Afghan Blues

Chris Albert 00:00:00 (link to this point)

You know, one of the things I'm always saying is that if this country is gonna get better, if this country is gonna go on the right path, we have to step up as a community. Veterans are the sleeping giant in this country, and it is time for us to step up. That's why I wanna talk to you about The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Now you might have thought about The Citadel in the past as this corps of cadets, this military institution, but they have programs for veterans that don't involve you joining the corps of cadets, don't involve you wearing a uniform every day, and don't involve you living a military lifestyle. If you wanna do that, great.

But if that's not what you're up for right now after your military career, then you don't have to do that, and you can access some of the best programs in the world. The Citadel has some hot degrees in intelligence, tactical strength and conditioning, engineering, and project management. And there's five student type options for veterans. There's graduate college, there's evening undergraduate, there's active duty students, non cadet day program, returning cadet veterans, and online programs. The academic offerings include undergraduate, graduate, college transfer, graduate certificates, and online degrees.

Veterans have access to every single academic degree the college offers, and they have the most flexibility when it comes to their schedule. They can major in anything offered to the cadets and would take those classes during the day with the cadets. But then there's other programs offered in the evening or online and graduate programs to choose from too to make things so flexible for you. The US World and News report has named the Citadel the number one column for veterans in the South. And for veterans who choose to take classes on campus, they get to be a civilian student in a military environment.

They don't have to wear uniforms, like I said before. They don't have to join the military culture of the corps of cadets. The atmosphere is a really good transition environment from military to civilian life. There's an organic mentorship that comes from taking classes with the cadets. The cadets wanna talk to you guys.

They wanna hear your stories. They wanna know what it was actually like to be in the military. A lot of the a lot of these men and women are gonna go on to serve as officers in the military, and they're gonna exact change. And they need to hear from you guys. They you also get access to The Citadel's alumni network.

Like I said, this is one of the most illustrious institutions in the world. And when you join the Citadel and you graduate, you're part of their alumni network. That includes so many leaders. It includes so many business leaders, so many leaders from the military, and so many leaders from the government. The college's core values of honor, duty, and respect align with veteran culture.

They align with who you are, and it's something that you're not gonna get anywhere else in this country. There is tons of special assistance for veterans at The Citadel. And whether you're a veteran or active duty military personnel, you can take advantage of these programs. You also get access to the veteran student success center, the career center, the academic success center, the student veteran association, and all campus clubs. If you wanna play rugby, you could do that.

If you wanna you wanna lift weights, you could do that. You get access to everything that the students get. There's fellowship opportunities. There's tons and tons of financial assistance. So if you're interested in getting a degree from The Citadel and building your life, head over to citadel.edu/veterans.

This is Chris Albert, and I'm here to remind you of one thing. Someday, you're going to die. And that's not some morbid statement or scary idea. It's solid fact. Your time here on this earth is limited.

And we need to be reminded of this as much as possible for one simple reason, to live your best life while you can. This is the Warrior Soul Podcast.

What's going on, ladies and gentlemen? Welcome to the Warrior Soul Podcast. My name is Chris Albert. And today is is one of the few days I I really don't know what to say. I'm speechless.

If, you know, you're like me, you're watching the news, you're watching what's going on in Afghanistan, You're watching the same people who we wrestled that country from back in 2001 take power right now in 2021. You are probably frustrated. I didn't fight in Afghanistan at all, but I did serve in Iraq, and I was part of the entire generation of veterans that was called to service to fight what we thought was a global war on terror. And right now, we are literally giving up a country to a bunch of terrorists, and that hurts. I can't imagine what those of you who actually went and spilled blood in Afghanistan actually feel.

I can't imagine what it must be like if you lost a brother there. And I can't imagine, you know, what the hell we're gonna do next. I can't imagine what our our, quote, unquote, partner forces are thinking. The the the people we left in Afghanistan. I can't imagine any of that.

It's it's too awful. It's too evil for me to think about the fact that that our country did this, and it sucks. And the only thing I I can do is to try to get you guys to see the bigger bigger picture here. Right? And the bigger picture is not pretty.

It's not something I'm gonna pour sugar on to to make you feel like, you know, better about the whole thing because there is no feeling better about this thing. There there just isn't. Right? But there is a bigger picture here, and there is a a place where we can make something out of all this. Right?

And the bigger picture goes like this. War is a fucking horrible thing. It's it's awful. And if you've been to war, you know that. Right?

If if you've served in a combat zone, you know it's awful. It has no mercy. It it doesn't see woman or child. It doesn't see innocence. It takes innocence, and it burns it up in a smoke.

And over the past twenty years, those of us who've experienced it have done our duty, and then we come home to this country. And in this country, it's a place where things like dreams and accomplishments and love and innocence can take place. Right? It's it's possible here in The United States to have those things. As you know and as you're seeing on TV in in the rest of the world, there's a question mark associated with that.

Depends on where you are. Right? But here in this country, we have those things. And I think that it is more important than ever for us to protect those things, to make sure that they continue to exist, to make sure that we have families, that we're teaching our children the proper way, that we are creating responsible adults, that we are creating great leaders, that we are building this society into something better. Because I believe that without The United States, the world is lost.

Without The United States stepping up and being in a leadership position, the world is lost. Now that doesn't mean us going overseas and taking over other countries. That doesn't mean us being in constant war. What it means is us building a strong society based on those things that I just mentioned. Love, the ability to pursue your dreams and goals, the ability to innovate, the ability to do whatever you want to do with your life.

We've got to protect that. And more than ever, while all of this is going on in Afghanistan, all of these things are under threat in this country. And the only way we fight it is by being good citizens, by taking care of ourselves, taking care of our families, by building businesses, by going out there and volunteering our time, by becoming leaders, that is the only way we protect those things that we hold so dear in this country. We shouldn't be waiting for somebody to come and try to take our rights. We shouldn't be waiting for somebody to challenge everything we believe in.

We should be out there educating our youth. We should be out there educating people. We should be showing people why our Bill of Rights is so important, why our constitution is so important, and why America is so important. And, again, that doesn't happen by us screaming at each other on Twitter. It doesn't happen by posting pictures on Instagram.

It doesn't happen with memes. It happens with getting out there and taking action. And that's all I got, guys. This is a short one. Again, I'm I'm a little bit at a loss for anything else to say here, but, you know, I hope that you guys are all in a good place and that you're pushing to live the best lives that you can.

I'm gonna have a few more episodes out this week. We're working on some interviews, and I'll be back at you soon. This is Chris Albert with the Warrior Soul podcast, and I am out.