Aug 27, 2022
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Today we hear the Combat Story of Jake Wood, a former University of
Wisconsin football player who enlisted in the Marine Corps and
fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine Rifleman and
Sniper. One of the key moments that led him to the Marine Corps was
the death of Pat Tillman, the legendary NFL Safety who walked away
from the League and joined the Army after 9/11, eventually being
killed while serving as a Ranger in Afghanistan.
Jake found himself leading Marines at the very front end of the
“Surge” in Iraq and the bloodiest year of the wars, stepping into a
kinetic environment only weeks after arriving in the theater. He
was then in Helmand Province in Afghanistan as a sniper.
Only two months after leaving the Marine Corps, Jake went on to
found the humanitarian support organization Team Rubicon after
hastily organizing what he describes as a “Motley Crew” of veterans
and doctors to help the people of Haiti after the devastating 2010
earthquake. He recently created another charitable giving business
called Groundswell which seeks to democratize philanthropic
giving.
In 2018, Jake was awarded the Pat Tillman ESPY for service
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7Xef8StXi8),
bringing his story full circle from Tillman’s death that propelled
Jake into this life of service. I hope you enjoy this unique and
insightful interview with someone who played football at the
highest level and then selflessly decided to put on a different
uniform to help others as much as I did.
Find Jake Online:
- Instagram @jakewoodtr https://www.instagram.com/jakewoodtr/?hl=en
- Twitter @JakeWoodTR https://twitter.com/JakeWoodTR
- Team Rubicon https://teamrubiconusa.org/
- Groundswell.io https://groundswell.io/
- ESPY Pat Tillman Award https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7Xef8StXi8
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- Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
- Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
0:27 - About our sponsor, Aura
2:28 - Guest Introduction (Jake Wood)
4:22 - Interview begins
5:00 - Football's influence in life and position played
13:23 - Family history and a perspective on a college campus
protest in March 2003
17:30 - The significant events and people like Pat Tillman which
lead to joining
23:36 - Funny recruitment stories and why Marine Corps Infantry
28:22 - Training with Pugil sticks in bootcamp as an elite football
player
31:16 - Getting out of the training pipeline
and into a Marine Rifle Platoon
37:58 - First "boots on the ground" moment in Iraq and first time
taking mortar fire
40:27 - Combat Story - Driving into IEDs while in Humvees
49:59 - The bloody realities of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan
53:25 - Combat Story - Injuries and booby traps during the
bloodiest year of the Iraq war
1:00:14 - What do you tell your family?
1:01:23 - Marine Sniper School experience
1:03:13 - Combat Story - The tough operating environment in
Afghanistan
1:08:54 - How snipers desensitize themselves
1:10:52 - Combat Story - Taliban attack and tending to injured
civilian children
1:12:36 - Transitioning out and how Team Rubicon Disaster Response
started
1:21:34 - Groundswell
1:25:48 - What did you carry into combat?
1:27:33 - Would you do it again?
1:29:04 - Accepting the Pat Tillman award
1:30:24 - Listener comments and shout outs
The video is all about Marine Sniper from D1 College Football, Jake
Wood. If you want to learn more about Combat Story, you can click:
https://www.combatstory.com/
This video covers the following subjects:
- Marine Sniper from D1 College Football
- Marine Sniper
- Marine Scout Snipers
- Team Rubicon and Groundswell Founder
January 12, 2010. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shakes Port-au-Prince.
In moments, hundreds of thousands were injured, infrastructure and
buildings were destroyed, and countless were made homeless. In the
days following, many traditional aid organizations were slow to
establish relief efforts, citing dangerous and unstable working
conditions. Troubled by the scenes in Port-au-Prince and the lack
of proper aid, two Marines, Jake Wood and William McNulty, decided
to act. Gathering supplies and volunteers, the small group of
veterans, first responders, and medical professionals deployed to
Haiti in the days following the earthquake.
If you would like to learn more about Marine Sniper from D1 College
Football, Jake Wood I suggest you look into our various other video
clips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCyApoJr-mNmdMNwdk22xEQ
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