Blessing in disguise

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, July 31st.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: giving veterans a voice.

The September 11th terrorist attacks led the United States into two wars: Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq less than two years later.

Those wars meant nearly 300,000 troops combined were stationed in those two countries.

REICHARD: Some died in service to their country. Many more returned and lived normal lives.

Yet there’s a third category of post-9/11 veterans: those who came home and found themselves between life and death.

MAST: WORLD Correspondent Jeff Palomino brings us the story of one veteran who has found the best rehabilitation, through the voice of another veteran.

MUSIC: So, welcome to my house, these are my people]

AUDIO: Hey! Welcome to the Big Grizz show. It’s red Friday you guys - remember everybody deployed…

JEFF PALOMINO: What you’re hearing is Military Broadcast Radio and the voice of Jordan Adams—aka Big Grizz.

JORDAN ADAMS: I got the nickname Big Grizz from my size from when I was in the military.

Adams looks exactly like you’d expect. He has a big, brown beard, wears a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. The cap has a military ribbon on it and says “United States Veteran.”

ADAMS: So, I enlisted in the Army in 99. I actually went to basic, I turned 18 in basic.

Adams deployed to Iraq in 2008. On a convoy, a roadside bomb exploded under him. At first, doctors said they’d have to amputate his right leg, but they ended up saving it. Still, the Army wouldn’t let Adams stay with that injury. A year later he was out.

ADAMS: Then July 24 2021, I had two massive strokes, and it took most of my vision.

Adams learned the strokes were caused by a traumatic brain injury - or TBI. He got that from the explosion in Iraq.

ADAMS: And since then, I struggled. I was angry at the world. And I couldn't understand why I couldn't make it through everything I made it through and then this happens and I can't drive and I can't work and I can't support my family. So I was mad.

That year—2021—there were 17.5 suicides per day among veterans. Conditions were right for Adams to join that statistic. He needed help. He’d eventually find it in the power of his own voice, a voice he’d soon learn could also help others and, in the process, bring healing to himself.

JOEL HUNT: I come down here at 4 a.m. every day.

Joel Hunt didn’t know Adams in 2021, but if he did he would have known exactly what Adams was going through. Hunt served in the Army too, around the same time as Adams. Hunt was also hit by a roadside bomb. He gets up early now to post inspirational quotes for veterans.

HUNT: Some of these guys are just like me, and they kind of rely on quotes, they kind of rely on sayings to say to themselves, for them to better themselves.

Hunt also left the Army with a TBI and a host of physical and mental challenges. He struggled as a civilian and saw many veterans doing the same. The insight ignited a mission.

HUNT: When I see somebody die from suicide, doesn't matter if I know them or not, I do, I take it personally. And I'm like, okay, what can I do?

A few years after Hunt left the Army, a family member contacted him for a connection to a few nonprofits that helped veterans. That’s when a light went on.

HUNT: I'm like, wow. So, I thought to myself, I'm like, you know, I heard this thing called podcast.

The format was simple. Link veterans with other veterans and with organizations to help them. Hunt found podcasting reduced his temptation to self medicate. And it did something else.

HUNT: It's helped me because it's getting me to talk. It's getting me to communicate to another person.

Hunt’s not alone. A 2022 Wounded Warrior Project report identified “high social connection” as a key quality of life for wounded veterans. In other words, finding that feeling of brotherhood they had in the military, is critical to a veteran finding peace.

HUNT: You know, when a veteran talks with another veteran and finds out well, you know, at night, I have nightmares, and I like shake myself and I wake up from shake. Yeah, I have that too. Really? And, I don't feel so small. And if I feel that way, then I'm sure other veterans feel that way.

Today, Hunt is the Executive Director of Military Broadcast Radio or MBR. It’s an online station of podcasts hosted by veterans for veterans.

MUSIC: [Oscar Mike Radio intro music]

This is the intro for one called “Oscar Mike Radio.”

AUDIO: Good evening, everyone, happy Tuesday and welcome to the Dog Tag Diva Podcast.

This one’s called “Dog Tag Diva.”

MUSIC: [Tracer Rounds intro music]

And this one, Tracer Rounds.

AUDIO: Hi, welcome to Tracer Rounds, and I'm your host Terry and you're on MBR where veterans are given their voice.

As Adams recovered from two strokes, a voice was exactly what he needed.

ADAMS: The day I went to the hospital, my dad told me that this was a blessing in disguise that there's something more for me to do, and he thinks it's to help vets.

Adams soon started his own podcast on Spotify. It wasn’t long before Hunt contacted him. And today the Big Grizz show airs on MBR. It also streams live on YouTube. Hunt has coached him every step of the way.

ADAMS: He's been in there in the background in my ears, and walking me through like telling me, hey man, you need to watch your time or breathe, you're getting nervous.

Adams’ TBI means he has bad memory issues. This can be a problem, especially on a live podcast. Hunt’s also helped him with this.

ADAMS: I forget to take my break sometimes and I'll forget my ads and stuff, and that's where he comes in, Hey, man, you need to take a break.

Hunt has a calming effect on Adams, and this lets Adams get the most of his guests.

ADAMS: I don't want the person I'm interviewing to see me agitated to get agitated so I got to keep myself calm. And then that allows that person to be more open with me.

Adams has found podcasting lets him get things out he’s held inside for a long time. And it gives him something even deeper.

ADAMS: It means hope. It's such a close thing to me because I've held a pistol to my head and didn't know what was going to happen. And I don't want other vets to do that. So I mean, in essence, it's really hope.

Reporting for the WORLD, I’m Jeff Palomino.

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