Summary:
Tom served on active duty in the United States Army for three years, from 2003 to 2006. After initial infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia, Tom was ordered to Fort Lewis Washington to serve with the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, an element of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, one of the Army’s first Stryker Infantry Brigades.
In May of 2013, Tom teamed up with Anthony Anderson to create Veterans Trek, Inc. Tom and Anthony developed, organized and executed a 2,700-mile trek from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Los Angeles, California. While trekking across the country Tom and Anthony fostered community awareness on veteran issues through formal media outlets, conducted peer-to-peer support for veterans and their families in all seven states, and raised over $100,000 for Dryhootch of America, Inc. Tom is devoted to helping veterans and their families overcome the struggles of returning from war. He currently volunteers his time by acting as a veteran consultant on the Save the Soldiers Home project by serving on the Community Advisory Council and local work group. He is also involved with educating medical students on the veteran experience at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and currently sits on the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center Consumer Council on mental health.
In this Episode, you will learn:
- Tom’s background and expereince
- Walking off the war
- Healing for others rather than healing for self
- Almost Sunrise documentary
- Veterans using their stories as examples for other veterans
- Not being able to do what we want to do in combat
- Moral scaffolding
- Moral injury leading to distrust
- Disdain for the ignorance of war
- PTSD versus Moral Injury
- Clinical response versus Faith response to moral injury
- Survivors guilt
- Embodied emotion and Yoga
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Books recommended by Tom
Tom on Social Media:
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