Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories · John "Jay" Wiley, Bleav

A Different Way To Treat PTSD?

October 26, 2025·40 min·3 clips

Matthew Burke shares how he almost tapped out from suicide, calling himself the enemy he needed to defeat.

Dr. Matthew Burke, a retired Air Force combat veteran with 13 years of service, joins host John Wiley, a retired police sergeant, to discuss trauma recovery for first responders and military personnel. The episode explores Burke's personal journey with post-traumatic stress and his founding of the organization 10-Can Inc. He describes combat as making him a "spiritual prisoner of war" and explains how the hypervigilance needed to survive later became a handicap in civilian life. Burke details the profound difficulty of returning home as a different person, a change his daughter noted and which he calls becoming a "product of your environment." He shares that he nearly committed suicide, viewing himself as the "enemy within" and a burden to his family. His turning point involved developing a formula that applies tactical combat training to internal spiritual warfare, balancing ten life elements to achieve stability. A core part of his recovery and methodology involves "vicarious ministry," using outdoor activities like hunting and fishing to engage the five senses and recreate positive childhood memories. He argues that traditional terms like "religion" or "ministry" can shut down warriors, so his approach evangelizes through "action adventure" and campfire conversations where healing happens organically. Burke's organization, 10-Can, has a mission to "save heroes, raise warriors and restore hope" and claims a 100% success rate in saving over 3,500 warriors from suicide with its faith-based formula. He is building a waterfront retreat center and has launched a membership program to sustainably support operations and advocate for policy changes benefiting military and first responder families. The conversation is deeply personal and confessional, with both men sharing vulnerable moments about shame, moral injury, and strained family relationships. It is educational in outlining a specific, alternative recovery model that blends spirituality, outdoor therapy, and peer support. Listeners interested in non-clinical, faith-informed approaches to PTSD and firsthand veteran narratives will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a secular, science-focused discussion on trauma treatment or who are uncomfortable with Christian evangelism might prefer to skip it.

As heard by us

A plainspoken trauma conversation that stays with shame, distance, and the burden of trauma.

This episode follows a plainspoken conversation about trauma and what lingers after it. Matthew R. Burke, a retired combat veteran, talks about staying on guard and how that can settle into anger, isolation, emotional distance, and the sense of becoming a burden to the people…

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a blunt trauma conversation from someone who has lived it.

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