Q&A: Meet John Walton — addiction treatment leader and Marine for life
John Walton is a clinical manager at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, and leads a team of six counselors who help others overcome addiction. He’s been out of the Marines for 16 years. Yet he still closes every email with Semper Fi, the U.S. Marine Corps motto that means “always faithful” or “always loyal.” And he routinely greets others with the Marine battle cry, Oorah! We checked in with him for Veteran’s Day 2021 to learn more about his work, his story, and the needs of veterans.
What drew you to the field of addiction treatment?
I’m not sure I was drawn so much as it found me. While stationed with 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion (3rd AABn), I heard about an occupational field that was “critical,” meaning it was grossly understaffed and in need of qualified personnel. That field was Substance Use Counselor. It’s not a regular job field in the Marine Corps, but what we called a “B” Billet. Other B Billet jobs included Drill Instructor, Recruiter and Marine Security Forces. I was surprised to learn about the substance use counselor occupational path. The job wasn’t one that got talked about much, but it intrigued me so I applied to go to the Marines’ school for it.
As part of in interview process for the school, I was asked to write about my own substance use and family history. Next came my interview with the facility director and mental health director. When I got my results, I noted they said, “Applicant reports extensive alcohol abuse during high school and up until 1986.” I stopped in the lobby in shock! WHAT?!?! ME?! I had only gotten drunk on the weekends, mostly, and hadn’t drank in some time. What were they talking about?
The training for addiction counselor was a 12-week course at the Navy Alcohol and Drug Counselor School in San Diego. It was basically — from my point of view then — 12 weeks of treatment. It was there I took a hard look at my own past patterns, family of origin issues and more. Wow. I had really been headed in the wrong direction. Talk about getting what I need, and not what I want.
I began working as a counselor in 2002 while still on active duty. Turned out I truly loved the work. By the time I retired from the Marines in 2005, I knew I wanted to continue doing the work as a civilian. Fortunately for me, the month I retired was also the month the job as a B Billet went away. The Marines started hiring civilian counselors instead. Since I met the requirements, I interviewed and got the job. The career I enjoy today was officially under way.
How does your military background intersect with your work and life today?
It’s hard talking to me for longer than five minutes without picking up that I’m a proud Marine or at least have “some military background.” One reason is because I typically finish many sentences with the Marine Corps battle cry, “Oorah!”
The Marines is where I became a counselor. It’s also where, several years earlier, I decided to stop drinking, just one year into my 20-year military career. On my 19th birthday, I consumed A LOT of alcohol — 151, vodka, Old E, several types of beer, coolers. It wasn’t a good night. My friends said I cursed out the Military Police as we came through the gate. They told my friends to get me back to the barracks to sleep it off. At the barracks, I smeared food on the walls, vomited and continued with a multitude of other misdeeds. The following morning, I met the wrath of the barracks NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer), a young corporal.
Later that week, I observed several drunk Marines harassing a young family at the local Foster’s Freeze. I asked myself, “Is that how I act?” And to make a longer story short, that’s the moment I decided I wasn’t going to drink anymore. The next 19 years weren’t easy, though. The Marine Corps has a multitude of reasons for consuming alcohol, and in large amounts!
I have many friends — Marines, sailors, soldiers and air men/women — who consume(d) alcohol much the way I did as a teenager, often to cope with the stress of combat or prior trauma. And that’s why the counseling role was a good fit. I saw a big need, and I wanted to help.
Interestingly, I had several opportunities to visit the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation for trainings, long before working here. I always admired the professionalism of the staff, the quality care and the beautiful campus! Working here now, I still get to see and help veterans when they turn to us for help, and for that I am grateful.
How do you, and how should we all, advocate for vets out there who are struggling with substance use and/or mental health issues like PTSD?
With compassion. In 2008, the Marine Corps sent me to a training at Hazelden in Center City, Minnesota. Hazelden had started the NavyMORE program and provided us with some training on addressing PTSD. During one of the workshops/role-plays, I played the part of a Marine with PTSD in a treatment session. I simply drew on some personal experiences in the Corps and played the role. Easy. I got this. When the activity ended, I looked around the room and noticed everyone seemed to be horrified. Stunned silence. I thought, “What’s wrong with them?” Everyone asked if I was ok. What? Huh? “I’m fine.” Most of the counselors there were Navy and hadn’t heard or been around many Marines. And the other Marines who were there hadn’t had combat tours, so I guess their reactions to my combat stories made sense. To be clear, I hadn’t “kicked in any doors” in combat. I’d simply been bombed a few times. But the reaction I got was an a-ha moment. All of a sudden, I could see why some vets might not disclose their experiences to others, much less a care provider — wary of the reactions they might get and skeptical about whether others can truly understand.
When I enlisted, and during most of my active duty, going to see the “Wizard” — as mental health practitioners were known — was a quick way to catch looks from peers and superiors. It was reminiscent of the look of pity, or lack of understanding I experienced in the room that day. Veterans are a unique population, and helping them with substance use, PTSD or any other mental health condition, requires skillful, culturally responsive care.
Editor’s Note: The short documentary film, I Will Go Back Tonight, provides a powerful glimpse into the long-term effects of PTSD on Vietnam veterans and features, among others, Hazelden Betty Ford psychologist Don Elverd, pictured above. It is worth a watch this and every Veteran’s Day.
