Who is Jason Brooks after the Marine Corps?

In this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, Jason Brooks shares his full story, not just where he started, but who he became after the uniform came off. Jason joined the Marine Corps at 24, taught nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare defense, became a McMAP instructor during the program's early rollout, and later received orders to Marine Recon. His career was built around training, mentorship, and preparing others for worst-case scenarios under pressure.

Long before the military, Jason's foundation was shaped through decades of martial arts training under Grandmaster John Natividad, a member of Chuck Norris' original Black Belt Fight Team. That mentorship influenced how he approached discipline, leadership, and teaching, values that carried through his Marine Corps service, McMAP instruction, and later professional work.

After being medically retired due to severe injuries, multiple surgeries, and chronic pain, Jason opens up about the part of military life most people never talk about: losing your identity when service ends before you are ready. He speaks honestly about depression, PTSD, medication, alcohol, faith, and the long road to rebuilding purpose after the Marine Corps.

Today, Jason is a nationally recognized firearms and martial arts instructor, executive protection professional, and contributor to American Shooting Journal. His background includes SERE training environments, counterterrorism instruction, protective operations, and decades of mentoring veterans and civilians. His work has been featured in American Shooting Journal, and he remains deeply involved in training, writing, and community leadership.

Jason Brooks was also featured on the television series Surviving Mann, created and hosted by Navy SEAL Don Mann. The show placed veterans and civilians into realistic survival, evasion, resistance, and escape scenarios, many of which were conducted live. Jason served as an instructor and participant during SERE-style capture and field exercises. This episode is hosted by Ronnie Long, who also appeared on Surviving Mann as a contestant, creating a shared point of experience between host and guest and adding deeper context to their discussion around training, resilience, and life after service.

This conversation covers Marine Corps culture, Recon, McMAP, SERE, medical retirement, veteran mental health, mentorship, resilience, and what it really takes to keep moving forward when your body is broken but your mission mindset refuses to quit.

This is not a highlight reel. It is an honest, grounded conversation about identity, loss, and rebuilding life after service.

Topics covered in this episode

Marine Corps life and culture

Medical retirement from the military

Veteran identity loss and transition

Marine Recon and McMAP

SERE and survival training

Chronic pain and recovery

PTSD and mental health

Mentorship and leadership after service

Life and purpose after the military

In this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, comedian and United States Navy veteran Serena Monae sits down with Ronnie Long, USMC veteran, for a real, unfiltered conversation about identity after the military, finding your voice again, and using humor as a survival tool when life gets heavy.

Serena opens up about being a secretly introverted performer, navigating anxiety and agoraphobia, and what it feels like when leaving the house is harder than people think. Together, Serena and Ronnie talk honestly about life after service, the loss of self-respect many veterans experience when they get out, and the strange adjustment to civilian work culture where freedom and autonomy suddenly matter more than rank or routine.

The conversation also dives deep into comedy as therapy, crowd work, and adaptation. Serena breaks down why bombing is part of the craft, why veterans handle silence differently, and how learning to read the room mirrors the way service members learn to adapt under pressure. They explore how different cities have different comedy cultures, and why improvisation becomes a form of survival.

Serena Monae is a stand up comedian and U.S. Navy veteran. She shares her journey from joining the Navy unexpectedly, working across multiple rates, getting out, working as a mail carrier, and eventually committing fully to comedy. She also talks about the role her family played in marketing her early on, building confidence, and helping her develop her creative voice long before the industry noticed.

This episode is funny, raw, and honest, but at its core, it is about becoming who you are after the uniform comes off.

If you are a veteran trying to figure out who you are now, or someone navigating anxiety, identity loss, or transition, this episode will resonate. And if you just want to laugh while hearing the truth, you are in the right place.

Watch, comment, and subscribe for more veteran stories focused on identity, mental health, purpose, and the messy middle of reintegration.

Learn more at www.vegasveteranvoices.com

Follow Serena Monae and her new podcast, The Velvet Gossip, on X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube by searching The Velvet Gossip.

If you are in Las Vegas, you can catch Serena every Wednesday at Evolve Brewing in Summerlin hosting trivia from 7 to 9 PM.

