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How should you actually train for Air Force Special Warfare before you ship? On this Veterans Day live episode, Aaron, Trent, and Peaches go straight at one of the biggest preparation mistakes they continue to see: candidates are not running enough. Trent explains why aerobic fitness has repeatedly correlated with better pipeline outcomes and why being roughly a minute faster than the minimum running standard has historically been such a useful readiness indicator. Building that engine takes time, which means you cannot wait until the last few weeks before shipping and expect strength training, motivation, or a few hard intervals to make up the difference.
The guys break down why candidates often prioritize strength too early, how Zone 2 work builds the aerobic foundation required for long training days, why your easy days actually need to stay easy, and how increasing mileage too aggressively creates injuries instead of fitness. The same principle carries into the pool: if you want to become a better swimmer, swim more. Before worrying about buddy breathing, mask recovery, or advanced water-confidence events, learn to surface swim efficiently enough that being in the water no longer feels like a fight for survival.
The live Q&A keeps going from there. Aaron talks about eliminating destructive negative self-talk, Trent and Peaches explain how strength supports rucking without replacing cardiovascular fitness, and the guys cover sinking versus floating, water confidence, eating enough carbohydrates during high-volume training, caffeine before BMT, shin pain, CCT versus SR contracts, SERE assignments, training programs, and realistic weekly running volume. Aaron also signs off with his Veterans Day response to “thank you for your service”: you were worth it.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:18 - Veterans Day Live Begins
03:00 - Training Questions Are Open
03:44 - Veterans Day With the Ones Ready Crew
10:55 - You’re Not Running Enough
11:41 - Why Fast Runners Succeed in the Pipeline
13:04 - Building Your Aerobic Engine Takes Time
15:15 - Don’t Increase Running Volume Too Fast
17:26 - Zone 2 vs Training for Strava
20:36 - Small Candidates Better Be Fast
21:14 - Negative Self-Talk and Mental Performance
24:40 - Why Candidates Overemphasize Strength
27:19 - How to Actually Get Better at Swimming
29:11 - “You Were Worth It” — Veterans Day
30:22 - Can Strength Make Up for Bad Cardio?
33:36 - What If You Sink Instead of Float?
36:27 - Backpacking, Hunting and Ruck Fitness
37:56 - Eat Enough Carbs During Hard Training
41:36 - Water Confidence Starts With Surface Swimming
45:56 - Combat Control and Air Traffic Control
51:24 - Should You Quit Caffeine Before BMT?
52:24 - Shin Pain and Building Running Durability
54:06 - CCT vs SR: Which Contract Should You Choose?
56:47 - SERE Assignments and Family Life
57:53 - Training Programs and Weekly Running Mileage
01:00:26 - Rapid-Fire AFSW Questions
01:01:24 - OTS Vegas and Wrap-Up
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Veterans Day is coming, and Aaron, Trent, and Peaches are here to make sure nobody turns it into the veteran version of Pokemon Go. The guys talk about free meals, military discounts, Golden Corral, stolen valor, and the strange annual competition to collect as much free stuff as humanly possible. They also make an important distinction: companies offering discounts or meals are usually trying to genuinely show appreciation. The weirdness starts when veterans begin acting like those gestures are something they are owed.
The conversation moves into the awkwardness of “thank you for your service,” how different veterans respond, and one of Aaron’s favorite answers: “You were worth it.” From there the guys get into service animals, when programs genuinely help veterans, when people abuse the system, and how well-intentioned veteran support can sometimes reinforce an identity built entirely around being damaged or broken after service.
But the episode lands somewhere simple. Veterans Day is not Memorial Day. You do not need to spend the day hunting discounts or reminding everyone what you did. Call your old teammates. Drop something in the group chat. Say hello when you recognize somebody from the community. Celebrate the fact that you got to serve with people you still care about — and maybe accept a free steak if somebody genuinely wants to buy you one.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:10 - Veterans Day Is NOT Memorial Day
02:23 - Golden Corral and Veteran Hell
03:00 - Stolen Valor on Veterans Day
04:36 - The Annual Stolen Valor Videos Are Coming
05:39 - Do Politicians Need Veterans Day Discounts Too?
06:55 - Should Companies Give Veterans Free Stuff?
07:42 - Veterans Day Pokemon Go
08:47 - The SHOT Show Trick-or-Treaters
10:11 - “Thank You for Your Service”
12:48 - The Best Response: “You Were Worth It”
13:43 - A Lesson From a Retired Chief
14:08 - The Edmund Fitzgerald Detour
14:32 - Should CROs Be EMT Qualified?
16:23 - Stop Trying to Make Trent Better
17:00 - Veterans Day Discounts in Las Vegas
18:45 - Military Discounts vs Veteran Entitlement
20:04 - Service Animals and Where the Line Is
22:30 - When People Abuse Service-Dog Rules
23:33 - Veteran Identity and Being “Broken”
24:30 - Good Veteran Service-Dog Organizations
25:28 - Fur Therapy Is Real
26:28 - Sometimes All You Need Is Another Veteran
27:30 - Call Your Bros
28:00 - Happy Veterans Day
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Why are fewer candidates choosing Air Force Combat Control when other AFSPECWAR career fields seem easier to sell? Aaron, Trent, and Peaches break down what may be a messaging problem hiding inside one of the Air Force’s most capable Special Warfare career fields. Pararescue has an immediate hook: rescue people and save lives. Special Reconnaissance has reconnaissance, drones, and electronic warfare. TACP integrates airpower with Army forces and calls in fires. But ask a Combat Controller what CCT does and the answer quickly expands into air traffic control, austere airfields, close air support, special operations, combat search and rescue, airfield access, and a long list of mission sets that are difficult to capture in one sentence.
That complexity may be part of the recruiting problem. Trent and Aaron point out that Combat Control once practically marketed itself because CCTs were consistently appearing in high-profile combat operations, earning valor awards, embedding with elite special operations units, and doing some of the most dangerous work of the GWOT era. Today the mission is still happening, but much of that work is back behind the curtain. The guys discuss why Combat Controllers remain valuable to SOCOM, how they create access and bring airpower into places where other forces cannot, and why the “quiet professional” nature of the career field may now make recruiting harder.
The episode also gets into the Dude 44 rescue mission and battlefield promotions, ridiculously fast Air Force promotion stories, and the larger question of how you communicate an entire career field to a generation that expects the idea to make sense immediately. Peaches ultimately gives himself the assignment: build a 30-second elevator pitch explaining exactly why someone should choose Combat Control. And the guys want candidates to help answer it—what about CCT actually resonates with you?
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:10 - Why Aren’t People Choosing Combat Control?
02:01 - Is CCT Facing a Recruiting Problem?
02:39 - Recruiters Have to Explain CCT Better
03:12 - Why Pararescue Is Easy to Sell
04:39 - Why Special Reconnaissance Sounds Cool
05:36 - TACP Has a Simple Recruiting Pitch
06:00 - Why Combat Control Is Hard to Explain
06:45 - Creating an Airfield Where None Exists
07:30 - What Makes Combat Control Different
08:33 - Humanitarian Missions and Airfield Access
09:07 - Peaches Needs a 30-Second CCT Pitch
09:18 - Combat Control Used to Sell Itself
10:16 - Dude 44 and Battlefield Promotions
11:40 - The Return of Battlefield Promotions
12:38 - Twenty-Something Chiefs Would Be Terrifying
13:29 - Airmen Who Promote at Insane Speed
14:43 - Can Peaches Fix CCT Recruiting?
15:08 - How Should We Explain Combat Control?
15:45 - CCT as the Quiet Professionals
16:50 - Combat Controllers Are Still Jobbing
17:04 - OTS Las Vegas Has About 10 Spots Left
17:51 - Ones Ready Wrap-Up
PINNED COMMENT
We need a 30-second elevator pitch for Combat Control.
How would YOU explain CCT to someone thinking about Air Force Special Warfare?
And if you’re currently choosing between careers, what makes PJ, SR, or TACP easier to understand than Combat Control?
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Should the midterm elections, the president, Congress, or the political direction of the country change whether you pursue Air Force Special Warfare or join the military at all? Aaron, Trent, and Peaches address the questions they are already getting from candidates and make the argument that Washington probably matters far less to your daily military experience than you think. If election results are enough to derail your plan, the guys argue that politics may simply be giving you a more respectable excuse for fear, hesitation, or uncertainty about committing to the pipeline.
