#1363 - Dakota Meyer

Joe Rogan (0:04)

What's up, Dakota? What's going on? We finally did this.

Dakota Meyer (0:06)

I know, finally, we've been talking about it.

Joe Rogan (0:08)

I feel super connected to you, man, because all day, I've been listening to you on Jocko's podcast. First of all, anybody who really wants to know you in depth, in your element, talking with a fellow warrior, I strongly recommend that podcast.

For people who don't, what number is it? Do you know which number?

Dakota Meyer (0:27)

I don't know what number it is.

Joe Rogan (0:29)

I was just listening to it. It's Jocko Podcast 115, Into the Fire and Beyond the Call of Duty.

Dakota Meyer (0:39)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (0:40)

Jocko is a fucking beast. And you two together, talking about the incidents that happen with you overseas, it's insane. I mean, it is like, I had to call Buddy, I had to stop the podcast and call my friend Brendan just to talk to him.

Dakota Meyer (0:57)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (0:57)

And I was like, this is so intense. It's like, I was driving, I was getting nervous, right?

Dakota Meyer (1:03)

You know?

Joe Rogan (1:04)

Driving in my fucking Tesla, my little electric car, I'm driving, my hands are sweating, and I'm breathing heavy, I'm like, fuck! It was...

Dakota Meyer (1:13)

Well, if you hear all those, when you're listening to that podcast, that was by far the most, I mean, Jocko just pulled it out of me, right? Most everybody hits the high points of it, but me and Jocko just made that connection. It was the first time we'd ever met. Oh, really? And face to face, yeah. We just went, he actually picked me up from the airport and we went there and we sat down and did the podcast. And I don't know, I think he knew the questions to ask because I think it was good for both of us. Because if you got to the point kind of in the middle of it, if you start hearing those silences, it was both of us trying to keep from tears falling, right? Like it was like that moment you're trying to, it just, you know, it really, we really connected and it was, you know, it was a tough podcast.

Joe Rogan (1:58)

Well, you could tell because for Jaco, I mean, I listen to a lot of Jaco's podcasts, but that was one where he was really in his element. First of all, it's very, obviously it has a deep respect for you and who you are and what you stand for. And then two, it brought him back to his own experiences and more. And so the whole thing is just, it's one of the most intense podcasts I've ever listened to, if not the most intense.

It's fucking heavy, man.

Dakota Meyer (2:21)

Yeah, it was heavy.

It was a hard one.

Like you said, I think we both, I think Jaco was getting as much out of it as I was, right? And I have the utmost respect for Jaco. The guy is just, he's the epitome of a warrior all around, from day in and day out. I mean, he wakes up every day and lives the things that he says. I mean, he does what he says and he lives it, and he puts people first. And he's just, I mean, he's one of the greatest guys I've ever met.

Joe Rogan (2:49)

And I agree. I couldn't have said it better. And Tim Kennedy as well. We're both friends with Tim, and the same thing.

It's a rare, rare human being, both of those guys.

Dakota Meyer (2:58)

It is, and I think that's what I'm so fortunate about, is I'm just, I'm surrounded by just people like that, right? I'm so fortunate to have a circle like that. I think that that's what makes us who we are. I mean, that's the true, the epitome is, iron sharpens iron. And when you're surrounded by guys like Jocko and Tim Kennedy, and I mean, well, you have no option, but even if you're, you know, even if you're last in that group, like you're still, you're still above average, you know?

Joe Rogan (3:28)

Well, there's a cliche, you know, that comes up when people talk about military, you know, that, you know, people will say things, and sometimes it's hard to understand whether or not they grasp exactly what they're saying, but that people make sacrifices so that you could be free.

And I don't think, I don't think people, it's hard to truly internalize that without having experienced what you've experienced, what Jaco and Tim Kennedy have experienced. When I'm listening to it, I know that it's correct. I know that it's true. I support it 100%, but it's almost like an alien thing to me because I've never experienced it. So when hearing you guys talk about it and climbing inside your head for a bit and listen to you describe it, that cliche, the land of the free because of the brave, it gets highlighted where you understand like this is why America's not like it is in other places because of this strong military. And one of the things you guys talked about in that podcast was this idea of us invading Afghanistan. You were fighting alongside Afghans.