Ask A Vet Podcast

What They Don't Tell You About Your First Firefight in Afghanistan

In Episode 45 of Ask A Vet, we sit down with Aaron Hinds, a Georgia kid who turned down a Navy SEAL contract and a nuclear program to do the one thing he'd wanted since he was fourteen: be an infantryman. Aaron takes us from Sand Hill at Fort Benning to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, through brutal pre-deployment "tryouts" where only two dozen men made the cut, and into Afghanistan's fighting season at FOB Shank, better known as Rocket City. He shares what it's really like the first time rounds snap over your head, the frustrating reality of rules of engagement, the 45-minute firefight that made it into Ricky Schroder's docuseries "The Fighting Season," and the unforgettable Special Forces soldier in a Captain America t-shirt. But the heart of this episode is what came after. Aaron opens up about losing more friends at home than he did overseas, finding a therapist through the nonprofit HickStrong, getting his service dog Ace through Healing for Heroes, and learning that the same mind that survived a war can be pointed at helping people. As Aaron puts it: "I can do great things and I can do terrible things…and I have to decide which one I'm gonna let control my actions." If you're a veteran who's struggling, you are not alone. Reach out to the resources below or dial 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line. 🎖️ Resources mentioned in this episode:  • HickStrong (free therapy for veterans & first responders): https://www.hicksstrong.org/ • Healing for Heroes (service dogs for veterans): https://www.healing4heroes.org/ • Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 “The Fighting Season” (2015): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4006826 📺 Subscribe for a new veteran's story every episode.  🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen. CHAPTERS  00:33 – Growing up in Stapleton, Georgia  03:11 – Turning down a SEAL contract to join the infantry  06:05 – Fort Benning: Drill sergeants, weather machines & "Chuck Norris"  15:10 – Fort Drum & the 10th Mountain Division  19:18 – Training to fight: glass houses & complex simplicity  21:30 – Tryouts: competing for a slot to deploy  27:03 – Shipping out: Ireland, Romania & landing at Bagram  29:23 – FOB Shank, a.k.a. Rocket City  36:46 – Rules of Engagement 39:22 – Fighting Season  51:00 – The 45-minute firefight & the B-1 show of force  1:02:04 – The A-10 pilot with the angelic voice  1:04:37 – Pitch Perfect, surf & turf Fridays and badminton diplomacy  1:12:01 – The frustration of ROE  1:14:34 – Coming home  1:31:51 – Therapy, HickStrong & a service dog named Ace  1:43:17 – Final Thoughts & Reflections  #AskAVet #Veterans #Afghanistan #10thMountain #Infantry #VeteranStories #MilitaryPodcast

What They Don't Tell You About Being a Combat Medic Turned Infantry Officer

Stephan Wolfert enlisted as a medic in 1986, became an infantry officer, trained for elite special operations, and was on a fast track to a full military career…until two devastating losses in the same year broke something in him. A chance encounter with Shakespeare's Richard III in a small Montana theater changed the course of his life forever. Today, Stephan is a licensed psychotherapist, Shakespeare actor, and founder of De-Cruit, a groundbreaking program using Shakespeare's verse to help military veterans heal from PTSD and trauma. With over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles backing his work, what started as one veteran's personal catharsis has helped thousands find language for the unspeakable.In this episode, Stephan talks candidly about growing up on the rough north side of La Crosse, Wisconsin, fleeing to the Army as his only way out, the rapid rise through elite military training, the grief that broke him, and why he believes we recruit soldiers but never truly "decruit" them — and what that costs all of us. 🔗 Learn more about De-Cruit: www.decruit.org CHAPTERS: 3:02 – Why He Joined the Army 5:45 – Becoming a Combat Medic 7:06 – Basic Training & What Surprised Him 12:40 – Advanced Training & Becoming an Officer 18:05 – Iran-Contra, Central America & Shifting Beliefs 22:55 – Getting His History Degree & Turning Down Regular Army 28:47 – JRTC & National Training Center: Elite Field Training 34:33 – Ranger School & What Almost Ended It 37:42 – The Arctic Training Story (A Favorite Army Memory) 42:53 – The Losses That Broke Him: Deaths in Training & a Soldier's Suicide 49:49 – Going AWOL: A PTSD Episode on an Amtrak Train 54:14 – Whitefish, Montana & a Shakespeare Play That Changed Everything 58:31 – Turning Down the Military for Good 1:02:12 – Ranger School: The Concussion That Cost Him the Tab 1:13:19 – Graduate School & the Birth of Cry Havoc 1:16:36 – Creating DeCruit: Shakespeare as Medicine for Veterans 1:29:02 – The Research: What the Data Actually Shows 1:37:43 – Veterans, Childhood Trauma & ACE Scores 1:46:44 – How to Find DeCruit & What's Coming Next 1:48:35 – The Real Cost of War & What We Choose Not to Fix 1:55:34 – Final Thoughts & Reflections If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com.

