Military / Veteran Advocates

Code of Vets was founded by Air Force Veteran Gretchen Smith in 2018. Their short mission statement is “Taking Care of Our Own..One Veteran at a Time”. Gretchen’s father, Sgt. Danny E. Smiley was a Vietnam Combat Veteran. He would eventually succumb to the demons of his PTSD. Gretchen sought to honor her father and his journey, so she began sharing his story on social media. The story resonated, and she began to receive responses from other Veterans who shared [...]

John Mollison is an accomplished aviation artist, writer and film maker.  For Mollison, history is nutritious. He interviews Veterans and draws the aircraft that were a critical part of their story. His images are stunning; displayed in galleries, museums and collections in at least fourteen countries. Mollison also has a secret – those beautiful images he produces are often an excuse for hearing and recording that hero’s story.  Since April of 2026, he has interviewed approximately 185 combat aircrews and [...]

“Sheepdog” is an incredibly powerful film that examines the issues faced by some Veterans seeking to reintegrate back into civilian life. The topics of Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress and Veteran suicide are all highlighted in a gritty and unvarnished manner. With an outstanding cast including Academy Award Nominee Virginia Madsen, Emmy Nominee Vondie Curtis Hall and SAG award Nominee Dominic Fumusa, the film has already won nine awards. “Sheepdog” writer, director and lead actor Steven Grayhm joins us [...]

Havok Journal owner Charles Faint joins us to help wrap up 2025 and guide us into 2026. I have always been fascinated by issues that can translate from the military to the civilian world. Our overarching theme for this discussion is leadership. We begin with J.C. Glick’s article “Beyond Compliance: The Shift from Obedience to Discipline in Leadership and Life”. Glick served as an army officer with 11 combat tours. Glick served with the Rangers and was always impressed with [...]

Gary Sinise makes a return visit to American Warrior Radio to share updates on his foundation and a very special initiative to honor the legacy of his son Mac. The Gary Sinise Foundation is one of the most effective and respected non-profit organizations working to support military and first responder families. Since their inception in 2011 they have raised over $500 million in support of these communities. We begin by introducing listeners to Gary’s “why”. It began when he took [...]

Havok Journal owner Charles Faint joins us for another update from my favorite website for all things military and first responders.  Charles served 27 years in the Army, including seven combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan attached to various special operations units. We being with the article “Give Your Flowers to the Living”. The crux of the article discusses the importance of honoring people and sharing how much you care while they are still living rather than just at their [...]

Havok Journal Owner Charles Faint provides us with an update on some of the issues being reported on their website. The Journal publishes 4-5 new articles daily in addition to reposting some of the “evergreen” content. Ayman Kafel, an immigrant who served in the Special Forces and is now a police officer, has published “A Resolute Path” through the Second Mission Foundation. Ayman had written so many articles that Charles suggested he compile his stories in a book. The book [...]

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 [...]