demands that you give absolutely everything you have
[02:08:31] but you have to keep going
[02:08:44] so no matter what
[02:08:53] keep going
[02:08:53] and I think that's all that I've got for tonight
[02:09:07] to be
[02:09:19] crazy hell how it got that crazy that vicious in like that short period of time
[02:09:28] it is and we we had to remember that that's what we have one perspective
[02:09:34] from one squad for in one platoon and there was you know the story of two pair
[02:09:42] the one where the battalion commander
[02:09:45] eight Jones won the victorier cross by the way what about that what about that story
[02:09:54] and not to mention the royal marines that were down there as well what about their stories
[02:09:57] yeah and that's the thing that just it's I still can't wrap my head around the amount of
[02:10:07] untold stories that there are and not just the not just the fact of the stories
[02:10:13] but to think that these because this is this battle is a very short time compared to Vietnam or
[02:10:22] World War Two or World War One or even the wars that we've been fighting today that have been going on
[02:10:27] for years and years and years but it's not so much at the story that that like we're missing the story
[02:10:34] but these people existed everywhere and they exist everywhere and and yeah it's it's
[02:10:47] it's an incredible the take a look at the book by the book and read it and it's I actually
[02:10:57] I got into some of the graphics stuff some of the some of the interaction to them when they're not
[02:11:01] in combat is actually it's real crude and I didn't you know I didn't cover much of it not that
[02:11:08] you know I wanted to get to more of the combat constraints that's kind of I didn't realize that I
[02:11:12] didn't cover as much as sort of just the straight-up crude behavior that they that they I mean they're on the
[02:11:18] both for a while they're drinking they're getting drunk when they're coming home it's there's some
[02:11:22] some crude behavior and and things that are taking place and that's kind of why I jumped on the
[02:11:30] opportunity to read Tommy by gippling because that's totally true then you know what they say in
[02:11:38] kind of our way of saying that in the seal teams we would say this we that guy is a in case
[02:11:47] of war break glass kind of guy oh yeah meaning we don't want him around all the time we want to keep
[02:11:52] him over here on the side in the glass but yeah if something happens yeah break glass and we'll get
[02:11:57] this this frog man out now what's what's jacked up about that is that's that played more
[02:12:05] of a role when I was first in the seal teams and the more the the older I got the moment sure I got
[02:12:11] the more I realized like that's that's okay but it doesn't really work what you need is to have someone
[02:12:18] that you can have out of the glass and that learns and what you have to do is a leader is you take
[02:12:24] those guys that instead of putting those guys in the glass jar or behind a in a glass box somewhere
[02:12:30] and keeping their in case war what you do is you do what you do with a freaking wild dog you have to
[02:12:36] train them you have to bring them out you have to socialize them amongst the humans so that they
[02:12:40] can so that they can interact because a guy that you have to keep in you know in behind a glass
[02:12:46] barrier from the rest of the world the chances of you needing him for that type of situation are
[02:12:53] pretty minimal so what about all the other situations that he'd be beneficial for so what you have
[02:12:58] to do is a leader is teach those guys that have the attitude of you know I'm just I'm just a
[02:13:04] nothing but a straight warrior don't care about anything else I'm here to go to war otherwise leave
[02:13:10] me alone what you want to do is you want to get those guys out into the world socialize them like a good
[02:13:15] attack dog that that's not going to bite anything in front of it's going to actually bite what you
[02:13:19] want it to bite and then you have something that's a much more valuable not only for you as a
[02:13:25] leader but for them because they have a much better opportunity so there's still a few guys left in the
[02:13:30] old mold of in case of war break glass but most of the guys now are are actually
[02:13:36] more versatile than that and I'll tell you when I was young I was probably falling at a category
[02:13:42] I wasn't exactly the guy you wanted to throw out in front of the admiral to look at right and say
[02:13:51] this is our model guy right here it's you know wouldn't have been that way now at the old
[02:13:57] I got them or I recognized how important having that both sides of the of the coin covered
[02:14:03] and you couldn't just be of freaking rampaging berserk or all the time you had to actually
[02:14:08] be a professional yeah to be a professional and so I definitely had my share of time spent in that zone
[02:14:16] back in the day but what's good is I think guys knew that about me and that therefore when I
[02:14:25] came up to and said hey man look we gotta we gotta do better than that or hey we we can't be acting like
[02:14:31] that they knew that I wasn't coming to them from a from a what's that we're from the ivory tower
[02:14:38] I wasn't looking down on them like all I can't believe you're not that way we don't act out
[02:14:44] way we're naval representatives I wasn't coming to like that I was coming to and hey we're professionals
[02:14:50] we gotta get we want to get hired to do jobs we want to kill bad guys we got to get missions
[02:14:55] we got to get mission approval those were the things that that you know I kind of passed on to
[02:15:01] to my guys was hey that's cool be a frog man but be a disciplined frog man yeah be a frog man
[02:15:08] that can represent and I think that's another thing in the book when there's no war going on how
[02:15:14] we're that you know they're they're the kind of maniacs you know yeah and and then when the war breaks
[02:15:19] out they go even more maniacs style and it's almost like they get into that mode of like who cares
[02:15:27] anyways we're gonna die we're gonna die we just you know who cares but after you go to war
[02:15:32] for an extended period of time you're like actually you're not gonna die actually
[02:15:36] there's a decent chance you're gonna live and there's a decent chance that you need to
[02:15:43] continue to build you know the the reputation of the seal teams not just as
[02:15:50] where killers but where professionals yeah so and we should have a reputation of both
[02:15:55] and we do by the way thanks ill professional killers is right but yeah it's a great book there's
[02:16:04] a lot to learn from it there's a lot to learn again I that that the way that they're going
[02:16:09] from peacetime and again I know that they were doing tours in Ireland at the time and that was
[02:16:13] no joke and they took casualties in Ireland and there was many soldiers killed in northern Ireland
[02:16:20] but that wasn't comparable to what they went through in the focklands so it was interesting to see
[02:16:26] how they handled approaching combat for the first time yeah another part that I think these books
[02:16:33] really bring to light is just the physical conditions that that they go into even talking
[02:16:39] talking to you guys when you guys talk about how hot it is then everyone's gonna all you
[02:16:42] add a detail like oh yeah so I'm like you know all my clothes are all wet from my sweat
[02:16:47] and usually that's not part of the movie when you watch the movie you know or like these guys
[02:16:51] is for just feet are falling off you know because it's cold and I was sitting in a combat outpost
[02:16:57] in Ramadi and it was nighttime right the coolest part of the day and I wasn't doing anything and
[02:17:03] I hadn't been doing anything and I was literally sitting in a combat outpost you know the
[02:17:08] boys were out in an Overwatch position and I was back there I had been quarantined but I did it it
[02:17:12] wasn't that it wasn't that established of a combat outpost yet so I still had all my gear on
[02:17:17] but I was just sitting there I've been sitting there for let's call it two three four hours
[02:17:22] and I was sitting there and I just kind of put my I was sitting down and I angled my back to like a
[02:17:28] 45 degree angle and I was kind of looking at the ground kind of resting a little bit and as I looked down I was
[02:17:33] full athletic sweat dripping off me like that fast and I wasn't doing anything yeah that's just
[02:17:41] that's the bait that's where you start yeah that's where you start not to mention guys legs
[02:17:45] getting blown off all this stuff all these yeah man yeah that's crazy yeah it's um the physical
[02:17:53] and the other big thing is the physical conditioning that you need to be prepared for
[02:17:59] is is pumping with a rock sack on yeah that's a big deal that you know that you know they don't
[02:18:04] show a lot of that no and any kind of military training they don't just show it they don't show
[02:18:09] it enough they should they should I mean we just did another trip up to Yosemite and we got our boots boots
[02:18:15] boots on and it's it's if you're not conditioned for that it's gonna be hard and you can make it
[02:18:23] through a day yeah maybe you can make it through two days but also you're not carrying I was telling
[02:18:28] my my kids up there up in the mountains you're not carrying any weight compared to what you carry
[02:18:36] with when you have gear when you have the when you go tactical you don't have the you probably
[02:18:41] have 30 pounds maybe if you're just if you're just camping or whatever you've got a couple you
[02:18:47] got a couple leaders of water you've got a sleeping bag in a ground pad you've got some trail mix
[02:18:53] maybe a little bit more food but you're talking 30 40 pounds tops yeah you get geared up
[02:19:01] bro I would weigh guys would before we'd send them out on training operations I'd weigh
[02:19:05] them training operations they're there rocks away like 110 pounds you're gear alone you're your
[02:19:12] body armor helmet ammo magazines you know magazines an ammo grenades you're your 60 70 pounds
[02:19:23] then you put water that you're talking I think I think I weighed like 310 or something with like
[02:19:29] you're on seriously like roll well cop yeah roll the cop still heavy on on roll I think it was part
[02:19:37] two where he shocks himself because he wants to get rid of the messed up director see like given
[02:19:42] he falls down right he's unconscious and then they're like hey we gotta help him they try to pick
[02:19:47] him up oh he's too heavy to move yeah that actually happened to uh we were on a training exercise
[02:19:54] and tea bruiser and I got put down they said a jockel your dead so I made down and I just
[02:20:00] laid there and life came over to throw me in the back of the home v i was like a robot cop down there
[02:20:07] so life got a couple buddies who said hey guys help him move jockel still not moving dead weight
[02:20:11] job and they're like okay yep you know you were like making extra effort to be dead weight
[02:20:16] oh yeah for sure like you're like I'm not fully participating you know training exercise
[02:20:20] I wanted those guys to be prepared to put a grenade in my mouth and be there so you get some
[02:20:30] awesome well speaking of lots of stories maybe you could tell some stories about
