Mike Keevil of Team Recon and Sniper Foundation: Cleansing the Demons

Chris Albert 00:00:01 (link to this point)

The Warrior Soul podcast is written, edited, and produced by me, Albert. Our mission is to provide tools, tactics, strategies, and ideas that help The US military veteran community to show up as the wisest, strongest, most capable versions of themselves in the civilian world. If you're not a veteran, stick around because anything we talk about will most certainly apply to you as well. This podcast is made possible with the help of f bomb nutrition. They make delicious packets of fats that you can carry around anywhere with you in little portable packets.

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Let's get into today's programming.

This is Chris Albert, and I'm here to remind you of one thing. Someday, you're going to die. Now 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.

You know, you never quite know where you're gonna end up when you take a path. You could end up in some place that is gonna be completely different than what you ever thought. And it's a funny thing about life, and that's one of the cool things about life. You could be somewhere completely different five years from now than you ever thought you would be. I never thought I'd be living in California. I grew up on the East Coast. I live on the edge of the desert, a climate that is completely foreign to me. Life has taken me some interesting places.

For instance, I never thought I'd be speaking into a microphone that's connected to a plastic box that is then going to generate my voice out to a bunch of people whom I've never met, but I feel a very close affinity to. Right? And it's interesting because you kind of have to take those chances if you are gonna get those kinds of surprises in life. If you don't take chances, if you don't take risks, well, life's always gonna be what it is. But the reason why I'm thinking like this is because today's guest really makes me think in those terms.

Mike Keevil enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserves as a food service marine. And that's an interesting story in and of itself. He's one of these guys, he wanted to be a chef. And when he was a kid he was at a gas station, he saw a friend of his who enlisted in the Marine Corps and he was working for the recruiter at the time. The guy was like, Hey, what are you doing with your life?

And he was like, Well, I'm going go be a chef. And being a recruiter, he said, Well, the Marine Corps got some of the best chefs in the world. Right? Well, I think we've all heard that story. But anyways, Mike enlisted as a food service Marine and then he ended up deploying with Mortuary Affairs.

If you haven't listened to that Jocko podcast, he had a Mortuary Affairs Marine on and that was just a great show and that's some tough work that those Marines do. But Mike, after doing a deployment with Mortuary Affairs, decided that he wanted to become a Recon Marine. So when he got back he transferred over to the fourth Recon Battalion and he went through basic recon school, the basic recon course, and then he came back as a recon marine and started deploying with them. I believe he deployed to Afghanistan and he's done multiple deployments since then. Mike in his civilian job works for a DHS agency and he is serving the country in multiple ways.

He's still in the Marine Corps Reserves serving with fourth Recon Battalion and we just had a really great conversation because Mike's big work, what he's really known for right now is his work with the Team Recon Sniper Foundation And what he does with team team RSF, he's on the shooting team. He's the captain of the shooting team, but they've got a bunch of different sports that they've been putting together, a bunch of different activities. They've got shooting, but they've also got a lot of other really cool stuff. And Mike's just an interesting dude. I wanted to bring him on, talk about his story a bit, talk about Team RSF and and the great work they're doing, and just have a really, really awesome conversation.

And that's essentially what this is. I don't know if you guys like this or not. I I try not to be too formal with my questions. I I don't know about you, but if I'm sitting in a podcast and and somebody's treating it like a firing squad thing where they're just asking questions and then waiting for the answer and then making it super formal. That just kind of bores me.

I like having conversations especially with other marines. It just makes me feel like back in the day we're sitting on our packs throwing a dip in, you know, getting the spitter out doing talking about all kinds of really awesome stuff. But but, yeah, Mike's a great dude and man, I'm talking too much. Let's get into the conversation with mister Mike Keevil of the Team Recon Sniper Foundation. Mike Keevil, welcome to the show, man.

Mike Keevil 00:07:04 (link to this point)

Hey. What's going on, man? Thanks for having me.

Chris Albert 00:07:06 (link to this point)

Where you at right now? Where what what geographic location?

Mike Keevil 00:07:10 (link to this point)

I'm in the Comedy State Of New Jersey.

Chris Albert 00:07:13 (link to this point)

Oh, I'm in the People's Republic Of California.

Awesome.

My mom's a Jersey girl though. She's from she's from North Jersey, like Newark area for Italian lady. She'll freaking she's a tough lady though. But they got some some great Italian restaurants up in there. Hoboken's a great place.

Are you in South Jersey or Central?

Mike Keevil 00:07:36 (link to this point)

I'm in South Jersey, about twenty minutes from Philadelphia.

Chris Albert 00:07:40 (link to this point)

Oh, nice. Like Toms River area, that kind of stuff?

Mike Keevil 00:07:44 (link to this point)

That's closer to the shore. I'm I'm like it's like 19 miles, Gloucester County, Washington Township, Sicklerville.

Chris Albert 00:07:54 (link to this point)

Interesting. Interesting. So like kind of stuff. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:07:58 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:08:00 (link to this point)

That's cool, man. Well, dude, you know, I'm I'm sure a lot of my audience knows who you are, but could you give just kind of a three minute synopsis of who you are, where you've been, and and where you're coming from?

Mike Keevil 00:08:13 (link to this point)

Sure. So I run the the Team Recon Sniper Foundation pistol competitive shooting team. So I I run the administrative side of it, and I help our two other teams as well, Precision Rifle and Team Endurance. I've been doing that for about three years. Did I've been doing the the marine corps thing for the last I'll hit 16 this April between reserve and active duty.

I'm a 0326 reconnaissance marine, and I also work for DHS. So I kinda get I get hit twice for, you know, the marine net and other government online quarterly, you know, classes about, you know, op sec and stuff like that. So, you know, married for ten years, three boys. And you know, so the big thing that brought us together was the nonprofit that I worked for and then meeting a mutual friend which is what it's all about. So that's kind of me in a nutshell.

Chris Albert 00:09:24 (link to this point)

Nice man, nice. So I know it all started because you wanted to be a chef, right?

Mike Keevil 00:09:32 (link to this point)

Yeah. Right.

Chris Albert 00:09:34 (link to this point)

So how did you go from wanting to be a chef to joining the Marine Corps?

Mike Keevil 00:09:40 (link to this point)

So I I didn't get my college degree until I was 31. And when I went back to college, was 28 and you know, I had to, you know, get the high school transcripts and all that stuff. And I mean, you know, it had been a decade since I cared about any of that or or looked, you know, looked into it. And I was I got my high school transcripts and I mean, dude, I was awful, awful student. Right?

When I when I wanted to be. My grades were a's and f's. I was either about it or not about it. Yeah. Barely graduated high school and, you know, and and now, like, remembering, you know, I went to community college because I wasn't I didn't have the grades to get to a, you know, to any any legit school.

