My Why: Eric Hall

Mr. Eric Hall joined the Warriors Heart family in January 2024 as the Chief Operating Officer; where he performs the duties as senior executive overseeing the Executive Directors, and the operations and supporting services at our treatment facility locations, along with the coordination and alignment with Headquarters programs. Prior to this role, Mr. Hall was supporting a government contract leading the risk management program for a Department of Veterans Affairs project. Mr. Hall’s treatment experience includes serving as the Director over Quality and Process Improvement, Risk Management, and Compliance programs at a Behavioral Healthcare Hospital. Before joining the Hospital, Mr. Hall served as the Vice President of Support Services for two non-profits, where he was the Senior Executive who oversaw and implemented critical human resources, operational efficiency, compliance and policy, technology, and accountability process and program segments.

Mr. Hall retired from the Federal Government after 26 years, where his assignments included serving as a Director within a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Component, as well as a Branch Chief within DHS Headquarters. Mr. Hall was also selected as the DHS Program Manager to develop, implement, and promote a multi-Agency Countering Violent Extremism and Active Shooter Program to support the National Strategy on Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism. Immediately prior to DHS, Mr. Hall served in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Supervisory Intelligence Analyst and Program Coordinator. During Mr. Hall’s FBI career he was a Strategic Execution Team instructor, earned his Joint Duty Certificate through leading an Office of the Director of National Intelligence multi-Agency domain awareness initiative, and became a certified Intelligence Officer.

Mr. Hall’s career includes proudly serving in the U.S. Military for over ten years. Mr. Hall was a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the Army as an Infantryman, and later a Military Intelligence Analyst. During Mr. Hall’s Military career he was awarded the National Ground Intelligence Center NCO of the quarter, and later the 2001 NCO of the Year. Mr. Hall also supported forward-deployed forces in Afghanistan in 2002 and deployed to the Middle East for combat operations in 2003.

Eric resides in the San Antonio region with his wonderful wife and their rescue pups; and has an amazing daughter excelling in her own career and adventures. Eric and his wife enjoy international travel, watching Michigan Wolverines sports (GO BLUE!), and range shooting.

My Why 

My why is not more complicated or unique to those of my brothers and sisters. In every Warrior’s job, the expectation to execute, take part, witness, and/or support unique situations and environments can have lifetime ripple effects. We are told that we will be the best if we allow our industry trainers to break us and rebuild us to execute the mission at hand, regardless of the variables. For me, my Infantry drill sergeants did just that, and I was/am always combat effective. So, I guess, I was considered “Perfectly Broken” like many of our Warriors.

So what happens when all the training makes us great at our jobs physically, yet mentally the tolls bring unexpected outcomes? What happens when our tour of duty, our shift, our career is complete or just over? Where is the training to make us “civilian effective” or to cope with the experiences that remain in our thoughts, our subconscious, and our nightmares? Do we then only look for environments that allow us to act as broken as we want, without any focus on improving, healing, or being a better or balanced human? Do we just succumb to transitioning from Perfectly Broken to just Broken?

Some turn to substance abuse, coping through violence or aggressions, and/or self harm. Others isolate, implode, retract from living to just existing, and/or spend their life feeling out of place. I am the latter, and it took a lot (and still does every day) to build that strength and support system to get back to being a human I, and my family, can be proud of. To identify that I am Perfectly Broken, and that is ok. To know I’ll never be perfect, yet I’ll continue to be a better man tomorrow than I was yesterday.

I understand now that most do not truly comprehend, or think they understand based on what they may see in movies or in TV, what life asks of some of us. And so being a part of Warriors Heart, where healing Warriors with understanding and true comprehension, never judgement or minimization, is why my dedication to bringing them home is so fierce.