Wyly Gray is a Veteran Writer, Public Speaker, and Entrepreneur originally from Kansas City, Missouri, serving as the Founder and Director of Soldier On Corps, a veteran service organization dedicated to preserving and sharing veterans’ stories of service, sacrifice and transition.
Following a challenging upbringing, Wyly spent 8 and a half years active duty in the Marine Corps. Wyly served in many roles during his time in the Corps starting from the humble rank of Private in the ammunition field, rising to Sergeant as Assistant Detachment Commander at our Embassy in Yemen, and finally finishing as an Artillery Battery Ammunition Chief earning the rank of Staff Sergeant. Wyly deployed twice: 1st in 2003 on the maiden voyage of the USS Iwo Jima in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, then again to Helmand Valley Province, Afghanistan in 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Through these progressively more challenging roles, Wyly was able to travel to more than 30 countries spanning 5 continents. Wyly speaks conversational French and poor Serbio-Croat. Upon discharge, Wyly spent 6 months as a security contractor in Sarajevo, Bosnia and followed that with six months teaching English in a small city in the Vojvodina Province of Serbia. He returned to the United States to pursue his education and was accepted into Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. to finish his degree. Despite being a student at his dream school, Wyly was discouraged with his transition to civilian life and found himself struggling. Wyly found his calling through service to those that shared similar experiences. Wyly has been involved with veteran’s advocacy since 2012. He has spoken publicly for veterans on behalf of The Telling Project, The Mission Continues, The International Center for Journalists, and Pepsi. He has worked numerous hours in communities nationwide supporting veterans in transition on a national scale with The Mission Continues. His work has been featured at The Library of Congress, has been inducted into the National Archive, as well as in print in Outside The Wire: American Soldiers’ Voices from Afghanistan, edited by Christine Leche. Wyly is incredibly humbled by the outstanding support and luck that he has stumbled into and has always had the fortune of finding himself surrounded by amazing people. Show Notes at http://VeteranPodcast.com/015