USAF Combat Control
EPISODE 39
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THERE ARE A LOT OF COOL COMBAT CONTROLLERS OUT THERE…BUT RENALDO IS THE COOLEST. SORRY PEACHES. THIS WEEK THE GUYS SIT DOWN WITH RENALDO AND LEARN ALL ABOUT CCT, MINDSET, CROSSTRAINING, AND DROWNING.
INTRO
Intro 00:02
You're listening to the Ones Ready podcast, a team of Air Force Special Operators forged in combat with over 70 years of combined operational experience, as well as a decade of selection instructor experience. If you're tired of settling, and you want to do something you truly believe in, you're in the right place. Now, here's your favorite CCT personality, JTAC extraordinaire embracer have their ridiculous face, and like the shortest operator you'll ever meet, Peaches.
Peaches 00:27
Hey everybody, welcome to the Ones Ready podcast. We're happy to have you in the team room. And thanks for joining us. Today we've got a very special guest the guy that I work with, and I've only recently met in the last probably since March now but I think Trent and Renaldo have known each other for quite some time and Renaldo actually has quite the quite the name for himself in combat control like I knew about him well before I even met him. So, before we get to on to him, thank you for tuning in. Thank you for subscribing, subscribing, leaving reviews, we really appreciate we're trying to engage with you guys a lot on Instagram and on email. However, I have probably been falling a little bit behind with that just because I've been busier normal, but we'll get back to it. Today we've got one of our sponsors for you. It's Strikeforce Energy, it's a veteran owned company. Two of the guys are the two CEOs and founders are prior Navy SEALs, or they're at least we're in NSW, I think one was a SEAL and one was an SBS guy. So now, these packets, they're, they're just small little packets, they're great for on the go energy, throw them in your rock film in your gym bag. You get some go juice, just mix it with some water. And if you're bold enough, just rip it apart and tow it straight in your mouth with no water. But that's only for the brave. So, and if you guys do go to Strikeforceenergy.com use the promo codes ONESREADY, and it'll get you guys a good discount. And again, we don't get anything from it. It's just we're trying to support some of our friends and some of our local businesses as they are succeeding in the world. So, like I mentioned before, today's guest is Renaldo Miller. He's an active duty Combat Controller. And he's well known across community. He's been to numerous Special Tactics Squadrons, stateside and overseas and, Renaldo welcome.
Renaldo 02:33
Hey, appreciate it. Peaches. Thanks, everybody. First of all, to Trent and Brian, thank you guys for having me on as well. I do watch you guys and you keep me laughing all the time. Because as you talk about things and explain things to people looking at the community from the outside, inside, from the outside to the inside. It just it makes me laugh because 100% true. These guys aren't making any of this stuff up.
Peaches 03:07
Oh, all right. So, since we're talking about going way back, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself from when you came in or just before you came into the military to, you know, now.
RENALDO’S BACKGROUND
Renaldo 03:19
All right. Yes, a little Storytime. So. I'm from Oklahoma. I'll let that sink in for a minute. Because usually people are like, there's people in Oklahoma. Yes. So, I'm from Oklahoma. Athlete, played a few different sports, but I'm mainly ran track cross country and then wrestled growing up, coming out of high school actually had a track scholarship. So, I went straight to college after high school, ran for a little while. And then just got to the point where that wasn't feasible. Couple of injuries, whatever. So, I decided I was going to join the military. I actually grew up near Fort Sill in Oklahoma. So familiar with the military got a lot of friends. Yeah. Got a lot of friends in the military. They chose to go in Army for whatever reason, probably the wrong one. Because they're there. They envy me all the time. But uh, yeah, so I decided to join Air Force and really, at that point I just wanted to join the Air Force, join the military, get college paid for finished college and then go on about my business. So, I planned on doing, you know, one enlistment and moving on but after I after joining, just enjoyed service enjoyed what I was doing, and it wasn't Combat Control. So, I did not start out as a Combat Controller. I was actually a comms guy first comms guy for a couple years in Florida, Eglin Air Force Base. And then after a couple of deployments as a comms guy, that's when I decided that I wanted to cross train, and not because I didn't enjoy my job. I actually chose the job that I that I had and I managed to get the job that I wanted intentionally, but I just I wanted to do more. I wanted to do more with my service. So, I started just kind of researching I was actually in hospital getting recruited very heavily, almost in a predatory manner by a Marine recruiter like he was at my house all the time. It got really weird, but he bought me food and that's important when you're, you know, 16-17 years old so he'd buy me food and hanging out with me and my favorite
Peaches 05:18
You were getting groomed. That's all that was.
Renaldo 05:29
But little did he know. I was just taking the food and had no plans on joining the Marines. But so, Air Force it was started looking at cross training. So, I brought up the Marines because I had actually looked into like force recon. And then I had looked at becoming an attack P. I looked into that a little bit and my Air Force recruiter when I initially enlisted actually asked me if I wanted to be a PJ and he showed me a video. It was guys, he low caste and jumping out of helicopters into water. Climbing up beside of ice-covered mountains, stuff like that. And I was like, that's cool. No, exact opposite. I mean, it just like that wasn't something that I grew up thinking about doing anything like that. It just wasn't, you know my things. I was like, No, like, that's fine. I wanted to go do this job and that's what I want to do. But once I figured out what to do more with my service, and really it was, so we've all deployed so you see the, the conventional folks, when there's like an IDF attack on base, what are all the conventional folks do they run to the bunkers? They're on their helmets get scared for like two or three hours and wait for other people to do something. And they get clear. Yeah, that's it. So, you know, I was tired of the fetal position. It was making my back hurt. So, I decided I wanted to do something else. And you know, I watched you know, the QRF leave the base. And I'm like, Man, what, what are you going to go do? Because I didn’t, I didn't get to see anything outside of that FOB. Like so. What are you going to do when I read So, despite my interest in actually Combat Control was the last thing that I looked at. I was active duty Air Force and did not know what Combat Control was. I was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, which is right next to the harbor field, and did not know what Combat Control was. That's where our recruiting efforts were at around that time. So, this is 2006, 2007. It's kind of when I was making that decision. So, the recruiting efforts, as far as I knew, like they weren't there, because I just had no idea what it was never seen a scarlet query, nothing like that. But it's looked into crazy. Yeah, I tell people all the time, like man, I have no idea like I just kind of looked up and came across its right YouTube video at the right time, and it’s kind of sparked my interest. And it was it's not misleading because it is our job, but I watched some videos. It had more to do with like, airfield reconnaissance. What we used to call AZRT those kinds of missions. I spent the first like eight years as a Combat Controller. doing that. And yeah, turns out like you're familiar like it. That's just what we were doing at the time. We're getting the right guys qualified as JTACs, and we're deploying six months on six months off, just over and over again. So that's what I did, coming into the Combat Control teams. But that's not what I thought I was going to do. I thought I was going to be cammied up hiding in the bushes somewhere, you know, looking at airfields and controlling airplanes and then disappeared into the night up. Never done that.
