War history a little bit of revolutionary history a little bit and then Like you said some colonial you ever heard of a place called orcs creek now. Have you heard of smith mountain lake. No okay. That's the lake. That i grew up on i was lucky But it's like the largest lake completely contained within virginia like five hundred dollars a shoreline. Probably not too like a damn something. It started in When the tv was around. I guess in thirties. It didn't actually get completed until the sixties where they dammed up three rivers to generate power So appalachian electric power controls the lake essentially but people live on it. So you're living the good life. And i've been the enjoying nature and you go. I want to join the army now. Actually i had gone to college I graduated high school and then went to college on the opposite side of the state was going to say which college yeah. Christopher newport university which is a small d. three school never heard of that. That's fine have a football team yet. they do. I think i went to one game. I don't hang my hat. On my time. At christopher newport university. I made friends whatever but christopher newport. Yeah okay so. Christopher newport was captain hook. Christopher newport was the captain of one of the ship's that john smith brought over Between the godspeed port was captain hook. Yes yes that is where the legend comes from. Did you know this okay. So so so everyone knows you. John smith was the discovery. The season constant the godspeed that brought everyone to jamestown and which is very close to my school and christopher newport was on the ship captains once he got there he got paid out i think he kind of floundered and looked around for shit to do because jamestown wasn't a great place to be for a long time and so he became a barbary pirate in the caribbean and later i guess got his hand bitten off in. That's where the legend of captain hook came from. Well back in the day barbados and all that. That's where the english was really trying to put a stronghold put you know. There's their stuff they were. I think they were getting a lot of material as well from the caribbean Yeah haiti and a lot of those islands and stuff where a lot of the actual money was coming from because they were growing sugar and things like that right right. They were taking indentured servants. Even from england and stuff so if you got in trouble with the law and it could be something very simple by the way somebody can even call you out and say. Hey listen postal something deng. You're gone you're on a ship man. You're going to the caribbean and brutal existence. In those colonies like a forty percent mortality rate of. I didn't know that an engine servants and that wasn't always just because you're a criminal it could also be that you can't pay your way see go. Hey listen. i'll go do some labor for seven years and work my time off from being able to come over here for free and Yeah you're right is about thirty forty percent actual survival rate very crazy anyway. Getting back to the get to college freshmen I i went to the was your mascot. The mascot was christopher newport which was always polarizing because everyone everyone was sued. Or something yeah. Everyone's like cut his frequent hand off. Let's embrace this. No one cares about ship. Captain did he did. He really was there really. I mean like the name Gosh i i don't know i don't remember i think so. How's going google. It please do so. I got there as a freshman in this was two thousand eight which was kind of right as the world started to come down Through the financial crisis and things like that and someone told me about rotc and it was like college can get paid for. I was lucky my parents were helping me pay for college There was no expectation of me to take a loan or anything like that. But i knew i could alleviate a burden on them If i just get college paid for through rotc and then. I also realized. Once i understood the terms basically they pay for four years of college. And then you for your service and it's like well guaranteed job for four years like that's pretty good too because everyone that graduated from the year. I was a freshman too when i graduated. It was hard because that was two thousand nine to two thousand twelve. And we're no jobs out there Not a lot of them at least so cool guaranteed job. Schools paid for going to do something interesting not to mention tons of benefits that come with complete military service due to an extent where a protected class almost in the country. Because when you apply for a job at asks you if you're a veteran because they care about ads in there especially if you're disabled and yes so i it was like this is an easy decision in i by the time i was a senior. I already had orders. I didn't have to go to any of those like roundtable interviews that although other students in the business school doing i didn't. I didn't even care about my grades because i'd already been assessed so as long as i graduated. It didn't really matter at that point. They contract It what was it Junior year you contract in is typically so typically no later than junior year. Not as when you. It's no later than yeah so it changed so i signed my contract as a freshman but shortly thereafter when we had an election in two thousand eight and then we knew kind of sequestration and like some of the. I guess priorities funding within the government. We're gonna change with the new administration suddenly. Rotc didn't have as much money to give away. So had i not sign that contract as a freshman. I might not even got one until i was a junior. They might not have that money available for me so i might have just been doing. Rotc for not the whole time. Had i not locked down early. And i watched a lot of other people come to rotc. Like i'm going to do this in hope that the army offers me a contract like imagine that like hoping that the army will join hoping. I'm good enough to be an officer right even though you're physically fit and you're going to be a college grad and all that stuff which is usually one of the outliers is physical fitness or fiscal disqualifications. It's like everything about us fine. We just might not need your have. The money to pay for that way was an army. Rotc us now. Now i understand it correctly in a lot of people. Listen to this probably already know the answer the question but isn't it easy agnostic. You in other words you can go arm. It's an army rotc but you'd go navy good marine corps or always arm. It's so is it. Hit or miss like oh. I'm going to go to this college but it's a navy rotc. But i don't want to go in the navy then. You may not choose that college correct may or may not there are ways. I think to commission into a different branch. I don't know why you would spend the time doing army. Rotc if you just wanted to join the navy there's other ways to do that but Some of the other colleges that have like a corps of cadets virginia tech or tech saint 'em stuff works a little differently where i think. There's you're all part of this corps of cadets you all belong to like one of the four serves or three i guess. Rotc programs because you can do naval rotc and become a marine officer and coastguard. Yes yeah but i honestly i do. I really don't know i did. I did army. rotc and then Graduated may twenty twelve. And then later that month i was in arizona for the intel officer basic course. So it's a captain captain hook. What did you find. I found jamborees captain hook. What was the guy's name. Christopher newport.