Episodes
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Michael Easter recently visited GORUCK HQ for a book signing and Heavy Rucking Mile party. Before the big ruck, Jason and Emily talked with Michael about the search for happiness and his new book, Scarcity Brain.
Michael is an author and journalist who wrote The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain. Writing books takes him around the world to wild places to learn about physical and mental health and how we can live better. He lives on the edge of the desert in Las Vegas and rucks often with his wife and two dogs.
Links:
Michael Easter
Scarcity Brain
The Heavy Rucking Mile
2023 Fit Talkâą - Adventure
2022 Fit Talkâą - Empowerment & Your Why
Learn more about GORUCK
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Jason and Rich discuss risk and leadership with Pete Blaber, former Delta Force Commander and author of the books The Mission, The Men and Me and The Common Sense Way.
Pete Blaber commanded at every level of one of the most elite counter-terrorist organizations in the world during most of recent historyâs most significant military and political events (Panama, Colombia, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq). In 2006 he retired from the military and transitioned from leading elite combat teams around the globe, to leading elite corporate teams for one of the world's largest and most innovative Biotechnology Companies.
Links:
Pete Blaber
The Mission, The Men and Me
The Common Sense Way
Learn more about GORUCK
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For this Memorial Day episode of Glorious Professionals, Jason & Emily are joined by Will Ostan to discuss his work as a wounded warrior advocate, the problem with the term âdisabled veteran,â and how you can get involved to help better the current veteran benefits system.
William J. Ostan is a medically retired U.S. Army Major and combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the Founder and President of Arc of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for wounded warriors still on active duty. Will is currently spearheading the Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights (H.R. 6043) in Congress.
Links:
Arc of Justice
H.R.6043 - Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights Act
Learn more about GORUCK
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Jason and Emily are joined by Cadre DS and Mocha Mike to discuss the first-annual GORUCK Games that took place at the recent Sandlot JAX Fitness Festival.
The GORUCK Games are a competition of grit worth $50K in prize money. Special Forces training tests athletes across a broad array of activities to ensure well-rounded strength, agility, and endurance. GORUCK harkens back to those roots in a 2-Day competition of grit that features an obstacle course, rucking, weighted challenges, running, sprinting, jumping, rowing and sandbag work.
Links:
goruckgames.com sandlotjax.com goruck.com Glorious Professionals podcast website -
Jason and Emily are joined by Cadre DS and Mocha Mike to discuss the first-annual GORUCK Games that took place at the recent Sandlot JAX Fitness Festival.
The GORUCK Games are a competition of grit worth $50K in prize money. Special Forces training tests athletes across a broad array of activities to ensure well-rounded strength, agility, and endurance. GORUCK harkens back to those roots in a 2-Day competition of grit that features an obstacle course, rucking, weighted challenges, running, sprinting, jumping, rowing and sandbag work.
Links:
goruckgames.com sandlotjax.com goruck.com Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âMy advice is to always find a way to take a good step forward.â
To kick off 2022, Dr. Mike Roussell joins Jason for Episode 054 focusing on nutrition. Dr. Mike consults on health, nutrition, and performance for a range of clientele from professional athletes, to celebrities, to Fortune 500 executives. âWith a passion for nutrition rooted in sport,â he is a speaker, podcaster and author who breaks down complicated nutrition ideas and principles to easily digestible, immediately actionable steps.
While he is a âdiet agnosticâ Dr Mike lays out early his six pillars of nutrition, and why he focuses on the âdosâ instead of the âdonâts.â He talks about why making mental shifts -- and having supportive community -- are more critical to health and performance success than the perfect plan. He returns to a common Special Forces theme of âbrilliance in the basicsâ and remembering youâre one meal (or even bite) away from being back on track towards your goals.
After covering the first steps and creating a foundation of nutritional health, Jason and Dr. Mike take it to a higher level of performance and cover a lot of ground from hydration, to eating to optimize recovery, his âcalorie vibeâ approach, rucking nutrition, the pitfalls of food marketing and the global problems in health literacy, and even the amazingness of Jasonâs beloved PB&J. Throughout he advocates for âstruggling through to make the new habit part of our lives.â
Dr. Mike holds a degree in biochemistry from Hobart College and a doctorate in nutrition from Pennsylvania State University. He is well published both in academic circles and also has over 500 articles in places like Menâs Health and SHAPE magazines. He also walks the talk as a longtime athlete and weightlifter, and rucker since 2016.
