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The path to progressing as a leader isn't always linear. SUMMARY Col. (Ret.) Mike Ott shows how a childhood dream can evolve into a lifetime of impact—from commanding in uniform to leading innovation in healthcare and national defense. Hear more on Long Blue Leadership. Listen now!   SHARE THIS PODCAST LINKEDIN  |  FACEBOOK   MIKE'S LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS A leader worth his or her salt should be comfortable not being the smartest person in the room. Striving for a lack of hubris is essential in leadership. Setting a clear vision is a fundamental leadership skill. Moving people without authority is crucial for effective leadership. Resource management is key to achieving organizational goals. Acknowledging what you don't know is a strength in leadership. Effective leaders focus on guiding their teams rather than asserting dominance. Leadership is about influencing and inspiring others. A successful mission requires collaboration and shared vision. True leadership is about empowering others to succeed.   CHAPTERS 00:00: Early Inspiration 06:32: Academy Years 13:17: Military Career Transition 21:33: Financial Services Journey 31:29: MOBE and Healthcare Innovation 40:12: Defense Innovation Unit 48:42: Philanthropy and Community Impact 58:11: Personal Growth and Leadership Lessons   ABOUT MIKE OTT BIO Mike Ott is the Chief Executive Officer of MOBĒ, a U.S.-based company focused on whole-person health and care-management solutions. He became CEO in April 2022, taking the helm to lead the company through growth and operational excellence following a distinguished career in both the military and corporate sectors.  A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Mike served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves before shifting into financial services and healthcare leadership roles including private wealth management at U.S. Bank and executive positions with UnitedHealth Group/Optum. His leadership ethos emphasizes alignment, acceleration, and human potential, building cultures where teams can thrive and leveraging data-driven models to improve health outcomes.   CONNECT WITH MIKE LinkedIn MOBE CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org Ted Robertson | Producer:  Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org    Ryan Hall | Director:  Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org  Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor:  Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer:  Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org      ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS     OUR SPEAKERS Guest, Col. (Ret.) Mike Ott '85  |  Host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99   FULL TRANSCRIPT Naviere Walkewicz 0:00 A quick programming note before we begin this episode of Long Blue Leadership: This episode will be audio-only, so sit back and enjoy the listen. Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. Today, on Long Blue Leadership, we welcome Col. (Ret.) Mike Ott, Class of 1985, a leader whose vision was sparked at just 9 years old during a family road trip past the Air Force Academy. That childhood dream carried him through a 24-year Air Force career, culminating in retirement as a colonel and into a life of leadership across business, innovation and philanthropy. Mike is the CEO of MOBE, a groundbreaking company that uses data analytics and a revolutionary pay-for-results model to improve health outcomes while reducing costs. He also serves as a senior adviser to the Defense Innovation Unit, supporting the secretary of defense in accelerating commercial innovation for national security. A member of the Forbes Councils, Mike shares his expertise with leaders around the world. A former Falcon Foundation trustee and longtime supporter of the Academy, Mike has given generously his time, talents and resources to strengthen the Long Blue Line. His story is one of innovation and service in uniform, in the marketplace and in his community. Mike, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. We're so glad to have you here.   Mike Ott 1:29 Naviere, thanks a ton. I'm glad to be here. Naviere Walkewicz 1:31 Yes, yes. Well, we're really excited. I mean, you're here for your 40th reunion.   Mike Ott 1:35 Yeah, it's crazy.   Naviere Walkewicz1:37 You came right in, and we're so pleased that you would join us here first for this podcast.   Mike Ott 1:39 Right on. Thanks for the time.   Naviere Walkewicz 1:41 Absolutely. Well, let's jump right in, because not many people can say at 9 years old they know what they want to do when they grew up, but you did. Mike Ott 1:48 Yeah. I guess some people can say it; might not be true, but for me, it's true, good or bad. And goodness gracious, right? Here for my 40th reunion, do the math team, and as a 9-year-old, that was 1972, And a lot was going on in the world in 1972 whether it was political unrest, Vietnam and all of that, and the Academy was in the thick of it. And so we had gone — It was our first significant family vacation. My father was a Chicago policeman. We drove in the 1968 Buick LaSabre, almost straight through. Stopped, stayed at a Holiday Inn, destination Colorado, simply, just because nobody had ever seen the mountains before. That was why. And we my parents, mom, mom and dad took myself. I have two younger sisters, Pikes Peak, Academy, Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge. And I remember noon meal formation, and the bell going off. Guys at the time — we hadn't had women as cadets at that point in time — running out in their flight suits as I recall lining up ready to go. And for me, it was the energy, right, the sense of, “Wow, this is something important.” I didn't know exactly how important it was, but I knew it was important, and I could envision even at that age, there was they were doing good, Naviere Walkewicz 3:21 Wow. Nine years old, your family went on vacation, and it just struck you as this is important and something that I want to do. So what did that conversation look like after that experience that you had as a 9-year-old and kind of manifest this in yourself? How did that go with your parents? Mike Ott 3:36 Well, I didn't say too much about it, as I was in grammar school, but as high school hit, you know, I let my folks know what my plans were, and I had mom and dad — my mother's still alive, my father passed about a year ago. Very, very good, hard-working, ethical people, but hadn't gone to college, and we had been told, “Look, you know, you need to get an education.” They couldn't. I wish they had. They were both very, very, very bright, and so I knew college was a plan. I also knew there wasn't a lot of money to pay for it. So I'm certain that that helped bake in a few things. But as I got into high school, I set my sights. I went to public high school in Chicago, and I remember freshman year walking into my counselor's office, and said, “I want to go to the Air Force Academy,” and he kind of laughed.   Naviere Walkewicz 3:21 Really?   Mike Ott 3:22 Well, we had 700 kids in my class, and maybe 40% went on to college, right? And the bulk of them went to community college or a state school. I can count on one hand the number of folks that went to an academy or an Ivy League school or something of that. So it was it was around exposure. It had nothing to do with intelligence. It was exposure and just what these communities were accustomed to. A lot of folks went into the trades and pieces like that. So my counselor's reaction wasn't one of shock or surprise insofar as that's impossible. It was, “We haven't had a lot of people make that commitment this early on, and I'm glad to help.”   Naviere Walkewicz 5:18 Oh, I love that.   Mike Ott 5:19 Which is wonderful, and what I had known at the time, Mr. Needham...   Naviere Walkewicz 5:23 You Remember his name?   Mike Ott 5:24 Yeah, he was in the Navy Reserves. He was an officer, so he got the joke. He got the joke and helped me work through what classes to take, how to push myself. I didn't need too much guidance there. I determined, “Well, I've got to distinguish myself.” And I like to lean in. I like a headwind, and I don't mind a little bit of an uphill battle, because once you get up there, you feel great. I owe an awful lot to him. And, not the superintendent, but the principal of our school was a gentleman named Sam Ozaki, and Sam was Japanese American interned during World War II as a young man, got to of service age and volunteered and became a lieutenant in the Army and served in World War II in Europe, right, not in Asia. So he saw something in me. He too became an advocate. He too became someone that sought to endorse, support or otherwise guide me. Once I made that claim that I was going to go to the Academy. Naviere Walkewicz 6:30 Wow. So you mentioned something that really stuck with me. You said, you know, you didn't mind kind of putting yourself out there and doing the hard things, because you knew when you got to the top it was going to feel really great. Was that something you saw from your father? Was that something, there are key leaders in your life that emulated that? Or is that just something that you always had in yourself? Mike Ott 6:51 I would say there's certainly an environmental element to it — how I was raised, what I was exposed to, and then juxtaposition as to what I observed with other family members or other parts of the community where things didn't work out very well, right? And, you know, I put two and two together. y father demonstrated, throughout his entire career what it means to have a great work ethic. As did mom and, you know, big, tough Chicago cop for 37 years. But the other thing that I learned was kindness, and you wouldn't expect to learn that from the big, tough Chicago cop, but I think it was environment, observing what didn't occur very often and how hard work, if I apply myself, can create outcomes that are going to be more fulfilling for me. Naviere Walkewicz 7:48 Wow, you talked about kindness. How did you see kindness show up in your journey as a cadet at the Air Force Academy? Or did you? Mike Ott 7:58 Yeah, gosh, so I remember, started in June of 1981, OK, and still connected with many of the guys and women that with whom I went to basic training and all that. The first moment of kindness that I experienced that it was a mutual expression, but one where I recognized, “Wow, every one of us is new here. None of us has a real clue.” We might have some idea because we had somebody had a sibling or a mother that was in the military or father that went to the academy at the time, but none of us really knew, right? We were knuckleheads, right? Eighteen years old. Maybe there were a couple of prior-enlisted folks. I don't recall much of that, but I having gone to a public high school in Chicago, where we had a variety of different ethnicities. I learned how to just understand people for who they are, meet them for who they are, and respect every individual. That's how I was raised, and that's how I exhibited myself, I sought to conduct myself in high school. So I get to the Academy, and you're assigned, you know, the first couple three nights, the first few weeks before you go to Jacks Valley, you're assigned. It was all a alphabetical, and my roommate was an African American fellow named Kevin Nixon. All right, my God, Kevin Nixon, and this guy, he was built. I mean, he was rock solid, right? And he had that 1000-yard stare, right? Very intimidating. And I'm this, like, 6-foot-tall, 148-pound runner, like, holy dork, right? And I'm assigned — we're roommates, and he just had a very stoicism, or a stoic nature about him. And I remember, it was our second night at the Academy, maybe first night, I don't quite recall, and we're in bed, and it's an hour after lights out, and I hear him crying, and like, well, what do you do? Like, we're in this together. It was that moment, like we're both alone, but we're not right. He needs to know that he's not alone. So I walked around and went over his bed, and I said, “Hey, man, I miss my mom and dad too. Let's talk. And we both cried, right? And I'll tell you what, he and I were pals forever. It was really quite beautiful. And what didn't happen is he accepted my outreach, right? And he came from a very difficult environment, one where I'm certain there was far more racial strife than I had experienced in Chicago. He came from Norfolk, Virginia, and he came from — his father worked in the shipyards and really, really tough, tough, tough background. He deserved to be the Academy. He was a great guy, very bright, and so we became friends, and I tried to be kind. He accepted that kindness and reciprocated in ways where he created a pretty beautiful friendship. Naviere Walkewicz 7:48 Oh, my goodness. Thank you for sharing that story. And you got me in the feels a little bit, because I remember those nights, even you know me having family members that went through the Academy. There's just something about when you're in it yourself, and in that moment, it's raw.   Mike Ott 11:13 Raw is a good word. Naviere Walkewicz 11:15 Oh, thank you for that. So you're at the Academy and you end up doing 24 years. I don't mean to, like, mash all that into one sentence, but let's talk… Mike Ott 11:22 I didn't do very much. It was the same year repeated 24 times over. Like, not a very good learner, right? Not a very good learner. Naviere Walkewicz 11:30 Yeah, I was gonna ask, you know, in that journey, because, had you planned to do a career in the Air Force? Mike Ott 11:36 Well, I didn't know, right? I went in, eyes wide open, and my cumulative time in the Air Force is over 24 but it was only it was just shy of seven active duty, and then 22, 23, in the Reserves, right? I hadn't thought about the Reserves, but I had concluded, probably at the, oh, maybe three-year mark that I wanted to do other things. It had nothing to do with disdain, a sense of frustration or any indignation, having gone to the Academy, which I'm very, very proud of, and it meant an awful lot to who I am. But it was, “Wait, this is, this is my shot, and I'm going to go try other things.” I love ambiguity, I'm very curious. Have a growth mindset and have a perhaps paradoxical mix of being self-assured, but perhaps early on, a bit too, a bit too, what's the word I was thinking of? I wrote this down — a bit too measured, OK, in other words, risk taking. And there were a few instances where I realized, “Hey, man, dude, take some risk. What's the downside? And if it isn't you, who else?” So it was that mindset that helped me muscle through and determine that, coupled with the fact that the Air Force paid for me to go to graduate school, they had programs in Boston, and so I got an MBA, and I did that at night. I had a great commander who let me take classes during the day when I wasn't traveling. It was wonderful. It was there that I was exposed to elements of business and in financial services, which ultimately drew me into financial services when I separated from active duty. Naviere Walkewicz 13:17 Well, I love that, because first you talked about a commander that saw, “How can I help you be your best version of yourself?” And I think the other piece of financial service, because I had to dabble in that as well — the second word is service. And so you've never stopped serving in all the things that you've done. So you took that leap, that risk. Is that something that you felt developed while you're at the Academy, or it's just part of your ethos. Mike Ott 13:41 It developed. It matured. I learned how to apply it more meaningfully at the Academy after a couple, three moments, where I realized that I can talk a little bit about mentoring and then I can come back to that, but mentoring — I don't know, I don't recall having heard that term as a mechanism for helping someone develop. I'm sure we used it when I was a cadet at the Academy and out of the Academy, and having been gone through different programs and banking and different graduate programs, the term comes up an awful lot. You realize, wow, there's something there helping the next generation, but also the reciprocity of learning from that generation yourself. I didn't really understand the whole mentoring concept coming out of Chicago and getting here, and just thought things were very hierarchical, very, very command structure, and it was hit the standards or else. And that that's not a bad mindset, right? But it took me a little while to figure out that there's a goodness factor that comes with the values that we have at the Academy, and it's imbued in each one of you know, service excellence, all of those pieces. But for the most part, fellow cadets and airmen and women want to help others. I mean, it's in service. It's in our DNA. Man that blew right past me. I had no idea, and I remember at one point I was entering sophomore year, and I was asked to be a glider instructor. I'd done the soaring and jumping program over the summer, and like, “Hey, you know you're not too bad at glider. You want to be an instructor?” At the time, that was pretty big deal, yeah, glider instructors. Like, “Yeah, no, I'm not going to do that, you know? I've got to study. Like, look at my GPA.” That didn't really matter. “And I'm going to go up to Boulder and go chase women.” Like, I was going to meet women, right? So, like, but I didn't understand that, that that mechanism, that mentoring mechanism, isn't always bestowed upon a moment or a coupling of individuals. There are just good people out there that see goodness in others that want to help them through that. I had no clue, but that was a turning point for me.   Naviere Walkewicz 15:56 Because you said no.   Mike Ott 15:58 I said no, right? And it was like what, you know, a couple months later, I remember talking with somebody like, “Yep, swing and a miss,” right? But after that, it changed how I was going to apply this self-assuredness, not bravado, but willingness to try new things, but with a willingness to be less measured. Why not? Trust the system. Trust the environment that you're in, the environment that we're in, you were in, I was in, that we're representing right now, it is a trusted environment. I didn't know that. And there were a lot of environments when I was being raised, they weren't trusted environments. And so you have a sort of mental callous mindset in many ways, and that that vigilance, that sense of sentinel is a good protection piece, but it prevents, it prevents... It doesn't allow for the membrane to be permeated, right? And so that trust piece is a big deal. I broke through after that, and I figured it out, and it helped me, and it helped me connect a sense of self-assuredness to perhaps being less measured, more willing to take ambiguity. You can be self-assured but not have complete belief in yourself, OK? And it helped me believe in myself more. I still wish I'd have been glider instructor. What a knucklehead. My roommate wound up becoming one. Like, “You, son of a rat, you.”   Naviere Walkewicz 17:29 So tell me, when did the next opportunity come up where you said yes, and what did that look like in your journey? Mike Ott 17:36 I was a lieutenant. I was a lieutenant, and I was looking for a new role. I was stationed at Hanscom Field, and I was working at one program office, and I bumped — I was the athletic officer for the base with some other folks, and one of the colonels was running a different program, and he had gotten to know me and understand how I operated, what I did, and he said, “Hey, Ott, I want you to come over to my program.” And I didn't know what the program was, but I trusted him, and I did it blindly. I remember his name, Col. Holy Cross. And really good guy. And yeah, I got the tap on the shoulder. Didn't blink. Didn't blink. So that was just finishing up second lieutenant. Naviere Walkewicz 18:26 What a lesson. I mean, something that stuck with you as a cadet, and not that it manifested in regret, but you realized that you missed that opportunity to grow and experience and so when it came around again, what a different… So would you say that as you progress, then you know, because at this point you're a lieutenant, you know, you took on this new role, what did you learn about yourself? And then how did that translate to the decision to move from active duty to the Reserve and into… Mike Ott 18:56 You'll note what I didn't do when I left active duty was stay in the defense, acquisition, defense engineering space. I made a hard left turn…   Naviere Walkewicz 19:13 Intentionally.   Mike Ott 19:14 Intentionally. And went into financial services. And that is a hard left turn away from whether it's military DOD, military industrial complex, working for one of the primes, or something like that. And my mindset was, “If I'm not the guy in the military making the decision, setting strategy and policy…” Like I was an O-3. Like, what kind of policy am I setting? Right? But my point was, if I'm not going to, if I may, if I decided to not stay in the military, I wasn't going to do anything that was related to the military, right, like, “Let's go to green pastures. Set myself apart. Find ways to compete…” Not against other people. I don't think I need to beat the hell out of somebody. I just need to make myself better every day. And that's the competition that I just love, and I love it  it's greenfield unknown. And why not apply my skills in an area where they haven't been applied and I can learn? So as an active-duty person — to come back and answer your question — I had worked some great bosses, great bosses, and they would have career counseling discussions with me, and I was asked twice to go to SOS in-residence. I turned it down, you know, as I knew. And then the third time my boss came to me. He's like, “OK, what are you doing? Idiot. Like, what are you doing?” That was at Year 5. And I just said, “Hey, sir, I think I'm going to do something different.” Naviere Walkewicz 20:47 Didn't want to take the slot from somebody else.   Mike Ott 20:49 That's right. Right. And so then it was five months, six months later, where I put in my papers. I had to do a little more time because of the grad school thing, which is great. And his commander, this was a two-star that I knew as well, interviewed me and like, one final, like, “What are you doing?” He's like, “You could have gone so far in the Air Force.” And I looked at the general — he was a super-good dude. I said, “What makes you think I'm not going to do well outside of the Air Force?” And he smiled. He's like, “Go get it.” So we stayed in touch. Great guy. So it had nothing to do with lack of fulfillment or lack of satisfaction. It had more to do with newness, curiosity, a challenge in a different vein. Naviere Walkewicz 21:30 So let's walk into that vein. You entered into this green pasture. What was that experience like? Because you've just been in something so structured. And I mean, would you say it was just structured in a different way? Mike Ott 21:48 No, not structured. The industry… So, I separated, tried an engineering job for about eight months. Hated it. I was, I was development engineer at Ford Motor Company, great firm. Love the organization, bored stiff, right? Just not what I wanted to do, and that's where I just quit. Moved back to Chicago, where I'm from, and started networking and found a role with an investment bank, ABN AMRO, which is a large Dutch investment bank that had begun to establish itself in the United States. So their headquarters in Chicago and I talked fast enough where somebody took a bet on me and was brought into the investment banking arm where I was on the capital markets team and institutional equities. So think of capital markets, and think of taking companies public and distributing those shares to large institutions, pensions funds, mutual funds, family offices.   Naviere Walkewicz 22:48 So a lot of learning and excitement for you.   Mike Ott 22:51 Super fun. And so the industry is very structured. How capital is established, capital flows, very regulated. We've got the SEC, we've got the FDIC, a lot of complex regulations and compliance matters. That's very, very, very structured. But there was a free-wheelingness in the marketplace. And if you've seen Wolf of Wall Street and things like that, some of that stuff happened. Crazy! And I realized that with my attitude, sense of placing trust in people before I really knew them, figuring that, “OK, what's the downside? I get nipped in the fan once, once or twice. But if I can thrust trust on somebody and create a relationship where they're surprised that I've trusted them, it's probably going to build something reciprocal. So learn how to do that.” And as a young fellow on the desk, wound up being given more responsibility because I was able to apply some of the basic tenets of leadership that you learned and I learned at the Academy. And face it, many of the men and women that work on Wall Street or financial services simply haven't gone to the Academy. It's just, it's the nature of numbers — and don't have that experience. They have other experiences. They have great leadership experiences, but they don't have this. And you and I may take it for granted because we were just four years of just living through it. It oozed in every moment, every breath, every interaction, every dialog, it was there.But we didn't know it was being poured in, sprinkled across as being showered. We were being showered in it. But I learned how to apply that in the relationships that I built, knowing that the relationships that I built and the reputation that I built would be lasting and impactful and would be appropriate investments for the future endeavors, because there's always a future, right? So it wasn't… again, lot of compliance, lot of regulations, but just the personalities. You know, I did it for the challenge, right? I did it because I was curious. I did it because I wanted to see if I could succeed at it. There were other folks that did it simply because it was for the money. And many, some of them made it. They might have sold their soul to get there. Some didn't make it. Maybe it wasn't the right pursuit for them in the first place. And if I go back to mentoring, which we talked about a little bit, and I help young men and women, cadets or maybe even recent grads, my guidance to them is, don't chase the money, chase the environment, right? And chase the environment that allows you to find your flow and contribute to that environment. The money will come. But I saw it — I've seen it with grads. I've seen it with many of the folks that didn't make it in these roles in financial services, because I thought, “Hey, this is where the money is.” It might be. But you have to go back to the basis of all this. How are you complected? What are your values? Do they align with the environment that you're in? And can you flow in a way where your strengths are going to allow success to happen and not sell your soul? Naviere Walkewicz 26:26 Yeah, you said two things that really stood out to me in that —the first one was, you know, trusting, just starting from a place of trust and respect, because the opportunity to build a relationship faster, and also there's that potential for future something. And then the second thing is the environment and making sure it aligns with your values. Is that how you got to MOBE? Mike Ott 26:50 Yeah, I would say how I got to MOBE, that certainly was a factor. Good question.   Naviere Walkewicz 26:57 The environment, I feel, is very much aligned Mike Ott 27:00 Very much so and then… But there's an element of reputation and relationship that allowed me to get there. So now I'm lucky to be a part of this firm. We're 250 people. We will do $50 million of revenue. We're growing nicely. I've been in health care for four years. Now, we are we're more than just healthcare. I mean, it's deep data. We can get into some of that later, but I had this financial services background. I was drawn to MOBE, but I had established a set of relationships with people at different investment banks, with other families that had successfully built businesses and just had relationships. And I was asked to come on to the board because MOBE, at the time, great capabilities, but struggled with leadership during COVID. Lot of companies did. It's not an indictment as to the prior CEO, but he and the team struggled to get through COVID. So initially I was approached to come on to the board, and that was through the founders of the firm who had known me for 20 years and knew my reputation, because I'd done different things at the investment bank, I'd run businesses at US Bank, which is a large commercial bank within the country, and they needed someone that… They cared very little about health care experience, which is good for me, and it was more around a sense of leadership. They knew my values. They trusted me. So initially I was asked to come onto the board, and that evolved into, “No, let's just do a whole reset and bring you on as the CEO.” Well, let's go back to like, what makes me tick. I love ambiguity. I love a challenge. And this has been a bit of a turnaround in that great capabilities, but lost its way in COVID, because leadership lost its way. So there's a lot of resetting that needed to occur. Corpus of the firm, great technology, great capabilities, but business model adaptation, go to market mechanisms and, frankly, environment. Environment. But I was drawn to the environment because of the people that had founded the organization. The firm was incubated within a large pharmaceutical firm. This firm called Upsher-Smith, was a Minnesota firm, the largest private and generic pharmaceutical company in the country, and sold for an awful lot of money, had been built by this family, sold in 2017 and the assets that are MOBE, mostly data, claims, analysis capabilities stayed separate, and so they incubated that, had a little bit of a data sandbox, and then it matriculated to, “Hey, we've got a real business here.” But that family has a reputation, and the individuals that founded it, and then ultimately found MOBE have a reputation. So I was very comfortable with the ambiguity of maybe not knowing health care as much as the next guy or gal, but the environment I was going into was one where I knew this family and these investors lived to high ethical standards, and there's many stories as to how I know that, but I knew that, and that gave me a ton of comfort. And then it was, “We trust you make it happen. So I got lucky. Naviere Walkewicz 30:33 Well, you're, I think, just the way that you're wired and the fact that you come from a place of trust, obviously, you know, OK, I don't have the, you know, like the medical background, but there are a lot of experts here that I'm going to trust to bring that expertise to me. And I'm going to help create an environment that they can really thrive in. Mike Ott 30:47 I'm certain many of our fellow alum have been in this experience, had these experiences where a leader worth his or her salt should be comfortable not being the smartest gal or guy in the room. In fact, you should strive for that to be the case and have a sense of lack of hubris and proudly acknowledge what you don't know. But what I do know is how to set vision. What I do know is how to move people without authority. What I do know is how to resource. And that's what you do if you want to move a mission, whether it's in the military, small firm like us that's getting bigger, or, you know, a big organization. You can't know it all. Naviere Walkewicz 31:30 So something you just mentioned that I think a lot of our listeners would really like, would love a little bit to peel us back a little bit. You said, “I know how to set a vision. I know how to…” I think it was move…   Mike Ott 31:45 Move people without authority and prioritize.   Naviere Walkewicz 31:47 But can we talk a little bit about that? Because I think that is really a challenge that some of our you know younger leaders, or those early in their leadership roles struggle with. Maybe, can you talk a little bit about that? Mike Ott 32:01 For sure, I had some — again, I tried to do my best to apply all the moments I had at the Academy and the long list of just like, “What were you thinking?” But the kindness piece comes through and… Think as a civilian outside looking in. They look at the military. It's very, very, very structured, OK, but the best leaders the men and women for whom you and I have served underneath or supported, never once barked an order, OK? They expressed intent, right? And you and I and all the other men and women in uniform, if we were paying attention, right, sought to execute the mission and satisfaction of that intent and make our bosses' bosses' jobs easier. That's really simple. And many outsiders looking in, we get back to just leadership that are civilians. They think, “Oh my gosh, these men and women that are in the military, they just can't assimilate. They can't make it in the civilian world.” And they think, because we come from this very, very hierarchical organization, yes, it is very hierarchical — that's a command structure that's necessary for mission execution — but the human part, right? I think military men and women leaders are among the best leaders, because guess what? We're motivating men and women — maybe they get a pat on the back. You didn't get a ribbon, right? Nobody's getting a year-end bonus, nobody's getting a spot bonus, nobody's getting equity in the Air Force, and it's gonna go public, right? It's just not that. So the best men and women that I for whom I've worked with have been those that have been able to get me to buy in and move and step up, and want to demonstrate my skills in coordination with others, cross functionally in the organization to get stuff done. And I think if there's anything we can remind emerging graduates, you know, out of the Academy, is: Don't rely on rank ever. Don't rely on rank. I had a moment: I was a dorky second lieutenant engineer, and we were launching a new system. It was a joint system for Marines, Navy and Air Force, and I had to go from Boston to Langley quite often because it was a TAC-related system, Tactical Air Force-related system. And the I was the program manager, multi-million dollar program for an interesting radio concept. And we were putting it into F-15s, so in some ground-based situations. And there was this E-8, crusty E-8, smoked, Vietnam, all these things, and he was a comms dude, and one of the systems was glitching. It just wasn't working, right? And we were getting ready to take this thing over somewhere overseas. And he pulls alongside me, and it's rather insubordinate, but it was a test, right? He's looking at me, Academy guy, you know, second lieutenant. He was a master sergeant, and he's like, “Well, son, what are we going to do now?” In other words, like, “We're in a pickle. What are we going to do now?” But calling me son. Yeah, it's not appropriate, right? If I'd have been hierarchical and I'd relied on rank, I probably would have been justified to let him have it. Like, that's playing short ball, right? I just thought for a second, and I just put my arm around him. I said, “Gee, Dad, I was hoping you're gonna help me.” And mother rat, we figured it out, and after that, he was eating out of my hand. So it was a test, right? Don't be afraid to be tested but don't take the bait. Naviere Walkewicz 35:46 So many good just lessons in each of these examples. Can you share a time at MOBE when you've seen someone that has been on your team that has demonstrated that because of the environment you've created? Mike Ott 35:57 For sure. So I've been running the firm now for about three and a half years. Again, have adapted and enhanced our capabilities, changed the business model a bit, yet functioning in our approach to the marketplace remains the same. We help people get better, and we get paid based on the less spend they have in the system. Part of some of our principles at MOBE are pretty simple, like, eat, sleep, move, smile, all right. And then be thoughtful with your medication. We think that medicine is an aid, not a cure. Your body's self-healing and your mind controls your body.   Naviere Walkewicz 36:32 Eat, sleep, move, smile. Love that.   Mike Ott 36:35 So what's happening with MOBE, and what I've seen is the same is true with how I've altered our leadership team. I've got some amazing leaders — very, very, very accomplished. But there are some new leaders because others just didn't fit in. There wasn't the sense of communal trust that I expected. There was too much, know-it-all'ing going on, right? And I just won't have that. So the easiest way to diffuse that isn't about changing head count, but it's around exhibiting vulnerability in front of all these folks and saying, “Look, I don't know that, but my lead pharmacist here, my lead clinician here, helped me get through those things.” But I do have one leader right, who is our head of vice president of HR, a woman who grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, who has come to myself and our president and shared that she feels liberated at MOBE because, though this firm is larger than one that she served as a director of HR, previously, she's never had to look — check her six, look right, look left and seek alignment to ensure she's harmonizing with people. Naviere Walkewicz 37:49 Can you imagine being in an environment like that? Mike Ott 38:51 It's terrible, it's toxic, and it's wrong. Leaders, within the organization, I think you're judged more by what you don't do and the actions that you don't take. You can establish trust, and you will fortify that trust when you share with the team as best you can, so long as it's nothing inappropriate, where you made a mistake, where we went wrong. What did we learn from that? Where are we going to pivot? How we're going to apply that learning to make it better, as opposed to finding blame, pointing the finger or not even acknowledging? That happens all the time, and that toxicity erodes. And regretfully, my VP of HR in prior roles experienced that, and I don't have time. Good teams shouldn't have time to rehearse the basic values of the firm. We don't have time the speed of business is like this [snaps]. So if I can build the team of men and women that trust one another, can stay in their lanes, but also recognize that they're responsible for helping run the business, and look over at the other lanes and help their fellow leaders make adjustments without the indictful comment or without sort of belittling or shaming. That's what good teams, do. You, and I did that in the Air Force, but it is not as common as you would think. Naviere Walkewicz 39:11 20 we've been talking about MOBE, and you know, the environment you're creating there, and just the way that you're working through innovation. Let's talk a little bit how you're involved with DIU, the Defense Innovation Unit. Mike Ott 39:21 Again, it's reputation in relationships. And it was probably 2010, I get a call from a fellow grad, '87 grad who was living in the Beltway, still in uniform. He was an O-5 I was an O-5. Just doing the Academy liaison work, helping good young men and women that wanted to go to the Academy get in. And that was super satisfying, thought that would be the end of my Reserve career and super fun. And this is right when the first Obama administration came in, and one of his edicts and his admin edicts was, we've got to find ways to embrace industry more, right? We can't rely on the primes, just the primes. So those were just some seeds, and along with a couple other grads, created what is now called Joint Reserve Directorate, which was spawned DIUX, which was DIU Experimental, is spawned from. So I was the owner for JRD, and DIUX as a reserve officer. And that's how we all made colonel is we were working for the chief technology officer of the Defense Department, the Hon. Zach Lemnios, wonderful fellow. Civilian, didn't have much military experience, but boy, the guy knew tech — semiconductors and areas like that. But this was the beginning of the United States recognizing that our R&D output, OK, in the aggregate, as a fund, as a percentage of GDP, whether it's coming out of the commercial marketplace or the military DoD complex, needs to be harnessed against the big fight that we have with China. We can see, you know, we've known about that for 30 years. So this is back 14 years ago. And the idea was, let's bring in men and women — there was a woman in our group too that started this area — and was like, “How do we create essential boundary span, boundary spanners, or dual-literacy people that are experiences in capital markets, finance, how capital is accumulated, innovation occurs, but then also how that applies into supporting the warfighter. So we were given a sandbox. We were given a blank slate.   Naviere Walkewicz 41:37 It's your happy place.   Mike Ott 41:38 Oh, super awesome. And began to build out relationships at Silicon Valley with commercial entities, and developed some concepts that are now being deployed with DIU and many other people came in and brought them all to life. But I was lucky enough after I retired from the Reserves as a colonel to be asked to come back as an adviser, because of that background and that experience, the genesis of the organization. So today I'm an unpaid SGE — special government employee — to help DIU look across a variety of different domains. And so I'm sure many of our listeners know it's key areas that we've got to harness the commercial marketplace. We know that if you go back into the '70s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and creation of the internet, GPS, precision munitions and all of that, the R&D dollars spent in the aggregate for the country, 95% came out of DOD is completely flip flopped today. Completely flipped. We happen to live in an open, free society. We hope to have capital markets and access a lot of that technology isn't burdened like it might be in China. And so that's the good and bad of this open society that we have. We've got to find ways. So we, the team does a lot of great work, and I just help them think about capital markets, money flows, threat finance. How you use financial markets to interdict, listen, see signals, but then also different technologies across cyberspace, autonomy, AI. Goodness gracious, I'm sure there's a few others. There's just so much. So I'm just an interloper that helps them think about that, and it's super fun that they think that I can be helpful. Naviere Walkewicz 43:29 Well, I think I was curious on how, because you love the ambiguity, and that's just something that fills your bucket — so while you're leading MOBE and you're creating something very stable, it sounds like DIU and being that kind of special employee, government employee, helps you to fill that need for your ambiguous side.   Mike Ott 43:48 You're right. You're right.   Naviere Walkewicz 43:49 Yeah, I thought that's really fascinating. Well, I think it's wonderful that you get to create that and you just said, the speed of business is this [snaps]. How do you find time in your life to balance what you also put your values around — your health — when you have such an important job and taking care of so many people? Mike Ott 44:06 I think we're all pretty disciplined at the Academy, right? I remain that way, and I'm very, very — I'm spring loaded to ‘no,' right? “Hey, do you want to go do this?” Yeah, I want to try do, I want to do a lot of things, but I'm spring loaded. So like, “Hey, you want to go out and stay, stay up late and have a drink?” “No,” right? “Do you want to do those things?” So I'm very, very regimented in that I get eight hours of sleep, right? And even somebody, even as a cadet, one of the nicknames my buddies gave me was Rip Van Ott, right? Because I'm like, “This is it.” I was a civil engineer. One of my roommates was an astro guy, and I think he pulled an all-nighter once a week.   Naviere Walkewicz 45:46 Oh, my goodness, yeah.   Mike Ott 45:50 Like, “Dude, what are you doing?” And it wasn't like he was straight As. I was clearly not straight As, but I'm like, “What are you doing? That's not helpful. Do the work ahead of time.” I think I maybe pulled three or four all-nighters my entire four years. Now, it's reflected in my GPA. I get that, but I finished the engineering degree. But sleep matters, right? And some things are just nonnegotiable, and that is, you know, exercise, sleep and be kind to yourself, right? Don't compare. If you're going to compare, compare yourself to yesterday, but don't look at somebody who is an F-15 pilot, and you're not. Like, I'm not. My roommate, my best man at my wedding, F-15 pilot, Test Pilot School, all these things, amazing, amazing, awesome, and super, really, really, happy and proud for him, but that's his mojo; that's his flow, right? If you're gonna do any comparison, compare yourself to the man or woman you were yesterday and “Am I better?”. Naviere Walkewicz 44:48 The power of “no” and having those nonnegotiables is really important. Mike Ott 45:53 Yeah, no, I'm not doing that. Naviere Walkewicz 45:56 I think sometimes we're wired for a “we can take on… we can take it on, we can take it on, we can take it on. We got this.” Mike Ott 46:03 For sure. Oh, my goodness. And I have that discussion with people on my team from time to time as well, and it's most often as it relates to an individual on the team that's struggling in his or her role, or whether it's by you know, if it's by omission and they're in the wrong role, that's one thing. If it's by commission, well, be a leader and execute and get that person out of there, right? That's wrong, but from time to time, it's by omission, and somebody is just not well placed. And I've seen managers, I can repatriate this person. I can get him or her there, and you have to stop for a second and tell that leader, “Yeah, I know you can. I'm certain that the only thing you were responsible for was to help that person fulfill the roles of the job that they're assigned. You could do it.” But guess what? You've got 90% of your team that needs care, nurturing and feeding. They're delivering in their function, neglect, there destroys careers, and it's going to destroy the business. So don't, don't get caught up in that. Yeah. Pack it on. Pack it on. Pack it on. You're right. When someone's in the crosshairs, I want to be in the crosshairs with you, Naviere, and Ted, and all the people that you and I affiliate with, but on the day-to-day, sustained basis, right to live, you know, to execute and be fulfilled, both in the mission, the work and stay fit, to fight and do it again. You can't. You can't. And a lot of a little bit of no goes a long way. Naviere Walkewicz 47:40 That is really good to hear. I think that's something that a lot of leaders really don't share. And I think that's really wonderful that you did. I'd like to take a little time and pivot into another area that you're heavily involved, philanthropy side. You know, you've been with the Falcon Foundation. Where did you find that intent inside of you? I mean, you always said the Academy's been part of you, but you found your way back in that space in other ways. Let's talk about that. Mike Ott 48:05 Sure. Thank you. I don't know. I felt that service is a part of me, right? And it is for all of us, whether you stay in the military or not. Part of my financial services jobs have been in wealth management. I was lucky enough to run that business for US Bank in one of my capacities, and here I am now in health care, health care of service. That aligns with wanting things to be better across any other angle. And the philanthropic, philanthropic side of things — I probably couldn't say that word when I was a cadet, but then, you know, I got out and we did different volunteer efforts. We were at Hanscom Field raising money for different organizations, and stayed with it, and always found ways to have fun with it. But recognized I couldn't… It was inefficient if I was going to be philanthropic around something that I didn't have a personal interest in. And as a senior executive at US Bank, we were all… It was tacit to the role you had roles in local foundations or community efforts. And I remember sitting down with my boss, the CFO of the bank, and then the CEO, and they'd asked me to go on to a board, and it had to do with a museum that I had no interest in, right? And I had a good enough relationship with these, with these guys, to say, “Look, I'm a good dude. I'm going to be helpful in supporting the bank. And if this is a have to, all right, I'll do it, but you got the wrong guy. Like, you want me to represent the bank passionately, you know, philanthropically, let me do this. And they're like, “OK, great.” So we pivoted, and I did other things. And the philanthropic piece of things is it's doing good. It's of service for people, entities, organizations, communities or moments that can use it. And I it's just very, very satisfying to me. So my wife and I are pretty involved that way, whether it's locally, with different organizations, lot of military support. The Academy, we're very fond of. It just kind of became a staple. Naviere Walkewicz 50:35 Did you find yourself also gravitating toward making better your community where you grew up? Mike Ott 50:41 Yeah, yeah, yeah. One of my dear friends that grew up in the same neighborhood, he wound up going to the Naval Academy, and so we're we've been friends for 50 years. Seventh grade.   Naviere Walkewicz 50:53 Same counselor? Mike Ott50:54 Yeah, no. Different counselor, different high school. His parents had a little bit of money, and they, he wound up going to a Catholic school nearby. But great guy, and so he and I, he runs a business that serves the VA in Chicago, and I'm on the board, and we do an awful lot of work. And one of the schools we support is a school on the south side, largely African American students and helping them with different STEM projects. It's not going to hit above the fold of a newspaper, but I could give a rat, doesn't matter to me, seeing a difference, seeing these young men and women. One of them, one of these boys, it's eye watering, but he just found out that he was picked for, he's applying to the Naval Academy, and he just found out that he got a nomination.   Naviere Walkewicz 51:44 Oh my goodness, I just got chills.   Mike Ott 51:46 And so, yeah, yeah, right, right. But it's wonderful. And his parents had no idea anything like that even existed. So that's one that it's not terribly formal, but boy, it looks great when you see the smile on that kid and the impact on that individual, but then the impact it leaves on the community, because it's clear opportunity for people to aspire because they know this young man or this young woman, “I can do that too.” Naviere Walkewicz 52:22 Wow. So he got his nomination, and so he would start technically making class of 2030?   Mike Ott 52:27 That's right. Naviere Walkewicz 52:28 Oh, how exciting. OK Well, that's a wonderful…   Mike Ott 52:27 I hope, I hope, yeah, he's a great kid. Naviere Walkewicz 52:33 Oh, that is wonderful. So you talk about, you know that spirit of giving — how have you seen, I guess, in your journey, because it hasn't been linear. We talked about how you know progression is not linear. How have you grown throughout these different experiences? Because you kind of go into a very ambiguous area, and you bring yourself, and you grow in it and you make it better. But how have you grown? What does that look like for you? Mike Ott 53:02 After having done it several times, right, i.e. entering the fray of an ambiguous environment business situation, I developed a better system and understanding of what do I really need to do out of the gates? And I've grown that way and learn to not be too decisive too soon. Decisiveness is a great gift. It's really, really it's important. It lacks. It lacks because there are too many people, less so in the military, that want to be known for having made… don't want to be known for having made a bad decision, so they don't take that risk. Right, right, right. And so that creates just sort of the static friction, and you've just got to have faith and so, but I've learned how to balance just exactly when to be decisive. And the other thing that I know about me is I am drawn to ambiguity. I am drawn… Very, very curious. Love to learn, try new things, have a range of interests and not very good at any one thing, but that range helps me in critical thinking. So I've learned to, depending on the situation, right, listen, listen, and then go. It isn't a formula. It's a flow, but it's not a formula. And instinct matters when to be decisive. Nature of the people with whom you're working, nature of the mission, evolution, phase of the organization or the unit that you're in. Now is the time, right? So balancing fostering decisiveness is something that that's worth a separate discussion. Naviere Walkewicz 54:59 Right. Wow. So all of these things that you've experienced and the growth that you've had personally — do you think about is this? Is this important to you at all, the idea of, what is your legacy, or is that not? Mike Ott 55:13 We talked a little bit about this beforehand, and I thought I've got to come up with something pithy, right? And I really, I really don't.   Naviere Walkewicz 55:18 Yeah, you don't.   Mike Ott 55:19 I don't think of myself as that. I'm very proud of who I am and what I've done in the reputation that I have built. I don't need my name up in lights. I know the life that I'm living and the life that I hope to live for a lot longer. My legacy is just my family, my children, the mark that I've left in the organizations that I have been a part of.   Naviere Walkewicz 55:58 And the communities that you've touched, like that gentleman going and getting his nomination. I'm sure.   Mike Ott 56:04 Yeah, I don't… having been a senior leader, and even at MOBE, I'm interviewed by different newspapers and all that. Like I do it because I'm in this role, and it's important for MOBE, but I'm not that full of myself, where I got to be up in lights. So I just want to be known as a man that was trustworthy, fun, tried to meet people where they are really had flaws, and sought to overcome them with the few strengths that he had, and moved everything forward. Naviere Walkewicz 56:33 Those are the kind of leaders that people will run through fire for. That's amazing. I think that's a wonderful I mean that in itself, it's like a living legacy you do every day. How can I be better than I was yesterday? And that in itself, is a bit of your living and that's really cool. Well, one of the things we like to ask is, “What is something you're doing every day to be better as a leader?” And you've covered a lot, so I mean, you could probably go back to one of those things, but is there something that you could share with our listeners that you do personally every day, to be better? Mike Ott 57:05 Exercise and read every day, every day, and except Fridays. Fridays I take… that's like, I'll stretch or just kind of go for a walk. But every day I make it a moment, you know, 45 minutes to an hour, something and better for my head, good for my body, right? That's the process in the hierarchy of way I think about it. And then read. Gen. Mattis. And I supported Gen. Mattis as a lieutenant colonel before I wanted to and stuff at the Pentagon. And he I supported him as an innovation guy for JFCOM, where he was the commander. And even back then, he was always talking about reading is leading none of us as military leaders… And I can't hold the candle to the guy, but I learned an awful lot, and I love his mindset, and that none of us can live a life long enough to take In all the leadership lessons necessary to help us drive impact. So you better be reading about it all the time. And so I read probably an hour every night, every day.   Naviere Walkewicz 58:14 What are you reading right now?   Mike Ott 58:15 Oh, man, I left it on the plane! I was so bummed. Naviere Walkewicz 58:17 Oh, that's the worst. You're going to have to get another copy. Mike Ott 58:22 Before I came here, I ordered it from Barnes & Noble so to me at my house when I get home. Love history and reading a book by this wonderful British author named Anne Reid. And it's, I forget the title exactly, but it's how the allies at the end of World War I sought to influence Russia and overcome the Bolsheviks. They were called the interventionalists, and it was an alliance of 15 different countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, U.K., Japan, Australia, India, trying to thwart, you know, the Bolshevik Revolution — trying to thwart its being cemented. Fascinating, fascinating. So that's what I was reading until I left it on the plane today. Naviere Walkewicz 59:07 How do you choose what to read? Mike Ott 59:10 Listen, write, love history. Love to read Air Force stuff too. Just talk to friends, right? You know, they've learned how to read like me. So we get to talk and have fun with that. Naviere Walkewicz 59:22 That's great. Yeah, that's wonderful. Well, the last question I'd like to ask you, before I want to make sure you have an opportunity to cover anything we didn't, is what is something you would share with others that they can do to become better leaders? Maybe they start doing it now, so in the future, they're even stronger as a leader. Mike Ott 59:42 Two things I would say, and try to have these exist in the same breath in the same moment, is have the courage to make it try and make it better every day, all right, and be kind to yourself, be forgiving. Naviere Walkewicz 59:59 That's really powerful. Can you share an example? And I know I that's we could just leave it there, but being courageous and then being kind to yourself, they're almost on two opposite sides. Have you had, can you share an example where I guess you've done that right? You had to be you were courageous and making something better, and maybe it didn't go that way, so you have to be kind to yourself. Mike Ott 1:00:23 Yeah, happy to and I think any cadet will hear this story and go like, “Huh, wow, that's interesting.” And it also plays with the arc of progress isn't linear. I graduated in '85 went to flight school, got halfway through flight school, and there was a RIF, reduction in force. And our class, our flight class, I was flying jets, I was soloing. I was academically — super easy, flying average, right? You know, I like to joke that I've got the fine motor skills of a ham sandwich, right? You know, but, but I didn't finish flight school. And you think about this, here it is. I started in 1981 there were still vestiges of Vietnam. Everyone's going to be a fighter pilot. Kill, kill, kill. Blood makes the grass grow. All of that was there. And I remember when this happened, it was very frustrating for me. It was mostly the major root of frustration wasn't that I wasn't finishing flight school. It was the nature by which the determination that I wasn't finishing was made. And it was, it was a financial decision. We had too many guys and gals, and they were just finding, you know, average folks and then kicking them out. So our class graduated a lower percent than, I think, in that era, it was late '85, '86, maybe '87, but you can look at outflows, and it was interesting, they were making budget cuts. So there was a shaming part there, having gone to the Academy.   Naviere Walkewicz 1:02:02 And knowing since 9 years old. Mike Ott 1:20:04 Right, right, right, and I knew I wanted to go the Academy. I'd like to fly, let's check it out and see if it's for me. I would much rather have been not for me, had I made the decision I don't want to do this or that I was just unsafe and didn't want to do it. The way it turned out is, and this is where I learned a little bit about politics as well. In my class, again, I was very average. Like, nobody's ever going to say, like, yeah, I was going to go fly the Space Shuttle. Like, no way, right? Very, very average, but doing just fine. And a lot of guys and gals wanted to go be navigators, and that's great. I looked in the regs, and I learned this as a cadet, and it's helped me in business, too. If there's a rule, there's a waiver. Like, let me understand the regs, and I asked to go to a board. Instead of just submitting a letter to appeal, I asked to go to a board. And so I went to a board of an O-5 five, couple of threes O-4 four, and ultimately shared the essence of why I shouldn't be terminated in the program. And son of a gun, they agreed, and I still have the letter. The letter says, “Recommend Lt. Ott for reinstatement.” Nobody in my class has that letter, nobody makes the appeal. And I'm like, I'm going downstream. I'm going downstream. And that's the Chicago in me, and that's the piece about… but also move forward, but forgive yourself, and I'll get to that. And so I, I was thrilled, My goodness, and the argument I had is, like, look, you're just not keeping me current. You put me in the sim, and then you're waiting too long to put me in the jet. The regs don't allow for that. And like, you're right. So I'm assigned to go back to the jet. My pals are thrilled. I'm going to stay in the same class. I don't have to wash back. And then I get a call from the DO's office — director of operations — and it was from some civilian person so the DO overrode the board's decision. Heartbreaking. Heartbreaking.   Naviere Walkewicz 1:04:12 You were so high, you did all of your work. And then… Mike Ott 1:04:15 Yeah, and then heartbreaking and frustrating, and I guess the word is indignant: anger aroused through frustration. In that I figured it out. I knew exactly what's happening. I made the appeal and I won. And it wasn't I was expecting to be assigned to fly a fighter. It was like, “Just let me, let me express the merits of my capabilities. It's how the system is designed.” The son of a gun, I jumped in my car and I ran to base and I waited and reported in. He didn't really know who I was. That's because he didn't make a decision. It was just it was that decision, and that's how life comes at you. That's just how it is. It isn't linear. So how do you take that and then say, “Well, I'm going to be kind to myself and make something out of it.” And he went through, you know, a dissertation as to why, and I asked him if I could share my views, and it's pretty candid, and I just said, If my dad were something other than the Chicago policeman, and maybe if he was a senator or general officer, I wouldn't be sitting here. That lit him up, right? That lit him up. But I had to state my views. So I knew I was out of the program. Very, very frustrating. Could have had the mayor of Chicago call. Didn't do that, right? Like, OK, I understand where this is it. That was very frustrating and somewhat shaming. But where the forgiveness comes in and be kind to yourself, is that I ran into ground. I ran into ground and drove an outcome where I still… It's a moment of integrity. I drove an outcome like, there you go. But then what do you do? Forgive yourself, right? Because you didn't do anything wrong, OK? And you pivot. And I turned that into a moment where I started cold calling instructors at the Academy. Because, hey, now I owe the Air Force five years, Air Force is looking for, you know, things that I don't want to do. And thank goodness I had an engineering degree, and I cold called a guy at a base in Hanscom. And this is another tap on the shoulder.   Naviere Walkewicz 1:06:24 That's how you got to Hanscom. Gotcha.   Mike Ott 1:06:27 There was a friend who was Class of '83, a woman who was in my squadron, who was there. Great egg. And she's like, “Hey, I was at the O Club.” Called her. I said, “Hey, help me out. I got this engineering degree. I want to go to one of these bases. Called Lt. Col. Davis, right? I met him at the O Club. I called a guy, and he's like, “Yeah, let's do this.”   Naviere Walkewicz 1:06:44 Wow, I love that..   Mike Ott 1:06:46 It was fantastic So it's a long winded way, but progress isn't linear. And progressing through that and not being a victim, right, recognizing the conditions and the environment that I could control and those that I can't. Anything that I could control, I took advantage of and I sought to influence as best possible. Ran into ground and I feel great about it, and it turns out to be a testament of one of my best successes. Naviere Walkewicz 1:07:17 Wow. Thank you for sharing

