Hoagie

Justin “Hoagie” Hoagland, MSPSYSP, Special Operator (USN, Ret.), is a resilience and performance coach dedicated to building cohesion, resilience, and purpose in high-performance communities.

Hoagie served 9½ years in the United States Navy as a Special Operator, deploying twice and serving as both a Naval Special Warfare Sniper Instructor and Combatives Instructor. His operational career included combat operations, POTUS protection details, and training foreign partner forces. After being medically retired from the Navy, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis from Norwich University.

While instructing at NSW Sniper School, Hoagie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an invisible disease that continues to challenge him physically. He also faced operator syndrome, which brought mental and emotional struggles such as disinhibition, loss of identity, and loss of purpose after leaving the military. These combined battles led him to his purpose: to be the teammate he wished he had.

Since transition, he has facilitated over 3,000 hours of peer education with professional tactical athletes and professional athletes, including Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and NFL players. His work centers on team cohesion, resilience, TBI, operator syndrome, and post-service and post-sport transition. Through this work, he developed and implements the CBA (Consciousness, Behavior, Awareness) framework to help individuals build situational awareness of self and environment, creating alignment between how they think, act, and show up. His approach is grounded in the principle: experience builds perspective, perspective shapes narrative, and narrative creates reality — a model he uses to help individuals understand and reshape their internal narrative as they navigate transition and performance.

Today, Hoagie serves as Director of Mental Health Services for SEAL Future Foundation and Director of Community for the Stronghold Transition Program at Best Defense Foundation, developing programs that provide mental health access, peer connection, and long-term support. He has spoken to audiences from high schools and universities to medical professionals, private equity firms, and nonprofit donors — helping raise over $3 million in support of veterans and their families.

He holds a Master of Science in Sport Psychology and is currently enrolled in a PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Sport Performance at National University. In 2023, he founded FALCON Perspective, a coaching and speaking company serving military, sport, and nonprofit communities.

Guided by his principle — “Be the teammate you wish you had” — Hoagie integrates operational experience, academic training, and humility to help others move beyond survival toward connection, resilience, and growth.