Links:
MikeRoussell.com Episode 041 - Michael Easter Episode 036 - Dr. Doug Kechijian Episode 046 - Melissa Urban Learn more about GORUCK and Sandlot Jax (where Dr. Mike will be a speaker) Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âThe lessons you learn at GORUCK events, theyâre applicable to everything in life.â
Cadre Dan Plants returns to the podcast for episode 053 to talk with Jason about 10 years of building better Americans through GORUCK Events. Dan uses his experience as an Army Sergeant Major and multiple deployments as a Green Beret to teach servant leadership, teamwork and the mindset of pushing through adversity during his events. âI always, always, always put people first. Always.â
Starting with his introductory speech from the first Heavy at Fort Bragg, Dan shares some of the why behind GORUCK events through his first events as a participant and Cadre, the first Ascent, GORUCK Selection, Normandy and numerous other Challenges. Dan shares some of his personal challenges leading events, funny stories and the reasons he keeps coming back (hint: it is about the people). He also shares some of his lessons from years of service from his mentors at the tip of the spear.
Whether you have done a Challenge or are thinking of signing up for your first event, this episode is motivation and reminder of the community and spirit of GORUCK over 10years -- how it has changed and grown -- and how investing in the long game and building bridges pays off.
Links:
GORUCK Heavy 001 Video (the intro) - Fort Bragg 2014 âHow Dan Changed GORUCK Foreverâ Battle of Shok Valley Glorious Professionals Episode 045 - Normandy Retrospective Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âEveryone wants someone to care about them right? And that is what we are trying to do.â
Sara Wilkinson is back with Jason and Emily for Episode 052 to focus on her work raising awareness of the struggles which lead to veteran suicide and the CHAD 1000x workout and events. In Episode 047, Sara told her and Chadâs story of love and life and the events leading up to his death by suicide on October 29, 2018 after 21 years of service as a Navy SEAL including numerous deployments and TBIs, blast wave injuries and PTSD. This conversation is about warning signs, reaching out, hard conversations and maybe the start of cultural change to lower the number of veteran suicides.
Saraâs message is personal and her vulnerability has inspired many to reach out to her with their own stories of struggle since the first CHAD 1000x event in 2020 in Virginia Beach, and even more after recently appearing with Jason on Episode 296 of the Jocko Podcast. To say that she has saved lives with her message is an understatement. This yearâs Veterans Day CHAD 1000x workout and events aim to build even more community around supporting active service and veterans who struggle -- normalizing the conversations and care for each other. The workout is deceptively simple, not technical, the hardest part is to just âtake one more step.â
Links:
Glorious Professionals Episode 047 with Sara Jocko Podcast Episode 296 with Sara and Jason Saraâs âStand Down Warfighterâ piece CHAD 1000x and 4-week Training Program Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âEvery time I thought this might be the end, it showed up again.â
Malaika Underwood joins Jason and Emily for a very friendly Episode 051 to talk about her athletic career and the future she hopes to see in youth and professional sports. Born and raised in San Diego, playing freely with a gaggle of neighborhood kids, Malaika says baseball -- not softball -- found her and became a lifelong love. She dreamed of being a professional player, âthe first,â as opportunities for girls and women in baseball were rare to nonexistent.
She wrote to coaches to find a potential spot on a High School team -- not for special treatment, just for fair chance. Malaika talks about her competitiveness and stubbornness, along with the support of her parents, helping to deal with the weight of constantly having to prove herself -- âto be perfectâ -- as the only girl on the team. Although baseball was her passion, her athleticism in volleyball earned her a place as a recruited scholarship athlete at UNC Chapel Hill. She talks about the struggle and culture shock of that transition as well as the relief of not being âthe only.â
When she found the USA Baseball Team in 2006 -- having not played competitively for 7 years but staying involved in the game as coach and mentor -- the loneliness she had always felt on the diamond gave way to playing on a field of other women (an experience common to most of them). She is now the longest-tenured player on a USA Baseball National Team, male or female. She has earned five Womenâs Baseball World Cup medals, as well as two Womenâs Baseball World Cup All-Tournament Team selections.
Malaika is also wife to Chris, mother to Birdie and Kit, author, and professional in the sports arena, spending her time and talents to support college athletes as the NCAA landscape changes. She speaks about the importance of free-play for kids, carving a path for girls and women into professional baseball, and the aspirational steps needed to get there. The conversation covers a lot of ground in sports from large personalities to the history of softball, and throughout there is a love of the game and appreciation for the power of team sport.
Links:
âBirdie Can Too!â by Malaika Underwood USA Baseball Discrepancy in NCAA Basketball Tournaments Coverage and in 2021 Tournaments Facilities âIn Search of Greatnessâ Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âI want my Afghan friends to know youâre not forgotten and you never were.â
Episode 050 is a conversation Jason and Emily had with Jaala Shaw about Afghanistan, recorded on Friday August 20th (important context given recent events). Jaala lived outside the green zone as a State Department Fellow and Specialist teaching at Kabul Education University and working with teachers and students in the public school system in Kabul from 2010-2012. Her role was to develop relationships with an understanding of history and culture and she has maintained strong ties to the region.
Just one part of a long and storied resume from all over the world, Jaala shares her experiences living in Kabul and engaging in âpublic diplomacyâ and cultural immersion. The stories she tells contrast starkly with the current chaotic situation as she relates from friends still there. She shares stories of engaging in typical Afghan life at the time, as well as of meeting her now-husband Larry just outside Camp Eggers where she went surreptitiously to âwear booty shorts and do CrossFitâ for breaks -- although she says the journeys through the green zone made her feel the most unsafe while in Afghanistan. With a residentâs insight as well as a westernerâs perspective, she shares some Afghan and Taliban history and the sometimes dramatic shifts in culture and day-to-day reality of locals -- particularly women -- in the last few decades. Most importantly Jaala shares reasons for hope and vetted resources for information and to help (see links below).
Some updates: her friend with family she mentioned waiting at the airport finally, thankfully made it out of country safely. Two of her husband's former Afghan colleagues escaped with their families to the US. Unfortunately many of their other friends and their families are still in hiding or fleeing -- Taliban have visited many of their relatives trying to find them.
As of publish date, ânone of the women have left their homes or returned to their jobs since the Taliban took over.â
Links:
Jaalaâs Original Post, Articles in NYT âAt Warâ Blog, Personal Blog, and "Changes in Kabul Classrooms" piece she mentioned Women for Afghan Women Modesto Junior College Afghan Advocacy Contacting your Representative (for American Citizens who'd like to advocate) Task Force Pineapple Learn more about GORUCK and Jaalaâs post âHope Remainsâ Glorious Professionals podcast website -
Episode 049 begins with a piece written by Matthew âGriffâ Griffin through the voice of the Taliban watching the withdrawal of US forces in Afghanistan. This conversation was recorded August 19, 2021 -- important context given more recent events. Jason and Rich are joined by fellow veterans Griff and Blayne Smith to share their perspectives and recommendations for action for those who have served as well as civilians. It is a âlicense to feelâ through surreal, confusing, frustrating events, as well as a call to take care of those that have borne the brunt of the wars of the last 20 years.
Griff is a 2001 West Point Graduate; Army Ranger, Combat Veteran with the 75th Ranger Regiment (3x Afghanistan, 1x Iraq); and CEO of Combat Flip Flops, which he co-founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Blayne, of Episode 006 of Glorious Professionals, is also a graduate of West Point; former Green Beret combat veteran of 3rd Special Forces Group in Afghanistan in 2009; former Executive Director of Team Red White & Blue; and co-Founder of Applied Leadership Partners.
Links:
VeteranCheckIn.org Original Post on Combat Flip Flops Episode 006 - Blayne Smith âPetâ - A Perfect Circle SIGAR.mil Ben Bunn Instagram Post and Episode 021 VA Veterans Crisis Line, GetHeadstrong.org, Cohen Veterans Network, Vets4Warriors Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âAs for me, after seeing what Iâve seen, Iâm always gonna bet on freedom to win out in the end.â
Episode 048 is the first in a series of episodes on Afghanistan. Former Green Beret and Ranger Battalion Sniper Aaron Hand joins Jason and Rich to talk about his late night FB post on his current feelings and outlook -- which Jason reads to start the podcast -- as well as his time in country, the current situation of withdrawal, historical parallels, the taste of freedom and reasons to have hope for the future.
