[00:00:14] Speaker A: Welcome to Battle Ready Life's next chapter. And I'm your host, Ricky Chavez.
This show is all about helping veterans, first responders, and everyday people navigate the battles of transition, change, and even a new beginning. We balance life out service, and sometimes we just don't know what we're gonna do. Today I have the pleasure of bringing on co founder of oath, Gary Bartels. Hey, Gary, how are you today?
[00:00:36] Speaker B: I'm wonderful, brother. Thank you for having me, man.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: So, Gary, what does OATH stand for?
[00:00:41] Speaker B: OATH stands for Outdoor association for True Heroes Outdoors.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: That's it. How did you come up with that, bro?
[00:00:47] Speaker B: To be quite honest with you, I'll tell you the story. I did not come up with that. I completely trusted the public to come up, come up with our name and our logo.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:00:55] Speaker B: When my wife and I decided to start this ministry, had a friend that I graduated West Point with. I had her create a website and people got to suggest names, and we just went from there and I told people to vote on the name. So the public chose the name.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: Okay, so let's. Let's talk. Let's step back for a second. Okay. Coutts, Texas. Little, small, little place in the middle of nowhere.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: So little country guy.
[00:01:20] Speaker B: I am.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: All right. And then excelled in school sports, got appointed West Point.
And how did. Tell me about that journey right there. You know, got appointed, went there, man.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: It was a chapter of growth in my life. Ricky graduated from Koontz high school in 1994, went to US Maps, the prep school in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. And the very first time I set foot on an airplane, brother, was to go out of state to West Point.
And I remember landing in the airport in Newark. Just a small town, Texas kid, man, I had no idea where I was, what I was doing. I literally got lost in the airport.
And to make a long story short, I did not fully understand what I was embarking upon.
Experienced a lot of homesickness, and I didn't know how to deal with that. So I say, unfortunately. But according to God's plan, I ended up leaving and coming back home.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Coming back home. And then what happened?
[00:02:23] Speaker B: Well, my mom and dad told me, you can stay here, but you're going to do something with your life. So I ended up going to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and ended up running on the track team for those guys for two or three years. I had quite a bit of speed, so I utilized it to my advantage.
And I thank God every day that Bob Sutton, the head football coach of army and Ed Warner, the offensive coach coordinator, did not give up on me. Those guys probably called me or my parents two or three times a week for the duration of two or three years. Just absolutely amazing how they did not give up on me.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Okay.
It always helps when somebody got you in their focus.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: Amen. Amen.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: So then what happened?
[00:03:04] Speaker B: I decided to go back. I went back to the prep school again in 1997, and if you want to hear something funny, the people I went to the prep school with in 1994, when I went to West Point as a plebe in 98, they were now seniors.
So they saw me and they're like, you gotta be kidding me.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: Really?
[00:03:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:24] Speaker A: So did they have fun with that or what did they think about it?
[00:03:26] Speaker B: No, they did. They absolutely did.
I had a great group of people that surrounded me there. They were all upperclassmen, obviously, because I knew them from 94. I played football at army, so all the football players would. Would haze me, but in a joking, fun way. And, hey, man, I need you to go get my laundry kind of thing. I need to go to cafeteria, get me some milk kind of thing. Okay.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you just buckled in and went back for that ride?
[00:03:52] Speaker B: That's it. Went back and studied hard and very thankful for a second opportunity, a second chance. And I made the most of it and graduated with the bicentennial class in 2002.
[00:04:05] Speaker A: So that's. That's when I retired. That just made me feel so old, man.
[00:04:09] Speaker B: Sorry, brother.
[00:04:12] Speaker A: So. So. So you went through the. Went through it. Went back to it. So tell me about your mindset about, you know, should I really. Should I not really go back?
[00:04:21] Speaker B: No, I.
There was a point in between 1994, Christmas time and 1997, June, when I reported to the prep school the second time. About midway through that, I can literally remember myself crying in my bedroom in that small trailer house in southeast Texas because I knew that I had made a mistake of coming home. And don't get me wrong, it was fun and great to be back around my family, but I knew that the Lord had a bigger plan for me, and I feel like I had thrown it all away.
So about halfway through that period of time of being back home, I knew, lord, just give me a second chance, and I will never make the most of it. Like, I knew.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: So then you went back and. Tell me a little bit about West Point, man. Is it like in the movies or what? Tell me about it. Is it hard? Is it easy? What is it?
