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Hey, everybody, Welcome to the Buck Brief. On this episode, Jeff Tigues is with us. Jeff anchored his life as a man of warfare and a man of God. He is a Special Operations Army commander now retired. He joined the first Ranger Battalion at age eighteen, retired as a Delta Force lieutenant colonel, and he has a book out Where Have All the Heroes Gone? Jeff? First of all, it's just passed veterans. David, thank you for your service,
incredible service that you gave to the country. Tell us if you will, what is Where have all the Heroes Gone? Tell us about this book?
So, Buck, it's my journey of faith and how I anchored the faith of my youth as I grew into a man, and how I was able to find comfort in the heroes and the legends of the men and
women that that really motivated me. And it really began this pursuit when I lived in Israel and was able to walk the terrain and look at these battlefields and look at these locations through a soldier's eyes, and it became my own personal journaling and investigation into the stories that we know, or that we think we know, or that we have forgotten over time. And that's really what
the book was initially. And then I started to relate some of my own military stories and it almost became kind of cathartic to look at the things that I had read about since I was a child into a manhood and how they actually impacted my experiences as a
combat soldier. So the book flips between Bible stories, things you might not know that are unique and interesting and fascinating about those stories, and then my stories as a ranger Special Forces, then ultimately Delta in the battlefields that we've been on over the last twenty twenty five.
Years, What can you tell us about when you're going back and thinking about it, and as I'm sure you've you've gone and spent a lot of time in reflection on your serves the country the first time, Jeff, I mean you were you were in Delta Force. You're a Delta Force commander. I mean people hear that, and there's automatically a sense of just respect and honestly awe at that accomplishment. I mean, to be at that level of elite military capability. People hear that and they pay attention.
First time you were in combat? What was What was that like? I mean psychologically and emotionally.
So this book started as a personal journey looking at these stories and trying to dig deeper. When I spent some time in Israel and walked the terrain and I was looking at these battlefields and where these stories happened, and looking at them through a soldier's eyes and a soldier's lens, I began to see some things that were inconsistent or things that we had lost over time. So
it became a personal journey of faith. And then as I was writing the book and looking at these different stories, worries, and the deeper meanings and hidden patterns behind them, I started to relay them to my own experiences as a combat soldier. So the book lays out Bible stories that a lot of people are familiar with, some of these hidden legends and traditions that have been lost to time, and then it jumps into a story on how it
relates to me. And we're talking about some of these big things like identity and betrayal and courage and passion and love and loss, and it really became a cathartic experience for me and really something I wanted to share
with other people on a faith tradition. And then, you know, we still have many veterans that are feeling lost and disconnected after their time and service, and I'm hoping that this can help them maybe find a way back home to a passion and purpose and you know, either through faith or through reigniting, just things that they have picked up along the way as well.
And Jeff, you mention and write about some of the historical heroes, biblical historical heroes and warriors.
What makes you know?
What are the characteristics because you're a Delta Force commando of a great Delta Force warrior, because that's what they are. Like, what are the psychological traits and what is the skill set for somebody to be an operator of the first class at that level?
Yeah? I think they would be the things people expect, right, Like you have to be physically fit, you have to be strong, you have to be courageous. U do you have to have honor? But I think what is counterintuitive to many people is a level of humility that is required and a really solid understanding of followers. You know, someday I'd like to write a book or study followership. You know, we study leadership, but followership is huge. And there's a story in the Bible. I don't even remember
if I touch upon it. I think I do in the book where David says just kind of in passing that he longs for the water from the well of his youth in Bethlehem, and his mighty men risk lives to go get him a sip of water, and they bring it to him and he throws it on the ground. He refuses to drink it because he understands how what he says is so important, and he's built this trust and confidence with these men that he really has to be be careful about what he's doing as a leader.
And the men and women that I have followed understood that they understood that they were servant leaders. They weren't in charge of things like some pinnacle on the top, but they were supporting every single person. And that's a heavy responsibility to carry and one that I've always cherished and look look forward to in every opportunity that I get.
