The Team House - Kate from Zero Blog Thirty and The Marine Corps Female Engagement Team | Kate Mannion | Ep. 203

Episode Date: April 24, 2023

Before becoming one of the hosts of Zero Blog Thirty at Barstool Sports, Kate served in the Marine Corps with the Female Engagement Teams. Today's Sponsors: BetterHelp ⬇️ ● If you want to live a more empowered life, therapy can get you there. ● Visit https://BetterHelp.com/TEAMHOUSE today to get 10% off your first month. SLNT (Silent) ⬇️ https://SLNT.com/?rfsn=7107485.9bde8d SLNT® sleeves, bags, cases and wallets are all exquisitely designed to ensure your devices become invisible, untrackable and silent. Get 10% off your order by using this link or using the promo code "teamhouse" at checkout! https://SLNT.com/?rfsn=7107485.9bde8d Thank you for supporting the companies that support the show ! To help support the show and for all bonus content including: -AD FREE AUDIO -AD FREE VIDEO -Access to ALL bonus segments with our guests Subscribe to our Patreon! ⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse Team House merch: ⬇️ https://teespring.com/stores/my-store-10474963 Social Media: ⬇️ The Team House Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.team.house?utm_medium=copy_link The Team House Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTeamHousePod Jack’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/jackmcmurph?utm_medium=copy_link Jack’s Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jackmurphyrgr?s=21 Dave’s Twitter:  https://twitter.com/dave_parke?s=21 Team House Discord: ⬇️ https://discord.gg/wHFHYM6 SubReddit: ⬇️ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheTeamHouse/ Jack Murphy's memoir "Murphy's Law" can be found here:⬇️  https://www.amazon.com/Murphys-Law-Journey-Investigative-Journalist/dp/1501191241 The Team Room Reading Room (Amazon Affiliate links):⬇️  https://jackmurphywrites.com/the-team-room-reading-room/ Intro music by https://www.youtube.com/user/RemixSample Want to sponsor the show? Email: ⬇️ [e-mail] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

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Park. Hey, everyone. Welcome to episode 203 of the Team House. I'm Jack Murphy, here with David Park. And our guest tonight is Kate of Zero Block 30 fame on Barstool Sports. We've hit the trifecta. We had Chaps on. We had him on twice, actually, I believe.

We had Captain Kahn's on for episode 200. Yep. And now, Kate. Finally, you got the good one. It took you long enough, but here I am. You got to churn through the grifts. We had to get the street cred. Right.

Well, I had to listen to that and I was like, fine, they pass. I'll come. I'll take off my busy schedule and get in here. But thanks for having me. This is awesome. Thanks for coming out. We're glad you're here. I'm glad to be here. It's always like super cool to have people come in studio. So thanks for making the trek out here.

I'm just here to make a good show for women in the military and that we can be a good time too. And I will also say, though, that I am pregnant and you can't smoke in here and I'm not drinking. So, sorry. Speaking of women in the military, Kate, what's your origin story? Like, what, how did you grow up? What led you to the military? How did you get your super powers? I want to say that, like, it was something really noble, but it was more that I was a huge piece of shit in college.

And that's what happened. No, I went to a, like, didn't know anyone in the military. I had one uncle who served who flew F-16s, but that was it. And my dad was like one of 13 kids, and it was only one of them served in the military. Like, I didn't know anybody. And so it was like, oh, the path is you go to college, went to college to play field hockey. And then the rugby girls were like, that's boring. Come play rugby with us.

Got super into rugby. It's like, I'm going to be the Tommy boy of my rugby house. And that's what I aspire to be. And I was the one on a Monday night being like, who's coming to the bars? You know, like, everyone else, like, started slowing down. And I was the one who, like, didn't get it. Right. I was like, come on.

It's a Tuesday, bitch. let's go. And eventually, I found myself as a senior in college with a 1.8 GPA, I was a little bit into drugs, a little bit into drugs, okay? You were a little Labowski achiever. I was a little Labowski achiever. And I, at that point, I started to, like, really hate myself, and I started to actually feel really bad. Like, I was lying to my parents. I was being shitty to my friends. I couldn't see. I was like, I'm going to graduate with like a 2.0 in communications and do what?

Like, I don't know. And those Marine Corps commercials started looking pretty good. I was like, I was like, how do I make my family love me again? Okay, how do I pull that off? And basically in my senior year, I got arrested. I was out on my stoop and this guy came up and was like, you rugby girls are crazy, you know, blah, blah, blah, I didn't know it was a cop. And I was like, you're damn right we are, threw a 40 ounce in the street. Long story short, I ended up having to do like community service, all this shit. I got kicked out of college. That sounds like a trapment to me.

It was, but I couldn't afford a lawyer at the time. So anyway, look at you, Indiana, University of Pennsylvania police. Anyway, long story short, I ended up having to go home for Christmas break. And my parents were like, we're just packing you, you're done. You're like one semester away, but we're like, you're done. We're not paying another dime. And it was over Christmas break where I was like, how do I redeem myself? What the fuck do I do?

So I went to a recruiter. I like literally walked in. I was like, I know I need the biggest ass kicking because I'm like, I hated myself. I was like, you're such a piece of shit. And in my civilian,

like, didn't know anything about the military point of view, the Marine Corps was like the most noble. It's the dresser. Sure. It is the dresser. It was that commercial. And the commercials.

Yeah. The dragon one guy. They always, that was in my head. The Marine Corps knocks it out of the park of the commercial. Yes. I was like,

this is the one where I could really. And so I walked into a recruiting office. I will say this too. My mom was like, before you even think, but go look at all of them. And I went to the Army recruiter and he was like, this is the one you want to do. It's easy. Bonus. And I was like, okay. Like I wanted an ass kicking. So I walked right into the Marine Corps Recruers office and was like, one ticket to parisilin, please. Like I don't, I was like, you don't need to sell me on anything. I'm that dumb. Just sign me right up. And so that's, I wish it was something noble. It was 9-11 in my, I mean, that is part of the reason.

I started looking at the military. It was like, I truly did feel like that's where I could actually do something. And it felt like they were actually doing something at a time where it felt important. So yeah, and that was back in 2008. And so that's how I wound up joining. Sorry, I'm a rambler. I'll like talk about. No, no, I like it. Okay. When you went into the recruiter, I mean, did you have an idea of the jobs available to you? Did you care? Did you not care? I knew. I said, I don't want to be behind a desk. I want to be like out. I saw all the commercials. And I was like, I want to be out there. Slane dragons.

Yeah, exactly. How soon do I get my sword? My marmal. So anyway, I said that, and because I'm 5'9 or something, I don't know if this is recruiter BS. He's like, we can sign you up to be military police. And military police has like two sides to it where there's the cop side. But there's also something called field MP that we might actually like, depends on how you do an MP school. But that could be a route you take where it's like, again, recruiter talk.

He sold it to me. It's the grunts of the folks, you know? Field MP is like, right. And I was like, yeah. Right in the tickets for another safety belts. Yeah. I was like, that's good. But actually, I thought the cop route would be smart.

Oh, I'll be a cop in the military and then I'll get out and be a cop somewhere. It's like, there. There, my future is set. That's super easy. So I went and I like really put my heart and soul into it. Like, I was so earnest and being like at boot camp, I'm going to change and I'm going to be better. And like, it really did. Like, I've never stood taller in my life than I did the day I graduated boot camp and my parents were like,

you're not a piece of shit anymore. You're not like, you know, like, if you have a paycheck, you can start paying us back for that waste of college. But it really, like as corny as it sounds, it really did change the whole trajectory of my life to something positive.

Like, it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Went to MP school from there. And then once I graduated, like half of MP school was the police stuff. And then the other half was like field training. Can you tell us what the difference is? Yeah.

So literally, the first part was like at Fort Leonard Wood, like, standing in the middle of a traffic circle with a whistle and like directing, like police stuff, like doing the eva, evok or whatever and the car, like cop car stuff and like learning the UCMJ and all that stuff. And then halfway through you switch and it's all like like mount training and it was like infantry megalite. Like that like an infantry person probably hate to even hear it compared. It's not comparable. But the point was they were doing police mentoring teams in Iraq and Afghanistan. And so it was like, we'll send these people who have the police training and the field training to go help train the Iraqi police and the Afghan police was like the idea, I think. Was that a fairly new thing that the MP split like that?

I don't know what the history of it is, but I'm pretty sure it was once these police mentoring team started is when they really started doing that again at Fort Leonard Wood. And so when it got time to be placed, I thought I was going to get stuck in policing at some base somewhere, which was fine by me. but they're like, you got field side. And so I ended up in a field side unit that was brand new out at Camp Pendleton. And it was great from there. Yeah, I got really lucky, I think. So, yeah. And so what, so you, uh, you did like the basic MP stuff.

Yeah. And then you did like an infantry like kind of field training type of thing. Did they, because a lot of the function at that time was, you know, teaching the, the indigenous. Did you go through any sort of. instructor training type type of things yeah we did so when i got put in the field unit again all we did all day it was had nothing to do with we were totally separate lived in separate barracks than the police police and these we were again like i hate comparing it to infidiv it was like light but all

we did was trained to deploy it was the whole point was you're going to deploy to iraq or afghanistan and you're going to be going out in patrols with these like these police and like training them on policing and blah blah so did that for like over a year and you're you know you're going on the hikes you're they would bring in afghans to the mount towns like afghan americans and you would do actual like all sorts of actual training and stuff like that and i was the only woman in my unit and when it came time they got tapped to do their deployments and they were going to be broken up say there's like 80 in the unit they're breaking up into teams of five to go get sent to the different infantry

battalions across Afghanistan to help the police mentoring teams and they kind of had a draft and at the end of the draft I was the only one who wasn't picked to deploy because of the rules at the time women weren't allowed to go outside the wire and so I was like I just trained with you guys and I like kept I was like I just trained with you guys I kept up I did better than most of you and I can't deploy with my brothers because let's see come on so it was I remember calling my dad crying because I wasn't going to be able to deploy with my brothers. Yeah.

And it was like fucking devastating to me. So then I had an awesome staff sergeant who was like, don't worry, I got you. He had just heard about the female engagement teams, which was going to be there. There was lionesses before. There's a lot of women who came before us in this, but it was like this gray area loophole

where women could get attached to infantry units to help them like, you can't search half the population because of the cultural rules and all that stuff. And so this was going to be the Marine Corps first, all-woman unit who was going to be split up in a similar way to the PMT teams like two of you here with like three six echo two of you here with two nine whatever like you know split up like that

and I ended up getting into that unit and so then I was able to deploy same time as my guys even though I couldn't be with them but that was like this was the marine corps's equivalent of what in the army was the CSTs right cultural support teams yeah probably they always had to like word it specifically and like but I think that the lionesses were the very first Oh yeah. The lionesses were the first. Yep. And then and then the female engagement teams were next.

And then I think the CS teams, right? Because when I was in Iraq in 2010, we worked with a FET team. Yeah, that's, I was in Afghanistan 2010 and that was the FET teams for then. But by then that had started like Lioness was first and then that. Because the lioness is more of an informal type of thing, right? Where it's like, hey, like there's this cultural barrier. And, you know, and look, say what you will about the U.S. military, you know, but it did recognize that you can't just go in there and manhandle women or whatever. Right, especially if you're going for hearts and minds.

For Afghanistan and a place where, you know, the sexes are so segregated. Yep. And so this was the solution at first. Like, at first it was just like take fit, intelligent women that can manage. that can move with these guys. Yeah. In very austere conditions. And then it sort of became more formalized after that.

Yeah, this was the first one that like we actually trained for, I forget how many months, but like seven months of intense language training, a ton of mount training. They actually then set us up with an infantry battalion and we were training with them, like doing the same stuff as them for a lot of the time. It was like the first like really intentional instead of just, we got to pull this lady from the chow hall and send her out for these guys. It was like the first like intentional thing. And it was, yeah.

It was awesome because it was like, like when we would march past, everybody was like, that's the biggest group of women Marines we've ever seen together at once. Like it was like seeing a unicorn. Because normally like I was the only woman in my unit. And a lot of the other women like were also the only ones in theirs kind of thing. And so it was awesome from. And we were from across every MOS. We had like cooks and communications and all kinds of, all kinds of shit.

But awesome women, awesome group. And it was pretty amazing experience. yeah so how are you uh like when you deployed how are you received by your unit huh uh um i will say this it's where i kind of credited to the job that i eventually ended up getting today like my dream job i had to develop my sense of humor real quick i found that the biggest way to like win them over was to be funny and i was like like dancing like a clown I'm like, let me get it. But it really depended on.

So, like, I got sent to, first it was 3-6, and then they switched out halfway with 2-9, so I stayed with them, but it was in Marja in the spring of 20. Like, one of the most kinetic places during one of the most difficult times. And 3-6 was halfway through their deployment. I got there right after that main offensive where, like, they had just lost so many people and so many guys. And I come off the helicopter like, hi, I'm Kate. I'm here to get the ladies.

sawing machines and they were like kindly go fuck yourself like and I was like I get it that's fair enough fair enough I get it um but so that was like a tough sell at first and depending on where they needed us so like we would do a week at a vehicle checkpoint where they were expecting because in full burka like who knows they couldn't touch those women they couldn't look at them who knows what a guy can miss his doubt fired up and toss that on and go right through and nobody would know yeah so we would do like a week at a vehicle checkpoint with, you know, three six, Bravo, and then a week over here at 72-hour bridge with these, with the artillery guys doing XYZ and like, we were utilized all over the place. And depending on the leadership, the small unit leadership of where we went, totally

depended on how we were received. And I found that we would go, my favorite was two nine echo. They were the best. We got there. They had a sergeant, sergeant clubmate who like everyone, and they would have followed him. And he pulled his guys and was like, they're here. I don't care whether you like it or not. Here's their capabilities. Like nobody fucking say shit. They're coming out.