[00:05:10] Speaker B: No, West Point is a unique animal It's a living, breathing animal. It's transpired over the years. Like, you see the old photos and videos of guys really bracing and walking really fast to class and in the mess hall and getting hazed. Hazing was a big thing back in the day, and there wasn't really a lot of that going on. When I went. I mean, we did have structure. Like when we were underclassmen, plebes, specifically, when we were in the hallways, we weren't allowed to talk to our friends. We had to move out smartly. We had to be. An upperclassmen would walk by. We had to greet them with the greeting of the day or the greeting of the week. We had to recite duties and the menu at the meals. We had to know the newspaper. During formation, they would come up and say, tell me about one article you read in the New York Times this morning. And we'd have to spout it off and tell them about it. And we had to do newspaper delivery. Back in those days, they didn't have Internet. I was physically deliver newspapers. We would get the upperclassmen's laundry and bring it to them. So it was a lot of structure, a lot of discipline, and a lot of. You had to have the right mental mindset to get through it, or it would break you.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: So I think. Now let's step back for a second. So you had to have the mental mindset, but you still had the mentorship, didn't you? From the. From the other students and. And even the cadre.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Yeah. During morning formations, you have what's called a team leader who is responsible for you as a plebe, and he might have two or three plebes that he or she is responsible for. Like, those guys and gals would mentor you. Like, there wasn't a lot of hazing and belittling and things of that nature going on with those guys.
It was more of, hey, I need you to learn this set of knowledge. Or today, let's talk about helicopters that the aviation used. Like, we would learn stuff that definitely applied to the military.
So, yeah, a lot of the upperclassmen, majority of the upperclassmen, you know, they knew the rules of the game, but they also knew they were there to mentor you and make you the best version of yourself.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: And probably. What a diverse school, huh?
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, man, we had. Obviously, West Point hasn't always been a service academy that accepted women, but when I went, there were women. And you look back 30, 40 years before I went, and there were not women. So we had a Lot of women in our class, fantastic women in our class. One of them is an astronaut, Anne McClain. I mean, we just got some wonderful people and very diverse. We had exchange cadets from other countries that I learned so much from, man, it was just, if you're looking for diversity, I think there's no better place than looking in the military because we have heard it said before, brother, when guys and gals look at each other in the military, they don't see any other color except green.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: 100%.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: That's it.
[00:08:01] Speaker A: That's very true. And then you got this little country kid and now you're here.
And how would you describe your growth from the start to graduation when you graduated? Tell me about the graduate.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: When I graduated from West Point, when I went to West Point, I felt like I had a little bit of an advantage on the other guys and gals because most of them were coming straight out of high school. So they were 18, 19 year old kids. When I went back, man, I was in my early 20s, you know, I was a kid, still young. I was still young. But I had in my mind that, number one, I understood that this was a second chance for me and I need not blow it. I needed to make the most of it. And number two, I think I embraced a little bit more the magnitude of where I was going to be at the end of those four years.
Especially when 9, 11 happened.
[00:08:53] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Which was our senior year, our first year. When that happened, I think everybody in my class, regardless of age, were like, okay, we're about to really use what we've learned here.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: So you graduated. What was your first step after that?
[00:09:10] Speaker B: After I graduated, I came home for a little bit and then I went to what they call IOBC at Fort Benning, Georgia. Infantry Officer Basic Course. Benning School for Boys.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: So went to iobc, graduated IOBC and then went to Ranger School. And I still have my football weight. So when I reported to Ranger school the first time, I didn't make it through the first week. I failed the five mile run. I was just a.
I wasn't fat, I was just a big bulky kid and I couldn't run that five miles, man. So ended up flunking out of Ranger school with a five mile run. Snowbirded a little while at Benning and got a slot to airborne school and then went to airborne school and got my jump wings. And then General Petraeus, we tried to get another slot to Ranger school and General Petraeus is like, no, we're deploying, come home Going home without a Ranger tab.
[00:10:01] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: So, yeah.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: So you've had some setbacks. How, how did the setbacks grow you, man?
[00:10:13] Speaker B: You know, the thing about a setback is to your point, it's going to do one of two things and it's going to do what you let it to do.
If you get punched in the mouth by life and you choose to take a knee continuously and remain there and not get up and fight, it's going to be a hard row. And a lot of guys and gals understand that. And my heart breaks for guys and gals that get broken by the world. But when you get, you know this, man, when you get punched in the mouth by life, you got two choices. You can remain down or you can get up, brush yourself off, and take the lessons that you just learned and get back in the fight, man.
That's what I chose to do.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: I totally agree with that. You know, it's not about what happens, it's the reaction to it.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: It is. It absolutely is, man. And I think a lot of young people don't understand that.
And that doesn't all rest on the shoulders of young people, Ricky. It also rests on our shoulders to mentor and teach them on how to get back up successfully and how to drive on. That's something I'm trying to teach my own kids. Hey, when something doesn't go right on the football team or something doesn't go right on the volleyball team, we can take a knee a little while, right? A tactical pause look at the battlefield. But at some point we got to get back up and we got to get in a fight and continue on.
So that's important for young people.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: That's amazing, Gary. We'll be right back. Talk a little bit more with Gary Bartels about OATH and how it's helping our veterans and our first responders.
