The Daily Signal - #367: A Veteran's Powerful Story on Healing After PTSD

Episode Date: January 2, 2019

More and more soldiers are being affected by PTSD--and horrifyingly, 20 veterans die by suicide every day. But Lt. Col. Damon Friedman, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has experienced the struggle of PTSD personally, has a message of hope: there can be healing. He joins us to talk about what worked for him, and the brutal realities soldiers must contend with in the field. We also cover these stories:--President Trump says the shutdown may continue for a "long time."--Incoming Sen. Mitt Romney and President Trump are already exchanging fighting words.--Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, reportedly calls  out her old employer for bias in a forthcoming book.The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, January 3rd. Happy New Year. We're back. I'm Kate Trinco. And I'm Daniel Davis. Our servicemen and women sacrifice for us every day, but their sacrifice often extends well beyond their time in uniform. Damon Friedman is a former Marine, and he's one of so many who returned home from service suffering from PTSD.

Today, he'll join us in studio to talk about how faith helped bring about healing. But first, we'll cover a few of those. the top headlines. On Wednesday, President Trump indicated that the shutdown may not end soon. Could be a long time, or it could be quickly. It could be a long time. It's too important to subject to walk away from. Trump, who also met with congressional leaders Wednesday, is trying to get funding for the wall, which Democrats, who are now in control of the House, are signaling they won't concede on. On Wednesday, the Smithsonian's National Zoo announced they would no longer be open since they had exhausted temporary funding. Well, House Democrats have unveiled a new rules

package ahead of the new Congress. Included in that package is a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and a subcommittee aimed at increasing diversity in the financial services sector. Also included is a provision to allow members of Congress to wear religious headgear on the House floor. But some Democrats are balking at one provision called pay-as-you-go. That provision would require a point of order against any bill that raises the deficit or reduces a surplus. Congresswoman elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York says that that could hamstring legislation on health care and other issues, and she plans to vote no. It's a new Congress in Washington and already incoming Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah,

and President Donald Trump are feuding. Romney wrote in a Washington Post op-ed about Trump that, quote, on balance his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions last month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office and suggested that Trump lacked character. Trump tweeted in response, here we go with Mitt Romney. And he added, would much prefer that Mitt focus on border security and so many other things where he can be helpful. I won big and he didn't. He should be happy for all Republicans, be a team player, and win, end quote. Republican Senator Rand Paul took Trump's side, tweeting, like other big government

Republicans who never liked Reagan, Mitt Romney wants to signal how virtuous he is in comparison to the president. Well, I'm most concerned and pleased with the actual conservative reform agenda, Donald Trump has achieved. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded on Wednesday to the arrest of an American citizen in Russia during what authorities there say was an espion. Nage operation. Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran, was detained by Russian authorities last week on spying charges, but his family says that he had traveled there to attend a wedding.

Secretary of State Pompeo was in Brazil Wednesday giving a press conference when he commented on the matter. We are hopeful within the next hours we will get consular access to see him and get a chance to learn more. We've made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges come to understand what it is he's been accused of. And if the detention is not appropriate, we will demand his immediate return. Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, who was fired in 2014, reportedly calls out her old employer for bias in a forthcoming book. Fox News reports that Abramson writes in Merchants of Truth, referring to New York Times executive

editor, Dean Bekay, though Bekay said publicly, he didn't want the Times to be the opposition party. His news pages were unmistakably anti-Trump. And some headlines contained raw opinion, as did some of the stories that were labeled as news analysis, end quote. Abram some also saw the Washington Post coverage as problematic when it comes to bias. Well, up next, former Marine Damon Friedman talks with Kate about how Faith helped him deal with PTSD. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? I'm Rob Bluie, editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal, and I'm inviting you to share your thoughts with us. Leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205 or email us at

Letters atdailySignal.com. Yours could be featured on the Daily Signal podcast. The issue of PTSD has received more attention in recent years, but unfortunately plenty of our veterans still struggle with it. Here to discuss is Lieutenant Colonel Damon Friedman. Lieutenant Colonel, thanks for joining us. Thanks a lot. It's a great honor to be here and just to be an advocate and to be able to just create awareness of this critical issue.

It's our honor to have you on. Friedman is the producer of Surrender Only to One, a movie that explores PTSD and veterans. He is a decorated combat veteran of the Air Force who served in Afghanistan in Iraq and the founder, along with his wife, Dana, of SOF missions. Now, I'd like to start from the beginning. You mentioned in your bio that you were a juvenile delinquent. So what's the story there and how to do you? you end up in the military? Well, long story short, born and raised in downtown Los Angeles.

Greatest state in the country. That's right. And I pretty much lived in 14 different places in the first 12 years of my life. Raised by a single mother, a maid from San Juan Puerto Rico. I'm Hispanic, Puerto Rico, to be specific. And it was just real tough living in the projects in low-income housing, and it just had some terrible influence. And so as my mom was working 18, 20 hours a day, making beds to put rice and beans on the table, I just didn't have a lot of supervision.