The conversation turns toward the things candidates can actually control. Your running, Zone 2 cardio, mobility, water confidence, strength, preparation, and ability to show up ready matter a hell of a lot more than the latest political headline. Aaron argues that candidates who keep waiting for the perfect administration, perfect military culture, or perfect moment are likely to remain on the sidelines when real-world missions happen — still wondering whether they should have taken the shot. The point is not that politics never matters; it is that political noise should not become an excuse to stop preparing for something you already decided you want.
Then, because this is Ones Ready, the episode ends by watching a chaotic shooting-range instruction video that makes everyone’s blood pressure spike. The guys break down bad instructional tone, why mechanics should be drilled before adding stress and live weapons, and the universally recognizable former-E4-turned-range-instructor energy that somehow exists everywhere.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Ones Ready
01:06 - The Midterms Are Over — Now What?
01:48 - Should Politics Change Whether You Join?
02:38 - Don’t Let Politicians Plan Your Life
03:01 - The Stoic Approach to Elections
04:08 - Trent Offers Extremely Helpful Political Counseling
05:01 - Your Zone 2 Cardio Matters More
05:45 - Politics Can Become Another Excuse
06:39 - Both Parties Still Send the Military to War
07:11 - Why Everyone Panics After Elections
08:12 - The Election-Day Wishlist
09:38 - The B-52 Political Meme
10:09 - Washington vs Your Actual Military Career
11:03 - The Shooting Range Video
11:44 - This Instructor Is Making Everything Worse
12:47 - Drill the Mechanics Before Adding Stress
13:39 - Every Former E4 Range Instructor Ever
14:18 - OTS Vegas and Wrap-Up
Support the show
Join this channel to get access to perks: HERE

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Who are the smartest people in Special Operations — CAG, Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Warfare, intelligence personnel, or the people working behind classified doors most of the public never sees? Trent takes a solo episode to explain why the question itself is probably wrong. Academic intelligence, tactical judgment, problem-solving, discipline, motivation, emotional control, and the ability to execute under pressure are all different capabilities, and elite organizations are filled with people who combine those traits in very different ways.
That matters in Air Force Special Warfare Assessment & Selection too. Trent has watched extremely intelligent candidates struggle because they cannot stop analyzing every task, calculating every possible outcome, or questioning whether the sacrifice is worth the uncertain reward. Meanwhile, someone who can absorb instructions, stay present, solve the immediate problem, and execute without fighting an endless internal monologue may outperform them. Special Operations does not select one personality or one type of intelligence — it brings together very different people who are willing to sacrifice toward the same mission.
The same rule applies after someone earns the beret. A Ranger, SEAL, Green Beret, PJ, CCT, SR operator, or SMU member may be exceptionally capable at a very difficult profession, but that qualification does not automatically make them an expert on politics, policy, medicine, culture, or every other complicated subject. Trent argues that people deserve credit for the things they have actually earned — without turning elite military credentials into proof of universal wisdom. Sometimes the genius is also the guy who forgot where the zipper goes.
LINKS
onesready.com
operatortrainingsummit.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Special Warfare Assessment & Selection
01:06 - Trent’s Mustache Has Entered the Chat
03:20 - Who Are the Smartest People in Special Operations?
04:20 - Different Types of Intelligence
05:00 - Why Some People Can Just Execute
05:45 - When Smart Candidates Overthink Selection
07:18 - CAG, SMUs and the Intelligence Debate
08:30 - Motivation Can Make Up a Lot
09:40 - Why SOF Guys Look Similar From the Outside
10:30 - The Differences Inside Elite Teams
12:01 - Outsiders Don’t See the Full Spectrum
12:45 - Don’t Confuse Fame With Expertise
14:24 - CAG Can Be the Best Without Being the Smartest
15:30 - The Nerds in the Vault Matter Too
16:50 - Respect What People Actually Earned
17:35 - You Can Be a Genius and an Idiot
18:20 - Mustache November and 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
DFND Apparel...