Welcome back to Battle Ready. If you're loving what you're watching, don't miss a moment of Battle Ready or any of our other favorite NOW Media shows that you can go live or on demand anytime, anywhere. Download the Now Media TV app on Roku on iOS. Enjoy instant access to your full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and in Spanish. If you prefer to listen on the GO catch the podcast version of the show right now on Now Media TV and the website on nowmediatv.ww www.nowmedia tv. Alright, we're back here with Gary Bartels, co founder of Oath Ministry. And in this segment we're going to do a little bit of a talk about the Challenges that he encounters with dealing with either our veterans or our first responders. Gary, welcome back.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: Thank you, brother.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: All right, so we talked about your journey to get here. All right. And then when you left the military, did you do oil and gas for a little while? Is that what you did?
[00:12:45] Speaker B: I did.
I initially started off at Mitsubishi Caterpillar.
[00:12:50] Speaker A: I remember that. Yeah, we talked about that.
[00:12:52] Speaker B: I was making forklifts for Coca Cola and Home Depot.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: You know what? I actually was on site there. Were you and show my 2003.
[00:13:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: Yeah. No, actually, probably 2010. Yeah, yeah. So.
And my wife was at Coca Cola on the backside of the Caterpillar.
[00:13:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I probably delivered them.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: Yeah, There you go.
[00:13:17] Speaker B: So.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: So it's so crazy. We've talked about this before on the show, and the world is so big, but it's really small. If you really sit back and have a conversation with people, you really don't know how your world's intertwined.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: I know you can cross anybody at any given point on any given day and have similarities that you just don't know about.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: Okay, so tell me how you got involved with Oath.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: Okay, so this dives a little bit into my testimony.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: Yeah, please talk.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: When I got out of the military service in 2010 is when I finally got off of IRR.
What I'm about to tell you in terms of issues, like I said before, I don't have the monopoly on these.
When I broke out into the civilian world, I almost immediately suffered from a feeling of a lack of purpose, lack of mission.
I was an infantry officer in the military, Used to high pace, high tempo, just constant movement, constant engagement.
And I quickly found myself, and this is not a shot across the bow at the company. It just is what it is, how I took it.
Found myself on the manufacturing floor of Mitsubishi Caterpillar, making the same forklifts every day, day in, day out.
The only thing that would change is the number of how many I was making.
And I remember I went home and I told my wife, I don't have a purpose.
I don't know what my mission is anymore. I go to work and I do the same thing every day.
It's eating me up inside.
And ended up transitioning over to a company called Transocean to work offshore.
And because of the issues that surfaced with that lack of purpose and that lack of mission, I did not know how to deal with that and started experiencing anger and depression. And, man, it was just a downhill spiral that took me all the way to the bottom, brother.
[00:15:25] Speaker A: And you did a couple Tours overseas, Right.
[00:15:28] Speaker B: I did. I did two tours in Iraq.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Okay.
Saw a lot of crazy things, I'm sure.
[00:15:34] Speaker B: Yeah. I try to explain sometimes. Some of my high school friends asked me about what I saw over there. And you try to explain it to them and they just glaze over.
You saw that? Yeah.
[00:15:47] Speaker A: So now you're in corporate America. You've kind of. You're kind of spiraling. These are your words, right? Yes, a little bit. And you're trying to figure out what to do.
So what happens?
[00:16:00] Speaker B: So started experiencing marital problems due to my inability to cope with my anger and depression and my.
My overuse of alcohol.
And I'm not embarrassed about my journey, man. I think that my journey is something that the Lord sent me on for a reason.
Went through a period of infidelity in my marriage by my hand, not by my wife's.
And my wife and I separated for a little while while I sought the help that I needed. And I will tell you that that is the best thing that ever happened to me. When I say that in meetings, people think that I'm crazy.
When I say that the best thing that ever happened to me was when my wife told me to go find a new place to live.
But that pushed me into the next chapter of my life of healing and figuring out that contrary to what the military says, I am not an army of one and I can't do this by myself.
So when Regina and I separated, Ricky, I started seeing a therapist, went to counseling, literally laid on a couch and had a young lady asking me questions. And we just started peeling back the layers of that onion about what I was going through.
And it was during those conversations where I really came into a self realization of what was going on in my life.
And it's only then, once you can identify the problem, then you can start the healing process.
And a lot of young men and women don't understand that. They think that the healing will just begin at any point.
But you have to really look inside yourself and see and ask yourself, I'm at this point in my life, how did I get here?
What caused me to be here? And how do I get out of here? So that's what I did, man. I started going to therapy and counseling and pulled myself up out of that hole.
And when my wife finally invited me back into our marriage, I remember the conversation like it was yesterday.
And it is the reason why I call myself a co founder. We're standing in the kitchen in Katy, around the island, in our kitchen, and Regina looks at me and she's like, I don't know what you have found out in the woods during our separation, but you need to hold on to it. And I said, well, I found that coons Texas kid again, and I found the Lord again and I found the man that I'm supposed to be.
