Full Transcript for Veronica LIVE with Ryan Sweazey - Walk the Talk Foundation

people through these confounding, difficult, bureaucratically 29 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:29.960 laid in processes because nobody else is on their side. They don't get a 30 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:34.000 military lawyer. If they want representation, they have to pay for it out 31 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.840 of pocket. It's really kind of sad, actually, how the military sets 32 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:43.159 them up for failure and our foundation works to help them hopefully to success. 33 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:49.479 Well. And on your website you had that you've had two hundred eight clients 34 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:53.840 come to you, and so tell me how that's going. And you still 35 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:58.479 have twenty nine open cases now that you're involved with. I mean that's a 36 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:01.560 huge number. And as you were saying, these military members there's nowhere else 37 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:06.439 for them to go, and you know a lot of times there would hire 38 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:08.840 a lawyers a lot of money too, you know, it's just too much. 39 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:15.719 Yep, yeah, exactly. We have way too many cases for the 40 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.400 bandwidth that we can take on. And it's a myriad of things that are 41 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:23.439 contributing to that number. One, Like you said, people can't afford to 42 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:28.800 keep a lawyer on retainer, and a lawyer and a lot of administrative processes 43 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:34.599 doesn't really do much. They don't have any more leverage than the normal service 44 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:39.319 number does. They can't compel the military to act faster or act in better 45 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:44.840 faith or what have you. So it's kind of money I don't want to 46 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:49.520 say wasted, but something just short thereof. And we also have a lot 47 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:53.840 of clientele because to my knowledge, at least, we're the only foundation that 48 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:00.080 does this, and it's a constant stream of people coming to us, and 49 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.199 it all follows the same pattern, which is, I was wronged, I'm 50 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:10.400 trying to seek redress or justice, and the system is pummeling me, working 51 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.639 against me. Well, I guess one of the things I was really interested 52 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:19.560 in as I was reading all these op eds that you've written, was the 53 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:26.160 upper echelon people in charge the generals. They don't seem to care about changing 54 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:30.160 and fixing the system because once you reach those positions, it's about me, 55 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:36.040 So talk about that. Yeah, that's been the most disappointing and enlightening thing 56 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:42.199 all at the same time to watch so the foundation work. We obviously aren't 57 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:47.879 the first hand witness to the events themselves why people file complaints or file allegations, 58 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:55.160 but we are firsthand witnesses as they go through the process seeking redress and 59 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:59.120 time and time again, and it really confounds me, especially in this day 60 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:03.600 and age where we're hurting to recruit, we're hurting to retain talent. But 61 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:10.000 at the end of the day, when someone goes to an upper echelon senior 62 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:15.480 officer, more oftentimes than not, there is a mutually exclusive decision which is 63 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:20.800 to decide or to side with an individual member and truth, justice, the 64 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:28.240 American way, etc. Or the side of protecting the sanctity of the institution. 65 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:35.240 And unfortunately, many times the latter it's you know, okay, at 66 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:44.399 the expense of your psychological mental wellbeing, many times personal wellbeing, professional wellbeing. 67 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.000 We are just going to unsubstantiate your claim and move on, because to 68 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:54.000 substantiate would be to admit culpability or fault on behalf of the military. And 69 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:58.120 that is something that we refuse to do. And that's what's so unfortunate about 70 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:02.079 so many of these cases, right Ryan, you know, do you think 71 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:08.920 the issue is that is that the the General Officer Corps has become a basically 72 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:14.480 a political operation more more than a military operation. And I say that, 73 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.160 you know, starting starting with Millie, you know, where he was basically 74 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:20.160 saying, hey, I'm in charge, you know, and and you know, 75 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:23.199 I don't have to pay attention to the President of United States. You 76 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:25.639 know, I can operate independently. And if you know, if he wants 77 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.519 to launch it, you know, Trump wants to launch a new newke attack, 78 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:31.040 I'm going to stop it, you know, I mean, it's just 79 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:39.879 the behavior is so outrageous and so far beyond what what our constitution allows the 80 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:45.759 military to do. What's driving that that mentality in the officer Corps? Yeah, 81 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.600 I couldn't agree more, John, They operate with impunity is impunity to 82 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:56.360 find it is the zero accountability general officer Corps now And I could rattle off 83 00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:03.319 a dozen laws that they brazenly disregard a fairly consistently nowadays. And I think 84 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:09.399 it's a matter of the fact that we kind of quit a

