When Sinners Like Me Come Home with National Guard Veteran Steele Kelly

Published: June 25, 2018, 7 a.m.

b'Steele Kelly is a 25-year-old Army veteran deployed twice in Afghanistan. He served as a cavalry scout and forward observer for the field artillery, transitioning to operation resolute support from operation enduring freedom.\\xa0\\n\\n\\u201cI was in denial that I had changed and the world changed me at all. And I wanted to go back to the person I was before war. I didn\\u2019t want anybody else to see changes in me, like my family, my mom, any of my friends. And It\\u2019s kinda where the issue started.\\u201d - Steele Kelly\\nSteele Kelly - Changed by War\\nDuring his service in Afghanistan, Steele sustained compression fractures to three of his vertebrae. This forced him into medical retirement. It was the beginning of his struggle with re-integration, and a deeply-set mental health issue.\\n\\nFor a time, the honeymoon phase after going home was enjoyable. But soon enough, his denial of the fact that he\\u2019d been changed by war caught up with him and began making it difficult to assimilate back into civilian life.\\nFighting the Stigma\\nSteele has heard of the perpetuated stereotype that needing to talk to a professional means being unfit for combat, that you somehow lack, or that you\\u2019re weak. Worse still are the risks of marking your career or being stigmatized, a label that you may never get away from.\\n\\nThis is the very reason that it took him a very long time to come to terms with what he\\u2019s going through. \\n\\n\\u201cI was upset because at the same time, I missed that guy that I was before war. But I knew now, everybody sees that I can\\u2019t go back to being that guy.\\u201d - Steele Kelly\\nConfronting the Truth\\nSteel spiraled down into the caustic cycle of anxiety. He went through a falling out with his mother, failed medical appointments, a breakup, and seeing his own cohort struggle and leave the mortal realm before he finally acknowledged that he needed to help himself.\\n\\nOne morning he woke up, backpacked, and climbed up a mountain. Today, he\\u2019s an author and a pre-medicine student who wants to take up the role of the doctor who will help the veterans who struggle, just like he did.\\n\\nDon\\u2019t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!\\n\\nCheck out these links for Steele Kelly\\n\\n \\tWebsite - Steele Kelly\\n \\tLinkedIn\\n\\nDownload Joe Crane\\u2019s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470. \\xa0\\n\\nJoin the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!\\n\\nCheck out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It\\u2019s also a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship, and get updates and free gouge on the people programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.\\n\\nThe Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 150 episodes giving listeners the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane featuring the people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship: Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard veterans, DOD, entrepreneurship, business, success, military spouse, transition, education, programs and resources. \\xa0Veteran On the Move has garnered over 500,000 listens verified through Stitcher Radio, Sound Cloud, Itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.'