In this episode of the Battle Buddy Podcast, Army National Guard Veteran Robert Elliot shares his journey and insights on military service, deployment, and transition. He discusses his book, "Citizen Soldier: From the Land of Lincoln to Iraq and Back," offering advice on managing conversations with family members about deployments. Robert shares his experiences transitioning back from deployment and provides advice for service members on reintegrating into civilian life. He reflects on his own transition out of the military after 20+ years, shares his current life post-retirement, and offers valuable lessons from the Global War on Terror. Tune in for inspiring insights on military life and transitioning to civilian life.

In This Episode We Cover:

• His book "Citizen Soldier: From the Land of Lincoln to Iraq and Back",

• Managing conversations with family members about an upcoming deployment,

• Transition back from deployment, advice for service members on transition back after extended deployments,

• What it was like to transition out of his military uniform after 20+ years,

• What his world looks like now that he is retired,

• Life lessons from the Global war on terror and how we can move forward with our lives.

Battle Buddy Podcast Guest Links:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2027147297674783

https://www.facebook.com/robert.elliott.52056223

https://www.linkedin.com/in/4218/

Transcript from Episode 105 with Robert Elliott:

Keith McKeever 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the battle buddy podcast today, got a great conversation lined up for you. We've got the author of a great book, where he outlines his story of service. We're gonna talk about transition. Being a citizen soldier. There's a lot on the table today. So you definitely want to tune in for a fascinating conversation. So without further ado, let's dive into today's conversation. Welcome to the battle buddy podcast with Keith McKeever. Welcome to the podcast, Robert.

Robert Elliott 0:32

Thanks. Good. Glad to be here.

Keith McKeever 0:33

Yeah, well, I'm glad to have you here to highlight you know, your book. I know that's not the main reason you're here. We're here to talk about a lot of different things. But you got a really cool book citizen soldier. I know, kind of the overarching kind of topic today. Because you were, you know, in the war on terror, obviously, you had active duty Guard Reserve, and some people fit in. So as a soldier, I was active duty. But But you, you fitness is the soldier category, which was a huge component to fighting those wars. But before we dive into that, tell us a little bit about your service so people can get a better picture of, of who you are and what you did.

Robert Elliott 1:14

Sure. So I date back my service days back to to 1986, young college student transferred to a university from community college. And an ROTC program I always wanted to serve, I thought I can do both. Plus, they're going to pay for school plus, you know, I can have a military career and a civilian career. So it just worked out well. And and so I was commissioned in 1988. And I enjoyed it so many good experiences, again, some challenges along the way as well that we've all had the military. But But there I was, in 2000, for 15 years in the National Guard deployed for training in Europe and Central America. But this was a real deal. And oh, for going to our rack, and again, 15 years in 39 years old. My book talks about what led up to it and the experiences and then really, I think important for veterans and non veterans alike is the afterword right, like what transpired after people like, you flip a switch and everything goes back. And then I finished five more years, retired with 20 years of service, and really enjoyed working with all the branches, especially when you're deployed, you have an appreciation, all kidding aside, of the different branches, even our international partners, so so that's my military career, really Ada 208. And then several years later, my youngest son, who was 12, when I deployed, join the military, he was an infantry type six years Army Ranger, so it's great to see, you know, your family members, but when they're in harm's way, it's a little different perspective than yourself.

Keith McKeever 2:35

Well, you know, I don't have that perspective, because my, my kids are still young, but they're definitely right about serving with other branches. My first deployment was, was actually an army role. You know, we had, you know, obviously, I was Air Force, but we're with a lot of army, there was a Navy there. I guess, theater wise, we kind of aligned under the Marine Corps, but there was, you know, pretty much every branch was was represented in one way, shape or form. Second deployment, for me was blood, you know, Joint Base blobs, huge, everybody was there. But yeah, occasionally used to, you know, other countries roll through, and you really have to work side by side with all the other branches. And it is interesting how they operate. You know, from my perspective, it was it was interesting, my first deployment I would, I was kind of the charges supply, I mean, another airman, we'd go to the army guys for supply, and we'd walk in their shop, and just just the way they interacted with each other, which is different than the Air Force. And this is different world. But it's what makes it all tick and makes it all work, which is interesting.

Robert Elliott 3:37

Yeah. And I'll just add, you know, we fast forward to today, right, we reflect back on our experiences, and some of your viewers that are veterans, others that maybe are serving today, and you see our our connection with international partners, our troops over in Poland, great partners of Polish, Ukrainian, of course, with their issues, we we serve with them and Iraq, shoulder to shoulder and so many other nations and Central and Eastern Europe. So So historically, we look where we are, and and you know, what we did shoulder to shoulder back then, and the impact that may have had on on course, their their efforts today, and our impact with some viewers you may have in Europe station there and deployed there that that are, you know, right on right on the edge of who knows what's to follow?

Keith McKeever 4:21

Absolutely. Well, it's great that we have those connections, where we can just kind of train with partners around the world and makes us all stronger, especially as allies so in our service to to be able to know what each other is capable of because, you know, hey, you know, all jokes aside, you don't want the Air Force and they're kicking the door. So you want the you want the Army and Marines doing that.

Robert Elliott 4:41

But if you need to fly to go on leave, or a pass or go, you know, from blood to Kuwait, and then back, it's nice to have an aircraft that's flying way up there and not have to do the convoy thing all the time, right?

Keith McKeever 4:54

I was, you know, I had a cousin that was in the Corps and he gave me a hard time all the time. I said, Hey man who brought you who Watch all your food, your water and your ammo. That's right, the Air Force or the Navy. So there you go. But anyway, so you know, after your service, you wrote this book, very interesting perspectives. So why did you decide to write a book? Well,

