Imma do a little story time with your boy Rusty.
I saw a video from @AngryCops a few days back. If you haven’t watched it, you should. AC is.. well.. a cop.. as well as a current or recently former US Army drill sergeant and engineer.

Many of his YT videos involve the military.. some hilariously funny, some get after serious topics. Anyway, the one I’m speaking of addresses hizhonor, the rodent killing socialist asshat that is Bill de Blasio, and his completely idiotic statement..

.. that the National Guard isn’t “the military.” I’m not going to repeat Angry Cops point for point.. but suffice it to say, I agree with him 100% on both content, and the raw unchecked emotion with which it’s delivered.

Here’s the video in all it’s rated R language.. go ahead and watch, I’ll be here when you get back..



See what I mean? My man was mad.

Yeah.. you go ahead and tell @TimKennedyMMA and @terryschappert that “they weren’t in the military” while serving in the National Guard..
Anyway, that video got me thinking about completely less famous but related run in I and a couple buddies had once..

So.. I’m former Army (pre 9-11, didn’t do shit compared to the folks serving for the last 20 years). Before I fled CA for freer pastures, I had a group of hunting buddies. We were all search and rescue volunteers and pre 9-11 veterans plus a few active cops we worked with.

Worked out that we had one each, me from the Army, a Sailor, an Airman, and our guy who was the hookup to the ranch landowner, the Marine. Just so happens that none of the cops who went with us were vets, so it was just us four.. we jokingly called ourselves the “Joint Chiefs”.

We usually went hunting for a week to 10 days, and might retire to a local watering hole every now and again. Myself, one of the cops and the sailor found ourselves at an historic bar in Nevada City CA one evening.. and along with normal conversation..

.. sailor and I were trading barbs about our branches as well as poking fun at the two who weren’t there, as I’m sure they were doing about us back at deer camp.
We had our fair share of adult beverages and were feeling pretty good.. when the sailor drops an old faithful joke..

..about the Navy bringing Marines on ship because sheep would be too obvious. We were laughing and having a great time.. when he poked his nose in. Let me describe him: white guy, 22 or 23, 6 foot, roughly 7 pounds.. basically a 1 Iron with dreads, a knit cap, and a pube beard.

Black jeans, some ironic tshirt.. and he decides that this would be a super time and place to tell us at length how dumb he thinks Marines are.. I’ll be honest, I don’t recall exactly what he said as this was well over a decade ago.. what I do remember is watching the sailor’s..

..glass sail past mine and the cop’s head at approximately Mach 1.5 missing pube beard by four inches or so, followed by me getting tackled by my cop buddy as I attempted to go through him to relieve pube beard of his soul.
I haven’t seen rage red like that very often..

..maybe one or two other times.. but I am certain that had my (sober driver) cop buddy not been there and reacted like he did, there’s no way I’d be a reserve cop now. Apparently some other friendly got ahold of the sailor, and we all left out the front door..

..while pubes beat a hasty retreat out the back. I don’t tell this story because I’m proud of it.. on the contrary it’s a close call that could have had a real affect on my life.. I tell it to illustrate a point. You see, the former Marine that organizes the trip has a son.

The son was -unsurprisingly- also a Marine.. at that moment active in Iraq. At the time of our trip his unit was about a month past having received heavy casualties. His son was alright physically, but had taken a mental beating. We’d spent most of the trip talking about..

..him and his boys, and praying in our own silent ways.. looking forward to when he’d return and join us has-beens at camp.
Point is, military members, from Special Forces badasses to cooks, from active to reserves and guard.. are family. Dysfunctional, organized, weird, loud..

..quiet, vulgar, proud, refined, raw.. but family. I am allowed to pick on my brother and sister.. and they are allowed to do the same to me. But if someone from outside the family picks a fight with my brothers and sisters, your head will spin from the speed with which..

..the ranks close, and as soon as we’re done closing ranks we begin closing on the target.
Went longer than expected. If you’re still here I both apologize & appreciate it.
This story is why I understand the unchecked emotion shown in AC’s eyes as he’s addressing Mayor Dumbass.