And I I needed to work, so I started working in a nursing home as a dishwasher. And then I, you know, I needed to make more money. They had a full time position for a one of the line cooks. So I applied for that and I got it. And then another position to open up to cook for like the staff.

So it wasn't like, you know, pureed food or whatever. I was, you know, learning how to make like real food and I just got really into it. I really enjoyed it. I actually met my my now wife there. So, you know, I I just really enjoyed cooking.

And then I was like, you know what? I think this is what I wanna do. So I started looking into, you know, culinary schools and, you know, and then from, you know, the the other podcast, I saw a kid from high school and he had just gotten out of boot camp or MOS school and I was just instantly envious. And so I, you know, went to the recruiter's office. He said, what are you doing?

I said, I I cook. I like to cook. That's what I wanna do. You know, we've got the finest cooking schools, you know, around. I said, boom.

I'm in. And and that's how he got me.

Chris Albert 00:11:44 (link to this point)

So the the recruiter said to you, we have the finest culinary school in the world. Right? Something like that?

Mike Keevil 00:11:51 (link to this point)

Not not in the world but like like he did say this. I said, our so I was looking at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and I said, well, is the school I'm looking at. Like, is is the DOD, you know, the Marine Corps cooking schools like comparable? He's like, oh, absolutely. I was like, in, dude.

Chris Albert 00:12:12 (link to this point)

I was listening to you on another podcast and me and my girlfriend grew up in Twenty Nine Palms, right? Okay. And and so we're both sitting there listening to you on this other podcast and we heard you say that and we both just busted out laughing like we were sipping coffee and then like spit it across the room because it was hilarious. I have a similar story but I was much more stupid. I was a teenager and I got into power lifting at a young age.

I was doing all this competitive powerlifting things like that. I ran into a recruiter and know, powerlifting is like one of those things like you can't become a professional powerlifter or anything like that. So I ran into a recruiter, he's like, Oh, what do you do? I'm like, you know, I I'm a power lifter. I love it.

Know? And he's like, we've got one of the best power lifting teams in the world. And and you can get paid for that. Totally. It's gonna be awesome.

I'm like, Jesus Christ, man.

Mike Keevil 00:13:10 (link to this point)

Time me up. Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:13:12 (link to this point)

Didn't, I don't think I dead lifted once the whole time I was in but, yeah.

But that's so funny just the way that happens, man. So you ended up joining, how old were you at the time?

Mike Keevil 00:13:24 (link to this point)

I was 19. I yeah. I turned the day I the day I signed, April 22.

Chris Albert 00:13:32 (link to this point)

Nice. Nice.

Mike Keevil 00:13:32 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:13:33 (link to this point)

And did you go to Parris Island boot camp?

Mike Keevil 00:13:36 (link to this point)

Yep. Yeah. I went to Parris Island and, you know, again, realized very, very quickly that you know, one, I liked it a lot. You know? And I I did go reserve off the bat, you know, girlfriend at the time, so that that kind of cliche story.

You know, I'm not gonna go active duty. And so I'm there and instantly fell in love with with everything that was happening, which is funny to to think about in in retrospect, but, you know, all about it. And everything was like, you know, you know, you can't do what you want to do, you know?

Chris Albert 00:14:16 (link to this point)

Right.

Mike Keevil 00:14:17 (link to this point)

You know, the Fallujah is kicking off and I had friends from high school who went and everyone who, you know, from my hometown who joined, like guys would start, you know, we'd all it was like this like small click or whatever, you know, we would start talking and I'm like, dude, I want to go do that. I need to go do that. And, you know, it took a long time to find a way out of what I was doing. You know, I was at my parents' house, this is like two years ago. You know, they live in North Of Philadelphia.

And I'm, you know, I'm there with my wife, my kids, and I'm looking through my closet. You know, like parents always have like your old shit like in in a box or whatever. So I'm looking through it and I found my original package to request to go active duty from my reserve unit. And number one on there was 0311 and then I think I think it was it was 0311 and there was like machine gunner, LAV crewman, and then I had recon as like number four. Know, didn't even know what 0321 was.

I just picked the top coolest sounding o three job fields. And I just were you know, I was looking at this package and honestly, I'm willing to bet that the s one at the time didn't even submit it. But I just remember being, you know, I was 20 and being like, you know, seeing the wars on TV and being like, how can I not, like, why can't I get over there? Like, what do I need to do just to be there? And and that's how I ended up going

Chris Albert 00:15:54 (link to this point)

What year was this, brother? Is this is so

Mike Keevil 00:15:57 (link to this point)

this is summer two thousand five.

Chris Albert 00:16:02 (link to this point)

Okay.

Mike Keevil 00:16:02 (link to this point)

Yeah. So I I went in summer two thousand six and then, you know, did the marine combat training thing, went to cook school, finished all that in, like, spring o five. And then I just went back to work. I was a fry cook. Actually, really enjoyed being a fry cook at the time.

And and just like not doing anything, but like seeing my friends do stuff and, you know, everyone's deploying. And I'm like, dude, I gotta I gotta get over there. I gotta do something. And and then I got a phone call from a friend from Cook School asking if I wanted to go to Iraq. So Yeah. Went and did that.

Chris Albert 00:16:42 (link to this point)

That was a good time to be a reservist because if you were in a unit, what you could do is you could shop around for different units that we're gonna deploy. Alright? Because I got out of 2005 and and I started out in the reserves, got activated and then and then brought went back to the reserves and then by that time my ankle was was screwed up. I had to have a reconstructive surgery but we deployed to Iraq.

But but the thing is like if you were in the reserves at the time, there was all these units on the East Coast that you could choose from that worse like we're going here, We're going to do this. This unit's gonna do a UDP. That unit's going to gonna go to Afghanistan, that kind of stuff. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:17:27 (link to this point)

Yes. Yeah. It it was an it was a crazy time. And also it was MOS dependent, right? Right.

Being 3381, not many you know, so I took the only option that I had. You know, so I I was doing I was out in California a couple weeks ago for, you know, I'm a I'm an instructor at at an active duty unit right now for, you know, for reconnaissance marines getting ready to deploy. And like, the guys are the guys are like, wait. Hold on a second. Who are you?

How are you how are you here? Like, you're a reservist, but you don't seem like a reservist, you know, and spent a lot of time on active duty doing stuff, going here, doing there. Like you said, literally shopping around for one to two year contracts and then getting bored with whatever that is and coming off orders and finding something else and then and, you know, coming in and out of the system for the last sixteen years, you know.

Chris Albert 00:18:31 (link to this point)

Yeah. There's reservists out there who have, you know, five, six deployments under their belts. I mean, there there there's a lot of them out there who do, you know, and that that's the thing. And, you know, it's it it it it there was an insane professionalization, I think, of the reserves and the National Guard throughout throughout those conflicts just because a lot of them were doing deployment after deployment. Some of them would go, some would be back for a year and then they'd go again.

I mean there there was tons of units that were doing that.

Mike Keevil 00:19:01 (link to this point)

Yeah. Yeah. It was a great time. It's it's strange now though. You know, you know, in in conventional forces in the marine corps post post nine eleven, it's it's this it's a weird time.

I I guess the only thing I could relate it to is is the nineties of of what we heard, you know, the Marine Corps was like. I'm like, you know, this is this is awful.

Chris Albert 00:19:31 (link to this point)

I went in in 1999 and it was a lot of sitting there and doing things that you know, they contributed to it's not like a it's a different mission, right? It's it's a mission in readiness that's Oh yeah. And that's where the whole idea for the three block war came from, you know, and and we're doing a lot of that kind of stuff where we would train for for, you know, peacekeeping missions and things like that. Or there'd be a peacekeeping mission over here, then there'd be an active combat situation over here, then there'd be some something else, you know. And that that's kind of where just reading, you know, reading what I've seen the commandant, right, things like that.

That's where they're trying to go back to right now, I think. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:20:19 (link to this point)

Yes. And the whole readiness thing, like, if if you're not in it, you know, you think, oh, like, maintain readiness. So you think like a lot of hardcore training and it's not. It's it's literally like administrative stuff. Are you you know?

And it's it's weird to think over the years when when guys talk about what you need to do to be ready to go do

Chris Albert 00:20:47 (link to this point)

hi, Jared. What's up, bud? Thank you. That your boy?

Mike Keevil 00:20:54 (link to this point)

Yeah. This is my boy, Jaren. You say hi.

Chris Albert 00:20:57 (link to this point)

What's up, Jaren? How you doing, buddy?

Mike Keevil 00:20:58 (link to this point)

So when when they talk about readiness, I'm like, hey, man. You know, like, as a reservist, you you do need to be in control of your own admin, medical, all that stuff, because someone's gonna mess it up somewhere, someplace, and you're not gonna be able to go do what you wanna do. But the point I'm trying to make is, like, it's it's not that related to, like, actual training. It's it's the bureaucratic red tape of, you know, are your shots up to date? Like, is your will and power of attorney done?

Are you you know, again, medically and administratively qualified to go do what you need to do. And I feel like that's that's the big thing nowadays, versus actual training. I like, there's this strange risk aversion to to things that were, like, routine, you know, five, ten years ago. And it's it's just gotten really, really weird the last five years with with with, oh, you know, that's you know, we we need to we need to increase the risk mitigation for this, you know, fire maneuver range. And I'm like, it can't be that safe.

Obviously, we're gonna we're gonna do it, you know, we're we're gonna do the best that we can, but we can't put so many restrictions in to where you're not even doing what you're trying to do. So it it's just this weird funk going on right now, you know, at least in the circles that I run or or that I run around.

Chris Albert 00:22:45 (link to this point)

You know, one of the things that that I like about your story is you started out in food service, which was wasn't really where where you wanted to be. And then you actively took a role in trying to get someplace else that was more conducive to what your goals were for the marine corps. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:23:04 (link to this point)

Yes. And, you know, I I meet a lot of, you know, a lot of guys over the years and like, oh, man. Like, how do I do this? Like, what do I need to do? And, you know, I'll I'll tell them this?

No. Please no.

Chris Albert 00:23:21 (link to this point)

Okay.

Mike Keevil 00:23:22 (link to this point)

Thank you.

Mike's Son 00:23:23 (link to this point)

Play dead ass?

Mike Keevil 00:23:24 (link to this point)

You can play with the dead. Okay. You know, I'll tell them exactly what they need to do. I had to request mast to get out of my unit. You know, my company commander didn't wanna let me go.

I requested mast, the battalion commander, He he was all about it and let me go. So again, you know, that that could have been a simple obstacle that that that someone doesn't want to take the risk of of doing. But what I've noticed is it's and and this is a lot more apparent since being apparent since becoming like a father, you know? Mhmm. I'll tell my sons over and over and over again, hey, dude.

Like, don't touch the stove. It's really hot. And what do they do? They just have to touch the stove. And I think, you know, even even looking back on myself, you know, made a lot of mistakes, you know, touched a lot of hot stoves.

And that's just what has to happen. But I think the big difference is I think a lot of young dudes, they get discouraged too quickly and and they just don't even wanna touch the stove anymore. Even though all you gotta do is touch the stove and and more often than not, it you know, the situational buff and you'll get what you want. You just have to keep keep pushing and find the decision maker.

Chris Albert 00:24:46 (link to this point)

Right. You'll get what you want. Start a relationship with that decision maker and and you know, you have to be somebody that they know is gonna go wherever you're gonna go, represent them well, and and do great things. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:25:00 (link to this point)

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, so the the current situation I'm in right now, transferring the unit that I'm in to the unit that I wanna go to required a signature from someone at headquarters marine corps. So, you know, I I say, hey, I wanna do this. What do we need to do?

Here's the checklist. Do the checklist. Roger that. I do the checklist. And then they're like, well, we need to clarify if you can actually actually do do this.

This. Okay. Who do we talk to? We talk to this guy. Find this guy.

Hey, This is what I wanna do. Oh, hey. You're good. You know, go go do what you wanna do. Awesome.

So I jumped the gun a little bit because orders didn't come through, but this unit asked me to come out and, you know, so I I paid for my own flight out there. And I was like, you know what? Like, the whole thing will buff. I'll get paid on the back end. So I'm out there and what ended up happening was the guy from headquarters marine corps, this master sergeant who said I could do what I wanted to do, I actually couldn't do any of it.

And and like, he I I finally get him on the on the phone and he goes, yeah. I don't know who's telling you you can you can do all this. And I'm like, MassArt, you did. Like, it's literally in the email chain. Like, you're the guy that everyone is basing their decisions off of.

Well, you can't be doing anything that you're doing. You have to, you know, go back to square one. And I'm like, okay. I'll call you back. So I go find, you know, the master guns, the unit that I'm trying to go to. And I'm like, hey, man. Like, I I ran into this situation.

Like, can you help me out? He's like, yeah, absolutely. So he tries getting ahold of this guy. And dude, he's he's trying to ghost me, and he's trying to ghost everybody. And it took three e nines to go find this guy and be like, get on the phone right now.

