In Theater

Today we chat with Eric Herrera, a former combat engineer primarily engaged in route clearance missions.

Part 2 of my Conversation with Rachelle     Today's guest popped out to me on Instagram. It was a picture of her using the HIIDE system, which is something I discussed in a previous episode with Jacob Krupp. On one of her blogs, she describes herself much better than I could, so I will read from that.    Quote: "I am the proud author of two blogs - my personal (you are here now) and a Female Marine representative for The Enlisted Club (theenlistedclub.com).   I guess if you summarize me you could say that I am a mother, full-time businesswoman and Marine Corps Veteran (3531) that loves writing, sarcasm, cold microbrews, literature, cooking, and crafting.   I am not a representative of ALL Female Marines, but I am hoping to be the one that helps create a community for ALL women.” End quote    We had a great conversation that will be divided into multiple parts. I love chatting with creative veterans. In this episode, we'll be getting to know her a little better, and supplying context for the consecutive parts. Today we're talking with Rachelle. 

Today's guest popped out to me on Instagram. It was a picture of her using the HIIDE system, which is something I discussed in a previous episode with Jacob Krupp. On one of her blogs, she describes herself much better than I could, so I will read from that.    Quote: "I am the proud author of two blogs - my personal (you are here now) and a Female Marine representative for The Enlisted Club (theenlistedclub.com).   I guess if you summarize me you could say that I am a mother, full-time businesswoman and Marine Corps Veteran (3531) that loves writing, sarcasm, cold microbrews, literature, cooking, and crafting.   I am not a representative of ALL Female Marines, but I am hoping to be the one that helps create a community for ALL women.” End quote    We had a great conversation that will be divided into multiple parts. I love chatting with creative veterans. In this episode, we'll be getting to know her a little better, and supplying context for the consecutive parts. Today we're talking with Rachelle.   

Today's guest was in the Army for 26 years and had multiple deployments, including a deployment in support of Operation Desert Storm. During his time in service, he spent time as a combat medic and a recruiter. He retired from active duty in 2016. He currently resides in Paducah, Kentucky, where on April 22, 2018, he founded Project Diehard, whose stated goal is “To bring public awareness to veteran suicide and to assist veterans in coping with the stress and difficulties in transitioning from active duty military to civilian life.” Today we're chatting with Brian Gibson.  

Part 3 Today's guest was an infantryman in the 2nd Infantry Regiment, which, at the time of his deployment was in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. He deployed to Fob Anbar in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. We recorded this episode in the comfort of my kitchen while drinking beer and whiskey. Testosterone was high my friends. The stories were flowing. This is the third episode of a three-part series.

Part 2 Today's guest was an infantryman in the 2nd Infantry Regiment, which, at the time of his deployment was in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. He deployed to Fob Anbar in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. We recorded this episode in the comfort of my kitchen while drinking beer and whiskey. Testosterone was high my friends. The stories were flowing. This is the second episode of a three-part series.

Today's guest was an infantryman in the 2nd infantry regiment, which, at the time of his deployment, was in the 3rd brigade combat team, 1st infantry division. He deployed to Fob Anbar in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. We recorded this episode in the comfort of my kitchen while drinking beer and whiskey. Testosterone was high my friends. The stories were flowing. This is the first episode of a three-part series. 

We're a society that gets what we want when we want it and if we experience a problem that we're unable to fix, we get someone to fix it for us. I can't help but somehow feel a connection with this sentiment to what we're currently experiencing with the coronavirus. A loss of immediacy, a high level of restriction, and our inability to control the situation. There's not really an easy way out of this. Unless you're like Jerry Jones and have the ability to do things, like draft NFL players from the comfort of your yacht. We can't do what we want when we want it, which is the essence of a combat deployment and an understatement when considering combat itself. 

I met the most capable leaders, baddest mother fuckers, and biggest idiots while I was in. There were also a lot of guys that just couldn't get it together. Couldn't stop getting in trouble. Couldn't get away from their own demons. For some of these dudes, it was clearly due to the effects of PTSD. But others had issues before they joined… well, I guess we all had issues before we joined, but significant issues. In this episode, we'll be using Levi's stories about ending up in Bahrain without a passport, and his experience with ship overboard procedures on the USS Roosevelt (the same ship with the command and coronavirus controversy) to discuss some of the darker incidents and people we've encountered while in the service.   

The way I see it, we deal with culture shock in two different ways: either with resistance or with adaption. Given the diverse population of the military, culture shock happens frequently. Interestingly, there were many people that I disliked in the military that I eventually came to appreciate after deployment. I often wonder what was the mechanism that allowed that to happen? I reached out to Stuart Campbell for this episode, and he describes his own cultural clash. 

Robert Balise was my guide when I did a tour of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. He had a presence to him and was a great storyteller. Once I heard that he was a vet, I knew I wanted to bring him on. In this episode, he talks about his life as a Cav Scout, the first time he was exposed to combat, and how that experience mentally changed him. Check out Rob's blog at http://greymatterguano.blog

Hello Everyone, welcome to the In Theater Podcast.   In each episode of this podcast, we'll be chatting with a new veteran, learning who they are, and then hearing a few deployment stories from them.   I'm Ryan Fadden — a full-time consultant, army veteran, and audio engineer. I was an infantryman from 2010 until 2013, with a 2011 deployment to Afghanistan. I have an endless amount of hilarious, sad, and intense experiences from when I was deployed, which is what inspired me to create this podcast.   I mean, just take a step back and think of the deployment scenario:   Everybody has guns  You are so physically close to your team that you're constantly hearing, smelling, and/or seeing them perform their bodily functions and/or bodily urges  You're so emotionally close to your team that you're constantly discussing things that are private or taboo, like porn, drug use, legal issues Your entire mission relies upon effectively collaborating with a strange group of people that speak a different language than you, act different than you, look different than you, worship a different god than you The US military itself is an extremely geographically, socio-economically, culturally, and racially diverse organization, and your interactions with your own team, at least initially, can be as peculiar as your interactions with the local populace Death and serious injury is a major daily consideration  Often times you're bored as fuck Performing hygiene is difficult   This list goes on for as to why deployments are riddled with great stories.    Hearing other veterans' deployment stories makes me nostalgic and gives me pride. I'm utilizing this podcast to engage and network with the veteran community while also informing the public of the intense and mundane situations that happen while in a theater of combat. I hope this podcast allows others to appreciate these experiences as much as I do.