#171: World's Best Problem Solvers - Green Beret and PAM Jets CEO Ben Harrow

Green Berets are America’s best problem solvers. There’s no challenge too great and no solution that cannot be found. This mentality exists in service and beyond. Ben Harrow https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-harrow-02052399/ solved complex challenges as a West Point Lacrosse star, leading soldiers in Iraq, and as he joined Special Forces to be a Green Beret in the Army. Today he’s the President of PAM Jets https://www.pamjets.com/ solving aviation’s largest logistical problems. But the biggest challenge Ben ever faced was when he stepped on a land mine. Ben is a double amputee who nearly lost his life in Afghanistan. From the sidelines of the 2024 Stars and Stripes Classic, https://greenberetfoundation.org/event/2nd-stars-stripes-classic/ the first ever lacrosse battle between Green Berets and Navy SEALs, Ben joined Fran Racioppi https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisracioppijr/ to share his story. After months of surgery and being told he would never walk again, he took his recovery into his own hands. Ben explains the meticulous research he conducted, the doctors he challenged and the method he developed to ensure he would walk and move on with life. He explains his resiliency mindset, how he applied it to becoming a Green Beret, solving his recovery challenge and how it drives him in entrepreneurship today. Most importantly, Ben shows us that there’s nothing special about being Special Forces, you just have to want it more than anyone else. Watch, listen or read our conversation from Gillette Stadium and don’t forget to check out the rest of our series from the inaugural Stars and Stripes Classic as we gear up for the round two on September 1, 2025. Highlights 00:00 Introduction1:42 Welcome to Gillette Stadium2:42 We Met In Iraq7:40 Joining Special Forces9:25 What Separates a Green Beret12:27 Stepping on a Landmine17:23 The Rehabilitation Process21:05 Learning how to walk again27:55 The Most Challenging Part29:34 SF Guys Building a Business38:30 What’s Next Quotes “As an athlete and competitive person, I’ve always wanted to be on the best teams.”“That special mindshift puts that special in front of forces.”“Special Operations in combat, if there was a board game, we’re like chess masters and everyone else is checkers masters.”“My first thought when I stepped on that bomb was I got hit by a car.”“Part of the reason I think I was able to get out and start the process of figuring out how to walk again was I took myself off the pain meds so quick.” “I got injured as a 215 lb tactical athlete to waking up in the hospital bed weighing only like 130.”“The most challenging part was learning to have patience.”“As an entrepreneur, you try everything.”“That’s the biggest thing as an entrepreneur, being able to solve ambiguous problems.”“It’s better to execute an 80% plan at 100% than waiting to create a 100% plan and executing at 80%.”“My guidance to my team is consistently we don’t do everything, but we can do anything.” The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance https://university-hp.com/, providing our Veterans world class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast https://www.instagram.com/jedburghpodcast/ and the Green Beret Foundation https://www.instagram.com/greenberetfoundation/ on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform https://pod.link/1558608802, read on our website https://greenberetfoundation.org/the-jedburgh-podcast/, and watch the full video version on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jedburghpodcast as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge. The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation https://greenberetfoundation.org/.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:02Fran Racioppi?

  Green Berets are America's best problem solvers. There's no challenge too great and no solution that cannot be found. This mentality exists in service and beyond. Ben Harrow solved complex challenges as a West Point lacrosse star, as he led soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as he joined special forces to be the best in the army. Today, he's the president of an aircraft company solving aviation's largest logistical problems. But the biggest challenge Ben ever faced was when he stepped on a landmine. Ben's a double amputee who nearly lost his life in Afghanistan. From the sidelines of the Stars of Stripes Classic, the first ever lacrosse battle between Green Berets and Navy SEALs, Ben joined me to share his story. After months of surgery and being told he'd never walk again,

• 0:45Fran Racioppi?

  he took his recovery into his own hands. Ben explains the meticulous research he conducted, the doctors he challenged, and the method he developed to ensure that he would not only walk again, but move on with his life. He explains his resiliency mindset, how he applied it to becoming a Green Beret, solving his recovery challenge, and how it drives him in entrepreneurship today. Most importantly, Ben shows us that there's nothing special about being special forces. You just have to want it more than anyone else. Watch, listen, or read our conversation from Gillette Stadium and don't forget to check out the rest of our series from the Stars of Stripes Classic. The Jedberg Podcast is brought to you by University of Health and Performance, providing our veterans world-class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs.

• 1:27Fran Racioppi?

  Follow the Jedberg Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform. Read on our website. And watch the full video version on YouTube as we show you why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge. Ben, welcome to the Jedberg Podcast.

• 1:44Speaker 01

  Thanks for having me. I guess we can consider this a Jedberg/Team Harrow podcast. I'm going to copy all this and then just repost it. Free content.

• 1:52Fran Racioppi?

  It really is. It's free content. We've had people who've done that, who've taken our episodes and then just recut the intro and put it out there themselves, which I'm fine with. The more that gets out there, the better. But it's been a long time, man.

• 2:05Speaker 01

  It has. The last time we really sat down and chatted or really saw each other would have been... In October of 2006 in Iraq. Which is ages ago.

• 2:15Speaker 02

  Yeah, cuz you came in and replaced me and my unit in Balad, Iraq. And then took that mission from us. And a lot has happened since that moment in time.

• 2:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm missing a few body parts since 2000, since October of 2006.

• 2:29Speaker 02

  It was too easy.

• 2:30Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, you set him up and I knock him down.

• 2:36Speaker 02

  But it's good to see you, man.

• 2:37Speaker 01

  You too, yeah. I mean, I first off, I feel like that week of working with you in Iraq was very eye opening of we're not in Kansas anymore. And that was actually a really good trip. I enjoyed it. I felt like we accomplished a lot. A lot of things that I think that you guys were doing, maybe a lot of things that you attempted to do. I felt like we left that area really just in a better situation. And then for me, my next challenge after Iraq was SFAS and selection.

• 3:07Speaker 02

  Yeah, so similar path. I think that was one of the things that that deployment in that place showed me was that, hey, there's this, there are these other opportunities out there. And the infantry was a great place for me. I enjoyed it. I loved it. My time as a platoon leader was awesome. That year in Iraq was a hard year. There was a lot of stuff that happened that year. But it was a great opportunity to learn what combat was.

• 3:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:33Speaker 02

  And to learn how to lead and to know that you're gonna go through these ups and these downs, not only in yourself, but in your unit. And how do you manage that? And how do you lead through that? And how do you keep folks motivated to do things that they really don't want to do?

• 3:49Speaker 01

  No, completely.

• 3:50Speaker 02

  You know, and you're asking them to do it day in and day out.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  We had a guy one time, kind of just sit down and quit on us on an infill in the Golden Hills area.

• 3:59Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:59Speaker 01

  And I remember when we did our left seat, right seat ride with you. And I remember you saying like, hey, this is a really bad Al Qaeda area. And we ended up doing some stuff in there and he was new to the platoon. And he just sat down and like, just having quit. And I was like, this isn't the schoolhouse, man. Like, and you know, as a leader, how do you deal with that? Right like there's no like alright Lieutenant show us what you do it's like you better figure it out because right and I think on that same mission We walked up on a farm or farming in the middle of the night and I think like half the guys like alright let's just shoot them and the other half like we can't do that right and I'm like It's like these leadership lessons that like you train for a little bit you read about and then You're like in the shit and like that it's you gotta figure it out right

• 4:45Speaker 02

  Yeah well that was a time too you talk about 2005 2006 where we were decisively engaged on a lot of fronts You know and it wasn't going well

• 4:55Speaker 01

  My first night out with you I don't know if you remember we were in your Humvee on Tampa doing like the standard like vehicle ambush setup And I remember Apaches flew over they saw guys IED and placers Your lead Brad started a fire that Bradley started a fire we're going down Tampa with this Apache shooting and this Bradley shooting and it's like day one I mean I'm in Iraq and I'm like I feel like I'm over my head right now like wow but you're like Yeah this is what we did this is where we are on the map I just you know remember where we're at you're probably gonna come back here and you're like just Cool as ice and I was like okay alright

• 5:36Speaker 02

  Well that was a year though that was the back end of the year because I the first few weeks I was like that was like you're describing You know I mean white knuckling the whole the vehicle right you know digging my fingers into the steel of the Bradley going I don't know what's gonna happen I don't know if I'm gonna make it out of here But I think you find a way to you find a way to get through it you know you find a way to motivate yourself motivate others and find what works for you and your team

• 6:02Speaker 01

  Yeah

• 6:02Speaker 02

  You know we've had the opportunity now you know we're sitting here at Gillette Stadium two decades later almost You know we're sitting here we've had the Green Beret versus Navy SEAL Stars and Stripes Classic hosted by the PLL we've been here the last couple of days I mean what a phenomenal event In terms of getting these two great organizations though together

• 6:22Speaker 01

  Yeah

• 6:23Speaker 02

  Get them on the field get them in front of the of the populace get them in front of America and the world on ESPN plus and say look these Folks who do these jobs are just like you.

• 6:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:34Speaker 02

  These guys played college lacrosse. They played high school lacrosse. And we got a whole stadium here of college and high school lacrosse players and youth lacrosse players who can now look at that and say, you know, I could go do that thing and set the foundation now at a young age to be able to go forward and be elite, do great things. We've heard that term a lot in our week here, right? This term, how do you be elite? What's the difference between being good, being great, being elite? I want to talk about your story.

• 7:05Speaker 01

  You want to talk about what?

• 7:05Speaker 02

  I want to talk about your story.

• 7:06Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 7:07Speaker 02

  Right? Because we spent that time together in Iraq and we both came back, went to selection, became Green Berets. For some reason, you went to seventh group and thought that was a good idea.

• 7:18Speaker 01

  It's good to tan well and you thought it's a Spanish idea.

• 7:22Speaker 02

  So, yeah, see, I was, I was a little more pale. They're like, all right, you're going to tenth group.

• 7:27Speaker 01

  You're like, you're a biking ass?

• 7:28Speaker 02

  Yes. And so we had these career trajectories that in a lot of ways paralleled each other, but also were very different.

• 7:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:36Speaker 02

  And I want to know from you, why'd you choose to go into SF?

• 7:43Speaker 02

  And talk about the decision points that where you said in your mind, I gotta go do this.

• 7:48Speaker 01

  Yeah. So my decision point to go special forces, you know, I think it was, I was already kind of leaning towards that way when I was at the dead at West Point because, and I think it goes to what you were talking about before about a lot, so many college lacrosse players, high school lacrosse players out here, and then you have these, these two elite units playing lacrosse. There's such a parallel between the, the mental toughness, just being an elite athlete of being a college lacrosse player and being in the special operations. I felt like it was just like a, a natural next step to go from being a college lacrosse player into the infantry. And especially once I was in Iraq, I had the opportunity,

• 8:29Speaker 01

  because I was there for 15 months, to work with different ODAs. I worked with a 20th group SF team, a 10th group SF team, and a 5th group SF team. I was able Really, as a young PL, like, like a kid at Christmas, when we got asked, hey, we want you to work with us and be the exterior perimeter for objective. And we were riding in on the 160th birds. And I was like, this is it, right? Like, this is the varsity. And as a competitive athlete and a competitive person, I've always wanted to be on the best teams. I wanted to be the best lacrosse, I wanted to be the best hockey player. And then I wanted to be the best lacrosse player, right? And then I wanted to be the best professional soldier and special operator.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  So it was in Iraq that after working with the SF guys, I knew I wanted to go SF. I knew I wanted to be Green Beret. I put my packet in for SFAS while I was in Iraq.

• 9:24Fran Racioppi?

  Transitioning out of the military is about more than polishing a resume or attending a LinkedIn workshop. It's about rediscovering your purpose and forging a new path that's worthy of your service. At the University of Health and Performance, veterans are offered transformative GI Bill-approved programming designed to help take them to the next level with confidence. Nestled in the heart of the Ozarks, their 800-acre, all-inclusive campus features world-class training facilities, modern living spaces, and miles of trails for reflection and growth. Here, veterans find a structured, immersive environment where they can explore their strengths, develop new skills, and build a life that not only honors their past, but prepares the future.

• 10:05Speaker 02

  I think working with those units really shows you the difference between being in the regular army and being in special operations and in special forces, becoming a Green Beret. And I would say, it's not that any one of them is better. They're different.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:23Speaker 02

  You know, and I think people ask me a lot, what was it like being a Green Beret? And I'll say, why was it different? Why is it special? And I stop them and I say, you know, it's actually not special. There's actually nothing special about any of us.

• 10:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:38Speaker 02

  The difference is that you execute the fundamentals and the basics to a higher standard, and you never compromise that standard.

• 10:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:47Speaker 02

  And it's not just the talk. It's not just, hey, we're gonna come in here and, you know, talk about it today. We're gonna actually go do it. And we're gonna keep doing it, not until we get it right, but until we can't get it wrong.

• 11:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:01Speaker 02

  And that slight difference in how you think is what sets the standard and sets the conditions for you to be elite. Whether that's in the military, whether that's as an entrepreneur, whether that's on lacrosse field or in athletics. That simple mind shift puts that special in front of forces.

• 11:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, you know, whenever I've done speaking engagements and just talking to people, they're like, oh, so you're in special forces. Is that like, you're like a Navy SEAL? And I'm like, yeah. Black guy, I told you when I was here in 2015 and I talked to the Patriots, the first two things I told them, I said, hey, first off, I was a Green Berets, so I wasn't a Navy SEAL. And number two, I'm a Giants fan, so let's just lay that out right.

• 11:45Speaker 02

  Oh, not in this stadium.

• 11:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, but you know, something I always say is, you know, Navy SEALs, Rangers, Green Berets, like, we all have a unique thing, but where I like to think what Green Berets and what makes us so special is, it's a better like the Navy SEALs or the Rangers or something is for us, like special operations in combat, if it was a board game, we're like chess masters and everyone else is like checkers masters. And that's not like a put down, it's just the two different games, but with some similarities. But what I really liked about what SF guys do is it wasn't always like, all right, here was a bad guy, how do we go kill him? It was about, all right, let's use our mind to figure out, is there a better way? Instead of just swacking some guy, maybe there's another way to influence the population.

• 12:31Speaker 01

  Maybe we replace him with somebody else. Maybe we bring him over to our side. Maybe we have his enemy take him out. Like, there's a lot of different other ways to do that. And honestly, I fast forward to figuring out how to get myself up and walking to my, my, my new, you know, life in the civilian world and running America, Patrick, kind of building up a business. It's that thought process of like, all right, problem solving, I got a problem solver.

• 12:57Speaker 02

  Right.

• 12:57Speaker 01

  And I think that's, not to say that we're not special, like you're saying, but I, I think that's an important piece of what makes SF so special.

• 13:05Speaker 02

  We're great problem solvers. Let's tell you about the biggest problem you had to solve.

• 13:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:09Speaker 02

  You stepped on a landmine.

• 13:11Speaker 01

  That was an oozie.

• 13:13Speaker 02

  Talk about that day. You can laugh about it now, it's serious in nature, but you're here, so we do get to laugh about it.

• 13:20Speaker 01

  No, totally, and I, you know, and I think also being an athlete, you're able to have a sense of humor. Thirty years. There's some like grit and resilience about that, right? And I've always had a good sense of humor. In fact, when I first got injured, everyone was asking Gina, like, how's Ben? You know, how is he? Like, you know, he just lost his legs. I heard he almost died. Like, how's Ben? And she's like, honestly, it's Ben. It's just Ben without legs. And she's like, it's really weird, but like, it's Ben without legs. And 15th May 2012, it was my second trip to Afghanistan as a special forces attached commander in 7th Group. And I ended up stepping on a pressure plate IEDs.

• 13:58Speaker 01

  And, you know, at the time, I played hockey growing up. I played college lacrosse. I've had my fair share of hits. And my first thought when I stepped on that bomb was like I got hit by a car. And, you know, it just rattled me. Both the eardrums were blown out. All the, all the air, my lungs was sucked out from the overpressure. So I remember trying to catch my breath. And I just remember laying there, trying to come to and figure out like what's going on. And off in the distance, I hear someone screaming. And all of a sudden, I'm like back in my body and I realize it's actually me screaming. And at first I thought it was someone else. So I was like, all right, just be here and be cool and try and figure out what's going on.

• 14:40Speaker 01

  But then I was like back in my body and this weird out of body experience and it was me screaming. And then I'm like off in the distance again, like floating away. And then I'm back in my body. And I can't see anything, but I could just feel my teammates working on me, right? And I remember him like leaning over me and just saying like, holy shit, oh my God. I remember hearing gunfire because it actually, me stepping on the IED kicked off an ambush. There was a PKM on, on the outskirts, waiting for someone to step on the bomb and I was the lucky winner. And I remember I started to drift off, right? And I just remember thinking about my son and my, my wife at the time. My son was nine months old and, and I had a picture of Gina and painted on my wall back at the fire base.

• 15:23Speaker 01

  And I just remember saying their names like over and over, like Gina and Payden and Gina and Payden and Gina and Payden. And it was like my mantra and I just knew like, I'm in a bad spot. I don't know what's going, I'm in a lot of pain, I'm screaming, I'm having this out of body experience. There's like a lot of religious shit going through my mind right now too of like other people around me like holding me. And I just remember saying their name over and over again and I knew whatever I had to do, I'm, I'm gonna fight to get back to them. And I was able to hold on long enough for my teammate to get to me, you know, they had a kind of fight through the ambush to get back to me. Did a textbook job of putting tourniquets all over me and, and getting me on a medevac. Eventually back to Kandahar and then Bagram and I woke up three days later in, in Germany. Which is another story, which I, I can tell my, my first conversation in Germany.

• 16:08Speaker 02

  Well, I want to hear what happened when you got to Germany. You weren't conscious on the way to Germany?

• 16:13Speaker 01

  No, not at all. Like, they said I was, uh, kind of mumbling. In fact, I, you know, because of what I experienced like mentally, I asked him, I said, hey, did you give me any drugs? And they said, my medic was like, no dude, he's like, your breathing was so shallow, your breathing pulse was so shallow and weak. If I gave you a bump of anything, you're, you're gone. He said you're at twilighting where basically you're on like the verge, you're like over here on death. You're back in life and you're kind of on the border.

• 16:36Speaker 02

  And outside of your leg injuries, what else?

• 16:40Speaker 01

  So I ended up, well, so when I wake up in Germany, I find out like what's wrong, right? So I get woken up in Germany three days later by a nurse and she says, Captain Harrow, do you know where you are? And I said, you know, no, I felt like all my five senses had been reset, everything's blurry. And she said, you know what happened? I said, no. She said, you stepped on an IED and. You know, I, I know guys that have stepped on stuff before, I'm sure like you do where it's like, all right, in my mind, I'm like. I probably shattered my foot, you know, the worst case scenario is I'm missing a foot. And I said, okay, am I, you know, what does that mean? And she said, I'm sorry, but you lost both legs above the knee. I was quiet for a second, then I asked, all right, do I still have my dick?

• 17:20Speaker 01

  And I think that she was like, once again, I can't see her face, but I just remember the tone and like the pause and I think she was a little surprised by that and she's like. Yes, you still have your penis and, but, uh, you know, the doc, you had significant soft tissue on your right forearm. The doctor's gonna be able to save your arm, you're not gonna be a triple amputee, we're gonna save it. And you lost two fingers on your right hand. And I just remember, all right, like fingers, arm, but I still got my dick, right? My dick's still there? And she's like, yes, that's still there. And.

• 17:46Speaker 02

  Priorities.

• 17:46Speaker 01

  And then, and then I passed back out. And to be honest, that's like one of the only things I remember from Germany. Yeah.

• 17:53Speaker 02

  So you spend time in Germany. They stabilize you.

• 17:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:57Speaker 02

  And then bring you back to Walter Reed and into the center where now you've got to start this long journey for rehabilitation.

• 18:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, so when I got flown back to Walter Reed, the first two weeks at Walter Reed, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I would go into surgery for washouts because I had so much dirt blown up into me and I had four fungal infections and a bacterial infection. I had no concept of time, but the only reason I was able to know kind of what was going on because I was so drugged up and in and out of it so much going into surgery is at the foot of my bed, they had these wound vacs and there's like seven of them just sucking like gunk out of me from my stumps, from my arms. And every time I would like pass back out and I would wake up, I wouldn't know what day it was, but I would count the wound vacs and eventually we get down from like seven to like none. And that's kind of like over two weeks, I was able to figure out like a timeline of things.

• 18:48Speaker 02

  And then so that's essentially your progress.

• 18:50Speaker 01

  Exactly. And then so come week three and four, when I'm more aware of stuff, I realized that I am super drugged up and for a good reason. I'm on two types of oxycodin, they had me on ketamine at one point, morphine, like everything. And I didn't feel like myself. And like around week three or four, I had a moment of clarity where I realized I need to get off these drugs now because if I'm going to start the healing process, this is like step one. And so they come in one night, they give me my little cup of like cocktail, you know, the pills and like, no, I'm cool. And I remember the nurse was like, what? I'm like, no, I don't want them. And they're like, oh, okay. And so the next morning, the doctors, when they come and do their rounds, they're like,

• 19:32Speaker 01

  hey, Captain Harrow, the nurse told us that you didn't take your pain meds last night. And I'm like, no, I didn't want them. I don't need them anymore. And they're like, listen, don't be the overly macho Green Beret. Like we know your type. It's called pain management. We don't want to get behind the power curve. Like if you need them, take them. And I was like, I got it, but I can deal, I'm going to deal with it. And they're like, listen, we're going to leave you hooked up to the morphine. You don't have to take the pain pills, but if you need any morphine, just let the path. And so that week was the most painful I can remember. I felt my limbs getting like. ripped off me again. I was having crazy nerve pain. I was like sweating like crazy going through withdrawal. Every morning I was throwing up because uh my body was just like detoxing itself

• 20:12Speaker 01

  from all the drugs. And after about like three or four days, I kinda like I plateaued and like I just woke up and I was good. But one of the biggest things that helped me get through that when I was in the most pain to try and go back to like my mental happy place was I would think about when I was playing college lacrosse. And like the smells and the sounds of like this, like the stadium, like walking out on the concrete, walking out to the field and like hearing that clack of the cleats on the on the concrete, the sound that the ball makes when it kisses the pipe. And then I would, when like that would start to like fade off and I start to have pain again, my next thought was I would be in the locker room and I would just remember the smell of the lacrosse locker room.

• 20:54Speaker 01

  And I would play this mental game where I'd be sitting in my locker and then I would go around the locker room naming all my teammates in their numbers until I got back to me, just to trick my mind into thinking of like things I enjoyed and not so much of like feeling of my legs getting ripped off from me again, right? So yeah, I just was able to finally deal with it mentally. And because of that, I took myself off the pain meds like two to three months quicker than what they normally do. Like dudes at the hospital, even a year out or so on pain meds and nerve medicine. And I got off of that after like four weeks. And Four weeks? Four weeks. And because of that, I was only inpatient for two months. And usually a guy with might have injuries was like four to six months inpatient. And I I'm like pretty seriously like

• 21:37Speaker 01

  wounded. But I think part of the reason I was able to get out and start the process of of figuring out how to walk again is because I took myself off the pain meds so quick.

• 21:45Fran Racioppi?

  When faced with a challenge, Green Berets adapt, overcome, and keep moving forward. Now's your chance to stand with them. Join the 1952 Society with a monthly gift of just nineteen dollars and fifty-two cents to provide critical medical devices for wounded, ill, and injured Green Berets. Your support fuels their recovery, helping them return to duty or continue serving their communities. A Green Beret's mission never stops. Neither should our support. Join the 1952 Society today and stand with those who stand for us.

• 22:17Speaker 01

  What is the process to learn how to walk again? Well, for me, the process, like everything I do, wasn't easy. So much of my right leg was blown off from the blast and that caused the infections and was blown up to me and they had to cut away at my femur on the right side. I wasn't able to wear full-size prosthetics like I'm wearing now. And so I had to wear this cumbersome belt. I wasn't able to wear like full-size prosthetics that are heavier. It would fall off and it was like super frustrating. And I got injured in May of 2012. So fast forward to Thanksgiving of 2012. I'm down in Boca Raton, Florida, my in-laws. I bring my little practice legs down there. And I'm like trying to walk around and I'm like back, I'm back to working out and getting back in shape. I'm like in the pool. I'm trying to do anything and everything because I got injured at a

• 23:02Speaker 01

  215-pound tactical athlete to waking up in the hospital bed weighing like 130. And I had to weigh, I mean, I had to weigh 130 pounds like seventh grade. Yeah, I was gonna say middle school. So I'm building myself back up, but I can't, I can't seem to figure out how to walk and I'm like super frustrated about it. And I'm talking to my wife Gina and I'm like,

• 23:23Speaker 01

  it's super frustrating because it's not the magician, it's the wand. And it's like, nobody's telling me, there's gotta be something else out there with the equipment that can help me get up and walk because I'm ready to go. But there's nothing. And Gina's like, well, you're Walter Reed. Shouldn't someone be there to like help you or guide you with this? Because it's like the epicenter of trauma in M U Ts at the time in 2012. And no, like nobody said anything. She's like, well, I saw this show on TLC called Little People, where little people had their shin bones broken and stretched out to get a couple of inches of height, right? And I'm like, I said, I'm like Gina, I'm an M U T, not a fucking midget, right? I'm sure they kicked off a fight, but I'm sure it's very not politically correct, but it got me thinking and I was like, alright.

• 24:08Speaker 01

  Here's a process that people are doing to get taller with their shin bone. Why not use it on a femur? And I was doing all my research on like Wolff's law, how bones regrown, the Elazra method, who Dr. Elazra was, like what he was doing in Angola to Cuban soldiers, and figuring out how to realign bone. And I went back to Walter Reed and I met with my orthopedic surgeon. And I was like, hey, man, talk to me about osseodistraction, bone lengthening. And he's like, yeah, he's like, we can mostly do it on like kids that break their both plates, break their growth plates. And as they get older, they need to like realign their bone because one leg grew and one leg didn't. That's when we use it. We've never really done it on an amputee. And when I say never really done it, we've never done it on an amputee.

• 24:53Speaker 01

  And I said, all right, like, who do I need to talk to get this done? So we go up to Johns Hopkins and we talk to the like the American guru of bone lengthening. And he's like, Ben, I can get you like two to three inches of bone. And I'm like, I'm in. He's like, all right, well, let me just tell you that you're going to be like bedridden for like a year. And you're going to have this chunk of metal sticking half in you and half out. And three times a day, you're going to have to turn the screws on this device and stretch out your broken femur. And there's a risk of infection, right? So I'm like, all right, man. And you know, we were talking about it like, all right, I know this is what I gotta do to get up and walking. So I'm going to do it. But this is the equivalent of telling me I grad, I go through Ranger School and on graduation day, telling me you gotta go, you gotta day one yourself, like,

• 25:38Speaker 01

  ah, I'll do it, but is there any other way? And he's like, yeah, well, there's this doctor up in Minnesota that uses this all internal device. And you can't really do much, you can't walk, but at least you could probably still work out. There's not that much of a risk of infection. And I was like, all right, well, why wasn't this like option A? Like, you know, why couldn't we talk about that first? So anyway, I go up to Minnesota, I send the x-rays to the guy up in Minnesota. He calls me and he says, hey, Ben, I can get you two to three inches of bone, but I need you to fly up here to Minnesota. And in a very S F way, I figured out a way to get up to Minnesota by myself. And fast forward 11 months, three surgeries, one minor setback. I end up saying. Setting two medical world records, one for the shortest stump ever lengthened on an amputee.

• 26:24Speaker 01

  And the second was for the most bone regenerated on a human. Because originally they said I was gonna regrow two to three inches of bone. And instead I end up regrowing about five and a half inches of bone on myself.

• 26:34Speaker 02

  Oh my god.

• 26:34Speaker 01

  And so, yeah, like, yeah, it's cool. I did that. I got myself up and walking. But to be honest, the thing that like, I actually take most pride in is it's a procedure that they were doing for guys like myself at the hospital that were short on one side, that were looking to get out of the wheelchair also. And I was able to do that because if you were my therapist and you told me no, you weren't my therapist. If you were my doctor and you told me no, you're not my doc. And literally, my first physical therapist, I fired her, like, day one. And I was like, you're, this is too weak, this is too slow. I'm sorry, I was like, I don't mean to be rude, but I need, I need another therapist. So.

• 27:11Speaker 02

  How do you learn how to walk? Like, I, I mean.

• 27:15Speaker 01

  It's a lot of balance. Like.

• 27:16Speaker 02

  I watched you here.

• 27:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:18Speaker 02

  I mean, because again, I haven't seen you, I mean, we've spoken kind of through social media a bit over the last couple of years. But I haven't seen you until we got here. And I'm so impressed. I mean, watching you yesterday at practice, you're walking around, carrying your bag.

• 27:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:34Speaker 02

  Watching you out here pacing up and down the sideline.

• 27:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:38Speaker 02

  Yelling at guys to go do things, right? And I mean, just the balance, the whole, I mean, it's incredible.

• 27:45Speaker 01

  Well, I mean, look, I've always been an athlete. I grew up playing hockey, so like, kind of knowing that edge and how you need to feel your center of gravity and your balance. But yeah, man, it's, I feel it. You know, I had to go and take my legs off and just kind of like sit there for a little bit, like, almost when we were in the military and you take your boots off to let your feet air out. But I never let it stop me. We went to Disney after I got injured and I was in a wheelchair. Before that trip to Afghanistan, we went to Disney as a family. And I loved it. And I had never gone to Disney before. My wife was like a big Disney person as a kid. We took our little baby and I just thought it was a cool experience and we went back and it was still cool, but I was in a wheelchair. And like, call it pride, call it determination, but I was just like, fuck this man. I was like, I'm not coming back in a wheelchair. The next time we went to Disney, I was walking.

• 28:28Speaker 01

  And for three days, I walked around Disney and I kid you not, it felt like I did the trek every single day. And I actually kept my GPS on and we ended up walking like 12, we did like 10 to 12 miles a day, just walking around Disney. Which for me, walking as a bilateral above the knee amputee is three to four times the amount of caloric effort. So take 10 multiplied by 3. Every day I'm doing a 30.

• 28:52Speaker 02

  You're doing 30 miles.

• 28:53Speaker 01

  Yeah. You know, I felt it. You know, now when we go back to Disney, I don't feel like, I'm like, all right, I did it. I know I can do it. If I ever have to do it again, I'm either going to rent the like the handicap scooter, just grab a wheelchair and reel myself around. Yeah.

• 29:05Speaker 02

  What was the most challenging part?

• 29:07Speaker 01

  You know, I think the most challenging part was, I think it's made me a better person or grown up, I guess. But it's learning to have patience. You know, SF guy, we're, we're type A go-getters. And it's like, all right, let's go. Like, we gotta go through this, let's go through that. I'm the leader, I'm going to beat you there. Like, I need to be the first one there. Now, not having legs, I'm literally forced to sit there and have patience. And that was kind of like the biggest thing for me. But it's definitely helped me later on in life, you know, as, as, as a husband, as a father, learning patience. And especially in the business world, that it just doesn't happen like that. And you need to realize that it's a process. It's slowly gonna hap- every day you're doing the right thing and it's gonna happen.

• 29:51Speaker 02

  As you were talking about patience, I was thinking about how that translates into the other things in your life.

• 29:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:59Speaker 02

  And how, you know, we sit here as entrepreneurs, as founders of businesses. And that's most challenging part. I was talking to a guy who retired a couple of years ago out of Delta.

• 30:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:13Speaker 02

  Just in the lounge over here, who came here for the game. And we were sharing some challenges of being an entrepreneur. And he said, you know, everybody says, what was the hardest thing you ever did? You know, you were in Delta.

• 30:26Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:26Speaker 02

  And he said, it's building a business.

• 30:28Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 30:29Speaker 02

  And you now are building a business.

• 30:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:31Speaker 02

  You've gone from West Point collegiate division one lacrosse player, to the infantry, to special forces, to rebuilding your body.

• 30:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:42Speaker 02

  And now you took on an equally as large challenge of building a business.

• 30:47Speaker 01

  You know, my first job, and my first job out of the army, I was tasked, hey, we would like to, it seems like a good idea as a cybersecurity company, we want to get into this government contracting world. Can you do that for us? And that was like, that was my first job out of the army was running government, was building up government operations for a cybersecurity company, which led me to where I am now at Pamjets. And I got asked to come over with the two founders, Dave Mendelson and Tony Yoder. Tony's a military guy who's an F-18 Top Gun instructor. And they said, hey, we'd love for you to come over and be employee number one with us and help us grow and build this business and run the business. And I told them, I'm in, but I just gotta let you know, I know nothing about private jets.

• 31:29Speaker 01

  All I know about airplanes is how to jump on planes and how to talk to bombs, or talk to planes that drop bombs, that's it.

• 31:35Speaker 02

  And they're super cool.

• 31:36Speaker 01

  Oh yeah, they're like, listen, we'll take care of all the aviation stuff, we just need you to grow the business and run the business. And that was seven years ago and as an entrepreneur, you try everything and you just try and figure out like, all right, is this working? No, is this working kind of, is this working? No, is this working? Yes. And you're, you have to step back and kind of look at your wins and losses and figure out, all right, this was kind of working, this wasn't working, this was working, this wasn't working and figure out, all right, now we need to, what's our new mission statement? Where do we need to focus? And, and really just have thick skin, you know, you're, we heard so many no's in the, in the first couple of years of being in the aviation business, managing jets, a lot of who are you? What is it that you do?

• 32:16Speaker 01

  And now, to be honest, we leave a lot of money on the table because we specifically only take on like maybe four to eight projects, we'll call them, like new planes. And we look to see if, we just look to see if it's a good fit for us. You know, our methodology is we're looking for a partnership. Is it going to be a good partnership for not only us, but only for you, also for you? We're not, it's not just about like the revenue. And I was talking to Nick Levery last night about that, about being an entrepreneur. And he consults with a lot of businesses and a lot of these entrepreneurs. And we were talking, I said, you know, for us, it was never about profits first, it was about clients, culture and profits. We're going to take care of the clients. Have a strong culture and then we'll worry about the profits.

• 32:56Speaker 01

  And he's like Benny, he's like, you don't know how many entrepreneurs I know that we talk and they think it's just all about making money. But it's really the guys that have like want to establish something bigger than just making a profit. They're the ones that are succeeding now.

• 33:08Speaker 02

  Yeah. And you talk about character a lot of times. Yeah. Character that you develop. I wouldn't even say develop. I say the character that is identified assessed in you. And then you're selected for when you go in this special forces. There's nine of them that SOCOM uses, right? But now every unit, whether you're a SEAL or Green Beret or Ranger, we're assessing slightly differently for some of those. You know, what do we care about as Green Berets? We care about drive, resiliency, integrity, curiosity, you know, and adaptability. Sit really as our top one because we need guys who are going to get up every day and they're going to go do their job.

• 33:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:46Speaker 02

  Okay. Regardless of what that motivation is.

• 33:48Speaker 01

  And it may not be sexy, but they're going to go and do it.

• 33:50Speaker 02

  Yep. And we, we need them to be curious because we need them to find solutions to complex challenges. We need them to be adaptable because it's not going to always work and they got to find better ways to do it. We need them to have a high degree of integrity because we don't send guys like the SEALs do, no offense to them, as groups.

• 34:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:07Speaker 02

  We send guys as two man elements, three man elements, one man element.

• 34:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:11Speaker 02

  Might be the only guy in a, in a country.

• 34:13Speaker 01

  I mean, I know guys that have like two at a time will go down to Argentina, you know, or like some other country. You're like, wait, why are special forces like in there? But we're, we're everywhere, you know, at all times doing things, purposes for the United States. And the integrity piece is big because you don't have someone always looking over your shoulder and higher up has to know that you're going to be there doing the right thing when no one's looking.

• 34:36Speaker 02

  Decisions are being made on the information that you're providing.

• 34:39Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 34:40Speaker 02

  But that translates now into going to build a business, identifying something you don't know much about.

• 34:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:47Speaker 02

  Being willing to get involved.

• 34:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:49Speaker 02

  Continuing to find ways to be adaptable, educating yourself. I mean, you talk about curiosity. I mean, you figured out your doctors didn't present it to you, but you figured out, hey, there's a method here that could help me.

• 35:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. I mean, look, if Manchester United or AC Milan is watching this podcast, I'm ready to get hired to problem solve for them. You know, that's what we as Green Berets bring to organizations is the problem solving skill. I just love doing it around sports teams and building teams and always being an athlete. Yeah, I mean, I think that's the biggest thing as an entrepreneur, like the original question that you asked is being able to solve ambiguous problems. And as team leaders in SF, like that's probably the biggest thing that they're looking for during selection is can you take this Jeep with only three wheels and move it from point A to point B when everyone's tired and hungry and accomplish the mission? Because that's going to

• 35:44Speaker 01

  translate to real world, right? You have a team of 11 other dudes and you could be a young guy on a team and not have the same experience as them and you need to be able to motivate them and show that you know what you're talking about and get the object from the point A to point B and achieve the mission.

• 35:58Speaker 02

  You know, it's funny you bring that up, that example, because that example is critically important in that there's a solution to a lot of problems, but those solutions are rarely 100%. So the Jeep, there's a solution to the Jeep to make it work, but that's not 100% solution. It's about an 85% solution because that last 15% is the work. At some point, you gotta grit down, you gotta bear it, and you're gonna do the best you can to create this solution, but now you gotta put your head down and you gotta drive, you gotta sweat, and you gotta hard, put the hard work in to get there.

• 36:37Speaker 01

  So it's funny that you say that. On the work side, we're actually developing kind of like a new division or a new offering for clients. And I've been saying to Dave, like, look, we keep talking about it, we keep talking about it, but it's better to execute a plan, an 80% plan at 100% than waiting to create a 100% plan and executing it at 80%. Like, let's just get together and we'll put some stuff on paper and we'll go.

• 37:02Speaker 02

  Yeah. So I built, I've been building over the last several years, FR6. In my security and operations company, we deal with critical infrastructure. Primarily in the New England and New York area. And my guidance to my team is consistently, we don't do everything, but we can do anything.

• 37:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:24Speaker 02

  And our answer is always gonna be yes. When problems come to us, when opportunities come to us. It's can you do that? Yes, but give me 24 hours, give me 48 hours. Cause I know regardless of what problem comes our way, what opportunity, what bid gets released by the state. That there's somewhere, someone in here that I can call or someone I can call who can call someone. Who could then help me to solve that problem. And then we're gonna put the work in to do that, which is, comes back to that drive and that curiosity. That's what gets me up every day to say, I can't wait to go do this today, cause I don't know what's gonna happen.

• 38:01Speaker 01

  You know, the interesting thing is that because of our, our mindset and like, like you said, like I met you in 06. We kind of shadowed each other. It's not like we've been buddies for 20 years. If you came and ran Pan and was the president of Panjets, it would have missed a beat because everything you're saying and stuff. I said, we'd never say no. In fact, I made our operations team on a three by five card, right? Never say no, we'll get back to you.

• 38:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:26Speaker 01

  Right? Like we were asked if we could open, if we could somehow reach out to this no name airport in the Dominican Republic. And go pick up a, a lost member of the wedding party for one of our clients. Alright, give me 12 hours, we'll, we'll get it open for you. We had me and my vice president of client service, who speaks much better Spanish than I do, even though I can still obla a bit. He called the manager of the airport. She happened to be at home throwing like a quinceañera for her kid. She went to the airport at 11 o'clock at night, opened up the airport, got her plane in there, picked up the guy and flew him to Turks and Caicos, right? Like, tell me what the problem is. I'll tell you if we, you know, I won't say no right away, but we're gonna figure out a way to get it done.

• 39:05Speaker 02

  You're creating impact. So it's getting heated here. The fourth quarter is about to start of the of the chaos in the Canons game. Canons are up 7-3, so they got like four points, but in the PLO, that's only two goals.

• 39:16Speaker 01

  Oh, I know.

• 39:17Speaker 02

  That can shift rapidly. Andy Towers is coming on here in a little bit, so I'm pulling for the chaos in this one because I don't want to have him in here all pissed off.

• 39:24Speaker 01

  And he's an intense guy.

• 39:25Speaker 02

  He is an intense guy. So I think he's the only one who's been on three times.

• 39:30Speaker 01

  Oh, really?

• 39:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, so we're going to talk to him here in a little bit and then we're going to have Paul Rabel.

• 39:34Speaker 01

  I think that they won last year. I think they won the championship.

• 39:36Speaker 02

  Uh, it was a few years ago.

• 39:38Speaker 01

  Okay, okay.

• 39:38Speaker 02

  A few years ago, we had him on after that. So what's next for you?

• 39:41Speaker 01

  I gotta go catch a flight from Boston down to Lauderdale. I gotta head back home tonight. Gotta take kids to soccer practice and dance and a aviation company run tomorrow, so back on the road.

• 39:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, the responsibilities don't stop.

• 39:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:53Speaker 02

  So.

• 39:54Speaker 01

  And I have a podcast of like film, episodes I have to edit and episodes I have to create and shorts, so so there's that as well.

• 40:02Speaker 02

  There's a lot of room in the podcast space for competition because people can need to experience different conversations.

• 40:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:10Speaker 02

  So I will plug your podcast on this one.

• 40:13Speaker 01

  I appreciate that.

• 40:13Speaker 02

  Okay, because I do think that people need to go out and they need to hear what you have to say and they need to hear your story. They need to learn about you. You said that you haven't really been buddies for 20 years. That's true. I think one of the biggest thing, if not the biggest thing, I honestly say that to you right here that I take out of this weekend was reconnecting with you.

• 40:28Speaker 01

  Oh, totally.

• 40:29Speaker 02

  I hope and I know that for the next 20 years, that's not going to be the narrative.

• 40:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, and definitely I hope you come down to Florida soon. We can do this on my podcast and talk for another couple of hours and continue to connect.

• 40:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, and get the families together.

• 40:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, that'd be awesome.

• 40:43Speaker 02

  So it'll be a good time. Thanks, man. Appreciate everything.

• 40:46Fran Racioppi?

  American Jedbergs went on to form the foundation of the United States Special Forces and the Special Activities Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Thanks for listening to the Jedburgh Podcast, an official program of the Green Bay Foundation. I'm your creator and host, Fran Rychovin. Join us next week for a new episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check us out on YouTube for full episodes, highlights, and other long and short form content. If you like what you heard, give us a like and leave a review. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X or Threads. Send your comments and inquiries to [email protected]. As former members of Special Operations Forces, the Jedburgh Media Channel and the Green Beret Foundation remain committed to supporting all generations of U.S. Army Special Forces

• 41:31Fran Racioppi?

  and their families. Thanks for joining us on this episode. How you prepare today determines success tomorrow.