EP 43: Veteran Podcast What They Don't Tell You About Being a JAG Officer in Vietnam Combat

In EP 43 of Ask a Vet, Ron Holdaway shares a remarkable journey from growing up in Wyoming to serving as a senior Army lawyer involved in historic cases during Vietnam and beyond. Discover his perspectives on military justice, the Vietnam War, and the lessons learned from a lifetime of service. CHAPTERS: 01:00 - Growing up in Wyoming & becoming a lawyer 02:37 - ROTC, JAG Corps & early military career 07:21 - First assignments & court-martial work 12:04 - Postings in Hawaii, Germany & Vietnam 14:39 - First war crime case & combat refusals 16:10 - Deployment to Vietnam 21:36 - Arrival & life in Vietnam 27:15 - Living under fire & shrapnel injuries 31:00 - Soldier shoots fellow soldier on drugs 33:01 - The 1st Cavalry Division 36:20 - War crimes, mutilation & drug enforcement 43:53 - The Mealy incident 45:07 - Lieutenant Calley's court-martial & media fallout 48:18 - Leaving Vietnam & anti-war sentiment back home 51:33 - Pentagon, Europe & promotion to Colonel 59:38 - Chief Judge & career reflections 63:43 - Final thoughts on Vietnam & life lessons 🎖️ Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever. If you believe these stories matter, please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served. ✈️ Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. Every flight is free to veterans and made possible by generous donors. Learn more or support the mission at utahonorflight.org or find your local hub at honorflight.org.

EP 42: What They Don't Tell You About Hunting Soviet Submarines in the Vietnam Era

In Episode 42 of Ask a Vet, we sit down with Navy veteran Tom Hopkins: a man who spent 20 years chasing submarines across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, surviving fire control lock-ons off the coast of China, harrowing carrier landings, cold catapult shots, and engine failures that nearly put him in the water. And somehow, he never stopped loving every minute of it. Tom grew up in Salida, Kansas, the son of an Air Force bomber pilot who flew unarmed DC-3s over the Himalayas in WWII — and who died in a B-47 crash when Tom was just 12. That loss shaped everything that came after: the draft, the Navy, the jets, the submarines, and the psychological reckoning in his final year of service that taught him PTSD is very, very real. From the flight line at Kingsville, Texas to carrier operations on the USS Ticonderoga and USS Kennedy, from S-2 Trackers to computerized S-3 Vikings, from a night aboard the USS Sabalo diesel submarine to Civil Air Patrol missions near Hill Air Force Base — this is a story of service, sacrifice, and a lifelong love of flight.

EP 41: What They Don't Tell You About Being a Cobra Pilot in the Vietnam War

In Episode 41 of Ask a Vet, we sit down with Walter Cox, Vietnam-era Army warrant officer, helicopter pilot, and Price, Utah native. Walter flew both Cobra gunships and Huey slicks with the 7th/17th Air Cavalry and Alpha 2/27 at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, South Vietnam. He walks us through what it was like to learn to fly in the tiny TH-55 trainer, transition to the sleek and lethal AH-1 Cobra, and ultimately find his calling in the Huey — hauling troops, supplies, and ARVN advisors across the Central Highlands. He recalls his first time being fired upon, the B-40 rockets that barely missed his crew, a bullet hole discovered in his rotor head days after a mission, and the devastating loss of fellow pilots that still stays with him. Walter is also open about the silence he kept for decades after coming home — the airport with no welcome, the PTSD he still navigates, and the memories he's had to push down just to get through. This episode is a remarkable window into the everyday heroism of a generation of veterans who served quietly and came home to even quieter streets. 🎙️ Ask a Vet is a podcast dedicated to honoring and preserving the stories of veterans.