Former Army command sergeant major Donald McAlister is hard ass— no two ways about it. But after a brutal deployment to the Arghandab River Valley in Afghanistan, he figures out that his toughest challenge is learning how to grieve.
Out of Uniform
by Texas Public Radio
Casualty counts from Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t part of the news cycle anymore, but thousands of American service members still put on their uniforms every day, preparing for whatever mission is next. Post-9/11 veterans are piecing together what happened, what it all meant, and where to go from here. Photographer Tim Kolczak is one of them. He is a combat veteran of Iraq, and has made it his mission to document the lives of fellow veterans—and share their stories. In Out Of Uniform, a co-production of Texas Public Radio and The Veterans Project, Tim travels the country talking with former service members about who they are, what motivates them, and, ultimately, their path to purpose. These are unfiltered conversations—veteran to veteran—about how the military shapes people’s lives and how hard it can be to leave the uniform behind.
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This first of a two-part episode tells the story of one man's unbelievable act of courage to save the life of a fellow Marine. He has no memory of what he did. But it earned him the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration.
In Out Of Uniform, a co-production of Texas Public Radio and The Veterans Project, Tim travels the country talking with former service members about who they are, what motivates them, and, ultimately, their path to purpose.