What happens after the uniform comes off?

In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Army combat veteran, firefighter, MMA fighter, and author James McDevitt for one of the most honest conversations we've had about service, trauma, purpose, and the lifelong search for meaning after war.

James shares his journey from growing up in a military family to deploying to Iraq as an 18-year-old convoy gunner during some of the deadliest years of the war. He talks about football, failure, identity, and the difficult transition from combat deployments back into civilian life.

The conversation also dives deeply into the emotional realities of firefighting — including the lasting impact of trying to save a young child trapped in a house fire — and the psychological burden first responders and veterans often carry long after the moment ends.

AJ and James discuss:

• What it feels like to make life-or-death decisions at 18 years old
• The addiction many veterans feel toward combat and high-stakes environments
• Why being "left out of the fight" can deeply affect soldiers psychologically
• Brotherhood, love, sacrifice, and why war creates bonds unlike anything else
• Football, MMA, firefighting, and finding identity after losing purpose
• PTSD, suicide, vulnerability, masculinity, and the importance of mentorship
• Why failure often teaches more than success ever can

James also discusses his debut novel, A Walk Among Heroes, a story inspired by true events that explores war, love, loss, and what it means to come home after conflict.

This episode is raw, reflective, and deeply human.

If you're interested in military service, combat psychology, firefighting, leadership, masculinity, veteran transition, or the emotional realities behind war stories, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends.

🎙️ Guest — James McDevitt
Army combat veteran, firefighter, MMA fighter, and author of A Walk Among Heroes. James writes and speaks about war, brotherhood, trauma, resilience, and the lifelong search for purpose after service.

📸 Instagram: @JamesMcDevittAuthor

🎵 TikTok: @JamesMcDevittAuthor

▶️ YouTube: @JamesMcDevittAuthor

📘 Facebook: @JamesMcDevittAuthor

🔗 Website: JamesMcDevittAuthor.com

🎙️ Host — AJ Pasciuti Retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Marine Gunner, author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of Combat Story.

📕 Darkhorse: https://ajpasciuti.com/Darkhors

📸 AJ Pasciuti Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/

🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/

CHAPTERS

00:00 – The House Fire That Changed Everything
01:06 – Introduction | James McDevitt
03:20 – Why James Wrote "A Walk Among Heroes"
07:40 – Growing Up in a Military Family
13:10 – Football, Identity, and Young Masculinity
18:45 – Joining the Army After 9/11
25:00 – Iraq at 18 Years Old
31:20 – Convoy Combat and Daily Violence
39:50 – Brotherhood in War
47:10 – The Addiction to High-Stakes Environments
54:20 – Coming Home from Combat
1:01:40 – Firefighting and Exposure to Death
1:09:15 – Trying to Save a Child in a House Fire
1:18:20 – PTSD, Suppression, and Emotional Numbness
1:26:30 – MMA Fighting and Finding Purpose
1:34:10 – Veterans, Suicide, and Isolation
1:42:00 – Why Failure Shapes Us
1:49:15 – Writing Fiction Inspired by Real Experience
1:56:30 – Advice for Young Men Considering Service
2:02:10 – Final Thoughts on Brotherhood and Purpose

Today on Combat Story, we hear the story of Joshua "Josh" Shores — Marine infantry combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, former Marine Raider, retired firefighter, entrepreneur, and author of Counting on Death: A Marine Infantryman's Journey from the Front Lines of Combat to the Fight for Peace.

Josh served with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines during some of the hardest fighting in Ramadi before later deploying to Afghanistan with Marine Special Operations. In this conversation, he takes us through the reality of combat as a 19-year-old Marine, the burden of surviving when others did not, and the long fight to make peace with the memories that followed him home.

Although AJ and Josh never served together, this episode becomes a deeply relatable conversation between two Marines who carried similar experiences through different units, deployments, and years of war. There are moments where the interview gives way to recognition, where both men are able to sit inside the same memories, ask harder questions, and give language to parts of combat that are rarely spoken about clearly.

This episode goes far beyond firefights and deployments.

Josh speaks candidly about the culture inside the infantry during the height of the Iraq War, the emotional toll of losing friends to IEDs, the confusion of counterinsurgency warfare, survivor's guilt, shame, identity, suicide, and the struggle many veterans face trying to reconnect with life after combat.

This is a conversation about consequence.
About brotherhood.
About grief.
And about trying to find peace after war.

🎙️ Guest — Joshua "Josh" Shores
Marine infantry combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, former Marine Raider, retired firefighter, entrepreneur, and author of Counting on Death. He served with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Ramadi before later deploying to Afghanistan with Marine Special Operations.

🔗 Find Joshua Online:

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CountingOnDeath/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuashoresofficial/
🔗 Website: https://www.countingondeath.com
📕 Book (Counting on Death):
https://www.amazon.com/Counting-Death-Marine-Infantrymans-Journey/dp/1636245706/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1#detailBullets_feature_div
🎧 Audiobook:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Counting-on-Death-Audiobook/B0F1Z1HJSG?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

🎙️ Host AJ Pasciuti

AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.

🔗 Find AJ Online:

📕 Book (Darkhorse): https://www.ajpasciuti.com/book

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/

📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/

🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/

🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ

👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) - Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs

👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU