Marine Dakota Meyer Details What War is Really Like | Joe Rogan

the Joe Rogan experience yeah and that podcast that you did with Jocko when I was listening to me it changed my whole day it changed like how I was gonna look at my day I was you know instead of like looking at my day like up it's a normal day I was thinking god damn I'm lucky goddamn I'm lucky and goddamn imagine experiencing what you and how old were you at the time I was 21 21 years old yeah and experiencing what you experienced in that insane firefight being locked down and I mean how many guys did you wind up engaging with I I don't know hey you know I don't know I mean everyone that I got an opportunity with right and just you know it was just uh you know I was so chaotic I mean I still I look I think about all the time obviously it's something I could have never experienced I mean I trained for war every single day when I was in the Marine Corps I mean I was what I was what my job was and I still could have never imagined that day the way it was or anything to turn out I could have never pictured it I could have never and and and I think every day it goes by I think there's a reckoning of it right the way that I've seen it that day is not the way I see it today and I think that comes with you know just just sharpening and just your body you know you change and you you see different things in perspective but yeah I mean you know I I you know that day I mean it's still I mean it still is just you know just it's just there's so many lessons that come from that day that you know I look at people complaining about stuff here in America and it's like you know I seen him one day the best of humans the worst of humans and everybody nobody thought they were wrong and it's possible you know it's just it's just one of those deals of you know that that day was just that's an important point we just said nobody thought they were wrong not them not you yeah you know I I but and it changed me that day like I walked in there that day and I was the guy who was cocky who would tell you you know I love fighting you know I mean like I like I just want to go fight like you know but every fight I had before that it was like you know I always had airplanes sitting you know our helicopter sitting sitting around I always had you know it was like I'm gonna go in there and start the fight and then I'm gonna call in all this other this other stuff to win right and that day it wasn't there and and and literally I walked out of there and I just think about all the time today I just think about all the time of how many generations just that day were changed how many generations of of people's lives were changed you know all my teammates died so they'll never have kids that generations stopped their families forever ago many lives were changed that day by that that that piece and guess what and everybody in America had no clue it was going on like right now there are US troops somebody wondering if they're gonna be able to come home and see their family again that's reality whether you want to ignore it or not like that's reality and that was me September 8 2009 and it was just uh gosh it was a chaotic day it's amazing how you could have thousands of days in your life in one day changes the way you look at everything one day changes the way you look at everything and you know in like the the further I go on that I look at it different you know I always talk about this story of you know whenever this guy came up behind me and I ended up I end up killing him with the rock and I always remember just like I remember it like I see it every night like I remember like I just see his face and I got just because there was a point there was a point that I feel like that anybody that when they whether they're injured or anything like they realize they're defeated like they like it like yeah I don't know I just think there's a point when you look at somebody and they know they're going to die and I'll never forget that and I you know now I look at it and I see it and how we thanked it like this guy is a son to somebody his mother and father are gonna miss him this guy he believes in his cause as much as I do he doesn't believe he's wrong this guy this guy he he could have had a wife or kids that are never gonna see their father again just like you know my dad might have never seen me again if it was switched and really I don't even know that I don't hate him I don't even know this guy we're just here at this place right now because we were born in two different countries were you out of weapons were you out of ammo so my know he had came up and he started choking me my shot him once before and he I was trying to pick my buddy dolly my one of my closest afghans dolly had been shot he got he had been killed and I came around this Terrace to get him and I was on my knee and this guy came up behind me and so he didn't have a weapon either he was no he did he had a weapon and I end up shooting him from the ground and I thought he was dead when he fell on the ground and I kind of moved down and got down with dolly cuz we I was still getting shot at from this machine gun up on this hill and I was trying to make myself small as I could and this guy ends up coming up and choking me like I thought he was I thought he was dead and he ends up choking me out he starts trying to choke me out and eventually let up a little bit and I end up getting around him and I just got we were fighting back and Forrest and I can remember all I was thinking about was like don't let his legs get on me like you know these guys their legs or I mean they've been crawling up mountains their whole life and he was up he was a pretty big dude and I just remember getting on top of him finally I got on top of him and I was rolling on top of him he didn't have all the gear on I did and I end up I remember getting on top of him like like I was straddling him and I'm just reaching up trying to grab for anything I can I'm holding him and holding him down with my throat with my my forearm and I'm just grabbing anything I can and finally I end up grabbing a rock and I just started beating this dude's pace in and I started beating and beating and beating and I remember I remember just