What does it cost to give your entire life to service?

In Episode 15 of Beyond the Battlefield, I sit down with Dai Charles — a man who dedicated nearly 40 years to protecting his country.

Dai joined the Royal Navy in 1978 before transferring to the Royal Marines Commandos in the thick of the Falklands War. From there, he deployed to nearly every major conflict over the last four decades: Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan — and more.

After a lifetime in uniform, Dai didn’t stop serving. Today, he works with Border Force, guarding the UK’s borders, fighting smuggling and immigration crime, and keeping the nation safe behind the scenes.

But this conversation isn’t just about medals and deployments.
It’s about the real human cost. The guilt that never goes away when men under your command take their own lives.
It’s about the weight of leaving the Corps after nearly 40 years and the struggles that follow when the brotherhood is gone.

Dai also talks about founding the RMA Riders — a motorcycle group for former Royal Marines who still crave that sense of belonging, camaraderie, and shared humour only the Corps understands.

His story is about loyalty, loss, pride, and the silent battles veterans still fight long after the battlefield is behind them.

🎙 Beyond the Battlefield gives veterans a voice. Real stories. Raw truth. Shared to inspire and remind us all that strength isn’t just about what you survive — it’s about who you stand beside.

🔎 Topics Covered:
Royal Navy and Royal Marines career

Operational deployments: Falklands, Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Northern Ireland

The hidden world of Border Force

Veteran suicide and survivor’s guilt

Brotherhood and the power of staying connected

Founding the RMA Riders

Transitioning out of the military after nearly 40 years

Parenting the next generation of Royal Marines

Purpose and resilience after service

🎙 Beyond the Battlefield is streaming now on all major podcast platforms and YouTube.
📲 Subscribe now so not to miss any early releases or new episodes.

🌐 www.warriorwellnessmovement.com
The Holistic Approach to Health, Wellness & Performance.

#DaiCharles #RoyalMarines #RoyalNavy #BeyondTheBattlefield #VeteranStories #FalklandsWar #AfghanistanVeteran #BosniaConflict #NorthernIreland #BorderForce #RMA #RMA Riders #MilitaryBrotherhood #LifeAfterService #VeteranCommunity #WarriorWellness #MilitaryPodcast #VeteranMentalHealth #SuicideAwareness #BrotherhoodForever #CombatStories

In Episode 14 of Beyond the Battlefield, I sit down with Steve Martindale — a former Royal Marine Commando and Close Protection Officer in Iraq and Afghanistan — who’s now co-founded CS22 Veteran Expeditions CIC (Cockleshell22) to help veterans rediscover purpose.

Formed in 2022, CS22 takes inspiration from historic Commando raids—like Operation Frankton and Heroes of Telemark—and retraces them in the UK and overseas (France, Norway, Falklands). These aren’t charity walks—they’re UK-based training weekends and overseas expeditions led with precision by military veterans, offering ground-breaking mentoring, team bonding, and a holistic boost to physical and mental wellbeing.

Through high-challenge adventure and history-driven missions, CS22 gives veterans a renewed sense of mission, camaraderie, and belonging . Their vision? To deliver purpose, peer support, and personal transformation through adventure, history, and community.

Topics Covered:

Royal Marine & Close Protection Service in Afghanistan

CS22 Veteran Expeditions: mission and method

Training weekends in the UK (e.g., Lake District, Anglesey)

Overseas expeditions retracing Commando missions

Mentorship, team-building, and peer support

Mental and physical health transformations

Honouring military history while creating future purpose

Leadership, resilience, and reclaiming identity

🎙 Beyond the Battlefield gives veterans a platform to share real stories of adversity, recovery, and renewed purpose—designed to inspire others.

👉 Learn more or join CS22 Veteran Expeditions:
🌐 https://cockleshell22.com

🎙 Now streaming on all major podcast platforms and YouTube

📲 Subscribe now so not to miss any early releases or new episodes
🌐 www.warriorwellnessmovement.com

The Holistic Approach to Health, Wellness & Performance.

#CS22 #VeteranExpeditions #SteveMartindale #RoyalMarines #CloseProtection #OperationFrankton #HeroesOfTelemark #VeteranPurpose #BeyondTheBattlefield #MentalResilience #OutdoorMentoring #AdventureTherapy #VeteranSupport #HolisticHealth #WarriorWellness #LifeAfterService #MilitaryPodcast #Camaraderie #ReconnectionThroughChallenge #PeerSupport

What happens when the silence of the deep becomes the noise in your head?

In Episode 13 of Beyond the Battlefield, we sit down with Danny Keating, a former Royal Navy Submariner whose story is unlike anything we’ve heard so far.

