Not Special: A Liberty Speaks Show

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The Army botched Cameron Cushman’s surgery. What followed changed nearly every part of his life.

Cameron Cushman is an Army veteran, Afghanistan veteran, filmmaker, and documentary producer whose life changed after a surgery at Fort Hood led to years of serious medical complications. Cameron shares his experience with military medical care, gastroparesis, chronic illness, anxiety, veteran mental health, and being told he might never work again.

But that isn’t where his story ends.

In this episode of The Not Special Show’s Americana Series – Montana, Cameron sits down with Herb and Corrie Thompson to talk about serving in the U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan, his medical journey after Fort Hood, leadership, resilience, personal growth, becoming a filmmaker, fatherhood, mental health, and refusing to let his circumstances define him.

Cameron also takes us behind the scenes of *Break In Case of War*, his upcoming military documentary, and explains why he believes filmmaking and veteran storytelling can make a real difference.

This is a conversation about military service, adversity, family, filmmaking, and what happens when the life you expected disappears and you have to build something new.

The Americana Series - Montana was made possible with the support of our partners: GOVX https://www.govx.com/ , loanDepot https://www.loandepot.com/home-loans/va-loan , Alliance Nationwide Exposition https://alliance-exposition.com/ , and Bellator Recruiting Academy https://www.bellatorrecruiting.org/ .

We’re grateful to each of them for believing in what we’re building and helping us bring these stories to life.

Follow Not Special as Herb and Corrie Thompson travel to Montana to share five very different American stories.

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Andy Stumpf spent more than 17 years as a Navy SEAL, served with SEAL Team Six, became a record-setting wingsuit pilot, entrepreneur, author and host of the Cleared Hot podcast.

But those are things he’s done. They aren’t who he is.

For the first episode of The Americana Series: Montana, we traveled to sit down with Andy for a conversation about identity, failure, leadership, marriage, fatherhood and what happens when the life you built your identity around begins to disappear.

Andy talks about nearly losing his Trident early in his career, leaving the SEAL Teams after being injured, the difference between good and bad leadership, and why tying your identity too closely to your occupation can make moving on so difficult.

He also opens up about divorce, raising children, building businesses, finding happiness, moving his family to Montana and why he tries not to measure his life by accomplishments.

When we ask Andy what he values most in life, his answer is immediate: truth.

That leads to a candid discussion about Roberts Ridge, John Chapman, the Medal of Honor, the Rangers who fought on Takur Ghar, and Andy’s years-long effort to understand what happened on that mountain.

This is Andy Stumpf beyond the résumé.

The Americana Series: Montana - Episode One.

Follow Not Special as Herb and Corrie Thompson travel across Montana sharing five very different American stories.

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They called her the “Angel of Death.”

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Allison Black spent more than 32 years serving her country, but her path to becoming a special operations aviator was anything but planned.

She began her career as an enlisted SERE specialist before becoming an officer and eventually flying AC-130 gunships with Air Force Special Operations Command.

After September 11, 2001, Allison deployed to Central Asia and flew combat missions over Afghanistan. Working alongside U.S. Special Forces and Afghan forces, her voice over the radio and the firepower of the AC-130 helped create a story that would follow her for decades: the “Angel of Death.”

But this conversation is about much more than a nickname.

Allison joins Herb and Corrie Thompson to talk about earning credibility in the special operations community, failure, leadership, command, marriage and raising a family while serving, and the responsibility of bringing people home.

She also talks about why she spent years uncomfortable with the “Angel of Death” story—and what it was like to retire after more than three decades in uniform and figure out who Allison Black was without it.

This is a conversation about service, identity, leadership, family, and learning to let your actions speak for you.

Learn more about Allison Black and booking her to speak at LibertySpeaks.com.

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We came to Montana to share five great stories. We ended up getting a lot more.

The Americana Series: Montana takes Not Special on the road for five conversations with Andy Stumpf, Cameron Cushman, Dave Kenney, Nic McKinley, and Aaron Todd.

These are stories about service, identity, family, adversity, purpose, and what happens when life doesn’t go according to plan.

Five people. Five very different journeys. One place that gave us the space to slow down and hear their stories.

The Americana Series: Montana begins October 1, with a new episode every Thursday on Not Special.

Made possible with support from LoanDepot, GOVX, Alliance Nationwide Exposition, and Bellator Recruiting Academy.

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Harrison Bernstein left a path in the NFL to build Soldiers To Sidelines, a nonprofit helping veterans, service members, military spouses, and Gold Star families find purpose and community through coaching.

