Locked In with Ian Bick - Military Police Officer On Arresting Soldiers & War Stories In Iraq | Ricardo Aviles-Aviles

Episode Date: February 4, 2024

In today's episode, we are honored to have Ricardo Aviles join us as he shares his experiences as a military police officer. He provides a candid look into what it was truly like to arrest fellow soldiers and navigates us through the intricate world of the military legal process. Ricardo also reveals the fascinating journey that led him to establish an interpreting business that collaborates closely with law enforcement agencies, highlighting his unique career path and devastating cases that come with it. Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Connect with Ricardo Aviles-Aviles: Human Trafficking Class https://www.transinterpreting.com/human-trafficking-self-paced-language-neutral Course Catalog https://www.transinterpreting.com/store Domestic Violence Course https://www.transinterpreting.com/domestic-violence-live-webinar-neutral Puerto Rico Slang https://www.transinterpreting.com/jerga-americas-puerto-rico-live-webinar-spanish CPS Case Work Class https://www.transinterpreting.com/child-protective-services-live-webinar-neutral Rico Podcast https://youtube.com/@ricopodcast?si=4Lcc0koKOo-rmfDJ Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/language_ninja?igsh=Nm9mandyZXV1MTl1&utm_source=qr Tik tok https://www.tiktok.com/@languageninja?_t=8jPuDnYJDx4&_r=1 https://www.tiktok.com/@richardaviles51?_t=8jPuGvUOoIA&_r=1 Buy Merch: https://lockedinbrand.com Use code lockedin at checkout to get 20% off your order Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:05:31 - The RICO Podcast and Learning from Life Stories 00:10:54 - Growing up in Puerto Rico 00:16:32 - Choosing to be a Cop 00:21:49 - Cultural Shock and Language Barrier 00:27:07 - Cultural Differences and Respect 00:32:37 - Prison and the Military 00:38:05 - The Ugliness and Realities of War 00:43:34 - Attacked while on duty 00:48:38 - Marine Corps and Military Investigations 00:54:03 - The Importance of Remaining Silent 00:59:25 - Conducting Search and Seizure Operations 01:04:48 - Frustration with Communication 01:10:31 - Jiu-Jitsu Stories 01:16:17 - Raising a Stand 01:27:20 - Encountering a Child Soldier 01:32:45 - A Compromised Interpreter 01:38:25 - The Reality of DV and Language Services 01:43:57 - Interpreting and the Importance of Awareness 01:49:30 - Learning Slang and Talking to Senoritas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We were going through a bridge, and I'm in the lead vehicle, and I'm like, you know, it's like my fifth, my third or fifth mission. And I'm like, this is exciting. Like, this is wild, you know? And like, I've never driven anywhere outside of Puerto Rico. So, like, my experience is driving was Puerto Rico, basic training, and then Iraq. We get to this underhead of the bridge, and the gunner calls for a halt. So we, like, look around, and the gunner, you have.

like these cameras and stuff with you and he takes a picture and all you see is like this the tip of something with wire sticking out we called the o d and eOD comes out like a couple hours later so we're sitting there as targets basically waiting and when they come out they pull it mortar that was attached to a cell phone that had uh some explosive shit that i can't even explain to you because i'm not an explosive guy but it was an iED in today's episode we are honored to have Ricardo Avilles join us as he shares his experience as a military police officer. He provides a candid look into what it truly is like to arrest fellow soldiers and navigate us through the intricate world of military legal process. Ricardo also reveals a fascinating

journey that led him to establish an interpreting business that collaborates closely with law enforcement agencies, highlighting his unique career path and devastating cases that come with it. If you enjoy The Locked In with Ian Bick podcast, remember to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify and subscribe to the Ian Bick YouTube channel. Now sit back, relax, and get ready to lock in with Ricardo Avelace. Ricardo, welcome to Lockton. You just drove 20 hours to get here to our studio, man. I got to say, I think that's a first.

Is it really? The driving part. I mean, people have traveled from all over the country. And you're our first podcast being filmed in December. we filmed so many in November that I got a couple weeks off from filming. Okay. So, you know, I got a little break. We're back in action.

We're only actually filming like three this month in December. Are you? This is like your holiday schedule? I mean, this is my first December ever doing this. Yeah, you've been only since January, right? Exactly. Congratulations, by the way. I really want to congratulate you.

Like, what you've done is amazing. And it's very educational what you've done. I love watching your stuff, especially from a law enforcement. man standpoint and interpreting standpoint, there's so much knowledge that you're giving. And my wife really loves your stuff. I thought you were going to bring her on the trip. No, she actually wanted to FaceTime. You know, I was like, I'll do it later.

Yeah, we can FaceTime her after to sail. Oh, dude, she's going to have a heart attack. I've had so many celebrities on, but like for some reason when you, like, how does come? I was like, hey, I'm going to do this. And she lost her fucking mind. No, she's working and studying, man. So she has to stay back. That's awesome.

But yeah, you reach out to me on Facebook Messenger for, you know, for those people that are listening, I do actively check my messages. And it's so hard to get back to every single person. And, you know, just recently Spotify released like that everyone's top podcast. So like I got all these messages from everyone, which I love. Top 20, by the way. Congrats. Thank you.

Yeah. For society and culture, super exciting. But like, it's hard to, like, I feel bad not being able to respond to every single person. And it goes to the message requests. And, you know, it just, it's one of those things. But it's part of it, though. You have to also, like,

serve your, you know, your energy and your time because it's precious, you know. So I think I get that too because I get a lot of requests for like interpreting stuff and like people wanting me to talk about the stories that we're going to talk about. And it's, it's difficult sometimes, especially when you're, when you're a parent, you know, and you have so many other things going on. So the cool thing about our show is like, because we're, we're not just prison. You know, like we have, you could go in different directions. Like the show we released the other week was a social, a clinical social worker. We have law. We have prosecutors.

We have addicts. We have people that went to prison. And we're going these different paths. So when I saw you pop up, you were kind of like, hey, I don't know if you'd be interested. But like, I'm an interpreter and I was in the military. And, you know, we've had veterans on the show, of course, who have battled with addiction. But yours is just, I don't think anyone's really covered something like that for our genre on YouTube. I was listening to that Spotify one you did earlier.

Which one? With the women who has a podcast that's actually just for you. I didn't know there was a podcast just for interpreting. Dude, yes, Merea Perez is, she, that's probably been my favorite interview so far because she understands so many little intricacies of like our job as interpreters that it's, it's, and she's so intelligent as an interpreter

and as a human being that when she had me, and she edited a lot, because we did like two and a half hours, but there were some things that we talked about that I feel like, it was a little too dark for that. And she, but she did a great job, dude.

Shout out to her, man, because she's, and she's such a beautiful human being, man. Like, she's just, like, there's very few people that I'll say that about, but she's one of those human beings that she really gets it, man. She's, she's awesome.

And I'm glad that you listen to that one, because I was like, I hope he listens to that one instead of the one, we did one with my wife and my co-host, Eric McRoy, where they basically interviewed me and I was like, I think the media young was the better one, to be honest. So now you have your own podcast too.

Yes. And then that just focuses on anything, man. Anything. Anything. To be honest with you, our podcast, the Rico podcast is it's more about telling people's life stories and seeing what people can learn from it, honestly. It's like the biggest focus that I try to bring is like what can the audience or what personally me, honestly, can I learn that I can apply to my daily life? And with every guest, I would dare say with all, we're over 200 guests now, like, with every guess I've learned something. And we have returning guests such as Mr. Tommy Chong, Larry Hankin and stuff like that, which by the way, I think you should really get Tommy Chong on, man.

I mean, if you're going to introduce us, that would be awesome. Bro, after this, we'll give him a call. Yeah, I know, like the connection with him and, you know, Jordan Balfort and stuff, they were in prison together. He is such a, Tommy Chong is such a beautiful human being. He's been so nice to us. Like we've done Zoom interviews with him, but he's talked with us outside of, you know, the camera rolling and whatnot. And he's given us such good advice on comedy and life and family specifically because he's a great granddad now, I believe. And he's been, but I think you, I think that'd be a great interview for you, man.

I would love to see you and him sit down together and just go at it. I mean, you know the thing that's interesting, too, about what we've been able to build is that, The stories that perform the best are not like the Tommy Chongs and the famous people of the world. Yes. Like someone hit the nail on the head the other day because we did like the Brandon Novak episode that came out. And I saw a common. He's like, you know, this was a good interview and stuff. But we prefer to watch the non-famous, non-sloverty interviews because I'm introducing people to the world that have never shared their story.

Whereas like some of these people that do every channel, you know. and you could see their interview a thousand times, but what makes our story so unique is that the average person can reach out, get on the show, share their story for the first time ever. Yeah. And other platforms aren't even allowing them to come on. And it also helps people too, I believe,

because one of the things that I've come to realize is the opportunities that come with this. And again, it's also like for interpreters, you know, most people don't even know what an interpreter is. You know what I'm saying? So like it's, and it's funny you say that because we have that same situation. We'll have Tommy Chong and it'll get 2,000 downloads.

I'll have my boy, you know, Danny Gonzalez, is a Kamagan, a good friend of our Jiu-Zitsu guy, and he gets 6,000 downloads. And I'm like, what? So it's, thank you for saying that. That really, like, it clicks with me when you said that, man. I appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, I think it's also important for the audience to know

that there needs to be a balance or two because it's also from a networking standpoint because having guests like that can lead to bigger guests in the world as well to. Yeah, kind of like give you like a little bit of, what's the word I'm looking for right now? Kind of like a little bit of like, oh, hey, you've been around this person. That's interesting. You know, you know, you know, it's all about optics and, you know, networking.

Like I was with, you know, Sylvester Stallone this past weekend in Chavez Chase. I saw your Chevy Chase interview. Yeah, Chubby's great, man. Really good guy. And like he opened up a lot of doors for me. Really? Like just having him on the show, he gave us an interview he doesn't normally give. So having him on here was great.

I'm going to be honest about that, by the way. Growing up in Puerto Rico, I did not know who Javy Chase was until my co-host with Eric, he was like, yeah, Chevy Chase on. And I'm like, yeah, who's that? I think he was on SNL. Growing up in Puerto Rico, you don't really see that, you know, me at least, I didn't grow up. Like, I didn't know who Kevin Farley was. Chris Farley and Kevin Farley was until I did a show with Kevin Farley. And like I didn't know, because I didn't grow up around that.

So it's like really, really awkward for me sometimes when like big celebrity talk to me and I'm like, yeah, absolutely. So what's your story? Yeah, see, you laugh, but I'm like so embarrassed about it all the time. No, it's natural. It's raw. It's like more authentic that way. How was that experience with a Salone? Like I saw you did the event.

Chip was also there and he said it was really fun. It was a, it was like a, it was for Rocky day. Yeah. So, you know, Chevy got to, you know, meet him and do this. And so I was with Chevy. And it was a lot of fun. It was a great experience. They, like, named it official Rocky Day in Philly.

And great networking experience. Actually, tomorrow I'm going to the city to meet Tyson, which is going to be big for me. I've been working with their brand a little bit. They've been sending some merch. I saw. Yeah, so it's exciting because that's something that, like, can really align. There's going to be, by the time this episode comes out, the article, we'll have already been out. But they're doing a big, like, debut article on redemption and stuff.

And I'm there, like, their first story. I got to ask you. And you can edit this out, but are you going to try to take like a priming boxing lesson with him? I mean, maybe he's got like the whole amateur boxing thing going on. So, I mean, our brands fit. You know, they align perfectly. So we'll see what happens, you know. And it would be great for me to go on his show, him to come on mine.