like finally like after hitting him you know I don't know three or four times four five times whatever I remember him like finally just kind of looking at me like just its it's like he's like just I'm just looking him in the eyes like obviously closer than me to you right now and you just see all the you can tell like he knows where this is going and I always think about that you know obviously I would kill him a million times over again right he was then he like I don't feel bad about that part of it but I just think about like in that moment if I can find a way to relate to him in that moment a man I'm taking his life we all in America can find a way to connect with each other if we don't connect with each other's because we choose not to I don't care what your differences are like don't like find a reason of why we can get along not why we should not get along right and and I always think about that moment you know of this guy and you know he obviously ended up dying and it would it showed me was is that no cause that you have that's built on hate will survive I didn't hate this guy didn't even know him but I was willing to to take his life because of what I loved and that's what that's what we have to build our lives and our foundation on is not not being angry and hating each other but because we love the cause that we believe in so much does that make sense it does make sense I understand what you're saying the way they look at it in Afghanistan this so it's is it al-qaeda or the Taliban so al Qaeda is mainly and so al Qaeda was in Iraq I'm sorry al Qaeda is the issue that's in Iraq and the towel that's in Afghanistan Afghanistan and the Taliban what are they trying to do are they trying to run a religious California yeah I mean they just want they you know they want to run you know if the way that they want to right like they want to they don't want they don't believe in you know women being educated they I mean they don't believe in any like they don't believe in you know they go back to that their beliefs of you know it's driven by religion of all that control they want they want to control and how much support do they have from the general population I mean I think it not not necessarily the support but because I think that it's not necessarily support it's the power that they have right like they come in and and they lead with the heavy hand right I mean there's these they don't these these these the locals run the place but the Taliban is kind of like look at it like a game right like kind of like a like a mob or or like the Taliban is kind of like the cartel right and so that's that's where they come from and they try to lead with violence and same thing that you would you know you would see with the cartel Taliban is kind like an over of a big cartel and so the general the population they would like that to not be the case yeah I mean they want a system of democracy similar to what we have I mean I don't know what they want that but I did want something better than what they of course like I mean I think they all see that they live in [ __ ] holes right they all see you know I think that they they know what could get you know how it could be better and how life could be better you know yeah the cool thing about America is is that we know what freedom is and I promise you this like you want to have all the differences stop if anybody ever invaded us I mean people don't want to give anything up so they would all start fight everybody would get on the same page and start fighting if anybody tried to come to America because nobody would want to give up their stuff well post 9/11 you remember that what that was you were younger guys how old were you at 9/11 I was in eighth grade and I always say I would never wish for another 9/11 but I would give anything for a nine twelve mmm I would give anything for a nine twelve it was crazy like people were friendly people were letting people in and traffic people that like American flags were everywhere everywhere everywhere people were proud of America like yeah it was it was crazy it was crazy like how on NSYNC everybody was it's hard for people who weren't there on those days to understand the mood of the country it was a different world like we people were patriotic everybody was it I don't necessarily remember what it was like before the day 9/11 so I don't I don't have much perspective on that but I do remember nine twelve I remember I mean everybody was proud to be Americans I mean I mean it was everybody was everybody was proud of our country and who was all switch it turned it was and in that the way it goes though like when something tragic happens like isn't that the way it goes like like we refocus on what really matters like you know all these differences go away yeah but we come back to what matters well that's something that a lot of people who experience war have said that this is where they felt the most connected because their life was literally in danger and because they knew because they had lost loved ones to this thing they had lost brothers to this thing that this was real and that to this day that is the most exciting and happiest time of their life because they were so connected Sebastian Junger wrote about this in a movie the tribe yeah do you read it I read it it's very good and it probably would speak to a lot of the exact same things that you say but you know like I I find the same thing not the same thing obviously because my life's not in danger and I hope that I never have to go a day where my life's in danger again and I find the same appreciation back here in a country that that I love I can you know I I narrowed it down cuz I had to come up with a reason of like why you know I mean it's hard to sit here and watch the valleys that you fought for and then the government go and give those valleys back to the Taliban you know there's one video me and my buddy were laughing about the other day a base that that he had been on and he shows me this video and it's like literally the treadmills that were in the gym there it's a Taliban guy running on our treadmills right like they left it there and we're just like whoa you know and and and I always think about you know cuz if you get down in