But Harrison's story didn't start with the military.

Long before founding Soldiers To Sidelines, Harrison was a college football player whose identity was wrapped up in the game. When the clock ran out on his final college football game, he wasn't ready for it to end. Years later, after working in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and receiving another opportunity with the New York Jets, Harrison faced a different decision: keep chasing the NFL or build something that could impact thousands of lives.

He chose the latter.

In this episode of Not Special with Herb & Corrie Thompson, Harrison talks about football, coaching, identity, purpose, mental health, leadership, and why great coaches can change the trajectory of someone's life.

We talk about:

• The emotional final play of Harrison's college football career

• How losing the identity of "football player" affected him

• Getting hired by Joe Gibbs and working in the NFL

• The day Sean Taylor challenged him to a race

• Why Harrison ultimately walked away from an opportunity with the New York Jets

• How Soldiers To Sidelines started with six people at Walter Reed

• Helping veterans and military families become character-based sports coaches

• Depression, isolation, community, and finding purpose

• Why Harrison believes coaching can be an upstream solution

• NIL, college athletics, and tying identity to money and performance

• The role Harrison's wife, Laura, played in building Soldiers To Sidelines

• What makes a great coach on the field and in life

Today, Soldiers To Sidelines has trained thousands of coaches and continues creating pathways into youth, high school, college, and professional sports.

Harrison's story isn't really about football.

It's about what happens when something you've built your identity around ends and how finding a new way to contribute can change everything.

Not Special is a Liberty Speaks show hosted by Herb & Corrie Thompson.

Real people. Real stories. Real growth.

Checkout www.govx.com for great discounts and they give back to the community every month, the September GOVX Give Back supports the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund https://nleomf.org/ and Concerns of Police Survivors https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors... Both are doing incredible work to honor those we lost and support those left behind.

#SoldiersToSidelines #Veterans #NFL #Coaching

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Vic Minella was a Navy intelligence officer assigned to the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. His office, the Navy Command Center, was directly hit in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Vic wasn't there that morning. Several of his shipmates were.

That day changed the course of his life and launched decades of work in Navy intelligence, counterterrorism, clandestine and covert operations support, and eventually senior leadership inside the Pentagon.

In this episode of Not Special, Vic Minella takes us from growing up in a tiny Mississippi town to enlisting in the U.S. Navy, becoming a Navy corpsman, earning his commission, and entering Naval Intelligence.

Vic shares what it was like watching the 9/11 attacks unfold from home, learning that his Pentagon office had been hit, losing friends and colleagues, and carrying survivor's guilt in the years that followed.

He also takes us inside the largely unseen world of national security and counterterrorism—work that ultimately contributed to preventing hundreds of terrorist attacks and protecting American service members around the world.

We talk about:
• Growing up in rural Mississippi
• Enlisting in the Navy and becoming a corpsman
• Becoming a Naval Intelligence officer
• Where Vic was on September 11, 2001
• Losing his shipmates in the Pentagon attack
• Survivor's guilt and the aftermath of 9/11
• Returning to work as America prepared for war
• Supporting counterterrorism and special operations missions
• The team credited with helping stop 600+ terrorist attacks
• Rising from enlisted sailor to Senior Executive Service
• The critical role of civilians in national security
• Leadership, family, sacrifice and the cost of high-tempo work
• Finding purpose after decades of government service

Vic's story is also a reminder of how many people serve this country without ever wearing a uniform and how much of America's national security work happens far from public view.

From a town of roughly 300 people in Mississippi to some of the highest levels of the Pentagon, this is a story about service, loss, opportunity, leadership and what happens when an ordinary person is given an extraordinary opportunity.

#September11 #911 #Pentagon #NotSpecial 

Checkout www.govx.com for great discounts and they give back to the community every month, the September GOVX Give Back supports the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund https://nleomf.org/ and Concerns of Police Survivors https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org/ Both are doing incredible work to honor those we lost and support those left behind.

Connect with Liberty Speaks: 
🌐 Website: www.libertyspeaks.com 
🔗 Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_ownyourjourney_

👉 Don’t forget to follow, like, and share if you found this conversation valuable. Your support helps us bring more stories of resilience, leadership, and freedom to light.

Send us Fan Mail

JoAnne Bass, the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force and the first woman to serve as the U.S. Air Force’s highest-ranking enlisted leader, never planned on making the military a career. She joined for the GI Bill, expected to serve four years, and jokes that she reenlisted because she still had a Honda Civic to pay for.