[02:20:38] how to support this I'd be happy to know no short story hey did you get into drinking
[02:20:46] pomegranate white tea and subsequently jockel white tea because your wife is a Brit no he's into tea
[02:20:52] she turned you on the tea and she didn't really because they drink tea with milk and I don't
[02:20:58] yeah but you know hey you can get a credit but she doesn't get credit for that one she drinks tea yeah
[02:21:04] she did drink her put the kettle she says she says a couple tea couple tea like here or anything she says
[02:21:09] well couple tea what's the reason real but doesn't cure everything is the same thing like that I don't know
[02:21:15] who that was yeah I think it's like Chris Ross I don't remember specifically where I got the first
[02:21:20] cup of jockel white tea from but I do remember that it was in the desert when I was I was at the training
[02:21:25] command and I was would be giving the debriefs or sitting through the guys briefs and we'd be
[02:21:32] going on like 234 hours to sleep so you need a little bit of kick yeah somebody has somewhere I
[02:21:39] got some jockel some tea yeah it wasn't yet jockel white tea just pomegranate white tea yeah and
[02:21:46] yeah that's where I'm for and I drank it I was like this nice yeah this is nice the cold one
[02:21:52] yeah wait was it cold yeah yeah yeah or definitely had it cold because you're at the desert
[02:21:55] you don't want to drink hot tea unless you're British yeah yeah kind of productive they be drinking
[02:21:59] hot tea no matter what they don't even drink lasty I don't really like hot tea that much
[02:22:04] yeah that whole island they don't really like iced tea like you can't go to restaurant all
[02:22:09] so iced tea they look at you like you're weird yeah yeah which I've been looked at many times there
[02:22:13] yeah for me weird this face it you you're kind of weird bro that's all right anyway
[02:22:20] you got if we want to support ourselves first off I'm gonna talk about my little stories not sure
[02:22:26] sorry Longland no please kidding remember I told you I got to take a little bit of press I got the
[02:22:31] on it kettlebells right so if the first ones I got get all the the design of ones they're cooler
[02:22:36] might be yeah I don't think I've ever yeah I used the regular ones before at other gyms
[02:22:43] but anyway I get the the cool ones the ones that someone takes a picture of me and I have
[02:22:47] on my look like extra cool with the primal you can see how different our thought patterns are yeah
[02:22:52] you're here to win I get it and I can dig it fully but I got the chimplons those are
[02:22:58] what one pood okay whatever the 16-ing killer went up to the werewolf just the other day I ordered
[02:23:08] the gorilla what's that one 70 something I got a pair I incorporate that in I'm getting strong
[02:23:16] man I'm getting good at the kettlebells you're gonna need them 88's like I got yeah wait what is the one
[02:23:20] that that it's big foot right I don't know what that is but my the biggest kettlebells that I currently
[02:23:26] have yeah our 40 kilograms yeah it's like yeah 88 pounds what's 90 something because 2.2 pounds per
[02:23:35] kilogram okay so it's like we can do the math if you want but nonetheless that's heavy oh I don't
[02:23:42] know I'm I don't know if I'm ready for that and given my current exercise program with them
[02:23:48] I do we should start doing math exercise yeah maybe more break it's calculated or whichever
[02:23:54] either way that's the one I got and so so look yeah I'm gonna recommend it if you're into kettlebells you
[02:24:00] want to you know get your kettlebells on get on it once they're cooler that's my opinion good
[02:24:06] a lot of cool stuff I got a jump rope and stuff like that too um you know what I'll say did
[02:24:14] hundred burpees in 10 minutes oh brand like where you at yeah yeah yeah see remember last time
[02:24:19] you did it yeah I didn't brand it just so you know echo is now he notoriously bad cardio
[02:24:26] not like that I mean you you you you credit I'm giving you credit but still we could use that
[02:24:32] as sort of a statement to say if echo could do it come on brand and yeah actually I think the
[02:24:37] statement is look off our echo has come look how far I think that's the statement will make
[02:24:43] I just made it there you go far echo has come said he can do a hundred burr a lot of people thinking
[02:24:47] how on a burpees in 10 minutes is a joke actually yeah I could I could dig it I mean I've been doing
[02:24:52] burpees for for a while not that kind you know not to kind my they're just in my routine
[02:24:57] oh yeah many but I'm familiar with them so I'm like okay you can you know how you can kind of
[02:25:00] gauge like okay I do this many so what it would a hundred take out of me you know can I do it
[02:25:05] 243 2010 yeah so how I did it was 25 one minute rest 25 one minute rest 25 one minute rest
[02:25:14] 15 and then like two minute minute and a half maybe I don't know something like that give
[02:25:21] or take and then a 10 and actually sorry 11 I did 101 burpees and it was nine minutes flat
[02:25:30] that's good yeah branded what you got here's what I found here's I don't know if my cardio is good
[02:25:36] or bad is better than it has been it's better than all time just in general even due to
[02:25:41] and other stuff what's the stuff all so you know I'm you know when you run and I don't know
[02:25:46] you know get not just yeah whatever hey life man something life those physical challenges at you
[02:25:53] either way so yeah I did 101 in nine minutes flat what it was was I wasn't breathing as hard as
[02:26:01] maybe you might think like that wasn't the the issue wasn't the breathing was like just
