Ep 490: From Sweaty Enlisted TACP to TACP Officer Hot-Bunker – Lt Col Temple

This one’s a banger, folks. Lt Col Brandon Temple—Mustang, TACP legend, and card-carrying member of the “deep state”—joins the team room and brings the heat. From botching his shot at pro baseball to stumbling into the Air Force via a giant binder of mystery jobs, Temple’s journey is pure chaos and grit. We dive into his Mustang days (yes, he enlisted first), Navy betrayal (yep, he crossed over), and what it was like sleeping bag spooning with a CCT in Afghanistan.

Oh, and he’s not just a warfighter—he’s a legislative assassin now, influencing Capitol Hill and telling Congress what’s up with AFSPECWAR. Add in some dark humor, Civil War accents, a napalm joke, and a love letter to Hunter Seven Foundation… and you’ve got an episode that’s half roast, half reverent, and 100% Ones Ready.

🔥 Key Takeaways:

🛫 Went open general in 1999 and dodged security forces by sheer luck and Sharpie.
🧭 Failed land nav because Florida has bears, snakes, and Florida Man.
🧊 Cuddled a freezing CCT in a sleeping bag during Operation Red Wings recovery—no regrets.
🇺🇸 Spent 9+ years enlisted, then commissioned into…the Navy?! (Yes, really.)
🧠 Mentored by Raisin Cain, served with Rangers, and later became his aide at JSOC.
🏛️ Now shaping defense policy on Capitol Hill as a legislative liaison.
🧪 Big advocate for toxin exposure testing—Hunter Seven Foundation is leading the charge.
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Welcome to the circus
02:10 – From baseball dropout to TACP
06:40 – Recruiter roulette & Sharpie job reassignments
10:20 – Failing land nav in alligator country
13:40 – From Cold War mindset to GWOT reality
17:20 – The B-2, drones, and how we love spending billions
20:00 – Life as enlisted TACP during peak GWOT
24:30 – Operation Red Wings: cold, chaos, and camaraderie
28:30 – Wait… you commissioned in the Navy?!
34:50 – Interservice transfer hacks & admin warfare
39:00 – AFI detective work and recruiter BS busting
43:00 – Sleeping bag jokes, Civil War accents, and flaming napalm
47:00 – Why officer-led career fields matter (even if we roast ‘em)
52:00 – Hill work, defense budgets, and why Congress actually matters
57:00 – Educating lawmakers on AFSPECWAR
1:01:00 – Hunter Seven: cancer screenings and saving our GWOT generation
1:06:00 – Deployment history should drive medical care
1:09:00 – Moral Compass Federation: tackling moral injury

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