Jason Gardner is a retired Navy SEAL who now works as a top-level leadership instructor with Echelon Front. Over his thirty-year career in the SEAL teams, he served in combat operations in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, later becoming Command Master Chief of SEAL Team Five and Training Detachment. Since retiring from the Navy, Jason has worked with hundreds of organizations as a leadership instructor and strategic advisor, helping teams apply high-stakes leadership principles to business and life. He now lives in a remote corner of northeastern Washington with his wife, Iris, and their two children, where he spends his time working on their homestead and staying closely connected to the land.

This is Jason's second time on the podcast, and I'd strongly recommend going back and listening to our first conversation from 2021, along with the episode I recorded with Iris. Those earlier interviews dig deeper into Jason's career, his transition out of the military, and the longer arc of their family's journey—context that adds real depth to what we talk about here.

This conversation unfolds in two parts. The first half hour or so is a firsthand account of the Hope Fire, a fast-moving wildfire that came dangerously close to destroying Jason and Iris's property and home last summer. Jason walks through the experience in detail—what it's like to prepare for evacuation, to work through exhaustion and uncertainty, and to rely on firefighters, neighbors, and community when the stakes are painfully real.

In the second part, we widen the lens. Jason reflects on the lessons that emerged from the fire—about leadership, humility, and responsibility—and connects them to his own personal evolution over the last several years. We talk about PTSD, quitting drinking, the role psychedelic-assisted therapy played in his healing, and how practices like mindfulness, curiosity, kindness, and gratitude have reshaped how he approaches both life and leadership. It's an honest, grounded conversation about resilience, growth, and what it actually means to lead… starting with yourself.

As always, be sure to check out the episode notes for a full list of everything we discussed, with timestamps for everything. There are also links to all of the books and resources that Jason mentions.

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Jason Gardner
Jason on Instagram
Echelon Front
Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/jason-gardner-2/

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

WILDFIRE

7:01 – Intro, Jason's brush with a wildfire
11:45 – Fire jumping ridgelines
14:05 – Enter USAA
16:36 – Community power
20:34 – Enter the brush hog
25:26 – Day three mental state
31:53 – A big damn deal
35:09 – A sense of deep pride

LESSONS

40:59 – Applying on-the-line lessons to the business world
45:20 – The most important leadership trait
50:47 – Challenge coins
55:05 – A changed perspective
1:01:24 – Dealing with cockiness
1:05:30 – Jason's mental health journey
1:11:43 – Quitting drinking
1:19:52 – Self-reflection
1:21:34 – Echelon Front Muster
1:27:06 – Book recs and wrapping up

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ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE:

Jason Gardner Returns – Fire, Leadership, and What Really Matters