Thank You for Your Sacrifice: Honoring Our Nation's Veterans

In this episode, we celebrate Veterans Day and honor those who have served our country. Nick Stonetreet, CEO of Ronald Blue Trust, and founder of Ba A Peacemaker Inc., Dr. Michael Patterson, sit down with U.S. Army veteran Jarrad Turner, Sr. Jarrad offers his insights to help us get a better understanding of the military experience and how to support our service members when they return home. Jarrad is the vice president of strategic partnerships of The Warrior Alliance, a nonprofit organization helping veterans succeed in civilian life. To all those who have served our country, we thank you. 

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The information in these podcasts is provided for general educational purposes only.  It is not intended as specific individual advice. The clients’ experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, and they are also not indicative of future performance or success. Opinions expressed may not be those of Ronald Blue Trust.

Trust and investment management accounts and services offered by Ronald Blue Trust, Inc. are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, nor guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.

Transcript

- [Narrator] Welcome to the "Wisdom for Wealth for Life" podcast. Let's bridge the gap between your faith and your finances. At Ronald Blue Trust we apply biblical wisdom and technical expertise to help you make wise financial decisions. Our goal is to help you leave a lasting legacy. In this podcast, you'll hear inspiring stories, practical tips, and encouragement from the Ronald Blue Trust family with special guests along the way. Welcome to the "Wisdom for Wealth for Life" podcast. In this episode, we celebrate our country's veterans. CEO of Ronald Blue Trust Nick Stonestreet, and founder of Be A Peacemaker, Dr. Patterson, talk with U.S. Army Veteran Jarrad Turner Sr. Jarrad is also the lead executive of the Warrior Alliance, a nonprofit organization helping veterans succeed in civilian life. If you are listening to this podcast and have served our country, we thank you. Let's listen in now.

- What we wanted to do today was to honor veterans, and we have with us a guest who is a veteran. Jarrad Turner Sr., thank you so much for being a part of our conversation today. So we're gonna jump right in. Let's talk about your life in the military.

- All right, well, first and foremost, thank you so much Dr. Patterson. Thank you so much, Nicholas, for this opportunity. And yes, happy Veterans Day to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms. I'm honored to be here and thank you so much. I am a former Army combat medic. I served two tours in Iraq.

- Oh, wow.

- And my first deployment was part of the initial push of Operation Iraqi Freedom. My second deployment was on the second side of that, if you will. First deployment was 15 months. Second deployment was 12 months. Unfortunately, during my second deployment, I was injured, and as a result of my injuries, I had to be medically evacuated. I like to call it taking my magical flight to Landstuhl, Germany. Subsequently, I ended up with four shoulder surgeries, two elbow surgeries, two surgeries on my jaw. And I like to affectionately say I was filleted open with a piece of shrapnel on the top of my head. So I've kind of seen it a little bit of been there and done that. But just like many of my brothers and sisters in arms, I'm still in to fight, if you will. Thanks be to God, and thanks be to these wonderful gentleman like yourselves, so.

- Thanks so much. Jarrad, what originally attracted you to military and military service? And in particular, being a medic, combat medic? It's gotta be a, like you've seen things that we can never even understand.

- So I was, after graduating college at Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama. It was actually two gentlemen. One was named Mitch, the other one was named Tom. One happened to be a marine, the other one happened to be an Army Ranger. And I just looked at these, both of these men, and the way that they lived their lives, and I was honestly just inspired. Not knocking my fellow brothers and sisters in arms, if you will, but I just could not see myself in the sailor uniform, if you will. I did not think that I looked good in a nice little white uniform. I'm just a little bit too big for that, so.

- [Nick] Oh, okay.

- And some of my friends agreed like, "Nah, that's not a good look for you." So I decided to join the army. I decided to enlist in the army. And the best way that I thought that I could give back was to be a medic. I wanted to make sure that I was able to engage with my brothers in arms when it came to being on the battlefield, so.

- Wow.

- And through that time of being a medic, what goes through your mind when you're in the middle of it and having to bring people back together, and seeing people pass? Like, what does that do to you even emotionally?