I mean, that's definitely like a top priority in 2024. Yeah, my mentality goes to training because, yeah, that's what I like to train, man. Yeah. It's so much easier. Yeah, I know you do with the jihitzy, right? Yeah, that's why these look all little funky. What was that like the cauliflower ear? That's a real thing, huh?

Oh yeah, you never seen? I've seen it on like, so is that just from getting hit in the head? No, that's from not defending when people grab your head and getting guillotine a lot and spending a lot of time in a position that's called half guard. Okay. Where basically you're controlling one leg while your opponent's, one of your opponent's knee is down and you're defending with both knees to prevent him from turning and stuff like that. So you spend a lot of time rubbing your ear on it and, you know, I've been training for 13 years. So it's, yeah, your ears are going to take a beating, man. Gotcha.

All right, so let's dive into it, man. Yeah, bro. Where are you from? Where do you grow up? What was, like, childhood like for you in a nutshell? Oh, man. Well, I'm originally from Puerto Rico, the beautiful island of the Caribbean. I've never been, so I can't.

No, it's on the list. It is, if you ever go and you need, like, I want to say this because I preface this to everybody, if you ever go and you want to know where to go, call me. call me, I will set you up with everybody. I'll get you the nice tour. I'll have you avoid certain places because there's certain place you want to avoid. But growing up in Puerto Rico was really different. And I never really realized it until I, like, actually until I married my wife, to be honest with you.

Because, you know, I grew up in Puerto Rico, went to school in Puerto Rico, went to high school in Puerto Rico, and then I left the island in 08. So growing up there was really different. You know, it's 100 by 32. And right now, I think the last census, we had 3.2 million people. So there's a lot of fucking going in Puerto Rico, if you know what I'm saying. I'm telling you, bro, listen, every regga tone song is about fucking doing drugs, drinking, and partying. Like, that's what Puerto Ricans are all about, man. We would be horrible terrorist.

So growing up there was really interesting. I spoke English at a young age. So I was naturally bilingual by the time I was five or six, you know, and that comes from my father. My father had a thing where it was, he was real, I don't want to say dick about it, because he watches my interviews, unfortunately, but he was really hard on me about learning English. He's like, if there's one thing that I want you to do, I want you to learn English. And what my dad would do is, is he was always behind me books. And, you know, if I played a video game, hey, read it in English, put it in English and stuff

like that. So growing up, it was a challenge, man. You know, my dad's really strict. And then I left for the states in 2008. And then I moved into Fort Leonardwood. Because I had gone straight from, most people say they're from Puerto Rico, right? You probably heard this. But they just grew up there for a little bit.

No, I'm fresh off the boat, homie, you know. So I left Puerto Rico in 2008 to join the Army as a 31 Bravo military policeman. Why the military? What was the deciding factor for you? It was a lot of things, man. How much time you got, you know? Well, give me the summary, you know? I was homeless for a little bit because me and my dad clash heads a lot.

And I had tried to do other things and like nothing just really clicked for me in Puerto Rico. Like things just didn't really make sense to me. Like I just couldn't understand it. And like everybody wanted me to follow one path, but I just didn't want to follow that path. and one night I went to my grandparents' house who they live on the beach in Addis Iwo and my aunt found me

and she found me because of the smell because I hadn't shower in a while and my grandfather took me in and I stayed with them for a while and like the next day he's like you got to do something to fix your life like you got to go get a job so I went and went job hunting

and this dude gave me a ride and he's like hey do you need a ride I'm like the worst that happens is I get kidnapped so I got in the car and we talked for a little bit and, you know, he gave me his card. He goes, if you ever won a real job, here you go. And his name was he's Mael Delgado, and he was an Army recruiter.

So that day, went to talk to my grandfather. The next day, I went to the recruiting station. And next thing you know, January 7th of 2008, I flew. I left. I joined the Army, man. It was like the best decision that I ever made in my life, besides marrying my wife, to be honest with you. And part of the reason I joined the Army was because

I wanted to do something with my life that just would put me in a different stratosphere and staying in Puerto Rico just wasn't it. So I decided to just join the Army as an MP, as a military policeman. And that's how I got into the Army, basically. So you can join and be, uh, and straight become a military police officer. You don't have to like go through a certain process or anything. Oh, yeah. So, okay.

So, okay. So no. So yes and no. You, you have. to basically, so I had to get waivers to join because I'm short. I'm a short guy. I'm like, the Army says 5'7, I'm like 5, 5.5 and a half.

Oh, they have a height requirement? Yes, yes. You have to fight people, bro. Yeah, but I have to fight people. Like, there's short fighters? There's short fighters, but the Army doesn't have that mentality, unfortunately, back in that time. Okay. So a lot of people, I had, I personally had to get a waiver because of my height.

So, and when I went to MEPs, you have to take what's called the Asvast. So when I took the ASVab, they were like, hey, you qualify for all of these jobs. And of course, you know, I went in 2008 when the Iraq war was, you know, kicking off again. And they were like, you can be an infantry, man. You can be a medic.

And I was like, I think I want to be a cop. And I never forget, man, my recruiter was like, I don't think you want to do that. And I was like, why? He goes, because you will never have time off. Because you're going to go to war and you're going to do combat operations, if you're lucky. or you're going to do military police operations. And then when you come back to garrison, which is what's referred to as coming back into the states,

you're going to be conducting military law enforcement operations. So you're not going to have time off. And I was like, fuck yeah, that's what I want. I want to learn. Like, I want all the fucking heat, you know. But looking back, I probably should have picked another MLS because I think it would have been better off. But yeah, man, that's pretty much how it goes.

You have a list depending on your scores and on your aptitude and then after that you go in you do a medical which have you ever had someone explain to you MEPS medical process screening? The medical? No, just like that whole we've gone through like the training, basic training

and everything like that. No, no, no, no, no, no. This will be a good little snippet for you. So MEPS is the military entry processing station. Every place has one. What it is basically is where you're going to take your aptitude test, right? Your ASVAB and then you're going to sit down

and do a series of, of medical test, which they are not fun at all. Like you're going to get your your four point of contact checked or your your ass checked in case of hemorrhoids, in case of cancer. They're checking you for everything because they want to make sure that everything that you have before you went in is documented. So that way when you get out, you don't say, oh, I got this in the service and then people will play upon that, you know? So you go in and basically like, when I went in, the first thing they did is like, all right, everybody's strip naked. and you're in a room with 30 dudes, like just sitting there naked, just waiting.

And then you have to do like a duck walk, which basically what it's for is to check, like, the mobility on your, the range of mobility of your knees and the range of mobility of your hips. Because you might have to clear an underhead where you're checking a target and you have to go under. Well, I have to, like, be able to duck under and be able to check it. Or, you know, you might have to like get under a Humvee and you can't because you have bad knees.

Well, now the service is responsible for that. So it's one of the many. reasons they do it and then you get checked for you know any diseases you have you get all your medical check you get your dental checked because when you get into the army you get dental work done to and then they want to know any allergies you have they want to know everything so that way they know what they can do with you in a combat operation and what they need to be careful of like if you're a heat casualty like i've been a heat casualty before in the army unfortunately or you're prone to have cold weather injuries these are things that they want to know and then from there they

create this packet and then you go into basic training, which basically that's your report date. Does that make sense so far? And then from there you probably heard like the shark attack. At Hyundai of Glendale, Lisa New, 2026 Hyundai-Tuson-Sc front wheel drive for 269 a month plus tax for 36 months with owners assurance in America's best warranty. 10-year, 100,000 miles. Stubbed by Hyundai of Glendale today or Hyundai ofglendale.net. 36-month lease, 4,49 to its signing. Tax title license and dock fees extra plus government fees and taxes.

7,500 miles per year, expires 6126. Who available at this payment? PH 715229, PH 7114665. You know, for me, when I went to basic, I had never left Puerto Rico to a cold place. I had visited Texas, and I had gone to Florida. But, you know, if you know anything about Puerto Rico, it doesn't drop below 68 degrees. Does it really? It does not.

I didn't know that. It does not. It does not. It does not. sir. It does not. Puerto Rico is literally in the equator line, you know, so it never dropped. So I never felt, I've never seen snow before. I need to move there.

I hate the cold. Do you? Yeah, I do not do well in the cold. I don't mind it, but up here, it takes me a few days. Like here, the reason we drove is because it takes me a few days, and like, I have a rheumatoid, so, like, my hands will, like, hurt really bad, but after a few

days, like, my hands can open up a little bit. And if not, you know, there's, this sprints in New York and stuff, we can get an edible and whatnot, and it helps There's a dispenser in Kenet, Danbury, too. Oh, there's two. Yeah, it's legal in Connecticut now. Perfect. There's one, like, right down the road.

Perfect. So, yeah, weed for me has helped a lot dramatically, especially with all the joint inflammation problems that I have. So, you know, I reported to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri, January, January 8th of 2008. And when I reported, back in that day, if you, like, you flew in from St. Louis to go to Fort Leonardwood. and when I flew in, you don't tell anybody. Like, you don't say shit. You have a little bag and, like, you know, when I left, I was basically homeless.

You know, I was living with my grandparents. I had nothing. I had a pair of jeans that were super baggy on me. So I had to, like, tie them up together with like a pin. And then I had this belt that was gigantic on me because I had to lose some weight to join. And then I had my medical paperwork, my security paperwork. because I had a security clearance. And then I had a, like, my wallet, my ID, and my credit card stuff, you know, my bank statement stuff.

And when I showed into 43rd AG reception in Fort Leonardwood, Missouri, you know, you do what's called a shark attack, right? So when I went in, you got out of the plane and there's a sergeant there. He's like, who's here for this? And then you have security. We had security escort us because it was in 08. And then from there you go to the USO and they, that's when it starts, man. Like, listen, you guys do not move from here. You guys are going to stay here.

You're going to go from here to point A, point B. If you go anywhere, you sign this paper. Do not fucking do anything outside of that. If you need to eat, there's free food there. If you need to do this, do that. And then from there, they took us downstairs to this part, and you got on this bus. And we had police escort with us.

And then they just leave, you know. And in the bus, like, I looked outside. There was no snow. But I'm like, oh, this is so pretty, you know. Like, there's no leaves on the trees. I wonder why. and, you know, ignorant me because, you know, you're excited and you're also like, it's the unknown, you know? Because, like, part of the thing that, like, when I joined was, like, I was like, I might go to war.

And that's like a real fucking realization that you have to come to with yourself, especially during that time. Because there's people that's how I want to go. And that was part of the ignorance of being young. Like, yeah, let's go to war. You know, let's go fuck people up. But, you know, I had to get over the. the cold weather first. So like when I got out of 43rd reception battalion, you know, door opens, and I already know, you know, my grandfather prepared me. Door opens and all you hear is like,

get the fuck out of my fucking boss motherfuckers. You are fucking worthless. Let's go, let's go. And I'm like, all right, you know. And when I stepped out, I took a breath and I started panicking because I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was breathing through a staw. It was nine degrees outside. Jeez. So I go out and I start like panicking and I'm looking around and I remember I blacked out. And when I come to, the drill sarners are yelling at me. They're like, why the fuck did you pass out private? What the fuck is your deficiency? I'm like, no, no, dresser.

And he's like, get the fuck up. Get total lying. Where's your battle, buddy? Because you want to have someone with you everywhere. And the reason they do that is because you want to have a witness in case something happens, you know? And you always want to have someone in case you're trying to do something dumb. You want to have someone be like, you don't want to go do that, bro. So I had a drosar and asked me where I was from.

And I said, Puerto Rico. And he's like, have you ever left? And I go, no. And he like, this is when you know that a Drosarn's being, like, he's about to give you some wisdom. He takes off his hat. He goes, listen, man, this is going to suck. Like, have you ever, have you ever ran in the cold? I go, no, I ran in the beach.

