I met Sara through the Friday Night Masshole Vets (https://www.facebook.com/MassholeVeterans) Zoom Call. It is where a bunch of the Veterans in the Masshole Region (New England) get together to socialize. It has been a great way to connect and meet other Veterans.
We were all hanging out one night when Sara started talking about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I started asking questions and realized that this wasn’t just talk. Sara wanted to use this experience and time to think. It also became clear that Sara sees a goal as a challenge and goes after it with everything she has.
Just learning about the equipment Sara is going to carry for more than 2200 miles was fascinating. I thought for sure she was going to use military gear to do the hike and found out there are vast differences between what we carried during our service and what is considered good for civilians.
I left the conversation with a sense that Sara is excited to go and be a part of nature. And while she is not wandering, achieving this goal will bring a new perspective on life and what she wants to do.
Thanks for talking with me Sara, I will meet you at the finish.
Thanks to my sponsors Joyce Asack, Mark Holmes and Shaun Schubert for supporting Veterans!
I talked with Marine Corps Veteran Bobbi Smith Taylor. Bobbi is the coordinator for the Irreverent Warrior Chattanooga hike that is taking place Saturday, August 22nd.
Learning about Irreverent Warriors and Bobbi’s journey opened my eyes to how important it is for Veterans as well as all of humanity to stay connected to each other.
It was impressive to hear how Bobbi and her team of volunteers and supporters worked to make the Irreverent Warriors happen with all the challenges of COVID-19.
Just like other cities, I learned things about Chattanooga I didn’t know. Chattanooga is a beautiful city and can’t wait to visit.
This is the first in a series of shows about Irreverent Warriors in Tennessee. The next Irreverent Warriors Hike is in Nashville on September 12th, 2020.
Go to Irreverentwarriors.com to learn more about this growing Veterans Service Organization. Thank you to Andrew, Momma Bear, Stephanie, and Bobbi for making me feel part of the family.
Thanks to my sponsors Joyce Asack, Mark Holmes and Shaun Schubert for supporting Veterans!
Credit – Irreverent Warriors – Nashville – Used by Permission from Andrew Farrer
Andrew Farrer reached out to me on Instagram about coming on Oscar Mike Radio. Come to find out he had met Scott Libby who has been on Oscar Mike Radio and asked if I would talk with him about the Nashville, TN Silkies Hike.
Irreverent Warriors was founded by Captain Donny O’Malley USMC Ret., and Sergeant Ryan Loya in 2015. They believed that humor could heal a person. https://www.irreverentwarriors.com/about/ Read the story about how this organization is using comradeire to prevent Veterans’ suicide.
Andrew went on a couple of hikes and wanted to do one in Nashville. He has been working since January to coordinate the hike in Nashville. Right now he has 150+ hikers signed up. He is working to make the hike a great experience and is already looking for ward to doing on in 2020.
The first part of this podcast, Andrew was candid about his situation and how he got to certain places in his life. In a way, this hike is a way to leave the past behind and turn over a new life.
Listening to Andrew talk, I can tell you that this is the reason to Oscar Mike Radio. Andrew had bad things happen to him and made bad choices, but he is looking stay sober and show other people that you can change your life at anytime if you put in the work. It is a great story, and I can’t wait to meet Andrew one day. He is Oscar Mike.
