My guest today on Have a Tisue Podcast is Gene Tschida. Gene is a recent SMSgt select for EOD and within weeks of going home to see his family for the first time in almost a year. He is also one of my favorite people at Kunsan. We have many similar interests in life, sports, and recreational activities. We both find enjoyment through leadership books and discussions. This similar passion is what led our paths to cross through a mutual friend, Derek Pace. Gene established a unique leadership discussion forum here at Kunsan air base called Air Power Leadership Academy. For 10 weeks NCOs and SNCOs meet to discuss fundamental topics to share experiences and develop leadership skills. I was fortunate enough to sit in on the first course and Gene gave me the opportunity to be the director for the second course as he heads to Langley AFB. We share whiskey during our conversation. One bottle I gifted to him for making Senior and another bottle a friend of mine brought back to me from his trip to Japan. About 80 minutes into our conversation, I assumed we had both said everything we wanted to say. In this moment, Gene reminds me why I am fond of this podcast platform. I start moving towards wrapping things up and he stops me--offering more. The next 60 minutes, Gene shares some of his private stories that he wouldn’t tell most people within the first few months of knowing them. Even I was unaware of the experiences Gene endured during his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gene shares stories about his worst days on the job. He shares an experience that most of us will fortunately never have to experience for ourselves. I hope you enjoy Have a Tisue Podcast, episode #2, blowing things up with Gene.