#BorneTheBattle 63: Nate Boyer – Army Veteran, Community Leader

I first spoke with Nate Boyer a few years ago on a podcast called Fuel for Warriors. We talked about his journey to become a long snapper in college at the University of Texas and then getting to play for the Seattle Seahawks, as well as what it means to be a “warrior” and the warrior ethos. Recently, Nate has been featured in current news stories, but many of his initiatives go unmentioned. So, when the opportunity to speak with him on Borne the Battle came, I jumped on it right away.

After joining the US Army in 2005, Boyer earned the coveted Green Beret in December, 2006.  He was stationed in Okinawa throughout most of 2007 with 1^st Special Forces Group.  In April of 2008, Nate was deployed with ODA 0324 10^th Special Forces Group to Iraq and served his tour of duty until January of 2009.  He then served tours in Afghanistan from April-August, 2013 (Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan) and from April-August, 2014 (ODA 3116 3^rd Special Forces Group).  In addition to his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Boyer completed a number of JCET (Joint Command Exchange Training) Missions to Israel (2009), Bulgaria (2011), and Greece (2012).

Now, Nate finds himself involved in Veteran advocacy, as well as partnering in great initiatives such as Waterboys and Merging Veterans & Players.

Covered in Episode 63:

• Happy Thanksgiving!
• Interview with Army Veteran Nate Boyer
  • Why Nate joined the Army and became a Green Beret
  • Transitioning out of the military and going to college at University of Texas
  • His involvement with Waterboys, building wells for clean water overseas
  • The Merging Veterans & Players initiative
  • Disaster response with Team Rubicon
• #VeteranOfTheDay Air Force Veteran Edgar A. Grabhorn

The #VApodcast is now available in iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, and Spotify. Search “Borne the Battle” in your podcast app of choice to subscribe.