1
00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,120
Speaker 1: This week we are raising money for Warrior Foundation Freedom Station,

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,000
Speaker 1: as we have for the last several years. It is

3
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,920
Speaker 1: an unbelievable organization, as you're about to hear, that intercedes

4
00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,360
Speaker 1: and does whatever it takes. When our service members are

5
00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,280
Speaker 1: at their most vulnerable, whether from an injury and battle

6
00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:21,560
Speaker 1: or training, traumatic brain injury PTSD, h illness and UH

7
00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,680
Speaker 1: they're at risk of being one of those sad, sad

8
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,320
Speaker 1: stories about a VET on the streets or worse, a suicide. UM.

9
00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,360
Speaker 1: They do miraculous work with incredible efficiency. They really really care,

10
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,839
Speaker 1: and so we decided part of you know, to help

11
00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,720
Speaker 1: you understand what they do and how they do it,

12
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,000
Speaker 1: to talk to warriors who have actually benefited from Warrior

13
00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,000
Speaker 1: Foundation Freedom Station. We're talking to David Scott, who has

14
00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,240
Speaker 1: been both a resident of Freedom Station too and uh

15
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,120
Speaker 1: gent who's taken advantage of some of the Mennership programs.

16
00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,400
Speaker 1: David is a United States Marine combat veteran of twelve

17
00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,480
Speaker 1: years five deployments, including combat duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

18
00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,040
Speaker 1: David a real pleasure to talk. How are you. I

19
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,919
Speaker 1: really appreciate this opportunity. I'm doing well this morning, actually

20
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,759
Speaker 1: been busy, but doing very well. So you're the classic

21
00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,920
Speaker 1: story for what Warrior Foundation Freedom Station can do to

22
00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:15,120
Speaker 1: my mind. I mean, I've got a brother who served

23
00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:16,560
Speaker 1: in war zones. I know what it was like for

24
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,679
Speaker 1: him to come back to regular civilian life. You, with

25
00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,840
Speaker 1: five deployments, including combat duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, struggled

26
00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,480
Speaker 1: to acclimate the civilian life and what way, well, what

27
00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,319
Speaker 1: what was hard? What was different about coming back to

28
00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,160
Speaker 1: the real world as we know it? I think the

29
00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:38,399
Speaker 1: biggest struggle coming back as a combat veteran after being

30
00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:43,640
Speaker 1: acclimatized the military mindset, you know, and coming back after

31
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,480
Speaker 1: those five deployments, and even realizing after the first and

32
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,520
Speaker 1: second one that you already had a little bit of

33
00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,400
Speaker 1: UH dramas going on, but you still push through, you know,

34
00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,080
Speaker 1: in order to fight for those that are left and

35
00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,880
Speaker 1: right of you. However, commatation in the adaptation and transition

36
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,720
Speaker 1: was super difficult back in the civilian world because, you know,

37
00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,600
Speaker 1: as a combat veteran, you're pushing, you know, to finish

38
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:14,040
Speaker 1: the objective. You're getting the firefights, you're you're finding roadside bombs,

39
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,919
Speaker 1: you know, the whole plethora of what combat is UH

40
00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,000
Speaker 1: and then coming and finding yourself worth. That's the hardest part,

41
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,600
Speaker 1: I think as a combat veteran, just finding yourself worth.

42
00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,200
Speaker 1: I mean, you feel like your adrenaline has been peeked

43
00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,640
Speaker 1: up to the highest point, you know, clearing doors, you know,

44
00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:34,239
Speaker 1: and going through combat operations, but then coming back here

45
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,640
Speaker 1: to find out that it's not always so simple and

46
00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,080
Speaker 1: the transition back into civilian life isn't so smooth as

47
00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,440
Speaker 1: you would like it. You know. Some of the problems

48
00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,000
Speaker 1: that we go through is fighting ourselves as men or

49
00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,280
Speaker 1: women and even being a better dad or being close

50
00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,560
Speaker 1: to our kids, and we kind of isolate ourselves and

51
00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,000
Speaker 1: that's still an entire transition process as well. So, um,

52
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,840
Speaker 1: that particularly first off, right off hand is probably the

53
00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,280
Speaker 1: most difficult thing is getting that self worth back in

54
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,880
Speaker 1: in motivation to do something, uh, into the community and

55
00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:15,280
Speaker 1: find actual friends outside of the military and thinks that nature. Yeah,

56
00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,040
Speaker 1: So so it was rough getting back home and trying

57
00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,800
Speaker 1: to deal with civilian life, which can be frustrating and

58
00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,880
Speaker 1: idiotic even without you know, the experiences you had and

59
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,399
Speaker 1: that that brotherhood that you're talking about. Um, how did

60
00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:32,960
Speaker 1: Warrior Foundation Freedom Station factor in? Uh? What was their

61
00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,840
Speaker 1: role in helping you get you know, to a better place.

62
00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:41,720
Speaker 1: So I was actually not aware of this until uh

63
00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,080
Speaker 1: about six months ago in my life. UM. I was

64
00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,600
Speaker 1: at a veteran surf therapy UM group UM called One

65
00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,600
Speaker 1: More Wave, and one of the presidents had said, Hey,

66
00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,760
Speaker 1: I know Greg Martin, who's the president at the time

67
00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:02,240
Speaker 1: of Freedom Station to one and two that works side

68
00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,360
Speaker 1: by side with Sandy, and He's like, I think that

69
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 1: you would be a really good fit over there at

70
00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,760
Speaker 1: the Freedom Station. So then I started inquiring with Greg

71
00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,120
Speaker 1: about what the Freedom Station has to offer, what they

72
00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,480
Speaker 1: could potentially benefit uh and how they could help me

73
00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,600
Speaker 1: get my feet back on the ground and just stabilizing

74
00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:24,440
Speaker 1: myself UM in general. And that's when I inquired with

75
00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,720
Speaker 1: Greg and they interviewed me, and then that's when things

76
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,560
Speaker 1: kind of took off from there. What took off in?

77
00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,479
Speaker 1: What way? How is it helping? Okay? So right now

78
00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,240
Speaker 1: I struggled to kind of be financially secure UM and

79
00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:42,479
Speaker 1: that was a big, big asset to me. They offered

80
00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,920
Speaker 1: me uh subsidized rant and at a lower rate because

81
00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,040
Speaker 1: they have that opportunity. They've been working with the community

82
00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,520
Speaker 1: in the in the veteran resources, and they offer one

83
00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:59,600
Speaker 1: bedroom cottage that actually can also house my UM children

84
00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,279
Speaker 1: at the time that they are with me for visitations,

85
00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,719
Speaker 1: and so it's really opportunity to be local. I'm next

86
00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,799
Speaker 1: to a golf course, which is another therapy for me. UM.

87
00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:15,440
Speaker 1: They are guiding me in all the right directions as

88
00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:19,040
Speaker 1: far as getting a gainful employment or even right now,

89
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,320
Speaker 1: it's been great working side by side with the marketing

90
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,720
Speaker 1: director because my passion is surf photography right now and

91
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,960
Speaker 1: I'm trying to make that a career within multimedia marketing,

92
00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,640
Speaker 1: and so they're kind of job like, kind of job

93
00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:36,760
Speaker 1: job shadow, but the mentoring me in order to pursue

94
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,760
Speaker 1: my passions because that's the self worth that I'm fighting

95
00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:42,960
Speaker 1: with internally. And so right now, Freedom Station has been

96
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,880
Speaker 1: such a good asset and uh partaking in in the

97
00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,320
Speaker 1: interest of my own Well, Hey David, hanging there, man,

98
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,280
Speaker 1: You've got a hell of a lot of people rooting

99
00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,880
Speaker 1: for you. Sincerely, um and and glad they can help

100
00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,080
Speaker 1: indirectly through supporting Warrior found Asian Freedom Station, but we're

101
00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,520
Speaker 1: suiting certainly rooting for you like crazy too. So thanks

102
00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,080
Speaker 1: a million for the time and uh and and go

103
00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,440
Speaker 1: get him all right, Absolutely appreciate your time. Thank you

104
00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:12,600
Speaker 1: so much for this opportunity,