CANSOFCOM SMU Operator on the Breakdown Nobody Talks About | Derek King

Derek King spent eleven years in a Canadian Special Operation Command, Special Missions Unit. He came up through the reserves and 3 RCR, went through selection, and did the job at tempo until it broke him and he was, in his own words, cast out of the tribe. This conversation is about what happened after that. Why men who will put their literal lives in each other's hands will not say a word about how they are actually doing. Why so much of what feels like institutional betrayal is, by his own estimate, seventy to eighty percent coming from inside. Why everybody around you can already tell, and has been able to the whole time. What one leader at the unit did that Derek still praises years later. And what to do in the moment when your head is somewhere else, and your body is standing in the kitchen. Derek works with Stronghold Wellness, educating veterans on options most of them have never been told about, and he sits on the board of the All The Way Foundation. One note on a passage near the middle. Derek talks about the place between wanting the pain to stop and not being able to leave, because of his kids. He is on the other side of it now. That's why he says it out loud. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open 01:44 Intro 03:21 Coming up through the reserves and 3 RCR 07:54 Selection, and eleven years at the unit 10:11 The breakdown, and being cast out of the tribe 12:05 What we get wrong about institutional betrayal 15:32 Negative self-talk 17:45 What to say to a struggling operator 25:16 Leading while you are the one struggling 30:09 Carrying pain, and why people stay 33:48 Taking care of yourself at tempo 36:08 A life outside the job 40:34 Stronghold Wellness and Full Circle 49:40 The nervous system, and what to do in the moment 58:39 Final thoughts STRONGHOLD WELLNESS Founded by three Canadian special operations veterans. Care navigation for CAF and RCMP veterans, free to use, with VAC claim coordination for qualifying services. Take the two-minute quiz and see what is actually available to you. https://www.strongholdwellness.ca FULL CIRCLE Weekly peer support for veterans and former RCMP, run by the All The Way Foundation. https://alltheway.team/full-circle/ ALL THE WAY https://alltheway.team