Eagle Nation Podcast

Run as One began in 2012 as an attempt to bring previously hostile tribes in South Sudan together for healthy competition off the battlefield and has grown into a collaborative national event, bringing thousands of veterans together with their communities at close to 200 locations around the country each year. Join us this year on April 7th, at: http://bit.ly/2GamtnE

In this episode we discuss:

• The history of Run As One and Clay Hunt
• What Run as One looks like on the ground, and why it's important
• How many talk about collaboration between organizations, but that you don't see it as often in practice. Run as One is a real example, that people can get involved with!
• Why you should get involved! (plus, you get an awesome t-shirt)

Register for this year's event here!!

Aron Lanie is an Army veteran, yoga instructor, and Eagle Leader. Her journey has taken her from the rigger sheds of Fort Bragg to yoga mats in Vietnam/Thailand and now back to the Wilmington community. Along the way she's (re)discovered her purpose, which she now shares through yoga and her involvement with Team RWB. In this episode we discuss:

• Aron's story from soldier to civilian, corporate saleswoman to yogi
• The physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of yoga
• Building a Team RWB Chapter in Wilmington, NC and the value of being consistent, persistent, and having perspective as an Eagle Leader
• Aron's participation in the Women Veteran Athletes Initiative and the example women athletes set across Eagle Nation
• • Link to photos:

Team RWB has recently made major technology upgrades, and it's worthy of some time to talk about why and how it will affect our members. In this episode, Team RWB's Executive and Deputy Director sit down to discuss the recent changes in a rare in-person podcast. In this episode we discuss:

• The rationale and scope of the recent changes in technology.
• Checking in to events and why it's important.
• Why Team RWB made this investment.
• How technology is helping us get better.

J.R. Martinez is an actor, speaker, and former U.S. Army soldier who was severely wounded in Iraq in 2003, sustaining burns to over 34% of his body. He played the role of Brot Monroe on the ABC daytime drama All My Children, but is best known for winning Season 13 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and his advocacy work for veterans causes and philanthropic work. In this episode we discuss:

• His military experience and what he learned.
• His recovery process, and how he attacked it.
• Learning that he had a gift of connecting to people, and how he's using it to help.
• What it's like to be a public figure, and how he's managing his life.
• And most importantly - DOGS!

If you pay close attention to some of the world's top performers, you may notice a common thread. Many, if not most, of them credit meditation as a key to their success. Erik Younger is an Army Veteran of Desert Storm, a husband of 27 years, and firm believer in the power of meditation. In fact, he believes in it so strongly, that he founded Vetitation, a nonprofit committed to helping Veterans find peace through the power of meditation. In week's podcast, we dive into Erik's personal journey and discovery of the practice and discuss ways that anybody can start, and benefit from, meditation. Over the course of the conversation, we talk about the common misperceptions about meditation, where to start, resources that can help, and how his organization can support.

Erik also has a great TEDx Talk where he lays out the challenges of post-traumatic stress, Veteran suicide, and how he was about to battle both with meditation.

We hope this episode will help to demystify a tool that can be of tremendous help to Veterans, and all of us.

Paul Bell has been helping businesses grow his entire life - as a consultant, a corporate executive, and a growth equity investor. He's also been heavily involved in philanthropic work, which gives him unique insight into the characteristics of successful organizations as they develop. In this episode we discuss:

• Some predictors of success in young businesses
• Common pitfalls that growing organizations face
• Similarities and differences between for/non profit businesses as they grow
• Why he's so involved in supporting veterans, and specifically Team RWB.

Tyler Merritt makes no small plans. The CEO of Nine Line Apparel is on a mission to put relentlessly patriotic shirts on the backs of millions. Fresh off active duty in the Army, he's opened up an amazing new facility in Savannah, Georgia and is preparing for world domination. In his former life, Tyler flew helicopters in the elite Task Force 160th, Special Operations aviation regiment. With combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, he's taking the lessons learned to build a business that does more than make a profit.

In this week's podcast, we have a great conversation about business, leadership, family, and so much more. Tyler is a fascinating guy and we know that you'll enjoy hearing from him!

Major General Jeff Snow is the Commanding General of the United States Army Recruiting Command - the entity charged with keeping the Army full of world class volunteers, so that that we can maintain our all volunteer force. This is an incredibly important part of having a world class military, and we dive into some interesting details - this episode will make you excited for the future of our military! In this episode we discuss:

• Why the Army is a great career option
• The challenges of leading a very public facing and huge distributed team
• Why diversity is so important to the Army
• What it's like to communicate with today's youth
• How societal changes are affecting the Army's recruiting pool

Melissa Stockwell is an Army Veteran, severely wounded in Iraq in April of 2004, that has gone on to be a Paralympian, Triathlon coach, and an inspirational speaker. Her energy and her positive attitude are absolutely contagious. During this week's episode, we talk about the mindset that allowed her to not only heal, but to thrive in life beyond the military.

Our conversation spans:

• Leadership

• Overcoming adversity

• The role of nonprofits

• Raising kids

• Training for competition

• And much more

Melissa is a shining example for us to follow and we hope that hearing her story will inspire you to chase your dreams.

Fred Wellman is a retired Army officer having served 22-years as an aviator and public affairs officer including four combat tours. He currently is the CEO and Founder of ScoutComms, Inc., a B Corp communications and corporate social responsibility firm supporting organizations addressing the needs of veterans and military families - the only one of it's type in the world. In this episode we discuss:

• Telling the story of the post-9/11 veteran
• What the public needs to know
• What we get right and wrong as a veteran community
• More hilarious stories than you know what to do with.