
TOPS Bunker: The Original Prepper Survivalist Podcast
Formerly known as the OGTX Bunker...
We are now TOPS Bunker. The Original Prepper Survivalist Podcast. By no means are we the actual, original podcast within the preparedness genre, but we really wanted to have a mascot for the show and of course, that had to be the hairy man himself... BIGFOOT. If anyone was to be crowned, The Original Prepper Survivalist, that title should most definitely go to Sasquatch.
As if y'all couldn't tell, we like to keep things light and fun. And in most cases, that includes this show and as well TOPS Bunker Group on Facebook. We get serious when we need to... mad when we have to... but most days we're just kickin around Survivalist and Preparedness ideas and mindsets to help our listeners and ourselves, be the best modern-day Preppers we can be.
Be sure not to miss a single episode of TOPS Bunker - A Podcast for Preppers.
Prepping - Surviving - Living - Thriving
Keith & Rhonda & Jeremy & Buddy
TOPS Bunker: The Original Prepper Survivalist Podcast
183 Tribal Strength - No Man or Woman is an Island
Tonight, we discuss finding like-minded people, vetting those individuals, and choosing leadership, and much more… as part of a series that we’re doing about Prepper Groups.
Now as you know… there are lots of Prepper Survivalists and Homesteaders out there actively looking for, and seeking out, like-minded folks to join forces with. And that goes for us as well. We’re always on the hunt for other people and groups to get involved with. But it’s not easy. Not at all. In fact, I would say it straddles the fence between challenging and next to impossible. Especially for someone like me, who’s not very sociable, somewhat of an introvert, extremely curious but dangerously suspicious of others, before I even approach them. I’ve never been the type of person who offers his trust up-front. I am rigidly embedded, on the side that preaches… “Trust is Earned, Not Given”.
And therein lies the Rub…
Prepper Survivalists are inherently suspicious of others… especially those who are not like-minded. But how do we find out if a person or a group of people are Like-Minded, if we’re not willing or able to get ourselves out there and mingle, and interact, and network?
Well, tonight we’ll try to tackle that challenge and others, like Vetting and Choosing Leadership.
So… let’s get to it.
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In a time where Jeremy accidentally mutes himself.
it's like one man the world all right so we're what's that
Yeah.
yeah In a damn space bar.
That's actually how that happened. Well, my, my screen went black and I hit space and I guess that's a, that, that makes it go mute. And I was like, son of a, you know?
Does it really interesting?
Yeah, I guess so.
Let me try mine. so it's a space bar. Let me see. Nope. That didn't work on my computer.
Weird.
All right. So we're talking about prepper groups. Um, it's part of a series, but we're not numbering the series and we're not really going to stick to any kind of a, uh, schedule on it. We're just going to throw them out there when we do. Now we've already, uh, talked about a few episodes ago. We talked about preppers and we, it was kind of a mix mashed together,
ah It was, it was a Jeremy's brain unloading basically.
Yeah, Lord.
Yeah.
And tonight we're just going to do some quick focusing in on ah vetting a little bit and ah leadership, um that sort of thing.
And also maybe even a little bit of where you would go to find like-minded people or a prepper group. Now, far as I'm concerned, ah What I mentioned in the last episode on this was that I would never join another prepper group.
and I use air quotes when I say that um because I've been there, done that.
Thank you.
And um I am more interested now. I feel like I'm at a different level now where i'm I'm ready for something like a mag, you know, or just folks that I know that are just words automatically.
mutual assistance, you know? So I would look for, for like-minded people. For me, I would look for homesteaders, um, conventions, uh, farm conventions or, ah gardening conventions or any of that kind of stuff, beekeeping conventions, anywhere where you can meet people that are like-minded and just meet them, not walk up to them and say, hey you want to be in my prepper group?
You know, it's like, you just meet people. It's that sort of thing. And you, and, and then you naturally, you, you have this sort of natural,
Yeah.
either do or don't connect, you know, and that's just kind of where I'm at at the point. But I did start out looking for Prepper groups and it is a it is a great way to start out. um I've just I've been down that road and I know where I'm at now. So, you know,
Well, that's that's how I found your podcast and the online, your Facebook group. I was actually actively looking and ran across, you know, you were in my location at the time. So I was like, hey, you know, let's check these guys out and see what they're all about. so that's how I even, you know, came across you guys on my radar.
that's cool. Yeah.
Yeah, Oklahoma.
Yep, it's okay.
You still got snow on the ground?
but
I wish you No, we haven't had it in a little while. I mean, we had a lot of rain um this week. Hell, we had a tornado group I'm associated with.
Yeah.
00:03:21.73
Buddy
ah They deployed, they took a small ah group of people down to a place called Ada. It's like South Central Oklahoma.
00:03:29.27
Keith
Oh, yeah, I know it.
00:03:30.69
Buddy
Yeah, they went down there and they're doing their thing. So good for them.
00:03:36.54
Buddy
We were working with a group on the northwest side of Oklahoma right now, search and rescue. So bringing them into the fold, partnering with them and see what we can do with the partnership there. So.
00:03:53.12
Keith
we had, we had a pretty good snowstorm two nights ago. Uh, was it two nights ago? It was on Tuesday night. Uh, went to bed. It was just a windy and it was really getting windy bad.
00:04:04.88
Keith
And, um, I had to wake up at four 30 that morning, uh, for something. And, um, when I did, um alarm went off and got up and I was about to go take a shower and,
00:04:17.72
Keith
the The wind was, I mean, it was like a, it was, it was like a blizzard or something. And it was so loud. It was my, what do you call it? The hoop, what call it? a hoop green, what do you call those things? The greenhouse that it's a hoop?
00:04:30.08
Buddy
Hoop house?
00:04:30.44
Keith
What's it called?
00:04:32.24
Buddy
Hoop house?
00:04:33.50
Keith
A hoop tunnel or something like that?
00:04:34.60
Buddy
Yeah, a high tunnel. they there I think it's technically called a high tunnel, but i I call it a hoop house.
00:04:36.10
Keith
High tunnel?
00:04:40.31
Keith
Well, I used to call it a greenhouse till you, till you told me not to. So now I'm trying to think of something else to call it.
00:04:43.66
Buddy
i mean yeah usually i mean, technically a greenhouse has the the glass panels in it.
00:04:50.52
Keith
Right, right.
00:04:51.63
Buddy
You know,
00:04:51.65
Keith
Well, it had collapsed in the previous snowstorm where we got 12 inches, I believe. I know Rhonda said 14 on the ah podcast. She was mistaken. We did not get 14 inches. That's a ton of snow. ah We got 10 to 12 inches, which is a lot, and it collapsed. And the metal bars that are in it, which are pretty strong, they're steel, they actually bent and broke and you know all that.
00:05:14.08
Keith
So I was I actually was able to push it back up into shape and get it going.
00:05:14.52
Buddy
Oh,
00:05:18.41
Keith
Well, this next storm that came just a few nights ago on Tuesday night, ah it it just finished the job. It just to I mean, the whole thing is just bent and broken. The metal has has like broken up apart everywhere where there was a crease before from the snow has now been snapped.
00:05:33.99
Buddy
oh man
00:05:34.13
Keith
And it's, it's done now. It wasn't that expensive. So that's a good thing. I think it was only like about 150 bucks. So we knew going in, we actually bought two of them. There's a brand new one still sitting in the shop because they were so cheap. We knew that probably only will last one or two seasons.
00:05:47.45
Keith
So we figured we'd get a backup just in case, you know?
00:05:50.37
Jeremy
That's kind of what how I was with this greenhouse that I'm i'm almost finished with.
00:05:50.47
Keith
So,
00:05:55.44
Jeremy
I got it from Harbor Freight. wasn't very, well, I say it wasn't very expensive. It was a little bit pricey. And when reading the reviews, I knew it wasn't something like super fame you know fabulous.
00:06:07.53
Jeremy
And I just started Googling images and seeing how people modified theirs and doing a frame out from the inside and adding shelves and all this stuff. And I looked at i was like, i I can do that. I can totally do that.
00:06:21.17
Jeremy
So that's what I started doing. Just started framing it out with treated four by or two by fours. And we had a really hard windstorm the past two days and some severe weather.
00:06:33.35
Jeremy
And um and did not it did not fall. It did not get rattled around. Everything inside is fine. You know, we've already got plants coming up from inside. So,
00:06:43.18
Keith
Dude, you built that thing like a Viking longhouse. I've seen the pictures.
00:06:45.72
Jeremy
yeah.
00:06:46.92
Buddy
hit
00:06:47.23
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:06:48.02
Buddy
It was like Fort Knox, man. It looked good, though.
00:06:49.36
Keith
I mean, you're not.
00:06:49.61
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:06:50.38
Keith
Yeah, you're. I mean, a full size, full size grizzly bear is not tearing that thing down.
00:06:51.96
Jeremy
Yeah. It's...
00:06:56.01
Jeremy
That's, that was my intent. You know, if I'm going to spend money on a thing, i want to, I want that thing to last. And I also, could just, I can hear the voice of my, my dad in the background. He's like, if you're going to do it, do it right. If you're not going to do it right, then don't do it.
00:07:09.99
Jeremy
So, and I want it to last. And, you know, so that's why I went with treated wood and I, you know, I'm, but the problem is, is it's got these like because it's not super sturdy the way that it comes, I have to take individual measurements, do individual cuts, make sure it's all shimmied together correctly, you know, sinking screws,
00:07:29.93
Keith
You didn't have to You got to.
00:07:32.55
Jeremy
Yeah, I mean, and i I have a tendency to overbuild, um but the wind was strong enough to knock over one of the wood piles that we just stacked of all that fresh ah wood that from the trees that we got taken down.
00:07:33.64
Buddy
Thank you.
00:07:48.15
Jeremy
But the greenhouse is perfectly fine. Yeah.
00:07:50.76
Keith
Oh, yeah. Yeah. well and yeah And buddy, he called me ah and on a FaceTime, whatever you call those things, video call. and And he wanted to ask me some questions about the build. I'm looking it going, there's nothing I can say. This thing is built like it was built like a house.
00:08:04.94
Keith
so It's done.
