Brian Alvey Discusses September 11's Impact on the Military

**Nigel Jason Hammer** (0:00)
Hammer and Nigel.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:01)
Do you believe these characters?

**Nigel Jason Hammer** (0:02)
They're weirdos. So let's rock it!
Hey, my name is Nigel Jason Hammer, right over there with a very special in-studio guest.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:12)
He's a fill-in host here at 93WIBC, part of the wildly successful ThoseAshHole podcast. Brian Alvey, you are our go-to guy for military stuff. You have proudly served your country in a number of ways.
What does this date on the calendar mean to you?

**Brian Alvey** (0:33)
At this point, it's pretty surreal. It just kind of gives you pause. I try not to go deep in thought. We've done this 25 years now and it's changed over the years with reflection. And I finally got to the point, I'm not getting the phone calls and the texts and stuff of guys that I knew, not making it back from down range and I get those calls anymore. Unfortunately, we still have the issue of so many veterans taking their own life to this day. I saw a statistic or something they tried to put out. Oh, we're down to 17 a day, not 22 I'm like, that's attrition, you jackass.
Let's stay off the numbers.
I'm to the point now, I'm honestly just kind of reflective of how much it changed mine and everybody's life, everybody around the people.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:23)
How did it change yours specifically?

**Nigel Jason Hammer** (1:25)
Were you in the military?

**Brian Alvey** (1:26)
Yeah, I had just some time and I was in the National Guard at the time. I was in the 151st Long Range Surveillance Airborne Unit, what used to be back in Vietnam as D Company Ranger. We just had that ceremony for them finally getting the presidential citation that he deserved almost 60 years ago.
So I was with a bunch of great guys. I mean, the leadership team there was just phenomenal. And so we were ready to go. And I was actually coming up to Indy late that day because I would always avoid rush hour, I'd come in early or I'd come in late. I was running sales for a mechanical contractor up in Indianapolis and it was just kind of, it was such a beautiful day. I just remember how I was listening to WIBC, I was listening to them on the radio when I was coming back. So I always listen to it in the morning and just coming up 65 is beautiful. I was in my truck, had the windows down. I said, and I was like, what the heck is going on? So I called, I flipped open my next tell and I called my wife and she's like, Oh, you want me to call you back? Because you remember next tell was sure incoming calls free. Yeah, no, no, no. Stay on the phone. Stay the phone. Turn on the TV. What's going on? She turned it on. She saw the replay of the first plane hit in the tower and scurried the kids out of the room. And by time I got into the office, I saw the second plane hit when everybody was looking at it in the boardroom. So is it just kind of surreal?

**SPEAKER_2** (2:43)
So from a military perspective, how did things change after 9-11? I believe we saw a massive uptick in enrollment. Did we?

**Brian Alvey** (2:54)
Oh, yeah. Recruiting went through the roof, not only with good patriotic Americans decided they you know what? They probably were thinking about serving their country at some point.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:03)
And there was an NFL player that decided to stop playing.

**Brian Alvey** (3:07)
Pat Tillman became a US. Army ranger. And unfortunately, he was killed in action in Afghanistan due to friendly fire. War sucks. It happens.
Not to minimize it, but it's just horrible. But, you know, recruiting went through the roof. And the other thing is, is what they I've talked to. I know several recruiters at the time. Recruitment. I'm not going to call it recruitment. It's not recruitment. They didn't recruit anybody. They show backups and I'm signing up. So many prior service military ran down and signed back up. They didn't stop what they were doing. They're like, no, I'm not.
That's what I signed up for originally. Let's go.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:43)
Even first responders, not necessarily military actor Steve Buscemi, who was like a firefighter in New York, went back and was a volunteer firefighter in the aftermath of 9-11. I never heard that.

**Brian Alvey** (3:54)
Oh, that was a great story, Nigel. He actually showed up on 9-11 because they were stretched so thin. He just showed up at his own firehouse and started working.