From IED Explosion To Veteran Inspiration! Feat.Bobby Henline & Jamie Burton #Podcast #UnscriptedLeadership

Welcome to the unscripted Authentic Leadership Podcast, a podcast where we areseeking to lead change while also seeking to understand. We are also here to provide a platform. For leaders to come. Together to unite, empower and develope other leaders in the areas of business, family, faith and community. I am your host Lafayette Lane joined by my co-host, John Lebrun, and today we are so excited because we are joined by two special grass Bobby Henline the Warrior, and Jamie Burton the mermaid. Those of you that watch this. Listen to this. Put those clap emojis in the comments section and let's clap it up for our special guest. Today as we join, they join us today to continue our mental health awareness month. Bobby has an incredible story how he has overcome being the sole survivor of a IED explosion to helping veterans Battle depression and suicide. And I promise you you do not want to miss the back story of what he's been through and the mission that he is currently on. Before we get into the topic, we definitely want to say thank you. To all of our unscripted authentic leadership support family from our YouTube family. As you see there at the bottom of your screen, those of you that have subscribe to our YouTube channel. Unscripted authentic leadership you follow us on our various social media platforms there on Facebook. Unscripted authentic leadership, our Instagram handle is at unscripted leadership. An R LinkedIn is unscripted, authentic leadership. Those who that may not watch the podcast but you can listen to us on our various streaming platforms from Apple to Spotify to Pandora to Google Podcasts iHeartRadio Stitcher. And really, wherever you can find and stream podcast platform, you can type in our unscripted authentic leadership and stream my podcast from there. If you want to, we willing to are wanting to connect with us on our website. Unscripted-leadership.com interested in being a guest? You can do that. There you can also find some other cool things. We have some new merch there that you can check out our Instagram or unscripted podcasts and some more information about who we are and what we do here on the unscripted offensive leadership. Podcasts as the time I want to turn it over to Bobby to just give us a little about more more about who he is, what he does, and then we'll get into his back. Story from there Bobby alright. About me I mean, I guess we start off to, you know, I originally joined Army in when I joined. I joined 1989 at 17 years old. Join army. I went to Desert Storm did three years, got out and then I was out for 10 years. Had a family and 9/11 happened. You have to be another army for 10 years. 9/11 happens the next month. I go back into the military 'cause I knew I couldn't let something like that happen in my country and just sit there. I knew I could have something like I've been to war at a young age. I was still only 30. Is still young enough to still fight today or not today that was awhile ago. I'm getting older but you know, back in 2001 is like I could still fight. I don't wanna go back in and and get my knowledge from Desert Storm and being a young soldier was like I know I could help other other soldiers in today's war. So I went back in and ended three more. Tours, let's unpack your story a little bit more from the beginning. You kind of gave us a short, sweet version. There less impact. Your story about the whole incident that you'll unpack for us. Let's go back to the beginning, 'cause you talked about joining the army in your heart that you have for joining the Army because of 9/11. We all know about that. I believe I was in the first grade. When that happens.

11, but I know that it changed our world forever and I know that it changed your life and your personal world forever as well. So kind of unpack, how you got into the army a little bit more and then the the series of events that happened from there once you were in the army. Oh yeah, well. First of all Lafayette, thanks for let me know how old I am by tell me you were in the first grade. How is a senior in high school makes you feel a little younger? I'm getting there. Yeah, 30 years old and, uh, you know 'cause I knew I had to go back in. So I was talking to a recruiter already. Kind of like one couldn't decide what I want to do with my life. At that point. You know, 30 years old still trying to figure out what I'm gonna do when I grow up. So I was talking to her little bit about it. He's like, yeah, it's a lot harder for you guys have been out for a while to get back in. And then of course boom is like a couple weeks later 9/11 happened and I'm like can I get in now? And of course that's been up the paperwork and everything. A lot of prior service came back in from Desert Storm and it came back in after 9/11. I was back in basic training. October 31st next month. They got me in that quick. I'd go back to basics. I was out of the army for 10 years. I go from basic and I go to my ATT. My advanced individual training which was a military truck driver, which that's what I did my job before the first time I was in, but he's still again. You gotta go back to the training, but this time I got to go airborne. I couldn't go airborne in the first time 'cause I was 17 and they would let me go but my mom would not sign for me to go in the army if I went airborne at 17. I had one uncle who's parachute tangled up in the ground at Fort Bragg so everybody else was all Navy and that one uncle was Army paratrooper, Fort Bragg, so the coincidence were too much for her. I've been 18 at Fort Bragg myself so she would not let me do that one but. This time I was 30. Years old when I was going to do it and you can't stop me. But I did every time I jumped when I was on active duty. I would text my mom afterwards and let her know I was OK. I mean it still is Mama's boys in my 30 and I'm still in text. Mom, I'm OK. When I go back in the army and you