Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Brandon Spangler did five years in the Marine Corps. He broke his neck, crushed his lower back, and walked out with a VA prescription that turned into eight years of addiction. The last stretch was heroin. He got sober in 2013, started college from zero, and is now a licensed clinical social worker with his own practice for cops and veterans in northwest Montana. Travis Gribble spent 24 years in law enforcement, 16 on SWAT, and retired out of Mesa PD in 2022. He now works for the Boulder Crest Foundation.
He walks through the jump from pharmacy to street, detoxing cold turkey three times, and a month and a half living out of a truck in the Blue Mountains waiting on a bed.
The second half is the system. Why cops are carrying moral injury more than post-traumatic stress. Why a diagnosis turns into a cage. What five days of training did that years of therapy did not, the 400 to 600 traumatic calls a cop absorbs over a career, why the average officer dies seven years after retiring, and the retainer model that put a therapist inside a sheriff's office.
The Boulder Crest Foundation: bouldercrest.org
Join the Cleared Hot Newsletter: clearedhotpodcast.com
Take the Operator Code Assessment: theoperatorcode.com
Today's Sponsors:
Montana Knife Company:
montanaknifecompany.com
Firecracker Farm:
https://www.firecracker.farm
Timestamps:
0:01 Opening and guest introductions
0:49 Brandon Spangler’s path to therapy
11:58 Getting sober and choosing a new career
21:04 Travis Gribble’s law enforcement journey
28:16 Rethinking PTSD, trauma, and identity
39:40 Building resilience in first responder culture
48:10 Moral injury and career exposure
53:46 Boulder Crest and Struggle Well
1:00:07 Daily practices for post-traumatic growth
1:11:40 Tools for officers facing ongoing trauma
1:23:04 Officer-involved shootings and disclosure
1:32:30 Brandon’s therapy practice and department partnerships
1:42:34 Speaking, storytelling, and life after service
1:56:57 The therapist’s emotional burden
2:08:00 Resources and planning for retirement
Brandon Spangler did five years in the Marine Corps. He broke his neck, crushed his lower back, and walked out with a VA prescription that turned into eight years of addiction. The last stretch was heroin. He got sober in 2013, started college from zero, and is now a licensed clinical social worker with his own practice for cops and veterans in northwest Montana. Travis Gribble spent 24 years in law enforcement, 16 on SWAT, and retired out of Mesa PD in 2022. He now works for the Boulder Crest Foundation.
He walks through the jump from pharmacy to street, detoxing cold turkey three times, and a month and a half living out of a truck in the Blue Mountains waiting on a bed.
The second half is the system. Why cops are carrying moral injury more than post-traumatic stress. Why a diagnosis turns into a cage. What five days of training did that years of therapy did not, the 400 to 600 traumatic calls a cop absorbs over a career, why the average officer dies seven years after retiring, and the retainer model that put a therapist inside a sheriff's office.
The Boulder Crest Foundation: bouldercrest.org
Join the Cleared Hot Newsletter: clearedhotpodcast.com
Take the Operator Code Assessment: theoperatorcode.com
Today's Sponsors:
Montana Knife Company:
montanaknifecompany.com
Firecracker Farm:
https://www.firecracker.farm
Timestamps:
0:01 Opening and guest introductions
0:49 Brandon Spangler’s path to therapy
11:58 Getting sober and choosing a new career
21:04 Travis Gribble’s law enforcement journey
28:16 Rethinking PTSD, trauma, and identity
39:40 Building resilience in first responder culture
48:10 Moral injury and career exposure
53:46 Boulder Crest and Struggle Well
1:00:07 Daily practices for post-traumatic growth
1:11:40 Tools for officers facing ongoing trauma
1:23:04 Officer-involved shootings and disclosure
1:32:30 Brandon’s therapy practice and department partnerships
1:42:34 Speaking, storytelling, and life after service
1:56:57 The therapist’s emotional burden
2:08:00 Resources and planning for retirement