Thirty-one years later, she retired after reaching the highest enlisted position in the United States Air Force.

In this episode of Not Special, JoAnne Bass sits down with Herb and Corrie Thompson for a candid conversation about her unlikely journey from a young Airman to Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, leadership at the highest levels, marriage and family, military service, social media and misinformation, and what happens when the title you've carried for decades suddenly disappears.

Bass shares the story of getting the call that she had been selected as the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, becoming the first woman to hold the position, and suddenly finding herself at the center of national attention.

She also opens up about the side of leadership most people never see: criticism, online attacks, the pressure of leading during a rapidly changing information environment, and why leaders can no longer confuse the chain of command with the chain of communication.

But this conversation isn't just about rank or military leadership.

JoAnne talks about growing up as an Army brat, meeting her Army husband Ron at Smoke Bomb Hill, raising two daughters while both parents served demanding military careers, navigating deployments, and learning how to intentionally reconnect after retirement.

She also explains why some people struggle when they leave the military or any major career and their identity has become inseparable from their title.

Throughout the conversation, JoAnne returns to a simple philosophy she learned from her mother: Do your job and do it well.

From a four-year enlistment to 31 years of service, JoAnne Bass's story is ultimately about service, leadership, family, resilience, identity, and using whatever position you have to make a difference.

In this episode:
• Why JoAnne Bass originally joined the U.S. Air Force
• The Honda Civic that helped convince her to reenlist
• When military service became something bigger than a GI Bill
• Becoming the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
• What it meant to become the first woman in the position
• Leading through COVID and an evolving information environment
• Social media, misinformation, trolls, and deepfakes
• Why leaders need to rethink communication
• Leading five generations in today's workforce
• Marriage, children, deployments, and dual-military life
• Why retirement and identity can be such a difficult transition
• Finding purpose after taking off the uniform
• The leadership philosophy JoAnne still carries today

⏱️ CLICKABLE CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Why JoAnne Is Special 
01:19 Growing Up an Army Brat 
03:36 Why Jo Joined the Air Force 
04:58 The Honda Civic That Kept Her in the Military 
07:03 She Once Said She’d Become the First Female CMSAF 
10:39 GOVX
11:44 Meeting Her Husband at Fort Bragg
14:18 Marriage, Kids & Five Deployments 
17:46 Learning to “Get Along on Purpose” 
19:20 Becoming Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force 
21:42 “You Made the Right Damn Decision” 
22:13 The Gut Punch of Online Hate 
25:14 Trolls, Misinformation & the Information War 
30:48 Deepfakes & the $15,000 JoAnne Bass Scam 
33:40 The Pentagon Assignment She Didn’t Want 
37:12 “Do Your Job and Do It Well” 
41:54 Chain of Command vs. Chain of Communication 
46:12 What Retirement Really Felt Like 
52:04 When Your Identity Is Tied to Your Title 
55:20 Finding a New Way to Serve 
56:01 Operation Military Move https://a.co/d/0fbKz29T
59:50 Jo’s Three Rules for Life After Service 
1:02:57 The Audience Jo Most Wants to Reach 
1:04:25 From “I Never Want to Speak Again” to the National Archives 
1:08:40 What Jo Values Most in Life

Connect with Liberty Speaks: 
🌐 Website: www.libertyspeaks.com 
🔗 Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_ownyourjourney_

Checkout www.govx.com for great discounts and they give back to the community every month, the September GOVX Give Back supports the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund https://nleomf.org/ and Concerns of Police Survivors https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org/ Both are doing incredible work to honor those we lost and support those left behind.

👉 Don’t forget to follow, like, and share if you found this conversation valuable. Your support helps us bring more stories of resilience, leadership, and freedom to light.

Send us Fan Mail

Marc Andersen, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller, helps oversee roughly $200 billion in U.S. Army resources with one overriding mission: making sure America’s warfighters have what they need to fight and win.

In this episode of the Not Special Show, Marc takes us inside the Pentagon and the enormous responsibility behind managing the U.S. Army budget, funding military readiness, navigating Congress, supporting defense innovation, and preparing soldiers for both today's threats and the future fight.

But this conversation goes far beyond defense spending.

Marc shares the unlikely path that took him from growing up in small towns and a log cabin in Idaho to senior leadership in business and ultimately one of the most consequential civilian positions in the U.S. Army.