- There's a lot of changes, if you will. It's not necessarily what's on the battlefield. It's honestly, when you put that uniform on. I go back to the day of my oldest daughter, Alexandria, if you will, the day, I wanna say she was about six. And I had to tell her, "Hey, dad's getting ready to leave." Now, how do you tell a six year old that, you know, daddy's getting ready to leave. I have a picture of it. And I just remember picking her up, putting her on the counter, and just, you know, just having to tell her, I love you. I don't know if I'm gonna come back home. I don't know what's gonna happen to me, but I need you to know that I love you. You are my gift. You are a blessing. You know, and no matter what happens, you need to know those words.

- So you're saying families have to go through this?

- Yeah, if you start thinking about the amount of people who have been deployed, especially in this state of Georgia, if you will, and you think about the Georgia National Guard, specifically, the 48th Brigade, it's one of the most decorated units in America. Forget being a guard, or reserve, or active duty, it's just a decorated unit. And most of those men and women who have served in that brigade have anywhere from six to nine deployments.

- Wow.

- So you just think about, again, if we're, let's not even go to combat yet. Let's just think about what you have to tell your spouse, what you have to tell your kids. How do you tell your community that I'm going to do something for my country? And you may not be able to understand it, you may not even agree with it, but my country has called, and I've taken this oath, and I've gotta live up to this oath. You know, so it's challenging, you know. It's definitely challenging. It's definitely a sacrifice. Combat is hard, combat is tough. And it's the unknown. But for me, really, that most pivotal moment is holding my daughter and just letting her get those emotions out. And just kind of standing there as she's sitting on the counter. And just, even as a 26-year-old man, what am I doing? Is this the right decision? Have I made the right choices?

- Wow.

- You know, it's a test, if you will. It's a test, but I'm not the only one. When I started thinking about the legacy of being a soldier, when you start thinking about the legacy of serving our country, I go all the way back to, even in my family, on my mother's side of the family, where it was my great-great-grandfather, who was a PFC. And then I can go back on my dad's side of the family, who I vividly remember when my grandfather passed, the honors and the colors that were given to him. So I know I'm not the first, I know I'm not the last, but I know that others have gone before and made that sacrifice. Others have had the courage, the intestinal fortitude to go before me. So I'm honestly just following in the steps that others have laid in front of me, so.

- Wow, that's amazing. Thank you for that perspective, wow. And I know, just going through the things that you've been through, when you talk about being, you know, filleted open and all of the things that you've been through, what's kind of keeps you going? What keeps you positive? What's the perspective that you're able to have when you go through?

- Well, there's a few things. And, you know, to be 100% transparent, the man that you see in front of you now has been blessed to meet other men and women, to meet other people that have served, that have not served. I've had people that have prayed with me, that have prayed for me. I always go back to my grandmother, big mama, if you will. I had somebody praying for me. I can laugh, I can smile, I can cry because I had others there before me. Combat is nasty, it is. It should always be the last option.

- [Mike] Okay.

- Because you can't unsee what you've seen. You can't undo what you've done. There was a time when we were deployed, I remember when we landed into Kuwait, and the door opened up to the plane. Not only could you feel the heat wave, but you could see it. And I wanna say at that day that we landed, it was 147 degrees. I can't tell the average person what 147-

- Fahrenheit?

- Yes.

- Wow, I cannot even imagine.

- It's something, and again, we're not even talking combat yet. We're talking about being on a plane and the door opening up. And everybody, every person, every soldier, every service member that was on that plane, when that door opened up, and the brightness of that sun came in, and that heatwave came in, doubt, fear, anxiety, all of that settles in. But we are professionals.

- Okay.

- We have trained, we are prepared, we are proficient. So that fear has to go to the side because as a medic, I have a job, as a non-commissioned officer, I have a job. And that job is to do whatever our country calls us to do. Period. So it's hard. It's not meant for everybody. It's tough. It is, it's challenging. It is, you know, everything didn't go the way we wanted it to go. You know, I lost seven brothers in arms in my first deployment. I can't erase that. I remember when we came home, when you asked about how hard it is, I remember coming home, and one of my brother's in arms, his, I was a little bit more stout back in the days, you know. I had hair, so I don't have hair anymore. So definitely back in the days. Mike, stop laughing at me. Excuse me, sir. Nick, why you guys, I mean, you guys making fun of the guy with the glare, but, no.

- It works.

- Not at all.

- It works.

- It's a good look?

- Yeah.

- I'll keep that, I'll keep that. It's a good look. But I remember his son coming up to me and saying, "Big T, where's my dad?"

- Wow.

