Oscar Mike Radio was founded by Marine Veteran Travis Partington when he was personally going through a very rough patch in life. He was also struggling to make sense of why the suicide rate among his fellow Veterans was so high. He created the podcast to give Veterans the opportunity to share their stories as a way of healing and communicating that they ARE special. Travis has some prior experience in the radio business. However, as he was thinking about [...]
Havok Journal editor Scott Faith joins us for a regular update. Scott is currently an active duty officer with half a dozen combat deployments. He writes under a pseudonym. We begin with one of the first articles he published for Havok Journal, “What Veterans Are (Still) Owed on 4th of July”. The article caused quite a stir because in Scott’s opinion his fellow citizens don’t owe him anything. He doesn’t expect free drinks or store discounts and is perfectly okay [...]
Community support of our military is the focus of this episode. American Warrior Radio is “deployed” at the ColoGaurd PGA Classic. The PGA is very supportive of our military. We spend the first half of the show with Jay Bickley, Vice President of the Davis-Monthan 50, and all volunteer group of over 100 community leaders that advocates for Davis-Monthan Air Force base and their airmen. Jay also spent 27 years in the United States Air Force, retiring as Vice Commander [...]
COMCAST/NBC Universal Senior Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs Carol Eggert says that when she was recruited by the company she “..wasn’t looking for a job but found a purpose.” She had already compiled an impressive military career rising from the enlisted ranks to Brigadier General. When Carol first joined the Army, the service was still gender segregated; not all positions were open to women. The irony was not lost upon her while leading Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq [...]
Darden Smith has been called one of the most respected American musicians working today. As a songwriter, he has spent most of his life thinking “There’s a song here somewhere.” His motto is “Write Songs. Tell Stories. Move People.” As a typical civilian, Darden Smith had a lot of misperceptions about what it meant to serve in the military. That was before he was booked to perform at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for a group of service members just returned [...]
“Freedom” is the latest release from multiple New York Times bestselling author Sebastian Junger. He has also produced several documentaries including the Academy Award nominated documentary “Restrepo”. In my opinion, Sebastian is one of the most insightful translators of the nature of the human condition I have ever read. Photo Credit: Peter Foley He chose the topic because “Freedom is one of the few things that people are willing to die for. It’s a core human value.” “Freedom” [...]
Bo Derek wasn’t on our list of celebrities to interview regarding their support of Veterans. As it turns out, I didn’t know Bo. Many of her family members served in the military; her father was a radio operator on a B-29 during the Korean War. Her stepfather served as a Green Beret in Vietnam and her ex-husband was also a Veteran. However, it was a chance encounter with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi that really got Bo engaged. [...]
Matthew Marsden made a comment during an interview last year that just floored me. So much so that I invited the British born actor/director to join me for a special Independence Day show. Sometimes it is valuable to examine ourselves through the lens of an “outsider”. Marsden was raised by a single mother living in public housing. He was fascinated by US television and even comic books. While he established a respectable career as a singer and actor in the [...]
Sgt. Will Gardner was a labor of love for Max Martini. An accomplished actor, he has played military roles in many films including “13 Hours”, “The Great Raid”, “Captain Phillips” and the TV Series “The Unit”. While Max has relatives who served in the military and law enforcement, it wasn’t until his role in "Saving Private Ryan" that he was inspired to create a calling for himself to help Veterans. He feels that “Saving Private Ryan” was key to allowing [...]
British born actor Matthew Marsden has 38 films/television series to his credit and has played military characters many times. But it was an encounter with an Army Ranger during the filming of “Blackhawk Down” that inspired his commitment to supporting those who serve. Matthew Marsden Matthew asked the Ranger why he joined to which the young Ranger responded “For Freedom.” Matthew then asked “You’d die for me wouldn’t you?” To which the Ranger responded “Yes sir”. This experience [...]