Like he just like laid the law down. And they listened. They were like, okay. And it ended up being like we got utilized in all sorts of ways. Like we, it just ended up being like, I think good for them and really good for us. And then there was units where like I remember this captain as soon as we got there. He's like, can you even jump the canals? Can you even do this and that?

Like you're a burden to us. And just sitting in. my tent all day not being like not doing certain like not doing anything and I'm like okay it sucks now was that were they all infantry units was that like was that captain infantry yeah oh yeah they were all infantry so yeah so when they would and maybe they weren't doing this but like when they would go into a village they didn't recognize there was an issue with them not being able to talk to the women of that village I think whether they did or not it's so strong sometimes just not wanting us there it just didn't matter. Like if that, maybe I have a chip on my shoulder, but like sometimes the vibe was so strong

that it was like they couldn't have cared less if I had a magic wand that could fix it. They'd be like, no, thank you. We're fine. Like it's just like, um, but yeah, totally depended on what the leadership was and where. But a lot of them ended up being like a really, I think a pretty good fit. So I don't know. But did you feel as though they knew how best to utilize you? Did you need to teach them how to utilize you did you know how to be utilized yeah i think that was part of the problem and i think too i mean a big part of it in general was a lot of like you're sitting in the smoke pit at night and you're all going what are we doing by the way like we didn't even know what we were doing there like what was the point and what we were doing there like the big picture so it was hard to be

like what's the best plan for tomorrow when we but yeah mostly searching um and another big thing like Intel talking to the women and if listen if I can get you like 50 yards of really nice cloth from this NGO and a nice shampoo and uh like a sell like a real ass sewing machine like a foot like what can like what can you do for me what can you tell me about like you know uh and like house searches too they would get word like this is a bondmaker's house while we're all over here like can you go to the room with all the women and like check it out blah blah blah like because they would use that to like, no, you can't see this part of the house are women here. Right. Right. Well, we have this lady here who can go see.

Right. You can go check it out. I didn't understand the intelligence component about it for a long time because I always looked at it like, you know, women in this country are like third class citizens, like basically slaves, right? So like what intel value can these people really have? Yeah. But it was actually Alana, Alana Duffy, who she was a CI. Yep.

And she was telling stories about like, man, you have a woman scorned. And she will tell you fucking everybody. They would tell you about the neighbors. They would tell you about every. Once you like had an end, it was very like, oh yeah, they would tell you. Well, and that's the other thing is, you know, a PRT goes in to build a new well or whatever. And if the Taliban comes through and blows that up and now women have to, you know, walk, you know, half a mile or a mile to the river to get their water, they're pissed. And the men are, the men may not tell you who the Taliban are or where they're going to, but the way.

women sure will because because they're pissed. Yep. And we had at one point there was a program set up where you could come and get like food and seeds and blah, blah, blah.

But it was like only one per family or whatever. And so the men started sending their wives and all their wives. So you can't tell. All they're saying all six of my wives. So we get six things like whatever. And part of it was they had to sit in this waiting area and I was in that waiting area being like ladies.

What's the tea? What's the latest? You know? Like what's going on around here? Get some gossip. Yeah. Get a little gossip. going with an interpreter and like and then at the end of every day I would be in the COC with the

top officers being like here's here's the latest that I heard here's like the atmosphere today so yeah it was like a really now how did you guys work with interpreters did you have female interpreters or did you utilize male interpreters that was one of the biggest problems was the lack of it was hard enough to get a regular interpreter but a woman interpreter was like nearly impossible. And they were all, all the women interpreters, because in Afghanistan, it was like all actual Afghans for the men, like, who were volunteering with. Well, we saw how that's been going. I was still stuck over there. But this was, like, they had to find American African Afghan women who wanted to come back over and do it. And so for the entire FET team, I think we had

three that would revolve. Like, you get her next week and then you guys get her the week after. Yeah, they cat three interpreters. Yeah. So, yeah. And so then what we would do was, we just use the males but he'd be on the other side of this screen and like or he'd be on the other side this cammy netting and we'd just be talking like yeah through a lot of charades yeah be amazed at how much you'd get across with with charades so what were what were like some of the biggest successes that either you or like other fat members you knew a fat team member again I try to like look I try not to like look at it now like the old vet like man I don't know what what we accomplished over there.

Yeah. Like, you know, what's it all mean, sorry? Yeah, well, it's it all mean,

you know, I try not to like fire like that. I think it was more in the small, like, probably the biggest thing was like intelligence that got passed up sometimes. That was probably valuable, especially like, hey, small heads up,

this awful thing could happen tomorrow at this area. And like, maybe that was valuable sometimes. But I think like the relationships we made, maybe I'm naive. But one time, one of the guys said to me, like, we can't go, like, 10 feet outside the wire without getting shot, except for when you guys come with us for some reason. Like, every time you're outside

the wire with us, nothing happens. Every time you're not, something does. And I don't know if that was just, like, a random fluke in that particular area or, like, had we made good enough relationships that, like, I don't know. I'm not sure. That probably sounds crazy, but, like, that's something one of them said to me. So, I don't know. Now, being that you guys were out with, you know, you know, these infantry, you're slogging it. And I don't know if they, if they,

because the Marine Corps has a great, like, CI program, a great intelligence program. Yeah. But I don't know if they had also females out with you. But were,

did you guys get into sort of source development with this also? Or was it just wherever you were, whoever, you know, that you would just talk to the women where you were. Well,

I'm an idiot. What's source development? Oh, just so, like, so basically, um, a woman maybe, or women who live in a village

where there's a lot of stuff, like, basically developing her as an asset for reporting and things like that? No, it was nothing like that. It was more like, if you get something great, but then you gotta go over here tomorrow. Like, no, there was no, like, yeah.

Yeah, where's Terry the Taliban today? Right, yeah. Yeah, it was more like that, which ultimately, like, I'm talking up the best points I can think of, but overall, like, there was nothing super. I, like, never foiled the mega plot, you know? I never did anything that I feel like,

like, actually really, like, I don't know. But besides giving them a better idea of the atmosphere in the AO that day, I'm not really sure what I did. Yeah. I want to give a quick shout out to the sponsor for today's show. Oh. So you're well acquainted with how this circus goes, Kate. Yeah. So the first sponsor for tonight's show is silent.

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I just want to thank you for the shout out. That's very kind. Yeah. I was thinking of a show like that. I was really thinking of you. Our other sponsor for tonight is Better Help. That's Better Help. Look, you know, mental health is a big issue for veterans,

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Jack and I both lost a lot of friends probably Kate too you know we lose a lot of friends to these issues that if they had somebody to talk to if they would sort of you know engage in the process maybe those lives wouldn't be less or lost and even if

your you know your challenges aren't that extreme stream, even if it's, you know, just anxiety or the stress of the day or, you know, whatever else. Having good mental health is a foundation for a great life, a great relationship. I mean, hopefully a great job, everything else. So we really recommend our friends at BetterHelp. If you want to live a more empowered life therapy can get you there. Visit betterhelp.com slash team house today.

You get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash the team house. Take care of yourselves, folks. I've used him. Hand up. It's so easy. I think the biggest hurdle is what a pain in the ass getting mental health help can be. Yeah. And it's so, it's so easy with better help. No free ads, but that's just true. There you go. Endorsement. Unpaid endorsement. It's the perfect combo of ads. Are you a veteran with a lot of baggage? Go to sLNT.com and then call better help. Yeah. Yeah. You can have the best of both worlds. Yeah. We also advertise the VP service because of all the deviant

fucks out there. Yeah. That's deviant. I use VPNs and I'm not devianting. A likely likely story. No, I mean, yeah, the VPN service

is great. I'm just saying. I'm not judging. I'm just saying. Yeah. Out there. And just so you guys know, everybody should have a Faraday bag

when you're traveling publicly, when you're moving through airports, when you're, you know, honestly like the number of attacks that can happen on your on your equipment by by near-do-wells even if you're not traveling you know to unknown places doing unknown things you know protect yourself and take care of your mental health that's a great combo you know i want to circle back to better help for us How long?

So how many trips did you do with the Fed? Just no. So just one. That was the only deployment with the Fed team. How long was that? I think it was, I'm going to say it was 10 months, just about 10 months. At the time, I think the Marine Corps, I know the Army, they were doing like longer than a year. Yeah, some units.

But the Marines, if the units were going outside the wire, generally, they tried to keep it shorter, I feel like. So ours was about 10 months, I think. But I still keep in touch with some of those infantry guys. that I feel like that was a unique thing too, as a dumb pog, being able to see that firsthand and like see them in action was, I feel like not everybody gets to do that. And that was like a really valuable experience too. Yeah. Yeah. Shape my, shape my understanding better of the big picture of everything.

But so many of those guys. And like, again, we were talking about this before the episode started, but like the uptempo of like special, like what they go through. But there's no time to stop. to see these guys like lose somebody and then two hours later they're back outside the player again and just they're keeping it together and they're like just witnessing that firsthand gave me like a incredible new respect for everything so and for such a long time too i mean one of the things that you know we've talked about before is like special operations are such a sexy mystique behind it yeah but we're also doing generally pretty short trips right the the trips are shorter and It's a high up tempo, but, you know, 60, 90 days, you're back to the, you know, you're back to the states. Yeah. These, you know, conventional units, Marine Corps and Army, are out there for, you know, almost a year plus and living it every single day. Yeah.

And, yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, that was the first one. And then my second tour, so I got a secondary MOS in physical security. And now I can't look at a curve without being like, it should be like three inches higher. I can stop something from going over. You know, like I, is it serpentines?

A lot of serpentines in physical security, okay? Yeah. But I got a secondary OMOS in physical security. And then the second deployment was on Camp Leatherneck, big, massive, you know. And it was physical security for there. So helping vet who, third country national, a second, like who gets what access to parts of the camp and sending up a giant blimp with cameras on it to deter.

that didn't work because camp got attacked shortly after that. And like just, yeah, all kinds of stuff like that. So it was very different from the first one, like living in a mud hut with eight dudes to the second one, being like, who wants pizza tonight? I want Burger King. And like, very different. Yeah. And after the first one, it made, I'm like, I'm a real poog piece of shit.

I'm a dumb bit. Like it made me like hate myself, the second one. But, yeah, so that was neat. It was a, sorry. So, no, good. That's good. So the first one was far more rewarding. First one was far more rewarding.

The second one, though, I had such a great group. And so, like, half of my unit that time actually got to be with my unit on that deployment. And so half of them were actually doing, they were, like, giving speeding tickets on Camp Leathernick. They were doing, like, real police shit. I believe it. Like, real pulling people over. That was the big sign. We started giving out speeding tickets on fobs in Iraq.

Yeah. Yep. Yep. Should have up, pulled up stakes and fucking left. Yep, that was. We brought Garrison over. with us. That's what it was like Garrison overseas and that while I was doing physical because I think I maybe got that physical security MOS because I knew that's what I'd be doing. If I didn't, I was like, I better pick up something else here before I end up doing that.

But that was when I think it was Leon Panetta's plane landed and this guy had stolen a fuel truck and jumped on the hood. And one of my sergeants got a purple heart for peeling the guy who tried to run into Panetta's plane while he was on fire off the hood of his. I never heard this story before. Yeah, dude. It was like some crazy. This was a, this was a Marine. A Marine who's, no, so this, this Afghan, there's like a ton of local Afghans who had access to the base. I'm probably butchering this story, but this truck went missing. The guy was missing for a couple days. Panetta lands and all of a sudden this flaming truck is going across the tarmac with a guy who had lit himself on fire. And RMP guy was like, whoop, loop, and he got like, he ended up getting burns.

And yeah, it was. Holy shit. Yeah. Did, did, did they announce Panette? his arrival or like trip is that how he knew or was it just a target of opportunity i don't know i'm like want to google it right now because somebody's probably like kate none of that is true um but they call me stolen valor katy on zbt because i get shit wrong all the time um at least you're stealing valor valor for others though absolutely yeah bomber strikes near afghan bay oh maybe it was after right after

he visited like a day or two i was like right Yeah, whatever. Google it. You could see. Either way, I had never heard the story of the self-immolating Afghan in the fuel truck and going towards an airplane. If you look at it, probably all those details are off by a degree, but the gist of it is. In the ballpark. It's the gist of the ballpark. It was like, did you really serve?

I don't know. But, yes, and it was interesting to see, too, like, the big workings of a camp like that. Like, I don't think people realized how much, like, how the contractors we out. outsourced and like they each had their own little world within the camp that was their own domain. Right, right, right. Crazy shit went on amongst those two. Tell us about the crazy shit. Like, like finding, like a guy escaping his, I'm going to just pick a company here,

his DynCorp secret, whatever, and being like, they took all of our passports the second we got here. We've been trapped here. and like people were like being like held there working and not able to you're talking about like nepolis and yeah ugandans yes yes like foreigners coming to work there i believe that and like lax oversight of the contracting groups which allowed for rampant like cramming 80 dudes in a con ex box paying them like barely anything and they can't escape and call their family like crazy shit like that now a lot of times was this the companies or was this still like the the foreign nationals that they would hire to manage the projects.

Yes, I think all to... It was TCNs, yeah. Yeah, it's TCNs, but, like, there'd be, like, a weekly meeting that I had to go to with the head of all the contractor groups there, which there were, like, 80 different main contract groups, and they each had their own, like, village that was gated and was their own private world. And there was such lax oversight of that. Yeah, it was, like, the Wild West.

