War Took His Legs. Not His Life.

Jason Smith1:12

Yeah.

Jason Smith1:14

Uh Chattanooga.

Jason Smith1:19

I was 23 years old when I enlisted in the Army.

Jason Smith1:25

I did, yeah.

Jason Smith1:28

Absolutely. Yeah.

Jason Smith1:39

I found that I had a lot of growing up to do. You know, I was 23 years old, I thought I was a man. Every young man thinks they're a man, right? That's how they're put in front of man stuff. And the first real man I met was my drill sergeant, and I was like, this is this is a lot. And I I straightened up. I completely changed my ways. I was never really a bad guy, but I was just, you know, I was the guy that's like, "Don't push the button." I want to push that button.

Yeah, you know. Um so, I grew out of all that and uh it was it was for the better, absolutely.

Jason Smith2:16

Uh I really wasn't into much of anything. I was just kind of floating around, just doing life. Uh but when I got out of the military, I really fell heavy into guns, like military-sided weapons, so the M4, the SCAR, things like those, weapons that we would have used overseas.

Jason Smith2:31

Yeah.

Jason Smith2:39

So, from boot camp, I go to South Korea. I got there in September of 2009. And I spent a year there. Um and Korea, any veteran can tell you that has been stationed there will make or break your career. Either you can do certain things that takes you off the path, or you can stay the course and just experience it for what it is. I chose to experience it for what it was, the culture, the history. I mean, you're talking thousands of years here, right? A lot of history.

Um and I loved my time over there.

Jason Smith3:44

Um so, the first thing I really noticed when I got off the plane is that LG runs that country. There was LG bubble gum, LG toothpaste. America is just TVs, right? So, that was the biggest the first thing that I saw. Then I saw the money change and then I I saw the level of respect that the children gave their parents.

Jason Smith4:04

I feel like we used to have that respect. Growing up I did. You know, you you either you you respected and and feared your father.

Jason Smith4:15

Yeah, so I just I was just really impressed by what that culture was doing. I mean, I didn't see a single overweight there. There were gyms outside everywhere. Every Everybody walked. The portions were smaller.

Jason Smith4:27

All these things. It was It was interesting. It was a very amazing year for me.

Jason Smith4:38

Yeah.

Jason Smith4:46

Yeah, we I was stationed at the closest base to the border.

Jason Smith4:49

And they were like, "Hey, just a heads up. They have guns fixed on us. If they wanted to, they could you know, do something crazy." I'm like, "Awesome."

Jason Smith4:56

All right.

Jason Smith5:00

We went there whenever I in-processed. Yeah, so I was in country for about 2 weeks before I got to my duty station. And they took us up there and they showed us kind of like the culture and everything and it was It was something cool. I never would have thought being a guy growing up in Georgia I'd be in South Korea looking at North Korea.

Jason Smith5:22

It is.

Jason Smith5:28

Yeah. Yeah.

Jason Smith5:30

Yeah.

Jason Smith5:39

So, I was in Korea for 1 year. I left for Fort Lewis, which is in Washington state after that in 2010.

Jason Smith5:46

Uh no.

Jason Smith5:52

So, I was infantry. Um, and when I got to Washington State, my job was to prep for a deployment, which took place in 2012.

Jason Smith6:09

So, uh, yeah, we do a lot of training. Uh, we do a lot of, um, acclimating. So, we did a lot of hiking and stuff. A lot of ruck marches. We did, uh, what we call motor pool Monday, and that's almost everywhere. Anywhere you go in the military, you've got motor pool Monday. It's when you do the PMCSing of all the vehicles, which means you make sure they're still running well, make sure the Humvees are good, the Strykers are good, the Bradleys are working, everything's checked, right?

Uh, and then like Tuesday through Friday, it's a bunch of training, then you get weekends off occasionally. Sometimes you're out in the field though those times.

Jason Smith6:42

Afghanistan.

Jason Smith6:44

2012. So, I got there in 2010, but we were I was prepping to deploy from 10 to 12.

Jason Smith6:53

A lot of training. A lot of getting to know the people to the left and right of you, being able to trust them, them being able to trust you. Uh, you know, if in in combat, you're only as good as the person next to you, right? So, you build that trust, you build that that that kinship, that bond with your teammates.

Jason Smith7:10

A lot of shooting. A lot of reactive stuff. So, yes, everything in a perfect world, you you dictate what happens on the battlefield, right? But that never works. So, there's a lot of reactive things that you train for, whether it's ambushes or explosions. So, you figure out how to get people out of a dangerous situation, put them in a safer situation. And, um, that's what we train for.

Jason Smith7:39

Did, yeah. Yeah, we We a lot of room clearing. Um, and that that is something that's uh still sticks with me today. There's a lot of I mean, granted I was blown up. I I've forgotten a few things, but what really stuck with me is uh like muzzle awareness, like where your weapon is at all times, and how to clear, and how to make sure that there's not an enemy in an environment.

Jason Smith8:04

No, I loved it. Yeah, so uh for me in the infantry world, as long as you're you can obey orders, and you can do a bunch of push-ups and run really fast, you're a great soldier. Until proven otherwise, right? Until you're given a a task that you can't complete, which is very simple, you're a great soldier. So, the military for me was very easy. I was fit. I was able to take information in and digest it, and do it. And some people couldn't really retain all that stuff, so that kind of had them struggling.

Jason Smith9:03

Yeah. Yeah, so uh anytime we had to go to the the range, I loved it. I would do a lot of training, we'd do a lot of qualifying, which was you have to shoot so many targets out of 40, and the more out of 40 you get, the higher you get. Um, and we did a lot of that. We did a lot of movement drills. We did a lot of battle drills, which essentially is like they tell you kind of, "Okay, so if you're taking contact from where you're at,

Jason Smith9:25

A section will come over here, wrap around, and catch them by surprise." Things like that. So, a lot of movements and a lot of shooting. Yeah, it was great it was a great job for me.

Jason Smith9:47

Yeah. Uh that, the.50 cal was one of them. Yeah, the Mark 19, which is a like automatic grenade launcher.

Jason Smith9:56

It just like There's a wall.

Jason Smith10:06

Yeah.

Jason Smith10:08

There's a lot of policing. Um so if you and I were on a team and say I wasn't cutting it and I was just doing stuff that would get the whole team in trouble, you would you would approach me and handle it in-house, what they call We're going to handle it in-house before you get in trouble, you get hemmed up by somebody higher up that can change the trajectory of your career.

Jason Smith10:27

A lot. Uh so it's I'm not saying you're going around beating people up, but when you when you talk to somebody at their level and you kind of explain to them how important it is for them to be able to do their job correctly so we can survive and do our job correctly, that changed a lot of things. And when they realize that it's not just a game and that they realize that for me So the way I looked at the military is it's a lifestyle.

It's not a hobby, it's not a job, it's a lifestyle, right? So if everybody took that approach that it being their lifestyle, they would take this a whole lot more serious and they would deep dive. They'd really figure out how to really lock in and that's how I looked at things. And it helped when I explained that to other people the same way.

Jason Smith11:09

A few.

Jason Smith11:12

No.

Jason Smith11:31

There's always fear. Uh don't care what anybody says. I was what I considered myself a man's man, like 6' 220, and even I at certain times I'm like, "Okay, here we go. This is the one time I get to do my job, and I'm pumped, but at the same time I understand the consequences of me not doing my job correctly or not being reactive fast enough." So, it was a mix. We were all pumped to get out there, and I do remember the first mission we did when I got there.

I was all pumped. We're leaving the wire, which is essentially like this is the building.

Jason Smith12:03

Yeah.

And you're like, "Yeah. Yeah. Uh-oh." And you know, so then all our

Jason Smith12:13

Absolutely. Yeah, and then once you realize that, too, it becomes very scary, but when you have those people going over there alone is terrifying, but if you have a group

Jason Smith12:22

Yeah, yeah.

Or even going down a dark alley as an adult, you're like, "Mhm, maybe not. Let's just go the long way." But if you got two or three of your buddies, you're like, "No, we got this."

Yeah, you're like, "Come on."

Jason Smith12:31

Yeah, yeah. So, you're you're you're helping each other out. You're you're pep talking everybody. Um but yeah, I do remember the first time we were in the back of a vehicle, and the back dropped down like a It wasn't an opening door that way, but it dropped down this way. When that dropped down, it went from like, "This is awesome." to "Oh, here we go."

Jason Smith12:49

And it was funny. Like, I had to process everything in my head. Even though I was this this dude, you know, the man's man I thought, I was just still like, "Okay, uh here we go. Here, you you're going over there." Cuz I was a team leader at that.

Jason Smith13:00

That was the first time I had to direct soldiers. And it was wild.

Jason Smith13:59

Yeah, we we had a really big movement. Um it was our first big mission. We got there I think the end of March. And this was right at the beginning of April, maybe the 12th I think.

Jason Smith14:22

Yeah, essentially yeah. You have a talk. It's a big building where all the leadership is. You go in there. You get your orders. And then your I was a team leader. So I had a squad leader which was in charge of me, the alpha team leader and the bravo team leader. And then he had a platoon sergeant was which was in charge of all the squad leaders.

Jason Smith14:38

Platoon sergeant will get the information. They disperse to the squad. The squad leader will disperse to the team leader. And then we would prep for that. And the mission could be hey, we're going to walk we're going to drop into this village and walk 20 miles this way. Make sure there's no insurgents. Or it could just be like hey man, we're going to pull security for this shura which is where all the elders talk and figure out how to stop all the bad stuff going on in the area.

So just it varied day-to-day.

Jason Smith15:12

Yeah, because we What we do we we have aerial graphics you can see above. But the graphics don't always match where you're at cuz they could have been older graphics. Um and it is it is scary cuz you don't know who to trust. You're overseas and you see somebody that's peeking out of their house, you know, and you're like, "Oh." And then they peek back in. Are they telling somebody something or are they moving cuz they're terrified? It's very hard to read. Um, but it was it's something that that I'm glad I experienced, you know?

We did a lot of good over there, some bad, but it was um I'm very proud of that, being over there, being able to protect my country and stuff.

Jason Smith15:51

Um, so we were on an L-shaped wall, which is I was back here.

Jason Smith15:58

And everybody else is like way up here. We took contact from the front. A few guys got shot in the front.

Jason Smith16:03

I bound up from the top or from the back. Uh, this is actually the first time I've talked about this. Uh, and we ended up losing a soldier that day.

Jason Smith16:12

And we had to return fire and people had to come in with machines or vehicles and pick us up and get us out of there.

Jason Smith16:19

Um, it was it was wild. Um, that was the only casualty we had. But

Jason Smith16:24

It was.

Jason Smith16:26

He did. Yeah.

Jason Smith16:34

Yeah. Yeah, you're you're really trying to dissect what just happened and um you don't really know what to do. Uh, you could say like, "Oh man, I would have shot all day." Like maybe what you say you would, but when that happened, did would you shoot? You don't know, you know? Um, I remember what happened to me was I was in a state of shock and I was acting normal. I remember I was washing my hands and I had to carry him off the battlefield. Um, and I had to wash things off my hands and I was eating, too.

But I was in a state of shock, not that I would didn't care. Everyone here else was grieving differently.

Jason Smith17:11

My brain told me just to keep moving. What's up next, right? Um, so that was that was a horrible day. Uh a great guy. His name was Philip Schiller. Yep. And he uh never cursed. He was great, raised by his grandparents. One of the best guys. Um heck of a man.

Jason Smith17:40

Yeah, no, we didn't work with them in any capacity, but I did see them occasionally cuz their their area shared a wall with where we were.

Jason Smith17:49

I was one of the you know, I'd look over that wall to see what was going on. Um but yeah, no, we never worked with them.

Jason Smith18:10

Yeah, there's a chaplain there. And uh we we did a funeral for him. Um but the mission had to still continue. There were still people pulling security as soon as we got back. 4-hour shifts on on a wall, you know? So, like there was never any time to really stop and and really digest what had happened. We all knew what happened. Yeah. But the mission was still to continue.

Jason Smith18:38

Yeah, yeah. On multiple fronts. One, you always hear about it, but you never think it's going to happen to you, right? But then it does happen to somebody you know. And now you're like, "Okay, now you're aware of your own mortality." Yeah. Right? Um it's funny. I talk about that a lot cuz you know, at 10 years old, I was climbing 40 ft in a tree. I'm 40. I won't jump off a third rung of a ladder, you know? So, it's like you understand the mortality.

Yeah. But yeah, it was um It It's It's hard over there.

Jason Smith19:10

10 days.

Jason Smith19:12

10 to 12, yeah. And we got there at the end of March and it was like right before the like April 12th, I believe.

Jason Smith19:22

Absolutely. Yeah.

Jason Smith19:25

You could see it. Yeah, but they knew what they were there. You know, they're there just to protect the people that they love. Um and it's our and it's our lifestyle. Again, like I said, that that lifestyle word, right? It's our job and then our lifestyle to protect people and then keep it here before it goes over to our home.

Jason Smith19:45

Um if they did, they didn't say it. You know.

Jason Smith19:53

Yeah.

Jason Smith19:56

4 months.

Jason Smith20:04

Maybe five five times uh a week five or six times a week, but our down uh we don't have like 2 days off or a day off. We're just

Security just to reset to get more supplies to go back out again.

Yep.

Jason Smith20:22

Yeah, there was

Jason Smith20:24

Not every time, but there was an 8-day period where we were at a building and uh sun up they would do their prayers in the morning and then they'd shoot at us. Sundown they'd do their prayers at night and then they'd shoot at us. So we'd do every every morning and night of those 8 days we were getting shot at.

Jason Smith20:43

Yeah, we were holding it to make it a like a stronghold yep a tactical infrastructure and uh their relief didn't come, so we were stuck there. So our socks we could take our socks off and they would stand up.

Jason Smith20:55

Uh I mean, we smelled, but it was uh you know, it it was the job.

Jason Smith21:02

They would drive in and throw boxes to us and we would eat MREs.

Jason Smith21:10

Yeah. Yeah, we were kind of stuck there. Um and we would do patrols around to ensure that nobody was trying to get closer to us or anything like that. But our job there was not to like wreak havoc, but more so they have different phases, right? You have the like a a black area is where insurgents are predominately there. A gray area is where they're kind of there, but not as hectic and a white area is is a safe space.

Jason Smith21:32

So you what we were doing was turning the the the gray to white,

Jason Smith21:36

The black to gray. But what they were doing was coming back and turning the white to gray,

Jason Smith21:41

To black. So they were just falling right behind us. So we were doing good, but you didn't really see it for very long.

Jason Smith21:59

Yeah, a little bit of both. Um I would say that the best way to explain it is that American soldiers fight 8 months every 2 years. They fight 365 every year. These people all they know is combat.

Jason Smith22:12

So yes, they are doing some tactical movements. What they would do one of their favorite things to do was uh get a reaction out of somebody and see how they react. And from that point, so if there was you know, if this was right here and this is a wall, if there was an explosion over here and we ran to this wall, they're like, "Okay, well, let's let's put something right there."

Jason Smith22:30

So when they run there again,

Jason Smith22:32

Then we got them there. So that's how they would do it. They're very tactical in that sense and they're not just farmers. These guys, like I said, they fight all the time.

Jason Smith22:44

Yeah.

Jason Smith22:47

Uh they had some AKs, a few other things over there.

Jason Smith22:54

No.

Jason Smith22:56

No. I think what they were getting was from Pakistan cuz we were on right near the Pakistan border. They they it in, trading poppy and stuff like that.

Jason Smith23:05

Yeah.

Jason Smith23:10

Not Americans. Um but there were times when we would have to burn fields and we were told like get away from the field cuz of what we were burning.

Jason Smith23:18

But uh

Jason Smith23:28

Yeah, yeah. I think I saw someone over here.

Jason Smith23:30

Yeah, I did see how they kind of farmed it. They would like They had a three-blade little thing. It was like a little toothbrush handle and they would slit it and they would lick it. If your tongue went numb, they're like, "Oh, it's good."

Jason Smith23:42

So, that's how they would farm it.

Jason Smith23:44

Yeah.

Jason Smith23:52

Yeah, so that was July 25th, 2012. And I was conducting a class on showing that the ANA, the Afghan National Army, on how to find IEDs, improvised explosive devices that are buried in the ground.

Jason Smith24:04

I was showing them linear markings cuz what they would do, they would pile rocks to let the locals know like, "Hey, don't pass this rock pile." And they would put things in the trees to let them know like, "Hey, this is the danger zone, but then if you see another pile of rocks, you're good to go. Just don't touch anything over here." And I was showing them how to do linear markings and then um I we got spun up to go out because there was a guy who was trying to daisy-chain bombs, which meant he was tying multiples together.

So, if one went off, all would go off. And that essentially what it does is you've got a bomb here and a bomb here and the element, which is the us, our element is right here. You're not just hitting the front man, you're hitting people in between and in the back, right? So, that's more chaos.

Jason Smith24:43

Um and that insurgent had blown himself up doing that. So, we were looking to try and find that insurgent while we were out there. And uh I saw a hat on the ground and it was my job to do a BDA, which is a battle damage assessment. And that's where I connect collected as much DNA as I possibly could from the individual to see who did this.

Jason Smith25:14

Yeah, as soon as we can find out that the bombs were there, that's when we would call in EOD.

Jason Smith25:18

And EOD would come and dispose of the bombs. Uh we didn't know that he'd blown himself up, but when we got there it was very obvious.

Jason Smith25:24

Right outside our wire.

Jason Smith25:27

And uh it was probably a mile down the road.

Jason Smith25:30

And it was right in the That's how close it was.

Jason Smith25:32

And again, it was on a road with a ditch and then a giant wall. So, that that would have been the avenue of approach that we would have likely taken later that week. So, reaching down to for the hat to to get the BDA, get all the DNA and stuff, and uh I loaded my left leg, and that's when the explosion went off. Uh it was a 15-lb

Jason Smith25:53

I did, yeah.

Jason Smith25:57

I I never I never saw it.

Jason Smith26:04

Yeah, there's multiple ways they can do it. So, what I've seen before is like uh cans and wiring. If the cans touch, then it pops.

Jason Smith26:13

I've seen uh tires. So, they have the metal wiring in the tires. They can cut that section off and it's soft rubber. So, as soon as you step on it and it

Jason Smith26:22

It goes off. Yeah, it's very simple like that. Um and when that went off, there was just smoke everywhere. There was dust, and I remember uh doing my own little assessment, moving my hands, moving my fingers. I'm like, "Okay, I'm okay." Um and then I remember kicking my legs cuz I was on my stomach at the time, kicking my legs. I'm like, "Okay, my legs are there." Um they weren't. But uh my buddies bound up to me, applied tourniquets on both my legs, and flipped me over, and that's when I first saw that it was me who'd been hit.

And I had known it was me, but I didn't know to what extent cuz my right hand, you know, I have a thumb and index. That's all that really works.

Jason Smith27:04

There's no knuckles, no tendons in it. The bone in it is from my hip. So, they did a lot to save the hand.

Jason Smith27:11

Yeah, the whole backside was gone. So, the inside was okay.

Jason Smith27:15

Okay.

Jason Smith27:16

Okay.

Yeah, the blast What had happened was the blast was it came up and blew out the back cuz this hand was on my rifle. And I don't know how this hand is still here cuz this is the hand that was bending down to pick up the hat.

Jason Smith27:28

So, I mean, I did get some right hand stuff, some scarring on the back of my arm here, nothing serious on this hand.

Jason Smith27:44

I do. Yeah, I remember the sun on my on my face. Remember how hot it was. I remember being again in that state of shock, yelling at people to pull security, don't look at me. Look down that road. They could be coming cuz that could have been the cue they were waiting to hear to ambush, right? So, I'm just telling everybody, all my soldiers, like, don't look at me. Look down there. My squad leader and my saw gunner carried me off the battlefield.

Jason Smith28:05

And the medic was trying to save my life. You can't run What I've been told, you can't run fluids in appendages that are damaged. And both my arms were like filleted open.

Jason Smith28:17

And my legs were gone. So, they couldn't run fluids that way. So, what they did was they tried to hit me with a fast line or fast one I think it's what it's called. It's like nine needles in a really big needle. And you hit the sternum. That broke.

