Renford Ligon is a US Army Special Forces “Green Beret” Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (MSG Ret.) with 25 years of experience. A proven track record during many national level crisis events while serving as a US Army Special Operations Senior Operator and Military advisor (Contractor) previously assigned Central and South America worked years supporting the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Renford completed several military schools during his 20 year tenure as a Special Operator. Renford is working on a memoir centering around his experiences growing up, his time as a Green Beret, and mental health in the military, titled 'Broken Toys'.

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Photo Credit: Renford Ligon

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Brian Hester enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 1990, completing his first assignment with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. He went on to serve in roles based in North Carolina, Louisiana, Maryland, Hawaii, South Carolina and Iraq, fulfilling numerous leadership responsibilities and completing three tours in Iraq, two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Kosovo. Hester holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Excelsior College and has completed multiple military education courses, including Ranger School and the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy. Command Sgt. Maj. Brian A. Hester acts as the principal advisor to the Commanding General and staff of Army Futures Command on matters of health, welfare, morale, professional development and the effective utilization of personnel assigned to the command.

https://armyfuturescommand.com/

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Mark “Matz” Matzeldelaflor grew up exploring the wilderness in the backwoods of New Hampshire, camping, hiking through the mountains, and climbing trees until the weekend after high school graduation when he joined the Navy to become a SEAL. He served in combat deployments to Baghdad and Ramadi, Iraq, and trained the West Coast SEAL Teams in combat skills before leaving active duty service in 2009. Mark would go on to co-found a fintech startup in the foreign currency space, earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from San Diego State University, and founded Guardian Grange in October of 2020.

https://www.guardiangrange.org/

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Photo Credit: Mark Matzeldelaflor

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Former Green Beret Nate Boyer returns this week to the podcast with a specific purpose: to discuss the film that he wrote, directed and starred in titled "MVP." Boyer co-founded his non-profit MVP (Merging Vets & Players) with Jay Glazer of FOX Sports to bring together combat veterans and former professional athletes as they both share a bond of the tough transition when the uniform comes off. The movie takes us through the story of how Merging Vets & Players got started and is based on factual events. The most poignant part of the film are the emotions that many vets are struggling with when it comes to mental health and PTSD. Boyer and his team really do a great job bringing those feelings to life and making them real for the audience. "MVP" is now available on most streaming platforms including Amazon Prime and Hulu. 

Nate Boyer has lived anything but an ordinary life. Primarily because he’s a man who knows how to set goals and achieve them. Not just any goals either; we’re talking big goals. In early 2005, after working as a volunteer at refugee camps in Africa, he came back to the US and joined the Army, becoming a Green Beret in 2006. After serving in combat as a Green Beret, he decided to work toward achieving another dream of his: playing professional football. An unlikely candidate, Nate made the University of Texas Longhorn football team as a walk-on safety. Following graduation, he then went on to join the Seattle Seahawks as a long snapper. Nate Boyer knows what it means to follow your dreams, even if that means swimming against the current. He knows what it means to rise up to a challenge and ultimately succeed. And now, he’s using his own experiences to help other dreamers do the same!

https://vetsandplayers.org/

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Photo Credit: Nate Boyer

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David Truesdale has worked very closely with military members and military units, spending about 27 years in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. David had combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as deployments around the world; working in Counter Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. At certain points in his career, David was in charge of military troops and military units. David is also the co-founder of the Warrior Spirit Project, which provides trauma-informed yoga and meditation to Veterans and First Responders.

https://warriorspiritproject.org/

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Photo Credit: David Truesdale

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Tomas Cruz served in the U.S. Army for over 25 years and deployed to Kosovo in 1999 as well as to Iraq and Jordan over his military career. Tomas claims he was a soldier that thought he could take care of everything on his own and had all the answers until it all came crashing down on November 3rd 2010, the day that changed his life. He felt he could not handle the pressure of doing everything on his own and "One" person stopped him from not being able to tell his story today. Now, Tomas focuses on being the "One" for someone else to help others not go through what he went through. He now works with incarcerated Veterans and Civilians to help get their lives back on track after they come out of prison.

https://onecommunityusa.org/

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Photo Credit: Tomas Cruz

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Mary Tobin is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the New York Institute of Technology. Mary is a proud combat Veteran, having served 10 years in the United States Army as a communications officer, including two combat tours in Iraq. She currently serves in the Biden-Harris administration as the Senior Advisor for Wounded Warrior, Veteran, and Military Family Initiatives at AmeriCorps.

https://americorps.gov/

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Keith Parry is a native of Palmerton, Pennsylvania and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1989, spending 30 years in the military. Keith spent the latter half of his career in the special operations community within the Marine Corps. He has seven deployments in the War on Terror and four additional deployments, all overseas. Keith currently works for the state of Texas and is an ambassador on The Honor Foundation.

honor.org

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Photo Credit: Keith Parry

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Amy Forsythe started her military career as an enlisted Marine Combat Correspondent working as a military journalist while on active duty and in the Marines Reserves before becoming a Navy Reserve Public Officer in 2010. Amy served five combat tours over the past 20 years and won many awards for her reporting while deployed as she covered combat operations and military exercises in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Guam, Sri Lanka, Malaysia Romania, and Poland. She recently released her first book titled, "Heroes Live Here: A Tribute to Camp Pendleton Marines Since 9/11" that chronicles the rich history of the sprawling base and showcases the tributes honoring those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

heroeslivehere.com

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Earl Porter joined the military at the age of 17 as a 4-year Army ROTC scholar and would go on to spend 10 total years in the military. Earl is a former Army captain and was also a Ranger, spending time in both active duty and the guard. During his service, Earl had deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Post-military career, Earl got his law degree, works in commercial real estate and also established a non-profit organization called 'Something Outta Nothing', a project of the non-profit toughest kids to help raise support and create awareness about veteran suicide.

https://www.son.vet/

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Photo Credit: Earl Porter

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