Show Notes | April 23, 2020 | Episode 029 Warning: This episode covers potentially triggering topics including suicide, substance abuse, and sexual assault.  In this episode, we are sharing a raw conversation with entrepreneur and veteran John Krotec of GreenZone Hero. John is using his experiences, including a traumatic brain injury and childhood sexual assault, to bring what he has learned from them to the military community. We are proud to share John’s story during Sexual Assault Awareness Month and to shine light on a conversation that is often times hard to have.  If you are a new listener to VirtForce podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please email support@virtforce.wpengine.com and let us know how we can help you today!  Links and Resources  VirtForce Podcast on Apple Podcasts   VirtForce Podcast on Spotify  Kimber Hill LinkedIn  John Krotec LinkedIn  Explore These Resources  If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider these resources:  The National Resource Directory  Veterans Crisis Line  Vet Call Center 1-877-WAR-VETS  National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline 800-656-HOPE  National Sexual Violence Resource Center  In this episode, we discussed the following resources:  GreenZone Hero  Straight Outta Combat  Task Force Zen  Fractals Poetry  Join the Conversation  Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.    VirtForce on Facebook  VirtForce on LinkedIn  VirtForce on Instagram  Check Out Recent Podcast Episodes  How to Freelance with Laura Briggs  27. Tiger King Video Chat Do’s & Don’ts  24. Telework in the Time of Corona  Famous Remote Workers from Cavemen to Walt Disney  Blog In this episode, we are sharing a raw conversation with entrepreneur and veteran John Krotec of GreenZone Hero. John is a firm believer that, “living is people.” It is people who create our experience and our existence here. He is using his experiences and what he has learned through them, including a traumatic brain injury and childhood sexual assault, to pour back into the military community. GreenZone Hero is an online directory of businesses (both veteran and non-veteran owned) that support freedom in one way or another. This includes giving special pricing to veterans and active duty, employing veterans, or supporting the military community in some other way. John is also the mind behind Straight Outta Combat Radio and Task Force Zen Radio, podcasts that tell the stories of our combat veterans so we can change the negative stereotypes surrounding veterans and have an open conversation. It is clear through spending even just 5 minutes with John that he has a powerful mindset and is a necessary voice for combat veterans whose stories need to be told. Everything he does is with the goal of benefitting our military community. This includes staffing GreenZone Hero with milspouses. Through his work, John is unveiling what it’s like to be a veteran and what it’s like in the life of a service member.  John’s story is a powerful one. He is an Army veteran who has served both active duty and in the Army Reserves. After his service, John married his wife and opened a business that they owned together for 23 years. In 2012, things came to a boiling point in John’s life. He was involved in a drunk driving accident (where he was the driver) and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Following this trauma, demons from his childhood sexual assault came to the surface. John began struggling with mood swings, anger, and insomnia. He was forced to sell his business and faced the potential of losing his marriage.  In 2015, John called a crisis hotline to get the help that he needed to live his life again. Since then, John has been on a journey of self-discovery and has rei...