00:08:05.09
Buddy
Yeah, look like it looks solid.
00:08:05.74
Keith
It's done. Walk away, dude. Walk away.
00:08:08.26
Buddy
It looks very solid right now.
00:08:08.37
Jeremy
yeah wait wait wait till I start on the chicken house those fucking chickens ain't going nowhere
00:08:14.52
Keith
Well, we kind of got off the rails, but I was just going to say we had a snowstorm that came through and we still got, I mean, it's been pretty nice, but very cold. And now it's starting to heat up but in the shadows, the shady areas, you still got a couple of those snow piles here and there, but it's
00:08:26.96
Buddy
hey i'm I'm hearing rumbles of a another polar vortex coming in like at the end of March, first part of April.
00:08:31.94
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:08:35.00
Keith
crazy.
00:08:35.27
Buddy
So ah April Fools. ah
00:08:37.28
Keith
So much for that global warming.
00:08:39.94
Jeremy
a
00:08:40.00
Buddy
Yeah.
00:08:41.61
Jeremy
wonder whatever happened with that.
00:08:44.10
Keith
ah Well, she grew up. She's no longer a teenager.
00:08:46.66
Jeremy
Oh, yeah, that's right.
00:08:46.85
Buddy
Yeah.
00:08:47.34
Keith
How dare you?
00:08:47.55
Jeremy
Oh, my gosh.
00:08:49.61
Buddy
We have to, you have to call it climate change now because that didn't stick.
00:08:56.45
Keith
and Okay.
00:08:56.52
Jeremy
oh my gosh
00:08:58.64
Keith
Just don't call it climbing transition. i want to hear it. i don't want i don't want to go down that road.
00:09:01.66
Buddy
Oh my God.
00:09:01.84
Jeremy
Yeah. It's trans.
00:09:02.75
Buddy
I like that.
00:09:03.72
Jeremy
It's trans climate.
00:09:05.19
Keith
It's trans. Yeah.
00:09:06.92
Buddy
Transitory. the The climate is transitory. It means it's going to, yeah, kind of like the the economy is transitory or inflation.
00:09:11.19
Keith
Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:16.42
Buddy
That's what it was. Inflation.
00:09:18.33
Jeremy
Hmm.
00:09:18.59
Keith
So, yeah, so Prepper Groups. So, buddy, you were going to try and, you know what, let me let me put you this way. You were going to talk about, like, where would you want to go maybe to look up? And you said you you were looking up, you were actively looking up Prepper Groups when you found our podcast ah years ago.
00:09:35.87
Keith
um If you wanted to look up, let's say you wanted to find some like-minded people in your area, which is Oklahoma, what would you do?
00:09:43.72
Buddy
Well, um there's different different things you can go look. And I started out, you know, back in the day looking for, you know, my area looking and just on Facebook. That's where I first started started out.
00:09:56.54
Buddy
Also, ah and there's a lot of, on Facebook, there's a lot of, you know, clubs out there. you can You can get into just about anything you want to, from baking to cars to greenhouse to gardening to preppers.
00:10:11.35
Keith
There's everything. ah Hiking is a good one too.
00:10:12.70
Buddy
So it's ah hiking, I've done that too, which is a great starting point. um You know, just, I'd say use it with caution. ah You know, you're going to have to meet these people, but use it with caution, but it's a great starting point.
00:10:27.95
Buddy
A few, let's say about six, eight years ago, there was something called meetup. That is a website that you can go on with people in your area and you know, somebody will organize, uh, you know, a meetup. So I got on the meetups and I was wanting to get back in shape.
00:10:45.79
Buddy
Uh, one, two, a couple hiking, uh, clubs started meeting some people and then, uh, didn't see any preparedness clubs, but I started, you know, just started meeting different people ah and these different organizations and stuff through meetups. So it's out there. It's, uh,
00:11:05.81
Buddy
pretty decent in, in my area now, it's kind of, I guess people have moved on to different, you know, social media stuff. So it's kind of, there's, they're still using meetup, but yeah.
00:11:16.31
Keith
Yeah, meetup's still the thing. up I did look it up ah the last time we were on.
00:11:20.07
Buddy
Yeah. So it's,
00:11:21.02
Keith
And I think you should you should do your mileage ju at least 100 miles. I would say that's even more if you want to, but I would say you shouldn't be looking like in a 20-mile radius.
00:11:32.46
Keith
You're going to have to go pretty far out, yeah.
00:11:33.31
Buddy
Oh yeah. Yeah. Definitely reach out.
00:11:37.18
Buddy
So yeah. And, and just keep in mind, you know, uh, if you're networking, you know, or, or trying to find a network or mag or tribe or family or survival group, or, you know, whatever it may be, you know, if you travel at all, you know, a hundred miles, you might be in there in neck of the woods and need them.
00:11:56.67
Buddy
So it's not, it's not a bad idea to get some local connections like that in, in areas that you frequent, you know, might be a hundred miles away. So you never know.
00:12:05.02
Keith
yeah
00:12:06.39
Buddy
um Another group um in Oklahoma is that I found is ah there's a guy out there. He's called Viking Preparedness. ah Pastor Joe Fox.
00:12:18.80
Buddy
He's an ex-Special Forces guy. And he's a sort he was a SEER instructor back in on the teams back in the day. And he teaches survival. He teaches a lot of different classes.
00:12:29.60
Keith
serious That's pretty serious.
00:12:31.45
Buddy
Yeah, yeah. This guy, he's he's been there, done it. And serious, very serious guy. um He has a, in his ah Patreon and his, you know, paid subscription, he, they do some things where they do meetups and and he tries to connect people in your, you know, in whatever area you're from. and he's got people all over the globe and in his, uh,
00:12:56.90
Buddy
patreon group so that's uh if you want to spend you know man i think it might be like six dollars a month might be three i'd i'd have to really check i haven't seen it in a while but it's a good if you you know if you want to get it dialed in i think that would be a good starting point uh if you wanted to really reach out.
00:13:16.29
Buddy
Plus he teaches classes too. So, I mean, you're going to learn some, some skills you might not have, yeah which is a great, another great place to meet people is in a, some kind of class that you, because people are there, you're, you're taking a survival class or, you know, fire starting or, you know, bushcraft class.
00:13:28.91
Keith
Definitely.
00:13:34.51
Buddy
Well, there are like-minded people right there. You know, they might not be in your area, but I mean, they might have family or friends or, you know, you never know who you can meet and and make a connection with. So there's another one out there called PrepperNet.
00:13:49.52
Buddy
And if you listen to any other podcast, and that's how I found out about it, it's advertised through, and I won't mention the names of the podcast, but it's a, it's a nationwide group. And I think it's, it's another page description thing where you go on there and you can find out, um you know,
00:14:08.69
Buddy
the different, different people in your area, you know, it's, it's like a posted board or a poster board or, you know, you, you post, Hey, I'm in this area. My name's, you know, buddy.
00:14:19.95
Buddy
And I'm in this area. I'm looking for like-minded people. And then it's a connection point. So it's, it's not a bad thing if if you're out there, you know, getting desperate, but yeah,
00:14:31.00
Keith
Yeah, I'm looking it up right now. It looks, ah the website looks pretty professional. um
00:14:35.85
Buddy
yeah they're, they're legit.
00:14:36.14
Keith
It says, but join over 120 preppers nationwide is what they claim.
00:14:43.61
Buddy
Yeah, they're they're legit. I haven't really dove into it because it's not my... I got a group, you know, and and I'm kind of like you, Keith, I'm not looking for, you know, a militia or anything like that.
00:14:57.19
Buddy
I just have a ah group of like-minded people I've met along the way.
00:14:59.74
Keith
You got a mag.
00:15:01.16
Buddy
Well, yeah, and it's a, it's, it's a mag or ah a network basically. I mean, yeah and the difference between that, I think between the mag and the mutual assistant group and the network is networks a little looser, you know, it's, it's more of a prearranged agreements.
00:15:18.92
Buddy
you know, so, uh, I raised cattle, bam, uh, another guy might raise chickens, uh, another family might, you know, do, uh, a construction company. And, uh, you know, so we might trade out things. Uh, some people might make butter or have cow, you know, dairy farm or something. So, you know, it's just a, it's a, it's agreement that, that would, could work out, you know, and,
00:15:43.02
Buddy
It's kind of like the old ways, you know, growing up in in rural Oklahoma, you know, if somebody on a Saturday afternoon, if somebody would want to raise a barn, man, we'd go help out, you know, or somebody was building a house and needed a wire for electricity, then, you know, family go out and potluck it and, and everybody would meet up.
00:16:02.53
Keith
Well, that's what I consider a ah mutual assistant group. that's That's what I picture is as people who know each other, who are all pretty much like-minded because they know each other.
00:16:05.69
Buddy
Yeah.
00:16:11.26
Buddy
Yeah, it's it's a community. I mean, there's a lot of terms that are that are the same, basically. They call them different things. The tribe, you know.
00:16:21.72
Buddy
I'm calling it my tribe or a mutual assistance group. But, you know, lot of the terms out there are that it's the same thing. But, yeah you know.
00:16:30.03
Keith
Right. But there are actual prepper groups out there.
00:16:33.95
Buddy
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And.
00:16:35.60
Keith
It's still a thing.
00:16:36.74
Buddy
Yeah. And there's actual militias out there too. So, you know, look, look for them.
00:16:39.95
Keith
Right. Right.
00:16:43.26
Buddy
Let's see. So um that's about all online. I'm just not really into the online thing, but you know, the, you can go on Reddit as well. You can, you know, I would say the two places that really start out would be Facebook groups and Reddit.
00:16:57.83
Buddy
Just go on Reddit and look at you know, something you'll get some good information and watch people go after each other on Reddit. So it's entertaining at least, but there's some good information on there as well.
00:17:08.63
Keith
Right, and you can also start your own group on, let's let's say, Meetup, which you know is a way to do it.
00:17:08.80
Buddy
Um,
00:17:14.85
Keith
I think you have to pay to start a group ah rather than to join one. To start one, I think you have to pay like $40 a month or $35. Whatever it is, i I forget. It wasn't very very expensive. Basically, if you do form a group and you've got people coming in, everybody can kind of pitch in for the monthly price if you really want to do it, if the $30 $40 bothers you.
