Vetting America

Bryan Jacobs – Petty Officer 3rd Class, United States Navy (1999-2005)Combat Corpsman loses Veteran Brother to Suicide and Starts Life-Altering Non-Profit in His Honor Bryan Jacobs was a Navy Combat Corpsman and now Founder of Vets2Success, a veteran non-profit aimed at training struggling Vets in the culinary arts while also placing them in gainful employment positions after graduation.  Bryan lost his younger brother to Veteran Suicide in May of 2014 which changed his life forever. He started a program to make a difference in his brothers and sisters lives that would be more than just a hand out, it would be a focus and a drive towards change.  After his studies abroad in France, he returned home to take …

Vetting America Episode 12 — Eve Barrett – Sergeant, United States Army (1993-1998) Eve J. Barrett is a court reporter/firm owner of Barrett Court Reporting in the Tampa Bay Area. She has been reporting for over 20 years. In April, she launched her newest venture, the mobile app Expedite, and then released another app called Scoof in June.  Eve is also a U.S. Army veteran of five years, a marathon runner and a three-time worldwide Ironman finisher. Eve is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree from St. Petersburg College. you can check out more about Eve at these links: – https://expedite.legal/  – https://www.linkedin.com/in/eve-barrett/  I would like to thank our sponsors: Anthony Kovic of the Tampa Posthttps://thetampapost.com Adam …

Vetting America Episode 11: Alex Conkle Alex Conkle is civilian advocate for our Veteran Community here in Tampa Bay. Being around Military all his life, he wanted to find a way to give back to those who served, himself.  With a true passion for what cryptocurrency can become, he’s designed a Veteran Resource — Lift up Vets (LUV), that will allow for him to raise money for Veteran organizations and resources by selling LUV tokens as its own form of cryptocurrency. The future is upon us and intellectually gifted individuals such as Alex are paving the way for our community to prosper greatly from leveraging emerging technologies and financial instruments for continued success. Alex demonstrates that you don’t have to …

Rosie Lee has been a serial Entrepreneur for over 30 years. As a MilSpouse to a Vietnam Vet, Rosie saw the untapped potential in the Veteran Community for small business owners and Entrepreneurs.  After working for other Veteran Service Organizations, she believed she could do it a different way and give Veterans and Military Families the proper training in Entrepreneurship needed to find success post-Military service. This led her to start Action Zone which was created by the Veteran community for the Veteran community. Their services are designed to help Veterans, Active Duty, Reservists, Guards, Spouses and Dependents build businesses by: – Providing education and advocacy for the entire military community seeking an alternative to traditional employment.  – Supporting Military …

Vetting America Episode 09 —  Dr. Carlos Garcia – Sergeant, United States Marine Corps (1996-2004) From 1996 to 2004, Dr. Carlos Garcia served as a Tow Gunner in the United States Marine Corps and received an honorable discharge in 2004 at the rank of Sergeant. During the first 7 years of his transition, he decided to continue serving his country as a firefighter and paramedic in Florida before returning to school where he went on to earn his PhD in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University in a little over 5 years. During his clinical training, Dr. Garcia focused his work on stress resilience and Post Traumatic Growth. He utilized his background as a Marine to develop a thorough understanding …

Bobby Carbonell – Captain, Air National Guard (2010-Present) Bobby was a Sergeant in the Army National Guard between the years of 2000-2010 and is currently a Captain in the Air National Guard which he’s been serving in since 2010. He joined Florida is for Veterans, Inc. as the corporation’s first Executive Director in January 2015. Prior to his position with Florida is for Veterans, Inc. Bobby served as the Legislative and Cabinet Affairs Director for the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Deputy Legislative Affairs Director for the Department of Military Affairs. Bobby also serves as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer in the Florida Air National Guard — 125th Fighter Wing. Prior to commissioning in 2010 he spent 10 years …