Now for a man of a man of God and a man of warfare. People don't generally these days think of those two things as going together. I know, obviously they can, and you're writing about some of that in the book and in the biblical context as well. But how do you when someone asks you that, If someone says, wait a second, you're a man of God, but you're a man of war, a man of warfare, or a warrior, how do those two things go together reinforce each other.
Are there any conflicts that come up that you have to pray to have a better understanding.
Of Yeah, I don't think so. I think there is a righteous utility of war. I'll be quite honest with you, Buck. When I was over in Afghanistan and Iraq, I definitely gravitated more towards the Old Testament. I almost I almost could relate to the Old Testament God and the and the the instructions that were given to wage war with
without mercy, you know. So I did a lot of Old Testament reading, you know, and then when you jump into the New Testament and you and you hear about Yeshua and how he's looking for peace and there's a time for everything right and what we know as believers
is how this ends. This ends with war again. So we have this old Testament that's just littered with war, and then we've got the new Covenant with Yeshua and this time that we're in that's supposed to be of peace and finding this this shalom throughout the war world, but all of it ends again in warfare. And I think the important thing is is really understanding your enemy. I never had hate, I never had anger towards my enemy.
I recognized that we were pitted on both sides of a conflict, and they were doing what they believed in and we were doing what we believed in. And it's never been really something I've struggled with. And I think also people would be surprised in Special operations. There is definitely a majority of believers in the Rangers and in special Forces, in in Delta Force that I think people
would recognize. Which makes sense. If you believe in the country, and you believe in honor, and you believe in integrity, and you're willing to put yourself under ethical and moral legal rules of organizations, it only stands to reason it's something you're already used to uncomfortable with Mike.
I want to ask you a little bit about the current state of national security and the military and all that. Uh, Jeff want to ask you about that in a second here, so hold on a second, Mike Lindell. That's why Mike was on my mind. Sorry that Michaelendell's My Towels, everybody. They're amazing. They're absolutely fantastic. I've got them here at home,
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Uck for this special offer and many more. Okay, Jeff, so your Special Forces or Delta Force Command or same thing or you know both both things are true. I don't know if you saw this, but there is a recent pull out that says a majority of American adults would not be willing to serve in the military even
if the US were to enter a major war. What is going on here with the morale of the American people and the willingness outside of military ranks to consider service to the country if the country were directly threatened in a major war?
Buck, I have not seen that report, and I don't know if I believe it. So here is something that I remember. So I was a young ranger. It came in the military in nineteen eighty seven, and we didn't have war. You know, we wanted war. Be careful what you asked for, right, Well, I think it was back in probably about two thousand and seven when we were in Iraq and I got in the back of a vehicle and there were a bunch of young range in
this vehicle with me. I was an adult Force opera at that time, and I looked across at these young men and I marveled at the fact that they knew out of high school that they were joining the military, and they were going to go into two very unpopular wars already by two thousand and seven, two thousand and eight, wars that many of us knew we weren't going to win. We just didn't have the national will to win those wars.
I don't know if these young men recognize that or not, but I was awe struck on the fact that a year year and a half earlier, they were still in high school right they were playing football, they were going to homecoming games, and they joined to defend America and go to these conflicts overseas, things that seem to be hugely unpopular. So I would challenge all of that. I think there are many of patriots. I have two sons, they're twenty six and twenty three. They are not soldiers.
They're entrepreneurs and artists that we've created that space out a lot of my life as a soldier. But I can guarant to you if they were needed and called upon, they would answer that call along with many of their friends. So I think we're doing way too much advertising and promoting of the people that don't believe in these old traditional values that we do. And I think there are plenty of young men and women and I have to go back and look at that report that you mentioned.
You said adults, So I wonder what those ages were. I've almost lost hope for, you know, people, our age, But I still have hope for these young men and women in their twenties that have been left with so little, and they're going back to I think some of these traditions. You're beginning to see them go back to church and go back to faith, and they're trying to put their confidence in some of these things that we've kind of broken apart for them.
What is your sense of the criticisms that have been leveled against a lot of the four stars, if you will, the top military brass, the Secretary of Defense for the social engineering that has gone on with the military. Does that concern you? Do you think that's overhyped? How do you view that?
