Show notes
Stephan Wolfert enlisted as a medic in 1986, became an infantry officer, trained for elite special operations, and was on a fast track to a full military career…until two devastating losses in the same year broke something in him. A chance encounter with Shakespeare's Richard III in a small Montana theater changed the course of his life forever.Today, Stephan is a licensed psychotherapist, Shakespeare actor, and founder of De-Cruit, a groundbreaking program using Shakespeare's verse to help military veterans heal from PTSD and trauma. With over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles backing his work, what started as one veteran's personal catharsis has helped thousands find language for the unspeakable.In this episode, Stephan talks candidly about growing up on the rough north side of La Crosse, Wisconsin, fleeing to the Army as his only way out, the rapid rise through elite military training, the grief that broke him, and why he believes we recruit soldiers but never truly "decruit" them — and what that costs all of us.🔗 Learn more about De-Cruit: www.decruit.orgCHAPTERS:3:02 – Why He Joined the Army5:45 – Becoming a Combat Medic7:06 – Basic Training & What Surprised Him12:40 – Advanced Training & Becoming an Officer18:05 – Iran-Contra, Central America & Shifting Beliefs22:55 – Getting His History Degree & Turning Down Regular Army28:47 – JRTC & National Training Center: Elite Field Training34:33 – Ranger School & What Almost Ended It37:42 – The Arctic Training Story (A Favorite Army Memory)42:53 – The Losses That Broke Him: Deaths in Training & a Soldier's Suicide49:49 – Going AWOL: A PTSD Episode on an Amtrak Train54:14 – Whitefish, Montana & a Shakespeare Play That Changed Everything58:31 – Turning Down the Military for Good1:02:12 – Ranger School: The Concussion That Cost Him the Tab1:13:19 – Graduate School & the Birth of Cry Havoc1:16:36 – Creating DeCruit: Shakespeare as Medicine for Veterans1:29:02 – The Research: What the Data Actually Shows1:37:43 – Veterans, Childhood Trauma & ACE Scores1:46:44 – How to Find DeCruit & What's Coming Next1:48:35 – The Real Cost of War & What We Choose Not to Fix1:55:34 – Final Thoughts & Reflections If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at [email protected].
