Multiple people in my family clean my father, are veterans and the.
Troops that have been to war and now they're back.
And think and be grateful for their service, sacrifice, love for their country, just unselfishness, all that they do for us.
There are some people in this country who take extraordinary steps to provide for the freedom and security.
We forget that those people exist.
We know them as the Army, Navy, air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. They call themselves soldiers, seals, rangers, airmen, sailors.
Devil dogs, and so much more.
We call them fathers, brothers, sons and husbands, mothers, daughters, sisters and wives.
We call them friend and neighbor.
These veterans answered the call, now we answer theirs. They are the best our country has to offer, and we love them. Today, we honor them and we serve them. David Malsby is your host, and he welcomes you to this community of veterans, as together we are building the road to hope.
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Veterans, and a lot of veterans, law enforcement first responders live and own in Republic Grand Ranch, So it's the place to be. Republic Grand Ranch dot com. All right in the studio with us Today, got a great show for you. We've got George you want to reintroduce yourself to the world. George is currently on staff at Camp Hope where you serve your branch.
That kind of thing.
Join the Marines back in two thousand and four, served till all the way to two thousand and eight, do three deployment deployments to Iraq one Westpac. I've been on staff with the Foundations for two years.
And what do you do?
What's your typical day.
I'm the intake coordinator. I'm the first person these gentlemen see when they come into camp. I make sure they get all squared away and put in their new home.
Absolutely and also on the show with Us Today's Gentlemen, that's currently in the program at Camp Hope. Joe, you want to introduce yourself.
Yes, my name is Joe Driver. Born in a small town Griffin, Joy Rodia. Graduated in eighty eight and I joined the Navy in eighty eight.
So what is the the pride of Griffin is it? You know, every town seems to have its thing, whether it's well corn dogs or barbecue or.
Well, once upon a time it was the football team the Griffin.
Bears when you played for him.
Well, actually I played like on the JV but I end up quitting in practice.
Yeah.
So, but they had a great football team first, yes, sir, all right, so what position did you played.
Before you Well, yeah, I was. I was gonna be the wide receiver. I can see that, you know.
You know how Allen Iverson kept talking like we talking about practice. Now, Yeah, I didn't get hit hard during the game. I got hit hard at practice and my football career was over.
Well, I got hit once, the hardest I ever have been hit in my life.
Now that even mentioned that I was in practice football practice. That's the truth. That's the hardest I've ever been hit in my life.
Yes, sir, I was a little bitty, still not exactly you know.
Yeah, me too.
Ye've been small my whole life. Also, normally the skinniest guy in the room.
Yeah, and I was up against like the biggest, baddest dude on our team. Yes, during practice, oh my soul.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But however, though, I was in j r OTC in high school and I was on the drill team. So that what led me to the military, because I enjoyed the ROTC so much that I decided to join.
Okay, was there any family affiliation into the military.
Well, my uncle Kenny, he was in the Army in like the seventies or whatever. Yep, and he's like the only one. But like I say, I enjoyed, you know, the drill team and ROTC so much, and I was kind of tired of school, didn't want to go straight to college, so I decided to join the military.
All right.
Is that about the time the Navy was saying to join the Navy sea the world. Yes, sir, Yes, sir, we're watching some of those commercials. Yes sir, from the inside of a ship. That sounds great, Yes, sir.
I graduated in nineteen eighty eight, and two weeks after graduation, I was in boot camp.
All right.
All right, so we're gonna run to break here in just a moment. Just remind her PTSDUSA dot org for all the information on our programs both at Camp Hope as well as our combat veteran support groups are family support groups. PTSDUSA dot org. Everything we do is absolutely zero costs.
PTSDUSA dot org. Be right back, all right.
You said it was Griffin Georgia, so Griffin, Georgia got a good football team.
They used to have until they split up the schools. I mean, we only used to have one high school.
So Griffin's on the map. Now they got more than one high school.
