#75 I Died in Iraq - Jerry Dugan

Jerry Dugan’s life was a clash between spiritual curiousity, complete ambivolence, and intellectual skepticism. But, when he faced the prospect of dying on a battlefield in Iraq, he found an unexpected answer to the prayer he never thought he would pray.

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📷 Photos

I’m likely a mile or two behind this location. I remember those berms well. We were essentially sitting ducks with nowhere to go in the middle of a firefight that lasted over 12 hours.

Providing artillery support for a task force under heavy enemy fire. Shortly after this picture, I had to run in behind those cannons to treat minor burns on soldiers who got too close to the cannons.

Me (on the left) joking with a friend after one of our 3-man foot patrols in the compound chasing out looters.

This was at Fort Benning around 1 am in July 2003 coming back from Iraq. We had been apart for seven months.

Meeting my 3-month-old daughter for the first time. It’s after this picture that we’re driving home and Olivia tells me about her “deal with God” to bring us to church if He brought me home safely.

Safe to say that Emma is my “Mini Me” in many ways.

This is the day we dropped Jacob (our son and oldest child) off to college in September 2019.

We celebrated 20 years of marriage in 2021. So, 23 years now.

Talking about servant leadership through the TENT Leadership Framework at ATD LEAPS 2023

The podcast has been around since August 2015

🔗 Links

• BTR Impact: Jerry’s consulting practice for business owners and leaders,

• Jerry’s podcast, Beyond the Rut

• Jerry’s book, Beyond the Rut (on Amazon)

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• #36 Millennial Hindu Mystic Meets Jesus - Atticus Carr: A rebel who looked for life's answers deep within Hinduism and New Age mysticism but came up empty-handed until he encountered Jesus.

• #42 Grief in Afghanistan: Testimony from a U.S. Navy Special Ops Teammate - Jim Payne: He was sent to the Middle East as part of a Navy Seal Team in 2005. During their deployment, his team was divided in half and suffered devastating losses in the mountains of Afghanistan. As Jim grappled with crippling grief he clung to the One who offered any glimmer of hope.