Service and Beyond Matthew Dank

Stefan and Evelyn Huss tell their story of Stefan's service with the German armed forces and the powerful and beneficial impact that the Invictus Games and sports recovery has had on them and their family.
Stefan Huss is a still serving Sergeant in the Bundeswehr. After his second Afghanistan mission in 2013 he developed post-traumatic stress disorder. His treatment in recovery for this condition including sports therapy which resulted in his becoming fully operational and deployable once again, and Stefan went on to specialise in the delivery of sports recovery for the German Army and since then he has been a champion for mental heath of current and former members of the Germany military. In 2017 Stefan was appointed to the team for the Invictus Games in Toronto, and he was elected Team Captain for the 2018 Games in Sydney. As one of three ambassadors, Stefan is the face of the INVICTUS GAMES DÜSSELDORF 2023.
In this episode we also cover the ongoing discussions within Germany around a national day of recognition for veterans and service personnel, and the place of veterans within German society.
The legacy of Germany's history in the two world wars still feature heavily in public debate, however there are a new generation of German service personnel who believe the time for recognition has come.
This Invictus Games 2023 series charts the journey of current and former Invictus Games athletes from a range of countries covering their military careers, their deployment histories and the injuries they sustained. We talk about their experience of life changing injury, and their remarkable physical and emotional recover through training and competing in adaptive sports and through the Invictus Games.
 
Invictus Games Dusseldorf  https://invictusgames23.de
 
https://www.instagram.com/huss_stefan/
https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org
 

Francine Dudfield served 7 years as an Australian Army medic and trained to support special forces operations, going on to obtaining advanced rescue qualifications with New South Wales emergency services and deploying on operations within the Asia Pacific.
After suffering a series of deteriorating medical conditions Francine was discharged from Army, dealing at the time with chronic pian, family breakup, and the unknown of a forced career transition.
Inspired by Sydney 2018 Invictus Games Francine applied for the Invictus Games, quickly making connections to community sports groups and experiencing a shared sense of belonging and purpose. The Invictus experience has allowed her to recast her experience and perception of her departure from military service, while learning to better manage her physical recovery.  
In this episode we also touch on the fine balance between determination tenacity learned in military service and self compassion and the need to listen to the body when undergoing recovery from complex injuries.
Francine is a member of the 2023 Australian Invictus Games team and is competing in Powerlifting, Rowing and Sitting Volleyball at Dusseldorf.
This Invictus Games 2023 series charts the journey of current and former Invictus Games athletes from a range of countries covering their military careers, their deployment histories and the injuries they sustained. We talk about their experience of life changing injury, and their remarkable physical and emotional recover through training and competing in adaptive sports and through the Invictus Games.
 
https://invictusaustralia.org
https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org
Invictus Games Dusseldorf  https://invictusgames23.de

As an engineer with the Royal Australian Air Force Rachel Kerrigan saw active service with the International Coalition Against Terrorism in 2002, five years later a series of life changing events triggered trauma from her deployment and she was medically discharged. In 2010 she was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered a stress induced stroke. The turning point to recovery was the ever present support from her 8 year old daughter Kiara, who encouraged her to take up adaptive sports and apply for the 2016 Invictus Games.
Rachel has been an Invictus Games competitor, coach, ambassador for the 2018 Sydney Invictus Games and was previously responsible for bringing new veterans into adaptive sports programs in Australia, as a veteran engagement specialist for Invictus Australia. This year she is a special advisor to The Conversation a forum held by the Invictus Games Foundation, which aims so share best practices for the recovery wounded injured and sick service personnel.
Rachel has had a lifetime connection to horses, and today we also tell the story of the role equine therapy played in Rachel overcoming PTSD and learning to rebuild trust.
This Invictus Games 2023 series charts the journey of current and former Invictus Games athletes from a range of countries covering their military careers, their deployment histories and the injuries they sustained. We talk about their experience of life changing injury, and their remarkable physical and emotional recover through training and competing in adaptive sports and through the Invictus Games.
 