Aaron grew up in Boston, enlisted in the Army infantry in 1992, and was eventually stationed in the 3/75 at Fort Benning as a sniper. He deployed to Somalia in 1993 and was part of the vehicle convoy there that became known as Blackhawk Down. He then went through Special Forces Qualification and was at Fort Campbell in âThe Legionâ of 5th SF Group on 9/11. He, with ODA 543, was one of the first soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan as part of Task Force Dagger and the larger Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001.
Aaron provides historical context to the current situation in Afghanistan -- both from his time served there as well as the time before. Rich (also a member of The Legion) was in Afghanistan in the 1980âs, notably in âCharlie Wilsonâs Warâ carrying stinger missiles to the mujahideen. Before that, Rich was also on a special forces team who evacuated people during the fall of Saigon in the mid 70s and talks through the comparisons to those events.
Throughout, there is measured, important conversation for both the average American citizen trying to understand what is going on, as well as veterans who might have strong feelings about current events -- particularly in the lead up to the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Links:
Episode 038 - Rich on âCharlie Wilsonâs Warâ
Rich Introduction and history in Vietnam - Episode 003
Learn more about GORUCK
Glorious Professionals podcast website
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âI donât think anyone can live this life and not be affected.â
Sara Wilkinson, gold star wife of Navy SEAL Chad Wilkinson, joins Emily and Jason in Jacksonville for Episode 047 in hard, honest conversation about growing up in a military family, her and Chadâs love story, the life of deployments as a military spouse, being a mom to Kinsley and Hudson, and Chadâs death by suicide in 2018 and the birth of Chad 1000x.
SCPO Chad Wilkinson was born into the Navy. Both his uncle and father were SEALs (before his dad became a Marine One helicopter pilot) and Sara says it was what Chad was born to do. As a fellow military kid he, with his two brothers and sister, grew up on bases and he ultimately graduated from Camp Lejeune HS. After a year at UCF, Chad enlisted in the Navy and successfully completed BUD/S. After three deployments with SEAL Team Eight, Chad left service for almost three years. He re-entered and (as Sara recounts) rejoined and was selected to join SEAL Team Six out of VA Beach. Among many deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and various places in Africa, Chad served for 21 years and was the recipient of the Silver Star. Chad was on active duty in Virginia Beach when he died by suicide on October 29, 2018.
Sara met Chad on her first day of 9th grade on a base in Quantico, VA. It was the 14th of 15 K-12 schools she would attend as âa military kid born and bred,â daughter of a Marine. Chadâs signature âheyâ started a surprise Homecoming invitation her sophomore year and a long, somewhat tumultuous courtship. Separations, breakups, and life changes punctuated their teenage and early adult years, culminating in a proposal and elopement right before Chadâs second deployment. Throughout, Sara says, âI wanted to be where he was.â Two great kids, a separation and reenlistment in the Navy, cross country moves, climbing mountains and finding community in CrossFit followed.
Sara talks about the unique personality required to survive and thrive to be married to the guys who do this work: fearlessness, independence, resilience. And the terrible toll that it can take on tier one operators as well as âtheir first responders.â She talks through the âwhat ifsâ and all the looking back she has done to see if there were signs of Chadâs unseen injuries which ultimately led to his death. âThereâs so many questions youâre never going to get answers to.â
Finally, as one who knows what it feels like to have her person gone, Sara talks about her call to suicide-prevention advocacy, community with other widows, and the search for the multiple answers for others as well as finding some healing for herself. She, with Jason and Emily, share the story of the birth of Chad 1000x and The StepUp Project and how the ripple effects of Chadâs life and death continue to move outward.