He goes, no. He's like, there's not hot bitches everywhere for you to look at, bro, and be motivated. Like, this is going to suck. So I ask him, I go, you know, Drosan, what should I do? And he goes, every morning, just wake up early, shave. And then just step outside, bro. step outside with a first do it with full weather full cold weather gear and just take deep breaths and just let it in and dude i tell you what that drill sarn fucking really saved me because after a

week i was able to like breathe better but those first five days in reception bro it was rough like when i'm telling you it was roughy and like it was like i'm telling you look i'm shaking a little thinking about it because it was it was rough if we had one of your drill sergeants here today how do you think you would have described you oh god like as a person from from from from my training company. Yeah. Like, oh God,

I was a loud mouth asshole because I just didn't care because I had nothing to lose. So I would just, if you told me, hey, go tell this person this, I'd be like,

Roger that and I would just, but I was a good soldier because if you told me go do something, I'm going to fucking do it. But I just didn't care. Like I would just, you know,

we wouldn't goof off and stuff like that, but I just, I didn't have much of a, a filter, you know? But I was a good soldier, man.

I graduated top 20% of my class from they had this thing back in the day called amps advanced military police which i got to be in you graduate a little early but it was go go go go go and you have to understand too um you've had veterans before so excuse me so one of the things is that everybody's going to have a different experience depending on the time that they went in depending on the job that they did depending if they're active duty, if they're reserve, if they're a national guardsman, if they're going in from a prior service. So for me, it was, first of all, the culture shock was the biggest problem that I had. Because living in Puerto Rico, it's a different culture, right? And coming to the states,

even though Puerto Rico is part of the United States, it's a completely different culture. So to me, the biggest concern I had was the language barrier because I thought I was going to have one, but I really didn't. So the culture shock was that. the thing because like here in the states y'all like to like rib on each other a lot you know like what's up fucker and like dude i wouldn't talk to someone like that back home like if you talk to me like that and i didn't know you i probably look at you and be like what the fuck is your problem you know it's funny is that that that's a good comparison to prison in a way because like we talk a certain way in middle school and high school and when you go to prison like you can't tell anyone to suck

your dick or but you know but you know why right this is what i tell and i've said this on the podcast before my podcast before is like people People don't understand how easy violence comes to some people. And people don't understand that violence is always an available option. You know what I'm saying? Like we have this obviously understanding amongst each other that I'm not going to punch you in the mouth. As long as you don't punch me in the mouth. But some people, they really don't get that.

So that's why, like, it's funny you say that, man, because I've met guys that have been to prison, guys have been in federal prison, guys have been for RICO charges. And they're like, oh my God, you're so. respectful like sir you know and this and that or mr ean right because i don't know how you first of all i don't know how your day is going first of all second of all i don't know if you're going to like me or if you're not going to like me so i would rather go on the side of caution and be respectful than just be like ah what's up fucker you know like and that's the thing that here in the states

people are real comfortable with that that for years it like surprised me like for years and it still does, to be honest with you, like, I'll be at the comedy club and someone knows me from something or someone comes to a show, hey, what's up Mexican? And I kind of just sit there and I stare at you. Okay, we don't do that over here. We don't go up to. So I'm not Mexican, but. Yeah, all brown people are Mexican now, you know? No, but I've had that. And like, you know, for me, too, it's like, I'm, I've come to learn that it's like some people are just, a friend of mine, a friend of mine told me a while back, he's like, be excited, be thankful that people, not excited. What was the words he said?

I can't remember. Be thankful that people care, you know, because sometimes that's just how people here show their appreciation, like, hey, what's up, you know? And obviously, you know, there's crossing the lines. But, you know what I mean? Like, for me, dude, I've been asked for my green card so many times. Like, no, dude, it's the thing. I'll talk about that later on.

But, like, I've been asked for my green card. in court, I've been asked for if I need an interpreter. And you're the interpreter. And I'm the fucking interpreter, right? I've been asked, why is my name not Richard? What's this Ricardo thing? And what does it say, Ricky? Like, people are real bold with the shit that they say.

So to me, it's like, even in the military, I was real fucking cautious with it. Because, dude, when I went in the military, like, people would throw down. Like, I went to the military what a company called, I went to Iraq, what a company called the 463rd military police company, which they've closed colors now, meaning that that company no longer exist. And, dude, I remember when we got back from Iraq, which we can talk about Iraq here shortly,

but I'll share this with you. I remember, like, if you had a problem with somebody, like, all right, let's fucking throw down. And, dude, you would see people, like, obviously, if the officers are around, you don't want to do that. But you would see people, like, straight up, like, just shot pilot, just fucking move around and people would just throw down. With the same ranking?

Are you guys- Oh, fuck no, bro. I threw down with my NCO a million times, bro. Like, Sergeant, he's still in now, and I talk to him. So Sergeant Billy Joe Charles III from Missouri, when he first got me, he looked at my name, because you were your last name, right? Always Army on the Heart, your name here. And my last name was Avelas Avelas. So he's like, your name is going to be A-square.

And I was like, what, Sergeant? He goes, your name is double A or A-square. Which one do you want? and I was just looking at him like What's your problem with me man? And he's like nothing It's just gonna be easier than to say your name But dude he was like the nicest dude ever

But if I had a problem I was like let's go Sergeant Charles And he's like all right And dude he would fuck me up You know it's a lot like prison in that sense The military in prison Because the food's similar in a way Oh yeah

You have the whole you know guards Fighting with inmates You know and upper ranking Lower ranking fighting with each other The way you talk to each other The last name It's kind of crazy that they're two totally opposite careers,

but there's so many similarities. It's funny you say that because I actually was talking about this. I have a bit on my comedy that I got it thanks to you. From me? Yes. I actually was thinking about it if I should tell you this or not. We got to hear it now. No.

I didn't even realize you were a comedian. I've been doing comedy for about four years. I don't think I'm really a comedian because a comic makes money doing it. Okay, so you don't make money. No, bro. What's a fun hobby? God, no. Yeah, it's like interpreting, you know?

Like, uh-huh. So let's hear the bet. So the whole, I'll give you the premise of the bid. The premise of the bit is going to war is a lot like going to prison, right? Because you're going to get three meals a day. You're going to get, obviously, you're going to get taken care of. You're with your crew of people that are going to defend each other against everything that comes because you're with your people, right? And no matter what, someone's fucking your girlfriend.

That was good But I have like a whole thing about it How if I, because you know I have a Middle Eastern name Abdel And I have a Hispanic last name And a white first name And then I'm a white dude That was born and raised in Puerto Rico

So growing up people will call me A Lijo del Lichero Which translates to the milk The milkman's kid Because I was always so white So like I always laugh Because like I'm like yeah I'm a white Puerto Rican If I went to prison

I don't know who I would join so I always say I'd go with the Italians because I'd kill for a slice of lasagna, bro. Like, I would fucking... Are you on TikTok at all? You gotta get on there, Tom? Me? No, I have a TikTok.

Are you sharing these on there, man? I don't think I am, man. You gotta start, yeah. Well, for comedy, man, I like to keep, like, because I'm still, like, creating my bits and stuff like that. Like, I got about, like, 6,000 followers something. Like, it's nothing that impressive. Like, I normally...

It's a start, man. That's a start. Yeah, I've been on it for about two years now, but, yeah, that's where basically all this comes from. Because, like, it's a lot of similarities and stuff like that. And, like, the respecting is big, too, man. Like, when I was in, it was really, like, as long as you have respecting, you have your shit squirt away, like, you're going to be fine. But there's a lot of similarities between prison and the military, man.

A lot of similarities, bro. So, you're in Iraq as a military police officer. What's that like? Like, what's a day-to-day? What are some of the things, are you in, like, because we see in the movies, and I think people associate it with not Jack Ryan, that other guy. who is the military police officer, very popular. Jack Reacher? Jack Reacher, right?

Jack Reacher? Okay. So he's, yeah. That's what I think a lot of people in America associate overseas. So I can tell you about my experience. Yeah. Right. So I went to Iraq June 25th of 2008.

You fly out, you know, you have a ceremony and blah, blah, blah, blah. You get your guns. You get all your gear. I didn't have time to do pre-deployment training because you train a shit ton in the army. This is the thing that people don't understand. When I was in the Army, bro, you did not have a day off. Like, I left the Army with, like, well over 90 days of leave, and I only served one term five years. So, like, I barely took any vacation.

Like, I took vacation from Iraq because you have to take 30 days. And I went from June 25th to September 4. We landed September 4 of 09. So we were there for a while. And you spent a little time in Kuwait. You spent a couple weeks in Kuwait trying to climatize. yourself to the heat. Because the thing that people don't understand is when you go to war,

you have to change a lot of things. You have to change your diet, number one, because you have to eat differently. You have to change your hydration levels because it's 100 to 130 degrees. And then you add 10 degrees to that because of all the gear you carry. And you carry about...

You carry about almost 100 pounds of gear on you. Like between your vests and your gun, like I carried a M249, so it's a saw squad automatic weapon, and you carry about a thousand rounds of that just in case you get into some shit. You carry your handgun, which you carry about three to five magazines of that.

I always had five on me. And then you have your knives just in case you have to deal with something, your gloves, your backpack with all your gear and your medical bag in case someone gets injured or something. So there's a shit ton of training that you have to do. And I had to do all that training like on the fly there because it's like, hey, you got to go to Combat Lifesaver,

which is basically a, a week or two week long course on how to identify a casualty, how to deal with a casualty. Like if right now you got up and your leg broke and it's a compound fracture, hey, I know what to do. Like I know immediately like boom, boom, boom, boom, hey, Ian, you know, how to address, if you're in a firefight, you know, what do you got to do, movement to contact, how to deal with an IED, how to call a nine line medevac, how to call an IED, how to call a salute report. It's all these things that you have to learn that, yeah, they teach you in basic, but it's not the same. So we get to Iraq and I run my first mission, I think, either in the end of August or beginning of September.

And it was, it was like exciting at first. But like our third or fourth mission, like we found like our first IED. And I never forget because I was in the lead convoy. And the way that a day to day works when you're running a mission, which to answer your question, is you wake up early in the morning. obviously you go eat chow you shave you get all your gear you clean your gun and you get your op order which normally your op order you get the day before it's your operational order of this is what we're going to do this is how we're going to do it this is the resources we have this is what you will bring this is what you're going to be doing this is where you're going to be doing it

this is your order in the chain of command so if this person this person this person dies i'm in charge to make decisions this is the route we're going to take this is the routes that we shouldn't take. This is the alternative routes. This is the substitute route, which is very different for an alternative route. This is the emergency route. This is the evacuation route. There's so many things that you have to know on a day-to-day basis, and it changes constantly. So you go do that and you get your vehicles. Like, I was a driver. So what I would do is I would wake up early and I would go get my vehicle ready, clean everything out, help set the guns up, make sure that our ammo's good and not, you know, full of dirt and shit.

like that, which it's going to happen anyways. Set up all my gear and then just, you know, you just wait. You know, you just wait until your platoon son, your squad leader, whoever the fuck is going to be with you that day come. And then you start running drills, which is like, okay, we're driving down the street and the second vehicle takes hit, takes fire from the second, from the second story of that building on the driver side. You don't say left and right.

You say driver or TC, which is the tactical commander. You don't say, and you would say, you know, rear TC, rear driver. And then you just go through those drills and then you head out. You hit out where there's no respawn point after that point, man, you know. And you go out and basically you're out there. What our mission was in Iraq was called PTT, police transitioning team or police transitioning training. Basically our job during that time was to train the Iraqi forces, the Iraqi police to be cops and take over their country. So I thank God for 15 months

We never got hit Like my team never got hit And I thank God every day for that Because the ignorant private in me was like Yeah let's go fucking get it Let's go fucking shoot a motherfucker But like the older me is like Dude no war

War should be the last resort Because it's fucking ugly It's fucking ugly And what it does Not only to the people who participate in it But to the people who go through it difficult. So I never forget the first IED that we found, we were going through a bridge. And I'm in the lead vehicle. And I'm like, you know, this is like my fifth, my third or fifth mission.

