After 22 years in the Air Force and a medical retirement, Purple Heart recipient Jason “JD” David refused to let his story end in a recliner.
Now known as the military’s “money guy,” he lives by the motto “there are opportunities in every challenge,” helping veterans uncover the benefits and financial freedom that can turn fear of transition into a new kind of service.
“My father and my father’s father were both in the Air Force, so I couldn’t not be drawn to the idea of service because I guess it was just kind of embedded into our DNA,” David explained. “I ended up joining the Air Force, but on my terms.”
The Maryland native and self-described military brat was stationed overseas with his family when he happened to catch an Armed Forces News broadcast on television. David remembered thinking the anchor was terrible, and he could do a better job of delivering the message.
At 18 years old in 2002, he enlisted and submitted his voice audition tape after completing the ASVAB.
“You have to score pretty high on the ASVAB, but you also have to be able to speak clearly, or at least have the fundamentals to be able to get into broadcasting school, and at the time there were only about 150 broadcasters in the entire service,” David shared.
What he didn’t know was that his broadcasting job would turn into being part of Combat Camera during wartime.
“I remember me and my band of brothers, it was so early in the Iraq War that we didn’t even travel as a team or use the buddy system, and instead we traveled as individual augmentees,” David said. “I traveled the country of Iraq by myself, hitchhiking from one convoy to the next, and so did the rest of my team.”
While embedded with a ground infantry unit during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he was hit by enemy munitions, causing life-threatening injuries.
“When I was going through recovery, and recovery was not easy for me, I had bilateral hip replacements and my femurs. I’ve had my spine fused, I’ve had my shoulders worked on, my bicep, my elbow, and part of my chest,” David said.
During his recovery, he was part of the Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2). The program worked diligently with David to keep him in the service for another seven years, during which he earned the rank of Command Chief Master Sergeant. He even deployed again to lead units under Regional Command Southwest, a major multinational military division in Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
Eventually, his injuries became too much, and he was medically retired after 22 years.
“When you retire, everything comes to a grinding halt, and you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to… and that’s when I believe your body starts breaking down even worse than it would naturally,” David shared. “I needed to find a way post-military to give myself purpose.”
There are opportunities in every challenge, a motto he has continued to embody daily even after leaving the Air Force.
David credits his success in transitioning out of service to the mentors who encouraged him and to his decision to continually pursue his goals, no matter what.
“People used to say I couldn’t do something because I was enlisted… because I was short… because I had glasses… because I look different… and I broke through a lot of those molds because I was bullying myself into getting there,” he laughed. “People like to impress their limitations onto you. Everyone who told me no in my life, it’s because they couldn’t do it. It’s not that I couldn’t do it.”
David got his start as a customer experience manager at an IT company after leaving the Air Force, and he quickly rose through the ranks. Four years later, he’s now a senior enterprise executive at Adobe, a Fortune 100 company.
Not only was he busy building a full-time career after leaving the Air Force, but also became what he coined a “serial board member” and veterans’ benefits advocate. David serves as an advisor to the Uniformed Services Foundation, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and the Salute Military Golf Association, just to name a few.
“It was a conscious decision to say I need to keep moving… and I’m only going to do the things that I want to do,” he said. “And what I want to do is to continue to help others.”
David quickly became known as the “military money guy” and has even gone viral on LinkedIn for his advice.
“I will tell you where to get your compensation, what programs are there to give you money, so that you have food on the table… housing… education… as you’re transitioning from one place to another,” David explained. “The biggest part about transition that freaks people out is fear of the unknown, so if you can fill in all those gaps, you make people feel more confident to do things that they’re not necessarily mentally prepared to do.”
To date, he has helped over 300 veterans get access to the benefits they earned during service.
“I didn’t join LinkedIn to become a Top Voice… none of this is for money or for sponsorship; it is very selfish,” David said. “I feel better when I help people out, and I will never stop doing that, because it fuels me.”
Empathy is something David said he wishes there were more of in the world, especially today. Though his service story didn’t end the way he wanted, his next chapter has become just as fulfilling and meaningful. Why? He credits it to being able to continue working alongside his military family and forging an even deeper sense of community through helping others.
As for what advice he would give those struggling or trying to figure out their next move, David didn’t hesitate.
“I think the world is at your fingertips. But only if you want it to be.”
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