Tommy O'Hare: 22 Year Veteran of the NYPD, Former U.S. Army Master Sergeant

There are interesting similarities between the streets of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria and the streets of the South Bronx. This week’s Team Never Quit guest is former U.S. Army Master Sergeant., 2-tour veteran, National Guard Paratrooper, and 22 year veteran of the NYPD – Tommy O’Hare. Listen to Tommy’s personal experiences and life lessons from his 2 tours of duty in Iraq (Desert Storm), Mogadishu, Somalia, and his cop career on the streets of the South Bronx of New York. This patriot has a myriad of common sense and positivity he shares with Marcus and you.

In this episode you will hear:

 I am the American success story. A child of Irish Immigrants who came to this country on a boat.

The [social] environment’s always changing, always evolving.

You never know what the future holds. You’d better catch up with it, adapt to it, or you’ll be left behind.

I can be as nice as a British butler, or I can be your worst nightmare.

Those same skills I learned in the streets of Brooklyn & the Bronx paid dividends in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

[After 9-11] Who you were, who you voted for – none of that crap mattered. We knew there were people in that building and we had to get them out because that’s our job. 

I was more stressed working the midnight shift in the South Bronx than I was overseas working recognizance 10 miles from the Al Qaeda camp.

I know the dangers, but we’ve got a job to do. We signed up for it.

I worked with heroes every day - In the streets of New York and in the streets of Afghanistan.

You have moral courage, spiritual courage, and physical courage.

The interactions I had with the Iraqis is the same interactions I had with people in the South Bronx.

If there is a fight, I’m gonna win. I am undefeated.

My mother’s advice to me on my first day as a cop was: “Remember to be just.”

What right do I have to complain? I have both my legs. I am alive. I’ve been blessed throughout my career.

Don’t quit on yourself. I’m not gonna quit on you, Marcus isn’t gonna quit on you, God’s not gonna quit on you.