112. Adam DeRito
===

SPC Adam DeRito: [00:00:00] So OSI wanted to make sure that none of this stuff was being tracked because OSI Works above the chain of command that's the purpose of them So they can do these investigations above the chain of command above the three star general They don't want all these academy leaders finding about the investigations against their own cadets.

SPC Adam DeRito: Never mind their own football team So if you look at it from that perspective, they are doing the right thing They are trying to go after criminal action at the academies. They're trying to prevent these kids from commissioning but what they didn't know later on which is things I failed to discuss in previous podcast because I didn't want to piss off the grad community is that Football is a giant money maker at the academy.

SPC Adam DeRito: They make more money off of football than anything else. And when you start going after the money, that's when things start happening, right?

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Nurse Kelly: Welcome to After Hours with Dr. Sigoloff.

Nurse Kelly: On this podcast, you will be encouraged to

Nurse Kelly: question everything.

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Nurse Kelly: And now,

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Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Hey, well thanks for joining me again. I first want to give a shout out to all of my Patreon supporters. We've got Tuff, who's made a 30 level. We've got an anonymous family donor giving 20. 20. A month we have the Planned Demic Reprimand at $17 and 76 cents a month with Ty, Charles, tinfoil, Dr.

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Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Thank you so much for all of your support. I truly appreciate it. And remember, uh, go check out mycleanbeef. com slash after hours. That's mycleanbeef. com slash after hours for some of the best beef you've ever had in your life. So, I want to introduce my next guest. We have a very special man here, and, and don't be confused, he, he may only be a specialist, but he probably should be a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force right now.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Adam DiRito. Adam, thank you so much for coming on.

SPC Adam DeRito: Hey, Sam, thanks for welcoming me on the show. I really appreciate you bringing me on. It's a pleasure that we were able to connect over all these things.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Yeah, so we were talking beforehand, and I could try and do an introduction. I would not give you justice, so I want you to kind of tell us your story.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Tell us, because, you know, some people may see you in uniform and be like, what is a specialist with all [00:04:00] these ribbons and all that? What's your story, and what's going on, and what has the military done to you? That's just egregious beyond egregious and how you're fighting back.

SPC Adam DeRito: Sure. Uh, thanks for the introduction.

SPC Adam DeRito: You know, like I said, I don't think I'm anybody special. I blurry was just somebody who I was 18 years old and I have always wanted to join the military since I was 12 and it was my objective to go to the air force academy at a very young age. So since. Elementary school in sixth grade. I could even go back to my yearbook now and Mrs.

SPC Adam DeRito: Kissack's class in West Milford, New Jersey. And it says, become an aeronautical engineer at the Air Force Academy. And she's like, man, you have a, you have a pretty thought out plan at 12 years old. I'm like, well, you know, I make plans and I follow through with them. Great. I didn't become an engineer at the academy because that shit's hard and I failed calc three, but that's a different story.

SPC Adam DeRito: Um, but yeah, so I went to the Air Force Academy from the class of 2010. So I, Join the military because of 9 11 and I [00:05:00] lost family in the towers 92nd floor of Cantor Fitzgerald My cousin Michael McHugh was killed in the terrorist attacks and being from West Milford, New Jersey You could see the towers burning from my hometown, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: So it had a definite significant impact on me I think a little bit different than people who didn't grow up on the East Coast and you know being born in New York And being raised New Jersey, you just kind of have this You know, I'm going to go get these guys kind of attitude and, you know, the whole Tony Soprano mentality of how Jersey people work.

SPC Adam DeRito: So it's one of those interesting situations though, because my mom used to always say these things like, you know, be careful what you wish for and you know, well, she was right. So I go to the Air Force Academy. My first year and I thought it was just gonna be full of people that were just like me You know, I grew up in a poor blue collar family worked for everything in my life mowing lawns at ten bucks Ten bucks for every lawn I mowed and my dad taught me how to work on cars And I was in the Civil Air Patrol as a kid from like 12 to 18 years old That's in the Air Force Auxiliary doing like search and rescue training and [00:06:00] humanitarian assistance And we did some of the 9 11 recovery stuff when I was like You know, a young kid like 14 15 years old.

SPC Adam DeRito: So when I go to the academy, though, I realized that there's a very small population that is comes from the similar background as me. Most of these kids to go to the academy are, you know, kids of graduates or, you know, their daddy's friend is a general wrote him a letter or their personal friends with the senators and the congressman.

SPC Adam DeRito: So when I went there, it was just a different mentality. I thought I was going to go through like this hardcore boot camp and like run around with guns and all these other things. And I think some of my experiences in the civil air patrol were actually harder than when I showed up at the Air Force Academy.

SPC Adam DeRito: We didn't even shoot guns. I think we shot guns once at this thing called cat him, uh, and they were just like, take 40 rounds and shoot them down range. I'm like, don't we have to hit a target? They're like, no, just take 40 rounds and shoot them down range. I'm like. Wait, yeah, don't you have like, no, this is the Air Force.

SPC Adam DeRito: We don't, we don't hit targets with guns. This is not your job. I'm like, okay. So that was, that was a rude awakening going to Air Force Academy, basic [00:07:00] training. And I laugh at some of the grads who look back on, Oh, that was such a hard experience. I'm like, did you ever go outside and play in the woods when you were a kid?

SPC Adam DeRito: You know, like building a tree house was harder than this. So I quickly realized that. You know, my parents are was like, if you want to go to college, you got to pay for it yourself. You know, we had no money to send you to college. So I didn't quit the academy because I wanted to stick it out and I could have gone to West Point.

SPC Adam DeRito: I could have gone to Annapolis. I could have got to any single of these service academies that I wanted, but I was really close to Annapolis in West Point. I was only like 45 minute drive from West Point. Five hour drive from Annapolis. I thought I wanted to go out west because I wanted a completely different experience.

SPC Adam DeRito: I want to get out of my hometown, get away from everyone I grew up with and just start over. And that was seemed like a good idea at the time. Right. But I look back on it now and I'm like, man, I should have went to West Point because I ended up in the army anyway, or the Naval Academy because I ended up.

SPC Adam DeRito: Cross commissioning into the Marines technically, right? So, uh, and plus I would have had much more of a support group because when you go to the academies, when you have your weekends off, sometimes they let you leave or you go to see your sponsor family, which is a family they assign you if you're an out of state cadet.

SPC Adam DeRito: [00:08:00] So I didn't really have a lot of friends at the academy my first couple of years and you know, it was kind of a. You know on my own, you know and being a new jersey person, you know Some people don't take kindly to your your attitude and how you talk all the time I had to learn how to get over that become more westernized and be more midwest polite You know, you can't just tell people to go fuck off.

SPC Adam DeRito: Apparently they don't like that. But you know, whatever um So there's a gentleman's rule at these academies where I and for people who are applying to the academies or don't know this If you go to any federal service academy, so that is west point Annapolis Air Force or Merchant Marine You can actually commission into any branch of service that you want But there's a gentleman's agreement that if you go to Air Force you stay Air Force slash Space Force now If you go to West Point you stay army and blah blah blah.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I found out that there's a cross commissioning process at the Air Force Academy. So I applied to go to the Marines. A lot of my friends from high school went to the Marines in the army and they were in the Korangal Valley and they're in fucking Iraq and oh five and through oh seven and oh eight.

SPC Adam DeRito: And they're like, you're missing out on all the fun, man, [00:09:00] depending on your definition of fun at the time. So I'm just like, you know what? I'm going to go to the Marines. I want to go fly for the Marines or go be an infantry officer or something. So I applied. I actually passed the aviation exam, so the cool thing was I had a pilot slot in the Marine Corps to be a naval aviator.

SPC Adam DeRito: I did not have a pilot slot in the Air Force because I was ranked low in my class because, you know, was I the best cadet? No. Uh, like I said, things I should have gotten kicked out for that I didn't was, uh, Waterbloom Launcher and Capri Suns attacking the upperclassmen for not letting us leave over the weekend.

SPC Adam DeRito: Hilarious at the time stupid looking back on it now. Um, so Because of my experiences at the academy like I was always getting my dick stepped on like my commanders like you're not leaving this weekend You're not going anywhere. You're staying here. So basically I went to prison for four years at the air force academy I never left.

SPC Adam DeRito: I didn't get to go skiing You know, I didn't get to live the south park life in colorado I pretty much stayed on base never left and never went anywhere and this is kind of how my story starts is because Uh, I [00:10:00] broke up with my high school girlfriend at the time. I was like 19 and me and, you know, online dating was like a new thing at the academy, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: Uh, the internet was kind of a thing. Facebook didn't really even exist then, which is crazy. Like we didn't have smartphones. There's no apps, none of this stuff. So me and a couple of the guys in the squad who always got restricted as we called it on the weekends, like we'd be on this, like, I don't even remember what the name of the dating website was.

