Jason Everman, the guitarist who played with Nirvana and Soundgarden, says punk rock was his soundtrack growing up.
“It was this loud, fast, aggressive music that was essentially the sonic middle finger,” he says, standing before a picture of his teenage self wearing a Black Flags T-shirt. “And as I was this kind of 15-year-old gawky walking middle finger, we complemented each other.”
In his Got Your 6 Storytellers talk, Everman focuses on his unlikely life trajectory, the path that took him from playing in rock bands to becoming a U.S. Army Ranger and later on, an elite member of Special Forces.
“It was the year of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, absolutely,” he says of a turning point between tours when he realized that punk rock no longer brought him the joy it did as a kid. “I had no structure in my life other than touring commitments.”
But under this surface of “living the dream,” Everman continues, “I was profoundly dissatisfied.”
A friend who was a former Navy SEAL told Everman he might consider joining the military, saying his own experience challenged him in ways he had never experienced before.
“Challenge leads to achievement, and achievement leads to joy,” Everman says of one of his biggest takeaways from his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This veteran bears tattoos on his forearms as he talks about ridding himself of the “shackles of cool.” Watch the video to discover his story and how rock music and military service continue to shape his path.
Tag: Navy Seal
Bravery After Battle: How This Navy SEAL Uses His War Wounds to Help Fellow Soldiers
A year after he was ambushed by machine-gun fire in Fallujah, Iraq, Lt. Jason Redman was still missing his nose. The bullets that showered his body also hit his cheekbone, leaving the right side of his face caved in. And he was wearing an eye patch to conceal a crusty and mangled sight. Returning to his life in Virginia, Redman says it was as if he had become a target all over again — this time to questions and stares from strangers.
The questions themselves — were you in a car accident? a motorcycle crash? — didn’t bother Redman. The fact that no one ever asked whether he’d been hurt in combat did. “It really started to make me bitter,” Redman, 38, says. “We’d been at war in Iraq for six years at that point and I thought, ‘Wow does the average American that I fought for recognize the sacrifice that I’ve made and that others have made?’”
MORE: This Ex-Marine Started a Winery to Employ Fellow Returning Vets
Redman’s irritation began to fester, and after a particularly bothersome gawking session at the airport (“It’d been culminating, and I’d just reached my breaking point”), he took to the Internet to vent. Instead of angry Tweets or passive aggressive Facebook messages, Redman decided to wear his defense. He began designing T-shirts featuring slogans like, “Stop staring. I got shot by a machine gun. It would have killed you.” An American flag adorned the back of each one. As he started wearing his designs, strangers began to nod in appreciation, even thanking him at times. Redman knew he was onto something — that there were countless other wounded warriors who felt the same way.
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So in 2009 he created Wounded Wear, a nonprofit that donates clothing kits to warriors hurt in combat and their loved ones, as well as to the families of fallen soldiers. The kits contain jackets, workout gear and T-shirts that read “Scarred so that others may live free,” a toned-down version of the original slogans Redman used to print. His organization also accepts existing clothing from service members, which the nonprofit modifies to accommodate short-term rehabilitation needs or permanent bodily damage: One of the most requested alterations comes from amputees, whose prosthetic limbs make it difficult to put on regular pants. Wounded Wear provides everything to service members free of charge, raising money from donations as well as apparel sales on its website. So far, they’ve donated nearly 2,000 kits.
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