A Real & True Hero

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

This is the Truth Network. Once a world champion wrestler, now a champion for Christ. Once the Russian nightmare, now the devil's worst nightmare. And your tag team partner, Nikita Kolov. It's time to man up.

Well, welcome back to It's Time to Man Up. Nikita Kolov, the devil's worst nightmare. Coming up today a man's man, a true hero. Well, in my eyes, a true patriot to our nation, Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin retired. An amazing 36 and a half year military careers, spent 13 years with Delta Force, if you're familiar with that.

I mean, high profile missions, including 1980 Iran hostage rescue attempt, the 1992 hunt for Pablo Escobar in Colombia. Black Hawk Down, we're going to talk about that. If you remember the movie Black Hawk Down, he's an author, he's a teacher, he's an amazing man of God. Coming up, Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin.

Don't miss this. Such an honor to have this man with us today. I know you are going to be blessed by his story.

In fact, you want to talk about a story. I mean, this man has such a remarkable life and career that we're probably going to have to break this show into two parts, honestly. Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin. I mean, such a distinguished career in the military. If you're not familiar with him, we'll make sure we get you all the information where to find him. But I mean, I don't even know where to begin when I look at his career and all of his distinguished awards that he has won over the years.

We're going to talk about some of that today. Let me just go ahead and welcome General Boykin to the show. Welcome, General. Nikita, thank you so much for having me on your program and thanks so much for what you're doing in the kingdom today. Well, I'm excited to have you on the show and certainly when we talk about a title like It's Time to Man Up, when I think about you, General Boykin, you certainly qualify for this show. In my eyes, you're truly, as I mentioned, you have such a remarkable life and career in the military. I look at you and I go, now that's a man's man right there.

I'm just saying. Thank you. It's great to have you on the show. I mean, speaking of really of your military career, what I want to do is really just kind of back up for our listeners and really kind of go back a few years, start kind of in the earlier years growing up and how and when you made a decision to join the military, but also talk about, I guess in my mind, I was thinking about this interview, I'm like, here's a man, a deep man of faith and how does a man of faith marry that or merge that together with a military career like you've had? And maybe just start with kind of like, if you would, General, kind of where you grew up and just start there and then move into, hey, here's when I knew I was going to go into the military.

Yeah, I actually grew up in North Carolina. I grew up in New Bern, North Carolina, and my father was one of five brothers that were in World War II. And I will just tell you, Nikita, I made the decision that I was going to serve in the military very, very early in life, because if you were a male in the Boykin family, there was an expectation that you would serve this country. Not that you would make a career, but you would serve. And my dad was, in fact, my dad was the only one of the five that was wounded and he was wounded on D-Day and lived the rest of his life as a disabled veteran, although he was fully functional.

He was a disabled veteran. So I made that decision early on, realizing that that was really sort of an ethos. It was a tradition. It was an expectation within the Boykin family that the males would serve the country. So I knew early, but then I went off to Virginia Tech on a football scholarship and went into the Corps of Cadets there. It is one of the five major military colleges that actually has a Corps.

They live together, they wear uniforms. So I joined the Corps there, realizing that was my pathway to being able to serve. And when I graduated in December of 1970 from Virginia Tech, I took the oath of office, took a commission, and I was in the military from that point on until I retired 36 and a half years later.

Wow. So you bring up a couple of talking points for me there. One, football career, we really have relatability there because I played high school, college football, had my sights set on professional football. So what position did you play, General? Yeah, I was, believe it or not, I was recruited as a fullback and a linebacker, but I got to Virginia Tech and they moved me to a line and ultimately I played defensive guard.

Okay. Defensive guard back in the day. And that's kind of relatable. You played linebacker, you played offense and defense.

I did both. I played defensive end, but also played tight end. I loved catching the ball. According to one of my quarterbacks in college, a pair of the softest hands he had ever saw, he went on to play four years, backed up Phil Sims with the New York Giants. Mark Reed was his name and paid me a high compliment when my senior year, our team was inducted into the school hall of fame.

We had the best record in like a hundred years of football at Moorhead State University. So you're up at VT, Virginia Tech and, and you playing defense and, and the other interesting thing that, and I'm just a curiosity question. You mentioned going into a military academy, right? Yeah, it was, uh, you know, we have the military academies, the army, the Navy, the air force, and even the coast guard, uh, as well as the merchant Marines. But there are five colleges like, uh, Texas A&M, the Citadel, VMI, uh, Virginia Tech, and there's another one up in New England that actually have a core of cadets.

