Veteranology 025 Pt.2, Duane France

We continue and conclude our interview with retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Duane France, discussing his transition out of the army and into mental health counseling.  In the second half of the interview we dive into:

  • How veterans sometimes hold themselves back by not allowing themselves to make an impact on others’ lives.
  • The cohort of 9/11 veterans, their strengths, and their impact.
  • The irrepressible sense of self tied to being a veteran, and where it fits in among our other ideas of who we are.
  • General Mattis’s mention of “Post-traumatic growth”
  • And much more…

By far though, my favorite portion of part 2 is discussing the importance of finding both meaning and purpose.  These two ideas come together and without one or the other we hamper our feeling of hope.  Duane breaks down the distinction between the two and gives examples of what life is like when you have one, but not the other.

Important Links:

Headspace and Timing Blog

The Family Care Center in Colorado Springs

Veteranology 025, Pt.1 – Duane France

In episode 25 I’m joined in the studio by Duane France, a retired Sgt. 1st Class who has built a career as a mental health professional after leaving the Army.  Duane has continued to serve the veteran community in a myriad of ways.  He’s currently a mental health professional working at a private practice in Colorado Springs.  Second, he’s the Director of Veteran Services at The Family Care Center where he specializes in caring for veterans and their families.  Third, he manages a program that provides counseling to his local veteran court.  Finally, he writes the Headspace and Timing blog featured on VeteranMentalHealth.com.

In part 1, Duane and I discuss is time in service and how that experience pushed him towards a career in mental health counseling, while touching on the following topics:

  • The challenges that a serviceman can face when joining the military during wartime and how that can affect the course of their career and their perspective of what it means to serve, especially as their branch transitions to “peace-time” service.
  • How the constant high-speed training and deployment schedule can affect a transitioning veteran leaving the military.
  • How much I sucked at garrison life.
  • How we love going 0 to 60, but we’re horrible at going from 60 to 0.
  • The importance of being flexible and open to several possibilities when planning for your future career and lifestyle
  • How your sense of self shifts during the transition into civilian life.

There’s a lot of great storytelling in Part 1 and Part 2.  I hope you enjoy!

Important Links:

Headspace and Timing Blog

The Family Care Center in Colorado Springs

After Action #1 – Redmond Ramos

Redmond Ramos revisits Veteranology to give an update on what he’s accomplished since our last chat during Veteranology #18.  Besides working on a Macy’s athletic wear campaign and booking more motivational speaking gigs, Red landed an opportunity that has me quite jealous.  He is one of the contestants on this season of The Amazing Race.

In this quick 20 minute episode Red shares a bit of what’s going on behind the scenes of the race, his partnership with fellow racer Matt Ladley, and how they used smiling to hide their true thoughts while competing against the other teams.

The 29th season of The Amazing Race launched on CBS March 30th, and new episodes premiere every Thursday at 10/9 central.

The Amazing Race‘s website.

Redmond and Matt’s bio videos for the show.