Chuck Shute Podcast

Jack Carr (author, Navy SEAL)

May 09, 2022 Chuck Shute Season 4 Episode 240
Chuck Shute Podcast
Jack Carr (author, Navy SEAL)
Show Notes Transcript

Jack Carr is a New York Times bestselling author, former Navy SEAL,  and host of the Danger Close podcast. His first book “The Terminal List” has been turned in to a series on Amazon Prime starring Chris Pratt. His latest book, “In The Blood” will be out May 17th everywhere.

00:00 - Intro
01:02 - Terminal List TV Show & Chris Pratt 
08:30 - Grassroots Growth 
09:50 - Guest on Joe Rogan 
11:07 - Hunting & Societal Changes 
16:53 - In the Blood & Book Tour 
19:38 - Negative & Positive Reviews 
22:40 - Research for Books 
25:55 - How to Save America 
31:02 - Charities 
33:35 - Outro 

Jack Carr website:
https://www.officialjackcarr.com

Rescue 22 website:
https://www.rescue22foundation.org

Best Defense Foundation website:
https://bestdefensefoundation.org

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com

Support the show

Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Chuck Shute:

Hey, coming up on the show today we have authored Jack Carr Jack is an ex Navy SEAL sniper turned New York Times best selling author. He's written a series of books starring the character James Reese, and it's now being turned into a TV series on Amazon Prime starring Chris Pratt. Pretty exciting stuff. So his latest book in the blood comes out May 17. And he's doing a book tour right now to support it. He's also got a podcast called danger clothes with tactical experts and fellow writers. So lots to talk about. And we barely scratched the surface. So get ready. But real quick before we get to the interview, if you could do me a favor and like this video, if you're watching on YouTube, and make sure to subscribe to the show, wherever you're watching or listening so that you don't miss any future episodes. Thank you. I appreciate it. Here we go. Yeah, so uh, so funny. So do you know Nate Boyer? Me, Gruber?

Jack Carr:

Yeah, just in the terminal this show?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. So yeah, it was supposed to I was I was supposed to interview him like a year ago. And he just didn't show up on time. And I was like, What the heck's going on? And then he goes, Oh, sorry, man, I got this call to do this, like Chris Chris Pratt TV show. And I was like, Oh, well, I mean, if you're gonna get bumped for Chris Pratt, I guess it's okay. And so now and now I'm putting two and two together. Now. This is your show. This is the show based on your first book.

Jack Carr:

That's right. That's right. Coming out July 1, Amazon Prime Video and Nate has a role in it. What a what a great guy he is. So he crushed it as everybody else in the show. I just couldn't be couldn't be more thrilled.

Chuck Shute:

Is there a lot of ex military people cast?

Jack Carr:

Yep. So in different episodes, there are quite a few that are military centric, or like they plays a an FBI HRT so hostage rescue team guy. And there's a few different military people in that group. But there's a platoon of navy seals in the beginning that are actually all played by Navy SEALs, except for to Chris Pratt and Patrick Schwarzenegger. And not all I should say that all military not specifically seals with marine in there, too. had to had to spread the love around a little bit

Chuck Shute:

there. Did you have something to do with the casting at all? As an executive producer? How does that work?

Jack Carr:

I mean, I optioned it to Chris Pratt, because he he wanted it and he's the person that I had in mind up as playing James Reese as I was writing it. And back then he had not been an Avengers or guardians of the galaxy or grant drastic world or anything like that. He was, you know, Andy Dwyer on Parks and Rec, lovable, lovable guy. And then he had a small role in Zero Dark 30 as a seal. So I saw that transformation. Andy Dwyer to Navy SEAL. And I wanted somebody also, and this is before I have a book published this is I don't even have any connections in Hollywood or in New York publishing. I'm just typing away at my computer.

Chuck Shute:

But the book wasn't even out yet.

