In this episode, Congressman Pat Harrigan delivers a powerful and personal message about the unmatched value of military service for young Americans. Speaking from direct experience, Harrigan explains how the military forces individuals—often as young as 18—to grow up fast, take on serious responsibility, and develop real-world leadership skills under pressure.

He highlights how critical roles in global defense—like operating missile defense systems and securing international stability—are often carried out by 20-year-olds. These are not theoretical jobs, Harrigan notes, but life-and-death responsibilities that demand competence, maturity, and commitment.

Despite the challenges—long hours, low pay, and the weight of duty—he insists that the experience is deeply fulfilling. For those who are willing to serve, the military offers a rare chance to be part of something bigger than themselves and to contribute meaningfully to the defense of the free world.

With conviction and clarity, Harrigan makes the case that military service doesn’t just protect the country—it shapes the kind of citizens and leaders the country desperately needs.

Transcript

**Pat Harrigan: **Thanks for having me on.

**Chuck Warren: **I'm going to change your question. I was going to ask you based on your military experience. I have a lot of friends who've had kids go join the military the past 18 months.

Why would joining the military be good for a young man or young woman?

**Pat Harrigan: **Well, I think what it does is it gives you a huge breadth of experience at a very young age, like it or not. Kind of no matter whether we're at war or during peacetime,

you are responsible at a very young age for a lot of things. That your peer group that doesn't go into the military will potentially never have responsibility for in their lifetime or will take until their 30s or 40s to get that level of responsibility. And so I think the military absolutely hypercharges your experience in life,

hypercharges your leadership abilities. And ultimately, it's all four wrapped in a bigger concept that you're you're working for a bigger purpose right other than yourself the pay is not great the days are long the risk is high but it's just a super fulfilling thing to do and i'll tell you just

for anybody out there that might be listening I mean by the time that I was 29 and leaving the military as a special operator, when I went back to my 10-year high school reunion, my breath of experience in life in that 10 years since I graduated high school was 3 or 4x what any of my peers were.

And I'll never forget that.

**Chuck Warren: **Well, I mean, how old were the young men when Iran launched missiles into Qatar? Weren't they like 23 or 24, they were saying? Just how these young men who are manning these Patriot missile batteries and leading them were like 23, 24?

**Pat Harrigan: **Absolutely. Yeah, I know.

The security of the free world is held up by 18 to 25-year-olds. There's no doubt about it.

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