Interview with Ronnie Adkins (Funker530)

Introduction

Today we've got another special interview lined up for the goat gang. Ronnie Adkins of Funker530.com and host of American Marksman (@AmericanMarks) on PepperboxTV (@pepperboxtv) agreed to answer some questions for us. Out of all the people we have interviewed thus far, this one might be one of our most informative and interviews yet.  

This one hits different. Ronnie drops real knowledge on the lost American tradition of every kid knowing how to shoot straight, why marksmanship used to be as normal as shop class, and why—if you’re online talking about anything remotely spicy—you’d better treat OPSEC like your life depends on it (because it just might).

We go deep on crusaders who actually led from the front, Civil War snipers driven by pure revenge, drone warfare, disinformation ops, and yes… the eternal supremacy of M81 Woodland. Give this one a solid read through and make sure to go follow everything this man is doing. You’re gonna want his perspective and these takes in your brain folder.

As a podcast and TV host with a focus on war and history, what’s one historical event or figure that you believe is underrated or misunderstood in modern discussions, and why does it resonate with you personally? 

That’s a heavy question. One of the topics I’ve been most recently interested in, well there are two really… the two topics historically I’ve been most interested in recently are the Crusades (generally speaking) and our own Civil War. I’d answer this with two individuals, but solely because they’re fresh on the mind.

The first is Richard I of England (The Lionheart). Modern “scholars” have started painting him as something of a poor monarch, having spent most of his time warring abroad for the Crusades or even against his own father. As a monarch, I’d say he was sub-standard as a King, but as a warring leader confronting the growing and ever-increasing threat of Islam against Christian lands in the east, he couldn’t have been better. During the Siege of Jaffa, shortly before Richard departed for home due to alliances his brother John (the asshole) was forging with Phillip (the other asshole), Richard assaulted from the sea. A small contingent was left in the keep at Jaffa, and Richard himself led the assault with ~50 knights, a few hundred infantrymen, and about 2,000 crossbowmen. Seeing Richard leading his men onto the shore, still in his deck shoes after wading through sea and surf, the Muslim army began to panic and withdrew.

He wasn’t afraid to lead from the front. Most will hold him to a lower standard because he spent little time as a King in what we now know as England, but his lands, Angevin, consisted of quite a bit of territory in what we now know as France. He was in his empire the whole time other than the crusades. He was killed by a young crossbowman during a siege to enforce his rule, on his land, but many will say he was on French soil. Technically that soil was his. The cause was a bit rough, though. He was attempting to take over some treasure that was found on that land, and the Lord wouldn’t give it up.

After he was shot in the shoulder (he ripped the arrow out), it festered. On his deathbed, he had the crossbowman brought in front of him and forgave him, providing money from his wallet. His Mercenary Captain (or his sister, or both) ended up having the kid flayed alive anyway, but that’s beside the point. Richard was a leader in history that stood at the forefront of Islamic expansion, taking the cross at an early age. As a warring leader, he led from the very front. We’ve lost that.

A second would be Jack Hinson. As a precision rifle guy, I research a lot of historical shooters. Jack was a former Union scout and sympathizer but turned coats and essentially became a freelancing sniper for the Confederacy. He supported a broken cause, but he did so not out of love for that specific cause, but from vengeance for his children. Two of his children were lynched by Union forces near his home under charge of spying, which led him to shed his allegiance to the Union and take up assaults on Union boats in Tennessee.

Jack was a slave owner, and I’m certainly not making excuses for him, but he did free them ahead of any requirement to do so, and each of them stayed with him and on his property until the Union burned it down. My point isn’t to ‘glaze’ this dude that supported the Confederacy, they’re losers, it’s to show just how much the psyche can be changed (going from Union Scout directly supporting the Union to supporting the Union’s adversary) by an affront to one’s family. That theme runs so consistently through the South when it comes to the Civil War, the “Union” as we know it formed post-Civil War and now didn’t exist. A more tribalist, State and family-oriented culture was most prominent. 

When we take a modern lens and apply it to history, the image becomes distorted.

As host of American Marksman on Pepperboxtv, what inspired the show’s concept, and what’s been the most surprising guest interaction or revelation that’s come out of it?

American Marksman is my lifelong love. The concept is inspired by a few different shows and themes that I grew up with or am a fan of: Top Shot, Meat Eater, and basically anything done from a survival aspect. American Marksman is meant to transcend the disciplines of shooting beyond specialization. The American Marksman can pick up a rifle, a pistol, or even a muzzle loader and understand with a few short minutes how it operates and then run that motherfucker. In high school, I was a part of a marksmanship team, and it ingrained the importance of marksmanship as a basic skill in America that I unfortunately think is waning to time. We’ve forgotten the importance of marksmanship as a basis of American culture. Every episode of American Marksman is an attempt to revive that culture.

You’ve mentioned past experiences with cyber threats, like the DDoS attack on your network. How has that shaped your approach to online security, and what advice would you give to others covering sensitive topics like international conflicts?

Oh, man. I spent 14 years working in the Intelligence Community as a Defense Contractor. I can tell you that if you’re online, and someone with State-level funding wants your information or to find you, it’s simply NOT possible for you to keep them from doing that. They’ve built the foundations (regardless of who it is you think I’m talking about) to acquire anything they need. The best path you have if you truly desire anonymity from all parties is to turn it all off, move to the mountains, and sell furs for a living.

When it comes to others covering international conflicts, warring conflict being the most emotional thing that a human can levy on another, you don’t really have many options. I could spend hours just describing different best practices like running your own equipment separate from your internet provider, but honestly those are coping mechanisms. We are so far behind, and these State actors have so much persistence across our services as Americans. I say that as a former Cyber Operations Planner. I planned these things.

Your coverage of ongoing conflicts (e.g. Russia v. Ukraine) often highlights disinformation tactics. From your experience, what’s the most effective way for everyday people to spot and counter propaganda on platforms like X?

Yikes. The first thing you should do is ask yourself why, exactly, someone would be sharing a certain piece of information. RT (Russia Today) is a good example I like to use, but only one of many. RT has a habit of fanning the (already burning) flames of dissention between political party-affiliated Americans to achieve their (Russia’s) goals. Suspect everyone.

Although we ran into a ton of perpetuated fear with the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ stuff, they have a very active foreign intelligence entities (FIE) apparatus that is actually very good at playing the long game. China is a bit more smash ‘n’ grab in my experience. They’re in it for their internal benefit; Russia is in it to tear us down from internal. The dissemination mediums we have now allow foreign intelligence entities (FIE) to reach you through a multitude of means, not least social media. As X is a good example, the communities are going to have to weed these foreign actors out over time. Americans, Beware of Foreign Influence. 

You’ve posted about X’s new features, like the location shield for verified accounts. In your view, do these new features actually work to combat bot farms and/or foreign influence?

They certainly can lead you down a path to better-understand who it is you’re speaking to, or at a minimum, where they come from. Here’s a good example: