About this episode
Send us Fan MailAaron sits down with RJ Hunter, former Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) operator, to unpack a career that didn’t follow the clean, highlight-reel version you see online.This is what it actually looks like when things don’t go your way—getting kicked out, fighting your way back in, deployments stacking up, injuries piling on, and still refusing to quit. RJ walks through getting denied by every branch, grinding through waivers, surviving multiple deployments, and navigating the reality of mental health, med boards, and a body that’s slowly breaking down.No glamor here. Just persistence, frustration, and figuring it out anyway.If you think your path has to be perfect to make it—you’re wrong. The only difference is whether you keep going or not.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Not built to be average 01:10 Sponsor read and intro 03:20 Who is RJ Hunter 05:15 Getting kicked out and starting over 08:30 Denied by every military branch 10:40 Fighting for a second chance 12:45 Choosing TACP over everything else 15:30 Pipeline reality check 18:20 Deployments start stacking 21:30 Life downrange and tempo reality 25:10 Why timing never lined up 29:00 Instructor duty and hard lessons 33:10 Mental health and career impact 37:40 Waivers, med boards, and setbacks 42:00 Injuries start compounding 46:30 Arctic, Iraq, and NATO experiences 51:00 Transition out and identity shift 55:10 TACP Foundation mission 59:30 Why community still matters 01:02:00 Final advice no one wants to hear🎯 Call-to-Actions: 👍 Like the episode 🔔 Subscribe 💬 Comment your take 🌟 Leave a review 🪖 Join the Ones Ready Membership 👕 Check out the merch storeSupport the showJoin this channel to get access to perks: HEREBuzzsprout Subscription page: HERERegister for our Operator Training Summit: OperatorTrainingSummit.comCollabs:Ones Ready - OnesReady.com 18A Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADY ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):