Robert Elliott 5:18

yeah, let me let me just share first I had the material, it wasn't just recollection, or maybe it would have been a much shorter book, right? It's been 18 years, almost 19 years ago, since I deployed in Oh, four for a year. And so why was there was so impactful, right, I was leaving my wife, and my three kids 1214 and 16. And again, we have different experiences, units deploying, but they were putting a unit together a team to be attached to the Polish division, and an Illinois in Poland have had this Partnership for Peace for 30 years now, because of the population the polish in Chicago, of course, second largest population, outside of Warsaw, Poland, great partnership. And so they wanted to replace 11 soldiers with 11 others. And so they're looking for volunteers. It wasn't a unit, right? It was just a conglomerate of, of soldiers that would go and and so I outline how I came to that decision and go to my family and say, How am I got to decide I want to, but I also, you know, it's this tug and pull. And I didn't have the excuse of our units getting deployed, right? So so again, I was 15 years in I was 39 years old, it was probably now or never, I remember 911 so vividly. And so that was the pathway. You know, the discussion that I point out in the book, but to write it, I had a journal, because when I got there, I you know, you never know what you never know, right? Anything can happen, you may or may not come home. And so I wanted this journal as far as a document my my events, and that was the basis for writing the book, but it was in a box in an attic for 18 years, you know. And so a couple things happened. First of all, I had a granddaughter, she's two and a half now. And I thought, you know, my story, my experience is going to get lost, and you want to have something that you can share with families. I wish, you know, my generations ago would have shared their stories. Could you imagine about World War One or World War Two, Korea, Vietnam if you had a family member, so that was a driver and the other driver was Fred and I'll just show a quick photo. Fred was a Marine, and he was a Marine during the Korean War. He's 92. Today, I got to meet him at a memorial day service where he was just in the background and we chatted now we're good friends. The bottom line is, he shared his story about being a POW in Korea for six months. As a 19 year old Marine, of course, we know what happened at the Battle of the Chosun reservoir. And he was in the midst of that right? survived miraculously. And the bottom line, again, is that he wrote his story. He didn't write it, he told it over the phone, because he doesn't do internet right to Vietnam veteran friend from his hometown, and his friend transcribed it and publish it. So it's like, How can I tell how can I not write my story, I have the material. He's 90 to 70 years ago, he writes or shares the story. So I wanted to do it. I just kept putting it off. And finally I found a pathway to do it. And I'm so glad I did. Because you Keith, and every listener all have stories. We you know, if you wrote all of the stories about your military experiences, it would be volumes, right. But I think we have an obligation to share with the general population, some of these stories, and I have all the respect for generals that write these stories, but it's from echelons above division, right? It's like way up there, the big picture, which is great, or our Special Forces, friends listening, my son was a special forces operator. But you know, what about the first, you know, the the folks in the trenches, you know, not that I was Eetu or anything, but those that are doing the daily missions to get a perspective from them. So all those wrapped up together is why I wrote the book.

Keith McKeever 8:39

Yeah, the the how to put this not to? Yeah, the not so sexy and glamorous views, you know, the general perspective in the Delta Force and the seals, guys, hey, they got cool. They got cool jobs, right? Not everybody can do that. And they got stories for days that are really cool. makes for some tremendous reading. But yeah, are normal guys. Alright, our stories are a little bit more. Gosh, I don't say boring, but they're more normal, mundane. You know, maybe not the best way to put it. But they're, they're the normal perspective, even though they're all different. But you know, I mean, maybe not the best way to put it. But it's the more typical experience when it comes to serving the military, and experiences overseas, even though everybody's was so wildly different.

Robert Elliott 9:37

Absolutely. But we all have so many things in common. We have a conversation about a couple of things, whether we're in Afghanistan, we're in Iraq or elsewhere, or even if we just supported our troops from Germany, we all have experiences, right? We're away from home. We miss our family. You know, we don't have what we would love to have, you know, we're working as a team, that person to our left and right, even if we're at basic training, right, and we have that common bond, I did want to have One thing Keith about why I wrote the book and this is another photo, I shared events and things and these are the three folks that are right about that didn't make it back and different connections I have with them and different experiences and and, you know, at least in one case, I didn't even know the identity of that individual. I just knew that they were next to me and Aflac ever casket, and that they had died that earlier that day. And so the book led me to do follow up research to find out who was that person who, what was their circumstance. And so it wasn't just I wrote my notes from my journal, but I look to the backgrounds of these individuals and share with the readers, again, one a Marine Corps, Captain pilot, one reserve sergeant, and another one in National Guard soldiers from get all components. And again, I wanted to sort of tell what was available from their story, so that the reader, especially even non veterans, right, they have a feeling or an understanding a little bit of, you know, some things that transpired in the sense of loss, and, and the reality of that, and so I wanted to share a little bit about them as well, and how we interacted

Keith McKeever 11:06

Absolutely, let's, let's ask great that you, you know, would, would do that for their memory. And you continue to share that, you know, when you go talk to people and keep their memory alive, because that's, you know, that's one of the sad things when, when you're gone, no matter how you leave this world, you know, keeping somebody's memory and legacy alive, so that you're not forgotten is important thing. So I know you've done some other things in your book and some other things that you talk about that I really wanted to highlight. And I know you really want to talk about it, too. You've done something very interesting with your book that I don't think I've ever seen anybody else do. You've got some little video clips you got on YouTube, and you've got some QR codes in there. Tell us a little bit about that.

Robert Elliott 11:53

Yeah, and so you know, we're so focused in today's society about seeing and hearing and video and visual, right, all the military video games are so popular with, I'll say, the younger generation, but you know, that that evolves into, you know, others as well even even older. And so, you know, they want to see and hear and feel it. So, no, for I had a digital camera. And so I would have that with me, you know, just to kind of memorialize the experience. And one video I sent home to my family from my little living container, everything is fine, you know. But they had that, right. Although in the background, the men have actual covenants. So that was a little, I had to kind of sidestep that a little bit. But nonetheless, it was a way to connect, right. So what I did was I had a series of eight or 10, that I thought how neat it would be for the reader early in the book, to scan just like we had to scan the QR code for menus and things of that nature touchless, right during the COVID experience. And so now they, the reader can start off, so they don't have to just use their imagination, or they can build on it by scanning these. And each of these are not long, a total of, I think 10 minutes of video time, some of them are short is 12 seconds to a couple of minutes. But again, coalition helicopter flight, so in a Polish helicopter flying over the terrain, you know, in a convoy going through, you know, villages and towns, again, the message home to make it a little more personal for the for the reader. So I think those I haven't seen it, I've saw a song and a book, but I haven't seen that integrating right the audio visual with the with the written word so that somebody could, again have a basis for as they read later about the convoys, they could sort of imagine by having heard and seen it. So that's a piece there in second thing I'll just notice the very first page of after the QR codes in the introduction is the Suicide is preventable. And we know that we talked about I've talked about these casualties, kill an action folks I write about, but I write in here right away. So if somebody doesn't read past the first few pages, at least they're gonna get this 988. Right. We all know that there's that veteran crisis line one 800. Right, they're still pushing that out. And that's great. Probably works fine. But and two in the morning, when somebody is stressed out about whatever that text there, buddy, and the text doesn't go through, they don't get a response. And they're just at the worst moment of their life. Whatever happened, right? And they're trying to remember one 800 Something, something something? Well, one of the best things that happen is this 988 Again, we all know 911 Some of us may as a fifth grader, dial it to see if it worked. And yes, somebody knocked at the door to say we have to show up. But you know, what, if somebody needs 988, and they've never heard of it, you know how tragic or if we share this with our buddy and they share it with their cousin they share it with a cousin's friend and that friend shares it with a grandpa. So whether a veteran or a service member, we can't measure what doesn't happen. I know we measure as best we can how many suicides but it doesn't have to be suicidal right? Maybe somebody's going through a temporary period of depression. Why don't we get these addressed at the at the earliest point and not wait till it gets to that that life or death decision. So I see Are that with presentations and book events I go to, and I'm surprised even active duty, folks, the soldiers that I interact with half of them have no idea what I'm talking about. Some don't know about one 800. So just as you, Keith and your other guests push this out, I think it's so important. Knowing that since 911, we've had 7000 casualties, right in combat, which is too many, it's like an air liner a year, like 360 troops going down every single year for 20 years. But yet our suicides based on research is four times that, right? So it's over 30,000, our veterans and our inner and our service members that are serving. So that's like for aircraft jetliners going down every single year, for some years, or more than some are less. But I mean, if we had a jet airliner with military personnel and veterans crashing every three months on average, and that's equivalent to the suicides, wouldn't we do everything we could, and I know, VA and others are pushing this out. But I just think there's more to be done. And that's why I'm hopeful that folks that read my book, maybe they look twice at that 988 number. And I thank you for allowing me to reinforce the importance of that number.

Keith McKeever 16:08

Yeah, no problem. Like I told you before we started recording, I mean, I highlight that at the end of every show, I think that's one of the things that every single one of us should know. And needs to do a better job of putting out there. And it's not just for us, I shared a story with you, as well, that it, it's a number that our spouses need to know, our parents, our siblings, maybe our children, if they're old enough, they need to know what that number is. They asked me to kind of know maybe what their what your triggers are, and be able to just stop you, right? I'll borrow or borrow a term from a past guests here from a few months ago. He was a helicopter pilot, right? And he starts to drift, right? When helicopter starts drifting one way or another, you know, the copilot to say, Hey, you're drifting. So you know, when somebody notices, you kind of be it off, somebody needs to reach out and grab you and say, Hey, there's a problem here. And that's what that number is for, you know, when you're when you got that problem. You may not recognize it. So it really is the family members and the people around your your circle of influence. They're the ones who really need to know that number two, so it's sad that like you said, you know, people you talk to, you know, half of active duty don't even know the number. Hopefully, boy, hopefully, hopefully a higher percentage than that, or their family members know that number.

Robert Elliott 17:32

Yeah, of course, that's not a scientific survey, but it's just a feel like, Yeah, I'm going and asking them that question, like, Do you know what this is? And I was just surprised that they don't. The other thing is, of course, it's a veteran crisis line, but it's available for anybody, right? So it doesn't have to be military connected, we could have you know, a relative or friend or somebody else that's going through a difficult time. That's not military. But obviously, it's also available for our military folks. And with the disproportionate number of veterans and service members that commit suicide compared to the general population, it's that much more important that we share it.

Keith McKeever 18:05

Absolutely. Well, I have said it a few times, you know, the most important thing is that we want you here tomorrow. You know, that's, that's, that's it. Plain and simple as it is, you know, we want our battle buddies here tomorrow, we don't want to get that that unfortunate news. So I appreciate you sharing that. Because the more we, the more we talk about it, the more people hear it, and it can potentially save lives. So. So you know, you kind of talked, you talked about the book a little bit. So how did you actually write your book, then? I mean, you had the you had the journal and stuff, but how did you actually go about kind of compiling that and putting it all together? And, and doing all that? Did you write that yourself? Did you have somebody help write you to write it for you? Process?

Robert Elliott 18:50

Sure, I use the hybrid method, right? There's a lot of pathways to publishing and if somebody's interested in everybody has a story. And even if they want to publish, you know, there's, there's options for oral histories in most states, and you know, where a veteran can give that oral history. And so that's a pathway, you don't have to write a book, you know, you can be like Fred and just, you know, talk about what transpired and somebody you know, types it up, and you have that history for your family. It's maybe just a notebook or a few pages that wouldn't exist if you didn't do that. So I encourage people, some people express their their memory or their experiences through poetry, but my pathway was I was trying to search away because I knew I could just write paragraphs and those turns into pages. But you know, my my civilian career was with the state police as a trooper. So I did a lot of over those 26 years police reports you know, just the facts, right. So on this day, at this time, this happened here is what I did. He was the result of that. And at first I thought, well, I'll just write the story. It's a journal write on July 4 2004. We departed Fort Bliss. We landed in Kuwait and we did this on July 6, we did this well, as I decided on crater Institute, which is a hybrid model where you join a group But other authors and you go through this process together, you know, of course, you know, shortly after COVID, it was all online, which was convenient, you didn't have to go anywhere. But you had this circle of people that were really in the same shoes. And it really is focused on on first time authors and I, I found that pathway through a marine Naval Academy graduate that I've never met personally. But I knew from bunker labs and other military entrepreneur program that's available across the country in many communities. And I said, Well, here's a veteran, and you know, you want to make sure it's credible, right, there's so many, you know, do this and you'll be an author. And so I looked into it and looked at their material online. And then I reached out to the owner who's the CEO is actually a professor at Georgetown University. So it gives a little more credibility, Eric Custer and and he makes the phone call to you when you inquire per person. And he's got a you know, fabulous pathway, he started as a professor with his students to get a manuscript written through that. And their motto is never write alone, right kind of relates to our military service, you always get somebody you can chit chat with, or, or have these conversations with you meet weekly. So creator Institute was a pathway in about five months, where you start with a developmental editor. And so that's somewhere where you kind of talk about your ideas, you write some snippets, a few paragraphs, they kind of direct you just an example Keitha for your listeners, like, I was just going to write the facts, right? Like, no, what did you smell? What did you hear? What did you see? What were you thinking? So all these things that probably regular authors or writers not first time, are they No, you have to think from the readers perspective, not from yours, you're just not listening. And so going through that process allowed me to finish a manuscript of about 57,000 words in about five months. And then after that, you can do what you want with it to publish it. And, you know, if you're a real famous and somebody, you're gonna spell it, sell a million books and publish your book yet, but if you're a first time person, I have no history of the crater Institute partners with new degree press. And they're a company that, you know, works with first time authors, they have a couple of different pathways for funding, it's not really a Kickstarter, but you can have a group of pre orders at a little premium price for people to get them first. In my book, I put heroes in the back so folks could could list their hero. So there's some pathways to offset the cost of publishing that is unique, or some people just pay it up front. And and so that was a pathway for me. And after you start with new degree press, you go from developmental editor to revisions editor. And that's about a two month process. The bottom line from the day you say I want to do this to the day your book is printed, it was about a year, which is which is reasonable, 270 pages. So it's not a real thin book, a photo and every chapter, again, the QR code. So I'm very, very happy to have somebody helps with layout, copyright component, the cover work, so it's from beginning to end and a book trailer. So again, there's lots of pathways if somebody's interested, you know, talk to others that have written compare and contrast. But at the end of the day, this is the path that work worked. For me.