[02:26:06] boom push up but I'm pushing it jump and the acting acid okay yeah yeah yeah but would you feel legs
[02:26:13] weird yeah legs fully shoulders not chest like I think you know do it a push up one every you
[02:26:20] know second isn't that much for me but strangely my shoulders and this part that like what you call
[02:26:26] these the serrats they're like sore next day you know weird way it was weird man none the last
[02:26:31] yeah I did prove that burgers are good exercise yes fully got you some funky work out there yeah
[02:26:37] this is it's good and then so I go in youtube I see this one guy does 100 in a row oh my
[02:26:42] dang because 25 was I didn't know I was gonna be like hey I'm gonna do as many as I can how long
[02:26:48] it's taking me 100 in a row oh three minutes and 33 seconds if I'm not mistaken that's credit yeah
[02:26:54] you know what here's the thing though here's the thing I think it's the thing I don't know
[02:26:59] it's thing or not that's why I'm asking a question okay so what really is a burpee I mean as far
[02:27:03] as like okay so when I first started doing burpees I want to do burpee is you your chest touched
[02:27:08] the ground and jump in there okay so what about my hands do they have to go about my head or can
[02:27:12] they be yes technically it's a little clap over the head oh a clap so what I mean over the head like
[02:27:17] technically has to be above the head so if I go like this or doesn't have to be well this you guys
[02:27:21] do this I do a little bit of everything and depending on how tired I am okay if you see when I'm
[02:27:25] really tired my clap was barely happening and it's happened and like six inches in front of my belly
[02:27:30] yeah okay so here like but if you want to be like technical yeah I mean a really technical
[02:27:37] perfect burpee would be like both hands clapping up above your head as your six inches in the air
[02:27:42] yeah you can't do too many though you can't do as many those though no bear to tell you
[02:27:46] not at all that's kind of the difference between the dynamic jump like a high jump
[02:27:51] and not a dynamic jump is real big huge huge and that's the word is the line so
[02:27:58] for me here's the line get your hands above your head get your feet off the ground that's it right
[02:28:03] I think that's yeah I did I I was otherwise you're like hey you didn't jump
[02:28:08] three inches yeah but what if you know because if you want to do that what you do you put your
[02:28:12] your you put your 135 on the ground a barbell with 135 on it and you hop over that
[02:28:18] and each time chest to the ground on one side chest the ground on the other side chest to the
[02:28:22] that's another way if you're going to require I like when you can't cheat but you can't cheat that
[02:28:28] right you have to jump over it yeah no that's what's cool about like burpee pull ups you
[02:28:33] you gotta get chest to the ground I don't care how you do it chest to the ground and get your
[02:28:38] chin over the bar that I don't care what you do in between those two yeah that's a burpee
[02:28:41] making it pretty much alright well then I have to be honest then here's my disclaimer
[02:28:47] the push up it I didn't touch my chest to the ground you need like okay I mean was it like
[02:28:53] was it like an incomplete probably some of them were like I mean I guess I don't do I'm not like
[02:29:01] every single time right yeah here's the thing it's to your discretion right it's like it's like
[02:29:07] that's you know when you didn't do a burpee let's face it if we wanted to you know get some
[02:29:13] Guinness Book of World's right scenario then sure yeah but we we I think you're right
[02:29:17] you know what a burpee is yeah I know what a burpee is yeah get it right yeah so mine and just to
[02:29:23] kind of in the spirit of honesty so I didn't touch my because here's the thing if I was to
[02:29:30] if in on the push up part if you touch your chest over every time you actually slow down enough
[02:29:34] that it's not hitting your cardio as much yeah in my opinion yeah maybe I mean I guess added up
[02:29:40] yeah I guess and you know what I saw though when I saw that guy doing the burpees he was on
[02:29:45] I think it was just a regular gym floor maybe a mat or something and he was doing it and after
[02:29:50] while he starts banging his chest like oh he's showing my goal you're getting a bounce on the
[02:29:54] bench I'm saying yeah getting a little bounce so I'm thinking you know what that could be easier
[02:29:59] for me if I did on a mat I think it'd be easier than having to stop your body weight and not
[02:30:04] touch you know but it's gonna be what you're used to for sure but I didn't touch my chest and
[02:30:10] there were like four of them that I didn't put like four because when I started the set I'm like oh shoot
[02:30:16] those you know two or three I didn't put my hands above my head so I didn't show it yeah you know
[02:30:21] so maybe like four five of them didn't technically count but I feel like if I would have put my hands
[02:30:26] above my head on those four it wouldn't have made a difference that's what I think but if I'm like
[02:30:32] you know the kind where I'm filming at the master you know I'm filming this girl she's doing the
[02:30:36] perfect burpy while I'm filming her chest to the ground in fact when she went chest to ground
[02:30:41] her hands came up off the ground oh just for like a second I'm like dang this feels like
[02:30:44] you know what do they call the girls I think they call this game day pushups I don't know
[02:30:47] okay and I don't know maybe I'm wrong yeah yeah I just called that which is weird exactly
