Drive On: Helping Veterans Navigate PTSD & Life After Military Service

Scott DeLuzio
  • 5.0 (93)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Are you a veteran struggling with PTSD, combat stress, or adjusting to civilian life? Tired of feeling isolated and unsure where to turn for support? You deserve solutions from mental health experts, veteran nonprofits, and fellow veterans who truly understand what you're facing. Each week, host Scott DeLuzio, an Army veteran and Gold Star Brother, shares interviews and practical steps to help you regain purpose, rebuild confidence, and thrive after military service. Find hope and take the next step forward.

  1. 16h ago

    Perspectives on Afghanistan's Outcome

    Twenty years of war left many veterans with a range of reactions, including frustration, uncertainty, and unresolved questions. Retired Army officer Paul Darling offers his perspective based on a 27-year career, a 2009 deployment to Afghanistan, work at the Pentagon, and his book Taliban Safari. He discusses how decisions are made about equipment, how budgets are managed, and why accountability at senior levels is often debated. The conversation covers topics such as the Stryker, F-35, A-10, and close air support, as well as Pakistan's role in Afghanistan, the collapse of Afghan forces, and the broader impact on those who served. Paul also talks about his involvement with War 102, the Tennessee State Guard, and Real Plastic Heroes as ways to stay engaged after retirement. Listeners will hear one perspective on how institutional incentives may influence outcomes, why reflection after conflict can be complex, and how veterans can explore different paths through service, education, and community. Timestamps: 00:05:02 - Reflections on Afghanistan's outcome 00:07:54 - Adjusting after combat experience 00:25:15 - Debates around senior-level accountability 00:38:14 - The final withdrawal and leadership decisions 00:45:47 - State guard involvement after service Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://war102.buzzsprout.com Follow Paul Darling on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-darling-aa06231bb/

  2. Aug 18

    Psychedelic Healing for Veteran Depression

    Broken after a career of service and out of answers, a retired Air Force officer stepped onto a path he never expected. Benjamin Forest shares the road from military success to treatment-resistant depression, a Veterans Day crisis, and a healing mission that forced him to face what years of service, family pressure, and survival mode had pushed deep inside. This episode speaks directly to veterans who have gone through therapy, tried medication, stayed busy, kept working, and still feel cut off from joy, connection, or purpose. Benjamin brings insight to the numbness many veterans know too well, including what he calls "emotional constipation", and he explains why the same ability to shut down fear in uniform can become toxic when it turns into a way of life. Listeners will come away with a grounded look at psychedelic medicine, the difference between healing and escaping, and the serious safety, legal, and medical considerations that need to come first. The episode also offers a practical path for veterans who are not ready for psychedelics, built around self-priority, connection, and making healing the mission long enough to show up better at home, at work, and in life. Timestamps: 00:02:36 - From the Pentagon to plant medicine 00:06:42 - Emotional constipation finally breaks open 00:12:40 - Medicine versus numbing out 00:26:38 - Safety, legal, and medical guardrails 00:40:36 - Making healing the mission Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://www.benjaminforest.com/ Follow Benjamin Forest on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.forest.1 Follow Benjamin Forest on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjamin.forest.bliss/ Follow Benjamin Forest on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-forest/

  3. Aug 11

    Dave Berke On Leadership After Service

    A fighter pilot's mindset meets the hard reality of life after the military. Dave Berke spent 23 years in the Marine Corps, flew fighters, taught at Top Gun, and now helps leaders through Echelon Front. His message hits especially hard for veterans trying to rebuild their sense of purpose, communicate better at work, stay present at home, and stop letting past failures define the next chapter. This conversation goes straight to the parts of transition that many veterans quietly wrestle with. The loss of a clear mission. The pull to go it alone. The habit of bringing military communication into civilian spaces, where it does not always land. The pressure of trying to lead at work while still being the husband, father, and friend your family needs. Dave breaks down how preparation, humility, ownership, detachment, and belief in your work can change the way you operate in every area of life. The real value here is practical. You will learn how to slow down when emotions run high, how to learn from failure without beating yourself up, how to find purpose beyond a paycheck, and how to lead in a way that strengthens the people around you. Timestamps: 00:04:06 - Top Gun lessons that still matter today 00:10:42 - The transition mistake that drains purpose 00:15:44 - Turning failure into usable direction 00:22:02 - Staying calm before pressure takes over 00:40:58 - Finding a mission after the military Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://echelonfront.com/instructors/dave-berke/ Follow Dave Berke on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrberke/ Follow Dave Berke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrberke/