Trent 08:33
Yeah, you've made other stuff disappear, though.
Renaldo 08:36
I have, yes. A little bit of stuff, but it's been fun, man. I like I don't regret it at all. It was just it wasn't what I expected because I understood what a TACP was. I thought I understood what j tech was. I didn't tie JTAC to Combat Control. So, I was like, okay, that's an option like that looks pretty cool. It's just again, like growing up near the Army. I knew that TACP conventionally aligns with Army like that is not what I want to do that it’s kind of self-eliminated and I was like no I don't I don't want to live with an Army. But shout out to all my Green Beret buddies out there because I got a lot of a lot of them now.
Brian 09:13
So, going back to the training aspect of that I just want to touch on that. And they had a big track and running background and stuff and you're an athlete. Did you know that there is going to be because water is what takes out a lot of a lot of dudes, the majority of the dudes when I was back in INDOC, because you know that that was going to be a part of the training and going to pre-dive and all that Controllers back then had a different pipeline than the PJs did. But did you know that you're going to go into that and had to train for that?
Renaldo 09:42
Yeah, so I was aware, you know, watched enough videos to kind of get a preview of what I thought the pipeline was going to be like and I knew that so I could swim across the pool. I could go to a pool and have a good time and not worry about drowning but no, like, I'd never been on the swim team. I had formal lessons like as a small child, so that was it. So, it was once I decided I wanted to cross train into comic control. I just had to take it upon myself. I bought the book Total Immersion. I went to the pool every day, except for the days that it was close, like literally every day, except for the days that it was closed. Unfortunately, there was Eglin and Hurlburt Field that are closed on different days, so I could go to the pool seven days a week, I just had to pick which pool I was going to. So, it just took a lot of drowning myself to figure out how to swim and I was fortunate enough there was a guy he's a former Controller, and he was a like a high school swim team coach. So, I'd be in the pool, drowning myself and one day he just walked up and he was like, what are you doing? Idiot? And I was like leave me along old man, you wouldn't understand. Yeah, literally handed you know I'm just going to have like yet. I'm doing something you wouldn't know. And he's like, it's funny because I used to be a Controller. And so that that took my foot out of my mouth and beg him to help me out a little bit. He did. So, I got it. I got a few pointers there. I think we'll end up talking about this later. But I had a, just a different philosophy on cross training and just a different philosophy. When it comes to a lot of goals. Like I said, I was there at Eglin, I would go to the pool Hurlburt Field. I never talked to a Controller or a PJ prior to go into the into the pipeline. Because and I tell people this that asked me like, well, what should I work on before I go to the pipeline? Or, you know, what should I be doing? Or what's difficult in the pipeline? I don't want to sell a bad seed in somebody else's mind. So, don't ask me what was hard for me, because it doesn't mean that it's going to be hard for you. So, I didn't want anybody else to tell me what was hard for them. And then I show up and they're like, Oh, yeah, they said, we’re going to do a million push-ups. Like I'm not going to make it. I didn't want to hear somebody else's horror story. So, I just never asked and like to me like, that's a stupid Important, it's just part of that self-confidence. Like, I don't care what was hard or what was easy for anybody else because everybody's different. So, I just never asked, and I did start to see guys at the pool. They were, you know, working out or whatever, I just didn't talk to them. Like, that's not what they were there for. And I wasn't there to pick up tips or anything. Like, I felt like I didn't need them. I knew myself. I knew I could run; I'm not going to do a decent number of push-ups, whatever I wasn't comfortable doing. That's what I worked on. I didn't have a training program. And I probably just cost somebody a million dollars running like these programs, but I just didn't, I did whatever I felt like I needed to do. And that was it.
Brian 12:39
Well, I actually do some programs, but sorry, I don't make anywhere near I don't make anywhere near what you're what you're talking about all of those. And that's really like what you were saying before is going to the pool and then just every single day, you know, I get emails from guys that are like, I wasn't able to swim 25 meters without having to stop and now they can swim 2000 meters or 4000 meters without, but it's, it's really not, you know, the program helps and it helps you do things that you're not really going to be exposed to otherwise because you can only do what you know or research. But once you go in there, like you said seven days a week getting that pool and face it, that's really where the hard work is facing those things that you're weak at and just exposing yourself to it. So, you build that mental callus against those things that you really just don't want to do. Because nobody wants to go wake up and be in a cold pool. And especially if you are not good at being in the pool. So yeah, good on, on you and those guys out there, you know, obviously, make sure you learn from that. And don't dismiss the old guys that are going to help you. I say that I say that to you know, go find a dude that knows what he's doing. Looks like he knows what he's doing. He's going to help you at least a little bit. Take their two cents.
Peaches 13:51
Who was that controller?