Three four different high schools.
Now, George, where are you from? Originally in Okay? So we have more than one high school?
Yeah, you were right around the corner from each other.
Yeah, exactly.
Uh, okay, so good at good at football until they split the school into two. Uh what was the best If I went to Griffin, Georgia? There where would be the spot to go eat?
Oh?
Man, I haven't lived in Griffin in so long? Okay, yeah, I live in Atlanta now, like gotcha?
Well, there's a few to choose from Atlanta.
Yes, yes, quite a few places in Atlanta. But ever since I got out of the military, that's where I resided in Atlanta.
Gotcha? All right? So you joined the Navy. What you're again eighty eight?
In eighty eight? Yes, sir?
Why why did you choose the Navy over or anything else?
Well, to be honest with you, I didn't want to sleep in the woods. I didn't want to sleep outside.
I said it side be on the ship.
Yeah, no, no, no, yeah, everybody's got the reasons. Yeah, that's why I asked. That's the I wouldn't want to be on a ship.
Yeah, kind of like a sitting duck. Huh. Yeah.
And I'm not clusterphobic, but I can't imagine being on a boat for like three months or you know whatever.
It's not fun.
Well have you been have you done that?
Yeah? I was on the USS Ogden for one of my deployments and they had us in like a little coffin rocks.
Yeah, there's snowboy's claustrophobic.
Well, you know, like actually, you know, the longest ever did at sea without hitting a port, there was no more than like thirty three to forty days. So like if the ship is gone for six months, they may hit ten thirteen ports. Why they gone unless you know it's time for some action or whatever. Then yeah, still other scenario.
Yeah, I just.
The thought of the only way out is you're one thousand miles away, so you're not going to swim there, so you're you're stuck. That's just something about that that doesn't don't sit right. No, I'm not done with that. But to each thron you want you didn't want to sleep outside.
That's cool. Yeah, that's that's the honest truth, you know.
I cause, like I say, my uncle was in the Army and I was in the Army j r OTC. And but you know, some reason I decided to join the Navy.
All right.
So your first deployment was what.
Year ninety ninety one.
We were sent to the Gulf and we was there for a little while, and then all of a sudden they had picked my battle group to go back on another mission up toward the Mediterranean Sea, and we picked up some refugees in Liberia, Africa and ended up dropping them off up by Morocco Africa.
And yeah, that was there was.
Quite an experience that I don't want to experience again, really.
I know.
No, George, where were you in nineteen ninety one?
How old were you?
Maybe?
Third grade?
Yeah?
Yeah, oh man, I've been out so many years that you know, a lot of things that was done and seen and said kind of run.
Blur together, people forget.
Yeah, And I don't know if it's all time is coming earl or is it some of the medications that I'm on or what have you, you know, But my you know, mentally my mind, it's like comes and go.
Yeah.
So since you're at Camp Hope, you obviously understand. We've got guys that are they're they're that are younger than you, got guys that are older. And you've got guys that stepped out of Afghanistan not that long you said, eighteen, Is that when you left?
I left when I was eighteen?
Yeah? No, no, no, what year did you leave? Combat?
Oh wow, relative speak seven oh seven? Okay, all right, so it's been a little while then, yeah, okay, all right, but we've got some guys that stepped out of Afghanistan twenty twenty one, so not that long ago. We got Vietnam VET guys. Yes, that it was fifty plus years ago. So there's a whole lot of everything around care. But here's the thing. Like last week we had a guy on here, one of our staff members served in Somalia.
A lot of our guys or a lot of calm if you went on the man on the street kind of mission, you know, and he just went downtown with the microphone, said, hey, tell me what happened in Samalia. They just kind of if they saw they happened to see the movie Black Hawk Down that's where they would go, right, you know, the goal for a lot of the same kind of response. I don't have a clue. Now, we're not a war story show, so that's not what it deal is. But here's the war is war wherever it was, right,
Trauma is trauma, whatever the trauma is, sir. At Campope, obviously we're dealing with combat related trauma, but all other traumas. Once you get there, it's it's everything. Right, we dumped the whole truck, so it's a little bit of everything. But there's no comparison.
