Jody Farmer

My name is Jody Farmer; I was born at Plattsburgh Air Force base but raised in Vermont.  A small town called Maidstone off the Connecticut River. I grew up with my Mom, Stepdad Jim, and my older brother Scott. I have been married 19 years to my husband Richard Farmer Sr, and I have three kids. Richard Jr, who just graduated from Basic and AIT for the Army National Guard as a 13B.  As well as two girls. Lillie 17 and Hope 16.

I served in two Branches. US Navy 1999 - 2005 and US Army 2005 - 2010. In the Navy, I was an ATO3 Aviation Electronics Tech, squadron based. I worked directly on the aircraft E2C Hawkeye. When I transferred to the Army, I became a Military Police officer. During my deployment to Iraq in 2006, I was injured. I suffered a ruptured spine in 3 places; after two surgeries and being given almost three years of Physical Therapy, I was medically retired as an E5 from the Army. 

I have two Associate's degrees, one in Criminal Justice that I acquired while in the Army and a second in Graphic Design from Remington College in Fort Worth, TX. Currently, I am back in college for my BA in Creative Production and Media (CMP) at the University of Oklahoma (OU), where I am a community leader for WWP in gaming, Coach for OU Esports for the title Call of Duty, and a Twitch Streamer for OU Esports.

MVP has helped me get off the couch and try. That it is ok to modify an exercise, and the groups I work with will not judge me. MVP has helped me lean on others when I feel my highest spike in anxiety and lends me an ear when I need to vent - allowing me to work through the feelings and frustrations I have and be ok with those feelings. Instead of feeling alone, especially this last year, MVP has given me a group of peers that I feel connected to and feel safe to confide in when I am at my worst. I look forward to seeing the other veterans in MVP each week.  I also like that I can hop on a session at different times throughout the week if something comes up, thanks to the flexibility of being able to join the other (LA, NY, LV, ATL, or Chicago) chapters. The weekly sessions hold me accountable to at least get up to try and move.  With my back, knee, and hand pains, I don't always get up and move as much as I should because I don't want to deal with the pain.  But working with other veterans who help keep me motivated and distracted from the pain is very helpful, and it's only 30 min each session, so it's manageable. I have met some really cool athletes in MVP, and it's amazing how similar their injury battles and transitions are to veterans. There is a great connection, and it's been so much fun to get to know them.

I have recommended MVP to other veterans.  I talk about it all the time with people I know from WWP and at my college. 

Currently, I am a Student and Esports Coach at the University of Oklahoma.