Ask a Vet Podcast - Curious Humanography

09/09/2026

The Navy SEAL Did 30. I Could Only Do 7.

Morgan thought he knew what competitive meant.

He had wrestled in high school. He was used to competitive people.

Then he started training alongside former military personnel preparing for private security work.

One guy did 30 pull-ups.

Another said he was going to do 32.

Morgan figured he might be able to do seven.

The surprising part? Morgan says the training itself wasn't even that difficult. It was the competitive nature of the people around him that was completely different from anything he'd experienced.

Then he got his security clearance.

And they told him:

Go to Iraq.

This is Morgan's story of preparing for his first job as a private security contractor.

Watch Morgan’s complete interview “They Don't Tell You About the Iraq War (From the Guy Who Was There 3 Times)” here: https://youtu.be/YmK17y9kmPM

09/09/2026

The "Four Year Rule" I Thought Would Keep Me Out Of Viwetnam

Buddy thought he had figured it out.

Four years at the Air Force Academy. About a year of pilot training. Five years total.

And the United States had never been at war for more than four years.

So Buddy figured he was home free.

Then five years passed.

He woke up at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam — and people were shooting at him.

This is Buddy's story of how the timeline he thought would keep him out of Vietnam turned out to be very wrong.

Watch Buddy’s complete interview “What They Don't Tell You About Flying B-52s Over Vietnam” here: https://youtu.be/QblbyTbSVe4

09/08/2026

“Two Weeks” To Live…

John arrived in Vietnam in 1969 with a belief that sounds almost impossible in retrospect.

He didn't think he was John Wayne. He didn't believe he was invincible.

But he believed that if he did everything he was supposed to do to stay alive, he was going to make it through.

And when people told him he might be dead within two weeks, he simply didn't believe them.

This is John's memory of going to Vietnam — and the mindset that carried him through it.

Watch John’s complete interview “ What I Saw in Hell - Memories of a Vietnam Veteran” here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj3nUdsH1CI

09/08/2026

🎙️ NEW EPISODE: Ask A Vet Podcast 🎙️

Morgan Lerette joined the Air Force because his grandpa said they had the best food. Then 9/11 happened — and Morgan ended up in Iraq three different times: as an Air National Guardsman, as a $500-a-day Blackwater contractor protecting U.S. diplomats, and finally as an Army Intelligence officer.

In this episode, Morgan gets real about:
✅ What it's actually like working for Blackwater
✅ Protecting diplomats with almost no rules of engagement
✅ Meeting Erik Prince and the President of Iraq
✅ The moment that got him fired from Blackwater
✅ Coming to terms with PTSD — and finding purpose after the uniform comes off

This one's honest, heavy in places, and surprisingly funny in others. Give it a watch/listen and let us know what you think in the comments.

🔗 Full episode: https://youtu.be/YmK17y9kmPM

Thank you for your service, Morgan. 🇺🇸

Morgan Lerette joined the Air National Guard in 1999 for one reason...

09/08/2026

How One Night On Watch Landed Me The Worst Job In Vietnam

Robert says he got one of the worst assignments of his time in Vietnam.

He and another officer had to stay up all night, walking the barracks with a sergeant and checking on everything after dark.

Then, around 2 a.m., they found someone in the barracks who wasn't supposed to be there.

Robert tried to stop her as she ran.

After dealing with the problem, he went to the colonel and explained what was happening.

The colonel's solution?

"I'm going to appoint you the w***e control officer."

Sometimes the strangest stories from Vietnam aren't about combat. They're about the bizarre jobs soldiers were suddenly expected to do.

Watch Robert’s complete interview “What They Don't Tell You About Being a 25-Year-Old Battery Commander in Combat” here : https://youtu.be/tRB_uY7rCo8

09/07/2026

I Was A Genius… Until I Got To Nuclear Submarine School

Henry was used to being one of the smartest guys in the room.

Then he got to nuclear submarine school.

He describes a place where nearly everyone had scored in the 99th percentile on standardized exams. The guys who had been “hot stuff” in high school were suddenly surrounded by other people who were just as smart.

And suddenly, being exceptional meant being… average.

It's a fascinating look at what happens when you put a group of extremely intelligent people in the same room and tell them to learn one of the most demanding technical jobs in the Navy.

Watch Henry’s complete interview “EP 54: What They Don't Tell You About Hunting Soviet Submarines” here: https://youtu.be/REDv8NI7ASs

09/07/2026

Nobody Wanted To Be The First Guy To Run

Morgan was only 21 when he found himself back in Iraq, this time working security for diplomats as a contractor.

Then, just days into being there, the compound started taking mortar fire.

The first round woke everyone up.

The second one hit close enough that the tent shook.

Then the third one hit so close they could actually feel the compression.

And when one guy suddenly jumped out of his bed and ran, Morgan and the others looked at each other…

Nobody wanted to be the first guy to run.

Then they all ran.

Morgan remembers the strange psychology of incoming fire — sometimes you're not just afraid of dying. You're afraid of what everyone else will think if you're the first person to show it.

This is one of Morgan's stories from Iraq.

Watch Morgan’s complete interview “They Don't Tell You About the Iraq War (From the Guy Who Was There 3 Times)” here: https://youtu.be/DhXXtrMxoVQ

09/06/2026

I Didn't Expect The Nuclear Submarine To Look Like This

I didn’t expect my first nuclear submarine to look like this.

When Henry first saw the boat he’d been assigned to, it wasn’t exactly the impressive image of a nuclear submarine he had imagined. It was in refit, covered in rust, cluttered with equipment, and looking more like a wreck than one of the most sophisticated machines ever built.

But then he walked around to the back of the submarine and saw the American flag.

That changed everything.

A fascinating memory from a young submariner entering the Silent Service during the Cold War.

Watch Henry’s complete interview “EP 54: What They Don't Tell You About Hunting Soviet Submarines” here: https://youtu.be/REDv8NI7ASs

09/06/2026

The Most Unemotional Captain In The U S Army

Captain Blood was the most unemotional man Butch ever met.

During helicopter flight school, Captain Blood taught Butch instruments and was famous for showing almost no emotion. The students even joked that they knew he could feel pleasure because they once saw him eat a candy bar.

Then, before their check rides, Captain Blood gave Butch what may have been the highest compliment he was capable of:

“You'll do all right.”

Butch's reaction? “Wow, that's effusive praise.”

A funny firsthand Vietnam-era veteran story about Army helicopter flight school, Captain Blood, and the unforgettable characters Butch encountered on the way to becoming a Huey pilot.

Watch Butch’s complete interview “What They Didn’t Tell You About Being a 19-Year-Old Vietnam Combat Pilot” here: https://youtu.be/I-m43R9oOQE

09/05/2026

Food Was King On A Nuclear Submarine

Everyone thinks the heroes on a nuclear submarine are the men in the control room.

Henry remembers it differently.

For him, some of the real heroes were the submarine cooks.

Three meals a day wasn't enough. On a nuclear attack submarine, the crew could be eating around the clock—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even “mid-rats” in the middle of the night. And somehow the cooks had to keep feeding a hundred men in one of the most cramped environments imaginable.

Frozen food. Canned food. Pizza. Whatever they could make work.

There were no restaurants. No delivery. No walking off the boat for dinner.

If you were hungry, you depended on the cooks.

A fascinating look at the often-overlooked men who kept the crew fed beneath the ocean during the Cold War.

Watch Henry’s complete interview “EP 54: What They Don't Tell You About Hunting Soviet Submarines” here: https://youtu.be/REDv8NI7ASs