- And I remember being able to hold him and fighting back the tears, because I need him to know that we're strong. I need him to understand that we are here. Dad might be gone, but we're still here. And that's the things that you still carry.

- That's hard. I mean, I can't even imagine that. But I do want to talk about Warrior Alliance and the work you're doing now, 'cause, you know, having that kind of trauma with your friends, I'm sure that's one of the reasons you pour into the work you do now.

- It is, it is. I was incredibly fortunate. When I came home, my journey in getting help wasn't just for myself, it was for myself, it was for my family. I wanted to be the best husband. I wanted to be the best version of a man. I wanted to be the best dad that I could be. And I could not do that by myself. The Warrior Alliance was created, our CEO, his name is Scott Johnson. He had sturdy years in technology and he was looking for a way to give back. And I just ended up meeting him at one of the events way back in, I wanna say it was like 2012, maybe even 2015. Not too sure of the dates, if you will, right now. But I had met him and, you know, he had started asking the right questions, you know. "Hey, you look like you're healthy, but, you know, tell me what's going on." Again, I'm not missing any limbs. I'm not missing anything, you know. Many of us have what we call invisible wounds. So my invisible wound is a traumatic brain injury. That's the residual. So yes, I have all my limbs, and yes, I have function of them, but I can still barely feel my right hand. I still have double vision. Sometimes when my brain injury starts presenting itself again, I start to stump, stutter. I will lose the words, my trains of thought. So it's still a fight. But Scott was able to help create a program, if you will, help create a methodology that guides us to finding our North star.

- Okay.

- That's what it's really about. And, you know, I kind of had to give you a little bit of backstory because when you said, "What keeps me going?" Well, the oath of a soldier, the oath of a non-commissioned officer, that's what keeps me going. The last time I checked, there is no expiration day on that oath. Yes, I have taken off the uniform.

- Wow.

- But I still owe it to my brothers and sisters in arms. I still owe it to their families. And even though I lost my father recently, one of the things my dad always said to me, "You haven't earned a right to quit. You haven't earned a right to stop." So I'm inspired by my own father, but I'm also committed and called to do this work because of my oath.

- And you're engaging with other veterans.

- Yes.

- And kind of helping 'em walk through this life. How does that manifest itself for you on a day to day?

- So being in Georgia, Georgia has over 780,000 veterans

- Wow.

- throughout. In the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, there's roughly 250 to 260,000. That work takes me all over. As the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for the Warrior Alliance, my role is to find those corporate organizations that have a like mission such as ours, like-minded mission, like-minded purpose, if you will. We have to help our public understand veterans are not broken. Veterans are not downtrodden. Veterans are not weak. We are a group of men and women who have taken an oath to something that is greater than themselves. And some of us have during our time of service, we have unfortunately been injured. Some injuries are visible and some injuries are not visible. We don't rely upon, as an organization, we don't rely upon the VA to help. We know that the VA is an overwhelmed system. And we know that our men and women, when they were called to serve our country, there was no waiting. It was very succinct. You are trained, you get orders, you go execute those orders. So we are here to ensure that our warriors and for us, a warrior's any service member, National Guard's member, reservist, any veteran, and to even include their caregivers if they need help, if they need resources, if they need a battle buddy to walk with them as they go through this transition. And when we say transition, meaning your separation from service, that's where the Warrior Alliance is here for them.

- That's great.

- That's wonderful.

- Wow. Well, you know, part of what we talked about before, Jarrad, was you kind of making it back full circle, Yeah, with your faith. Do you mind talking about that full circle and what that means to you?

- There was some challenging times. There were some challenging times, you know. Again, being very transparent. I remember when I came home from my first deployment, I didn't think that I was worthy enough to even hold my own kids. I did not have the same faith that I have in God now. I really did believe that God had maybe left, you know. Maybe I wasn't worthy. As a soldier, you do certain things, it's for the mission, but again, it's war. It's ugly, it's nasty. So you're called to do things that you just have to do. And for me, it was one of those things where it was, "Okay, well, God, if you're real, why are we at war? If you're real, why am I seeing the things that I'm seeing? If you're real, why am I losing these good men? Why am I sitting here looking at their wives, and their fathers, and their mothers, and their brothers, and their assistants?" And more importantly for me, "Why am I looking at them and now they don't have kids anymore?" I struggled with that. I struggled with, "Why am I here and why didn't I go? Why didn't you take me?" I struggled with having happy times with my kids, and knowing that their kids aren't going to experiences those times. So, faith, Christianity, religion was truly a struggle. Now, I do believe that I have come full circle because I have reengaged with God. And I can honestly say God had never left me. I left God. And that's hard. But I also understand that our God is a faithful God. And all I simply had to do is just reach my hands out and just say, "I need you."

