Joe climbs out of the pit
Former Marine discusses unexpected discharge and how he recovered from it.
By Sam Schutz, student life reporter
Joe Hauer gets off a plane in San Diego from Okinawa, Oct. 4, 2012, and is surrounded by palm trees, military aircraft and thousands of soldiers in uniform. As he gets on a bus and heads to Balboa Naval Hospital, he thinks he is going to be back in the Marine Corps in no time. He has been diagnosed with major depression so plans are being finalized for his discharge.
He doesn’t know it yet, but his life goal of being a lifelong Marine is at an early end. Instead, due to his confused mental state, Hauer feels he is being set up to confess something and all the regular people around were federal agents pretending to be patients.
“I thought I was getting ‘tuned up’ but in reality I was already beyond the point of no return for being discharged,” Hauer said.
Now a 29-year-old nursing student at Bethel University, Joe Hauer had to relearn how to live a routine life, manage school and hold a job to find that he needed to become a nurse after his goal of becoming a Marine like his father and grandfather didn’t work out.
Arriving home in Minnesota, Mar. 30, 2013, the truth hit him — he was never going to be a Marine like his dad and grandpa. His sudden discharge coupled with the depression from the loss of his dad, Hauer was dysfunctional for months on end. He would sleep 12 to 16 hours a day, often getting nothing done at all aside from his job at Walmart. In what spare time he had, he would play video games like ARMA 3 or on rare occasions go do activities with friends like bowling or disc golf.
“I felt hopeless. I felt like there was no future for me. I felt like there was nothing at all I could do.”–Joe Hauer, nursing student
After about six months, he started seeing a psychiatrist and getting his life back in order. His first big step was to set a goal of getting up, showering and going to his mom’s Perkins in a day. That was all he had to do — and it was a struggle.
“I felt hopeless. I felt like there was no future for me. I felt like there was nothing at all I could do,” Hauer said.
After another six months, he decided to go to school to become a medical assistant at Rasmussen University. He ended up dropping out of school because he couldn’t stay on top of homework while working at Walmart. He then went to EMT/paramedic school for two years. After four months of being on the job, he quit and made what he calls one of his best decisions since his early discharge from the Marines — he became an orderly at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Department.
“The veterans all really liked Joe. There was always a connection with him being a veteran.”–Bob Lasher, VA nurse
That was where he met Bob Lasher. A nurse at the VA, Lasher had EMT/paramedic experience and was the inspiration for Hauer to go to nursing school. They worked together for roughly three years and Hauer stood out among the other orderlies due to his hard work, motivation, and ability to connect with the vets.
“The veterans all really liked Joe,” Lasher said. “There was always a connection with him being a veteran.”
One of the many aspects that made Hauer stand out at the VA was he would walk by EKGs and, much to everyone’s surprise, correctly diagnose the heart rhythms. This led to Lasher and other nurses asking Hauer why he hadn’t gone to nursing school.
“These were the moments I knew I had to go back to nursing school if I truly wanted to give the best care to these veterans,” Hauer said.
At Bethel, Hauer met classmate Grant Olson who was also a Marine in an infantry unit a few years before Hauer was. Olson understands what it is like being in the Marine Corps and how Joe feels. The two frequently work out together at the Bethel Wellness Center and can also be found hiking or shooting in their spare time while talking about their past Marine experiences.
“Joe and I bonded over the fact that we were both Marines in infantry units,” Olson said.
“When I first realized being a VA nurse would be just as fulfilling to me as being a marine, I immediately headed down that path.”–Joe Hauer, nursing student
Today, Hauer is a full-time student finishing up his first semester at Bethel University. His goal of being a VA nurse is still a few years away, but he says he remains determined to reach it.
“When I first realized being a VA nurse would be just as fulfilling to me as being a Marine, I immediately headed down that path,” Hauer concluded.
Bio box: About Joe Hauer
- Grew up in military family
- Always wanted to be in Marine Corps
- Joined Marine Corps out of high school (Jun. 2011)
- Diagnosed with schizophrenia then major depression after dad’s death (Sep. 2012)
- Discharged from Marine Corps (3/30/13)
- Took a while to get life back together
- Started going to Rasmussen (Aug. 2013)
- Couldn’t mange school, and work and failed all classes
- Worked as an EMT/paramedic (Jan. — Apr. 2018)
- Worked as an orderly at Minneapolis VA (May 2018 — Aug. 2021)
- Learned to live by his values and now is a nursing major at Bethel (Aug. 2021)
- Wants to work at VA and serve veterans
Graphic by Sam Schutz