For guest recommendations, partnerships, or veteran organization collaborations, contact [email protected]

This episode of Vegas Veteran Voices is exactly what happens when you put a 20 year Air Force bomb loader and stand up comedian in a room and just let it go. Starts funny and then quietly gets heavy in a way most veteran conversations do. Jo MT is a stand up comedian and a 20 year Air Force bomb loader who has lived enough life to joke about it without pretending it did not cost him something. What starts with MRE snacks, jalapeno cheese as currency, and the military serving the weirdest Lunchable ever slowly turns into a real conversation about memory, absence, and what service actually takes from you over time. At one point the conversation stops being funny, even though the jokes keep coming. Jo talks about the quiet damage that builds when you miss birthdays, school milestones, first wins, and ordinary moments that never come back. Not because you did not care, but because the job trained you not to be there. He shares the one question he asked senior leaders before leaving the service and the answer that still hurts years later. The realization that kids get used to you being gone. That eventually it stops being a big deal if you are not there at all. There is no dramatic breakdown and no inspirational bow tied on it. Just an honest look at how service rewires priorities, relationships, and identity in ways that do not show up on a résumé or a retirement check. The humor never disappears. It just sits next to the truth. MRE bartering logic. Marines surviving on spite. Caffeine, anger, alcohol, and audacity as coping mechanisms. Bomb loading jokes that sound sexual until they are not. Free street parking in Las Vegas with disabled veteran plates and the uncomfortable reality of living on base pay and disability. The hard truth that one veteran getting help does not take it away from another. Jo walks through his path from military life to construction work to comedy, including the unhinged stories in between. Being called a fluffer. Dancing at a strip club. Meeting his wife in the most unexpected way possible. Building comedy around 99 percent truth and 1 percent voice, knowing people will laugh first and process later. This episode lives in that uncomfortable middle space. Where humor is coping, not avoidance. Where pride exists alongside grief. Where you can love your service and still acknowledge what it took from you. It speaks directly to veterans who feel disconnected, worn down, or unsure how much of themselves they left behind while doing what they were told was the right thing. Vegas Veteran Voices exists for conversations like this. Not polished transition stories. Not motivational speeches. Real voices, real experiences, and honest mental health conversations that do not feel clinical, scripted, or sanitized. As a 501c3 nonprofit, our goal is to reduce isolation, create connection, and give veterans space to talk without having to perform or explain themselves. Guest Jo MT Air Force Veteran Stand Up Comedian Topics in this episode include veteran mental health, military life, Air Force and Marine Corps culture, MRE stories, disability ratings, family sacrifice, comedy after service, identity after the uniform, and life outside the wire. Watch the full conversation and decide which part hits you when the laughter stops.

In this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, we sit down with Dean Goble Jr., a retired Army Green Beret Chief Warrant Officer and Director of Philanthropy at Black Rifle Coffee Company, to talk about what service looks like after the uniform comes off.

Dean shares his perspective on veteran philanthropy, leadership, and responsibility, including why real impact requires more than writing checks. He explains how Black Rifle Coffee Company approaches giving in the veteran space, the importance of accountability, and how organizations can support veterans without turning service into branding.

The conversation also touches on leadership transitions, protecting family time, and why stepping back can sometimes be the most responsible decision a leader can make. Throughout the episode, Dean emphasizes integrity, long-term impact, and continuing to serve even when the role changes.

This is an honest, grounded conversation about mission, identity, and what it means to keep showing up for the veteran community.

In this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, we sit down with Sandra “Sharklife” Vidrequin, a Norwegian Army veteran, conflict photographer, and humanitarian who documents war zones using the one weapon she believes should be used: a camera.

Sandra has photographed revolutions, protests, and active conflict zones around the world, including Egypt during the Arab Spring and, most recently, Ukraine. She walks us through what it's actually like to live under constant air raid sirens, sleep fully dressed with a go-bag ready, and decide when running to a bomb shelter does more harm than good. This isn't a headline version of war, it's the exhaustion, the fear, the waiting, and the mental toll that follows you home.

We talk about her background in the Norwegian Army, how her military experience shaped the way she moves through danger, and why veterans often understand chaos differently than civilians. Sandra also opens up about PTSD, identity after service, and how documenting other people's suffering became a way to survive her own.

Beyond conflict photography, Sandra is also involved with Team Rubicon, supporting disaster response efforts alongside veterans and civilians who refuse to sit on the sidelines when communities are in crisis. This conversation explores purpose after service, why some veterans run toward danger instead of away from it, and what happens when the mission doesn't end, it just changes form.

This episode isn't about glorifying war. It's about bearing witness, telling the stories that don't make the news, and understanding the cost carried by the people who choose to stand in the middle of it.

Sandra is also a 5.11 Tactical ambassador, a role that reflects her real-world experience rather than branding alone. From conflict zones to disaster response environments, she relies on functional gear built for movement, durability, and survival. Her work with 5.11 centers around their Go-Bag campaign, highlighting the importance of preparedness when operating in unstable and unpredictable conditions. For Sandra, gear isn't about aesthetics, it's about having the right tools when seconds matter and there's no margin for failure.

