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The Department of Veterans Affairs has spent years trying to modernize its electronic health record system, but Aaron, Trent, and Peaches dig into why the project has become such a massive government-tech story. The original contract carried a roughly $10 billion ceiling, Oracle later acquired Cerner, the timeline moved from 2028 to 2031, and the contract ceiling increased to about $27 billion. The guys walk through how a project meant to simplify veteran healthcare instead became a case study in delays, added complexity, and questions about accountability.
The Spokane rollout becomes the clearest example. According to the figures discussed in the episode, staffing increased, productivity dropped, and later inspections raised concerns about workflow, burnout, and patient safety. Aaron’s larger point is that inefficiency at the VA is not just an annoyance — when staff are overloaded and systems are slow, veterans waiting for medical or mental-health care feel the consequences directly. Trent and Peaches also compare those problems with their own relatively positive VA experiences in San Antonio and Las Vegas, highlighting how uneven the system can be across locations.
Then the numbers get even harder to ignore. The transcript notes that by July 2026, the new system was live at only 14 of 164 facilities, while later estimates discussed in the episode put the total rollout and sustainment cost far above the original contract ceiling. Aaron, Trent, and Peaches also get into Oracle’s upcoming congressional testimony, proprietary software concerns, contractor accountability, and the difference between a contract ceiling and actual money spent. Their bottom line is simple: modernization is necessary, but veterans should not have to accept waste, delay, and poor performance as the normal cost of doing business.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:10 - The VA Has a Technology Problem
02:33 - Why VA Systems Feel So Outdated
03:30 - Oracle Health and the $10 Billion Contract
04:36 - Why Government Tech Contracts Balloon
05:26 - From $10 Billion to $27 Billion
06:42 - Did DHA Make Things Worse?
07:52 - Spokane Becomes the Test Case
08:30 - More Staff, Less Productivity
10:01 - When Healthcare Inefficiency Becomes a Patient Problem
10:14 - The MICT Checklist Comparison
11:11 - Trent and Peaches’ VA Experiences
12:35 - Why Veterans Accept Broken Systems
13:34 - Big VA Hospitals vs Smaller Facilities
14:13 - Why It’s Hard to Attract Staff
15:00 - Only 14 of 164 Facilities Were Live
15:43 - Oracle, Cerner and Proprietary Systems
16:46 - Congress Subpoenas Oracle Executives
18:00 - What Oracle Says in Its Defense
19:11 - How Much Will This Actually Cost?
20:05 - Vegas vs San Antonio Veteran Populations
20:52 - Fraud, Waste and Accountability
22:15 - Ones Ready Partners and OTS
23:12 - Wrap-Up
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The Air Force is flying, moving, supporting and striking everywhere — but the money still has to come from somewhere. Trent and Peaches break down what happens when current operations consume existing Air Force resources while the service is simultaneously trying to modernize aircraft, rebuild munitions stockpiles and repair bases that spent two decades taking a back seat to GWOT requirements. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, operations dominated the priority list. Now aging HVAC systems, electrical grids, sewage, dorms and military construction are all demanding attention at the same time.
The guys also get into why military construction costs so much, what “taking it out of hide” actually means, and why the next fight cannot be funded by simply stripping money from everything else indefinitely. The Air Force still has to buy aircraft, upgrade capabilities, replenish weapons and maintain installations while supporting missions around the world. Trent argues that if the Air Force continues carrying a disproportionate share of operational requirements without additional resources, something eventually has to give.
Then the conversation turns nuclear. Peaches and Trent dig into small modular reactors and Air Force efforts to experiment with microreactors that could provide resilient power to installations even if civilian infrastructure goes down. They discuss Eielson AFB, potential projects at other installations, the limitations of wind and solar at large scale, and why nuclear power may ultimately be one of the most practical ways to make military bases truly energy-resilient.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:10 - Trent and Peaches Become GWOT Boomers
02:30 - Desert Wars vs Jungle Warfare
03:55 - The Air Force’s New Resource Problem
05:52 - How GWOT Changed Air Force Spending
07:46 - Twenty Years of Deferred Infrastructure
09:44 - Why Military Construction Costs So Much
11:06 - Operations Are Eating the Budget
12:00 - Dorms, Mold and Aging Air Force Bases
13:25 - HVAC and Electrical Systems Are Getting Crushed
13:48 - Nuclear Power for Air Force Bases?