He also opens up about growing up with hearing loss and a speech impediment and the teacher who challenged him to stop hiding what he was capable of. That lesson became part of a larger philosophy Marc has carried throughout his career: get comfortable being uncomfortable, do good work, treat people well, and don't assume your path will be linear.

Marc's career certainly wasn't.

Before joining the Army, he co-founded a software company, became a senior leader at EY, helped build its government business, and worked in venture capital. He once thought he might become U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. Instead, a call from Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll ultimately led him to the Pentagon.

Marc also talks candidly about leadership, marriage, raising grounded kids, faith, friendship, public service, political division, and why relationships built on trust matter more than transactions.

We get into:
*What managing a roughly $200 billion Army budget actually means
*How Army funding affects the individual soldier
*The Pentagon, Congress, budgets, audits, and defense spending
Military readiness, lethality, technology, and the future fight
*Why Marc believes America's military should always have overwhelming advantage
*His unexpected path from the private sector to public service
*Growing up with hearing loss and a speech impediment
*Why discomfort can be one of life's greatest opportunities for growth
*Building relationships based on trust instead of transactions
*His 35-year marriage and the importance of family and faith
*Raising successful but grounded children
*Why Marc believes Americans agree on far more than our politics suggest
*The responsibility each generation carries to preserve American liberty

⏱️ CLICKABLE CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Why Marc is Special
04:01 Growing Up in Rural Idaho
10:48 Marriage, Family & 35 Years Together
13:44 Raising Grounded Kids in a Successful Family
23:38 Blessed to Live in America
25:10 Overcoming Hearing Loss & a Speech Impediment
26:12 The Teacher Who Changed Marc’s Life
27:54 GOVX
31:00 From EY & Venture Capital to the Pentagon
34:58 It’s About People, Relationships and Trust
37:30 The Long Road to a Presidential Appointment
39:56 Managing the U.S. Army’s $200 Billion Budget
41:30 How the U.S. Army Decides Where the Money Goes
47:11 Will the U.S. Army Pass Its Audit?
51:01 America’s Adversaries & Peace Through Strength
54:01 Why America’s Political Division Worries Marc
01:01:25 Faith, Family, Friendship & Freedom

Marc describes these government roles as temporary projects rather than lifetime appointments. His question is simple: What can we get done with the time we have?

That idea runs through this entire conversation.

Do good work. Treat people well. Serve something bigger than yourself. And don't be surprised when life takes you somewhere you never planned to go.

Connect with Liberty Speaks: 
🌐 Website: www.libertyspeaks.com 
🔗 Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_ownyourjourney_

Checkout www.govx.com for great discounts and they give back to the community every month, the August GOVX Give Back supports the Travis Manion Foundation.

👉 Don’t forget to follow, like, and share if you found this conversation valuable. Your support helps us bring more stories of resilience, leadership, and freedom to light.

Send us Fan Mail

What does it mean to become a Gold Star Family? How do you move forward after losing a Navy SEAL son in combat? 

In this powerful episode of The Not Special Show, former Navy pilot Tom Feeks and registered nurse Ginny Feeks share the story of their son, Navy SEAL Patrick "Pat" Feeks, their daughter Regina Feeks, a Navy officer and physician assistant, and the journey of faith, family, military service, and resilience after unimaginable loss.

This conversation explores life in a military family, deployments, raising children while serving, the realities of combat, and what it means to honor a fallen warrior while continuing to live with purpose. If you're interested in Navy SEAL stories, Gold Star families, military life, veteran stories, Special Operations, leadership, and overcoming grief, this is a conversation you won't forget.

Tom and Ginny don't consider themselves special. After listening, you will.

In this episode:
* The life and legacy of Navy SEAL Patrick Feeks
* Becoming Gold Star parents
* Tom's 28-year career as a U.S. Navy pilot
* Ginny's career as a registered nurse and military spouse
* Raising children through military moves and deployments
* What families experience while loved ones are deployed
* The phone call that changed everything
* Faith, resilience, and finding purpose after loss
* Lessons every parent can learn from
* Why service continues long after the uniform comes off

