Pain meds after surgery were supposed to help her heal, not take over her life. Years of prescriptions following a C-section, miscarriages, and unresolved childhood sexual trauma quietly turned into addiction, shame, and a double life that looked perfect on the outside while crumbling on the inside. When everything finally imploded, Shannon said yes to help, went to The Meadows in Arizona, and started the hard work of sobriety, inner child healing, and facing what she had been trying to numb for years.

In this conversation, Shannon talks with Scott about why addiction is a symptom, not an identity, and why shame and silence keep so many vets stuck. She shares how she supports veterans, including her own partner, who survived a suicide attempt, by creating judgment-free spaces, normalizing dark thoughts, and asking the real question: why would dying feel easier than speaking up. From powerful inner child work and self-forgiveness to psychedelic-assisted healing with iboga at Ayo Life Sciences in Mexico, Shannon explains how some veterans are reducing PTSD, TBI symptoms, and pill loads while rebuilding a new sense of purpose after the uniform. They close with simple daily practices like gratitude lists, reframing painful experiences, and finding new missions through retreats and coaching that help vets move from fight-or-flight into a life that actually feels worth staying in.

Timestamps:

• 00:01:35 - When Shannon's perfect life implodes, and she finally says yes to help
• 00:06:02 - Miscarriages, childhood trauma, and how prescriptions became her coping strategy
• 00:08:20 - Addiction as a symptom and why she refuses to shame anyone for using it to cope
• 00:26:35 - Inner child work, protecting the little boy who never felt safe, and why vets struggle to see themselves as worthy of love
• 00:31:18 - Iboga plant medicine in Mexico, massive shifts for PTSD and TBI, and why preparation and safety matter so much

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Website: https://www.angelgoddesshealing.com
• Follow Shannon Curtis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angel.goddess.healing
• Follow Shannon Curtis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelgoddesshealing

View the transcript for this episode.

Coming home was supposed to be the safe part. For the 1st Battalion 17th Infantry, it did not work out that way. They lost 22 soldiers during their 2009 to 2010 Afghanistan deployment, then as many more after returning home. At one funeral, a soldier finally said what many were thinking: "When is someone going to do something about this?" That question pushed former platoon leader Adam Swift to start searching for an answer in the middle of the night, which led him to The Independence Fund and its unit retreat program, Operation Resilience.

Scott sits down with Adam and Independence Fund Deputy Chief of Operations Steven Rozina to hear how Operation Resilience brings entire units back together for a long weekend. Flights are covered, the veteran pays nothing, and the schedule blends fun sober events like NASCAR and hockey with long, guided clinical sessions. Units literally map out their deployment, from pre-mob through the worst days downrange and into life back home, finally talking through firefights, IED blasts, and moral injuries they have carried alone for years.

Adam shares what it was like to watch brothers he had not seen in 15 years walk out of the hotel elevators, and how The Independence Fund quietly recreated the teepee memorial from their FOB so the unit could honor their fallen around a final-night bonfire. You will also hear exactly how to get your own unit considered for Operation Resilience and why you do not need to be in command to step up and start the process.

Timestamps:

• 00:03:30: The suicide funeral that sparked Operation Resilience and a hard decision to say no more
• 00:09:30: Adam realizes being home feels more dangerous than Afghanistan after losing 22 more brothers
• 00:15:15: Inside the marathon clinical session, where the unit spends eight hours walking through their deployment
• 00:17:45: Elevators open, brothers step out, and a battalion reconnects after 15 years apart
• 00:49:15: Scott's challenge to listeners to be the one who steps up and brings their unit to Operation Resilience

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• The Independence Fund Website: https://independencefund.org/
• Operation Resilience: https://independencefund.org/pages/operation-resiliency
• Follow The Independence Fund on X: https://twitter.com/indyfund
• Follow The Independence Fund on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependenceFund/
• Follow The Independence Fund on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independencefund/
• Follow The Independence Fund on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-independence-fund/
• Follow The Independence Fund on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUrXtHO1C7HiGNSoOfWlqwg
• Follow Adam Swift on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-swift-281a688b/
• Follow Adam Swift on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.swift.940
• 17th Infantry Association: https://www.17thinfantry.org/

Marine combat leader and entrepreneur Rich Brown shares how TBI ended his time in uniform, pushed him into building Honor Bound FIT, and led to GUIDON22, a 22-mile ruck that pairs hard miles with stories of veterans and first responders lost to suicide. You will hear how those stories, family testimonies, and simple phrases like "good friends have hard conversations" give vets a way to move, talk, and stop passing their pain to the people they love.

Timestamps:

• 02:30: From Marine infantry and TBI to unexpected entrepreneurship
• 08:45: Launching Honor Bound FIT in a parking lot on Memorial Day
• 13:10: How GUIDON22 turns rucks and stories into suicide awareness
• 21:20: Passing on your pain vs letting your tribe carry it with you
• 33:40: Creative ruck events, community impact, and how to get involved

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Website: https://www.HonorBoundFIT.com
• Follow Rich Brown on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsRichBrown
• Follow Rich Brown on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisrichbrown
• Follow Rich Brown on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/@sheepdogalpha1
• Follow Rich Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheepdogalpha/

View the transcript for this episode.

Warrior Haven USA offers veterans a different path after service: valuable skills, work experience, and a solid income without being pushed into college and a cubicle. Retired Navy SEAL and CEO Marty Strong explains how he joined his Marine Recon friend on a Florida horse farm to build a program that blends a virtual business academy, woodworking and metal shops, a culinary track, and partnerships with equine therapy and service dog groups.

