Question 1

What is Mike Armstrong's story about?

Accepted Answer

Mike Armstrong spent 23 years in the Army, including time in Special Forces and cyber roles, while keeping a secret: he was also an artist. When he returned to art school after service, a professor rejected his application with the question: what would an army officer know about art? By the end of his time at university, that same professor apologized, admitting he had learned more about the military experience through knowing Mike than he ever would have otherwise.

Question 2

What did Mike Armstrong learn from this experience?

Accepted Answer

Mike joined the Army as a young artist because he wanted adventure and to support his family, not realizing it would become a 23-year career that kept a nagging part of him, the artist, buzzing quietly in the background.

Question 3

What would Mike Armstrong want listeners to know?

Accepted Answer

When a university professor rejected Mike's art school application because of his military background, Mike stayed kind and eventually won that professor over; the professor later confessed he had learned more about the military experience through knowing Mike than he ever would have otherwise.

Question 4

What helped Mike Armstrong most along the way?

Accepted Answer

The Voices of Veterans series uses molasses as a metaphor because it allows veterans to externalize PTSD, get it out of their heads and into their bodies where they can see it, interact with it, and wash it away, and this process has helped save lives.

Question 5

What would Mike Armstrong tell someone going through something similar?

Accepted Answer

Mike was hospitalized for PTSD assessment and, instead of hiding it, posted a 10-minute video about his hospital stay on social media; the first response came from someone who said his honesty gave them permission to seek help, and that message kept him going.

Question 6

What topics does this episode cover?

Accepted Answer

This conversation includes two paths: soldier and artist, art school, then the army, the warrior and the artist aren't opposites, rejected by the university because of the uniform, the professor changes his mind and making ptsd visible through molasses.

The Warrior and the Artist: Mike Armstrong's Path Through PTSD

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