Episode 47 — Adam Castillo: "Double Middle Fingers and a Homecoming"

Hardcore and At Ease | Mission Ambition, LLC

You gave everything to a country that claimed to want you back. So what do you do when it doesn't make room for you? You build something they can't take back. And then you come home.

Adam Castillo came home from Afghanistan ready to work. Corporate America hung the banners. Hire a hero. And then wouldn't get him through the door for a warehouse supervisor interview. So he gave it double middle fingers, packed up, and moved to one of the most dangerous places on earth. What he built there, and who he became, is the kind of story that reframes everything you thought you knew about rejection, reinvention, and what it means to finally come home.

In this episode, United States Marine and combat veteran Adam Castillo breaks down what happens when the system hands you something that was never actually meant for you, how anger becomes either your exit or your engine, and what a man carries back after twelve years of building in a war zone. This is leadership in crisis. This is the American spirit abroad. This is Hardcore and At Ease.

In This Episode

• Why corporate America's "hire a hero" movement felt like a betrayal to returning veterans in 2012-2013
• How Adam channeled post-service rejection into building a security company in Myanmar that employed thousands
• What it means to lead a business community through a military takeover with no playbook
• The VA claim he didn't file for over a decade, and the all-night sign-up in Bangkok that changed everything
• Why faith and a fellow veteran's words became the turning point
• What he is carrying back to Riverside, California, and why it fits this time

Featured Guest

Adam Castillo is a United States Marine, combat veteran of Afghanistan, author, and founder of a security company in Myanmar that employed thousands at its peak. He served as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, leading the American business community through a military takeover and years of crisis. After more than twelve years abroad, he is returning home to California with a mission to invest in the community that raised him.

Next Episode

Episode 48 — Solo. Shelly gets into the process of tying up loose ends on the road to publishing a book: what the journey looks like from the inside, what she has learned, and what is coming next.

Resources Mentioned

• Finding Our Voice: A Story of Leadership in Crisis and the American Spirit Abroad by Adam Castillo — Available now: https://a.co/d/05WGMqAe
• Mission Wildflower on Substack — Women veteran stories and additional content: https://shellyrood.substack.com

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