What if the hardest part isn’t leaving the uniform behind but figuring out who you were meant to be all along?

Jackie Frederick spent over twenty years as an Air Force air battle manager, rising fast, earning respect, and outpacing almost every man she served with. When the COVID vaccine mandate collided with her convictions, she walked away one step shy of O-6, trading the flight suit for homeschooling four kids, caring for her husband with MS, and rebuilding her identity from the inside out.

The day she realized trying to be one of the guys was costing her everything

How she found power in embracing her role as a mother and nurturer

The loneliness of being unseen as a female veteran

Why walking away from rank and retirement was the only choice she could live with

What it really means to lead at home when nobody’s saluting anymore

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:30 Growing up between Ohio and North Carolina

05:00 Becoming faster than the guys at OTS

10:15 When femininity turned into her secret weapon

17:50 The true cost of being a peer in a man’s world

24:10 How the vaccine mandate forced her hand

33:00 Building a new mission rooted in faith and family

42:40 The fight to be seen as a veteran

50:20 Teaching her kids leadership, the Air Force couldn’t

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaclynfrederick

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

What if retiring from something is exactly why you’ll never feel free?

Chad Hufford built Veritas Wealth Management from his garage in Alaska to a firm trusted with half a billion dollars. He’s not just a numbers guy. He’s a disciple of discipline, resilience, and ruthless simplicity. For Chad, money is just the tool. Your character is the blueprint.

The ash storm that forced him to toughen up at twelve

Why discipline is a muscle you can’t study your way into

The lie of just needing the right app to fix your money

How a failed plan for medicine turned into a mission for freedom

The real cost of debt when your future is begging for oxygen

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:40 How an ash cloud forged his work ethic

06:10 Discipline is the foundation of freedom

11:45 Stop swapping tools when the operator is broken

19:20 Why he built Veritas from his garage

24:30 Debt is the rucksack full of bricks

31:00 Crypto isn’t your lottery ticket

37:10 AI won’t save you from yourself

43:50 Retire to something, not from it

48:00 Find your number

Find Your Number: https://www.veritasalaska.com/findyournumber

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-hufford-066208100/

Website: www.veritasalaska.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeritasWealthManagement/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veritas.alaska/

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

What if the story you’re clinging to is the prison you’re begging to escape?

Devon Kerns never wore a uniform, but he’s the man warriors call when the war inside won’t end. For twenty-five years he’s helped CEOs, combat vets, and changemakers strip away everything false — through businesses, boardrooms, and a hundred journeys into the dark with plant medicine.

The basement where he learned work ethic from a Marine sniper

Seeing the same haunted eyes in his dad and his battle brother

When the first ceremony forced him to believe in something bigger

How surrender is the only plan that works

What happens when you stop chasing healing and just remember who you are

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:30 The king of curiosity, chaos, and stillness

04:20 Moving into a sniper’s basement with no plan

10:00 The darkness you’re invited to sit in

15:55 First steps with plant medicine

22:10 Why researching ruins the real work

29:40 Death is a lie

36:00 The danger of loving your story too much

42:50 Receiving is the hardest lesson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonkerns/

Website: www.DevonKKerns.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DevonKerns/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devonkerns/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXWc__VYiYErR_ViEoH2IMg

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

What happens when the Navy closes the door on you overnight—but the storms in your head keep raging?

Can you turn the weight of those memories into muscle strong enough to pull others out of the dark?

Rob Wheeler went from bullied, “undes” deck-swabber to combat-tested Navy cop, then straight into the medical-discharge abyss. He clawed back with a barbell in one hand and a microphone in the other—now running Battle Fitted and the Battle Harder podcast to drag vets and first responders off the couch and back into the fight.

The morning he saw his own “man-boob” race photo and almost puked

The captain who called him a liar—then a flight surgeon who proved him right

Why losing his gym in COVID hit harder than mortar rounds

The moment his wife asked, “Is this really my husband?”—and meant it in the best way

How one free journal page can spot the trigger before the trigger gets you

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 The sucker-punch discharge

03:12 Bully decks, broom handles, and Dad’s tough-love hang-up

09:40 9/11 calls—“back in or else”

16:05 From E-5 to Navy cop to chasing ships across oceans

23:48 Steroid needles, shredded knees, and the exit nobody explained

29:55 Spiraling to 300 lbs, stuffing the pain with sugar

34:20 Mud-run shame photo that flipped the switch

41:10 Building a gym, losing a gym, finding the mission

50:33 Fitness → mindset → discipline: Rob’s three-step rebuild

56:09 Ask Coach Rob and the Battle Fitted blueprint

Instagram https://instagram.com/battlefitted

Website https://battlefittedbrand.com

Battle Harder Podcast https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/battlefitted

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

What do you do when the Army salutes you one day and erases you the next?

How do you fight back when the enemy is a four-month wait for a DD-214—and your own mind?

A retired Lieutenant Colonel, Bronze Star recipient and former brigade G-3, Adrian Massey spent 45 months in combat, capped his career as Arlington National Cemetery’s chief network-ops officer, and is now grinding through an MSW to keep other vets off the cliff he nearly jumped from.

The moment he woke up sobbing and didn’t know why

Four months of “you don’t exist” without paperwork or meds

Driving himself to the ER, then checking into a psych ward for 28 days

Writing a five-paragraph OPORD—about his own life—on a basement whiteboard

Learning that patience (and a congressional complaint) can beat the VA at its own game

Choosing a new mission: turn pain into social work and save somebody else

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:05 Detroit grit & crack-era survival

05:50 Accidental ROTC and the Netherlands detour

11:15 Fort Bragg crucible and a racist firing line

18:40 Baghdad, Bronze Star, and 45 months deployed

26:30 Thyroid surgery, psychosis, suicidal spiral

33:45 DD-214 limbo: four months of nothing

40:20 The five-paragraph life OPORD

47:25 MSW studies and a new purpose

54:10 Parting shots: patience, purpose, relentless self-advocacy

Guest Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-massey-15b87820b/

linkedin.com

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

What’s scarier—getting yanked into a flooded pipeline for twelve bucks an hour or signing away 75 percent of your life’s work to a publisher? Geoff Hopf has survived both and turned the panic into profit.

A Maryland farm kid who became a Marine infantry sergeant, Geoff carried Desert Storm grit into commercial diving, executive protection and—after a near-death wake-up call—forty post-apocalyptic and Western novels that outsold Stephen King on Amazon. Today he runs Beyond Afraid Publishing, mentors vet writers and keeps readers prepping with his “four pillars of survival.”

He finally quit letting anyone else own his stories—and shows you how to do the same.

The moment the Trinity River tried to swallow him whole

Quitting a “safe” job after one royalty check beat last year’s salary

Why a $250 K advance felt like a shackle, not a win

The four pillars that turn panic buyers into prepared people

How fiction became his weapon for healing and building community

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:48 Farm kid to Marine Corps grit

10:15 Desert Storm lessons that stuck

19:30 Pipeline nightmare at 36 feet down

28:55 Bodyguarding to breakout bestseller

38:10 The four pillars of real-world survival

46:40 Firing Penguin and going indie

56:22 Living off forty novels

1:05:50 Advice for vets who want to write

https://gmichaelhopf.com/

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00F33H8S0

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

The war outside ended, but the firefight between your ears rages on.

Nathan Mechikoff served nine years in the Army and National Guard as a Signal Corps IT specialist. Today he runs Forge Forward Coaching, turning chronic stress and transition struggles into unshakable purpose for veterans and high performers.

He woke up mid air certain it was the end

⏱ Timestamps:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanmechikoff/

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://strategicveteran.com/newsletter

Rich looks loud. Real wealth whispers.

If your paycheck died tomorrow, would your life survive?

Monica Kaufman is a straight‑talking wealth strategist and founder of Harmony Wealth Academy. Daughter and granddaughter of soldiers—and mom to a U.S. Army officer—she turns tangled budgets into freedom plans for veterans and their families.

The night her husband's layoff cracked their "perfect" budget

The trapdoor hiding inside every good paycheck

Naming every dollar before it hits your account

A disabled‑vet couple that wiped out $45k of debt in 14 months

Why real wealth feels boring and why that's the point

The mindset shift from chasing paychecks to buying freedom

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:30 Money stories we inherit

05:40 Term life vs wealth protection

09:07 Coaching women entrepreneurs drowning in expenses

13:45 Debt traps up to the eyeballs

17:50 One income invest the other plan

25:10 Mapping freedom on a whiteboard

29:05 Must‑have safety net: disability insurance

34:28 Risk tolerance isn't a number, it's a story

42:15 Mindset before spreadsheets

50:40 Investments that pay your lifestyle

58:00 Wealth whispers over flashy spending

1:05:30 Action steps for transitioning service members

1:11:45 Final charge: live a life that doesn't need a paycheck

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-k-39b02b14a/

Website: https://harmonywealthacademy.com/

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://strategicveteran.com/newsletter

My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unf*ck the transition.

