CS#60: Marine | Special Operations | MARSOC | Entrepreneur | FORWARD Podcast | Spinal Singularity | Derek Herrera

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!

Today we hear the remarkable Combat Story of Derek Herrera, a former Marine Special Operator who led Marines in Iraq, Haiti, the Middle East and Afghanistan.
While on a MARSOC operation in Afghanistan, he was shot and paralyzed.
[NOTE: We're launching on Patreon soon. Register to get notified at https://www.combatstory.com/patreon]
Derek is another one of these guys that just makes you feel lazy and that he has more time in a day than you do.
Rather than give up after being injured, he medically retired from the Corps and has achieved significant success while continuing to serve others.
He's the President of the Board of Directors of the Marine Raider Foundation, Chairman of the Board of MedTechVets, founder of Habit Camera and UroDev Medical (formerly Spinal Singularity), a keynote speaker, and host of the FORWARD podcast.
Derek is the real deal who spends all his time putting others ahead of himself and I know you'll enjoy his inspiring Combat Story as much as I did.
Find Derek Online:   

His Linktree has a ton of online links: https://linktr.ee/derekherrera
Instagram @derek_herrera https://www.instagram.com/derek_herrera/?hl=en
LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekherrera/

Find Ryan Online:  

Ryan's Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory
Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial  
Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
Email [email protected] 
Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus  
Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle

Show Notes

0:00 - Intro
0:41 - Guest introduction (Derek Herrera)
1:37 - Interview begins
3:31  - Having an entrepreneurial spirit since childhood
9:32 – A military family and wanting to be a Navy Seal
13:28 - The Navy Seal selection process and not making it
21:08 - Mindset going into the Marine Corps
28:06 - First deployment primarily doing raids in Iraq
40:23 - A full-circle moment helping the Navy Seals as a Marine
45:11 - Deciding to go the Special Ops route in the Marines
53:52 - First and only deployment as Special Operator in Afghanistan and what his missions were like
1:04:58 Combat Story – The operation that changed his life and left him paralyzed from the chest down
1:12:58 - Reaction to learning he was paralyzed and how he found a way to stay in military
1:18:53 - Deciding to transition out of the military and finding passion and purpose in business
1:27:44 – The Marine Raider Foundation
1:35:18 - What did you carry into combat?
1:37:24 - Would you do it all again?
1:39:44 - Listener comments and shout outs