Jack Kennedy is the co-founder and CEO of Platform Science. Previously, Jack was the President of Qualcomm Enterprise Services. Prior to Qualcomm, Jack served at News Corp where he held roles as the Executive Vice President of News Corp Digital Media, Executive Vice President of Fox Interactive Media, and Senior Vice President of Fox Network Group. During this period, Jack oversaw activities leading the digital transition of News Corp from a traditional media company into a “digital first” organization. During his tenure, he was part of the joint Fox/NBC Universal team that created the joint venture now known as “Hulu,” and the launch of one of the digital advertising technology companies, The Rubicon Product (RUBI:NASDAQ). He was responsible for a $2B+ portfolio of over two dozen digital assets. Jack retired as a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves in 2016, after serving as a founding team member of DiUX, the Department of Defense's recently established Silicon Valley presence. His career included multiple combat deployments, tours in Washington D.C. which included serving on the staff of U.S. Senator John McCain, and as the Aide de Camp to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jack holds a BS in Economics and Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the Harvard Business School and was a Legis Fellow of the Brookings Institution. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for ATN International, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Kennedy is the co-founder and CEO of Platform Science. Previously, Jack was the President of Qualcomm Enterprise Services. Prior to Qualcomm, Jack served at News Corp where he held roles as the Executive Vice President of News Corp Digital Media, Executive Vice President of Fox Interactive Media, and Senior Vice President of Fox Network Group. During this period, Jack oversaw activities leading the digital transition of News Corp from a traditional media company into a “digital first” organization. During his tenure, he was part of the joint Fox/NBC Universal team that created the joint venture now known as “Hulu,” and the launch of one of the digital advertising technology companies, The Rubicon Product (RUBI:NASDAQ). He was responsible for a $2B+ portfolio of over two dozen digital assets. Jack retired as a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves in 2016, after serving as a founding team member of DiUX, the Department of Defense's recently established Silicon Valley presence. His career included multiple combat deployments, tours in Washington D.C. which included serving on the staff of U.S. Senator John McCain, and as the Aide de Camp to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jack holds a BS in Economics and Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the Harvard Business School and was a Legis Fellow of the Brookings Institution. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for ATN International, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Victor L. Vescovo is a private investor with over thirty years of experience in a variety of complex business situations. He co-founded private equity firm Insight Equity in 2002 with his business partner, Ted Beneski and raised over $1.5 billion in equity capital across four funds. In 2023, he departed Insight in order to focus on his own investments with new capabilities to support industrial startups, life sciences, and other areas of venture capital and special situations. Victor received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University, a Master's Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. Additionally, Victor served 20 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve as an intelligence and targeting officer, retiring in 2013 as a Commander. In 2017, Victor completed the “Explorer's Grand Slam” which requires climbing the highest peak on all seven of the world's continents including Mt. Everest and skiing at least 100 kilometers to the North and South Poles. He piloted the first repeated dives to the ocean's deepest point, Challenger Deep, in the Pacific's Mariana Trench - now fifteen times, and in August 2019 became the first person to visit “The Five Deeps,” the deepest point in all five of the world's oceans. Victor has now personally explored the bottom of seventeen deep ocean trenches and has made three dives to the Titanic including the only solo dive ever made there. He and his team also discovered and surveyed the two deepest shipwrecks in the world: the USS Johnston in 2021 and the deepest, the USS Samuel B. Roberts at 22,600 feet, in 2022. In 2025, the US Navy announced that T-AGOS 26, a new ocean surveillance vessel of the Explorer class, would be named after him. He is also a commercially rated, multi-engine jet, glider, seaplane, and helicopter pilot, a certified submersible test pilot, and recently flew into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, becoming the first person in history to climb Mount Everest, dive to the bottom of the ocean, and visit space. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Buy PSYOP Now - https://psyopshow.com https://tryarmra.com/srs https://aura.com/srs https://betterhelp.com/srs This episode is sponsored. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/srs and get on your way to being your best self. https://bubsnaturals.com – USE CODE SHAWN https://bunkr.life – USE CODE SRS Go to https://bunkr.life/SRS and use code “SRS” to get 25% off your family plan. https://shawnlikesgold.com https://moinkbox.com/srs https://mypatriotsupply.com/srs https://patriotmobile.com/srs https://prizepicks.onelink.me/lmeo/srs https://rocketmoney.com/srs https://ROKA.com – USE CODE SRS https://shopify.com/srs https://USCCA.com/srs Victor Vescovo Links: X - https://x.com/VictorVescovo IG - https://www.instagram.com/victorlvescovo Caladan Capital - https://www.caladancapital.com Caladan Oceanic - http://www.caladanoceanic.com Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Vescovo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When does harassment become a crime — and what legal remedies exist if criminal courts refuse to act? In the final episode of this three-part UNCENSORED series, maritime lawyer and former U.S. Navy Reserve officer Adria Notari breaks down the critical differences between civil and criminal law for crew. From statutes of limitation and evidence collection to employer liability and the role of flag states, this conversation reveals why litigation is often the only driver of real change in yachting.

What happens when crew speak up—and get fired for it? In part two of this three-part legal series on UNCENSORED, maritime lawyer and former U.S. Navy Reserve officer Adria Notari returns to confront one of the most taboo issues in yachting: retaliation against crew who report abuse, assault, or safety violations. From unlawful termination and unenforceable NDAs to what crew can do without a written contract, this is a masterclass in real-world maritime law that crew at every level need to hear.

Get to know U.S. Navy Reserve Electrician's Mate Second Class Laurent Azonnadou.

Taylor Crisci is one of those women who immediately impresses you -- not only because she's smart, down-to-earth, and kind, but ALSO because she is (literally) going places and doing cool things! Amongst her adventures as a merchant mariner, she's driven through the Panama Canal, fought off pirates, and circumnavigated the world. She currently works for a research ship out of Asia, the USNS Bowditch, where she is second mate (also known as the navigator.) In other words, she is the one actually DRIVING the ship -- whether that means turning the wheel every 30 seconds or every few hours. The USNS Bowditch is civilian ship collects intelligence for the Navy to make the most accurate charts and other Navy products.For context, the merchant marines is a civilian service. 80% of goods are transported via ship, and the Navy has two offices dedicated to ocean intelligence and research. Taylor attended Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point and also commissioned (became an officer) in the U.S. Navy Reserves. She's currently a Lieutenant.During her time in one of the longest running trades in the world, she's worked on cargo vessels like: container ships, car carriers, oil tankers, cruise ships, and research vessels. This work has taken her all over the world... from the Gulf Coast of the United States, to Alaska, the North Pole, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Contact Info:Taylor Crisci - Guest@Servicesisters_  (Instagram)Julie Berman - Hostwww.womenwithcooljobs.com@womencooljobs (Instagram)Julie Berman (LinkedIn)Send Julie a text!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020. If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much.

Ordained in 1996, the Rev. Jerome “Jay” Cayangyang is a Navy Reserve chaplain with almost 35 years of service and currently also serves as rector and dean of Bishop Seabury Anglican Church, Pro-Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word. He has served numerous active duty and reserve assignments including two combat deployments to Iraq.  In addition to his parish duties, he currently serves as the Deputy Chaplain of the Marine Corps for Reserve Matters. Cayangyang and his wife, Linda, live in Connecticut and have five adult children. “I'm deeply humbled by this opportunity,” Cayangyang said. “I am truly grateful for all of my ministry to this point: the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, Anglican Diocese of the Living Word, and Bishop Seabury Church.  I am grateful for their love and friendship. The Lord used my time in those ministries to prepare me for this new role as a bishop. And finally, I am so thankful for my family and their partnership in the ministry.”

Michael Bahar is a partner With Eversheds Sutherland and is based out of its Washington,DC, office and currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

“You can't put love into a house you don't own.” That one quote encapsulates the spirit of Ken Elkins' journey, vision, and mission as founder of Renewed. In this powerful Detroit is Different interview, Ken speaks truth to the generational impact of housing instability, sharing how growing up in a series of rentals shaped his understanding of pride, permanence, and purpose. From his early days in Saginaw, working at Chuck E. Cheese and joining the Navy Reserves just to find a path to college, to co-founding Ferris State's “Black Leaders Aspiring for Critical Knowledge,” Ken's life is a testament to how community can turn potential into power. “When I owned my first home, I felt value for the first time,” he reflects. Now, he's pouring that lesson back into Detroit, offering affordable homes where the mortgage is never more than 25% of your income. It's not just about equity—it's about emotional stability, dignity, and the ripple effects of ownership for families who have long been priced out of their own neighborhoods. As Ken puts it, “I can't stop the developers, but I can flip one house and keep that in the community.” Filled with laughter, real talk, and a deeply rooted love for the culture—yes, lamb chops, buffs, and all—this episode is a masterclass in what it means to build legacy through healing and homeownership. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

We had the pleasure of interviewing Christian Hayes over Zoom video!Capitol Records recording artist Christian Hayes has poetically drawn on his life experiences growing up in the foothills of Appalachia since his grandfather gifted him his first journal at seven years old. While his debut EP Last I Love You, released in September, followed Hayes' journey navigating heartbreak and growing up, he's now offering an upbeat new song underscoring the beauty of finding love in imperfection with “Wildflower,” available now.Self-written by Hayes, the concept for “Wildflower” was born from Hayes' observation of seeing beauty found in imperfections and embracing uniqueness in love. Recalling how wildflowers are each unique and grow to their own accord, Hayes drew from this inspiration to celebrate the qualities that make them distinctly beautiful.“I had family members who I watched struggle a lot with discontent growing up, always striving to find that perfect spouse, rather than being happy with the one they were with,” Hayes reflects. “This song was inspired by that inner conflict, but rather than always striving for perfection where it doesn't exist, the ‘wildflower' serves as a metaphor to finding a person who's right for you, while embracing the beauty in their imperfections.”The song comes on the heels of the September release of Last I Love You, which casts a wide net, fusing Americana and folk while bouncing between campfire ballads, cinematic soundscapes and raw, rowdy barn-burners. At the center of that sound is Hayes himself: a wise-beyond-his-years musician who knows he can't move forward without taking a look at his past.Genuine and articulate, Hayes comes from a long line of storytellers that includes his Grandpa Jack – a poet by profession – who gave Christian his first journal. Born and raised in the foothills of Appalachia, Hayes began playing guitar at age eight. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve and attended the University of Alabama.Hayes recently signed with Capitol Records, as well as with William Morris Endeavor (WME) for booking, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) for publishing, Wildrose Projects for management and Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy (FBMM) for business management.About Christian HayesRaised in the Appalachian foothills of northern Georgia, Christian Hayes grew up surrounded by southern storytelling. His grandfather — a poet by profession — encouraged him to begin writing in a journal at 7 years old, sparking a habit that would eventually take Hayes to Nashville. A veteran of the US Navy Reserve, Hayes began applying the discipline of his military training to his work as a songwriter, amassing more than 900 original songs by his mid-twenties. Five of those songs appear on Last I Love You, his debut for Capitol Records available now. Produced by Lukas Bracewell and steeped in Hayes' unique version of American roots music, Last I Love You features the viral single “LILY” (which racked up more than 3 million streams before the EP's official release), the anthemic “Black Gold” and a mix of effortless melodies, cinematic folk and rowdy, barn-burning Americana.We want to hear from you! Please email Hello@BringinitBackwards.comwww.BringinitBackwards.com#podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #ChristianHayes #NewMusic #ZoomListen & Subscribe to BiBhttps://www.bringinitbackwards.com/followFollow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! https://www.facebook.com/groups/bringinbackpodBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support.

“Anything you've ever wanted in life, when you put enough attention and intention behind it, you received it.” —Paul McFadden   Did you know?  Statistics reveal that only 8% of people achieve their life goals. The remaining 92% remain trapped in a cycle of unfulfilled potential. Most often, dreams die not from lack of opportunity, but from the absence of intentional action. Paul McFadden is a Navy veteran, Merchant Marine, and transformational leadership expert with extensive experience in human potential development. As the CEO of Evolve Human Potential, he integrates spiritual alchemy, ancient science, and modern research to help individuals unlock their personal and professional growth. Tune in as Daniel and Paul dive deep into the critical elements of entrepreneurial success, exploring discipline, integrity, accountability, overcoming failure, personal growth, communication strategies, and the mindset required to transform dreams into reality. Be Inspired! with Daniel:  Website (Makings of a Millionaire Mindset) Website (Daniel Gomez Global) Facebook Facebook Group X Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest YouTube   Episode Highlights: 03:32 The Importance of Discipline in Entrepreneurship  07:18 Integrity and Adaptability in Business  16:23 Communication and Authenticity in Business  26:44 The Role of Mindset and Accountability  39:38 Embracing Failure and Adapting to Change 45:52 Embrace Your Blessings   Connect with Paul: Paul McFadden is an internationally recognized speaker, best-selling author, and human optimization expert with nearly 30 years of leadership and service. A proud U.S. Navy Reserves veteran, he is the Founder & CEO of Evolve Human Potential, transforming lives through personal mastery, human performance, and lifestyle optimization. Paul's Integrative NeuroSomatic® approach blends cutting-edge research with ancient wisdom to enhance emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. His mission is to empower individuals and leaders to navigate life with purpose, clarity, and resilience. A master facilitator and trusted advisor, he has guided over 3,500 executives worldwide, earning recognition as an adjunct faculty member, guest professor, and leadership architect. With an educational journey that began at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Paul has pursued advanced certifications in executive and team coaching, functional medicine coaching, and resilience-building. Currently, he is earning his PhD in Integrative Medicine at Quantum University. Dedicated to human evolution, Paul inspires others to unlock their potential and design a life of purpose. Join him on a journey of conscious awakening, optimizing well-being, and embracing the future of human potential—Becoming Human 2.0. LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube Linktr.ee  

“Anything you've ever wanted in life, when you put enough attention and intention behind it, you received it.” —Paul McFadden   Did you know?  Statistics reveal that only 8% of people achieve their life goals. The remaining 92% remain trapped in a cycle of unfulfilled potential. Most often, dreams die not from lack of opportunity, but from the absence of intentional action. Paul McFadden is a Navy veteran, Merchant Marine, and transformational leadership expert with extensive experience in human potential development. As the CEO of Evolve Human Potential, he integrates spiritual alchemy, ancient science, and modern research to help individuals unlock their personal and professional growth. Tune in as Daniel and Paul dive deep into the critical elements of entrepreneurial success, exploring discipline, integrity, accountability, overcoming failure, personal growth, communication strategies, and the mindset required to transform dreams into reality. Be Inspired! with Daniel:  Website (Makings of a Millionaire Mindset) Website (Daniel Gomez Global) Facebook Facebook Group X Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest YouTube   Episode Highlights: 03:32 The Importance of Discipline in Entrepreneurship  07:18 Integrity and Adaptability in Business  16:23 Communication and Authenticity in Business  26:44 The Role of Mindset and Accountability  39:38 Embracing Failure and Adapting to Change 45:52 Embrace Your Blessings   Connect with Paul: Paul McFadden is an internationally recognized speaker, best-selling author, and human optimization expert with nearly 30 years of leadership and service. A proud U.S. Navy Reserves veteran, he is the Founder & CEO of Evolve Human Potential, transforming lives through personal mastery, human performance, and lifestyle optimization. Paul's Integrative NeuroSomatic® approach blends cutting-edge research with ancient wisdom to enhance emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. His mission is to empower individuals and leaders to navigate life with purpose, clarity, and resilience. A master facilitator and trusted advisor, he has guided over 3,500 executives worldwide, earning recognition as an adjunct faculty member, guest professor, and leadership architect. With an educational journey that began at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Paul has pursued advanced certifications in executive and team coaching, functional medicine coaching, and resilience-building. Currently, he is earning his PhD in Integrative Medicine at Quantum University. Dedicated to human evolution, Paul inspires others to unlock their potential and design a life of purpose. Join him on a journey of conscious awakening, optimizing well-being, and embracing the future of human potential—Becoming Human 2.0. LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube Linktr.ee  

In this episode of the FDNY Pro Podcast, we welcome Captain Bevonia Harrison of Station 38 in Brooklyn. With a nearly 20-year career with FDNY EMS and time in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Captain Harrison discusses her lifelong commitment to service and her passion for giving back in some of the busiest neighborhoods in the city. She explains how important it is to her to make an impact in a community that's not far from her childhood home, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Send us a textIn this episode, we sit down with Mark C. Fava, an author, speaker, and career aviation lawyer who currently serves as a Vice President at The Boeing Company.Mark's career spans decades in both the military and corporate worlds. He served as a Naval Flight Officer and Mission Commander in the P-3 Orion, accumulating over 3,000 flight hours. After 30 years in the Navy Reserve, he retired as a Captain, having commanded three units, including a P-3 squadron.Beyond the military, Mark built a distinguished legal career. He previously led a national aviation law practice at a major law firm and served as chief operations attorney for Delta Air Lines from 2001 to 2004.Now, Mark brings his wealth of experience to the world of leadership and storytelling with his first book, Lessons from the Admiral: Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders, published in January 2025 and already an Amazon bestseller.Join us as we discuss:✔️ His journey from military aviation to corporate leadership✔️ Lessons in decision-making from the cockpit and the courtroom✔️ The leadership principles in his new book✔️ The importance of resilience and adaptability in high-stakes environmentsTune in for an insightful conversation packed with wisdom, leadership insights, and real-world stories from a career that has navigated the skies, the seas, and the boardroom.

