Tanner Wilde joined the U.S. Army through its delayed-entry program when he was just in high school, viewing it as an opportunity to see more of the world and to be part of something bigger than himself.

“Largely, what it came down to was, ever since I was young, I always found a lot of satisfaction in being able to serve others and see their satisfaction from services provided,” Wilde said.

Wilde was deployed to Afghanistan at age 20, originally with the Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment. He trained as a paratrooper and eventually became a special operations civil affairs team sergeant and medical sergeant.

When Wilde ended his military service in 2021 after having served in Afghanistan, Syria and Bangladesh, his next steps were figuring out a purpose outside the mili

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