This is a long conversation so some timestamps to help navigate it:
0:00 - Introduction and excerpts from Saraâs speech at the National Navy SEAL Museum on Memorial Day
0:05 - Saraâs young life and meeting Chad
0:15 - College years and BUDs
0:25 - Proposal, elopement, and living in the âteam houseâ in VA Beach, living as a military spouse
0:34 - Move to Raleigh and decision to âget back in,â move to CA⊠and back to VA Beach
0:44 - Finding CrossFit and life back in VA Beach with SEAL Team 6 deployments
0:50 - Early signs, symptoms, leading up to 2008
1:20 - Chadâs last days and death
1:35 - The aftermath, what has helped Sara
1:40 - The birth of Chad 1000x and going forward
Links:
Sara on Instagram National Navy SEAL Museum âCrossfit - Meet Saraâ (2013) Video The First Chad1000x Video Episode 028 - Dave Castro and Morning ChalkUp Story Learn more about GORUCK and Chad 1000x Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âThe more I use my voice, the more powerful I feel.â
For Episode 046 Jason and Emily have a deep and far-ranging conversation with Melissa Urban: Whole30 Co-Founder and CEO, recovered addict, New York Times best-selling author, mother, podcast host, nature churchgoer, and rucker. From a âgood kidâ in New Hampshire through trauma, addiction, recovery and now an entrepreneur with a large platform and living a life of a âhealthy person with healthy habits,â Melissa has eschewed perfectionism in pursuit of finding the light. And yet still has a âgo hardâ streak.
Melissa talks about growing up in a huge, tight-knit Catholic-Portuguese family where âif you didnât talk about it, it didnât happen.â With hard vulnerability she shares about her sexual assault at 16 and how not talking about it not only didnât make it go away but led to her drug addiction. She now, after years of self-work and recovery, accepts that trauma will never be âdone.â
An introvert who âliked books more than peopleâ growing up, Melissa has dedicated her life to habit research and the reset offered by the Whole30 program she developed. She shares some of the lessons she has learned as a somewhat-reluctant business owner and dedicated community builder who tries to make Whole30 accessible to as many as who want to do it. She talks about what it is like to be the face of a brand, the challenges of building community particularly in online spaces, and how she and Whole30 have made decisions about the brand. A former crossfitter and student at Gym Jones who is an avid hiker (her church) with her dog Henry, through Michael Easterâs The Comfort Crisis she found rucking and talks about what being that kind of âbadassâ has brought to her life.
Through years of therapy and learning to set boundaries, her recovery and decision to change everything in her life, overall Melissa shares how she found grace and empathy for her younger self -- and the strength in softness.
Links:
Melissa Urban Melissa on Instagram Episode 041 - Michael Easter - The Comfort Crisis Episode 023 - Jimi Letchford Learn more about GORUCK and Chad 1000x Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âItâs the ultimate symbol that freedom and liberty will always prevail. Always.â
For episode 045, Jason, Emily, and Rich talked with Sergeant Major Dan Plants about D-Day and the GORUCK events he has led in Normandy to remember and honor the sacrifices of those who fought there. A history lesson combined with the personal remembrances of those who have rucked those storied beaches with some of the veterans who know it best, this is an episode about the spirit of the American soldier and âthe men who persevered in the face of their own death.â
Informed by books about WWII and D-Day, as well as his own years of service including in the storied 82nd Airborne, Cadre Dan has taught many a GRT about the tactics of taking an entrenched position. The Atlantic Wall was the ultimate entrenched position: 2,000 miles of coastline from the south of France to Norway, heavily armored by the Nazi war machine over 2 years. What the allies lacked in fortifications, they made up for in ingenuity and were backed by dominant air and sea forces. Cadre Dan speaks about the 3 difference makers for the allies -- particularly the Americans -- on an individual level: empowerment, shared knowledge and training with a purpose.
âHumbled and grateful to have had the opportunity to serve with such outstanding Americans,â Dan sees in his role as a leader of the next generation of soldiers the requirement to teach the lessons of D-Day. Those lessons are well learned rucking the beaches and highground at Normandy, standing on a piece of the âAtlantic Wall,â crying amongst the thousands of graves in the cemeteries and listening to the few remaining veteran soldiers who were there on D-Day share their firsthand accounts.
Links:
Cadre Dan D-Day by Stephen Ambrose Dawn of D-Day by David Hawarth The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan Higgins Boats Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
Jim âPee Weeâ Martin in Ohio, one of the âToccoa Originalsâ and few surviving paratroopers of WWII sat down with Jason and Rich, along with a handful of GORUCK Cadre, for Episode 044 in Ohio. On June 6, 2014, the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Martin became the last WWII era American paratrooper to jump over Normandy at the age of 93, landing behind Utah Beach just as he had 70 years earlier. A frank storyteller with strong opinions, Mr. Martin sprinkles his recollections with the greater history as well as personal anecdotes, and reminds that he is âjust a representative of his unit.â
A child of the Depression, Martin entered the military in 1942 and volunteered for the 101st Airborne Division -- what became the Screaming Eagles. He and the original âToccoa Menâ went through intense training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where the 506th was formed under Colonel Robert F. Sink. Martin talks about his decision to serve and the culling process at Currahee mountain -- from 6500 to 1650 men over the first 6months -- with blunt honesty. Despite being the smallest in his unit at 103 pounds (hence âPee Weeâ as a nickname) he says the only worry was if he was going to be able to stay.
The night before D-Day, June 6, 1944, Martinâs company parachuted over Normandy and touched down in enemy-controlled territory behind Utah Beach. They fought for 43 days as part of the Normandy campaign -- including in âBloody Gulchâ -- before moving on to invade Holland; holding the line in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge; and finishing off by taking Berchtesgaden, site of Hitlerâs âEagleâs Nestâ redoubt in the German Alps.
Martin celebrated his 100th birthday this year with a mass parachute drop -- including two of his granddaughters -- using vintage aircraft in a tribute to his place in history and his community. He talks about returning to Ohio in a time of continued rationing, marrying Donna (his wife of 72years before she passed two years ago) and building a life for them and their 5 children. He says that while he rarely thinks about his service âexcept during talks like thisâ because he and his fellows âhad more important things to doâ he shares many memories from his unique perspective.
Links:
Jim Martinâs Facebook Page Battle of Bloody Gulch âJim "Pee Wee" Martin - Airborne Soldierâ video by U.S. Army Broadcasting (2014) Mark Bandoâs 101st Airborne - the Screaming Eagles at Normandy Maj. Gen. James McConville and French Legion honors Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âIf youâre the best, nothing else matters.â
Episode 043 remembers and honors 1st Lt Ashley White Stumpf with some of the people who knew her well: Brian Porter, Doug Baker and Molly Donahue. Ashley served as a member of a Cultural Support Team (CST) attached to a Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan. She was killed during combat operations in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan on October 22, 2011 when the assault force she was supporting triggered an improvised explosive device.
The story of the CSTs is eloquently told in Ashleyâs War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Lemmon. This episode is more about telling the personal stories of Ashleyâs life, how she touched everyone she met, and how her relentless spirit lives on through them.
Brian, Ashleyâs recruiter at Kent State, recalls how Ashley insisted on a home visit to make sure that her folks and family understood and supported her in what she was already determined to do. Doug details how they enlisted and âgrew upâ together at Kent State as part of a tight-knit group of diverse friends. He describes Ashley constantly encouraging her team and growing into a confident leader, at home in both a sorority house and on the ROTC training field. He shares how despite her small size she consistently proved herself, and even bested him, in training -- overscoring on PT tests and going above and beyond in the gym -- forever changing his ideas of what women are capable of. Molly served with Ashley in 6th Platoon at Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) in 2010 and relates how âLittle Whiteâ proved herself to herself first and foremost, and also left a lasting legacy with whom she served.
Ashley was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a Medical Service Corps Officer after graduating from Kent State in 2009. âShe wanted to help people,â says Doug. She was assigned to the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard, Goldsboro, NC. She volunteered to be one of the first CSTs serving in Afghanistan and was the first killed in action. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. She is survived by her parents Robert and Deborah White, twin sister Brittany and her brother Josh of Alliance, Ohio, and her husband Cpt. Jason Stumpf of Raeford, N.C.
Links:
Ashleyâs War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon History of Cultural Support Teams (including the recruitment poster) Ashley White 5K at Kent State Learn more about GORUCK Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âI want to find out whatâs trueâ
Sebastian Junger -- war journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author of Tribe, The Perfect Storm, War and most recently Freedom -- joins Jason and Emily for Episode 042 about calculated risks, seeing the world as it is, the service of journalism, and doing hard physical things to feel differently about oneself.
Junger grew up in the suburbs of Boston, a childhood that didnât feel hard or like real life. His father was the survivor of two wars, a ârationalist with deep empathyâ and a pacifist who hated fascism enough to encourage his son to sign his selective service card to potentially serve in another WWII. Instead, Sebastian served as a war reporter and saw his role as providing critical information and the truth about atrocities and conflict. He found the role, and risks, intoxicating as well as noble.
