...It's always change

“What does anyone ultimately fight for... ultimately? It’s one thing. It’s always change.” Tyler Grey

I thought this was pretty profound. I never really thought about boiling down a motive, an intention, an action (and all it entails) into it’s most fundamental pieces. But in an effort to obtain more knowledge, and then through that, more understanding - this is quite helpful. The insanity in a war, is done in the name of change - on both sides. When someone wants a raise at work and they don’t get it, this leads to them quitting - boils down to them wanting the change initially. Or something as simple as when someone grabs a drink, it’s because they want change. When someone leaves their previous life behind to commit to a larger cause - because they want to affect change. We are responsible for making the change we desire, or at the very minimum, we are responsible for attempting whatever we can to see to that change. Ally, educate, attempt, train, learn, adapt, seek knowledge and feedback, counsel, tweak and keep fighting for the change. That’s our privilege and maybe our responsibility as well.

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My safe space (perception of vulnerability)

I was a medic in the 5/20th Infantry battalion, I was with Bravo Company, and we were in a Stryker brigade. I was on the line the whole time I was in the battalion, and most of that time was spent in the stryker, either driving or sometimes as the vehicle commander. I recently recorded a podcast with a buddy, Craig Hysell who is the owner of Conviction Training Facility, and co-host of the Conviction Strong Radio podcast. This particular episode we were discussing vulnerability, how vulnerability can be a tool, and how it can allow us to grow beyond our current situation. For me, the situation of speaking about vulnerability is an onion of sorts; it's multi-layered. In order to have an honest conversation about vulnerability, it is necessary to speak from personal experience, to be vulnerable. As I was talking about vulnerability on the podcast, and relating it to my service as a medic in an infantry battalion, I was pretty uncomfortable giving details about my service; I was ...

Strange thought

I'm taking college classes these days, full time. It's good for me, it gets my head focused on things I'd naturally avoid. The kids on this campus are something else, alien-like. I was walking from my car to the library this morning when I passed a kid who was leaving the library. He was a small kid, maybe 17-19. He didn't look to weigh much, maybe 120, he was wearing his baseball hat like an asshole with a flat brim. He seemed innocent enough. I was walking and enjoying the crisp air in my nose and lungs. Without prompting or warning, my brain went to a time when we were back in Baqubah, Iraq. The short story is that we were one vehicle in a cordon made up of our own trucks and some trucks from another unit. That unit had Bradley's for vehicles, one Bradley took a catastrophic hit and the guys inside were severely injured. They needed to be pulled out and evacuated back to the nearest Combat Support Hospital (CSH or cash). We moved our vehicle up, the casualties we...

Naivety, confusion, anger

Anger makes you sharp/tight/focuses the senses. Use anger as fuel, to the next level, to kill or to do extraordinary. Anger beats the drum when tired, morale has vaporized & it's raining. Anger fills the moat between you, your brothers & everything else. Anger feeds the fire to keep getting better. Anger makes you strong, tempers you like forged steel. Anger suppresses fear to do unimaginable tasks. Anger allows you to turn around & roll right back out. TRANSITION TO: STATESIDE - CIVILIAN - THE MALL - RHETORIC How/where/when do you constructively/sustainably let go of anger? How do you allow vulnerability/honesty/compassion in? How do you let it in and maintain balance? How do you let go of tried & true tools to pick up new & adapt to them? How do you learn to trust again; where do you start? (Just some drivel from my brain one afternoon)

Veteran Mettle

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