army officer

Dive into another episode packed with insights and inspiration on the From Adversity to Abundance Podcast. In this New Year’s special episode, our very own Jamie Bateman, combat veteran, former Army officer and our Podcast Host, shares a personal journey of overcoming challenges and transforming perspectives into positivity.

Key Takeaways:

1. Own Your Situation: Embrace ownership without self-blame. Recognize where you are and commit to navigating it. Avoid a victim mentality for your best interests.

2. Even If Mentality: Shift from "what if" to "even if." Instead of dwelling on worst-case scenarios, focus on action plans and strategies, fostering a proactive and empowered mindset.

3. Take the Long-Term View: Acknowledge that hardships are inevitable. Understand challenges as part of a broader journey, gaining perspective and strength to navigate tough times.

4. Communicate and Ask for Help: Don't bury your head in the sand. Actively communicate with lenders and seek advice from those with shared experiences, leveraging the power of support.

5. Gratitude and Perspective: Maintain gratitude and perspective when facing difficulties. Recognize challenges as one part of your life story. Focus on the bigger picture with a portfolio view.

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Today we turn the tables as Ryan Rogers hosts Combat Story's Ryan Fugit on the Choices not Chances Podcast. Listeners will recall Ryan Rogers' Combat Story interview from Episode (please add episode number and link to YouTube interview) where they dove into the Battle of Marjah.

Ryan Rogers returned the favor and hosted Ryan Fugit on his program and we dive into some new ground that hasn't been explored previously. I wanted to give a shout out to Ryan Rogers and his program and felt this was a great way to do it.

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 Ryan Rogers Online:
- Ryan's book Lions of Marjah https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Marjah-Combat-As-Saw/dp/0578891220
- Twitter @RyanRog98054437 https://twitter.com/ryanrog98054437
- Choices Not Chances Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqcmxKqaR4dIFFpaJxhtrQ

Show Notes:
00:00 - Intro 
00:20 - Guest Introduction (Choices Not Chances Podcast)
01:04 - Interview begins
03:20 - Childhood and Family life
10:11 - Coming back to the U.S.
12:32 - Living in Africa and Afghanistan
16:57 - Path to enlisting
19:43 - 4Patriots
23:05 - Deciding to become an Army Pilot
28:39 - Getting the Apache 
32:48 - Flight school
41:28 - Flying the Apache
48:20 - Additional duties for a Staff Pilot
51:49 - First time downrange
58:23 - Time in Afghanistan
01:08:00 - Classified footage
01:11:20 - A bad day in Afghanistan
01:21:03 - Losing Faith
01:26:44 - Leaving the Military
01:29:30 - Time at the CIA
01:28:10 - After the CIA and Combat Story

Today we hear the combat story of Jeff Morris, a former Army Infantry Officer who commanded soldiers in Iraq over two brutal deployments fighting on some of the most well-known and infamous streets of Baghdad.  

NOTE: Stay tuned after Jeff's Combat Story to hear a Combat Story from one of our listeners!  

Jeff was an Infantry Platoon Leader on Haifa Street in downtown Baghdad from 2004 to 2005 with 1st CAV where his Platoon of 34 men were awarded 27 Purple Hearts. He describes a significant battle that he was a part of on September 12th, 2004, in which two Silver Stars were awarded and he received a Bronze Star w/ V Device.  

He was then a junior but highly respected Infantry Company Commander in east Baghdad during the Surge from late 2006 to summer 2007, again with 1st CAV, where he lost eight men during fighting that saw almost every Bradley and M1 tank assigned to his unit destroyed by EFPs.  

Jeff went on to document these experiences in his book, “Legion Rising: Surviving Combat and the Scars it Left Behind” and established the Legion 8 Foundation to honor the lives of the eight men lost under his command.

The Legion 8 workout is also a Hero Workout of the Day (WOD) done at hundreds of CrossFit gyms around the country.  He has previously been featured on other podcasts, including Mike Drop with Mike Ritland. I hope you enjoy this inside look at the burden of command in Iraq and Jeff’s combat story as much as I did.  

Find Jeff online: 

Instagram @jeffrmorris 
Book Legion Rising 

Show Notes

0:00 – Intro
4:26 – The book, “Black Hawk Down.”
7:07 – The desire to be a SEAL
11:36 – “If it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it.”
13:00 – Jeff’s childhood
16:59 – The desire to serve the country
18:46 - “After I stood up for myself and took that challenge on, I wanted more.”
19:30 – The fastest guy in school
22:22 – “Boys do what they want to do. Men do what they have to do.”
28:37 – “You can’t go and create a leader of men and women in 14 weeks.”
31:03 – The role of a Platoon Leader
35:48 – The Bradley Military Vehicle
40:40 – Battle of Haifa Street
49:24 – The beauty of war
53:00 – The breezeway grenade
54:19 - “There’s a fine line between valor and stupidity and just plain luck.”
56:25 – Communicating in Battle
58:53 – September 12, 2004 (The Haifa Street Incident)
1:00:41 – Coming back to base
1:02:01 – Jeff’s Second Deployment
1:04:46 – Quotes from other podcasts about Jeff
1:05:55 – Building Camaraderie
1:12:50 – How having a child changed Jeff’s way of thinking
1:14:05 – The difficult mission
1:16:01 - “You know in that environment that you’re probably going to lose somebody.”
1:18:24 – Losing comrades
1:21:21 – Taking the dangerous route
1:24:18 – “I’m making decisions that are putting other people’s lives at greater risk.”
1:26:26 – “I’ve never had a positive thing happen in my life that came from me sitting around, waiting for somebody else to make a decision.”
1:29:12 – The Catalyst to turn things around
1:31:54 – “There’s no background music playing in combat.”
1:33:39 – A conversation with a Vietnam War Veteran
1:36:37 – The Man in the Arena
1:38:00 – Would you go back and do all that again?
1:41:48 - NEW FEATURE: A New Listener's Combat Story from Yonel Yogi Dorelis

Tom Satterly is a Command Sergeant Major (retired) who spent 20 years in the Army’s elite Delta Force (aka “The Unit”). His 25 year Army career took him from the storied Battle of Mogadishu (Operation Gothic Serpent aka “Black Hawk Down”) and the capture of Saddam Hussein in Operation Red Dawn.

He rose up through the ranks in Delta to leading troops through multiple OIF deployments executing multiple hits per night for months at a time. 

The brutal fighting and optempo took a toll on Tom as he lived and survived with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) for years. After retiring, Tom and his wife Jen created the All Secure Foundation (allsecurefoundation.org), which assists special operations active duty and combat veterans, and their families, in recovery of PTS through education, awareness, resources for healing, workshop retreats, and PTS resiliency training. 

His book All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier's Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront chronicles his trials and experiences from combat to treatment and provides some insight into the secretive world of Delta Force. 

He and Jen and their work can be found at: Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Show Notes

5:07 - The decision to join the Army on the way to a John Cougar Mellancamp concert.
15:59 - Influence of a Hungarian Platoon Sergeant and exposure to unique training with the French, Germans, and Swiss.
18:31 - The decision to become a Green Beret with an unusual twist of stolen valor (17:54).
22:56 - Finding the way to Delta Force.
27:15 - The psychologists at Delta noticed the desire to keep climbing the next mountain.
30:26 - Handling missing Panama and the Gulf War and wanting to test your mettle.
33:10 - Surviving “The Long Walk” and Delta selection.
44:01 - First combat experience was in Mogadishu felt like the movies, until October 3rd (Black Hawk Down).
49:48 - Description of Battle of Mogadishu aka Black Hawk Down.
56:31 - Thinking “this is it” and coming to peace with the idea that you might not make it out alive.
57:31 - Running the Mogadishu Mile with no cover and no ammo.
1:02:04 - A description of the physiological aspects of PTS and the tipping point. How to stop being angry all the time (1:02:48).
1:06:51 - Resiliency training to help pre-combat SF recruits prepare for what’s coming in combat.
1:10:48 - Becoming a leader responsible for other’s souls.
1:14:20 - Still judge myself everyday. Making mistakes is even worse. 
1:16:41 - Starting to slow down and have the younger operators take a weight off.
1:18:32 - The reality of near death experiences and how luck plays into your life.
1:20:14 - “War is disgusting.”
1:21:41 - The future of the All Secure Foundation and moving to online content and virtual therapy.
1:24:03 - Would you do it again?
1:25:04 - Jen Satterly’s book Arsenal of Hope will be coming out in February 2021.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon served in the British Army where he commanded the CBRN regiment. He is a chemical weapons expert, and author of the new book 'Chemical Warrior: Syria, Salisbury and Saving Lives at War'.

You can find Hamish on Twitter and Instagram @HamishDBG

You can get Chemical Warrior here: https://amzn.to/350otP4

Merch and clothing to support the podcast can be found at http://www.vsomstore.com

You can find books from guests of the podcast here: https://www.vsompodcast.com/books/

You can connect with Geraint at @grjbooks across social media, and find his Afghanistan memoir Brothers in Arms in all good book stores.

If you are a veteran struggling with mental health, or you just want a bit of help adjusting to civvie life, then say hello to the Royal British Legion at @royalbritishlegion or http://www.rbl.org

Thank you to our sponsors! The show doesn't happen without them!

Combat Fuel - www.combat-fuel.co.uk
Combat Combover - www.combatcombover.com
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Zulu Alpha Strap Company - @zulualphastraps

For clips and content from the show, behind the scenes, and photos and videos of the guests' time on operations, follow @veteranstateofmind on Facebook and Instagram, and go to www.vsompodcast.com for links to all the connected sites, and an online submissions form for sending in your questions to the show. Cheers!