And I'm like, oh, fuck, this is exciting. Like, this is wild, you know. And like, I've never driven anywhere outside of Puerto Rico. So, like, my experience is driving was Puerto Rico, basic training, and then Iraq. So we get to this underhead of the bridge. And, you know, and the bridge. And And the gunner calls for a halt. So we like look around and the gunner, you have like these cameras and stuff with you and he takes a picture. And all you see is like this,

the tip of something with wire sticking out. And I'm like, oh shit, we found something, right? So you have to be careful because during that time, what they would do is they would set up an IED, which an IED is an improvised explosive device.

But then they would hit you with something else or they would take videos of you. And they'd be like, look at them. We're intimidated. them because it was a lot of propaganda during that time. And dude, I never forget this. Like I, we called EOD and EOD comes out like a couple hours later. So we're sitting there as targets basically waiting.

And when they come out, they pull it. There's a fucking mortar that was attached to a cell phone that had some fucking explosive shit that I can't even explain to you because I'm not an explosive guy, but it was an IED. And they're like, oh yeah, this would have fucked you all up. It would have gone right through. And I will never forget. I call these glass-shattering moments in life where, like, the glass breaks, because reality is different now.

And I was like, oh, that could have killed me. Like, that was really meant to kill me. And dude, for like two weeks, I would come back from mission, I would just puke. Like, I would go to my hooch and I would just puke because the realization of, like, these people are really trying to fucking kill me. Like, this isn't a fucking game. There's no respawn after that. Like, that's it.

And like after that, like for a few weeks, it was like really difficult to be around me because I was like really hyped up all the time. And like even at the IP station, I'm like looking at people's hands and like looking at the corners and looking at everything, you know. And I'll tell you what, man, that that really like woke me the fuck up because there's a bunch of other crazy shit that we can talk about that happened that that I kind of look back on it now and go, oh yeah, like that, that would have been shitty. Like if that would have ended that way, it would have been real fucking shitty. but I thank God for the leadership that I had, man. We had good leadership, bro. So you guys aren't doing like investigations or arresting other. Oh, yes.

Oh, fuck yes, bro. Yeah, so what's out? I'm curious about, like, having to arrest someone within the military. If they do something. Within the military? Not in Iraq. No, not an Iraq. Someone gets arrested within the military, the process, the criminal process, going to jail.

What a military jail is like. Give us that. I don't know what a military jail is like, but I will tell you this. the military the military judicial process is shit I will say this publicly the military judicial process and investigative process is real shitty

because you have to understand sometimes when you do something on base it's commander's discretion there's certain things that aren't commander discretion like I got spit on one time on duty there's no fucking commander's discretion bro that's assault with a fucking I think I think they hit him with like a chemical weapon

or like assault there was like a thing that they did because he spit him face. So like I'll use that as an example. When that happened, um, I was putting someone in the back of a patrol vehicle because he was drunk. And I wasn't going to arrest him or anything. I was just going to, I was just dude. Let's just, he was being bludgeoned. Let's just get you out, right? So the way the military process works for insulation is you are an MP. You have an area of responsibility and area of operations. Your area of operations is the base. Within that base, you are, you are the law. Like, you are everything. Like, fuck anybody else. There's certain buildings that you can

cannot, if you go into an alarm goes off, we're authorized to use deadly force, right? Just I'm giving you a general idea. So as long as it's not within those buildings, it's a different story, right? And there's always officer discretion. So what happens normally is when you're investigating something, obviously you have to have probable cause search a vehicle. You have to have, you know, certain determining factors to be able to apprehend someone and you have to process someone and you have to keep them in. But a lot of time. a lot of things, they get let go and they go to your commander, to your officer. And then a lot of times, if you're a superstar, bro, they won't do anything to you.

They'll just PCS you. They'll move you from the duty station. Other times, if they want to fuck you over, they'll tack that on on top of other things like conduct unbecoming or I think Article 134 of the UCMJ is like, hey, we told you not to do this and you did it, you know, which I think that's what it was. It could be. Someone in the comments will say something like, that's not it. It's this one, you know.

but it's it's really shitty man because you know investigations are done by your own people so how can you you know investigate someone if it's your own people investigating you within your own company so if they don't like you there's a million things that they can do and i know of cases where people have gone in a way with a lot of shit to give an example look at what happened in texas that shit was happening for a while bro like for a while and in the military you get a lot of that shit where you have high-ranking officers and high-ranking people that they get away with dumb shit all the time that a private or a fucking sergeant would never get away. So normally what will happen is, to give that example of when I got spit on,

the gentleman turn around because I was putting him in the vehicle. And normally if I put you in the vehicle, I'll use the palm of my hand to just place it on like this side right here. And I learned that from jujitsu. Because if I put my hand here like this and you turn, you can't turn. You're going to run into this obstacle. So I didn't do it. And I'm just like put him because he's drunk. and he turns around and just like and just spits on me and hits me on the left side of my face.

And at that point, I just like yanked him out of the vehicle, tactically put him to the ground and cuffed him. And then after that, we put him back in and we had to process him. So that process basically, you're going to get your fingerprints taken. You're going to go into the PMO, the Premier Relative Police Station, wherever the fuck it was called. I had to give a statement. I had to go get checked.

And now for six months because it's saliva, right? I have to get checked and everything. And then because it was an assault towards a military police officer, that goes in what's called the blotter. The blotter is basically this big report that has everything that the MPs put into the system. And a lot of times there's certain things like domestic violence. When I was in, the biggest thing was domestic violence, drugs, because we had a huge K2 problem. domestic violence, drugs, assault

to military law enforcement officers, assault to non-commission officers, assault to officers, those things, it's going to go straight to the general. Like, you have no fucking say in that. Like, that's the general of the base. The CG is going to see that, and he's going to be like, well,

I'm going to send someone to go talk to that dude's chain of command, and then we're going to have a conversation. So, like, when I got spit on, all I know that happened is that that dude, It did not go well for him. So that was another military. A military member. Yeah.

Spit on you. Yeah. So is this in Iraq or is this? No, this was in Leonardwood, bro. That happened at Fort Leonardwood. So this is in the U.S. Yeah. So on camp, where do you, when the processing station, is it, is it like a police station basically?

For in Iraq and stuff like that? No, when you guys are here. Oh, here. Yeah, we have a processing station. It's called the PMO, which I'll be honest to you. I apologize. I don't recall what it stands for. I would say primary military police operations.

whatever. But basically it's like a, it's like a police station. You know, you walk in, you have your interview rooms, which it's more like an interrogation room, you know, and then you have your spot where you wait, you have your holding cells, and then you have, we had the Frankenstein chair. Have you ever heard of that? You guys don't have that in prison? Wait, is that like where you, like what on 60 days in or whatever, where they like, where you're like this? Yeah, where you're like this. And then they put a shitty light on you so you can stay like this the whole time and they put a catheter

Oh yeah dude When he spit on me We got him to the station And you know when you transport someone You have to call your beginning mileage And your ending mileage You have to call the routes that you're taking So that way in case something happens

And they say oh he hit me or he raped me Or he stabbed me or he shot me or whatever Not man because those cars are tagged They know where the fuck you're at So you have to call out where you're at We got to the station bro And I still had the fucking Lugi on the side of my face because we have to take pictures and stuff.

And like I just fucking like, I was just like, like fuck y'all. So I just fucking went like this, but I still had something on my face. And I fucking had it. And when we get there, they put them on the Frankenstein chair, bro. Like you go to the Frankenstein chair,

homie. Like you're going to sit there for a little bit. You're going to think about what the fuck you did. And then after that, his command tried to come over. And they were like, oh, we'll take it from here. And the death sergeant,

who is the guy who runs the station for a set period of hours was like, fuck no, bro. Like, this is assault to a fucking military policeman like he's staying here and dude he fucking stayed there in custody for a while what happened after that i don't know because i went and i did my report and then i had a day off because they're like it's so traumatizing and whatever and uh i had to go get tested and then i got counseled and then i got asked you know why didn't i put you know i basically got you get

investigated basically like i got investigated like why didn't you put your hand on his face and i was like well the subject at that time was being compliant he was not exhibiting any behaviors of that he was going to attack me or he was going to do anything. But, you know, learn real quick, like, don't ever fucking trust anybody because people will turn on you in a quickness, especially when they're drunk. Because, you know, you're drunk and, you know, you don't really know what's going on sometimes and you might come to and, oh, shit. So pretty much after that, like, I know he got kicked out. I know that much for a fact. And if he's watching this, like, sorry, bro. You shouldn't have fucking spit on me, man. Like, I wasn't even, like, going to arrest.

you, I was just going to take you home, you know, because I don't, I don't want to deal with the hassle, you know, we're all family. We're a part of the same fucking team. So, of course I'm going to help you. But how are the conditions in like that processing center? Because I'm assuming that's kind of like the correlation to a county jail. Yeah, so it's pretty much. Is it nicer? Like, did they have food? What's like? No, bro. We ain't got no food, bro. It's fucking shit. What if you stay there for more than 24 hours? I got to have something, right? My man, no clue. We never had somebody say more than 24 hours, bro. So it's normally in and out. It's normally in and out sort of. sort of ordeal. That's why I'm telling you, like, the process of it is really shitty. I'll give you this one. I was telling the story the other day to one of my homies. I don't really fuck with the Marines. The Marine Corps is terrifying to me. And my best friends are Marines because for some reason the way that I talk and I carry myself is like, I don't want to say like the Marines because that would be a very disrespectful thing to say. The Marine Corps is an outstanding organization. But I get along better with Marines just because

they don't have this fucking entitlement mentality of, how do I say this? The Marine Corps is an organization that it's just a bunch of dudes that like to drink, fucking shoot guns. And I get a lot and fight. And I fucking love all of those things. So we had a Marine one time that was caught at the PX shoplifting. And I was in charge of that area that day.

And I get a call as like dash 2 be advised, need you en route to the PX possible shoplifting. I go, Roger, dash 2, show me en route. So I get there and we have her, dude, they had her on camera the whole time. And they had two fucking, they had two fucking people in there at the PX. And this is the dumbest shit. She paid $143 with 97 cents for a bunch of shit. And take a wild guess what she took, Mr. Big.

Take a wild guess what she stole. Condoms or something? No. She stole a $14.99-sct lip gloss. After paying all that. After paying all of that. Is this a military member? the what spouse. A military member, bro. This was a female military member from the Marine Corps

that was in training to be an MP. Why would she steal that? CLEPTO. She had a thing. I found out later on because I was friends at that time with the instructor for the MPs and I had texted him when I everything. I was like, yo, I got your girl here and bro. So you guys arrested her and yeah, bro. Yeah. Fuck yeah, bro. We caught you stealing because when when she stepped the line, I just fucking open the door and I was like, hey, get over here. So what? I was like, don't make this any difficult. Like, just get the fuck over here. And she kind of like was like, oh, okay.

And I'm, you know, I'm watching her hands the whole time so she doesn't like drop it or something. But there's a camera. Like there's cameras everywhere. Now, are you guys doing investigations yourself or is that higher up? Are there like detectives? So you can do, yes. You have what's called CID, which they are no longer. Yeah, CID.

Yeah, CID. Central Investigations, the Criminal Investigations Division, which that no longer is being operated by military personnel because there was a lot of corruption happening with CID. Like when I'm talking about a lot, I'm talking about a lot of corruption, like a lot. And I don't have the full extent of it because I have friends who are still in

and I don't really know how bad it is, but from what I've heard, it was really bad. Like people were being processed for things that they weren't being done. They were exaggerating sexual assault charges. They were processing people for things that they never had clear, factual, concrete evidence of it.

They were doing a lie detector test with people who weren't certified to do lie detector tests. They were conducting investigations without having people sign sworn statements. Like, it was bad. So now they have civilian people who are doing it. And if you follow military news at all, I mean, North Carolina recently found a dead body and they found a couple other things with, I think it's fifth or seventh group, Special Forces group in there, that they were human trafficking and selling drugs and stuff like that.

And then there was the deaths recently, like a couple of years ago on the East Coast and what was New Jersey. That they found the bodies. Yeah. Did they ever find who did that? No, because it got swept under the rug. Yeah, I never come to think about it. That's how bad it is.

Yeah. You see what I'm saying? That's why I say like it's really fucking iffy man. And it's really bad. So for us like, you know, I conducted a little bit of work. Like we had a big drug problem at Leonard. like a big drug problem. To finish telling you the Marine Corps story,

because I know your editor will love me if I do this. We ended up, I ended up arresting her, and I told her, I said, I learned early on I had a good leader, Billy Joe Charles, sorry and Billy Joe Charles, I had a problem whenever I had someone dead to rights that I would get on them. Like, I would just get on your ass. And it's uncomfortable, you know, because I have a very,

my face doesn't say, come talk to me. So I've had to learn over the years how to, like, like, hey, you know, how's it going? And when we brought her back to the station, she had admitted to it. Like, I was like, you have something on your left pocket, on your left front pocket. So you can give it to me now. We can wrestle for it. We can fight for it.

Or you can just wait until we get to the station or wait until a female officer comes and touches you. I'm sorry, not touches you. Searches you. So she immediately like pull that out. She goes, oh, but I pay for all of this. And like, as soon as she said that, I'm like, shut the fuck up. the right to remain silent everything you say can remain as you. Like, just fucking immediately because it's like, just shut the fuck up.

Like, don't say anything. And that's the number one thing you'll learn in MP school. If nobody talks, everybody walks. So I hate to say that, but that is the number one thing that they'll tell you. If nobody talks, everybody walks. So she starts talking. I'm like, just shut up, shut up. We get her in.

And when her instructor comes to pick her up, bro, he, This dude was like six foot two, like built like a fucking tank full of Mexican steroids and Ecuadorian fucking like, I'm telling you, dude, he was big. And all I hear him say to her is, we're going to talk about this when we get to the fucking station. He's like, you're going to low crawl from here all the way to where the barracks are. She goes, I don't know where the barracks are. And he goes, south is that way. The barracks are east. Figure it the fuck out.

And I go, I was still on, I'm still working. And bro, like four hours later, I fucking driving around and I see someone low crawling in the street and I see him in the back. Keep fucking going. And I'm just like, do I stop it? Is that cruel unusual? I'm just going to keep walking away. And don't know what happened after that. But yeah, that's pretty much like how you'll see like a lot of things happen in the military.

Back in the day, it was, you know, we're going to punish you. Because there's two ways to bleed someone out, right? You either do it financially or you do it with time. So which one do you want to consume? Do you want me to take away your time or do you want me to take away your money and rank? Which one is more valuable to you? Me personally, man, I'd rather just take your time.

Like, I'm going to smoke the shit out of you. We're going to go for a 10-mile run, you know, back in the day. We're going to go for a 10-mile run or we're going to do push-ups until I sweat. And I'm going to be in the AC unit with Bino's looking at you while you're in the push-up position. But that avoids me having to fill out paperwork. And then you made a dumb mistake. Like, I don't want to take your rank in time because you made a dumb mistake. Sometimes it's necessary.

Some people they just don't fucking learn. Some people you just have to like shock them and say, dude, you're being dumb. What you're doing is not something that leads to a good path. Not everybody's like that. You know, I've had both kinds of soldiers.

So it's like it's, you have to be, you have to be a leader man. And you have to really like understand people and like sit down and talk with people to understand like what makes them, you know, tick.

What do they like? What they don't like? because everybody has things that are going to make them want to move forward or do better in life, right? And that's the biggest problem that a lot of people have is they don't really know how to do that in the military. But other than that, man, yeah, that's...

Hopefully that answers your question. Yeah, and what about, like, the drug investigations or, like, sexual assault investigations, anything like that? I never dealt with a sexual assault investigation. That always goes to either what's called MPI, military police investigations, where that goes to CID. I did deal with a lot of drug stuff, like a lot.

To give you a clear example, you know what K2 is? Yeah, it's rampant in prison, yeah. Is it really? Yeah, it's a huge problem. They were getting it sprayed on the paper and sent through the mail, which is why they had to now all mail gets photocopied. You can't have scented mail. Can't be on colored paper.

All these rules. Oh, shit, I didn't know that. So for us, it was in 2010. I never forget this. K2 was a, illegal for like the longest time. And what ended up happening was in Missouri, it was huge. Like, I think one of the gentlemen who, who like really like hit up that K2 market was in

the Springfield area. I can't recall his name right now. It'll come to me later probably. But we had a huge problem in it in Missouri, man. A huge problem with it on Litterwood because people were taking it before PT test. Because you have to understand. In the Army, you're judged based upon two things for your first few years. your physical appearance, right?

Your physical fitness appearance. And how well can you shoot and how well can you work out? So if you can work out and you got a 300 out of a 300, people aren't really going to fuck with you. You're probably going to make sergeant, right? Plus there's other things that you have to learn along the way, which you'll learn. But dude, we had guys that would like go and take it, smoke it.

And then they'd go do a run and guys were like having seizures. We had guys that were having hallucinations. But it wasn't illegal. So it was like, it's this little gray area that everyone was like, what the fuck do we do with this? Because you couldn't pop for it. At least back in that day, they couldn't have a way to check. So what ends up happening is the CG, the commanding general, puts a memo. And when he puts a memo, I never forget this.

It was me, Joseph Havlich, Ralph, and like a couple other guys that we were like the crew. We were like the guys that when you had those guys on patrol, bro, something wild happened. Like, we had a guy one time come through base and shoot a AK round. through a housing area and Ralph, uh, uh, Ralph like chased them all the way up to Rava. Cause the dude had an A can.

He was just going crazy. Uh, we had a, we had a, we had so many things happened. But with K2, what happened one morning is we got called in because you get called in and you have your info.

You check your warrants. You check your bolos, be on the lookouts. Hey, we're looking for this vehicle because this person's been stealing or this vehicle is associated with something that they found out, uh, in the state.

or hey the feds are going to be here talking to so-and-so just be aware of that that way you know what's happening um so we get in and pretty much our our first sarmes comes in he goes hey guys like we're going to be conducting uh search searching seizure operations you guys are going to start going into every single place that we tell you to and you're going to be searching for k2 and contraband so dude for like two weeks it was just rapid bro like i didn't have a day off for like a month and a half because we would go and into the barracks and like some barracks are owned by the company right which you have to get permission from the company commander to go in others are owned by the installation so fuck you that's free range so i'll give you this the the first place we went to was a training barracks room right and if you never been to a training barracks if you ever come to missouri or fort leno would i'd love to show you because i still have friends over there and i can show you i can show you where i went to basic oh for it's beautiful for leno wood's beautiful man Missouri's a beautiful place, at least to me, the

Puerto Rican, you know? Who would have thought of all places you done Oh my God, I was waiting. I was waiting. I had a bet that you wouldn't say that. I had a bet. You're so random. Eric, my co-host, Eric was like, I bet you lunch that he's going to be like, what the fuck

is a Puerto Rican doing in Missouri? If you're moving into the states, like, why Missouri? It's just crazy. Honestly, it's just easier to move the drugs. No, I'm kidding. No. Honestly, the women. Like if I'm being completely honest That's a first too I've never heard anyone move to Missouri for the woman

I'll show you a picture of my wife bro If I showed you a picture of my wife And I asked you her ages You're gonna be like 20 something My wife's 40 homie And she looks like she's 25 All right, the gentleman watch the show You want a good woman go to Missouri

Oh bad That's crazy She's gonna watch this and have a heart attack She's gonna be like that motherfucker No honestly the women The women in Missouri just I don't know what it is bro and I've always been into older women so like I just like I don't know what it is man like I just I really

really liked it and I've been I've been another place been in Colorado uh been in Chicago uh I've been to more countries and states but like I've been to enough states where it's like you know Texas like just not attracted to to Hispanic women at all which is a rare thing to hear and you know there's a reason behind that which we can we can get into latinas are the best though man for a white guy you know we love the latinas mr. big mr. big you are the type of guy that then likes to either wake up what knife on your throat wondering if she's going to fuck you or kill you. Like that is just... I like to live life on the edge.

Honestly, I'll tell you this real quick. The main reason why I got cheated on while I was in Iraq. Oh shit. Yeah. Yeah, man. That sucks. Yeah, bro. Did you come home on leave and you see the other man in the bed?

Nah, man. It was a... I never told this story out, actually. What ended up happening was I had a family member call me January 7 of 2009. And they told me that they saw her at the courthouse getting married. And some pictures were taken.

Getting married while she's with you? She was engaged to me, bro. Holy shit. Yeah. That sucks. And yeah, I don't think I've ever recovered from that, to be honest. I've never talked about it, to be honest with you. Like, I've mentioned, like, oh, I got cheated on that rag.

But, yeah. It, like, really hurt. And it, like, really put me in a position where it was like, okay, fuck you. Like, you know, because I, you know, man, I'm not an easy person to get along with, and I'm not the greatest person, but I'm not a, I don't think I'm a very good person,

but I know I'm not that much of a piece of shit. And I know I've done things in my life that, you know, I've hurt people and stuff like that, just as everyone has. But I've paid my amends to that. And that one is just one that just has never left me. It just never left me because I never knew why. I think that's the thing, Mr. Big,

is I never knew, I never knew why. And it just, it hurts so bad because I was like, what did I, what did I do that merited that, you know? And I think that's the problem a lot of, a lot of guys have is what, what could I do that would have changed that? But at the end of the day, man, you, you know, you'll just, you'll never know, you'll just never know. You know, that's the worst, man. That feeling of the unknown and, I think that's definitely, it's not even the unknown. It's not even the unknown because Iraq was unknown. Joining the army was unknown.

It's the fact that if you and I do business and we engage in business, right, and you betray me, why? I'm the type of person that if you say, hey, Richard, man, you know, Richard, this isn't working out. Mr. Big, why isn't it working out? Richard, I got to make more money. Insert whatever fucking variable you want to put in. It does not matter. We're human beings, we're adults. We can talk it out.

We can talk it out. And I think for the longest time, like, that really fucked me up. Because I cheated on a lot of people and, you know, I did some horrible shit for the longest time. And then when I finally realized, like, oh, man, like, this isn't right. You know, like, I shouldn't do this to people. But at the same time, you'll never know why some people do the shit that they do to you. Because some people, unfortunately, I've come to learn is they're listening to someone else instead of trying to talk to you and listen and actively engage. So I think that's

why honestly, like, for the longest time I'm like, I just don't want to deal with this, you know? And I'm not saying to clarify, because I know how this will go is I'm not saying, oh, Hispanic women, but it's just, I'm not, I'm just not attracted. Like, I'm not. Like, I can look at a Hispanic woman

and Miss Universe and say she's beautiful because I'm not, you know, I'm not dumb. I'm not going to cover the sun with my dick. It's not that big, first of all. But I am going to say, no, that person's beautiful. Just not interested. But if fucking, you throw fucking my wife in the middle, bro, like, it's, like, I.