Jack Carr:

No, no, I was just thinking, I was thinking who would play this as a child of the 80s. It's very natural to think who's going to play your, your main character in a series. It's just, you know, part of the part of it. And so I thought, yeah, it'll be Chris Pratt. And I want Antoine Fuqua to direct. He, of course, did a training day. He was the son Magnificent Seven shooter, just amazing, amazing guy that I actually knew my publisher to I said, I want Emily Besler at Simon and Schuster to be my publisher and editor. As I was typing, and I found her name in the back of books that I liked, like Brad doors, and Vince Flynn's and they, I think this woman named Emily Besler. And so I thought, Okay, I'm with us, we'll be we'll publish this. And all three of those things happened, she published it, Chris Pratt, one adoption at Antoine wanted it at the same time. And then they talked and said, Let's do this thing together. And now all three of us are executive producers on it. So kind of crazy. That's, that's

Chuck Shute:

really crazy. How do you it's like, you just say you're gonna do these things. And then you like, at age seven, you're like, Yeah, I think I'm gonna be a Navy SEAL. And then I think I'm gonna be an author after I do that, and everything happened. Yeah, I

Jack Carr:

mean, you only get one ride on this planet. And you get to decide and make decisions, you know, you get to make decisions that are going to take you down different paths, you're gonna get knocked down, of course, but you get to decide how you're going to get up and learn from how you got knocked down and keep moving forward. So I just never took my eye off that goal of being a Navy SEAL. And then writing thrillers like the kind I was reading growing up that I love so much like buying authors like David Morel and Nelson DeMille, and Tom Clancy, and AJ Cornell, and JC Pollock and Mark Holden and Steven Hunter. And I just always knew that one day I would write those kinds of thrillers. And so that's what I started doing, as I was getting out of the SEAL teams. And I wanted Chris because I wanted someone once again, as a child of the 80s. I thought about how Tom Hanks did all those comedies in the 80s. Yeah, in a shift with Philadelphia, he took a risk. And he did Philadelphia in the early 90s. And then from then on, he could do whatever he wanted. And I thought, Hey, who's that actor today that needs to take a risk that has kind of done some funny stuff, because I want someone who is likable. If you're going to spend as much time with someone, whether it's the pages of the novel, or listening to it on audiobook or watching it on the screen. I think people choose to spend their time with with people they like want to sit down, have a beer with when I have a coffee with. And I thought, Hey, Chris Pratt is that guy. And I think he's at that stage, once again, this is before his rise to Ailis prominence. This is someone that needs to take a risk and do something different. And this is it. And he crushes. I mean, he goes dark, it's primal, it's gritty, it's violent. And that was those were all things that were important to me and to Chris and dance one, when we started down this path, knowing that as you tell the story, visually, it's going to be different. So you had to have a have anchor points. And those anchor points are things that that made the novel resonate with readers. So I'm excited to get this thing out there.

Chuck Shute:

That's gonna be awesome. So is it gonna is each season gonna be like as the first one based on the first book, and then second season will be the second book is that?

Jack Carr:

That's right. That's right. Even there's a second season or not. Chris and Chris, and Amazon? Yeah. Well, so we'll say,

Chuck Shute:

okay, so they could cancel it. You didn't get a five year commitment or? No,

Jack Carr:

no, it all depends, I think, on other projects. So what else? Chris is offered, and Amazon, and all that works up there with everybody. So we'll see. We'll see.

Chuck Shute:

If it's a big head, if this is like the next Breaking Bad or something like he's got to keep doing it.

Jack Carr:

Well, Amazon's got to warm up that checkbook then. So we'll say, well, they

Chuck Shute:

got the Bezos money, they can do whatever they want. Oh,

Jack Carr:

I know, you're telling me so we'll see. I'll, we'll nudge them along right here and say, Hey, you better make Chris an offer here. So let's say let's say,

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, so do you, you get a big check from that? That's right. I mean, it's your creation.

Jack Carr:

Yeah. And so this was optioned before I had sold one book. So when you when you have something, so I had to decide, hey, do we want to wait 20 years in the hopes that you can sell something for more when you've created a universe and have some sort of a, you know, more of a standing, I guess, in publishing or whatever else, and for me, having done 20 years in the military, knowing Hey, it's time to kind of play catch up here, and, and build essentially a business. I made the decision that, hey, it is better for me. And for the for to build a readership by just getting this out there and doing something that's going to get made. And so I've got it as a this is a very expensive commercial that I'm extremely lucky to have. Have out there. So yeah, I couldn't be I couldn't be more thrilled. But But yeah, yeah, I think if you're like a, you know, an author that has 20 books out there, obviously, then you have, you're negotiating from more of a position of strength. Absolutely. Like you're a new author, and you get an offer, you can decide you might want to hold on to it. And in some cases, like let's say, Stallone with Rocky, I mean, that's like the the quintessential example of someone who did not sell something and let another actor do one, change that character, or change that storyline. And he held on to that and obviously now we have have rocky which is recognized the world over as a as an iconic character and inspired me as a kid and inspired generations now multiple generations with how long it's been going on. It was such a such a positive message and, you know, made an impact on the world that will of course outlast and outlive everyone who had had a hand in it but notice so much too he said no time and time again. And and and then he did it. So there's there's different ways to go about doing it. And there's no like one right way. I don't think.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, didn't you say yours was a lot of it's the growth of your of the characters in the book was grassroots, right? People were like, Hey, you gotta check these books out, like, and so you're really thankful for that?

Jack Carr:

Oh, yeah, trying to think around social media as any chance I get to, says, hey, I want to get the book. And I told my dad or I told my coworker or whatever else, because that allows me to, to do this, do what I love, which is, which is the writing, but yeah, the books, the third book, and then all of them have been on the New York Times list now. But the third book hit at first and then the other two went, but the third book hit it before Chris mentioned anything about it being a series before I was on the Joe Rogan podcast, or Tucker or anything that has these large national audiences that that you'd that you'd want out of the gate, and I didn't have those out of the gate. But after it hit the New York Times list, then on Rogen, a couple of weeks later, and then I was on talker, and then Chris said something. And now I'm so thankful for that because it is true. I know. It's truly grassroots. It wasn't just because one big show had me on and people could say, you know, very lucky Yeah, John, it's only because you were on Rogen, or only because you're on Tucker only because Chris, but a tweet out. So none of those things happened. And it was all people taking a risk on me as a new author and then telling a friend and I'll never forget that and it's, it means the world to me.

Chuck Shute:

Wow, that's yeah, that's, that's so inspiring. So when you mentioned the Rogen, like I got to ask you about that because, I mean, what is it like to be a guest on that show? I listened to the newest interview that you did, and then I'm like, halfway through the First one. But I mean both of those like, it's just, I'm just riveted by this conversation between the two of you. You're both bringing up all these topics. It's so interesting, and I'm learning so much. But what is it like to be in the seat as a guest,

Jack Carr:

you know, it did feel a little different because I had done quite a few podcasts once again, grassroots type podcasts. And that's something other couldn't have done in 1975 8595 even do that other font. And but it's something that you can do today as an author to reach an audience of five people. 10 people, 1000 people, and in Joe's case, 30 million people. So it but it was interesting walking in there and it did feel feel different. Just I don't know why, you know, but it did feel different at first time. Now. It's now it just feels like I'm sitting down with Joe to have a have a conversation. We knew each other before. But I'm really glad that he didn't ask me to come on before hit the list. That was that was cool. I don't know if that was his foresight on his part, or just ended up in the lineup or whatever. But now I'm sincerely thankful that he didn't have me on until after I made the list.

Chuck Shute:

How did he know? How does he know all these Navy SEALs just through like hunting and things are?

Jack Carr:

Yeah, it's funny. I'm a part of an operation and Lanai Hawaii for the four partners that have we have a hunting operation out there. And he's come out there a couple of times to to hunt. So that was the first time I met him out there years and years ago. And yeah, so that was kind of how that was our connection.

Chuck Shute:

What are you hunting the y axis deer

Jack Carr:

on this island anyway and move on sheep. Other islands have have pigs but Lanai its axis deer and move on sheep. Lots of lots of axis out there. And if you haven't had access deer, it is delicious. It really is tasty meat I've ever had. Yeah, right.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, wow. Yeah, here, we talked about elk meat. And so I try I had some elk burger, you can buy the ground, elk at the frozen at the store, but it's really you make burgers out of it's really good.