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW 0:00 SEG 1 Speaker’s Stump Speech is about Trump fighting with a judge about sending away Venezuelan gang members and is brought to you by https://www.hansenstree.com/ 14:48 SEG 2 Sean Pouche, Representative for District 13 | TOPIC: Disability benefits for Vets | HB1102 Creates provisions relating to compensation for services rendered in veterans benefits matters | He continues to be active in the Navy Reserve and recently served as Executive Officer of the Naval Reserve Unit in Kansas City, Missouri. facebook.com/citizensforseanpouchecitizensforpouche.com 33:39 SEG 3 Tim had a stressful day in Colorado today https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW 0:00 SEG 1 Speaker’s Stump Speech is about Trump fighting with a judge about sending away Venezuelan gang members and is brought to you by https://www.hansenstree.com/ 14:48 SEG 2 Sean Pouche, Representative for District 13 | TOPIC: Disability benefits for Vets | HB1102 Creates provisions relating to compensation for services rendered in veterans benefits matters | He continues to be active in the Navy Reserve and recently served as Executive Officer of the Naval Reserve Unit in Kansas City, Missouri. facebook.com/citizensforseanpouchecitizensforpouche.com 33:39 SEG 3 Tim had a stressful day in Colorado today https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textIn this episode, we chat with Richard Parker, a former college professor who became a public affairs officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Commissioned at 43 in 2013, he left academia to serve and embraced every chance to support the Navy's global mission. Richard's toughest battle wasn't on the frontlines—it was for his life. In January 2022, complications from a medical procedure led to septic shock, and he nearly died twice. After 88 days in the hospital, losing 45 pounds, and relearning to walk, his recovery was miraculous, thanks to his wife's love, prayers, and God's grace. Despite the ordeal, Richard returned to active duty as a public affairs officer for Navy Recruiting Command during a challenging time. Now back in Nashville, he serves in the Navy Reserve and is working on a book about his 2022 health struggles. Richard, author of Leadership Lessons from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is a living example of resilience, service, and faith. Tune in for a deep dive into his journey—his academic career, decision to serve, near-death experience, and powerful return to duty.Episode Highlights: • The moment Richard chose military service over academia • How he survived septic shock and 88 days in the hospital • The mental and physical battle to recover • His role in Navy Recruiting Command during a historic challenge • The lessons he's learned about leadership, perseverance, and faithFind Richard - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-d...Read his book - https://a.co/d/bhnaYHhVisit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.comWatch episodes of my podcast:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

About the Book ***This lecture is sponsored by the IWP IAFIE Alpha Student Chapter*** Since its founding in 1995, the FSB, Russia's Federal Security Service, has regained most the domestic security functions of the Soviet-era KGB. Under Vladimir Putin, who served as FSB director just before becoming president, the agency has grown to be one of the most powerful and favored organizations in Russia. The FSB not only conducts internal security but also has primacy in intelligence operations in former Soviet states. Their activities include anti-dissident operations at home and abroad, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, criminal investigations of crimes against the state, and guarding Russia's borders. In The Russian FSB, Kevin P. Riehle provides a brief history of the FSB's origins, placed within the context of Russian history, the government's power structure, and Russia's wider culture. He describes how the FSB's mindset and priorities show continuities from the tsarist regimes and the Soviet era. The book's chapters analyze origins, organizational structure, missions, leaders, international partners, and cultural representations such as the FSB in film and television. Here is a link to an earlier book Dr. Riehle wrote for NIU available for free download: Russian Intelligence: A Case-based Study of Russian Services and Missions Past and Present About the Author Dr. Kevin Riehle retired in 2021 from a 30+ year career in the U.S. national security community, with tours in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Counterintelligence Center, U.S. European Command Joint Analysis Center, DoD Counterintelligence Field Activity, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. He also retired in 2014 as a U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer with the rank of commander. During his career, Riehle focused on analyzing foreign intelligence services and supporting counterintelligence activities to neutralize the threats they pose. He finished his career as an associate professor of strategic intelligence at the National Intelligence University, teaching courses and chairing over 40 master's theses on intelligence, counterintelligence, and Eurasia-related topics. He also served as the department head for the Collection, Analysis and Counterintelligence Department.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/ Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor Yesterday, in a dramatic and unexpected press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump called for a U.S. takeover of Gaza, and to relocate its two million Palestinian residents to alternative countries. President Trump also issued a series of executive orders impacting Israel and the Middle East, including one imposing maximum pressure on Iran. To discuss these fast-moving developments, Rich Goldberg returns to the podcast. Rich is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). From 2019-2020, he served as Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the Trump White House National Security Council (NSC). He previously served as a national security staffer in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House and is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve with military experience on the Joint Staff and in Afghanistan. CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorMARTIN HUERGO - EditorREBECCA STROM - Director of OperationsSTAV SLAMA - ResearcherGABE SILVERSTEIN - Research InternYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer 

Send us a textIn this episode, we chat with Andrea Goldstein, a senior executive and national security leader, whose career spans from active-duty U.S. Navy officer to shaping policy at the highest levels of government. Andrea has driven cultural transformation in major U.S. institutions, including her pivotal role in passing the Deborah Sampson Act, which improved services for women veterans.She's served in leadership roles across the Biden-Harris Administration and continues her military service as a Navy Reserve commanding officer. Andrea is also an award-winning writer and a member of prestigious organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations.What You'll Learn: • Andrea's journey from Navy service to national security policy influence. • Her leadership in driving cultural change within government. • Insights into the drafting of the Deborah Sampson Act. • Balancing military service, leadership, and writing. • Andrea's thoughts on leadership, resilience, and national security's future.About Andrea: Andrea is from New York State and holds degrees from the University of Chicago, Tufts University, and the Naval War College.Connect with Andrea: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreango... • Learn more about here work:  https://andreangoldstein.substack.com/Tune in for an inspiring conversation on Andrea's remarkable career and impact on national issues!Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.comWatch episodes of my podcast:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

Shannon Llenza, Assistant General Counsel at Microsoft and Commander, U.S. Navy Reserve (retired), reflects with Reed Smith data coordinator Mark Butterfield, a member of RSVets, Reed Smith's veterans business inclusion group, on how her military service has impacted her legal, governmental, and corporate career.

Alex Cornell du Houx served on the Energy Utilities and Technology and Legal and Veterans Affairs committees, sponsoring 14 successful pieces of legislation and co-sponsoring 98 successful bills. He won the REED award for the best national Public Affairs Campaign for his work co-founding Operation Free, a coalition of lawmakers and veterans promoting energy security. Cornell du Houx participated in and led State Department delegations to Southeast Asia to foster government-to-government relations, is a Kentucky Colonel, a senior advisor to the Veterans Campaign, and Partner with the Truman National Security Project. He has provided value-based communications, empathy-based fundraising, and EQ & Public Leadership training worldwide. Alex served in the Marine Corps infantry for seven years and is currently a Public Affairs Officer with the Navy Reserve. Dr Ievgeniia Kopytsia is a law scholar specialising in environmental, climate and energy law from international, EU and Ukrainian perspectives. Her research focuses on climate change and net zero legal dilemmas in the poly-crises era. Dr Ievgeniia Kopytsia also serves as an Associate Professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, where she leads "Sustainable Law and Policy Research Centre" and coordinates Europe-Ukraine Energy Transition Hub - an international consortium aiming to leverage the green reconstruction of Ukraine and provide support to strengthen Ukraine's governance, regulatory frameworks, and market mechanisms in the field of energy, sustainability, and climate action. ---------- LINKS: Alex Cornell du Houx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cornell_du_Houx https://alexcornell.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cornellalex/ https://www.usfca.edu/faculty/alex-cornell-du-houx https://protectingamerica.net/about/alex/ https://x.com/alex_cornell Ievgeniia Kopytsia https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-ievgeniia-kopytsia https://www.linkedin.com/in/ievgeniiakopytsia/ https://netzeroclimate.org/netzero_team/ievgeniia-kopytsia/ ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- TRUCKS UNDER CHRISTMAS TREE With this campaign, we will raise funds for 1 truck to help brave warriors from the 237th battalion, 129th brigade who leverage technology and manage to hold russian advance at the very edge of the frontline. In partnership with Car for Ukraine. https://donorbox.org/trucks-under-christmas-tree/fundraiser/silicon-curtain ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------

When Secretary Pete Buttigieg first joined us at the City Club in 2019, he was "Mayor Pete" of South Bend, Indiana, and already emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. In 2021, he was sworn in as the nation's 19th Secretary of Transportation and is the first openly gay person confirmed to serve in a president's Cabinet. During his tenure as Secretary, he has worked to achieve organizational excellence in the department's operations, and his focus as Secretary has been to deliver the world's leading transportation system for the American people and economy.rnrnIn his first year at the Department, he prioritized supporting the development and passage of President Biden's signature Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Since the law's passage, Secretary Buttigieg and his team have focused on effectively delivering the investments provided by this legislation, enabling the most significant improvements in U.S. transportation infrastructure in over half a century.rnrnSecretary Buttigieg served for seven years as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, taking a leave of absence from the mayor's office for a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. He lives in Traverse City, MI with his husband Chasten, their two children, Gus and Penelope, and their dog.

Kermit Jones, Jr. came across the idea of a prepper book for kids when trying to decide how to explain the topic to his four young daughters. Having attended high school in a very rural part of Virginia, he later went on to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. After several years as a Surface Warfare Officer, he resigned his commission and entered the Chaplain Corps where he continues to serve his country as a Chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserves. In addition to writing children's books, he instructs on topics of leadership, personal and emergency preparedness, self-reliance, and safety, and he has been a guest on several radio and talk show broadcasts. His gun safety book, “Prepper Pete's Gun of a Son,” has taken the number one spot on Kindle for the “Children's non-fiction” category. Between kids and his (multiple) careers, he has learned that it is important to “be prepared!”

Hi Podsquad. Today, we're honored to sit down with Pete Buttigieg to discuss the four magic words that could change the election and the hearts of those you love. Discover: -The powerful antidote to the political tribalism dividing families and communities -How to make love your guiding force in the crucial days ahead -The surprising truth about why even Pete is exhausted by constant political talk—and how to finally move past it -Why politics are personal, and how they impact every part of our lives More on Pete: The first openly gay person confirmed to serve in a president's Cabinet, Buttigieg previously served two terms as mayor of his hometown, South Bend, Indiana, where he worked across the aisle to transform the city's future. Household income grew, poverty fell, and unemployment was cut in half.He also served for seven years as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, taking a leave of absence from the mayor's office for a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014.The son of Joseph Buttigieg, who immigrated to the United States from Malta, and Jennifer Anne Montgomery, a fifth-generation Hoosier, Buttigieg is a graduate of Harvard University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and completed a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. He lives with his husband Chasten, their two children, Gus and Penelope, and their dog. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we continue to assess the threat FROM Iran and the threat TO Iran, we sat down today with two analysts and former national security officials with different perspectives on what we've learned so far and next steps.Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for American Security. He was formerly the top foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain, deputy staff director on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and an official of the U.S. State Department and National Security Council. He currently serves as a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board.Rich Goldberg is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From 2019-2020, he served as a Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. He previously served as a national security staffer in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. Rich is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve with military experience on the Joint Staff and in Afghanistan. 

Tisha Schuller welcomes John Dabbar, managing director of low carbon technologies at ConocoPhillips, to the Energy Thinks podcast. The low carbon team at ConocoPhillips evaluates opportunities and technologies that can closely integrate with the company's global operations, markets, and competencies. John led the National Petroleum Council (NPC) study released in April 2024 “Charting the Course: Reducing GHG Emissions From The U.S. Natural Gas Supply Chain,” which was requested by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Prior to his current role, John has two decades of experience at ConocoPhillips where he previously served as VP of federal and state government affairs, global marine manager and VP, Russia and Caspian transportation. John sailed as an engineer on commercial vessels and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve for 10 years. He received a Marine Engineering degree from Maritime College and an MBA in finance from St. Mary's College. In his free time, John volunteers as a member of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Mentioned in the episode: John recently led the “Charting the Course: Reducing GHG Emissions From The U.S. Natural Gas Supply Chain,” report. Watch the video on YouTube to see Tisha and John discuss The Moment. Subscribe here for Tisha's weekly Both of These Things Are True email newsletter. Follow all things Adamantine Energy at www.energythinks.com. Thanks to Kayla Chieves who makes the Energy Thinks podcast possible. [Interview recorded on October 17, 2024]

In recent days, the Biden-Harris administration has announced it would deploy the THAAD system to Israel — THAAD is an advanced missile defense system that can thwart short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as well as the U.S. military personnel to operate it.  At the same time, the Biden-Harris administration has issued a blistering letter to Israel's government threatening to withhold military resources at the time that Israel is planning its response to the October 1st Iranian attack (here's a copy of the letter:  https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25212303-bqshvt-hmmshl-hamryqny-bhqshrym-hvmnytrym ). To help us understand what is going on with U.S. policy, Rich Goldberg returns to the podcast. Rich is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From 2019-2020, he served as a Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. He previously served as a national security staffer in the US Senate and US House. Rich is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve with military experience on the Joint Staff and in Afghanistan. Recent pieces by Rich: “Israel's Victory Will Be a Success for American Grand Strategy”: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/op_eds/2024/10/04/israels-victory-will-be-a-success-for-american-grand-strategy/ “Turn-Key Alternatives to Replace UNRWA Immediately”: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/05/06/turn-key-alternatives-to-replace-unrwa-immediately/

Welcome to a very special episode of The Sports Docs Podcast. In celebration of our 101st episode, we are honoring Dr. Mark Price who passed away on August 16, 2024 following his battle with leiomyosarcoma. We wanted to pay tribute to Dr. Price, who mentored us both through our residency at Harvard. His death is an immeasurable loss to his family and the community. Dr. Price was the Head Team Physician and Medical Director of the New England Patriots since 2016 and a team physician for the Boston Red Sox since 2009. He was a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves and served in combat operations in Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Most importantly, he was a bright example of a physician who cared deeply for his friends and family, including his wife Stephanie and their children, Henry, Julia and Sarah. The words shared by family and friends at his memorial service in Wellesley last month demonstrated a life rooted in purpose and accomplishments aligned with his values.Mark was one of our first guests, coming onto the show for Episode #3 and #4 in March of 2021. Consistent with who he was, he was willing to take the time out of his busy schedule to help two of his mentees build something new. So, with that, we thank Mark Price for all that he taught us and the mentorship he provided to not only us, but our community.--On today's episode we're continuing our discussion on shoulder instability with Dr. Mark Price, Orthopaedic Surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Head Team Physician for the New England Patriots. We have 5 great articles which we discuss over two episodes that really contribute well this conversation on how to best manage shoulder instability in athletes both in-season and post-season. We're very honored to have Dr. Mark Price join our discussion today. Dr. Price specializes in sports medicine, knee and shoulder surgery. He is an attending surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Price earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and PhD in Medical Physics from MIT. He completed the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, where Catherine and I both attended as well, and then went on to complete a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder reconstructive surgery at Mass General. Dr. Price is Head Team Physician and Medical Director for the New England Patriots and a Team Physician for the Boston Red Sox. He is a Captain in the US Navy Reserves and has served in combat operations in Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. We begin with Dr. Hettrich of Brigham and Women's Hospital who recently investigated the question “Are there racial differences between patients undergoing surgery for shoulder instability?” We'll dive further into this topic and chat about how this impacts resident and fellow education. We will follow these articles up with a discussion on the surgical management of shoulder instability by reviewing two articles from the March issue of Arthroscopy. The first is a prospective randomized controlled trial titled Arthroscopic Bankart Repair With and Without Curettage of the Glenoid Edge. Desai and his team concluded that curettage of the glenoid edge reduced the incidence of postoperative recurrence of instability likely relating to improved healing of the capsulolabrum repair. Avramidis and colleagues contributed their cases on the management of recurrent anterior shoulder instability by All-Arthroscopic Modified Eden-Hybinette Procedure Using Iliac Crest Autograft and Double-Pair Button Fixation System. 