Renaldo 13:54
Give me a second I'll think of his name. Because he, he actually went to I'm getting old too. Like, we Talking about this at work man, I'd like I have a hard time remembering anything. It's like I have a notebook with me right now because I'll forget this whole thing ever happened. Caster whose last name is caster so he's like Gulf War like he's a little bit a lot old even older than you Peaches. I know there's a lot of jokes
Peaches 14:24
Well you know when I'm posting these pictures everybody's like good god dude, how old are you? Man? I guess I look good for my age now but geez.
Trent 14:40
Well, you know, I want to ask you now like you're like, I don't want to tell anybody my horror stories. So, I'm just sitting over here and the only thing that's in my brain right now is so what was hard in the pipeline? Tell me your horror stories. Like I have to know now. You know what I mean?
POOL TIME
Renaldo 14:57
What was difficult Like on the water, like the water is difficult for to almost everyone for different reasons. So, like I mentioned, like I just I wasn't a swimmer, like I wouldn't even say that I could technically swim prior to me wanting to, to cross train. So, like that was the source of a lot of anxiety with the pool sessions. Everything else I mean, I, I manage my expectations for you know, like my performance and what to expect going into the pipeline. Like I knew that part of it is reaching failure. And then it's really what you do after you reach failure. So, I had already told myself like a on a daily basis, like even though I'm an athlete, and I have this expectation of myself as an athlete, like I'm going to hit failure. As an athlete, I spent a lot of time competing though. So even in the pipeline, with in not even in like a malicious way. Like I'm looking around at my teammates and I'm like, Alright, like, I'm getting tired. Somebody in here is way worse off than I am because I am, I'm not the worst athlete here. So, we're banging out push-ups, we're doing lunges, we're like we're doing whatever. And as I start to hit that fatigue point, like I just look around, and I get a little source of energy out of seeing somebody else's pain face, like and that's the honest truth, man, like, you have to compete with yourself and like, I don't look at him and say anything to him, like, Hey, man, go ahead and quit. So, we can do something else, I guess. But like, just that sort of, like a little reassert reassurance that it's okay for me to be tired right now. I'm not the only one. And, and, you know, just finding that extra gear. But yeah, the water like, I, when I initially took the past test, I had probably swum like my first full 500 meters, like a week or two before that, like, that's all I was waiting on. Once I decided that I was going to crosstrain, I knew that I was going to be a combat controller. I know you guys talked about misconceptions a week or so ago. And like, I didn't say that to be cocky. It's just it's a self-confidence thing. Like I had And I believe that you have to feel that way about yourself. If you're going to take on one of these. I couldn't swim yet. And I already knew that I was going to make it. And so, I just went on my first 500 meters like, again like a couple weeks before I prior to that, and then I took the full PAST test. The rest of it I knew that I was already comfortable with and you know, my scores where I wanted them to be and that was it. Like, there was a little bit of delay waiting for medical clearance and all that stuff since I was cross training. But once I passed that PAST it was it was going time. And like I was terrible at it like dragging my legs to the water, even at selection last year to get out of the pool. And they're like, what happened like you just crush all this other stuff and then he does his watch he splashes around in the pool and almost not make it I'll pick up on that part later. Swimming is different than water competence. We all know that you have got a good swim, you know, 500 meters in seven minutes. And then you put a weight belt on them and do weird stuff to them and he'll be crying hold on to the side of the pool. So, two different things.
Trent 18:17
Do you have any, like coaches or cadre that recognized that you're a very strong candidate and tried to help you along? Or were they just like you know, drown till you make it bro?
Renaldo 18:29
I think and I haven't been an instructor so you might be able to tell me a little bit better than you know what I remember. I don't think anyone like necessarily went out of their way to help me I think people there was a few that recognize the function name drop but a few that that recognize like some potential so maybe an extra comment. Maybe like a small like, and not even in like a nice way that you would think like if I saw the kid out on the street. Obviously not being nice to me and say but you know, just an extra comment. And it's like, Alright, like, at least I know they're paying attention to me. I'm not just a number name on T shirt, but that's cool. They see that I'm trying. So, there was a few. Chief Humphreys. He's retired now, but he is, he actually pulled me aside during selection and talked to me for a few minutes. And now so I'm a little bit later in the pipeline. And so, like those words meant a lot because, you know, I knew he had been around for a long time and just to have somebody give me that extra little push was cool, but no, like, No, I was giving out any beanies. Like, that's not allowed. If anything, like I get heckled quite a bit. But that's just part of the game.
Peaches 19:39
So, since you didn't really, since you're not like one of the new recruits coming in, and you're a crosstrainee, is there anything in your training regime and I know you didn't really have a program or plan? Is there anything that you wish that you would hit? like you'd work I know for me I wish I had rucked because I didn't know what rucking was. And I wish I had worked on my grip strength. That would have been huge for me. Whereas everything else I was decent at Yeah, but it seems like it changes for everybody. And I know, I know swimming you were struggling with but are there some other points that you wish you had hit better?
Renaldo 20:21
Yeah, like, you know, like I said, I probably could have swim more and waited longer to get myself more prepared. But I just, it was just time like I couldn't wait any longer. And I don't know. Apparently, I made the right choice because where I am right now, but like you said, rucking so going to selection. Think may have rucked once or twice because there was actually a guy in my unit that I crossed right out of that had gone to gone into the pipeline and failed out. He came back from ATC school before I'd even gone to selection. And so, I was introduced to horror stories that I that I didn't even want because then he came back. He's like, Hey, man, he's like, you shouldn't Go, they're going to try to kill you with all the stuff you hear, you know, online, he's like, they tried to drown me blah, blah. It's funny because like one of the ATC instructors ended up being one of our supervisors, and he remembered him. And he's like, that's, that's not what happened. The guy just quit, like I got hard, it figures. So, but again, like using that as motivation, I would come back to my selection and like a man stuck everyone that bad. I'm lying to him, obviously, like I really what you're talking about we just kind of talked about what we want to do for two weeks, and then I left. But I probably should have wrote more because that selection, I got broke off. Like, no lie there. I just, it's different muscles. I knew I could run. You know, I knew I could carry a little bit of weight or whatever. But uh, once we started rocking and then like you see this guy, this other NCO because I was an NCO as well. And he takes off and like you got your ruck on your best, passing around a rock or two or whatever, and you're like this. This is not fun at all. And how is he doing that? And he says, they’re just getting after. And it's crazy how your body makes that transition. Now, I ruck like every other week now just to do it so I can feel like I'm cool. But it's, it's pretty interesting how your body is adjust, just adjust to that and I could just go on a rug and just go do it because after years of doing it, you know you get the shin pain or whatever and you just keep marching through it and it just goes away. Not that day, not those days.
Peaches 22:28
It's funny the whole mental aspect of it because I bring it back to one of your stories you had you know what, I am also the same I wouldn't say I get pleasure out of it. But seeing somebody there's something to be said about being in a communal suck fest. Where you know, everybody is hurting everybody. There's not a single person that's not hurting. But it does a couple things. It helps bond you to all of those guys. It also helps kind of do a self-assessment, okay, like I know I'm hurting. But for that if there can be one guy especially for like you and this is a lot of times what we expect out of our crosstrainees and our officers, not necessarily our brand new Airmen that are coming in, but we want that person to and I'm going to be careful about saying, especially for Trent and Brian, but there is something to be said for false motivation. As in, hey, you are just getting crushed right now. And just one guy, if he can say something funny, or if he can make an ass out of himself or something like that, to get everybody to get out of that mindset of oh my gosh, we're just getting crushed and we're dying to look at that that's, you know, advert their attention. So, I think there's something to be said about that. And hitting on another mental note that You talked about, you said that, rucking, you do it twice a week, but you knew that you could do it. Once you once you got to a certain point that you could do it. You're like, well, I can. I cannot rock for three or four years and then throw a rock on and move out. That's right. A lot of times, like I could say the same thing about going and doing a half marathon, just, you know, you need me to strap up and go on and do it right now. Okay. It's going to hurt, because I haven't trained for it. But I know that I can do it because I've done it before. Yeah, so there's that mental thing. It's that that impossible, if you will be able to push that off, I think is huge.
Renaldo 24:37
Oh, yeah. Yeah, definitely. And then you just so taken like the false motivation, kind of scenario. Like if you apply that and replace that with a task. You know, you're out operating like, you know, I'm talking past the pipeline, like you're an operator, now you're deployed, and you're out doing something and you get fatigued. But if you can think about the task that you have in front of you and forget about the fatigue, push that off later, you can get tired later and continue to operate and keep your mental capacity up about you. Like that's what it's about. Like, that's what that's one of the things that you gain from the pipeline is pushing through that keeping your wits about you staying on task and completing your tasks. And that transfers perfectly to operational relevance.
Trent 25:23
Yeah, I know, I always tell students, I'm like rucking never really gets easy. You just are able to quiet parts of your brain down, you know, just like you guys are talking about, like, it just doesn't matter. It's like, I got to put the ruck on I got to do the distance. I got to do the time. And in the beginning, your brain is like super active and screaming at you. And it's like, everything hurts like, this is stupid. Why are we doing this? And you know, you get used to it now at you know, you throw in a truck and your brain is just like, you beat your brain into submission. It's like fine. Let's do this. Yes, whatever. It just doesn't matter that much anymore.
Brian 25:54
Yeah. I think false motivation is better than no motivation. Going back to what you're saying. Because now you'd see these dudes that are just crushed on the side of the point, you can see that they're just not even paying attention to anyone else or anything else is going on around you. But those dudes that like you were saying you did. We're looking around, they're like, this guy's crying over here. This guy just peed on himself and pooped in the pool. Like, I got this, I'm still with it enough to like, look around and realize that I could take a sip of water, realize that you know, and toward 30 minutes or whatever, I'm going to get a snack. So, let's just stick with it and see what happens. So, keeping that false motivation and like you said, just in the middle of a suck Fest, say who your team wake up, let's go, let's get after this. Because sooner or later the day is going to end the events going to end and we're going to get a chance to, you know, do whatever, take a sip of water, go to the bathroom, something at some point, naturally. Yeah, show up with that on your T shirt. Yeah. All right, so just going back into, you know, future self what you were thinking it was going to be like, throughout the pipeline, and then as a CCT, were all those, you know, that vision that you had in your head, did it kind of match up with real life and what you've experienced over the past couple of decades.
EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY
Renaldo 27:24
So for the pipeline, for the most part, yeah, it's somewhat match though because you can watch just about any services, Special Operations, pipeline type videos and see some of the same stuff you know, out getting muddy, getting sandy carrying in boats, carrying logs, all that good stuff so expected that I think that what some people don't necessarily prepare themselves for is the classroom. ATC for us Combat Controllers? Yeah, four months of classroom and it's an it's probably one of the more difficult tech schools In the Air Force, and like I just people don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. Like we lost a couple of people due to the academics at ATC, and then same thing in Combat Control School. It's its own separate school but like you spend time in the classroom, like there are things that you have to learn, you can be smart, or sorry, you can be strong, you can be fast, but a part of you still needs to be smart enough to pick this stuff up. You're just not allowed to be dumb. And so, I think that that part like I just even though I was prior service, like I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about, like what ATC school is going to involve or you know, the things that I was going to learn in in Combat Control School. one additional thing I guess that I missed that I kind of had an issue with in training was land nav, because I didn't come from like, I've never I've never gone hunting before growing up. So, I spent some time out on you know, some friends’ farms or whatever else. lived in a city so I didn't have a farm. But in a neighborhood, I didn't ride a horse. Yes, I'm from Oklahoma. Don't ride horses. misconceptions. I should have been on the misconception’s episode, but so like I just didn't spend a lot of time doing like that type of outdoorsy type stuff. So, like my first time learning to read maps and learning MGRS and lat-long and all this stuff was that Combat Control School and then they don't be out in the woods for you know, a week or whatever, and you're out there with a map, no friends and just walking around. So yeah, I got I got lost. And then I just go back to I could run so that's why I pass because I could run in a lot of a lot of time running. So yeah, that was one of those things that I just wasn't prepared for. Didn't think about it. So, if you haven't already gone pick up a map somewhere, figure out how to read it figure out what those things in the legend are, you know, just all that stuff.