Like, I don't think people realize the scale. What happens is that all these companies are trying to underbid each other. Yeah. You get the contract. So they're putting recklessly low, like criminally, recklessly low bids.

And that's why you'd have, like, Nepalese, quote-unquote Gurkhas working, like, 20-hour days. And I remember one of those dudes hung himself from his guard towel.

Dude, the conditions that would eat, like, it would take, like, somebody, like, escaping almost and be like,

please help us. Yeah. Like, it was, I mean, it's basically human trafficking. I don't know what the difference is between what you're describing

and human trafficking. It sounds. identical. Yeah, that was very eye opening and and then like looking at the way Afghanistan ended and blah blah and a big part of the issues being like well all the contractors disappeared and so

all these promises we made like we don't have the paperwork for it. It was like because you guys never cared what they did. They like had free reign to do whatever so long as they were helping things like function out there like you didn't care what they did kind of thing but yeah that was the Ugandans they had like

crime rings going on. Oh there was drug and like male rape going on and yeah crazy shit and all every day there was flights coming in you know care like their booze and drugs and like all that shit was yeah but dunk every day this flight would come in and bring dunk and donuts and that was a real treat so i was like i'll overlook the cocaine right right no i'm just kidding but but there were done i mean like any cop would right yeah exactly yeah i'm just kidding scratch my back with the donuts we know you guys were just trying it out down at the station. Yeah, just to make sure it was real.

But, yeah. But I sound like the most negative and like, anyways, it was all pointless, bad. No, I mean. Better help. Definitely, like, we relied on contractors so much. And they, you know, and they accomplished a lot of stuff, like the housing.

Like, they accomplished so much that I don't think the military law system, but you're right that they would just be. Yeah. Like, the contracting officers, the military officers, who were in charge. of making sure everything was going like yeah i think that they were kind of like well i know what company i'm working for when i get out for you know a 300 000 year salary so also a lot of the a lot of the stuff around like people would throw around figures like there's 150 private

contractors in iraq or wherever and people think those are like pot-bellied blackwater guys like mobile security shooting up you know villages and stuff and but most of them were like the dudes that fix your air conditioner the guys that serve your food the guys that do the electricity, like perfectly normal people doing normal jobs. Yep, a lot of logistics, a lot of like just basic stuff. And they would all be sitting there. They'd come check this out.

They'd be designing their million dollar homes back in Texas in the booty. They're like, how fucking sick is this? And I'm like, I'm doing the same job as you, and I'm making minimum wage. What the hell? Yeah, it was a really interesting. Both were eye-opening in their own way. Yeah, yeah.

Both tours. But, yeah. Got to see the key. Kandahar poo pond that time got to travel a little bit. The Kandahar Poo Pond? Yeah, Kandah up at the base in Kandahar. They collected all their poo in a giant pond, like a mega giant, you've been, you know. And people started putting like scarecrows and mannequins like fishing in it and like, dude,

there's like a whole beach scene of mannequins that the troops felt at this poo pond of like these mannequins enjoying the pond and relaxing. And a lot, this was the other thing too. I did a lot of, it was called like the bat system, but to vet the biometrics where you'd scan their eyeballs and it would tell you like, uh-oh, it's a terrorist, like that kind of thing. And then one day we scanned our own eyeballs. We were bored waiting for a group to come in. And I popped up as like Abdul Rakeem, whatever, terror. Like, it was like matching us to people. Yeah.

We were putting irises into that system for, I don't know how many years before they came forward and said, yeah, all those readings were taken incorrectly. Completely wrong. Yeah. It was like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, there was that big camera that had like, it didn't have like a thumbprint or a fingerprint thing on it. That's in hides. That's what it was both.

Yeah. Yeah. We had the cogent. And then after that came cross match, I think it was. Yeah. And I don't even know what they have now. I mean, now they have portable DNA. That you can just, yeah.

Yeah. Always awkward when a guy with glass eye came in. Excuse me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So when you're at Canahard, because you had been waiting on those, you know, Dunkin' Dona flights and I assume, you know, you had the Burger King and the green beans,

when you got a Canterhard, in addition to the Poupon, did you also get the Tim Horton's experience? I did not. I didn't know there was Tim Hortons there. I got to see the, what was his name? Just burn pit exposure. Oh, man. Boy, a boy. Canadiens build a nice base.

They really. They really do. Yeah. Who sings that? I'll kick a boot up your race. Oh, yeah, yeah. Uncle Sam's. Who is that?

I can't remember. He was at Candahar when I went. On a USA tour. And they were like, you have to go to, like, I got volunteered to go. And then I had to fly back to Leatherneck. And that's where he was next. And I had to go to that too. So I was like, twice in a row.

God damn it. You grunts don't understand how tough it is. I had to go to two country concerts. War is brutal. In two days. War is brutal. I don't know. Fries were too hot.

It's terrible. Yeah. So how long were you at Leatherneck or how long was that tour? That was actually kind of short. I want to say it was no more than seven months. One of my, like this is random, but we had a lot of different, our unit, which was like super tight-knit. I had the best unit. in the Marine Corps.

I got really lucky. And I stayed with it, despite going on the FET team, I got to stay, which is rare. I was in for almost five years, and I was always in the same unit. I never had to get, because of my deployment schedule at the halfway point

when I should have gone to another base or another unit. They were like, fuck it, she'll just stay with this one the whole time. So we were like such a super tight-knit family. And by the time the second deployment came around, we all got to go because it was K&I and, handlers, like the garrison kind of like MPs on leatherneck and like physical security

and whatever. And the canine guys were going out, like they were being utilized and like going outside the wire all the time for different things. And one of my best buddies, we lost people on each tour from our unit. But towards the end of my second deployment, like one of my best buddy's only child, like, it was like three months away from his wedding, was about to go home in like two weeks, and he got taken out by a sniper. And it just like, I'd already been like having a little bit of trouble with like the why of it. Like, I don't know. And it just kind of like, I like not proud to say this, but like I just could not hold my shit together after that. Like I kind of, so they were looking at people to stagger and send home early and they were like, like,

like you're done you're going home really like I just like I yeah just I wasn't do it like I don't know I can't explain it but it was bad so I think like after seven months it's not like I had to get sent home because I wasn't but they were sending people home anyways right like you get out of here yeah yeah what what around what year was this when you were this was this is the second one was 2012 okay yeah so that's what happened and Also, too, like, maybe part, like, I was married by this point. Classic Marine on Marine Marine, I'm divorced now, obviously. Spoiler alert, if you're in the military, you already know that that's what happened.

But he was also deployed at the same time, and I think they were being nice to me. They were like, we're going to send you home early so you can set up shop so that you're both not homeless when you get back. Like, they were so nice about it. Yeah. Which, again, shows like, what kind of good unit I had. Oh, because things were coming in unraveled while you guys were overseas. Yeah, I think they were like, they were like, you go, you know, find an apartment so that, you know, it seemed like they, like made it seem like they were doing me a solid for logistics when probably really they were like, oh, she's losing her mind. She's like crazy. But, yeah, do you sound like a lunatic problem?

No, not at all. No, like this is actually just sort of like baseline for the type of people that we have on the show. We've done far, far, far. worse. Okay, good. Yeah, yeah. With the self-sabotage and the self-loathing, we've, we've, we've hit much lower depths over the years. Yeah. And, you know, I mean, so the Afghan War is 11 years in at this point. Yep. I'm sure that a lot of the Marines around you who they were also like, what are, what are we doing? And I think for us, like it was the second, we had lost guys on and we were like such a tight-knit, you know, like I got so lucky. Like the leadership, like, it was. was just looking at what other like I look at it I'm like God I was so lucky to be in such like an awesome it felt like a family and the first deployment those like hit everybody hard but the second

one when when that happened and some other like lost some other people too like it just I feel like everybody kind of came a little bit yeah yeah and we had great leadership that like held everybody together but like that's when in the smoke pit it started being like dude what the fuck is the point like why is he dead like what is the point of this like right yeah um I don't know that those feelings just really started to like I don't know yeah I mean it's one thing when you're deployed over there and everyone's kind of like what's the mission what are we doing you but then when it when it becomes very real very personal yeah like this guy this guy who was in the gym with us yesterday and then chow hall with us is no longer here then it takes on a new

level of like what not not only why am I here but like why did that guy die yeah and And there, like, on the bigger camps, you go into, like, do you remember River City? Was that a thing for you guys? Where, like, they would cut off internet access to the whole camp and all the MWRs for a few days until the family got informed. And it started to be like, River City, River City, River City. And you're sitting there and you're like, what are we doing then? And, like, it just really, like, yeah. Yeah.

It was it really real mind fuck, I guess. Was that sort of what led into your decision to get out of the Marines? Yeah, that. And also, I was just. I mean, like, I was a good Marine, but I was never, like... Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps material. Right. Like, you teach me a drill today, and tomorrow I'm like, sorry, I fucking forget already.

Like, I don't know. Like, the rules and regulations, like, in one or the other, that's, like, in part while chaps and them call me Stolen Valor Katie. Like, you literally retained nothing. And I was like, yeah, I know. I, like, customs and courtesies. I remember I went on, like, a board once, like a meritorious promotion board. and they ask you like, it's like American Idol, you walk in in this row, like, ask you all these

questions. And I got every single one wrong. And they were all just like, are you even a bird? Like, who the fuck sent this person in here? Like, show that. So, I don't know. Oh, it was a good Marine, I swear. But I just, like, I knew. I think going into it, like, I wanted to really, like, go all in and drink the Kool-Aid. And I don't know if this sounds weird to say, but, like, use the Marine Corps to make myself a better person and like I wanted to be something bigger than myself and I wanted to like know what it was like to sacrifice and blah blah blah it gets dumb as that sounds and I think I got everything like I got so much out of my time like that I was like all right and I got it I don't think that sounds dumb at all to be honest I think that like a lot of you know for a lot of

people the military is sort of a calling and like well I want something bigger than me right and I want to feel as oh I served. I want to feel as somehow I contributed. Yeah, I don't think that that idea of sacrifices, like, I don't think that sounds dumb at all. Yeah, I think. And I also think that, like you said, there comes a point where you're like,

okay, I did it. And that's, I was like, you know what? I did my time. Yeah, I just felt, felt good about it and I was ready to move on. And also, like, it's true. Like, some people are great leaders and you can tell, and like, I'll tell you right now. I'm not. I'm not one of them. Like, I knew if

I kept going forward, like, I had a couple Marines under me, and I was like, I suck at this, dude. Like, I'm the kind of person who Apollo who's like, you run into me in the subway, and I'm like, sorry. Like, I'm not, like, get over here and do that. Like, I'm just not that kind of person. And from what I saw in the Marine Corps, I was like, nobody's going to take, like, it's just not, I just knew it wasn't me long term.

So it's like, I'm going to do everyone a kindness bow out. well. With the talk around like the smoke pit and sort of people being demoralized in spite of great leadership. Yeah. Did your unit, were there a lot of people in your unit were like, okay, like I'm ringing the bell like I'm out. I think it was kind of half and half.

There's still, it's so cool. I think it's so cool to keep up with your buddies and be like, holy shit, you're a master gunny now. I remember like carrying you over my shoulder from the bar. Right. Wow. That's amazing. So I think a good amount, especially because of our leadership, a good amount,

stayed in. But there was a very large amount of us that ended up getting out. And I do think, like, disillusionment a little bit was part of it. Like, I don't know. But no, we had a good amount stay in, too. So. And when, when you were getting ready to get out, did you, what were your aspirations? Do you know what you were going to do? No, God, I had no idea. You have the GI Bill to finish that last semester. I had the G. Well, that's what I was like, well, I have. I like a new perspective on everything and again I was so I was still married at the time and he was from New York City and I was like well I guess I'll just follow you like he got out a little bit before me and we came to New York City and be thank thank God because of the GI Bill

Fordham University was like we don't care about that 1.8 you're guaranteed money come on in and so I ended up getting into a great university here and while I still didn't know what I wanted to do I just stuck with communications because I can't do math I was like it was We're like the gym teachers of the business world. Political science. We're like, yeah. Like, yeah, yeah. Like, I'm not good at anything, so we'll either go,

Polly, sorry, communication. So I was like, I'll just stick with that. It's New York City, and I'll get a cubicle job somewhere and whatever. But I got really lucky in that. Have you heard of the mission continues? It rings a bell somewhere in the back of my mind. What is it? It's almost like a program for released prisoners.

It's like, we're going to help you reintegrate into society, but it was through volunteerism. So you would get a monthly. grant so long as you volunteered a certain amount of hours with a specific cause of your choosing. So and it kind of helped you like I was new to New York City didn't know anything and I ended up volunteering with the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. This is very random, but they're building the second avenue subway line. And so I went up and down second avenue helping the small businesses because of the construction it was like sending up rats and explosions and all the streets

were blocked off and gar like all these like hundreds of small businesses were falling apart. And so I was like an advocacy outreach going from business to business. And it was a great intro to New York City to walk into a pizza place and be like, hi, I'm Kate, I'm here to help. And they're like, go fuck yourself. I'm like, all right. That's great. Like, okay, New York, New York.