So it's, uh, you know, they are, they're in uniform all the time and they essentially do the same things that they do at the academies, except that they're at a school that also has a cohort of, of students that are not inside the core that are just, uh, regular civilian students. Okay. So that's different because I'm, I'm familiar with, or I'm guessing you're probably familiar with, there's a, there's some type of military and fork union, Virginia.

Do you know what I'm referring to? And those are, those are, uh, yes, I do. I know very much as fork union, military academy, and those are for people, uh, that have, uh, that are still in high school. Okay. Those are schools for young men primarily, uh, that, uh, are, uh, it's like a boarding school, but they are based on a military structure and they, of course they wear uniforms as well, but, uh, but then at the university level, they're all, they're really only five major military colleges.

Okay. So that's more of a high school because I've actually spoken there. I've done some ministry there, uh, several years ago now, but I, and I was kind of blown away by, by, um, uh, all, you know, all the young cadets there and, and, and, and how many, uh, professional athletes came out of fork union academy, uh, in, in the different, you had different sports levels. So that's kinda, I guess, kind of a transition, if you will, kind of between high school, college, or they could actually, uh, essentially, I guess, go from there to one of the other universities you're, you're referring to.

Absolutely. They, they are set up very well for a scholarship, uh, by one of the military services. Uh, and people probably don't even realize, but the army, navy and air force, as well as the coast guard academy and the, uh, um, I mean the, um, the army, navy and air force, as well as the coast guard all provide scholarships for people who want to get a commission and then go into that branch of service.

So there are many students, uh, in these colleges and universities that are on scholarship there that is provided by, uh, the military services. Okay. Well, and so you mentioned a 36 and a half year career in military, even though you weren't necessarily initially thinking of it being a career, which I should have said at the top of the show, by the way, thank you so much for serving our country. I mean, we can't thank you enough for that. And thank you. And it was a great privilege to be able to serve well, because of guys, men and women like you who certainly have given us the, the, the freedoms that, that we experienced and, and continue to experience.

So, uh, uh, 36 and a half, I did a little, I was doing a little background research, uh, you know, on your, on your career and 36 and a half year military career, 13 years. Um, and I might say you may not, but I, uh, in my world of like the, the famed Delta force, I mean, I know there's a lot of different, as you mentioned, branches and different, different, uh, organizations within those different branches, but the Delta force, that was, what was that like for you to be a part of the Delta force? Yeah, it was incredible. I was, uh, one of the original members actually, uh, and, uh, and I will tell you, uh, Nikita, it was, I didn't know what I was getting into. None of us knew what we were getting into. We, all we knew was that here was a challenge and, uh, and we were being invited to, uh, to come into this organization. If we could meet that challenge, if we could meet the standards, if we could get through the assessment and selection course, and it was, uh, it was only about 18% of the people that, uh, they came in, uh, that, I mean, actually made it through the selection course. So we felt that we had done something special and that consequently, we were in a very special place that, uh, that was going to do something good for the country.

And, and that has certainly proven to be the case. Now, and now you mentioned, you know, a certain type of, uh, or, uh, you mentioned selection course. So does that mean like there was, I guess, certain qualifications one to even get on the list. And then secondly, once you're on the list, then to be accepted, uh, as a part of Delta force.

Yeah. The, what, what would occur is the, uh, army would, uh, would look through the records of, uh, officers and non-commissioned officers. Uh, there are no privates in Delta. I mean, you're either a non-commissioned officer or an officer commissioned officer and, uh, the army personnel branch would look through and find what they thought were good candidates for that. And, uh, and then they would contact you and say, do you want to volunteer for this?

There was, I mean, there was no, uh, there was no trying to force you into this. This was, here's what we're going to ask you to do. And this is all we can tell you about it, that we're putting together a new special operations force.

It is very secretive. We will put you through a 30 day trial. If you make it through that trial, uh, we will ask you to, uh, volunteer to be a member of this new organization. It's going to be the toughest thing you've ever been through being the best physical condition.

If you choose to try out and we need your answer in the next hour, in the next hour. So that's what you got. That's what I got. So, wow.