    Dave Berke On Leadership After Service

  4. Aug 4

    Reset Your Brain Rebuild Your Circle

    Getting out of the military can leave a man with skills, drive, and discipline, while still feeling disconnected from everyone around him. This conversation cuts straight into that gap. Jason McNamara shares how a rough start, Navy service, veteran employment work, sales success, family pressure, and financial choices led him to build the No More 9 to 5 Club and Foundation. This episode is for the veteran who has ideas but no clear next step, who misses having the right people around him, or who knows he needs help but hates feeling like he has to ask for it. You will hear a grounded conversation about using military lessons in civilian life, protecting your circle, building real mentorship, and taking simple action when your head is crowded with old memories or new stress. The biggest takeaway is practical: write down what is good, spend time with better people, ask for help before life gets heavier, and remember that your service skills still matter. The conversation also covers veteran-focused resources, Mind Trainer Pro, free support options, entrepreneurship, and the kind of community that helps people move from stuck to steady. Timestamps: 00:01:27 - Choosing respect over old surroundings 00:04:12 - Leaving record-breaking sales for family 00:08:22 - Free veteran resources and real community 00:12:08 - From shower tears to coaching football 00:26:04 - The pen and paper reset Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 No More 9 to 5 Club Website: https://www.thenomore9to5club.org/ MindTrainer Pro Website: https://mindtrainer-pro.com Follow Jason McNamara on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNoMore9to5Club Follow Jason McNamara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomore9to5club/ Follow Jason McNamara on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenomore9to5club Follow Jason McNamara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-no-more-9-to-5-club/

    Reset Your Brain Rebuild Your Circle

  5. Jul 28

    Veteran Stories That Break Isolation

    Taking off the uniform can leave a man wondering where he fits next. The rank is gone. The built-in mission is gone. The people around you may respect that you served, but they do not always understand what that service cost or why civilian life can feel so strange afterward. John Smith knows that feeling. After 20 years in the Marine Corps, retiring as a Master Sergeant, he had to face one of the hardest parts of transition: figuring out who he was without the uniform doing the talking for him. In this conversation, John opens up about identity after service, faith, family, divorce, deployments, pride, purpose, and learning how to ask for help instead of carrying everything alone. This episode also gets into why veteran stories matter. Through his podcast, The Unsung Veteran, John gives other veterans a place to talk about more than their MOS, rank, or years served. He wants to understand the person behind the service, including the struggles they still carry today. That includes PTSD, TBI, addiction, failed businesses, transition problems, VA struggles, and the search for meaning after the military. For any veteran who misses the camaraderie, feels disconnected from civilian life, or is trying to rebuild their sense of purpose around faith, family, and service, this conversation offers a reminder that the uniform may come off, but the mission can continue in a new way. And because no veteran conversation is complete without some humor, John closes with the call sign story he rarely tells and a nickname that followed him longer than he wanted. Timestamps: 00:04:08 - Why a fourth-generation Marine finally joined 00:12:29 - The hardest part of taking off the uniform 00:18:25 - Building a podcast around the person behind the veteran 00:27:59 - How veteran conversations helped him process old wounds 00:39:15 - The call sign story he rarely tells Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://www.theunsungveteran.com/

