Episode 4 - Levi Harrison - The Deranged, the Artists, and Everyone Else

This is Levi Harrison. A skilled artist, podcaster, musician, paint salesman, and veteran, among many other things. Currently, there is a lot of attention on the effects of military service on the psyche, but I’ve always been curious about the psyche that leads someone to commit to military service. I’d consider Levi, like myself, a creative, which probably isn’t the traditional military archetype. I joined for a bunch of different reasons. I didn’t have the money or the mindset to go to college, I’ve always been adventurous and enjoyed intense situations, my living situation at the time wasn’t ideal, and I wanted to set myself up for success for the future by receiving post-military benefits and developing professional experience. Although I don’t fit into the main category of people who join, there’s unexpectedly a significant number of people with a similar creative and life background. 

I met the most capable leaders, baddest mother fuckers, and biggest idiots while I was in. There were also a lot of guys that just couldn’t get it together. Couldn’t stop getting in trouble. Couldn’t get away from their own demons. For some of these dudes, it was clearly due to the effects of PTSD. But others had issues before they joined… well, I guess we all had issues before we joined, but significant issues. In this episode, we’ll be using Levi’s stories about ending up in Bahrain without a passport, and his experience with ship overboard procedures on the USS Roosevelt (the same ship with the command and coronavirus controversy) to discuss some of the darker incidents and people we’ve encountered while in the service. 

Art:

https://www.facebook.com/HarrisonArtDesign

https://www.instagram.com/art_under_fire/

Podcast:

Knowhere in the Middle

West Bind