Semper Try

What happens when you finally decide to join the Marine Corps, only to discover that the job you signed up for isn't the job you're going to get?

In Part 2 of my conversation with fellow Marine and The Bunkhouse Podcast host Jon Cole, we pick up with his decision to leave bull riding behind and pursue something he'd wanted to do for years: become a United States Marine.

In 2006, at 21 years old, Jon walked back into a Marine Corps recruiting office ready to serve. He signed up for artillery with a four-year contract and an enlistment bonus. But on the day he was supposed to ship out to boot camp, everything changed.

Suddenly, artillery was off the table. So was military police. After turning down several other jobs, Jon found himself signing a five-year contract with no enlistment bonus to work in data systems, a field he knew almost nothing about.

And that was just the beginning.

Jon takes us through his arrival at Parris Island, standing on the famous yellow footprints, and the reality of Marine Corps recruit training. We talk about drill instructors, the different phases of boot camp, the Crucible, and the unforgettable moment of earning the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.

We also share a few laughs about the things the Marine Corps drills into you that never seem to go away, even 20 years later. From standing at parade rest without realizing it to making sure your shoelaces are always laced the right way.

The conversation continues through Marine Combat Training, Jon's first airplane ride, and his arrival at Twenty-Nine Palms, California, where he began training as a Tactical Data Network Specialist.

It's a conversation about adapting when things don't go according to plan, earning the title Marine, and how some experiences stay with you for a lifetime.

Haven't heard Part 1? Go back and listen to Jon's journey through bull riding and the setbacks that delayed his dream of joining the Marine Corps.

About Semper Try

Semper Try is more than a podcast. Follow our daily Today in Military History videos and Acts of Valor series, honoring the courage, service, and sacrifices of our military men and women.

Semper Try is a proud member of V.E.T. – Voices Empowering Tomorrow, a network of veteran-hosted podcasts supporting one another, sharing stories, and building a collective reach.

Securing the hope for tomorrow.

Find the podcast, social media pages, and more at SemperTry.com.

Because Trying Beats Quitting.

#SemperTry #JonCole #TheBunkhousePodcast #MarineCorps #VeteranStories

Jon Cole had a plan. He was going to become a United States Marine. But just weeks before leaving for boot camp, a bull-riding accident changed everything.

Growing up in a small North Carolina town, Jon developed a love for rodeo and the challenge of staying on a 2,000-pound bull for eight seconds. It took him 30 to 40 attempts to complete his first successful ride, but he kept getting back on.

After a knee injury ended his first attempt to join the Marine Corps, Jon spent the next three years competing in rodeos, even riding against future world champion J.B. Mauney.

In Part 1 of our conversation, we talk about growing up in North Carolina, the impact of September 11, 2001, the lessons Jon learned riding bulls, and how an unexpected injury put his military dreams on hold.

And this is only the beginning of his story.

Semper Try Podcast is a proud member of VET, Voices Empowering Tomorrow.

Find the podcast, social media, and more at sempertry.com.

Because Trying Beats Quitting.

Vietnam veteran and Army helicopter pilot Robert Mitchell survived the war. But leaving Vietnam didn't mean leaving the war behind.

In Part 2 of our conversation, Robert shares what happened after he left the Army in 1970 and began a journey that would take him across Europe and ultimately change the direction of his life.

Struggling with the psychological effects of war, Robert traveled through England, Germany, and Greece, searching for answers and a way to understand the warrior spirit he carried home.

While living in Munich, a powerful dream forced him to confront what he calls the "spirit of death." Rather than running from that experience, Robert continued his journey, searching for its opposite: love.

Robert also discusses the challenges Vietnam veterans faced returning home, PTSD, veteran suicide, and the difficult transition from military service to civilian life.

It would take Robert twelve years to feel he had finally found his way home.

We also talk about his books, his career as a teacher, his thoughts on preserving veterans' stories, and his hopes of someday bringing his experiences to the big screen. And near the end, Robert reveals that he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for a helicopter rescue mission in Vietnam.

Robert Mitchell's Books on Amazon

Journey to Myrtos https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781468025637

The Trials of the Initiate: Transforming the Warrior Spirit https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781468025637

Education and the Culture of Democracy https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781634103640

About Semper Try

Semper Try is about the stories that deserve to be heard. Veterans, coaches, volunteers, and everyday people who have faced challenges, found purpose, and kept trying.

Semper Try is proudly part of VET — Voices Empowering Tomorrow, a network of veteran-hosted podcasts.

Visit sempertry.com for more conversations, daily Today in Military History videos, and links to all our social media platforms.

Most stories die unheard. These WON'T.

Because Trying Beats Quitting.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Tomorrow needs you.

#SemperTry #VietnamVeteran #VeteranStories #PTSD #VoicesEmpoweringTomorrow

Robert Mitchell didn’t go looking for war.

In 1966, his student deferment disappeared and the draft was closing in. Instead of waiting to see where the Army would send him, Robert made a choice: if he was going to serve, he wanted to fly.

That decision put him into the Army’s Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviation program and eventually behind the controls of helicopters headed for Vietnam.

In Part 1 of my conversation with Robert, we talk about his path from a struggling college student to Army helicopter pilot, nine months of flight training, and the incredible moment when his plan was selected from roughly 400 students to lead a massive training exercise involving 200 helicopters.

Then came Vietnam.

Robert arrived in January 1968, just before the Tet Offensive. Within days, he was being fired on while flying a Huey toward Dong Ha near the DMZ. He would go on to fly command and control missions, support missions, and scout operations where finding the enemy meant deliberately flying out in front.

But Robert’s story isn’t only about flying helicopters.

It’s about what he calls the warrior spirit and what happens when the military trains someone for combat, awakens that instinct inside them, and then suddenly takes the battlefield away.

Robert’s tour ended violently when his helicopter crashed, rupturing a fuel line and erupting in fire. He was badly burned, medevaced out of Vietnam, and spent eight months in the hospital.

The fire sent him home.

The war came with him.

Robert openly discusses returning home still carrying the desire to fight, the internal conflict that followed, and the long journey that would eventually take his life in a completely different direction.

This is only Part 1.

036 P1: Robert Mitchell: Sent Home by Fire, Still Wired for War

📚 Find Robert Mitchell’s books, including Journey to Mirtos, on Amazon:
Robert Mitchell’s Amazon Author Page

🎙️ Semper Try Podcast
Because Trying Beats Quitting.

🌐 SemperTry.com

#SemperTryPodcast #VietnamVeteran #ArmyAviation #VietnamWar #VeteranStories

 

 

This episode of the Semper Try Podcast is a little different.

What started as a six-part Today in Military History series turned into a full deep dive into one of the most historic units in the United States Army:

The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment :The Old Guard.

This whole series started after I heard Army veteran David Weisenhorn on the Chat 62 Podcast, a fellow member of VET: Voices Empowering Tomorrow. David talked about being selected for the Old Guard, and it made me realize that even though I had heard the name and seen the Tomb Guards before, I didn’t really understand what the Old Guard was.

So I started digging.

In this episode, we cover:

The history of the Old Guard going back to 1784

How the regiment got its name

What it takes to serve in the Old Guard

The history of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

How Tomb Sentinels are selected and trained

The 21-step walk

The Changing of the Guard

The Tomb Guard Identification Badge

And why the watch never stops

This is six parts of military history, tradition, discipline, and service brought together into one episode.

David Weisenhorn’s story continues on the Chat 62 Podcast, with new parts releasing on Tuesdays, so make sure you check out their series as well.

Semper Try Podcast is a member of VET: Voices Empowering Tomorrow, a Veterans Podcast Network.

Have a story, or know someone whose story should be heard?

Email: sempertrypodcast@gmail.com

Website: sempertry.com

Because Trying Beats Quitting.

In 034 P3, the final part of Eusebia “Chappy” Rios’ story, Chappy shares what happened after 33 years of military service.

From searching for a massive cobra in Baghdad to surviving dangerous missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chappy brings humor to some of the hardest moments of her career. She also opens up about retirement, losing her mother, living with PTSD, and finally asking for the help she needed.

Chappy explains how that healing led her back to Minnesota, to CRMC, and to a new mission serving veterans and their families. Her uniform may have come off, but her calling never ended.

Patriot Grounds meets on the third Saturday of every month from 10:00 to about 11:00 a.m. at Heritage Church in Baxter, Minnesota. All veterans and their families are welcome. You do not need to be a combat veteran or a career service member. It is a safe, alcohol free place for conversation, connection, resources, coffee, and fellowship.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988. Tomorrow needs you.

Semper Try Podcast
Because Trying Beats Quitting

n Part 2 of my conversation with Eusebia “Chappy” Rios, we pick up her journey from enlisted Airman to Air Force chaplain—and the moments that shaped the way she showed up for the people around her.

Chappy shares the advice that reminded her never to forget her enlisted roots, why she wanted people to see the cross before the rank, and how an unexpected conversation with a young Security Forces Airman helped confirm her own calling to become a chaplain.

We also get into the moments you simply can’t plan for: a struggling service member under the wing of an aircraft in the darkness of a deployed location, a shared connection to Minnesota and the Vikings, and a brutal ruck march where being late, getting the heaviest ruck, and ending up at the back of the group put Chappy exactly where someone needed her.

Sometimes Plan B becomes your calling. And sometimes you find out there was a Plan C.

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Chappy. Part 3 concludes the conversation next week.

If you enjoy Semper Try, follow the podcast and share the episode. Have a question, a guest idea, or someone you think we need to hear from? Email SemperTryPodcast@gmail.com.

Semper Try is a proud member of VET — Voices Empowering Tomorrow, a Veteran Podcast Network built by veterans and supporting veteran podcasters and the stories they choose to tell.

 

 

 

 

On this Patriot Day, 25 years after September 11, 2001, four members of VET, all United States Marine Corps veterans, come together to remember where we were when America changed forever.

We share our memories of that morning.

We remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost, those who answered the call, and a country that came together.

Never forget September 11, 2001.