00:17:35.99
Buddy
Yeah. And yeah. Um, I just, wow, what did I do? I went on this hiking group. Uh, every time you met up, they would take a couple of dollars from you to try to help, you know, ease the pain of the organizer and stuff.
00:17:48.82
Buddy
So that, you know, I didn't really understand, but I was like, Hey, here's a couple bucks, you know, you you're asking for two.
00:17:49.64
Keith
Right.
00:17:55.10
Buddy
I got a five. Here you go. Kind of thing. But, um,
00:17:58.32
Keith
Well, some are very serious too. I mean, I, you know, I was in a group and, um, it really wasn't working out. And, uh, I got, basically I got kicked out. I've told this story before. I won't go into it too big, but I, I did get kicked out and, uh,
00:18:12.91
Keith
there were people in the group unbeknownst to me that were actually ah sided with me and immediately called me up and said, fuck it, we're done. Let's go, let's, let's do our own thing. And I was like, okay, great. Let's do our own thing. And then we, you know, we formed off grid Texas, which is where the original podcast name came from.
00:18:29.76
Buddy
Yeah, and I think I know some of those people you were with. i think we We talked offline a little bit about it. So, yeah, I don't i don't blame you.
00:18:34.86
Keith
Yeah.
00:18:36.58
Buddy
ah I don't blame you at all.
00:18:37.43
Keith
Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, and when I was in that group, there was ah another guy, him and I went out and we met some other prepper groups. We kind of went into it like a kind of like a um as like a clandestine kind of a thing.
00:18:53.48
Keith
We were going out for Intel. So we were going out as we're looking for a prepper group. Can we join your group kind a thing? Yeah. And believe it or not, and it's it's, you know, that's a that's a thing. people People will do that.
00:19:04.99
Keith
It's kind of like recon, you know?
00:19:06.34
Jeremy
Okay.
00:19:06.80
Keith
And we went to this one and we met these couple of guys ah at a park and they seemed fairly nice.
00:19:12.02
Buddy
Thank you.
00:19:13.38
Keith
It was in Texas. And, but the guy was like, yeah, I've got, um you know, 40, 50 acres, whatever was. And he's like, I'm going to need help building you know, building the structures, the houses, the cabins, putting it all together. yeah And he was drawing, he had a piece of paper. He was drawing it out for us and like showing us his big idea. He's like, and I got a guy who's living out there in a tent right now and he's, he's willing to help too. And,
00:19:35.76
Keith
i like okay so i was like, so people are going to join your group. They're going to help you build this thing. And what happens if you know shit does hit the fan and we need to come? Are you going to allow people these people to come back in?
00:19:46.45
Keith
He's like, well, if you helped build, then yeah. And I'm thinking in my head, no way. he's He's not going to do that.
00:19:52.07
Jeremy
Mm-mm.
00:19:52.67
Keith
He's going to get people to help him build this his property and the you know do the labor on it. And when when time comes, if anybody shows up, he's just not going let them on.
00:20:03.73
Buddy
yeah there's there's there's a Yeah, there's scammers and then there's a little bit of faith that you have to go in.
00:20:03.87
Keith
So got to be careful, man. There's scammers out there.
00:20:12.24
Buddy
and But, you know, ah you know and the cool thing about it is eventually everybody's going to show the colors. You're going to, you know, time time will show air everybody's color, especially when you get into a situation where, you know, you might be out training and and it's hot or there's some adversity it's raining or cold or something. You're going to see, you know,
00:20:32.54
Buddy
And I hear, you know, 20% of the people do 80% of the work or or vice versa. It's more like 90-10, I think. But you'll see people's real colors at that point. So, yeah.
00:20:42.11
Keith
That is true.
00:20:42.31
Jeremy
how You he can see that and in family groups. you know For instance, we you know I've talked about before, we've been on the search for land for quite some time.
00:20:46.46
Buddy
Oh, yeah.
00:20:52.68
Jeremy
and um you know I've got family members who will send you know send me a ah thing, we'll go look at it, and they show up and they're like, oh yeah, dude, look at all this deer sign. But yeah, it's kind of far from where we want to live. And I'm looking at him. I'm like, yeah, but it's, it's not, it's not for you. He's like, well, i' I'm going to still come hunt. and I'm like, no, you're not.
00:21:12.42
Keith
yeah
00:21:13.74
Jeremy
No, you're not. um It's, it's just, I think that a lot of people ah when they're looking for groups of any kind um I think that ultimately all humans really they want what they want.
00:21:30.38
Jeremy
It's, it's rare to find some, someone who wants what the group wants or what the group needs really.
00:21:38.81
Buddy
well at the end of the day you're looking out for number one which is you so you know and when you play poker you're not going to play your worst hand you know and go all in unless well you know it's a technique I use every once in a while so don't play poker with me but because you never know what I have very unpredictable yeah yeah sometimes I do
00:21:47.83
Jeremy
Yeah, no.
00:21:56.02
Jeremy
You would lose your money here. Mm-hmm.
00:22:01.08
Keith
I would, yeah so is that pretty much where you're going down as as far as how to look for Cause I was thinking about, you know you can, you can find people like-minded people at like church or like, if you join like a volunteer fire department, that's another way of doing it. There's a lot of people who are handy that, you know, that are working fire departments, you know, farm type ah places or or homesteaders. If you go to the like farmers markets, whatever, you can meet a lot of people that way.
00:22:29.06
Keith
These are all like unconventional ways. um And then of course, prepper conventions, you know, prepper cons, they're up there. They're all over the place. i think you've got one in Oklahoma, don't you? That comes through there.
00:22:39.05
Buddy
Yeah, there's there's one. ah ah think it's in a place called Pryor, Oklahoma. It's like way northeast corner of the state. um I'm actually going to a few coming up and in, I think, Tennessee and possibly Kentucky, I think, this year.
00:22:49.54
Keith
That's in the mountains.
00:22:57.37
Buddy
And in North Carolina, hey, Jeremy might have to hook up and go to one, the the big one out there.
00:23:01.08
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:23:02.16
Buddy
Yeah. I think it's in the fall, but we'll we'll see. i'll I'll hit you up with it. but
00:23:10.44
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:23:10.63
Buddy
yeah, those are great places and they have trainings and, and you know, a, it's a good event, you know, go pinch a tent, you know, hang don't go to you know, one of these things you want to go out and camp out that way at night you can, you know, go by the fire and talk to people, meet people and take, take the trainings during the day, learn, learn how to, you know, skin a cat to eat it or whatever it may be um and learn new skills.
00:23:27.38
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:23:36.79
Keith
Yeah. And I'm not the kind of person that ah easily walks up to a group of people and can network. I just never really been like that. um I don't know. It's kind of the way that I am.
00:23:47.37
Keith
um But if you, if you're doing something with a group of people, you just immediately just by attrition, you just, you just start to know them. You know, if you're, if you're taking a class, you're doing this, you're doing that, or, or just hanging out by a fire.
00:24:00.43
Keith
That's another thing. But like, you know, and I think a lot of people that are into prepping are, I think a lot of people are like that too. So those prepper cons are a great place to meet like-minded people because they're, they may not be the type of people that, um you know, can openly walk around and just start talking to people and that sort of thing.
00:24:20.98
Keith
So it's a great place to like, you've got something in common there that you can talk about.
00:24:25.58
Buddy
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's.
00:24:26.24
Keith
Like I know when I go to the gun shows, you talk to all kinds of people, people that I wouldn't even walk up to on the, run you know, like in the street or at a, you know, something like the grocery store or something. But when you're at the guns at the gun show, you sit there talking about guns and all of a sudden you get into conversations and you're like, oh my God, like 20 missions went by. Now I know this guy's whole life story.
00:24:43.76
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:24:44.00
Buddy
That's true. People just get, they get, they get diarrhea of the mouth, man. It's very true.
00:24:50.79
Keith
Yeah.
00:24:50.89
Jeremy
yeah
00:24:51.04
Buddy
But, you know, these unconventional that, well, I won't call them unconventional, you know, just start striking up conversations with people at your, you know, local coffee shop, you know, just getting to know people a little bit, you know, ah you see the guy with the Gatsby flag up in your street, you know, in your neighborhood.
00:25:12.64
Buddy
ah pretty much a like-minded person, you know, go up there. you know, I've, I've saw the guy, he's got American flag and a Gatsby flag. And so just happened to be walking the dog one day. I was like, Hey man, what's going on? You have that or something?
00:25:24.59
Buddy
He's like, no, I saw your flag. I like that. You know? And, and we striked up conversation. Well, come to find out, you know, like-minded and I told him a little bit, you know, Hey,
00:25:36.79
Buddy
let's get in this neighborhood watch thing. And, you know, you watch my house, I'll watch yours. And, and so struck up, you know, a little allegiance there just in a, in a couple conversations, just walking the dog.
00:25:48.98
Buddy
So, i mean, it.
00:25:50.22
Keith
Yeah, neighborhood watch is a great ah great way to meet people too as well, especially they're in your own neighborhood that you've just basically just made a mag right there, mutual assistant group, which words reminds me, have you ever seen the movie The Watch?
00:25:59.28
Buddy
Well, I've had.
00:26:02.76
Buddy
Oh, going to tell me.
00:26:03.86
Keith
Both the Ben Stiller and it is hysterical, man. It's about how they become a neighborhood watch. You got to watch it.
00:26:12.73
Buddy
Okay, it's on my list.
00:26:13.55
Keith
ah Just definitely watch it, man. You're going laugh your ass off the end. You'll watch it more than once.
00:26:18.07
Buddy
Give me some techniques.
00:26:18.07
Keith
But yeah, the ah that's a great um neighborhood watch is a great way. If you have one, join it and you can always quit or make or create one, you know talk to some people and say, Hey, we should maybe do something like this. Anybody interested?
00:26:30.33
Buddy
Yeah. um but Some places I like to, and and lately I've not really looking for a mag, but I'm looking for a network. I'm trying to find like-minded people and pull some intelligence of what's going on because I'm in a new area.