know I go through all the training airborne school. Is all through 2001 when I get to Fort Bragg I'm shipping a lot of guys over to Afghanistan. At this point, you know with the transportation. I'm not going myself, I'm just on Fort Bragg taking a lot of guys out and getting ready doing training with them so they can go to Afghanistan. Then finally, you know in Iraq, kicked off. I went to Iraq for 2003. I did 12 month deployment. You know, as we went into Baghdad and everything with 82nd Airborne. I got back from that deployment of 12 months in 2004 and during that time I had to go to an advance. You know, it's my sergeants train become a Sergeant in army. Then I had to move bases. I had to go for Fort Bragg, Fort Carson Co. I was there only three months when I had to ship off again to Iraq, so I was only home a total of 10 months. Well, with my wife and kids at the time. Then I had to ship off again for another 13 months to Iraq. Do not 13 month. You know that deployment came back again. I'm only back for a couple of months and they're closing down there. Moving my unit from Fort Carson, Fort Hood, but because they were trapped there so many people were going so many tours over and over too soon they started rotating your deployments. If you were gone a year. Do you got to stay home a year if you're going six months, you stay home six months yeah, so and then they're they're building more brigades so that we don't have to go over as many times. And so this is now leading up this one. So since I had a parachute badge instead of going with my units in Fort Hood, they probably back to Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne. So I spent about six months there before I deployed again, and I knew something was different about this deployment. It just felt felt different is my fourth one. Overall I'm on the road every day and you see having the news. However, he's getting injured and killed through these roadside bombs, so I just felt something was different about this one. It just didn't feel right, so I actually did things differently. I made sure there was a savings. I got my family, a new car. I went and visited one of my my my kids and I. I haven't seen for awhile like I gotta go come see for I. Leave it was just. One of those things I just knew, and after I spent my loan my sons. I spent his 13th birthday with him. Is a month later. And on April 7th and I was blown up in Iraq. I was only in country. A total on 3 1/2 weeks to a month when I got hit this time and some of that was trying to wait about two weeks actually with my unit when he got hit. Wow. That was 14 years ago today. 14 years ago, April 7th this year made 14 years. When he got hit, it was. I don't remember much of it. I'm at pretty much I'll never any of it that morning remembers having a. Cup of coffee. And if we roll out the gate and the rest of the day is blank, I do remember getting. The coffee roll, the gate and then memories came back to me about picking up one of the passengers. That was with me. And so there's two people that never really rode with me. Because of that, I could picture that day and that's it.

00 o'clock in the evening.

00 o'clock

30. I took Me 2 weeks in a coma there. Luckily I got hit right outside weather basis so there's guys right there to react to get us into a medevac. I was only got to survive from the ID attack out of five of us for the men died that day. Then make it home and and here we are Memorial Day. And you know it's about them. Those my angels. It can taking care of me this whole time. Yeah, it was really hard when I found out in the hospital about them. And that was only survivor. For about a year ahead survivors guilt. I mean it still hits you time to time for sure. But over the years, I've learned to kind of deal with that. Will definitely touch more on that later too. But at first year I prayed. Every night just for God to take me, I felt like a burden to my family. I felt spot survivors girl I know why I was alive. I thought better for everybody else, easier for everybody they have to worry about my next surgery. I could just move on, go to heaven, be with the rest of the guys like I'm supposed to be so I didn't understand it all. I felt useless and I felt like I couldn't do anything here on Earth anymore. Now just a burden to my family. After that it took. So you got a question now. Oh, you know me, I just I'll keep talking like telling everybody hold on I gotta question, go back. Yeah, it's just that first year was so hard. The hardest, but of course there's every time that was Memorial Day or my alive day, April 7th, when the time comes around, my body feels that it knows it's happening. It knows what's going on, and it brings back memories and I embrace those memories like I'm sure people you don't hide from those things. You should talk about him. Of course, you know we gotta laugh. You know they're not laughing. Moments of it were lost people, but they're laughing things we can do about it. Any trauma you've been through when you could go back and laugh at something you've been through. You know you made it and it's just not disrespect to what you've been through or anybody else that was were going through it with you. It's a way of. Coping with it. It's another way of bringing attention to it to help others. So that look that always comes around and always share with other veterans. So I should tell you, I speak with squirrels, run around my head. When it comes to survivors guilt, I think it's so important to remember. This is what I learned over the years and it took me awhile to beat myself up and I still gotta remind myself about this. I gotta think about it. If I wasn't one of the guys that made it home. What would I want for the other ones? You know, course I'd want them to live their best life. Another life is full. I want them to be rich with love and family and financial and just have a great life. Whatever that is that made them feel rich. And we know money is not everything is having those friends having the family. Having love that really makes us rich and not the material things. So I would want that for them and talking to their families and stuff like that. I know I've learned that families want that for me, you know, and how? How disrespecting would it be if if I just gave up on life? You know, here I was given a life and I was like, oh, I don't want it. I throw it away and waste it. I mean, for those families that lost their loved ones and my buddies ilost that's so disrespectful for them, they would die in vain. I gotta keep living for their sacrifice. That's that's so important and so. Anybody out there is dealing with survivors guilt, whether you military or not, there's all kinds of things we all go through in life. Remember, they want you to live your life the best life you can live. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's incredible. You did not allow all the tests that you went through to set you back in to totally give up on life, but you turned your test into a testimony and use that to propel you to triumph and to help somebody else. I love how you talked about that. Wouldn't be fair to all the other men that were there in the Humvee with you decided to give up on life and what great perspective that is. Be 'cause your life was altered. Can you tell us a little more about? The trauma of your injuries cause many people that are going through life. They are quick to give up on life, be 'cause they're not making as much money as they as they want to, or they're not. They don't have the material things you lossed physical things, you know, physical elements of your body, but you still use that to go forward. What was that in you that that drove you to have that inner determination? And just give us some more about you. Know again, your extremities and the things that you went through so our audience can give up. Get a deeper understanding of the extremity of the accident that happened over there in Iraq. Right, yeah, when the bomb went off they it's all the report from it. It was three to four artillery shells that were buried. The center of the road. It left me burnt over 38% of my body. My head was burned through the skull. As you can see, there's. A lot of lumps in my head. 'cause I said shape? Parts of the skull off so we can get. Good tissue to grow back up. There it took 18 months just to get skin finally to go back on my head. And I was at the hospital six months. So I was walking around with no skin in my head. I had bandages on it 24/7. I'm constantly trying new skin grafts and think about the six skin graft surgery tried on my head that got it to work. They eventually took a tummy tuck so luckily I couldn't do much. You know? So I was sitting around. Is eating, eating, eating, eating and so I grew extra skin on my belly. So they end up giving me a tummy tuck and they put that on my head and that's how they actually saved my head. My school. My left arm was burnt real bad. Yeah you could. I had my hand for two years. We tried that, repair it and repair it and no luck. I just tell him take it off they said give us 18 months. I gave two years and two years is up. I said alright it's gotta go and that was the best. Best thing I was able to work with this arm and having the hand without the hand was getting in the way. I get just kind of hung here like this. I couldn't straighten wrist I could barely fingers and it just caused a lot of pain. I always had to have it elevated but sitting in the chair and pillow stacked up is there always swollen? Just a lot of pain but nothing so having an amputated was one of the best things I was. Yes, very happy about doing it. I know a lot of people couldn't fathom at the time I was like, I just jumped off, just get rid of it in the way you know a lot of like how do you just do that like that when you going through all that in your weights? It's a lot. Easier make decision once you're going through that situation for sure. But yeah, my arms that arm my legs are burned very bad, front back feet. Better that than my torso wasn't work, they just don't know the way I sit in the vehicle is flipped upside down. You know the fire, you know, fire just kind of you ever watch a piece of wood. I mean you'll see they all burn differently each time. This may, I guess really sense, but I notice all the burners drivers we look at each other. OK, how are you in the vehicle with this question? How are you positioned? But it's just I had all my gear on. With the vehicle got. Thrown upside down 20 meters instead upside down so it kind of turned it into a convertible and I'm sure you know that my head just probably ripped everything off as it slid. Looking at the photos. But it was total. Six months in the hospital, three years actual recovery three years. So I got used to the way my face looked and the way the new me looked there honestly got you so I started joking around about it two years after, you know I started doing a little stand up comedy and stuff and we're speaking two years after the accident but. I didn't really believe it at first. You know, and you're still me to help my own hard time. You know, I always had my pity pot. Swear I. I would go into a closet and just punch the clothes if. I was angry. Or I look in the mirror and just cry, but I would let it out in a controlled environment. It's another thing like shared peoples. Let yourself have those pretty pot timeouts you got to. You got to express those feelings you're having as their real feelings and if you hide him is depressing, you know they're going to come at the wrong time. You come out in road rage right now. When you're having a drink at wrong situation sometime and you're going to get yourself in trouble. So always no matter what you've been through life. You gotta let something out. It's OK to be depressed. It's OK to be sad, so could be angry. These are real feelings, but you gotta let amount of controlled environment and you know through whether it's. Physically beating something up with gel and just let it out. You know physically be upon those punching dummies you know, punching water. Go for a run or just. Scream into a bottle. I've done that before. I've screamed things that were bugging me so bad I put a bottle, put a lid on it so it goes away. You know you gotta be able to see that physically cousin and I think that helps you mentally, or at least does me. But I ain't normal whatever normal is. I think it's great. But these tools that I've learned along the way, but it's yeah, it's a long time. I've had 48 skin graft surgeries today. I'm at 48 and I know there's other guys and I was like wow, I know those guys. I know guys that got him in the 80s, even 100 skin grafts. 100 surgeries that you know and we all look at each other in different. OK, I've had that many surgeries. You know. Of course we give each other a hard time. About it too, we gotta joke around. Sure about everything. Wow, but that's that's that's. A good acid trying to go through I can't. Thank you, thank you. Get my. Left eye, they're actually going to throw away. They were gonna throw it away. They didn't think they could save it. 'cause I was totally gone but they found 3 milliliters of an eyelid and I guess we're supposed to be 8 or 11 to really rebuild on. But they said, well, let's try. So I've had probably 16 skin grafts just on my eyelids. And they say that left side. It's got 2025. Just got 2020 last time I got him checked. The mermaid keeps telling me I need to get checked again. Getting older my vision. My friend better than my vision. Makes my kids so man, my kids are blind without their glasses and contacts and here my eyelids were burnt off. Oh my God. I see fine. I mean, we meet Lafayette and I both have glasses, so you probably beat both of us. And I amazing partiers hearing, you know, that's another question I get asked all the time about my hearing because they hear loves being gone but. I hear better. I couldn't see in the hospital for about 14-16 months 'cause I had to wear like motorcycle goggles or medicine. In my eyes the whole time. So I got used to hearing people's voices. I could tell you which Doctor Nurse was coming down the hallway by their voice. And then I once I could see again and I go visit the hospital, I see someone waving at me. I couldn't tell you who they were until they talked. I had to finally put their face to the voice. That's incredible. Co how the brain does that there yeah. It's amazing. Yeah, I don't remember anything so I. Woke up in. The hospital next Saturday. Couple things when it happened. And I've tried to remember that one of the hardest things. Two of the survivors guilt is I didn't know those guys that well. They were already out there during deployment. I joined the military deployment so I knew them for a couple of weeks and the one I knew the most was Rodney McCandless, my driver. He was coming back from leave the same time that I was going out there so we got the travel together out to Iraq and so I got to know him the best and the other guys. I barely knew, you know I talked to him a couple of times within a two week. So to me I want to know who they were more so I wouldn't met all their families. Got to learn more about each of them and still keep in contact with him today. You had mentioned and you said you met with survivors guilt. You had felt like a burden. I understand that there will be other people who veterans annual and also with your you mentioned. First responders, as far as your mission, but they they have some similar issues. They may have similar issues with or things overcome with depression and stuff like that, but maybe not survivors. Guilt right? But with that unit meant and that was part of your something for you to overcome, but you felt like a burden on family on friends, like how that has to be something that I would think most people would feel regardless of even if they had survivors guilt or didn't. So what are some things that, like with that, that you can tell, talk, talk to as far as like what? How do you like? Talk to that. How do you fix this feeling of a burden on everybody or feeling like maybe you can't add something? Yeah to them so you feel like you have no value or you know something like that. Yeah, that that was the hard part with with me 'cause you know it needs to be in the. Guy takes care. Buddy, yeah I'm here serving in the army and then on the father takes care. The kids I'm the breadwinner team bringing in all, you know, the money and all the money was in the military. Get a lot of money. Bring what I could. Are you providing? For your family and now your family being provided for. Of course, financially there's so your paycheck and all that stuff. But it was just having your kids take care of you. You know my kids help me tie my shoe. Dad don't trip on that. You know, I couldn't play catch, you know with my son, I couldn't see my daughters go to a dance recital or cheerleading. You know, 'cause it was one 'cause the vision for first. Then it was 'cause of PTSD and my anxiety. You know, I can't go into the cheerleading room where it's really loud. Lots of people yelling and screaming. So now I feel bad 'cause I gotta walk out of my daughter's cheerleading a bit. I'm not saying I just cry like I'm a bad father. I can't do this. It's easier for them. You know, I'm crazy now. They don't need this crazy old dad. They would be better off going going away without me. But it's just so hard during that time to see past that to see that no, they they know that you're you're their father. They love you. You know that your spouse, your family, they it's OK. Think about it. Something again, you got the same perspective if you happen to somebody else in your family. Hey, you know what I'm gonna take care of. You don't care. You go bathroom. Gonna help clean you up. You're going through a hard time right now I'm gonna help you get through this you know you do that to your family they want to help you through it too. But it is really hard to see it during that time. You