Jun 7, 2026 · 2 hr 3 min · 12 segments
In this episode of the Combat Fuel Podcast, we sit down with Ryan Yates a former soldier from 4/73 Battery, founder of Veterans Army (VA), and owner of his own dog training business. Ryan shares his…
that.
Did you have any role models growing up? It sounds like mum and dad.
arguably both were sort of there instilling that in you.
You've gone away, you've done your own washing, you got school uniform, no, go wash it then.
Go and do some extra stuff.
Was there anyone else in there that was quite influential towards yourself? So
my mum's dad, my granddad Jim, he joined the Merchant Navy at like 12 and he traveled around the world like three or four times.
Like he done time in a Mexican prison chained to someone else breaking rocks because him and two of his mates knocked out a mounted police officer on the piss when they were in show and then like he only got out of that because he got tuberculosis and they put him on like a plague ship and sent him with a load of nuns back to the UK and stuff like loads of little mad stories that he's got you know and and all verifiable none of you know you hear some stories you think yeah whatever that's crap No, because this guy's got people who can back him up.
Like he, you know, pulled up in Liverpool docks one time and he'd been in Nick, hadn't been sending money home and his mum was still on dock and he must've been about 16 at this point and that lad's like, Jimmy, Jimmy, And she stormed up Gangplank and started leathering him up.
And my granddad was always like, the worst mistake I ever made was leaving the Merchant Navy.
So the rigidity of stuff that came from him helped me in a way, but it weren't great for being around because like I said, you were a drinker.
It weren't the best environment to grow up in, but fuck me, did it help me in basic training? Because when lads are like, oh, I've got to have my uniform on.
that.
Did you have any role models growing up? It sounds like mum and dad.
arguably both were sort of there instilling that in you.
You've gone away, you've done your own washing, you got school uniform, no, go wash it then.
Go and do some extra stuff.
Was there anyone else in there that was quite influential towards yourself? So
my mum's dad, my granddad Jim, he joined the Merchant Navy at like 12 and he traveled around the world like three or four times.
Like he done time in a Mexican prison chained to someone else breaking rocks because him and two of his mates knocked out a mounted police officer on the piss when they were in show and then like he only got out of that because he got tuberculosis and they put him on like a plague ship and sent him with a load of nuns back to the UK and stuff like loads of little mad stories that he's got you know and and all verifiable none of you know you hear some stories you think yeah whatever that's crap No, because this guy's got people who can back him up.
Like he, you know, pulled up in Liverpool docks one time and he'd been in Nick, hadn't been sending money home and his mum was still on dock and he must've been about 16 at this point and that lad's like, Jimmy, Jimmy, And she stormed up Gangplank and started leathering him up.
And my granddad was always like, the worst mistake I ever made was leaving the Merchant Navy.
So the rigidity of stuff that came from him helped me in a way, but it weren't great for being around because like I said, you were a drinker.
It weren't the best environment to grow up in, but fuck me, did it help me in basic training? Because when lads are like, oh, I've got to have my uniform on.
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