What a Hell of a Way to Dad

This week, Nate and Francis discuss a viral story about a Navy officer based in Japan accused of writing a letter about why he doesn't want to live among 'deviant' enlisted troops. Who knows if the letter is real? What we do know is that the Navy absolutely loves to segregate between officer and enlisted, more so than most other branches, and also it's an opportunity for us to read the comments section on military dot com and find the true gems. DadChat ends at 12:47! For this week's bonus, Francis has brought journalist Jasper Craven about Zoomer fascist congressman Madison Cawthorne, his weird proximity to veterans and lies about admittance to the US Naval Academy, and why we're probably stuck with him. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/49675750 Jasper wrote a piece about this topic which is available here: https://thebaffler.com/latest/vacuous-valor-craven Jasper has a substack and you should absolutely sign up for it: https://battleborne.substack.com/ *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

This week, Nate and Francis discuss a recent CNN article that examines how the U.S. Government might be on the hook for billions of dollars in settlements or lawsuits if the war in Afghanistan ends on time. Why? Because the DOD has kept issuing contracts for services in Afghanistan that extend to 2026 and in some cases beyond. The CNN article is here: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/29/politics/pentagon-contractors-afghanistan/index.html DadChat ends at 9:40! For this week's bonus: Francis keeps getting stupid cold-pitch emails from a veteran thought leader and, despite having been told to listen to the show, he simply will not quit. So, to make sense of the situation, he consulted with Joe Kassabian and Carey Shockey. This episode gets to the bottom of the vet-fluencer phenomenon, why it's so uniformly right-wing or crypto-right-wing, and why you shouldn't listen to these people. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/49127050 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

We were not entirely surprised to read the story this week about a man who looks like Saddam Hussein in a spider hole attacking a National Guard convoy in Texas. Although they haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet, it's pretty safe to assume it's some Q sort of thing, and we discuss a lot about what the responsibility of tech platforms is versus arguments about free speech. DadChat ends at 10:57! For this week's bonus, the Zoo Crew is back: Joe, Carey, and Francis review the 1996 John Woo film FACE/OFF, which has some.... things that didn't age well. You can get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/49038290 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

In 2019 we had a bonus episode featuring Sam Knight of the District Sentinel (@TheDCSentinel) to discuss his predictions about the 2020 Presidential election. Well, at least in as far as the primary was concerned, he called it exactly right. So, we brought Sam back on to talk about what we've seen since Biden assumed office--all the good, bad, and ugly. Sam is also a correspondent for Means TVs "Means Morning News," (@MMNonMeansTV), For this week's bonus, we're joined by the cast of the Well There's Your Problem podcast to discuss the story of the M2 Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle. What is the deal with this thing? It's not a tank, but it might as well be a tank in almost every capacity. How did it get made, and what does the future hold for giant clown turrets? Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/48771869 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

We figured that, if you've followed the news lately, you've probably heard about the recent debacle with the British royal family and the Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. This is an expressly anti-royalty podcast, but to discuss the particular dynamics of British racism and the experience of being a Black American woman married to a slightly younger redhead who is kind of a moron and fought in Afghanistan, Cynthia Bethea joins us this week. For this week's bonus, Francis speaks with defense journalist Oriana Pawlyk about what the Space Force actually is and does -- and the fact that it's not going away, despite it being Trump's signature plaything. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/48465304 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

This week, Nate and Francis discuss the recent news that the military may require service members to take the covid-19 vaccine (much like it requires other vaccines) now that the FDA has approved it. So, why does the military have, on average a 30% refusal rate for the vaccine? And what really is going on with vaccination in the US? (source: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/03/01/military-may-revisit-making-covid-19-vaccines-mandatory-after-fda-grants-approval.html?fbclid=IwAR1AOgpMr4DAiNm4Rbm1eXg31QH5mtTRQiBuCFt4hbRAJv2vX4um-rHvyWQ) Also discussed: has the military actually helped reduce the risk of extinction for one species of woodpecker? Yes. Does this mean the military is good at ecology? No. (source: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/02/972486093/how-the-military-helped-bring-back-the-red-cockaded-woodpecker?fbclid=IwAR049XUxWdH-RAHhHKmi7mg6oPW1tqMKuLF1DXctuSveFoTuY7-9OEP1hK8&t=1614799637267) This week's bonus is a combined Hell of a Way / Lions Led by Donkeys episode in which Joe relates to us the story of Valentine Strasser, the Sierra Leonean army captain (and specialist at heart) who took over a country and decided to change its national anthem to a disco tune -- among a LOT of other things. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/48207919 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

This was supposed to be an episode with a detailed, thought-out script. However, we got on the topic of bad weather and the state of Alaska, and by the end of it we found we'd devoted 40 minutes to The Last Frontier. So, it's more of a DadChat than anything else! We do discuss a recent video of terrible CQB training at 10th Mountain, and why you should probably stop training if it looks like your soldiers are going to shoot each other (this conversation starts at 39:43). You can watch the video yourself here: https://twitter.com/woobie_1_kenobi/status/1363529993788272646?s=19 For this week's bonus, we've got Carey and Joe back to have yet another zoo crew session, this time to discuss (among other things) the way that video games become popular representations of American military history. This (and all DadChat / Zoo Crew episodes) are available on the Patreon for $1 a month. Get it here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47841741 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

For any of this to make sense, it must be understood that Texas has a power grid comprised of 95% fossil fuel and nuclear sources. And yet somehow, in the minds of the chuds and Republicans, those wind farms are the reason that Texas' extremely libertarian grid cannot function in a winter storm. Nate and Francis get to the bottom of this conundrum, to include a Marine Todd reading of a recent Texas mayor's public statement. For this week's bonus, you get a full hour of Francis, Shocks, and Joe Kassabian discussing a variety of topics -- but with special emphasis on the Insane Clown Posse and what it means to Midwesterners. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47556191 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

We took the time to discuss a recent Washington Post article about the military doing a stand-down day for combating white nationalism in the ranks. However, it took us about 30 minutes to get there, because we decided to talk about the weather, '90s alt-rock, the military's secret plan for a 'gay bomb,' and much more. DadChat / fun chat ends at 27:56 You can read about the gay bomb here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bomb You can get Francis' '90s suburban white kid alt-rock playlist here: For this week's bonus, Francis is chatting with Army veteran, actual medic, EMT, and antifascist Scotty Blue (@blue_scotty). They discuss becoming a 68W, what it's like to try and be a medic outside of the military, what the hell is up in Portland, and what to expect if you do in fact want to protest. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47281844 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Why on earth were 11 soldiers hospitalized at Fort Bliss, Texas for drinking ethylene glycol? Well, there's a whole extended universe of 'things soldiers do to get hammered in the field / on deployment', and who better to examine this phenomenon than a huge nerd officer who never did anything illegal and the NCO who made gallons of prison wine in Iraq. We do a bit of DadChat at the beginning, but the main section starts at 7:27. This week's bonus features Francis discussing bootleg Barts and other Gulf War memorabilia with NY Magazine writer Matt Stieb. You can get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/46928239 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang