VA News Podcast

This week's Borne the Battle podcast features Dr. Albert Weed, whose career has taken him from enlisted Green Beret Army medic to an Army medical officer to VA surgeon. Weed discussed his name, and how his family’s military background and medical experiences led him to, among other things, peacekeeping in Egypt, swimming in Saddam Hussein's pool, and receiving four different DD-214s.

Weed traces his journey's beginnings from high school and later to Special Forces training, where he volunteered to work as a medic. It was during this training when he realized the medical field was where he wanted to be. He was inspired to become an Army medical doctor while doing his clinical. He had just finished a late shift helping labor and deliveries and was planning to take a nap when he was called to the operating room to help. After the operation, Weed went out for a run instead of taking his nap. In that moment, he realized he wanted to pursue a medical career.

Listen as Weed recounts his experiences in the military and medical fields and his current work serving Veterans as a surgeon with the Salem VA Medical Center. Borne the Battle Veteran of the Week: 

• Marine Corps Veteran  Harry "Bud" Carlsen.Additional Links: 
• https://www.vacareers.va.gov/
• https://benefits.va.gov/benefits/appeals.asp
• https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/
• https://maketheconnection.net/conditions/suicide
• https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/

Sometimes, all it takes is a whiteboard and a marker to jump-start a dream into reality. This week’s Borne the Battle features guest Jesse Iwuji, whose creative and hardworking mindset led him to overcome great challenges and become a NASCAR driver.

Growing up, Iwuji excelled at both track and football. His high school accomplishments led him to the Naval Academy's football team where he played safety. He graduated from the academy in 2010. After seven years active duty, Jesse transitioned to the Navy Reserve.

After his football career ended, Iwuji found competitiveness in racing. However, he was at a disadvantage compared to his peers who started racing at a very early age: Iwuji started in his mid 20’s. He lacked sponsorship and he wasn’t born into a racing family. Despite this, his determination and led him to a variety of open doors. He funded the first part of his NASCAR K&N racing career through a variety of ways to include starting his own business. Currently he is racing in the  NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. 

 View this post on Instagram 

Talladega Superspeedway, here we come😁! 🏁 @rbr_teams #NASCAR #NavyToNASCAR

A post shared by  Jesse Iwuji (@jesse_iwuji) on Oct 8, 2019 at 11:10am PDT

Today, Iwuji represents sponsors from several different organizations, which many help Veterans. He uses racing as a platform to advocate for Veterans' rights and he shares his passion in Veteran communities and schools. To Jesse, nothing is impossible if you have vision and hard work behind it.

 Additional Links 

• https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5326
• https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5327
• https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5328
• https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5329
• https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5331#BtBattle Veteran of the Week: Army Veteran 

 J.D. Meador II

This week’s Borne the Battle episode features guest Jeff Struecker, who discusses his life as a soldier, pastor, and author.

In 1987, Struecker enlisted in the army when he was 18. He excelled, serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment, and he played a pivotal role in the  Battle of Mogadishu. He also won the 1996 Best Ranger Competition and was also recognized in 1998 as the U.S Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Noncommisioned Officer of the Year.

After his time as a Ranger, Struecker received a commission as a chaplain in April 2000. He continued to serve as a chaplain for the next 11 years, eventually retiring in January 2011 after having served multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

After leaving service, Struecker became a pastor, and in his free time, he has participated in numerous films, written books and speaks to a variety of audiences about his faith and his time in service. Additional Links: 

• https://jeffstruecker.com/
• https://www.fisherhouse.org/
•  https://www.va.gov/vaforms/search_action.asp?FormNo=10-10164&tkey=&Action=Search
• https://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/#BtBattle Veteran of the Week 
• Army Veteran Dominick Pilla

2019 marks the 40th Anniversary of  VA's Vet Centers. They started as outreach for Vietnam Veterans who did not utilize the VA as much as WWII Veterans.

This week’s interview is Pennsylvania National Guard Veteran Michael Fisher who is the Senior Readjustment Counselor. He leads and has direct oversight of over 300 Vet Centers, 80  Mobile Vet Centers and the  Vet Center Call Center. We broke it all down - how vet centers started, their differences between them and VA Medical Centers, their services and who is eligible. 

#BtBattle Veteran of the Week: 

• Army Air Corps Veteran  Norman Achen

On this week’s episode, Borne the Battle features guest Nathan Goncalves, who shares his story of struggle and perseverance.

While Goncalves didn’t have the intrinsic calling to join the military, he enlisted at 23, seeking reform and discipline. It was in the Army that Goncalves sharpened his focus and developed lifelong friendships and mentors. Rough transition 

However, Goncalves' transition back to civilian life was not easy. In fact, it turned out to be some of his lowest valleys--involving addiction, PTSD, and anger management.

But things started to change when Goncalves heard he was going to be a father. In this episode, he discusses how an intense work ethic allowed him to achieve a bachelor’s degree at UCLA in less than three years.

Goncalves applied to UCLA’s Law school to study corporate law. He was accepted, but a bitter divorce hampered those plans. Through his own experiences, Goncalves realized there was no advocacy for situations like his own. So he sacrificed a potentially lucrative corporate law career and switched to family law to offer services to homeless and low-income Veterans.

Goncalves is now hosted by Harriet BuHai Center for Family Law and sponsored in house by Equal Justice Works. He continues to fight for family integration for homeless and low-income Veterans as they transition back into the civilian communities.

 Listen to the full episode 

HERE Additional Links: 

• https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/fellows/nathan-goncalves/
• https://vetsdontforgetvets.com/
•  https://academic.oup.com/jamiaopen/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooz024/5538629
• https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201900104
• https://www.va.gov/homeless/gpd.asp
• https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/hvrp
• bethereforveterans.com#BtBattle Veteran of the Week: 
• Air Force Veteran William Shuttleworth

For months, I’ve been promising a special bonus podcast episode for when Born the Battle received its 100th rating and/or review on iTunes.

We did it! But, before we get to Mel Brooks and the late Adrian Cronauer. 

In five months, our listenership has increased 500%. You’ve allowed more Veterans, VA employees and civilians to hear these amazing stories and to take advantage of all the benefit breakdowns in our archives.

Thank You.

On September 11, 2001, Air Force flight surgeon John Baxter showed up to work at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, to a full load of patients and completing physicals--just like any other day.

Halfway through his morning while getting his next patient, he saw that a civilian airliner had flown into one of the World Trade Center towers.

While with the patient, Baxter said he noticed the background noise in the Pentagon changed. It seemed quieter than usual. Then, he heard shouts. He opened his door and saw people running and shouting, and smoke in the hallway.

At first, Baxter didn't know if there was an explosion, a fire or some other event. Despite the unknowns, he assembled his team of flight surgeons, a nurse and medical technicians. They grabbed medical kits and traveled as a group. Their emergency plan was to meet up with other medics at the Pentagon's DiLorenzo Clinic.

Then they heard the news: there were casualties in corridor 5.

Baxter's team ran to the spot. They found Army Veteran Brian Birdwell, who was in excruciating pain from burns. It was a situation that Baxter was unexpectedly prepared for: Months earlier, in an emergency exercise, the flight clinic trained for the same scenario that unfolded on 9/11: a plane crashing into the Pentagon.

John Baxter still serves at the Pentagon, though now as a civilian flight surgeon. For this week's Born the Battle Podcast, Baxter details his story of 9/11 and the days that followed. #BtBattle Veteran of the Week: 

• Navy Veteran and 9/11 victim Ronald VaukAdditional Links: 
• https://www1.cbn.com/biblestudy/brian-birdwell:-refined-by-fire
• https://pentagonmemorial.org/
• https://archive.defense.gov/PhotoEssays/PhotoEssaySS.aspx?ID=924
•  https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/1627463/vice-president-dod-leaders-honor-pentagons-911-sacrifices/

On this week’s episode of Borne the Battle, Tanner Iskra interviews guest Todd Boeding, who shares his past, present and future as a Marine Corps Veteran, as well as his involvement honoring Veterans through Carry the Load.

Born and raised in Texas, Boeding was always known to take unorthodox paths in life. He dabbled in college, left for the Marine Corps seeking structure and discipline, and eventually returned to finish up his degree at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Since leaving the Marine Corps in 2003, Boeding discussed the hardest part of the transition back to civilian life: finding a sense of belonging. Boeding was able to find his purpose of being part of something bigger through Carry the Load.

Carry the Load offers opportunities to learn how to care again and to do it in a way that meaningfully impacts the families who lost their loved ones. Currently, Carry the Load is partnering with the National Cemetery Association on September 11th to help maintain the dignity of cemeteries.

If you would like to learn more or want to help in this movement, click on this link: www.carrytheload.org/NCA. #BtBattle Veteran of the Week: 

• Marine Corps Veteran  Michael J. GuilloryAdditional Links: 
•  https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/65366/lets-roll-nca-carry-load-ctl-host-national-day-service-september-11/
• https://www.youtube.com/user/WhoAreYouCarrying

 In episode 157, we spoke with Army Veteran Ursula Draper about her role in the development of an Assistive Technology (AT) program. In this week's Benefits Breakdown, we take a deeper dive into how this program works and who is able to access it.

The AT program will sound familiar to those who know Darwin’s Theory of Adaptation. The adaptation theory--also known as survival theory, or survival of the fittest--is an organism’s ability to adapt to changes in its environment and adjust accordingly. The Assistive Technology program helps Veterans to do just that.

The AT program, which began in 2008, aims to improve the lives of disabled Veterans by allowing them to maintain independence by completing everyday tasks. It helps Veterans with computer use and accessibility, voice activated technologies, drive control for wheelchairs, and even giving them the ability to turn lights on and off.

VA created four main hubs for instructing those granted into the program: Minneapolis, MN; Tampa, Fl; Richmond, VA; and Palo Alto, CA. In this episode we look at: 

• How the program started.
• How a Veteran can apply to the program.
• Some Examples of the technology being developed.

Enjoy. #BtBattle Veteran of the Week: 

• Marine Corps Veteran  Meredith KeirnAdditional Links: 
• https://www.prosthetics.va.gov/AssistiveTechnology/index.asp
• https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5298

School. Military. Streets. In 1996, Curtez Riggs graduated high school and those were his options in Flint, Michigan. By that time, the auto industry that built “Buick City” had moved away. As a kid, Curtez picked up bottles, turned in cans and always had a side gig to bring in extra money. When it came time to make the decision, Curtez figured the Army was the best way to start his future.

His entrepreneurship did not stop when he joined the Army. Curtez continuously started businesses outside of his day job as a career recruiter. In this episode, you will hear how Curtez prepared for his military transition - years before he ended his active service.

Currently, Curtez is the CEO of the Military Influencer Conference (MIC). Started in 2016, the conference is a community of entrepreneurs, influencers, creatives, executives, and leaders who are connected to the military community. Curtez said he sees the conference as a mentorship and connection hub for future and current military Veterans looking to make the military transition with an entrepreneurial mindset. This year’s conference is in Washington, D.C., Sept. 8-10. Starting in 2020, the conference will be placed in a different region each year.

The conference has certain tracks attendees can follow:

• “Going Live” – Podcasters and Video
• Real Estate
• Founders and Innovators
• Social Impact
• Content Creators
• Empower – Milspouse Track
• Workshops
• Mighty Talks#BtBattle Veteran of the Week 
• Air Force and Army Veteran Erin McLyman

Enjoy the episode. Additional Links: 

• https://militaryinfluencer.com/
• http://www.operationsong.org/
• https://mobile.va.gov/app/va-launchpad-veterans
• http://www.operationsong.org/
•  https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/genesee-county/23-million-contract-awarded-to-victor-company-for-creation-of-veterans-cemetery-in-pembroke/