- Yeah.

- "I can't do this without you."

- Yeah.

- And God answered those prayers for me, and He continues to answer those prayers, so.

- That's great. Yeah, it's kind of, you had to reenter, as a soldier, reentering society, and then you had to reenter your faith. What was it like when you got baptized?

- When you put on another uniform.

- Well-

- Put on the armor.

- Well, I really wanna take this moment to really thank Dr. Patterson, because as a soldier, there's parallels in the Bible where it comes to the centurion, that as a soldier I can relate to. Even though I was baptized as a child.

- [Nick] Sure.

- I think I was maybe 15 or 16 when I was baptized. It's very different when you've lived life. Oh yeah.

- It is, it's incredibly different when you have life experiences that you can call upon and you can either realize that God was right there, or you can realize in my example, where I had left God. At 48, to reconnect with God, if you will, to look and be able to look in scripture. For me, I'm very balanced when it comes to doctrine, when it comes to rules, regulations, i.e. a soldier. So with Dr. Patterson going through the Bible and showing me where these verses are, and how they are applicable, and even asking those thought-provoking questions, it's been amazing. It has been amazing. I am a, I feel like a kid all over again because yes, I've read the Bible, but not like this.

- It's so great.

- Yeah.

- That is so amazing. I saw there was, I know you shared a talk after Dr. Patterson hoodwinked you into doing some kind of seminar, forum. I don't know what he was up to, but, And it said, thank you for your pain.

- Yes.

- Oh yeah, you spoke at a men's retreat.

- Yes. So what I had essentially asked God to do is help me, guide me, help me make this make sense. And I've been very fortunate, very fortunate. And I've done events where I've run literally from New York to Atlanta, Chicago to Atlanta. I've carried heavy things all over the place to raise awareness for our brothers and sisters in arms. And, you know, God placed it upon my heart to kind of give me my own guidelines. And when I asked God, "Okay, what is it that you want me to do?" And He says, "I want you to tell this story." And this story of thank you for the pain is about spiritual wellness, emotional wellness, mental wellness, and physical wellness. When I say thank you for the pain, the pain has attacked me in all of those areas, if you will. I think about spiritually when again, God was there, but I left God. I think about, not just on the battlefield, but I lost a little cousin to suicide. And I remember, "God, why?" There is a maturity that you have to have in the word, in the scripture when it comes to understanding and being able to say, "It's okay for me not to know why."

- [Mike] That's real.

- When it comes to the emotions of it all. I think about as recent of my dad passing, it was painful, it hurt. And there's a time for grieving. There is a time in which God literally says, "This is your time to grieve. And I'm not gonna tell you that you're not gonna, it's gonna fit so perfectly." No, it's a process. But again, that's a God process. When I think about the mental aspect of it. Well, why me? Why am I here? What is my purpose? Mentally being sound to say, "Okay, you're here. You're still in the fight." And physically well, as a man, you know, I'm a little competitive, just a little bit. Do not laugh Dr. Patterson. But with these physical attributes and skills I have, what is the goal? Is the goal to lift the heaviest weight? No. The goal is to be a good father, a good husband, a good mentor, a good leader, and that comes from discipline. And one of the easiest things you can discipline is yourself. So prove thy self worthy for the blessings that God is preparing you for and what He has already done. So that wellness isn't about lifting weights, it's about what are you watching? What are you reading? What are you listening to? And how are you allowing that to physically manifest itself? So when I think about that, that's where God gave me thank you for the pain. I've been able to find grace and gratitude through some of the most challenging times in my life, so.

- Wow. Do you ever think about that with regard to Jesus? Thank you for the pain.

- I thank you for the sacrifice.

- Amen.

- I thank you for the sacrifice. Again, going back to being a soldier and relating to what was done to Jesus-

- [Mike] Right.

- on that cross. How he had to carry that load, and how he was ridiculed, and shunned-

- Misunderstood.

