HeroFront

Chief Master Sergeant Thomas J. Wigington is the Public Health Career Field Manager, Defense Health Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia. Conversation

00:00 - How Chief mentored me in a time of need

He serves as the senior enlisted consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General and Assistant Surgeon General Medical Force development, on issues impacting the morale, welfare, utilization and professional development of 1,425 Total Force enlisted personnel. He works directly with Air Force Medical Service senior leaders to develop policy to enhance the health and welfare of 2.1 million beneficiaries worldwide Chief Wigington entered the Air Force in July 1997. His breadth of experience includes various duties in the Public Health career field, in addition to serving as the Air Force Lead Enlisted Public Health Consultant, Wing Staff Agency Group Superintendent, Squadron Superintendent and Inspector General Superintendent. He also served in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, INHERENT RESOLVE, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL and most recently DELIBERATE RESOLVE as Air Force Forward SurgeonGeneral Superintendent and Theater Public Health Manager, Combined Air and Space Operations Center, Air Force Central Command.

Talking Points Include:

-- Mil Spouses and OAR at Ramstein (Aug 2021)

-- AFI Air Force Spouse of the Year (and her fellow branch winners!)

-- What military spouses are advocating for and how the mil community can help

-- What's next (Family Life Action Group aka FLAG!)

Follow her on Heba Abdelaal - 2022 AFI Air Force Spouse of the Year Facebook page!

For nearly a decade Heba Abdelaal has worked as a congressional staffer in the U.S. Senate where she pursued her passion of serving those who serve– and have served, our nation. Heba's work with NMSN supporting our nation's military spouses began long before she herself became the proud spouse of a member of the U.S. Air Force in 2018. Heba began her time on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Senator John Boozman (R-AR) where she helped advance congressional work on national security and veterans' affairs issues including the “VA MISSION Act of 2018”. Most recently, Heba served as Military Legislative Assistant to former U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) while based in Colorado Springs, CO. * (Heba’s FB page and podcast episode do not necessarily represent the views of the USAF and are not sponsored by the DoD or the USAF. This is a personal discussion amongst friends)

One of the main issues with millennial veterans is lack of community that leads to isolation. Jenna is our superhero who bridges the gap between the crusty old SNCO and the young troop who did their 4-6 year service. She gave this younger generation a voice and a tool to connect them all as they transition out of the service. Her unorthodox approach is exactly what we never knew we needed to help so many.

She is the host of Vet Chats on Instagram, and started a community specifically for millennial veterans. She became part of a local legion where she noticed she was the youngest in the area and wanted a way to connect with others around the same age as her. She found out she was not alone and her message has touched the lives of thousands.

Guest Links: The Millennial Veteran IG where she hosts Vet Chats every Sunday at 9ET

@themillennialveteran

If looking for a public support group on FB Jenna manages, search “The Millennial Veterans” and join!

Her article:

https://www.proudlysheserved.com/post/guest-post-by-influencer-jenna-carlton

🚨 We talk about:

Why we should focus on younger veterans 


how the veteran community can be more inclusive.


why tapping into the veteran community is so important.

🚨 We also discuss:

Keeping yourself accountable with Drinking

The problem with vets comparing their service to other vets.

her most memorable guests

Balancing work, hobbies (like podcasting 🤣) and family

And even Ghost hunting 😱

Caleb Vaden is the Senior Enlisted Leader & advisor for the Air University's International Affairs and International Officer School, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the Director of International Affairs and to the Commandant of the International Officer School on matters influencing worldwide engagements, reinforcing the United States' strong and adaptive global relationships, focusing on strategic integrated deterrence. He also advises on readiness, morale, welfare, training, discipline, effectiveutilization, professional development, force structure and deployments for all enlisted and officer personnel.

He leads this highly specialized team to accomplish a strategic, national level organizational mission; Coauthors organizational strategy and mission statements, and lines of effort; Translates senior level intent; Directs human resource development & performance reviews; Leads organizational change through lean & six sigma processes; Advises Commander (CEO) on senior leadership adjustments, legal & environmental concerns;

Check his book here:

BOOT Leadership https://a.co/d/fSdpl2B

His LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-vaden-3165ab53 And his podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2lMRjJOfOApyQPpGhfYqrj?si=kGyTO-7qRpqecJwv8WPfyg

MISHON D. MONTGOMERY, MPA, LSSBB

Strategist | Speaker | Trainer | Coach

https://mishonmontgomery.com/

Mishon Montgomery is an enthusiastic leader who shares her passion for developing others through public speaking and education. Originally from Pensacola, Florida, she is a United States Air Force veteran with 20 years of honorable service, retiring and hanging her boots in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mishon’s military experience and drive for normalizing female leadership and representation for the present and rising generation led her to create Mishon Montgomery LLC.

The public speaking, training, and coaching business partners with organizations globally to provide powerful facilitation that inspires and motivates leaders, professionals, and educators to meet the demands of a rapidly diversifying workplace and community.

Additionally, Mishon has been appointed Chair for the Nevada Commission for Women. Coupling her desire for building a future of gender equity, she intends to use the appointment as an opportunity to study the changing and developing roles of women in society, understand the socioeconomic factors that influence the status of women and recommend proposed legislation to bridge the gaps.

Being honored with many prestigious awards for her dedication to leadership and development, Mishon has received the: Bob Hope Spirit of Hope Award; NAACP Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award; Brigadier General Wilma Vaught Visionary Leader Award; Blacks in Government Military Leader Award; and was presented a Proclamation by the State of Nevada Assemblywomen.