Okay. And now, so I'm, gosh, I'm, I'm just thinking about that. And, uh, about that and there was, and I, and I, and I don't know how, you know, however much you might want to refer to this or talk about if, if I know my history or did my homework right. So from, from the Delta force, one of the, um, one of the things that stands out if I'm not mistaken, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but, um, is, uh, there, I know all kinds of missions and many that and I'm sure you, you can not talk about, but there was a movie produced years ago called black Hawk down. Was that in reference to that? That was really kind of about this unit, right. That you were a part of. Yeah, it was all about this unit. Uh, and as a matter of fact, I had worked my way up from, you know, from being a captain in this organization all the way up to the rank of Colonel. And I was the commander of the Delta force during this, the events that are, uh, uh, you know, referred to as black Hawk down and that are, uh, shown in the movie there. Um, and I was responsible for the Delta force. And of course we had Rangers on the ground too, but they, I integrated them into the Delta force as part of it. And, you know, we were trying to conceal the fact that there was Delta force on the ground. So we called ourselves task force ranger. And, uh, and, and as you know, Nikita, we, uh, we were there to capture a notorious warlord named Muhammad free.

I did. He was the head of the hover getter clan. And this man was a evil diabolical man. And his militia was just as bad as he was.

And one operation, they killed 24 Pakistani peacekeepers that were just trying to feed hungry people. And that's when the United nations and president bill Clinton said, that's it, go get him and bring him to justice. And of course there was an understanding that if he got killed in the process, that, uh, that would not be a bad thing, but we were not directed to kill him.

We were directed to capture him if we could. Right. Right. And then we got in, you know, we went into the city six times and got in a lot of firefights and, you know, sadly we got in Italy, we killed a lot of people, but on the 3rd of October of 1993, we went in that city and we got in an 18 hour firefight. And that's what is portrayed in the movie is that 18 hour firefight that we fought there on the 3rd of October. So if some of our listeners want to go back and pull up that movie Black Hawk down, what they would essentially be watching and viewing is the unit that you were directly in charge of. And, and then therefore the results of even what you're talking about right now.

So, yeah, that's exactly right. And, uh, wow. And that was, uh, that was a long day. Uh, I, I, I guess, I mean, 18, you said 18 hour kind of standoff, right? Yeah, it was, uh, it was a continuous battle for 18 hours.

Uh, I think we really kind of started that fight about three 30 in the afternoon. And it was really about four o'clock the next morning before we actually were able to get everybody out to safety, to include the wounded. And I'll tell you Nikita is, is I think, you know, and you've probably heard me say this at the men's conferences that we attend, but you know, I got down on my knees before we launched that operation and prayed and asked God, as I had done for every previous operation. And I just asked God to protect these men. My most vivid memory is a, is a five ton truck coming out of that city at the end of that 18 hour firefight. And, uh, that truck was filled with, uh, dead and wounded.

It's all we had to get them out of the city with one, one five ton truck. And I walked over to that truck and I helped to drop the tailgate. And when I looked in the back of that truck, I tell you what, I was broken. I was broken emotionally, but I was broken spiritually because I started asking the question, where are you God?

Where are you? Didn't you hear my prayer? You could have stopped this. And, uh, I looked in there and the blood just poured out the back of that truck, like water and the dead were on bottom on the bottom and the, and the wounded were on top of the dead. That's all we had.

I mean, it's very graphic. I know, but it's all we had. And I just, and let me tell you, my faith was shaken to the, to the core and that as soon as we got them all put on airplanes and got them out to medical care or evacuated the bodies, you know, I sat down on my bunk and it was, it had just gotten dark and I, I sat down on my book and I just began to say, God, where were you? And all of a sudden, all of a sudden in my heart, I just said, there is no God, there's no God. Cause if there was a God, this wouldn't have happened.

He would have heard my, yeah, but listen, here's all I want your listeners to, to take away from this moment. I said, there is no God. I heard the voice of the Lord and the voice of the Lord said, if there's no God, there's no hope.

And I immediately broke emotionally and began to sob as my chest heaved. And I was saying, I'm sorry, God, I'm sorry, God. I'm so sorry that I've denied you.

Well, take this away from what I've just said. The moment that it was in my heart before I actually said it, to be repented, I was forgiven. And the message that I now try to make sure that I relate to every men's group or every group that I talk to is I was forgiven. There's nothing in your life that you've ever done that you will not be forgiven for if you will confess it and ask God to take it. And too many men, especially men, are still living with the burden of sins that they've already confessed. And they don't have to. All they have to do is confess it and believe the Word of God that says in 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. You confess it, it's gone.

It's gone. And men carry these burdens that they don't have to carry. They do, General. You know, because we do a lot of, you and I are in kind of parallel courses in the sense of doing a lot of, certainly a lot of men's ministry, but you bring up a very valid point that the enemy, because there is a real enemy, you have faced it in a literal sense. Many of us face it in a spiritual sense, you know, wants to keep people in general, men, people and women, people in general, in a prison, in bondage, in chains, you know, so to speak.