just gotta remind yourself about these things. So if you are going through something like that, no, that your family wants to take care of you. They wanna see you get better. You will get your independence back. You know that that's what really made me turn. The corner is when I was able to drive again by myself when I didn't have to count on my kids. You know, I just OK had time issues once I could flip phone off. So I got to be able to do things right. I figured out I saw there's that baseball player. The picture. It was Abbott. He pitched one. He's a picture in the pros, Jim. So he did his MIT, yeah. So I learned that so I got to play catch with my son. I try to figure it out so there's our there's ways to do it. You just gotta be more patient and you'll figure these things out. They will come to you and you gotta do it your way. And that's all it is. Again, it's reminding yourself it's up here. The physical part is the easy part to get used to it. You just do it. You have no choice, it's your brain. The mental part of it, that that is the biggest battle that won't always be there. It's not going to be in, and that's that's an anyways. Like you don't go through something like this to battle. We all do it whatever. Going through in life where we feel like we're we're slipping. Whether it's at work, education, financially, friend, we all have that mental battle we put our stuff in our heads that should be there. And we were in a battle in ourselves, right where our worst enemy when it comes to that particular ourselves. So I mean the the mental aspect of it is always going to be the hardest side. It's always gonna be something you need to improve. So don't think oh I go fix once I go talk to a psychiatrist for six months, two years, I'm fixed forever. I never do and you do it again. I try to tell people it's like the analogy of your house. You know to build that house, it takes a Carpenter at plumber and electrician a contractor, you roofer and in all the different laborers. The house is built in just done is it? You gotta continue to do repairs on it. Things are gonna go out over so many years the roof is gonna get damaged so you need those specialties and that's the same thing with our bodies and our minds were always going to specialties to. Help us frogs need keep. Improving we're getting older just by age alone. We're going to have issues as we all know, so the same thing with injuries mental illness is dealing with depression, anxiety and everything. You're constantly going to need to have that work done. Now that when I say it to me professionally, but also someone else has been through it, do groups do talk to others that are going through the same thing? One of the best things about social media. I know social media has the bad things and good things, but it's a lot more people opening up your finding out. You're not alone. People really connect that way. I mean, social media saved us during this pandemic. I think 'cause we're able still able to connect through that. You know, we make fun of these these tik toks and the Instagrams. And we make fun of those things. But they really did help me by now. They helped me a lot when I felt when I couldn't do anything. I know I'm used to serving, you know, I got I served in the military then I. Then I served afterwards speaking and doing comedy, and I found out I could help other people just by sharing my story and continue to be me and chase my dreams. Maybe I could set the example. Share that with somebody else and help them do it too. And it's not about, oh, look at me, I did this. I did this know if I can do it, you can do it and that's the story. If I can do this then you can do it. I'm human just like everybody else. We're all the same. So I think that. You know that helped me through social media where I could still. Reach out to people and make them laugh. Or share a bad day. Those having one of my poems after having a bad day. A lot of times I write stuff down and I'll write it to a poem. And I share that on there. And that's what it's about. It's just sharing and let people know they're not alone there. Loved you, know strangers and all you don't have to. I don't have to you personally. And that's the gift we get to do it right then. Podcasts like we're doing today sharing everything. Yeah, absolutely everything that you you were talking about that motivated you. Dealing with your family and you realize that life had to go on and it all stemmed from a direction of moving forward. And from that I believe you you formed this mission called forging forward. You'll see that even on the side of our shirts that we have here, John, I have on the forging forward mission. Talk to our audience. What does that mission mean? This whole forging for what is that? Why? Did you feel that was important for that to be your mission? And how can people jump in on this mission of forging forward in their lives? Yeah, forging forward is that you know basically my story what comes throughout through stronger after being forged in fire steel. Also, I've learned a spirit. A temper spirit is stronger. My body is obviously weaker, but my spirit became stronger. I forged through it. I forgot to do it by writing poetry by writing songs by writing comedy. I forged through everything with these outlets, and so I want to teach what I've learned to other veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families that are having some similar. Issues I'm having, how to forge forward and that's why I started the nonprofit forging forward. We're gonna take Gold Star families, first responders, veterans to a weekend. You know, I've been to a lot of these different things all the time, and you have good chronic robberies, awesome, get together. You talk. You have fun. But there's always something missing there. Too big. Some of these are too big. You got thirty 4060 people at one of these things, and it's not small enough. It needs to be smaller so that people can communicate better and no one gets left out. So I want to do these in groups of anywhere from 6 to 10. At the most. We can even do 4. But if I gotta do two people at a time or two, but I don't want to over 10, I want to be a close knit group, have stuff in common and I want to teach him an outlet. They're going to come together that weekend and we're going to learn either actually how to forge a knife out of the rainbow spike or the weekend. Could be an introduction to welding it could be introduction to painting songwriting all the stuff that I've done. I want to share that I'm no expert in all of them, but I'll bring in experts to help that so when they leave after that weekend, not only that camaraderie, we're going to sit around the fire. No pun intended, but we'll sit around the fire. We were talk 'cause that gives people open up. They're going to talk about their project and what got them to make the project that they did. You know, when they were banging out that knife and hammering, forging that knife. What was going through their mind? And that helps people talk? They're distracted by the object and what they did, and they don't realize what they're telling you. They're telling you something beautiful. They're opening up, they feel comfortable on those people. They just got it out of their system and so now they leave and they have some kind of skill. They know if they like something like we can do an introduction to it, but now if you like it now, you know how to look into it more. And if you want to progress with them or come back to us and we'll see if we can get you the stuff that you need to do it. 'cause I want them when they're having a bad day and they can't get somebody on the phone. I want them to go in the garage paint. Just do like a masterpiece and throw paint against the wall, whatever it is. Bang out that thing well something together. Write. Write it all down like I do. You know whatever fits them but I want them to try these different things so they could find out where those outlets are that help them and that's what takes us back to. I was talking about with the House. Those outlets are the little things that are going to help you, so sometimes I need to go to the gym and just workout. Sometimes I need to go for a run. Sometimes, and when I'm running or at the gym, my mind opens up and I gotta go home and I gotta write stuff. So it's a whole process of all these different outlets. All these different specialties that helped me get through stuff and all that encompass brings why we started forging forward. 'cause all that? What's that all that do that helps veterans suicide and suicide prevention? You know, without going come here I want to help you not kill yourself. Let's talk about other things that makes that happen without just come on. Don't kill yourself. Come with me. This is all about suicide prevention. That scares people away. Let me teach you some stuff to do. How to battle your demon. Let's talk about battling your demons. How you doing you by yourself. Let's open up that key. That's the way I want to approach it. Yeah, any association I would think they would get from those experiences. Has a powerful and allow you to move forward with sort of a new small family. Yep, exactly well. Keep in touch and you know you got something you learned with somebody else's. Been through it. So if you didn't think you had someone to talk about it before, you can have someone. Now you know for sure you met him all these other guys. Yep, exactly. And another thing we have a problem with the Gold Star families. They. I really want it. Talk to the moon veterans. You know whether it's you know internally or physically out you know on the outside. They want to talk to us were the last ones that were around their families. But then a lot of us are scared to talk to them. We gotta, we gotta break that we gotta bring him together because it's needed. It helped me so much to talk to the families. It helps the families. 'cause they want to. They want to hear the stories. They don't know what it was like out there. We don't know what was that last thing to go through, their son or their daughter's minds? And how are their days? How they actually living out there that helps them. And the best one. I want to start doing one time. All you gotta do is ask us, tell me about your son. What was his name? What did he like and they'll take it from there. There that you know, they we all love talking about children and they want to. They want to keep. That memory alive. That is, that is amazing and I'm sure many people's lives have been saved literally be cause of the forging forward. But not only did you find found forging for the mission you were able to connect with another amazing individual by the name of Jamie Burton. Now we know that you are the warrior Bobby. You were able to make a connection with the mermaid. Jamie Burton. You all established a company called B748748. Talk to us about how you made that connection with Jamie. What is the whole back story on the warrior of the mermaid? An B714? Yeah, it's been a wonderful journey. Then I could do 40 forward. I couldn't do the well done comedian. I couldn't do browser before 8 without the mermaid. She's the wizard behind it. All the IT that the business mind, she's the one that does it all. I'm the pretty face. Face is prettier. I just tried to hide in the background. No, she's amazing. I met her originally. She hardly speak for a company before she retired, so I can speak her company and she originally asked me what's it take to get you here. Come speak and I said, you know, airfare, hotel, whatever your budget allows. She said no, that's not how you do business. You gotta tell your worth. That's how you do business. This how you do this this and then you do this for nonprofits and it's like OK? And I'm going to help you if you wanted me to help you. I can help you. But I don't know I don't. See like just come meet me and you want me to help you. We will talk about it then. Well turned out. Jamies birthday is the