[02:30:51] you have a game day every day's game day so that's what you call it do that every day but
[02:30:57] either way she's doing that and then she's going into the and her hands are straight in the air like
[02:31:02] she's straight up with the everybody's in the shandie I go cross for uh sandy ankle master
[02:31:07] not an autexus I put the clip in the video okay slow mox check it out yeah and she had the perfect
[02:31:13] form full beast mode full on and I'm thinking when I see that compared to the 101 that I did
[02:31:19] no night in day man there would be like yeah he's not doing this whole part here in that
[02:31:23] my hands are going like this they're going like this so they're above my head
[02:31:26] I don't know what I'm gonna like it maybe Brandon Peckworth is doing eight inch or 12 inch
[02:31:30] vertical leap on each one like a beast and we're calling him out and he's actually
[02:31:34] I know he's doing it the cracker and sorry Brandon if that's the case all right good well the
[02:31:39] goal is now 100 I'm gonna follow the protocol I know one in 200 yeah like in a row yeah yeah
[02:31:46] that'd be the big good yeah I'm gonna follow the protocol for sure oh I'll report back anyway
[02:31:51] back to the kettlebells that's a good one the jump rope stuff that's a good one
[02:31:54] on the on it one sets the cool ones my opinion just go on there check it out go on it
[02:31:58] dot com slash jocco boom it's for yourself and the podcast also good way to support
[02:32:06] when you buy these books the jocquer reviews did I chime in to everyone tomorrow good or
[02:32:13] the website joccopadcast.com and chime in much today yeah man I was always kind of a heavy one yeah
[02:32:19] heavy and I'm not gonna so you know what part I was gonna chime in what I respect your decision
[02:32:26] but I respect your decision not to try to get it well you know how you're like it was at the
[02:32:31] end anyway wait you're like this is just one story yeah you know you take and it's a slidly a sliver
[02:32:37] really it is it's a sliver it's one guy and one story it's one guy there is four or five thousand
[02:32:43] British servicemen down there yeah it's one five one four thousand so this this was my comparison
[02:32:49] you know when you're driving in traffic on the street whatever the freeway and all you see is cars
[02:32:55] oh my god infinite cars traffic is everywhere just cars and cars and cars and that's nothing
[02:33:00] new and facts kind of irritating really but if you just take one little step like in your mind and
[02:33:06] and look in the car and look that's a person in there and maybe sometimes two people in there
[02:33:12] sometimes a little family each one of those people has their whole life story all the little
[02:33:19] ups and downs and special things and you know challenges challenge struggles and triumphs all that
[02:33:24] stuff you're one of those little things is a little guy in there and and even then that's no
[02:33:29] buddy compared to everybody so that's analogy I was gonna make but seems kind of trivial you know
[02:33:36] compared to like guys on the freeway I like our story that's out of police yeah I got a self-cuff
[02:33:42] police anyway back to these books if yeah if you want to get any of these books one or more
[02:33:48] whatever they're listed by episode on the website jocopotcast.com and and by the way we started off
[02:33:54] today before he record record record I said to echo you know you heard the book the what's
[02:34:03] that saying don't judge a book by its cover the cover of this book you can judge it by it's called
[02:34:09] excursion to hell by Lance Corporal Vincent Bramley and the picture on the cover looks like hell
[02:34:17] it looks like it's a picture of him it's blown up real big but yeah you can judge a book by
[02:34:21] its cover you can tell it's gonna be a rough story yeah it looks like he took a straight up excursion
[02:34:26] to hell on that cover but if you want this book go to jocopotcast.com set a little tab on the top
[02:34:32] thing you know top menu whatever books from podcast jocopotcast books whatever it's called
[02:34:36] boom they're listed there by episode click through there get it through there good way to support
[02:34:41] yourself of course and and the podcast takes you to Amazon also or if you're other shop any other
[02:34:48] shopping oh that's a bonus bonus if you buy some port massive good that's still supports it's
[02:34:55] more big time yeah like what like a like a 100 terabyte hard drive how much is that cost like four to five
[02:35:02] grand oh not 45 grand four to five so like 40 depends which one you get or like a lawnmower can you
[02:35:08] buy a lawnmower from Amazon you can now yeah what do they do they they come with a big
[02:35:14] forklift truck and be like oh not that big dude well no no no oh I'm sorry I'm thinking driving on more
[02:35:21] oh so what do they do back it up is your lawnmower I don't know you probably can maybe
[02:35:26] okay treadmill I know you can get a treadmill yeah treadmill is pretty big well either way
[02:35:31] you can do your shopping boom click through there takes a two seconds small action really big reaction
[02:35:38] by way of support I actually have been thinking that that is actually not the best analogy that
[02:35:45] you've been using for like you would think that but you'd be wrong I think a better you ever
[02:35:50] heard of the the expression death by a thousand cuts yes it's more like that even though life by a thousand
[02:35:55] clicks clicks sure yeah support yes yeah man I dig it because they all add up together yeah
[02:36:03] because the sodium is little but it's big but you have to join it with all the other ones yeah so now
