The Daily Signal - Decorated Combat Veteran Achieves New Heights as Bestselling Author

Episode Date: October 7, 2019

American combat veteran and bestselling author Sean Parnell joins The Daily Signal podcast to discuss the battles he fought in Afghanistan and how they inspired his works of fiction.  Parnell joined the Army in the wake of 9/11 and served his country until he was wounded in battle in June of 2006. A highly decorated military Captain, Parnell shares his own memories of war and why he chose to write his first book, “Outlaw Platoon,” followed by “Man of War” and “All Out War.” Also on today's episode: • We also read your letters to the editor. You can leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. • And we share a good news interview with the founders of the re-Ratify Project - a nonprofit dedicated to educating young people on the Constitution.   The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. All of our podcasts can be found at dailysignal.com/podcasts. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, October 7th. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Keanu Sedman, an intern here at the Heritage Foundation. Today we share Virginia's interview with Sean Parnell, Army Veteran, and author of the newly released book All Out War. Plus, we read your letters to the editor, and Keanu brings us a great good news story about a nonprofit organization that is doing amazing things to teach young people about the Constitution. Before we get to today's show, Virginia and I want to tell you about one of our other favorite podcast here at The Daily Signal called Problematic Women. Every Thursday morning, Problematic Women brings you stories and interviews that are of particular interest to conservative leaning or problematic women. That is women whose views and opinions are often excluded or mocked by those on the so-called feminist left.

This engaging podcast covers everything from pop culture to policy and politics. Search for problematic women wherever you get your podcast. Now stay tuned for today's show coming up next. Exciting news for heritage members. Our 2019 Presidents Club is taking place October 21 through 23 in Washington, D.C. This is an exclusive event for heritage members to hear directly from our experts and other conservative leaders. This year, that includes Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. To learn more about how you can attend, please call 1-800-546-2843.

That's 1-800-546-2843. I am joined on the Daily Signal podcast by Sean Parnell, decorated Army veteran and New York Times best-selling author. Sean, thank you so much for joining me. Hey, it's great to be here. Thanks for making some time for me today. Absolutely. Well, Sean, before we talk about your latest book, All Out War, which is fantastic, I want to talk for a moment about your service in the Army.

You joined the Army in 2001 and served until you were wounded in combat in 2006. Why did you decide to join? I was faced with a choice or with the opportunity of joining the military in the wake of September 11th. And I was a young sophomore in college, and I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. I was an elementary education major for a while, and then I was a secondary education major for a while. And I just remember very clearly waking up, you know, laying on my couch, not particularly motivated for the day, you know, staggering over to the television set, turning it on and watching it flicker to life just in a time for an airplane crashing to the World Trade Center. And, you know, I felt like my life was boiled down into those very moments. after that terrorist attack.

And I sort of, it was funny because I sort of knew exactly what I wanted to do in that moment, even though I didn't come from a long line of military leaders or people would serve in the military at all. And so I just, I just knew that joining the military and being a part of America's collective response to those attacks was what I was meant to do with my life. And so, you know, two days after, down at the recruiter station telling them I want to, that I want to join the Army. and not just the army, but I want to join the infantry, go to airborne school, go to Ranger school, and get on the front lines and take the fight to the enemy, the enemy who attacked us on 9-11. So that's what I got an opportunity to do. Wow. Thank you for sharing that. And thank you for your service and for your courage and

the giant yes that you had in the wake of September 11th to serve your country. Well, you're welcome. You know, anytime people thank me for my service, I think about that and I appreciate that. And, you know, what really, what really dawns on me every time is that, you know, it wasn't honored to serve, you know, putting on that uniform and that you've got that American flag on your shoulder and the might and power, the American military at your back, you feel like you can, you know, accomplish any mission, you know, and we went to Afghanistan back in 2006, in January of 2006, we got there. And if you remember back to that time in this country. I mean, the eyes of this nation were wholeheartedly fixated on the Iraq war. Every

congressman and senator every day talked about the surge and IEDs and weapons of mass destruction. And there was a debate raging on the hill about whether or not we should even be there. So we went into Afghanistan sort of blind. You know, intelligence was very scarce. And I tell you right now, we just got thrown into the meat grinder, you know. And we didn't really know what to expect. But the enemy hit us pretty hard. And we were there for 400. 185 days, the longest combat deployment in global war and terror history. So it was a pretty crazy deployment to say the least. Yeah, no, that's so intense. And I want to ask you a little bit more about that because you led the legendary Outlaw platoon in Afghanistan, like you said, for 485 days under very heavy combat. For those who might not be familiar with Outlaw Platoon, can you