What if the machine you just crashed is the key to the life you actually want?

When failure falls from the sky, do you run—or hit throttle again?

Damon Darnell—The Drone Boss—logged 15,000 hours before most of us knew drones existed. He’s broken records, advised NASA on unmanned traffic, and turned cockpit obsession into a seven-figure training network that helps vets own the sky.

The first flight that ended in a smoking crater—and why he called it a win

Selling drone photos door-to-door with nothing but audacity

Turning a 40th-birthday panic into his biggest business pivot

Teaching combat vets to swap adrenaline for aerial income

The blueprint that makes a $1,200 drone pay the mortgage

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:10 Love at first flight

07:45 Learning from every crash

10:50 His first paying drone gig

18:30 From hobby to full-time business

23:49 Sitting on NASA’s UTM board

33:31 Training veterans to fly for profit

42:20 Pricing jobs and winning clients

50:05 Breaking the tech fear barrier

59:30 Drone Command Live game plan

1:06:55 Taking action before the market closes

1:14:16 Final charge to fellow veterans

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damon-darnall-709340a3/

Website: https://www.thedroneboss.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dronecommand/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedroneboss/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thedroneboss

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://strategicveteran.com/newsletter

Christian counseling, Air Force transition, spiritual growth, and veteran mental health are at the core of this powerful interview with former Air Force officer Lauren Fraser. With 8.5 years of military service, Lauren shares her harrowing journey through trauma, healing, and transformation into a purpose-driven Christian counselor and coach.

🎙️ In this episode, host Adam reconnects with Lauren Fraser for Part 2 of her inspiring story. From surviving military sexual assault and institutional abuse to building a faith-filled business that elevates others, Lauren reveals the deeply personal process of surrender, reinvention, and relentless hope.

🎖️🇺🇸 Guest Introduction:

Lauren Fraser is a former Air Force Support Officer with over 8 years of service. She held roles in HR, mortuary affairs at Dover AFB, and leadership positions before being forced out due to systemic bullying and sexual assault by a fellow officer. Despite these deep traumas, Lauren leaned into her faith and transitioned into a thriving civilian role as a Christian counselor and the founder of Life Rich Coaching.

🔑 **Key Discussion Points:**

• Spiritual surrender after military trauma

• Transitioning from officer to entrepreneur

• Integrating Christian faith with mental health support

• The power of forgiveness and self-worth

• Using yoga, counseling, and coaching as healing modalities

• Breaking generational trauma through faith and purpose

🎯 **Chapters:**

0:00 - Intro & Recap: Lauren's Air Force Exit in 2018

5:12 - Finding Identity Beyond “Captain Fraser”

11:45 - Forgiveness, Infidelity, and Relationship Healing

19:03 - Christianity, the Holy Spirit & Transformation

27:30 - The Power of Surrender & Provision from God

33:01 - Trials with Healthcare: $15K Military Birth Bill

41:58 - Financial Miracles & Living in God’s Grace

50:30 - Yoga, Holistic Healing & The Holy Temple

58:55 - Ayahuasca, Spiritual Awakening & Rebuilding Faith

1:12:00 - Plant Medicine vs Christian Practice

1:20:43 - Life Rich Coaching: Purpose, Faith & Mental Health

1:27:00 - Final Message: Surrender & God’s Plan

🪖 **Military Experience Highlights:**

• Branch: U.S. Air Force 🎖️🇺🇸

• Role: Support Officer - HR, mortuary affairs

• Service Length: 8.5 years

• Highest Rank: Captain

• Notable Highlights: Service at Dover AFB, involved in high-stakes mortuary duties, faced leadership failure & response to trauma, forced exit due to institutional abuse

💼 **Expertise/Civilian Success:**

• CEO of Life Rich Coaching

• Christian Counselor blending therapy, faith, and yoga

• MSW in progress, yoga certified

• Developed trauma-informed practices for veterans

• Community leader empowering others to heal through scripture, self-love, and mental clarity

🔖 Hashtags:

#ChristianCounseling #VeteranTransition #MilitaryMentalHealth #LifeRichCoaching #AirForceVeteran