SPC Adam DeRito: It's probably like match. com or something stupid like that. And we were like looking for girls, like University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. So I was talking to, like, random women, I had no idea, never met these people, all through email, like, no phone calls, no, nothing, right? But they're like, hey, you wanna, you wanna go out on a date and meet us, up with us this weekend?

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm like, yeah, so I can't leave. They're like, what do you mean you can't leave? Yeah, I'm restricted. So, obviously none of these things ever panned out, right? So, I go home for Christmas and I think it was like 2007 and I come back in like January, February 2008 and my [00:11:00] commander, who absolutely couldn't stand me calls me into his office and he's like Hey, so you need to go talk to Air Force OSI I'm like, what the hell is Air Force OSI?

SPC Adam DeRito: And they're like, it's the Office of Special Investigations Now, for anyone who doesn't know who Air Force OSI is they're basically like the NCIS uh, for the Air Force or the FBI you know, for the Air Force So I go down there and to be, to be fair, I've always had positive experiences, law enforcement, uh, in New Jersey.

SPC Adam DeRito: I was a volunteer firefighter and E. M. T. So I grew up working with E. M. S. Uh, and the fireside and the police all the time. So I didn't have an issue talking with cops. I never had a bad interaction with them. So it's like a classic. They dragged me into this room. And I sit there and it's like one metal chair with like two other metal chairs and a desk in a mirrored room And i'm sitting there.

SPC Adam DeRito: I have no idea why i'm sitting there. I'm after class. I had to miss rugby practice I have a test the next day And they come in they're like, hey, is this your email address? I was like, yeah, and it was like some stupid like civilian email address That was like falcon2000 or something like that [00:12:00] like hotmail.

SPC Adam DeRito: com And I should have asked the question, like, first of all, how'd you guys even have these emails? Like, you know, I'm, I'm stupid. Like, I'm 19. I have no idea what's going on. No lawyer, no nothing. And they're like, well, were you, were you talking to this individual? On this, on this dating website, and I look at the message, and I'm like, uh, sure, yeah, that looks like the transcript.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I'm like, do you have, did you know that they were under the age of 18? And I'm like, no! How the fuck was I supposed to know that? Like, this is email only, on a dating website, where you could be whoever the hell you wanted, apparently. And this is like, during the eras of like, Chris Hansen to Catch a Predator.

SPC Adam DeRito: So, like, I guess it was like a big thing back then. And like, oh, so you didn't know. I'm like, no, I have no idea who this person was. I never met them in person, never talked to them on the phone, all strictly email. And they said, okay, well, you're, you did nothing wrong. I'm like, yeah, I know. And then I asked, is this the point where I asked to get a lawyer?

SPC Adam DeRito: Because I don't know where this is going. Like, oh, no, no, no, you don't need a lawyer. You don't need anything. And they're like, but ironically, we have a lot of this stuff going on at the academy. So, you know, you seem like a pretty [00:13:00] good guy. And I'm like, yeah. Like, oh, you were, you were an EMT, you were, you were a firefighter, and I see that you, you've applied to cross commission to the Marine Corps, so you don't even want to be in the Air Force anymore, and I'm like No, I don't like I don't like this place.

SPC Adam DeRito: I don't like the people I go to school with, you know, and they're like, you know So like how would you like to work for us? Like how would you like to take down some of these Air Force cadets like trying to meet minors and all these other things? Like which I didn't even know was a thing, you know You go to the Academy you figure like you're an upstanding individual and you have to pass all these tests and examinations And I didn't know that the issue at the Academy for sexual assault harassment was this bad.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I said, yeah sure so they Basically had me work as an undercover informant. So I worked for them for two years as an undercover informant from 2008 to 2010. And I mean, some of the stuff that we were uncovering between cadets was Absolutely insane and basically to be fair. I was just an information point Like I talked to people who were going to parties who was giving out the drugs who was you know Trafficking the spice which is an [00:14:00] illegal hallucinogen back then that became more prominent years later Uh, there was an incident with like cocaine and underage drinking and a lot of this had to do with the football team So this became known as operation gridiron where osi formulated this plan to go after all these red shirt kids On the ncaa division one football team and the red shirt guys We're recruited specifically to play football, and they go to something called the Air Force Academy Prep School prior to that.

SPC Adam DeRito: So they do five years at the academy instead of four. Now, I was a direct entry guy. I was only a four year guy. I didn't get recruited to play sports. I had high enough SAT scores and ACT scores to get directly in. So I was very unfamiliar with division one sports and how that all worked because I was a rugby player.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I played a club sport. I, I didn't go to the academy to play sports. I, I went to the academy to become an officer and be a pilot. So I didn't really like the NCAA kids because they always got out of formation. They always got involved out of all these things anyway. So I had no problem writing up my reports and sending them the OSI.

SPC Adam DeRito: But the problem was, is that I can never leave my room or do any of these things. And we had to keep [00:15:00] everything on the low ball. So I had like a burner phone. That I used to communicate with OSI with and I would print out all my MFRs that I type up And they were just my evidence like I talked to this cadet about this party last weekend Possibly involved in sexual assault and they got the alcohol from cadet X blah blah blah blah and I print these out I put them in Manila folder and I tell my commander Hey, I'm gonna go for a jog because they couldn't prevent me from working out and I'd go run Across base with this manila folder and then I drop it off at OSI and then like run back Like that's what I did every Friday Like that's how it so that that way because as as I discovered the 10th communication squadron at the Academy has access to anything you use on the internet, which is how they Found out that I was using a dating website when I was 19, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: so OSI wanted to make sure that none of this stuff was being tracked because OSI Works above the chain of command. That's the purpose of them So they can do these investigations above the chain of command above the three star general They don't want all these academy leaders finding about the investigations against their own cadets.

SPC Adam DeRito: Never [00:16:00] mind their own football team So if you look at it from that perspective, they are doing the right thing They are trying to go after criminal action at the academies. They're trying to prevent these kids from commissioning but what they didn't know later on which is things I failed to discuss in previous podcasts because I didn't want to piss off the grad community is that Football is a giant money maker at the academy.

SPC Adam DeRito: They make more money Off of football than anything else. And when you start going after the money, that's when things start happening. Right? And I was completely unaware of this, right? Because I didn't care. Like, I was just there to commission, go fly planes and go kill terrorists, right? Theoretically, so it just goes into 2009.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm getting ready to go to Marine Corps officer candidate school and my next door roommate is like, Hey, we're going to go up to a party in Fort Collins. And I was actually allowed to leave that weekend. I was of age. I was over the age of 21 at this time. And I'm like, wait, real college party, and you guys want me to drive you back from the Fort Collins Marathon?

SPC Adam DeRito: Like, because they were going to go to a party, and they were going to go run the marathon the next day. I'm like, yeah, I'll go. That sounds like a good idea. I'm just trying to be social, trying to be cool with everyone in the squad. [00:17:00] So we go up to Fort Collins, and we go to this random house party. And it was like a scene out of American Pie.

SPC Adam DeRito: You know, like, there's like, fucking beer kegs getting rolled down the street. You know, attractive women everywhere. There's house parties off the fucking channels. Like, there's like, slip and slides outside of a plastic tarp. And like, you know, fucking soapy water everywhere. And like, chicks in bikinis. I'm like, this is great.

SPC Adam DeRito: Why did I go to the Air Force Academy? I don't know. I should have went to normal college. Um, so I go, I go to this, I go to this party, and I don't know anyone there. Uh, this girl hands me this drink, and I was 225 pounds at the time, you know, I know my drinking abilities, I'm Irish as a background, so it takes a lot for me to, to, to get drunk, but I take like three sips of this stuff, and about like 20 minutes later, I don't remember fucking anything, which is like very uncommon, and I remember this specifically because, um, I wake up the next morning, and I'm in some random fucking dorm room, I have no idea where the fuck I am.

SPC Adam DeRito: My phone's dead. My friends, my so called friends, left me there, [00:18:00] and it's Sunday, and I'm supposed to be back by like 10 a. m. for formation, and it's like Almost 10 and I'm like, shit, this is like a two and a half hour drive back to the academy. I'm not going to make it. So I immediately realized something was wrong though.

SPC Adam DeRito: Cause my clothes are off everything down below. Looked like I got hit with 60 grit sandpaper, something, something happened. I have the worst headache I've ever had in my life. And like, this isn't like, Oh, I'm hungover headache. This is like somebody hit me in the head with a baseball bat hangover. And I'm like, this doesn't seem right.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I literally go to a Denny's and I drink like an entire pot of coffee. I try to eat something and put something in my stomach. This is like my EMT brain kicking in, like, just try to absorb whatever's in your stomach, you know, whatever. And I find my truck, which was like five blocks down the road. And I charged my phone enough.

SPC Adam DeRito: I call my commander who hates me and I'm like, Hey, sir, just let you know that, uh, I overslept and I didn't tell him what happened obviously at the time. And I'm going to be late. He's like, of course you're going to be late. The one weekend I let you leave and you fucked this up. And I'm like, Okay, whatever,

SPC Adam DeRito: So I eventually go back to the [00:19:00] academy and I, yeah, I try to tell him what happened and he's like, there's no way that a 225 pound rugby player got raped. You're lying. You're just doing this to get yourself outta trouble. And like I said, this is 2009. Right? So male on male or. Female on male sexual assault isn't really a thing back then even though it's actually way more prevalent in the military than people understand It just doesn't get reported as much.

SPC Adam DeRito: So because I knew my commander was going to try to screw me I immediately file an unrestricted report with the sexual assault coordination Center at the air force academy and I report it to my Air force osi handlers and I file a police report with colorado state university police department So I tried to do all the right things man.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like I I made the report I Call the correct, um, adjudicating authorities on it. And this is like one of the biggest mistakes I made. And this is what I try to coach cadets on now is I gave full jurisdiction of my case back to the air force. And I didn't allow the civilian entities to finish the investigation, [00:20:00] which I had every right to, because it happened off base in a different county that was controlled by civilian authorities.

SPC Adam DeRito: And to be fair, Detective Adam Smith at the time at Colorado State University was super awesome. He actually found the person who did it, uh, and backtrack a little bit. This woman also stole my Air Force Academy class ring. Um, they actually ended up finding out this girl was like a habitual offender.

SPC Adam DeRito: She'd go to parties and like stalk military guys. Like it ended up being like this whole thing, but there's like, well, you gave jurisdiction back to the Air Force, so we can't arrest her. We can't charge her. We can't do anything. That's all up to the Air Force, right? Now the Air Force is going to go arrest a civilian, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: So they're just like, Hey man, sorry, there's nothing we can do. So, uh, We're sorry about what happened to you, but we have your back when it comes to your commander and your chain of command. And I'm like, you gotta be fucking kidding me, right? Because my commander doesn't believe me, the superintendent doesn't believe me, the commandant doesn't believe anything happened.

SPC Adam DeRito: They just thought you were just some cadet who went out and got drunk and didn't want to get in trouble, so you filed a sexual assault report. which is bullshit. [00:21:00] And unfortunately, the sad part is a lot of that still happens today. It's why a lot of women and men are afraid to report at the academies because they report.

SPC Adam DeRito: And even the most recent case with this girl, there was physical evidence. She got raped. She had the physical evidence, went to a civilian hospital, got the pictures, got everything done, got the DNA test done. And the guy was still found not guilty because she gave jurisdiction back to the air force.

SPC Adam DeRito: Right. And if they just left the prosecution with the civilian side, they would have Put that kid in jail for a long period of time, and this is something I coach Academy kids on constantly report to the FBI report to the county sheriff's office. Never allow the Air Force to take control of your case because the institution is more important than the individual and they will do whatever it takes to protect the institution in the Air Force and the name of the Air Force Academy over you because you are not important.

SPC Adam DeRito: You are replaceable and you're just a number. And I come back and you know, the commandant Sorry, the vice superintendent, some colonel calls me to his office because I'm literally on the, uh, getting ready to get on a plane to go to Marine officer candidate school. And he's like, I don't know what the fuck [00:22:00] happened with you to read it up there at CSU, but she called the Air Force Academy and said, like, she's pregnant and all this other shit.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I'm just like. Yeah, none of that. None of that's true. Like This is all just made up. She's a stalker So she ended up getting banned from base by security forces Like even the air force kicked her like banned her from coming on base because she would like sit on base like wait for me To get out of class like she was absolutely out of her mind.

SPC Adam DeRito: So um, I go to marine officer candidate school and i'm like finally I get to take like eight weeks or six weeks it was and just like Get out of the academy and go do something really in the, uh, in the military. And man, Marine officer candidate school was an eye opening experience. It was like, Oh, this is what the real military is like.

SPC Adam DeRito: Cause like I've been in the Air Force Academy for like almost three years. So like, I know how to march. I know how to do stuff. No, no, I didn't. No, I did not. I showed up there and. I'm the only, no, there was another Air Force Academy guy there with me and he tried to distance himself from me as much as possible because he's like, Dorito, you just have a name and everyone knows who you are.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like, [00:23:00] I just don't want to be associated with you in the Air Force, but I don't blame you, man. Like, you're good. So I show up and I'm, I'm with the Gulf company, fourth platoon, and they have every, all the candidates stand in a circle and the gunnery sergeants. And the cool thing was, is all the gunnery sergeants and sergeant instructors, they're all like E sevens and above.

SPC Adam DeRito: Yeah. And most of them have combat experience like most of these guys came like from like fallujah and like oh five You know what? I mean? So this is like their staff duty tour. So they just hate Everyone and everything and I loved it because I didn't have this experience at the air force academy I'm like, oh these guys are like no shit jacked as fucking want to murder me every five seconds Like this is what I joined the military for and they they're going around the entire uh squad bay and they're like Give us your Institution like what college you're from and what your degree is that so you got all these like and ROTC kids and all these like Prior enlisted Marines like I'm you know, I go to the University of Maryland biology and like right next and then like company commander and the first sergeant and sergeant should just get to me and like Dorito [00:24:00] what University here you come from and I'm like USAPHA and they're like what the fuck is USAPHA and I'm just like Trying to be a smartass, because I think I'm funny.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I'm like, University of Sciences and Fine Arts Academy. And, like, Gunnery Sergeant Clay looks down at his paper, and he's like, U. S. A. F. A. Wait a minute, you're that fucking academy guy! I'm just like, shit. They, they immediately take my fucking footlocker, and they fucking throw it off the fucking outdoor company deck, into the fucking mud.

SPC Adam DeRito: And they're like, start load crawling, right now. Face in the mud. I'm like, God damn it. And they're like, congratulations, Dorito. You are now in charge of the company. Like, you are the company commander, candidate company commander. I'm like, fuck me in the ass. So I have no idea how anything works in the actual military, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: Like I don't know how what a fire team is. I don't know what even a company is because the air force has different like So at the air force academy as long as your cadets are doing what they're supposed to do that You just leave them alone. Like yeah, that's not how leadership works in the [00:25:00] marine corps.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like you have to literally Hold everyone by the hand and and do all these things And I I learned what leadership was the hard way and they They're like you failed this week in your leadership peer review. So you're getting kicked out You have to go see colonel mancini who's the battalion commander for ocs now.

SPC Adam DeRito: This is like a colonel Who like literally scared the crap out of me like he he reminded me of like mel gibson and like we were soldiers Like you just walk in you're like, I don't I don't even know what this guy how many people this guy's killed You know what? I mean? You go in there and they sit me down with the battalion.

SPC Adam DeRito: Uh sergeant major And the battalion, uh, commander, Colonel Mancini, and, uh, the first sergeant, his name was, at the time, he was a master sergeant, Master Sergeant Sandercock, and for anyone who looks up, like, old Marine Corps recruiting videos, Gunnery Sergeant Sandercock, this guy is the most insane, out of his mind, screaming, yelling, motivating person I've ever met in the Marine Corps, and they're just in my face screaming at me for 45 minutes, like, I don't deserve to be a Marine, I'm a worthless piece of shit, [00:26:00] I'm an Air Force wannabe, like, I'm gonna get kicked out, so, They, uh, they send me back to the squad bay and Gunnery Sergeant Clay and Gunnery Sergeant Alessio come find me like, Hey, uh, Colonel Mancini made his decision.

SPC Adam DeRito: You're getting kicked out. You're done. Pack your shit. I'm like, okay, well, I guess that's it. I'm going back to the Air Force Academy and I'm never going to hear the end of this. So they, I pack my duffel bag and I get in a van and they drive me all the way to Ronald Reagan Airport, like International Airport.

SPC Adam DeRito: Keep in mind. I don't have DTS. I don't have a plane ticket. Nothing. I'm just doing what I'm told. All right. And I get there and Gunner Sergeant Alessio and Gunner Sergeant Clay, like they turn around and they go, he opens up his flip phone. He's like, Roger that, sir. We'll tell him. Can a Dorito. I'm like, yeah.