Right, sir, it's not. But it was like a major It was like a big explosion that happened on my ship and the compartments were filled with black smoke like instantly. So you know, like when you first get to a ship, they blindfold you and they train you how to get around on your ship not being able to see. And I was thanking God for that, you know what I mean, because you couldn't see your hand half an inch from
your face, you know. And then we had to find out what it was and we had a big, major electrical fire aboard the ship, which that it was the year. It was a lot of mishaps happening in the army and the Navy, and I'm not really sure about the Marines. Maybe two, but it was probably maybe ten to thirteen mishaps that happened. And like I say, between that, the refugees out of Africa and I was short deployment to
the Gulf, you know. Like I say, it all runs like a blur, you know, and I would have dreams, you know about those things, you know, And like I say, though, being that young, I was seventeen years old and my mom had to sign me in and she wasn't gonna do it, but when she saw I wasn't giving up, she went ahead and signed. And you know, we know what we joined for to protect our country or whatever, but you really don't know till you get there. You know what I'm saying. It's like, now you're gonna do.
You gotta do what you trained to do or whatever, you know, because you want to survive whatever happened, and the person next to you, and if you don't do your train and then.
Yeah, it could be problems.
Well you joined eighty eight, yes, sir, that would have been considered peacetime.
Well, yes, sir, yes, sir. Peace sign to the Gulf war kicked off.
Yeah, so I mean I would think to some degree, how old were you when you joined seventeen seventeen?
Yeah, so.
One at seventeen, we all think we're you know, we're invincible, Yeah, which we're not, but we kinda live our life that way, like you're ever gonna die. Yeah, but even to some degree, there had to be a realization I'm joining the Navy. There's always the possibility, though, I think it, you know, going back to eighty eight, probably not first and foremost on your mind at age seventeen, that hey, I could be going to war.
Yep, it was No, it wasn't.
And then you know how you usc on TV like a person that said they going to war, and they'd be like gung ho or whatever. Like when you actually there and you're told that you're going, uh if like twelve hundred marines aboard my ship and probably about six seven hundred navy and you could hear a pin drop?
Yeah what ship were you on?
I was on the inch on out of Norfolk virgin All.
Right, okay, we're gonna take a quick break. Reminder of eight seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three is our combat trauma crisis line answered by a combat that eight seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three. Gonna take a quick break and be right back with more of Road.
To Hope Radio. All right, welcome back to Road to Hope Radio.
David Maulsby here, Glad to have you along.
Got George, who is a.
United States sub Marine Corps veteran currently serves on the staff at Camp Hope, PTSD, Foundation of America. Got Joe, United States Navy veteran hails from Griffin, Georgia, but currently at Camp Hope. Remind me again, well more time, the name of that ship you were.
On, the Incheon?
The Incheon? Okay, I should remember that.
All right?
What was the best meal you had on the Incheon? That's the most important question of the show, by the way, the most important show question.
Uh, I don't know. I believe it was that they had rabbit. You had rabbit one day and it actually a rabbit stew or no, oh they.
Just yeah, all right, you know how you got the chocolate candy like you look like the rabbitt with the eye think, yeah, yes, it looked like that. The Eastern rabbit. Yeah, the bunny. It looked just like that in the pan. Like at first, I was yead to eat it, but.
Uh, pretty good, pretty good. And it tastes like chicken. Yes, sir, everything tastes like chicken.
That's not cha. All right, how long you been at Camp Hope.
By the way, I've been at Camp Hope.
What probably about thirty eight the thirty nine days something like that.
Okay, what's the best mo you've had some fort Camp Hope.
Oh, it's been a few good meals.
Better than rabbit.
Yeah, yeah, I was actually scared to eat that rabbit.
But uh, I said, it looked like a rabbit. You know what I mean, you used to meat it, don't normally? It looked like the animal that it came.
No, no, I can see the whole, you know, if you're gonna you know, yeah, clean it, parcel it out.
Make a stew. I can see that.
I just yeah, but anyway, go ahead, best meal, Camp Hope? What should give me your best to or threw?
I want to say what they had? They like casa shrimp with the red beans and rice. That was a pretty good meal.
Uh, I do that all day every day?
Yeah? Oh, what was your favorite.
That's a hard choice right there. Camp Hope actually has a great staff of cooks.
They really do.
Miss Kim the breakfast works breakfast or breakfast is amazing. You gotta shove. And then Ms Patty her food is amazing, especially the homemade homsses she makes.
Yeah, oh nice.
Yeah.
So while you are a resident at Camp Hope, were you a resident like during the holidays ever? Okay, so one of my faves about Camp Hope is yes, we do have a great cook staff, fantastic, but we have a great community of supporters and sometimes you know, it's a group that brings in sacklynches or something like that that's kind of simple and basic, and that's very much appreciated as well because it gives our staff a bit of a break chance to captch up on other things
that they need to be doing. But there's also groups like at Thanksgiving there's a guy and probably twelve of his friends from a small church and Katie that come in the day before and they start prepping for Thanksgiving dinner and they fire up that you've seen the smoker. I don't know if you've been there where the smoker's been lit up, But when it gets lit up. Everybody
knows it's going to be a good day. So they would come out the night before, they'd start prepping and end up they smoke, you know, between thirty and forty turkeys. And by the way, you know a lot of people try to smoke a turkey, not everybody can actually do it.
These folks know how to do. Yes, I wouldn't even try. I know better.
Like one, I don't have the patience for that, but two, I don't want to spend that much time and it turned out.
To be a dud. They that would just be mad all day.
But these folks know what they're doing and put on a spread like no other. Uh anyway, It's just one of the favorite things I like to see around camp. Hope some of the folks come in and donate and serve you guys, not knowing who you are, your stories, names or anything like that.
Yes, sir, all right, so.
Go four you come home. What did you step out of the Navy?
I got out the Navy in ninety two. Uh yeah, And it's like when I got out the Navy, it was almost like they just throw you away, you know.
Any different today, By the way, from the Marine Corps, George.
So when I got out, about when I went to Camp Hope, it was like one long blur. But now life is amazing.
No, no, I know.
But when when they when you left the Marine Corps, I guess we go look got it this way. One of the guys not too long ago talked about the fact that they spent six months training for war, zero time training you to transition back in the world.
Oh, we had no training. We probably had like a week of taps and that's about it. It's just like, here's your paperwork, go home.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's kind of like they just throw you away, you know what I mean. And now you were belonging in a part of something. Now all of a sudden, it's like you a nobody.
Well not only part of something, you're part of something, the greatest military force the world's ever known.
Yes, sir.
And like I say, once I got out, I begin to have dreams, you know, and from the dreams I ended up self medicating. I wasn't aware that I could have medical, dental, that I could go talk to doctors and psychiatrists. I'm out the military ten fifteen plus years. Even before I knew I could get some help.
When you got home? How long was you're mentioning time? So that's where I'm going here. When you got home? How long was it before you start having those nightmares and such?
It was pretty much right off to bed. I had a few nightmares even before I was released, you know, but you don't know what it is.
I don't. I didn't.
I wouldn't know the symptoms or the problems that I was having until you know, the VA end up diagnosing me. You know, with these certain conditions.
What you're or how long ago was that roughly?
Uh went out the diagnosis?
Maybe ten twelve years ago. I've been out thirty plus years. Yeah, and you know they asked me, did I want some help? And you know, I've been to a couple of other places, but you know, I was telling a doctor like I needed something more, some with some longevity. And to make a long story short, that's how I became aware of Camp Hope.
