#14 Jon Jackson (USA) – STAG Vets Inc

We only grow in our discomfort

This from our guest this week – Jon Jackson – US Army veteran and Executive Director at STAG Vets Inc – as he described one of their central and differentiated themes. STAG Vets is non-profit organization focusing on acute veterans crisis care using sustainable food production and agriculture as the methodology by which to support veterans struggling with PTSD and other issues. Comfort Farms, named in honor of US Army Ranger Captain Kyle Comfort (KIA May 8th, 2020), is located in central Georgia.

This conversation with Jon solidified for me the manner in which many veterans tell you about their experiences – through story. In the first 15 minutes, we’d been through several stories from his time as a necropsy technician to how seeing research animals dissected on an autopsy table opened his eyes to sacrifice as a sense of service, which is what originally drew him to the military.

What Jon is doing at Comfort Farms is different in the sense that it forces the veteran to look for meaning in their surrounding – in this case agriculture – and to be personally ready to work for themselves through their issues.

Have a listen to find out what Jon is doing and his unique take on behavioral therapy within agriculture