And I said, I just wish that there was something we could do as, as a couple to help other veterans and first responders, because I can't be the only person going through this. And, bro, she looked at me across that island and she said, we're going to start a ministry.
Oath was my wife's idea. It wasn't mine.
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Good for you.
So I have a couple thoughts here. Okay. So I think one of the things that really stands out to me is that you have the strength to go ahead and get help.
I think that's one of the challenges that is out there right now.
A lot of first responders, veterans, I mean, just anybody feels that it's a sign of weakness to ask for help. What are your thoughts on that?
[00:19:09] Speaker B: The hardest thing for a veteran and a first responder to do is, in my point of view, is to make themselves vulnerable.
We are not wired to make ourselves vulnerable. We are wired to be protectors, defenders. That's what we're wired to be. And in order for us to become vulnerable, Ricky, we have to drop that facade for a little while. And it was very tough for me personally to do that. And I remember my therapist just flat out telling me, she's like, I need you to start unwiring yourself in thinking that you can solve all your problems by yourself without the help of anyone, because that's not healthy for you.
And every time I counsel or mentor a veteran or a first responder brother, that's always the first pivotal point in the conversation is how to become vulnerable. Oh, no, I'm not doing that.
I'm not making myself vulnerable. I'm not going to tell you everything about what I'm going through.
And I quickly tell them, if you want to heal, you have to.
We have to face this together.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: So real fast, how does somebody out there that may be having some struggles get a hold of you?
[00:20:25] Speaker B: Well, our website is right there, www.oathinc.org. but I am very quick to throw my cell phone number out there if somebody ever wants to call me or text me.
I am not one of those 9pm friends, 8pm friends.
I am a 3am friend, right? So my number is 281-352-6972. And I am very blessed that I have had phone calls at 2, 3 o' clock in the morning from guys or gals. Sometimes they just need an Uber ride home from the bar, and that's totally fine, too. But sometimes, man, I get calls from guys and gals that are having a very dark moment. Because let's not fool ourselves.
When a veteran or first responder is at a party or a gathering and they go home and they're alone and they draw those window shades down and the room is dark, 2 o', clock, 3 o' clock in the morning, they might be playing video games or whatever the case might be, they're going to reach a point where they need somebody.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: You know, I can actually speak.
Are you familiar with Combined Arms down on the Clintock?
[00:21:32] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: So they have a mentor program down there, and I've been kind of involved in that. And this happened probably last six months.
I got the name of a mentee last year. I did it. And having them call you back is like mission impossible.
[00:21:53] Speaker B: Yeah, I know, I know.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: And so I got the name of a mentee and I called them and I text them and they didn't call me back, you know, so I just kind of waited.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: It's tough.
[00:22:07] Speaker A: And the next day, I find out the guy had just been released from the va and they didn't tell me why or how, and I didn't know that. And unfortunately, he took his life that night.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: Oh, man, that breaks my heart.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: And so there's so many veterans out here and people out there that have good hearts.
I know you can use volunteers and help. Everybody can. But you never know what darkness is in people's heads, right?
[00:22:37] Speaker B: No, you don't, man.
Words I thought I would never say in my life. I was on a TikTok live the other day.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:22:43] Speaker B: And I was pitching that exact thought. Whenever we cross somebody in the street, we just need to be kind. We just need to be full of joy. We need to be full of grace and patience, because everybody that we cross in the world is going through something. It doesn't matter who they are, doesn't matter what chapter in their life that they are in. They're going through something that we don't know about, Ricky. So if we approach everyone with just joy and kindness, bro, it's going to be fine.
[00:23:11] Speaker A: You know, I'll tell you this. I was an HR professional for a lot of years, and I can remember doing classes. And, you know, I would say to everybody, you don't know what happened to that person before they took that left or that Right into the parking lot. They could have been cut off, they could have been this, they could have been that. So I totally agree with that, guys. We'll be right back with the Gary Bartel an Oath right after this commercial.
Doing a great job, man.
Welcome back to Battle Ready. We've been talking about battled veterans and also the first responders and what they face.
One thing that I have to say is they miss most is the bond and the brotherhood and sisterhood and the loyalty and trust of their service family. You know, it's kind of a very difficult transition that, you know, people don't get.
And so we're here with Gary Bartras of Oath and we're going to talk a little bit more about his organization and what he does to assist with that transition. And understand this, it's not just about the transition. There's people that have been out for a while and they have been just struggling, spiraling. So you're one of their resources, right?
[00:24:29] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
We don't just have members inside of the Oath ministry that are, you know, guys and gals that got out two or three years ago. We have sergeants major, we have full burg colonels that are members of Oath. So doesn't matter how long you've been out, you can still experience that lack of brotherhood and sisterhood, for a lack of a better term.
[00:24:51] Speaker A: So, so, so, and this is, this is going to be a burning question for me. We talk ministries and so we're talking, you know, Bible this. What about the individuals out there that I don't want to say they don't believe, but that's just not their flavor, however you want to put it. But they still need help.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. You know, the beautiful thing about the Oath ministry, Ricky, is when you come to one of our gatherings, whether it be hunting, whether it be fishing, camping, hiking, there will be a faith twist to that gathering.
But if we do a Bible study, you will be invited to join that Bible study. We're not going to beat you over the head with a Bible and mandate that you attend that Bible study because nothing pushes someone further from finding faith than you forcing them to find it.
So we will do a Bible study. We will have some prayer, we might have some counseling, break off sessions, but if you choose to not be part of those, we're still going to wrap our arms around you and love on you.
[00:25:53] Speaker A: And that's the cool thing.
And with your journey, I mean.
So I'm assuming you brought up kind of faith with the faith.
[00:26:02] Speaker B: Very much so.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: All right, then. You left, then you went, you went to war, you came back and maybe you tripped up in your faith for a little bit and then when you were ready, faith found you or how'd it go?
[00:26:18] Speaker B: You know, man, that's a very unique question because to your point, yes, I was brought up in a very faith filled home on my mother's side. My dad didn't go to church early in his life.
Mom had me sitting on the front row of a Pentecostal church when I was in high school.
So that's where I first found faith and first found the Lord and learned to love the Lord and then went to combat.
My first tour of combat in 2003, like many people, did a number on me. But my second tour in 0506 is what really pushed me over the edge and made me step away from my faith. Because of some of the things that we saw during that, involving children and whatnot, it was just hard.
So, you know, the Lord is always right behind us.
No matter where we go, no matter what avenue of approach we take to get away from him, he's always right behind us. So if we just turn around, he's going to be there waiting on us. So I really didn't, I really didn't find the Lord again. He found me.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:27:31] Speaker B: So he never gave up on me for a lack of a better term. So he was just waiting for me to come home.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: So now you're the founder of Oath, and I think I was talking to maybe a month or so ago and you were already in, in like the hundredth event plus for the year of gatherings.
So tell me about what happens at these gatherings.
[00:27:55] Speaker B: Well, the gatherings can be a number of different things.
A gathering can be a weight fishing trip down to Port o' Connor like we just did with a couple veterans. A gathering can be me sending out an email saying, hey, I'm gonna be in this area today. Who wants to grab lunch? Or it could be one of our coffee talk gatherings where I literally round up a group of veterans and we go have coffee and we just talk about whatever's on their mind. So I like to do all different kinds of gatherings because there are veterans, believe it or not, there are veterans out there that don't like to hunt and there are veterans out there that don't like to fish.
So you got to make sure that you find something that everyone can partake in.
I've got one veteran specifically, I won't mention his name, but he's been a member of our ministry for probably seven or Eight years. He has not been on one hunting gathering. He has not been on one fishing gathering.
But whenever I send a note out about getting together for coffee and just talking, he's almost at every one of them in his area because that's what he likes to do. He just likes to fellowship. He just likes to drink coffee and fellowship. So we've got a place for everyone.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: So if I was, I don't know, lack of a better lost, I don't know how else to explain if I was lost, what would be the process of me trying to find you guys, reach out to you guys and just what would that look like?
[00:29:22] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. If a guy or gal wants to get involved with us, they can go to our
[email protected] and you're going to find a spot on that website where you can fill out some paperwork and register with us. And I will tell everyone when you submit your packet, I am the only person that reviews those packets because there is some sensitive information in some of them. Duty stations and disabilities and things like that they might not want to share with the general public.
So for OPSEC reasons, when that packet comes in through our database, I and I alone review those packets and then I personally send them a welcome email. So to answer your question, you go onto that website and you fill out that registration packet and you'll get an email from me. And first off, you'll get an email telling you I received it and then I'm reviewing it. And then when it's accepted and we got everything finalized, I'll welcome them in and then they'll go into a database and anytime we have a gathering coming up, I send an email out through that database alerting everyone, hey, if you want to meet for some coffee or for lunch, meet me here.
[00:30:28] Speaker A: Nice. And you know what, while we're at it, we're looking at the website. Hopefully everybody can see it. Right now there's a button at the top that says donate.
So if you could feel it in your heart and drop a couple dollars here, they'll accept any kind of donation there is, right?
[00:30:46] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. I tell people all the time that button over to the right hand side where it says recurring. We have a campaign going on right now. We're trying to get 100 people to become recurring donors each month for $5. And people tell me all the time $5 is way too small. No, not really. If someone donates $5, brother, I can take them to Subway for a half a sandwich and a soda and a bag of Chips and we can have an hour long conversation about life. There's so much we can do with $5.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: Okay, well, that's a great point. What are some of the other activities that you guys do? Do you guys ever volunteer?
[00:31:24] Speaker B: Yeah, we've had a lot of people that have asked us how they can help us on our events. And then we have also. Actually, to your point, I have been thinking about starting a sort of volunteer arm within the Oath ministry where we get a group of veterans or first responders together and we go help other places. Like, man, I would love to take veterans down to like the food bank.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: 100%, bro.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: I just think that's so important.
[00:31:54] Speaker A: Meals on wheels.
[00:31:56] Speaker B: Yes, I think that's so important because when we step back, brother, and we look at life, to your point that you mentioned earlier, we can fully see all the blessings that we've been given.
There's no way to appreciate a blessing more than to bless others.
So, yeah, I think that's. That would be a good thing.
[00:32:14] Speaker A: Well, I definitely, I definitely want you to reach out to me. I'd love to be.
[00:32:17] Speaker B: Let's do that, man.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: And go out and do that. Especially Houston, where there's so many opportunities.
[00:32:23] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:32:24] Speaker A: And even the surrounding. I mean, what just happened, the sad thing that happened with the flooding, you know, there's so many opportunities for us to get involved out here in the community.
[00:32:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: So now that we have the oath, we have the meetings. So tell me when you're talking on one, on one, you know, do I just call you and say, hey, Gary, man, I just need to talk? What, what do I say? What do I do?
[00:32:53] Speaker B: I mean, well, they're so funny. You should bring that up. And I promise you guys, this is not canned.
You just said something. I told you about the TikTok Live. We did.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, I forgot about that. Sure.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: You just, you just sparked my memory. So we do something on TikTok Live. You saw it last night called the Focus Time time. I don't know if you saw it in there, but during that Focus Time, one of our oath registered heroes commented down below, hey, brother, I'm going through some stuff right now. Please give me a call tomorrow.
And that is the opening of the door to have that conversation. Now, when that conversation starts, just like what's happening between you and I here, we're going to let that conversation take itself wherever the Lord wants to take.
[00:33:37] Speaker A: Take it.
[00:33:38] Speaker B: I'm not going to force them to peel back the layers of onion of the sensitive matter. But if they want to talk about something, if they want to pray about something, if they want to dissect something and try to find solutions, I'll do whatever they want to do. When it comes to a conversation, sometimes, man, we have to understand that we were given one mouth and two ears for a reason. Sometimes a veteran will call me, and all they want me to do is just listen and they just tell me, bro, I don't. I don't want you to offer solutions. I want you to just listen to me. I just need to vent to someone and get some stuff out. Perfect, brother. Let's do it, man.
[00:34:10] Speaker A: That's almost like a marriage, ain't it?
[00:34:12] Speaker B: You ain't lying. I wanted to make sure my wife watches this.
[00:34:15] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah, I'm telling you, but I don't want you to give me a solution.
And we're by nature, I think actually now it's both men and women. Anybody you talk to, everybody wants to give you a solution. Right. And their version. But yeah, that's amazing that you can just sit there and listen a little bit.
[00:34:31] Speaker B: Took me a long time to get to that point in my life, man, of just listening and not trying to offer.
That's a talent.
[00:34:39] Speaker A: Yeah, it's definitely a challenge, especially, you know, one of the things. So I'm in the real estate world now, and I like to tell some of the new realtors, hey, you got to be quiet, you got to listen, and you got to listen without thinking about what you want to say. Because most people don't hear the conversation. Because. Because they're already thinking about what they want to say.
[00:34:56] Speaker B: Absolutely. Are you listening to listen or are you listening to answer?
[00:35:01] Speaker A: Right.
[00:35:01] Speaker B: They're two different things, guys.
[00:35:04] Speaker A: We'll be right back after this message with Gary Bartels and Oath, the ministry.
Welcome back to Battle Ready. If you're loving what you're watching, don't miss a moment of Battle Ready or any of the favorite NOW Media TV shows, live or on demand, anytime, anywhere. You can download the TV app and actually just see it on Roku or iOS. And if you enjoy instant access to your full lineup of bilingual programming, both English and Spanish. If you prefer to listen on the go, you can catch a podcast version of the TV on NOW Media tv. We're here with Gary Bartel, co founder. Co founder of oath. Gary, thanks for being with us today.
[00:35:51] Speaker B: Absolutely, brother.
[00:35:52] Speaker A: You know, we were talking during the break, and it was funny in the last segment, we talked a little bit about listening and not talking, and then when people just want to talk not having to offer solutions. You were saying that was one of the things, one of your challenges with your marriage.
[00:36:07] Speaker B: It was, man. Again, I was an infantry officer, and I was used to receiving information and then offering solutions to. To that information, like if we get a warning order to go out on a mission, I had to formulate my own operations order, then tell people how we were going to do something.
[00:36:22] Speaker A: Right. Right.
[00:36:23] Speaker B: When I first got married to my loving wife, Regina. And, you know, she would come home sometimes with issues at work or issues with friends, as most people do, and when she would tell me, I was still caught up in that chapter of my life where I was listening to answer, not just listening to hear her. And she would give me the spiel, and after she was done, I'd be like, well, this is what you need to do. You need to do A, B, and C. And finally, bro, she just had to break it down for me.
I'm not telling you this because I need you to give me solutions. I already know what I'm going to do. I just want to tell you about my day and know that you hear me. And took me a long time to figure that out. I'm not wired like that. I had to rewire myself.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: Listen, even today, man, every once in a while, it comes in a struggle for me. I remember meeting for dinner with a friend of mine who had just been laid off from her job, and we were talking, and I remember in my own mind, I'm thinking, you know, I'm listening. And the way I offered the suggestion, I could see her whole face turn, and we actually had a conversation. I said, well, you should do this.
You know what I mean? And you ought to do this. And then I thought back after, she was like, now I'm telling her what other people, what she told other people, and she took it very, very wrong.
And I mean, we stayed through the conversation and we still talk. We're better for it. But it was one of those opportunities that I grasped and I put my arms around because nobody wants to be told what to do, right?
[00:38:11] Speaker B: No.
[00:38:11] Speaker A: No matter what.
[00:38:14] Speaker B: It took me a long while to get to this point, but now when I'm mentoring a veteran or a first responder, when we talk on the phone, usually within the first 10 seconds, that's what I say to them, all right, Am I listening to just listen and be there for you, or am I listening to give you solutions to what you're about to tell me, bro? That is a very important aspect to get established at the beginning of the conversation. Because sometimes people don't want you to answer. They just want you to listen to them.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: So you literally say that to them? I do.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: I do.
[00:38:44] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
[00:38:47] Speaker A: And how does that come across? I mean, how do they respond?
[00:38:50] Speaker B: It's all about the delivery. You know, I tell them when we first get on the phone, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not high. Type A about it. Like, hey, brother, thank you for calling me. I've been wanting to chat with you a little while. I just got one question for you. As you unfold what's going on in your life, do you want me to help you with solutions, or do you just want me to listen to you? Like, man, nobody's ever asked me that before, bro.
[00:39:11] Speaker A: That's pretty strong.
[00:39:12] Speaker B: But it defines the battlefield is what it does. It defines your battlefield. Right? So you take a step back, you do a battlefield assessment, and you see what's in between that left limit and that right limit.
And now, you know, I am listening because I need to offer this hero some solutions or. Man, just had a rough day at work and just need to vent. Let's do it. Go, brother. I got two ears. They're both on.
[00:39:35] Speaker A: That's. You know what? I'm gonna take that away. That. That was pretty powerful.
[00:39:40] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:39:41] Speaker A: And your wife had to put you in.
[00:39:43] Speaker B: She taught me that, too, man. Regina has taught me so much in life through our marriage. And no was seriously. That's how it all came about. She had to stop and, like, listen, I'm telling you these things, but I'm not telling you these things because I need Captain Bartels to give me solution A, B, and C. I just want to talk to my husband, and I want him to hear me.
[00:40:01] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:40:02] Speaker B: Roger that, ma'.
[00:40:03] Speaker A: Am.
[00:40:03] Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
[00:40:03] Speaker A: Am. That's one of those. You know, I always tell everybody in our shows, there's takeaways I take away from every one of the shows. Right. I learn from all the guests because it's just all amazing. You guys are just amazing. But that's one I'm definitely going to take. I don't know. My wife might be like, oh, no, that's not possible for you.
Yeah.
[00:40:21] Speaker B: She might surprise her, man.
[00:40:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Probably knock her socks off.
[00:40:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:26] Speaker A: So let's get back. We're looking at the Oath website right now. Let's talk again.
If anybody is out there that has a few dollars that they want to help out with, you go to the Oath site, donate, and you have the opportunity to donate and help out. You know, first responders and veterans and Gary and his organization.
On an average, how many veterans or individuals show up at your event?
[00:40:57] Speaker B: We like to do small events, Ricky, like fire team size, three to five.
Something that I have recognized early in the. In the lifespan of this ministry is if you have an event too large, if you take. Hypothetically speaking, If I take 15 veterans on a hunting trip and I've got them in the room getting ready for supper, perhaps it becomes almost like a junior high dance in that not everyone is going to talk because some of them might not be good at public speaking or some of them just don't want other people to know what they're going through. So you will have people that don't talk.
But if you keep it around three to five, that's a small group and people are more susceptible to opening up and really talking about their issues. So, yeah, three to five. Okay. We hardly ever go above five or unless, you know, we go on a hunting trip and the ranch manager or whomever wants us to bring more. But then I explain to them why I think we need to keep it a small number. So.
