Green Light with Chris Long - Green Light Exclusive with Jason Van Camp

Episode Date: November 14, 2019

Green Light Podcast Exclusive with Jason Van Camp. Welcome to our weekly Green Light exclusive. In honor of this past Veterans Day, Chris Long and decorated Green Beret, Jason Van Camp, sat down via Skype to talk about Jason’s book, “Deliberate Discomfort”, his time in the military, his Army Football career and work with veterans. Pre-order and buy “Deliberate Discomfort”: https://www.amazon.com/Deliberate-Discomfort-Operations-Comfortable-Uncomfortable/dp/1733428011 Watch the full Tuesday Green Light Podcast: NFL Football & Sports Talk. Green Light Podcast with Chris Long | Chalk Media| Chalk Media https://youtu.be/jJxJZ80gTMY About Chalk Media: Following the unfiltered voice and vision of Chris Long, Chalk Media is the interactive online community for you, the intelligent and humorous sports fan. Driven by access, Chalk delivers a unique perspective that cuts through the canned talking points and provides a variety of content from your favorite sports and entertainment celebrities. Here at Chalk, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are rooted in challenging the perception of professional athletes. We embrace the “real” with a unique combination of humor and intelligence. Chalk is a community with a voice beyond 240 characters that brings a perspective and vibe to a traditionally brash and boastful sports media space. Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more. Nothing is off limits at Chalk - hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. 🌍🏀🏈SUBSCRIBE NOW ⚾🏒⛰️ http://bit.ly/chalknetwork Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Greenlight. Somebody I'm really excited to have. Yesterday is, of course, Veterans Day. We don't tape on Mondays. So I hit my boy up. Jason Van Camp, decorated Green Beret. Now an author. A bit of a Renaissance, man.

But he's got a book coming out, deliberate discomfort, which is going to be dropping on Amazon. Black Friday, November 29th, and also in print, February 18th. Lessons from 12 military heroes. Jason, how are we doing, man? Chris, I'm doing great, man.

I'm doing great. Having a great time. You know, I've got two young kids, and we just kind of talked about it. One of them is five months old, doesn't sleep super well. So I've been up since 1.30 rocking the kids, man. Other than that, I'm good. So you're up reading your own book for these lessons, these wonderful lessons, because you are deliberately discomfort.

You have a lot of deliberate discomfort right now in your life as a dad of young kids. I know. And you, I mean, fatherhood, what's harder, fatherhood or service? Oh, gosh, man. It's a different type of heart, you know. It's absolutely deliberate discomfort. I chose to do this. And it's fantastic.

I'm growing. I'm learning. You know, it's my friends in the military told me having kids is a lot like going to rain. It's going to rain where you don't have a lot of sleep and you get blown out of your G-base from time to time and you've got to put out fires. And that's, it's very similar to that. So the military guys understand what I'm talking about.

Absolutely. And in your book, you had a lot of military figures speaking on some lessons. they learned in service and in life. What was one that kind of stood out? And can you give us a little background on what that book is about? Yeah, it's a great question, brother. It's about getting comfortable, being uncomfortable. Essentially, the book is about me.

It's about my journey after earning my green beret and reporting to my company for the first time. And my company commander, my boss, who's a legend, you know, he tells me before he's able to give me command, that he wants me to understand. what it means to be a commander and a leader in his company. He wants to understand how his company operates and the culture that he established there. So in order for me to do that, he tasked me to speak to officers and NCOs in his company, ask them questions, get a feel about who they are, and how they make decisions. And after I meet with those people, he wants me to come back to him and report back and say,

this is what I've learned. So the book has 12 chapters, and each chapter is a different experience with one of these special operations forces guys, Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Rangers, Marines, unbelievable heroes, metal of honor recipients, and that's what the book is all about. What do Rangers, Green Berets, you know, Navy SEALs,

you know, who get a lot of pop culture credit, what are these guys all have in common? And, you know, what's a common thread? I know that each branch is different, each job is different, each classification is different, but there has to be a common thread, right? Yeah, I would say this. This is what I talk about in Chapter 1 a little bit. When I went through the qualification course to earn my green beret,

the first phase you go through is a selection phase, so it's very physically demanding, you know, and very, very hard. And one of the things you do in every branch almost, is log PT. And so there's a big log, man. Huge log. You hold it over your head and you're with a team and you move it to your right shoulder to your left shoulder.