So I kind of ran with the wrong crowd. And I found myself in juvie. But it was actually a place where I had an epiphany, a moment of clarity that I was made for a purpose, a higher calling. And it was definitely not running from the cops. And so from there, I decided to become what some people would say, a productive. member of society and just kind of turned things around. And instead of running from the police, I started running for a future, became a junior Olympian. One of the top runners in the country represented the U.S. ultimately in the half marathon championships team. And I ended up gaining a

college scholarship, a full scholarship. Okay, wait, we have to go back. I know, right? How fast did you run the half marathon? Well, okay. So I mean, I had a ran half marathon. I had a run half marathon equivalent to 112. Wow. And so that was a pretty good run there. And but I was known more for my mile as a freshman. I ran 408 in the mile. Oh my gosh.

Yeah. And I ran 148 in the 800-ish, yeah. You really could run for the cops. Oh, yeah. But see, that was the thing. So while I was trying to figure out, hey, what can I do? And I realized like, hey, every person has to have a super gift. And so my gift was like speed lightning.

I mean, nobody ever caught me, right? I mean, and so I just thought to myself, well, why not use this gift? And I ended up running like 100 miles a week. And I found myself, you know, top runner in the state of Florida. Senior year, I was undefeated in the mile. And ultimately, again, just kind of got myself a scholarship and went through four years of, well, actually, I was on the five-year plan. And then ultimately, I figured, you know what, once I graduated, I re-evaluated my life, and here's a deal.

The fact is is that when, you know, we didn't have a place to stay, our country provided. Whenever we didn't have enough food, our country provided. And when I was looking for a future, you know, our country provided a scholarship. So I decided to join the military, join the United States Marine Corps, and fast forward, crossed over into special operations. And I've been fighting the war against terrorism ever since. So I've got about approximately 19 years in service. And I'm a leader in special operations, and which is one of the reasons.

why I'm uber passionate about fighting this post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide epidemic. Okay. Well, let's go back a little bit to your military service. Now, you joined, I believe, in 2000, so before 9-11. Yeah, that's correct. So how did 9-11 affect you? And then, of course, you went on to Iraq and Afghanistan. Can you talk about your service there a bit? Absolutely. You know, so 9-11 changed everything. I don't know one warrior that would say otherwise. I mean, to have terrorists, extreme terrorists, to come and invade you on your own soil. I mean, it was definitely a violation. But we also realized that we were vulnerable.

And, you know, there's a war against evil. And there are some bad people out there in the world. And so it was just a time for us to stand firm, to defend our country from those extreme terrorist networks, and to go out and start liberating those that are oppressed. I think that freedom should be every human person's right to be free and not to be a prisoner of some kind of war. And so that really changed the way that I saw life, my worldview. But at the same time, I was a part of the invasion in 2003. I was a part of the push going through Safwan, the southern portion of Iraq.

And just kind of going in, I'm going to tell you right now that every warrior processes combat differently. and I remember the first time I ever saw a dead body. I remember the explosions. I remember just the destruction that the United States military had conducted against the, you know, against the enemy. And it was really the beginning of just having issues psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, those kinds of things. And it really affected the way I saw life. And really, I think after multiple deployments in Afghanistan, in Iraq, particularly in 2010. I was in a really, really bad place. I was suffering from post-traumatic

stress and just having flashbacks, having some serious nightmares, unable to sleep. I mean, we talk about black rage. I mean, I was self-destructing the verge of losing my marriage and made some really poor decisions in my career and poor decisions in just my life in general. And I started questioning, what was my purpose in living? Like, what is even, why, why am I even here? You know, I mean, is this what it's all about? You know, I get the green light, I get called upon, and then I go overseas, and I'm out there for three to six months, capturing killing high value targets. Is that what I'm going to do? I'm going to go kill bad people, and that's my purpose. And, you know, I was in a really dark place, and, you know, and like I said, every warrior process is combat differently.

but man, I was in a bad place and I started having suicidal ideations and I really needed help. So how did you crawl out of that? Because I think it makes so much sense when you talk about, you know, your first time seeing a dead body. And I mean, I've never been anywhere near combat. But, you know, just from reading about it or, you know, seeing the movies, it just seems like it could be so traumatic. I mean, we're so grateful for what all our veterans and all our military members do. but you are, you know, seeing some of the most brutal realities life offers. So how did things get better?

