Security Halt!
The only Mental Health podcast that shares honest and authentic accounts of living with mental health issues, that's also hosted by individuals fighting the same fight you are!Providing information and resources for help with a heavy dose of humor and entertainment. Helping you find hope and the strength to fight on.
Security Halt!
#220 Discovering Strength: Ashton Kroner’s Journey from Marine to Veteran Advocate
In this engaging episode of the Security Halt! Podcast, Marine veteran Ashton Kroner opens up about her incredible journey, from growing up in a small Texas town to serving in Iraq and taking part in the Lioness program. Ashton shares invaluable insights into the role of women in military conflict zones, her experiences with fundraising for veterans, and the cultural lessons learned from her deployments. Reflecting on the emotional challenges of military service, Ashton also explores the struggles veterans face when transitioning back into civilian life, from finding a job to managing mental health issues like PTSD, TBI, and concussions.
This conversation is a powerful reminder of the importance of community, family support, and proactive mental health care for veterans. Ashton’s story sheds light on the critical resources available for veterans, including VA benefits and behavioral health programs. Tune in to hear her message of gratitude, resilience, and hope for the future.
Don't forget to follow, share, like, and subscribe to the Security Halt! Podcast on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts to stay updated with the latest episodes and support veterans on their journey.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Fundraising Initiatives
02:19 Ashton's Journey to the Military
05:28 Team Lioness: A Pivotal Experience
10:27 Cultural Insights and the Role of Women
14:04 Reflections on Freedom and Gratitude
17:31 The Impact of Deployment on Personal Life
18:58 Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life
24:01 The Importance of Seeking Help
27:21 Navigating Personal Challenges and Community Support
32:12 Understanding TBI and PTSD
36:02 Resources for Veterans in Crisis
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LinkedIn: Ashton Kroner
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charliemadisonoriginals.com use CODE: Haley
Produced by Security Halt Media
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Speaker 2:Let's go with an expert in guerrilla warfare with a man who's the best with guns with knives with his bare hands.
Speaker 1:A man who's been trained to ignore, ignore weather to live off the land job was disposed of enemy personnel to kill. Period with my attrition. It's a whole tribe, man, you got to continue, uh ashton kroner.
Speaker 1:We've been wanting to make this happen and we finally we finally were able to settle on a date and make it happen. Welcome, security podcast. Uh, it's a pleasure to have you on. I'm always looking for individuals that are not just connected and have resources, but are service members in the fight to help people with TBI and concussions, and you fit all those categories. So welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Before we get started, you have this new. You know, we have a new fundraiser, we have something on the docket, so let's cover that. First. Let's talk about what's going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. So I actually we're really excited to be able to sit there and team up with Charlie Madison Originals, who is actually a Navy spouse and she started her small loan business, and so I met her at the Military Influencer Conference last year out in Vegas and we just connected and everything. It's the second time that we're doing a fundraiser, but 15% of the proceeds of the sales are actually coming to the Haley Brain Wellness Program, so we're really excited about that. There's a meaning behind every bracelet. It comes in beautiful packaging and just Wendy and her family are just absolutely wonderful people to be able to team up with. So we're really excited. It's going until November 20th and, you know, just put in the code Haley after you look on the Charlie Madison website and you'll be able to sit there and, you know, see all the beautiful bracelets that they make.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. You guys heard of your listening. Please do me a favor. Could just pause this? Just pause it. Put in the back burner, bring up a new tab, go there, check it out and throw some money your way. I mean, if you don't want it for yourself, give it as a gift, get a couple, give it to your wife, your sister, your friends.
Speaker 1:What matters most is that we support veteran initiatives, veteran costs. It's going for a good mission. So please take some time out of your busy day today and make that happen. I know I appreciate it, ashton will appreciate it as well and who knows, you know, maybe we can make some big waves and help some people that are in desperate need. So thank you for bringing this up to my radar, ashton. This is awesome. I hope we can help elevate this cause and get some people out there to promote it and get some help. No, I appreciate it. Thank you Absolutely, dude. Tell us about you, tell us about your journey, because you're not just some, you know. You know quaint little individual like you're a service member, you're a Marine, you've done some things. How did you find yourself in this space?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, that's such a fun question, you know. So, first of all, I knew as just a young kid that I was going to join the military. I wanted to. I wasn't sure if it was going to be the army or the Marine Corps, although the very first commercial that I ever saw was of the it was actually the dragon commercials like back in, like the nineties, and I just remember, I think it was like seven, eight years old and I, it was like 11 o'clock at night and I had just gotten this new TV.
Speaker 2:So of course I was staying up too late, you know, despite, you know, my parents sitting there telling me otherwise. And so I had saw this commercial and you know, right after that, that commercial was the army commercial and they were like, you know, like there's a bunch of soldiers going through like an obstacle course, and I was like it was back to back and I was like grownups get to play in the jungle gyms for a living, like this is cool. And so of course I go running into my parents' room and I'm like mom, mom, I'm going to join the military. And of course it's like 11 o'clock at night. She's like what's going on? Um, so she comes into my room and Jerry Springer actually was on. So, again, I wouldn't, you know, channel surfing, that is not what you want your mom to be able to see. So she thought that I was watching Jerry Springer and I, you know, and ever since then, you know, like I just remember those two commercials and I'm like I want to join the military.
Speaker 2:And so, um, you know, some things kind of got set in stone. You know, I grew up in Texas, small town, you know, really small town, and so, in order to be able to get out of small towns, you, you know a lot of, you know a lot of people either way out. And so, uh, luckily, you know, you know, whenever, uh, you know, I, I kind of was able to afford an opportunity to be able to get out of the, you know, get out of the small town through my, you know, through my mom and everything, and so, but at the back of my head, I was like I'm going to join the military. So she kept on pushing college, in fact, in general, and I was like, all right, that's fine, but I knew that I was going to join. And so I, I enlisted into the, uh, the marine corps in 2007.
Speaker 2:Uh, you know, my mom's like my biggest supporter now, by the way, which is is so funny, is that she was not the happiest about it. But, uh, when I went to go talk to my recruiter, I was like I, I wanted, I want to do something really cool. I want to be infantry. And he and he was like, well, no, infantry isn't allowed for females.
Speaker 1:And I was like, okay, well, it's like Damn you, I want to fight the dragons, right. That's exactly what I was saying.
Speaker 2:I was like, all right, I want to play around in the jungle gym and you know we just had a great conversation. So you know, I ended up, you know, got to do some really cool things while I was in. I joined Team YNS out in Iraq, which was just the coolest experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we got to pause on that because A like that time period 2007 time period like you had the surge going on in Iraq and it was almost like that. The big picture was guys were wanting to go to Iraq, afghanistan was like an afterthought. People didn't give two shits at that point. And finding yourself in Afghanistan, that time period where there's not a big focus on it. And then the lioness program like for a lot of people that don't understand, like what that is, like, that's a, that's a big part of our marine corps history. Now, because it became the, it became that program grew, it shifted, it evolved, it gave that. It gave us the csts, pro cst program. Like what break this down for us? What was that like?
Speaker 2:you know, honestly, I did not know what I was getting into. You know, to say the least, I was bored on.
Speaker 1:Deployment is what it was, and I was, you know I just turned.
Speaker 2:You know, to say the least, I was bored on deployment is what it was, and I was, you know, I just turned, you know, like 19 or 20 or whatever, and I, you know, I had been on base for ages. It felt like, you know, I mean, it felt like Groundhog's Day. And so you know our CEO and Sergeant Major, you know they were looking for volunteers for INS and they're like, yeah, you get to leave base. And I'm like, leave base, heck, sign me up. You know. So, you know.
Speaker 2:So, of course, I signed up and I was actually out in Iraq when I did the Team Lioness. So they sent a group of female Marines out to Shadow Range and there's a small little fob a couple of clicks away from you know where I was at, in Al-Asad, and we trained for about a week. We learned basic Arabic and I only remember like a couple of words, learned how to work with an interpreter. You know sweet Fridays and all that kind of stuff. And they're like All right, we're gonna pair you up with a, with a unit, and I'm like, a unit and a unit, oh cool. So this is gonna be interesting. So I got paired with First Battalion, 8th Marines, along with my partner, andrea Molinar. She's an amazing woman, but her and I were partnered together to be able to help out First Battalion of the Marines, and we were out in TQ and our job was to win the hearts and minds of the locals.
Speaker 1:This is going to blow your mind. We served in the same area in the same time. Oh, no way in the same area in the same time? Oh, no way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, if you, if you were operating at a tq, we were constantly moving out of there, because I was in the 82nd at that time.
Speaker 2:Pray, holy shit you know, I just remember sitting there because, like, first of all, I had never been attached to an infantry unit and I didn't realize, like the shenanigans, that they get up to you know. And so we go, you know, me and Andrew we are corporate Molinar at the time we go and, you know, check in and everything, and we're basically being told all right. You know, next day we're going to be doing a night mission. I was like, oh, this is so exciting. You know it's like I get to leave the base Again. Look at me go. You know it's like I get to leave the base Again. Look at me go.
Speaker 2:You know, again, had no idea what I was getting into, but it was. It was a really cool experience because, you know, we went out the first night and, mind you, I didn't know any of these people like that I was serving with, you know, but I was having to trust them. I was having to, they were having to trust us, making sure that we were going to be complete baboons out in, you know, the middle of the desert, and so, you know it was. It was definitely a lot of building of the trust, but you know, I got to really experience absolutely amazing things. You know we were out and doing all sorts of you know various missions, ground patrols. We were going into you know the locals, houses, just gathering intel. And what I realized during that timeframe is that, you know, first of all, we would get kind of shuttled into the kitchen. I realized during that timeframe is that, you know, first of all, we would get kind of shuttled into the kitchen.
Speaker 2:Uh, you know to sit there and talk to the locals and while we were there, um, you know they would, you know we would give them bottle waters or the candy. You know like the kids would come up and they'd be like hello, hello, which is candy, and so we'd sit there and, just you know, kind of throw some telling us things.
Speaker 2:You know, like just little things, and I mean it was just so cool because the guys, you know they would be, you know, talking to the men and you know, like the older, you know, you know older boys and they weren't getting anything, you know but the women, they like to sit there and I mean just like every other, you know a lot of other women around the world.
Speaker 2:You know we like to gossip, we sit there and, you know, tell all sorts of stories, and so we were able to get some really good, you know good, intel. Unfortunately, team INS says we're only partnered with just a short time. You know, it's like a month, two months max, and then we're, you know, take it back to our parent command, which I do, I that was one of the things that I, you know, given on the after action was like hey, you know, we need to be able to train together prior to deployment and stay, you know, stay with them the whole time, you know, cause I mean that just builds that trust and that you know, that camaraderie and everything. So I do, I do wish that the military had done that from the get go, but still I look back on that like two, two months and I was like this is probably like the most influential thing. It just completely blew my mind. Yeah, no, you like I said, it's historic.
Speaker 1:People don't understand that the importance of understanding culture, the importance of understanding, like you have to be able to utilize everything at your disposal and looking back to where the Afghan war later went on, went on. Like people don't understand the pivotal role that women ended up playing in the in, in the taliban's own uh war gaming efforts. Like they ended up having women that were key controllers of information and facilitators like that's a reality. They became key players and we didn't have any understanding of it because you wanted to completely write off women on the objective. They don't have anything useful. And then fast forward to 2019, 2018, like 2020. And you're realizing that your targeting deck now looks a whole lot different, because now it's holy shit, all these women like, yeah shit, all these women Like, yeah, that's a reality. Like and you need access and placement.
Speaker 1:And for us later on, like your programs gave us the data points to create CSTs and that's something that, like dude, they were and people just continue to not understand and it's a hard thing to realize that a lot of them don't even want to share their story and it's it's. It's a hard thing to realize that a lot of them don't want to even share their story because they feel like, ah, we didn't matter. And I'm here to tell you CSD program was really important and it really does matter. And, uh, I can't wait to bring more individuals to have those stories because shit, like you, were doing some groundbreaking shit, being able to just offer a little bit of candy, a few rip-its, and then the information just opens up I mean absolutely.
Speaker 2:I honestly I guess I had no idea what I was getting into, and you know. But at the time, you know, at the time they didn't really get. They were like, yeah, just go talk to the. You know, go talk to the locals. And I'm like, okay, well, about what? Like, you know, what do you want? You know, they're like, just try to gather intel. And I'm like, okay, like, gather intel. Okay, uh, how's your day going? You know, like my first conversation, we had a turkish interpreter, um, you know, and the one, like, I said the one thing that I remember learning in shadow range was salam alaikum, which is basically, you know, hello. And so the turkish, you know, our interpreter, you know, she went in there, said the same thing and I'm like salam alaikum, you know.
Speaker 2:So we just like said that, and I was like oh man man, it's like I need to, I need to let them speak and I'll just sit there and, and you know, basically pretend I know what I'm doing. But first couple of the first couple of missions were like just trying to figure out what we needed to do. But afterwards, man, it was such an experience. You know, I look back on that time, like I said it's, you know, I, I sat there and I said, said I got to see some really cool, you know cool things that you know most people my age, you know, when I go back home, talk to my, my friends that were in college and we had like completely different experiences, and they're sitting there looking at me like a horrified look on their face, like you said that you weren't going to leave base and I was like, no, I, you know, like it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it was just you know, like I said, I I look back, look back, and you know, in my time there and I'm like man, we are so grateful to be Americans and actually live free, you know, because I got to see it over there and it was, just you know, a heartbreaking situation.
Speaker 1:It is, it's and it continues to. The people don't understand they. They don't study the region. No-transcript, complete night and day difference. And that's how it is for so many countries. Before they had these extremists take over, like freedom of religion, development countries were investing. There was a lot of hope for Afghanistan to become like this big, wonderful place where it's just going to evolve into something great in the region. And then Taliban comes in. Yeah, if you look at it now, you look at any veteran that's been there man, it's heartbreaking.
Speaker 1:It truly is, Especially now after withdrawal, just sitting back, and I'm sure you had some of those same moments of like holy shit, Like what was that experience like for you?
Speaker 2:Like holy shit, Like what was that experience like for you? You know, I will say that, you know just the growing up here in America, growing up on a small town and then moving to a big city, and you know, really just getting to experience, you know, life Like nobody ever told me, no, you can't read or no, you can't go. I mean I would have loved to have had somebody sit there and tell me, no, you can't go to school. You know, but you know as a kid, but you know, like I, I remember, you know, on on one of our missions, you know, I just brought like a kid's book with me Cause, you know, our chaplain had so many of them and you know I ended up bringing you know some books in and it was the, the mothers, that were wanting to read it.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. It was, it was in English and and I'm like, wow, this is just so fundamentally different, like their lives are so, and it's like I get to go back home after just a couple of months, you know of this and enjoy our freedoms and being an American and being a woman in America. You know where I have the option of going to school and not being told, you know, to marry, or if I ever had children you know, because I didn't have a child at the time, you know then being forced to get married like that's just, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean, I guess that I was incredibly grateful Because, again, whenever I got into it, I was sitting there thinking this is going to be hunky dory, I'm going to have the best time of my life. It's gonna be a little field trip, but it made me grow up, you know, and and realize, you know just how you know, amazingly thankful that I am, you know, to have been born, you know, in a, in a free country, cause, you know, after getting to witness, you know, a woman, a child, you know happened to go and get, you know, water from a dirty river where somebody had been, you know, bathing, you know, just a few yards up, and then you know washing a truck a little bit further down. I mean, you know, you, you can't sit there and and replace the price of freedom you know, and and then be able to sit there and go and and witness. That it was just, you know. Like I said, I grew up a lot and I I became a lot more thankful for, for what I have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's um, it's always shocking, like the kids, um, seeing the little kids in every country you go to, that's like the most impactful thing Every time. You see the disparity, the individuals that are doing without so much basic essentials running water, food. But the one that always sticks with a lot of guys that I talk to are the little girls, the young girls like that you see doing back-breaking labor, and they're come to find out they're somebody's wife, like that's the most shocking and like painful thing, and they always say, well, you got to respect culture. It's like, dude, fuck that man. It it hits you in a different way that you just don't understand that. It's like fuck, like this is no longer just a football game, this is no longer like, hey, we're here to play. It's like fuck, like lives are on the line, like these kids.
Speaker 1:Like how do we change? How do we combat that? And and that's a that's a whole problem that we wish we could solve, but none of us are equipped, we can't. We can't change and force, you know, our, our ideologies in our culture, on on our afghan counterparts, but it still is such a painful thing to see man, um, and that was like probably one of the hardest things, like when you return back home and you're met with modern electricity. You got everything in the world. You're still thinking of some of the people you come across. Man, yeah yeah, very difficult.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it was. It was definitely right, like I said, I I think, uh, you know, like I said, that was my first deployment. You know my second deployment was Afghanistan. My first deployment, you know I got to do that. You know team lioness, and so I mean like the rest of, like my, uh, you know, marines in my unit, yeah, I mean they. You know, like I said, we were on deployment. There's always something going on there, um, but coming back and then you know I, I ended up getting married.
Speaker 2:You know, like, in between my Iraq and Afghanistan deployment, you know, got a bonus kid, you know, from my husband's first marriage and I kept on looking back like, oh man, it's like I am, and you know a little, this is, wasn't. You know it's like if our family was in, you know, iraq and everything, like she would probably already be married off right now. Like it was just mind blowing to sit there and see that Cause, you know I just I just can't, I mean I can't even imagine you know what, what these individuals will run through and those kids, I, like I said, Like I said I loved the kids, kids loved me and my and Corporal Molinar, like we would sit there and, just, you know, do everything we could just to make. I mean, maybe they used to bum rush us, you know, as soon as we got off our, you know you know, out of the MRAPs.
Speaker 2:You know they would immediately start coming up and you know big old smiles on their face and everything. And you know I just I was always curious to you know happened to those kids. You know, I mean, it's just one of those things that you kind of think about later on in life because you get, you get to know them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I can imagine that when it comes time to walk away from service like even though you haven't done that job, or maybe that's on the back, you know, on the rear view mirror like that's going to be a hard thing to walk away from, knowing that you were part of this organization that brought hope and stability to so many people in combat. And how do you walk away, how do you transition from that? What was your journey going into civilian space?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, I thought I knew everything. First of all, I ended on recruiting duty, you know. So I came back from Afghanistan.
Speaker 1:They had me on recruiting orders and I'm like, oh man, they got me good.
Speaker 2:But uh, you know, honestly, I was sitting there telling everybody it's like, oh yeah, you can. You know, you can easily get a job with the DOD or the government, you know some sort of contracting company, cause I saw it whenever I was in Iraq and Afghanistan, like the people that were getting ready to EAS. They were getting all cozy with the uh, the contractors trying to get jobs from and everything, and they were easily making six figures a year. So I'm like, yeah, you'll have no problem, Ashton, you just go out and do your bad self.
Speaker 2:So my husband and I we'd actually purchased a home in North Carolina, you know, in between our deployments, and so we decided to move back to Jacksonville, north Carolina, and no plan, no plan whatsoever. You know, I was like I'm just going to go, I'm going to start applying for jobs in the DOD, I'm going to work in Camp Lejeune, I'm going to be awesome. And then I found out that they actually want degrees and stuff, not just military experience. So we struggle. So I mean, I will say for my husband and I I had messed up his resume royally with all the times that we'd be around. He was a military spouse and so he was having a hard time getting a job and then we just had a son, so one of us had to, you know, stay. So I tried being a stay-at-home mom for like about two months and I went to my husband. I was like two weeks notice, like I need to start working again. Like this is hard, you know. Like just so I, uh, I got back, I got back into, uh, you know, the work.
Speaker 2:My first job actually was a used car salesman, so I thought no way oh, I thought as a recruiter you know, like you know, military trained me on how to do sales I can sell anything except for used cars, apparently. Um, I think I made one one sell my entire two months or three months that I was working there.
Speaker 1:It was just awful oh my gosh, sir, I've sold the Marine Corps to 18 and 19 year old kids. I can sell you a car.
Speaker 2:Absolutely If you knew things about cars. Now, the one thing I did learn working at this wonderful used cars all a sales lot in Jacksonville was that a lot of the cars that are on the lot, they're on there for a while. And so, um, the first like week, instead of having me talk to the customers, they had me go and starting all the all the vehicles, you know, make sure the battery was still going and like about 10% of them would not start. So they'd have me out there with a battery pack. I'd sit there and, and you know, jumpstart the car and everything. And that that was my job for the first week, you know.
Speaker 2:And I was like, oh, it's like I'm going to be selling janky cards to people. We're not going to get a battery replacement or anything, we're just going to, we're just going to go with it, you know. And I was like I think this is kind of wrong, but I'm not going to say anything because I don't want to. It's my first job. So, um, so, yeah, so I was absolutely terrible at that. And then, uh, you know, I ended up that I actually bought and sold my house with. She actually helped me get a job in property management in a military town.
Speaker 1:Can I say how nasty military is in general of rentals.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:You know, we have to lay the ugly truth out there. Not the best renters, no, not the best people.
Speaker 2:I mean there are some that were phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. However, after you know because I mean I would sit there and go in and, you know, take the photos of people's homes after people have moved out, making sure any damages and all that kind of stuff the amount of times I came home completely covered in fleas because they forgot to sit there. And do you know the pest control. And I remember coming home one day and I was like I mean I was covered, completely covered. I mean I was sitting there spraying myself with, like you know, the pest control. And I remember coming home one day and I was like I mean I was covered, completely covered. I mean I was sitting there spraying myself with, like you know, deep bleach and everything else, just trying to get it off. And I'm like, oh, casey, I was like we can't do this. I was like we need, we need to do something. And so I started mass applying for jobs. So did he? Um across the united states and ended up in illinois?