Brian 29:56
Because we get a lot of our I get a lot of questions, you know, dudes that are coming to the PJ pipeline. They're like, should I go to paramedic school first before coming to the pipeline like now just let the Air Force pay for your paramedic school. You can do like med terminology or someone that but at school, I'm sure there's lots of dudes that are thinking in their head right now like, should I start you know by via app and do that little like, you know, land the plains quicker thing or whatever. Like,
Renaldo 30:24
Or at least try to and it's weird I call it the JTAC walk features. You might call it something else. But when you got a guy in MQT in JTAC and like you're just standing out there talking to him before the airplane show up. And as soon as the first plane shows up, he turns around and walks away and starts walking and talking to JTAC walk. So, learn, learn how to talk and stand still. Like I don't know why that's hard for people to do.
Peaches 30:49
That is definitely a thing. Yeah, I swear that that's why when JTACs gets shot, that's why they get shot because they're just kind of in their own world and they think that everything else everything that's happening outside of the Peltors they're just walking around and then all sudden there's rounds flying in and the ODA or the SEALs are sitting there going like this is this dude doing yeah like why are you just standing up walking around. Yeah I can only I can only imagine the questions we're going to like it now in terms of ATC because we do get people that are concerned about the academic portion you know the guy physics the ATC the medical portion I don't know I mean everybody's got their own struggle bus that they yeah they hop on but I definitely wouldn't go try to be a qualified you know FAA certified ATC before coming in or being a full IDMT or paramedic before coming in. I wouldn't do any of that.
Renaldo 31:47
So, what I would add to it then is what I mean by that is just take it seriously when it comes up. Like don't just solely focus on you know, we have this PT session this smoke session or whatever like take the class time seriously, like sit there absorb that information because you're going to need it an asset that there's a part of, you know, our Combat Control mission set that I haven't done much. And like that that's even that speaks even more to the fact that I need to know this. And I need to know where to go back and look for that information and refresh myself before I step out the door, jump out of a plane, jump out of a car, or whatever to go do that. So yeah, like I say that to just say like, take the academic portion just as seriously as you do your push-ups, pull ups, sit ups and all that good stuff.
Brian 32:32
Yeah, I think a lot of dudes end up you know, getting through selection. They're like, I've made it Everyone says that I made it. And there's no way that they're going to kick me out. But yeah, just like he said, I tell do the same thing. Like, you go home every night and you study for three hours because this is your whole thing right now the Air Force is paying you to get through the school, and you have this whole, you know, however many resources around your instructors, your buddies like us that figure it out because this What you got to do in order to make it and that's all you got to do right now? Yeah. So, going back to the career field type stuff, what do you think there was the old bait and switch like you're talking about with the Marines? Like you're going to say something that wasn't or once you got into the actual career field, was it? You know what you thought it was going to be?
Renaldo 33:19
No, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. But I'd have to, like take some of that on myself. Because again, like I said, I didn't talk to anybody, intentionally, because I explained that already. I didn't really talk to anybody I relied on, you know, what recruiting type videos I could find on YouTube. And a lot of them were just old. There's the video that like I said, the guys cammied up, sneak into the woods and then they come across a, an airfield that's on Eglin range. I know it because I've seen it too many times. And then they control aircraft from the wood line and they leave I'm like, Alright, well, I want to do something like that. You know, I'm out there, dependent on myself, me and my small team. You know, we're supposed to be unseen, unheard do our mission and then leave. So that's what I thought I was getting into, and really was not aware that combat control was playing such a major role in the, in the SOF JTAC realm until I was in the pipeline and you start to meet instructors and they start to talk about what they're doing. So, throughout the pipeline I kind of picked up on, you know, what I would more than likely end up doing and that's exactly what I ended up doing. I got to my team at the 23rd STS and shortly after I was in JTAC training MQT to become a JTAC. And then very shortly after that, I was deployed as a JTAC. So literally, like, two weeks later, the Commander was like, hey, you're going on this rotation out a cycle. And then two weeks after that, I was on a train up and then I was gone. So, it went fast.
Trent 34:47
You came back with like your brand-new certificate and he was like, well bye. This is like, yeah, anyway. memorable moments, right? And we talked about in the pipeline and the career fields tend to have some of these, like, we talked about the suck fest that we end up looking back at as like some of the best times of our life or just super memorable things. Does anything stick out from like your pipeline or maybe deployment? That like, just fun stories are things that maybe people wouldn't see as a positive memory, but is to you? I'm not sure if you couldn't cut any of that. Did I freeze up?
Renaldo 35:47
Nope. I got you. Yeah, I caught all of it. Um, as far as the pipeline goes, man, they there's a million different times. And it depends on you know, we're sitting around team or wherever we're talking and we start to tell those stories. Like there's a million, you know, small funny moments like that pick anything out in the pipeline that I mean, it's gross, but we're like running at ATC and we're like in mile four of undetermined mileage on this run. And one guy just goes "Hoo-yah Sergeant, I have to use the bathroom." And the and the cadre just goes, "why are you telling me" keeps running? And so, we're like not even on the base and this guy's in the formation with us running we're jodi'ing and then he just starts to creep to the back and like he took it upon himself to just relieve himself information. So, he had to stay in the back. It was probably a good tactic because he never he never touched a rock again, because we couldn't let him get in front of us because it was disgusting. But uh, yeah, he ran the last few miles like that with extra weight in his rock. Yeah, like I said, it was gross, but I remember I'll never forget it. Same thing in a pool. I mean, you remember like dudes will get ready to pass out and lose control of their bodily functions. And let one go.
Brian 37:01
It did that dude make it?
Renaldo 37:03
He did. Yeah, he did. He made I mean at that point you have to make it he finished a run and ran immediately to the locker room and wouldn't clean himself up had to throw his shoes away. But yeah, he completed the entire pipeline. He's on team for a while. I mean, he had a string of bad luck he's one of the guys that the uh...nevermind, but anyway.
Peaches 37:30
Still trying to keep this anonymous for him, poor guy.
Renaldo 37:35
He's off doing something else now though. So that's good. But yeah, really, really good guy, good operator. But on teams, along the same lines and Trent like we spent, you know, some years at the two three together. And I'm pretty sure that that like even it, whether it's within a team room or out on the range somewhere. There's some funny things like on my personal deployments. Man like, no thousand Yard Stare anything but like I just kind of forget about some of that stuff to be honest. And that's probably for like a different topic. But compartmentalization. I'm not there anymore. So, I don't really think about it that much, to be honest, and it's not like I don't have that I know of any lasting like mental reservations about it, but I just don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about my deployments. Now that I'm now that I'm not deployed and I have this handy dandy notebook instead of a radio in a gun. What I do remember about, like being a younger operator, is the opportunity to work out is like where we were work right now there's not even windows. Like, how depressing is that. So, the opportunity to, you know, take some time to yourself throughout a regular day at work if you want to call it that. And just skip down to the gym, get a second, third workout, whatever it is, but being able to do that, or you know, grab a couple people and go out and do something competitive, something fun, some kind of bonding moment. Remember a lot of those in between, like smoking people for doing just ridiculous things that happen a lot at the 23rd as well. All across community. I'm not going to apologize. You That in my mind, I helped you become better at something, whether it's filling sandbags or operating.
OVERCOMING FEAR
Peaches 40:10
You kind of brought it up, you know we work together now in a windowless office. Yeah. Which is, which is always fun missing that vitamin D. But you said something a couple days ago actually that I wanted to bring up on here. And because as I enjoy jumping, I enjoy skydiving. I enjoy diving, nearly everything that we do, but you actually said the other day that you'd be okay. If you could, if you never jumped again because you don't enjoy it, you don't like it. You'd much rather be diving and stuff like that, which is interesting since you know you struggled in the water at the beginning of swimming, but that's cool that you're all into diving now. How like, what is it about jumping that you don't like? And how do you overcome that when you're sitting on a ramp? not sitting you're standing on a ramp. You got dudes behind you You're all you know equipment, everything and you're staring out into blackness because we're doing a night jump. How do you get over that?
Renaldo 41:13
Yeah, so yeah, I do remember that conversation um It's just that I don't enjoy jumping it's not like a fear of heights or anything. I actually do enjoy watching other people that are afraid of heights like I think we're probably all rope masters or repelled masters or whatever you would take a stick of dudes up on the repel tower and watch him just lips turn blue starts shaking and sweating. I don't know what it is about the tower it's a lot easier I have an aircraft but people get scared on tower like I enjoy watching people get a little nervous on the tower. But uh, it's not it's not a fear thing. I don't like military parachuting operations. That's what it is. We're probably all jump masters. So, the jump operation for the jumper starts that day, it starts with jump reef or whenever you decide to jump for a jumpmaster, it starts like three days before that, you don't aircrew coordination you're coordinating with the head should doing ORMs all that other stuff. And like I don't physically have to do all this you know; I can have an assistant jumpmaster do some of it. But, you know, the jump operation starts way before you actually get on the aircraft for the jumpmaster like, that's what I don't enjoy. Because everybody else is lollygag and hanging around or whatever, you know, we're doing calculations. I'm not ATAK expert. So yeah, I'm doing calculations on a piece of paper and doing all that that madness. That's what I don't enjoy and then you do all of that for multiple days. And then you go jump in a whole thing last like eight minutes. I mean, unless you count the flight in or whatever. So, I did all that. And we jump once that day, took eight minutes to shoot back and that's it. What I whenever we do work ups like what We're going to jump you know, like 30-40 times within a week. Absolutely love it, because it's dedicated to that the rhythm starts to flow, all those things that just kind of pop up on you because you know as a jumpmaster and as whatever, as a troop chief team Sergeant type, if you're doing a single one off jump at the Squadron, the rest of the stuff doesn't stop. So now I'm trying to plan this jump, and then I'm also attending the staff meeting. I'm also helping guys out with EPR is that time of the year, I'm also doing whatever else, whatever else normal daily Squadron operations are, and then I'm planning this jump that's what I don't like the actual jump. If I was just going to you know, go back in time and just be a nug jumper and just show up, throw my rig on and go jump, I'd have a good time. Or like I said, if we were dedicated to doing that, whenever we're dedicated to jumping, I enjoy it. But uh, right now I'm not going to do a workup because we work in a windowless office not doing operator type things, so it's not going to happen. So, but I do genuinely enjoy it. diving is fun to me, I've been in Florida most of my career intentionally as much as that as much as I could help it, but uh, like I just enjoy dive in and maybe it does spawn from, you know, the amount of effort I had to put into becoming qualified making it through. Through pre dive twice. I'm not ashamed to say that I had to go through there twice. Sorry, it just made me a little bit better. And in earning that dive bubble and maybe it comes from that, but I am a Fairweather diver. Like I'm not going to Iceland and dip my toes in the water. I like the Gulf waters like 75-80 degrees. But yeah, like it's this is relaxing. Like I like being here on the beach.