Jason Smith28:30

So, now they're telling me just here, eat the lollipop, which was fentanyl lollipop. And I'm like, oh, okay. Like, so then in my head I was registering like, I'm in trouble.

Jason Smith28:41

And I remember constantly kind of fading out, trying to sleep. I was super tired. And I don't know if you've ever been close to death, but how they do it in movies, you know, like they're like really tired, like that's that's real. So much blood loss, you just can't stay awake. Yeah. Um and they were giving me sternum rubs. I don't know if you've ever had one of those. They just rub with their thumb right here and it just it hurts.

Jason Smith29:02

Um but which keeps you awake.

Yeah, it did. Yeah, and the chopper was able to uh come get me and they were to able to drill into my shoulder to run fluids and blood.

Jason Smith29:12

So that's what saved my life.

Jason Smith29:19

They took a drill bit and they said, "Hey, man, this is going to suck. Where do you want it?" And I was like, uh like over here. I don't know what I was saying, you know.

Jason Smith29:27

Um and they I remember the feeling, I remember the smell of the drill. Um so they just ran it I have still got the scar somewhere up here. And uh they just ran the fluids that way till I got to Kandahar and then the doctors were talking.

Jason Smith29:44

I think it's a flat bone. You have to have a You have to find a flat bone. That's why they were trying to hit me with the sternum.

Jason Smith29:50

Yeah, and it didn't work cuz it broke.

Jason Smith29:52

But that that was their next best thing to do.

Jason Smith29:59

I was awake, yeah. So they threw me on a table about this big, I would say, and everybody above me is away up here talking, just talking about me, but not to me. The last thing I remember is, you know, still being in shock. I was like, "Oh, what's up, guys?" You know? It's like, "What the pickle?" You know? And they're just like looked down and then I'm out. Then I wake up in Germany.

Jason Smith30:23

Um I don't know, but I woke up in an incubator. So my lungs weren't working. Uh it was like 15% they were working at. So they put me in this giant incubator and I woke up to this horrible sound uh which felt like I just I was in a big machine and I was screaming for help. I don't know what's going on, you know? Um they tell me what's going on to calm down, relax, tell me where I'm at, and um then I I spent maybe 4 days there.

Jason Smith30:51

Yeah, I was just there long enough to be stable to be flown back home.

Jason Smith30:59

Really remember. I was but I was I know I was in a machine screaming for help.

Jason Smith31:03

And uh a nice nurse, I don't remember what she looked like, but I remember that she watched Big Bang Theory with me. Brought me a little DVD player.

Jason Smith31:11

Uh [snorts] so it's like the little things that the human connections that I remember from that from that time.

Jason Smith31:17

I go to uh Texas for rehab.

Jason Smith32:29

Uh very quickly.

Jason Smith32:31

But uh there were two phases in that. Uh first phase is they're all wrapped up. And I can't see them. I know they're gone.

Jason Smith32:53

They these arms were all wrapped up. I've got a picture I can share with you afterwards. It shows like it's my first photo they ever took of me. I'm like trying to wave. My whole hand looks like it's in a mitten.

Jason Smith33:04

But Yeah, that was a lot to really process. My family was there. That was the first like shock and awe was, you know, yeah, I know they're not there. But then the real shock and awe was when I first saw them.

Jason Smith33:17

Yeah, and they they sewed me up, closed my wounds and stuff like that. And the first time they actually pulled my blanket back, I mean, I lost it, man.

Jason Smith33:24

Lost it. Cuz knowing it's not there then seeing that it's not there

Jason Smith33:28

That it it damn near broke me. It was crazy.

Jason Smith33:39

Um I knew I was messed up. I didn't know to what extent on this hand. But I'll tell you uh and my father could tell the same story. I remember making him hold my legs up. Even though I fresh off off out of Afghanistan, I made him hold my legs up so I could do push-ups. Cuz that was what I knew, fitness. I use fitness to de-stress. I've always used it to de-stress, right? So, that was my normal. I'm like, "Okay, this this sucks. What do I do?

Let's do push-ups." So, I started doing push-ups. Uh I got

Jason Smith34:08

Uh all wrapped up. They were This one wasn't Yeah, this one wasn't as wrapped as this one. I could use these fingers, I believe. But this hand this finger was all wrapped up. These these were just you know, couldn't see them.

Jason Smith34:21

My Yeah, on my on my medical bed. Yeah.

Jason Smith34:35

Yeah, so my dad was retired at the time.

Jason Smith34:37

Uh

Jason Smith34:46

I never I never asked him. Um but I do remember he told me he got called while I was in Germany and they said, you know, pack a bag. We don't know how bad it is, but it could be bad. And so, he was anticipating hearing that I had passed away possibly. So, I never thought from the father's perspective until just now like what he what was going through his mind when he got that information.

Jason Smith35:17

Yeah.

Jason Smith35:18

Very hard to see. Yeah. I mean, one for the individual, but also for being a loved one to see that.

Jason Smith35:25

Yeah.

Jason Smith35:36

He handled it well. He never really showed me um like any sadness or sorrow. Like he was there for me.

Jason Smith35:44

You know? Um everybody else was breaking down pretty hard, but uh he treated me normal.

Jason Smith35:50

Yeah.

Jason Smith35:53

Uh I was there from July 25th till uh 2012 to February of 2014. So, about 18 months, I would say.

Jason Smith36:05

Well, I got out of the hospital about two months afterwards, but but then I was in a rehab

Jason Smith36:16

Not quick. I refused to walk in the beginning. I told I said this isn't walking. Um this isn't isn't how I used to be. So, men, especially, we get tied this idea of what we what we used to be or what we are. And I had to find a way to let that go to focus on who I could become.

Jason Smith36:36

And once I was able to let that go, I was able to focus on healing. And then I started putting the prosthetics on. Started doing the work that they told me to do. And that that changed a lot for me.

Jason Smith36:52

They did. Yeah. Uh there's a funny story about that. The The guy's name was Jorge. And uh he was a therapist. And I'd go in there and I'd just talk to him like we're talking now. Just bull crap. Talk about sports or something, you know. Uh about four times in, he's like, "Hey, man, I got to tell you something." I was like, "Oh, what's up?" He's like, "Uh you are the worst guy I've ever met. Like you have not uh really digested what has happened to you.

You refuse to talk about it." I'm like, "Oh, yeah. Yeah. Uh so, Jorge let me understand that like, you know, it happened. All right? You you can acknowledge it. You don't have to be this thing, this robot, you know? And I was like, "Oh, okay. Yeah." So, once he broke that barrier and told me like, "Hey, man, you need to really release." Uh that's when I was able to really heal, too.

Jason Smith37:40

I was. Yeah. I got my legs in November and I didn't walk for like 4 months just cuz I was like, "I'm not doing this. This is I'm not doing it." Then I gained a lot of weight.