Danny spent months at a time submerged underwater—confined, claustrophobic, and disconnected from daylight and the outside world. It was elite service, but it came at a heavy cost.
He left the Navy and, like many veterans, fell into the next battle: mental health decline, identity loss, and addiction.

Thrown into the high-speed world of London’s executive culture, Danny relied on cocaine and adrenaline to keep pace. The grind. The performance. The mask. But underneath? He was falling apart.

Then something shifted.

Danny discovered Buddhism, and through meditation, mindfulness, and movement, he rebuilt from the inside out. He redefined strength—not as suppression, but as awareness. Not as speed, but stillness.

Today, he’s thriving. He’s healthy. He’s completed an Ironman. And he’s a powerful example of how men can reclaim peace and purpose—no matter how far gone they feel.

This episode is about identity, addiction, transformation, and healing. It’s real. It’s raw. And it’s exactly what someone out there needs to hear today.

🔎 Topics Covered:
Royal Navy Submarine Service

Mental health in the military

Addiction and high-performance culture

Cocaine abuse in executive life

Mindfulness and meditation for veterans

Buddhist practice after service

Ironman training and recovery

Rebuilding identity and inner peace

Leadership through vulnerability

Life after military darkness

🎙 Beyond the Battlefield is a platform giving veterans a voice.
Stories of adversity. Stories of resilience.
Shared to inspire others.

#RoyalNavy #SubmarineService #VeteranMentalHealth #AddictionRecovery #BeyondTheBattlefield #BuddhismForVeterans #CocaineRecovery #Mindfulness #IronmanJourney #WarriorWellness #MilitaryPodcast #MentalResilience #VeteranStories #MeditationForMen #PostMilitaryLife #HealingThroughMindfulness #ExecutiveBurnout #VeteranTransformation #LeadershipThroughAdversity

Mental health, military life, trauma, and leadership under fire — this is the untold reality of life in the Royal Marines.

In this powerful episode of Beyond the Battlefield, I sit down with Tip Cullen, a man who’s spent 30 years in service with the Royal Marines, from the harshest frontlines to the highest levels of leadership. A battle-hardened veteran, Tip has completed countless operational tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other war zones, rising through the ranks to become a Royal Marines officer.

This isn’t just a conversation about military service — it’s a raw and unfiltered look at the brutality of modern warfare, the mental health battles that follow, and the strength it takes to survive and lead in one of the UK’s most elite fighting forces.

Tip shares what it’s really like to operate at the pinnacle of performance in the Royal Marines, the harsh realities of combat, and the tough mindset required to endure relentless physical and mental pressure. He breaks down the sacrifices, the brotherhood, and the emotional cost that’s rarely spoken about outside military circles.

We also dive into his latest project - Sunray: Fallen Soldier, a film he stars in and helped bring to life. This film is more than a story - it's a tribute to 'our people', as Tip calls them: Royal Marines, soldiers, and veterans who’ve seen and experienced the darkest parts of war. The film was created to raise awareness around PTSD, trauma, and mental health - topics often ignored but deeply embedded in the lives of those who serve.

Tip opens up about life after service, the challenge of finding purpose outside the military, and why storytelling through film became his next mission. Sunray isn’t just entertainment - it’s a message, a warning, and a memorial to the struggles we carry long after the battle ends.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s served, is serving, or wants to understand the real cost of leadership, combat, and survival.

Topics Covered:

Royal Marines life and leadership.
Combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Military mental health and PTSD.
Veteran transition and life after service.
Brotherhood and loss.
Creating Sunray: Fallen Soldier.
Trauma, resilience, and the healing power of storytelling.

#RoyalMarines #MilitaryLife #MentalHealth #PTSD #AfghanistanVeteran #IraqWar #SunrayFallenSoldier #VeteranStories #Leadership #TraumaRecovery #BeyondTheBattlefield #CombatVeteran #MilitaryBrotherhood #VeteranSupport #LifeAfterService #MilitaryTrauma #BritishArmedForces #WarFilm #FunctionalHealth #Resilience #WarriorWellness #MilitaryMindset

From the battlefield to rock bottom—and back again.

In Episode 12 of Beyond the Battlefield, I sit down with Dan Fielding, a former Royal Marine Commando who shares his raw, honest story of mental health collapse, addiction, and recovery after leaving the military.

Like many veterans, Dan was hit hard by the silence that follows discharge. He lost his identity, turned to alcohol and drugs, and used addiction to mask the mental pain and trauma he didn’t yet understand. He was suffering in silence—like so many others—told to just “Crack on, Royal.”

But eventually, the cracks became too deep to ignore.

Dan’s turning point came the day he walked into Turn to Starboard, a sailing-based veterans' charity based in Falmouth, Cornwall. From the moment he stepped through the door, Dan said it felt like coming home to family. Sailing gave him not just purpose, but peace.

Today, Dan is the Chief Operating Officer of Turn to Starboard and is helping others who are struggling the way he once did. His mission is clear: no veteran gets left behind.

This episode is an emotional deep dive into the real cost of service, the damage of suppressing pain, and the importance of community, support, and speaking out. If you’ve ever worn the uniform, known someone who has, or struggled with identity after service—this one will hit hard.

Topics Covered:

Royal Marines identity loss

Addiction and mental health in veterans

Alcohol and drug use post-discharge

PTSD and emotional suppression

The "Crack on Royal" mindset

Veteran rehabilitation through sailing

Turn to Starboard charity

Finding purpose after the military

Leadership through lived experience

Building a new life beyond the battlefield

Pain. Perseverance. Amputation. And the power of choice.

In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, I sit down with Ray Lowrie, a former Royal Marine Commando, world-record-holding athlete, and above all—an unbreakable force of resilience. Ray’s story is one of freak misfortune, brutal pain, and ultimately, incredible triumph.

What began as a slip on ice spiralled into a life-changing injury. Ray endured years of pain, 20 invasive surgeries, and full-time rehab at Hasler Unit, the Royal Marines’ specialist rehabilitation centre in Plymouth. But the most painful part? No one would listen when he said, “Just take the leg.”

After battling for over 5 years—physically, mentally, and emotionally—Ray finally had his leg amputated. He describes the day his leg was removed as “being born again.” It marked the end of suffering and the beginning of a new life. But the trauma ran deep. As a husband and father of young children, the burden on his family was immense. Ray speaks openly about coping with pain through alcohol, the toll it took on his mental health, and how he finally took back control of his life.

What followed is nothing short of extraordinary.

Ray didn’t just recover—he rewrote the rules. He became a world-record-holding adaptive athlete, smashing records on the Concept2 rowing machine and SkiErg. He became a role model for the health and fitness community, proving that amputation didn’t define him—it freed him.

This episode is a raw, emotional, and deeply inspiring story of what it means to suffer, survive, and choose strength anyway.

Topics Covered:

Life-changing injury and amputation

Royal Marines rehabilitation and Hasler Unit

Chronic pain, trauma, and mental health

Alcohol as a coping mechanism

The decision to amputate

World records and adaptive sports

Resilience, mindset, and family

Health, fitness, and the power of choice

Combat. Chaos. Survival. What does a decade of war really do to the mind and body?

In this jaw-dropping episode of Beyond the Battlefield, I sit down with Adz Lison, former Royal Marine Commando and Physical Training Instructor, to uncover the brutal, unfiltered truth behind life on the front lines of one of the longest and bloodiest campaigns in modern military history: Afghanistan.

Adz didn’t just pass through the Royal Marines - he stood out. Completing the elite Physical Training Instructors (PTI) Course, one of the most physically demanding qualifications in the entire British military, Adz went on to train Royal Marines recruits to reach levels of fitness matched only by Olympic athletes and world-class operators.

But it’s his frontline experience that will leave you speechless.

With four operational combat deployments in Afghanistan, Adz endured the kind of relentless violence and trauma that few can comprehend. He fought in daily firefights lasting up to 8 hours, came under constant threat of IEDs, and was blown up more than 20 times during a single tour - and survived. These weren’t rare moments. This was his daily life. The brutality of war, the chaos of combat, and the constant proximity to death shaped a decade of his life.

In one story that captures the insanity of it all, Adz recounts how just 72 hours after surviving a ferocious gun battle and another explosion, he found himself sat in his living room back in the UK - physically home, but mentally still at war.

We explore the critical question: Are we doing enough for the mental health of our servicemen and women - during and after their time in uniform?

This episode is a raw and powerful insight into combat trauma, survival, leadership under fire, resilience, and the psychological toll of war. Adz speaks openly about the mental health battle that follows years of intense service and the struggles and coping mechanisms that continue long after the battlefield has fallen silent.

Topics Covered:

Royal Marines life and elite military training.
The Physical Training Instructor (PTI) Course.
Afghanistan combat experience.
IEDs, firefights, and close calls.
Trauma and survival.
Post-combat mental health.
Veteran support and the transition home.
Leadership in war.
Resilience and recovery.
Physical and psychological strength.