Brian 44:50
That's awesome that you're able to just like you said, turn one of your weaknesses and then now it's like your most comfortable zone that you're in just in the water is your happy place. Now, so that's awesome. Oh god. So, I guess kind of on that same vein, talking about setting goals and all that stuff, obviously, that was one of your goals that you had set out from the start is like, I want to be comfortable in the water, tired of this thing kicking my butt. I'm going to I'm going to just make it happen. So, what would you say to those guys that, you know, kind of have that same fear, whether it's they're scared of ATC now or they're scared of the water or they're whatever? They're trying to set their five-year type of goal. Would you say to those guys, what strategy did you use to make yourself overcome the fears and all that stuff?
Renaldo 45:35
Really, for me, it was a repetition. Just spending time at water, like I said, up to seven days a week in the water. And, you know, being there was success for me. So, I didn't measure it like, I didn't make that 50 meters underwater today. Like that didn't matter to me. Like that wasn't the expectation. My expectation was getting there and getting some quality, Safe Work out of it. I do want to emphasize though, on that, like I don't want people going out, tying themselves up. throwing themselves in a pool somewhere. So, stay safe if you're going to go out and do any type of aquatic training, but yeah, just the repetition, I can get myself more comfortable. And you know, maybe this week I made it 20 meters on an underwater like, that's, that's fine that that doesn't qualify me to do anything but I was okay with that. So, it wasn't at that point. And then maybe next week I touched a wall, and I make that full 25 and just incremental improvements. And even if, I mean expect a setback day, because maybe I ran six miles a day before. So, my lungs are a little fried. So, I'm just not going to make it as far today. Like that's fine. But just managing expectations. So, what it comes down to, and no one yourself nor your body. Like I said, I just completed like my first 500 meter before I took the PAST test, but I knew that Alright, I met that mark, not going to go out and do it again. And I could do it again. And each time I'm going to do it, I'm going to get better at it.
Brian 46:54
Yeah, I think that's huge. Like don't expect a 20% increase in your time or decrease in your time for Running or whatever, the next day or the next week, it's that 1% that you do better every single day and you figure out whether, you know, changing your shoes out is going to help you out or just doing it and, you know, stretching a little bit more the night before the day after you're feeling like you're just not doing so well. But just that 1% better every single day, and slow increments and what happens whenever you fall down and you suck at something, you get back up. And that's what's really going to make the biggest difference mentally because you're building that callus mentally and trying to go on so what about, you know, cross training, just kind of going back to some of the because now we're going to get some questions. We always have a lot of guys that are trying to cross train. Did you have any advice for those guys that are trying to go in because I know you know, now we have to go through a phase two enlisted phase two and then when you get on teams, you know, in selection, you're going to be expected to somewhat lead and be a person that all the other Airmen that just came in are kind of looking up to so you have any For those guys.
CROSSTRAINEES
Renaldo 48:01
Yeah. So, I guess the pipeline is slightly different. Now, just the way you face through the pipeline as you as you begin it. But so, I was across training, I think there were five or six other cross trainees, like on my selection team, and then throughout the majority of the pipeline, but yeah, like expect to be a leader, but just understand that you're a student also. And like, there's a, there's a balance there. Find those things or, you know, talk to the cadre, like, ask for expectations. It's just like now and whatever your job is, if you're going to cross train, you sit down and you get feedback from your supervisor, you get expectations, it expectations from your, from the instructor from the cadre, like, what do you expect me to lead in, and then also, just like Now, if you're a supervisor now, talk to the guys that you're working with, about those expectations, like the things that you're responsible for, so that they can help you be successful because these are The rest of the guy is going to be aramid coming from basic training. They understand the military. But they're also some of them are like brand new first time outside of, you know, their house or their hometown. And there, there's some free time there, you are starting to build up a lot of confidence going through the pipeline. And so managing attitudes, expectations, and really just bringing that team together, because I think Peaches, I think you, you mentioned it earlier, that the amount of stuff that you go through in the pipeline, like all those guys that made it through the pipeline with me, like I don't necessarily talk to him every day or whatever, but when we see each other, like, it's always a smile and a hug, like a strong bro hug, because we went through that together. And the same thing with guys that have deployed with it or in other services. If I run into them, man, like we're running out to each other, we're giving each other hug we're asking about each other's family. So, in a way, you know, the way you lead will help submit that as well. That that bond that you're going to build. Because again, like you're leading, but you're also following it same time.
Peaches 50:03
Yep, absolutely right. Twice. So, I said it because I feel that same way whenever I haven't seen some of the dudes, you know, whether it's Brandon or Nate or somebody like that it could be and I know I'm saying their names and nobody knows what I'm talking about except for you guys. But, you know, it's just I could not talk to them or not see them for five years or more. And then we start back right where we left off. Yes, amazing bond and I mean, I'll it'll be that way for life.
Renaldo 50:37
Absolutely. And like I said, it's not, it's not services specific. There are seals that I've deployed with that I run into every once in a while. And same thing, there's plenty of Green Berets that are deployed with the same thing. So, it's not service or ST community specific. Like it's just people that you go through those types of trials and tribulations together with you. You form that bond.
Trent 51:15
So, kind of in the in the same vein that the customer last question, we have a bunch of listeners out there grinding every day trying to get into the pipeline, you know, and then we asked everybody because, you know, everybody's advice is a little bit different. And in everybody's viewpoint is a little bit different. So hopefully, you know, we can get everybody that the advice that works for them, but you know, what's overall, you know, big Sarge wisdom, those people out there grinding trying to get in, what would you say to them?