Keith McKeever 22:58

That sounds like a really great path. Because yeah, well writing a book for for some people could could just be like trying to learn a whole new language, right, there could be a lot to it, you know, from covering, designing the cover and organizing the chapters, organizing your thoughts, and all the other little show, there's a million different nuances to all the little things, you have to go into a book. But to have some experts to walk you through it and figure out all those different things, right, you know, the copyright, the publishing all that stuff. So, you know, that's a that's a it's a whole industry by itself. And if you don't know anything about it.

Robert Elliott 23:36

Yeah, now just add to I mean, even little things like how do you upload it to Amazon, or to Kobo which you know, connects with Walmarts of the world or to, you know, the other platforms that get your book out in front of the public? It's like, if you don't have you, there's there's specific formats, and it's just off ever so slightly. So like you said, experts to kind of navigate you along the way so that when you upload it, you're good. And they we did an ebook first, which I thought, Well, that's good. I don't know how many people read ebooks. But I found out quite a few. It gives people an option, right? So we uploaded that in January. And then the softcover came out in February of 2023. And, and then, and later, in another couple of months, we'll have the audio book out because again, a lot of people travel, a lot of people, you know, the working out, that's how they get their material, right, whether it's a podcast or an audio book, so I just thought that or vision impaired, I thought that was another pathway. So I'm looking forward to, to that coming out so that you know, you have a variety of ways in order to connect with people that have an interest. Yeah,

Keith McKeever 24:37

audiobooks are great. That's one of my personal favorites. I love audiobooks, and I know a couple of people that have gone through it. And, you know, I know there's, there's some challenges there too, right? It's got its own little nuances. So, but I know it's a great option to be able to have to get another way for somebody to enjoy the book. So but you know, I want to dive a little bit into the end of the book Because like you said, part of it was your story to journal, but a lot of it is centered around your family and conversations. So obviously, when you're in the guard reserves, and you get tasked with a deployment or you choose to go go someplace like that, you have to have some tough conversations. So, you know, you you had some conversations with your family members, how did you decide to have those conversations? And how did those go before this deployment? Well, I

Robert Elliott 25:28

wanted to be very structured about it, right. And I wanted them to have a voice and, and there's a risk of that, right, I knew what I wanted to do, I felt obligated, I knew my family was strong and independent, would probably become more so if I deployed. But I write early in the book about how that happened, right? Like, we were sitting around a kitchen table, my three kids 1214 and 16. And my wife and I, and I shared and they were confused, like, so your units not deploying, but you're thinking about going it was like, well, I might not go, even if I expressed interest, they're looking for X number of soldiers with X number of backgrounds for the whole state to draw from, and they're just saying, if you're interested submit your packet. But if I submit it in a select Yeah, I got a, you know, I've committed and so we had the discussions of pros and cons. And, and we basically held a vote, you know, so there were five of us, we each had a vote. And the research results were three to two. So in favor, and and my wife didn't obviously want the unnecessary risk or being absent. But she knew that that was I was committed to serving and doing my part. And so she voted yes. And one of the three kids that voted yes. And the other two voted no. So again, then you have that quandary good for you, everybody had a voice, but the two that, you know, obviously don't want dad to go, you know, you're saying Well, too bad, you know, am more tactful manner, right? But obviously, they were concerned as well. So that's just an example of one of the early tensions, and poles and tugs and my wife asked, well, what if was three to two the other way, and others have asked me, man, it'd be tough to say too bad. I was just kidding, I'm going anyway. But it'd be really tough to say, you know, well, that's it, you know, three is bigger than two. So I'm not I'm not gonna put my name. And so So I put my name. And obviously, I was selected with the team, and deployed and then I write, not just about, here's what happened on this day, but the connection with home, right? The birthday party, the my daughter asked me if I'd be home for it, you know, after the year, her birthday, anniversaries, all the things we've all experienced, but, you know, kids at school asking the kids, you know, where's your dad, and, again, it's not like the whole unit deployed in our in our area when I first deployed, so they were kind of on their own, right? They're in a school where their dad was, was deployed, but no one else's. It's not like

Keith McKeever 27:48

the whole unit is gone. And your wife or the other kids can kind of rally around all the other kids, you know, who are in the kind of the same boat.

Robert Elliott 27:56

Right? So that was kind of unique. Yeah. So

Keith McKeever 27:59

I'm curious, then for the for your two kids who voted no. Did you do anything special to that for them? Or have any special conversations with them to kind of put their mind at ease? Or how did you kind of handle that? Well,

Robert Elliott 28:13

you know, you look at things differently, because that was like January that we decided and I submitted and I found out like, in February, I was gonna go like in June, right to the training, and then the bliss and then deployed to Kuwait, and then on to Iraq. So we had time. And so I think we looked at life differently. Like the softball game with my daughter, or the wrestling matches with my son or the swimming meet, you know, it's like, we need to maximize this not that it would be gone. But I and I write about some, some behaviors, right? That you could just tell that, as we got closer to the deployment date, the anxiety, you could almost looking back on a toe with the kids, right? Whether they were more clingy, or more cranky, or some other emotion that wasn't typical. And so I write about that. So that's, I think that's normal. And, and so that, you know, that that transpired. And again, we tried to spend quality family time but again, I was you know, doing more than a weekend drill to prepare for it and overnights and things as we lead up to the departure for Fort Bliss. So, you know, I write about that on both ends. And then on the way back, right on and we come back, what did we do that was unique and different to sort of celebrate being reunited. And how was that different? And my wife points out things that on the other end that the kids kept going to her for things, Hey, can I go to Susie's house overnight? And they would just ignore me and she's like, Hey, your dad's home and it wasn't a personal thing. They had just for a whole year knew that if you want to do something, go to mom. And so that's just an example. I guess it kind of sad for me like we don't really need you, although they didn't mean it that way. But it sets that example of redeployment where everything doesn't go back to normal right away.

Keith McKeever 29:49

I mean, that's well, I've heard that many times that that's one of the biggest challenges that people have coming back is, you know, finding that role resettling that in and Uh, yeah, I guess for kids in a lot of ways, it's a muscle memory, you know, the is adjustment period once you leave, and then they realize that, you know, whether whether it's mom or dad is gone, you know, the other parent is still there, because they're everything. And then after six months, nine months, a year, whatever, like, that's all they know, it's muscle memory. That's the only person they go to, and then that person's back. It's I mean, it would just take time for them to, you know, oh, wait, I can class dead.

Robert Elliott 30:32

You know, yeah, keep they forgot the old trick that if mom says no, or dad says, No, you go to the other parent see what they say? Right. But

Keith McKeever 30:38

sometimes it's not bad, right? Yeah. Right. Right. Right.

Robert Elliott 30:41

And I also think that it's as everybody getting their battle rhythm, right, once you deploy, but if you don't, if you're going to a training event or something, you you figure out, Okay, here's our events, a classroom training week show up here, we do this, then we do this. And so you got to kind of, you know, get re acclimated. And that's what we experienced. But so I write on that on both ends. And then, you know, obviously, during the middle some some issues, and I'll just share with the audience, I think it's important that one that the kids have voted no, they had some some issues while I was gone, and my wife was kind of at her wit's end, like I don't know what to do. And it turns out that a well meaning family member or friend, after I left had told one of our children that, well, our role is right, you're the man of the house now. And again, he didn't know what that meant. I mean, he's going to school, he's not working, I mean, is he going to defend us from a thief or a robber? Or is he going to, you know, what does that mean? And well, meaning, but again, some of those things that kids just cling on to that they think, you know, I don't know what to do, and I share this, and my wife got some counseling for our son, and it will help because it revealed the underlying stressor, and then, you know, there's a sense of relief. So it's not just us, right, that are maybe in harm's way to think that what we saw what we experienced is difficult, but our family back home that we think is safe, and there's no impact on them, particularly children, there can be and, you know, if not addressed, you know, that could, you know, sort of become a long term issue. So, I think that's important for veterans to think about, and for non veterans to think about where it's not just, you know, it's just not the service member. And it's a little older statistic that I'll share with the viewers or listeners that, you know, since 911, well, over 2 million children have had at least one parent deployed, I write about that in the book. So, you know, we've got these children that have been affected immensely. And something we need to think about is, you know, kids in school, or kids and activities, those that have parents deployed, even if it's a training deployment, it's still a deployment, and they have to deal with the absence and the new normal for a bit, right.

Keith McKeever 32:48

Absolutely. I mean, it's shaking up their daily life, their routine, everything. And kids are not. Kids are just not going to be typically is resilient, they're not going to have the life experiences to be as resilient as adults are. It's just kind of a fact. So you know, they, they need the support, they, you know, whether that's more family members around or counselors or whatever, whatever it takes, they need to support this around them to get through it, because it's difficult on them. I can't imagine. I was not, I was not one of those kids that grew up with a with a parent in the military who had to deploy. And I've talked to a few people and that were and that'd be difficult. That'd be difficult to see your parent go away to a foreign land and be gone for months on end and have no idea if they're going to return, you know, and deal with that.

Robert Elliott 33:48

Yeah, the only thing I'd say is worse than that. Keith and I think I mentioned before is one of my kids who voted yes. Really just want had a passion for the military. And in fact, he decided at that young age of 12 that he was gonna go to West Point, which, you know, lofty goal Good luck. Sure enough, he did. And, and he was an infantry officer and served for six years with Ranger unit. And so, you know, he went that path, but but my other two kids, they went to a summer, you did have a summer, week long event for kids with parents deployed as we were talking about, and that was a great event. My youngest loved it couldn't get enough of it. The other two older son and daughter, you know, in their teens, young teens, they were like having none of it, right. They were having the marching eaten the mess hall, you know, doing fitness stuff, push ups, and they were like, I don't want to do this. But they had that experience. So they maybe could connect a little bit with some of the hardships that military personnel experienced. So it opened them up and there were other kids that had parents deployed. So that was a good program open to everybody in that in that state. So So those types of programs I think are very therapeutic and helpful, even if they don't personally enjoy the military lifestyle. Well, that they demonstrate for them, right. But others, you know, take and run with it. And it's, they have a passion for it. So kids react differently. But as parents and adults, I think it's just important for friends and neighbors family to recognize that, you know, they might need an extra helping hand once a while the single parent because my wife was basically a single parent for a year. And, you know, that'd be tough if I had to be a single parent for a year. And I know, there are, you know, viewers that are single parents, and I'm sure it's a tough job. But in this situation, you know, you don't know if you're going to continue to be a single parent. And in my case, several years after I got back, my son deployed to Afghanistan, in Syria. So again, the flip side of that is super stressful, because you know, what heart, you know, what risk looks like in those environments, but there's nothing you can do about it at home. Right? You're just hoping and waiting for that mission to be complete?

Keith McKeever 35:53

Absolutely. So what, you know, other than the transition difficulties coming home, reintegrating with your wife and your kids, was there any other transition difficulties that you faced coming back in your work or other things or community?

Robert Elliott 36:08

Yeah, I think a lot of veterans, you know, have challenges depending on where they are in the civilian workplace, right, particularly if they're younger, 1920 23, maybe, maybe they had to leave college, maybe they were an apprenticeship, maybe they weren't working for a small business, and it was difficult to come back, you know, as a state trooper, you know, that's an occupation historically, at the state level that's very supportive of the State National Guard and military in general. So it was, it was a good transition back, and that I was able to take some some time off, of course, you know, as soon as I came back to work, I think it was September of oh, five, after a couple of weeks off, Hurricane Katrina hit. And so I was at our state headquarters helping to coordinate the logistics now, I had just gotten back. So they, they were gonna send me down there with all our firefighters and others. And I was thankful for that. Later, later, years later, I ended up going to Louisiana, for hurricanes in New York. But nonetheless, it was nice to kind of, you know, get back into the routine and do something that was very meaningful right away, it wasn't, you know, and so is a nice transition. And so, you know, I know, we have the Employer Support a garden reserve, which is an organization that reinforces the support that employers provide, above and beyond the legal requirements, right, because not everybody has that smooth transition. And sometimes the employers don't know what they don't know, the cliff, they don't have very many members in the Guard or Reserve. And so they don't know. And so that can really make a world of difference, either by adding stress to the service member and their family, or minimizing and mitigating the stress. And so, you know, if we can be promoters in our community of those employers that provide that extra support to, to those that return or even those that, you know, ETS get off active duty when they when they come back. So it was pretty, pretty smooth. We, each of my kids, we envisioned a trip, right that we're going to go on individually, because I wanted it to spend individual time, so my daughter wanted to go to the Mall of America. So there I am shopping, but it was a great experience. And my boys wanted to go to a NFL game. And so you know, they share that experience together. But again, I think for those young service members that have kids, you know, give them something on the other end to look forward to. And if you have more than one child, think about that individual time and not just with them, but then with your spouse, right to individual time to sort of reconnect and bond and, and, and de stress, if you will, and talk about the way forward in the future.

Keith McKeever 38:40

Well, I'm thinking of the future that leads right perfectly into my next question. You know, eventually you did your 20 years, and you got out just like everybody else, eventually you take a Uniform Law for the last time. So what was that transition out of uniform for you? Are you still working for the State Police? Yeah,

Robert Elliott 38:58

I was I had about another seven years to serve before I retired from the State Police. At the same time, I was also teaching at a university just have a passion for teaching. And, and I've done that since 2001, actually, August just before 911. And so I taught part time there for 16 years. And so I instead of doing three things, right, the the National Guard teaching at a university and the state police, I went from three to two. And what that meant was a lot of time in your schedule. Absolutely. And no, I would have enjoyed continuing to serve and I certainly had that option. But I felt I don't know if guilty is the right word. But, you know, my family had sacrificed and so you know, whether I stay 21 or 26 or 27 years, you know, I could have more time with them. Michelle wouldn't have to go from the softball game to the swim meet to the wrestling, because I was you know, on weekend duty, you know, out in the field somewhere for Friday through Sunday. But you know, I could be even more involved and I felt they deserved that. And quite frankly, it was nice to have that that extra time with the responsibilities I had at work and the passion I had for teaching and, and I did a volunteer work with with veterans as well, at that point going to be a driver to take folks to the VA hospital back then it was even World War Two veterans that were, you know, we had a few more than that would be in the van and I would enjoy just taking that two hour drive to the VA hospital and bring them back, you know, a couple times a month. So I was able to do more of those things that I enjoyed and could give back and community events. So I think every veteran or service member, you know, they need to look at, you know, the way the way ahead for themselves, and what that looks like what that feels like, especially if they're active duty, because they're going from, you know, that's their job to probably looking for a civilian job, and that transition can be stressful, and one of the most stressful, you know, experience of their life because this was the new normal, and now they're going out. And it's totally different AI as

Keith McKeever 40:59

well, definitely a lot harder if you're active duty, because that's your full time job. Right. That's why I was really curious to ask that. I think it definitely helps. And it kind of goes back to some previous questions with your with your role, you know, come back from deployment to I would imagine working for the State Police, just the role, the structure, the job responsibilities, and everything working for the State Police, it just works really well with the military. It just law enforcement just does. And so kind of a natural progression probably makes for a much smoother transition for a lot of people if they're in a role like that.

Robert Elliott 41:35

Absolutely. And I recognize that and you know, it was interesting, our team of 11, I was the only state police officer on that team, but they're a team that replaced us of the I think they had 13 soldiers that they had for that were Illinois State Troopers. Right. So so all people I knew, so you know, we're doing our transition. And so, you know, we had five state troopers from that state, you know, at the same spot at the same time for a while. So, and again, it does it does, you know, go well, that well, if you will with with that. But it's not everybody's experience. And I think that's why I'm talking about transition, that we have a number of active duty, folks, when they're done that do join the National Guard, because they want to stay within the state under the state mission or the reserve, there's a reserve unit, because it keeps them connected to some degree. And quite frankly, they're among our best, you know, National Guard members, because they've had that experience used to be the case. Now, it was rare that you'd find a National Guard unit that hadn't deployed once or twice, right, just a few years ago. But But again, it's always evolving. So you have the new enlisted soldier that maybe hadn't had that experience, but then the others can teach them for the next deployment and train them. So having a mixture of active duty and again, different branches, you know, the Air Force folks end up in the army or vice versa, National Guard, you know, that happened to that cross pollination, which made it a stronger organization because of the variety of experiences and different backgrounds of the of the members in those units. So, you know, that's always an option to to just do the, you know, I'm gonna go part time, while I get my, you know, get get settled in my civilian world. And sometimes they end up with active Guard or Reserves or their full time military, but they're in the, you know, Air Army Guard or Reserve unit, so they kind of get the best of both worlds.

Keith McKeever 43:15

Yeah. So kind of another question for when it comes to retirement. Because obviously, I didn't stay in long enough to retire. I know, it sounds like family was a huge factor there. But I'm kind of curious. If you have any, it's something else was a factor there. When it comes to time to retire and hang it up after 20 years, was there anything else that was a factor? Or did you wake up one day and be like, You know what, you know, now, now I know for sure it's time to retire anything other than family. I know, obviously, some people. Sometimes it's the end of the enlistment, and it's just time some people obviously get medical board aid or some other factors that lead to getting out. But some people could go on to serve for another five years, 10 years, whatever. Sometimes people just wake up and just say, You know what, I just not feeling it. Like, I'm done for whatever reason. Was there. Was there anything else like that other than family where you're just like, 20 is good?