Like, it's hard for me to even be here right now. Be away from my wife and my kid. But it's like, you know, obviously it's a great opportunity number one or number two. It's great to network and connect with people. But yeah, dude, I don't think I've ever told that story like that before. So why did you decide to leave the military? I kind of just fell out of love with it, man. Because when I got out in 2013, there was like a lot of circumstances surrounding it.

The number one circumstance around it was the military started. to change to a non-war time military. So what they were concentrating on was no longer on if you had a combat patch on your right sleeve. They were concentrating as, well, what can you do for this new military that's not an occupational force? Number one. Number two, I wanted to go to war again. And that was because I was just chasing that high of like, America's first pledge was freedom. Jeep still carries that fighting spirit.

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If I want another ribbon, you know, and that's just ignorance on my part. You know, it's just the, you know, the young guy trying to like, you know, go do stupid things, you know. But honestly, man, like, it was just the change, like the dramatic change in the force and, like, how things were done. Like, I had soldiers that were showing up to units, like, 100 pounds overweight, like soldiers that couldn't pass a physical, soldiers that were disrespectful and you couldn't smoke the shit out of them anymore. So it's like, okay, well, then you want me to process. Oh, everything has to be done by paper. Okay, so let me get this straight. What you're telling me is that you no longer want me to basically torture them,

if that's how you want to put it, right? You want me to just take away their rank every time they do something or you want me to punish them in this way. Well, yeah, and I disagree with that. Because not everyone needs to get fucked over. Not everyone needs, not everyone needs to have their rank taken or be given restrictions or have their money taken. Some people, they just need to have someone talk to them

and talk to them real stern, you know? Because that's a problem I have. Like, I have soldiers who are still in. Well, not soldiers anymore. I have acquaintances who are selling that were my soldiers. Then, you know, one of them's a warrant officer right now. Another one he just retired recently. Sergeant Billy Joe Charles, he's still in as an E-7, you know.

And you hear the stories of like the stupid things that you had to deal with and you kind of go, oh yeah, I remember that. Oh, we're going to go, I'll give you an example. We're going to go shoot at the range at nine, 900 hours.

Well, you got to go draw weapons at 4 o'clock in the morning. Well, why? We don't have to shoot until 9. Well, because we have to make sure the weapons are clean. The weapons should be clean. That's the fucking armorer's job.

Why am I doing the armor's job? What is the point of having an armorer if he's not going to do his job? So like stupid shit like that and I just kind of like you know I did a little bit of time in the reserves and that was just horrible Like shout out to the reservist and the national guards not for me bro like if I can't smoke weed and I can't get drunk You're gonna have to pay me full time not this part-time shit you know It's just not my thing that was like the main reason why I got out man I just kind of like and too I was in love with somebody and they wanted me to get out

You know that's part of it too you know So like I got out and, uh, yeah, man. And you jump right into the world of interpreting? No, man. So I got out in 2012 and, uh, the main thing that I wanted to do was I wanted to be an athlete for a while. I wanted to just do jujitsu because jujitsu had saved my life so many times, like so many times. because I started Jiu-Jitsu in 2000, like on our own because we had a guy that was named Joe Pellegrino who was teaching.

He was a purple belt in 2010. So like I started with him and like I never forget. I never forget the time, the first time I fell in love with Jiu-Jitsu was in Iraq. We were having a down day, which basically a down day is basically where you refuel, you not refuel, you clean up your gear. You have a day where you check your vehicles. You make sure everything's fine. You get your calls home.

You know, you have a nice sit-down meal and all this other shit. And, you know, you refit your gear. And then you do training because you have to train. You have to train room clearing. You have to train military police procedures. You have to make sure that you know how to like understand how to like when to shoot when not to shoot. You have to go to the range. So like that's a full day.

And we were at the gym and I saw this dude who I've never told this to his face. actually. His name's Jason Powell. He lives in Missouri right now. And Jason, it was like his fourth deployment and he was just an angry fucking dude. Like just angry at the world. And I never forget, he rolled with,

he grappled with like 10 people and he choked all of them in less than five minutes. Like all of them. He just fucking in five minutes, one by one, just choked them. And I was like, there's no fucking way. Like, and some of the guys that he was rolling with were guys that I know for a fact I couldn't handle.

So I never forget. I asked him, hey, Sam, Paul, he's like, what's up? He's like, well, what is that union? He's like, it's jiu-jitsu. I'm a blue belt. I'm like, oh, okay, cool. And I just walked away. And that stayed with me.

So I remember when I got to the States, I found out this guy named Joe Pillar Green, and he was teaching. And I never forget, the first thing you taught me was an arm drag to a rear-naked choke. It was the first thing he taught me, arm-drag to a rear-naked choke. Arm-drag, rear-naked choke.

And I did that for months. And one day, I, I got into a situation with these three young gentlemen that were attacking a drill sergeant. And I had to go to work. And I ended up grabbing one of them. And I just took his back and just slapped a choke. And he went out. And then the other one, like, fought, Taze the other one.

And then the other one, like, I hit him with my baton. And I was like, holy fuck, Jiu-Jitsu for the win, man, you know? Jiu-Jitsu for the win. So when I got out, I was like, I just, I just really want to dedicate some time to Jiu-Jitsu. Here we are 10 years later, man, and I'm still dedicating fucking time to J-J-Zitsu, you know? So in 2013, I ended up deciding, like, you know, you have your GI Bill when you get out, which everybody uses. Like, if you don't use your GI Bill, you're dumb. Like, I hate to say this.

If you don't give your GI Bill to someone, you're dumb. It's free fucking college education. I think it's 36 or 42 months or something of 100% paid tuition. They give you a stipend. every month that it can cover rent in certain places, you know. So what I decided to do was I'm going to pursue a degree and I'm just going to train Jiu-Jitsu full-time. So that's all I did was, you know, five to eight hours a day, just train Jiu-Jitsu and just study.

And that's what I did for a while. And it was some of the happiest times of my life because I really realized that I thought I had learned in Iraq that with very little you can do a lot, but with jujitsu, I learned how to be happy having very little and being able to do a lot. And that's what I did for a while, man. Like, all I did was jujitsu and just go to school. And then eventually after a few years, I got a job because jiu jitsu doesn't pay. And I struggle for a little bit. I struggle for a while because when you get out and you've seen, you've seen some things that you do. just can't take back, you don't really realize that there's a community for you. So

Jiu-Jitsu for me was that community. And that's one of the things that I did for a while. Interpreting came later. Interpreting came way later. And interpreting was always in my life because I was always like on the side. You know, I'd help people with their kids like, hey, my kid has this Spanish lesson. Can you help him? I go absolutely in the army. In the army, I had guys that would be like, hey man, I got to take a Spanish class. Like, if I fill up your fridge with 20 fucking Tomahawksdegs, will you help me with my homework? I'm like, brother, absolutely a couple of times.

We had situations where people needed interpreters because situations would happen. And I got some funny stories on that too. Because I've actually arrested a couple people for doing some dumb shit that because of my language skills, I was able to like identify like, oh, you're doing something that you shouldn't. Because people probably mistake you for being white, too. Oh, bro, all the time, homie.

Look at me, bro. Yeah, yeah, you're like Casper a little bit. Look, Casper. So when you did become an interpreter, does that be the builds? Is that a full-time gig? Let me know when it does, man. It was like a part-time gig? I mean, I interpret, listen, in what sense?

Like, in the beginning and stuff like that? No, like when you got into the law enforcement side of it, that's what I'm curious about. So what happened with me is I got, I was blessed enough to get an internship with a HSI for a little bit. What's HSI? HSI is Homeland Security Investigations. I was with ICE and I was with a narcotics unit that they're still active. So I'd rather refrain from giving that information because there's very important people that even though that didn't work out, I learned a lot from those people like a lot. and after that, because I had to move to Boston to do that,

and then I came back to Missouri because it just didn't pan out. And when I came back, I was like, okay, I really need to do something in this next chapter of my life. Like, I've done all these things. What do I want to do? And for like a year, I went back to Jiu-Jitsu, but I ended up getting injured. I had a cervical stenosis. Have you ever heard of that? It's basically where, to my understanding, the way it's explained to me is like your spine basically,

goes and it starts like stacking together and you can't turn your head sideways or do that and if you do you like black out because your body's like shutting down or seizing up which I got stem cells for thank God that helped a lot and during that time I gained a shit ton of weight like I used to be 365 pounds unfortunately

yeah bro like I'm showing you a picture of me I don't have my phone on me but I'll show you a picture of me when I got my purple belt I got my purple bell that the worst weight that I got it I cried when I got my, like I cried for an hour because I did not deserve my purple belt. And I still don't think I do. And when I got it, it was the day after my daughter was born. So I was like, oh, fuck, like, I can do this, you know?

And for me, it was like I need to do something that I know that I'm going to love. Because I try not to do anything that I'm not going to fall in love with. Because I'm the type of person that I'm all in or I'm all out. So I came to learn this really late in my life, unfortunately. So by the time that I had learned like, okay, I need to be all in or all out. Like I try not to do things that I wouldn't do until I die. Because life is too fucking short, man. And what I've come to discover is if you're not doing something, if you're not doing something and you love it.

And I'm not saying you're going to love everything. Because obviously there's things maybe about podcasting that you don't like. There's things about running a show that you don't like. You know what I'm saying? But you have to take the good and the bad, right? So I had a friend of mine named Lucas Walker That he's one of our black belts And he goes you know man

You you've helped people here with Spanish And you know you've interpreted for some people and stuff Why don't you do into the business And I was like yeah sure I don't I don't think anybody will need that So I ended up establishing my business It was A VLIS translations first And then we switch it to language ninja solutions Which is what it is now

And That's when The cases, the human trafficking cases started coming in in 2017. And that's when I like started throwing myself into doing interpreting. But it does not pay the bills, man. Like a lot, hundreds of people skipped out on payment. Some people never paid me for services.

Some people would utilize me and then I'd bill them and then they'd block me and never answer. Some people would recommend me like, oh, well, I'll do some marketing for you. I'll send you clients and like, never, never, never, never, never, never, ever. So does it pay the bills? Not really, man. So a human trafficking case, who's contracting you? Law enforcement or a civilian?

It's a great question. So for me, what happened was is I got contracted by either the state, law enforcement, and CPS organizations were the three main people who contract me out. I avoided going directly to people because the problem with that is that you're not always going to tell me the truth. and I don't know what role you're playing and it's too much back and forth in investigating for me to do that I just went with the agencies which those agencies are not

the government doesn't always tell the truth unfortunately as you know So walk us through a case of human trafficking as an interpreter As an interpreter? Yeah. For me. Yeah, what would they call you?

They say, hey, we need you on this case. What's it like? Are you out in the field with them? They got you in a bulletproof vest and walk it around? No, bro. No, no bulletproof. no bulletproof pests.

So a normal case would be I'll get a call and I'll say, hey, we have for me at least in the beginning no one told me that was trafficking cases. They would just say we have a person here that we speak Spanish or we think that speak Spanish because there's been a couple times that I've been called to the prisons

which I did a lot of prison interpreting too and it's like Vagoslav and I'm like, that's not Spanish. That is not Spanish at all. Or they'd be like Voselada Portuguese and I'm like that's Portuguese. I speak a little bit of that, you know?

Like, I'm not certified in Portuguese yet. So that happened a lot. But basically what a normal day would be is depending on the case. If it was a case that I had regularly, I already knew the drill. So I would ask the questions like, okay, how old is this person? Is this person in custody? Is this person in state custody? Like, these are questions that I asked.