Mishon holds a Master of Public Administration (Public Policy and Governance) and maintains Diversity and Inclusion Certifications from Cornell University and Coach Diversity Institute. Additionally, she holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, is a Certified Master Resilience Trainer, Motivational Speaker, and Life Transformation Coach. Mishon specializes in presentations and Keynote Speaking on Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, Team Dynamics, Effective Communication, Unconscious Bias, Resilience Concepts, Suicide Prevention, Emotional Intelligence, and much more. An eternal optimist, Mishon consistently marvels in the deliciousness of life. She is sure to bring enthusiasm to any team, anywhere!

(Current as of March 2023)

Team HeroFront is celebrating black leaders to honor #BHM and on this episode we sit down with a guy who has brought a tremendous amount of joy in the lives of millions! Herofront sits down with Thane to hear how the SF Meme Guy page started and where he plans to take it going further. We also ask random questions like "does your leadership notice the memes?" and "What's your favorite meme of all time?" We also get to know Thane on a more personal level, hearing about his time serving as a CATM instructor and why Mental Health Matters.

Check out his website and absolutely hilarious meme merch here:

https://sfmemeguy.com

Team HeroFront is celebrating black leaders during #BHM and in this episode we sit down with Todd Simmons and discuss his post retirement life and any advice he'd give a veteran who is looking to pave their own path after their service ends. 

check out his website:

https://courageouslead.com

get to know Todd - Chief Vision Officer| Author| Organizational Culture Specialist | TEDx Speaker | Education Consultant| Adjunct Professor| Solutions Coach| Forbes Council Member at Forbes

Todd is a Senior Executive, Large Organizational Management Specialist, Human Resources Professional, Experienced Adjunct Professor in three disciplines and Military Veteran with 25 years of proven experience in the United States Air Force and civilian collegiate institutions. Senior executive with a broad set of technical skills and a wide range of management and leadership experience in diverse organizations with over 14 years operating overseas in complex environments. Possesses extensive knowledge in strategic and organizational management specializing in building effective teams to exceed organizational output and expectations.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force #14 Retired is currently an AFA as a board member, chapter president and delegate for 15 years.

Murray also serves on the USAA Board of Directors, the Air Force Museum Foundation Board of Trustees, the Air Force Enlisted Village Board of Directors, and the Airmen Memorial Foundation Board of Directors.

In this episode we have guest podcast Us Mentoring Us (UMU) asking Chief Murray questions about his time as CMSAF, social media, and his proudest USAF moment.

Link up with Kerry here:

https://www.youtube.com/kerrysteuart

https://www.warriorsascent.org

https://midtownyogakc.org I joined the Air Force in 1991 and planned on retiring after twenty years but unfortunately I was medically discharged in 1999.  I was suffering from migraines, pain in my legs and a few other issues but those two prohibited me from serving our Country. I eventually began to have battles with PTS that affected my home and work life. Although I might appear happy and healthy on the outside, on the inside I was truly struggling. I was struggling to find a purpose, an opportunity to serve. I was angry and bitter because I spent the next twenty years trying to find out what was the cause of my health symptoms and the VA Hospital was not very helpful. All this frustration and anger was taken out on my family, friends and colleagues. My eldest daughter had been suggesting yoga because she thought it would help my symptoms. 

I started my yoga journey with a practice of mindfulness and meditation and what I discovered was that for the first time in a long time I felt calm and relaxed. I would pause any time during the day when a trigger or any type of anxiety occurred and perform a meditation practice. I had this practice for four months before I even stepped into a yoga studio. The true foundation of yoga is our breath and I have realized through this journey, that yoga is not just the hour on the mat, but the twenty-three hours off the mat. The mat sets the foundation for the rest of the day. Yoga does two things for us each and every day. First, it allows us to realize the things in our life that we are doing well and secondly, those things in our life that need work. Yoga is truly for everyone and it transforms our life from the inside out.

I am a Gulf War Veteran who spent eight years in the Air Force. I have a BS in Business Management, a 500hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance and have been retired since 2014. Suffering from chronic pain and PTSD since my time in the military, I understand first-hand the numerous benefits of yoga and meditation for pain reduction and mental clarity.  I am a yoga instructor that recognizes and believes that yoga can cause both physical and mental transformations that result in less pain, reduced PTSD symptoms and a reduction in stress.  I provide a variety of classes that serve those looking for a physical challenge as well as a complete mindfulness/meditation practice. I realize that people come to the mat at all different levels with different intentions and I welcome everyone to come and make the class their unique yoga experience.  

Moderation and balance are truly two of the greatest aspects of being mindful. Providing a variety of yoga including talks to the community through different facets allows me to connect with the community. I have to make sure to not overextend myself mentally, physically or spiritually, otherwise I will not be able to provide the type of positive energy to my family or  the community.

CMSgt Jeffrey D. Martin is the Command Chief for the 49th Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. (At the time of recording Chief Martin was serving as the Command Chief, 53d Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla) He serves as the principle enlisted leader to the Wing Commander on all issues regarding the training, safety, morale, welfare and quality of life issues affecting a total force of over 4,000 enlisted personnel. The 49th Wing serves as the primary F-16 and MQ-9 training schoolhouse for the United States Air Force, training more than 150 F-16 pilots and 700 MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators annually. Additionally, the wing provides support to more than 21,000 military and civilian personnel to include the 635th Materiel Maintenance Group (Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources) and the 704th Test Group.

Chief Martin enlisted in the Air Force in September 1997 and graduated from the Electrical Power Production Apprentice Course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. He has held a variety of leadership positions at the squadron and group levels in the Civil Engineering and Military Training Instructor career fields. He has deployed in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, and Operation FREEDOM’s SENTINAL. Prior to his current position, Chief Martin served as the Command Chief, 53d Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla.