Butte Tough, Marine Vet's Must-Hear Message to Combat "Fragility"

He grew up in Butte, played football for the legendary Coach Green at Montana Tech, and then served 27 years as a United States Marine. His "antifragile" message is something we all need to hear. Yes, our fellow veterans included.

Retired Colonel Brian Gilman served as the MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command) chief of staff before retiring from the military. He now serves as the CEO for the Bozeman-based Warriors & Quiet Waters.

"In a world that often glorifies fragility, our CEO, Brian Gilman, challenges that narrative. Drawing from his experiences as a Marine, a combat veteran, and the leader of Warriors & Quiet Waters, he explores the power of antifragility—the ability not just to endure adversity, but to grow stronger because of it." That's how WQW introduces a recent blog post by Gilman, who shares five key practices for building resilience, confronting hard truths, and growing through adversity's challenges."

We got the chance to be joined by Colonel Gilman in our radio studios early Friday morning.

Col. Gilman: "As long as I've been working in this space, we've over emphasized the trauma related with combat service and have totally ignored the opportunity that lives on the far side of that trauma, and that's post traumatic growth. Becoming stronger because of those adversities that you faced. And you know, that's what this concept anti fragility is all about. That's why I wrote the blog. You know, I believe that every veteran, especially combat veterans, are imbued with this thing called the warrior ethos. And you know, it's just a matter of reawakening that in ourselves and knowing that we can respond in a way that's going to make us stronger when we're dealing with tough times."

What are the five ways to combat fragility: Acknowledge Hard Truths and Confront Reality, Build and Nurture Your Tribe, Cultivate Pragmatic Optimism, Anchor Yourself in Purpose, Seek Discomfort.

Click here to read Col. Gilman's full column.

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Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz

Source: Butte Tough, Marine Vet’s Must-Hear Message to Combat “Fragility”