Follow Sandra:

Instagram: @sharklife777

Vegas Veteran Voices exists to share real veteran stories, not filtered, not sanitized, and not reduced to soundbites. Stories over stigma.

This is one of the most powerful conversations we have ever filmed.

Gretchen Catherwood is the mother of Lance Corporal Alec Catherwood, a Marine with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (Darkhorse). Alec was killed in action on October 14, 2010, during one of the hardest stretches of the Afghanistan deployment. Twenty five Marines from 3/5 would never return home.

Gretchen took that loss and built something extraordinary: Darkhorse Lodge / a free healing retreat in Tennessee created specifically for combat veterans. A place where veterans can breathe again, reconnect, decompress, and be understood by people who have walked the same path.

In this episode, Gretchen opens up about

• Alec's story and the legacy of the 3/5 Marines

• Why combat veterans are different and why they need each other

• The moment she knew she had to dedicate her life to this mission

• The real reason veterans struggle to ask for help

• How community, quiet, and shared experience save lives

• Why Darkhorse Lodge exists for every combat veteran from every branch and every war

You'll also hear emotional stories about healing, guilt, grief, reunions, stereotypes, community, and the impact this place has already had on veterans from Vietnam to OIF/OEF.

Darkhorse Lodge is funded solely through donations, and every dollar helps them continue offering free stays, meals, fishing trips, and community to veterans who need it.

Learn more or support their mission at:

www.darkhorselodge.org

Filmed on location at Darkhorse Lodge in Springville, Tennessee.

For the combat veterans watching: you deserve this place. You deserve rest. You deserve community. And you deserve to come home in every meaning of the word.

If you or someone you know is a combat veteran who could benefit from a stay at Darkhorse Lodge, share this video.

Thank you for watching, supporting, and honoring the legacy of 3/5 Darkhorse. All love and respect to the families of the fallen.

Ronnie sits down with Robert “Gunny Claus” Porter, the Marine who somehow managed to combine Marine Corps discipline, law enforcement precision, Toys for Tots chaos, and a Christmas beard that could pass a urinalysis with flying colors. Before the red suit ever touched his shoulders, Porter served 21 years in the United States Marine Corps.

Filmed on 11/10/25 in Philadelphia, right at the birthplace of the Marine Corps, this conversation hits every part of Marine identity: the traditions we cling to, the memories we carry, the losses we don't talk about, and the way a dysfunctional family of warfighters still shows up for each other. Marines flooded the streets, Tun Tavern was packed with ghosts and leathernecks, and the city felt like a live-fire nostalgia drill.

Gunny Claus opens up about:

• the first time he put on the uniform

• the Vietnam Marine who inspired his entire “Gunny Claus” identity

• how Toys for Tots was tied to Walt Disney

• why Marines still gather for body checks, bad jokes, and worse decisions

• his work with Rolling to Remember, Irreverent Warriors, and every veteran who needs a lift

• the silent weight Marines carry when the holidays feel heavy

• how community keeps us from becoming the ones who disappear quietly

He talks about marching alongside the Gary Sinise Foundation… turning fidget spinners into tax-write-off gold… painting his own campaign cover like a holiday arts-and-craft disaster… and why Marines instantly recognize him even before he throws out a “Semper Festivus.”

This episode is part therapy, part stand-up, part Marine Corps history, and part sleigh bodies motivation. It's exactly what happens when you take two Marines, drop them into the birthplace of the Corps, add some emotional truth, and wrap it all in a red-and-gold combat Christmas stocking.

If you've ever worn the uniform, or loved someone who did, this conversation will hit deep.

Because Marines don't just tell stories… Marines deliver them.

Sometimes in a bag. Sometimes on a motorcycle.

Sometimes with a “gung ho ho” and a reminder that none of us are doing this alone.

Stories over stigma.

Semper Fi.

In this Washington DC episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, Marine veterans sit down with Juan Valdez, a Purple Heart recipient, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, law-school graduate, and veteran advocate with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), for one of the most raw, honest, and emotional conversations we've ever filmed. Juan survived multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including being shot in the chest by a sniper in 2006, and he opens up about trauma, identity loss, purpose, and the long road to rebuilding a life after warfare.

This conversation blends Marine humor with deep vulnerability as Juan shares the parts of his story most people never hear: the anger after coming home, the guilt, the sleepless nights, the moral injuries, and the struggle to understand who you are when “everything you were feels like yesterday.” He talks about using a service dog to manage PTSD, going through law school, and eventually finding renewed mission through his work with Wounded Warrior Project.