the weeds of it you start really getting you'll get upset about you know that Valley did I really did did did my teammates sacrifice really change your life like if they had a sacrifice that day would would your life be changed like because that's what were fighting for is America and so I just saw I always looked at it like this and I came to peace with it of you know all we were trying to do anywhere we went when I served and I wore the nation's cloths like I got the I got the best opportunity when people thanked me for my service I'm like don't don't thank me like I appreciate you letting me represent America be the way team for the United States of America like I got to wear the nation's cloth in so many countries but I always I justify it as all we tried to do no matter whether we were passing out soccer balls to kids or we were going in and providing security for a while or we were taking out an enemy combatant all we were trying to do was make that part of the world that we were in a better place that's all we were trying to do we're trying to leave it better than we found at that moment and if we take that same concept and we apply it here and we all go over and do it for the person on the left in the right of us and if we use that same concept you can apply it here in America every day every single day you can make this world just a little bit better there's a lot of people in this country that don't think we should be nation-building in other countries and including people like Tulsi Gabbard who served but then you got people like Dan Crenshaw who I've had on the podcast who what his perspective is you have to go over there like that you can't allow these groups to get more powerful and gain more control you just can't you can't you can't and if not us then who and and the thing is is America is a beacon of hope across the world America is a beacon of hope and and you can notice when America's strong everybody hates us when America is weak the world suffers and I'm not saying we need to go in and fight everybody's battle obviously right like but on the backside of it you know we're not necessarily going in and fighting for other countries but we do have an obligation to go and help people like you take Syria when they are gassing when they are gassing kids and women if nobody else is gonna go send rockets in there if nobody else is gonna go hold somebody accountable for it I'm damn there's nobody that's serving that's wearing the uniform that's not gladly doing that and gonna hold them accountable for it it has nothing to do with anything other than good and evil and if we don't go fight the evil then who's gonna do it who's gonna do it and we don't want the evil to get bigger you don't want the evil to get bigger you don't want the evil to to progress and you don't want the evil to to think that they can let me imagine you see what they're doing right now and and I think the world knows that America will come and show up and you see how how they're still going imagine if they didn't have to worry about us doing it imagine what they would look like you know and I think you can imagine better than most that's part of the problem is that you know when you're in calabasas you know going to the mall you know getting yourself a [ __ ] smoothie yeah it doesn't seem real you know and you can have all these opinions about what we should be doing you know and that we need to stop these war mongers we need to stop this and stop that and I've had those opinions myself in the past and gone back and forth and the only thing that's changed my mind is I listen to people that actually know I think it's one of the most important things you could ever do and don't try to form an opinion if you don't really have any facts and real or any real understanding I've done in the past too I've made those mistakes but what I can tell you this like you know you look at 911 thousands of people died and then none of them volunteered to give their country for their life that day except obviously the first responders you look since 9/11 besides a couple attacks that's been in America but you look since 9/11 everybody that's given their life overseas has volunteered to do that they volunteered to go fight the evil and for us to go over there and do that and keep it off the country to keep it out of our country to keep it to where you know our kids and our families and and our mothers and fathers and and don't have to worry about this I mean obviously obviously it could happen anywhere but but I can't think that us being over there and giving them a place to fight us has not helped this country keep from being attacked multiple times if we had not gone over there that's a hard pill for people to swallow right they don't want to think that but they want to think the reason why they would attack us is because we're over there yeah well you know what I mean what woody why did we get attacked on 9/11 that's a good question you know like these people hate us just because they hate us like they they it's not it's not about you know I there was that one worker that said that well we should go over there and get them more jobs and more opportunities no these people don't care like these people have and they wake up every day and and and try to think of a way to kill us like there's no negotiating with these people these people are evil these people will do nasty things to human beings that no you couldn't even imagine you couldn't make a video game about I mean you look at you look at some of this Isis stuff of what they're doing I mean putting somebody in a cage and burning them you want to be empathetic to that throwing people because because of their sexual preference off the tying their hands and legs together and throw them off top of a building these are the type of people that this is the type of evil I that that we're going after and if we don't do it who's gonna do it right who's gonna do it do you think it's possible that this all could be resolved someday then maybe if it's not our children our children's children do you think it's possible nope that's that everybody says that there's that's one of the most disheartening things about any kind of conflict but I mean if you look at any of