Guard soldier takes on ‘Expedition Impossible’ - Entertainment, TV, Television - Navy Times

Guard soldier takes on ‘Expedition Impossible’

Capt. Aaron “Ike” Isaacson just can’t say no to an adventure.

The 33-year-old Kansas Army National Guard member will appear on this summer’s new reality show, ABC’s “Expedition Impossible,” crossing vast deserts, snow-capped mountains and raging rivers through exotic Morocco.

It’s just one of several highly anticipated new and returning shows rolling out episodes this summer.

“It was much more difficult than I expected,” Isaacson said of the now-completed race that had participants navigating on the run, riding camels and jumping out of airplanes.

During each episode, a new stage of the expedition is revealed to the competitors, who must work together to complete the race. The last team to cross the finish line is dropped from the show.

Isaacson’s teammates are Erik Weihenmayer, 42, a blind speaker and writer who climbed to the summit of Mount Everest in 2001; and Jeff Evans, 41, a physician assistant who serves as Weihenmayer’s “eyes in the field.”

After 10 legs of competition, one team will cross the finish line. Each winning team member gets $50,000 and a new Ford Explorer.

Isaacson can’t say how far his team progressed but said, “We worked hard, and I am very proud of what I was able to accomplish.”

Currently a personnel officer with the Kansas National Guard’s 69th Troop Command, Isaacson deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.

He was injured in Iraq in 2005 as he walked beside a vehicle that rolled over an improvised explosive device. The explosion damaged his hearing and caused minor head and neck trauma. He broke his right leg during his Afghanistan deployment after falling off of a short cliff along the Pakistan border while part of a training team operating with a light infantry company of Afghans.

But that fall didn’t slow Isaacson down. He climbed to the top of a mountain in Nepal two years later, and in 2010, he joined a team of wounded warriors for a climb to the top of Mount Lobuche, a 20,075-foot peak just 8.7 miles from Everest.

Isaacson admits he’s having a blast, but also says he hopes his experiences will help motivate injured and wounded vets.

“We are trying to encourage them to get out — that life isn’t over,” he said. “You can make a lot of things happen and see the world in a positive way.”

“Expedition Impossible” premieres June 23.

More shows to be on the lookout for this summer:

• Sons of Guns (Discovery, July Season premiere date to be announced): Former Marine Will Hayden and his team of gunsmiths at Red Jacket Firearms are back, customizing and improving AK47s while also delving into the world of historic and classic weapons.

• Falling Skies (TNT, June 19): When it comes to taking the biggest summer TV risk, honors go to this sci-fi series that takes place months after aliens have conquered the world. Employing a decent budget, as well as detailed characters and an involved story line, this isn’t the usual light summer fare.

• Love in the Wild (NBC, premiered June 1): Twenty singles (evenly divided between genders) pair up to tackle challenges in the Costa Rican jungle. It’s “Survivor” meets “The Dating Game.”

• Wipeout (ABC, June 16): The only thing funnier than watching people get whacked in the head is watching them get whacked in the privates.

• Burn Notice (USA, June 23): Jeffrey Donovan plays Michael Westen, a spy who spent last season looking for those who burned him, forcing him to get out of covert operations. The best reason to watch is Bruce Campbell, who brings camp wherever he goes and lightens the tone of this crime drama.