share a little bit just more about your mission, why you were there, and what happened? happened. Yeah. So our mission was real simple back in the day. It was to close with and destroy the enemy. And if you can find that Osama bin Laden guy while you're there, will that be great? You know, I mean, it's pretty simple. And what was interesting about the crime is that the politicians and the generals just sort of left it to the military leaders on the ground to figure it out, which is how the U.S. Army is meant to function and operate. And we, I think we did a great job being empowered to make those difficult decisions on the ground. And so we were there, the outlaw platoon, the story itself is just essentially the story

of my troops. And, you know, one of the things that I realized pretty quickly when we were there is that my soldiers, every soldier has to go on what they call R&R leave, rest and relaxation leave, and they go home for two weeks, and then they come back to the fight. And, you know, almost universally, I heard stories from my soldiers coming back, saying coming back into the fight saying you know somebody thanked them for their service and then they immediately pivot to where are you deployed and then my soldiers would answer uh we were in afghanistan and then you know the american that asked them would breathe a sigh of relief and just say oh thank god

you're in afghanistan because iraq is just so bad my soldiers would think like well god you know i just got shot in the head last week we get shot it every day you know americans have no idea what's going on here and so i realized pretty quickly after i got back and i was lucky enough to make it back a lie that, you know, the responsibility to tell their story and to ensure that that heroism is passed down from one generation to the next. That responsibility lies with me as the leader. And that was sort of the catalyst for me to jump into the writing process and putting together the story about Law Patoon, which is, which became, you know, a crazy New York Times bestseller from the first week that it was on sale, which is just, which was kind of surprising and shocking

for me, for sure. Yeah. Wow. And how much? much of that that first book that you wrote outlaw platoon was uh you know directly kind of following what you had experienced in afghanistan and telling those personal stories yeah 100 percent i mean when i when i first got back from afghanistan what i immediately started doing was piling what's called patrol reports and so every time you leave the wire the leaders is part of the leader's job to write a report of what they did outside like a daytime group how many trucks you had how many men you had with you the names of the men the weapon systems on the trucks um to you know people that you met on the battlefield whether it's human intelligence or villagers and villages or talking to village elders

or getting attacked by the enemy all that stuff goes into the reports and so what i did is just started piecing together uh you know what was to become outlaw platoon and a coherent story from those events and So what you read on the pages of Outlaw Patoon is at the end of the day, I think it's like 10% of our experience. But it encapsulates what is, I think, a 485-day combat deployment and what it's like for, you know, an ordinary infantryman on the ground in the war of Afghanistan. And, you know, being an infantryman in combat is something that's really unique, you know. Seals get a lot of the street credit in this day and age, and they should. They're awesome. and they take the fight to the enemy.

But what's unique about infantrymen is they're left out there to figure it out. You know, when we were deployed on the border, we were deployed on a base and we were just sort of just held the line there, never left for a year, 16 months, essentially, almost a year and a half. And, you know, there's a special bond forged between infantry because we sort of get all the crappy jobs that nobody else does and we hold the line. And at the end of the day, every other branch to include U.S. Special Forces and CEOs, they support the infantry. They come into our area of operations and we keep that area of operations safe for them to do the surgical strikes that they need to do for us to win the war. I want to go back for a second to June 10, 2006. That was a very significant day for you and your men. you were in battle and outnumbered nearly 10 to 1 and under very, very heavy fire, but you

made it out alive and the men that were with you really honor you for having saved their lives that day. Can you tell me a little bit about that fight? And do we see that fight written into any of your books? Yeah, June 10, 2006 is that they, in my mind that I call my alive day. I was wounded on June 10, 2006, along with almost every member of my platoon. And it was just one of those days we were doing a routine observation post, and we got attacked by a force that outnumbered us 10 to 1. You know, they had hit us with air burst mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, and then they emplaced two different support-by-fire positions with three machine guns apiece

and had us in a crossfire, and then they attacked us with 80 to 100 enemy soldiers, and this relentless attack that lasted something like six hours. And, you know, they had 200 plus enemy troops and I had 24 guys on the ground. And so, you know, we fought like hell for, I mean, what felt like forever. And, you know, the attack, the attack was pretty relentless. The rate of fire was pretty.

