The Bunkhouse Podcast
The Bunkhouse: A Podcast Were Veterans Support Veterans
The hardest battles don’t end when the uniform comes off.
The Bunkhouse is a podcast about veteran mental health and everything that comes after service: the rough transitions, the loss of purpose, the identity you have to rebuild, the things nobody says out loud. Host Jon spent 16 years in the Marine Corps as a Data Systems Engineering Officer, including three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. His own transition was rough. He’s seen what untreated struggle can do to a person and to a family, and he started this show so other veterans wouldn’t have to figure it out alone.
Each episode brings honest, unrehearsed conversations with veterans doing the work of putting a life back together. Some episodes are about the low places. Some are about faith, family, career, and finding a tribe that shows up. All of them are judgment-free.
New episodes drop on the 2nd Monday of every month. Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest at thebunkhousecast.com.
Be the light in someone’s dark
If you’re a veteran in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line
JJ Hardy gave the Army 18 years of his life, including 35 months in combat. He came home with a 100% disability rating, a PTSD diagnosis, and a transition he describes as “very, very messy.” No clear mission. No sense of identity. Just the quiet, disorienting weight of trying to figure out who he was without the uniform.
In this episode, JJ opens up about what it actually took to climb out of that place, and how he learned to flip post-traumatic stress into what he calls post-traumatic growth. He and Jon dig into the gap between military leadership and what often passes for leadership in the civilian world, and why JJ walked away from job after job because he refused to abandon the people counting on him, a value straight out of “never leave a fallen comrade.”
JJ also shares his philosophy of training your mind the same way you’d train for combat: same discipline, same reps, same commitment. Because if you want the fight to go a certain way, you have to train for it, mentally included.
This conversation is grounded, practical, and honest about what healing actually requires. JJ now runs Victory Leadership Coaching and hosts the Speak Up, Show Up, Lead podcast, helping other veterans and leaders do the same work he had to do on himself.
If you’ve ever felt like your training prepared you for everything except what came after, this episode is for you.
Recent Video Content
Podcast Details
The Bunkhouse Podcast is where veterans come to have the conversations that don’t always happen when the cameras are rolling or the uniform is on.
Hosted by Marine Corps veteran Jon Cole, The Bunkhouse features honest, unfiltered conversations about veteran mental health, life after service, identity, purpose, leadership, family, faith, resilience, and finding your tribe after the military.
Each episode brings veterans, advocates, leaders, and others from the military-connected community into the Bunkhouse to share more than their accomplishments. We talk about the struggles behind the story, the lessons learned along the way, and the experiences that helped shape who they are today.
Why tune in? Because someone else’s story may be the one you need to hear.
Listeners can expect authentic conversations that can be serious, vulnerable, inspiring, educational, and sometimes funny. There are no perfect transition stories and no expectation that every guest has everything figured out. The goal is simple: create a place where real people can talk about real experiences and remind others that they are not alone.
Whether you served, love someone who served, work within the veteran community, or simply believe our veterans’ stories matter, there is a seat for you in The Bunkhouse.
Pull up a chair. Join the conversation. And help us Be The Light In Someone’s Dark.
About the host
Jon Cole
Jon Cole is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 2, podcast host, and veteran mental health advocate who believes some of the most important conversations are often the ones people are afraid to have.
Before stepping behind the microphone, Jon spent 16 years in the Marine Corps as a Data Systems Engineering Officer, completing three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. From combat deployments to teaching young Marines, his career taught him that leadership was about far more than technology, operations, or accomplishing the mission. It was about people: learning how to listen, lead through adversity, and taking care of those around you.
Jon’s transition out of the military ultimately shaped much of the voice he brings behind the microphone today. Losing the sense of purpose and belonging that came with military service forced him to confront some difficult realities about transition and mental health. He has also witnessed the devastating impact untreated mental-health struggles can have on veterans, families, and communities.
Today, Jon hosts The Bunkhouse Podcast, a veteran-focused show built around honest, unpolished conversations about mental health, life after service, identity, purpose, leadership, family, faith, and community. Originally created to share veterans’ journeys into technology and cybersecurity, The Bunkhouse evolved into something more personal: a platform dedicated to conversations Jon believes the veteran community cannot afford to avoid.
Behind the microphone, Jon is conversational, curious, candid, and personal. He isn’t looking for rehearsed answers or perfectly polished success stories. He wants to understand the person behind the story: the victories and failures, difficult moments, lessons learned, and the experiences that kept them moving forward.
At the center of Jon’s life are his growing Christian faith, his family, and his commitment to community. He believes having a tribe, people willing to show up for one another when life gets difficult, can be one of the strongest defenses against isolation and darkness.
Through The Bunkhouse, Jon uses storytelling to create connections, challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, and remind veterans and their families that they don’t have to fight their battles alone. Every conversation is intended to leave listeners with something honest, something useful, and perhaps something worth sharing with someone who needs to hear it.
His mission behind the microphone is simple:
“Be The Light In Someone’s Dark”