https://invictusaustralia.org
https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org
Invictus Games Dusseldorf  https://invictusgames23.de
 
https://montyroberts.com
Equine Encounters Australia:  https://www.equine-encounters-au.com/
Spur Equine Program:  https://rsllifecare.org.au/veterans-services/spur
Remount:  https://remount.org.au/
The Healing: https://thehealing.com.au/ 

Kionte Joined the United States Marine Corps to meet a call for adventure and to go beyond his home town of Compton California. On completing infantry training Kionte saw service in Iraq and later in Afghanistan, where he was struck by an IED blast resulting in the loss of his leg, traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Soon after his repatriation to the US Kionte turned to the track, trying his hand at adaptive sports. He was quickly identified for his talent and potential and within 2 years was competing nationally. Between track training and marathon running, Kionte took to mountain climbing, summiting peaks in Antarctica and Africa to challenge himself further. It was while facing defeat when attempting to climb Mt Vinson in Antarctica that Kionte realised his full potential to overcome any challenge
Kionte's drive to overcome has been channelled into his career and academic studies, and finding ways to go beyond his previous brain injury, he is well on his way to completing two degrees building his dream of becoming a physical therapist. In this episode we also touch on the central role of Kionte's service dog Koja in aiding with his PSTD recovery over the decade following his injury.
Kionte is a member of the 2023 Invictus USA team having first competed in The Hague in 2022.
This Invictus Games 2023 series charts the journey of current and former Invictus Games athletes from a range of countries covering their military careers, their deployment histories and the injuries they sustained. We talk about their experience of life changing injury, and their remarkable physical and emotional recover through training and competing in adaptive sports and through the Invictus Games.
 
https://invictusteamus.com
https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org
Invictus Games Dusseldorf  https://invictusgames23.de
 
https://www.instagram.com/kiontestorey/

David is a former British Army infantry officer who suffered a near fatal wound in a combat exchange in Afghanistan in 2009. Following his injury and after his military career, David has been instrumental in the Invictus Games movement playing key roles in the organising committee of the inaugural games, as UK team captain and as a competitor where he was won 14 medals across 3 games. David's remarkable physical and psychological recovery which saw him embark on a series of mountaineering challenges while recovering from his injury has inspired thousands of wounded injured and sick former service people to take up adaptive sports. David is now the Director for International Development at the Invictus Games Foundation where he is responsible for the growth of the Invictus Games, welcoming new nations into the Invictus family.
This Invictus Games 2023 series charts the journey of current and former Invictus Games athletes from a range of countries covering their military careers, their deployment histories and the injuries they sustained. We talk about their experience of life changing injury, and their remarkable physical and emotional recover through training and competing in adaptive sports and through the Invictus Games.
Invictus Games Dusseldorf  https://invictusgames23.de
We are Invictus online community https://weareinvictus.co.uk/#/welcome
https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org
 
https://twitter.com/wiseshow
https://www.peakstate.org
 
Netflix - Heart of Invictus https://www.netflix.com/title/81443485

How do you approach building credibility in a new professional role, or choosing where to invest time and effort to get ahead?
What is the most important trait to have, to get through setbacks and hurdles when undergoing your career transition?
How to you grow the abilities of your team, while engendering trust and investing in your team's performance not just now but for the future?
We address these questions and more in today's episode with Cliff Morgan, organisational psychologist and director of Lumian Consulting. Cliff commenced his career as an Air Force airfield defence guard, and after retraining as a psychologist Cliff now coaches and develops leaders and leadership teams to realise the benefits of prioritising the development of their people. As founder and director of Lumian Consulting Cliff is particularly passionate about helping leaders become luminaries, people of prominence within their organisations, trusted to navigating growth and develop a pipeline of leaders within their companies.
Cliff is also the author of The Coaching Leader, Essential skills to enhance your leadership and develop your people every day.
You can reach Cliff at:
Lumian.com.au
and
LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/clifford-morgan-946b6077/