So I think, so for the listeners to really appreciate how the power of healing is, is I remember specifically, I'm on the phone with my wife and she asked me, how are you doing? And this is what I said. I said, every night I'm praying for war. every night I'm hoping I can find this bad guy and shoot him in the face. I remember there was a time where I gloried in how many bad people that I killed. And I mean, you know, they were bad people. These were not, you know, these were people that would put bombs in schools and kill a bunch of kids

or put them in a marketplace and kill just hundreds of people just to make a statement, right? And so I remember just waking up thinking, man, who has that? have you become? I mean, really, this is what you're obsessed about. There's got to be something worth more in living, right? And so I came back in 2010 and in the worst time in my life. And I remember running into a good friend of mine, Dr. David LeMay, who's an incredible doctor. And he helped me get on a path of wellness. And I believe that in order for people to find healing, you have to treat humans holistically, right? Because the damage is psychological, it is physical, and it is spiritual. And so he helped me kind of just, you know, get those things together. I got hurt in

combat in 2010. My ankle, I had surgery at my head, torn perennial tendon, my IT band, my shoulder. I was all messed up. I had multiple concussions. I was dropping bombs so close to my proximity. I remember for a whole week, I vomited. I vomited. I was throwing up because the concussions were so bad. And I just thought, man, I just would rather, it was so much pain. I thought it just, I would be better off dead. I mean, the pain was that bad. And just sleeping like one to two hours a night for six months straight, stuff like that. And so he helped me physically. I ended up getting some of the best doctors to get me back on my feet psychologically. I just started facing my issues. I mean, look, I mean, I went through some traumatic stuff from downtown Los Angeles, you know,

running with the wrong crowd, having an extremely violent father to, you know, war smelling dead bodies. And I was like, I'm the one that dropped that bomb. I'm the one that killed those people. Like the burnt bodies that I still smelled? Like, I did that. I had to deal with those issues. And then at the end, I was starting to figure out, well, what's my ultimate purpose? Is my identity special operations?

Is my identity being a Marine or being elite special tactics operator? Is my identity flying in on a black hawk, landing on some bad guys, you know, front yard is zero dark 30, charging through the front door and then capture killing? Is that who I really am? And I realize that, you know what, no matter how much I, all these programs that I was seeking and all this counseling and all that stuff, that stuff helped for a moment in time, but I realized that there was something a whole lot deeper going on, something spiritual, something in the soul, this moral injury, this grief, this shame, this feeling like almost insignificant out of all the stuff I've done.

I mean, the tip of the spear, flying in with General McChrystal and one of the most high-vis missions to close down the Corngal Outpost, I was the guy involved in that. I was the guy leading fires for that. I realized that, you know what, the God of the universe, he knew, you know, he, there's seven billion people in the whole world and he knows me by name. And there's a higher calling and a high, in a purpose in my life. and I started pursuing those things. And so that was a huge transition, just that reconciliation and that feeling of redemption

that no matter what anybody else thought in the whole world that I knew that I was loved, I had a calling in my life, I had a purpose, and I wanted to do something about it, that all of the experience, all the challenges, everything I've ever dealt with, all the pain, all the agony, my upbringing, everything that I've ever done, all the obstacles in life, all of that was for a purpose. All of my experience, all my combat, everything was for a purpose. And you know what that purpose was? It's to change the world.

One life at a time. Let me tell you something. There's a lot of people out there that are listening right now, right now, and they're looking for hope. And they're looking for purpose. And I'm here to tell you that when I found that hope and I found that purpose, I realized that all it takes to be a world changer is to make an impact one life at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time, and before you know it, a whole nation. And so I'm

going to tell you right now that knowing and understanding your higher calling and understanding your ultimate purpose in this world to make this world a better place, man, I'll tell you what, that, my friend, was revolutionary. Now, thank you for sharing all that with us and being so honest. And one sort of follow-up question I would have is, you know, I think there's often people who perhaps suspect that they have a loved one who has PTSD. That's right. And to that person, you know, says they don't have it or they're unwilling for treatment. And I'd be sort of curious, what's your advice to those, yeah, who have a loved one in that situation? Yeah, that's a really good question. And I'm so glad that you asked that. So in our program here at SOF missions, what we do is three things.

One, we create awareness through film. And we produce this award-winning film called Surrender Only to One to create awareness to this suicide epidemic and these issues with post-traumatic stress so that other people knew, hey, you know what? This is happening. This is an issue in our country over 20 veterans are taking their lives every single day. And then for them to also know that we don't just create awareness, but we provide a solution. This is what we do. We provide groups, national groups, educational material studies where people can understand these issues and also grow spiritually.

And last but not least, the Surrender Project, which is literally changing and transforming people's lives, which is a whole holistic path of wellness. And I'll tell you, when I get phone calls or when family members reach out, and say, what do I need to do? Well, I explain to them, you know what? The warrior, you can talk to the warrior, you can tell them, you know you need help. We all know that you need help. What do we need to do in order for you to get help?

But at the end of the day, we have world, I mean, nationally recognized physicians and programs, but until that warrior is wanting and willing to take the help, then he or she ain't going to get it. And I'll tell you that the biggest thing to do, and this is what I do. I mean, I'm a person of faith. I pray a lot, and I hope that every warrior that needs help will reach out to SOF mission so that we can help them. But I think that empowering the individuals of understanding what that warrior is dealing with will create an environment where that warrior and that person, whether it's a spouse or mom or dad or brother and sister, they can actually start discussing it because the biggest issue that the warriors will say is,

Hey, you don't understand what I'm going through. They'll say that over and every again. You don't know what it means to kill somebody. You don't understand to be gone deployed for six months. You don't know these nightmares or these issues that I'm dealing with. But here's the deal. We have a lot of material. And as soon as you educate yourself, what is post-traumatic stress?

What are these suicidal ideations? What is moral injury? What is this grief? What is this isolation? That's what's going on. And then there's less friction because even my wife, my wife. I mean, I still deal with some flashbacks. and sometimes I'm a little bit irrational or erratic and stuff.

And because my wife understands what I've gone through, she's empowered with the knowledge to go, okay, Damon's kind of going through this stuff. And she's learned to respond in a way where it's just kind of, you know, I just simmer down, right? Instead of not understanding what your spouse is dealing with and then all of a sudden exacerbating the issue by arguing and being confrontational.

Because at the end of the day, once you understand what that warrior is dealing with, you'll understand how to respond to it. And when that person understands that you're responding to that person the right way, then they're able to socialize, discuss these issues. And then to be transparent, open up the door to be candid. And then the steps of healing together, walking this path together, a journey of healing together,

then it's easier to get to organizations like SOF missions, like the Warriors Journey, like the Mighty Oaks Warrior Program. And that's what we need to do. We empower those individuals out there that care, for that veteran, that care for that active duty, that care for that guardsmen, understand the issues that they're dealing with. And then I'm telling you right now, you respond. And then that journey begins at that time. Well, that sounds like a great hope for many, I'm sure. And speaking of that, you know, how you just mentioned, there's 20 veterans suicides a day,

I believe is what you just said. How widespread is this problem? Well, I'm going to tell you, it's every day over 20 veterans take their lives, every single day. It's such a loss. It is. And, you know, I've made it quite clear. Like, this is not a Republican issue. This is not a democratic issue. This is not even a military issue.

This is an American issue. When we send our men and women, our boys and girls to war, like, we're responsible and making sure that they get taken care of when they come back. Because I'm going to tell you right now, there's a lot of people out there that would never sign on the bottom line. They would never sign on the bottom line to do what these men and women go out and do to conduct the nation's bidding. And you know what? It's because of them. It's because of them that we're free today. It's because of them that we don't have another 9-11. It's because of them that we are America, that we are the nation that we are today. We're trying to keep those extreme networks out. We're trying to keep freedom to rain. And the bottom line is, is that over 20 veterans are taking their lives every single day.

I'm telling you how many Americans that have no idea, it just blows my mind that people don't know about it. And I think that we need to be intentional. We need to start looking at what programs are readily available out there or better yet, what programs are not? We have a major initiative with the Heritage Foundation. We're going to be talking about what does it mean to take an initiative to get our government, regardless of red or blue, whoever or your religious convictions or lack thereof. It doesn't matter. What do we need to do in order to provide every viable option for our warriors in this path of healing?

And so over 20 veterans, yeah, it's, you know, I think it's been over a decade and we spent billions of dollars in programs. Over a thousand programs between the DoD and the military. And oh, guess what? Over 20 are still taking their lives every single day. What are we doing wrong? And I think that any program that neglects the spiritual component is inadequate because humans are made of mind, body and spirit. That's a fact. You know, I mean, 95% of the world population would agree on that.

I think that we should definitely seriously consider programs and projects. It will address the spiritual component because I believe that's when we'll start putting a dent in the suicide epidemic. I think that's how we can win. Yeah, and it's, as you say, like people who have given us our freedom. It's just, yeah, it's not okay that this many are dying this way. Is there any way, where can people watch your movie? So all you have to do is go to S-O-F-Missions.com. That's shield of faith missions.com.

And you just go up there and you'll see, go to the shopping cart, and you'll be able to download or buy the DVD. Or guess what? So awesome. We're on Amazon and iTunes. So go ahead. Get the movie. It's only one hour, but I'm going to warn all the listeners out there.

Check this out. All right. The fact is, it's only an hour, but you better get your popcorn and your soda or whatever beverage because I'm going to tell you right now. And then buckle up because you're going to go for a ride one hour. It's explosive. It's amazing. We have garnered six national and international awards. Boom. It's awesome. And so we're really excited and we're really happy with just the results so far. Okay. Well, check it out. Lieutenant Colonel Damon Friedman. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. You have an awesome day.

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