Jack Carr:

Yeah, it's a little little different. When you go out there and do it yourself or do it with your kids or something like that, you're you're part of this whole process and training up for it and getting good on the bow or the rifle, however, you're going to going to do it and then going out there and then learning about the animals and their patterns and all the rest of it and then getting a position for that shot that you know you can make. Because it's important to know your capabilities and your limitations. When you go into a situation like that. That's what you owe the animal. And then the work really starts after that thing is down. And you know, you pay your respects and in quarter it up and field, dress it out there and have your kids be part of that or spouse or friends and and you get that thing out of there and and and process it and freeze it and then get to get to relive it like we do with the kids here and talk about where we were and then and our little ones know that they've provided this for our family. It's just a connection to the land that's kind of missing in a lot of society these days. So I feel like we're a little that it's important to be appreciative of where that comes from whether you're just doing it yourself kind of helps, especially as a as a kid, you just don't think hey, this stuff just shows up in the grocery store. And it didn't come from a living, breathing animal are so disconnected from the land and the animals that inhabit it. I think it's important to get out there especially especially with kids, they can have that appreciation and then and then those other guys you don't waste it when you know it and and you're a part of taking that animal's life, you don't waste a single bite.

Chuck Shute:

Now that's a really good point. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that's so lost? Is it just because society has changed and evolved and it's gotten so much easier? Because back in the day you you had to go hunting, you couldn't go to the grocery store?

Jack Carr:

Yeah, we're only here because we had ancestors that were good at the hunting or good at making alliances with someone that knew how to hunt, I guess. But yeah, you had to be good at at hunting and putting food on that table to feed yourself, your family, your community, then also a very small part of human history have we been able to outsource our personal protection and call 911 For most of human history, we've had to be good at the fighting to defend ourselves, defend that gift of life, defend our families, defend our tribe, our communities. So it's a society has only been quote unquote, stable. And that is, as we saw, some people saw in 2013 2020, a bit of a bit of an illusion. Society is fragile. Most of the world knows that. But in this country, we've gotten very comfortable with calling 911 with going to the grocery store, and there always being meat on the shelf always being cans on the shelves. And but that's not most of the world. And that is not most of human history.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I want it's like this mentality that that someone's going to save us whether it be a politician or whatever it is, like they're always thinking, like, this person is going to save me it's like, I think what I've learned is like, it seems like no one's ever gonna save you like, there's people here that are gonna support you. But ultimately, you got to save yourself.

Jack Carr:

Yeah, there's a yeah, there's a company called 30 seconds out by a run by a seal. And his that's one of their tag lines is you know, no one is coming. It's up to us or be your own first responder and other somebody else out there. Carry Trainer he says, Be your own cavalry. And there's there's a lot to that because, once again, society is He's fairly fragile, and you might find yourself in a position where it makes sense to be a little more self reliant than, than we have been in the past. Yeah. What

Chuck Shute:

do you think the solution to that is? I mean, how do we make kids especially, like you said, I think that's like, where it starts more self reliance and more aware of these kinds of things.

Jack Carr:

Yeah, he's taking kids taking accountability, parents hold them, holding them accountable. It's our job as parents really to do this. Even though they're getting a lot of inputs that might be contrary to some of those lessons from, from from teachers from social media, certainly. And even if they don't have an iPhone, or whatever else, that's, you know, friends do, like they're good, those inputs are going to are going to happen, why that's why it's so important for us to get out there in the field. To go hunting together to go we tried to go on a river rafting trip every year, go to the bottom of the canyon, where there's no Wi Fi, and there's no cell service, and we're just kind of on our own down there. And it's important to be prepared to have that have that medical training now that that trauma type of training, are at home to they we know where our fire extinguishers are, are they do they even work the kids know how to use them to the babysitter know how to use them, have they gone in the backyard and made a fire so the first time that they're doing it isn't an actual fire, those sorts of things. So there's, there's a lot we can do that isn't alarmist or isn't isn't paranoid, but just kind of makes sense. Especially if you're a provider, which as a US citizen and the head of a household, it probably should be near the top of our list. And just like defensive family, defensive life, these things are all very natural. We've gotten so comfortable. Like I said, we've gotten away from that in years. And sometimes it takes a horrible event to bring us back to really our roots and back to the blood that flows the DNA that that's in all of us because we are all only here because we had ancestors that were good at hunting and good at fighting. Otherwise we would not be here.

Chuck Shute:

Right now. That's a really good point. So yeah, so you've got the five brothers your fifth book in the blood blood. Yeah, that's the title. So it's great. You were just in Arizona this weekend, right?

Jack Carr:

I was I was just back from Phoenix sick of freedom days. It's the first time they've they've done that and we didn't know what to expect. It was the first time they've ever done that. It's kind of they put all their all their firearms up and down this line up in every shooting range, which is a gigantic facility out in Arizona. It's amazing. And then they have this little activity center area where we're always in a booth signing books. Black rifle, coffee was their field reps revival was their best defense Foundation was their home. It was just so many people were there and it was so great bringing this community together and we had such a blast. Got to shoot the new squad automatic weapon, the next generation machine gun that said just got the contract for and it was just fantastic. What a great weekend. Yeah, I

Chuck Shute:

just missed I wasn't see I live in Phoenix, but I flew back to Seattle for funeral. But then you're coming back to do a book signing on May 16. I think that's

Jack Carr:

right. I'll be there. Monday, May 16. That poison pen in Scottsdale. Yeah, your drones that bookstore out there. She's fantastic. And it's where I started my first book tour, I started every book tour, whether it was it was in person or virtual after COVID hit. So it's, yeah, it's fantastic. I'll be there. And I zip around the country for a couple of weeks. Go to the Reagan Library, which will be amazing. I mean, my first time going there in person, it was supposed to be for savage sun for the third one, but then COVID hit right when that book was coming out. So that got cancelled. And then for the next one, they were still doing just virtual events. So now they're back in person. So I'll be there I think on Wednesday, okay. Once a week the teams but but yeah, be back in Phoenix for poison pin on the 16th.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna stand in line because I want to get the well I gotta buy the product to buy a physical copy of the book, they get an autograph, because you guys sent me like the digital one or whatever. Okay, yeah. That'll be cool. Yeah, I'm like halfway through the book. I haven't read the other ones. And so I'm wondering, do I watch the show for because I feel like whenever you watch the book, or read the book, and then you watch the movie, or whatever, like, well, they left out this part and that part. So it's almost like I want to watch the show first and then read the book.

Jack Carr:

Yeah, you know, either way, it's I think people that watch the show first. And love, it will then go to the book, and they'll still be surprises. And but there'll be good surprises. And if you do it the other way, by reading the book first, and then going to the show, there'll be surprises there too, but good surprises because they're all rooted in those themes that are all that stay true to the book. So you know, a lot of people are probably going to read it just like they do anything and say, Oh, this was different. This was different. This was different. I hate it. You know, and that's an option. You know, you can go through life that way. But when you're telling a story visually, is there going to be changes?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, no, I thought it was so

Jack Carr:

funny. It's so different than first blood the movie and both are Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

that's right. Yeah. No, it's so funny though. You because You also podcast and you didn't you did a full episode about negative reviews. And it was funny because like you're reading the reviews, and you're not even saying like this guy is a fucking asshole fuck you here just like and that's what he said. Okay, the next one says like, you just read them like word for word.

Jack Carr:

Yeah, it's kind of fun. You know, it's you get to also choose how you're gonna take on because it's hard to not look at those sayings and you're on. If I'm on even social media, and I'm thanking somebody thanking somebody, that is one that comes up, and you're like, oh, and that's the one that sticks with you, for whatever reason, but you kind of gotta let it go. It's just out, there's, it's the double edged all this is that you get to thank people. And I try to add value to people's lives, whether it's with post on Instagram, or a blog on my website, or a guest on my podcast, or whatever it might be. That's, that's, that's at the forefront of my mind when I'm doing any of these these things. But when I find those, so you can't get away from the negative, if you're doing any sort of engagement, you're gonna see it. And then when you see those negative reviews on Amazon, I think the negative ones actually might sell more books than the positive ones. Because when I read, and it says, I don't need to know exactly what kind of gun that is, or why do I need to know the kind of knife that was or whatever it says in there, guess what, there's a gun person or a knife person or a gear person that's like, oh, I want to know these things. And it's not they know that I just didn't type in navy seal knife, and then see what comes up on the Google search and then put that in the book. It's comes from real experience. So So I think those one negative ones actually sell more might sell more books than the than the positive ones. And luckily, the vast majority are positive.

Chuck Shute:

Oh, that's good. Okay. I figured I mean, it must be if you're on it. Who cares? If you're on the New York Times bestseller list, then who cares about reviews? I mean, sometimes it's like, it's more about sale. Like there's a lot of movies that make a lot of money, they get bad reviews, but they make billions of dollars. So who cares?

Jack Carr:

This is true. This is true. Yeah, they might not win the Oscar. But guess what they're paying for all the movies that no one sees. And publishing sometimes the same way in that got authors like Stephen King and John Grisham and John, James Patterson, like they are up here. And they're paying for all the other authors and books that don't necessarily make their best investments back from these publishing houses. I did right out of the gate, which is very unusual. And I'm very thankful for that. But, but movies are the same way. So the Avengers is essentially paying for all those Academy Award winners that that no one's ever heard of.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, some of those movies are hard. You What was the one that won this year about the Deaf parents? Did you see that one? I did not. It was movie of the year we watched it. And I was like, I mean, it's not bad. But I was like, this is the best movie like I'm used to, like Gladiator. And like he's epic, like Saving Private Ryan. Like, those movies are just like the departed. Oh, God, that movie. So good. Yeah, those are movies of the year to me.

Jack Carr:

Yeah. Yeah. So it's a maybe it's a little different time? I don't know. But But yeah, some of those some of those those big blockbuster ones. I mean, they help with all those smaller, smaller movies that, that no one really goes to see.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, well, so. So back to your book. So I'm reading it so fascinating. What I like is that you do a lot of research for the book specifically, right? Like, obviously, you have your experience and 20 years of being a Navy SEAL. But do you do specific research and specific interviews for this? The current book that you're working on, right, every time you rewrite a book?

Jack Carr:

Oh, yeah, specifically for the last two. So for the last one, the devil's hand, I went deep down the rabbit hole into bio weapons and bio weapons research, something that I had no touch point with in the military. So if it's something like the first three books, where it's I do have touch points with sniper stuff, or whatever else, like I know, I'm gonna get the gear, right. And the ballistics, right. And I know who to talk to you just to confirm because it has been a few years since I'm behind the scope and that sort of a situation. But But last time in the devils and I went deep down the rabbit hole, this one for in the blood, I went deep down the rabbit hole on quantum computing, artificial intelligence, mass data storage surveillance of US citizens, that sort of thing. So I went at it, no touch points with that in the military during my 20 years. And the research that I did in books was essentially is already dated by the time you read it, because technology is evolving so quickly. But if you talk to somebody who has a touch point in that world, and they're very secretive about it, but they want to leave things out, but if you talk to enough people, then everybody leaves something out. That's different. And so you can put this picture together put this puzzle together. And although I've never been to the places that I described in here, when it comes to quantum computing and artificial intelligence, I would wager that it's pretty darn accurate,

Chuck Shute:

really, so this shit is real. Well, the thing that we're they go, he goes to this room, and there's a thing where you can literally see and hear everything and anywhere in the world.

Jack Carr:

It is the people that I talked to said they could tell me more, but it would put my book in the science fiction category. So so when you read in the blood, everybody who's reading it, just know that things have and things have probably evolved since I did that research months ago. So it's, yeah, it's scary. People who have read it, saying that it is scarier than the bioweapons research and how I wove that into the last novel into the devil's hands. So

Chuck Shute:

yeah, that one's crazy to that you're writing it and then the pandemic hits like you weren't like trying to capitalize on that. You were in the middle of writing the book when the thing hit.

Jack Carr:

Yep. So my whole theme to that one was, what does the enemy learn by watching us on the field of battle for the last 20 years and saying So at the time I was writing it. And so I want to put myself in the enemy shoes and by the enemy I mean, Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, a super empowered individual, a terrorist organization. And as I was writing it, then COVID hit and I thought, well, the enemy is certainly learning something from our response to COVID. And then a summer of civil unrest heads. And guess what, they're not just passively watching this, they are watching. And they're taking notes, and they're applying what they learned to future battle plans. And then we have a very contentious election cycle, political season, which continues really to this day. So they're certainly taking notes on that. And the divisive nature of our politics and our country at the moment. So it was very natural, then being in the enemy shoes to weave all of that in to the storyline, because that's what the enemy is that the enemy is learning. And that's what the whole book was about. So that became a part of the storyline, essentially, in real time as I was writing it.

