About this episode

Jon Macaskill discusses his journey from Navy SEAL Commander to mindfulness advocate, addressing survivor's guilt and mental health in the military.

Jon Macaskill spent 24 years as a Navy SEAL Commander, leading special operations from 16-man teams to formations of 2,500. He was in the Joint Operations Center the night Operation Red Wings claimed 19 American lives in Afghanistan — men he called his own. What followed was a decade of self-medication and darkness. Then a Navy psychologist suggested mindfulness and meditation. Macaskill laughed at first but then tried it. And it changed everything. Now a leadership coach, speaker, and co-host of the Men Talking Mindfulness podcast, Macaskill joins Tango Alpha Lima hosts Adam Marr and Joe Worley to talk about survivor's guilt, why he started blocking off mental health days in red on his calendar where his sailors could see them, and why hypervigilance and mindfulness are more alike than most veterans think. Also in this episode: the DOJ takes action against a towing company targeting service members, the 80-year history of American Legion Boys Nation, and a myth-or-fact breakdown on meditation and the military. SHOW NOTES Learn more about American Legion Boys Nation Enter The American Legion Drive for Freedom Sweepstakes Learn more about Jon Macaskill Check out the Men Talking…

People in this episode

Hosts: Adam Marr, Joe Worley

Guest: Jon Macaskill

Topics covered

• mindfulness
• survivor's guilt
• leadership
• mental health
• military
• self-medication

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Legion, Men Talking Mindfulness, Department of Justice

Books & works: American Legion Boys Nation, Military Myth or Fact? — Mindfulness Edition

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