lot of times. 85 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:13.639 That the Department of Defense has become the Department of Defense of itself. 86 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:20.240 It is indicative of an institution that now exists, first and foremost not for 87 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:25.319 the defense of the nation, sadly, not for the welfare of the individual, 88 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:31.279 but for its own continued survival. And it can do that because no 89 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:35.319 other branch of the government holds it in check anymore. Congress has proven itself 90 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:41.120 to be completely impotent when it comes to holding these people to account. Even 91 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:46.399 though they're violating the laws in the Constitution of the United States, they do 92 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:51.800 so to no account. And now you're seeing the result of that, an 93 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:59.199 organization in the Department of Defense that has just completely wandered off the reservation because 94 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:05.120 it was allowed to and now here we are, well, I've had personal 95 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:09.240 experience and that in that regard, you know, with export licenses and stuff, 96 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:11.639 where you know, I go to the Department of State and get an 97 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.800 export license, and I go to d D and say, here's an export 98 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:18.639 license for this military technology. And d D tells me you can't export it, 99 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:22.560 but State said I can export it, and DOOD says, Nope, 100 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:24.920 we're not gonna let you. And then you go back to State and they 101 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:28.439 say, well, they don't really have the authority to do that, but 102 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:31.960 we can't stop them from not doing that, not following the law. And 103 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.000 it's like, okay, what do I do now? Yeah, And here's 104 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:41.639 the scary part is that when you see an institution like the military that has 105 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:46.480 now a monopoly on the truth, and that's what's frightening to me is that 106 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.360 they determine the sky is green, and to question that is to invite punishments 107 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:56.879 and it doesn't change anything. And and it's almost can you kind of chuckle 108 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:01.200 because it's almost North Korean regime in that reg guard like, we will tell 109 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:05.360 you what the truth is, and no one's going to call that. In 110 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.399 the question, and if they do, they're met with their demise. Well, 111 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:15.080 you wrote one of your little op eds was your recent one, a 112 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:20.000 call to boycott the military, and on LinkedIn people were getting mad and one 113 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:24.639 of the facts, you know, reading all of your content was and it's 114 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:31.039 just mind boggling the military sexual trauma. I guess one in three women are 115 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:35.679 harassed or assaulted, and people are kind of like turning a blind eye to 116 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:39.000 this. You know, luckily I never had that happen to me, but 117 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.720 recently Senator Martha McSally, a former fighter pilot, said she was assaulted by 118 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:48.080 a superior officer. So I mean, obviously this has been going on for 119 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:52.519 a long time. So there's you know, don't join the military, and 120 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:56.080 the women being assaulted issue is very scary. And but I see why you're 121 00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:01.080 saying this. Yeah, there's a lot to kerfuffle about the boycott. But 122 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:07.320 my counter to that is, so what else is going to incite change? 123 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.399 So we look at the past thirty years? Now, Okay, let's talk 124 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:15.960 about the military sexual trauma issue, because I think that's very indicative. Thirty 125 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:22.480 years of our service women and men being assaulted, abused, raped, and 126 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:26.799 what do we have to show for it. After all this legislation, millions 127 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:33.720 and billions of dollars dumped into these sexual assault program offices, training and attention, 128 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.279 what do we have to show a quote unquote independent investigative arm now, 129 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.600 which is still under the DoD. It's a joke, it's toll farce. 130 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:48.480 But that's indicative of how unwilling the military is to change of its own volition. 131 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:52.559 So I ask these people like, oh, you can't have a boycott, 132 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:56.039 that's preposterous. Well what else? What other leverage do we have? 133 00:10:56.279 --> 00:11:01.440 It's not the Congress, it's not the press, it's not people spouting off 134 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:05.879 on social media. None of those avenues, which is maybe in the past 135 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:11.240 been effective, will no longer affect change in the military. They are just 136 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:16.919 ineffective. So what do we have left? The only problem that can't be 137 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:22.600 ignored, which is the recruiting crisis. If there aren't people around to serve, 138 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:26.399 and there needs to be, then the military can't ignore that. They 139 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.879 have to square that off, and they do so by improving. That's the 140 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:33.519 four that's the that's the vision here. It's not to just gut the military 141 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:37.720 scourre stuth. The end state of the boycott would be a better, a 142

00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:43.279 healthier military, a more viable defense, because it's a problem that the military 143 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:48.600 has to confront, and they have to do so by making themselves more attractive. 144 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:50.759 Now, you know, I think a lot of it is just we've 145 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:56.840 we've turned the military into a social experiment, and it's a failed social experiment, 146 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:01.279 unfortunately. You know, I'm all for women doing, you know, 147 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:03.039 whatever they can, but not not in the military. You know that. 148 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:09.200 As I've said many times on this show, the purpose of military is to 149 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:13.679 break things and kill people. And it takes a certain mentality and a certain 150 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.120 kind of training to be able to do that. And I just think the 151 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:20.840 social experiment is a mass failure. And when we get into a really really 152 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:26.399 big shooting war with the Chinese or whoever the next major player is, you 153 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:30.799 know, well we're not We're not dominating them like we did in Afghanistan, 154 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:35.080 and I you know, Iraq is you know, we're going to be in 155 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:37.240 trouble. I mean, I just do not see, you know, the 156 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:41.080 military that I see today is not the military I was in, you know, 157 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.480 forty years ago. It's just not not at all. It's an eroded 158 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.240 shell of itself and to your point about the social experiment, I agree. 159 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:56.639 And the problem is is that the military is a unique organization in that you 160 00:12:56.759 --> 00:13:01.320 must for it to be viable, everybody has to sacrifice a little bit of 161 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:09.120 their individual identity for the betterment of the unit, the group, the core, 162 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:13.360 what have you. That is the whole premise of a military is that 163 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:20.519 you sacrifice for the betterment of the greater good of the organization. It's unlike 164 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:26.519 many organizations within the government in that regard. So to have this increase and 165 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:35.039 maybe over emphasis on the individual, it actually is a mutually exclusive aim to 166 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:41.440 that of military, a spree to core and functionality. Well, I mean, 167 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.919 Millie definitely pulled back when it came to the pride stuff, and I 168 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:50.120 feel that same way, Ryan, because I don't care about that. It's 169 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:54.720 about the military and being a cohesive unit, not your gay pride flag. 170 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:58.440 And it was so ridiculous how this was pushed in our

face. So one 171 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:05.080 of yours too, is the US military second rate and loving it, so 172 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:09.000 you know. And we have a brand new Joint Chief of Staff, General 173 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.759 c. K Or c Q. Brown, and he came to Tindall and 174 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:18.559 I got to meet him at a military Affairs Committee event and he before he 175 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:22.279 took over the helm. And but like we just had Alan west On and 176 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:26.440 Alan west has come out, I mean he is anti General Brown because of 177 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:31.799 these DEI issues being pushed down. And it's not about you know, the 178 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:35.320 quality and your capability of flying a fighter jet, it's the color and gender 179 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:41.039 that you are. So so why is the military pushing this nonsense? You 180 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:45.279 know, we got to have the best people in the roles. There's no 181 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:48.080 way if I had to fly a fighter jet, I would have crashed and 182 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:50.480 burned. I can definitely fly a desk and take care of a general. 183 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.799 But you know I know my abilities. Ryan, So tell me your perspective 184 00:14:54.840 --> 00:15:00.639 on all of this that they've been pushing and pushing, Yeah, the second 185 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.159 rate and loving it. And thanks for the plug. It was I got 186 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:07.080 a good chuckle out of that. Remember in that one. It is that 187 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:13.360 it really comes from hubris. And it's the point that John mentioned earlier here 188 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.440 in the segment, which is to operate with impunity, to not be held 189 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:24.279 to account to kind of just be off doing your own thing and no one 190 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:31.360 calling it into question. And the problem with that, mixed with this this 191 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:35.000 hubris of military leaders that feel they can do whatever they want because they can. 192 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:41.799 Is that we are becoming second rate and loving and that is for whatever 193 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:50.080 the social topic. The jure is is that that becomes almost the priority over 194 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:54.679 the mission. And so a lot of people that take issue with these social 195 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:58.240 reforms. It's not the spirit in and of itself. It's like, attract 196 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:03.320 more people. That's good, you get better talent pool. We all like 197 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:11.840 that. The problem comes when it's these things that shouldn't be out prioritizing the 198 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:18.200 mission but do. And we kind of in the article parallel it to these 199 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:22.320 other militaries abroad that we used to kind of mock and go, you know, 200 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:30.200 they're just a bloated socialized jobs protection program, relatively ineffective, but they 201 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:37.600 give the otherwise unemployable work. And then we looked at ourselves as like, 202 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:42.039 Okay, well, isn't that what we're becoming. Veritably in the military here 203 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:45.919 in the States is like the defense of the nation, in the betterment of 204 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:52.039 the defense almost becomes the secondary or tertiary aim to some of these initiatives. 205 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:56.720 And that's really what's disconcerting to us. You know, I agree on hundred 206 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:00.720 percent with that. I'm for years ago. We used to laugh at the 207 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:06.160 Russians, you know, because the Russians fighter pilots couldn't go out and engage, 208 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:08.640 you know, without the ground controllers giving them permission and telling him where 209 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:12.200 to go basically, And and yes, and that was that was our big 210 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:15.640 advantage. You know, our guys could do operate independently. You know, 211 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:19.440 they had the authority to do what they needed to do. And and now 212 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.000 we flipped that on there on the head. You know, now you got 213 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.960 to call Washington, d C. While you're while you're engaged trying to you 214 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.000 know, track a guy, and and you gotta y yeah, but John, 215 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:33.000 John, but General Millie is talking to President She to tell him that 216 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:37.400 he's gonna call him if there's something goes down. Okay, don't forget that 217 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:41.680 part. Yeah, right, Ryan. One thing I'd like to I'd like 218 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:45.599 to ask you about it is you have a petition to dissolve the d D 219 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:51.000 Inspector General's Office and and probably move it somewhere else. You know, the 220 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:55.519 the i g's the idea behind the I G was the junkyard dog. You 221 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.200 know, you were going to have this independent group in there that that you 222 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:00.799 know, it was not in the chain of command. They were outside of 223 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:04.279 the chaining command could come in and look at stuff independently and and tell you 224 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:07.880 a lot, tell you the way it was. And on the Navy side, 225 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:10.759 you know, here in Kindama City, we have a we have a 226 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:14.359 Navy base that there's a lot of research and development and over the years, 227 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.279 I actually a lot of IG inspections, you know. And it's it's basically 228 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:22.640 a paper whipping exercise. And what happened to the

junkyard dog thing that that 229 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:26.319 that idea and the independence of that office, and what is your petition? 230 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:32.839 What's full of your petition? Day? The petition is to remove the IG 231 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:37.759 system from the Department of Defense, because so long as it's subordinate to commanders 232 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:41.440 within the department, it's never going to exercise true independence. And and I 233 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:45.960 saw that I provide this vin yette from my experience as IG, I was 234 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:52.160 subordinate to the commander of the installation. I was the inspector for so and 235 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:57.519 that person held my career in their hands, my assignment, my appraisal, 236 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:03.720 uh job I was going to go to next So if I as IG, 237 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:08.359 who's supposed to be this independent washdog, go to my commander and go, 238 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:11.759 hey, this is how it is, and he or she doesn't agree. 239 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:18.839 Well, I have two essentially mutually exclusive paths, one to truth and the 240 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:23.240 other one to my career. And so often we see IG's opting for the 241 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:27.640 latter. Understandably, so they're humans, they need a livelihood, and this 242 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:33.720 is it. But it's so rought throughout the department with those conflicts of interest 243 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:38.359 that you can never have any kind of independence that when you go to an 244 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:45.759 IG, your chance of an investigation being carried out in good faith and with 245 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:52.079 due diligence is now so extraordinarily low that you might as well not file. 246 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:56.319 A lot of people do not file because they invite retribution while at the same 247 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:00.960 time not getting any chance for justice. And so the petition is we got 248 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:04.039 to move it out of the DoD, We got to put in the DOJ 249 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:15.559 or something elsewhere where it's not consistently influenced by the departments undue command influences. 250 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:25.160 So you almost need a prosecutors type of mentality where you're scored on how many 251 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:30.480 prosecutions you have and the success of you know, basically guilty verdicts, you 252 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:36.240 know, where that's the incentive structure for their participants. Right, yeah, 253 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:41.200 exactly right. Now there's zero incentive for an inspector general who works for the 254 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:48.200 department to find against the department. Right, it's ludicrous. Yeah, this 255 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:53.000 is terrible. So one of the things that's on your website Walkthtalkfoundation dot org 256 00:20:53.599 --> 00:21:00.039 is the testimonials. So obviously you've helped so many people, Ryan, And 257 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:04.480 are there any stories vignettes you can share. You know that it's gone for 258 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:12.720 the right way for the military whistleblower. Yeah, I think a lot of 259 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:18.240 the victories, you know, there are a lot of different ways to define 260 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:22.759 victory. First of all, of course there's a substantiation, but a lot 261 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:29.640 of times the victory is just having closure. So the problem with a lot 262 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:33.160 of these cases is not only with the conflicts of interest, but that they 263 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:38.160 languish for months and a lot of times years. And if you're a victim 264 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.640 of something, you're just looking to move on with life. A lot of 265 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.400 times you're not looking to crush people or for vengeance or what have you. 266 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:49.440 You just want it to be done and moved on. And as these cases 267 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:53.200 go on, and they're interviewed and reinterviewed, and reports are coming out, 268 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:56.640 and boy, as use blah blah blah, and it goes on for years. 