But it like really helped introduce me to the city, the people and get a lay of the land. It was like a crash course in New York City, kind of. And through that program, by the way, it was started by Eric Greitens, who was ended up becoming that Navy seal from Missouri who tied that hairdresser up in his basement yikes but great program still great program yeah anyways um not a great guy awesome program um but the daily show with john stew and at the time too like getting into new york city and i'd always been interested in comedy and like especially because in the marine corps like holding court in the smoke pit i always felt like you know and dumb and dumber when he's asleep at the scooter wheel and he pictures himself at that that

christmas party and he's making everyone laugh really hard like that's how i pictured myself in the smoke pit a lot right i'm fucking killing it with these guys i'm so funny right now um but they were just desperate for any kind of entertainment but that like really sparked my interest in like entertainment kind of thing so the daily show with john stewart reached out to the mission continues and was like do you have anyone in new york city who's interested in media i'm doing this program at the daily called the veteran immersion program. And right away, I was like, oh, my God, me. Like, yes.

I only tell that because I always tell veterans getting out who are interested in, like, media and entertainment and, like, what do I do? And I'm always like, the best thing you can do is like, start a podcast. Start a podcast. But no, like, I always say, like, every, like, I feel like so many of the good things that happened to me

came through, like, volunteering or doing shit in my free time, not like the main thing I was pursuing. It was all the extra things that instead of going home sitting on the couch at the end of the day. I started going to open mics and started like with a sketch group and started like volunteering with the mission. It was like all the shit you do on the side and all those people you meet increases your potential for success times like 20 billion. So that's what I. So anyway, sorry, that's why I'm saying that. But so my last semester at Fordham, I got to go over to the Daily Show once a week and sit in the writers room like from the morning

all the way to the taping at the end to sit there and see the process. And the writers were like, are you really interesting comedy? Here's the open mics you should start going to. Come with us and we'll show you how to write a base because I didn't even know where to begin. And you tell yourself like, that's great for them. There's no way I can actually do this.

And it was the first time people like look me and I were like, no, you can. If I can do it, you can do it. Like whatever. And I think there's this veteran idea too of like, well, I'm like 10 years older than every kid in my class. And like I'm so far behind. What's the point?

And they're like, especially like in media. They're like, it's never too late. So it was such an incredible group from the producers to, like, even the lady that ran the teleprompter was like, you go, girl. Like everybody was so supportive there. And it was a group of veterans too, like it connected me with all these veterans in New York City. And yeah, so from there, I just, whatever. But I ended up getting a job at Comedy Central, like bottom of the totem pole production department, getting comedians to sign waivers and grabbing the coffees before whatever.

And I did that for about two years. I'm rambling, but like, yeah, I just got it. It was just like a long, like, doing comedy and all that stuff. Then mental health caught up to me again a little bit. My ex at the time, too, had also gone through an extremely intense, his first deployment and had hoped to get on the fire department and that wasn't panning out. And, like, everything for him, like, we were just falling apart. And I felt like if I lost him, I would lose my only,

connection to somebody who really knew what I went through in the Marine Corps and I would be completely alone and there was a lot of um even within like the Ford and veterans group still that attitude of like women aren't the same like you didn't you couldn't have possibly done the things we did because you're like it was just this I was like if I lose him I'm going to be the most isolated like I'm going to have nobody and no one's going to believe anything I ever did or went like you're going to a VFW I still feel afraid to go sometime like I'm like I wouldn't fit in and in there. I'm not, but like, I just felt like my whole world was like completely falling apart. So I had this job and was doing this comedy stuff. And I thought, and next thing you know, I'm living in

my Aunt Peggy's basement in Delco outside Philly. Like I, it was like he fell apart. I fell apart completely. And all of a sudden I quit my job with like no notice, like this job that I thought was going to lead to like everything. And then so next thing you know, I'm going to. in my aunt's basement outside Philly. The holidays are approaching. I was a UPS driver helper for $12 an hour. Like in the brown suit dropping off packages. I'm like telling the poor driver.

So I'm like, here's the story in my life. He's like, oh my God, it's just trying to get to my son's Christmas play tonight enough already. But like completely, completely fell apart. And thought pretty much from there I was done.

I was like, well, I started going to Delaware County Community College. I was like, I'll be a dental hygienist. And I don't know, I just picked that, like, out of this guy. I was like, I'll be a dental hygienist and just, like, who gives a shit what I do from here? Like, stop doing comedy, stop doing everything. And I actually started, though, a Twitter where I just started, like, bitching about life and, like, whatever. And then after about a year, this guy who did comedy and filly, he was like, come to an open mic with me.

Like, he, like, wrote a, like, this prompt at the top. Like, what's funny about your divorce? Like, what's funny? that there's got to be something funny about this. And I sat and thought, and like, one by one, I started to find things that were funny about it after a year of being like, I'm never going to laugh again. Like, oh, blah, blah, blah.

I'm dramatic if you can't tell. And once I could start to laugh at it again, I was like, I'm going to be okay. I think I'm going to be okay. And it was Chaps then I started trying to make my Twitter funny and I started trying to make an effort towards comedy again. I was working concessions where the 76ers play. So like in a hairnet service,

popcorn to my old high school buddies after like I had been this Marine who's working in comedy in New York and it was like very humbling you know it was like a very like whatever but that's when Chaps found me on Twitter. This is chaps highbrow humor kicking in. Chats highbrow humor because I was on my lunch break from Delaware County Community College one day and I got a Calzone that looked like a vagina and he had this blog series where he would blog on Barstool about foods that looked like genitals and somebody tagged him because I think we were both veterans online. A bunch of these like Marines were like, yo chaps, you got to blog this.

She's a Marine. She's got this vagina calzone. And he slid in my DMs and was like, my lady saw your vagina calzone. Do you mind if I blog it on Barstall? And I was like, what's that? Blah, blah, blah. Once he heard I was a Marine, he invited me to come on Zero Block 30. I went

on the show and I think he could tell I was like like a little hard up in life. He was like, you know, we're looking for a social media person. he paid me out of his own pocket for like a year to do that and then finally helped me get an interview with Dave with Dave Portnoy the head of Barstool and Dave was like I don't know anything about I like wore it was like a sports company where everyone wears basketball shorts I rolled up to the office here in New York wearing like a Coles like pleaded pet like yeah I like clearly wasn't

the right fit and he's like I don't know what your deal is but if Chapp says you're good you're good like I didn't even have show a resume I just got like hired on the spot and so I went from I'm like, it was just, I don't know, I guess I'm saying that too because so many veterans who get out feel like the trajectory is like this and it's more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can confirm. No matter how, I think it's like whether your officer or enlisted, no matter what rank you are, no matter what you did, like I feel like we're told like you're a veteran.

So when you get out, you're going to have all these advantages and like, that's true. The reason I am where I am today is because I'm a veteran and the opportunity. I was afforded from that, but like, don't be hard on yourself if it's looking like a mess, because I'm telling you, dog chewing on my boot and Aston PA delivering a package at Christmas. Like, what the fuck is my life right now? And now I have health insurance. I mean, that's really the great, like, yeah. Hang on, hang on. Things, things get better. But did, you know, it. if you don't mind talking about it, like you mentioned, you used better help, but like, did you, did you recognize, like, early on? Like, when you quit your job, did you recognize that you were going through stuff? Or was it just more insidious that you just kind of were down?

It was. Like, I, looking at it now, I'm a big journaler. I always have, I'm, like, writing shit down. And, like, looking back now, it started with just, like, having like bad thoughts like everything and I always like I'm always hard of myself so it wasn't like man he's going through a rough time and we've had to it was like you like suck like this is all you are not able to hold it together like you're supposed to be this like marina and you can't even focus at your like low level job because you're like it was just I just started this awful self-talk

which just spiraled to the point where I was like you shouldn't be here anymore and then And it like got to the point where it was like, here's the bus path to the George Washington Bridge, bitch, checking out. Like, here's the hours where there's no traffic on it. Like here, like, it's terrifying looking back at like how far down the rabbit hole I got in that. Because I couldn't see life without him. I couldn't see life. And too, like we had the same circle of Marine friends. So I was like, if I lose him, I lose all my.

Right. Like, I'm going to lose everything. I'm going to be completely like I'm a failure at my marriage. I'm a failure at this job. I'm a failure. Like, and, you know, you're so proud of being a re.

You think you're, and like all of a sudden you're, right. I can't really explain it, but like, yeah, basically I was like done with life. And I, like the day I quit,

I went and sat by the Hudson River. And what's, I am the worst person in the world for forgetting the name of this. We've done so much shit with them. Mental health care for veterans. Gosh, my God.

Do you know what I mean, beta breakers? Oh my God They like saved my life And I'm like I'm just drawing like a stupid blank on it We've been to their gala Hold on

I'm sorry this is probably the worst But I have to look this up and say the Folks in the meantime If you have questions for Kate Please get them in She is here to answer all of your questions No matter how outrageous I will answer literally anything

Ah I'm such an asshole The Headstrong Project Oh headstrong right I had seen, I like went to the Hudson River and I was sitting there and I was scrolling Twitter and I was like just doom thinking and I saw a tweet about the Headstrong project because I like followed a big circle of veteran stuff on my Twitter and it was like basically like call us right now and we'll get you help right now because I had tried to go through the VA and I know there's so much good VA care out there and everything but it was like a like a five month

wait or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. And when you're low like that too, even the process of like getting your VA card and registering can feel overwhelming. Yeah. And the process of it, I like went, I had a bad experience, got told about the weight. And I was like, you're fucking done. Like, you're done. Like, you can't even get up, you can't even like make a VA. Like, it just made it worse.

Right. And I saw this tweet that was like, call us now. And within 24 hours, you'll be sitting talking to somebody. And I was like, fuck it. Why not? So like, right then and there, I called. And they had me in an office talking to a therapist like the next day. Really?

And that was the first person I told like, I think I want to die. They were like, don't. Maybe don't. Hold on. And they started getting me regular help. And that is also helped what convinced me because the marriage I was into was like really unhealthy and bad. Really bad for me at that point. And she helped me get the peace of mind to know like you need to walk away.

You need to get out of here. And you need to like, it like change. like truly I think headstrong project um I like swear to God it like saved my life uh and I'm so glad it did because even and even then like after that wasn't like an easy road it wasn't like well I did that now everything's getting better like actually got worse after that a lot of ways but at least I had a tether to something keeping me attached to reality at that point right so and someone like checking in on me who knew the reality of because like you don't want to scare your parents or your friends right you know you feel like they wouldn't

be but at the time you feel like you don't want to burden people with like your shit. Right. So yeah, it was a huge. It was like the catalyst for like all the change that ended up getting me in a really good place where I am now. Yeah. So I mean, you bring up an interesting point, I think. One of the reasons why veterans have really relied on sort of the check-in process in terms

of yeah, your friends who need help probably aren't going to ask for it because they don't want to feel like they're burdening anybody you know they don't sometimes they don't even know like they're just like i'm just i'm done like i don't want to it doesn't even occur to them it doesn't even occur to them to yeah and and so sometimes when when folks go silent other people like hey you know i don't heard from so-and-so in x amount of time yeah somebody needs to check on it yep it's that's huge and i like i think part of it too was in that span of time like leaving me up to that point we two people to suicide and like it becomes comes, well, they, like, it's like a disease.

It's a social contagion. It's like a virus where you're like, well, they did it and whatever. And so, like, it just, you see that. And I don't know, it's, it really is. It's a social contagion. It's one of those things where when it opens up the possibility, like you weren't thinking about it before and then something happens. And then you're like, oh, well, that doesn't seem so bad.

Yeah. And I guess the last thing I'll say on that, please be like, you are rambling. No. I think another part of why, like, I'm very outspoken about, like, I was in during the times, I don't if you've ever heard of, like, the Marines United scandal. But when it was basically a free-for-all against the Marines on. the show. Oh, you have. Okay, so you know about all about that. And like, um, even last year, those, those sites still exist. They still pop up. And even last year, there was guys being like, look at this barstool Marine chick. Does anybody have nudes of her? Does anybody have, like,

people still try and do that stuff. Um, and by the way, I do have nudes out there. So, bachelor at party, 07 flashed them. They're flying around the internet. Um, but it was like, at the time especially such a toxic awful culture like I had a good unit but the overall feeling was still like even the guys that I knew and respected I would hear them say of things like oh you got you got to meet man she's great for a female marine like stuff like that where like you still weren't one of them no matter what and I think why I'm so like outspoken about that stuff and why the culture I think still has to change is because I know that was another big factor and me getting to the point of like, like feeling so isolated when I was at my lowest was looking at, because so much of our community is online now, and it was like, I don't belong.

Like all these male Marines seek help and they're like, 22 a day, blah, blah, blah. And the same guy saying that are like, look at this fucking look. She's nothing. She's like, whatever. And it was like you care about those Marines, but you don't think I'm a Marine. You don't see me the same as you. No matter how many medals I have, no matter what I do. Like, I know you guys don't see me the same.

And so it was this feeling of like, I've gotten over it now, but I used to not even bring it up ever to people. Like even if they said they were a Marine, I wouldn't be like, oh, me too. I'd be like, wow, thank you for your service. There's a certain type of dude that was like never really able to transition out of the military. And not only that, they were never able to evolve beyond being an 18-year-old PFC living in the barracks. And I see it with, even with groups of guys of the units I served in. and it's like, dude, you guys, like, we're hitting our 40s now. Like, this is kind of unbecoming.

Yeah. Like, you guys are acting like you're 18 year olds and you're not. Like, it's just kind of sad at this point, you know? It is. And it definitely, like, if you look at the rates of suicide and women veterans and the issues that we go through, I do believe a big part of it is that feeling excluded and feeling like you're not part of the tribe and you're not part of, like, I know I felt it and still feel it sometimes. Like, I feel intimidated going to veterans.

veteran events. I'm like, I'm on a military podcast. It's like that's still there. I went, I was in not you guys though you're great. Well, we're very progressive here. In our man cave in the team house telling Dick jokes and occasionally

vagina jokes now. But, no, I was just down in D.C. and I was asked to speak at a press conference for an activist group or an advocacy group that fights, you know, military sexual assault and hearing these are sisters and mothers who their their daughter was either murdered in the military

or she committed suicide after she was assaulted and like when you're there and you see them speaking and their hands are shaking it's like whole like what the fuck is going on in this and I mean I know because I've covered it as you know journalistically but when and I've talked to so many people but I mean and seeing it at that event at the end of it I was like I need to go get a drink now like yeah this is this is intense I'm curious you know before the show we were talking about sort of the you know because we're talking about the stuff at third group and then like the 95% you know and the 5% that like makes an issue you know like yeah yeah the you know of a group any group whatever do you do you feel as though the Marine Corps culture

by and large is still toxic towards women? Do you think that it's just a certain amount of like outspoken, like social media, or not social media, but like dudes on the internet? I mean, what would your take on that? No, I think it's a problem from top to bottom. And I think it's an enormous failure of leadership all the way from the very top. The Marine Corps has been the slowest to do everything when it comes to integrating and when it comes to keeping us more equal. And like, if that means raising our standards, then fucking raise them.

Like, whatever it takes, like, we'll meet them. We'll figure it out and figure it. But, like, the Marine Corps has definitely been the slowest and the most hesitant to do all those things. And it's still that culture. Like, I remember when I was in boot camp, like, talk to any male Marine and they'll tell you their drill instructors were pounding it into their heads. Over there at Fourth Battalion, they are sluts. They are nothing. They are worthless. Like, that was what was taught to them at boot camp. And that's not an exaggeration. So it's like not just like three percent of them. It's they're all going into the fleet like look at these worthless slots like whatever.

Right. If you think that's not going to create trouble. It's interesting you say that because like I never had any like bad experiences personally with female soldiers. Yeah. But that kind of mentality of the wives, the army wives and what they're up to and female soldiers and like they fill your brain with these horror stories. It's like when I was in the military like I have. avoided female soldiers like, what's going to happen? Right, there are a problem right off the bat. Looking looking back on it, it's kind of like, holy shit. That was just like lies and bullshit that my head was

filled with, you know, that had nothing to do with reality. And I think a sick part of it in some small way too is like self-fulfilling because that like not in a, I don't even know how to word this, but like when you're the only woman in your unit and you're seen and treated a certain way by like almost everybody, like, that's going to do something to me like that. Right, right. And I just think, too, like, we're this big, ass powerful military with these great leaders and blah, blah, and you can't figure this out. Right.

It's not that complicated. I'm just the same, like, I don't know, it's like this huge fear of reproductive system is a little more complicated. Yeah. Here at the team house, we haven't quite figured all this out yet. Yeah, no. We need to do an extensive study to kind of ascertain exactly. what is happening there but

but yes we should be able to figure it out. I'll say too like in Marja it was just me and one other woman and you're in like close quarters it was never an issue it was like literally never an issue for even a second to me

like I didn't mind taking a shit in an ammo can with an Overwatch above like it was never a thing and uh that tracks the bears I mean I hadn't shaved my legs in eight months I didn't feel like anybody was faping to me in the humba? Like, I don't know. I just feel like it was never. They were, though. I'm sure that. I mean, come on. But I just like, I never, like, I know that it can be done. I know it can.

Right. And if we can provide an asset, which I know we can, even outside of fact capacity, like, we are an asset. It's not even a question. We are. And you're wasting it because of shitty leadership. Like, we're right here and you're missing a huge, like, a huge amount of talent because we're still, I think, being underestimated and disrespected. And, like, I could go off on it forever, but, like, obviously it's a big issue to me. And, like, do you think it's changing at all with, like, a younger generation that's kind of coming into the, not just the Marines, but into the military service in general? Yeah. I mean, I think it's still, like, I still think it has, like, a long way to go. But I do think it's changing. People are always like, well, you know, if I had a daughter, I wouldn't want to go.

And I'm like, I hope, like, we need more women to go in to be the change and to like, I don't know. I do think it's getting better in a lot of ways, though, especially as more things open up to us, as much resistance as there is to that. And like, I hear the arguments and I get it. But like, I also served with infantry dudes for like five to 80 pounds. Are you going to drag the big guy when he falls? Like, that's the big argument against me. Like, are you going to do that?

Like, I just feel like, like, I get there's a. thing with standards, but like if I can meet the standards, who gives a shit? Do you care? Do you think that like the standards, do you think that that is where some, and I, look, we can write a lot of it off to just flat out sexism. Yeah. But do you think that some of the resentment, like, comes from sort of mandates and then people feeling like standards have to drop in order to meet those mandates?

Oh, totally. And it would be frustrating. Like, she gets to pick up because she had a higher PFT score because she only had to do like this when I had to do this like or, I don't know. Or like a lot of times because I was the only woman in my unit at first, they'd be like, they're all going to go on this hike. You, you're the girl, you type, you stay back and do this like easy work while we're. And it's like, no. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's like it almost forces you into this easier.

I for one greatly enjoyed the consternation around. What is it, the ACFT in the Army and the one leg tuck that women will have to perform. And apparently it was this huge outrage to do a single leg tuck. I mean, they flipped out when you could start wearing ponytail. The comments are military. We're like, there goes, you know, what do we have? We're going to lose an award to China. Dude, shut up.

I love that. Any single thing that makes, like, a soldier's life a little bit better is, like, the automatic response is like, we're going to lose an war to China. Like, because of paternity leave, really? Right, because your troops

feel more cared for and more prepared to whatever. But yeah, so that's, I could go off, obviously, about it all day,

but, like, I think it's still a huge issue. Pop off. Pop off. But I have hope. And I see, I like, and I know it's still a problem

because I still lurk in all, like, the female Marines pages on social media where they're like, you won't believe when my staff sergeant pulled today

or said to me to, like, It's still Well, yeah, I mean, what I was referencing earlier, I mean, stuff with like, you know, Vanessa Guillen is like the most high profile case, but I mean, it's a reality.

Yep. Yeah, it's crazy. But, but I have hope. I have hope. It's getting better. Oh. Yeah. Did, have you, you know, in this time,

and you said that you still talk to some of the guys that you serve or some of the people from your unit. Yeah. and whatnot, like, have any of the men, like, come forward? Like, are they, are they, are there, like, do you find that there are people online, whether in the, you know, forums or social media, who will try and tell people like, like, straighten up and fly right? No, and I think that's one other, I keep being like, and that's one other part of it.

That's like, I think another big part of it is that so many times, like, I would see on Facebook when I was in guys that I was friends with, shit-talking women Marines who were great to me. Right. We're like lovely and we're like no. The attitude was like, not you though, Mannion. You're cool. Right.

It was like that. And I think a big part of it was so many other people like, well, I know our staff sergeant follows you and he hasn't said anything to you about you being a piece of shit online. Right. I know our captain knows what you're saying on here and he hasn't said anything to you. It was like so much complacency again amongst leadership and the other Marines just letting other Marines be pieces of shit and not calling it out. And I think a huge part, like, it means a lot to me when, like, I've seen certain accounts start to change, like, big social media, like, pop smoke and some of these others, like, those big meme accounts, military meme accounts, like, when they start to shift and actually be supportive of women and call shitbags out in the comments, like, that sounds dumb and small, but that does actually matter. I do think

like calling your brothers out and sister is like when they're fucking up and saying the wrong things like that really matters and that was never happening so this this question here seems to be a sort of deep cut that I do not understand the reference isn't that the girl that is pretending to be Jacqueline Cross who is the banker John Cross's granddaughter the banker John Cross's granddaughter?

The banker John Cross, I don't know what that means. It sounds like we're playing like clue or something. Oh, was it me with the candlestick in the... In the library. I get a lot of... I get a lot of doppelgangers that are super random, so maybe that's a doppelganger reference.

Have you read any of Steve Cole's books? Ghost Wars Directorate S. And if so, what do you think? I have not, but I bet they're lovely. I'm sure they're great. I'd like to hear, this is hammer and nails. I'd like to hear Kate's best Delco's story. Is that a Marine thought?

Oh, yo, go birds. No, people just like... hearing the Delco accent. Being from the Philly Burbs were just huge pieces of shit down there. Man, my best Delco story. I've done a lot of... I don't know if I want to say.

I don't know if I want to say. Funny cigarettes? A lot of funny cigarettes. Real poor choice one night during a blizzard at McGillicuddy's pub. May gone home with a guy with no electricity in a black cable box. He was a delight.

Those Delco contractors, they'll get you. They're really, no. Why did he need cable if he had no electricity? What's that? Why did he need cable if he had no electricity? It was, probably me, heat. Oh, heat. It was a blizzard,

and it's like, we're going to have to bundle up in here. Anyway, there it was. No, Marines aren't sluts. I went home with this contractor on Delco one night and we were like chopping it up. No, Delco is a magical place, but off the top of my mind, nothing in particular. We had one person. Let's thank the donation real quick. Oms, thanks very much for the donation. We deeply appreciate it. PJ says Kate Big Stooley. I know you spoke about this earlier. Can you speak more in depth about how you went from a part of your in college as an undergrad to you,

Marine Corps boot camp, congrats on your new edition. Oh, thank you. That, too, was like that transition from being like, I'll say, I was like a huge nosebears lady. I was like a real piece of shit by the time I left college, like, like bad. And again, didn't know anything about the military. And I remember the day they went to ship me out, they do the final, like whatever. And I had one, I don't recommend going to boot camp with a giant Shamrock Tramp stamp. drill instructors

drill instructors are going to love that and too I tried to go with a belly button ring that had just encrusted itself into my stomach I had a lip ring I'd take that out and they had to like literally as they're like wait the buses here like what they had to cut it off with pliers and then I would go to I started going to church

every Sunday in boot camp I like drank the I was singing the songs I was like I'm a change whatever like you know and I like really believe like I really and I'm gonna be different now and they had the final mass you could go to confession and I was like so earnest

and I went into that confession booth and normally you're like you know I was mean to my mom and dad I was like father forgive me I was snoring lines and call like I like said every horrible thing I'd ever done and it was just like silence on the others like

the priest was fucking disgusting your drill instructor kicks there yeah yeah he said go do three hail Mary's, I guess, are still going to hell. Yeah, it doesn't matter for you. It's too late. I remember walking out of there being like, I'm a new person. Like, I'm a new person. But yeah, that transition was, I lost, like, I was almost like 170 pounds when I went

to boot camp. It was beer. Like, I drank so much beer, so much beer. I lived in the rugby house and had a keg on a sled, like, constantly just right outside my door was just. God bless. Yeah, just constantly. Schlits, of all things. Shout out Pittsburgh. But anyway, when I went to boot camp,

I went from like a size 9 to a size zero. Like I put my, like it really was. And I think it was the first time too. I really saw it because, you know, like, I'm going to go on a diet

or I'm going to stop drinking for a while. But if your heart's not in it and there's no change, like, ah, none of this stuff works. It was the first time I really put my mind to something and it worked.

Right. Plus it's hard to get schlitz. And it's right. You're right. I think it was the circumstance, but it was the first time I saw that I really could change. Yeah. That like that's actually possible.

Yeah. And I mean, honestly, like, the Marine Corps has boot camp down to a science. Yes. When it comes to destroying you, you know, and destroying sort of everybody. And then building that group cohesion and then finally, you know, in step by step. And then finally on graduation day when, you know, you're marching, you know, parade deck to graduation in your graduation in your drill and start, like, there's going to be some colonel in there you don't know who's going to say you know you're going to say you're marines good but i'm going to be the first one to tell you know

it's like it really like it fucking weren't and like for all the things i'm saying like this was bad about the mingro and blah blah like at this it's such like i wasn't like it's kind of the same as parenthood it's like the most incredible thing on the planet and also the worst thing on the planet that like this is incredible and i'm never going to sleep it's like the duality of things like that's how i feel about the marine corps it was Like there was bad and difficult things about it, but it was also one of the best things I've ever done. And I'm, sometimes I'm like, oh, the fucker Marines, but I've also very proud to be a Marine. Like, it's a very weird two things at once kind of feeling.

But it definitely, like, it changed my life for the better. Ultimately changed my life for the better. Yeah. So. Was that one of the, you know, coming from a great unit where you had good leadership and good cohesion. You know, obviously your marriage was, it was its thing. But did you find yourself like a drift when you're, you're out now, you know, they're civilians. They don't bond, I don't think generally. Like when you go to the, even though I think a writer's room is probably pretty

close, right? It's still not the same type of bonding as, as, you know, a good unit. Oh, yeah. Not like not even close. And I think that was it also too being in the same unit. a lot of us because of where our deployments fell did our full four to five years all together. And normally you get split up. And so like we were really, really tight. And to be in a brand new city, like my relationship and my only link to them falling apart. And like, and it was very difficult at first. Like your perspective as a veteran, like I look at the veteran I was after year one.

Yeah. So different than I was. Three years later. So different than my perspective. Seven years later. So different than my perspective. of now. Yeah. And like at first it really was difficult being out and like the culture like it really was a shock. You're in a bubble for however long. Yeah. Like truly a bubble. Like you're not

and uh and that is like a very to be separated from that and feel like people don't quite get where you're coming from. Especially being an older student too. Yeah. Like where are we going fellow cool teens after class? They're like you're 30. So definitely. I think no matter how long you were in like Did you guys experience that? That like feeling kind of. Very much. Yeah. Yeah.