Jason Smith37:51

Yeah. I remember the first time I saw my gut, man. I was sitting on a uh a little machine I think it was like a a fly machine. And I looked down and my gut's hanging out of my shirt and I'm like, "Oh, what's going on there, man?" Once I saw that, I was like, "I'm going to put these legs on and never take them off again."

Jason Smith38:25

There you go.

Jason Smith38:32

Uh so, I I picked it up really quickly. Um they gave me a a practice leg that didn't have a foot. It was like a peg leg. And I I was able to walk on that. And they're like, "You're not supposed to be able to walk on this." So, my my hand-eye coordination and all that stuff it it was good. And then like I my motor skills were tight. But it was the easy things that were the hardest for me as far as like They they talk they call it a gait.

So, your gait you should have even distance between each step. Mine were like kind of like this, right? Um so, I had to focus on that. Had uh had to really lock in on how to like go downstairs, which are simple for me now, but back then it was trusting a a machine a leg that you've never had before.

Jason Smith39:11

So, a lot of that stuff kind of derailed me in the beginning, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Jason Smith39:33

Yeah, it has different settings. So, I could lock it. Uh I can make it free swing if I want to ride a bicycle, things like that. I can make it stronger if I was going through water.

Jason Smith39:42

Uh that way it would kick harder cuz if if it's just on an old setting going through water, it just kind of lags behind you and you'll just fall over.

Jason Smith39:49

So, they've they've come a very long way.

Jason Smith39:54

Man. [snorts] Uh six figures easy.

Jason Smith39:57

Yeah.

Jason Smith40:00

The VA does.

Jason Smith40:14

Um so, that's really uh it really depends on your prosthetist.

Yeah. then your doctors the the big guys that work your cases. So, for me, what I do, I just have the normal walking leg. Uh now, there are other guys that snowboard, there are other guys that do strongman, and they have to have a different type of leg. So, um their technology is a little bit different.

Jason Smith40:42

Fairly easy to get a new one. Um it's as far but for me being in Chattanooga, I would have to drive to Nashville, test something out, drive back home, and that's like 2 1/2 hours. So, I usually just stick with what I got.

Jason Smith40:56

Not at all.

Jason Smith41:01

Uh yeah, I developed a love for running first in Korea. Um

Jason Smith41:05

And then after after Korea when I went to Fort Lewis, I started to pick the weights up, and I I discovered pre-workout. And that changed everything.

Jason Smith41:14

Pre-workout's a high caffeine

Jason Smith41:18

Pre-workout.

Jason Smith41:19

Pre-workout.

Jason Smith41:21

No, that was a Jack3d. Oh, man, what a time to be alive.

Jason Smith41:28

I do. Yeah, and

Jason Smith41:37

Yeah, I I'd say, you know, genetically certain people

Yeah.

Are adept at gaining more mass than others. I can't run like you. There's no way. Even if I had legs. Yeah, so we're all built different.

Jason Smith41:51

Uh yeah, so I had what they call like farm boy strength. Things were really easy for me.

Jason Smith41:56

Uh cuz you got gym muscles, you got farm muscles.

Jason Smith41:58

So, farm muscles, uh case anybody doesn't know, it's that's the dude that's carrying four bags of feed on his shoulder to my truck, and here I am carrying one struggling. That's the difference.

Jason Smith42:08

Out bench him but that's a lot more figure than I can.

Jason Smith42:13

Oh. yeah?

Jason Smith42:14

Horses, donkeys, cows,

Jason Smith42:18

Um, I grew up with horses. I grew up with a pig. But for me, uh, I found great comfort in being around animals cuz animals they tell you what they're thinking. If they're mad, their ears go back, you're getting kicked.

Jason Smith42:32

You know, we could be chit-chatting with a guy and this guy could hate us, but he'd be all smiles, right? So like I I respect the fact that they tell you what's on their mind.

Yeah. And then that's just my therapy. It's fitness and animals.

Jason Smith42:59

I do.

Jason Smith43:01

Yes.

Jason Smith43:03

Yeah, I do as much as I can there. Um, that that is another like I said another form of therapy for me. I walk the fences. Uh, we have 60 acres in in Alabama.

Yeah. And uh, I walk the fences out there. I'm not by any means a horse trainer in any way, but my daughter rides. So I take great pride in learning as much as I possibly can to help her with her skill and her craft. Uh, so I'll lunge the horses. I'll look at their their hooves and things like that. Make sure they're not hurt. Uh, get her so I'll saddle up. She does her thing and it's just a nice way of living, a nice slow way of living.

Jason Smith43:35

I have one.

Oh, yeah.

Jason Smith43:38

There you go.

It's on my wall.

Jason Smith43:45

Absolutely.

Jason Smith43:57

There you go.

Jason Smith44:01

Donkeys,

Jason Smith44:03

Uh, cows, mini horses.

Jason Smith44:06

Yeah.

Jason Smith44:07

Yeah, it's just one. Her name is Noel. But you can milk her. No, she doesn't have any babies. Yeah, eventually we will. So the cow has to have babies then you can milk the cow. Okay. All right, that makes sense. Yeah, so we got a cow on a whim. It was our neighbors like do you want this baby calf? And I had to bottle feed it. So my knowledge of cows is very minimal. I know more about horses and donkeys. But it's not the kind of cow that you would slaughter and eat.

It's more a dairy cow. She's a pet. Okay. Okay. She's my little girl. She was born on Christmas. So we call her Noel. Any chickens? Yeah. We have We have five chickens right now. We did have a lot more. We had in the 20s but we had a neighbor dog and then we had a few other animals that kind of took what they wanted from them.

Jason Smith44:58

It's a lot dirtier than you would think. No, I can imagine that. That's the part that I wouldn't like. I'm a big baby. I don't want to be dirty. I'm like good for two showers every day.

Jason Smith45:21

Yeah. Like I said in the beginning I had to let go of who I was. That egotistical guy you know that thought he was a ladies man, the man's man. Had to let go of him to focus on who I could become. And once that happened I was really able to be the best version of myself. And it didn't look the same as like so the best version of myself before injury would be like you know oh bench 500 pounds. Like yeah, you know but now the best version of myself is make it to that stop sign without stopping.

Yeah. You know so that's little things that you have to figure out.

Jason Smith45:45

Probably a year. You know rehab which is it was at Fort Sam Houston. And it was it was a great experience cuz everything there was built to help me succeed.

Jason Smith46:09

Um but even while I was there, man, I had some wild wild encounters. Doing like therapy outings and things like that. I was I was blown up, you know, then I went there for rehab and I got robbed.

Jason Smith46:20

So, a family member took a huge chunk of money that the government gave me when I got hurt and then

Jason Smith46:31

Yeah.

Jason Smith46:32

Yeah, and it's contingent on how bad you're injured and whatever the sum is.

Jason Smith46:35

But that was gone and then I got run over in a crosswalk.

Jason Smith46:40

Yeah, it was a very gray area. Um it happened the the military police wouldn't touch it. The local police wouldn't touch it cuz it happened on post but she was civilian.

Jason Smith46:52

And I didn't know how to follow it, you know. Um but uh it's it's okay. It was a family member. So, like I understand like it's it's a small price to pay to find someone's true character. And now I don't have to explain to my children why, you know, this person can't come around anymore.

Jason Smith47:08

It's just I mean just end up in jail

Jason Smith47:11

Yeah, yeah. I mean it's hard to let go, yeah.

Jason Smith47:14

But I mean things could be a lot worse. I mean I was just blown up, so I was like, you know, I've I've been through worse.

Jason Smith47:29

All.

Jason Smith47:32

Ran over in a crosswalk on post.

Jason Smith47:36

Yeah.

Jason Smith47:37

Yeah, I got backed over. I was walking at night trying to get my steps in and and stay active and they ran over me.

Jason Smith47:46

Yeah.

Jason Smith47:47

Uh not too bad, but I remember being under the axle screaming. And uh it was it was funny because I was trying to stand up and my buddy's from New York, he's like, "Stay down." And I'm like, "No, I got to get up, man. I'm hurting. That was funny. But it was another soldier.

Jason Smith48:06

Yeah, he was a single leg amputee.

Jason Smith48:11

Oh, no, no, he didn't hit me, but he was a guy that was there that he saw and heard it was me and he came over.

Uh some construction worker.

Jason Smith48:19

Yeah, and the my thought process was I didn't want to file anything against the guy cuz I didn't want him to lose his job, but I didn't understand at that point he'd already been fired.

Oh my god. Cuz you're you're on over gotten the legs. Like it's like, uh-oh.

I didn't realize that. Um but I was just trying to be a good person. I'm like, "No, man, he made a mistake. It's okay."

Jason Smith48:38

I had to go to the hospital. Yeah, I had some bruising on my pelvic area. Um cuz my legs they were it's a hard plastic shell that I I stay in and they were thrust into my my groin area.

Jason Smith48:49

Uh cuz they ran over my feet, which thank goodness I had fake legs.

Jason Smith48:53

Yeah, and there's probably maybe 6 in from my head. So, yeah, I dodged a bullet there.

Jason Smith48:59

No, I was in a crosswalk, dude. He just pulled out and uh I was telling you earlier if you load the toe go into another step.

Jason Smith49:06

Well, these the leg I had before didn't go into another step. It just went free swing so it collapsed. So when I tried to move, I fell to my knees and I'm here looking at the bumper right here.

Jason Smith49:15

So I just like a rotate trying to survive.

Jason Smith49:19

Yeah.

Jason Smith49:21

Uh I drowned.

Jason Smith49:23

Dude, come on.

Jason Smith49:25

Yeah.

Jason Smith49:27

No, no, no. I was in a kayak and um I'm very top heavy. So they uh they put a skirt on me.

Jason Smith49:35

Put on the kayak. Well, they didn't teach me how to

Jason Smith49:38

Off. And they're like, "Well, if you tip over, just, you know, grab the oar and push."

Jason Smith49:44

Yeah. I did that and my hand didn't work and the oar fell out cuz I can't close these fingers. So I just So I did that I lost the oar.

Oh my god. down. Uh

Jason Smith49:55

Well, I was down long enough to be like, well, this isn't too bad. And I remember just being like really calm. I'm like, this is it. Okay. So, drowning, yes, terrifying, but also I was it was very calm under the water. Then they flipped me over. I vomit. I burped. I was like, I'm done. I'm going to go home.

Jason Smith50:14

They made me sit in a boat house for like an hour and a half till everybody else was done. I'm just like

Jason Smith50:20

Yeah, so but I did I did a lot of healing there as well. It wasn't all chaos.

Jason Smith50:34

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I was a cat. Maybe two or three lives left.

Jason Smith50:40

Yeah, I hope so.

Jason Smith50:46

It is, yeah.

Jason Smith50:48

So, I retired back to Chattanooga.

Jason Smith50:54

Uh so, I was there on leave in December meeting friends and I met a girl who I went to school with. She's now my wife.

Jason Smith51:02

And she looked at me as as me and not just a guy with missing legs.

Jason Smith51:08

Yeah, she actually thought I was handsome. When she was younger than me. I was a senior. Thank you, man.

Same to you. Yeah, so she was a freshman when I was a senior and I didn't know she really existed, but I knew her brother.

Jason Smith51:20

And she introduced herself to me at the gym and and a pretty little blonde girl, blue eyes and I didn't think anything about it. I thought she was just talking to me cuz you know, I'm a guy with no legs. But then I saw her out and she was wearing like a hoodie and jeans and I'm like Oh heavens. This woman is an angel.

Jason Smith51:38

And we just clicked and we've got two kids now and so how I got back there was I retired to come stay with her.

Jason Smith51:46

Yeah.

Jason Smith51:49

Yeah, so we would we were dating um in the probably end of December and then I retired February 27th. Yeah. Uh she we got an apartment together and then we had our first kid that November.

Jason Smith52:03

I didn't waste any time.

She's much prettier than me. So I was like I have to

Jason Smith52:09

So she was a hairdresser but now she's a stay at home mother and she home schools our kids and takes care of the farm when I'm up here.

Jason Smith52:29

Yeah, so what we do is we used to do this system called BJU and that came with the curriculum kind of all the books and now we're doing something called Mia Academy.

Jason Smith52:38

And you can do social studies, science, whatever you want on there. It's not just online like pushing screens. They also have to do print outs, have to write a bunch of

Jason Smith52:46

Yeah. Oh, cool. Yeah, so in in second grade my son was doing times and division and stuff. So like he he's very good with numbers. Like every kid is different. He was he was slower to uh reading.

Jason Smith52:57

But if he were in a regular school, they'd be like, "Well, he needs to be held back. He's not really there yet." Well, look at his math scores. His scores are off the chart. What are you talking about, you know? So every kid has a different speed, right? And it allows them to be them at the pace they needed to be. And my daughter, she's smart as a whip as well. She can read, write. She can spell like crazy. Uh where my son excels at math, she's not so strong at the math section but she kills it in other areas, you know?

So it's nice to watch them be themselves, you know?

Jason Smith53:32

So we have co-op and they they did uh kindergarten and first grade in school. Um but we have something called a co-op where other home school families bring their children every Friday.

Okay. And so there's, you know, 150 kids in there and they all have different classes, whether it's art or science. There's another teacher that comes in, a retired teachers come in and teach different courses.

Jason Smith53:52

So yeah, they still have the the the the friendship and all that stuff.

Jason Smith54:01

I joined a local gym. It was Gold's Gym um in Chattanooga and I was in there that I think the first day I got back just cuz I'm trying to get some kind of semblance of a normal life, right? What I knew was routine and I'm very good at routine.