same as my life day. April 17 very cool, so I said. We're supposed to work together, yeah? So he started helping me with that with mine so she would come out 'cause I would go to these these things helping other nonprofits like the Lone Survivor Foundation boot campaign. These big organizations that do wonderful things. And I go there and I meet people. But then I get cards and I never remember why I had him. I have a stack of cards at the end of month and like I don't know who they are, why they gave him to me so she would go with me, collect the cards and help me get that connectivity. And while doing that we found out other veterans are doing the same thing. You know they were writing songs and singing these events and and helping raise lots of money and donating their time, which is good. And we want to do that, but. They need to make some money. There's a business side of that. We all hate to do it. We don't want to ask for money, but yeah, we still got families support. We still got needs and stuff too, so that's where B740 came from. Jamie said, let's help the other veterans too. So when we made B748 number 748 love you wanna know what the why? Bravo separate is it? It's a. It's a different name. It's it's a military and law enforcement speakers Bureau. Jamie had a son who joined the Kentucky National Guard. He deployed to Germany when everything kicked off. That was the National Guard took over the bases in Germany. When they win the base, the Germans, Afghanistan. So get a year over there. He came home back Kentucky and you wanted to be a pilot. So he's going to school to be a pilot. And I don't know the last flight during his training to get the final part of his license. Unfortunately the plane. So with the fuel the instructor tried to land the plane, but they clip some trees and so he died at 24 years old. His name is Brian. 748 was on the tail plane so you got B748. For Brian, Jamie wants to continue to serve for her son to help other veterans that hurt her son was a server. You know, Brian served and want to continue serving always helped others. James works in mental health business for over 30 years, so she knows that side of it. And then she wants to serve her son. And then if you also look at Bravo separate teaming up with me. 'cause Bobby starts to be bravo if you if you flip the four into seven you got April 7th. You know 7 four and you got 477. My life they her birthday. OK so yeah. So yeah, now we also tell the gun also 'cause he was 24 years old for the 4 eights, Infinity and seven was their favorite. Lucky number. So there's a lot of meaning in that in that name. From from from from that for sure. And so and so with that we were able to help other veterans and law enforcement that wanted to do speaking comedians. We've got a songwriter singers. We even have a great photographers Stacy Pearsall who does the Veterans Portrait project. She's so busy. Does amazing photos. She's actually a combat vet. They actually got blown up a week after I did the town next to me. We had no idea about that before we met doing a documentary back in the day and we started talking and figured that out. And then Stacy became one of brown separate speakers. Later on, when we will develop that. And then. Going home sorry that's we got the well known comedian who got the forging forward. But the problem for 8. So Jamie and I. I started dating her so that I can get my 20% back. There you go, there you go. We are we are engaged now. I don't like these words engage the military. I call her girlfriend promotable. OK. Modulation. Thank you, thank you. Inside the Tesla. Relationship even more and get an RV. Travel around and visit our grandchildren and also take along the road to meet all kinds of people that are beautiful. 'cause everybody's beautiful. Yeah, on that same note, if everybody doesn't know we have these T shirts that are hard to see. If you're listening to this, you can't see it, but the T shirt says you are beautiful and there's a story on your website behind that T shirt as well, which is very cool. Am I saw I saw that but the dad explaining about his son with the with his face was attacked, right? Yeah, the 8 year old was bit by a dog in mouth. Yeah he didn't take his mask off in the restaurant's whereabouts. Stitches in this car was that so will check out Bobby. He's been through this and that was a 6 year old. Was listening next morning. 6 year old look down. I do a picture. Your friend Bobby and that's the picture you see on the shirt. Like oh God, do some with this. Yeah, but it helped him overcome that fear, didn't it? They know what I heard red. Yeah yes. So my story and seeing my face and what I look like help this little boy be more comfortable going out in public with his car. So I get that a lot through other burn survivors and that just touches my heart when people share. I'd love to share those stories with me 'cause I have no idea what's happening right, you know, but I've learned over the years that I can help people, but I don't always see it and so it's a good reminder for me to keep going. You know I need those reminders too. Sometimes I'm there to remind people. Hey likely that bad and then people around me Bobby are doing good things. Keep going. It's not that back you go. Going right there, so I need that too. Yes, everybody should go pick up there. You are beautiful T shirt so Jamie can be shipping those out for months on end and completely have to renew all the inventory and Lafayette and I each picked up one. Love it. I went to the store it took me an extra 30 minutes to get out of the store because I had so many people asking me about my shirt in one trip. People that work there, people that had no I didn't know any of them. And so it's definitely conversational piece. It's a great shirt, and it has a great great mission behind it. Sam, yeah. Two, I just want to share this is connectivity and socialization right isolated as America? Yeah, I said the the mission of it is connectivity and socialization. So