Someone at the VA. Yes, sir, all right, so yeah.
You mentioned it already, But I'm i joke from Oklahoma, not real good at numbers. But that is roughly thirty three years from the time you stepped out of the Navy to the time you stepped onto the doors or on the road of Camp Hope called Bear Brigade Boulevard. That's a long time to carry all that, Yes, sir, it is. So you did some self medicating, which is not unusual. Right going through the VA being diagnosed. Somewhere along the way, somebody mentions Camp.
Hope to you.
Yes, sir, so do you remember what they told you about it?
Uh?
They Well, first, you know, I don't think they knew that this was a six to nine month program that concentrated on PTSD and selfstance abuse. And you know, it ain't like I started self medicating just overnight, and I've been doing it a while, so I was more open
to coming to Camp Hope. And I thank God for Camp Hope because now it's like the camaraderie and the love from the other veterans, the staff, the lead personnel, and it's like I feel like I'm a part of something again, you know what I mean, like making a difference. So Camp Hope is making a difference, you know, in these veterans' lives, you know, because you know, or some veterans are worse than others. By however, Camp Hope has a way of serving each and every one of their needs.
And for some listening this may be a bit redundant. For some though, this is the first time you've heard about who we are, what we're doing in our veteran community, serving our vets and their families who are dealing with combat related PTSD. But we do have Camp Hope, which we talk about a lot, and it is designed to be a six to nine month program. Some it takes up close to two years to go through the program,
so it's very individualized. It's not some so programmed program that you've got to do it in this amount of time and once you get to this point, somehow magically the magic wand is waged and you're ready to go. It is a very personalized program. But we also have our Warrior Groups are family support groups that operate much like any other support group you might know of aa NA, divorce recovery, any kind of recovery program.
Those are all available on our.
Website PTSDUSA dot or we have some in person. We also have them virtually, so if there's not something going on specifically in your area, you can join the virtual support groups all at zero cost. Camp Hope is at zero cost PTSD post traumatic stress disorder PTSD USA dot org eight seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three is a combat traumaized curnt line. We'll be back with more of Road to Hope in just a moment, and we welcome you back Road to Hope Radio. Glad
to have you along with us. Those you're listening on the kPr seed, those of you listen to the magic of podcasts. Wherever you listen to podcasts, just look forward Road to Hope Radio. There we are a little over eight years now of shows, lots of stories, a few news articles that we commented on throughout these eight plus years. Glad to have you along.
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All right, so.
You've been camp a little over a month. So you've made it through blackface, yes, sir, and then the red.
In red black phase.
I don't know your famous situation all, you don't really have to talk about that. But anybody at home that you were cut off from for a.
While, well, well, no, not really because my main support is my mother, which is a Christian you know, she forty plus years clean from drugs. And my father, he's a pastor, so you know, I was raised in the church, you know, so I.
Got a good support group.
It just I guess it would be the matter of me reaching out to them or what have you. But yeah, I got a good support team at home, that.
Is yeah, yeah, which is awesome because yeah, even to be in there just thirty plus days, you've seen there's some guys come in that they don't have that all right.
See, yeah, you're right, a lot of them.
I mean, like I said, you know, most guys that get on drugs. They used to call me like a functional user, And I'm like, you might be a functioning user for so long, but if you keep going sooner
or later, you're gonna go over the cliff. And I ain't, you know, Thank god, I still got my bridges, you know, cause you know, they gave me, like I said, my mom and my dad gave me ultimate support, you know, so they motivating me to complete this program, and my main objective is to remove myself from the equation so I can let go and let God, because if I put myself in the equation, then I don't know, you know what I mean, because the devil don't ever quit
and nothing truth. Yeah, do you remember day one to camp, Yes, sir, Yes, sir.
They one.
Day one I got there, the first person I saw was Danny, and I got off the van and I went up to Danny and I apologized to him off the rip because I don't know. I came to Camp Hope in like October November last year, and but I came in with that street mentality, me against the world, and you know, I had a few issues, you know what I mean.