I would imagine more so than, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, I still feel that way sometimes. Yeah. You know, it's, it's hard making connections outside of that or those those types of connections when you're living around somebody like 24-7 and, you know, you're. Your best friends are your family, are your coworkers, are your, you have everything right there.

It's all you need. Yeah. You see them at their best. You see them at their worst. Yep. Yeah. And there's a. a unified mission, there's a purpose.

You know. Yep. So absolutely. You know, and I think that, you know, when we talk about like veteran suicide, I think, you know, a lot of it people write off to post-traumatic stress, which is probably a large part of it. But there's also so much more going on. Oh, yep.

Absolutely. You know, there's a lack of purpose. There's a lack of belonging, you know. Yeah. Yeah, it can be really isolating in its own, even if you're in a city's around about. like seven million people you can feel like incredibly isolated well even more so i think sometimes especially in like in a city in new york where you know there aren't a lot of veterans and compared to you know the general population yeah so a lot of people that you're meeting have never met a veteran

yeah and you know they have their own preconceived notions about you know you as a marine you having been in afghanistan you know and what that might mean oh yeah i i've even had i had i had i had a cousin come to visit and she was here to do like go out or whatever and when she told her friends like oh my cousin's a marina she's going to come out they're like oh like ah i don't know if she'll fit our vibe we're very like whatever and it's like that the image they had in their heads of what a marina is yeah whatever and it's like no i just like to get drunk then yeah i'm a real chill it's okay like almost all of us are very very chill you're in a corporate space and like are they they're gonna come in to shoot us?

Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Overall, very good, very good. Let me shit on it for an hour and be like, but it was not. Yeah. Well, that's like, that's like the interesting,

like, just a position that like so many people, even like, I see like veterans who were like far, like they got out became like far left wing, ideologues and stuff like that. But as far left as they try to go, as far anti-government as they try to be, same thing right-wing anti-government. people. But as much as the deep state and this and that, but they're still like so in love

with the military and so in love with, you know, the relationships they made and the experiences they had. Like as far as much as they're trying to run away from it, they can't escape it. And it too, it does on some level, because the civilian population doesn't know a lot of us, it does give you a clout that's hard to let go of. No matter how far either direction you go. Yeah. Well, it's hard to not pull that card out. It's also like, like, well, like, you're, You're right, Dave, in the sense that, like, in New York City, you're not going to meet too many other people who have those sorts of experiences. So it becomes like those sorts of people you communicate with online is like, were you going to bullshit about these things? Yeah.

Yeah. And then, like, that's cool. And then you have to kind of like set that aside and live in the real world and... Or you have a podcast where you can bullshit. Yeah, or, you know. We're the ultimate example of, like, the slackers that, like, can't totally put it aside and, you know, reminisce. and live vicariously through other other veterans. We talk about, like, say I went to Ohio State,

and it's 20 years later, and I'm still at the tailgate being like, woo, let's go. And I'm like, that's us with the Marine Corps. Like, we're still a decade later being like, let's talk about it again today, you know, like, whatever. That's why, like, I mean, we try not to do that. We try to have, like, other people on and talk about their experiences, and then I don't have to feel so much like I'm Uncle Rico.

So let's me throw this football That I could throw Yeah I could have won states. Yeah. Makes me feel a little bit better. Yeah. But it's also, you know, but they're also the great bonding experience

because even if people didn't serve in the same units, you know, in the same field or whatever, if you ate shit in Afghanistan, you ate shit in Afghanistan, you know, like if, you know, it was the same dirt, you know, or whatever. It's just, yeah, it's, it's, it's challenging.

And New York is, you know, it's an odd city for, you know, for that sometimes. I actually, I actually love, like, the anonymity of it. And that, like, I can go outside and nobody knows anything about me. You can sob on the subway and nobody will bug it. You can. And no, no, not only do they not know anything about me? They don't give a fuck about it. Exactly.

You can. No, what I meant, though, was in terms of, like, the veteran. Like, I know for a fact I've been turned down for an apartment because, like, the people in it, you know, are 10 years younger than me, found out as a veteran. and they weren't quite sure what that would mean. Yep. You know. Yeah.

There's a lot of, there's a lot of baggage both like positive and negative. Like you said, there's cloud. You're right. It can go either way. There's, you know,

that's so cool. Yep. You know. And then there's, you know, and then there's a, well, I don't know if this person's going to like have post schematics

for us to come in and shoot everybody here. Yeah. Maybe. Roll the dice. Yeah. Roll the dice. What kind of veteran. Yeah.

It's New York City, man. I mean, Enjoy the circus. So when you started at barstool, what, did they tell you what you're going to be doing? Did they ask you what you wanted to do? How did that work? So the one thing that was clear was that I was being brought on to, I wasn't even a co-host of Zero Blog 30 yet.

I had a little segment at the end of each episode besides doing their social media that I called Kate's Corner. But I read like women's Marine Corps history story for five minutes or like whatever, which I don't think. think anyone listened to and I think was just again people doing me at kindness lots of kindness has done to me in my life and then slowly I started eking my way onto the show and by that point that's when I got the job at barstall and right around then they had inked a deal with serious xm and put a radio studio in and chops is like I'm going to have a radio show and part of my selling point to Dave is that you're going to be my co-host on the radio too so it won't just be ZBT it'll be radio and also I had started to write a few guest blogs the blog was here

It's still a pretty big thing, but the blog was huge. So I started writing a couple guest blogs under his name that started to do well. So I could show Dave, like, look, I really can get numbers and do whatever. So as soon as I got there, it was ZBT. I signed up and he was like, you have like two weeks to move to New York. The radio show is starting. And then writing. So it was like those three things.

But outside of that, nobody, especially switching from the Marine Corps to this, nobody tells you what to do. Nobody tells you what to do. Like even your own podcast, like, we can decide tomorrow, we're just not going to do next week, which we don't, but like, you're your own boss. No one tells you what to do. Everything you do is on your own initiative. And nobody ever tells you now.

So I'd be like, oh, the Indy 500 is this weekend. Dave, like any question I ever asked him as a boss, the answer is always yes. Dave, this is last minute. But can I have money on a cameraman to go the Indy 500 tomorrow? Yes. Can I have like, like, but the. videos you made, the content you made, like it was all completely on you. And that was the first time nobody was ever telling me what to do. And I'm not great at that at first. So there have been

times like I felt very, I'm like, what am I doing here? Like, what is my job? Like, what am I? And to like motivate yourself without somebody like yelling at you because nobody tells you like, you're doing great. You're doing it. It's like on you. And when the yearly review comes up and they look, it's like, what have you done? Like, what have you done this year? Because no one's babysitting you. So that's been really interesting. Like, I hope we have fun. you money one day where D can go to, you know, can I go to this Indy 500? And I'll be like, yeah, sure

do you. Yeah, go ahead. Whatever it. Yeah, go for it. There was the best one I ever did was have you heard of the sausage castle? I have not. No. Tell us all about it. Yes, we have to hear about the sausage. Have you heard of the sausage castle? They, um, his name is Mike Busey and he owns this massive

property somewhere in the swamps outside Orlando and it's this big gated like 20 acre big lake and boats and go-kart track and boxing ring and like you are a member so you pay to be a member and he throws parties several times throughout the month it's almost like a playboy mansion kind of thing and there's hot girls everywhere and there's like porn playing on the TV it's like uh there's amusement park rides and fat like it's like this is florida manship this is florida manship this is florida man shit, like big time. And every veteran's day, they throw

a free blowjob party for veterans. It's free haircuts and free blow jobs. And it's only... Is it either or can you get both? Both. And it's only... I would go, but only for the haircut. Only for the haircut. Only for the haircut. I'm saying that publicly now. If I ever go, it's only for the haircut.

Well, so many people... Year after year, people, because I've been at Barcelona since 2018, and year after year, people would tag me, be like, Kate, somebody's got to go to this. and see the blood. They're not wrong. And by the way, it's only, it's a lot of veterans, only one lady doing the blow jobs. Really? And her name is Jenny Jiz. Gladys. Oh. Her name is Jenny Jiz and her husband, Mike, the cum, artist. I don't know. I hope you don't get

like people mad at you for this, but. They're mad at us anyway for everything all the time. So, I mean, carry on. So, and this, too, this makes it even worse. I was like, it's every, it's on Veterans Day. And they, like, promote it and you don't have to be a member of the club, like, any veteran is welcome that day. Free, free meal, free haircut, free party. They even have like veteran service groups set up tables, like whatever.

And there's festival rides, and they bring in like live boxing. Like, he really truly goes all out. We should go, Dave. The rides sound like there are a lot of fun. It's great. There's a pool. There's whatever. And so I asked Dave,

I was like, can I go to this veteran blowjob party? And I was like, this is probably the worst part. I was like six months pregnant. I was like, very visibly pregnant with my first child at this point. And he was like, sure, go ahead. Why not?

So I go. And my boyfriend, Pat, was my cameraman for this. Because I was like, I don't know what the HR rules are. If I can make another employee come and be the cameraman at a blowjob party. So my boyfriend, Pat, who does production in his own world anyway, came to be my cameraman. It was veterans from every branch officer. enlisted. There was women veterans there too who were

completely welcome. Is she equal opportunity? Jenny Jones? Jenny Jizz? Jizz? Jenny Jiz? I know, but I think there would have been fellows happy to volunteer had a lady wanted such a thing. But first they do all the festivities

and then tell me when to stop. Continue. No, continue. Okay. Then it comes time for the main event, the blown rounds. And they line it up by who had the longest time in service, the most deployments, the most, like, they figured out a ranking system for who gets to go first.

So like the guy with the biggest stack is the first lucky one who gets to, like, whatever. And from there, and by the end, it's a lot of, and a lot of bands. And, like, it was strange and bizarre and a crazy thing to watch. And, like, none of them cared that we were there. They were all happy to like, yeah, I heard about it on the radio today. So I came over to get my blowjob. I did two tours and Iraq.

God bless. God bless. Nice to meet you. And we did an interview with Jenny Jizz. And she was like the loveliest. We still text from time to time. She's like lovely. She's on Twitter. She is.

She's great. And but it was like the land of misfit toys almost for all the veterans. And not all of them got blowjob. Like people who felt like they didn't have a place to go. They just want to come and have beers. It was like morbid, Also, like, I genuinely felt like it was very heartwarming at the same time. Because you were the veteran who didn't quite fit in in these other places.

You end up here. You could go to the sausage castle and nobody, you could do no wrong. No judgment. You were welcome and you were thanked and you were given a meal and a fancy night where people appreciated you. You said rise and lake. There was so much other stuff to do. Like, it was really like a lot of cum, but there was a lot of camaraderie too. It was like a nice mix of boats.

Yeah, it was a good. I don't know. It was like weirdly heartwarming. It was pulsive and heartwarming at the same time. I bet this event has gotten increasingly popular over the years. It really has. And the video, if you want to look it up, I have a video, Barstool Sports, Veterans Day, Blowjob Party, you can see the whole thing. Now, do people travel far and wide for this? Yes, there was people who came from, like, California. People came from, like, very far.

There was also guys there who were active duty who weren't supposed to be. there who like snuck out to go like there was people from all over the place that were there well that's like claiming VA benefits when you're still not to do that that's just wrong that's true that's true a waste of resources but i mean this is like thanking people for their service to a whole new level it really yeah and the best part was too when they start when the initial blow job started it started off with lee greenwood's proud to be an american and do like oh yeah you're severely pregnant in this video. Yes. Yeah. And he, like, he has like AK-47s on his walls and like. And she's literally wrapped in the, or it's an American flag. Shawl. Or like a, yeah, like a shirt. Oh, yeah,

I wore. And two, like at one point before the- This is the kind of hard-hitting journalism. I wish they let me do. But instead, I have to write about national security. But that's the great thing about Barso. I can be like, here's this wacky thing. Can I have funds to go? And they're like, sure. And I'm like, and by the way, it's tomorrow. And they're like, sure, go ahead. And like, you just never get told no. And so. And so. so it's on you if you fail kind of thing. Is this a guy who owns it? Yeah, yeah, that's it.

I mean, honestly, though... What a hero. Yeah. Seriously, like, it... That's... It's really generous... I know, but it's really generous to, like, open his place...

To blow job. Yeah, but no, blow job, regardless... Sexual jurisdiction. Just, like, to open up his place and to, like, feed people and... Yep. You know, like, it's a very... like you say heartwarming thing.

It really, and it was like, he says it's like for the land of the misfit toys kind of. And like, they were there and they had a place to go. And they had like, like, but it does not like, you know, like, um, veterans who are freaks deserve as much respect as veterans. Respect our troops. Yeah. Now, did, um, did the veterans who were there not want to be filmed because like, I don't want to be associated with this? Honest to God, not a single one of them cared.

They were doing interviews. They were doing posts. You go there for Jenny Jizz. You really give a shit if you end up on video. Did you get a lap dance? Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Very nice.

It was funny, too. This is a sort of participatory journalism that I feel like I can wrap my hands around. Jack, pitch that to connecting vets. Yeah, yeah. We'll see how that goes. But I mean, there are all these, like, really interesting little

veteran worlds out there that people don't I feel like I've wasted my life and I mean how great for your boss to to basically just be a yes man and you know support like whatever sort of well and the ND 500

and you know and like but mostly the blue job party that's mostly the thing but like he's the prez dude he's El Prez he's El Prez and And it really is as long as, and you're, the other great thing about, is you're allowed to fail. Like, I've had ideas that have cost money that have completely flopped. And it's never like, well, your last thing sucks.