And so some very, very valid points you're making. In fact, I was going to, I wanted to ask you about that. I mean, that's a remarkable story you just told. You came, because I know you're a deep man of faith, I've been with you, been on the stage with you, shared the platform with you, emceed, and just been with you off the stage on a very personal level and regard you to be a very dear friend, someone that I love dearly. Let me ask you, like, about your faith, like, did you come to faith at an early age? Like, you knew you wanted to go in the military at an early age, but did you, and then how, how, how did you kind of bring those two together to have such a military career and, and be a man of faith?

Yeah, thanks for asking me that. I grew up in the church. My mother was and is today, even though she has Alzheimer's, is an absolute saint, and she was my spiritual mentor. My dad was my hero and sort of my idol, but, you know, he struggled with faith and he, he was a Mason and thought that he, he was redeemed and saved just because by virtue of the fact that he was a Mason.

So he would attend church sometimes, but my mother was really my spiritual mentor. And, but I grew up in a very legalistic environment. I grew up in an environment where everything was a sin. Well, I can tell you that I am not religious today. I am simply not religious because I had so much religion stuff down my throat growing up. And, and these were well-meaning people, but they were so legalistic that some lady, when I was a junior in high school, she actually said to me, she actually said to me, well, I just, I just think that football is a sin. And that's when I literally said, well, I'm going to hell because I had no way to go to college. My parents had no money.

Right. I had no way to go to college except on the football scholarship. So I just said, well, I'm going to hell. So I might as well just enjoy the ride. And in college, I was, I was just that I was a hell raiser.

And I just, uh, I was going to have as much fun as I could, what I thought was fun at the time. And, uh, because I knew I couldn't live up to the standards of the church. And, uh, and then I had some people that came along beside me, um, late before I graduated from college, I had some people that came along beside me and really started impressing upon me that no, all Jesus wants is for you to confess that you're a sinner and that you need him as the Lord of your life and then do the very best you can. And when you fail, get back up, confess it, get back up and carry on.

And that just opened up a whole new world to me. So three weeks after I came in the United States army, right by myself, because I knew the word, I knew what I had to do. The Holy Spirit began to really bring me under conviction. And I felt the Lord saying, I have a purpose for you. I have a purpose for your life, but if you don't submit to me, it will never be fulfilled. And right by myself at Fort Benning, Georgia, and a little room down there that I was staying in, I knelt down right there in that, in that room. And I began to pray and say, God, I don't, I don't want to live like this anymore.

But let me tell you something, Nikita. I, when I finished praying that prayer, unlike what most people felt, I did not feel that I had been redeemed. I just felt like, I felt like God was saying to me, you remember that when that revivalist was there, when you were 12 years old, and he said, if you don't make a decision, if you don't make a decision for Jesus tonight, you may never make that decision or you may never have another opportunity. Well, I sat there and resisted the calling of the Holy Spirit.

And now it was coming back to me. Well, I had to get to see my spiritual mentor and I got to see my mom and I said, Mom, I am doomed to hell. She said, what are you talking about? I said, Mom, I have received Christ and I blasphemed.

Back when I was 12 years old, I blasphemed and I rejected Jesus then and I know that he can't save me now. And my mother, who does not have a high school education, my mother laughed at me. She said, that's the oldest trick in the book.

Did you confess your sins? Yes, Mama. She said, do you believe the word of God? I said, yes, Mom.

She said, if you've confessed your sins and ask God to be the Lord of your life, you're saved. Now get over it and get on with it. And that's all I needed to hear. That's awesome.

Yeah. That's awesome. Well, you, we're going to bring you back next week because, I mean, this first show has, your story's so fascinating, but you bring up some wonderful things, General, for our listeners to certainly consider. And that is, the thing that comes to mind in just our closing moments here is the difference between religion, what you were describing versus relationship. And then I love what you said to, you know, if there's no God, then there's no hope.

And he is the God of hope. And certainly you have experienced that not only in your military career, but just really in life in general. And that's a fascinating story. Hey, we're going to come back for week two with you and you've got some books we want to talk about and so many other things. So to our listeners out there, tune in, dial in next week, more of General Jerry Boykin. Men, I would like to challenge each of you to consider spending five days with Lex Luger and I at Man Camp, pursuing the heart of God. Ladies, if you're listening, we'll send your men home, better equipped to be men of God, Godly husbands and Godly fathers. That appeals to you. Give them your blessing and encourage them to sign up today at mancamp.info. Pastors, if you would like to bring Koloff for Christ Ministries and Man Up Conference to your community, go to koloff.org and email me. Remember this, it's time to man up. This is the Truth Network.