And a lot of times people were comfortable with it because they kind of knew my background. They knew that I had a security clearance. they knew that I understood the legal system because I had a degree in it. They knew that I had prior military police. So basically what would happen is I would show up and, you know, as an interpreter, like if I was to show in right now, if you ever had a guest, to give an example, to give you a clear example, you have a guest to speak Spanish, right? What I would do is I would probably stand either behind outside of the camera angle or whatever camera I'm looking outside of the camera angle and I would do what's called whispering, whisper interpreting, right? And then when they would speak to you, I can either do one of three things. I can talk at the same time that they do.

I can talk. It would be you talk, I talk, I talk, you talk, I talk, I talk, you talk, I talk, they talk, right? Which that's continues. And then simultaneous interpreting is where I talk at the same time. And then you have something called site translations, which is what you see a lot in hospitals. Well, they'll give you like discharge paperwork, and I'll read to you what it says on the discharge paperwork. So those are the three modes of interpretings that you'll have. normally it's one of those three things.

And I would walk in and you really don't know anything, man. They don't tell you shit about the case. You walk in, unknown, and you start going. And that's basically like what a day is like, and that's most interpreters. I've been blessed that because people kind of started knowing me and I developed the name for myself, unfortunately, people kind of knew like, hey, it's about this. And I'd be like, okay, no problem, cool. What are you going to need? Well, we got to go this, we got to go here, we got to go that, we got to go there.

Like if it's a child removal, then I know that I'm probably going to be working for 24 hours. If it's just a visit, then I know I'm going to be there for a few hours. It all depends on the circumstances in which it happens. My first case ever was, I think you heard the Mireja interview, right? The Mirya interview were, right? Okay. My first case was I got called one night. And this is like the first time that I had a, well, my second time, actually.

My first time was, which was in Iraq, which I can give you that one if you'd like. Yeah, whichever one you want to give us. Yeah. Back in Iraq, we had a situation with Amaria. Amaria is one of our Mahalas, right? In Iraq, they divide, you know how we divide things in counties and cities and shit, right? They call them Mahalas. And each Mahala has an elder.

And back when I was in, there was entry points to each Mahala. So they had to have a pass or a Jincia, which is their ID. And there was one night that we had two of our IPs that, oh, fuck, excuse me. We had two of our IPs, man, that as I walked up to check on them, I see blood flowing. And I immediately like pop up. And if you see someone pop up, everybody's on high alert. So as I'm cut in the corner, I start seeing blood and they got shot in the head, both of them. And they were murdered.

and for a week that happened. And what ended up happening was we were able to triangulate like the times that we were finding the bodies, you know, investigative work. One morning we're at a, we're at a checkpoint, and I see this kid driving, which is fucking rare to see in Iraq. Like, you don't see a kid driving.

Like, you can tell that that person's a kid. And I started approaching to the kid and I go, Habibi, which means my friends. It's like, ah, yeah, I mean, you know, I knew like certain phrases and he just stares at me and he just, he's like this and he starts sliding down

and as soon as I saw him I like popped up and I go, I got one and I start fucking walking up to him and I told him to put his hands up and he just stares at me and I've never seen like we had picked up

terrorists that were putting bombs and stuff like that in schools but they were terrified of us bro. Like if you wake up someone at 2 o'clock in the morning and you see three guys on top of your bed and then you have a bag over your head you're not really gonna fight me

you know what I'm saying there was something weird about this person and I had never met someone that had just had the look that he fucking had so I pop up and he immediately puts his hands up and you can you know how it is you've seen people when they gave up they kind of just like all right whatever like let's go through this process

so me and Sergeant Charles pull him out And when we pull them out, we're like, we get the interpreter over here. And, you know, at this point, everybody's watching us. So you got to move fast. You got to, like, move quick when you're doing something in country because you don't know who's watching. You don't know if that's a Vib. You know, you don't know if that's a vehicle-borne IED that's going to blow up.

And he was the trigger. And they're leading you on to it. You don't know if they put that kid in there with a fake gun. So you can then capture him and say, look, the Americans are doing this shit. And that was something they would. do a lot of time to us. They'd give the kids fake AKs, and the kids would go out,

and some of the kids are excited. You know, they're playing war or whatever, because that's, you know, they're kids, you know? And, dude, you don't, you don't ever want to be the person to shoot a kid, homie. Like, you don't. I have friends who, unfortunately, they've had to do that,

and they're never the same. They've never been the same. And we pick up the kid, bag and tie him, put them in the back of the truck. We start getting everything out of the truck. There's a 45. in there, which later on ended up with ballistics, we ended up finding out that was the murder

weapon. He had a, like a dragoon or whatever the fuck the fuck the name is, Draganoff, sniper rifle, or whatever the fuck with a ton of ammo. He had a bunch of different Gen Cias, a bunch of different IDs. And I hear one of the NCOs go, he's like, this motherfucker's an assassin. Like, what the fuck is? How old is this fucking kid? And we take him over to our processing station and put him in the interrogation room and he's just calm as a cucumber Mr. Bick. Just calm as fuck. Calm as fuck. And for some reason, dude, I don't know if, I don't know if you can relate to this,

but there's like this primal fear when you see someone who's very calm in that situation that you're like, you should not be this calm when 10 guys have guns in your face, you know? And they put them in and, you know, we're watching. This is one of the few times that I think God they let us watch. and normally when you bring a dog in a room the Iraqis don't like the dogs they're terrified of the dogs and we're making comments like well you know

I'm not making comments the team leaders that are dealing with him are saying well you know we can just bring the dog in and let the dog ring and he's just like he looks at them and he's just like nothing and they keep talking they keep talking and at one point someone says

they walk outside and they go this motherfucker speaks English because you could tell like by his body language which we were saying things, and he would, like, look and, like, shake his head. And you can tell, like, he's understanding it. And one of the team leaders goes in, he goes, you speak fucking English. Like, stop playing with me.

Like, who the fuck are you who are a part of? He looks at him, he goes, I am Muhammad, whatever the fuck, whatever the fuck it is. I am here to bring death to America. I never forget this. I'm here to bring death to America. And he just looks at him and he goes, and you're in my fucking way.

and I was like Oh dear mother of God Like what the fuck And he starts talking He was part of something called Jam Which I can't remember what the acronym stood for But basically jam was an organization Which was like I think like a

It's like a lot of those guys went to ISIS And basically they were like Fucking wild dude Like they would decapitate people And like grab the blood from the decapitated head And put the hand on print Handprint on a house and be like Like, this is now belongs to Jam.

This is ours now. And it's like wild shit like that. And he ended up telling them. Like, he's like, yeah, I work for these people. He's like, there's nothing you can do that's going to bother me. And then after that, dude, like, I had no fucking idea what happened to him. But I remember coming back on base and like the good thing as a private is you don't have to do debriefs. That's the best thing of being a private in the army.

You don't have to do debriefs. You just go back to your hooch and clean your gun. The NCOs have to go give a briefing to the fucking task force people. They had to go call some people to deal with him. They were trying to figure out if they should give him to the Iraqis or if they should process him with a task force that would take them and whatever. And like, dude, that was like the first time that I was like in fear. Like besides the times we found IEDs and stuff like that,

that I was like, oh, this person can genuinely like, this person can generally fuck me up like very easily. And I never forget because, you know, the next day we go and, meet up and, you know, we're having our meeting. And Batcher, Christopher Betcher was my gunner. He goes, hey, what's happened? What happened to that little kid? And they go, yeah, he's a victim of, let's call the children of war.

It's basically what they do is these motherfuckers, they take these kids at a young age, and they trained them to be assassins, and they trained him to be killers. And then they just send them to random parts. And because they're kids, a lot of times, people don't want to shoot the kid. So that's what they were doing. And they're the ones with the rocket along. They're the ones with the rocket launches and the IEDs, bro. It's fucking crazy.

And that was like my first experience with like a child of war man. And when I came back to the States in 2017, I got a call at 3 o'clock in the morning. And there's this person says like, hey, you know, my name is so-and-so where I don't want to name the church because they've preferred to stay quiet on it, you know, obviously for obvious reasons. and the church goes we have someone here that we believe speak Spanish and you can tell the persons like we have someone here to speak Spanish and we need your help right now

and I'm like all right hey well how did you find me and the reason I did that is because when someone's like going through that and it's like that breathing it's very dangerous because you don't want that person to go into shock because when someone goes into shock you're fucked like the probability of them coming out of shock

is really difficult So I was like, hey man, how did you find me? Oh, well, we just Googled Spanish translator. And I was like, in my head, I'm like, it's interpreter, but whatever. Because interpreting is verbal. Translating is written. Some people, this will be a good one on your comments section. Some people are going to be like, that's not true.

But fuck you, whatever. That's the way I say it. And they put the girl on the phone and she says, she goes, please help me. They're trying to sell me. and I go, okay, you know, oh, sorry, need a moment there. They go, I go, hey, okay, no problem. We need to stop here. You need to call the cops.

There's nothing more shit I can do. You know, if I need to stay on the line or whatever, you need to call the cops right now and not let anyone near that person. So they hang up and, oh, excuse me, man. They, you know, they hang up and like immediately the cop, mindset in me goes, not cop, I'd say military police mindset goes, yeah, I should write this down. Because that's one thing that as an interpreter, you'll always do. You'll always have good fucking notes because you never know what's going to happen, man. So I took note of it,

took a screenshot of my phone, you know, like an investigation. And I go back to bed and, you know, I didn't think anything of it, you know, just, eh, just another person heard in the world, you know. And I get a call a couple hours later from, you know, and I get a call a couple hours later from a police station in Missouri. They go, hey, you know, my name is Detective So-and-So, Lieutenant So-and-So. I need you to come in, we need a Spanish interpreter,

I see that you have a background in this, because on my website, everything's there. Like, it's like, you know, I have a background in this, this is what I've done. So, like, I understand. I say that because most people in law enforcement, they go, oh, this dude understands how to keep common collective under pressure. He's definitely seen some shit. So I don't have to, like, have that shock

of like, oh, my God. Because a lot of interpreters, that's the problem I have with a lot of interpreters when I mentor them is that they're like, yeah, but how do you deal with it? I'm like, bro, we'll deal with that later. You got to help this person. Fuck your feelings, homie. You got to deal with what's in front of you. So, you know, I get a call. And like, the whole time I'm not, they're like, yeah, we need you to sign this and this.

And, you know, you're going to meet with this person. This is the address. blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, yeah, no, no problem. Just give us your rates. And we need to do it right now. So I start driving and like on the drive there, you know, I'm, going through like my Iraq mindset. Okay, I'm going to get there. I'm going to talk to this person.

If this person is going to talk to me, I know who I need to talk to. I need to talk this. I have this number saved. I didn't even take that person's name like an idiot because I was like, I should have asked for a name. But dude, as soon as I got to the station, they were like, oh, you're the interoper. I go, yeah. And I get in there and I hear the girl starts talking after, you know, we're with the attorneys and all this other shit. I hear the girl talking and I recognize her voice. And I go, let me stop you right here. Because as an interpreter, you, you cannot be compromised. So like I legally should not,

cannot interpret for my family in a medical or legal setting because I'm compromised. So if I know who this person is, even though I really don't, I like to always give people the benefit. Like I've interpreted for this person because there's always an attorney's

because attorneys are assholes that's going to be like, well, there's an emotional bond here and the interpreter. It's like, fuck you, bro. Like I'm here to tell you what that person says. Don't talk to me. me, don't look at me, don't ask me

motherfucking questions, go the fuck away, let me do my job. And dude, we started talking. It turns out she had been sold all the way from Central America. She told the story of how she got here. And it was like really shocking. And it like really like, it didn't bother me at first.

This is the crazy thing Mr. Big is like, it didn't bother me. You don't have to call me Mr. Beck. I'm sorry. I'm younger than you, Ben. Well, it's just, you know, it's a respect him. It's a military. I call you Ian.