Robert Elliott 44:14

Yeah, I don't think it was spontaneous. I think almost shortly after I got back when I realized that not everybody made it back. And you know, I was fortunate, and my family supported me. And so I think my decision even when I was deployed in Oh 405 Like when I get back I'll have five years to my 20 I'm certainly not going to I could step away anytime, right? I didn't have an enlistment date I could you know, walk away and just you know, be done and so I could have that when I very first in fact a friend of mine who didn't have as many years and as me that did just that and so so those were options but I think it was a projected I don't know if I told my wife or anything like I'll be done in five more years. I don't think that conversation that but I think I meant until he knew that, you know, the financial advantage of you know, drill pay or extra pay or whatever was, you know, nice, but you know, it's not worth the trade off of continuing, especially with my other, you know, teaching and responsibilities with the State Police, it was like, I knew when I get to that 20 mark, so I was more of a early decision, just because it was enough, very few people within 20 years, statistically, and in our military, because you know, what young people to get in, they do their, their service requirement, and that's fine. That's, that's all they're asked of. And that's, that's great. So the fact that I, you know, got to 20 years and had what I would say is a great career, great memories, great people was, was enough. And, you know, there's always that temptation of, you know, if you stick around, you know, we got a promotion just just waiting for you. But I was I was pretty firm that I was done, and I wished everybody well, and I would stay connected with with folks even today, but it's a decision that I think, was heavily family, but it was also, you know, I've, I've done enough going, you know, 100 different directions at this stage of my life, I need to look at the next stage,

Keith McKeever 46:10

I think there's correct me if I'm wrong, my perspective, like I said, I was I was active duty, but for the garden reserve, there's only so many people in the unit, it's not like you're going to PCs to another unit. So, you know, you got promotion, promotion potential could be kept, you have position potential as kept, you know, somebody could be sitting in a slot, there have to retire. You know, before you could potentially take over that. Especially if you're, if you're enlisted, you know, maybe you can't put on staff sergeant or you can't put on master sergeant or, you know, whatever, or or Command Sergeant Major what maybe you can't put on that rank, because somebody's already got it. There's, there's a clap to it. So some people might look at and be like, hey, you know what, I got 20 years, this guy's probably gonna do another five, don't want to hang on for another five years for that rank? Probably not. So that sounds kind of curious, you know, if there was, you know, another factor there, because I'm sure each units a little different. You know, it's, it's structured, what's going on within it?

Robert Elliott 47:09

Yeah, and, you know, it's not unusual for folks in the National Guard, if there's opportunities in this a reserve unit, you're right, or I know of people that have, you know, gone from one state to another if there's opportunity. So there's usually enough opportunity for folks if they if they want to be flexible, and do a little driving a little drive, and I knew one that was a pilot, he would just fly. It was like, and it's like, all right. So so there are pathways, if that's your passion, I'm not saying I lost my passion, but it ran its course. And I was very comfortable with the next chapter. I just like this book, I was ready to turn the page. And, and focus on on some other things. And I think that, you know, if veterans or service members now can contemplate, you know, have a game plan, you might adjust left and right a little bit. And it might be you add a year you get out of your year earlier, but have a game plan and don't wait till then and then say, Okay, well, now what I'm going to do in the army in the military, in general, I think has been better with transition, because it looks bad on the military, quite frankly, for unemployed veterans out there. So they want to kind of make sure that, you know, there's a bridge from the military, at least, that's experienced, I saw with my, my son just a few years ago, as he left the military, that they want you to land on your feet and have, you know, tools and resources to be successful. Whereas before, it seemed like, you know, decades ago was right, it was like, Alright, good luck, you know, sign here, and you're done.

Keith McKeever 48:29

It definitely looks bad when things are so heavily publicized, unfortunately. Well, we talked about suicide rate, you know, or in mental health earlier. The last 20 something years has not been friendly to that. But obviously, it's pretty well known that the homeless, homeless problem substance abuse, you know, all these different transition issues. People have a difficult to get jobs like there's there's a lot of things because of the media and the ability to see things on social media, that I'm sure it's not, it's not helping with recruitment problems. I won't dive too far down that rabbit hole. But yeah, the military definitely has an interest in making sure people land on their feet, and it gets all the good press they can get. Because, you know, at the end of the day, we're too old and broke to, to throw back on the uniform. We we need to we need tomorrow's us to continue to raise their right hand and follow in our footsteps. And, you know, it'd be the next in line. So,

Robert Elliott 49:28

I agree 100% I'll just add that, you know, and the VA is a well meaning institution, and you know, they've been in existence for a very long time. And they do a lot of great work, but we know there's some shortcomings, some gaps, some, some some red tape that is is complicates veterans, you know, needs and you don't have to talk too long to a veteran who's discouraged. And so I'm not saying the VA doesn't do good work, but what I'm saying is there's room for improvement. And I would like to think that they even acknowledge that and, and sell the processing of our veterans getting the help they need, whether it's mental health or, you know, physical or other issues, medical, there's room for improvement. And and, you know, with all the monies that we invest in, in the VA, you know, I would like to think that they're going to be on a trajectory to improve those services and make them more available. And I, it's not that there's not effort to do it. It's just such a big conglomerate, I think sometimes, you know, it gets the, the service members that are, you know, trying to provide services for get lost up lost in the in the red tape, and it's like this form and this and hear all kinds of numbers, you can call if you've got questions, but you know, whether it's called waiting or automated attendant, or, you know, you know, it'll be a few weeks, and I know, they're working on issues, I'm not trying to be negative about the VA, but I'm just saying that's another example where, you know, our veterans, I think, sometimes are shortchanged, and especially those just getting out and looking to kind of get connected. So I know, that's another podcast for another day for another guest. And you probably,

Keith McKeever 51:08

I look at it like this, it's a system, it's the government, it's slow. You just have to realize it's a process and you have to attack it, like it's a process, you have to know that going into it. So but, you know, I guess one of the last things I want to ask is what's, what's next for you? You know, obviously, you've written a book, you've transitioned out, you're retired, you know, what's, what's next in chapter of life?