Specialist Laura Hartman served in the United States Army between the years of 2004 to 2006 before being medically retired.  Her story starts with the survival of a suicide attempt at 12 years old. That event and several near death experiences later pushed her to become a human rights advocate and exploiter of corruption. She’s currently attending The Institute for Lifelong Learning International to awaken everyday Americans to the corrupt systems in place which disallows all humans to flourish. Becoming a Science of Mind Practitioner with The Association for Global New Thought Leaders is in alignment with the difference in thought she has always carried, which has always been one of her most cherished gifts. On August 10th, 2005 Laura …

Specialist Junior Silva served in the United States Army from 2007 to 2013. After getting out and seeing the growing homeless Veteran problem in his home city of Tampa Florida, Junior decided to start his own Veteran Service Organization — Veterans Supporting Veterans. The Goal of Veterans Supporting Veterans is to develop a system of transitional homes. In these homes each displaced veteran will have their own room provided for them free of charge. They’ll be able to participate in our program for as long as 2 years, with the full intention being re-integration back into society. If, they’re not capable of finding a job because of age or disability, they will then allow them to stay permanently. You can …

Omar Fuentes – Corporal, United States Marine Corps (1998-2002) Cpl. Omar Fuentes served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps for 4 years active duty (1998 – 2002). As a Marine, he received numerous awards and commendations, including the National Defense Service Medal for his operational role while stationed with Marine Corps Security Forces Training Company, during the horrific 9/11 attacks. After leaving active duty, Omar pursued his interest and subsequently worked for multiple large and prestigious insurance and investment firms in the Tampa Bay area. During this time he assisted his clients with their financial and insurance needs. Realizing there was a better way, Omar decided to leverage his leadership, business experience in process improvement and business development to venture …

Vetting America Episode 04: Jeffrey Lodick – Master Sergeant, United States Army (1997-2017) Master Sergeant Jeffrey Lodick spent 20 Years in the United States Army. He currently produces and hosts the podcast, On The Other Side: Leadership After Transition, which is meant to educate and inform transitioning Service Members His company, Change Your Forecast LLC, focuses on teaching confidence through communication. He continues to serve his community speaking and educating about communication, overcoming barriers, resilience, and positive outlook on life. In this episode we discuss: – Leadership principles learned while serving – the state of military transition – issues which need to be addressed – How we can overhaul our mindsets for success Listen to Jeffrey’s Podcast and learn more …

Episode 03: Ellsworth “Tony” Williams – Colonel, United States Army (1979-1986; 1989-2007) Tony Williams is a retired combat veteran who served 24 years, active duty in the United States Army; 8 years enlisted and 16 years commissioned.  Tony is the current President and Founder of Veterans Counseling Veterans, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization out of Tampa Bay, FL.  It aims at serving two primary functions: – (1) provide military veterans the option to select behavioral health providers with military experience  – (2) provide a place for military veterans and spouses of military veterans in behavioral health field to collaborate, share ideas, network and advocate for those who share the same military experiences. After his time in the service came to a …

Sgt. John Krotec served in the United States Army from 1986 to 1989. After 23 years, he decided to sell his successful Florida based mountaineering business, and begin chasing his passion of telling stories, building communities, and bridging gaps.  He is Founder and CEO of Greenzone Hero, A Business Directory that Provides Proven Strategies and Tools to Companies that Honor Freedom. John is also the Founder and host of Straight Outta Combat Radio, a podcast aimed at providing a platform for combat Vets to tell their stories and remove the negative stigma currently held by combat veterans in society today. He also started a worldwide initiative called Task Force Zen which is designed to help people heal without labels from …

Civilian Mortgage Lenders Save Veterans Money with this VA Loan Resource Chad & Jesika Freeman of the Freeman Mortgage Team, out of Tampa, FL., provides Veterans an opportunity to save money on their mortgage closing costs by leveraging the Homes for Heroes initiative. The Homes for Heroes Initiative provides extraordinary savings to heroes who provide extraordinary services to our nation and communities everyday. You can find out more about the Freeman Mortgage Team Here: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkhqfEyk0nQ – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-p-freeman-9003567a/ – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesika-freeman-77562295/ You can find out more about Homes for Heroes here: – https://www.homesforheroes.com/our-story/ In this interview we discuss: – The Homes for Heroes Program – Working alongside your spouse – Mindset needed for success I would like to thank our sponsors:…