We were lucky to catch up with Jason Corthell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jason, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

I feel the biggest lesson I have learned at a prior place of employment would be to take care of your employees and their family members. In the fire service, and the military for that matter, families of individuals serving our country and our communities can be easily forgotten. The sacrifices these folks make in order for their loved ones to continuously give to others can be overwhelming, often times making those with children feel like single parents. I know from experience that ensuring a servants home life is in order only adds to the ability to serve and help others more proficiently. Providing services such as counseling, peer support, spouse groups, events for children, etc. can make all the difference. Solidifying both first responders and military personnel by enacting these services really can be the difference maker when life gets overwhelming for any of the involved parties.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a man of many hats with many “irons” in the fire (no future pun intended). I am a fourth generation firefighter, so serving others is quite literally in my blood. I am also a proud U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, serving from 2006-2010. I joined the fire service shortly after high school because I wanted to help others and it just seemed natural to me. Things changed a couple years later when I up and decided to join the Marine Corps while I was still young. I placed the fire service on the back burner for four years while I served our country. Currently I am the Division Chief of Training for Cypress Creek Fire Department in Northwest Harris County Texas and have been with Cypress Creek Fire since 2004 (with the brief break for the Marine Corps). I also run a new 501(c)3 non-profit, Guardian Grounds Ranch, and currently fill the role of president-CEO. Guardian Grounds Ranch is a service my wife and I thought up one evening driving to a concert in College Station. She knew my struggle with mental health, addiction, PTSD, and anxiety and thought it would be really cool to help other first responders and troops, as well as their family members. We provide cost effective solutions to ensure those in need can get to mental health resources, partake in hunting and fishing trips, and also provide free getaways in Lindale, TX at our amazing cabin we share with Wes Drake of Camp Comrade.

I have also recently launched a for-profit business to help supplement the non-profit side of things, Ironclad Wellness. At Ironclad Wellness we build mental wellness programs for first responder organizations currently, and we are also looking to expand into schools and other private sector businesses soon! I believe wellness programs should never be limited to only our first responder and veteran organizations. Any place of business from a grocery store to a library could use an awesome wellness program and I would be honored to help!

While being aware that there are some organizations similar to what Guardian Grounds Ranch provides, I would be hard pressed to find a firefighter and clinician running the show like we do. I give credit to all the amazing veteran organizations out there, its heartwarming and comforting as a veteran myself but I am on a mission to bring first responder resources to the same level of the veteran population. Most people have no idea we, as first responders, have a major suicide problem losing hundreds every year. I believe in providing services on both my for-profit and non-profit fronts can bring awareness to these issues and help curb the current stigma and change the landscape of our valued service.

I am most proud of my family and friends supporting this crazy venture, or ventures, of mine. My wife and children sacrifice so much time with me, and my wife also travels with me the majority of the time taking her work on the road. It takes an immense amount of support that many people don’t see, also for instance, when I am on the road speaking we most always have family step up to watch our home and our three pups! which is huge! I am also very proud of my full-time place of employment with the fire department, as an organization the immense support from my supervisors has been crucial every step of the way.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I believe that a full spectrum vision of what a first responder is going to experience in their career, to the extent possible, is crucial to provide those coming up through the ranks. Most folks that are not in our field do not realize the strain on family members, the types of incidents we respond to, the secondary trauma, and the absolute horrors that we see on scenes. I tell others often that during recruit/cadet training, if there was a push to inform that population about mental wellness resiliency in order to combat some of the acute effects, that would be extremely helpful to responders, both future and present.

Any advice for managing a team?

Simply put, being a servant leader has been an exceptional concept that I grasped early and I haven’t wavered from. I would say the most difficult or dangerous aspect that threatens the modalities of servant leadership is being recklessly selfless… sometimes you have to take care of yourself in order to help others, there is definitely a balance there to be cognizant of in order to execute keeping team morale high while in a managerial role.

Servant leadership to me is the ultimate form of doing what you say you will do, treating others how you would want to be treated, and letting others know that you are not “above” them, but beside them. Another thing I am cognizant of is denying the use of the word “subordinate”, it feels demoralizing to use as a leader and I prefer to use the term “peer” or “teammate” in its place. Those that may think this could potentially lead to diminished leadership traits may be too intimidated or closedminded to build transparency and vulnerability with their peers and teammates.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.guardiangrounds.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guardiangrounds/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guardiangroundsranch/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/guardian-grounds-ranch?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/guardiangrounds
• Other: www.ironcladwellness.com
  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-corthell-aa0472280