Ones Ready

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Peaches and Trent sit down with retired Brigadier General Tom Palenske, and this one turns into a masterclass on leadership without all the fake corporate nonsense.
Palenske walks through one of the wildest career arcs we have had on the podcast: Goodyear factory kid from Topeka, Army National Guard helicopter door gunner, warrant officer, Huey and Black Hawk pilot, Air Force officer, MH-53 pilot, CV-22 squadron commander, wing commander, deployed special operations leader, and eventually a brigadier general who still sounds like a normal human being.
He talks about what it was like flying the lead MH-53 during the rescue of then-Lieutenant Colonel Dave Goldfein after he was shot down over Serbia, why the MH-53 was the ugliest-coolest helicopter ever built, and why the CV-22 gets more hate than it deserves. He also tells stories about combat, fear, missiles, A-10s, fast ropes, and why sometimes the only plan is to press forward because the mission still needs doing.
The conversation also gets into the stuff officers especially need to hear: rank and competence are not the same thing, people do not work for you, leadership means removing obstacles, accountability does not require cruelty, and your job is to help people reach their potential.
Palenske also talks about suicide prevention, why airmen need more than one identity, how fellowship builds resiliency better than another useless CBT, why commanders should get out of their offices and talk to people, and why real connection matters more than another policy memo.
The episode wraps with his unexpected run for office in Kansas, his view of politics, his love for his wife Jaron and their family, and the one leadership lesson that keeps coming back: be good, take care of people, and leave a positive impact.
Links:
- OnesReady.com
- OperatorTrainingSummit.com
- palenske4kansas.com
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro and Ones Ready
01:05 - Be Like Tom
01:34 - ATACLETE and Partner Discounts
02:39 - Operator Training Summit Updates
05:55 - Retired Brigadier General Palenske Joins
07:34 - Why Airmen Loved Working With Him
08:27 - Rank and Competence Are Not the Same
09:20 - Enlisted, Officer, and Not Getting Weird
10:46 - Eight General Officer Counselings
11:53 - The Best Part of Being a General
13:25 - From Topeka to the Army National Guard
16:33 - Becoming a Helicopter Pilot
18:16 - Joining the Air Force
19:00 - AFSOC, MH-53s, and Combat Deployments
20:20 - Goldfein Rescue and the Distinguished Flying Cross
21:21 - CV-22s, Command, and Becoming a General
23:02 - Goldfein Did Not Know Who Rescued Him
26:02 - Missiles, Serbia, and Launching Without Perfect Comms
29:15 - The A-10 Debrief
29:53 - MH-53 Hovering and Fast Rope Abuse
31:26 - Why the MH-53 Was Ugly but Awesome
31:51 - In Defense of the CV-22
33:13 - The CV-22 Combat Story
36:28 - Mental Health Evacuations and Epic Fury
38:16 - Are Young Airmen Really the Problem?
39:48 - Training, Fear, and Combat Stress
42:12 - Stress Inoculation Matters
43:39 - Leadership Before Mental Health Referrals
45:19 - Retiring Into Civilian Life
46:05 - Running for Office in Kansas
49:23 - Politics, Factions, and Doing the Work
49:59 - Food Trucks, Slip-n-Slides, and Wing Culture
52:18 - Walking Around and Talking to Airmen
52:50 - Suicide Prevention Through Connection
55:38 - Let Weird People Find Their People
56:38 - Accountability With Compassion
58:56 - Failing Without Being Defined by Failure
01:00:49 - The One-Mistake Air Force Problem
01:01:30 - The Four DUI Joke
01:05:09 - Taking Care of Airmen
01:05:46 - What Actually Matters When You Die
01:07:04 - Jaron, Family, and Eating Indoors
01:08:26 - Pelenske for Kansas
01:10:16 - Why Can’t We Just Be Good?
01:10:57 - Final Wrap
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The cameras aren’t just watching traffic—they may be building your pattern of life.
Peaches and Trent break down the expanding Flock camera network after an outdated homicide alert reportedly led police to box in an innocent vehicle and hold its occupants at gunpoint. From automated license-plate readers outside gun ranges to AI-powered cameras capable of following people, the technology raises one massive question: who is collecting this data, and what are they doing with it?
They examine false alerts, facial biometrics, political bumper-sticker searches, private businesses sharing data through larger networks, and the difference between protecting property and allowing the government to monitor citizens everywhere they go.
Security sounds great—until the system gets it wrong.
Links:  OnesReady.com
Chapters:
 00:00 - Welcome Outside The Wire
 00:32 - What Are Flock Cameras?
 01:28 - An Outdated Alert Turns Dangerous
 02:20 - When the System Gets It Wrong
 04:20 - Cameras Outside a Gun Range
 05:14 - Why Are They Tracking Gun Owners?
 06:23 - Security Versus Surveillance
 08:11 - Your Biometrics Never Disappeared
 10:05 - It’s More Than License Plates
 10:47 - AI Cameras That Follow People
 12:24 - Building Your Pattern of Life
 13:34 - Tracking Political Views
 14:51 - Who Controls the Data?
 16:00 - Doorbell Cameras Versus Government Cameras
 16:57 - Government Isn’t Your Bodyguard
 20:18 - How Many Cameras Are Near You?
 22:57 - The Surveillance Mesh Network
 23:44 - What Citizens Can Do
 24:25 - Liberty or Temporary Safety?
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE

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Register for our Operator Training Summit:  OperatorTrainingSummit.com
Find an Air Force Recruiter: AirForce.com

Collabs:
Ones Ready - OnesReady.com
18A Fitness - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):  ATACLete
Danger Close Apparel - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
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What do America’s democratic socialists actually want? Trent skipped the social-media outrage and went directly to the Democratic Socialists of America’s own platform.
In this solo edition of Outside The Wire, Trent examines the DSA’s vision of life without capitalism—including publicly funded housing, healthcare, retirement, food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation. He challenges who would pay for it, what would motivate innovation, and whether the entire system depends on pretending human nature doesn’t exist.
Trent also separates free markets from crony capitalism, explains where he agrees with the DSA’s criticisms, and argues that recognizing real problems doesn’t make their proposed solutions any less destructive.
Links: OnesReady.com
Chapters:
 00:00 - Why Trent Read the DSA Platform
 02:33 - Capitalism Isn’t the Whole Problem
 05:00 - Free Markets Versus Crony Capitalism
 07:27 - Who Actually Pays for Everything?
 09:32 - The Ayn Rand Warning
 11:56 - Socialism Meets Human Nature
 14:19 - Permanent Summer Vacation
 16:47 - Where Trent Agrees With the Left
 19:06 - Healthcare, War, and Abolishing ICE
 21:33 - Valid Problems, Terrible Solutions
 23:24 - More Education or More Hot Takes?
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE

Buzzsprout Subscription page:  HERE
Register for our Operator Training Summit:  OperatorTrainingSummit.com
Find an Air Force Recruiter: AirForce.com

Collabs:
Ones Ready - OnesReady.com
18A Fitness - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):  ATACLete
Danger Close Apparel - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
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Aaron and Trent sit down with Tim “Chaci” Pachasa and Chelsey Simoni from the Hunter Seven Foundation for one of the most important health conversations we have had on Ones Ready.
Hunter Seven is not just talking about veteran cancer. They are building the system that should have existed already: research, education, early screening, direct support, and a free cancer care campus for veterans who are trying to fight this stuff before it is too late.
Chelsey breaks down the reality of post-9/11 cancer trends, toxic exposure, burn pits, JP-8, PFAS, chronic stress, gastrointestinal issues, H. pylori, and why “normal for me” does not mean normal. A normal amount of symptoms is zero. Not “deployment stomach.” Not acid reflux forever. Not chronic pain you just learned to live with.
Chaci explains why this is not about blaming the Department of War or the services. War has consequences. The issue is whether we are willing to own those consequences early enough to keep people alive. He also gets honest about the veteran hypocrisy most of us live with: we tell everyone else to take care of themselves while ignoring our own symptoms because we do not want to step away from the team.
The conversation also hits what Hunter Seven found during SOF Week screenings, why cancer can show up decades earlier than civilian norms, why civilian providers often miss veteran-specific risk factors, and why service members need to stop underreporting pain, GI issues, fatigue, and other symptoms.
Hunter Seven also shares what is coming next: their rural Tennessee cancer care campus, the Patriots, Pars, and Pistols event at Pinehurst, and how donations directly support screenings, second opinions, travel, medication, treatment support, and care for veterans.
If you are serving, getting ready to serve, or already out, this one matters. Get screened. Tell the truth about your symptoms. Ask better questions. Live long enough to be there for the people who love you.
Links:
- Hunter7.org
- @HunterSevenFoundation on Instagram
- OperatorTrainingSummit.com
- Modern Athlete Strength Systems
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro and Ones Ready
01:05 - Hunter Seven Foundation Preview
03:27 - Chaci and Chelsey Join the Show
04:06 - Chaci’s Background and Hunter Seven
06:02 - Chelsey’s Story and Why Hunter Seven Started
09:13 - Military Cancer Trends and Toxic Exposure
13:14 - Burn Pits, JP-8, Stress, and Long-Term Health
14:36 - Why Veterans Need Better Medical Curiosity
17:38 - The Problem With “Young and Healthy”
20:26 - Lying to Fly and Ignoring Symptoms
23:18 - Mental Toughness Can Hurt You
24:23 - GI Issues Are Not Normal
26:30 - The Correct Amount of Symptoms Is Zero
28:09 - Taking Care of Yourself Helps the Team
31:03 - Chaci’s Injury Story and VA Lessons
33:29 - Hunter Seven at SOF Week
35:13 - Abnormal Findings and Early Cancer Detection
37:00 - You Do Not Have to Be SOF to Matter
41:28 - What Is Next for Hunter Seven
42:08 - Drake, Happy Dad, and the Cancer Care Campus
45:48 - Building Support Beyond the VA
47:41 - Patriots, Pars, and Pistols
49:40 - How to Support Hunter Seven
51:11 - Family Care, Veteran Priorities, and Stroz Health
53:55 - Why This Work Matters
55:41 - Live for the People Who Love You
56:33 - Donate, Share, and Get Screened
57:32 - Final Thoughts
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE

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Find an Air Force Recruiter: AirForce.com

Collabs:
Ones Ready - OnesReady.com
18A Fitness - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):  ATACLete
Danger Close Apparel - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
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Aaron, Trent, and Peaches get into one of the biggest questions future service members keep asking: should you still join the military if you do not like the current political climate, the administration, or where the country seems to be headed?
The short version: if politics are enough to stop you from serving, maybe you were looking for a reason not to join anyway.
The team breaks down what it actually means to serve under presidents, commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and policies you may not personally agree with. They talk about swearing an oath to the Constitution, not a political party, and why the military forces you to work with people from every possible background, belief system, and worldview.
They also get into why military service can change your perspective on America, what you learn from seeing the rest of the world, why Americans have a unique willingness to go get their people, and why discomfort, shared hardship, and serving something bigger than yourself still matter.
The episode wraps with a strong shoutout to Jarred Taylor, his impact on the military content space, and his book Deep Scythe — a fictional but highly relevant look at fifth-generation warfare, innovation, and the future fight.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro, Partners, and Outside The Wire
07:08 - Should Politics Stop You From Joining?
09:01 - Excuses, Fear, and the Word “But”
10:59 - Serving Under Leaders You Disagree With
13:47 - Working With People Who See the World Differently
16:01 - Online Opinions vs. Actually Doing Something
17:38 - Your Oath Is to the Constitution
21:31 - How to Get Past the Politics
23:40 - Skills, Benefits, and the Military Friend Network
25:42 - Discomfort, Growth, and Finding Out Who You Are
27:48 - Maybe the Military Is Exactly What You Need
31:52 - Saying True Things Gets Pushback
34:41 - Testing Your Beliefs in the Real World
36:40 - Humanitarian Work and Seeing America Differently
39:29 - Aaron’s Africa Story and Real Perspective
43:08 - Americans Go Get Their People
47:42 - Politics Should Not Override Service
49:53 - Jessica Lynch and the American Rescue Mentality
52:19 - Partner Forces, Courage, and Cowardice
57:36 - Final Word on Serving Anyway
58:44 - Jarred Taylor and Deep Scythe
01:03:02 - How JT Helped Ones Ready
01:05:45 - Membership and Outside The Wire
01:07:35 - Wrap-Up
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE

Buzzsprout Subscription page:  HERE
Register for our Operator Training Summit:  OperatorTrainingSummit.com
Find an Air Force Recruiter: AirForce.com

Collabs:
Ones Ready - OnesReady.com
18A Fitness - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):  ATACLete
Danger Close Apparel - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
DFND Apparel...