From the 101st Airborne Division to Firefighter: Jared Cheselske on Desert Storm, Finding the Fire Service, and the Call that Saved his Life
Episode notes
In this episode of The Hero’s Journey, Jared Cheselske shares his path from a military household in San Diego to the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, and eventually the fire service. He recalls serving in Panama on security operations and deploying to Kuwait and Iraq during Desert Storm. After leaving the Army, he completed three different fire academies and spent nearly 30 years on the job in Salt Lake City and San Diego.
Jared talks about the physical and emotional cost of those careers: chronic injuries, sleepless nights, and the loss of close friends. By 2017, the strain had compounded and taken a major toll on his family life. A call from a fellow firefighter led him to get help, and working with a coach gave him tools to restore his sleep, regulate stress, and rebuild his health.
He explains how coaching gave him language to make sense of what he was experiencing, and why he started sharing those tools with others. Jared describes his work today with Sharp Performance coaching first responders. He notes that while his clients come from very different backgrounds, the patterns are strikingly similar, and the same practical tools continue to make the difference.
Chapters
00:00 A Lifesaving Call
01:22 Growing Up in a Military Household
10:43 Deciding to Join the Army
14:05 Boot Camp and Joining the 101st Airborne
20:20 Desert Storm
31:45 Transitioning Out of the Army
33:05 Finding the Fire Service
36:00 Going Through Multiple Fire Academies
37:05 Hitting Rock Bottom
38:46 The Call That Changed Everything
40:50 Finding Coaching
41:41 Sharing Tools That Work
42:55 Building a Support Group for Firefighters
48:22 A New Chapter with Sharp Performance
50:57 Using the Operator Syndrome Framework
52:36 Nonprofit Work in Hawaii
56:40 You’re Not Alone
[spotify:https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bmnyhUKNNx9gRUK5qOGyH?si=cb93669e2ae24322]