E78: The War after The War with Guest, Col. Fred Johnson

This week, Matt & Alexis sit down with retired Army Colonel, author, TEDx speaker, and now social studies teacher, Fred Johnson. Fred is an Airborne and Ranger qualified infantryman who served 29 years in the United States Army.  He first went to war in 1991 during Desert Storm and participated in the liberation of Kuwait.  In 1996, he participated in Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia, which helped end the Serbian genocide of Bosnian Muslims.  In 2006-2007, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and at the height of the Surge, Fred received the Bronze Star for Valor during Operation Arrowhead Ripper and the liberation of Baqubah from Al Qaeda.  In his last combat deployment, Fred was the advisor to the most senior military officer in the Afghan National Army. Upon his departure from the military, Col. Johnson found himself slipping into a deep sense of depression that led to a nearly attempted suicide. His experience led him to write his book, Five Wars.  Five Wars is a personal account of the psychological impact of combat, moral injury, and the struggle with PTSD. It describes one soldier's journey from the grand adventure of war to coming home where he finds himself on the brink of self-destruction. However, family, friends and mental health professionals enable the healing process where he discovers his place as a healthy member of the community and learns that service to one's nation does not end when the uniform is taken off for the final time.Show Links www.usacares.org FB - @usacaresorg Twitter - @USACares IG - @usacares YouTube - USA Cares YouTube Guest Links Col. Fred Johnson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-johnson-12822786/?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_picFive Wars - http://fivewars.com/index.html  Sponsors Speakeasy Podcast Network - www.speakeasynetwork.com