Stephan Wolfert enlisted as a medic in 1986, became an infantry officer, trained for elite special operations, and was on a fast track to a full military career…until two devastating losses in the same year broke something in him. A chance encounter with Shakespeare's Richard III in a small Montana theater changed the course of his life forever.
Today, Stephan is a licensed psychotherapist, Shakespeare actor, and founder of De-Cruit, a groundbreaking program using Shakespeare's verse to help military veterans heal from PTSD and trauma. With over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles backing his work, what started as one veteran's personal catharsis has helped thousands find language for the unspeakable.In this episode, Stephan talks candidly about growing up on the rough north side of La Crosse, Wisconsin, fleeing to the Army as his only way out, the rapid rise through elite military training, the grief that broke him, and why he believes we recruit soldiers but never truly "decruit" them — and what that costs all of us.
🔗 Learn more about De-Cruit: www.decruit.org
CHAPTERS:
3:02 – Why He Joined the Army
5:45 – Becoming a Combat Medic
7:06 – Basic Training & What Surprised Him
12:40 – Advanced Training & Becoming an Officer
18:05 – Iran-Contra, Central America & Shifting Beliefs
22:55 – Getting His History Degree & Turning Down Regular Army
28:47 – JRTC & National Training Center: Elite Field Training
34:33 – Ranger School & What Almost Ended It
37:42 – The Arctic Training Story (A Favorite Army Memory)
42:53 – The Losses That Broke Him: Deaths in Training & a Soldier's Suicide
49:49 – Going AWOL: A PTSD Episode on an Amtrak Train
54:14 – Whitefish, Montana & a Shakespeare Play That Changed Everything
58:31 – Turning Down the Military for Good
1:02:12 – Ranger School: The Concussion That Cost Him the Tab
1:13:19 – Graduate School & the Birth of Cry Havoc
1:16:36 – Creating DeCruit: Shakespeare as Medicine for Veterans
1:29:02 – The Research: What the Data Actually Shows
1:37:43 – Veterans, Childhood Trauma & ACE Scores
1:46:44 – How to Find DeCruit & What's Coming Next
1:48:35 – The Real Cost of War & What We Choose Not to Fix
1:55:34 – Final Thoughts & Reflections
If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com.
