In case you missed it, we just put veteran and Black Rifle Coffee Company co-founder Mat Best on the cover of the February/March 2021 issue of Ballistic Magazine. Mat was nice enough to sit down for a couple of video Q&As. In the first segment, we kept it focused on pop culture. But for this second Q&A, we wanted to hear more about his military service, post-service life, and what it’s like creating jobs for veterans with BRCC.
Here’s some background on Best from the new issue of Ballistic. After high school, Best joined the Army and then went through the grueling Ranger RASP School. He deployed to Iraq four times and Afghanistan once with the 2/7th Ranger Regiment. He wasn’t in the rear with the gear. Best fought insurgents and survived attacks. He lost friends and learned firsthand what war entails.
Hemingway said, “There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.” Best fell victim to the lure of war and returned for deployment after deployment. He eventually got out and tried a few other domestic endeavors, but soon went back as a contractor for OGA (Other Government Agency).
Best on Serving America & Jobs for Veterans
For our Q&A, Best provided incredible insight on his career in the military and post-service life. We also asked him about creating jobs for veterans, which is the core of Black Rifle Coffee’s mission; well, that and making amazing coffee. But Best didn’t hold back.
“I would like to see more companies across America support and hire veterans,” Best told us. “I think for a while—specifically post-GWOT—there were a lot of misconceptions about veterans and that if they’d been to war that makes them some ‘at-risk’ individual. And I think that’s the biggest f*cking stupid statement I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“I think that more companies need to be willing and accept that veterans are amazing. They should hire them and employ them because they served this country and they’re willing to serve your business as well. … The type of quality individuals we get out of the veteran community is awesome. They have a massively diverse skillset, they’re capable individuals, and I wish more companies thought like us.”
Watch the entire Q&A above. Want to read the entire story from our time with Mat Best? Pick up the February/March 2021 issue of Ballistic Magazine. Print and digital subscriptions available now at OutdoorGroupStore.com.
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