Yeah, you call you. So, you know, after that, I went back and I, like, the next day. Like, hey, I'm attorney so-and-so. I have a person here that is with immigration and they have all these issues. And, dude, one thing just led to another. Next year, you know, like, CPS is calling me to do these cases. And then I started realizing that not a lot of interpreters could do this because they just didn't have, like, people tend to get too emotional when it comes to shit

and as an interpreter you can't you have to just understand I'm there to tell you what this person is saying I'm not there to give you an opinion I don't give a fuck what you think I don't give a fuck what happens I am here to give you I am here to tell you what this person is saying

that's it and for the longest time that worked until I had a case in 2020, I think it was 2020, 2019, where this woman named Lori Lumberg, which rest in peace, man, she recently passed away. She used to run this domestic violence center called the Freedom's Rest that I had a shit ton of cases with her, a shit ton. And she calls me and she says, I got a woman that we have information and we're working with the PD in Springfield,

Missouri. She says this woman's being held in a basement and she they let her go out at night. And one day a neighbor saw her and called the cops because she had, um, she had, uh, like, marks as if she'd been tied up, but she was out walking. So I never forget. I was like, well, Lori, just call me. You know, no problem. Just call me and whatever. I was at an open mic and I finished the open Mike and I get done with my set and I got like three missed calls from Lori. She goes, hey, they got her out. They got her out. The cops came and picked her up, but she doesn't want to say what house it is. So I was like, okay, well, what do you need to me for? It's like, well, they're having a language issue. I'm like, I'm on my way, bro. I'm on my way. At this point, my wife knew

what I, what I did for a living. Like, she was aware of it. So we get to the place and she starts telling the story. She came here on a visa. Turns out that she, immigration never came over. she stayed past her visa and bro when i'm telling you she was skinny she was very skinny and we were trying to get her into the hospital to get her checked because something just wasn't right with her like it's just something wasn't right you know and next day i actually called up one of one of my jiu jitsu people and this is where i say jiu jih Tzu's really saved my life a bunch of times and save other people's life. And we had someone who was a doctor and they're like, hey, we, I can, I can get them in,

you know. And, you know, this person, because like, a lot of the guys at Jiu-Jitsu didn't know this about me, they were just like, Richard's so goofy and weird. And he just says, like, awful jokes, like these dirty jokes. But what it was is I was just trying to like, and, you know, I learned this through years of therapy. What I was doing was I was just trying to mask the sadness that I felt because of all the shit that I had to interpret and all the shit that.

that I had seen, and I didn't want to admit that it was bothering me. So I just use humor to fucking mask it, you know? It's a lot of buildup from everything you've seen on the interpreting standpoint and the military standpoint. No one gets that. No one gets that. No one. You're the first, the second person actually, besides me to fucking understand that.

Because I just thought it was normal. I'm like, yeah, the world's a fucked up place. The world's a shit place. But who am I? I'm just the guy that's here to help. And we get to the hospital and, you know, the woman's there. And we get there and, like, the doctor goes, hey, Richard, what's up? I go, please do not address the interpreter.

Please talk to the LEP, which is limited English proficient or limited English person. And she, like, what the fuck, you know? Like, what's wrong? It was okay. And she was pregnant. She was five-month pregnant. And she had a baby boy. And she didn't know it.

And she starts talking and she goes, when we got her back to the domestic violence center, she goes, yeah, I think that's why they were saying that they were going to sell me. And I don't know why, man, but like I got home and I just broke down. Like I fucking broke down like a little bitch. I broke down crying because I was a dad at that time. And it just fucked me up that someone could be that shitty. And then that brought up all the hundreds of fucking cases that I had done that I was like, ah, fuck, dude.

Like, this is really shitty. And, like, people don't really know about this because it would never make the news. It made the news once where I had a reporter that there was a case with these girls that it was a family that they, it made the news. Like, they removed these kids and the girls were sold and were getting prostituted and stuff. And, like, it was pretty big. and there was a picture of me what I had in glasses

and a reporter found me and when the reporter found me I looked at him and I go don't ever fucking come come see me again and if you do we're gonna have a fucking problem I have nothing to say dude that reporter never came back

most nicest reporter ever I don't know her name I don't know his name I don't know anything don't care he's like are you the interpreter with this case on this county and this city and I was like don't ever fucking come talk to me again

I have nothing to say get the fuck away from me you know I really makes you like appreciate life. Oh, bro. When you hear about stuff like this and the dark, because there is darkness in the world, you know, and it does happen. And we hear about it in the news, but that's just like the tip of the iceberg.

There's just so much out there. It is. And that's why it's important to have a place to talk about it and get that out to so many people to share it because you don't know who you're helping in that sentence too. Yeah, man. Like people don't like, the biggest problem I have, like, I teach people about this now. Like I ended up I ended up

Started working with this company called Trans Interpreting That basically what it does is they They basically teach interpreters Through classes and stuff like that Like how to deal with certain things like hey You want to learn about depositions Because you need an interpreter for almost anything If you go to a deposition for a workers comp

And you're Hispanic you need a fucking interpreter If you go to the hospital You need a fucking interpreter and what people don't understand is if you don't provide language services, that's a violation of the Civil Rights Act. Under Executive Order 131-66, that's a fucking violation of the Civil Rights Act. And people don't know this.

I've had people in the school system tell me, we just let the kids do it. I'm like, all it takes, and this is for any attorney listening, I'm about to make you super rich. All it takes is one of those people to say, that you did not provide them with language services because you never asked them.

And that attorney, because you know how attorneys are, you know how fucking attorneys are, all it takes is that one fucking attorney that has a stick up their head, up their ass, I'm sorry, that wants to make a name from themselves, and they start going and you're going to shit yourself, bro, because no one respects it. And it's not only for the Hispanic community,

it's for every fucking language out there. People just don't respect it. and then they wonder why is it that it's like, oh man, well, no one wants to come here. I want to open up to the Hispanic market. Well, motherfucker, you need a language person. What a lot of people do is they'll hire someone who speaks Spanish, but they don't know how to interpret. And those are two completely different fucking separate cases. That would be, to give you an example, like saying federal prison and county jail are the same thing, Ian.

That debate can go on for hours. But you get what I'm saying. But at the end of the day, the answer is, no, it's not. Like it's fucking ridiculously different. So the problem a lot of people have is they don't understand the problem that they're creating for themselves legally. And I've been called to testify before for interpreters that have said shit. I had an interpreter, bro, that got someone killed. It wasn't my interpreter.

It was a hospital that they fucking, they utilize a family member and the dude had alcohol poisoning because he was a drunk. And the family didn't want to tell them that he was a drunk because they were scared they were going to call the cops. that person died because they were like, oh no, he took, they said that he took like some medication or something, but it wasn't like when they had it on video and they had it on audio, the person didn't say that. What they said was they were changing what they were saying because they didn't want the family member to get like put in somewhere. When that person needed help, that person fucking died, bro. That person died. Those people sued the hospital and they fucking won.

They fucking won, bro, and they settled out of court Because the hospital was like, oh, we fucked up We didn't provide them with language services But they themselves, you know what I'm saying? Like, this is the type of shit that kills me Is like people don't understand how important it is For you to be able to effectively Forget about interpreting or anything right now.

People don't understand the importance of How important it is for you to like be able to communicate And communicate effectively, especially when someone's life, someone's livelihood hangs on the line. Like, imagine if you were in another country and you had an interpreter, in the interpreter, you hear someone go,

well, me, we'll have to enter in these cherellas, and he goes, you good? Like, you can tell that it's like, that's not all that he said. You said two words. He had like three sentences in there. Like, this is the problem that people have.

And that's when I ended up with transinterpreting to like teach those classes. and it blows my mind the amount of people that I'll be like, oh yeah, I teach this class. It's like, and dude, the funny thing is, this sounds like a selfless plug-in, but like my boss was like,

hey, man, this is like a really important class. Dude, my class is $89. And it's three hours with me talking about this and giving you all the information of like, hey, if this happens, you can do this. Because people don't get that. When you have a trafficking victim that the state occupies, they have to go to the hospital.

If they go to school, right, they have to go back to school. If they live in an apartment complex, the state's going to go visit their apartment complex. If that person has a job, the state is going to want to make sure that their job is safe. And the biggest thing for me is nowadays is like, I just want people to understand what the fuck you need to look for.

Because it's not hard. It's not hard for you to look around and go, that doesn't look right. Why is that 60-something year old dude with this girl that has makeup and she looks like she's 12 like why is this little girl shaking next to this dude and the dude is like telling her to shut the fuck up

and I'm not saying that every time if it looks like a duck it sounds like a duck right that's not the situation all the time because you know do you have children? No good you're good for now for now but kids kids also can be little shit sometimes you know because it's like do you want I want that toy I'm not getting you that toy we just got a toy yesterday you know

but if you've ever like I've done interpreting for the child advocacy center which is basically the if you ever heard of the doll interviews so the doll interviews are rough it's basically where a trained

psychiatrist psychologist sits there and when someone's been sexually assaulted or a child's sexually assaulted they go to the child advocacy center and sometimes an interpreter has to sit there and those things are rough bro they're fucking rough Like they are the interpreters that sit down and do that bro

God bless their heart man because those dudes have more trauma than I care to carry Because it's rough sitting there and like the psychologist is trying to figure out like what word means this What's that? What means this? Especially with kids because their vocabulary is not as developed So those are the things that nowadays like I I personally try to like really really like help people but like people people People just aren't interested, man. People just don't give a fuck. I've had doctors.

I've had doctors look at me in the face and say, yeah, that happens in Liam Neeson movies. And I'm like, like, what? Like, are you fucking serious? Like, in Missouri, we just recently had a case a couple months ago where this girl was trafficked from Texas, from a San Antonio game, all the way to St. Louis, they found her. And that was just less than six months ago. wild and people don't care to don't care bro they just don't care this is one of the reason why when you ask me early like does it pay the bills i'm like well you do it you do it out of

passion man and you're doing some great work and you know hopefully this sheds some light on that world i hope people see this and they really if there's anything that you take out of this just look around your community just look around because dude i can look around right now and tell you like all right that car's been sitting there for a while you know hey that person looks like they live here. There's certain manners of things that people do. But at the same time, man, there's also like things that people just don't want to address. I think

deep down some people just don't want to, you know, they don't want to break their castle of glass. Like, my kid, it's like, bro, you don't know. You probably talk to someone who's been trafficked and you don't know it. Pay attention. Yeah. Yeah. Ricardo, thank you so much, man, for coming

on the show. Oh, thank you so much. You know, it's been a pleasure. Very interesting conversation. So much knowledge. So many different perspectives. It's cool for our viewers to hear a different perspective on this, you know, world of that kind of correlates back to criminal justice and what goes on. So, you know, safe travels back. We wish you the best and everything. If you want to plug your podcast into it. Yeah. Can I plug a few things if that's okay? And we'll have the descriptions, whatever you want added, you know, just send to me. We'll put them in

the bio. Thank you so much for doing this. I've been a fan of yours since you started because like I said, it's very informational. It's very, very informational. You and there's another gentleman I've seen you with not the plug. There's another gentleman that he talks about like drugs and stuff like that, that he has a wealth of knowledge to. I've seen y'all together.

I can't recall his name. I'm so sorry. But if you ever need anything, man, like I'm always available. For the people listening to me, you know, you can find me on the RICO podcast. That's on YouTube. If you want to learn more about what I do, just go to transinterpreting.com. you'll be able to find everything that I do. I also teach classes about Puerto Rico for travels,

which actually I have some classes for you that I'll be sending you that'll teach you some slang and some other stuff how to talk to the seigneuritas if you know what I'm saying. So, brother, thank you so much for this. I appreciate it. Yeah, of course, Brad. Thank you so much.