00:26:44.51
Buddy
So i'm trying to find out what's really going on here. And like, for instance, today in a conversation with the, the, the internet guy was coming to do some internet work because we were out of internet and had to move some things around.
00:26:57.97
Buddy
well, he was telling me about a, uh, a mafia organization and what they're up to. And I was like, no shit, you know, just in conversation, I learned a little bit about, um, you know, the local, mil i'm not a militia, it's a mafia.
00:27:13.91
Buddy
They're, they're actually a mafia.
00:27:15.41
Keith
That's a little different.
00:27:15.60
Buddy
And yeah, but I mean, I got some Intel, this guy just in a conversation about, you know, internet and cam internet cameras and stuff. So, but yeah, man, uh,
00:27:28.55
Jeremy
I'm sorry.
00:27:28.60
Buddy
It's
00:27:29.78
Jeremy
I'm just picturing a prepper group in like lower Manhattan and they all sound like they got the accent.
00:27:29.84
Buddy
it
00:27:37.14
Jeremy
They're like, hey man, you see my chickens, huh? It's just a bunch of like, just a bunch of, yeah.
00:27:43.25
Keith
Yo, Joey, Joey, you got that.
00:27:44.98
Jeremy
because yeah
00:27:45.25
Keith
Joey, get bring that chicken thing over here.
00:27:47.57
Jeremy
Let's go to the Falcon islands. You know,
00:27:51.87
Jeremy
like just, every time I picture that I'm like, there's a mafia prepper group. That's awesome.
00:27:57.65
Keith
Well, it's a story for another time, but I have it in my family.
00:27:57.71
Buddy
Well, they're not necessarily, yeah, they're not necessarily, yeah.
00:28:02.65
Keith
So about half of my family is Italian, and we have it in our family, up up north, in New Jersey and New York. But that's a story for a whole other time.
00:28:07.79
Jeremy
i got I got a great story to go along with that next time.
00:28:13.12
Buddy
Well, after living there, I learned a lot, so we'll have to, we'll have to have a, what they call that?
00:28:20.11
Keith
I know a guy. I make a phone call.
00:28:21.77
Jeremy
yeah you know
00:28:21.91
Buddy
I know, yeah, forget about it.
00:28:22.03
Keith
I know a guy. Did you say youths?
00:28:23.63
Buddy
oh you
00:28:23.90
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:28:24.92
Keith
Oh, man.
00:28:25.64
Jeremy
And they're all named Carmine or Joey or, you know, names like that.
00:28:25.82
Buddy
You want to cook a, Yo,
00:28:31.09
Buddy
Yuli, come here.
00:28:32.30
Jeremy
yeah. yeah
00:28:33.62
Buddy
Forget about it, man. I got you hooked up. though I know a guy.
00:28:36.26
Jeremy
These two Utes.
00:28:38.13
Buddy
Yutes. Yutes don't have nothing to worry about. I got your back, man.
00:28:41.41
Keith
did did
00:28:41.58
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:28:42.69
Keith
did you say you
00:28:44.21
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:28:44.51
Buddy
Yute.
00:28:47.26
Keith
um man
00:28:47.97
Jeremy
Oh, man. We're doing it again. All right.
00:28:49.67
Buddy
Yeah, here we go.
00:28:49.94
Keith
Yeah, let's not get off the rails. So what I'm thinking is it's a great point in the in the show to go to vetting, I think. Because vetting...
00:28:57.29
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:58.72
Keith
is, well, okay, let's do it this way. The definition of vetting is the process of thoroughly investigating an individual company or other entity before deciding to go forward with a joint project. Cambridge Dictionary defines vetting as the action of examining somebody or someone or something carefully to make certain that they are or it is acceptable or suitable for something you're doing.
00:29:25.78
Keith
And that's a lot of, that's a lot of words. so Um, vetting actually came from the old days, which was ah vet, a veterinarian. And they would, veterinarians would be called into, uh, to vet horses before the horse races to see, you know, what what condition they were, if they were capable of going through the race without getting injured and all that was called vetting.
00:29:43.57
Keith
So that's where the actual word comes from.
00:29:45.81
Jeremy
yeah
00:29:46.82
Keith
Vetting is a, um,
00:29:46.87
Buddy
Bye.
00:29:49.30
Keith
it's an interesting thing because how do you vet somebody? I mean, if you're vetting for somebody for a job or a company or something like that, you're going to do background checks and all that kind of stuff. You can't really do that unless you're connected.
00:30:02.91
Keith
You can't really do that. Um, you know, you can't walk and say, Hey, what's your full name, you know, and your social security number and your last five addresses, you you know, that's not going to work.
00:30:14.67
Keith
So vetting anybody got any, uh, Anybody got any ideas on how to get to know people? If you're, if you now have found a group or are interested in a group,
00:30:26.82
Jeremy
Well, ah in my notes, and again, this also has to go back to the fact that I've never you know been in a group. So some of the concept of being in a group would be you know new to me.
00:30:40.98
Jeremy
Um, and I, and I think that there's probably, you know, a lot of different ways to go through this, especially in this day and age, social media, um is a huge tool that people, um, may not even think about using, but if there is a social media presence on someone, if you do enough digging, you're going to find at least something topical, some kind of interesting information to kind of push you down the line to find out more.
00:31:09.13
Jeremy
And that kind of, you know, lets you, let's say you go onto Facebook and, you know, you start digging, you can pretty much figure out a person's views, beliefs, ah what their, you know, personal personality is based on.
00:31:21.31
Jeremy
um
00:31:21.98
Keith
if they're on social media.
00:31:23.24
Jeremy
Yeah. If they're on social media and a lot of that has to do with what they share, you know? Yeah.
00:31:27.99
Buddy
And if they're not, they're probably a good, a good vet. I mean, if they're not, that's probably a good sign. You know if they're not putting up, putting their stuff out there, i mean.
00:31:32.73
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, I've got stuff that I put out there, but I put it out there unabashedly. Can it come bite back and bite me in the butt maybe later on? I don't know.
00:31:44.46
Jeremy
I don't know. um Sorry, there's a baby in the background. It sounds like she's losing her mind.
00:31:51.19
Keith
I hear that.
00:31:52.14
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:52.46
Keith
are you Are you babysitting tonight?
00:31:52.62
Buddy
that the.
00:31:54.62
Jeremy
ah Yeah, so last night and then tonight and probably tomorrow, since our new grandbaby was born, you know, last night, um we have the kids.
00:32:04.69
Buddy
Congratulations. Yeah.
00:32:05.36
Jeremy
Oh, thank you. Number eight. I keep telling them there's causation, you know.
00:32:07.55
Buddy
Oh, shit. Yeah.
00:32:10.43
Jeremy
um But yeah.
00:32:11.56
Buddy
I'm not drinking the water anywhere around your place.
00:32:13.64
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:32:16.26
Jeremy
yeah Um, so, you know, again, unless, uh,
00:32:20.34
Keith
Keep my boys away from that family.
00:32:23.00
Buddy
but
00:32:25.62
Jeremy
ah yeah, I've got, I've got a couple of kids and a possibility out there somewhere. Um, so, and again, it goes back to whether or not, you know, individuals have a social media presence. Um, there's not a lot of people these days that don't, you know, um God bless them. I don't,
00:32:45.50
Jeremy
I think social media has its, it has its purpose and, um and
00:32:51.74
Buddy
Okay.
00:32:53.67
Keith
I never did until I started doing the podcast.
00:32:57.03
Jeremy
yeah. Yeah.
00:32:57.86
Keith
I was never on social media.
00:32:57.92
Jeremy
I mean, I, I remember my space, you know, and then my space became pretty much obsolete and everybody went over to Facebook and it started out slow But I primarily used it and still use it to this day as a way to stay connected with my family and find former soldiers and people I served with.
00:33:19.53
Keith
Mm-hmm.
00:33:19.71
Jeremy
you know so um But again, you know if the person has gone through the process of either removing themselves from ah social media, they don't have a signature on the web, it can be a little bit more difficult.
00:33:35.74
Jeremy
um You can use different services um that, you know, you can pay for if you have enough information about the individual. But again, you know, how much, how deep do you want to go? how,
00:33:52.40
Jeremy
How much of a rabbit hole do you want to transcend into to find out some basic information about a person? I'm not 100% sure. um And then, you know, if there is a person who doesn't, you know, you got to you got to start asking like some different questions. If you can't, you know, find information, like what are the minimum requirements like for if you looked at it as a if you called the person a candidate, right?
00:34:18.98
Jeremy
um what are the minimum requirements for a candidate to be acceptable, an acceptable candidate to the group? You know, like what, what is it that you're looking for in an individual?
00:34:29.61
Jeremy
um Like what kind of qualities would you look for that, ah you know, basically expand the group or make the group better? You know what I mean?
00:34:40.94
Jeremy
um What skills you,
00:34:42.34
Keith
Right. so you're looking, you're talking about looking for a person for a group. And instead of looking, uh, vetting an actual group, you're talking about vetting an actual person.
00:34:51.27
Jeremy
Yeah. And I kind of took it from two different ways. Like if I was starting a group, you know, or a group of us were starting a group um and we were looking for people, um you know, what would we look for?
00:35:03.57
Jeremy
And you could actually take these things and you could flip it around as well, you know, cause yeah.
00:35:08.60
Buddy
Yeah, they overlap for sure.
00:35:10.87
Jeremy
Cause if you take a person like say, for instance, me, if I'm looking at a group and I've, I've done this pretty much my whole career, you know, my whole life, cause I'm not a I'm not the the jump up and down, you know, come look at me person. I like to sit in the background and I like to watch and I like to observe and I like to see, you know, the actions of people and I like to see how they behave around others and then watch them individually when nobody's looking.
00:35:39.69
Jeremy
um
00:35:39.70
Keith
You're the creepy dude in the corner, aren't you? That's true.
00:35:43.25
Jeremy
i won't I won't say that, but if you want to figure a person out real quick, watch their behavior when they think that nobody's looking at them.
00:35:43.50
Keith
Yeah,
00:35:50.65
Keith
that's
00:35:51.44
Jeremy
You know, it's kind of like being at the beach and you see an old guy who looks really fit. The moment that that girl turns her head, he lets that belly go and that thing is flopping down to his ankles. You know, it's it's kind of like that.
00:36:01.33
Keith
ah yeah <unk> me
00:36:03.49
Jeremy
It's like, um you know, integrity really is when a person chooses to do the right thing when nobody else is looking. So what is that person's or that group's, you know, integrity look like when they think that they're not putting on a show?
00:36:20.52
Jeremy
Um, you know, and then, oh yeah.
00:36:21.84
Buddy
get him some Get some liquor in them. Get some true serum.
00:36:25.87
Jeremy
Yeah. Get the, get the truth liquid out and start drinking that around. And, you know, those kinds of things, they they come out, you know, that, that stuff will always come out. Um, so we talked about qualities, you know, um skills and requirements are a big thing.
00:36:42.77
Jeremy
you know If you're looking for a group and you go and you you know link up with them or just start talking and they say, hey, let's go camp, and that's all they're doing, you know and just camping or glamping, what do they really know?
00:36:48.07
Buddy
Thank you.
00:36:57.84
Jeremy
You don't you don't know you know. And it's it's up to you to decide juice versus squeeze. ah If we meet up again, is this all we're doing? you know And camping's cool and all, but...
00:37:10.96
Jeremy
If you're looking for a group to go into a potential potential disaster with, you got to know that they have, you know, skills necessary to actually survive. And then you have to look at yourself and say, do I know what I'm doing?
00:37:25.57
Jeremy
You know, or am I here to learn and provide support? You know, that kind of thing. um So.
00:37:31.75
Keith
Well, and and also if I can add to that is camping is a great, uh, um, uh, experiment that you can do with a new group.
00:37:40.97
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:37:43.28
Keith
And once you have a group, like, let's say, uh, Frank in Ireland, his group goes camping every month, but they are already a group.
00:37:51.29
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:37:51.34
Keith
They know each other. They, and, and then what they're doing now is they're not just getting to know each other better and building bonds. They're having fun throughout nature. They're, they're exercising, but they're also, you know, honing in on those little survival skills that they have when you, you know, naturally come, when you go out camping, you know?
00:38:07.58
Jeremy
Yeah. yeah And, um you know, along with that, that kind of same thing, um you know, when you're looking at a candidate for work or you're looking for a group or you know, a group is looking for you, there's these soft skills, you know, that every person has. And some of those soft skills are, in you know, emotional intelligence, persuasive communication, the ability to take direction and, you know, understand it.
00:38:39.90
Jeremy
um But also through, You know, some people you have to tell them, hey, I need you to do x y and Z. But at no point in time do they consider I may need to do a K, and L because they don't understand implied tasks.
00:38:55.49
Jeremy
um Some of those soft skills that people, you know, it takes time to develop them. um But that's something that you really, you gotta, to you know, you gotta, person has to know how to communicate and ah with and to a group.
00:39:12.33
Jeremy
So, um You know, and then you got to look for candidates and, you know, you got to look for groups um and how these be identified. How do you identify the skills that they're bringing with them? You know, like I know what I bring with me, um but what is this group bringing along with them?
00:39:30.86
Jeremy
And is their willingness and my willingness to learn additional skills. Is that strong? um And then, you know, what kind of attributes would a ah candidate make for a bad fit? Now, here's the one that, you know, nobody really wants to talk to about, but,
00:39:49.11
Jeremy
There are people out there who probably have no business um being in any of these groups. And there some people out there who, you know, maybe they feel pressured to getting into a group.
00:40:04.21
Jeremy
um They'll just pick something and go with it. And then then they start seeing the red flags on what are, you know, some of those red flags.
00:40:13.33
Keith
Well, you're right, Jeremy, there are people there are preppers, prepper survivalists, some of whom might be listening right now, that feel that the end is coming.
00:40:20.95
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:40:26.79
Keith
When the three of us and people like us, we don't feel the end is coming. It's our, it's our prepping and survival. It's our life.
00:40:34.83
Jeremy
yeah
00:40:34.88
Keith
It's, it's our lifestyle. It's how we live. So we're not pressured into doing anything. you know, we might be individual goals that we're trying to, you know, pressure ourselves into finish finishing, but there are actual people out there. They're like, I got to find a prepper group.
00:40:49.00
Keith
It's all going to come down like the next six months. I got to find something. got to find something.
00:40:51.56
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:52.78
Keith
They really feel that way and they shouldn't feel that way. and We've done a couple of ah podcasts on, you know, on fear and other things like that. Not to, you know, to not feel like that, to try and change your mindset to ah a way of life rather than a rush, rush, rush.
00:41:03.14
Jeremy
yeah
00:41:08.04
Keith
I got to do this because the end is coming. End is coming and you're not prepared. i mean, what are you worried about anyway? You're done.
00:41:13.55
Jeremy
Yeah. yeah I mean, it's kind of it's like ah the end is going to happen regardless.
00:41:21.25
Keith
Yeah.
00:41:21.86
Jeremy
You know, i mean, and if it doesn't happen in your lifetime, you have to remember this phrase. a lot of people say, well, you only, leave you know, you only live once. No, you don't. You only die once. You live every day.
00:41:32.89
Jeremy
And every day that you,
00:41:33.40
Keith
Yeah, you said that in the last episode. I thought that's a great that's a great saying, man.
00:41:37.32
Jeremy
ah yeah. And every day that you live, you're getting another chance to add another little piece or get started in a direction that you hadn't done before. So, um but some of the red flags, you know,
00:41:50.96
Jeremy
for groups or individuals. um The biggest one, and and this is a huge, huge, massive pet peeve of mine is complaining, complaining about former groups or former leadership.
00:42:03.20
Jeremy
um
00:42:04.64
Buddy
Red flag, red flag, red flag.
00:42:04.71
Jeremy
Not having, yeah, huge red, huge red flag. um Not having a general understanding of any of the tenants of preparedness, you know, other than a small focus, you know what i mean?
00:42:18.24
Jeremy
Um, being rude to current leadership or group founders. That's another big thing for me. Um, you know, especially like, let's say we brought somebody into our group, um, and then they were immediately rude. I'd be like, dude, you gotta pound sand.
00:42:33.95
Jeremy
You gotta get the fuck out of here.
00:42:35.10
Keith
Yep. Yep.
00:42:36.24
Jeremy
Um, immediately.
00:42:37.29
Keith
That's a red flag.
00:42:38.28
Jeremy
yeah Immediately asking about what the group can do for them rather than trying to figure out what they can do for the group. Um, you know And like the the camping aspect that we were talking about, I think it's it's really cool and it's it's a great foundation.
00:42:54.06
Jeremy
But me personally, one of the things that I would look for is if, let's say, Joe Schmeccatulli over here finished his tent, is he now helping anybody else?
00:43:04.61
Jeremy
Is he willing...
00:43:04.80
Keith
ah You know Joe Schmackatelli as well?
00:43:06.24
Jeremy
yeah
00:43:06.78
Keith
Shit, that's better.
00:43:07.97
Buddy
He's a good old, he's a good guy, man.
00:43:11.58
Jeremy
yeah I met him down. He was getting knished in Manhattan. I come down from, yeah, come down from Queens.
00:43:16.07
Buddy
Wasn't he, Virta Yuli?
00:43:20.42
Jeremy
But um yeah, I mean, you know that's another, like, that's one of the, I think probably the things that I and probably came from, you know, with the military, of course, is when you get in, you get your fighting position set up, you got all your gear done and yada, yada, yada. You turn around, you find out who else needs help.
00:43:38.65
Jeremy
Um, when I went to Ranger school in 1998, that was a huge thing. You know, you got all your gear ready. Hey, do you need help? What do you need? What do you need? What do you need? Um, yeah.
00:43:47.81
Buddy
Spotlight Ranger.
00:43:49.83
Jeremy
So stuff like that, um, disconnect between what was discussed in the initial meet and greet. And then basically like if you were talking with a group and, you know, or, you know, an individual and they said, yeah, I can do all these different things.
00:44:08.58
Jeremy
And that's their resume essentially. And then they show up and they definitely lied on their resume. You know, like that's a huge red flag because now that person is, is going to be the mooch. That person's going to be the one who's depending on everybody else.
00:44:28.05
Jeremy
um And of course the mooch, the mooch is, is a, is a man. I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate the mooch.
00:44:36.49
Keith
Yeah, you you mentioned that in the last episode.
00:44:39.03
Jeremy
Oh, man.
00:44:40.00
Buddy
That's that 80-20 principle, man.
00:44:42.25
Jeremy
and and it It just drives me. It drives me insane. Like, for instance, and it's a common sense thing. And I know there's there's a common sense issue all across the world. But like I work with guys on contract and they smoke and we're out in the field with special operations candidates for a minimum of 10 days.
00:45:05.19
Jeremy
And they show up and they have literally like a quarter of a pack of cigarettes left. And they're like, yeah, I'm quitting out here. No, you're not.
00:45:12.09
Keith
Oh, hell.
00:45:13.96
Jeremy
No, you're not.
00:45:14.00
Keith
That's the worst thing you can hear right there.
00:45:17.00
Jeremy
Dude, it's like, bro, look, I get it. If you wanted to quit, the fiscal quarter in between these classes was the time to start, bro. Not when you are in the field, stressed out, bored, yada, yada, yada. You're not quitting out here. And no, I'm not giving you any.
00:45:35.70
Jeremy
No, I'm not doing it.
00:45:36.18
Buddy
Yeah.
00:45:36.58
Keith
Back in the day when I used to smoke, I mean, anytime somebody asked to bum a cigarette, i said, this is your one. That's it.
00:45:42.39
Jeremy
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:45:43.22
Keith
I handed to him, that's it. I'll light it and everything for you, but that's it. There's not going to be another after this.
00:45:47.71
Jeremy
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's, ah I mean, if you've got your if you've got your addictions or you've got your habits or whatever, i mean, dude, bring enough. Bring enough.
00:45:57.84
Jeremy
if you and if you Yeah, you know, I smoke and i i know what happens if I don't get my smoke and my coffee in the morning.