⏱️ CLICKABLE CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:24 Why Tom & Ginny Feeks Are Special
02:38 Tom's Journey to Becoming a Navy Pilot 
05:59 Ginny's Nursing Career & Military Life 
10:46 Navigating a Career as a Military Spouse
14:08 GOVX
15:45 Courtship Before the Internet at the Naval Academy
25:28 Going Home to a Controlling Dad
29:24 Raising Kids and Balancing Careers Around the World
33:54 Signs of a Navy SEAL as a Child
39:51 GI Joe in Real Life
42:48 Two Kids Deployed 
47:16 Having a Daughter Deployed to Combat
49:26 OPSEC
52:12 Funny Navy Story Drinking at a Brothel
53:50 The Phone Call No Parent Wants, Outside of Protocol
1:00:57 Becoming Gold Star Parents 
1:07:12 Humor in the Worst Moments of Grief
1:11:40 Overloaded With Admin Tasks 
1:16:17 A Moment of Clarity in the Loss
1:18:15 Leadership is Showing You Care
1:20:39 What Helped Them Get Through the Tragedy
1:25:50 Navy SEAL Saves Green Beret’s Life
1:30:46 When She Knew It Would Be OK
1:35:26 Questioning Himself Teaching Military Officers
1:38:59 Lessons on Grief, Family & Purpose 
1:53:07 Honoring the Pat Feeks Legacy 
2:08:04 Impact of Kids Reading Young
2:11:42 Top Secret Story
2:15:15 What they value most in life

Links mentioned in this episode:
Fundraiser: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/great-frogs-wine-tasting-to-benefit-the-navy-seal-foundation-tickets-1990181159422
Fields of Athenry: https://fieldsofathenryfarm.com


Connect with Liberty Speaks: 
🌐 Website: www.libertyspeaks.com 
🔗 Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_ownyourjourney_

Checkout www.govx.com for great discounts and they give back to the community every month, the August GOVX Give Back supports the Travis Manion Foundation.

👉 Don’t forget to follow, like, and share if you found this conversation valuable. Your support helps us bring more stories of resilience, leadership, and freedom to light.

Send us Fan Mail

How does a Green Beret become a private equity executive, business leader, and president of a multimillion-dollar company? 

In this episode of The Not Special Show, former Green Beret Prescott Engle shares the incredible journey from getting kicked out of college to earning the Green Beret, serving during the Cold War in Central America, walking away from the CIA, building a successful career in insurance, private equity, and business leadership, and ultimately leading Alliance Nationwide Exposition.

Prescott opens up about the lessons that shaped him: resilience, leadership under pressure, overcoming failure, raising eight children, making difficult career transitions, and why success starts with serving others. Whether you're a veteran, entrepreneur, business leader, or someone navigating life's next chapter, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom and unforgettable stories.

In this episode, we discuss:
* Getting kicked out of college—and the conversation that changed his life
* Earning the Green Beret and surviving Special Forces training
* The instructor who tried to make him quit
* Cold War missions in Central America
* Why he turned down a career with the CIA
* Building a successful career in insurance and private equity
* Leadership lessons from the military that apply to business
* The importance of mentorship and earning confidence
* Raising eight children and building a lasting marriage
* Why education and intelligence are not the same thing

⏱️ CLICKABLE CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Why Prescott is Special
01:43 Growing Up Wild & Burning Down a Cornfield 
05:03 Getting Kicked Out of College 
07:53 What He Told Himself on the Way to Boot Camp
10:08 The Green Beret Recruiting Pitch 
12:42 Special Forces Selection Begins 
18:22 "I'm Going to Make You Quit" 
26:46 Earning the Green Beret 
28:02 GOVX
28:36 Life in 7th Special Forces Group 
31:03 Cold War Missions in Central America 
35:17 Leadership Lessons from Special Forces 
36:57 Education is Not a Relative Indicator of Intelligence
40:22 Why He Turned Down the CIA 
42:55 Starting Over in Insurance 
46:25 The Sales Lesson That Changed Everything 
48:20 Meeting His Wife & Building a Family 
51:03 Liberty Speaks
52:06 From Business Consultant to Company President 
57:55 A Lesson From Desert Storm
01:01:40 Surprises in the Industry
01:05:47 Changes in the Events Industry
01:07:27 Business Need to Read the Room
01:09:16 Balancing Business and Family
01:10:29 “I Was a Shit Father”
01:15:09 Finding Your Tribe
01:17:39 Getting From and Giving to the Army
01:19:17 What he Would Tell his Younger Self
01:25:24 What He Values Most in Life

Prescott's story is a reminder that your biggest setback doesn't have to define you. The discipline, humility, and perseverance that carried him through Special Forces became the same principles that helped him succeed in business and life.


Connect with Liberty Speaks: 
🌐 Website: www.libertyspeaks.com 
🔗 Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_ownyourjourney_

Checkout www.govx.com for great discounts and they give back to the community every month, the July GOVX Give Back supports Mission 22.