So you got to like, whatever. It's like, well, as long as you're doing something and you're trying, keep going. And, you know, and then things hit. And then you get more, you know, a little more room to do blah, blah, blah, blah. But like, you're allowed to fail there. You're very rarely told no. it's like super rare and everything's on your own initiative like everything is kind of on you so it's like it's you just can't get complacent like I think that's the only time people fail there

is when they like well this is fucking sweet so like what's the next big you know like what's the next big you know milestone what's the next sausage castle man that's a great question and I I kind of want to get back. I kind of, I think COVID fucked a lot of shit up. And like, I, and now that I have a toddler, it's much harder to be like, I'm going to go away for two or three days and do, like, it has definitely changed the way I do content now. I can't do the stuff I used to do. And now I'm doing it again. So it's like, I don't know, it's definitely changed the way. Because I used to always, I used to do a ton of videos and pick up and go like all over the place to do whatever, like the most random shit.

And now I don't do that so much anymore. So I am trying to figure out the next thing. I want to do like an extreme home makeover VFW show where I get to like just Where we put home with vets and tiny homes? Yeah, exactly. I only do something like that where I'm unqualified and I do half-ass renovation jobs and leave them with thousands of dollars in taxes. Well, I mean, if you do that, then you'll get a multimillion dollar contracting gig for

the DOD. Yes. Do it like their housing. Do like MTV Cribs. I could do that. Yeah, yeah. But there's, I mean, there's so much. There's, um, liberal risks.

Do you follow them at all? It's like, we're kind of like old in Maine. Oh, right? Know about this stuff. But it's like this, um, she's a Marine who started. She like got really into travel after she got out. And now she has this page where they do all kinds of awesome trips places. And there's no, I don't know.

I just, there's definitely like really unique military-esque groups out there that I'd like to deep dive into. two more than check out, but I don't know what's next. I don't know what that's like. Someone asks us a question about like some sciops girl that's on Twitch. And I'm like, I am way too old to know what the fuck that even is. I have no idea. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

What Twitch is? The Dombas Dachshiva girl who's like a Navy officer. Oh, no, that's different. Yeah, that's really wild. Hold on. Yes. Need to know more. Yeah.

I don't know all the details. I know it was a Navy. officer, right? Was she, I don't remember, but she changed her name. And then she became basically, like a PR, she said she was over there, right? And she was PR for Russia. For Russia. And she like, her

avatar was like a very mysterious, sexy. I did see this in the news. And she was like, Dunbust, Dakshulvar or whatever. And like, she, I think she... She was following the template of Syria girl. Yes. And she, I think she shared, I could be getting this wrong, that Jack to share a guy who did the doc. I think she, like, shared a couple of those times. And then it

turns out it's like a Navy electricians officer named like Jenna doobie-doop yeah from like from Wisconsin yeah yeah yeah it was Jenny Jizz hold on yeah but uh yeah that'll be my next thing maybe I'll leave pretend to be like sexy like Russian online it's interesting because it's like you said like with being a veteran there is a certain amount of clout but it but it's really weird how you have to use that clout you know but it will it will first off there are so many like

liars out there right people who you know real storm valor who was that the he was the politician who claimed that his records were sealed that he had done spent all this time in Afghanistan or something and he was an aircraft

loader or something like that who was that the LePorter did a story about him he was running I don't think he won though I know who you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, it rings a bell. Yeah. You know, and then you have like,

crypto techs who claim they were Navy SEALs, who get clout, um, you know, um, but yeah, it's, it's weird in,

you know, for, for the people who were actually, who did the job, they said they did. Yep. Regardless what that job was and either got, get their clout from that or because of what they're doing now.

Hey, have at it. Like, if you went to Harvard, you tell law firms, you went to Harvard law, right? You don't hold that back. If that can help you somehow,

then say you did it. Absolutely, yep. But people who are either still, you know, never did anything, or people who did something, but then say they did something else. Yeah, like the people I've met

who have done like the craziest stuff in war are like, you would never pick them out of a line up. You're like just a totally regular dude, like a normal guy that you would never suspect like, oh yeah, that guy's a war hero. Like that did crazy shit. Well, I think too, that's another part of the culture that like it is fun to poke fun at us pogs and like, you know, but I do think it breeds this insecurity within troops who want to feel like they want the people back home to think that they're a fucking Navy SEAL. And they feel ashamed that they just were like a logistician or something. Well, really, that's something to be proud of.

Did you do your job well? But it's even weirder when it really was a guy who really was like a forced recon marine or really was like a SF guy or something. But they're telling all these like weird stories and stuff. Or they, you know, or they create awards or, you know, it's, I think that for some personalities, no matter what they did, it'll never be enough. Yep. and you know what I mean there's this guy my parents live in a 55 and up community and there's this guy

he's like written books like I think he's like self-published but he's always telling his he was like an intel decoder or something and blah blah and then there's like two other guys who were also in the similar realm of sim and they'll see him talking to my dad and they're that guy didn't do any of the things he just said he did

we promise you we don't know what's wrong with him but like he's embellished it like it's just like why do you Yeah, I don't know. I'm going to be that guy when I'm in the 15-up community. Yeah, yeah. Telling all kinds of. Where I was.

Wazoo War Stories. I am in the 15-up community, and I am that guy. Yeah, there you go. But. Just ask me how awesome I am. A lot of characters out there. That's all I know. We got a question.

If Jenny Jizz thanks you for your service, believe her. It's true. She thanked me. How could fit have. been better utilized. Maybe he means fat. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Um, I guess, like, you asked me, where the units did, were they aware of your capabilities, kind of? I think them being better briefed on what we could do. And I think, um, the culture being a little better where we were more easily accepted so that sometimes like, we'd get someone, they'd just like, leave us sitting in a tent

for three days doing nothing before they're like, well, try him. Like, I think that could have helped. Um, And I think from the start, training women more equally to men so that we're not a liability, like, don't you want us to be trained as well as you, man? If there is the possibility we could be out there with you, why would you be so resistant to us doing the things you do? So, yeah, I don't know if that answers the question or all, but I think that's the... Kate, who do you see Detroit picking at number six? Oh, if this is a sports question, then you know me. Is it a sports question?

I guess. That sounds like it. That sounds like a sports question. Skeeter Davis. Is that a real name? No, I just made that out. Are you as sports illiterate as I am? Yes.

You know what I do all the time? I'll Google. Like, I'll look up like CBS sports. I'll like read a couple sentences and be like, did you guys see blah, blah, blah? And people like, oh, Katie Sports, you know. Faking it. Faking every single thing I say.

Just in for it. Yeah, when Kahn was here. And he's like, yeah, I played sports and sports and sports and sports. I have no idea what you're talking about, dude. I've played sports. Respect, but I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, I've played sports in high school, like, every season. But I don't know.

Like, I can tell you every creature that appeared in the Dutch Dragons movie. Like, I know them all by name. I have a feeling that's true. Yeah. But, but yeah, if you turn on the TV on any sport and two teams are playing, I probably won't know who they are. Usually, pardon my take, one of the Barstall podcast, they do, like, once a month. One of their episodes is just playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Dude, I get really into it. Oh, have Kate. Yeah. If you can get these guys on PMT to do a, wait, that's a need in New York. Can you that? I would forever. Yeah, they're like Dungeons and Dragons, man. It's like, they have a guy.

They have like a big dungeon master. Yeah, a dungeon master, yeah. Oh, can we come? We love to. I'll have to find out what's excited. It's just the biggest podcast that Barstool have. but still. I'm telling you, I'd be forevering you're dead

if you got these guys to be in these nerds on there. Dude, we will come in cosplay. We will come marked. We'll come marked up. When I came in here actually this afternoon, there were some kids out on the street corner over there. One of them was wearing like the elf ears. There was some subculture stuff going on.

Oh, yeah. It was an eclectic neighborhood. They looked like trench coat mafia kids. I was like, oh, boy. People, that is a common misconception about the military. There's so many, no offense, words. Anime guy, boy, are they're anime guys. My goodness.

Yes, yes, ma'am. My goodness are they there? And a lot of, like, yeah, there's a healthy gaming community. You want to hear, so since we're going on this whole, like, milieu of, like, crazy sex stories, I have a crazy military. What? I have a crazy military anime story, hentai story. Oh, boy, okay. So, you know, there's.

that one tunnel rat kid in every platoon. Yes, yes, yes. And this is prior to streaming and all of that, this is 2005. And so it's all DVDs, right? And everyone's passing around DVDs. You're trying to trade and who has something new to watch. And there's an obsession with the OC at the time. Oh, yep.

Yeah, we were crazy about that. So there's that one tunnel rat kid in the platoon is like, Sergeant, I have these DVDs. And so my squad leader takes them. and we watched them in the hooch and we're watching and one of them was like black it was like there's some black mass type shit going on yeah and like me and my squadhood are like like mirf this is kind of freaking me out and I'm like this kind of freaking me out too sorry shit yeah and then they're like uh and then we put on the other one and it's like um there's this

woman who uh she gets herself in these precarious situations all the time where like she's about to get gang raped like in the showers of her like local pool or like Like, Wait, this hentai? It's a hentai. Or like going to go, like, going to rape her.

But she has this tattoo on her back of a demon. So, like, they're tearing her clothes off. And as they're doing this, the demon tattoo comes alive, turns into a real demon, and starts raping all the dudes.

They're like, eh. And, like, we're watching this. And as we're, like, watching this guy kind of freaked out the door to our hooch like flies open. And our platoon sergeant

is standing there with, like, you know the angelic lights shining from behind his head and stuff like that. And me and our, me and my squad leader look at each other and just start laughing. And, and VA is like, what the fuck are you two watching? Like comes like stomping over.

Yeah. And looks at what we're watching. It's like, what the fuck is wrong with YouTube? This is a tonal rat. He brought us these things. It's like, whatever.

It swarms out of there. And it was like, oh my God, what's going on here? I'll never forget. I was in MP school when the porno. There was the, the movie Pirates of the Caribbean came out, but then the porn pirates came out.

I was in MP school when that came out. Did you just pop your couch? No, it's this. But it was like a phenomenon. I was over in my own little barracks, but it was like, I remember, it was like a thing. Was it like a viewing event where, yes, but it was a porn. It was a viewing event where they had like stadium seating.

It was like all the guys. Very seriously like. It was a huge, it was like one of the biggest. budget porn of all time, like a two-hour saga that was actually beautifully shot and like millions and millions of dollars. Yeah, and it was like the biggest best porn ever made and like I remember that. Well, if I ever watch it, sorry, we're all watching Pirates. Yeah, if I ever watch it, it's only going to be for the smoke pit. I was going to say, if I ever watch it, it's only going to be for the cinematography.

You got to check it out. No free head. Dave Ridge's Playboy for the articles. Yeah, right. Right. Is that still a magazine? Is it? It's still around, I think.

Huh. I don't know. Yeah. I mean. You're probably a subscriber. Stop quiet. No, I was like, no, I, like, you know, I came up like VHS tapes, you know, like that was, that was the thing. But I do, like, in Afghanistan and Iraq, you know, dudes that always got to, like, the DVD salesman is like, hmm, I don't know.

Do you have anything else? Yeah. And then these, because they'd have all their pirated DVDs spread across their tables. And guys would just go, do you have anything else? I go, hmm, well, I do have these. And he reached out and bring out a case of, you know, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, the, I remember, like, full-blown arguments in our, you know, during mission briefs before we go out on ops in Iraq, like, about the OC and, like, who's sleeping with who.

and there's like arguments breaking out, squad leaders yelling at each other and stuff. It was hardcore, man. Those shows that, like, 2-9 and 3-6, and it's in Marcia, and what was the show, it was like the Superman show on the CW with Zod? What is it?

Smallville? They were, like, all obsessed with Smallville. It was just so funny to see the juxtaposition of... Who was the girl in the O.C.? Was it Marcia? Oh, Misha Barton. Yep. Ryan.

That whole girl's great. Yeah, and it's like, is she a ho? Or is that one of a... ho like what's the yeah there's some there's some vicious some vicious arguments breaking out you know it's a way to break the tension that should be like a rewatch podcast yeah there's a way to break the tension before we all go outside the wire and we think we're gonna die yeah yeah I forget what cons this show was but he said like I feel like every unit had that show like that like some dumb so yeah yeah yeah a show that was like somebody to start watching it and

then like yeah and the DVDs are getting traded around then it turns into like a big argument and the opposite and like, who has disc five? Motherfucker, who has this? Why you're horrid in the disc? People screaming at each other. Ours the share drives. It's like, who's got... Oh, right.

That's a different thing. Fancy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, or like watching a movie when it's released and, you know, it was pirate, like somebody was... So you're sitting there and people are getting up and walking, you're like, ah!

Or this, you know, people are walking in front of the camera. Yeah, when you're trying to watch it. Remember we watch one of the Matrix I can't remember which one it was but like two or three or whatever when it came out and it was like buying them was always such a gamble

because you never knew is this even going to be in English? Is there going to be any? Probably not. Yeah. Yeah. That and sitting like in a team room full of like dudes

and you watch something like something sad like with slumdog millionaire and everybody there's like this unspoken agreement that nobody is going to like turn their head at all. Everybody's just like there. You got like

tears coming down. Yeah, you got tears coming down and like, you're a, but nobody will look at each other. Oh, here's a nerd story. In Iraq, I played Never Winter Nights. I beat that game on my laptop in between missions. Oh, did you really? Yeah, yeah. Never Winter Nights is a Dungeons Dragon's computer game. Oh, very cool. Very cool. Yeah, so. My claim to fame.