You do physical training for hours with this log. How much is the log way? Oh, gosh, man. Hundreds of pounds, some of them. You know, but you've got a group of guys, sometimes 20, 30 guys on a log. Sometimes it's a shorter log for six guys, you know? Yeah. And you know it's coming, but it sucks regardless.

You know, it's miserable. And you're there for like hours, you know, with this log over your head. And pretty soon into it, you know, maybe 15, 20 minutes into it, you know, all the guys that are cheering and saying, we can do this and all the people that don't really want to be there and they're told to be there for whatever reason they are, everybody kind of has their head down and feeling sorry for themselves, you know. And they're just like it sucks. I was one of those guys, just like everybody.

And instinctively, I don't know why. Instead of spending energy, focusing on myself and getting through this, I decided to spend energy looking up and looking out at the guys around me, see what they were doing. And I noticed that they were sucking just as bad, if not worse than I was, you know? And pretty soon I started seeing other guys lifting their heads up as well and looking at me. And a lot of them were my friends and one of the guys there was Pat, a good friend of mine. He just looked at me and he's like, let's go, Jay, let's do this. And it kind of gave me some inspiration and some energy, you know, and I decided to do the same thing.

So I started looking at the guys that were looking up and I started saying the same thing to them. Like, come on, Mike, come on, Jay, come on, you know, Fred, let's do this. You know, we got this. And it became infectious. And all of a sudden, instead of focusing on myself, I started focusing on others, you know? And I realized that that's the key, man. What you're asking me is like, what is the common thread here?

It's guys that understand what service really means, and guys that focus on their teammates other than selfishly on themselves. And I noticed it was crazy at the end of our course after phase six, after two years of being in Green Beret training. The guys that all earned their Green Berets that graduated, were all the guys that looked up. And so if you're looking for the secret, man, the secret to success is, to me, it's look up, man.

Look at the guys around you. You know, when we work with NFL teams, a lot of these guys, they say, how is this making me a better player? And we tell them, hey, this training isn't making you a better player, it's making the guy to your left and your right a better player. That's the mentality that you need to have. And that's what we had in the Special Forces.

Absolutely. I mean, there's a lot to take from that. I mean, just from people looking up and stopping and small in the road, roses in life to giving that infectious energy and any combined effort that you're engaged in. I think that's a beautiful message. And what's what's the hardest thing about being an author? Because, you know, I know you as a Renaissance man, an intellectual, but somebody walking by you on the street might be like, who's this diesel veteran looking guy? The last thing they might think is that you are somebody who could write a very heavy book. How did that go? And what were the challenges. I appreciate that. I love that you call me a Renaissance man and intellectual. I love that.

Thank you. Yeah, man, it was a challenge, but I'll tell you what, I loved waking up every single day and tackling this challenge and writing this book. I would at night, you know, ideas, inspiration would come to me and I just write down on my phone like things that I wanted to say and I would get really fired up about it. I would get excited about it. It took me about a year to write the book. I wanted to do it the right way. You know, I didn't want to rush to failure.

I wrote initially 800 pages or so, you know, just shocked and plastered everything I thought on my ideas, and I sent it to a publisher, and he was like, listen, man, we've got to cut this down to like 250 pages. And so a lot of what I had to do with the book was really kind of refined. what my message is, how to say it in a succinct, effective way that adds value to people, you know, and cutting out a lot of stuff that I thought was good material. That's a great.