- misunderstood. And yet he still asked, I'll do this. I'll carry this cross. First and foremost, it is a very humbling thing because I understand you did that to your son, your direct son. That's, so whatever I'm going through, it's not that. Now, I have to put that into my own reality, and I have to relate that to the things that I go through. And I don't want to anybody to say, "Hey, what you're going through isn't tough." But I do like to say perspective. Let's have perspective.

- Right.

- As a soldier, I can almost envision and truly see from the words, and what we've read throughout our lives, and understand when he says, "I pierced." A soldier knows what that is. We've trained to know what that is. We've trained to do those things. It may not be a sword this time, it can be a bullet, or an explosive. So it's very relatable to me. But it also just reminds me of grace and mercy. And if it's just like this morning. This morning, so I still wake up at 4:00 a.m., and I try to work on my devotional. I'm working Dr. Patterson.

- Amen.

- I'm working, I'm working.

- We all are.

- Dr. Patterson is an educated brother, but he is a holy thug who might hit you upside the head. So I'm working Dr. Patterson, so everybody can hear that. If you don't see from me, please come get Dr. Patterson. He knows where I'm buried at, okay. But, you know, this morning was an example of me not asking God for anything, but just saying thank you. Thank you for giving me rest. Thank you for giving me peace. Thank you for giving me comfort. Thank you for giving me guidance. Thank you for giving me love. You know, love is so strong. Love is so powerful. And to be able to look in the Bible and then to be able to apply that. I go back to not just what I experienced on the battlefield, but even again, just there's nothing like a grown man giving you a hug and telling you it's okay to not be okay.

- That's real.

- And I've had that, and that came from just God's infinite wisdom. Knowing that it might be time for my dad to go on this planet, but his job is done. He showed me the way. He showed me everything is through God. One of the things that my dad always says, "I love you, you love me. And as long as we love God, we will always be okay."

- Wow.

- Amen, that's powerful.

- So.

- Well, we're so grateful for your service, for your pain, but for your love. That seems to have conquered it all.

- For sure.

- Sure.

- Thanks for this conversation. It's been super impactful.

- Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for truly honoring our veterans. Thank you for having these hard conversations. There's a term called moral injury, and I am truly inspired to see that you, to see that Dr. Patterson are attacking that head on. Quite often, we don't want to call God, or our faith, or our belief what it is. We'll come up with some profound technical term for it. So I thank you for being men of courage, men of faith, and actually having this conversation. Many of us veteran or non-veteran, we need it. As we're coming on the Veteran's Day, it's important to think about those sacrifices that so many men and women have done. And they don't ask for gratitude, they don't ask for anything just to remember them.

- Yeah.

- Remember their commitment.

- Thank you. Well, and if we can support Warrior Alliance, how do we get in touch with the organization?

- So the best way to support the Warrior Alliance is by going to our website is simply www.thewarrioralliance.org. You can also reach out at 404 210 1776. Yes, 1776.

- Okay.

- Our last four prefixes. But we are also located at the Battery. Two years ago, we were so fortunate that the Atlanta Braves and the Braves Foundation saw the work that we were doing, and they said, "Hey, we wanna partner with the Warrior Alliance, not just to serve veterans throughout the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, but throughout the southeast region." So-

- That's great.

- We welcome to you to come on in and our doors are open.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thanks for sharing with us.

- Oh, thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you, Jarrad. And to all our veterans out there, again, we want to say enjoy your Veterans Day. Thank you for your service. And we don't want anyone to suffer in silence.

- Yes.

- If you need spiritual support, reach out to us. We are here at The Path Church. We have started a veteran support group. I've talked to Jim Lenahan at Northview about starting a veteran support group. We want men and women who sacrifice to be in environments where you're poured into. And please don't give up on God 'cause He hasn't given up on you. And Jarrad is a testimony to that, that God still has a plan. So again, enjoy your Veteran's Day. And Jarrad, thank you for your time. We greatly appreciate it.

- [Narrator] Thank you so much for listening to the "Wisdom for Wealth for Life" podcast. If you're looking for financial advice, please contact us. Please visit ronblue.com. That's ronblue.com. Thank you for listening, and please subscribe to wherever you listen to your podcasts. Trust and investment Management accounts and services offered by Ronald Blue Trust, Incorporated are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, nor guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of the principle amount invested. The information in these podcasts is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not intended as specific individual advice. The client's experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, and they're also not indicative of future performance or success. Opinions expressed may not be those of Ronald Blue Trust.