A Veteran's Fight with PTSD to Become The Warrior Dad featuring TJ Baird

The Dad Edge Podcast

Larry Hagner

Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2026

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, I sit down with Thomas "TJ" Baird — a 32-year Army veteran with 20 deployments — to talk about the real battle that followed the battlefield. TJ shares what it was like growing up with a father who was frequently deployed, only to find himself repeating that same pattern with his own daughter.

But this isn't just a military story — it's a fatherhood story. It's about PTSD, pride, brotherhood, humility, and the moment a man decides he's done living in the dark. TJ opens up about the night he realized he needed help, the ultimatum that changed everything, and the internal war between staying stuck and choosing the path toward peace. If you've ever struggled in silence or felt the weight of your past shaping your present, this episode will hit home.

Timeline Summary

[0:00] The image that defines the episode — destruction on one side, sunrise on the other

[2:10] 32 years of service and 20 deployments across the globe

[9:20] Realizing he was becoming the father he once resented

[24:17] His daughter telling him at age six, "Dad, you're too scary"

[26:28] Writing Warrior Dad as a tribute to his daughter

[35:07] The battlefield moment — seeing war to the west and sunlight to the east

[42:12] Why most men stay stuck instead of choosing growth

[47:38] The turning point — giving himself permission to get help

[50:40] Walking into behavioral health as a senior enlisted leader

[52:06] Leading by example so younger soldiers wouldn't suffer in silence

Five Key Takeaways

You can unknowingly repeat the very patterns you once resented.
There is always a path toward peace — but you have to choose it.
Growth requires surrendering ego and asking for help.
Brotherhood and accountability accelerate healing.
Your family is waiting at the finish line — not your career.

Links & Resources

Dad Edge Alliance Preview Call (RSVP): http://thedadedge.com/preview
Episode Show Notes & Resources: https://thedadedge.com/1439

Closing Remark

If this conversation resonated with you — if you've been carrying something heavy in silence — let this be your sign to step toward the light. You don't have to do it alone. Please rate, review, follow, and share the podcast if this episode impacted you. From my heart to yours, go out and live legendary.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Dad Edge podcast. The Dad Edge movement creates leaders of men, leaders of families, and leaders of communities. We will not only impact this generation of fathers, but the next generation as well. The kids we are raising will have better chances and odds stacked in their favor because of the amazing example
0:21.2	that their fathers emulated for them. We are here to change the world. We are here to change
0:27.6	relationships. We are here to positively disrupt this generation of fathers so no man goes to their
0:33.6	grave with regret. We disrupt the drift of busyness and replace it with razor-focused intention,
0:40.3	passion, purpose, and direction.
0:43.7	We are the Dad Edge,
0:45.7	and we're here to change the game.
0:47.8	We're here to change the game.
1:07.8	I don't know. gentlemen, you're in for a moment in this episode where T.J. aka Warrior Dad Baird,
1:15.0	the scribes looking in one direction and seeing the aftermath of war, then turning and seeing the pristine snow and sunlight in the other direction.
1:19.5	Two worlds, two paths, that image becomes the heartbeat of this conversation.
1:25.8	Gentlemen, what's going on?
1:26.7	My name is Larry Hagner. I'm the host and founder of the Dad Edge podcast, the Dad Edge Movement. Also the founder of the Dad Edge Alliance, that's our brotherhood for our career men out there and the founder of the Dad Edge business boardroom brotherhood for all of our business owners out there. If you're new here, welcome here. You're obviously a dad. You're a husband,
1:44.7	you're a father. You're hungry to learn. You're hungry to be uncommon and you're hungry to
1:48.8	lead. And this episode is going to serve you absolutely greatly today. T.J. served over 30 years
1:57.4	in uniform. And get this. With 20, 20 deployments across the globe, leading in small
2:05.1	tactical teams and advising at the highest levels of national service. His life was built on duty,
2:11.8	discipline, and absolute purpose. But the greatest challenge for him was not the battlefield.
2:17.4	It was actually, truth be told,
2:19.3	the time he spent away from home. And that's tough for any father, especially fathers who are
2:23.3	serving the military. It was in this challenge and it was in this spot in his life that the
2:30.6	warrior dad was born, but it was born at a cost. He wrote this book called Warrior
	...

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