Speaker 2:Um, you know where I actually spent the last few years and everything started working. You know, at a corporate recruiting. You know, job for a medical device company, and I was amazing at it. You know, I go back to my recruiting days and I'm like, hey, I was like I'm actually doing good, but at this next, I mean I'd already been out for a little over, say, like a little over a year. At this time I'd started going to school. You know I was. You know I was, you know I was doing all things considering I am doing amazing, except for the fact that you know, I have like these thoughts in the back of my head and I'm like you know I'm fine, I'm just going to keep working, you know, work with my outlet and everything, until, you know, it kind of started impacting my family. My family is like you know, I think you need to go see somebody and I'm like I'm fine, somebody else could use it better than me.
Speaker 2:Like I don't want to, sit there and waste resources Typical, typical veteran. So, uh, you know, I started, I started getting help because my daughter started actually having some you know, behavioral health, you know, um, you know issues and you know it started, like I said, it was really starting to impact the family and so I was like I need to get, you know, I need to get some sort of help. So I started going through the VA and my husband encouraged me to go through and try to get a VA claim.
Speaker 1:And I'm like I don't need one.
Speaker 2:It's like that money is for the really sick people. And then I found out like, yeah, I'm actually messed up, so you know the side.
Speaker 1:Everybody listening. Please, please, please, please understand. Like this is a very common thing. We always think of everybody else but ourselves. Somebody else needs this. I'm not suffering bad enough, Somebody else. Your VA claim, your VA benefits are yours. That's for you. You served, you deserve it. It's just like that JG Wentworth commercial it's my money, I need it now. Oh, JG, Jeez, it works. It stays in your head. Anywho, you have to be willing to just let go, accept that there might be something wrong. Get help and make sure you file a claim. It helps you. Think of yourself, think of your family, think of your kids. Be willing to get help. Sorry, just had to throw that out there. No, I completely agree.
Speaker 2:I mean, I had my husband, who was who you know was VA rated I think, like 80 or 90% at the time, and he was sitting there pushing me and everything, and I'm like, nah, nah, I'm good, I'm you know, like I'm you know, I just kept on sitting there saying that and and, honestly, he, if it wasn't for him, it wasn't for my daughter, I probably would still be some sort of messed up.
Speaker 2:So, you know, really, listen to your family, goodness gracious you know, like they're the ones that will sit there and tell you the ugly truth, even if you're, you know, refusing to sit there and see it, and I'd have my hand in the sand. I was like I'm good, you know, I'm fine, and until I wasn't, you know, and so, uh, you know, at that point I mean I was doing amazing in my career and everything. But I, you know, I to come work at a nonprofit at Rush University Medical Center called the Road Home Program. Great, great organization. They provide PTSD treatment for veterans and first responders at no cost.
Speaker 2:You know they cover airfare lodging food. The first time I heard that, though my previous manager, you know he was sitting there trying to sell me on this and get me to apply to the outreach and work you know, basically work in the community because he liked my, my message, he liked what I said and, you know, like my story about getting help, and he was like, yeah, you could, you could, uh, you know help, you know work with the program. And I was like this sounds like a Ponzi scheme, like who?
Speaker 1:wants to give out free. You know, free mental.
Speaker 2:VA. It's. You know it's the VA, but right, yeah. So I mean it took him like a year to convince me to actually work there. But, man, when I did, you know, I mean it was a complete switch for me, you know, and things really started improving. And I mean I was working with a lot of mental health providers and they'd sit there and like tell me whenever they're like, well, ashton, have you thought about doing mindfulness? And I'm like I'm pretty sure I figured this out already Like I know how to breathe and do it really well for the past 30 something years, you know, but I think you know it was. It was such a fun, unique experience, you know, and everything.
Speaker 2:And you know and I will say I mean life is always a transition. I mean you have different areas of your life where you know you're always transitioning to something else, whether it's a new job or, you know, maybe something happened in your, you know in your family, like there's always something going on where you're transitioning from. So I thought I had transitioned incredibly well. You know post. You know post military and everything that you know. Murphy's law, you know what will go wrong, you know will. You know will go wrong whatever. And so you know, we were working at the road home.