And, you know, like, how many guys you know? And and, you know, I was I was talking to the the master guns that was helping me, and he's like, you know why I'm gonna run this into the ground? Because how many guys you think this dude is fucked over? Because Right. Because he can. And and and I didn't really think about it like that. Like, how many guys in in my position have three e nine well, two e nines I can call at a drop of a hat, then they can go reach out to their e nines to go make this e eight do his job.

Chris Albert 00:27:39 (link to this point)

Right.

Mike Keevil 00:27:39 (link to this point)

It's just crazy. But, you know, again, to your point, it's it's relationships and it's finding the button pusher to exactly. Do what you wanna

Chris Albert 00:27:52 (link to this point)

You know, building a relationship with people, being able to figure out a way to get it done. And you know, for someone like you who again, you know, you started out in that position and eventually got yourself over to recon. That's that's pretty awesome that you're able to do that. I've talked to I've talked to several people on the show, you know, one one gentleman, Josh Honsberger, who was he was a an infantry marine and he wanted to go to MARSOC selection and he got himself into a situation where his command said, okay. We we we're gonna do this for you, but if you don't make it for some reason, you're not promotable anymore.

Right? And and yeah. No. That's what they said to him.

Mike Keevil 00:28:38 (link to this point)

And Of course they said that to him.

Chris Albert 00:28:40 (link to this point)

Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. And there's a lot of guys who would be scared off by that. Let me get back to a little bit of your story here just to clarify for everyone because I know you you you deployed the first time to Iraq.

You were with Mortuary Services. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:28:55 (link to this point)

Yes. Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:28:56 (link to this point)

And and that was simply to to be able to get out of that first unit and then head into to be able to get to a deployable status. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:29:06 (link to this point)

Yes. I I I just wanted I wanted to get to Iraq in any way I could at the time and and get out of that unit too.

Chris Albert 00:29:15 (link to this point)

Right. And and I know that's rough work, man, you know, having to go and collect remains off the battlefield. What was like what was that like for you psychologically?

Mike Keevil 00:29:29 (link to this point)

You know, at at the time the only times I got emotional about it I got I got emotional about it in in two circumstances. Number one would be seeing seeing the friends of of the fallen angel. That's what we call fallen service members. We call them angels. And so seeing their friends come up.

You know, because they would come to the shop and they'd be like, hey, can we say something to our friend before you before you ship him off the Dover? I'm like, yeah, absolutely. So, you know, we'll we'll take them back to the the the refurb and let them do their thing, kind of like a like a internal memorial service, you know. So that would be one of the times. The other time would be going through their personal effects.

Because, you know, we have to catalog everything. And that was difficult, you know, seeing seeing Lucky Charms, seeing photos of of family, you know, in Kevlars, in, you know, in breast pockets, stuff like that. But as as far as the the gore, I mean, at the time, it didn't register. Like, it all it didn't look real at all. I remember saying this to one of my friends.

I'm like, it looks like television looks more real, if that makes sense. Right. So, you know, I I was on a plane, you know, on my second deployment. This is after the whole recon thing, and and, I'm on my second second deployment. And I was on a plane next to a a former Navy SEAL who he got into veteran nonprofit work, you know you know, which is what I do now.

And he you know, we're just shooting the shit and he asked me what I did before and, you know, and he asked me, got him the same question you did. He's like, hey. So, like, how how was it? I said, no. You know, it's fine.

Like, you know, I I have gory dreams, but I'm not, like, waking up, like, freaking out or whatever. And he goes, just be careful in your thirties. And and I was, like, 22 at the time. And I was like, oh, cool. Yeah.

You know, I'll do that. And then, you know, fast forward in my thirties and especially after Afghanistan, like just a lot of things just kind of hit me all at the same time. And I think what he was saying without saying it is like again, I think it's this weird time after the incident where we naturally just box everything up and we're like, you know what, dude? Like, this happened and I'm just gonna deal with it later because I need to deal with all of this right now. And I think just after a certain point in time of of constantly doing that, it just kind of like, boxes just start opening up by themselves.

Chris Albert 00:32:25 (link to this point)

Mhmm.

Mike Keevil 00:32:26 (link to this point)

Which which is a big focus of what we try to do with, you know, Team Recon Sniper Foundation as far as, like, a healthy way to open up the boxes that you wanna open up. But but we need to go through all the boxes. And that's kind of what we try to do.

Chris Albert 00:32:45 (link to this point)

You know, I mentioning the the thirties, I think thirties are a rough time for a lot of veterans because you know, your 20s are exciting, right? That's when you're out there, you're doing everything and by the time you get to your 30s, even your late 20s, that's when life starts to slow down and I think that's when life, you know, a lot of things tend to tend to catch up with you. Right? What's that with your experience?

Mike Keevil 00:33:11 (link to this point)

Yeah. Yes. Twenties are so fast, but, you know, blink of an eye. And it was weird. Like, I was never in the same place for more than more than seven months for all of my twenties. Constantly going, doing things, moving around. And then when I when I settled down, you know, five years ago at right around 30, 31, I thought to myself, I'm like, dude, I'm gonna be here for the next, like, twenty years. And that kind of freaked me out at first.

Right? Like, I I I it was it was almost like the thrill of looking for a new job, looking for a new opportunity, new adventure. Boom. Don't have to do that anymore. And you would think it would be like it would be easy to accept that, but it wasn't in the beginning.

Chris Albert 00:34:19 (link to this point)

Right. So you mean you were you found your career, you found your job, and you were like, oh man, this is what I'm gonna do for the next twenty years, and that that whole thing just kinda hit you there. Right?

Mike Keevil 00:34:30 (link to this point)

Yeah. Yeah. And and the thought of not having to find an adventure, that that affected me more more than I thought. And I remember specifically thinking that, like, oh, man. I I don't have to seek anything for a while.

Chris Albert 00:34:51 (link to this point)

Right.

Mike Keevil 00:34:51 (link to this point)

That was that was a that was a little daunting. You know? And, you know, talking about back to the whole post postwar conventional, you know, military life, you know, you mentioned UDP and, you know, UDP opportunity came up, and and I hadn't been on one and hadn't deployed in in a while. And I was like, fuck it, man. Let's go do that.

So I was at a I was at a paddle party for one of my one of my mentors. And a paddle party is it's a traditional ceremony done where, you know, a bunch of recon dudes like will get together and they'll they will hand make a paddle for, you know, one of their teammates or platoon mates who's either retiring or leaving the unit. And if the guy was worth worth his, worth his salt, you know, you'll you'll decorate the paddle Mhmm. And then you'll, you know, present it to him and, you know, everyone's drinking and talking about stories and, you know, it's it's a really it it to receive a paddle is like that is one of the ultimate, like, hey. Like, your your peers thought, you know, highly of you. It's like and it's unfortunate when just with deployment cycles and just work life where, you know, a lot of guys get out and and they don't get a paddle. You know?

But, anyway, I was at a paddle party for one of my mentors. He was a master guns, thirty years in the marine corps. He was my platoon sergeant in Afghanistan. You know, very, very close close friend, almost like a father. And, you know, so we're at this event, and, again, I hear about this UDP opportunity.

And, you know, again, the other cool thing about being in the reserves is I was at the same company for thirteen years Mhmm. You know, deploying three times from that from that company with those guys, you know, and and known the senior guys for my entire time in in recon. Mhmm. So, you know, we're at this paddle party and we're drinking, and then we hear about this opportunity, and I was like, I was like, hey. Do you guys wanna go do this? Like, I'm kind of kind of itching to just go do something. I don't know what it is. You know?

And they're like, yeah. Fuck it. So all all of us, you know, the the senior guys, we all got together and we did it and brought a bunch of young dudes with us, and it was a great time.

Chris Albert 00:37:36 (link to this point)

You know? Was that to Okinawa?

Mike Keevil 00:37:38 (link to this point)

Yeah. Just, you know, the Okinawa, Thailand, Philippines, that whole thing. Again, nonkinetic. It was a great opportunity, you know, professionally, and it was just good to go on another adventure, you know, with with recondos.

So I had a great time, you know, doing that. But

Chris Albert 00:37:58 (link to this point)

Hey, guys. I hope you're getting a lot out of this interview. You know, the Warrior Soul podcast is built with the mission to empower its listeners to live absolutely epic lives. And that's why we recently created a group called the Warrior's Obituary Society. This group is built to empower its members to live epic lives worthy of epic obituaries.

And it starts with an eight week development program. And with this development program, what you're gonna do is you're gonna outline a vision for your life. You're gonna get very specific about what you want. Because without that specificity, you don't know where you're going and you don't know what you're doing. From there, we help our members to develop specific goals, objectives that they are going to push toward, and that their fellow members of the Warrior's Obituary Society are going to hold them accountable too.

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We're going to help you develop the skills that you need to develop yourself so that you can have a major impact in the field you choose. If you choose to go into business, we're going to help you to set up the foundations that you need to create your own company and get started on your path in life. From there, we're going to be working on your relationships, we're going to help you to develop a world class network, and all along the way, you're going to have your fellow members of the Warrior's Obituary Society pushing you in every single area. We meet once a week over a live call, and we're constantly communicating over our own private forum on Slack. We don't do anything over social media, and that's because I don't want anybody feeling like anyone's looking over their shoulders, and I don't want you exposed to the crazy distracting alerts that you get on Facebook and some of the other social media platforms.

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We wanted to keep it really eclectic so that we get a lot of different types of views up there and a lot of different people with different areas of expertise. If you think that this is something that would be of interest to you, and that this is something that could empower you to live your absolute best life, head over to www.warriorobituarysociety.com. That's www.warriorobituarysociety.com, and you can sign up today. And if you have any questions about it, just reach out to me at chris@warriorsoulagoge.com. That's chris@warriorsoulagoge.com.

I'm happy to even sit down with you for a phone call for a few minutes to see if the group is right for you. I look forward to seeing you guys in there, and let's get back to this awesome interview. How how did you end up getting into Recon? How did you end up doing that?

Mike Keevil 00:41:47 (link to this point)

So in Camp Fallujah, there were posters to try out. And one of my buddies who I went to cook school with, we were trying everything that we could to, you know so now we got out of our cook units, and now we're in this mortuary affairs unit. How do we get out of this unit and and get over to the infantry? And one day, I was in the the Internet tent and or the phone center, and he comes up to me. He's like, hey, man.

What's your what's your swim qual? I was like, swim qual one. He's like, dude, let's let's try out for recon. I'm like, awesome. What is it?

And he's like, you don't see those posters or whatever? I was like, yeah. Like, I don't I didn't really, like, read them or whatever. He's like, well, he's like, check it out. And we, like, hop on a computer and he shows me, you know, this, like, Moto video or whatever.

And I was like, well, what do we need to do? He's like, well, we need swim qual one, which we both have. We need first class PFTs, which we first have, and we need, we need a one zero five GT score. I'm like, what's the GT score? And, you know, we're like dumb Lance Corporals.

And so I get on MOL and, dude, I had like a 94. And I was like, shit. Well, I guess I can't do it. And he's like, why don't you just take the ASVAB again? I was like, okay, let's do that.

So we, you know, so he's like, well, we don't have to tell anyone that just yet. So we call the unit and they just moved from Billings, Montana to Atlanta. You know, higher population density, more people to recruit from, you know, so it made sense. So we called them and they were like, yeah, come on down, try out. So I was like, well, shit.

Like, they want us to come try out, like, the the the PT stuff, like, I think I can handle that. But, like, again, I need to be administratively able to do this. So, dude, I bought an ASVAB book. You know? Because, again, like, when I joined, didn't know anything.

I just took the test. They said, hey. You're good enough to to do this. I said, okay. So it didn't mean anything to me.

And, you know, retook the ASVAB. I I got the score I needed. And then, you know, I went to the unit, did the the recon indoc, and then and then went to went to recon marines awaiting training. And that that was kind of the you know, that it was I I don't wanna say as simple as it was because I had to you know, we had to request mast to get out of the unit. We had to transfer to the, you know, to the recon battalion.

I had to retake the ASVAB. And we were living in Virginia at the time, and the unit was in Atlanta. I remember having to sign the waiver being like, yeah. Like, we're willing to accept the cost of driving down there on our own, you know, you know, twelve hour drive just to just to see, like, if we could do this. You know, but wanted to do it and and went and did it.

You know?

Chris Albert 00:45:22 (link to this point)

And and so once you did that, you know, I I know there's a time period where you're probably in the unit before you go to school, and then you probably school up, right? And and then what was that like for you? What what was going through that process of of getting qualified like for you?

Mike Keevil 00:45:38 (link to this point)

So I I was extremely lucky. Got back from Iraq, '21, no bills, $25 in the bank, and we had like three months before we could try out for this this indoc thing. Had no idea even what it was. They just said, hey, you need to be able to swim and and do a PFT. I was like, okay.

Well, that that sounds easy. So we got an apartment in in Virginia, and we went to George Mason University. We got memberships there. They had a really awesome, like Olympic sized pool. And and we needed a pool that was deep.

That that was the issue. Right? We couldn't go to like a YMCA or whatever. Like, we needed a tea pool. So didn't get jobs.

And like six days a week, it was wake up, hit the gym. We'd we'd spend five or six hours there every day just getting ready for this thing that we didn't, you know, didn't even know what what we had to do. So we would just do a bunch of ridiculous stuff in the pool and then and then do a PFT. We just did that, like, every day. Right?

It's it's it's like a personal trainer's, like, worst dream. Like, not doing anything correct. Just just doing whatever. Right? So went to the unit, you know, and and it was it's a simple test.

It's it's a swim qual, a modified swim qual and a PFT. And you just need, like, a two eighty five PFT. And then they're like, yeah. Cool. We'll bring you on.

So did that and and immediately got sent to recon marines awaiting training, RMAT. It's, you know, been called a bunch of different things over the years, but it's basically like a holding platoon before you go to recon school. So we actually, this was a pretty emotional time thinking about it now. So we drive from Atlanta to San Antonio, Texas. You know, it's like an eighteen hour drive.

We get there and it's like it's like 11:30 at night and everyone in in that recon platoon or the the RMAT platoon, they're all sleeping except for the duty. We show up and I remember seeing the the sign and it was like, you know, fourth recon battalion, recon marines awaiting training, freedom isn't free. And I don't know why, but I just got chills, like, when I saw that sign outside the barracks. And it's this rundown small building, on Fort Sam Houston. And so we go in and we start talking to the duty.

We're like, hey, I'm Lance Corporal Keevil. I'm here checking in. You know, and I was with, like, four or five other guys.

Chris Albert 00:48:28 (link to this point)

Mhmm.

Mike Keevil 00:48:29 (link to this point)

And, like, dude, these guys just start kind of, like, appearing from the racks because it was like a squad bay. And, like, I just see these, they just looked really fucking mean, you know? But I didn't know that, you know, the way it worked at the time was the top 10 guys of that holding platoon would go to either ARS, you know, amphib recon school on the East Coast or the basic reconnaissance course on the West Coast. And it was like every two and a half months, the top 10 guys would go. So it was extremely competitive.

And everything was based off of your indoc score. And then obviously, you know, something some personality aspects would go into it. Like, is this dude cool or not? Like, is he a team player? Little things like that, but nothing official.

And they had heard that we had high PFTs. And so we were like a threat. Like, as soon as we They're all like they're like fuck these dudes. I've been here for months.

Chris Albert 00:49:32 (link to this point)

Right?

Mike Keevil 00:49:33 (link to this point)

Yeah. So we show up and every Monday was was Indoc Day. And, you know, you're before you go well, when you get into this platoon and before you graduate recon school, you're called a roper and you wear a, you know, a black sling rope around your around your shoulders. And But if you failed to indoc, you didn't get kicked out right away, but you had to wear a red rope just to signify that you failed. And if you were the worst of all the failures, you had to carry this big candy cane.

It was like this big stick that they made look like a candy cane. And there was a it was called the the candy ass creed. You had to read this thing. Yeah. And and it was like, I don't remember what it was, but it was like, you know, I'm a candy ass motherfucker.

And it was I mean, that stuff like that never happens nowadays. But, yeah, if you were like the worst of the worst, you had to you had to run around this giant fuck off candy cane stick.

Chris Albert 00:50:41 (link to this point)

Oh, man.

Mike Keevil 00:50:41 (link to this point)

Anyway, so, dude, I only spent three weeks there. Extremely lucky. I know guys, some of my best friends, they were they were in this, like, purgatory for, nine months. And, you know, just brutal. Every day is just brutal.

Because not only are you competing for a spot, but I mean, they're actively trying to trying to make you quit. So it would be just arbitrary shit. Like, we're just gonna do push ups until someone quits. And all you're thinking is you're like, fuck, man. Like, everyone here is pretty tough.

Like, I don't think anyone's gonna quit. So we're just gonna be doing this for a while. Right? And then someone quits, and then you're like, oh, thank goodness. But then it doesn't stop anyway.

So it's like you kinda learn you're you're just always a loser, when you're a roper. So, you know, that that's what it was like. So, again, I was extremely lucky. Went to recon school, passed, and then went back to so this barracks was like split in half. On the one side, it was ropers and then the other side was grads.

Right? And and when you're a graduate, you know, you walk around in your your amphib recon, like schoolhouse, like black hoodie and and sweatpants and no one messed with you and you're you're OFP, own fucking program. You do whatever you want. You just had to be ready for, you know, jump school, dive school, SERE school, and then you would get sent back to your unit. So that's what life was like as a grad.

And I mean, was pretty awesome. Kinda just

Chris Albert 00:52:17 (link to this point)

That sounds great. So so you do that, you go back to your unit, and then you guys deployed, right, from there?

Mike Keevil 00:52:24 (link to this point)

So I got back to my unit and I got a girl pregnant. Oh, man. Yeah. And I didn't have a job. I would just be like a bum at the reserve unit.

And sometimes you got paid, sometimes you didn't. And now I get this girl pregnant. I'm like shit, like I need Mainly like insurance, right? Because they wouldn't keep you They wouldn't pay you for over thirty days. Because if they paid you for over thirty days, they would have to pay you other benefits and entitlements.

But if they kept it at like twenty eight, twenty nine days, then they wouldn't have to. But I mean, you know, when you're 22 and you have no bills, you know, it's whatever.

Chris Albert 00:53:06 (link to this point)

Right.

Mike Keevil 00:53:06 (link to this point)

So I got a random email from one Beth being like, hey, we're standing up this new unit. We're looking for volunteers to go to South America. And and I was like, fuck it. I'm in. So I I got on with that unit and it was a it was a trainer adviser group in Virginia Beach, which coincidentally, they took over the compound for the East Coast Recon School when that shut down and everything was consolidated in California.

So it was pretty cool to see the old schoolhouse while I was there. But, you know, so I went and did that for almost two years. That was awesome. I learned a lot. But, you know, I I learned a lot as far as not being that typical, like, super cocky, young recon dude. And and and that's what I was in the beginning. And, you know, one of my mentors, his name was Zeb, he was a former sniper on active duty and then came to the reserves. You know, we went to RMAT together, went to recon school together, and and now we're doing this thing together. And I was frustrated about something and I'm like, why the fuck don't they listen to me?

And I was a corporal at the time. And he's like, dude, look at you. I'm like, what do you mean? He's like, bro, you have like gunny sleeves, turbo low hair, you're wearing fucking Oakley boots, and you're wearing starch white camis from Iraq. Like, you like, no one's gonna take you seriously looking like that.

And I'm like, you know what? Fine. Right? So, you know, like a child. So I go to the PX, I buy brand new everything, I get a fucking medium fade, and then like I show and dude, it was it was so crazy.

