Finding Meaning and Healing After the Military, Trash Talking in Uniform, Camaraderie in Combat | Cav Soldier + 18C | Kenny Stone and Ben Raymond

This episode is brought to you by Nutrisense. Visit nutrisense.com/combat and get $30 off your first month and one month of board certified nutritionist support.  When they ask how you learned about Nutrisense make sure to tell them it was the Combat Story podcast.  ======= Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear a Combat Story from both a veteran Cav soldier and active duty Green Beret, Kenny Stone and Ben Raymond. Kenny and Ben did not serve together but have found community, purpose, and challenge as part of Kenny’s non-profit, Soldiers on Singletrack, which brings veterans and active duty soldiers together through mountain bike and racing. Kenny served as a Cav soldier with 1-5 Cav in Iraq across two tough deployments during the surge where, during an IED event, he ended up with TBI. He found a rekindled love for mountain biking and realized it helped address some of the cognitive issues he’d experienced after leaving the service and wanted other vets to experience the same. Ben met Kenny at a Soldiers on Singletrack event where they struck up a friendship. Ben is still in service with 3rd Special Forces Group and started his SF career as an 18D medic but then transitioned to the 18C route. He found mountain biking to be the hobby he needed to disconnect and clear his head when he’s out of uniform. I hope you enjoy this story about finding a new path after service to help deal with the challenges faced after years of a traumatic and trying job like those in the military, law enforcement, or first responders and please check out Soldiers on Singletrack if this is something that you feel could help you or someone you know.  ======= Find Ryan Online: - Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory - Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combats... - Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory - Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial - Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial - Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus - Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Find Kenny and Ben Online: - Website: https://soldiersonsingletrack.org/ - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/soldiersonsingletrackmtb/ ======= Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro  00:37 - Guest Introduction (Kenny Stone & Ben Raymond) 01:54 - Interview begins 02:24 - Soliders On Singletrack 05:48 - Childhood and Mountain Biking 11:37 - Ben Joining the Army 15:47 - Kenny Joining the Army 18:37 - Recruiter experience 21:20 - Life in a CAV unit 26:02 - Nutrisense Ad 27:39 - Kenny's first time outside the wire 30:01 - Kenny's challenging moments 34:03 - Ben's path through the Army 44:20 - Kenny's deployment mid-rotation 46:51 - The right approach to loss in combat 49:22 - Coming back after combat deployments 55:33 - A mission that went wrong 01:00:05 - Shooting pistols and Mentors 01:04:49 - Marines and Army banter 01:05:47 - Most courageous action 01:10:28 - Commaderie while serving 01:12:50 - Transitioning out and S.O.S. 01:21:31  -  Listener comments and shout outs