Speaker 2:For when I was working at the road home program, you know, my husband, who also deployed to Iraq as well, he actually, you know, started to, you know, say, hey, I got some back pain and you know he had slipped on his bicycle and you know, kind of you know not to get too personal but he ended up slipping and hurting his testes and it, you know, kind of grew a little bit and everything. And come to find out, uh, he actually was, uh, you know, battling testicular cancer and it was just one of those like, oh man, you know, so it's like when I thought I was doing really, really well, you know, like, you know that's what everything's like, you know, kind of comes crushing down on you and everything. So I had to, you know, really, lean on my community, you know, lean on my family, and I had to be there for my, my husband, my kids. You know we had two german shepherds, you know. So it's like there were so many people depending on, you know, me and I'm like man, so, uh, it was definitely one of those struggles, but, you know, we were able to get through it. He's in remission.
Speaker 2:Now it'll be three years in february, but you know we were like. You know we're ready for that new transition. Let's move to florida. You know, move to florida. And you know, honestly, we had no plan. Except that was it and luckily I'm actually at the place that we're actually buying our home. We're about to go look at houses and my now boss calls me in and it's for a TBI program very similar to the Road Home program, but it's focused on traumatic brain injuries and they were offering me the development role so I could fundraise for them.
Speaker 2:And also, do community outreach help bring in more patients? Do community outreach help bring in more patients? So you know I was like yes, absolutely. And I called up my, my loan officer. I was like hey, I finally got a job. And you know it's like in the matter of like a 24 hour period.
Speaker 2:You know we had multiple sales or multiple offers on our house up in Illinois, purchased a home in in in Green Cove Springs, florida, and I had a new job and I was like everything kind of felt in line and you know it's just been, it's been a journey. But you know I will say, whenever it comes to behavioral health cause, you know I have PTSD, I have TBI, um, you know it is a constant. You know it's like working out you gotta go to the gym, you gotta work out keep. You know like if you're not practicing those skills that your therapist tells you, you can easily go down into a downwards spiral and that's what I advocate so much for, like you know, it's okay not to be okay, but it's not okay for you just to ignore it.
Speaker 1:you know, because you don't know what's going to happen. Yeah, and the other thing that we have to talk about is being willing to go to providers, being willing to ask the questions. I know I talk about it all the time, so if you listen to the show regularly, I'm sorry you're going to hear it again. We now know that TBI is the signature injury of the GWAT. If you were in military, if you shot mortars, if you were an artilleryman, if you were an infantry officer, if you were a soldier and you were around repeated concussive blasts, you should get yourself checked out. And now more than ever, there's tons of organizations that will help facilitate those tests and get you checked out. Because now pop up the Venn diagram right here Again. If you look at this Venn diagram, ptsd and TBI have a lot of co-occurring symptoms and a lot of times the VA will tell you hey, you just got PTSD, take these pills Shut up, don't worry about it. But what they don't tell you is there might be something wrong with your brain, you might have neural inflammation, and the only way that you can take care of this is by being vulnerable enough to ask questions from your provider and seeking help. So please, today. Don't suffer another day, don't wait another minute. Be willing to ask for help. Be willing to go there and say, hey, you know what? From 2007 to 2018, I was part of a ranger regiment, frigging platoon, or I was a mortar man, I was an artillery man and I've been behind the gun line for X amount of years. I think there might be an issue.
Speaker 1:The reason I am such a passionate advocate about this is because, when we leave it undiagnosed, it can also lead to suicide. We know that now. It's been blasted throughout numerous reports, numerous awesome journalists have talked about it. David Phillips did a story about the Navy SEAL suicide epidemic. And all of this is just to say, please, we need you in the fight. We need more veterans, now more than ever within our communities, and, sadly, we're not going to be able to fight this monster without you being vulnerable enough to ask for help. So take a moment today. Be willing to talk to your provider and say hey, I'm dealing with X, y, z these are co-related to TBI and I'd like to get some help. It's that easy. It's that simple.
Speaker 2:No, I agree, you know getting, getting, uh, getting assessed is really important, and you know, kind of leading into what I'm doing now, so our clinic is the. It's actually a part of a larger alliance under the Avalon Action Alliance, and so we're one of seven TBI clinics around the nation Seven TBI clinics around the nation.
Speaker 1:Yes, my goodness, yeah. So we have, and we're one of them. You know, I'm at the best one.
Speaker 2:I'm here in Florida, although don't tell my partners that I may be a little, I guess.