I've never experienced a rate of fire that heavy. I mean, we could not move an inch. The fire was so heavy. And so within the first. minute of that engagement, you know, every key leader of my platoon was, was wounded, myself included. And so, you know, what I realized that day and part of the reason why we survived is, you know, the, you always hear that the American military is the best in the battlefield because of our technology and our weapon systems. And all of that is partly true, but really what separates

us from our enemy is the fact that, you know, the love and brotherhood that we share with each other. And so you always hear, you know, great, great leaders are supposed to inspire their troops through their actions. But the reality of the situation is on that day, it was great troops inspire their leader. And so for me, I saw, you know, the selfless acts of my soldiers, you know, trying to save one another every minute during that fight. And that was really what inspired me to fight further, faster, and harder than I ever thought I could. And so, you know, after six or some hours of this intense firefight, we eventually fought the enemy off, fought the enemy to a stalemate, actually. And we had to drop something like 21, what you call J-DAMs, 21, 2,000-pound bombs. A J-DAM is a joint direct attack munition just to break the enemy's will to fight that day.

And we limped off the battlefield victorious, but we took our licks too. Yeah. Wow. Thank you for sharing that. It's just incredibly powerful to hear your personal account. And you came home and received two bronze stars, one for valor and a purple heart. But after your injuries force you to retire from the Army and you decided to write Outlaw Platoon, was your thinking, you know, I'll write this one book and kind of be done, was being an author something that you had always aspired to do?

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, I, well, the answer to your question is twofold. Yes, I thought that Outlaw Platoon would be the last book. No, being an author. It's difficult to say, like, I loved fiction from the time I was a kid. You know, I think the first book I read on my own was The Hobbit in third grade, and I just fell in love with the idea of building a fiction story and creating a world and all the cool stuff that J.R.R. Tolkien did in those books from, they just mesmerized me, you know.

And so I, you know, I thought like, man, someday I'm going to write a book. And this is, you know, 10-year-old Sean. But back then it was sort of like saying you want to be an A-List celebrity or direct, you know, direct a major Hollywood film. It just didn't ever feel like it was a reality to me. So I guess in that sense, I guess I'd always dreamed of writing a book. And so when I had the opportunity to write out L'Albatoon and then have a little bit of it, and then have, it published and be successful, I started thinking of myself, well, geez, maybe I can make this dream of reality and maybe I got more books in me, you know, and because I always wanted to write fiction, I thought, well, maybe I'll start trying to learn the craft. And so that's sort of what, that was sort of what put me on this path of trying to, you know, you know, migrate from writing

nonfiction to fiction, which is, which are entirely different styles altogether. Your most recent book, All Out War, is the second book to feature your character, Eric Steele. The first was Man of War. And Eric Steele, he's an American special operative and a character that, as a reader, you're just instantly drawn to. How did you come up with this character? Well, you know, the process of character development can be a highly personal one, you know? And so, because at the end of the day, I think, you know, our hero that we, writers writing books and readers read and like, I mean, they're part of us, you know. And so just looking for, you know, the sort of daily inspirations that we draw from that we would then say, hey, this is a characteristic that I'd love to have in my hero.

I have to say, I thought, right back to my soldiers. And I would think back through that entirety of that combat deployment to my medic who was shot in the face but treated 12 casualties. and saved three lives. And, you know, Sergeant Hall, one of my soldiers who stormed up a hill, fought their enemy line, saved a Marines life who was shot in the pelvis. Like, these are all heroic actions. These are all the types of actions that you would see Eric Steele do in a fiction book, you know? And I just said, what better way to create a character or draw inspiration for creating a character than by looking at my men for that inspiration on the battlefield? And so I did.

And so it's been funny. people were like, Steele, Eric Steele, isn't that a little too on the nose? And I always say, I always laugh because it kind of does feel that way. But I had a commander in Afghanistan whose last name was Steele, S-T-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E. He was 6-8, 300 pounds larger than life. And then I'm also from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is the Steel City. So, you know, it worked on both a professional and personal level for me, and I thought it sort of spoke to the core of who Eric Steele was. And, you know, I sort of just created him from there. Yeah, no, I think it definitely worked.

very well. It gets the point across. Yeah, I try. You know, I mean, you know, you want your protagonist to have a sort of like a Jack Ritcher's name, you know, Jack Ritcher, I feel like was Lee Child's Jack Ritcher was sort of the first mainstream character that had a real catchy, sort of edgy last name. And I thought I sort of need something like that to hang with the big dogs. And so Eric Steele was created. And the hope is one day, maybe I'll maybe I'll be with the big dogs one day. But for I'm just sort of content learning the craft and trying to build the brand. What do you hope that your readers take away from reading Man of War and All Out War?

