Urban Valor: the podcast - Urban Valor

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Marines Endure Fierce Combat After Seizing Taliban Stronghold Jun 27, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Marine veteran Nivardo Gonzalez.
Nivardo grew up in Long Beach, CA. He wasn’t interested in college, so he enlisted in the Marine Corp as an Infantry Rifleman. Nivardo conducted two combat deployments during his enlistment.
During one of those deployments, he and his unit were met with intense combat after occupying a Taliban stronghold known as the “Green House.”
Nivardo leaves us with how his experience in the military changed his life and what he’s doing to keep a healthy mental state of mind.
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#military #veteran #urbanvalor #combat #combatveteran

Army Ranger Veteran Brings Us Inside Pat Tillman’s Death & Cover Up Jun 19, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Army Ranger veteran Brad Jacobson. Brad grew up in Washington State as a Mormon. Once he stopped attending church, his mom kicked him out of the house. While homeless, Brad enlisted in the Army to change his situation and became an Army Ranger. He would conduct multiple combat deployments. One of which involved the death and cover-up of former NFL player and Army Ranger, Pat Tillman. Brad takes us inside what occurred on that tragic day and leaves us with how it affected his mental health upon transitioning back into civilian life.
Pat Tillman was a former NFL player who gave up his career to enlist in the U.S. Army after the September 11 attacks. He was killed by friendly fire on April 22, 2004, while serving in Afghanistan.
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#army #veteran #urbanvalor #combatveteran #armyranger #pattillman

From the Frontlines: Combat Marine Recounts Iraq Invasion 2003 Jun 12, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Marine veteran, Roland Vandenberg. Roland was born in Inglewood, CA and grew up in the desert of Lake Los Angeles. He came up in the party crew scene of the 90’s and was kicked out of multiple high schools. Roland made his way into the Marine Corps and ended up on the frontlines during the Invasion of Iraq in March 2003. He would go on to conduct multiple deployments and had to medically retire due to an injury he sustained while in service. Roland is now the Co-Founder of Romeo Echo USA.
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Air Force Load Master Endures Prisoner Of War Training Jun 05, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Navy and Air Force veteran Gary Mathieson. Gary was born on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where his father was flying B-52s as a Bombardier Navigator. Growing up around pilots his entire life inspired him to enlist in the military, and when the Gulf War began, Gary felt the need to serve. Gary’s job required him to be prepared to survive being captured, which entailed him partaking in strenuous training and overcoming his fear of claustrophobia and heights. Navigating the military lifestyle placed hardships on Gary and his family. On top of that, the superintendent for a school district he was teaching at did not support his military service, which created financial stress on his family.
Thank you so much for your service Gary! We appreciate you!
#Airforce #veteran #urbanvalor #military #foxnews #cnn

Army Veteran Faced 15 Years In Prison After Seeking Help From VA May 30, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Army veteran Travis Story. Travis grew up in Villa Park, CA. He was the youngest of five boys. His father’s rule for the boys was they had to leave the house at the age of 18, which was part of Travis’ inspiration for joining the Army. He enlisted as a Black Hawk Helicopter Mechanic and got married while on active duty. As Travis’ marriage fell apart, so did his mental health. He attempted to get help while on active duty to no avail. His actions, due to his frustration for the lack of help, got him demoted from E-5 to E-3. Upon transitioning, Travis’ mental health continued to spiral. He got arrested at the VA while trying to get help and found himself facing a 15-year prison sentence.
Military mental health and veteran mental health continue to be a consistent and repetitive story on Urban Valor, whether it's combat veterans with PTSD or other forms of mental illness.
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#military #veteran #urbanvalor #army

Army Combat Veteran Punished After Reporting Hazing May 22, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Army veteran Luke Simianer. Luke was born in Nebraska, then moved to Virginia, and grew up in Section 8 housing.
The 9/11 attacks inspired him to enlist in the Army. Luke was only 17 when he went through Army Airborne school. He did a combat deployment to Afghanistan, where he had quite the experience with snipers, hard drives, and donkeys, to say the least.
Luke was reprimanded by his command after making an anonymous video about being hazed. After working several blue-collar jobs upon transitioning, Luke founded “Clusiv,” the world’s first e-learning platform for the blind.