Through short experiences, multi-week courses, and full apprenticeships, vets learn in-demand trades, challenge the myth that only degrees lead to success, practice humility, and approach transition like serious training, gaining purpose, confidence, and a new mission.

Timestamps:

• 03:45 Challenging the college-only version of the American dream
• 07:27 Inside Warrior Haven USA and life on the horse farm
• 17:00 Three levels from therapy day to paid apprenticeship
• 30:05 Building the Harry Sargent Veterans Vocational Center
• 37:10 Tough love on humility, offices, and starting at the bottom again

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Warriors Haven USA Website: https://www.warriorshavenusa.com
• Follow Warriors Haven USA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarriorsHavenUSA/
• Follow Warriors Haven USA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warriorshavenusa/
• Follow Warriors Haven USA on Twitter/X: https://x.com/warriorshavenus
• Other links: https://www.martystrong.com

View the transcript for this episode.

This Christmas episode slows things down for a moment and acknowledges how the season can affect everyone differently.

Scott shares a straightforward holiday message and introduces a new chatbot on the Drive On website that can help you find support without digging through years of episodes. Whether you are dealing with stress, old injuries, sleep issues, or trouble staying connected at home, the chatbot can point you toward conversations that may help. You will also hear how to submit topics or share your own story if you want to be part of a future episode.

Scott also talks about the return to a weekly Tuesday release schedule starting in January 2026. This shift keeps the show strong without piling on a workload that would burn it out.

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Visit https://DriveOnPodcast.com to use the chatbot

View the transcript for this episode.

Army combat medic veteran Adam Fluegel talks about answering the call for medics after 9/11, running patrols during the first Iraqi elections, losing a brother-in-arms in his first real trauma case, and coming home with no decompression. To hold it together, he leaned on alcohol, hydrocodone, and Adderall, which fueled anxiety, insomnia, paranoia, and eventually a stay in a psychiatric ward.

He then walks through the night, he took his pistol from the safe, and almost ended his life before the thought of his daughters pulled him back. That choice started him on the path of PTSD recovery through journaling, facing memories from Iraq, and using medication as a tool instead of a crutch. Adam and Scott dig into veteran mental health, suicide prevention, therapy dogs and service animals, and the damage of pretending to be fine at work, then pivot to Operation Overwatch, a veteran nonprofit and app that connects vets and veteran nonprofits for community, PTSD support, fly-fishing and skydiving groups, GI Bill-backed scuba therapy, and more.

Timestamps:

• 00:04:45: From Baghdad streets to a calm warehouse floor
• 00:13:25: The first IED and losing a brother in his care
• 00:24:30: Adderall, burnout, and a life spinning out of control
• 00:31:30: Pistol in hand and the thought that saved him
• 00:40:04: Operation Overwatch and a new way to find your people

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Follow Adam Fluegel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A3KitAG2b/
• Follow Adam Fluegel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluegeladam
• Follow Adam Fluegel on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/adam-fluegel-b14793150

View the transcript for this episode.

The climb out of the lowest moments isn't clean or quick, and this conversation holds nothing back. A young airman who sprinted out of a rough home life, Brandon Held built a future through grit, service, and education. Then life took the legs out from under him. Losing his marriage. Losing daily life with his kids. Losing his career. Losing his footing. One night, he downed a bottle of sleeping pills and waited for the silence. Someone found him in time. That one act gave him a second chance he didn't think he deserved.

Brandon opens up about how he rebuilt his mind, confidence, habits, and purpose. He talks through the years of suicidal ideation, how old patterns nearly destroyed him, and the moment he drew a line and chose to fight his way back.

Timestamps:

• 13:45: The first time suicide crossed his mind
• 16:30: The night he tried to end everything
• 21:00: Learning how to rebuild his mindset from scratch
• 33:45: Surviving every bad day and seeing the shift
• 47:45: His final message for anyone stuck in a dark season

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Website: https://www.brandonheld.com/
• Follow Brandon Held on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bh_life_is_crazy/
• Follow Brandon Held on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-l-held-m-b-a-lifeiscrazy/

View the transcript for this episode.

A lot of vets say music is the only thing that still makes sense, and for Tony Kessel, that idea runs deep. He built a 366-song playlist of his life, wrote the story tied to each track, and found himself looking at a full account of growing up in a foster home, serving in the Army National Guard, and working through suicidal thoughts. With more than two decades in uniform, he talks about being raised by a Vietnam veteran NCO, commissioning as an officer, and learning to lead while valuing the experience that NCOs bring. Music runs through all of it, from Garth Brooks and old country to heavy metal and the tracks that shaped the post-9/11 years. Our conversation covers how music served as both a coping tool and a warning sign, why non-combat deployments can still weigh on you, and how suicide intervention training pushed him to speak openly about his lowest points. We get into the shock of coming home from Kuwait or Afghanistan almost overnight, the support he has offered other vets, and why simply sitting with someone who is struggling matters. Tony also shares how he is using his home studio and writing to reach people who think they are carrying their pain alone.

Timestamps

• 00:06:30 Tony's wide musical background and how different genres shaped his life.
• 00:09:45 The late-night drive after drill that sparked the 366 song playlist.
• 00:18:30 Using music to cope, the risks of relying on it to numb pain, and the moment he knew he had to face things directly.
• 00:26:30 Suicide intervention training, opening up about suicide attempts, and why sharing his story matters.
• 00:31:30 Returning home too fast after deployment and how that sudden shift affects veterans.

• Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
• Website: https://dualistmedia.com
• Follow Tony Kessel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dualistmedia
• Follow Tony Kessel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dualistmedia
• Follow Tony Kessel on Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/dualistmedia

View the transcript for this episode.