[00:00:00] Scott DeLuzio: You ever had a point where life knocks you flat and you wonder if you’ll ever get back up the same way again? Our guest today, Aaron Hale, knows that feeling better than most. He started out as a navy cook, then switched to the army to become an EOD tech. His job was to keep others safe from bombs. But one day in Afghanistan, one of those bombs took his sight.

[00:00:22] Years later, a disease took his hearing too. Most people would’ve called it the end, the. Aaron decided though that it was just a new kind of mission for him. In this episode, he’s gonna talk about learning to live without sight or sound, finding purpose and serving others and why giving up was never an option.

[00:00:41] Before we get into this episode, though, I want to take a moment to raise awareness for something deeply important to our community, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. This organization is working to build a permanent national memorial in Washington DC to honor the service members, families, and civilians who are impacted by the global war on terrorism.

[00:00:59] [00:01:00] This memorial will serve as both a tribute to those who served and as a way to ensure that their sacrifices are recognized and remembered for generations to come. If you’d like to learn more or find out how you can support their mission, visit GWOT memorial foundation.org. Now, let’s get into today’s episode.

[00:01:30] Hey Aaron, welcome to the show. Really glad to have you here.

[00:01:34] Aaron Hale: Scott’s so great to talk to you again.

[00:01:36] Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Speaking of that, you know, talking to you again you know, you had me on your podcast you know, a few weeks ago, and it was really great conversation. I’m looking forward to kind of picking up the conversation here.

[00:01:46] But for the listeners who maybe haven’t caught that episode or, or maybe don’t know, a, a ton about you and who you are, can you just give us a little rundown about your, your background, your time in the army and all that kinda stuff?

[00:01:56] Aaron Hale: Absolutely. Yeah, I I, I grew up in the [00:02:00] Midwest, Akron, Ohio kind of, you know, the, the, the, the burbs and one of those guys that had enough natural talent and ability to kind of get, get by on without, without having to work hard or do a whole lot of effort

[00:02:16] until, of course you get to college and then everybody learn, knew how to. Work passed me by really fast. I, I, I call myself the, the All American slacker. So, you know, finding myself after three semesters with nothing to show for and booted outta college, I, I joined the Navy and it was one of those things where it was gonna be four years out, get that tuition money. I just pissed away back and, and, you know, with the GI Bill. Go become a chef. And that was gonna, that’s, that’s what I wanted to be that week. I would get the college money, go to culinary school, become a chef, and during the maximum four [00:03:00] years, I would do the OJT thing on the job training. I’d be a cook in the Navy.

[00:03:07] It is mostly because I’d like the, you know, those, those commercials let the adventure begin type of thing when I was growing up and I didn’t, didn’t want to hold, carry a rifle in the middle of a jungle or desert or anything, and knew nothing about the Air Force, so it kind of cut out all the other branches. I would’ve literally did, went in completel...