Hazard Ground

Nate Boyer has lived anything but an ordinary life.  Primarily because he's a man who knows how to set goals and achieve them.  Not just any goals either; we're talking big goals.  In early 2005, after working as a volunteer at refugee camps in Africa, he came back to the US and joined the Army, becoming a Green Beret in 2006.  After serving in combat as a Green Beret, he decided to work toward achieving another dream of his: playing professional football.  An unlikely candidate, Nate made the University of Texas Longhorn football team as a walk-on safety.  Following graduation, he then went on to join the Seattle Seahawks as a long snapper.  Nate Boyer knows what it means to follow your dreams, even if that means swimming against the current.  He knows what it means to rise up to a challenge and ultimately succeed.  And now, he's using his own experiences to help other dreamers do the same! @NateBoyer37 | www.nateboyer.com | www.mission6zero.com | www.vetsandplayers.org | www.waterboys.org/kili/

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If you're looking for inspiration, a leader, or someone with true grit, look no further than Brigadier General (Ret) Becky Halstead.  She is a leader and a trailblazer through and through.  There aren't enough words to describe how great this woman is...You just have to listen.  It was truly an honor to have her on our show, and this is definitely one episode you don't want to miss!!  www.beckyhalstead.com  24/7: The First Person You Must Lead Is You

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On Christmas Day 2006, Navy Corpsman Dustin Kirby was shot through the jaw by a sniper in Iraq.  Up to that point, Kirby had worked tirelessly on the battlefield to save the lives of several Marines who he served with as their first-line source of medical care in combat.  The sniper's bullet is what eventually took Kirby off the battlefield, and left him with a decade or so of chronic pain, depression, and limited ability to perform such simple tasks as eating and talking.  It took ten years to find the right help to put Kirby's face, jaw and life back together, and eventually end his suffering.  This is a heartwarming account of one veteran's journey of overcoming his enemies on the battlefield to, in the end, defeating his own pain when he came home.  Check it out!  

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Joshua Brandon served three combat tours in Iraq, for which he was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars with Valor.  He served ten years in the Army as an Infantry Officer.  But when he came home from combat, he soon realized he was battling another enemy; one from within.  In 2007, he was diagnosed with PTSD and has since battled with the effects of PTSD and a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Fortunately for Joshua, he found a remedy in the healing powers of the wilderness.  He took to alpine climbing and other outdoor pursuits as a way to find a new sense of purpose and repair the wounds caused by a war that persists to this day.  Today, he continues to work in the Outdoor Industry, providing veterans with outdoor therapeutic adventure, participating in veteran outdoor scientific studies, and furthering environmental conservation.  He's even a sponsored alpine athlete with the outerwear brand Outdoor Research.  This is a great, inspirational story you don't want to miss!  www.outdoorresearch.com/blog/athletes/joshua-brandon

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Part II of our episode w/ Justin Watt.  Thanks for listening!

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It's war.  It's what we can only imagine hell to be like, and Justin Watt lived through it.  His story is eye-opening and shaded by the dark narratives and hard choices that only war can draw out.  He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division's renowned 502nd Infantry Regiment, serving as an infantryman in Iraq's "Triangle of Death" in 2005-06.  His unit suffered unimaginable losses during their year-long deployment, and the horror only intensified when four members of his platoon, his brothers in arms, murdered an Iraqi family of four in Yusufiyah, and then gang raped their fourteen year old daughter before shooting her to death and setting her body on fire, in an attempt to cover up their involvement.  Justin tells the story of how he survived a year of unrelenting enemy attacks, a persistent breakdown in unit leadership, and ultimately the immediate backlash from that same leadership when he was the first to speak up about the murdered Iraqi family and report it to U.S. Army officials.

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When a U.S. Army Colonel told a young Shannon Polson that she would never fly an attack aircraft, she set out to prove him wrong.  As a matter of fact she became one of the Army's first female Apache pilots, and the first woman Apache pilot assigned to a line unit in the XVIII Airborne Corps.  Serving overseas multiple times, she lead two flight platoons and a line company.  When her time in the Army was finished, she used her experiences as a pilot, adventurer, and leader to forge a career as an author and public speaker.  Today, she incorporates her love of art with her sense of adventure and pathfinding to help others overcome life's most difficult challenges.  She's a true leader in every sense of the word, and someone we are proud and honored to have on the podcast.  We hope you enjoy it!  www.shannonpolson.com | North of Hope | The Road Ahead: Stories of the Forever War | THE GRIT PROJECT

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In early 2005, Daniel Gade was severely injured in a IED blast in Iraq.  The blast took his right leg, and sent him on a several year-long journey to heal and recover.  With much love and encouragement from his wife and kids, who were by his side the entire time, Dan overcame his injuries.  He even continued his active duty military career, which he recently wrapped up as a Lieutenant Colonel and professor at his alma mater, the United States Military Academy at West Point.  Dan's also making a huge impact on improving the disability system for veterans with war-related injuries, helping them move forward and succeed in spite of their wounds.  Not many in the military, or in life in general, forge the path that Dan Gade is on.  He's a true inspiration, Army veteran, and leader we all can look up to.  www.hireheroesusa.org

For several years, Brian Castner performed one of the military's most difficult and dangerous jobs: he was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician.  Not only was he an EOD tech, but he was also an officer, leading a team of bomb disposal experts, and ultimately responsible for every decision they made in combat.  He served two combat tours in Iraq as the leader of an EOD unit.  But, when he came home from his final combat tour, he began fighting a new enemy within, one he defines as the "Crazy," a jangled mix of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) symptoms.  It has taken time, but Brian's wounds are healing, and he is now an established writer and bestselling author of books that are helping others deal with the scars of combat.  For many, the war continues on once they leave the battlefield...Brian is proof of that.  He is also proof that there is a way to heal from the wounds that so many combat veterans battle each and every day.  This is another great episode you don't want to miss!  www.briancastner.com @Brian_Castner The Long Walk | All the Ways We Kill and Die | The Road Ahead: Stories of the Forever War

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On December 19, 2005, Noah Galloway was driving the lead truck in a small convoy when his vehicle was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Iraq's "Triangle of Death."  Taking the brunt of the blast, Galloway was severely injured and ended up losing his left arm and leg.  The loss of two limbs devastated the former standout athlete and fitness guru.  So much so that it sent him into a downward spiral of excessive drinking and depression.  Noah eventually hit rock bottom, and when he did, he rebounded with zeal and surpassed the image of what he once was.  Noah looked beyond his darkest moment and his injuries, and fought to get himself back into excellent physical shape, eventually becoming a competitive adventure race athlete, personal trainer, author, and motivational speaker.  He was even named the 2014 Ultimate Men's Health Guy by Men's Health magazine, gracing the cover of that year's November issue.  Noah's story is one of resiliency and inspiration, and one that many to this day draw strength from.  This is one account of combat and survival you don't want to miss!  www.noahgalloway.com @noahgallowayathlete @Noah_Galloway Living With No Excuses: The Remarkable Rebirth of an American Soldier

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