Ones Ready

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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 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

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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
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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:
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18A Fitness - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):  ATACLete
Danger Close Apparel - Promo Code:  ONESREADY
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