02/21/2026
We’re not just about quality woodworking…. We are heavily devoted to veteran’s advocacy too!!🇺🇸
Last Friday was incredible and we had a completely different venue this time. And it felt like one of the most important and impactful talks I've ever given!!!
We presented to Republic Airways which is a subcarrier for major airlines such as United, American, and Delta. They reached out to Indiana University, and Professor Todd Burkhardt that co-runs the Veteran Trauma Transparency program at Indiana University and asked him if he'd be willing to conduct a class pertaining to military culture, specifically combat trauma, PTSD, and Moral Injury, to include family preparations for deployments and the toll of war. And we were able to present to many of their executives. They wanted to better understand what veterans and their families struggle with when their spouse is deployed to war. And what their families go through once their veteran returns home. They stated they have a significant number of veterans and many of them happen to be pilots, and they wanted to gain a better understanding of some of their veterans that carry the burden of war, but more importantly moral injury. One of the executives said they have roughly 6,000 pilots in total. And a significant number of them happened to be former fighter pilots
The talk allowed me to profoundly illustrate how hard it is for veterans, especially those exposed to combat, to adjust to civilian life without addressing the effects of combat and moral injury. In direct combat, ugly things of course happen, but the biggest difference is... After a battle has been fought and enemies' life has been taken, the American soldier or pilot doesn't get "Paid time off, and administrative leave, followed by mandatory counseling". Honestly, it doesn't happen; and it most certainly didn't happen to me or anyone else that I knew in my unit (Task Force 3-69 armor) or the 3rd Infantry Division for that matter. During the 2003 Iraq War Invasion, we left each battlefield and immediately went onto the next, leaving the horrors of war in place, laying lifeless on the ground. In moments of combat you have to immediately forget what you just did and move onto the next mission; but you're always wondering if the mess you just made will ever be cleaned up. And then the next battle happens and you do the same thing, followed by one after the other, without ever truly processing the actions you went through. I thought to myself, some of these veterans that work for Republic Airways could've been former A-10 Warthog pilots attached to my Task Force, "On Station" flying sortie or close air support missions, one after the other dropping munitions on the enemy inflicting catastrophic effects; with the sole purpose of supporting my Task Force and countless others on the ground.
That must be a difficult pill to swallow, knowing the touch of a button could cause that much catastrophic damage, regardless of the fact it's the enemy. I know we would not have been so successful without them. But I know they carry the burden of taking human life no matter what.
I applaud Republic Airways for taking the initiative to gain a better understanding of their veteran employees' backgrounds and I really believe they have just set the standard, when it comes to combat and moral injury, and the complexities military families carry with them; when transitioning back to civilian culture. And the Airline Industry couldn't be a better one. Most of us have flown on a commercial airline, but have you ever thought of your pilot being a former fighter jet pilot with significant combat experience. Food for thought!!!
Todd, thank you as always for inviting me to come in and share my story about combat, but for today's purposes it was even more important to me to tell my side of the story that illustrates the difficulties I, along with Todd and many other combat veterans face when adjusting to the civilian world. The tell-tale signs of a veteran in distress!!
After the presentations, they were so gracious and appreciative, and told us that Todd's and my story really opened their eyes and found a stronger empathy to their veterans that have combat backgrounds. It was a terrific experience, and another working industry that needs more awareness, compassion and empathy to their veteran employees', pilots or not.
