I am often perplexed by people in the #veterantransition industry who are constantly telling #veterans to put what they did in the military behind them or at the very least, move it to the bottom of page 2 on their resume. Because, hey, what you did then, has no bearing in a second career or to ordinary people in the regular world now.
But what if your actions back then allowed a great body of work to continue to be produced for another 20+ years?
A body of work that allowed millions of people daily to gain insight into the human suffering endured by refugees, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, and traumatic brain injuries?
What if those actions led you to wake up in tears out of a nightmare periodically? Remembering your worst day in Iraq beginning with the sunrise avoidance of the fatal effects of an IED consisting of eight 155 artillery rounds daisy-chained together Then an afternoon of taking on a heavily armed insurgent mortar team protecting your convoy as they took a slow right hand turn onto a major highway and then ending it first by running off insurgents who had just attacked a photojournalist and then shielding that individual using your gun truck from the killing effects of an M2A2 Abrams tank?
What if that person was you and the person you saved, Ashley Gilbertson was able to go on and be an Ellie Award recipient, was awarded a Robert Capa Gold Medal, and was the author of two best-selling books Whisky Tango Foxtrot and Bedroom of the Fallen. Could you turn the page so easily and paraphrasing Robert Frost, after you took the road less traveled, and making all the difference?