[02:36:08] you have a bunch of little sodium's boom huge reaction huge support wide spread huge support
[02:36:14] by this little action from these you know what it is actually the sodium's better because of
[02:36:18] if I'm clicking through I'm a listen I'm listening to this podcast I'm like you know I'm
[02:36:22] gonna support I'm by one of these books I'm gonna you know by lawnmowers treadmill whatever
[02:36:26] I click through the website just that two seconds of going to the website first clicking through
[02:36:33] that's like so much potential in my click just like the the sodium so much potential energy in
[02:36:38] there especially when you mix it with the water you mix it with the Amazon the click boom
[02:36:42] support you follow we can move on yeah there you go back to my point anyway I just to everyone
[02:36:50] for egging that on in some manner yeah well I respect your action ownership in the situation
[02:37:00] just know what you're gonna do to fix the next episode or you could subscribe to the podcast on iTunes
[02:37:05] Stitcher and Google Play if you haven't already I think it seems well I don't want to say it seems obvious
[02:37:11] but yeah if you don't you shouldn't you haven't yeah that's a great support yeah cool
[02:37:16] stay updated all that stuff also on YouTube subscribe to that one I've been putting some stuff
[02:37:22] this is kind of weird to me because we don't have that many YouTube subscribers
[02:37:28] I forget I mean I look but it's not a ton it's not as many people as listen to the podcast
[02:37:34] yeah yeah yeah yeah for sure but not a lot of people are like on YouTube you know okay I'm gonna watch
[02:37:40] you know joc on YouTube yeah like that you're less compelled to do that especially if you're not on
[02:37:44] YouTube just to eat it but what if you miss some of them deleted yeah you know that's something but
[02:37:49] consider like if you never go I would always work with a group this last week and they're full on
[02:37:54] caught up on the podcast every single episode legit dudes getting after it and I mentioned the
[02:38:01] deleted scene that came out and they there are three of them none of them had seen it oh see
[02:38:06] none of them had seen it and that's that's a good scene it's funny anyways yeah I know I use bad
[02:38:11] language but it's got a refreshing breath you know like you can cut loose your like off your
[02:38:17] joc was always on you're off no you're on you're in a different way I was going off
[02:38:26] subscribe to the YouTube channel if you're on YouTube or if you're thinking about getting on
[02:38:31] YouTube good start there subscribe yeah I can you can be your first subscription and don't think
[02:38:36] that it's a you know subscribe to nothing one click oh man one click no money just click one click
[02:38:42] and here's the thing it's a total non commitment situation you can literally subscribe
[02:38:47] and 10 seconds later you can unsubscribe then you can do that again you can do as many times
[02:38:51] why it's like so easy so it's really that's a small action big reaction situation another one
[02:38:58] also joc was a store see that time I say it quite I would it's good lord into your trap just moved on
[02:39:04] haha but actually back to the YouTube real quick cause there's other stuff other than just a
[02:39:11] video version of the bot yeah one other point there's other little videos that you put together
[02:39:16] sure excerpts with like a club sure some people call McNuggets sure joc will make none
[02:39:21] yeah they're on there anyway joc was a store it's called joc was door joc was door dot com there's
[02:39:26] some shirts on there there's some travel months on there some bumper stickers on there I
[02:39:32] reep there we were out of bumper stickers I didn't know that anyway we got some more on there
[02:39:38] there are some rash guards on there dope yeah and there are some hats on there
[02:39:47] are they there they should be you said that last time I know bruh and I still have it I think a day
[02:39:54] you don't know today they should be on you homie otherwise you got it check oh yeah so yeah there it is
[02:40:01] and I'm not saying to support this podcast by our stuff I'm not saying that I'm saying go on the
[02:40:06] website check out the stuff on there Canadian yarn art this stuff sells itself yeah see now you're
[02:40:15] not getting my references no and I was born in Canada too so that can kind of off but you're not
[02:40:20] a smash his defense yeah hey man all good Canadian yarn art oh wait we don't sell that no we sell that
[02:40:29] stuff it's so to this stuff maybe we're actually some Canadian yarn art yeah maybe but yeah
[02:40:34] go on there check it out if you like something get something good way to support also psychological
[02:40:39] warfare what psychological warfare is if you don't know it is in album with tracks joc would tracks
[02:40:46] and what he does is on the tracks he's talking to you each track and he's to each track he's talking
[02:40:53] to you about different stuff weaknesses different weaknesses there you go so really this is what you
[02:40:58] need this is a different stuff doesn't cut it yeah because joc was talking about you about the type
[02:41:03] of toothpaste that he uses right right now I didn't say that well maybe it depends you know how
[02:41:09] there's a controversy about for right being in the toothpaste you know I'm just saying that's important
[02:41:15] I'm really egging you on today I'm just saying you brought it up bro anyway what it's really for
[02:41:20] this album is in your campaign against weakness yeah that's the new phrase not journey anymore
[02:41:31] it's campaign against yeah yeah Andy good bread he gave me though because I don't like saying journey
[02:41:40] that's what I'm saying message you and said hey quit saying journey say campaign against weakness
[02:41:45] which is actually from the podcast which is legit layers big time anyway thanks Andy for that one
[02:41:51] but that's the one I'm using for right now until like a better one comes up if that's even possible
[02:41:55] so in your campaign against weakness every single day for the rest of your life now that's you're
[02:42:00] in the game right now it's for the rest of your life yeah I can't pay last forever yeah there's no discharge
[02:42:05] for the war yeah I'm a tank so there's how many out big time anyway so if you're trying to wake up
[02:42:12] you know early every day or you know five days a week however long you know however much
[02:42:17] and you got that day where you supposed to wake up early and you don't want to you just don't
[02:42:20] feel like it that's really the thing you don't feel like it you know so joc is there for for you
[02:42:28] with the little spot diet stuff procrastination stuff workout stuff creativity stuff that's a
[02:42:34] big one and I don't listen to the creativity one that's because you feel like you're all creative
[02:42:39] no but here's the thing I'm like one of those things you know how like you know how like let's say
[02:42:43] you had like a pimple or something or is it I know I'm going deep but if you have a zit some people
[02:42:50] they're like I'm gonna pop this in some people they're like no leave it alone let it go away
[02:42:54] you see what I'm saying so I'm like the I'm the latter when it comes to creativity I'm like man
[02:42:59] I'm not creative I'm not creative block don't don't force it don't like get joc on here telling me
[02:43:06] pragmatically by the way but still you have to it now you have no good idea thankfully it's a little
[02:43:12] bit more than that but you know that's kind of the philosophy I'm not saying that's the best way
[02:43:18] in fact I made you a fact you're in the spirit auto you're missing another good
[02:43:22] tenacious d reference that I just made but that's kind of a good thing about this is that that's
[02:43:26] not what it is you know how like you'll explain like you know part of it and this is a total
[02:43:31] pair of phrasing situation but you said it in a really good way before when you're like memorize the
[02:43:36] feeling after you're working or something like that see that's like that's not you're not
[02:43:42] inspiring me to go work out you're kind of pragmatically telling me like this is how you mentally
[02:43:48] wage an effective war on that little weakness there that's what it is you know in tracks
[02:43:53] doing this for all kinds of situations called psychological warfare joc go willing that's a good one
[02:43:59] also I have some other options now if you want to kind of support this podcast you can check out
[02:44:06] origin main dot com for your due to your needs we are now unified fully with origin made in America
[02:44:16] like me I would say like echo but echo is actually made in Canada no I was technically made in
[02:44:23] America okay I was just made in America like echo and me and delivered wait I was delivered in Canada
[02:44:31] can they get stuff from origin in Canada yeah well there it is just like me then okay so there you go
[02:44:37] origin main dot com for your due to needs and check them out also if you want to check us out live
[02:44:47] if you want to check out origin live no what kind of company is telling you hey come to our factory
[02:44:52] and see what we're all about you know what kind of company our company we're going to be up there
[02:44:58] informing can main august 23rd come on up it's 282 enter into the origin camp the immersion camp
[02:45:09] if you haven't signed for that you missed it you have to do it next year but on august 23rd
[02:45:13] we're going to be up there we'll be cruising me hanging out we'll be getting after it up at the
[02:45:18] factory you can come to see what that's all about also and I'll I'll just I'll just put this out
[02:45:26] I was kind of hesitating but listen we have some supplements coming for you as soon as we as soon as
[02:45:33] as soon as I started with Pete who is my partner at origin as soon as we kind of started talking
[02:45:41] as soon as we soon as it looked like we were going to solidify a deal we started we started
[02:45:48] he's got these got a little supplement line which gives the opportunity gave the opportunity
[02:45:54] gives the opportunity for me design the supplements so a little while back we had that opportunity
[02:46:01] designed him made him went on him legit and we got the form of this down and we're going to
[02:46:11] ramp up production now so in a little while you're going to see you see the juggle line of supplements coming
[02:46:18] out interesting so echo's had his little bit coming in we're on him yeah and yeah they're good
[02:46:27] to go so anyways well I'm gonna let what I need to do what we need to watch out for is the demand so
[02:46:36] what we're going to do is we're going to put him up so you can order him they won't be out until
[02:46:40] mid September but if you order him earlier the order they're better we can support you
[02:46:48] for supporting us yeah kind of like the book situation yes yes so that's that also juggle white
[02:46:56] tea if you want to support the product as they support yourself and if you want to deadlift
[02:47:02] in the neighborhood of 8000 pounds you can get juggle white tea if you don't want to deadlift
[02:47:08] 8000 pounds that's cool drink something else yeah yeah drink something else that's that's fine
[02:47:13] if you want to support your brain we got books if you want to support your kid's brain get him the