Welcome to a very special episode of The Sports Docs Podcast. In celebration of our 100th episode, we are honoring Dr. Mark Price who passed away on August 16, 2024 following his battle with leiomyosarcoma. We wanted to pay tribute to Dr. Price, who mentored us both through our residency at Harvard. His death is an immeasurable loss to his family and the community. Dr. Price was the Head Team Physician and Medical Director of the New England Patriots since 2016 and a team physician for the Boston Red Sox since 2009. He was a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves and served in combat operations in Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Most importantly, he was a bright example of a physician who cared deeply for his friends and family, including his wife Stephanie and their children, Henry, Julia and Sarah. The words shared by family and friends at his memorial service in Wellesley last month demonstrated a life rooted in purpose and accomplishments aligned with his values.Mark was one of our first guests, coming onto the show for Episode #3 and #4 in March of 2021. Consistent with who he was, he was willing to take the time out of his busy schedule to help two of his mentees build something new. So, with that, we thank Mark Price for all that he taught us and the mentorship he provided to not only us, but our community.--We have 5 great articles which we discuss over two episodes that really contribute well this conversation on how to best manage shoulder instability in athletes both in-season and post-season. We're very honored to have Dr. Mark Price join our discussion today. Dr. Price specializes in sports medicine, knee and shoulder surgery. He is an attending surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Price earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and PhD in Medical Physics from MIT. He completed the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, where Catherine and I both attended as well, and then went on to complete a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder reconstructive surgery at Mass General. Dr. Price is Head Team Physician and Medical Director for the New England Patriots and a Team Physician for the Boston Red Sox. He is a Captain in the US Navy Reserves and has served in combat operations in Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. The first paper is from the February issue of AJSM, titled Incidence of Posterior Shoulder Instability in the United States Military. It is a descriptive epidemiology study by Brett Owen and his team which found the incidence is higher than previously reported. Then, from the January issue of Sports Health, we feature the publication Does Functional Bracing of the Unstable Shoulder Improve Return to Play in Scholastic Athletes? Tokish and colleagues found functional bracing did not result in increased success rates when compared to no bracing in adolescent athletes.

Rob Painter, Jack Kennedy, and Joe Lynch discuss Trimble & Platform Science: The Future of Telematics. Rob Painter is President and CEO of Trimble, a global technology company that provides hardware, software, and services to improve efficiency and productivity in industries like construction, agriculture, and transportation. Jack Kennedy is the Co-founder and CEO of Platform Science, a connected vehicle platform that provides software and hardware solutions to help commercial fleets improve efficiency, safety, and compliance. About Rob Painter Rob Painter became Trimble's President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2020. From 2016 through 2019, he served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer. Joining the Company in 2006, Painter held a variety of leadership positions, including corporate development, corporate strategy, general manager of Construction Services, general manager of the Intelligent Construction Tools international joint venture, and vice president of Trimble Buildings construction software. In August 2023, he was appointed to serve on the Synopsys Board of Directors. Painter holds a bachelor's degree in finance from West Virginia University and an MBA from Harvard University. About Jack Kennedy Jack Kennedy is an established leader of teams, companies, and industries going through periods of great disruption and uncertainty. Jack is the CEO and Co-founder of Platform Science. Platform Science is creating the future of transportation technology. The company has developed premium fleet enterprise solutions, as well as Virtual Vehicle, a revolutionary open connected vehicle application platform, developed in collaboration with leading OEMs Daimler Truck North America, Navistar, PACCAR, and others. Platform Science has twice been ranked #2 in the FreightTech 25 Awards by industry news leader FreightWaves and was named by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies. Before founding Platform Science, Jack served as president of Qualcomm Enterprise Services. Prior to Qualcomm, Jack spent four years at News Corp where he held several executive leadership roles there, including Executive Vice President of News Corp Digital Media, Executive Vice President of Fox Interactive Media, and Senior Vice President of Fox Network Group. Jack helped lead the digital transition of News Corp from a traditional media company into a “digital-first” organization, was responsible for a $2B+ portfolio of over two dozen digital assets, and was part of the joint Fox/NBC Universal team that created the joint venture now known as “Hulu.” Jack retired as a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves in 2016, after serving as a founding team member of DiUX, the Department of Defense's Silicon Valley presence. He was deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 1990, and Panama in 1991. He served tours in Washington D.C., serving on the staff of U.S. Senator John McCain; the Aide de Camp to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and was a naval aviator in the first Gulf War. Jack holds a B.S. in Economics from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was a Legis Fellow of the Brookings Institution and is named on over 40 patents. About Trimble Transportation Trimble Transportation provides fleets with solutions to create a fully integrated supply chain. With an intelligent ecosystem of products and services, Trimble Transportation enables customers to embrace the rapid technological evolution of the industry and connect all aspects of transportation and logistics — trucks, drivers, back office, freight and assets. Trimble Transportation delivers an open, scalable platform to help customers make more informed decisions and maximize performance, visibility and safety. About Platform Science Since 2015, Platform Science has connected fleets across the nation with the tools they need to take control of their technology. As part of their ongoing mission to transform transportation, Platform Science has made it easy for fleets to develop, deploy, and manage their commercial vehicles' mobile devices and applications on a single platform. Through their partnerships with industry leaders at every stage of the supply chain, they empower fleets with endless opportunities to innovate and create solutions that evolve as their businesses grow. Learn More About Trimble & Platform Science: The Future of Telematics Trimble Transportation | Linkedin Trimble Transportation Platform Science | Linkedin Platform Science Revolutionizing the Road: Trimble's Tech Solutions with Kelly Williams | The Logistics of Logistics The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

Jack Posobiec returns for a fascinating conversation about the history of communist revolutions and the role that information warfare plays in the shaping modern political ideologies. Jack gives us case studies in the revolutions of Russia, China, and France - along with the key differences between them and the American Revolution. He explains how Marxist and far-left movements “unhumanize” their political opponents to gain control of nations. And he dives into the tactics of information warfare and his strategy for countering far-left narratives (including a crash course in how to effectively use memes and satire to disarm opponents). Jack Posobiec is the author of the new book “Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them)”. He is the host of the podcast series Human Events Daily. He speaks fluent Mandarin, worked for the US Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, is a former officer in the Navy Reserve, and worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Follow him on X at @JackPosobiec.

Danny Wheeler's life was irrevocably altered on October 23, 1983, when he survived the Beirut barracks bombing. As the Lutheran chaplain for the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, Danny was responsible for the spiritual care of the Marines in Beirut. On the day of the bombing, he was in his bunk on the 4th floor of the BLT building. When the bomb detonated, Danny rode the collapsing structure down, becoming trapped for five harrowing hours. During this time, he thought of his family, recited the plots of Louis L'Amour novels, and argued with God. He was the last survivor pulled alive from the rubble. Today, Danny shares his incredible story of survival and faith as part of our limited series: Beirut Survivors. Born in Menomonie, WI, and raised in Dallas, WI, Danny Wheeler earned a Master of Divinity from Luther Theological Seminary before being called to Naval Chaplaincy. He served with the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, and later at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, TX, before transitioning to the Navy Reserves. Over 26 years in the Navy Chaplain Corps, Danny provided spiritual guidance and comfort in some of the most challenging environments, including the lead-up to and aftermath of the Beirut bombing, where he helped preside over memorial services and offered solace to Marines during intense shelling. Danny's story is one of unwavering faith, service, and resilience. SPONSORS TARGETED: BEIRUT – The first in Jack's new non-fiction series https://www.officialjackcarr.com/books/targeted-beirut/ Bravo Company Manufacturing: Visit us on the web at http://jackcarr.co/bcm and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSA.com SIG: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the legendary SIG SAUER P226. Learn more here - https://jackcarr.co/SIG40thP226 Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here - https://jackcarr.co/gear

Chiropractor to Congress, Supreme Court, and the White House, Parker University's Seventh President, Active Texas Chiropractic Association Member, and proud Texan Dr. Morgan has a long history of serving in military healthcare. At age 17, he joined the Navy and served with a Marine Recon company as a special operations technician hospital corpsman. During that time, he qualified in parachuting, military diving, submarine insertion, jungle warfare, combat swimming, explosives, mountaineering, winter warfare and Arctic survival. Additionally, he attended anti-terrorist training at the FBI Academy. After leaving active military service and transferring to the Navy Reserves, Dr. Morgan began his educational journey to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. While at Palmer College of Chiropractic-West, he transferred to a Naval Special Warfare platoon as the unit's primary hospital corpsman. In 1985, Dr. Morgan received his Doctorate in Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic–West and soon after, married fellow Palmer graduate, Clare Pelkey. They practiced for thirteen years in California. In 1998, Dr. Morgan was chosen to establish the first chiropractic clinic at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, which later became Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In 2015, Walter Reed recognized Dr. Morgan with its highest honor for clinical excellence, the Master Clinician's Award. During the last 18 years at the military's most prestigious medical centers, he practiced in an integrative setting, providing chiropractic care to the injured troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the year 2000, Dr. Morgan was appointed as the Chiropractor to Congress at the U.S. Capitol. At the Office of the Attending Physician to Congress, doctors of many specialties care for members of Congress and the Supreme Court. In 2007, Dr. Morgan began serving as the White House Chiropractor. He was appointed chiropractor for the United States Naval Academy football team in 2009 (which never lost to Army while under his care). In 2011, Dr. Morgan was appointed to the United States Navy Musculoskeletal Continuum of Care Advisory Board, an entity created to address the prevalent injuries sustained by U.S. Armed Forces Personnel during active-duty operations. Dr. Morgan also served on the Spine Subcommittee, which helps develop care algorithms for treating spinal conditions and determining the future of musculoskeletal management in the U.S. Armed Forces. Upon arriving in Texas, he became an active member and supporter of the Texas Chiropractic Association (TCA). Almost immediately, he organized a leadership summit to establish a legislative agenda strategy for chiropractors in Texas. Texas Chiropractors had not won a significant legislative victory in two decades, but in 2017 four bills advantageous to the chiropractic profession passed. Additionally, Morgan has assisted in fundraising, membership recruitment, and awareness for the TCA. As lifetime member of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), he has also held several leadership positions in the organization and continues to serve on the Advisory Board and Ethics Committee. He is also a board member of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges. Dr. Morgan is the recipient of many prestigious awards, namely: The American Chiropractic Association Chairman's Award of Valor, 2003 Chiropractor of the Year from the American Chiropractic Association, 2003 Doctor of Laws, L.L.D. (honoris causa), National University of Health Sciences, 2004 Master Clinician Award, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 2015 The Keeler Plaque: “Chiropractor of the Year” awarded by the Texas Chiropractic Association in 2018 TCA President's Award, 2019-2020 2022 Congressional Veteran Commendation for the Twenty-Fourth Congressional District of Texas Work with RAPID Health Optimization Anders Varner on Instagram Doug Larson on Instagram Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

In this episode, host Jeremy Hitchcock sits down with RDML Mark Haigis, a seasoned Navy Reserve Rear Admiral and veteran of the defense industry, to explore his unique journey across military and civilian roles. Mark shares his experience growing up as a Navy brat, his education at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and his active duty service, including his transition into the Navy Reserve and his leadership roles within the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC).Mark offers an in-depth look at how his dual roles in the Navy and at BAE Systems have given him a unique perspective on the intersection of defense, technology, and innovation. He discusses the evolving strategic landscape, the importance of readiness in a rapidly changing global environment, and the cultural shifts necessary to prepare for future conflicts. Additionally, Mark delves into the role of technology in both the military and private sectors, highlighting the increasing importance of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence.Join us as Mark provides valuable insights into leadership, change management, and the critical role of the Navy in safeguarding national and global security. Whether you're interested in military strategy, defense industry innovation, or leadership development, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge from a leader who has navigated both worlds with distinction. 

