EP37: Veteran Tim Leavitt on Combat, TBI, Brotherhood, and Finding Purpose After War

Veteran Tim Leavitt describes joining the Army National Guard at 17 while in foster care, deploying to Iraq at 18 as artillery, leaving in 2008, then reenlisting in 2009 as a combat engineer and completing two Afghanistan route-clearance deployments. He recounts the realities of combat versus movies, including difficulty seeing shooters, and details a Kunar Province 360 ambush where radio intercepts warned of an attack, RPGs disabled his vehicle, his squad leader was badly wounded, and an RPG blast injured Leavitt with shrapnel and contributed to a TBI; he later suffered another blast and head injury when overrun. He discusses hospital recovery, being pushed toward separation, loss of military brotherhood, struggles transitioning to college, ongoing recovery and coping, and finding purpose through Ironman races, the Baja 1000, and delivering vetted humanitarian aid to Ukrainian villages.00:00 RPG Ambush Flashback00:30 Joining at Seventeen02:55 First Iraq Deployment Reality04:23 Leaving and Reenlisting06:19 Route Clearance Mindset14:23 Combat Myths vs Reality17:12 Kunar Valley Injury22:14 TBI and Recovery25:56 Volunteering to Return30:09 Final Deployment Fallout32:29 Ironman After War34:10 Learning to Swim for Ironman35:00 Half Ironman Surprise36:26 Baja 1000 Inspiration37:12 First Trip to Ukraine39:14 Aid Runs with Andre42:14 War’s Other Side47:29 What Recovery Means52:38 Losing the Brotherhood55:34 Almost Going AWOL59:10 Finding Purpose After Service01:05:12 Advice for Lonely Veterans01:06:59 Ongoing Work and Family01:08:00 Purpose Through Fatherhood01:09:32 Protective Instincts Kick In01:11:50 Boundaries Build Safe Kids01:13:56 Letting Kids Own Choices01:17:37 Coping With Bad Days01:21:02 Anxiety Story Served Papers01:23:49 Living With TBI Changes01:28:36 Lessons I Wish I Knew01:32:30 Who Tim Is Now01:37:27 Adventure Mindset Reframed01:39:25 Closing Thanks And FarewellCheck out Irene Cares on other platforms:- Irenegpt.ai- Instagram- TikTok- Youtube