This is how indoctrinated the Marine Corps is. I'd show up to work on Monday and like all of a sudden everyone's like taking my advice and listening to my recommendations and stuff. And I was like, oh my goodness. This is this is crazy. But what I the bigger lesson that I learned from that is, you know, the whole know your audience thing.

Right? Like Right. I'm I'm not and and what for young recondos, I think I think the best opportunity for them is is deploying outside of a recon unit early on. Sooner sooner the better in my opinion because it it it really shows you like, one, how good it is at recon even even at recon battalion, how good it is. And, you know, play the game to to ultimately, again, get what you want.

You know, so I did that for a while.

Chris Albert 00:55:54 (link to this point)

No. That's important. I mean, it's your appearance is everything. I mean and you might not think it. You might think, okay.

Well, I can do this. I've got these capabilities and things like that. But, you know, people do judge you by your looks. They judge in not just in the Marine Corps, in civilian world, in any any place you walk into. If you look like a bag of dicks, then then you need to treat it like one.

Right?

Mike Keevil 00:56:18 (link to this point)

Yeah. And you know what? You don't even think about it, like, the civilian world, like walking around in a suit. You you wouldn't think your shoes and your watch mean something, but they do. So don't skimp out on a good pair of shoes and and a nice watch when you when you got a rocking suit.

Chris Albert 00:56:38 (link to this point)

But Big time. Yeah. That's one of the first things you should invest in. I know we're we're coming up on time. I I wanna get into your work with Recon Sniper Foundation.

What what is the the foundation and and what do you do with them?

Mike Keevil 00:56:55 (link to this point)

So the Recon Sniper Foundation provides assistance to to veterans and and their families and active duty service members. Basically, anyone that that comes out to us and and requests assistance. Our main target, you know, is the reconnaissance and scout sniper communities, but it's it's evolved over the years to to all veterans. And so a couple years ago well, three years ago, I got into competitive shooting. And I was in a funk, and competitive shooting really helped me work through, you know, a lot of issues that that I was having, you know, that we talked about earlier. You know, everything from the, you know, the deployments to, you know, being let down by various commands, you know, just personal personal relationship friction. Right? So the competitive shooting really helped me focus on on myself. And, you know, a couple of my good friends got into it as well, and they got on with the board for Recon Sniper Foundation. They said, hey, do you want to start a shooting team?

I said, yeah. I think I think that's awesome. Like, this has helped me out a lot, and I know it's helped out, you know, a couple other guys too. So the concept was get recon dudes and scout snipers into shooting sports. And and something weird happened.

Like, not as many guys from those small niche communities really wanted to get into competitive shooting, you know, for for a number of reasons, but

Chris Albert 00:58:54 (link to this point)

Is this like three gun? Is this three gun, or is it is it shooting for distance? What what type of competition?

Mike Keevil 00:59:02 (link to this point)

So it's it's everything. It is so as far as pistol, it would be something like USPSA or IDPA or Steel Challenge Association or bullseye shooting. Any any sort of competitive shooting. So I mean, archery, skeet excuse me, skeet shooting, long gun, you know, whether it's, you know, the twenty two twenty two rifle precision shooting or, know, the the heavier calibers, three gun, it it doesn't matter. Like, if it was shooting a projectile at something, like, I wanted to support you going and doing that.

And and from there, it evolved to you know, so so as it evolved, my my vision of of what the team should or could be changed as well. And so my my grand master plan is to encompass, like any competitive event, right? So we just launched Team Endurance earlier this year, which is, you know, endurance athletes. But even that within the last three or four months has evolved from, you know, like its focus being Ironmans and you know, marathons, ultramarathons and things like that to

Chris Albert 01:00:24 (link to this point)

MMA.

Mike Keevil 01:00:25 (link to this point)

Mhmm. To people who just want to go to get back into Cross CrossFit or just get back into working out. It just kind of worked out really well. The whole, you know, we call it team endurance and the RSF motto for 2020 is endure, you know? And that just kind of happened.

It wasn't that portion of it wasn't planned. And it just seemed to fit really well. Also, like who who we bring on to help support changed as well. And so a lot of people don't know this, like, that recon battalion, you know, force reconnaissance companies and scout sniper platoons, we support a lot of, you know, a lot of entities, a lot of units, you know

Chris Albert 01:01:15 (link to this point)

Mhmm.

Mike Keevil 01:01:16 (link to this point)

All the way from the MESH, you know, to a infantry platoon, you know, so and everyone in between. Now, you know, I'll be the first to say this, both recon and snipers, we're very we're bougie. Right? Require a lot of support and help to do what we wanna do. But in turn, we are supporting everyone as well.

And that mentality was brought into RSF as an organization and then also And also the teams. So, you know, we're open to all veterans of all generations, all types, all services. But, you know, because we are the Recon Sniper Foundation, when you, you know, participate with us for a certain period of time, like, you rate a personalized, memorial jersey. And our, our rule is it has to be a a recon dude or a sniper, because, you know, that is that is our main organization. So that's how it's evolved over the years, and that's actually how I met Patrick.

Chris Albert 01:02:33 (link to this point)

One of our mutual friends. Yeah. That's so you guys you guys run these shooting events. Right? And and so how do you how how do you get involved with this? So so number one, do you need to own a firearm? Do you have to bring your own?

Do are they provided? If you're getting into something like like three gun, and I know some of the gear is pretty expensive, how does does the organization help with that? Or

Mike Keevil 01:03:02 (link to this point)

Yes. So we we've set up we've done one we did one last year. We're planning on doing another this year and we would like it to be like a two to three time a year thing going forward. So it's, you know, it'll be a shooting clinic. And the last one we did, we we were able to provide pistols and precision rifles to to the to the shooters that wanted to come on. And so it was it was like a one day clinic and then a one day match.

And they would you know, each shooter was paired up with a, you know, a guy who competes regularly to, like, learn the sport, you know, an introduction to the sport. So for big events like that, we try to provide, you know, what we can. So you just show up and and we'll show you the sport. Other than that, like, I I had to take a big reset, or or take a step back from the team. So we have over a 100, you know, athletes involved in the team.

And, you know, so so that's awesome. Right? It it it's been growing. It continues to grow. But I needed to find a way to, one, give back more to the people that we have, and also incentivize them more.

Because that's the common trend that I see. You know, shooters will come on. They're like, okay. This is pretty cool. You know, we invest time and money into them, and then and then they leave, you know.

And, you know, I'm not upset that they leave. Like, I think that it was overall a good experience for them coming on. But, you know, again, I'm trying to build a build a community out of it. And I I, you know, I was talking to the the endurance captain, Josh Cruz last night about it. I think I think team endurance will be the flagship team.

