From Gurkha jungle warfare to writing the book he wishes someone had given him

Today’s guest spent 28 years in the military, nearly seven of them deployed. Gurkha jungle warfare specialist. Counter-terrorist helicopter pilot. Specialist Military Unit commander. He’s been shot. He’s watched his own men go down. And he’s carried all of it.

After leaving the military he became a Senior Partner at McChrystal Group, then led international operations at Palantir Technologies.

But none of that is why he wrote the book.

He wrote it because success on the outside doesn’t mean you’ve dealt with what’s on the inside. Mindful Soldier, co-authored with trauma researcher Dr Jessica K. Miller, is the honest account he wishes someone had handed him. Childhood trauma, self-doubt, failure, and what resilience actually looks like when it’s real.

This is Ash Alexander-Cooper.