we've been disconnected as America anaza world since what February of 2020. So our thing is, we've got to get back in line. We've got to get back to being people. We've got to get back to be in America. So for us it's people are beautiful everywhere and we need to remember that because. Social media, like Bobby said, it's helpful, but there's so much of it that's negative and we want to promote the positive ITI. So it's wherever we go. It's we. We meet beautiful people everywhere. We eat beautiful food. We see beautiful scenery across America and I can tell you we've we've been in this van almost a month now. And Bobby's done a couple of engagements. And it's just it's been very eye opening people want to be positive they want to be socially connected an an people want America to be America again. And so we've we've got to start a grassroots movement to move it to be in America again. Yes. Yes. In America, yeah, same, but it's it's reached everywhere. I mean South Africa, Germany. England, Scotland. So this story is grown. Organically and I think we're still just in awe like WOW was. This unbelievable. You know, we saw his shirt the first day 'cause I thought, oh this is a neat idea. Will help raise money for the foundation. Great story. You know it's every need to hear it. Soon as I get back, we got boxes coming in from orders or back order already, but we everything's coming in this week so we're gonna. Get him out or excited. That's awesome, well, hopefully we can help back order it somewhere. Thank you, you know she does. This on the computer. I'm the one trying to stop. The bags and. This is video tape because it looks funny. OK, I've seen your videos sending him out like jumping on the bed with all the packages social media I've seen him. Yep, very cool. Wow, yes Amy. I've mentioned it. But Bobby created a, some gave all flags. So I want him to explain how he created that flag and what that flag means because our orders on that we we put it up the first day we sold out. We're having museums ask us to sell the flag we're having. Private businesses ask us to sell the flag. We've got probably 90 orders of the flag going out as soon as we hit the door next week, and it's just it's beautiful. It's so I would like for him to just describe that. Why do you have time if we have time? Fine. Yeah, two years and especially Memorial Day it's. Two years after I was injured, I've. Really wanted to flag that we could fly all. The time we got the. The Kia that POW flag which is amazing. We need that but we don't have a flag for the ones we lost. You know we have Memorial Day and that's it. Pretty much you know. So I want to fly to fly all the time but not just for again. The veterans I'm talking bout first responders. I'm talking about every country in this world has lost somebody in the line of duty. To build a fly this flag, remember them every day. So I did some sketches on the flag and then I sent it to a friend of mine who's a really good artist. And we got it all done. And this is some gave offline so you can fly every day. It's 2 angels bringing a silhouette. Up to heaven. Whatever you're having is I know it already has happened is the same. But I believe in my heart there's one God, and we all realize. That with this stop fighting each other. Uh, but it's just taking it haven't taken that that that soldier that that EMT that the police officer firefighter take him to wear their resting places and? And that's what that's that symbolism is of those angels. It's it's purple, and then it has the white angels coloring the shadow of the person up their soul and it's lined into gold with stars in it. You can see that on 44.org again the shirts, the flags, all this stuff proceeds go straight to nonprofit. We don't. We don't take a dime. It all goes to. Help military veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families. Incredible and we want our unscripted authentic leadership family to connect with you all. Your various social media platforms. We can you all can follow Bobby on Instagram. His Instagram handle is at Bobby_headline that's at Bobby_headline on Tick Tock he's Bobby Henline on Facebook. He is at Bobby Henline. You can also follow Jamie Burton on social media. Her Instagram tick Tock and Facebook. Handle is at you are beautiful USA that is at you are beautiful USA. We talked about that incredible mission of following forging forward. You can follow that mission on Facebook and Instagram at forging Forward Foundation. You also can follow B748 and law enforcement Speakers Bureau at www.bravo748.com. Their Facebook page is B78 military law enforcement speakers. And their Instagram handle is at B748 and as we discussed those shirts that you see me and John wearing that you are beautiful shirts. They are sold there on forging forward. You also can pick up the some gave all flags as well that has been designed by Bobby Henline. You can also call B748 to hire an excellent speaker for your military inspired our law enforcement events and as always continue to follow us here on our podcast platform. What are Facebook page or Instagram page or LinkedIn page of various streaming platforms there on Apple Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio Stitcher and so forth? You could connect with us on our website unscripted-leadership.com and I mentioned that we do have merch available on our website now. Those that are interested you can sign up for unscripted club email group. You can receive a 10% off merch promo code in the merch. Promo code is all caps lead 10. Merch is available unscripted-leadership.com again we say thank you to our special guest today. Bobby Henline the warrior and Jamie Burton the mermaid for coming on and sharing their incredible story and I'm sure someone will be blessed by this. Those that will watch and listen to this. As always, we pray that you be the leader that God has called you to be. We're here to build bridges and not walls. Bridges connect and walls divide until next time. God bless you.