Nick Jones says the mission began as a straightforward cave clearance operation targeting ISIS fighters in northern Iraq.
Intelligence teams had spent weeks monitoring a network of cave entrances that commanders believed militants were using.
By the time Jones and his team were assigned the mission, the number of fighters observed in the area had more than doubled, he recalls.
The plan unraveled when one assault element discovered a cave that wasn’t on any intelligence maps.
Jones says the firefight erupted almost immediately. After reports of casualties came over the radio, he left his own position and ran toward the fighting. Heavy gunfire from ISIS fighters poured from a fortified cave entrance.
Crawling toward the cave under fire, Jones helped pull a wounded French special operations operator to safety and tried to suppress the fighters with rifle fire and grenades.
As the battle unfolded, he realized the mission had changed. It was no longer a cave clearance operation. It had become a recovery mission.
Jones, a Navy Cross recipient who served 12 years in the Marine Corps with eight of those years as a Marine Raider, expected combat when he deployed to Iraq in 2020.
What he didn’t expect was a cave operation that would leave two teammates dead, a bullet in his leg, and memories that still follow him years later.
The injuries he suffered that day, March 8, 2020, ultimately ended his military career. They also set him on a path toward a new life mission.
The battle ended. Its consequences didn’t.
When Jones returned home, he was dealing with severe nerve damage in his leg and underwent multiple surgeries at Walter Reed Hospital.
Doctors eventually diagnosed him with complex regional pain syndrome, a chronic condition that left him in constant pain.
He says everyday tasks became difficult, like wearing shoes or socks — even bed sheets hurt.
The injury forced him to temporarily walk with crutches and later a cane. It also served as a constant reminder of the mission and his grief for the loss of his teammates.
“I could not get it out of my head,” Jones told Business Insider
For years, Jones says, he approached problems the same way many operators do: work harder, push through, and keep moving. Eventually, though, that stopped working.
At a memorial event for one of the Marines killed during the cave operation, Jones recalls breaking down emotionally and realizing he needed help.
“I can’t do this on my own anymore,” he recalled thinking.
That decision changed the direction of his life
Jones entered a treatment program at Intrepid Spirit Clinic, where he participated in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health treatment. He also found relief through art therapy, meditation, breathwork, and yoga.
Asked to draw the emotions he had been carrying, Jones began sketching scenes from the mission. Mountains. Blood. Death. Memories he had spent months trying to suppress.
“I just cried and cried and cried,” he said.
The experience, he says, helped him understand that healing required more than physical recovery. It also gave him a new mission.
He began talking with former teammates about creating a program built around community, storytelling, and mental health support.
The result became Talons Reach Foundation, a nonprofit Jones helped launch in 2021.
Life after military service
Talons Reach Foundation hosts retreats for special operations veterans, bringing them together for education, wellness programs, outdoor experiences, and conversations about trauma, recovery, and life after military service.
Since its launch, Jones says the foundation has helped dozens of veterans.
The idea grew out of the lessons he learned during his own recovery. Jones says many veterans leave the military with a strong sense of purpose, only to struggle when that structure disappears.
The retreats combine traditional wellness practices with peer support. Veterans participate in activities ranging from hiking and outdoor adventures to meditation, breathwork, journaling, and group discussions. Jones says the goal is to help participants build tools they can use long after they return home.
Many of the veterans who attend are accustomed to handling problems on their own, Jones says, adding that one of the biggest breakthroughs often comes when participants realize they’re not the only ones carrying invisible wounds.
“We’re trying to help people understand that they’re not alone,” Jones said.
Jones named the nonprofit after Talon Leach, a close friend and fellow Marine Raider who died in a 2017 military plane crash.
Today, Jones still lives with the physical and emotional consequences of what happened in Iraq. That cave changed his life. Helping other veterans rebuild theirs is what gives that loss meaning now.
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