Chuck Shute:

That's crazy. So I mean, in your humble opinion, like with all the research, in your experience, with all the stuff going on the world? I mean, how do we, how do we fix this? How do we change course? I mean, is there a James Reese type character that's gonna skate save us? Or are we just screwed?

Jack Carr:

That's a tough question. And I tried to remain hopeful, especially public label, my wife and I sit down at the end of the end of the night on the couch and get the kids to bed and have a glass of wine. I mean, we are definitely concerned for the for the future. And a lot of it, I think, has to do with let's say, 15 second Tiktok rain, or how easy it is to be divisive on social media and how that benefits social media companies first, for advertising, and now to, to really change your patterns of behavior and your thoughts. So there is they have so much information on all of us out there. And then politicians, of course, you know, they can continue to divide us, because who does it benefit, it benefits them, and it keeps them in these positions. And in many cases, they wouldn't do very well in the private sector. A lot of them their career politicians, since they want to hang on to those jobs with for dear life. They also happen to be very savvy investors, if you haven't noticed, for whatever reason, those things go hand in hand. Yeah, it's

Chuck Shute:

kind of interesting how they're like, what's the well, I can say, your name, Pelosi, she's got she's got that there's like a twitter follow. I think they deleted it. But I think now that Musk is in charge, maybe they'll bring it back. But it was like a Twitter account of her stock portfolio. And I was like, if you follow what that does, like, well, you might be too late. But but it's like she's making a lot of money before these moves happen. It's kind of suspicious.

Jack Carr:

Just a very savvy investor, obviously. Yeah, but But yeah, as far as future goes, that's, that's tough. You know, it's so tough, a lot of it also goes back. So you have that. And then it's like a distraction. And instead of spending time in the pages of history books and learning about why we have these freedoms and options and opportunities that we do and appreciating everything that was sacrificed. So we could live in this free society, we could make our own decisions. We don't have that because we're going from a 15 second tick tock video to the next one, we're going from one tweet to the next. We're retweeting it, and we're repeating things that have not been researched. And those people who have put it out originally have not put it in the requisite time, energy and effort into it. So it's just this. Gosh, it's a tough one, it is a very tattoo. So how do you correct from that? You know, I don't know if you can do it in the numbers you need and necessary to move things in a direction that is positive for the country and gets us back to this sense of a personal responsibility. And, and move forward and appreciate everything that was sacrificed for us. So we could be here so we could pass those same freedoms on to the next generation. That's, that's tough, actually.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. Well, that's what's the one thing about this book that's, like, inspiring, it's like, it's, you know, talking about these issues and thinking about it. And and looking at the history, the history is so important. There's so many things in the history that yeah, that's why if you don't know history, you're gonna repeat it, right. So like, I'm listening to things I'm like, you know, you're talking about like the Bay of Pigs invasion. I'm like, we I got one was at a bank. And I got to Google that, like, I'm googling stuff, as I'm reading your book. And it's great. It's great, great material. And it's like, it's like an old fashioned like you said, a child of the 80s. Like, maybe the I'm a child of 80s, too. So I'm like reading this, like, oh, yeah, we don't we don't have a lot of heroes like this in the world anymore. We need more heroes like this like for kids to look up to a James Reese. Like, if I had a son, I'd be like, you know, I want him to look up to a guy like that,

Jack Carr:

man. Thank you. Yeah, I think there's, you know, I had heroes in the fictional realm growing up and reading all these books that I did growing up, and those were those were my heroes watching those movies I watched growing up. And then same thing reading the nonfiction reading pappy Goins autobiography about World War Two and Black Sheep Squadron. Reading five years to freedom by Nick row, a Special Forces guy in Vietnam taking pow, all these delta force by the first commanding officer of that unit Charlie back with so I read all those books growing up and those guys were my heroes. So I had heroes that were real. And then I had this fictional heroes as well, but they all had similar backgrounds. Even the fictional guys that I read back in the 80s are protagonists. Usually they were like a marine sniper in Vietnam or Army Special Forces in Vietnam Marine, or a Navy SEAL in Vietnam, or a CIA paramilitary guy in Vietnam, that was kind of the background of the 80s action hero. So I think today that that's, that's a little bit lacking. And, you know, that hasn't always been the case. Throughout history, storytelling exists for a reason, and that some of those reasons were to pass on the lessons of the hunt. So pass on those lessons from the battlefield through stories to the next generation. So around that campfire. So I tried to I try to incorporate a little bit that into my novels as well, when you see something in italics. Usually it means it came from something that I learned in the SEAL teams, and aganist just thinking about it. So I believe those in as well. We've been some leadership lessons. So it's kind of my way of doing what, what our ancestors would have done around the campfire. Oh, very cool. Yeah. Sorry, you

Chuck Shute:

gotta get out of here to 30 minutes? I think so. All right, well, I'll just end with a charity. So as the rescue 22 Foundation is not a good one that people should support.

Jack Carr:

Such a great one. And they train up full, like fully trained service and support dogs to veterans suffering from the emotional trauma, physical trauma of the battlefield, actually just trained went up for a female marine who was wounded and the the withdrawal from Afghanistan, where we lost 13 US servicemen and women, and he is paralyzed. And who is training up a this delivered the dog to her. So yeah, and that was one that didn't, you know, it's just it's such a tough one, just to give up Bagram and put our servicemen and women in a tactically disadvantageous position at the last minute, essentially rushing to failure at the end, instead of you had 20 years to prepare for this withdrawal. 20 years. And this is the best that our senior level leaders could do.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, that's rough. Well, I'm glad that

Jack Carr:

therapeutic in that respect. And we also talked about in the right, we talked about appreciation. So there's another Best Defense foundation I wanted to tell you about. Okay, as they take veterans back to the battlefields on which they fought to say goodbye. So primarily, World War Two veteran, my daughter and I, she's 16, we went out to Pearl Harbor for the ADF commemoration events this last December. And I think it changed the course of my daughter's life, she got to meet these guys aged 96 to 104. And spend time with them, share meals with them, help them in and out of their wheelchairs, and their, you know, to their rooms, or to meals or to the events themselves. And so we spent a solid week out there with them. And it was just wow, experience, went to Normandy here shortly to do the same thing over there. But, you know, she now has this appreciation that didn't just come from me telling her about or telling her about her grandfather and World War Two, she actually got to with people of that generation, and hear their stories and hear how they lied about their age so they could go fight for their country. She talked to people who were at Pearl Harbor, who watched the zeros come over the mountaintops and take straight off the runway and then come in on Pearl Harbor and drop their torpedoes and then go on to fight both in the Pacific and the European Theater in in World War Two. So it's an incredible foundation and Best Defense Foundation. Donnie Edwards started it and I can't say enough good things about them.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, great. I'll put all that stuff in the notes along with your website and people could get the book it comes out. Was it May 17 19?

Jack Carr:

Yeah, it's Tuesday, May 17. But poison pen gets it early on the 16th. So Oh,

Chuck Shute:

perfect. I'll be there. Speech in person. Give me a handshake. Thank you so much for doing this. I appreciate it. Absolutely. You take care. All right. Bye, bye. Okay, thank you so much to Jack car. Again. The new book is called in the blood. It's the fifth in the series. That's out May 17. And the first book the terminal list is going to be a TV show with Chris Pratt on amazon prime that comes out July 1. And both of these dates are going to be meaningless if it's past those times, and both all this stuff's available. So be sure to check out Jack's website in the show notes with links to all his books, podcasts, lots of cool gear that he has on there. And also, his book tour dates if if it's still timely for that. If you enjoyed this episode of my show, make sure to check out some of the other episodes I've done, including my interview with army green Bray and actor Nate Boyer. Navy Seal and author Tom Shea. And also please subscribe to the show so you don't miss any future episodes. Thank you so much for listening or watching. Have a great rest of your day. And remember to shoot for the moon