00:45:58.20
Keith
Yeah, own them. It's your habit. Own it.
00:46:07.06
Jeremy
I know how I am. So I want to make sure that I'm going to have enough to last an iteration of time that I need to be there. And if I run out, it's on me and I go crazy. It's okay.
00:46:19.43
Jeremy
It's, it's, that's my crazy, but it
00:46:21.71
Keith
So look out for the mooch. So how, you how, how would you spot the mooch, you know, in a group?
00:46:26.06
Jeremy
it doesn't take long. It does not take long. It, especially like in the military world.
00:46:29.22
Buddy
Yeah.
00:46:30.95
Jeremy
and And I know we talk about the military a lot, but and Take the military out of it. Let's just say you were part of a large camping group and you guys went to the went to go camp quite a bit you know throughout the year.
00:46:44.15
Jeremy
It's the dude who shows up and he's like, oh man, I forgot this part to my tent. Or, a man, I don't have enough of this. I don't have that.
00:46:54.95
Jeremy
And you could hear it immediately. It was usually when everybody's setting up. And um you can figure it out real quick. And usually you can spot them at least by that first evening, sitting around the campfire, talking, you know, hanging out maybe having a drink.
00:47:13.29
Jeremy
One dude pulls out his pack of smokes because he's prepared. And then you see the other guy, Hey man, can a bum smoke? That's, that's the guy right there. He didn't do, it was going to happen. He's already identified himself.
00:47:24.28
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:47:24.40
Keith
So they didn't bring their own smokes. They didn't bring their own beer. They didn't bring their own food.
00:47:28.94
Jeremy
Yeah. I mean, I've actually, I've had contracts, contractors show up and knowing this is in their prior service military.
00:47:29.83
Buddy
They'll show up.
00:47:29.94
Keith
They're needy.
00:47:38.59
Jeremy
They know what they're getting into. Dude showed up without a tent in the middle of winter. ended up having to share a tent with another contractor.
00:47:49.02
Keith
Wow. That's, uh, that's something.
00:47:50.57
Jeremy
it's It's incredible. It's absolutely incredible. um And you know some of it you know going back to being prepared and finding your groups and all those different things,
00:48:03.64
Jeremy
If you show up and your willingness to share um is a little too strong, then people will pick up on that. if your you know If your willingness to share is like based off of a need or you identify a problem, like, yeah, man, I can fix that. i can do that. you know But if you just keep offering and offering and offering, eventually one, you're going to get taken advantage of, or two, people are going to wonder like, why is this dude giving up all of his stuff?
00:48:34.25
Jeremy
You know, like what's, what's the deal with this guy? So there's this balance in between, you know, I like to help.
00:48:40.32
Keith
yeah
00:48:41.67
Jeremy
I like to figure out problem sets, but i do so out of necessity, you know? um popping up field expedient structures or, you know, doing this, fixing something.
00:48:55.06
Jeremy
I'm a gadget guy. I love gadgets and I love field expedient fixes, but I came up that way. You know, I can offer that to someone who doesn't know how to do it. And surprisingly, you know, ah course I was born in the seventies, kind of like y'all, but um a lot of people these days don't know that stuff. They don't, you know,
00:49:17.37
Jeremy
You tell them to use the phrase, I'm just going to MacGyver this. And they're like, i don't know what you're talking about, bro. You know, like, yeah,
00:49:22.65
Keith
He's talking about f FECs, man. Field experience ah fixes. f fe yeah What do we call them?
00:49:29.09
Jeremy
yeah. It's, it's, it's kind of weird to me, but yeah.
00:49:30.81
Keith
FBFs. FBFs.
00:49:33.45
Jeremy
So that's some of the stuff to look at and in regards to vetting. um And, you know, i'm going to leave the the leadership one to you. Cause I have my own thoughts on that.
00:49:46.31
Jeremy
But again, not being in a group and not understanding that you know whole aspect of um how do you pick this these people or this person?
00:49:50.21
Buddy
Thank
00:49:56.23
Jeremy
you know i always kind of felt like How we talked about before, you know, if a person starts a group, I think fundamentally in their mind, they have an oneness of that group. So they kind of feel like they should be the one, but they should also have a willingness to accept if there's somebody in the group that's, you know, more experienced has, you know, whatever above them.
00:50:20.85
Jeremy
They should be able to step back and and let someone um kind of run run stuff. But with the understanding that that they're there to provide support, you know, that kind of thing.
00:50:34.97
Keith
A lot of people in their own personal lives, and I i have been there myself, um feel that they don't have a lot of power, especially people that are don't don't like their job, don't you know they like the work they go to, don't like their bosses.
00:50:49.20
Keith
And some people, when they go out or, board you know, ah well i guess what I'm trying to say is not everybody is able to be a ah group founder or a group leader. Right.
00:51:01.14
Keith
um If you're going to start your own group, you really should think hard about whether or not you want to actually be the leader, the founder, the the the group organizer, because not everybody is made for that.
00:51:11.68
Buddy
Well, leaders are are, I mean, if you could peel back the onion and get into the whole, you know, what makes a leader, there're there's a type of person, a type A person who's usually leading the way, you know, because they have the confidence there, you know, it's just in their DNA to lead.
00:51:31.01
Buddy
And so looking for leader,
00:51:32.23
Keith
You lead because it comes natural to you, not because you want to be the leader.
00:51:37.01
Buddy
Yes.
00:51:37.40
Keith
That makes sense.
00:51:37.47
Jeremy
a
00:51:39.12
Buddy
That's one of those, you know, I don't like to lead. I mean, I'd rather let somebody else lead and, and, uh, you know, I'll pitch in when I need to, but I also cannot stand weak leadership.
00:51:51.97
Buddy
ands just something in my DNA that I've from the, even high school and the football team, you know, they had the captain, you know, the, Oh, it's gotta be the senior linebacker.
00:51:52.23
Keith
Yeah.
00:51:57.82
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:52:01.46
Buddy
Well, I mean, there's times I jump in and lead and, you know, I'm a ah sophomore and people are coming to me for leadership and stuff, you know, but I mean, I'm not saying I'm just great leader, but I just jump in when, when and i see weakness or, or and a need and and jump in, but I don't necessarily like to leave.
00:52:17.17
Jeremy
yeah
00:52:20.86
Buddy
You know, it's, it's,
00:52:21.34
Jeremy
ah But i also think on the other side of that spoon, there are people out there who in their mind believe that they're a good leader or a strong leader. And they seek out positions of leadership because they perceive there is a perception of power that doesn't exist within that realm.
00:52:40.62
Buddy
Yeah, the sociopaths.
00:52:41.15
Jeremy
But yeah, they believe that like in the motorcycle and group that I belong to, there are people who out there and they run for these positions like I have, but they do so because they perceive that there is a source of power that comes from it.
00:52:57.86
Buddy
Oh, yeah.
00:52:57.95
Jeremy
um
00:52:58.29
Buddy
Yeah, definitely.
00:52:59.35
Jeremy
And then you talked about a leader a leader who's kind of thrust into um, thrust into the position out of necessity. Um, you know, I have met some of the most spectacular leaders in the military, ah who were put into that position begrudgingly, but it was out of necessity.
00:53:16.98
Buddy
Thank
00:53:20.13
Jeremy
And then the next thing, you know, this dude's doing something that, I mean, should be medal of honor material.
00:53:26.36
Keith
Yeah, they flourish and the in the position.
00:53:27.36
Jeremy
Yes, they do. But, you know, for like, for me, for instance, When I was a leader in the military, i i i ah concerned myself with the height, you know, the bigger picture with the the next level of commands intent.
00:53:46.82
Jeremy
But my focus, my so I was laser focused on my people and what we were doing. What everybody else is doing, yeah, that's important. That's cool. But I want my guys and gals sometimes trained the way that I deem fit.
00:54:03.77
Jeremy
And anybody who tried to intervene or interfere with that, really... unless they were providing something constructive ah to improve what was happening within my element, I didn't like other people getting into minutia of what we were doing.
00:54:24.83
Jeremy
What we were doing is my concern, as long as it meets the commander's intent and the next level higher commander's intent. And, you know, that's one way of looking at it.
00:54:36.45
Jeremy
um
00:54:38.13
Keith
Well, I guess what I'm saying is if you're going to start a group, make sure it's really what you want to do.
00:54:38.18
Jeremy
But,
00:54:43.32
Jeremy
yeah
00:54:43.41
Keith
Because join i think personally, and i and I'm a leader type, I think personally joining a group of people is easier ah and less stressful than starting your own group. Because there is a lot of responsibility that comes with starting your own group.
00:54:57.84
Jeremy
i got Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
00:54:58.19
Keith
it's It's going to be a nonstop job.
00:54:58.75
Buddy
that's by far, by far it's, it's, it's a big, it's a big workload.
00:55:04.40
Keith
Make sure you're ready for it.
00:55:05.61
Buddy
Yeah. You gotta be ready for it. Um, and you know, a lot of the things we're talking about, you know, joining a group or finding a group to join, or, or, you know, find a group to join or starting your own group.
00:55:14.84
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:55:18.83
Buddy
There's a lot of overlapping, um, you know, factors in there. There's lot of, lot of things that just straight up overlap, you know, I'm looking for, for instance, you know, when I'm looking for a group to join, I want strong leadership.
00:55:34.62
Jeremy
yeah
00:55:34.82
Buddy
Uh, I want communication, you know, two way communication. Uh, I want an organization. And one of the big things people overlook is I want safety, you know, and security. I, I,
00:55:47.53
Buddy
you know, go to the range and shoot with, with these guys, you know, and just see how they handle weapons. You know, um, there's units that there's units that I've, that I've seen.
00:55:54.06
Jeremy
Oh, man.
00:55:57.34
Buddy
And I deployed with a unit and I was like, holy shit, I'm going to die. And I'm going get shot in the back by my own people.
00:56:03.28
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:03.54
Buddy
You know what mean? Cause these guys are just that dangerous. And you know, they're, I'm not kidding you. I was thrust into a unit, uh, Not willingly. And we, we didn't let this guy deploy with the weapon.