2X Purple Heart Marine Punished After Severe Brain Trauma May 16, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Marine veteran Keene Sherburne. Keene grew up in California’s high desert. His Vietnam veteran father was a “prepper”, which led to law enforcement conducting 19 searches on their home. After Keene’s parents went to jail, he was forced to fend for himself at the age of 15. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and became an infantry machine gunner. While in Iraq, Keene was blown up twice and received two purple hearts. Due to his severe brain trauma, he was forced to medically retire. As Keene was being processed, he was punished for a ridiculous incident, considering everything he had just been through. He now finds peace as a yoga instructor but says every day is still a struggle.
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Marine Veteran’s Depression Leads To Attempted "Suicide By Cop" May 08, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Marine veteran Joel Ramirez. He grew up in Salem, Oregon, and found himself getting into many fights. Joel enlisted into the National Guard; however, his older brother was enlisted in the Marines and forced Joel to retract his enlistment so he could also go to the Marines. He enlisted into the Marine Corps as an 0311 Rifleman. Joel had a rough time as a new Marine and endured a lot of hazing. He had the opportunity to experience many different cultures overseas. Upon transitioning out, Joel found himself depressed and attempted suicide by cop. Eventually, he pulled himself out of the darkness and began attending paralegal school to be able to help veterans through what he’s experienced.

Soldier’s Quest To Understand Navy Son’s Tragic Death May 01, 2023

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This week’s Urban Valor episode features Army Sergeant First Class, Umar
Arrastia. As of this interview, he’s served 23 years in the National Guard with the last 13 years being on active duty. Umar talks about his experience in the Army and being overseas in combat, however, he wanted to speak mostly about his late son, Jibreel Arrastia, who passed away in 2020 while enlisted in the Navy. Umar was out celebrating the completion of a course he attended for the Army when he received a phone call from his wife telling him Jibreel had taken his life.
This tragic incident left Umar seeking answers to what drove his son into such a dark place with no clear signs of him being in distress.
Veteran suicide is of course a very important and serious topic and one that is of course, very difficult to discuss. If you are someone you know is suffering from veteran PTSD, mental health, depression, or self-harming thoughts, please seek help. There's no shame in asking for help, it's the most courageous thing you can possibly do in a moment of need.
Military PTSD is very real and affects far more veterans than people realize.
Please reach out to us at team@urbanvalor.com if you need someone to talk to, and just want to get things off your chest privately. We are here for you.
We are honored to have sat down with Army Sergeant First Class, Umar Arrastia, thank you, brother!
#veteran #military #urbanvalor #army #navy #veteransuicide #veteranptsd
#foxnews #cnn #militarylife

Marine Turns Childhood Trauma To Thriving Military Skateboard Community 🛹 Apr 24, 2023

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Welcome to this week's episode of Urban Valor, featuring Marine veteran Zach Sales. Despite enduring a traumatic upbringing and frequently moving from place to place, Zach was inspired by his Marine infantry veteran father to enlist in the military. He served in the US Marine Corps from 2009 to 2017 and now runs a thriving military skateboard community that helps other veterans cope with their trauma through skateboarding.

In this inspiring podcast episode, Sales shares his journey of turning his traumatic childhood experiences into a community of support and healing for fellow veterans. His story is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of community.

Join us in this episode to hear Zach's incredible journey and how he is using skateboarding to help other veterans cope with their trauma. If you have questions for Zach, please comment below, and make sure to subscribe to Urban Valor on your favorite podcast platform to never miss a weekly episode.

Don't miss this episode highlighting the incredible courage and resilience of our nation's military members. Subscribe to Urban Valor today.

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