[00:41:56] Speaker A: And don't you have. Tell me about your gala that you had this year.
[00:41:59] Speaker B: Yeah, we had a wonderful gala.
[00:42:00] Speaker A: I really mad I missed it.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: Yeah, well, we're gonna do it again next year. We use a wonderful agency. George Wooden of BW Unlimited Fundraising does a fantastic job. He and his team come in from Maryland to run this event for us. And brother, when I tell you they do a phenomenal job, they do a phenomenal job all the way from A to Z.
Early in the life cycle of Oath, when we had a gala or a banquet, it was always Regina and I and our little volunteer base running it. So we had to do the catering, we had to do the setup, we had to do the live auction, we had to do the silent auction, we had to do the raffles. When George and his team stepped in and took over all of that, George was like, all I want you and Regina to do at this event is to shake hands with the donors and thank them for being here and supporting the ministry. And the first year, it was really difficult.
George saw it because Regina and I were sitting at our table and I remember asking him several times, bro, what do I need to be doing? Is there anything I need to be doing to help? But to your point, man, the gala was beautiful. It was an amazing event. We had over 125 veterans and first responders there that were sponsored by great people.
So some of these veterans and first responders don't have disposable incomes.
So if we have a $75 seat for a gala, I always put out, are there any veterans or first responders that are seeking sponsorships? And they'll reply back. And then I go out and I find good hearted people that can sponsor them and their spouse to attend.
So my goal at every one of our galas is for half the room to be sponsored veterans and first responders.
[00:43:39] Speaker A: And you know what? I think the beauty of Houston, surrounding area, there's so many kind people here.
[00:43:45] Speaker B: Amen, man.
[00:43:46] Speaker A: That are willing. And I think a lot of people don't even realize where they can help out. And how do we contact you again? I know you threw your number out. Yeah.
[00:43:56] Speaker B: So it's on the website www.othink.org. but if anybody wants to call or text me, please feel free to do so. My number is 281-352-6972.
[00:44:10] Speaker A: So real fast, tell me about a success story, a recent success story with you and one of your veterans.
[00:44:16] Speaker B: Oh, man.
So we took. We took a group of.
This one hit me hard. We took a group of heroes on a turkey hunt, and we took five guys turkey hunting. And after the event, one of the veterans emailed me, and I still have this email on my phone. He sent me an email.
And it's gonna sound cliche, but it's the absolute God's honest truth that I got this email. He sent me an email, Ricky, and he said, hey, man. He started off, he's like, I just want you to know I had a wonderful time on that turkey hunt. He's like, I needed that brotherhood. I needed that camaraderie. I needed that connection. And it couldn't have come at all. More perfect time.
He's like, the night before when you sent out that email, my wife had just packed up the kids and went to her mom's house.
He's like, I was literally sitting on the floor of my kitchen with a handgun in my lap when I got your email.
[00:45:19] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: Honest to God's truth, man.
[00:45:22] Speaker A: And so you kind of.
You kind of saved him.
[00:45:27] Speaker B: It's the Lord, man.
It's the Lord.
To be part of this ministry in any capacity, whether you're a donor, a supporter, a sponsor, an oath, registered hero, a volunteer, an executive director, a disciple, the impact is profound. It's absolutely profound, you know?
[00:45:45] Speaker A: Yeah. And I know that one of the big pushes still is 22, right?
The number 22. Yeah.
[00:45:53] Speaker B: You know, statistically speaking, they say that the number is higher than 22 now. And that just breaks my heart. And that's just for veterans. Ricky, when you get into the first responder environment, I'm told that that number is like 40. 40 to 50.
[00:46:07] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:46:08] Speaker B: Sometimes our first responders are overlooked, and that breaks my heart. Because here's the deal, man. The easiest thing for me to do when I was in the military was pack my bag and do what I'm told, go where I'm told.
When these first responders, law enforcement, paramedics, firemen that were shot at, remember that story? When these guys and gals leave their house every day in the United States of America, they're literally entering a domestic combat zone.
And I think that they're overlooked sometimes. And that just breaks my heart. So that's why we love doing stuff for our first responders as well.
[00:46:39] Speaker A: Gary, man, this has been an amazing hour, man. You know, thank you for sharing your heart and your story and your journey with us. And Oath Ministries is a place that if you can see your heart and the time, either volunteer, share some finance with, or just reach out to Gary and see what he needs.
[00:46:58] Speaker B: Please do.
[00:46:59] Speaker A: Gary, man, this was amazing.
[00:47:01] Speaker B: I love you, brother.
[00:47:02] Speaker A: Thank you for making me part of this, guys. Thanks a lot for joining us at Battle Ready. Don't forget that we're here for you. You never know the battle that's going through a people, people's lives. And there's always a solution and there's a lot of opportunities and people available to help you reach out to us so you can become Battle Ready. Thank you, guys.