ADVICE
Renaldo 51:45
So, like, I just want to offer a different perspective that I don't hear people talk about much and I've already mentioned it. So just knowing yourself because again, like the training programs, they're good, they were Really are good. They do help people kind of reach a level of comfort. What worked for me was just knowing myself knowing myself mentally and physically. And just understanding what willpower is and how much you have. Around that same time, I had also just randomly decided I'm not going to drink alcohol, just see if I could, I went five years without drinking alcohol. Just for, you know, to test my will power. I had my first drink at the end of that five years at Combat Control School graduation. So, I went all the way through the pipeline up to that point without drinking alcohol. And literally just because internally, I'd said, I just want to see if I can do this. And it's almost the same thing when I decided that I wanted to cross train, decided I want to, and then I decided that I was going to make it. So, for me, I go back to excuse me, I go back to how I just, I chose not to seek advice from anybody else. And again, like, I'm not telling everyone not to. I'm just saying that This is what worked for me, because I had a very high belief in myself. And what was going to be difficult for me was just going to be difficult for me. Nothing anyone said to me was going to change that. And what was difficult for somebody else didn't necessarily mean that it was going to be difficult for me. And so, I didn't even need to know what, you know what Trent had a problem with going through the pipeline. But what he just didn't like about his instructors, like I just didn't need to know. So that was kind of my take on, you know, how I how I chose to attack the pipeline. And then lastly, was an understanding that the, the pipeline and maybe I just had this perspective, because I was already in the military. The pipeline was just a piece of it. Like I, I don't, I don't tell pipeline stories now. Because like it was, it's such a small piece of like what I've done over the last decade, plus 14 years or whatever it is, like it's such a small piece of that like it was, there was the doorway, like I just walked through that doorway and I've been in massive building of opportunities and meeting new people and doing new things ever since then. So that yeah, that the pipeline was just a doorway. Kick it in, and then keep moving.
Peaches 54:12
That's it. Awesome, man. Well, unless you got any last little nuggets of information, I'll wrap us out.
Renaldo 54:20
No, I don't think so. Because I don't really think I'm that smart. So, I didn't I didn't think of anything prolific to say or anything like that. But again, I want to thank you guys for having me on and give me the opportunity to ramble for a little bit.
Peaches 54:41
Awesome, man. Well, we won't keep you. So, thanks for joining us today. We really appreciate it. You know, it's pretty awesome here and you share your experiences and your insight into the pipeline and then also operationally, I mean, because these things are critical in to building a picture. Good picture or painting or whatever you want to allude to, but of what the pipeline is going to be like, what the careerfield is going to be like, what you know, when do they do four years, six years or 20 or so on for some of us, and then say I can I knew I could fit in one more old guy joke. I haven't gotten a short joke yet, but maybe I'll stick out a little bit of time and they don't do that.
Renaldo 55:25
Actually, I have one more thing. Like if any of your viewers out there, if you see me somewhere, like come talk to me, like I'll walk around base anyways, talking to people. If you appear to be a highly motivated person or whatever, like, I'll probably stop and talk to you, no matter what your job is. If you're motivated doing that, I'll probably stop and talk to you and see if you're interested in. Not even in Combat Control. PJs out there sees me and protect me like I would just talk to you about different opportunities, like we're standing at a desk or whatever. Okay, have you ever thought of becoming a pilot, whatever? I enjoy being able to open up people's minds and just allowed them to think about options. And then one last plug just because this is something that's going on across the United States, we'll call it that or maybe even across the world. But I do think that our ranks need to be more diverse. No. And I know that might be a controversial answer. Do I think they need to know? Do I think they could? Yeah. Because like I said, I didn't grow up hunting, and grow up with some of the typical backgrounds that you might think of someone that goes into SOF, I got, we didn't own any guns. I own a bunch of them now. You know, my parents, like we just didn't grow up in that kind of background, but something about my military service kind of led me to where I am now. And like, that just speaks to me about you know, just opening up opportunities and like having kind of that open mindedness to try something different. So, no type of force diversity, nothing like that. But could our ranks be more diverse? Sure. Because, I mean, you guys have been around long enough, I'm one of whatever, you could throw out a random number that fits on both of your hands. And that's probably it. And but like I'm okay with that, because like, I just stumbled upon this opportunity, like I explained earlier. And so like, I'll walk around and talk to all airman everyone, about, you know, different opportunities. So, I do want to throw that out there. Anybody who wants to come and talk to me, if you see me around, whatever, come holla at your boy.
Peaches 57:28
Awesome. That's what it's about is being approachable. And you're definitely approachable after meeting you. And when I've known you since the beginning of March now, you know, you're definitely an approachable dude. So, we appreciate that. You went from a high school athlete to, you know, a non-swimmer jumping in the pool. self-taught didn't want any advice from anybody. Which could be good. Could be bad. Yeah, I'll just leave it at Either way, you didn't seek out any kind of information or anything like that. I think you brought up a good point of paying attention to academics like, is it what gets most people? No, it's not. But it's still hard enough or difficult enough that you need to not scoff it off and you need to pay attention to it. You need to study in the evenings. You know, whenever you're not rucking more, you wished you had rucked more. I am also in that same boat. So, and then I'd like to cover that we think false motivation is better Nova innovation, which is definitely a saying and it's something that we used when I was at in dock when it was in dock. So, again, thanks for joining us, and for the audience. Thanks for tuning in and listening. Subscribe, leave us review, whether it's good or bad, whatever, we'll take it. I've got thick skin and then make sure you visit all of our sponsors that we've got Alpha Brew Eberlestock, Strike Force Energy, Hoist and Out of Regs Pomade and promo code ONESREADY and you guys will get a discount. Thanks for joining us and go out there and train hard and learn each breath.
TLDR: LIFE IN THE SOF COMMUNITY IS GREAT. PREPARATION, PROBLEM SOLVING, AND GOOD LEADERSHIP/FOLLOWERSHIP ARE THE KEYS TO THE CASTLE. FINALLY WE AREN’T WORTHY HAVING TREY ON!
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