the books that came before us this is this is what you get this is this is just part of any at any point in time there's there's conflict going on it'll never be resolved it will never be resolved it will never be resolved so it's made it's like a maintenance program that's hard for people to swallow right because people want to think that the reason why will never be resolved is because the military-industrial complex wants to keep us at war and this is just a big money grab and that's all they're trying to do is the reason why they have us over there is they're sending people over there to die so they can make money this is this is how people love to look at it I mean everybody wants to I think it's just because everybody wants to find a reason you know everybody wants to everybody wants a reason that they can touch feel and blame like they want something to blame right and they you know there's nothing to blame except the people who are doing this and it exists and it's real and these are real people and you know what we're just so lucky that we have an all-volunteer military with some of the greatest people that's ever walked to face the planet who are willing to go do this who are willing to do it on on mining your behalf I mean how cool is that it's pretty wild when you think about it right cuz it's a complete volunteer army volunteer a complete volunteer military these people are willing to raise their right hand to a piece of paper to an idea of democracy go over they put their whole life on hold their wives sacrifice I mean you take military spouses and and they sacrifice if not more than the people for you know then the veterans and the service members and there they're willing to go over and fight for mine your freedom they've never met us but they're willing to give their lives for it like think about this I like I challenge people who are listening to this like what can you name one thing right now that you're willing to give your life for I think about that what would you give your life for right now like like like somebody pulled a gun out you know you're gonna die what would you give your life for I mean these people are willing to go do it on an idea of democracy on the idea of me and you on the idea of of good it's incredible it is incredible you when you signed up how old were you 17 you're 17 Wow had my 18th birthday in boot camp no [ __ ] yeah Wow so you can do that I didn't know I didn't know you I thought you had to be 18 no no I graduated high school at 17 and my dad sign for me Oh someone can sign for you Wow and did you have any other aspirations or was that something that you knew you were gonna do no I like honestly a Marine recruiter chap told me I'd never make it as a Marine and so I yeah yeah yeah well I kitto vias well I could pick my lunchroom like I I don't have any cool stories like oh I woke up and knew I was gonna be a marine like you know I was walking through the lunchroom and this ring recruiter was there I started asking him a lot of smart like smart aleck questions and just you know being a typical high school student and he's like look you're wasting my time you'd never make it as a Marine and you know look how I was up for the challenge so I I signed up that so him saying that was what really sturdy yeah that was in wow I didn't even really know what the Marine Corps was before that really yeah well what did you think you were signing up for I just told him I wanted to go fight Wow yeah yeah holy smokes you know but you think about that like our whole life is built off decisions you know our decisions our control we are we are today we will read azov' to be because we made the decisions up to this point mmm I can that's a hard pill to swallow - yeah it's variable right there's there's some things that are out of your control there are but but a lot of it but a lot of it yeah you you can't control situations and circumstances but you can control how you take it you can work control your response you can control your response growing up like that I mean you're growing up in combat and you're growing up at 18 years old I mean I was a [ __ ] baby when I was 18 yeah you're growing up in combat I did yeah I guess if you look at it like that yeah yeah and you are here now ten years after what we were talking about yeah and you said it still keeps you up yeah I mean I wake up you know a couple a couple nights a month and just you know an anxiety attack throwing up I was actually speaking last week I was on the road it's the first time you know I always like I'm always nervous like if in the middle of night my daughter gets scared or she you know she comes down and gets in my bed like I'm always really like nervous about that because like I don't I would like like it was so I was so nervous about it because I was just gosh I never want them to see me in that and that that state right and the other day we were on the road I was speaking out in North Carolina and she was obviously we're in a hotel so she was staying with me and I don't know I didn't feel good that night so what I did is I put a I put a pillow between us and oh gosh I had I had one I knocked my tooth off my knock my veneer off like it was so terrible and she just looked at me she's three and she just looked at me and she said it's okay daddy you're not you're not a bad dad Wow and we had three and I was like gosh you know but yeah I mean you know you still I mean this is that's that's why you look at it and I see these people who who play these video games and they get nothing from like there's no emotional attachment to it and it's like this stuff's real like there's nobody who I would go out on a limb and say there's nobody who sees this stuff and and they don't you don't come back and deal with it like it's it's a normal process to it to being part of not normal situations [Applause]

Channel: JRE Clips

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Keywords: Joe Rogan, JRE, Joe Rogan Experience, JRE Clips, PowerfulJRE, Joe Rogan Fan Page, Joe Rogan Podcast, podcast, MMA, Joe Rogan MMA Show, UFC, comedy, comedian, stand up, funny, clip, favorite, best of

Id: pXRnNyUnq1A

Length: 26min 50sec (1610 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 08 2019