00:56:16.31
Buddy
mean, he never left Kuwait, but I mean, shit, this guy was so, yeah Oh my God. I, ah another story for another day, but he was so dangerous that they were like, okay, we're going to keep him in Kuwait.
00:56:29.50
Buddy
You know, he's not going to, he's going to carry a weapon because he's just too dangerous. So,
00:56:32.98
Jeremy
man
00:56:33.40
Keith
You can take that same thought process into anything, not just shooting, but you can take, like, in other words, if you're in a group, if you join a group or you you're now, ah you're in one and you're kind of just in the stages of ah vetting them, um you know, look for people who are too willing to give out all their information.
00:56:41.53
Buddy
Thank you.
00:56:50.60
Keith
That can be dangerous, just as dangerous as, as, uh, Not being careful with a firearm, you know, get bragging about all the stuff you have and how much stuff you have and where it's located and all that.
00:57:01.37
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:57:01.74
Keith
That's somebody you want to be careful about that. That could be a dangerous person.
00:57:06.08
Buddy
Yeah, the the person the person bragging about how much ammo and food he's got.
00:57:06.18
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:57:10.52
Buddy
I mean, you know, starts the, for lack a better term, dick measuring, you know.
00:57:11.64
Keith
Mm hmm.
00:57:16.38
Buddy
you know
00:57:16.46
Keith
Mm hmm.
00:57:17.86
Buddy
I was a space shuttle door gunner, you know, you know shit like that.
00:57:21.81
Jeremy
yeah
00:57:23.78
Buddy
you know Come on, dude. But, you know. Yeah.
00:57:26.17
Keith
I got over 10,000 rounds of 22 long rifle, but I can guarantee you this. You'll never find them.
00:57:30.88
Buddy
Yeah.
00:57:31.58
Keith
You ain't gonna find them.
00:57:31.89
Jeremy
yeah
00:57:33.14
Keith
And ain't gonna tell you where they are either.
00:57:34.77
Buddy
hey But yeah, you you have to watch. I mean, you know, like we've all said this tonight, it's you know, people will show their true colors eventually, you know, and you have to watch it.
00:57:44.91
Jeremy
yeah
00:57:46.30
Buddy
And, and you know, vetting is a two way street, you know, they're vetting you, you're vetting them. And
00:57:54.33
Keith
That's true. Like when you go for a job interview, you're not just getting interviewed, you're interviewing them as well. You should be.
00:57:59.07
Buddy
I've, I, have
00:57:59.51
Keith
If you're not, then you're doing it wrong.
00:58:01.37
Buddy
I finished job interviews and they, they looked at me and they, you know, they said, do you have any more questions? And, you know, we're an hour into the interview and they're like, Hey, we have to shut this interview off. You know, yeah I've had them say, wow, we feel like you just interviewed us.
00:58:19.14
Buddy
And so.
00:58:19.36
Jeremy
Well, if you use the if you if you use the mindset that you're being evaluated every day and everything that you do, um it's the same way with groups versus you know if you're looking for a group or a group is you know reaching out and and trying to bring you into their group.
00:58:19.37
Keith
Right. Exactly.
00:58:35.35
Buddy
Thank you.
00:58:37.10
Jeremy
um I think that you know it's ah it's a two-way street on evaluation. You're evaluating, or you should be, evaluating them just as much as they're evaluating you.
00:58:48.83
Jeremy
um The other side of that, though, is it it can feel probably like the Kabuki dick dance, you know, like it's it's like, you know, do I tell them this or do I behave a certain way?
00:59:02.22
Jeremy
And I think that feeling like that for some people might actually cause them to act in a manner which is outside of what's normal for them. Um, you know, I'm, I, the way that I act in every day might not be the way that I, um, behaved at work or I behave around, you know, my kids or grandkids or anything like that.
00:59:24.77
Jeremy
You have to be able to adjust your persona until eventually you can start to feel like you don't have to have a hidden side. And if you feel like you have,
00:59:36.60
Jeremy
to maintain a, you know, certain ah hiddenness about yourself, you might, that might not feel like might not be the right group for you.
00:59:47.19
Buddy
do
00:59:47.21
Keith
Yeah, and you should definitely be doing that in the beginning anyway, just because you you you want you don't want to give out too much of it.
00:59:50.01
Jeremy
Yeah.
00:59:52.98
Keith
Don't be too enthusiastic. you don't want You don't want to be that guy or gal. you know you you know You don't want to be overly quiet either, but you definitely don't want to.
00:59:56.53
Jeremy
Yeah.
01:00:01.43
Keith
I was in a client's house years ago. And just happened to be working in there and I was talking with him and i I had said to him and his wife, I said, yeah, well, you know, what do you do? ah You know, i do prepping and survival and that's kind of what takes up my time on the weekends and that sort of thing.
01:00:14.83
Keith
And they were like, oh yeah, come here, on let me show you this. And they went into their closet showed me all their stuff. and sure
01:00:19.82
Buddy
ah
01:00:20.30
Keith
Show me all their storable food, all their guns and weapons. And I'm like, holy shit, dude. I'm like, I'm thinking all I have to do is wait for them to leave. And I got a year's worth of everything.
01:00:27.91
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
01:00:31.62
Keith
crazy.
01:00:31.70
Jeremy
Yeah.
01:00:32.34
Keith
you don't be Don't be that person. Don't be too enthusiastic. Look for the quietest person in the group you know and get get them to open up.
01:00:37.45
Buddy
Yeah, that guy that sits in the corner. Yeah, the guy set and the guy that sits in the corner and just doesn't run his mouth.
01:00:39.73
Keith
Yeah, because they're they're just like Jeremy said, he's sitting in the corner watching, right?
01:00:39.87
Jeremy
Hmm.
01:00:44.97
Jeremy
Creep. Sitting in the corner with his legs crossed, putting on chapstick and watching everybody. Like, yeah, that's creepy chapstick guy over there.
01:00:54.26
Buddy
And watch the dude when he gets out in the field, you know, watch his field craft, watch, watch, you know, cause you know, words have no you know value.
01:00:57.70
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
01:01:02.83
Buddy
It's it's actions.
01:01:04.19
Jeremy
Yeah.
01:01:04.61
Buddy
Yeah.
01:01:05.22
Keith
That is true.
01:01:05.35
Jeremy
yeah And I was just thinking about, you know, how you said, watch how they behave on a gun range. um i i have um in my career, I have challenged people many, many times and I've told them, um because they'll start talking about, you know, guns and ballistics and all these different things. And And I'll challenge them. I'll say, I'll take your weapon.
01:01:30.57
Jeremy
And within three rounds, I'll out shoot you with your own weapon. And i love proving people wrong um because I'm not the you know jump up and down. Hey, look at me. Hey, look at me kind of guy.
01:01:43.56
Jeremy
And you can identify them. I've talked about this before the guy who hiked up his sleeves a little bit and then crossed his arms and kind of pushed his back a little bit, you know, thrust his hips forward. That stance equals instant douchebag to me.
01:01:56.69
Jeremy
And you can spot them from a mile away. um
01:01:59.48
Buddy
Yeah, you can usually smell them.
01:02:01.05
Jeremy
Oh, dude, they smell like Axe, you know, frickin' it's Axe hair gel, monster energy drink, and um cheap socks because they haven't invested in good socks and they were more concerned about their muscle shirt.
01:02:01.21
Buddy
I
01:02:04.23
Buddy
was about to say that, man. it's Smell like Axe. Yeah.
01:02:10.80
Buddy
yeah
01:02:17.15
Keith
I haven't had an axe in a long time, but let me tell you something.
01:02:19.16
Jeremy
Ugh.
01:02:19.47
Keith
That stuff could be a lifesaver if you're you knowre out in the field for a long couple of hours.
01:02:24.82
Jeremy
Dude, that stuff smells like 1989, a bottle of Mad and shame.
01:02:25.62
Keith
Just saying.
01:02:28.19
Buddy
Yeah, I want to puke.
01:02:31.73
Keith
Well, would you rather smell ass or Yeah. or acts
01:02:37.89
Jeremy
Well, i mean,
01:02:38.47
Buddy
Ass. Ass.
01:02:38.99
Jeremy
i'll just um'll just put it to you this way um iraq two thousand and three ah we went it was legitimately close to the fourmon mark without ah the opportunity to ba And we were wearing we were wearing chemical oversuits the entire time.
01:02:53.95
Keith
What? what
01:02:58.93
Jeremy
And when they finally said, take them off, it was this big net call over the radio.
01:02:59.41
Buddy
Okay.
01:03:03.75
Jeremy
Like hundreds of radios all went off and they were like, hey, you can take off your suits now. And I was wearing, like we call them PT uniform, like shorts and a t-shirt underneath this thing. But the shorts that I was wearing were from like back in the nineties when I first came in and I went to go like slide them down and they just broke away from my body.
01:03:24.48
Jeremy
That's how disgustingly rotten they were.
01:03:24.95
Keith
Damn, dude.
01:03:26.16
Jeremy
And I tossed them in a fire, gave them a salute. And I was like, later homies.
01:03:30.05
Buddy
you
01:03:30.40
Jeremy
And, um, my, my,
01:03:31.29
Keith
You just went gross again.
01:03:33.33
Jeremy
Yeah, I know. But our my first bath, I had the ah the driver, it was a Bradley.
01:03:34.25
Buddy
and
01:03:35.28
Keith
man
01:03:40.60
Jeremy
And I said, Hey man, can you turn your vehicle to the right and knock the cover off of that fire hydrant? All the water came rushing out. My whole squad just jumped in with soap and we were just buck naked around, you know, a thousand different dudes.
01:03:55.41
Jeremy
First sergeant came around the corner and he's like, what in the world? And he looked for about 13 seconds and then him and the sergeant major grabbed their soap and everybody's naked out there getting blasted by this fire hydrant.
01:04:06.82
Jeremy
And the medic's like, don't get the water in your mouth.
01:04:07.48
Keith
So that, so that's what the our tax dollars are getting going to. I get it.
01:04:13.02
Jeremy
Oh, absolutely, dude.
01:04:14.14
Keith
Okay.
