Veterans Be Real

Dr. Antoinette (Ann) James, originally from Georgia, began her career in the U.S Air Force where over 21 years she went from the lowest enlisted rank to a commissioned officer. Over her military career, she held numerous positions which included personnel administration, financial management, and a Reserve Officer Training Corps Instructor.  In her continuance of service, now as the founder and CEO of Financial Freedom Battle Buddies, Dr. Ann is on a mission to educate and equip military service women and veterans on how to regain control and win the battle over their finances so that they can experience a prosperous life.

While serving as an adjunct instructor with Air University, Dr. Ann’s passion for teaching allowed her to directly impact the career development of Air Force Civilians. She currently serves on numerous dissertation committees to support doctoral students conducting qualitative and quantitative research.  Her personal research topics includes military transition and women veterans.

During her downtime, Dr. Ann enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her family.

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal and Dr. Ann will discuss how important it is to be ready for the lifestyle change, from Military life to a civilian by having the correct mindset and planning financially so you won’t have problems transitioning. They also talked about how easy it is to transition as long as it is properly done.

Let’s listen to them and find out how Dr. Ann did her transition and why it was easy for her and you can copy what she did to have a smooth transition too. Let's also find out how female veterans and those who are still in service can reach out to her through her company Financial Freedom Battle Buddies and win the battle over their finances.

Key Points:

• 21 Years in Service

Connect with Dr. Ann James:

Website:

Financial Freedom Battle Buddies

https://www.ffbattlebuddies.com/

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

CW3 (Ret) Wayne Taylor originally from New Bedford, MA enlisted in the United States Army after high school as an infantry mortarman. After eight years as an infantryman, he transitioned to a Counterintelligence Special Agent where he served an additional three years and moved from the Noncommissioned Officer Corps (E-7) to the Warrant Officer Corps. Wayne served as an Area Intelligence Officer and Counterintelligence Officer until he retired from the military after 20-years of service. His 20-year active duty service included: Ft. Ord, CA; Ft. Myers, VA; Camp Casey, South Korea; Schofield Barracks, HI; Ft. Bragg, NC; Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, PR; Joint Terrorism Task Force Detroit, MI; Ft. Huachuca, AZ; and MacDill AFB, FL. Wayne has military operations on five continents with two combat tours to Afghanistan. 

Upon retirement, Wayne transitioned to the corporate sector working with a defense contracting company. Upon realizing that a meaningful purpose of service was missing Wayne began working as a volunteer with the Hillsborough County Veterans Treatment Court. Finding purpose in assisting others, he transitioned to his current role as the Assistant Director of Military and Veterans Success Center at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Wayne continues to encourage military and veteran students through his example of continuing education as he pursues his EdD. in Program Development with an emphasis in education innovation focused around veteran advocacy. 

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal and Wayne will talk about what to expect and do after transitioning out of the Military. They also discussed the thing that’s missing in their daily lives as civilians even though they are financially stable, it wasn’t all that, there’s really something missing. Another thing that they talked was about starting all over again, just like being a private when you first enter the military and with hard work and perseverance, climb your way to the top when in the real world as civilians, they made it clear that it is okay to start fresh at the bottom and work your way up just like in the Military.

They also pointed out some organizations like the Veterans Treatment Court, Donate Money For Me To Hire Homeless People, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Suits for Soldiers. These groups can help you with your transition and through them, you can also offer your help to those that are having hard times with their transition.

Let’s listen to Sgt. BeReal and Army Veteran Wayne Taylor as they give us golden advice and insights about transitioning out of the Military. As the Assistant Director and Coordinator of the Military and Veterans Success Center, Wayne can also help by assisting our service members and their families who decide to attend the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

Key Points:

• Daily activities during their Military days are missed

Groups and Organizations:

• Veterans Treatment Court

Connect With Wayne Taylor:

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wntaylor/

USFSF MVSC Welcome Link:

https://www.usfsp.edu/military-and-veterans-success-center/2020/04/06/wayne-taylor-welcome/

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

Air Force Veteran Robert Blacklidge is an Ecosystem Builder, a Serial Entrepreneur Speaker, an Educator, and a Mentor.

His work building the Lakeland Ecosystem has had and continues to have a significant impact. Robert has worked to bring several international programs to the Lakeland community. (1 Million Cups, Startup Grind, and Techstars Startup Weekend.)

These current efforts are built on his experience creating and running Hackathons including Office Depots, IEEE, Code Tampa, Startup Bus, and Biz Sprint. Robert volunteers running programs for several organizations to include Action Zone a veteran-focused business accelerator and Techstars Startup Weekend.

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal talks to Robert about how he started, how he ended, and where he is at now. Robert also shares how he stumbled and got his feet up again. They also discussed that the Military doesn’t prepare you as a civilian after Military duty.

Let's listen and know how Robert entered the entrepreneurial world and know how to have a proper mindset and focus to function as a civilian.

Key points

He is focused to serve the country and give back to the community.

A lot of politics in the military

The military will tear you down and build you up

A team to execute, a team to lead

Finished Masters in Entrepreneur Education

Building relationships as a civilian

Engage entrepreneurs in communities around the world

Connect with Robert:

Website:

http://RobertBlacklidge.com/

Email:

[email protected]

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

Army Veteran Christina Rock is an Independent Business Owner at Got Your Six Counselling Services, PLLC.

She never wanted to join the Military but dad brings recruiters by their house and one of which was her uncle who is a retired Marine.

She went to college instead and wants to be a part of the FBI, but high fees in school led her to apply for an ROTC scholarship. Summer 2000 went to training and graduated basic training. She was able to graduate from college in 2002.

In January 2003, she was on active duty as a Recruiter and was deployed to different countries: Hawaii, Baghdad, Iraq, and others.

In November 2011, she got separated from the army. For her, the army stopped loving her and she stopped loving the army too.

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal talks to Christina about his experiences during and after Military life, how he was recruited, and the challenges that she encountered while transitioning to civilian life.

Let's listen to them and know what to do after you transition to being a civilian. Also, we'll know how Christina can help Veterans, First Responders, their families, and children that are impacted by traumatic events. She can also help those who are struggling with life issues, depression, anxiety, trauma, coping, mood disorders, gender and identity issues, and addictions.

Key Points:

Military science

ROTC scholarship

Chemical Officer

Hard sacrifices for self and family

Believes that you have to love what you are doing or else you are putting yourself at risk.

Didn't know what shoes to wear for interviews after getting out of the Military

Passionate about helping her Brothers and Sisters in the Military and First Responder community navigate healthy living

Connect with Christina:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lilscrappi

Got Your Six Counseling Services, PLLC

https://www.facebook.com/gotyoursixcounseling

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-rock-lpc-6b03a338/

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

Army Veteran Alex Hildenbrandt is the Co-Founder of ProReach Results. They build software, automation, and ROI-centric solutions. In short, Pro Reach is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that serves its clients as a Strategic Partner. The team is well-versed in Digital, Traditional, and Brand Strategy disciplines stemming from the franchising industry and brand creation.

A week after he left the Army in December 2014, He moved with his family to Jacksonville, Florida from San Antonio and decided to live with his mom for 3 months for a fresh start. The transition was not easy considering that he has not established a stable income.

He did some research and went to Orlando for franchise training. While into business, he decided to go to college and graduated with a degree in Business Management.

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal talks to Alex about his experiences before, during, and after Military duty. They also discussed the roller coaster ride that Alex went through before he learned marketing, business consulting, and digital solutions.

Let's listen to them and become a responsible entrepreneur, make better decisions, and know how to pay someone at a cheaper cost that works better than what you are doing.

Key Points:

Franchising Industry

Horizontal to a vertical structure

It's not about what you make, it's about what you keep

Bring tech to companies, small and medium-sized businesses to becoming Large

Coaching young entrepreneurs, get into branding, purchasing

Stress-related problems, wife lost her job, got messed and almost killed himself, stroke from the stress

Looked for someone who can work better than him

Veterans need to learn sales, baseline on marketing and understanding, fundamentals

Maintain that positive Military attitude

Connect with Alex:

Website:

https://proreachresults.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/alexander.hildenbrandt

https://www.facebook.com/ProReachResults/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhildenbrandt/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/proreach-results/

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

Air Force veteran Steve Remus is a Doctoral candidate in Business Administration with a focus in Computer Security. He graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s in Emergency Management and in 2015 with a Master’s in English.

Steve served 12 years in the United States Air Force, deploying multiple times to the Middle East and Central America. After, Steve worked as a defense contractor specializing in strategic planning and budgeting for Nuclear Command and Control Communication systems.

Steve moved back to Arizona in 2018 and currently works for a biotechnology company as one of their Senior Project Coordinators.

Steve ran as a GOP candidate for Arizona’s 9th Legislative District in 2020. However, after realizing the local GOP party did not hold the same Constitutional values, he withdrew from the race and became a member of the Libertarian Party.

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal discussed Steve's Post military life and his political aspirations on the local office.

Let's listen to them and know how Steve was inspired to lead people again and provide social media counseling.

Key points

Mental issues

Daily routine

Masters degree

Working from home

Social person

Constitutional conservative

Connect with Steve:

Website:

steveremusgop.com

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

Marine Veteran Kim Galske is an enthusiastic entrepreneur and a powerful keynote speaker.

She is super passionate about encouraging others to step into their greatness. If you have a dream on your heart go and get it! She is proud to share that he won Mrs. Wisconsin in March of 2019, and her platform is my veteran community.

She works tirelessly to ensure that veterans get the resources and support they need at every level. She believes that just giving someone a hand up in their moment of need can have a positive impact on everyone. Her vision is to help each state implement better transition programs for servicemen and women coming out of any branch of service. Through her powerful public speaking, she helped transform lives and inspire people to take direct action.

She enjoys sharing her own experiences as a formerly homeless veteran that found her way back. For her being bold in her faith journey and allowing others to come alongside her, to share a moment that is life-changing is her passion. We should all be so bold to share our light for others. She looks forward to inspiring you!

It's her failures that made her realize bigger things ahead of her. And that you have to believe in yourself and putting your pride aside to be successful.

In this episode, Sgt. BeReal talks to Kim as she dissects every detail of her experiences that would inspire you to do the right thing and be successful.

Key points:

No support system

Failed marriage and became homeless

Know your purpose

Leadership skills

Mindset

Connect with Kim:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ownyourlifellc

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-galske-74759a82/

Connect With Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) John Valentine:

Website:

https://veteransbereal.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/veteransbereal/

Apple Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-be-real/id1507792755

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a 5 star written review on iTunes.

PTSD will never go away it's not curable it's a life long conditions we have to learn to deal with it and make the adjustment in our lives. 

The difference between Military Leadership and Civilian Leadership what to look out for and how to handle the adjustment