Only On The Midwatch

The Radio Shak is back baby! Listen to some wild sea stories and mid-watch type discussions with my boy, George.

I could not believe that some of my buddies had never gone up to the bridge after completing a full tour of duty onboard a submarine! Some of my highlights took place on the bridge. Well, I am here to do my part and save those would-be poor souls. There's a little Scotland story for you as well.

Retired Master Chief Jesse Cook comes onto the show to talk about growing up in the US Navy's Submarine force and mental health in the Navy. Jesse also shares his involvement and advocacy of great organizations, Back Country Hunters & Anglers and Big Fish Foundation (Links below). Jesse shares the way that these organizations work to get involved with veterans and provide a chance to organically recreate the camaraderie found in military service and for veterans to have ownership of their narratives. Thanks Jesse!

Big Fish Foundation

- Donate - https://www.bigfishfoundation.org/donate

https://www.bigfishfoundation.org/

Back Country Hunters & Anglers

https://www.backcountryhunters.org/

It's Mental Health Awareness month and we are having a lot of conversations in different forums on the internet and amongst our own circles. It is very clear that this is important to all of us. It is also clear that a lot of us are tired of recognizing the problem, but seeing no change. This episode is more of just how I feel about mental health care in the Navy and suicide prevention. Sure I know that some listeners will disagree with my thoughts and maybe even want to haze me for bringing up "watchstander's liberty." I believe it's past time to consider simple ways to improve the mental health care of our service members, even if it challenges the way we have always done things.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to drive a submarine with the same person day in and day out? Now you can get an inside look into the peculiar relationship that develops between the two in charge of the sticks- and maybe also discover how much boogers weigh at the same time.

My friend and co-worker, George, joins me on this episode to talk radio, homo-erotic crews, and having some fine-ass (female) shipmates. This isn't one you're going to want to miss!

If you like our podcast and want to help us keep going please remember to leave us a 5-star rating and a review! We read everyone.

My guy, Josh Knaak finally found his way back on the OTM podcast. For those of you that don't know, Josh and I started TESTDEPTH together back in 2020. Over the years, life has called him to pursue other ventures, so he stepped away from TESTDEPTH. We must've been doing something right because he's coming back for more! In this episode, we shoot the breeze and talk boat life, and special projects, and share the adventures of some of our most memorable shipmates. Be warned! This gets a lil spicy. NSFW.

Armon Owens, a previous guest on the show has returned to sit down and talk to us about his new book on leadership development, The Fight To Lead. For those of you who aren't familiar with Armon, he is a Master Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy's Submarine Force. He was my former Chief of The Boat on the USS Helena (SSN-725) and has had continued success in his career and personal life. Drawing from personal accounts, historical events, and the wisdom and failure of those who lead him, Armon has authored a great book that teaches us about the inward battles we must fight daily to lead at the highest levels.

You can find The Fight To Lead by Armon Owens on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle Edition, with the audiobook coming soon.

https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Lead-Overcome-Battle-Highest/dp/B0BYR88V6L

Armon is also the host of The Unsung Leader podcast which can be found on most platforms you listen to podcasts.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unsung-leader/id1516642556

Find him on YouTube with Anthony Amato @ Anthony Amato & Armon Owens

https://www.youtube.com/@Leadership_State_of_Mind

Did you ever wonder what winning the lottery looked like in the military? Well, I'm not saying that this is it but... my buddy Chris had a sweet gig in the military and you'll wanna hear about it. This episode features two of my veteran friends, Chris(Army), and Kaleb(Navy). In true OTM fashion, we are all over the place, but as usual, I enjoyed shooting the breeze with these guys. Thanks, boys for coming on. Go Navy, beat Army! Hooyah!