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.
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