Robert Elliott 51:36

Yeah, so So since I retired, and from the state police and 2015, again, could have stayed longer. But again, I think sometimes when you see how fragile life is, you value it maybe even more and appreciate it, especially those positions in which there's not maybe as much physical effort as a physical labor type job, although there could be on any given given day that it's the, you know, the mental and the long term outlook. And so, interestingly, I reinforced the importance of our veterans, service members planning ahead to use your GI education benefits, I think that's so underutilized. It's like, well, I've got a job and they don't require any further, you know, tech school or graduate or college education or skills that you can be a welder and use your GI benefits to, you know, to learn how to write code or something right or get an AI you can still be a welder, if you love that, but But use those and so three weeks after I retired, I started a doctoral program at the University of Illinois, always been a passion in public administration was the was the degree and do a four and a half years, but, but I navigated that I taught a couple years full time and did some other things while I did that, but again, not just because of the GI education benefits, but you know, I like to use that as an example to others that you don't have to do that. It didn't help me, I could still teach college with a master's degree. But it's like, do something to help yourself and your family and your future. Once you have an education credential, you'll never lose it, you can't sell it. So no one can steal it from you. And maybe you'll never use it but But what if you want to be a substitute teacher, you know, later in your life and you don't have that four year degree in some states, you have to have that or you have a two year degree. So I went back to school and and then I got involved with a lot of veteran organizations, VFW, American Legions, and a lot of those organizations are older veterans are still predominantly the population that but it allowed me to connect with these older generation of veterans and have interaction and build friendships and, and do some volunteer work, which I'm suddenly the youngest guy looking right to, to you know, you get up in the in the, my wife, we were parked display military Memorial Park, and you know, you get up in the bucket truck that's leaking, you know, hydraulic fluid and get above that to a four aircraft and you know, just do a little sanding before we powerwash it and, but but again, you feel like you're connected to the military community by doing that. So I've done a lot of volunteer work. And, of course, the book took a year and during COVID, we started a consulting business related to my public administration, you know, dissertation and really workplace employee versus employer disconnect that we see a lot. So it did a bunch of projects with different organizations. So and we've got one grandchild, you know, I mentioned two and a half and another one, six months away. So we spent a lot of time traveling to, you know, kids and grandkids and just enjoying, you know, the, the world that we live in, and, you know, we've our kids are grown and an empty nest, so you know, trying to set yourself up for things that we don't think about as enjoyable, whether it's a hike, a walk, a kayak, you know, those types of things that are peaceful, right, because we've all lived lives where we haven't always had peaceful environment. So, you know, that's what I entered the very end of the book, we resolved with the reader that, you know, things are not perfect, but we choose my wife and I to be happy. You know, it's as much a choice as it is, you know, you're in a circumstance where things aren't going the way you want it to. And I think that kind of relates a little bit of mental health, depression, anxiety is like, at the end of the day, we can choose when we wake up our outlook on the world, even though we may not agree with everything, and make a difference in somebody else's world. And so kind of end the book with here's the story, the ups and downs, the emotional roller coasters, the mortars, IED, you know, medivac, all that a little bit of, you know, things that we we think about, you know, what could have could have happened and those we were with, but at the end of the day key, I think that we have control of how we look at the world and what we appreciate. So that's, that's sort of where the book ended. And I'll just do a spoiler, I'm thinking about starting a project for another book on my state police career, because there's certainly a lot of material with my six years, that might be even more exciting to the general public, then a lot of folks look at this and say, Oh, it's military, and they, you know, don't look twice, because they weren't military, the people that have liked it, include people that have no idea because they didn't know what they didn't know. So we're looking at maybe starting that project, and then another one citizen hero, is going to be a book about everyday heroes, you know, the nurse in the emergency room, the bystander when somebody collapses, the firefighter, when they get that call, that's not routine. And so we're looking about four stories from other people. And then we're going to assemble those to again, provide the reader with the everyday heroes that are around us, and we may not know it.

Keith McKeever 56:40

Oh, that's pretty cool. Actually, both those would be great reads. And I'm sure over 26 years in law enforcement, you guys some pretty crazy stories. I, you know, I decided not to get in law enforcement after my time in the Air Force, because that's what I did in the Air Force. And I realized that was not the future career path. For me. It's a little wild and crazy. So I can, I can only, I can only imagine the crazy stories and situations. So

Robert Elliott 57:09

yeah, I thought I'd have a lot of appeal. You know, you can't turn on television that have historically you know, the crime shows justice, all these you know, those things that people are attracted to. And and again, my big challenge these might be trying to what to leave, right, I can only have it so big. So I need to, you know, get the highlights and focus on that. But I think we'll start that soon. And again, I think we'll do that with both, you know, ebook, softcover and the audiobook, because I want to reach as many

Keith McKeever 57:36

people as possible, you definitely should do that. Because the greatest show ever made was cops.

Robert Elliott 57:39

Yeah, I,

Keith McKeever 57:42

the early ones, the early ones were the best. Because when I go back and watch those, and it's like, wow, they got away with that. I mean, just the things cops could do say back in the 80s. And it's just like, wow, yeah, it's interesting.

Robert Elliott 57:57

Yeah, it's interesting. And what I think I'll do since you found that so interesting, is incorporate some videos that I have from, you know, my days. Well, the state police, you know, nothing graphic but but things that I think the reader would be able to visualize and, and kind of grasp as QR codes, and incorporate that to technology, as I did with this book to again, give the reader some bonus material.

There you go. Awesome. Wow, I look forward to reading those or listening to him. As you get those written, so Well, I appreciate you for being here, I'm gonna I'm gonna throw your link up here on Facebook, if you're listening, don't worry, it's down. It'll be down in the show notes as well, as well as the other links, but to the book and all that other stuff, but anywhere else that people can reach reach, Robert? Well, my

email for the book is Bob's new book@gmail.com. Lots new book@gmail.com. And why that's important is because anybody can order it on Amazon or everywhere books are sold, right? Barnes and Noble libraries, if they don't have it, they can order it and put it on the shelf so others can read it at no cost. But if somebody wants a signed copy for me, that I will ship at no extra costs. I'd be glad to do that if they just send an email to Bob's new book@gmail.com. And we'll get it in the mail to you and have it personalized.

Keith McKeever 59:15

Awesome. That sounds great. Well, I appreciate you for being on here sharing with with us you know about your life and your story and your book citizen soldier. If anybody's looking for good read, I hope you check it out. So I appreciate you being here and sharing with us, Robert.

Robert Elliott 59:30

Thanks, Keith. I appreciate you joining me today and also appreciate what you do. You got a great guest on your podcast. I know it's it's growing and I'm encouraged by it. And I think all of us can think about imagine somebody who might have a story to share with you on a maybe a future podcast episode. So might be sending some names your way and have a chat with them because I've got friends that would never write a book. They can't. But they would maybe have a conversation.

Keith McKeever 59:58

I love conversations this exact Do I do this? So I'll take any kind of names. I love talking to people, obviously, it's kind of kind of a prerequisite for me to podcast, I think, well, you

Robert Elliott 1:00:09

have to be a good listener key, then you're a good listener, too. Sometimes my wife says, I'm not a good listener all the time. But Keith, you're a good listener, and I appreciate it. enjoy listening to you. Thanks for your service. Appreciate what you're doing.

Keith McKeever 1:00:21

Yep. Take it easy. All right. Here we have folks, I hope you enjoyed that. Remember, go check out my website. If there's resources that are not on there you think should be on there. Please let me know. The websites battle buddy podcast.net. And, as we talked about earlier in this episode, if you're struggling for any reason, remember, we want you to hear tomorrow, that's the most important thing. So call 988 press one. You can also text 838255 But even more importantly, like we discussed earlier, share that with your friends and family and your loved ones.