SPC Adam DeRito: It's like the colonel changed his mind. He's giving you another chance. I'm like, what the fuck is going on right now? They drive me all the way back to OCS when everyone thinks I got kicked out. They had me unpack my stuff They said on one condition. You're now the battalion candidate [00:27:00] company commander.

SPC Adam DeRito: You're in charge of OCS now Like oh no so But the thing is you put me under pressure. I actually react better, right? So that's one thing I've learned about myself over the years. So I immediately got back and We're going on our six mile ruck march. I think it was and They had me running around the circle like they just, I mean, they just beat the crap out of me.

SPC Adam DeRito: They were just trying to get me to quit so bad. And, uh, gunner Sergeant Leslie was like, Trito, are you a blue falcon? And I'm just like thinking, I'm like blue falcon. I'm like, Air Force Academy mascot is a falcon. Yes, this this candidate is a blue falcon. He's like what and I'm like this candidate is a blue falcon He's like what the fuck did you just say?

SPC Adam DeRito: He's like start running satellites and I just start running around the entire OCS Battalion on their six mile ruck marks yelling this candidate is a blue falcon for like a solid 90 minutes or something like that so like my six mile ruck marks and they're being probably 12 and I get back to the squad bay and One of the prior enlisted [00:28:00] Marines who is an e7 going through OCS.

SPC Adam DeRito: His name was gunners aren't Snyder comes up to me He's like Dorito I don't think you're a bad guy, but I do think you're genuinely stupid. He's like, you just spent the last, like, several hours running around the entire battalion at OCS saying that you were a buddy fucker. And I'm just like, oh, damn it.

SPC Adam DeRito: He's like, alright man, look, you obviously are He's like, you didn't quit, you've obviously proven that Yeah, except the Air Force kids, right? So, they're like Obviously you want to be here and you're trying you're not a shitbag You're just you just don't know like you just you have no idea what you're doing.

SPC Adam DeRito: He's like i'm gonna help you out So gunner sergeant snyder bless his heart like he's probably a fucking major at this point But he uh, he coached me through he helped me learn all the marine stuff learn the terminology, you know, learn to memorize the shooting tables and everything else and Uh, all the tactics and everything else, all the infantry stuff.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I ended up graduating OCS with like a 99. 8 percent average, which is like, even, even Colonel Mancini is like, there's no fucking way that you got this high. Cause [00:29:00] I started maxing all my tests. P. T. Everything else. I just, I want to be here. I want to be a Marine and, uh, we, I'll never forget this story either.

SPC Adam DeRito: So we get to the final review. It's the parade review where Colonel Mancini comes to each individual candidate and tells you if you're going to graduate or not, and you're on the parade deck with your M 16. It's like 115 degrees out there in Quantico, Virginia. You're sweating your balls off. And of course I fucked this up because I'm an idiot.

SPC Adam DeRito: So they know. So master Sergeant Sandercock and Colonel Mancini to do a right face. They face me. And you do your, you know, your rifle, rifle presentation, right? So you, you snap it to parade, you know, the parade position, you snap the bolt open, you punch the rifle up in the air so that the battalion OCS commander can inspect your rifle.

SPC Adam DeRito: And as I did that, my front sight post hit the cover of Colonel Mancini's hat and threw it into the wind. And it just catches this gust of wind and just starts flying down the blacktop. And I just see in the background. I'm trying to keep a straight face. I'm like, [00:30:00] that's it. Like my life is over And I see I see gunner sergeant clay and gunner sergeant alessio standing on the other side of the parade deck And there's this little tree on the side of the blacktop and they're just punching it mercilessly until like their knuckles are bleeding And they're just like mouthing like i'm gonna fucking kill you when we get back to the squad day And curlman seems just like a badass this turns.

SPC Adam DeRito: He goes Dorito he's like Congratulations Dorito, you're going to graduate and be a Marine officer. And he just snaps to his left and carries on without his cover like nothing happened. And Gunnery Sergeant Sandercock just looks at me and just shakes his head and just like I have nothing to say to you.

SPC Adam DeRito: I have nothing to say to you. So I graduate Marinos, yes, and obviously I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder because I'm like, I was really proud of myself. By far, even to this day, probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. And I won, like, to me, like, I won. I beat the academy. I'm going to be a marine officer.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm going to be a naval aviator. I just have to go back to the academy and survive my last [00:31:00] two semesters. That's it. So, like, basically, I was the only person OCS who didn't get his second lieutenant bars because I had to go back to the academy and finish up my degree. So I go back to the academy and, uh, you know, I really want nothing to do with OSI at this point, because, like, I just, I just need to keep my head down and graduate at this point.

SPC Adam DeRito: Try to be the gray man as much as that wasn't a phrase in my vocabulary being Dorito at the Air Force Academy. And, uh, this is kind of interesting. So I show up back to the Air Force Academy in, uh, like end of August 2009, and there was a swine flu outbreak. So I couldn't actually report directly back to the Academy because, uh, they were quarantining the entire base.

SPC Adam DeRito: And ironically, They don't consider marine officer candidate school a leadership credit and you need a leadership credit to graduate your summer program So they made me come back to be a drill instructor for cadet basic training Right out of marine ocs now all my air force uniforms are in my room, you know And so I show up, I'm like 25 [00:32:00] pounds lighter, I got like a super sweet high and tight, right down to a skin fade, which I never wore my hair like that in the Air Force.

SPC Adam DeRito: And, uh, I'm walking across the terrazzo to pick up my Air Force uniforms because they were assigning me to go to the prep school. And this is important for my story, but they were going to assign me to be a drill instructor cadre for the prep school on the other side of base, which is where we were doing a lot of the investigations prior with OSI.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I'm walking across the Toronto and all these kids are in processing for basic training for like the class of 2015 or 14, whatever it was. And I see this kid in a flight suit and he's got these stupid like pit viper rainbow. Like, sunglasses on, and like the Marine Corps and me just like snaps, I start knife handing this guy and yelling at him across the truck, it's like, Hey, you're in a fucking basic training environment, take off those fucking sunglasses, you know?

SPC Adam DeRito: That person thought I was an officer, because of the way I was yelling, and like, how I was carrying myself, and I walk closer and it's a colonel. In the Air Force. And I'm just, and he's like, [00:33:00] Dorito, get in my fucking office right now, and I'm like, dammit. And I get dragged into this office and he's like, look.

SPC Adam DeRito: I know about you, your, your name's all over this place. He's like, I know you just got back from Reno Cs. I know you think you're fucking hot shit, but you're back at the Air Force Academy now. And I swear to God, if you ever call out an officer like that from across Toroso, like your time here is done. I was like, Roger that, sir.

SPC Adam DeRito: So he said, go get your uniforms and get over the prep school. You're not supposed to be here 'cause of the quarantine stuff. So I'm not gonna ask. So I go grab my Air Force uniforms. I go over to the prep school and man, I just like. The Marine Corps just didn't shut off. So like I ran these kids into the ground.

SPC Adam DeRito: I ran them every day and they were in the best shape of their lives. And they graduated, uh, prep school, basic training for sure. I didn't need the other squads and I was hard on them, but it was a great experience. And I really appreciated my experience being cadre there. But the interesting thing was, and this is like where I kind of screwed myself in a way, was I told those kids, I'm like, Hey.

SPC Adam DeRito: Because I was still working for OSI, you know, I told them my experience with sexual assault at the academy and how leadership really doesn't support [00:34:00] you, but I said, Hey, if something comes up when you're at the prep school and you guys are trying to get ready to go to the Air Force Academy, just reach out to me, shoot me an email.

SPC Adam DeRito: Here's my phone number. You know, I could take care of it for you or try to give you some advice. And it was, I think, September or October of 2009. And I get an email from one of these candidates. And or not an email phone call and they said hey sir I know i'm not supposed to be talking to you because it's technically considered fraternization or whatever But you know, i'm at a hotel in denver I'm drunk and I think I just got raped and i'm like shit And she's like i'm too afraid to call my chain of command because I know i'm gonna get in trouble because we're underage drinking We're not even supposed to be off base O.

SPC Adam DeRito: T. F. Or we called it over the fence. So I call O. S. I. And I call the sapper office and I say, this is what's going on. And keep in mind, they should have taken jurisdiction of this case at that point in time. And they didn't. They were just like, all right, go get her. I'm like, okay. So I go jump in my car or my truck and I go, I don't want to hear it.

SPC Adam DeRito: Don't tell me the story. I don't want to get involved any. I'm just getting you back and I'm gonna drop you off at the sapper office. I don't want to know what [00:35:00] happened. This is up to them. And, uh, they never should have let me do that. They should have 100 percent of it. got her or whatever else it was, and they didn't.

SPC Adam DeRito: Um, but this is how they ran things back then in 2009. So I get her back to the academy and I drop her off at the Sapper office and she's got a victim advocate there and everything else. And I thought that was the end of it. So I kind of remained distant from OSI because I go home for Christmas. I come back and it's like February of 2010, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: And it's hundreds night and I find out. Yes, I got right and even your commander doesn't know what your assignments going to be so a hundred days out from graduation This is big ceremony and you get a sealed envelope from the secretary of the Air Force stating what your assignments going to be when you?

SPC Adam DeRito: Graduate and my commander's like you're never gonna fucking get marina. Oh, yes You're never gonna be a marine officer. You're gonna be stuck in the Air Force. Fuck you I'm like, okay, his name is lieutenant colonel christianson and even to this day. I despise this man with a He is what's wrong with the T.

SPC Adam DeRito: O. D. by far. And I open up my envelope, and I pull it out, and it's got this [00:36:00] giant seal of the Marine Corps Eagle Globe and Anchor on it. And I just, I literally did the scene from, what, uh, Half Baked? I was like, or Waiting? I was like, Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, you're cool, fuck you, I'm out, right? And I'm just like, And he was so mad that I got my assignment to the Marine Corps, like he was so unbelievably pissed.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I'm like, I just got to keep my head low for a hundred days. That's it. And I'm out of here. And I report to TBS. And I'm at the basic school for the Marine Corps. And then I go to flight school and I'm done. And uh, two weeks later, shit you not, I get called into my commander's office again. And he's like, Hey, you need to go talk to OSI.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm like, Oh, here we go again. So I thought it was because I've been ignoring OSI. I, you know, cause I, I really don't want to work for them anymore. I'm like, I just want to graduate guys. Like I don't want. Any involvement in this stuff anymore? So I go down there, and they're like, Hey man, so like, you've kind of been out of the, uh, ether for a while, like, what's going on?

SPC Adam DeRito: And, uh, I tell them what's been going on, I tell them what happened at the prep school, and they're like, yeah, well we needed more information on that. And, oh hey, by the way, all those [00:37:00] kids got called in for questioning by their commander, and that commander now wants to charge you with fraternization for interacting with the, with the lower classmen at the prep school.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I'm like, Okay, and they're like, well, we got your back. We're gonna, we're gonna talk to the superintendent. Like you've been working for us for two years. Like we'll let him know. So I go to this, uh, Review board for this. They're trying to give me an article 15 for fraternization. This is like what now It's like three weeks out from graduation like end of April, whatever it is going into May And even my former commanders like the army AOC, which I didn't really talk about you can listen to my other podcast You want to hear anything about major Hugh bank?

SPC Adam DeRito: But he even comes in in full dress greens and he's just like yeah cadet is not a perfect cadet But he's my cadet and this guy's gonna go in the Marine Corps I don't know what you guys are so worried about and here's another crazy part, which has never happened since Even my OSI handler came in, Agent Munson was like, yeah, Cadet Dorito is good.

SPC Adam DeRito: He deserves to graduate. He deserves a commission. We don't know what this is about. Just give him his article 15 slap on his wrist and call it good. Right? Because at the end of the day, with article 15, you're not admitting [00:38:00] to guilt. You're just accepting punishment in lieu of. Uh, UCMJ proceedings, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: And with all the hearsay and everything that was going on with this whole frat, like, did you talk? Were you interacting and talking with lower classmen? Technically, yes. Right? So, you know, for them, it's like, frat is frat. Whether you're, whether you're talking to them or having sex with them or whatever else it is, which is not, not accurate.

SPC Adam DeRito: So, If you're ever getting charged with Article 15 and you know you didn't do anything, uh, request trial by court martial. Because if I requested trial by court martial, there's no way these clowns would be able to prove anything, because there's no evidence to anything that happened. So I take my Article 15 for frat, and they're gonna give me 30 days late grad.

SPC Adam DeRito: So 30 days after graduation, they'd give me my commission and I'd walk. I'm like, fine, I'll take that. What's another 30 days at the academy? So, graduation comes up. And they make me sit in the stands with my family, which is like the most, like three hours before graduation, they're like, you're not walking.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm like, that's fucking awesome. So, I sit in the stands with my family, it was like the most embarrassing day of my life, by far. And I sit there, and I take my [00:39:00] 30 days of punishment from the Article 15. And I'm like, alright, I'm ready to commission. The superintendent calls me into his office, Lieutenant General Michael Gould, and he goes, I changed my mind.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm pulling everything from you. You're not commissioning. You're done. Here's a, here's a bill for 280, 000 to while you're at it since you owe us back for your degree. Oh, we're not giving you your degree, but either. So not only do they take all my money from my article 15, uh, they didn't give me my commission.

SPC Adam DeRito: They withheld my degree. They threw me out on the highway and I 25, they escorted me out there with a canine unit. Uh, it was, it was a joke. It was an absolute clown show. And what am I going to do? I'm like, what? 22 years old at the time. I have no money. I don't know what to do. I have no lawyer. So. I get thrown off a base and then, uh, a couple months later, one of my good friends at the academy who's in my classes, he took his own life as a commissioned officer and he was getting buried at the Air Force Academy.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I requested permission to go to his funeral and the same cops that escorted me off base the day that I left met me at the gate and like, Hey, I just want to let you know, General Gould is trying to embarrass you. He [00:40:00] wants us to To like basically treat you like Hannibal Lecter With guns at each side fully uniformed with a canine unit and escort you to this funeral But we're not going to do that man because we heard about your story and we think it's bullshit So they they went to the goodwill down the street and bought a bunch of like shitty suits And then they put these like civilian They put these civilian clothes on and drove me in an unmarked vehicle to the funeral.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I stood at his gravesite and we buried Colin. And you could even see the superintendent and the dean and the commandant were there. And they looked at me and they're like, God damn it, he's here. And the security forces guys are wearing civilian clothes, not supposed to be. And they banned me from base for like seven years after that, saying I was like a threat to the base.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm like, okay. So. I go into the civilian world, right? And I start working as a personal trainer. The only thing I knew how to do is work out. So I start working as a personal trainer at a gym. I start making a little bit of money, and then I meet this guy named Matt Greife, who is a Fallujah veteran in the Marines.

SPC Adam DeRito: He just got his law license done. He just got out of the Marine Corps. And he's like, Hey, man, your case is bullshit, and I'm just starting up my [00:41:00] practice. So how about this? I'll trade you hours if you trade me personal training hours. And I'm like, awesome. So I start, yeah, so I start, uh, helping him out with his VA disability stuff and he starts giving me hours and he starts going through my case.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like, dude, your case is completely bullshit. Like they violated every single one of your constitutional rights. You didn't have a lawyer. Like everything they're doing here is wrong. So we start working on my case and we do our first board of corrections and military records and it gets rejected saying we don't care.

SPC Adam DeRito: Uh, kick rocks. So 2015 rolls around and I still have our 2014 rolls around and I go on Uh, the news with the Colorado Springs Gazette talking about my case, and then I come to find out that Operation Great Iron was expanded even after I was removed from the academy 30 days post graduation. I find out that I was not the only informant.

SPC Adam DeRito: I find out there was several other informants. I find out that. Operation Gridiron was much more widespread, and all those OSI agents that I used to work with, they got sent to like, Kazakhstan, and one of them got sent to F. U. Warren Air Force Base, like, the OSI detachment apparently got [00:42:00] disbanded because this started involving the football team, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: And General Gould was trying to cover this up because all these guys were playing in the Mountain West Conference Football Championship. And he didn't, he wanted to make sure they could still play football. So people can look it up. His name is Jamil Cooks and Claxton were the two guys that were, we were trying to convict and they got convicted after the football game, of course, and the other like 28 of them got away with it.

SPC Adam DeRito: So only two of them got kicked out. Uh, they still went to another division one school, played NCAA football, and they ended up getting recruited to play in the NFL, even though they were convicted sex offenders, because apparently it is not illegal if you're a convicted sex offender to play in the NFL.

SPC Adam DeRito: Or any other division in one sport. It's nuts, right? So, all the work that we did was getting thrown out because the Air Force Academy was trying to cover it up. So, I'm like, alright, I gotta find a way to serve my time out because I have this 200 something thousand dollar thing on my credit report. So, active duty Air Force, Army, Marines are like, Dude, your DD 214 is signed by, like, the Secretary of the Air Force.

SPC Adam DeRito: I don't know who you pissed [00:43:00] off, but you have an RE 4 code, which is you can never serve in the military unless it's like a draft. And on top of that, I have a general discharge under honorable conditions, which makes no sense. Why am I getting an RE 4 code with a general under honorable? It doesn't make any sense.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like, I, I was never convicted of anything. My criminal background is clean, which I've even posted on my website if people don't believe me. Um, so I, I give it one more shot. So I go into the National Guard's office. And they're like, it was kind of weird. And ironically, I ended up deploying with my recruiter on this last deployment.

SPC Adam DeRito: Which was just like, uh, the stars align kind of thing. And he goes, are you that kid that was on the news like last year? Against the Air Force Academy and he's like, I know this sounds really fucking weird But we were always hoping that you're gonna come in and talk to us So he pulls out he pulls he pulls out this fucking like it was like a scene that like Harry Potter, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: He pulls out this book and like brushes the dust off of it And he's like there's this rule in here that states you can join the National Guard and override any [00:44:00] federal duty 214 because the commander in chief of the National Guard Is the governor not the president of the united states so you don't you know So they found an exemption for me to get in without a waiver And we had to call like hickenlooper's office and at the time it was governor hickenlooper Now he's a senator and he pretty much they gave me you can join the national guard, but here's your condition now Keep in mind.

SPC Adam DeRito: I went back to school at this time. I got another degree done. I even finished my master's degree uh, even after the Personal trainings. I was working in the oil and gas industry, which is how I was able to fund all these lawyers. And I had three conditions I had to meet. One, I had to agree to go in as a specialist.

SPC Adam DeRito: That was the highest rank they could put me in on. I'm like, all right, fine. Rule number two was I could, I had to go into a special operations unit. So I had to pick one, uh, the one special operations unit that's in the National Guard, and I can say this now because I'm, I'm, Transitioning units, but it was 19 special forces group.

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm like, okay, and there's one or two jobs I could have picked and it was like parachute rigger or generator mechanic and I already jumped out of [00:45:00] planes at the Academy like parachutes Sound fun. Let's do that. So I pick parachute rigger and then they're like, okay, but here's the thing You had a three year break in service.

SPC Adam DeRito: So you have to go back to army basic training and start all over again I'm like, oh you've got to be kidding me So going through the Air Force Academy and Marine OCS and now I'm like what 27 at the time going through fucking Army basic training and I show up there like 27 years old all the drill instructors are my age Actually, one of them even deployed with one of my best friends from high school, which is hilarious And I show up there and they're like you work for CID and I'm like No, I don't I'm actually here to serve my country sergeant.

SPC Adam DeRito: They're like, no, you're fucking not We already like we googled you Dorito. Yeah Air Force OSI undercover informant like you're totally working for CID It's like here's the thing. Here's the thing Dorito you leave us alone and we'll leave you alone Just help these kids get through basic training We're not even going to talk for the next like 13 weeks.

SPC Adam DeRito: Just just do it. I'm like, okay. And I think to this day, I still think they, I, they still believe that work for CID. So [00:46:00] basic training was great as a cakewalk. It was basically just a giant workout session. I go to a it. I finished rigor school. I come back. I get back to 19th group and, you know, same thing.

SPC Adam DeRito: This kid works for CID. Why is a 27 year old specialist? What the fuck is wrong with this guy? And, uh, I do two years in 19th group and everything's great. You know, I'm like, Oh, just doing my job. Pack and choose and jump out of planes, right? Slapping green berets on the ass and kicking them out of planes or helicopters.

SPC Adam DeRito: And, uh, they're like, all right, you know what, Dorito? You can get, you can apply to go commission again. So I find a slot to go fly Apaches in the Utah national guard as a warrant officer. And I'm like, finally, if I can just commission, I can move on with my life, like, everything's gonna go great. My packet's filled out, I'm down at Carson, I'm getting my last thing to get my orders to go to Rucker, and I get to the final station, like, hey man, we can't sign off on your shit.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I'm like, why? And they're like, well, there's several major psychological conditions listed in your medical records. Like what are you talking about? And shit you're not, in 2011, one year after I left the academy as a civilian, a random doctor, who I never [00:47:00] met, her name is Dr. Chris Nicole Henley Price, with my commander at the time, Lieutenant Colonel Christensen, put into my medical records that I had several major psychological issues.

SPC Adam DeRito: Uh, that prevented me from flying or commissioning. Do you ever put a complaint in against this doctor? And it's like, well, if you want these changed, you have to go to the Air Yeah, and the, uh, the American Psychological Association refuses to do anything about it. They refuse to revoke her license because she falls under military standards, so they can't control her.

SPC Adam DeRito: Um At the time, she was even operating without a license now in the state of Colorado, which is interesting because in the military, it doesn't really matter because you're even if you have a license in like, I think, Georgia or Florida, whatever it is where she came from, you don't have to have a license to operate in Colorado because you're operating on a military base.

SPC Adam DeRito: However, that changes if the person you're doing things against Is a civilian. So my biggest argument was in 2011 when I wasn't even in the fucking military and when I wasn't even on that base This civilian doctor put in some things into my military mental health records when I wasn't even in the military So my biggest complaint was [00:48:00] she wasn't Legally and ethically allowed to do that And I put another air force board of corrections military records and that's when I uh, I put my beret on my full uniform It's past the seven year barment From the air force academy.

SPC Adam DeRito: It's 2017 now, right? So exactly seven years from the day. I show up to the air force academy now And this is no offense to the air force, but they're kind of dumb Red berets in the air force are special operations And i'm wearing a maroon beret in the army, which just means paratrooper, right? Yeah, so they thought I was like some Yeah, they let me walk right shit.

SPC Adam DeRito: You're not new superintendent new chain of command They have no idea who I am anymore and I walk straight into the superintendent's office and give them a letter from my lawyer saying I want seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. I want my medical records corrected And if you don't i'm going public with this And uh, they pretty much say go kick rocks.

SPC Adam DeRito: Good luck. And we file a a federal lawsuit in 10th district court Uh, we went to the air force board of corrections and military records and they didn't reply to us until 2019 But we didn't know about that because the air force was intentionally hiding it from us, which we'll talk [00:49:00] about So we go through the whole process 10th district court even comes back and says your constitutional rights are violated you know, but We're saying this up, you know, we're going to dismiss this without prejudice because the air force is claiming that there's another administrative process you have to go through So since you haven't exhausted all administrative processes, you can't sue us, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: And this is also when the sergeant first class stay school act was passed in 2019 Which says you can sue for medical malpractice, right? So we decided to do both at the same time We filed a lawsuit within the military system for medical malpractice And then we also continued this lawsuit to the 10th district court of appeals so by 2020 Chief Justice Bremmer comes down and says, you guys need to go to mediation, which is unheard of, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: And I could talk about this now because it's not, you know, there's no gag order on it anymore. But I sit down in mediation with the district attorney's office representing the Air Force, and they're like, well, what do you want? I'm like, I want back pay. I want my degree. I want my medical records changed and I want my commission [00:50:00] back and they're just like, no, I'm like, okay.

SPC Adam DeRito: I don't care about the money. Money doesn't mean anything to me. I'm like, I want my medical records corrected and I want my degree back from the academy. And they're like, no, I'm like, all right, how about you just correct my medical records? And they're just like, no. So even though, stenotyper person, the person taking notes in the mediation, like looks and goes, What the hell you guys are you're giving them a deal I even offered to send a non disclosure agreement saying I would never discuss this case Outside anymore and they said no They said no to all of this and i'm just like it doesn't make any sense Now looking back on it if they ever admit fault This opens the door to anyone Right, who has the same complaints.

SPC Adam DeRito: So that's when I started the Dark Saber podcast. I started talking to other people. I started going through my case. I went on Andy's Stump. Um, uh, Cleared Hot podcast, which I didn't really mention the football stuff, which I kind of regret, which we discussed prior to this, but you know, I started going public with this stuff, and then I started finding out that there's other cadets, and there's other [00:51:00] people, and they start talking to me about their rape cases and their harassment issues.

SPC Adam DeRito: Then I find out that pretty much anyone who's complained about sexual assault, harassment, or rape at the academy has some way or another had their mental health records changed or modified which makes it almost impossible for anyone without financial resources to fight in an Air Force Board of Corrections military records and they just give up and move into their parents basement, turn into an alcoholic, or kill themselves.