It just, you know, the pistol and precision rifle things started first. So we provide assistance if you wanna get interested in the sport, and we do the best we can to set up events to to pair to pair someone up to learn, you know, the the sport that they specifically want to get into.

Chris Albert 01:05:23 (link to this point)

That's pretty awesome, man. That's pretty awesome. And and is there a geographic location where most of your events occur? Is it is it mostly on the East Coast? Do you do it nationwide?

Or

Mike Keevil 01:05:33 (link to this point)

So we have shooters I mean, shooters all over the place. Obviously, the, you know, you know, the the big areas. So, you know, Southern California, the East Coast, and then kind of, you know, the Texas area where we have the the bulk of our the bulk of our shooters. We did the first event in 29 Palms, California. We are currently setting up a event on the East Coast in the New England area right now.

We started planning for that. I was planning on doing something in Texas this spring, but some things fell through, and I had to push that event, to the right. So, you know, we're we're doing the best that we can to find areas that that would that would be the easiest for the most people to to get to.

Chris Albert 01:06:28 (link to this point)

Nice. Nice. And where can people go if they wanna sign up for something like this?

Mike Keevil 01:06:34 (link to this point)

So well, we're we're in the process of redoing our website right now. So I think the easiest way would be either on Instagram, either recon sniper foundation or team RSF, team Recon Sniper Foundation. Mhmm. If you if you shoot us a a DM on there, it's gonna be me or one of the other guys who responds. And, you know, again, like I said before, I'm I'm doing administrative, like, reshuffle and and really focusing inboard on the guys that we have before I start really opening it back up to to everyone else.

Obviously, people who come on, like, you know, you know, I'll respond to you, the best that I can. I'll get you the information that you want about whatever sport that you wanna get into. But I'm I'm really trying to focus on on the shooters that we have right now.

Chris Albert 01:07:32 (link to this point)

Okay, man. Awesome. Awesome. You know, and what we'll do is we'll we'll get a link to your Instagram up on the show notes for this episode. You know, number one, I I just want to acknowledge you, man.

Number one, thank you for your service. Number two, thanks for some of the lessons you brought here today. I mean, as far as navigating your career and and, you know, having the interesting career that you did and and are still currently in, I think that's helpful for a lot of guys out there who might feel stuck where they are. And then, you know, thank you for what you're doing with with Team Recon Sniper and getting people involved and active in in in their own ways. So that that's awesome work you're doing.

Mike Keevil 01:08:13 (link to this point)

No. I appreciate it. And and thank you for, you know, the Jared, hold on, bud. Sorry. My son my son came in.

Chris Albert 01:08:19 (link to this point)

It's all good, man.

Mike Keevil 01:08:20 (link to this point)

But My hands are cold. My hands are cold? Sorry. No.

Thank you for the opportunity. And, I mean, this wouldn't have happened if I didn't meet Patrick. Wouldn't have met Patrick if I didn't, you know, try to start getting this team off the ground. And and and that's what it's all about. It's all about relationships.

So.

Chris Albert 01:08:42 (link to this point)

Awesome, man. Awesome. Well, to everybody out there, thank you for listening. I hope that you found this episode helpful. Like I said, we'll get the links up on the show notes if you guys wanna get involved in this.

Then beyond that, we'll be back at you later on this week with some more awesome content. This is Chris and Mike and we are out. Alright, guys. So that was my conversation with Mike Keevil of Team Recon Sniper. Like I said, I just like to sit here and talk with other marines.

That's kinda what this show is about, that and delivering tools, tactics, strategies, and ideas to you guys to help you to move forward. And some of the things you might have learned from there is that you gotta take the initiative. If you want something for your life, if you are looking to advance your career, if you're whether you're in the military or if you're out of the military, you've got to be on it. It's got to come through your actions. You can't just sit there and wait for it.

Mike had a vision of what he wanted from the Marine Corps and he went out there and he went after it. The other thing is this, there are so many amazing resources out there for you guys, for those of you who have served. Over 4 and 3300501C three organizations here in The United States and Team Recon Sniper is one of them. So when we bring these tools to you guys, I hope that you're taking advantage of them. I hope you're checking out Team Recon Sniper.

I hope you're checking out the teams that they have and I hope that you're heading to some of those events because they are absolutely outstanding. I definitely want to take advantage of it the next time they come out here to 29 Palms. Think that would be awesome. As far as everything goes, you know, I hope you guys are getting a lot out of these episodes. I get notes all the time from veterans and from active duty military guys who say that this podcast has made a world of difference in their lives, and I wanna keep hearing from all of you.

Are we doing a good job? Am I doing a decent job of interviewing? I know I stumble over my words a lot. I'm trying to work on that. I'm trying to get better at it, but I hope you guys are getting a lot out of the content that we have here.

And if you are, listen, I don't care if you ever buy a thing from Warrior Soul. Don't care if you ever spend a dime. But if you can, please spread the word about these episodes. Please spread the word about the show. And you do that in a number of ways.

You can share these episodes out with friends. You can tell your friends about the show. You can head over to iTunes and write us a written rating and review. That helps us so much to to get shown up in the iTunes algorithm, helps the show to rise in the rankings, and it helps me to get this information into the ears of more veterans. So if you could do that for me, that'd be amazing.

And other ways, you can support the show and support yourself. You can get yourself an amazing shirt from warrior soul dot shop. We've got some awesome skivvy shirts, some really awesome graphic design shirts. And then beyond that, we also have Warrior Soul dot Academy. That's got a lot of my fitness programs up there.

I've got a lot of stuff you could do from home. We're, as of the recording right now, still going through the coronavirus crisis. Everybody's doing their social distancing. And if you're looking for something to keep you in shape during that time period, well, head over to warriorsoul.academy. We've got some great books on nutrition, some great courses that you take advantage of, and some great courses on building a business if that's what you're into.

Beyond that, we also have our mastermind that I talked to you about in the middle of the show that is the Warrior's Obituary Society. We do have customizing of fitness programs in that development program. So what happens is every new member goes through an eight week development program and during that program they are figuring out what vision they want to live, getting really clear about what they want out of life. And then you start to get real specific. You start to figure out how to customize your own fitness plan, own personal finance plan.

Start to get focused on your career, your business and your relationships. We've got a private forum up here on Slack. We don't do anything over social media because I don't want anybody looking over your shoulder and I don't want you getting distracted by a bunch of BS that's up there on Facebook and some of these other platforms. So you want to check that out, www.warriorobituarysociety.com. Once again, it is my great honor to serve you as the host of this podcast.

I hope you're getting a lot out of it. Please let me know if you are. And with that, get out there and live your best life while you can. This is Chris Albert, and I am out.