Yeah, I would take that and pile on some things buck. You know, the I think our general leadership, our natural leadership, both at the political level and military level, need to be held accountable for the things that they're responsible for. You know, when you look at Iraq and Afghanistan, I wasn't responsible for winning the wars. The guys that I worked with weren't responsible. We were responsible for winning battles,
and that's what we did. And Americans won every single battle that they've been involved with, but our politicians and our higher generals lost those wars. So I find it kind of ironic that these men that failed to win wars that they were tasked with winning are now in high level positions and making money and consultants and that kind of thing. So we really need to understand what
that relationship is between politics and military. We need to understand almost back to this close the Witzy idea that warfare is an extension of politics, but it's not politics, and warfare in combat and winning on the battlefield is still an essential part of the way the world works. It's just like we're looking at now with Israel. You know, we're trying to influence Israel to have some sort of velvet glove approach in Gaza after they were brutally, brutally attacked.
So the other day, a couple of weeks ago, I was at the New Army Museum in Virginia and I was walking through it and we were celebrating the American Army, the American military through all of these wars, and we were brutal. I mean, we won these wars because we were brutal and we outward our enemy. And then you get to Desert Storm, and then you get to the Iraq War, and you get to Afghanistan, and we suddenly stopped aging warfare. Now, it happened in Vietnam as well,
so I guess that was the pivot. Warfare is an essential part of peace. It's an essential part of keeping the world stable. But we've watered it down and we've created these wars that aren't really wars. And I think we either need to decide you're going to go into a war and win it or you're going to stay out of it. And this little tiptoe dance that we've been doing since Vietnam is just not healthy for anybody.
Jeff, I want to ask you to tell us where we can get the book and a few more things here in just a second.
But first up.
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You can sign up for free, paid for by New Paradigm Research. Jeff. Tell everyone again about the book and why you think this is something that a lot of the folks at home would really would really get a lot of value from reading.
So the book is called Where Have All the Heroes Gone? A pilgrimage through the Bible, the battlefield and back home again, And everything about it is encapsulated in that title. It's a pilgrimage, and I think it's a highly unique book that blends a spiritual journey. It looks at legends and traditions of old ancient scripture and then very very unique experiences that I've had from Panama as a young corporal
that invasion in nineteen eighty nine. I'm hoping that people are finding a new inspiration to relook some of these old traditions, some of this old scripture. I've definitely written it for veterans, and maybe some of the things that I talk about and share they can identify with some of those frustrations we've had, some of those goals. I think it's just some really candid talk as well about things that Special Operations Forces and me specifically have endured
over the last you know, a couple decades. You know it kind of I find it kind of ironic again, Buck, where people are very upset about the tactics that Hamas is using in Gaza right now, and I'm sitting here going does nobody know that that's what's been happening in Iraq and Afghanistan for twenty years. The suicide bombers and the tunnels and hiding behind children, you know what I mean? Those are things that we've been overlooking. And I tell
those stories. I tell the story of fronting a man who had a baby in his arms and a knife across the child's throat, threatening me that I needed to let him go. You know. I talk about these things, and again, I think it was some healing for myself. I hope it brings some healing for our other fellow veterans. And I think it's a fascinating blend for folks that aren't that familiar with the Bible or the Bible stories, or even if they are, there are some things in
there that have really been lost to time. You can find the book on Amazon. It's a Kindle version. There is the cover version. There's some delay with the audio. I'm not sure why the audio isn't out yet, but the audio is complete and it's my voice, so it'll be a familiar voice. And that was an interesting experience as well, not only writing the book but reading aloud
for the audio. It also was all part of this journey that I really feel is some closure for me that I hope it will bring to some other people, either those that have been burned by the faith or have lost their passion for it, and those veterans also that are really looking for a new passion and purpose in life.
Where have all the heroes gone?
Book?
Go get your copy. Jeff Tigs a hero, a humble man, a badass, a man of God. Appreciate you being here, sir.
Thanks Bot, Thanks for having me. Really appreciate it.