SPC Adam DeRito: And that's what's horrible. So that's what's been motivating me to, you know, start the Dark Saber project for the past few years now is because this isn't just me. This isn't just Adam Derudo fighting the Air Force Academy because he pissed off a couple people and did some You know, incorrect things like refusing to take off his, you know, eagle globe and anchor, uh, or, you know, making fun of his lieutenant colonel commander at 22 years old, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: Like, not saying that was the best decision making process back then, but, you know, I wasn't a perfect cadet, but I didn't do anything that deserved what they did to me. So, the funny thing is, we go to the next, uh, adjudication point, you know, the last point for the, um, 10th District Court of Appeals, and the Air Force comes back and says, oh, we don't know why he's suing [00:52:00] us.

SPC Adam DeRito: And the 10th District Court of Appeals is like, what are you talking about? Well, he won his board. What is he complaining about? We're going to change his medical records. Magically, over a year after I submitted my Air Force Board of Corrections Military Records, they come back with a statement from the Air Force Board of Corrections Military Records in 2019, stating that There was an error or an injustice and your medical records should be changed, but we're not giving you back your degree and you still owe us 280, 000.

SPC Adam DeRito: So they tell the 10th District Court basically like he has no right to sue us anymore. This case is null and void because he technically won. We don't know why he's suing us. And if he wants any additional changes to be made, he has to refile for the Air Force Board of Corrections and Military Records again.

SPC Adam DeRito: So, and what people don't know is that even if you win your case and you win your medical board, The secretary of that respective service has to sign off on it. The secretary of the Air Force never signed off on my board, even though I won it. So even though I won my board in 2020 and it's been three years, they never signed off on it.

SPC Adam DeRito: And now they're making me reapply to the next board of corrections, military records again. [00:53:00] So the problem is, is that even though they have these checks and balances and I've gone to Congress and I've gone to president Biden, myself and the sec def. And all these other things is that the military is operating as a fourth branch of government and they're the ones making all the decisions No matter what it's still stuck in their system.

SPC Adam DeRito: And even under the sergeant first class state school act I had to interview with the Air Force JAG about their own medical malpractice and if you think that the Air Force JAG is ever going to hold the Air Force accountable for medical malpractice like you're out of Your adjudicated even though that law was passed in 2017 right, so This goes into I think how we kind of linked up is that I came, I went on a combat deployment after that.

SPC Adam DeRito: So I volunteered to go overseas with the 3157 field artillery battery HIMARS unit. And I went over there originally as a truck driver as a, as an SF support guy. Um, and the second I got in the CENTCOM, they're just like, wait a minute, you're like 35 years old and you have a master's degree and work in oil and gas.

SPC Adam DeRito: They're like, uh, we need you to [00:54:00] do some analysis. And the Intel guys out there found me. His name is Sergeant Emmer and, uh, first lieutenant craft. They're like, You have way more experience than some of the stuff that we do. So I get dragged into the talk. I start working in the talk. You know, there's a lot of hesitancy towards that because, you know, people Google me and I'm either some pedophile rapist at the Air Force claims that I am or I'm this guy that's all over the news all the time.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I did my work and they ended up trusting me and did some amazing work with them. Got a bunch of awards out of it. Got to work with some really cool counter ISIS missions and anti Iranian stuff out there with oil and gas and water purification, things like that. So I come back from deployment.

SPC Adam DeRito: Everything's uh, green check marks across the board. I'm gonna put my direct commission packet in again Uh when I was working with the different special operations, uh team out there And uh, i'm like, you know what? Screw this. I am just gonna go straight to congress on this one I now I have enough street credit.

SPC Adam DeRito: I have enough ribbons. I have enough awards I have a combat deployment. Obviously everything the air force has said about me is not true Let's just So I, I contact the lobbyist I've been working with over the past few years. Her [00:55:00] name is Lindsay Roland and I go to D. C. in full dress blue as I start knocking on doors.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I have several meetings, anyone from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office all the way to Tommy Tuberville, uh, all the way down to Van Orden's office and Matt Gates and everyone else, right? I, across the board, I don't believe this is a bipartisan issue, Democrat or Republican. And people are just like, wait, we can't believe that this even happened to you.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like, how is this a thing? We thought we legislated this out, like, with all these reforms we've been doing. I'm like, well, the way they're circumventing it is they put it into the language that, even though, you know, medical malpractice is a thing, that has to be reviewed by the DOD, and the DOD is not reviewing it.

SPC Adam DeRito: And they're not honoring any of these changes, which is something I think we're also seeing with the COVID 19 issues is that, Oh, you got discharged as a COVID 19. Well, just go to the army or the air force, the Navy board of corrections and military records. And in two years, we'll figure something out that's unbelievable because we know that's never going to get resolved, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: So this is they, they keep this bureaucratic, you know, administrative process at a never ending circus so [00:56:00] that COVID 19 reparations, but also for sexual assault. rape, military sexual trauma, any of these things. So we decided that we wanted to come up with something called the Dorito act, basically where we can go in to any situation involving sexual assault, harassment, making it specific to my case and say that.

SPC Adam DeRito: All these cases must be adjudicated outside of the D. O. D. by an independent civilian controlling agency and that no Federal Service Academy or military entity can retaliate against somebody and change their mental health records for reporting sexual assault and harassment and ironically that is not Illegal in the current UCMJ.

SPC Adam DeRito: It is not illegal to change somebody's mental health records or medical records Which not only we've seen with the Vanessa Guillen case and all these other countless sexual assault cases that have never gotten resolved and no Justice whatsoever, but also we see with the COVID 19 stuff, right? You're affecting tens of thousands of service members Uh for life over this and for what most people like me join the military for [00:57:00] good reasons, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: They wanted to serve their country You know, they wanted to defend freedom and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic But I think one thing i've realized over the past several years now is that sometimes those domestic enemies are within our own ranks and You know, one of the reasons I stay in is to hold those people accountable.

SPC Adam DeRito: I don't need the military anymore. You know, I have a very good civilian job. I'm very happy where I am. I have my own house. I have my own land. I don't need the military for anything or benefits whatsoever. I stay in because I see how the younger guys are being treated, and I see that some of the leadership that we have left after the COVID 19 situation in particular is that the best of the worst are in charge of our military.

SPC Adam DeRito: And unless you have people standing up to them. Who aren't afraid of rank because i'm not I mean i'm a specialist Yelling at three stars at this point and what i've proven is that as long as you're using the administrative process As long as you're going through all the right channels, they can't they can't do anything You know, even when I went to congress like did I get my chewed out ass chewed out for it?

SPC Adam DeRito: Yeah, but you know what happened nothing [00:58:00] because I did the right things. I I went through all the channels in my chain of command I deployed I went to my congressman. I went to the 10th district court I went to the president the United States and at the end of the day they didn't do anything to fix my case So you you don't leave me any choice than to go to my you know, my representatives And demand change in legislation to override military laws and override the judicial branch and the executive branch.

SPC Adam DeRito: That's, that's the only way we're going to get change. And is it still going to be several years till this gets resolved? Probably. But, you know, I'm willing to put in the time and the effort to fight because I put so much time and effort into this. This isn't a lost cost fallacy to me. This isn't like, oh, I keep sinking money into this and I'm never going to get any result out of it.

SPC Adam DeRito: I I believe that the team that I work with is so close to implementing real change that, you know, it's just the reason we get so much resistance from it is because the people in power, the powers that be Secretary of the Air Force and whatever else, and the academies, they are so afraid of us actually succeeding.

SPC Adam DeRito: Because if we succeed, this legislation means that they're gonna be held accountable and they could be criminally prosecuted. And, and [00:59:00] that's where we are now. It's at the end of the day, it's, I'm still gonna wear the uniform. I'm still gonna serve as long as my, you know, feet and ankles hold up to airborne operations.

SPC Adam DeRito: And they let me stay in, so to speak. But, um. Someone needs to teach the younger generations coming in, Generation Z and below, that, you know, part of Title X is to stand up and do the right thing. You are obligated by Title X to report, you know, illegal activity within the military chain of command. And people get so surprised that when you actually call them out on those things and actually try to do the right things.

SPC Adam DeRito: And to me, it's just understand your rights, understand the law. Understand your constitutional rights, you know, people have this misconception that you join the military and you give up your constitutional rights That is not true. I mean granted the one thing is like, okay, you can't speak out against the president United States Okay, fine that I understand but when it comes to your fourth amendment rights or 14th amendment rights any of these things?

SPC Adam DeRito: Absolutely not and people need to understand that, you know We wear the uniform for a reason and you need to stand by those reasons and make sure that everyone else Around you understands that and just and rank doesn't matter if they're doing something illegal You need to make sure you follow up with your training community and [01:00:00] make sure you're doing the right thing.