You guys would fit right in at that Veterans Blowjob party. He has to be you're perfect for it, no offense. Shoings? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. What did he say? What was his

term for the guys who showed up? Like land of misfit toys, yeah. Oh, yeah. We're like the land of miss fit toys for. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Let's see. Final questions here for Kate.

If you have any, get them in. Okay, the Jenny Jiz question. I think we got. I was a janitor at an aquatic park. These people weren't comfortable in their own skin. Oh, I think the people who lie about their service. Oh, yeah, yeah. But also me.

That's very true. Just an awkward lady. I've loved spending the evening with Kate. Us too. Do you know a guy named Tyler? Tyler, no. Uh-uh. Sounds great.

Maybe he just means tonight, then. And then, of course, the time that Jack watched Bible Black instead of Ice Princess. Dude, that is a deep cut right there because that guy put his finger on exactly what we watched. So you weren't alone. That was making the rounds. Yeah, no, no, no. That guy right there, Wilbur Adams, that's a bullshit name. That guy knows exactly what we watched, and he's exactly correct.

And Ice Princess was... Was like a Disney movie. That was making... Oh, I was thinking Ice Pirates. Never mind. And in one of my privates, his mother made him do figure skating, like, well into later in life. And he was so bitter. Like, watching that Ice Princess movie, you get all red in the face.

He's, like, so angry watching it. Oh, really? Yeah, maybe that's him. How many times do you guys watch Ice Princess? Numerous times. Yeah. Numerous times. Yeah.

Yeah, no, that's, that's like an extremely deep cut. That's someone there who has carnal knowledge. Only, like, maybe, like, two to three people. would maybe know that. Well, now several thousand. Now, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Now many people do.

About 30,000 in a month or something. Yeah, no, that was a, yeah, Bible Black was the one where it was like black mass. Okay. And we were, like, looking at it like. Yeah. And Ice Princess was like, well, the Disney movie. It was like, you know how in the PX they have like three movies? Yeah.

Yeah. And for some reason, Ice Princess was the one. Yeah. That was funny. It would be interesting to, like, talk to. to each unit that deployed together and be like, what was your little cultural thing? What was your, like, niche?

Yeah, what was your series? Yeah, what was your series? What was your porn? What was your this? What was your that? Like, who was the celebrity that you all heard died that didn't really die? Like, who? I feel like that was always a big thing too.

So, Kate, what's the next step with Zero Blog 30 or with your life, your career? Where do you see yourself going? That's a great question. Because, like... Sort of existential question. I'm sorry, but... It is.

I try not to, like, pigeonhole myself. Like, Barstool now, there's so much younger talent there who are so creative and so funny and so, like, millions of followers on TikTok. And I've, I'm turning gray. I'm having my second kid. And I feel like it's harder to be like, so, fellow, fellow kids. Like, yeah, what's going on? And, like, I feel like it's less cool when I get hammered drunk and rolling puddles in Philly now. People are like, it's more sad than funny and out if you're doing that.

but I don't know I'm going to hold on to this as long as I can this is like the best job I've ever had my whole life and so help me God I'll be a janitor at the next office if I have to best job best people I feel like it gets this bad rep there's been like these hippies

that gets bad rap for certain things but my experience has actually been the opposite like especially coming out of the military and especially for like a woman in media I know it's not like the most serious media I don't have to wear makeup or brush my hair. I come in to work in my pajamas half the time. And I'm on camera every day and nobody says a work.

Like, you know, like it's been the most supportive place when I got pregnant. They're like, all right, cool. Like, it's just been like the best most supportive place I've ever worked in my entire life. And I think I're going to keep rolling with them as long as I possibly can. But I do hope to start doing more videos. I hope. ZBT is going to keep rolling. Chaps is moving to Chicago.

I'm moving to Chicago. We'll actually be in studio together, which I think makes a huge difference. Like doing it for years over Zoom, like, you know, I think it'll give us like a fresh shot. And I just hope like getting back into the veteran community more

to do good things. I feel like it's very easy to get detached sometimes. Like you can hear me like sounding bitter and then, and then I'll go and do a veteran meetup or something like that. And I'm like, oh my God, yeah. These people are wonderful. well like it's so good to be around you all and this is like amazing so hopefully more stuff of that like I said we're hoping to do some stuff like fixing up VFWs like genuinely that was great we did

in the winter there was a VFW that flooded outside Philly the Gladwin VFW like to the roof during the free hurricane thing like how often that hit Philly and the stoolies and Dave Dave donated like tens of thousands of dollars like no questions asked it drop of a dime. Stoolies donated a tonne. I just got to go back. And there's like still Korean War veterans and Vietnam veterans there who like one of the guys was like the day I got home from Vietnam. I drove right to this VFW. I've been here ever since. Like it was so until like after being detached for so long, especially after COVID and like being. And then to get back into it and be like, oh yeah, this is important. It is important to get together with other veterans and like, I don't know.

That was like really reinvigorating to me. Sorry, that was a long answer, but like I hope to get more into that side of things too. What about your comedy writing? Is that something you ever want to go back to? I mean, you probably do it, but, you know, TV or things like that? Yeah, I just started writing again, like, because we can write a blog whenever we want to for the site, and it's easy, like, that's the easiest thing to get lazy about because you're doing all this other stuff.

And I just started writing again and, like, writing to be funny and writing. Like, I used to sit every day after work on my way home from Barstow. I would like stop at my corner pub, have a couple guineas for dinner and write jokes and funny, like, whatever. And it's like, right, like practice. It's something the more you do it, the better you get at it. The easier it is. Like, joke writing is almost kind of, and I really fell out of that. And like, I do want to get back into that.

And I used to do stand-up and open mics and all that stuff. And I would really love to get back into that again. So, uh, write a book about my high-speed combat experience and lie in it. and you know you know i'll be honest i want to make some shit up and make some money um that would be sick uh but yeah i don't know what's ahead but definitely something in the creative realm i have no idea what i'm doing most of the time well we're rooting for you thank you where can you hear our church upstairs yes i was wondering i played it cool but i was wondering what the hell that is funny i like it yeah that's a church yeah like an hour into it i start getting into it like getting into it

yeah this is great what if you two are actually sucking people into the church and that's why I'm here. Are you here? Let's get her to talk about the tough parts of her life. Yeah. When she's most vulnerable, take her upstairs. She's baptized. I could do that, but you'd have to pay me for it. All right.

Where can people find you? On the L train in about 20 minutes. And then, no, at Kate Barstall on Twitter, at Kate Barstall on Instagram, at Kate Barstall sports on TikTok, and then on the blog. definitely like speaking of holding on to veterans for clout I attach barstle to everything otherwise people be like who's this old lady talking to me and then zero blog 30 podcast it comes out now it's once a week right now it comes out every Wednesday and we do have interviews but for the

most part we just hit the hot rounds of the week here's the top military or government or whatever news stories we try to keep it pretty middle of the road and our main goal is to feel like you're sitting in the smoke pit with your buddies just like talking about the latest like whatever like none of us know what we're talking about and we openly admit it that's awesome yeah yeah so that's awesome yeah um have you have you have you been to the bar still rough and rowdy oh man yes have you guys heard of that no it's so there was this amateur amateur in wheeling west virginia i'm probably getting this wrong too but like it it started in like a small arena there just locals who had beef with each other it's like this Friday night do you hate

somebody in town you want to kick their ass do they agree to it come to this local boxing match and it was like dudes in jeans and dudes out of the minds 10 minutes ago like fight club type shit and the locals fucking loved it and it blew up and it became this thing and somehow barstool caught wind of it and Dave was like I want to buy this and take it to other other cities like like Newport Road Island and like like they'll go like places where people have them want to fight each other have you You've watched him, right? It's people in the ring in like, in like khaki cutoffs and boot,

like some people have never, some good fighters, some people who've never fought before who kick ass because they're just, and it's the craziest personalities you've ever met. So it's amateur boxing, but it's also the most entertaining boxing I've ever watched. And like before each fight,

they'll go to the hometown and they'll, you get little snippets of who each fighter is and what they're fighting for, and it's the local deli guys always shorten him on the meat on his hoagie and like the fuck him it's like the most random shit like ever and uh it's just super entertaining so yes i've been to a couple rough and roundies actually we did one red white and bruised right outside fort brag and we got a ton of military guys to sign up to fight each other and stuff like that and then the day of the fights and sold a ton they did like a ton of free tickets for the military at fort bra and like completely sold out. And of course, CBT was there because military fighters, blah, blah, blah. And that day, they sent out a basewide message

saying, none of you motherfuckers better be at this event. Like, none of you. And so there was a scramble to replace fighters and blah, blah, but almost all of them still showed up anyway. And we're just like, just don't put us on camera. Don't put us on camera. But it was like, this whole event is televised. I don't know what you're going to get.

But it was awesome. It was like so, so much fun. It's like a big party of just, And it's a pay-per-view. So we do, we have one coming up in a few weeks. It's like $19. And it's,

it's like really fun. They got Bill Burr. Big name comedians usually help do the, oh, that's awesome. And it's like, instead of like actual boxing commentary, it's like, look at this guy's haircut.

It's like more like a roast of each boxer. But it's like the most, arm rambling in Gambo's very unique event. It's like very fun to watch. So I would never do one myself, though. I did, I went to, this week.

and actually Taladega, the NASCAR event. I went to do a video there a couple years ago and signed up to do the barbecue sauce wrestling. And a bunch of my coworkers put a ton of money on me since I'm a Marine. And I got my ass beat immediately. Well, had you been training in barbecue sauce? No.

And the girl I fought was from like pigeon holler, Tennessee. And she had just beaten 15 girls. And she grabbed me by the back of my hair and, like, drowned me in the sauce. And I got beat, like, immediately was very embarrassing. So, no, I'm not doing one. I'm not doing a rough and rowdy. That's awesome. Yeah.

So I want to let people know that next, what, on Tuesday, we have Roger Lockshear, who is a Huey pilot flying McVe-Sah guys across the fence. He's going to be here on Tuesday. And then on Friday, we're going to have Christopher Miller. who is the Secretary of Defense and a special forces officer. So he'll be on the show on Friday. Am I the least technical person you've ever had here? Am I like the dumbest guest you've ever had?

No, you're not dumb, nor are you the least technical person we've ever had on the show. We've had Chaps and Cons on this show. Oh, touche. Oh, that was the perfect answer. Thank you so much for that. Oh, my God. Thanks. Oh, good delight.

Chaps is a pretty smart guy, but. Kans was like smooth as sandpaper. And it's like I'm, yeah. Nice guy, nice guy, but. Nice guy, but. Oh, it's great. Um, so, thank you for coming on the show.

Thanks for making the hike out here to Brooklyn. Thanks for having me. This was like a free, thanks for letting me just sit here and bitch about things. This was great. The sort of like rambling free association, I love it. If you're over in New Jersey, like you haven't, at any time you need a guest.

filler or someone to talk about vaginas or... I have been emailing K for like seven, eight months. Chaps put me on an email through whatever. I never check my email. And then I finally got to call on.

You see how Dee just called you out and put you on the spot like that? So I've been trying. I promise, I've been trying. Well, thank you for being persistent because this was awesome. This is great. Thank you.

This is so much fun. We want you back. And especially once you can drink again, we'll... Episode 300. Yeah. The mayhem. The mayhem.

The mayhem that pursues. Okay. Yeah. If I could rip smoking indoors, my favorite thing. And I really love it. And I, uh, mom of the year. But I see the ashtray there and I think that's, I'll be back. I'll be back.

Yeah. Don't worry. Yeah. Don't worry. No, we, we don't allow New York to dictate our, our smoking policy. I guess that's national now. isn't it? You can't smoke indoors anywhere, can you?

Nashville, I think. Oh, really? Yep. On Vegas. In Nashville. Atlantic City. I think Vegas, you still can. Yeah, there's some there's some renegade shit going on around here that we kind of do our own thing and

listen come and find us if you want us, DOJ. Or don't. We're down. It's okay. If you're the Canadian government, yo, you can come find us. If you're DOJ, we're good. stay where you are. I got an email from,

this is, there's like, probably like saying more than I should on, on a live stream, but like, I got an email from DOJ today. I wanted my help with something. And I was like,

like, can't you guys do your own homework? Yeah. Yeah. No, I get emails occasionally from like, various federal agencies like, can you help me with this or that?

And it's like, I'm not, not, really know I can't like you should kind of like they think you have like your finger on the pulse of kind of like more of an overview of stuff. Honestly I think they're just lazy and they want yeah no really because because they're asking they ask me questions where it's like it's stuff that they could do on their own yeah and it's like why are you wasting my fucking time with this? Plus you don't really want to turn on me.

Yeah yeah. If they ask me about you I'd give it all up I don't give a shit but I just got an email too about this guy. But it's insulting when I feel like my tax don't, like, I pay taxes. Like you should do your own homework. Well, they should give you a tax credit if you help them. Exactly, Dave. Yeah.

You're exactly right. Your federal funds. And so, yeah, all of you federal agencies who keep sliding into my inbox, um, go, go away unless you want to give me tax credits and then we can talk. Thanks, guys. Thank you. This is a treat. This is awesome.

That's so much fun. It's great to meet you finally. Yes. Yeah. This is great. Thanks. And we definitely, we want to have you back soon.

That would be awesome. I'm always around. I'm always lurking. Tuesday. Lurking in Facebook groups. Yeah. Yes, excellent. All right.

Thanks. So we will see you guys on Tuesday and then again on Friday. So Tuesday, Roger Lockshear, MacBee, Soe-Hughy pilot, and Friday with former Secretary of Defense, Chris Miller. And take care. Have a nice week, guys. Thanks.