269 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:03.920 It's really psychled logically damaging for the person. So what we provide in 270 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:11.119 that regard is and a lot of the quote unquote victories come from the case 271 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:17.039 closures, and some are wins and some are not in terms of substantiation or 272 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:21.519 not, or accountability or not. But it gives the person the ability to 273 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:26.000 move on with their lives. And that's a win for a lot of people 274 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:30.160 just to be like, Okay, I was wronged. There's closure. Maybe 275 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:34.039 I saw the outcome, maybe not that I wanted to see, but at 276 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:37.960 least I can move on with my life now and call it in the past. 277 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:41.920 Well, I think it's wonderful what you're doing for people. Have you 278 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:48.440 gotten some big dog support from, you know, some Congressmen or senators out 279 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:56.839 there that are helping you in this fight some you know, it's there's a 280 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:00.039 little bit of an ancestual relationship there when it comes to Congress and the Department 281 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:04.880 of Defense because it comes to big money, especially when that money's coming from 282 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:11.960 our military industrial complex, which are in certain districts. So the Congress can 283 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:15.079 be a little bit of a fickle friend in that regard. I'll tell you 284 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:19.319 the biggest support we've gotten. There's

a committee in the Senate called the Homeland 285 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:25.680 Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. They oversee all inspectors general throughout the government, 286 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:32.559 and they've been surprisingly big proponents of this movement. And we've worked with the 287 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:41.039 Government Accountability Project and doing that. But as for individual representatives and senators, 288 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:45.720 the response has been tepid at best because they're very they're very leary. I 289 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:53.799 surmised to rock the boat in terms of that relationship, which probably results in 290 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.559 campaign dollars, right right, Well, some of them, like like Senator 291 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:06.119 Tommy Tupperville, who actually took a principal stand, you know, with his 292 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:10.279 holds on all the generals. Uh, you know, uh, you see 293 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:12.599 sometimes you see some hope for people like that. And I know you've got 294 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:19.359 an NBA from Troy straight state too. Hopefully Senator Tupperville is high on your 295 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:25.559 list. Yeah. That that was really fascinating for me to watch. You 296 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:30.640 know, you can debate the motives of his actions till the cows come home, 297 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:36.160 but it was a refreshing change of pace to just see the Congress try 298 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:41.279 and hold the military to account finally, and what was Also fascinating to me 299 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:47.799 was to watch the military's reaction, which I found to be fairly disgustingly health 300 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:55.720 Center. Uh. You saw them go to the hill clamoring about getting moved 301 00:24:55.799 --> 00:25:02.759 and paid and promoted, and at the Saint at the same time purporting the 302 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.640 importance of our deference to our civilian leadership while they criticize them for not promoting 303 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:15.839 It was seethingly a critical found and self serving well. As we wrap up 304 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:22.160 this interview with the founder president, retire Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Sweezy from Walkthtalkfoundation dot 305 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:26.279 org, what has been the most satisfying thing of your you know, running 306 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:32.400 this foundation, Ryan, by far as people who come back to me and 307 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:36.519 go, look, I had no one in my corner and you came along, 308 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:41.559 so thank you. And so many people say that because it's true they're 309 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:45.319 left alone to fight for justice. Isn't that I mean, isn't that said? 310 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:48.680 The military tells them that's their duty to report wrongs, But when we 311 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:52.599 do, they're totally gas lit. And so for people to come back and 312 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:56.400 go no one was on my side, especially when they said they would be, 313 00:25:56.839 --> 00:26:00.920 and you were. That I find to being incredibly rewarding. Well, 314 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.559 it's been a pleasure. Thank you for fighting for you know, our service 315 00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:07.119 members. Ryan. And we'll have you back because I love following you on 316 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:17.920 LinkedIn. You just you duke it out on LinkedIn number one. Yes, 317 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:25.160 have you new year, Ryan. We'll talk soon you too. When we 318 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:27.839 come back, we'll be joined by Peter Faman, our Florida National Committee man 319 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:32.400 and he's running to be chairman of the r p o F. We'll be right back