80 U.S. V T RANS MAGAZ N WWW.USVETERANSMAGAZINE.COM
AMERICAN HEROES : By Annie Nelson, Founder, American Soldier Network
Focusing on 'What Is Real'
S
itting across the table from him, you see a handsome well trained, dark- haired dark-eyed, well-built man. Staring off into the windows with a gaze I could tell was of a land far away. Former Air '!5"$1!!4!(!!! dinner with friends, but his heart and thoughts are back in Ukraine, where he just returned from. I have the honor of calling this veteran hero - friend and wanted to share his story, especially since he and so many of his brothers in arms are still serving as civilians in the war zone !6!4!!!!!!! the humanitarian rescue of the children caught up in this war. Saving the orphans. However, to understand how Seth got to !!!!6!!!! know his journey. Seth grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, Mo. He chose the military path because he was in a place where he felt he needed to grow up. As an athlete, the military offered him a way to use his athletics and teamwork mentality to excel in a team environment. His stepfather was in the Air Force and had always told him there were some unique jobs the Air Force could offer him, and he should investigate them. He did just that, and the TACP job excited him. For those not familiar, a Tactical Air $!1!)5"$1*!!!! !!!!! anytime battle calls for it. They are also the primary Air Force advisors to the U.S. Army, joint multinational and special operations ground force commanders for the integration of air, space and cyber power. They are considered Special Warfare Airmen. Seth felt he could go to Army schools and work alongside the combat arms side of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps - all of which got his blood pumping! He served for just over 20 years before he retired, serving seven deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq between 2002 and 2012. His transition away from the military into civilian life was a struggle. A struggle until now. Where he has landed into a new team! He struggled to connect with a lot of people in corporate America. "I met some great people, don't get me wrong, but the mentality was a very different 'team' environment or lack thereof than I was used to. I excelled in each position but spent several years in the construction and homebuilding industry bouncing around, !!!!!!5!!!! !!!*!!!!!! serving. Finding my current position with the "!3!(!!!!! !!!!!!! professional life." Pvs!dpowfstbujpo!dpoujovfe-!boe!J!efdjefe!up! dsptt!uif!csjehf!pg!QUT!boe!btl!jg!if!ibe!boz! dibmmfohft!xjui!ju/!Tfuikt!sftqpotf!xbt!wfsz! dboeje/ I do. Triggers hit us all differently, and I do not use any PTS as an excuse for behaviors and dislike any victim mentalities. I knew what I was signing up for - volunteered. My triggers are centered around emotional numbness and past alcohol consumption. Deployments and crazy schedules, once you get home !!!!!! for your next deployment date (that you sometimes knew before your current deployment was even complete), is a hard pace for someone who is struggling with 154!!!!!!! to a divorce. And we do not want to miss the next deployment, so we underplay injuries so that we can go do our jobs when we are counted on. I try to focus on "what is real" to power through. My amazing wife Jenna taught me that phrase and has provided me with a far better understanding of trauma and trauma-related responses than I had before. Living with PTS is very doable; you are newlywed with a new RIGHT job and thriving just proves you can succeed. You just have to keep the never-quit mentality and keep doing the work. Opx!up!Vlsbjof-!ipx!eje!zpv!hfu!uifsf@!Qmfbtf! ufmm!nf!bcpvu!uif!Bsjfm!Sfdpwfsz!Hspvq/ Aerial Recovery Group is comprised primarily of retired or separated special operations vets who are highly skilled, trained and have the outside-of-the-box mindset to rapidly deploy into sometimes very dynamic situations and be the ultimate humanitarian operators to deploy at a moment's notice. We deployed to natural disasters like the earthquakes in )!!!!!!!8! Tenn., Hurricane Ida, the tornadoes in .!,!!!!!! bandwidth to respond to. We also respond to manmade disasters like the Afghanistan crisis that occurred late summer last year (we were very
AF VETERAN SHARON BEEN
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