Sam Shoemate (TerminalCWO): Speaking Up for Troops, the Cost, and the Faith Behind It │ BardsFM
BardsFM
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Episode 4255 │ October 22, 2026
Retired Army intelligence officer Sam Shoemate: “My mission in life is to support those folks who defend us.”
WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS
Scott Kesterson talks with Sam Shoemate, the retired Army intelligence officer known online as TerminalCWO, about speaking up for troops during the COVID years and what it cost him. Shoemate describes the pressure from commanders, the fallout from his Shawn Ryan Show appearance, and why he nearly walked away. He also explains how prayer now drives his work, and how he holds hope in what he calls a spiritual fight.
KEY QUESTIONS ADDRESSED
— Why did a military intelligence officer start publishing what troops told him?
— What happened to Sam Shoemate after the Shawn Ryan Show episode on the Las Vegas Cybertruck bomber’s email?
— How does Shoemate keep hope while working in a fight he calls spiritual?
ABOUT BARDSFM
BardsFM is a daily independent podcast covering faith, liberty, history, and information warfare. Hosted by Scott Kesterson — combat veteran, documentary filmmaker, and rancher. Over 4,200 episodes and 51 million downloads. New episodes every weekday. bards.fm
This episode was researched and produced under the Spatial Terra Intelligence Methodology (STIM v5) with AI-assisted research synthesis at a 70/30 human/AI authorship ratio, fully disclosed.
BardsFM’s faith archive includes hundreds of episodes on prayer, scripture, and walking the Way of Christ — available free in the full episode catalog.
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