Blown Up, Broken Down, Built Back: A Veteran’s Road to Recovery

Hosted by David on The Hammer Drops, this episode features Jess (Recon2Recovery), a combat veteran who tells a raw, detailed life story that moves from Army reconnaissance and an IED blast in Iraq to medical retirement, incarceration, severe addiction, homelessness, and ultimately recovery. Listeners will hear first-hand accounts of combat experiences, the blast that ejected him from a Humvee, and the physical and psychological aftermath that followed.

Jess shares his recovery journey in-depth — the rehabs and relapses, the turning points that led him to sobriety in 2023, and how he transformed his life to become a recovery coach and advocate for mental health, PTSD awareness, homelessness services, and addiction recovery. He also discusses studying social work and training to become an addiction counselor, and how lived experience now informs his work helping others.

Key topics include: the many faces of PTSD (not only combat-related), trauma triggers and nightmares, anger as a secondary emotion, traumatic brain injury, the role of therapy and medication, energy healing, faith and finding a higher power, and the critical importance of support systems, accountability and meaningful work in long-term recovery. Jess and Dave also talk frankly about prison culture, the struggle to disconnect from people/places/things that enable addiction, and practical steps for finding help.

Takeaways for listeners: recovery is long-term and deeply personal; asking for help and building a healthy community are essential; resources and advocacy matter for veterans and civilians alike; and lived experience can become a powerful tool to guide others out of addiction and homelessness. Find Jess on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook at Recon2Recovery for resources, outreach and to connect directly.