That's so true because as I'm doing what I'm doing or if I have to do written work and I've had to write a little bit, nothing like on your scale, I think you're trained to be a perfectionist and you're trained to be exhaustive in the way you tackle problems and every point matters, everything matters. But like, I bet it was tough to have to trim some of the things that people perceive as fat. And you're like, no, that's important. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

It was really tough for me, you know, the way that I was trained, the way that I learned how to be a leader was say, every detail matters, you know. And people are going to ask you questions about, well, why didn't you say it? Why didn't you say that or why did you say it this way? You know, but the author or the publisher, he's like, listen, in order to be an author, brother, you got to be shorter, man. You got to say it shorter and more powerful. And I had to learn how to do that. And it was tough.

It was tough. It was hard pill to swallow. But hell, man, it's about getting comfortable, being uncomfortable. I'd take my own medicine, right? Dang, exactly. And very fitting that the book is titled as it is and the entire exercise for anybody writing a book, let alone somebody with no background and being, you know,

somebody who produces literature that had to be uncomfortable. And another thing that you've done and you do so many things to push yourself past your limits, one thing we bonded over, actually, when we met on Killy, was doing things intentionally that make you uncomfortable and Killy was one. Can you talk a little bit about what was so uncomfortable about Killy? Kiley was awesome, man.

That was so much fun. Hanging out with you and the guys. That was unbelievable. You know, it got super hard that last day it climbed it up to 19,0381 is that is that the

summit? 19,341 I only know because I've done it a few times that it's 90 times 9,341 so you know the last day

you know climbing my my tentmate Nick he got sick and I was trying to push him a little bit and he couldn't make it. He was the only one of us that wasn't able to make it up. That was discouraged. That was hard, man.

And then we had Q, who was a wounded veteran, trying to summit with one leg. You know, that was inspirational. I was trying to help him as well. And right before we got to the Fall Summit, about halfway down the mountain on that climb right there, that's when I started feeling it, man.

I was like, oh, man. Like I'm starting to get a little, little dizzy, I'm starting to get a little sick. You know, I just got to push myself, you know, I just got to keep going one step in front of the other. And, uh, and that was hard, man, you know, when we got to the top, it was, it was unbelievable. You and, you and James hung out and waited for me, didn't you? Was that, yeah, it's a little blurry because when you're on the top, you're kind of altitude drunk, but I had to push halloady knot up the hill, which is not a fun thing to do.

And you and James King, who is a Marine and I went to high school with a longtime buddy for those listening, had summoned it together. And they were kind enough to walk back down the hill 200 yards, which feels like a mile when you're on top of a mountain. And when

me and Helodi got there, y'all turned around and said, we'll do it again. We're with you. We did. James is a stud, man. What a great guy. one of the best guys I ever met in my life, I think, just an unbelievable guy. And I'm happy that you introduced me to him

during the Kiley trip. But we were up there together, and we made a pact, so to speak, we were like, let's wait for Chris and hello to get up here. And it was tough, man. Everything was like black and white. Everything's kind of blurry. You know, you're not feeling super great.

Your stomach is sick. And we saw you guys come and, you know, and we went down to offer some support. You know, obviously we didn't care anything. that you guys were caring your stuff or anything, but we were just there to support morally, really.

And it was fun. It was me, you, James, and Helodi up at the end. And that was a cool experience, man. Helodi retired with the flag up there. That was really special,

really fun. It was one of my favorite moments in our Conquering Killie deal for Waterboys. There's been going on a few years. And I always say, you know, as an aside,

the reason we got bets involved you know, a lot of people do veteran charity work. We don't do veteran charity work. We do veteran empowerment and veteran, like, hey, come get involved because you guys can take us to the next level. You're leading us up this mountain. Like, this isn't about, like, taking pictures with veterans or checking a box. Like, you guys have transformed what we do.

