The Combat Code: What Military Medics Can Teach Us About Keeping Our Heads During America’s Meltdown

Hard-Won Wisdom from the Ones Who Stop the Bleeding While Everyone Else Panics

The Combat Code: What Military Medics Can Teach Us About Keeping Our Heads During America’s Meltdown

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #411

If you want to survive what’s coming, stop listening to the blowhards with shiny teeth and soft hands. The ones preaching “self-care” like it’s a bubble bath and a scented candle.

If you want to keep your mind sharp and your soul intact while the country comes unglued…take a lesson from the men and women who have been trained to crawl into gunfire with tourniquets.

I’m talking about medics. While each branch has its name for these battlefield angels (for example, I was a Navy medic; after two years with an air wing, I went to school to become a medic….and in the Navy, I was called a Corpsman) they’re the ones trained to run toward the blood while everyone else is pissing themselves.

These people have a code. A mindset. A set of iron principles etched into them by fire…loss…and repetition. And guess what?

You need those principles right now.

Because while the battlefields may look different—media wars…political trench fights…and cultural chaos…the stakes are the same. America’s body is bleeding…and the question is: Who’s gonna do something about it?

Let’s break it down, military-style.

1. "First, Do No Harm" Doesn't Mean "Do Nothing"

Military medics know the Hippocratic Oath, sure. But in combat…you don’t have time to be a philosopher. You act. You move. You do. The motto is more like: “Do no harm, unless standing still causes more harm.”

Right now, we’ve got millions of people watching the destruction of our institutions like it’s a Netflix series. Bystander syndrome…but make it national.

A medic doesn’t sit there. They’re trained to act. They pack the wound…stabilize the vitals…and drag your sorry ass out of the kill zone.

In your own life? That means you speak up. You show up. You vote like it matters. You organize. You protect the vulnerable. You act.

If you’re doing nothing while everything bleeds out…you’re not neutral—you’re complicit.

2. "Treat the Casualty, Not the Chaos"

On the battlefield, everything is noise—explosions…yelling…smoke…panic. A medic is trained to expect that…and operate effectively within it…and zones in on one thing: the wounded body in front of them.

In a nation lit on fire by outrage porn and algorithmic rage…you better learn how to triage. Don’t get distracted by every viral headline or hot-take carousel.

Ask yourself: What’s real? What’s bleeding? What needs pressure now?

Is it the neighbor being harassed for who they are? Is it the voter suppression law creeping through your state? Is it the kid being taught revisionist history while the truth is locked in the janitor's closet?

Don’t chase smoke. Grab the wound.

3. "Mission First, Ego Last"

This is a hard one for civilians. Especially the Twitter warriors and podcast prophets who confuse snark for strategy.

Military medics don’t treat based on rank…politics…or personality. They treat the one who’s down. Period.

This country needs a detox from ego-driven activism. Stop worrying about being the loudest…smartest…most morally pure voice in the room.

Focus on the mission: preserving democracy, truth, decency, and each other.

If it ain’t helping the mission…it’s just you playing with your own reflection.

4. "You Can't Save Everyone, But You Can Save Someone"

Medics know the gut-wrenching reality: sometimes…the wounds are too deep. The bleeding won’t stop. They have to let go.

Same goes for this moment in America. You’re not going to change every mind. Some people are too far gone. Conspiracy-brined. Hate-poisoned. Let ‘em go.

But someone is reachable. That neighbor. That coworker. That relative who’s quiet in the group chat but listening.

Focus your energy where it can make a dent. The country won’t be saved by viral moments. It'll be saved one stitch…one bandage…one conversation at a time.

5. "Calm Is Contagious"

You know what medics don’t do when a Marine’s leg is half-off and mortars are raining?

They don’t scream. They don’t panic. They move like clockwork. Because calm saves lives.

The chaos merchants want you freaked out. Angry. Twitch-scrolling. Why? Because panic makes people stupid. Scared people give up their rights and chase strongmen.

Don’t fall for it.

In every conversation…in every post…in every action: be the damn medic. Be steady. Be focused. Be calm. It spreads.

6. "You Are Not Special. You're Responsible."

Every medic knows this: it’s not about you. It’s about what needs to be done.

We’ve built a culture addicted to specialness—everyone wants to be a unicorn. But in a burning country…we don’t need unicorns. We need utility.

Do the job that needs doing. Make the calls. Feed the hungry. Push the truth. Carry the stretcher.

Your feelings are valid. But your duty is more urgent.

7. "You Don't Wait for Orders to Save a Life"

On the battlefield, you don’t wait for a sergeant to give you permission to keep someone breathing. You act.

Stop waiting for a politician…a pundit…or a platform to validate your instincts.

If you see injustice…fight it. If you see ignorance…counter it. If you see someone suffering…help them.

You don’t need permission to be a damn human being.

8. "You Train for the Worst, So You Can Handle the Real"

Military medics drill relentlessly. Simulations. Pressure scenarios. Tourniquet races.

Why? Because when the real thing hits…you don’t rise to the occasion—you fall to the level of your training.

So train. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Know your facts. Practice hard conversations. Build your stamina. Sharpen your skills.

This isn't peacetime. Stop acting like it is.

9. "The Job Isn't Glory. The Job Is Guts."

Most medics don’t get medals. They get bloodstains. They get trauma. They get the quiet knowledge that somebody gets to go home because of them.

That has to be enough.

Same goes for this fight. You may never go viral. You may never be thanked. Do it anyway.

The work is hard. The work is dirty. The work matters.

A Night That Burned Into Memory

In 1990, I stood on a street corner in Tempe, Arizona, and watched a nightmare unfold—metal screaming…glass exploding…and a car full of teenagers flipping onto its roof in flames after being T-boned at 60 mph.

Two of them died instantly. The other two were alive—barely. Trapped. Moaning. One had a pulse. I couldn’t reach them, just their arms and hands.

No time to think. I sprinted to a Circle-K, ripped the fire extinguisher off the wall…and ran back like hell was chasing me—because it was. I blasted the fire till the tank ran dry. Flames flashed back.

I found a filthy rug in the gutter and beat that fire like it owed me money. I did everything I could…without a fire hose and the jaws of life.

The fire trucks came…but it was too late. All four kids died.

I went back to the apartment and hours later, sobbed like a baby—not from sadness…but from the sheer gravity of trying to hold back death with your bare hands.

This would be a natural response I would have several more times in my life…always a few hours after a situation where death was knocking on someone’s door.

That was my first time acting in a situation where human beings teetered on the edge of life and death. That was the night I learned something that matters more now than ever:

You don’t always win. But if you always act—always—you will save lives.

And right now…in this burning nation…some of those lives might include democracy itself.

Final Word: You Are The Medic Now

America is wounded. Arteries cut. Vital signs dropping. And if you're waiting for some cavalry of heroes to show up and fix it…I have bad news.

You are the cavalry.

You are the one with the gauze and grit. You are the one who can stabilize the moment…treat the wound…calm the chaos…and get us to the next minute.

And then the one after that.

This isn’t about being fearless. It’s about being useful. That’s what medics understand.

So suck it up…pack your bag…and get to work. Because if there’s one thing those battlefield angels teach us, it’s this:

No matter how bloody it gets... somebody’s gotta stop the bleeding.

Be that somebody. I know if you’re not already…you will be soon. I know this.

I’ll be back soon…with even more.

Stay alert. Stay tough.

Jack

P.S. If this hit you square in the gut…good. That means you’re still alive. Still kicking. Still capable of doing something that matters. Don’t waste it. Oh…and now is always a good time to become a paid subscriber…always. You get more. Period.