Juan breaks down exactly what WWP does for veterans in Washington DC and nationwide, including the Independence Program, Soldier Ride, TBI and neurological injury support, caregiver resources, peer groups, federal benefits navigation, and long-term warrior engagement. He explains how WWP focuses on post-traumatic growth, helping veterans not only survive their trauma but grow through it, rebuild identity, find community again, and rediscover the belief that “we can still do hard things.”

Based on the transcript from our live conversation, this episode highlights everything from combat stories and Marine-to-Marine banter, to the deeper emotional battles veterans face long after Afghanistan. If you've ever wondered what Wounded Warrior Project actually does, how veterans navigate identity loss, or how warriors find hope again after combat, this episode lays it out without filters.

Topics Covered:

Wounded Warrior Project programs in Washington DC and Nationally

Post-traumatic growth and veteran mental health

Purple Heart stories and Marine Corps combat experiences

Surviving sniper fire and battlefield trauma

Service dog support for PTSD

Law school and post-service identity

Veteran transition and purpose rebuilding

TBI, neurological injury, and caregiver support

Soldier Ride and Independence Program

Community, brotherhood, and hope after the military

Raw veteran humor and real-life storytelling

About Juan Valdez:

Juan Valdez is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient. After being shot in the chest during a 2006 deployment to Iraq, he endured years of recovery, battled PTSD, and rebuilt his life through education, advocacy, and service. Today, he works with Wounded Warrior Project as an advocate helping veterans understand resources, find connection, and navigate the long-term recovery process. His mission is to teach the next generation, support his fellow warriors, and remind veterans everywhere that their story isn't over.

About the Show:

Vegas Veteran Voices is a raw, unfiltered veteran podcast centered on identity, purpose, community, and the fight after service. Hosted by Marine and Navy veterans, we highlight authentic stories, powerful organizations, and the real experiences of the American warrior community.

Jennifer Bennie is addicted to history, the kind of addiction that makes you show up dressed as a Revolutionary War spy because the story matters that much. As a Navy pilot turned historian, she can't stop chasing the connections between America's past and the world she flew into after 9/11. Go Birds.

In this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, host Ronnie Long sits down with historian, Navy veteran, and creator of the YouTube channel Walk With History (https://www.youtube.com/@WalkwithHistory) and co-host of the podcast Talk With History (https://open.spotify.com/show/2dHCbskAznBpAVL6baIAEn) Jennifer Bennie. Together, they break down women in espionage, Agent 355, the Culper Spy Ring, colonial spycraft, and how coded petticoats helped shape the Revolutionary War. Bennie explains the real history behind Anna Strong, British-occupied Long Island, and why women made perfect intelligence sources in a world that underestimated them.

Ronnie and Jennifer dive into her career as a naval aviator after 9/11, flying into Iraq in 2003, leading a crew on combat-missions, and realizing mid-deployment that she didn't yet understand the centuries of conflict beneath her flight path. That moment propelled her to use the GI Bill to earn a master's degree in history and connect America's founding struggles to the modern world she was flying missions over. She breaks down the “gift of perspective” the military gives you from crossing the Coronado Bridge as an American woman with her own apartment and career, to traveling across Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and nearly every state in the country.

They talk about American stereotypes versus reality, cross-country travel, filming with the families of the Hatfields and McCoys, and how people rarely fit the headlines written about their regions. Jennifer and Ronnie compare stories about veterans instantly recognizing each other in college classrooms, navigating life after service, and watching younger students form opinions about a world they haven't yet experienced firsthand.

Jennifer lays out her historian philosophy: she never tells viewers what to think only how to think through accurate primary sources, real locations, and unfiltered context. She explains why America is flawed but still striving, why history doesn't repeat but echoes, and why taking people to the actual places where history happened like standing where George Washington crossed the Delaware helps them truly understand the story. She describes filming at Revolutionary War battle sites, explaining the Battle of Trenton, and teaching the risks, leadership, and geography that shaped the early United States.

The episode also dives into homeschooling, teaching authentic American history, avoiding sanitised versions, and helping families understand the past without distortion. Jennifer explains how her Talk With History podcast is designed for people road-tripping to historic sites like Savannah who want to know where to park, what to see, and how to explore safely with kids. Ronnie and Jennifer even touch on her Vegas-focused episodes like her Viva Las Vegas tour of Elvis filming locations and the historic roots of Fremont Street.

Jennifer Bennie is also a proud partner of Pin-Ups For Vets, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to serving veterans and active-duty military personnel through retro-style pin-up calendars that raise funds and morale. She served as “Miss Veteran October 2025” for Pin-Ups For Vets, representing women veterans and their service. This role allowed her to advocate for veteran causes, visit VA hospitals and veteran homes, and highlight the importance of visibility, service, and sisterhood among women who wore the uniform.