How can veterans in the workforce and in service beyond wearing the uniform continue to serve and make society better because I think a veterans is a tool to make our country better long after they get out of uniform. Oh, man, perfectly said. I appreciate you saying that as well, man. There's so many charities out there

they're trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately, a lot of them are just empowering veterans to, like, continue that downward spiral. You know, giving them free things and expecting things to change. It's like, no, man, you got to give veterans a purpose and a community again. And then hold them accountable.

for doing something with that. You know, I've got a nonprofit Warriorizing, help veterans start their own businesses. You know, and I'm tough with those guys. You know, I'm like, hey, guys,

like, I'm not going to start your business for you. I'm not going to give you free money. I'm not going to do any of that stuff. Whatever you get, you're going to earn it yourself. And consider my nonprofit is a tool that you can use

in order to help you succeed in life. Because you have all the determination, resourcefulness, the background that you need in order to succeed. now you just have to do it. And if you're feeling sorry for yourself, stop. You know, if you're expecting a handout

or expecting something because you feel entitled, stop. You know, just look up and look around you, just like I said earlier, because guys are here to help you, but they want to help you help yourself. And we as civilians and people who have no idea what it's like to, A, you know, go through what y'all went through and then two to come home and face that loss of purpose. you know, face that loss of community that you talked about.

I think we can all do a much better job on the lens with which we view how to interact and interface with our vets and make our country a better place with their involvement, like we said, long after they serve. You know, that's my favorite thing. My favorite vets I've met with Conquer and Killy are guys and girls who have continued to serve in a hundred ways after their service is through. and I love that. I gave a little background before you came on. You are not just an author, a Renaissance man, a decorated green beret. You are an athlete,

and you were a hell of a football player, an army, and you know, you went through all the rigors of prepping for service, but also training camps and practices. How do you manage your time, and what's the biggest challenge of being a football player and somebody who's getting ready to go do the crazy shit that you did for much of your life? Yeah, I appreciate that.

So yeah, I played Army football. We went two and two against Navy during my career. It's debatable whether or not I was a hell of a football player, I think. Well, you played at Army, man. That was quite an experience. I'll tell you, man. We had some tough seasons. We were one in ten.

You know, my senior season, we had a brand new coach. It was tough. And then my sophomore year, we were 10 and two. We went to a bowl game and played Auburn and won the commanders in chief's trophy, which means that we beat Navy and Air Force and got an invitation to the White House. So, you know, the recruiters, you know, they recruited me out of high school. They basically lied to me, man. They're just like, you know, you don't have to worry about this Army stuff.

Don't worry about that. We're going to be up at the stadium lifting weights. Seaball get ball. It's just see ball get ball. It's that simple. You know, this dumb 18-year-old kid. I was like, oh, okay. all right, you know, worry about that army stuff

when you graduate, that, that, you know, but hell no, that's not what it was like, man. Day one, you're learning how to march, learning how to fire weapons, you know, out in the woods with face paint on, like sleeping in the woods. And so it was a wake-up call for a lot of guys on the football team, especially me.

You're just kind of, what the hell did I get myself into? You know, like I didn't sign up for this, man. I wanted to play football on Saturdays and everything. And you quickly learn that you're not at West point just to play football. Like you're not going to survive if that's your mindset. And so you just have to embrace the suck. You know, you have to get comfortable, being uncomfortable and say, you know what, I can quit and go home and try to, you know, walk on another program next year or I can stick this out. Do you sleep? What's that? Do you sleep when you're an Army football player? Like,

where do you find time to sleep? How much literal time to stare at a computer or a TV or stare at a wall do you have in a day as an Army football player? Okay, so when you're a freshman, you wake up at about 5 a.m. And you have to go do duties, you know, as a freshman, like different things you have to do. One of them is shine your shoes, get your bed in order, clean up your room, spit shine, you know, your boots, your shoes, go out to the hallway and you have leadership. kind of training with a sophomore. And he asked you questions about the newspaper, what did you read, what's going on in the world.

And then you have to call minutes. You have to tell everybody else in your company when formation is and what we're eating for breakfast and lunch and dinner and so forth. And then you go to breakfast, and right after breakfast, you go immediately to your classes. We go to our classes until lunchtime and Army football players have 15 minutes

before everybody else shows up for lunch where we have core squad tables where they're supposed to give you like really good food but it's just more more portion more calories you're gonna need out you shit that everybody else is eating you know yeah and you scramm you you run down there you you ram as much food as you can in your mouth and then you got to run six flights of stairs can't use the elevator to your position meetings you know I was linebackers we had linebacker meetings, you know. And then after that, you run back down to class, and then you have class up until around four, and then you get on a bus, you immediately go to the stadium,

you get off, you immediately get in locker and get your stuff on. You're out on the field at like 430, 430 to 630 practice. You get changed, cleaned up, 7 o'clock dinner, 7.30, you're back down to the barracks at West Point. You have to do more duties and then you have homework and lights out at 11 o'clock. And most people stay up past 11 o'clock just getting their homework done with the lights off. And then you start all over again at 5 a.m. the next day, man.

With a flashlight. You're up, you're up with like a mini flashlight trying to study. I don't even know what you would say. Biology or do you take any anything like that? At Army, how does a course load? work. Oh God, man, the worst. I remember walking into my first class was called discrete dynamical systems. And I had no idea what was going on. They had me this calculator, like one those new HP calculators. I didn't even know how to work the calculator. Right, right. I was like,

this is going to be a long four years. Come on, man. It's a Ti-83. I mean, that was the staple, man. Back, I don't know. So you got the, you got the Army Navy game coming up in a month. You mentioned you split that two and two. Yeah. I wonder if you have a lean, a month out, and how it's going to go. And what's that game about? Like, what's that like? It's a special, sacred game.

I would even call it spiritual. It's special, man. If you've never been to it, I encourage you to go. I've got a few tickets this year. We've got some sweets at the game for Warrior Rising. If you want a ticket, come out. Yeah, I mean, shoot, it's in one of my favorite places in the country. Oh, dude, Philly, December.

14. It's always a good game. It's always, I would say, 95% of time, it's always close, good game. We're dealing, Army, we're dealing with some injuries this year, which kind of sucks, you know. We're four and six. We've had some tough losses. Navy's ranked, man. They're seven and one. However, we beat Navy three years in a row. And I don't see that change in this year, man. I like it. One, 20, Army, last second touchdown. We take it. We've got a minute, 30 seconds left.

We get into the wishbone formation. We don't throw a pass. We head it off to the fullback until we get to the one yard line. And with no seconds left, we're running in there for a touchdown and win the game. That's my prediction. That's a beautiful and very specific prediction. You are kind of, you're like the military Miss Cleo with the prediction. I mean, you are right on.

If you do, you need to go to Vegas with that. But before I let you go, what do you have left that you want to check off your bucket list? I'm sure it's very long. And how are you continuing to make yourself uncomfortable? Oh, man, great, great question. So bucket list stuff just personally, you know, I would love for deliberate discomfort to be a New York Times best seller. That's a bucket list thing. I'm doing everything I can to make that happen.

I would love to run an Iron Man race at some point in my life. I did a half Iron Man a few years ago. It was very difficult. I've had friends that have done Iron Man races before. As a matter of fact, one of my good friends is James Lawrence, the Iron Cowboy. He ran 50 Iron Man races in 50 consecutive days in all 50 states. What's wrong with that guy? You want to talk about deliberate discomfort.

That dude is all about that, man. That can't love discomfort. Shoot, man. And, you know, traveling-wise, I've traveled quite a bit in the military and, you know, personally, I think I'd love to go to Israel. I'd love to go walking to Holy Land. I see what that's like. It didn't be really special. And then, you know, I'd love to continue supporting, you know, water boys and doing more killer trips. If you need me, man, I love to do that. I love it, bro. I love it. I'm all in, man. I'm just here to serve it to help. Well, you do that well, man. You know, happy belated Veterans Day. And thank you for all. all you've done, not only for the country, but for our organization, and thanks for being a good friend and example. I really enjoy climbing with you. Check out deliberate discomfort. Everybody

who's listening, again, Black Friday, November 29th. Don't spend all day in a Best Buy parking lot. Get on Amazon and check out this great book that Jason Van Camp has come in. Thanks for joining us, Jace. Chris, thank you. My pleasure. Okay, bro. Talk to you.