SPC Adam DeRito: Wow. Wow. Yeah, that was a really long winded answer, but hopefully, I did that in less than an hour, which is impressive.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Yeah, no, it's it's such an honor to talk to you because you've been in this fight much longer than I have and and you're Hopefully getting legislation changed. This is just wow. Thank you for for all that.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: You've been sacrificing and will continue to sacrifice You know for guys like me that are already out and guys that are still In and haven't even joined yet, because if we get, if you get this legislation passed, this will be the game changer. If you get criminal prosecution against people doing actual crimes, who thought that, you know, that, that's amazing.

SPC Adam DeRito: Yeah, and the, and the biggest thing, like I said, is just, we're not asking for anything crazy. We're asking that the constitutional laws that we're entitled to as Americans. Are followed through within the ranks of our military period in a story Your rank [01:01:00] does not exclude you from doing illegal things against your members, you know And if we can do these things if we can show that there's still hope that if you are raped or sexually assaulted that you actually have Recourse, not this bullshit sapper program that the military controls that ends up getting no adjudications and no prosecutions.

SPC Adam DeRito: You know, I look at the Air Force Academy and it says the highest rates of sexual assault and harassment in the U. S. military by population density, yet they've had like two convictions in the past, like. Several years and and not even actual jail time, you know It's like I think one kid got five years, which is like the most in academy history But the kids should have been in prison for like 10 plus You know what?

SPC Adam DeRito: I mean, but it's just you know, the the academies and their football money making schemes, you know for division one sports is insane I mean, I don't think Most people even know this, but the Air Force Academy football coach is the highest paid DoD employee in the United States. He makes over 850, 000 for a mediocre division one football team.

SPC Adam DeRito: I mean, they were [01:02:00] like eight and oh for a while. And then I think like Two weeks ago, they lost to Army, which is ranked like 127. It's like, but if you put any of these divisions, like if you put the Air Force Academy up against like any legitimate, like, Division 1 team like Alabama, they'd lose in 15 seconds.

SPC Adam DeRito: You know, like, the purpose of our Federal Service Academies is to produce officers of character that are capable of leading men and women into combat and winning our nation's wars. It is not to play football. Or, or basketball, or hockey, or anything else, right? And, you know, people always ask me, like, if you could, if you were, if you could be God for a day, what would you change that would fix these situations?

SPC Adam DeRito: I'm like, easy. Number one, I would de rank all of our Division I sports at Naval Academy, West Point, and Air Force, because, uh, Merchant Marine and Coast Guard are already D3. I would put everything at D2 or below. You could still play sports. Sports are important. You know, it's a great part of camaraderie and officership.

SPC Adam DeRito: But it shouldn't be the main focus of why you're going to an academy. Right? We need to take the focus off of sports. Uh, number two is that I would demand that if you get accepted in an appointment to an academy, [01:03:00] is that you have to serve at least one year prior enlisted before accepting your appointment.

SPC Adam DeRito: Because I really think humbling you as a private, or as an airman, or as a, you know, a seaman, or whatever they're called in the Navy, um, As a lower enlisted person working a shit job in the military, you understand to respect the people that you are going to lead in the future, right? And there would be an exemption for people who are already prior enlisted applying to the academies, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: So make it a five year program mandatory, not just four, you know? And on top of that is make academics a focus, right? They always say that they're academically focused, but at the end of the day, most of these kids end up cheating on their tests. That's why there's so many cheating scandals, because they're so focused on trying to pass and not get kicked out.

SPC Adam DeRito: They're not focusing actually on learning and becoming philosophical officers and understanding the human aspect of war. Whether it's military strategic studies or understanding the human mind or understanding what leadership really is. You're just getting shoved through these academies taking courses you don't need to take about like physics and astrophysics when you don't even want to be an engineer, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: And you're so focused on passing and getting through the [01:04:00] academy versus actually become an educated officer with an education that can be applied later on, so we don't have people making bad decisions in the future, you know, and that goes for Millie, right? And that goes for, uh, all the other previous leaders we've had.

SPC Adam DeRito: I mean, maybe with the exception of General Mattis, who wasn't even an academy grad, but I mean, you look at like General McChrystal and all these other guys, like a lot of these general officers who ended up leading our nation's war in Afghanistan and Iraq for the last 20 years failed. They failed and I don't care what anyone wants to say about that.

SPC Adam DeRito: Like they obviously failed because they are so Glued into the leadership system and being dedicated to the party and purpose and politics that they're they've lost focus on that And there's there's two really great books about that for people who are interested There's the generals by Tom Ricks which explains pretty much how our nation's generals have failed since Vietnam When everything turned into the military industrial complex And fighting our nation's wars and proxy wars from that and also there's another book Uh, called, uh, uh, what is it called?

SPC Adam DeRito: Man, man, I [01:05:00] forget. It's, uh, you're gonna have to edit this out. Damn it. Man, I interviewed him on one of my podcasts. Two. Anyway, this, this guy, he, uh, Ah, man, I really can't believe I just screwed that up for you. You're gonna have to edit that whole thing out. Um, the cost, oh, sorry, it's the cost of loyalty. So the cost of loyalty is written by this West Point professor and who's still teaching there.

SPC Adam DeRito: And he talks about how our federal service academies have ultimately failed and they need to be shut down and reinstituted in the way they are to produce actual officers of character because at the end of the day, you're the American taxpayer spending over 400, 000 You know, per cadet to graduate them from, but they're the ones being convicted of crimes and they're the ones losing our nation's wars or committing sexual assault and harassment.

SPC Adam DeRito: And they're not, they're not making our military any better. Right? So if our federal service academy is not producing the best officers possible, then why do we have them? You know, and I don't necessarily advocate for shutting down the federal service academies. I [01:06:00] think they're important to our, to our culture and our military, but they, they definitely need to be put in charge with people who care about our military.

SPC Adam DeRito: Cause unfortunately, a lot of the. Air Force Academy, West Point guys who come back to be superintendents or commandos. They're just on their way out to get a job at Raytheon or get some other board position so they can retire. And a perfect example of that is even the current superintendent of the Air Force Academy, who hasn't played football since the 80s, okay?

SPC Adam DeRito: He's been already given a position in the Mountain West Conference Football Selection Committee as a six figure job when he graduates as a three star general. What qualifies you to go be a football selection committee guy in the NCAA out of the academy as a three star general? Like, nothing. Like, you're not qualified to do any of those things.

SPC Adam DeRito: You know, it's because of his rank and position, and he's gonna get this nice lucrative job when he gets out. You know, and his Air Force Academy football team has nothing against, like, Alabama. You know, or any of these other actual Division I schools. You know, it's a self serving and it's a self looking ice cream cone, right?

SPC Adam DeRito: We should not be [01:07:00] encouraging this type of behavior, you know It's kind of like what even a major winner says in Banner Brothers, you know The only thing I wanted to do when if I made it through this war was to find a quiet piece of land and retire And and live in peace for the rest of my life And that's the way a lot of officers should be able to think is that you know even George Washington had the same mentality is that My time and service is of service to my, you know, my country and my nation, and it's up to me to be a statesman and a good citizen afterwards, and not just to get involved in the military industrial complex, which Eisenhower talks about in his farewell speech.

SPC Adam DeRito: And I just think that the military war machine, you know, especially with the, you know, onset of Ukraine and everything going on in Israel right now, is a perfect example of, like, what is wrong with our military and why we need to change that focus and why we need to change that leadership within.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Wow. I think you're absolutely right.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Adam, thank you so much for coming. Yeah, sorry, that was a lot of talking. I didn't let you talk. No, no, it's No, I appreciate your time. Uh, Dr. Sam, appreciate that.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Yeah, no, thank you so much. It's been great visiting with you beforehand and then, um, learning so much more through the, through the show. Uh, just let me, yeah, let me [01:08:00] know how I can help you at all if I can.

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: Because I, I like your mission.

SPC Adam DeRito: No, I appreciate that. And for you guys who are interested, if you need help or if you have something, you know, that's going on in your, especially when it comes to sexual assault, harassment, retaliation, you reach out to me on Instagram, it's adam. derito. Twitter is just adam derito.

SPC Adam DeRito: Uh, you can email me, darksaberproductions at gmail. com or you can get in contact with my website. It's just adam dorito. com. You know, I'll help out where I can and get you to the resources you need to. to fix our military and make sure that the leaders that are responsible for our next generation, uh, within our military doing the right things.

SPC Adam DeRito: Well, thank you, Adam.

SPC Adam DeRito: Thanks again.

SPC Adam DeRito: Just a reminder for everyone

Dr. Sam Sigoloff: out there, duty uniform of the day, the full armor of God. Let's all make courage more contagious than fear.[01:09:00]

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