Well, you know, I think any storyteller writes with the question of a theme and moral question in their stories. The whole reason why we read stories is because in some way, shape, or form, they speak to the society that we live in today and they answer some fundamental question. And one of the questions that I think is the moral question in All Out War, my most recent book, is, you know, are you a man or are you a slave is sort of the general theme? And how that manifests itself in Eric Steele is he just very literally wonders what is the point of his mission? Why is he listening to people that are higher up than him and doing their bidding without questioning it? And at the end of the day, is the mission worth the cost? and the villain that he faces poses the same question to himself. He's been used as a slave his entire life, and he's been abused, and he's lost a lot, and he's angry, and he resents the people that have abused him.

And so they both have, they're both enveloped and faced the same moral question and theme, but how they answer those things and the actions that they take in service of the theme and the moral question are very, very different. And so why the reader reads this book is to get an answer to that. that question is, you know, that Eric Steele has, is the mission worth it? And eventually, you get an answer in the end of the book. And so I think, you know, I hope that readers see that when they read this book. I hope they realize that through Eric Steele, you know, the American mission and who we are as a people and the things that we stand for in the world matter and are good, are fundamentally good, just like Eric Steele. But also, I just want people to read and have fun with like a great action story, you know?

I feel like in many ways, you know, much of what we see on TV is real heavy. I mean, I feel like we're the golden age of television entertainment from shows like Breaking Bad, the Game of Thrones, the Walking Dead. All those shows are iconic and great, but they're also super deep, you know, and heavy. And so what I wanted to do is maybe give people, you know, moments of that depth in these books. But I ultimately just wanted to put together a fast-paced action. fact story with a real good, a good hero that we can that we can show to our kids and be

proud of. Well, and I think that you definitely hit the nail on the head and we're incredibly successful at that. Because as someone, absolutely, as someone who does love action stories, I picked up all at war and I just have not been able to put it down. So I do have to ask, Is there going to be a third book in the Eric Steele series? Well, I'm glad that you asked it. It's a good question. And yes, I mean, so this is the crazy thing about writing. And I'm thinking about this as I was launching the second book in early September.

It's like, oh, my gosh, I'm launching this book and I'm writing the third because I'm delivering one book a year. So right now, I'm 35,000 words into the third Eric Steele book. And this book just, you know, it's hitting the fan. You know, Eric Steele, you know, people. dying all around him. And there's a, there's a traitor in his midst. He doesn't know who he can trust. Yet he's left to figure it out and solve this mystery and save the day.

And so I think that Eric Steele three is a more nuanced, I think, and compelling story that than Man of War and then All Out War. I mean, I think that's the goal as an author anyways, is to get a little bit better each book. But I love the way that this story is shaping up. And, you know, coming off of what Eric Steele experienced. in the end of all out war, he's really left, you know, trust and legacy are central themes of this book. And, you know, what it means to serve and what you lose in the process is on the forefront of his mind. And so I'm excited to see what's left in the story.

You know, I've got about 70,000 words left. And so, yeah, I'm excited to finish it up and get it out there to the readers because I think readers will love it. That's great news. I look forward to reading it when it comes out. Thanks, thanks. So where can people buy your books now and how can they be following your work? Okay, so you can get my books anywhere books are sold and in every format. If you like hardcover books, you can pick up a hardcover and read them.

You know, we've got e-books and audiobooks. R.C. Bray reads the audiobook for both Man of War and All Out War, and he is over-the-top good. And you can check me out on Twitter at Sean Parnell, USA. or on Instagram and Facebook at official Sean Parnell. Or you can go to my website, officialshonparnell.com, to keep up with everything that I'm doing. Great. Well, Sean, we really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for coming to the podcast and sharing all about your amazing books with us.

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Our pleasure. What the heck is trickle-down economics? Does the military really need a space force? What is the meaning of American exceptionalism? I'm Michelle Cordero.

I'm Tim Desher, and every week on the Heritage Explains podcast, we break down a hot button policy issue in the news at a 101 level. Through an entertaining mix of personal stories, media clips, music, and interviews, we help you actually understand the issues. So do this. Subscribe to Heritage Explains on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcast today. Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday, we feature our favorites on this. show and in our morning bell email newsletter. Keanuah, who's up first? In response to Nicole Russell's article, in California,

the right to gender transition is threatening religious liberty, Rex Whitmer writes, It's sad, very sad. The so-called liberals seem to believe that they and they alone have the right to decide right and wrong, no matter what actually is. We are guaranteed the freedom of free association. That means we don't have to like everyone,

and everyone doesn't have to like us. In the same vein, businesses have the right no matter what the liberals think to associate and do business with whomever they please. And Wayne Harmon writes, if the foes of liberty win this one, what a whole this would put in our constitutional republic. People with alternate lifestyles are free to be themselves in this great republic, as long as they respect the rights and liberties of others

and pursue their happiness as well. We don't go to Muslim or Jewish shops to purchase pork products, So we don't go to faith-based medical facilities for non-life-saving procedures that violate their faith. Your letter could be featured on next week's show. Send an email to letters at dailysignal.com or leave a voicemail message at 202-608-6205. Tired of high taxes, fewer health care choices, and bigger government, become a part of the Heritage Foundation. We're fighting the rising tide of homegrown socialism while developing conservative solutions that make families more free and more prosperous. Find out more at heritage.org.

Well, it is Monday, and that means that we are starting your week off right with a good news story. Today, we are so privileged to be joined in studio by Kianna's aunt and uncle, the founders of the re-ratify project. Kiana, I'm going to let you introduce your aunt and uncle and share a little bit about what they do. Thank you, Virginia. For our good news story today, we're excited to have Rebecca and Jacob Seabock with us. They're the creators of the Reratified Project and also my aunt and uncle. So the Reratify Project is a program that encourages we the people to learn the Constitution through inspiring object lessons, games, and other easily customizable activities that can be used for families and communities.

Their mission is to lead Americans to re-ratify the Constitution in their own hearts and minds. So could you guys share with our listeners what led you to create the re-ratify project and what you hope to accomplish through this? Yes, ma'am. Back in 2008, we were engaged in various political efforts, and we looked at the country and the way it was going and we felt that we needed more reliance on divine providence and more liberty in legislature. And so we knelt down and prayed and said, right, God, what can we do to help? And the feeling we got was great. You've asked, I've got work for you to do. We know that government follows culture.

Likewise, we are, as Abraham Lincoln put it, a government of the people, by the people, for the people. And so we wanted to have a movement. You know, you think of the Constitution. When it first went forward, it was put to the people. And we feel like that's what we need to have. have happened again. We looked at the obstacles that were in our way. We knew we needed something simple. People have busy lives. They're doing great things. There's not a lot of time. How can we simplify it? How can we make looking at the Constitution something that is engaging?

It's fun. Something you can get excited about and passionate about. So that became part of our mission is we want to create inspiring experiences for families and communities to get behind, to rally together, to celebrate God and country, and to, re-ratify, which means write it on the heart. It's yours. You take ownership. You're all about this. And so we started with a book. And from there, we went to doing big old carnivals. And from there, we went to what is now know your constitution. And so it's just been a lot of fun. Oh, I love that. One of my favorite resources that you guys have created is you're enabling the people book that has the different illustrations of amendments to help people remember. I definitely use

that to help me with some tests. So I was just wondering what other resources you guys have for those who are interested in being a part of your program? Well, the book does the amendments because we actually want to start with the Bill of Rights and have people understand their rights. But in addition to that, we have something called the author of liberty. The Declaration of Independence is the lens through which you have to view the Constitution. Because if you don't understand that the Constitution presupposes that your rights come from God, things can be misinterpreted. So our author of Liberty section is really about the Declaration of Independence and understanding that your rights come from God.

And once you understand that, then as my wife said, we've got the Constitution Carnival, and that's really about the preamble. Because people need to understand why the Constitution exists. And those are the six purposes that are laid out. And once you do that, then you're ready for the first. full know your constitution curriculum, which has 30 different lessons that you really get into each part of the Constitution so that you can, one, learn what it is, two, learn why it's important in protecting your rights. And three, have pneumonics to remember it so that you can use it

when you're talking to people in the future. When you come into our big Constitution Carnival Tent, you meet a greeter there who quotes Thomas Jefferson. She says, these principles form the bright constellation that has gone before us. Should we wander from them? Let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road, which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety. And families then come through each of the stations to learn the six purposes of the Constitution and do these activities that will help them not only memorize the preamble, but again, write it on the heart and make commitments.

And you have children that are doing activities with parents standing behind them having those aha moments. and having the opportunity to make recommitments in those moments. And that lays a foundation. Once you have the why, then you can move into the what and get into the nitty-gritty of the Constitution. Take it home, have these activities that line by line, you're doing something really fun to first play. If you do something where you're playing and having fun, then you appreciate it more, right? You understand it. You then appreciate it more.

And then you remember it. You have reason to really care. And that's where you go through. Once you've marked mastery by highlighting each line, you have the whole constitution highlighted. You then ratify it. It's yours. You have a commitment to that constitution. And it changes everything. Thank you so much for joining us today. For our listeners who would like to learn more and be a part of building the reratify community, you can visit the reratify project.org, which is R-E-R-A-T-I-F-Y-R-J-E-C-T-E-T. We're going to leave it there for today. The Daily Signal podcast comes to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. You can find it on the Rurkissue Audio Network. All of our shows can be found at daily signal.com slash podcast. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app.

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