But you're not the first to come in with that.
Yes, sir.
And I was a straight junkie, you know, smoking. But anyway, Yeah, my first day back, I was so happy to be back then, and I was welcome back with open arms, like welcome home, you know.
Yeah, And that's that's It's one of the things I particularly love and celebrate about Camp Hope is the second, third, fourth chance, and some some try to turn that into some kind of a failure it's like you missed it because we celebrate that as an organization. To us, that's a win, right, it's not. Yeah, you've been through some tough junk and yeah, first time around, you're not ready for it. Second time or third or fourth whatever happens to be.
Yeah, Yeah, I think I'm more ready this time because I'm approaching everything more with an open mind, you know what I mean, because you know, my mind was closed the first time I come and I'm looking at for me, I'm you know what I mean, but not realizing that love that's given there is real, you know. Yeah, And I had to acknowledge that. And uh, I gotta say, man, I thank God for CAMPB ho man, because CAMPB Hope
is giving me hope. It's given other veterans hope opportunities, you know, long as you let do the work that's required, and the program gonna work for you, you know.
And I'm not saying I'm fixed. I'm not fixed.
I still got issues, but I'm a work in process.
Yeah, And just to me, I want to give you something to think about for a second, and when I come back to you want to kind of hear what your ultimate hope is and that's not about a job or a career. It's just what's your ultimate hope for your life. But just a quick reminder, and we don't talk about this a lot because this isn't the point
of the show, but just a reminder. What we're able to do with Camp Hope PTSD Foundation of America is because of individuals companies, both small and large, that truly understand it takes more than a bumper sticker on the back of your car to support the troops. And we love the bumper sticker, great, you love the troops, but at some point in time, it takes more than that. What we do is costly. We get something from the electric company every single month for our fire of Acre
Campus and it is not a thank you note. If you're interested in making sure there's always a place for our veterans who are struggling and need some hope, need a second chance PTSDUSA dot org. And whether it's five dollars a month or whatever it happens to be, it all adds up and we say thank you. It makes it possible, and it gives us an opportunity to provide our veterans a chance, a place, a program with surrounded by fellow veterans, surrounded by people who've been in these
same shoes and have moved forward. We're able to do that because of our community. So a big, big thank you to everybody who's able to be a part of that. Let's close it out this way though. What's your your you're newly in black phase is very simple. It's basically, you're shut out from the world. We're trying to settle red phases where you start to get into the meet
in the program and you're very early in. But if you come into a program that you already know is sixty nine months long, it's an all day, everyday thing. What is your ultimate hope when when you have completed this program and you're moving forward, what's your ultimate hope for the rest of your life?
Well, uh, I got several.
Goals that I'm working on, but my main thing that I want to be is, for one, I want to be drug free.
Uh.
I want to be financially stable, and I want to be able to.
Hopefully not have.
As many dreams like I usually have about you know, the fire that was a boardership and so on, to have less dreams and to I guess be alike to another veteran or someone else, be able to get me a home, be able to have my own place, be able to take care of my kids, you know. And Camp Hope is helping me to accomplish.
These goals, you know. Yes, give me a good foundation to start building.
Awesome.
Well, what Camp Hope does, very short version, provides the place.
This is a safe place.
It provides the program, a program we know works, the peer to peer model with the addition of clinical support. It's available to all of our veterans as well as our staff. So the place, the program, and the people. The people's the main thing. It's the peer to peer It's as you mentioned a little while ago, Joe, it's it's a true and a deep love. It's it's real, it's not fake. PTSDUSA dot org Get our crisis line eight seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three.
Those of you listening, thank you for listening. Wherever you listen to podcasts for Road to Hope Radio, hit that subscribe button every week at automatically download, Thank you for listening, thank you for sharing, and look forward to being with you again next week. For more of Road to Hope Radio,