{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthe-soldier-fund-podcast.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2F016-what-not-to-do-J5HQLOT_","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"016 | What Not to Do","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/946a2b58-0ffd-45b6-9844-fac690eb5aff/5d3c5d96-4ba4-42f8-bdc0-2e1329d74883/copy-20of-20episode-20art-20interviews-5.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"In this episode, Ben sits down with a National Guard Special Forces Master Sergeant with over 20 years in the Army and seven combat deployments.\n\nThey talk about what it actually feels like when it gets real — the first firefight, improvised armor, insurgency warfare, and the quiet reality of putting your hands on a wounded man and hoping he makes it.\nBut this conversation isn’t about glory.\n\nIt’s about reputation.\nIt’s about brotherhood.\nIt’s about what it means to “free the oppressed.”\n\nAnd it’s about something most civilians never consider:\nOn the battlefield — and in life — survival often comes down to knowing what not to do.\n\nThey discuss:\nThe moment a young soldier realizes combat won’t prove his manhood\nWhy Green Berets care more about credibility than recognition\nThe sacred trust inside an ODA team room\nThe difficulty of leaving the team after years of war\nWhy aging inside Special Forces is a conversation we’re not having enough\nHow the lessons of warfare translate directly into fatherhood and civilian life\nThis is a conversation about violence — but not for violence’s sake.\nIt’s about responsibility.\nAbout protecting others.\nAbout carrying something forward for the next generation.\nAnd about understanding that a man’s purpose is never about himself — it’s about the team."}