In 2007 Sebastian embedded with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army in the Korangal Valley of Afghanistan for Vanity Fair. There he met award-winning photojournalist Tim Hetherington and they created the documentary âRestrepoâ which was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Sebastian talks about the bonds created through those experiences, with the soldiers and with Tim, and the parallels between service in the military and journalism.
In 2011 Tim was killed in Libya covering the Libyan civil war -- an assignment Sebastian was also supposed to be on. Sebastian talks through his PTSD, guilt, depression and the spiral of loss through deaths, miscarriage, giving up war reporting, and his divorce which led him to âThe Last Patrolâ -- a 400mil walk along the railroad tracks between New York and DC -- which helped him âclimb out of the hole.â He talks about pain as a motivator for improvement, the potential trap of solutions and being open to knowing when the end has come.
His new book Freedom was born of that âweird marginal existenceâ and he explores the tension between needing society/community and having freedom -- both evolutionary and today. His new adventure is as father of two daughters -- seeing the magic in that reality -- and navigating the tension between the modern inventions which saved his life last year and the traps of technology.
Links:
Sebastian Junger and Freedom Sebastian Junger Remembers Tim Hetherington Restrepo âThe Last Patrolâ on HBO Vets Town Halls Donate Blood through the Red Cross Learn more about GORUCK and Tribe Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âWhat we were built to do can inform a lot of what we should do today.â
Michael Easter joins Jason and Emily for Episode 041 on embracing discomfort through putting ourselves in extreme situations to appreciate what we have and find better health. Michael is known in Heath Journalism as the guy who interviews interesting people doing interesting things. For his new book âThe Comfort Crisisâ he went on a hunting trip in remote Alaska for 33 days to write about how the most uncomfortable, vulnerable and challenging situations reset our perspective and make us better people in our daily lives.
Michael attributes his endurance and toughness to his âbadassâ single mom. His natural curiosity and experience traveling while young made him the guy who would go to âget the good stuff.â He likes to fully embed with experts and subjects, not just do interviews behind a screen, and laughs with Jason and Emily about living with them for a few days to better learn about rucking -- even if it meant early chaotic wakeups.
The through-line for the interview, as with his book, is the Alaska trip and the real-world lessons he brought back with him. He talks about the importance of research and listening to the experts, but also just trying things to see what works. With candor he says that his biggest challenge to date is getting and staying sober, but that from Gym Jones to the Alaskan Wilderness he continues to challenge himself in hard ways. Michael repeatedly returns to simplicity and âthe Oatmeal ruleâ of getting back to the basics of what makes us healthy humans.
Links:
âThe Comfort Crisisâ by Michael Easter Michaelâs Real-Life Mountain Man, Badass Mom and Rucking Articles in Menâs Health âWhy Humans Are Born to Ruckâ Donnie âWho We Areâ Hunting Video Dr. Marcus Elliot and Misogi Learn more about GORUCK and Tribe Glorious Professionals podcast website -
âThe courage to say âyes,â and let it change you.â
Jason talks with Scott Campbell and Roger Sparks for Episode 040 about their chance meeting in 2010 in Afghanistan, how those experiences changed both their lives, and the overall power of tattooing. It is a raw and vulnerable conversation about grief, pain, memory and catharsis -- the role reversal of an artist dropping in to help rescue the rescuers.
Scott Campbell never imagined he could be an artist, but happened into the hard trade of tattoo art and talks about how it commands your focus -- how each tattoo is a process of wanting to quit but seeing it through anyway. He traveled to Bagram in November of 2010 with Casey Neistat to try to ârediscover tattooing that mattered.â By happenstance, Scott met Pararescueman (PJ) Roger just after Operation Bulldog Bite and wound up tattooing Roger and his team as they began to process those events and the âgrief inherited by people who project violence to solve problems.â
Scott talks about how humbled he was to be useful and how he found more meaning than he could have possibly predicted. Roger too was forever changed by their encounter -- not just the coordinates on his forearm and birds on his chest -- but by becoming a tattoo artist himself and discovering the catharsis and power of carving into skin. They both speak about the therapeutic benefits of tattoo and how their continued relationship continues to challenge and change them.
Links:
Scott Campbell Episode 035 - Roger Sparks âWarriorâs Creedâ by Roger Sparks Operation Bulldog Bite Saved Tattoo Vlog by Casey Neistat Learn more about GORUCK and Tribe Glorious Professionals podcast website - Show more