Speaker 2:But we actually we'll bring veterans in, you know, and each site is a little different depending on the need but, and they have their different requirements. But we see pre-9-11, we also see post-9-11, but it starts off with a three-day assessment. You know we, you know we'll assist and help cover, you know the logistics to be able to get the individual to our program. So airfare, lodging, food, you know all of that. But then the assessment itself is really unique because we take an integrative care, or you know integrative care, to our program. And so you know you come in and you're going to meet with our clinical team and tell your story, what we call a team. You know you're meeting with our core clinical providers, you know. So, like physical therapy, neuro, you know neuropsychology and speech there I mean like all these different therapists and you go over your story. If you've had one head injury, even if it was as a kid, and you didn't have anything in the military or post-military, does not matter, we'll sit there and take a look at that and your symptoms. And then over the next day and a half, you know the individual providers are going to have follow-on questions for you, assessments and everything. And then at the end of it they come together and they say, hey, you know, does you know, does Ashton here have a TBI? And and you know they'll sit there and I'll come together and make that conclusion.
Speaker 2:What will usually take months, sometimes years, to be able to meet with all these providers in a normal clinical setting, we do in a three-day period. And I think that's the first step, you know, the absolute first step in understanding what's going on. Because for the longest time I know, for me personally, I thought it was okay. You know that it was normal to have headaches all the time, to have that vertigo, you know, with your vestibular system kind of going all over. I mean, again, I was sitting there, I'm like, oh yeah, it's perfectly fine to fall flat on your face when you stand back up too fast, and then I found out that that's actually not normal.
Speaker 2:So but there's so many, so many symptoms, you know, whenever it comes to that, you know, just like you were saying, where, you know, ptsd and TBI crosses over. And I know, when I was a kid I hit my head on everything, you know I was a little short thing, you know, and trying to run underneath the tables and knocking myself out and everything. So and if anybody is listening and that has kids I'm sure you've seen your kids, you know get knocked in the head. If you played sports injury, you know like sport, you had sports injuries sports specifically.
Speaker 2:And absolutely, um, you know and I'll even take it a step forward you know further, um, you know those of us that you know fired any shoulder fired weapon, you know that vibration goes right up and those can cause, you know those can cause issues and so, uh, you don't know.
Speaker 2:You know you may not have a single incident to be able to sit there and report, but if you're having any of those TBI symptoms, just give us a call, you know, go ahead and start that assessment and then afterwards determine like, hey, are you going to be interested or are you an appropriate fit for an intensive outpatient program? Because I would much rather, instead of having you know months and years of therapy, I'd rather get that thing done in three weeks, you know, or two, however long you know those programs are, and just say, hey, for our program is three weeks, you know, and get those, you know, get those skills, you know, get those skills to be able to improve your lifestyle, because I don't want to be messed up anymore Like I want to. I want to sit there and be my, my normal, you know, whatever that may look like.
Speaker 1:Exactly, uh, ashton, I know we're on a tight timeline, but if you could uh again just reiterate how do we get if a veteran, they're ready to go to one of these clinics? How do they, how can they get ahold of you or get a hold of one of these hospitals, and where are they all located?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so, you know, under the Avalon Action Alliance. So you can go to Avalon A-V-A-L-O-N Action Alliance, a-l-l-i-a-n-corg, and they have a area on the website where you can sit there and just apply now. Now we're not crisis intervention, I will say that. But if you're looking to be able to get treated and get that assessment going, you know I would just go to our Avalon Action Alliance. They have all seven TBI clinics, you know, on there. If you're wanting to come and you're in the Florida or Southeast area of the United States, you know you can reach out to the UF Health Haley Brain Wellness Program. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Facebook and Instagram and all that. Just look for my name and I can help get you connected. Either which way, whatever you're most comfortable with.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Thank you so much. I'll pause right here. I'll put the fundraiser right here. You guys see it, it's right here. Go there, donate today. I appreciate it. All right, get that out of the way. Move it out of the way. Okay now Avalon Alliance right here. Click there If you want to finally get help for your TBI or concussive trauma. Please reach out to Ashton. Reach out to one of these awesome hospitals and get help today. Ashton, I can't thank you enough for making time to jump on this. I know you're a busy individual helping tons of people out, but it is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much Again. Please reach out to Ashton. Her link to her LinkedIn will be on the episode description as well, so please get in touch. Get help. Until then, take care. If you like what we're doing and you're enjoying the show, don't forget to share us, like us, subscribe us subscribe.