    Veteran Stories That Break Isolation

  6. Jul 21

    Veterans Flush Your Stash Find Purpose

    Addiction does not always arrive as a dramatic collapse. Sometimes it slips in through grief, depression, isolation, trauma, old friends, or the belief that one more time will not matter. For veterans carrying PTSD, transition stress, and family pressure, that danger can hit even harder. Marine Corps veteran Adan Castaneda shares a direct conversation about fentanyl awareness, sobriety, mental health, and rebuilding a life with discipline. He talks about his own struggles with PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction, and recovery, then lays out the tools he believes can help others protect their families and reclaim direction. The conversation covers cutting off drug contacts, changing daily habits, using fitness and nutrition to rebuild discipline, finding a fire team, using chess as a decision-making tool, and choosing purpose before destructive comfort. This is a hard-hitting episode for veterans, families, and anyone who needs a reminder that sobriety is a life-and-death fight, but it is also a path back to purpose, connection, and responsibility. Timestamps: 04:54 - Mental illness & addiction can feed each other 07:02 - The 2500 bucket list 15:32 - Flush your stash and cut contacts 17:47 - Become the guardian angel your family can count on 29:02 - 4 habits to help veterans stay alive Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://therecoveryprotocol.org/ Follow Adan Castaneda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adancastaneda/ Recovery.com: https://recovery.com You're My Strong Tower: https://youremystrongtower.com Chess.com: https://chess.com

    Veterans Flush Your Stash Find Purpose

  7. Jul 14

    Navy Veteran Finds Healing Through Comedy

    There's often pain behind the person who makes everyone laugh. TK Moyer shares what it was like to be separated from his family as a child, how he turned to humor when honesty felt risky, and how the Navy helped him find confidence and a new outlook. This conversation touches on something many veterans understand: the weight carried before service, the weight from service itself, and the challenge of holding it all in without burdening others. TK uses humor, poetry, and a belief in human connection, and he's learned that asking for help is an act of trust. He also talks about how his book, Survivor's Guilt: A Memoir In Verse, came from facing and writing through the hardest parts of his life, turning them into something meaningful. You'll hear how comedy can help people connect, how focusing on your breath can bring you back to the present, and why simply being there for someone can matter more than having the right words. Timestamps: 00:05:32 - The ten-minute poem 00:17:31 - When laughter became a way to survive 00:29:55 - How the memoir in verse took shape 00:32:30 - The breath that brought him back 00:37:53 - Why reaching out is never a burden Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Follow TK Moyer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tKeithm Follow TK Moyer on Instagram: https://instagram.com/tkmoyer88 Follow TK Moyer on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/tkmoyer88

    Navy Veteran Finds Healing Through Comedy

  8. Jul 7

    Veteran Food Assistance With Dignity

    Many military and veteran families are facing tough times. Groceries are more expensive, paychecks do not go as far, and reaching out for help can feel discouraging. This conversation addresses those challenges and offers hope for a better path. Vicki Sarracino, Vice President of Programs at Soldiers' Angels, explains how the group supports service members, veterans, and their families. They provide food distributions, food pantries, help at VA hospitals, hygiene kits, transportation, housing welcome kits, care packages for those deployed, and more. The main focus is dignity. Veterans are treated as individuals, not just numbers. They are recognized, valued, and supported by people who truly care. You will learn why even active duty families sometimes struggle with food insecurity, and how leaving military life can lead to isolation. Taking the first step to ask for help can lead to community, stability, and a new sense of purpose. There is also a real need for volunteers, businesses, and local communities to get involved, because their help makes a difference right away. Timestamps: 00:02:54 - Why Soldiers' Angels shifted to food first 00:06:55 - Veterans choosing between groceries, rent, medication, and gas 00:13:46 - The hidden struggle of military transition 00:21:47 - The veteran who came for food and found a connection 00:34:42 - Why asking for support is a strength Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://www.soldiersangels.org Follow Soldiers Angels on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoldiersAngelsOfficial Follow Soldiers Angels on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soldiersangelsofficial/ Follow Soldiers Angels on Twitter/X: https://x.com/soldiersangels Follow Soldiers Angels on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SoldiersAngelsOfficial Follow Soldiers Angels on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/soldiersangels Follow Vicki Sarracino on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-sarracino-3333671b7/ HUD VASH VA Homeless Programs: https://department.va.gov/homeless/hud-vash

    Veteran Food Assistance With Dignity
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About

Are you a veteran struggling with PTSD, combat stress, or adjusting to civilian life? Tired of feeling isolated and unsure where to turn for support? You deserve solutions from mental health experts, veteran nonprofits, and fellow veterans who truly understand what you're facing. Each week, host Scott DeLuzio, an Army veteran and Gold Star Brother, shares interviews and practical steps to help you regain purpose, rebuild confidence, and thrive after military service. Find hope and take the next step forward.

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