01:04:14.30
Jeremy
I've taken some field showers that might shock you.
01:04:14.76
Keith
Okay.
01:04:19.17
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah.
01:04:19.86
Keith
All right. So leadership. um I do have a couple of notes on leadership. um and We don't, we don't really have to go into it too far, but one I got, hold on.
01:04:33.19
Keith
I clear my throat. One, ah relevant experience and expertise. So what are the key factors to consider when selecting, let's say, a leadership team? Because you're going to need a leadership team.
01:04:45.01
Keith
It's not just going to be one leadership, but one leader. And if you're in a group or about to join a group where there's one leader, run. Run away. Because you don't want that. I've been in that situation. It does not work.
01:04:58.41
Buddy
You mean a dictator?
01:04:58.58
Keith
You have to have a leadership team. A dictator. Exactly.
01:05:01.46
Buddy
Yeah.
01:05:01.63
Keith
Yeah. and and there's Not everybody's Trump. you know none Not everybody gets it right on the first try, but he's got a big team.
01:05:07.59
Buddy
Well, hell, he's got a team, so.
01:05:09.58
Jeremy
sir
01:05:10.30
Keith
Yeah.
01:05:10.84
Jeremy
Yeah.
01:05:10.99
Buddy
Yeah.
01:05:12.18
Jeremy
Of super smart people.
01:05:12.51
Keith
So um super smart people. Exactly. um Look for um people to join the leadership team that relevant experience and expertise. Look for individuals with proven track records, and you should have gotten to know them by now at this point when you're picking leadership or choosing leadership or somebody to become a leader.
01:05:30.95
Keith
And look for a proven track record in their perspective fields.
01:05:33.59
Buddy
you
01:05:34.03
Keith
If they are an electrician, a doctor, if they're a trash guy, if they're whatever they are, if they're if they're good at it or if they're, you know, they're the third wheel that nobody wants to work with.
01:05:45.39
Keith
Look for those type of things. ah They need demonstrate their ability to handle complex situations. And ah I know that that's a that's a big ask, but you're talking about a leadership role here.
01:05:57.00
Keith
So if they can't handle complex situations, they can't be a leader. ah Number two, I've got strong communication skills. This is something that a lot of people think they have, but probably don't.
01:06:09.18
Keith
Effective leaders must be able to clearly articulate their vision, their goals, expectations to the team or to their team. ah They need to ah actively listen and ah foster open communication channels. Now, this is something that I'm not very good at. um I just I'm the kind of leader who barks off orders.
01:06:30.31
Keith
OK, now my orders are come from a place of experience and I know what the hell I'm talking about. And most of the time in my past and my jobs, the people who I were leading were pretty much idiots.
01:06:42.63
Buddy
Yeah.
01:06:42.76
Keith
And so they they kind of needed to be barked to if that makes sense. And when you do get somebody who's really good at their position, you know, and good at their job, you don't have to say shit to them. You don't, you basically don't even have to leave them. They know what to do, which is great.
01:06:57.76
Keith
um Leadership style alignment is another aspect. Assess whether potential leaders styles, in other words, directive, collaborative, transformational,
01:07:11.96
Keith
Align with the organization's culture. In other words, these, these were taken directly from, choosing a leadership for a company, but you can still put it into like a, uh, you prepper group.
01:07:14.68
Buddy
Thank you.
01:07:23.91
Keith
But, um, so think about it that way. When I say this align with the prepper groups, culture and needs. So are they like-minded? Do they have all the same, uh,
01:07:34.39
Keith
ah ah thought processes, their mindset. Is it, is it in the way that the rest of the group um feels? If it's not probably not good for for the leadership position.
01:07:45.50
Keith
ah Number five is teamwork and collaboration. Evaluate candidates ability to work effectively with others, build consensus and foster a collaborative environment.
01:07:57.17
Buddy
Thank
01:07:57.47
Keith
A lot of fancy words, but that is basically, can they get people to work as a team? that's That's what it comes down to. a lot of people can't. That's something to look for if you're looking for a leadership.
01:08:08.61
Keith
um Number six is strategic thinking. Select individuals who can anticipate future challenges, develop strategy ah strategic plans, and make informed decisions to achieve long-term goals.
01:08:20.11
Keith
I think that pretty much explains itself. And lastly, cultural fit. ensure that the potential leaders ah embody the prepper groups values and can positively contribute to the existing culture of the group.
01:08:37.64
Keith
Again, a lot of fancy words, but I think everybody can smart enough to know what I'm saying. um Basically, what was the last thought I wanted to say? um One thing is, is a way to tell if ah if a person's a good leader. And I've said this before,
01:08:53.62
Keith
many times in my job, maybe not in the podcast, but you can tell how good a leader is how their team operates when they're not around.
01:09:07.67
Keith
And that is really the key to it is getting people to do things that they may not want to do, but to work as a team and get the job done, matter what it is.
01:09:17.28
Buddy
That's that integrity that Jeremy was talking about earlier.
01:09:20.24
Jeremy
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And some of those leadership things that you talked about, um, um,
01:09:28.49
Keith
and those are definitional you know leadership that that comes directly from how to pick a leadership for your company. you know
01:09:36.54
Jeremy
Yeah. And I think that there's a, there's a real fine line between, um the you go do, you go do now and, um making sure that everybody in the group understands the you go do now. Why are they being told you go do now?
01:10:00.74
Buddy
Yeah, it's as clear clear and concise guidance.
01:10:01.01
Jeremy
Um, yeah.
01:10:03.14
Buddy
You got to be ah a good communicator. You have to.
01:10:05.85
Jeremy
Yeah. And part of that communication within leadership is is understanding and and really learning how to teach and train as you go along. um And I found this out ah after i had to change jobs within the military more than halfway through my my career.
01:10:26.27
Jeremy
um You know, you you tell a person who doesn't have combat experience, I need you to do x y and Z. And you expect that they should know how to do x y and z The problem is, is that maybe they don't.
01:10:44.07
Jeremy
And, you know, you can, you know, poke your eyeballs out in frustration and have, you know, lava coming out of your face. Or you can say, do you even know what I mean by x Y, and Z?
01:10:55.58
Jeremy
And then watch their eyes light up as they learn about it.
01:10:58.87
Buddy
Yeah. set It's that, it's that whole teach coach mentor, you know,
01:10:59.57
Jeremy
That's...
01:11:02.50
Jeremy
Yeah, it it is And, you know, i have had positions where I've been a leader within that organization, and I've had to Be the, you know, you go do X, Y, Z, just because I said you go do X, Y, and Z. And it sucks. I hate it.
01:11:19.57
Jeremy
I really don't. I don't like it at all. Because you know that those people are going back and they're like, screw this dude. You know, why is he so angry at us all the time? And it's not necessarily a place of anger.
01:11:32.83
Buddy
Thank
01:11:33.01
Jeremy
It's, it's a um, sometimes orders come from necessity. Um, and when you start to see things that aren't happening, right.
01:11:45.01
Jeremy
Then for me personally, i I escalate, I kind of, I give a general, Hey, I need you to do this. And then when that thing isn't done, it's like, Hey dude, I told you, i need you to do this.
01:11:57.89
Jeremy
And then you start to escalate and then you start to escalate. until you're just about the level of psychotic episode, it finally gets done. But then if you're having to do that with one individual, it's kind of like you're going back to,
01:12:14.96
Jeremy
Do you save the one or the 99? um You know, it's it's frustrating sometimes to have to stop what you're doing, teach that person how to do a thing, and then make sure they understand it and watch them do it a couple of times and going back through this and yada, yada, yada.
01:12:34.61
Jeremy
It's extremely frustrating. Yeah.
01:12:36.10
Keith
It is. Yeah. And we're going to talk about expelling, but about bringing people into groups, expelling people, turning people away.
01:12:40.92
Jeremy
yeah
01:12:44.46
Keith
We're going to talking about all that on another episode, not on this one. We're way, way over, uh, the time limit, but, um,
01:12:49.39
Jeremy
Yeah. I think this is an extremely important topic though, especially nowadays, you know, cause we've said multiple, multiple times, you're not going to make it on your own. You're not.
01:13:00.53
Jeremy
And I think that those people who really do truly believe that they can make it on their own are actually some of the most dangerous because you know, when start stuff starts to get rough enough, they're willing to go take from others.
01:13:15.39
Jeremy
Um,
01:13:15.68
Buddy
Yeah, but there's no Lone Rangers. and And what's the movie with Denzel Washington he's blind, you know, out there by himself?
01:13:25.14
Jeremy
Oh, a Book of Eli?
01:13:25.68
Keith
Right.
01:13:26.52
Jeremy
Book of Eli?
01:13:26.75
Buddy
Oh, there's no book. That's, you know, that's fiction.
01:13:29.01
Jeremy
Oh, dude, that's one of the...
01:13:29.26
Keith
i love that movie. Yeah.
01:13:30.08
Jeremy
I love that movie so damn much.
01:13:31.44
Buddy
Awesome movie, but, you know, that's just not going to happen.
01:13:34.60
Keith
yeah
01:13:34.71
Jeremy
But, yeah.
01:13:34.75
Buddy
You're going to have to align yourself with people because it's just not happening.
01:13:39.23
Jeremy
Yeah, but they now, not to dig into the movie too much, but the premise behind that was, yes, he was being blind. He was blind, but he was being led by the Holy Spirit.
01:13:50.70
Jeremy
you know he's being given ah You know, he he was given a task within his faith.
01:13:51.51
Buddy
Yeah.
01:13:55.15
Buddy
Well, he would need it because there's no way you're going to do that shit on your own.
01:13:59.08
Jeremy
Yeah, no way.
01:13:59.28
Buddy
You know what mean?
01:14:00.48
Jeremy
Cat oil, fresh, right off the right off the cat.
01:14:00.59
Buddy
Yeah.
01:14:04.12
Buddy
Yeah. Wait, come on.
01:14:07.40
Keith
All right, guys. I think that's it.
01:14:09.60
Jeremy
All right. Until next time.
01:14:12.23
Keith
Until next time.
01:14:12.45
Buddy
Yeah. Get out there and train, train, train, train.