15:27 - Why Military Bases Need Independent Power
16:49 - Eielson AFB’s Microreactor Project
18:00 - Coal, Nuclear, Solar and Wind
19:58 - Is Nuclear the Cleanest Realistic Option?
21:12 - More Air Force Bases Could Get Microreactors
22:15 - Texas Infrastructure Detour
23:22 - Toll Roads and Paying for Infrastructure
25:02 - The Air Force Is Doing Everything
26:14 - The Ben Affleck Air Force Meme
27:30 - Ones Ready Merch and Partners
28:53 - Ones Ready Wrap-Up
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The U.S. Space Force now has a formal component inside U.S. Special Operations Command, and Aaron, Trent and Peaches break down what that actually means for SOF. The new relationship is not about creating “Space Force commandos.” It is about putting Guardians who understand satellite communications, ISR, navigation, electronic warfare and space effects directly alongside the people planning and executing special operations. Instead of SOCOM requesting support from outside the organization every time a problem appears, the expertise is already inside the command and looking at the mission from the beginning.
That integration could matter more than most people realize. Aaron argues that simply having Guardians in the room allows them to recognize problems other components may not even know can be solved with space capabilities. The guys also discuss the growing Space Force budget, commercial innovation from companies like SpaceX and Anduril, and why space and cyber are becoming increasingly important to modern warfare. Special operations does not necessarily need a new breed of Space Force operator — special operations needs immediate access to people who already understand how to create effects from the space domain.
The episode also pushes back on the stereotype that Guardians have easy jobs because they sit behind screens. Aaron describes missions that can keep people cognitively engaged inside vaults for extremely long periods, where they may have only seconds to solve a complex problem with real consequences. The guys talk about the strange but high-performing Space Force culture, the growing pains of a young military service, and why exposure to USSOCOM could produce better leaders on both sides of the relationship. Naturally, they finish by designing the ultimate Space Force Ranger with jump wings, a dive bubble, free fall and a Weapons School patch.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:00 - Operator Training Summit Las Vegas
02:20 - Aaron Becomes the Ideal PJ Specimen
03:20 - Surviving the Ones Ready DMs
04:50 - Space Force Joins USSOCOM
05:33 - The New Space Force SOCOM Component
06:34 - Why SOCOM Wants Space Capability
07:17 - What Does Space Force Actually Bring to SOF?
08:20 - Space Support to Special Operations
09:25 - Why Integration Matters
10:00 - Space Force Budgets and Expensive Satellites
11:53 - Could Anduril Build It Cheaper?
12:13 - Special Operations Doesn’t Need Space Commandos
13:02 - Space Force and SOCOM Have Been Converging for Years
14:00 - Why Putting Guardians in the Room Matters
15:18 - Space Force Culture Is Different
17:40 - The Human Performance Problem Nobody Sees
19:18 - Thirty Seconds to Prevent Catastrophe
20:00 - Building the Ultimate Space Force Ranger
21:08 - Ones Ready Wrap-Up
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE
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What should training for Air Force Special Warfare actually look like before you ship? Aaron, Trent, and Peaches go live to break down how future AFSPECWAR candidates should approach running, rucking, calisthenics, strength, water confidence, recovery, durability, and overall preparation — including what candidates consistently get wrong and how to know whether you’re actually ready for the pipeline instead of simply capable of passing an IFT.
Then the conversation shifts to Space Force inside the USSOCOM enterprise. The guys break down why special operations needs Guardians integrated directly into the command, what space-based ISR, communications, navigation, electronic warfare, and other space effects can bring to SOF, and why having Space Force expertise in the room could matter more than creating some mythical “Space Force commando.”
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE
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Register for our Operator Training Summit: OperatorTrainingSummit.com
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Collabs:
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ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code): ATACLete
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The Air Force Special Warfare meme wars are apparently back. Aaron, Trent, and Peaches break down how a joke between Ones Ready and JT escalated into an entire AI-generated “Ones Finally Ready” universe, complete with fake movie posters, character transformations, campaign-style content and enough production value that people started messaging the guys asking whether the feud was actually real. The answer is both simpler and somehow more ridiculous: the boys are chirping, everybody has too much access to AI, and some people on the internet have completely lost their ability to recognize a joke.
That leads into the bigger conversation about humor, military culture and cancellation. Aaron talks about people becoming genuinely angry over TACP jokes, including messages and discussions about fighting him in Vegas, while the guys point out that the actual people involved in the “beef” can still hang out, have drinks and laugh about it. They also discuss anonymous military meme pages, why AI keeps blending Trent and Aaron together, the strange professionalism behind JT’s parody campaign, and why being able to make fun of each other may actually be healthier than treating every joke like a personal attack.
Naturally, it gets worse from there. The crew pitches Morgan Freeman narrating the fake movie, wonders whether Ones Finally Ready could outperform the Ground Truth documentary, talks about the LGBTACP shirt raising money for the TACP Foundation, and debates whether Peaches needs to retaliate or simply lean harder into the absurdity. Somewhere underneath all the chaos is a very Ones Ready message: you can disagree, roast each other, get chirped online and still be friends when the phones go away.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:10 - The Episode Immediately Gets Cancelled
02:00 - The Air Force Special Warfare Meme Wars Are Back
03:00 - Can Military Communities Still Take a Joke?
04:15 - Aaron Apologizes for Going Too Dark
05:04 - The Death of Anonymous Military Meme Pages
05:44 - Pararescue Is Fraud Enters the Chat
06:09 - Ones Finally Ready
06:46 - How the JT vs Ones Ready Beef Started
08:11 - The AI Movie Gets Way Too Professional
09:11 - People Actually Want to Fight Aaron
10:20 - Why AI Keeps Mixing Up Aaron and Trent
11:01 - JT’s AI Character Choices Get Questionable
12:05 - People Think the Feud Is Real
12:59 - Ones Finally Ready vs Ground Truth
13:29 - Building the Fake Documentary
14:08 - Morgan Freeman Should Narrate It
14:50 - The “Beef” Exists Mostly on the Internet
15:20 - Aaron Was Drinking With JT Two Days Earlier
16:12 - Is This the Price of Making TACP Jokes?
17:01 - The Joke Is Actually Helping Ones Ready
17:30 - LGBTACP Shirts Support the TACP Foundation
18:34 - The Ultimate TACP Logic Trap
19:37 - Should Peaches Respond?
20:19 - When the Bit Goes Too Far
20:40 - Operator Training Summit Las Vegas
21:19 - Ones Ready Wrap-Up
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE
Buzzsprout Subscription page: HERE
Register for our Operator Training Summit: OperatorTrainingSummit.com
Find an Air Force Recruiter: AirForce.com
Collabs:
Ones Ready - OnesReady.com
18A Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADY
ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code): ATACLete
Danger Close Apparel - Promo Code: ONESREADY
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About Ones Ready
A team of active duty Combat Control (CCT), Pararescue (PJ), and Special Reconnaissance (SR) leveraging our 69 years of special operations experience to make the next generation of operators smarter, faster and stronger than we ever were. We are the PREMIERE resource for all things Air Force Special Warfare. The Ones Ready Podcast is honest talk about what it is like to go from a know-nothing high school graduate to an elite Special Operator. We will cover important practices for success including physical training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset traits essential to any team. Join us in The Team Room to get all your questions answered!! With battle-tested operators from across USAF SPECWAR and far-reaching web of recruiters, subject matter experts, and friends, there are no questions we can’t answer- and if we can’t, we know exactly where to look. See you in The Team Room!Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the OnesReady team are those of the team and do not reflect the official policy or position of the DoD. Any content provided by our Podcast guests, bloggers, sponsors, or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign the DoD, any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone.
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