Veteran Resource Podcast

Today's article comes from Luis Congdon and is titled "How Video Games Are Helping Young Veterans Cope".  Specialist Rob Gibson talks about how video games allow him to switch off his symptoms, and how nothing else except sleep (which he isn't having much of) allows him to do that right now. Also in this episode I talk about the Virtual Reality Exposure Treatment (VRET) that was developed by Skip Rizzo which allows a patient to be more immersed over classic pschoherapy. Here is the article:  http://www.complex.com/life/2016/11/veterans-day-millennials-video-games-ptsd  

Get out into your community and explore everything that it has to offer.  New ideas, friends, and opportunities will come from stepping out of your comfort zone.

You may be having some big challenges in your life right now, but you are not broken.  Your community and your country still need you.  Choose to become the person that you want to be.

Luis Congdon had some huge challenges in his life by most people's standards.  Loss, abandonment, culture shock, and even homelessness are a part of Luis' story, but thanks to his mindset it is all just a small part of the abundant and optimistic story that is his life.   I could write a bunch of words here to tell you about his incredible story, but hearing it directly from Luis is the only way to really feel the intensity of his message. Connect with Luis on Facebook, and if you are interested in podcasting or growing your business with Facebook definitely ask him about joining the Podcasters Secret Weapon group.    

Bill Rausch is the Executive Director at Got Your 6. He is a former Army Major with over ten years of service including 17 months in Iraq serving under Generals Casey and Petraeus while assigned to the Information Operations Task Force. Prior to joining GY6, Bill was Political Director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America where he oversaw policy and advocacy campaigns. Prior to his veteran advocacy work, he was a Senior Consultant providing products and services to the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense while assigned to the Pentagon. Bill regularly testifies in front of Congress and has appeared on NBC Nightly News, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and MSNBC’s coverage of Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Bill is also an active community leader and volunteer serving as Chapter Captain for Team Red White and Blue (Team RWB) in his local community in Alexandria, VA. He also serves on the Board of Directors at Volunteer Alexandria, an organization promoting volunteerism across all charity s

In this episode I talk about a recent article from The Baltimore Sun titled "A soldier battling PTSD reported that he wanted to hurt his commanders. They disciplined him.". That led to the question in the title of this episode, "Should military members be disciplined for PTSD?".  Spoiler Alert:  My answer is HELL NO!

This week is Veterans Day and I want everyone out there, veteran and civilian, to find an organization to get plugged in with and go out into your community to some kind of event.  Runs, hikes, comedy shows, entrepreneurial courses, dinners, parties, etc.

Find out what you're passionate about, and go after it.  I walk you through a simple exercise to help get clear on what will provide you a life of passion.

Michael has been married for 6 short years and is the father of 2 boys and an adopted brother-in-law. He is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps and has done so for over 7 years. Currently, he is in the process of creating a mastermind for military non-commissioned officers to share ideas and build stronger, more capable military leaders. He’s an aspiring health, fitness, and life coach and does his best to create a home environment of constant self-improvement. He believes that there is a spot for all of us in the hall of greatness and that you don’t have to come from humbled or privileged beginnings to be significant.

Commissioned in August 1996, Kate Germano served for 20 years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps. A combat veteran, she participated in numerous operational and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief deployments and had many challenging assignments, including service for year as the Marine Aide to the Secretary of the Navy. She was selected for command twice, and served most recently as the commanding officer of the Marine Corps’ only all-female unit, the 4th Recruit Training Battalion. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Goucher College, where she majored in history with a pre-law emphasis. In 2011, she graduated with distinction from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, earning her Masters of Military Science degree. Upon retiring from the Marine Corps, she became the Chief Operating Officer for the Service Women's Action Network. She is actively engaged in the struggle to end gender bias in the military, and is a vocal proponent for equal rights and the elimination of double standa

Jeremy discusses an article out of the Military Times titled "The number of veterans in Congress will likely drop again next year".

In today's Motivational Monday I draw a parallel between dawning a new identity for Halloween and transitioning from the military. I also lift the curtain to reveal a little bit of my childhood.

I have interviewed over 50 veteran organizations since the start of the Veteran Resource Podcast. In this episode I share the top 5 things that I have learned. The full text can be found at veteranresourcepodcast.com/059

Nicholas grew up in Uhrichsville, a small town in Ohio. When he turned 18 years old, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as an infantryman. His first deployment was in 2008 to Ramadi, Iraq where he trained the Iraqi police force and encouraged them to take pride in securing their city’s safety. Shortly after he returned home from Iraq, his unit deployed to support the Drug Enforcement Agency on a mission in the seas of South America. He came home just before Christmas in 2009 and immediately started training for his third and final deployment. Six months later he was in Marjah, Afghanistan where his unit was engaged with the Taliban to secure the safety of civilians and the city’s farmlands. In August 2011, after five years of service and three deployments, Nicholas was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps and moved to Tampa Florida. Nicholas tried his first yoga class within a few days of being in his new city and was sure that he would never go back again. Shortly after he began to notice so

Paul Riedner is the Executive Director of a startup non-profit called the Veteran Resilience Project which uses EMDR to address a number of after effects of military service and war. Paul has an Economics degree and an MBA focused on business anthropology and consumer behavior. From 2006 - 2010 he was a Deep Sea Diver in the US Army. Since returning from war and the military, Paul began exploring how to use art to express his changing perspectives and to connect the public with the experiences, triumphs, and struggles of returning veterans. Paul produces a podcast called ResilienceMN that interviews veterans and serves as the community outreach mechanism for VRP.

This article from the Los Angeles Times fired me up a little. Veterans from the California National Guard are being forced to pay back enlistment bonuses from a decade ago. Please listen to this episode and then ACT by signing the two petitions.

Season 3 kicks off with me apologizing for the late start. But I really feel that setting up the structure and processes that will allow me to deliver five episodes per week was a good use of time. I am dedicated to getting the word out to veterans about some of the amazing veteran organizations that we have available to us, so in addition to five episodes per week I will also be working on speaking to groups of veterans around the country, and maybe even through live webinars here and there so that I can get the word out even further. If you haven't yet, please join me in the new facebook group where we can start to grow a community of like-minded individuals that help each other.

Captain Machuga is a 1998 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Russian linguistics on an ROTC scholarship. He is a former Army Infantry/Military Intelligence officer and Airborne Ranger, having spent the majority of his service at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division. In 2003, he deployed to Iraq with 2nd Infantry Division and whittled through the seemingly endless 13-month deployment with the help of video games. Captain Machuga left the service in 2006, where he moved to Washington DC with his wife Margo to work as a government counterterrorism analyst. Once he started to see success with his charity work, his wife and he moved back home to Pittsburgh to run Stack-Up full time. veteranpodcast.com/054

Christianna Capra (CC) is co-founder & Director of Equine Services with Spring Reins of Life 501c3 (Horses, Humans & Healing). Started in 2012 Spring Reins of Life, almost right away began working with the Men's PTSD Unit at Lyons VA Hospital. In 2015 that expanded to include the Women's and the Domiciliary PTSD Units. CC and Spring Reins of Life have been in four books and numerous print articles. Also featured in the media such as PIX11 News, Verizon Fios, and more. CC has over 40 years of horse experience handling (exercising) riding and competitive showing. Working with horses at liberty is a very freeing experience. Capra spent 25 years in NYC with a background in publicity, she now resides at the farm/facility where the horses live and the work happens.   Operation Horse, EAP/L for combat veterans suffering with PTSD/TBI. Veteran suicide is an out of control epidemic today. There are over 5,000 recorded deaths in Iraq & Afghanistan, yet over 128,000 suicides on US soil. At Spring Reins of Li

Returning Veterans Project is a grassroots, independent non-profit serving Oregon and SW Washington. For the past 11 years, Returning Veterans Project has been a conduit for post 9/11 veterans and their families seeking free and confidential mental health counseling and somatic services. Somatic services include chiropractic, massage, acupuncture and naturopathy. In 2015, the Returning Veterans Project had 180 providers and helped deliver more than 4500 hours of free and confidential services. Additionally, RVP has partnered with the Portland Art Museum in art therapy, sponsored women writing groups for military sexual trauma, and dramatic performances from veteran’s own stories. Returning Veterans Project also provides free training for their volunteer providers through out the year on subjects such as PTSD, TBI, MST and orthobionomy. Returning Veterans Projects believes it is our collective responsibility to offer support and healing for both the short and long term repercussions of war zone service on vete