In late September 2007, a bright orange sign went up on a hospital door at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. It read, “Attention to all who enter here. If you are coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere.”
Navy SEAL officer Jason Redman had written it less than two weeks after an ambush in Iraq left him severely wounded. With dozens of surgeries still ahead of him, he had already decided how he would move forward.
In doing so, he began answering a question most of us will face at some point: what does it mean to stay unbreakable after life ambushes you? Jason has spent the years since living out his answer, and it has something to offer every one of us.
Who Is Jason Redman?
Jason Redman is a retired Navy SEAL who served a total of 21 years, with deployments to Central and South America, Afghanistan, and Iraq. His decorations include the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart. Today, he’s an author, speaker, and advocate for wounded veterans, as well as a husband to Erica and a father of three. He tells his full story in his memoir, The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader.
Everyone Faces Ambushes
Most of us will never hear machine-gun fire up close. Nearly all of us, though, will be “ambushed” by something we don’t expect—a layoff, a diagnosis, or the sudden loss of a loved one.
For Jason, two pivotal ambushes changed the trajectory of his life.
The first was one he caused. Early in his career, by his own account, ego and arrogance led to a leadership failure that nearly cost him his place in the Teams. He owned it, rebuilt trust, and went on to earn his commission as a SEAL officer.
The second ambush came for him. On September 13, 2007, outside Fallujah, Iraq, Jason was leading his assault team on a mission when they were ambushed under heavy machine-gun fire. He was severely wounded in the arm and face. Thirty-seven surgeries and years of rehabilitation followed.
Jason sorts life’s ambushes into three sizes—micro, mini, and major—and he has said the micro ones, the ambushes of the mind, are often the most dangerous. Some catch us off guard, and others, if we’re honest, we walk into ourselves. Whatever shape they take, resilience is built in how we respond.
Getting Off the X
In military terms, the X is the point of attack, the exact spot where an ambush hits. Staying there is how you get hit again. Survival depends on moving, even when every instinct says to freeze. Jason’s method of “Get Off the X” carries that same urgency into everyday life.
To help others find their footing in those moments, Jason created a framework he calls REACT:
- Recognize the reality
- Evaluate your assets
- Assess your options and outcomes
- Choose a direction and Communicate it
- Take action
His own first move came in that hospital room at Bethesda. Some visitors arrived with sorrow on their faces, and Jason could feel pity settling into the room. So he decided to set the tone himself. He wrote out the terms of his recovery and asked Erica to hang them on his door, where every visitor would see them before stepping inside.
“Attention to all who enter here. If you are coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received, I got in a job I love, doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love. I am incredibly tough and will make a full recovery. What is full? That is the absolute utmost physically my body has the ability to recover. Then I will push that about 20% further through sheer mental tenacity. This room you are about to enter is a room of fun, optimism, and intense rapid regrowth. If you are not prepared for that, go elsewhere. From: The Management”
Long before he gave it a name, Jason was already living out REACT. His sign recognized the reality of his wounds, chose a direction, and communicated it to everyone who walked through the door.
The Sign on the Door traveled further than Jason ever imagined. It was signed by President George W. Bush and mentioned in Robert Gates’ Duty and Michelle Obama’s Becoming. Today it hangs in the center of the wounded ward at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where it greets wounded service members and their families as they begin their own recovery.
No One Stays Unbreakable Alone
Behind every veteran are spouses, children, parents, caregivers, and friends who carry part of the weight. When Jason came home from Bethesda, Erica cared for his wounds while raising their three young children, staying strong for their family, surgery after surgery.
In Fallujah, his teammates fought through the ambush together, and everyone came home. That same teamwork is built into REACT, which asks you to communicate your direction to the people around you. As Jason puts it, “You’re never in a life ambush alone.”
Knowing how much that support had meant to his recovery, Jason founded Wounded Wear in 2009 (now the Combat Wounded Coalition) to give other combat-wounded veterans and their families a team of their own. Helping them, he has said, became one of the most important parts of his own healing.
What Does It Mean to Stay Unbreakable After Adversity?
Staying unbreakable is a choice you keep making—to own what happened, get off the X, and keep moving forward.
To the veteran fighting a battle no one else can see, the military spouse holding a family together, the first responder carrying what they’ve witnessed, and anyone facing illness, loss, or failure—your first step off the X might be writing your own Sign on the Door, or it might be something smaller. Give yourself the patience to find your footing, and keep choosing to move, however hard the ground gets.
The ambush may decide where your fight starts, but you decide where it goes from there.
With Gratitude This Veterans Day
To Jason, Erica, and the Redman family, and to the teammates who won the fight in Fallujah, thank you for your service.
To every veteran and military family, including those with wounds no one can see, thank you for what you gave and for what you continue to carry.
FAQs
What is Jason Redman known for?
Jason Redman is a retired Navy SEAL known for surviving a 2007 ambush near Fallujah, Iraq, and for the “Sign on the Door” he hung on his hospital room during recovery. He founded Wounded Wear, now the Combat Wounded Coalition, and is a bestselling author and speaker known for his “Get Off the X” philosophy.
What is Jason Redman’s “Sign on the Door”?
The Sign on the Door is a bright orange sign Jason wrote at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in 2007. It told visitors not to enter his room with sorrow or pity, because his wounds came from “a job I love, doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love.” It became a symbol of resilience for wounded warriors across the country.
Where is the Sign on the Door now?
The original sign was signed by President George W. Bush, framed, and donated back by Jason. It now hangs in the center of the wounded ward at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
What books has Jason Redman written?
Jason is the author of The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader (a New York Times bestseller), Overcome: Crush Adversity with the Leadership Techniques of America’s Toughest Warriors, and the Pointman Planner. He co-wrote Mission: Invincible Marriage with his wife, Erica.
What is the Combat Wounded Coalition?
The Combat Wounded Coalition is a nonprofit Jason founded in 2009 as Wounded Wear. It took its current name in 2015. It supports combat-wounded veterans and families of the fallen through leadership courses, events, and opportunities.
Why is Jason Redman’s story meaningful for Veterans Day?
Jason’s story reflects the reality of service: the sacrifice, the visible and invisible wounds, and the families who carry them, too. It’s also a reminder that many veterans keep serving long after they come home, often by serving each other.
