Ep 055: SSG Aaron Hale - U.S. Army (EOD) Veteran

Military Veterans Podcast

Aaron joined the United States Navy (USN) in 1999 as a Mess Management Specialist (Cook), and later transferred to the United States Army (USA) as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Specialist, serving for a combined 14 years. Aaron reached the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG).

In this episode Aaron talks about his time joining the U.S. Navy, and graduating Navy Boot Camp, before completing the Navy “A” School for his trade. Aaron shares his first duty station out in Naples, Italy, which lead to a deployment out to Afghanistan. Seeking a new challenge, Aaron transferred over to the U.S. Army as an EOD Specialist, after 6 months out of the military, due to a direct transfer not being possible at that time.

Aaron also shares a life changing 2nd deployment to Afghanistan, where he served as an EOD team leader. During an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) clearance task, a 2nd IED pressure plate was stood on by Aaron, where the blast hit him in the head and caused him to loose his sight. He continues to share how his life has been adapted to live with 100% blindness and 100% deafness, and what new tasks and challenges he gives himself each year to stay active.

Watch Episode on YouTube
Part 1: youtu.be/7bbke-QACVw

Part 2: youtu.be/_gg-y6_14G4
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Chapters

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Growing Up (00:03:59)

3. Joining the U.S. Navy (00:06:45)

4. Navy Boot Camp (00:11:21)

5. Navy "A" School (00:14:09)

6. Naples, Italy (00:16:34)

7. Afghanistan Deployment (00:25:58)

8. Service Commitment (00:29:06)

9. Transfer Navy to Army (00:31:57)

10. Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Training (00:39:28)

11. Fort Drum, New York (00:42:45)

12. Iraq Deployment (00:44:09)

13. State Side Response (EOD) (00:49:38)

14. Afghanistan Deployment (EOD) (00:52:46)

15. Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Incident (01:01:14)

16. Blindness & Deafness (01:10:39)

17. Transition Back to Civilian Life (01:22:25)

18. Final Thoughts & Advice (01:35:44)