Jason Smith54:17

Um so [clears throat] I I joined this gym. Uh I realized very quickly that this is not the atmosphere that I had just left because for me in rehab, that gym, I mean it was an amazing gym. But not only that, every machine they had the like a swivel seat. So I could be in my wheelchair, I could roll up to Yeah, preacher curl. Swivel the seat out of the way and just put my chair there. I realized they don't have that in the civilian world.

And now there aren't ramps everywhere, there are there are steps. There's not elevators everywhere. Um and I found that people were staring at me a lot, too. And they weren't being bad in any way, they weren't just like being malicious in any sense, but in my mind, anxiety, pressure, um just I I was hyper-alert that the VA diagnosed me with hyper-alertness and anxiety and PTSD and I just couldn't function in the gym cuz I felt like people were staring at me.

Jason Smith55:09

So I went to the VA uh to get medication, but that's where Catch a Lift comes in.

Jason Smith55:16

Yeah, so Catch a Lift is a nonprofit and uh we really revolve around healing the veteran holistically. We have four core pillars. Uh we do community, emotional wellness, fitness and nutrition. And it's not just that the fitness part, right? It's it's yes, the fitness is the tip of the iceberg when you're healing. But I'll I'll I'll say you I'm sure you have routines as well. You have your your subs that you take. You you have you know sauna. Do you sauna? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so we have all these other things that we hit.

Um and it allows [clears throat] the veteran to heal. And my personal story in it was that I went to the VA to find medication and I found a small little flyer, 4 by 6 black and white piece of paper. And it it had Catch A Lift on there. I said, "What is this?" And uh the guy who was helping me he's like, "Oh, it's just a nonprofit." And it's just a nonprofit. There's a barbell on here, man. This is help. What is this? You know?

So I applied and what happened was they put me uh in a position for me to heal at my house and work out. I was able to get a rowing machine from them. Um and that completely changed everything. And then I started working for them in 2018.

Jason Smith56:17

So I'm a personal trainer with them and adaptive coach.

Jason Smith56:20

I also help with their social media. I do the MCing at their events. So when we go to New York and all those other places, uh I'm I'm I'm on stage just introducing people. Uh I do a few other things for them, but um you know, when you when you talk

Jason Smith56:37

You're proud of. But I like to talk all day about my family. I'm proud of my family.

Jason Smith56:41

Right? But I'm very proud of what I've been able to do for other veterans and what Catch A Lift has done for other veterans, right? As you know, man, it you said you were a recovering addict.

Jason Smith56:51

I would assume it's easier to speak to other recovering addicts or people who have been through something very similar.

Jason Smith56:55

And that's what we provide for the cat for the veterans within Catch A Lift.

Jason Smith57:06

So our mission statement is uh veterans who served in OIF or OEF

Jason Smith57:11

Had boots on ground there. And uh the stipulation is that you have to have a 30 30 uh 30% rating in a combat area or 50% overall.

Jason Smith57:20

So we really cater to the OIF OEF guys.

Jason Smith57:24

Afghanistan or Iraq.

Jason Smith57:26

Yeah.

Jason Smith57:36

About 6 months, 8 months after when I was better uh acclimated to the civilian world.

Jason Smith57:42

Yeah, I started going back to that gym, and I had great success, and um you know, I met a few people within the program who did adaptive competitions, and uh they were doing the Warrior Games. Have you ever heard of the Warrior Games?

Jason Smith57:56

Uh that's Invictus.

Jason Smith57:58

Is a step higher, but Warrior Games is the is the Wounded Veteran Global or sorry, National Olympics.

Jason Smith58:05

Branch has a team.

Jason Smith58:06

Uh I was Team Army. And I met some amazing athletes that were in the program that did it, too, and I and they're like, "Dude, you would do great if you if you tried out." I'm like, "Yeah, I don't know, man." So, for 3 years, I'm like, "I don't think I'm good enough for that." And they're like, "Dude, you got to try out." So, I tried out, made Team Army, and then that's when I really started doing competitive uh bench press. And uh I remember the first one I did, I took second place.

I lost to a Ukrainian guy, this massive man.

Jason Smith58:31

But after that, man, I've I've won ever since.

Jason Smith58:34

There is. Yeah, so when you compete, it's in weight weight classes. So, I compete under 198. So, anything from like 182 to 197 or 198.

Jason Smith58:45

That's my competition.

Jason Smith58:49

It is. Uh so, I I think it's right above though I think they're they're cut off is 210, I believe. Yeah. Um and um I've always competed at that same weight class.

Jason Smith59:00

It so weightlifting and and you know, through Catch a Lift again, allowed me to try all these these different adaptive uh competitions. And you talked about Prince Harry, I actually made Invictus the next year. So, I was able to go represent.

And and man, wearing, you know, the US across my chest and

Jason Smith59:16

Was just like something awesome. It was a full circle for me cuz I had it stripped for me from after being injured.

Jason Smith59:22

So, being able to put that on my chest again, I had great pride.

Jason Smith59:25

Uh I went to Germany and won one bench press and one rowing at the Invictus.

I did, yeah.

Jason Smith59:33

It is.

Jason Smith59:37

It's a Concept 2, yeah. So, you row 1 minute for sprint and then 4 minutes for endurance.

Jason Smith59:43

So, I won both of those. Uh one one bench press and then I came back to Warrior Games again, did the same thing, repeated bench and rowing, bench and rowing the next year. Um and then I phased out last year.

Jason Smith59:56

So, I've been retired for so long that they're changing how the Warrior Games works. They want it less than 5 years retired

Jason Smith1:00:04

Or still active.

Jason Smith1:00:06

So, I've been retired for too long, so I wasn't able to compete anymore and

Jason Smith1:00:10

Yeah, and that is where uh the USPA came into play.

Jason Smith1:00:15

Yeah.

Jason Smith1:00:16

United States Powerlifting Association. It's a it's a full power powerlifting that squat, bench, deadlift. Um I I applied, I got my my little license, I became a member and I wanted to see if I could compete against normal bodied athletes, able-bodied athletes. And I went to my first event in September, I believe, and I won. And I was like, "Okay, cool.

Jason Smith1:00:46

Yeah, so there were no amputees there. There was just full-bodied people. So, I I went against everybody from the 182 to 198.

Jason Smith1:00:54

Yeah, and uh

And I'm a master, so that was 40 years old.

Jason Smith1:00:57

Yep. And then I also won open, which is anybody that age anybody that weight that age or random age. So, I beat all of them as well. So, I'm like, "Okay, I might I might be okay

Jason Smith1:01:08

At this in real life." And then we went to Southeast Regionals. Um won there as well.

Jason Smith1:01:14

Same thing, open and masters. I'm like, "Okay, so what's next?" And I found out there was a bench press championships in Phoenix this year in March. So, I went there. Um won there. So, now that's how I became the national bench press champion.