[02:47:18] book and the brain and their body and their life get him where the warrior kid I get the kid it's
[02:47:24] cool now kids come up to me and I send their books they're all fired up so they're changing yeah
[02:47:30] you change your kid will get on the path no kidding yeah and it's good for the parent too because
[02:47:36] you can reference that book in the middle situation you know it's legit yeah it's good even my youngest
[02:47:43] daughter her friends are reading it and so they come over and they're like they're excited yeah so that's
[02:47:49] cool too yeah give it to your kids whoever your neighborhood's kids whatever kids all the kids you
[02:47:55] so they can get stronger and faster and smarter and better which is a really big thing to give a kid
[02:48:00] yes everything you know what I'm gonna give you I'm gonna make you stronger faster stronger and better
[02:48:06] smarter smarter your human being is that a good thing to give someone yes it is so do it
[02:48:10] also if you want the first edition of this one equals freedom field manual you gotta order it soon and
[02:48:17] there's so many questions that I get asked all the time are in this book they're answered in this book
[02:48:22] food intake workouts they're in there a lot of them yeah they're in there
[02:48:28] all everyone that asked me about all different martial arts works I started it's all in there
[02:48:35] sleep what about sleep it's in there how do you wake up so early it's in there
[02:48:39] rest in recovery it's in there all this stuff is in there it's all in there and there's a
[02:48:44] whole section of like what I'm thinking about on a daily basis so check that out that's the big one
[02:48:52] well like what you're thinking yeah people want to know what the thing about
[02:48:55] big deal for some reason they ask me like what do you think in there I answer it that's why
[02:49:00] wrote that book yeah well like any situation where it's like your face with a decision to do this thing
[02:49:05] and it's hard but you know it has to be done or should be done or whatever and
[02:49:10] so many times where you just when you shift or someone tells you something hey look at it this
[02:49:14] way and you know like my dad would always say do it and it'll be done and it's like thing
[02:49:18] all it took was really thinking a certain way be safe to your Nancy yeah be see be see says do it
[02:49:24] and it's done yeah it's true you get that book from Amazon from Barnes and Noble whatever
[02:49:30] little bookstore is around you go and tell them to get it or you consider around and watch
[02:49:36] life pass you by it's up to you also extreme ownership it's still going strong why is extreme
[02:49:42] ownership still going strong is it because the massive advertising campaign that we put
[02:49:46] under the the uh New York Times and the Wall Street Journal no actually we didn't do that you
[02:49:50] know why it's going strong because of word a mouth that's what it's going strong for because
[02:49:55] one person gets it they buy it for this person that person buys it for someone else that person
[02:49:58] buys it for their team that's why we're still selling that thing like crazy why and why was it
[02:50:02] going through word a mouth because it works functionally works it's not theoretical it is pragmatic
[02:50:08] it's functional it'll make you a better leader and it'll make your team better period we've seen
[02:50:15] this over and over and over again that's why it's selling a lot so get yourself and your team
[02:50:20] so you can implement that and you can win then for your business if your business needs some
[02:50:26] leadership assistance or guidance or wants to improve and wants to go from doing well to doing
[02:50:33] awesome echelon front that's our leadership consulting me late babin jp to now Dave Burke
[02:50:42] will come put your team into full attack mode you can email info at echelon front dot com now
[02:50:51] we have the master coming this is important it's been 14th and 15th and sandy i go i think it's
[02:50:56] 70 maybe 75% sold out at this time in fact the hotel is sold out so we've got rooms at another
[02:51:02] hotel you get a wee register it's a blocker to away so if you want to come it's going to sell out
[02:51:10] so register fast you can do that at extremalnership dot com while you're waiting for the
[02:51:16] master or while you're waiting to see us up in Maine at the origin factory grand opening
[02:51:24] where we make stuff in america while you're waiting for that if you want to link up with us and
[02:51:30] and maybe just cruise a little bit you can find us we're actually on the interwebs
[02:51:34] the twitter the instagram batface bookie boha echo is at echelon's and i am at jacca willing
[02:51:45] i talked about the snapchat last time didn't get around to it i'm going to of course
[02:51:53] it's common and plus my wasn't around my kids so they have to instruct me that's cool that's good
[02:52:00] i was in the or jajals because maybe jajals could instruct me yeah you can probably charge you
[02:52:06] for that though so you probably stick with the kids yeah i'll stick with the kids or not whatever
[02:52:12] and finally a to all the service men and women around the world from our military and from our proud allies
[02:52:23] thank you for going forward and protecting our way of life to the firefighters and the police
[02:52:29] and to the other law enforcement and to EMTs and first responders thank you for protecting us here
[02:52:36] at home in the rest of you that are out there listening better facing challenges of your own
[02:52:47] struggling with your own battles large and small whatever those battles might be fight hard
[02:52:57] keep going and keep getting after it so until next time this is echo and jacca out