In this Jocko Podcast episode, Marine veteran Travis Barnes shares his experiences serving in the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during three consecutive Iraq deployments from 2003 to 2006. Barnes describes his service in various combat missions, including the Battle of Fallujah, and discusses how he managed leadership responsibilities at age 22 while dealing with injuries from IED attacks.
The conversation follows Barnes' transition from military service to civilian life, where he pursued opportunities in politics and law school before founding Hotel Tango Distillery. Barnes explains how he applied his military experience and legal knowledge to navigate the complexities of starting a distillery in Indiana, and details how his business adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic by shifting production to hand sanitizer before returning to craft spirits.
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Travis Barnes shares his journey from post-9/11 Marine Corps enlistment through multiple combat deployments and their lasting impact. After enlisting following the 9/11 attacks, Barnes was quickly assigned to a unit preparing for deployment to Iraq, despite limited training and equipment.
Serving in the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Barnes completed three back-to-back tours in Iraq between 2003 and 2006. His service included various combat missions, from surveillance to direct action, including participation in the Battle of Fallujah. Throughout his deployments, Barnes faced numerous challenges, including IED attacks that resulted in TBI, and took on leadership responsibilities at just 22 years old.
The transition to civilian life proved challenging for Barnes, who struggled to relate to peers who had spent their years in vastly different circumstances. Despite feeling the "gravitational pull" to return to military service, Barnes chose to pursue civilian opportunities, starting with an internship with Senator Lugar on the Foreign Relations Committee, followed by law school.
Barnes credits his successful transition to setting concrete goals and maintaining forward momentum, aided by his family's support and his wife, whom he met in law school. He actively sought help from the VA and local organizations to address his PTSD and TBI.
When Indiana changed its liquor laws in 2013, Barnes saw an opportunity to establish Hotel Tango Distillery. Using his legal background, he navigated complex regulations and licensing requirements, becoming one of the first to obtain an artisan distilling license in the state. Initial funding came from local investors, with each contributing approximately $50,000.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hotel Tango demonstrated remarkable adaptability by pivoting to produce hand sanitizer for schools, hospitals, and government facilities. The distillery has since returned to its core business, focusing on craft spirits while adapting to industry trends. Barnes notes that Hotel Tango continues to evolve with changing consumer preferences, emphasizing artisanal, small-batch bourbon production and seasonal offerings.
1-Page Summary
Travis Barnes reflects on his intense Marine Corps career, from his post-9/11 enlistment to his deployment experiences and the significant personal impacts of combat.
Travis Barnes enlisted in the military soon after the 9/11 attacks, driven by the event's influence as a catalyst. Facing a rapid influx of enlistments, he wasn't able to sign up immediately but eventually secured a boot camp slot for the following April. He was immediately assigned to a unit because of the urgent need to fill slots for the deployment to Iraq.
Barnes was placed with men on the low end of the totem pole and had to learn as much as possible before deployment from September through January. He joined a unit whose other members appeared superhuman, while he and his peers felt unprepared. Their training was essentially on-the-job, copying outstanding platoon members’ actions.
Barnes also recollected fabricating makeshift armor from scrap metal due to a lack of equipment, revealing a hasty and under-equipped deployment. Upon arriving in Iraq, Barnes was engaged in combat, serving as a point man and an assistant radio operator, usually in mounted patrols with Hummers. His missions ranged from ambushes and direct action alongside SEALs or Special Forces to rapid changes in rules of engagement.
Barnes served in three back-to-back tours in Iraq with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, where he underwent a rigorous tryout and was among five of sixty who made it through the selection. Normally, Barnes would have attended extensive Basic Reconnaissance Course (BRC) training and other schools, but he was sent directly to a platoon to prepare for the Iraq invasion.
During these deployments, Barnes was involved in various missions, ranging from traditional surveillance and direct action to concerted efforts like the Battle of Fallujah. He took a leadership role at the age of 22 and mentions a high operational tempo, indicative of his intense, combat-heavy military career.
Barnes recalls building up to the 2006-2007 uprising, engaging in sustained firefights, and facing increasingly sophisticated IED attacks. He survived multiple IED blasts, leading to TBI, and described responding to a major ambush with many casualties. While ...
Travis Barnes' Military Service and Combat Experiences
Travis Barnes shares his journey of transitioning from military life, with its camaraderie and intense experiences, to the starkly different realm of civilian society, highlighting the emotional and social challenges that ensue.
After his service, Travis quickly realized the breadth of the civilian-military divide. He felt a tangible disconnect, unable to easily convey the depth of his military experiences to those who had never served. This widening gap made it hard to reconnect with friends who had spent the intervening years progressing with jobs, starting families, and living lives that felt worlds away from the battlefield. In college, Travis felt especially out of place among 18-year-old freshmen, an age and experience chasm exacerbated by his broadened worldview from combat service.
Despite the pull to stay with the familiarity and fraternity of the military, Travis describes the "gravitational pull" many service members feel toward reenlistment as challenging to resist. Commanders presented enticing military opportunities for his post-service career. But Travis concluded that his potential to contribute meaningfully to the Marine Corps was actually greater as a civilian. This realization and a strong sense of forward momentum helped him resist the pull of returning to serve alongside his combat brothers.
Leveraging his military background, Travis pursued and secured a valuable internship with Senator Lugar on the Foreign Relations Committee. This experience not only added to ...
Travis' Adjustment to Civilian Life After the Military
Travis Barnes recounts the story of starting Hotel Tango Distillery, showing how Indiana's liquor law changes created an opportunity that he capitalized on, leading to the success of his craft distillery in an evolving alcohol industry landscape.
Around 2010, Indiana began considering changes to allow artisan distilling, which would enable small distilleries to sell directly to consumers. In 2013, the law passed, enabling Hotel Tango to be one of the first to gain licenses necessary for distilling and selling spirits. Leveraging his legal background, Travis Barnes incorporated the company in law school and saved on costs by personally handling legal aspects of the business.
Indiana was uncertain about its cobbled-together alcohol regulations, mainly focused on taxation and age restrictions. As a result, Hotel Tango Distillery became subject matter experts in Indiana's alcohol law, with a significant cost advantage by not requiring outside legal consultation.
The licensing process necessitated a building tied to the geographic license location, which led to zoning challenges since Hotel Tango's building was in a historic district, requiring multiple authority approvals.
Barnes describes raising capital for the distillery as challenging due to the capital-intensive nature of the bourbon business. Funds were needed for expensive distilling equipment and to cover the maturation time for bourbon. Initial funding was sourced through student loans and a seed round, where Barnes’s elevator pitch at a private club sparked investment interest from influential Indianapolis figures, with each investor contributing roughly $50,000.
Despite the pandemic leading to the shutdown of their tasting room, Hotel Tango Distillery experienced a surge as people stocked up on beverages. The distillery quickly adapted by producing hand sanitizer for about 90 days, meeting the intense demand during the early pandemic phase. They provided it to schools, hospitals, and the U.S. government for shipyards. By converting their event space into a hand sanitizer production line and pivoting from their core business, they were able to retain operational status, complying with the new government mandates for cleaning stations.
Jocko Willink, from a clothing manufacturing company, shared a similar experience, switching production to face masks as they became mandatory. Both businesses displayed adaptability and responsiveness.
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Travis' Journey Starting Hotel Tango Bourbon Distillery
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