Jason Smith1:01:29

I benched 430. Um I should have benched more. I'll tell you that. And at 430, it's a good number, but you know, we all have standards, right? So, let's say you ran 2 minutes slower in your

Jason Smith1:01:41

"Yeah,

Jason Smith1:01:44

Yeah.

So, I had a standard of 441 and I just missed my mark. I shot too high.

Jason Smith1:01:50

Uh so, I wanted to bench 441 lb, but I I I hit that at the Arnold

Jason Smith1:01:56

Yep.

So, I I wanted to see if I could hit 446. I failed 446. So,

Jason Smith1:02:04

I went too high.

Yeah, you can't you can't go back down once you've got up.

Jason Smith1:02:19

No. So, the way they work is I'm just going to simulate it. So, they hand you it. There's there's three commands.

Jason Smith1:02:26

Uh it's start, press, and rack. So, when I say start, you bring the weight down.

Jason Smith1:02:31

Yep. Once there's no more movement on the bar, if it's not bouncing or you're you're not trying to use it to bounce, they'll say press. And from there, you press up and you hold it until they say rack. And then you can put it back on the rack.

Jason Smith1:02:52

Man, like 460 probably.

Jason Smith1:02:55

The most I The most I've benched uh last year was 455. Um and I haven't really tried the suit like a super max since then. But, I know 445 went up pretty easy.

Jason Smith1:03:07

Yeah.

Jason Smith1:03:10

Four plus Yeah, yeah.

Jason Smith1:03:45

Yeah, and I'm glad you said that word purpose because um that's what I feel like I'm doing is is is my purpose, right? Uh to help my other brothers and sisters that that suffered similar, not the same, but similarly. Um and it's just an easy connection with them. And it you know, just seeing the growth that these veterans get in the program.

Jason Smith1:04:07

Once they find out that people believe in them.

Jason Smith1:04:09

Right? Once they find out that everyone's here to help them and help them be the better version of themself. Uh it really changes, man. And and I like the word ripples because, you know, like if I come out here, I'm like, "Man, it was it was an honor to beat you today, dude." Like you could put you in a great mood. Next person you see, you'd be like, "Oh, let me get the door for you." Like you're nice to them now, right? So it's ripples. It's not just the veteran that that that benefits from it.

It's the family. It's the friends and family, right? And it's just it's a beautiful thing to see.

Jason Smith1:04:51

I would tell them um so something worked for me. I didn't listen to the doctor's limitations on what they said I would have. And the type of the type of life I would have. I would say, "Don't listen to what they're saying." Like you set the standard for you. You break those molds. The the human will it's immeas- immeasurable, right? You can't do it. You can't measure that. It could be it could be stronger for you. Could be stronger for me. And that dictates what you do, right?

I was told I'd never be able to use my right hand again.

Jason Smith1:05:23

I could just pick things up with like an assist with two hands.

Jason Smith1:05:25

They never think I They never thought I'd be able to weight bear on it. And here I am, man, benching 400 plus. You know, and and that would have never happened had I listened to what those people that that the limitations they were putting upon me. So, everything's different. Obviously, if if you have a serious issue, the doctor's like, "Don't ever use your back again." Like, "Okay." That's different than, you know, the will versus like facts, right?

Jason Smith1:05:48

But, you have to push through certain certain spots to find out how far you can go. You know, uh push yourself. See what you can do.

Jason Smith1:06:08

The same. Um I would say obviously well, I do miss my legs. Yeah, I do. But, if I had my legs, I wouldn't have what I have now.

Jason Smith1:06:15

I wouldn't work for Catch-A-Lift. I wouldn't have my amazing wife. I wouldn't have my beautiful children. Um I don't know where I'd be, man. You know, I was going to be a lifer in the military. I was going to It was easy.

Jason Smith1:06:25

So, I was going to sign up indefinite, which means I was going to stay in there as long as they needed me.

Jason Smith1:06:29

And that completely changed and derailed, and it's it's for the better.

Jason Smith1:06:46

Absolutely. Yeah. Um I thought the only way to be a man was to to be the man's man.

Jason Smith1:06:53

Right? To be the most aggressive, biggest dude in the room, you know, like I would be told to come into an interrogation area just cuz I was big and it would scare them.

Jason Smith1:07:00

Yeah, so like you go from that, being 6 ft tall to 4 ft 2, you know, it's like

It was It was a hard pill to swallow. You know, for that that version of me, that version of Jason, right? But man, honestly, it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

Jason Smith1:07:35

Absolutely.

Jason Smith1:07:38

I agree with that.

Jason Smith1:08:11

Absolutely.

Jason Smith1:08:19

Yeah, and I think at a young age too, most men, they feel immortal.

Jason Smith1:08:22

Right? And that's kind of what That was what I was going into before I got injured. I just thought I was this guy, but that doesn't like that doesn't define a man, right? I'm more proud of everything I've done for my family and everything I've done with Catch-A-Lift than I am anything I ever did before my injury, you know? I was just messing around having a good time back then, man. I wasn't helping anybody but myself. So, to be able to touch lives and help other people,

Jason Smith1:08:47

That's different.

Jason Smith1:08:50

Yeah, we used to go to church, but now we do we don't do a lot of home scripture stuff. We just read the Bible at home, yeah.

Jason Smith1:09:01

So, you can go to our website at catchaliftfund.org. Um our applications just opened this month. They may already be closed. So, for other veterans that are interested, if you're if you're wondering if you if you apply or if you if you even qualify for Catch a Lift, go to our website. It'll tell you. Um and you know, get it's not looking for like a a lifeboat, right? Don't be afraid to ask for help is what I would say.

Jason Smith1:09:29

It's a lighthouse in a storm. That's what I've called Catch a Lift for years. It's a lighthouse in a storm, man. It gets tricky. It gets bumpy. But, there's somebody out there trying to help you.

Jason Smith1:09:39

Yeah. Um as far as me, uh I I'm what you see, you know. I'm just uh it's a guy who does whatever he can for his kids and um is just uh humbled and honored to be here to discuss things with you and then talk about Catch a Lift.

Jason Smith1:10:14

So, I'm back and forth on Mr. Olympia this year. Um I have a number that I want to hit. And if I can prep correctly and get to that number, I'll do Mr. Olympia for USPA. Um now, that's not the same stage as the Mr. Olympia, but it it's in that area. It's in Las Vegas and they have they have like Mr. Olympia medals and I think that'd be really cool for me to go to that level and succeed.

Jason Smith1:10:37

Uh but, with bench pressing, it's my thought process is if I bring my my A game,

Jason Smith1:10:43

I'm going to lose. I win.

Jason Smith1:10:44

That's I mean, you can only be the best version of yourself. And that's all I look for.

Jason Smith1:10:52

Yeah.

Jason Smith1:10:56

Yeah.

Jason Smith1:12:08

Thank you so much.