Iowa's multi-talented country singer/songwriter Todd Souhrada talks about his latest release “Souhrada Country” featuring “Get a Little Love”, “Don't Go”, “The Bell”, “Anna's Song” and more! Todd began his amazing career sitting beside his mom on the piano at 7, watched The Grand Ol' Opry with his dad on TV and also got his first guitar from his father, went on to play in college and later began songwriting in '82! Todd also served in the Navy Reserves as Lt. Commander as well as a District 9 State Trooper who earned the Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor as the first responder injured while saving two lives after a tornado in '08, plus serves as a member of the Funeral/Honors team & Advisor Trainer for a NATO ACT unit! Check out the amazing Todd Souhrada on all streaming platforms and www.souhrada.com today! #toddsouhrada #singer #songwriter #iowa #souhradacountry #getalittlelove #dontgo #thebell #annassong #grandolopry #navyreserves #ltcommander #sullivanbrothersawardofvalor #NATO #spreaker #iheartradio #spotify #applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnertoddsouhrada #themikewagnershowtoddsouhrada --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themikewagnershow/support

Iowa's multi-talented country singer/songwriter Todd Souhrada talks about his latest release “Souhrada Country” featuring “Get a Little Love”, “Don't Go”, “The Bell”, “Anna's Song” and more! Todd began his amazing career sitting beside his mom on the piano at 7, watched The Grand Ol' Opry with his dad on TV and also got his first guitar from his father, went on to play in college and later began songwriting in '82! Todd also served in the Navy Reserves as Lt. Commander as well as a District 9 State Trooper who earned the Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor as the first responder injured while saving two lives after a tornado in '08, plus serves as a member of the Funeral/Honors team & Advisor Trainer for a NATO ACT unit! Check out the amazing Todd Souhrada on all streaming platforms and www.souhrada.com today! #toddsouhrada #singer #songwriter #iowa #souhradacountry #getalittlelove #dontgo #thebell #annassong #grandolopry #navyreserves #ltcommander #sullivanbrothersawardofvalor #NATO #spreaker #iheartradio #spotify #applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnertoddsouhrada #themikewagnershowtoddsouhrada --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themikewagnershow/support

There are 56,254 Navy Reserves, with typical civilian jobs in law enforcement, medicine, government, and business. One day-job not commonly on the list: Pro-Football. Enter Joe Cardona, who joined the New England Patriots as the 2nd highest-drafted long snapper in NFL history in 2015, and as a Reservist heads up Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron-Eight in Newport, RI overseeing 500 sailors. As the NFL's 13th annual Salute To Service Award recipient presented by USAA, Joe talks about teammates and brotherhood, service, getting the mental health you need, and what leadership means both on and off the football field. Salute to Service represents the NFL's unwavering dedication to honoring, empowering, and connecting with our nation's service members, veterans, and their families. It is grounded in deep partnerships with the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF), Pat Tillman Foundation (PTF), Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), United Service Organizations (USO) and Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). Since 2011, more than $66 million has been raised for these Salute to Service partners.------Home Base Nation will be sharing episodes every two weeks up through the Run To Home Base this coming July 27th. Please sign up to join us there to support all veteran, servicemember and family care, and as we celebrate women in the military this year. Home Base Nation is the official podcast for Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families – Our team sees veterans, servicemembers and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation – And if you want to learn more on how you can help, visit us at www.homebase.org, or if you or anyone you know would like to connect to care, you can also reach us at 617-724-5202.Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler FrogsFollow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedInThe Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.Producer and Host: Dr. Ron HirschbergAssistant Producer, Editor: Chuck CloughChairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter SmythThe views expressed by guests to the Home Base Nation podcast are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation or any of its officials.

Dr. David Wurmser, Senior Analyst for Middle East Affairs at the Center for Security Policy, Served as Middle East Adviser to Dick Cheney, as Special Assistant to John Bolton, and as a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.   Discussed the latest acts of betrayal of Israel by the government of Joe Biden, the extent to which it is advancing an agenda of global governance at the expense of freedom and sovereignty, and our alliance with one of the most important of our friends in the world, the state of Israel. Explored the work that is going forward by the Israelis to defeat Hamas despite the Biden team's best efforts to ensure not only its survival but also its defeat of the Jewish state. Kyle Shideler, Director and Senior Analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Explored the betrayal of the Biden administration concerning the law enforcement professionals whose performance, capabilities, and morale may be the difference between life and death for many of us in this country. Captain James Fennell Retired from U.S. Navy in 2015, concluding a 30-year career as a naval intelligence officer specializing in Indo-Asia Pacific security affairs with an emphasis on the Chinese Navy; assignments included tours as the Assistant Chief of Staff for intelligence for the U.S. Seventh Fleet aboard the USS Blue Ridge, the Office of Naval Intelligence China Senior Intelligence Officer, etc., Former National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University.                                     We got an update from Captain James Fennell about the state of China's strategic arson under the "arsonist-in-chief," Xi Jinping, how it is part of a larger strategy for conquering the world using multiple techniques and quite possibly without having to fire a shot. We also discussed the extent to which American elites have been indispensable in enabling China to put itself in a position to do devastating harm to our country.  

Are you ready to dive into a story of service, transition, and financial wisdom? In episode 115 of "Carlsbad: People, Purpose, and Impact," we have the pleasure of sitting down with the remarkable Darcy Wolfe, a certified financial planner at Edward Jones and a dedicated board member of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.From her early days in the Northwest to attending the U.S. Naval Academy with dreams of soaring the skies, Darcy's journey took an unexpected turn when her vision impeded her flight path. But did that stop her? Not a chance! Tune in to discover how she navigated the winds of change, transitioning from active duty to the Civil Engineer Corps, then to the reserves, and finally to the world of financial planning.Ever wondered what it's like to shift gears from military service to civilian life while juggling family and a new career? Darcy shares her candid experience and how a colleague led her to her passion for financial planning. She also reveals why Edward Jones was the perfect fit for her, with its stellar culture and community-first approach.But Darcy's story isn't just about numbers and investments; it's about heart and home. Get to know the woman who balances her professional life with community service, from Rotary to the Assistance League, and cherishes family time golfing, skiing, or relaxing at Big Bear Lake.And if Darcy's financial savvy has piqued your interest, a simple Google search for "Darcy Wolfe Edward Jones." Don't miss this episode of "Carlsbad: People, Purpose, and Impact," where personal stories inspire, and life lessons abound.Darcy Wolfe's Bio:I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1992 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Thought I aspired to be a fighter pilot, my eyes weren't up to the task and I was commissioned in the US Navy Civil Engineer Corps. After six years on active duty, I transitioned to a consulting career with Accenture and remained in the U.S. Navy Reserves until I retired in 2017, achieving the rank of Captain.In 2014, I became a financial advisor at Edward Jones, where I knew that mutual trust and personal relationships were held dear. I'm proud to serve individuals, families and businesses in our community as a Certified Financial Planner.Having resided in nearly a dozen states and countries, my husband and I have made our home in Vista, CA. Active in our community, I'm a proud member of the Executive Board for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, Vista Rotary Foundation and Milestone House.I like to golf (if you can call it that), ski and spend time with my family. We cherish weekends in the mountains and evenings on the front porch with friends.Connect with Darcy:Website: EdwardJones.comFacebookLinkedIn Did this episode have a special impact on you? Share how it impacted youCarlsbad Podcast Social Links:LinkedInInstagramFacebookXYouTubeSponsor: This show is sponsored and produced by DifMix Productions. To learn more about starting your own podcast, visit www.DifMix.com/podcasting

Serving Beyond Age: A Journey to Navy Reserves with May Wickenhauser This episode of the ASVAB Domination Podcast features host Mickey Gamonal interviewing May Wickenhauser, a 41-year-old special education teacher who decided to join the U.S. military. May shares her unique story of deciding to serve later in life, the motivations behind her choice, and how she prepared for the ASVAB test with the aim of enlisting before reaching the cutoff age. The conversation covers May's personal background, her inspirations, and the specifics of navigating the recruitment process as an older applicant, including medical evaluations and choosing between the Navy and Air Force. Mae's journey illustrates the value of life experiences in the military application process and the encouragement she provides to both her children and students to follow their dreams. The episode also promotes GamonalTutors.com for ASVAB prep courses. 00:00 A Casual Start: Tanks, Planes, and Inspiring the Kids 00:16 Introducing the ASVAB Domination Podcast 00:56 Mae's Unique Journey to the ASVAB 01:20 From Civilian Life to Military Aspirations 03:12 Inspiration and Decision: A Family's Military Journey 06:52 Choosing the Navy: A Personal and Professional Leap 08:04 Preparing for Boot Camp and Beyond 29:08 Reflecting on the Journey and Looking Ahead 31:16 ASVAB Prep Courses: Your Path to Military Success ASVAB Domination: Asvabdomination.com Gamonal Tutors: gamonaltutors.com May: https://www.instagram.com/melymayw/ https://asvabdomination.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Episode-31.wav

At this week's Round Table, Hannah and Heba spoke with Caleb Christen of the InterMovement Impact Project, a dedicated advocate for democracy and civic health. Hailing from the heartland of Wisconsin, Caleb's journey is a testament to his unwavering commitment to service and systems change. Caleb's illustrious career spans over 16 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. From overseeing operations across Europe and Southwest Asia to mentoring judges in Afghanistan, Caleb's leadership left an indelible mark on the global stage. In a bold move to safeguard democracy in a new capacity, Caleb transferred from the Navy Reserves in 2020 and  into academia, entering into the hallowed halls of the Duke Divinity School and the University of Oxford's Said Business School. Recognizing the need for systems change, Caleb, along with systems change strategist Walt Roberts, co-founded the Inter-Movement Impact Project (IMIP). IMIP is not just an organization; it's a force for collective impact. Caleb introduced us to the groundbreaking concept of "local democracy hubs." These hubs, incubated through IMIP's flagship project, the "Local Intersections Project," serve as beacons of holistic support for community needs and priorities. Caleb also has a deep passion for the role of youth in building power and movement capacity, feeling strongly that movements, unlike traditional organizations, should not limit participation based on age. He believes that the dynamic energy of youth, coupled with their mastery of social media, can revolutionize the landscape of American democracy and civic health. Whether you're curious about volunteering, supporting projects, internships, or informal movement building, Caleb will have a wealth of insights for you. We're thrilled to have you join us for a riveting conversation with a visionary leader who is shaping the future of democracy, one local democracy hub at a time. Thank you for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nextgenpolitics/message

Many thanks to Commander BJ Farrell for your service, ongoing support and leadership to your sailors and to everyone you meet here in Boston. Best of luck back at the Naval Academy, mentoring the many lucky students ahead.Special thanks to the USS Constitution Public Affairs Officer, First Class Ray Minami, for all your help and support of Home Base. Thanks to the great crew at the MGH Photography lab too and please note you can find this conversation on Home Base's YouTube channel soon.Home Base Nation will be sharing episodes over two weeks up through the Run To Home Base this coming July 27th. Please sign up to join us there to support all veteran, servicemember and family care, and as we celebrate women in the military this year. If this is your first time joining us, welcome -Home Base Nation is the official podcast for Home Base Program for Veteran and Family Care, in Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, MA. Every two weeks we share conversations and stories about service, mental health, and recovery with great military and civilian guests. We are over 100 episodes since the start, a few months prior to the pandemic on Veterans Day 2019.Home Base continues to grow in terms of care, awareness and research, working with veterans and active duty servicemembers across the US and from several other countries. Our programs are continuing to expand right here in Boston, in Florida, Arizona and more news to come.Here are a few 2024 highlights around Home Base since January. Many great things happening, but here are just a few…-Arizona State University hosted a successful launch party in Phoenix to announce our partnership to deliver Warrior Health and Fitness on the university's Downtown Phoenix campus beginning this month.-Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona, received the NFL's prestigious Salute to Service Award, to those supporting the Military community. Joe is a lieutenant in the Navy Reserves and came by Home Base to take a tour and talk about the needs of servicemembers and veterans. -Home Base Florida's Air Force Veteran Angie De Lima and Marine Veteran Jaime Fernandez participated in workshops in Puerto Rico for veterans and families, and Jaime delivered content from our Resilient Warrior program in Spanish!-Just last month, Senator Elizabeth Warren invited Spaulding Rehabilitation President and Home Base Chief of TBI Dr. Ross Zafonte to testify to the Senate Armed Forces Committee about the impacts of TBI and blast exposure on active-duty Special Operations Forces.We wanted to highlight just a few of the many women who have served and have made history along the way…General Ann E. Dunwoody: In 1992, General Dunwoody was the first female battalion commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and the first female in US Military history to be promoted to four-star general .Navy Flight Nurse Jane Kendeigh (Ken-dee): At Iwo Jima in 1945, Jane Louise ‘Candy' Kendeigh, was one of 122 women with specialized training, not only caring for battlefield wounds, but direct hand-to-hand combat.Army soldier Cathay Williams: Was the first African American female soldier to enlist in the Army – in 1866 and the only documented black woman to serve in the 19th century, serving with the 38th infantry regiment, or the Buffalo the soldiers – joining under her pseudonym, William Cathay.---Home Base Nation is the official podcast for Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families – Our team sees veterans, servicemembers and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation – And if you want to learn more on how you can help, visit us at www.homebase.org, or if you or anyone you know would like to connect to care, you can also reach us at 617-724-5202.Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler FrogsFollow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedInThe Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.Producer and Host: Dr. Ron HirschbergAssistant Producer, Editor: Chuck CloughChairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter SmythThe views expressed by guests to the Home Base Nation podcast are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation or any of its officials.

    Retired Navy Commander and Trauma Surgeon Dr. Ramon Cestero joins us to share his remarkable journey from the front lines to the forefront of surgical innovation. Imagine the battlefield's high stakes where every second counts, and the tools at your disposal can mean the difference between life and death. His tales of life-saving speed and adaptability in the most austere conditions reveal the genesis of his revolutionary contribution to surgical technology—a battlefield-optimized surgical retractor. Our conversation with Dr. Cestero isn't just a walk through his experiences; it's a masterclass in the resilience and resourcefulness required in military and civilian trauma surgery.     Throughout the episode, we witness the evolution of surgical retractors over the past few centuries, from their rudimentary origins to the state-of-the-art devices we see today. From the necessity that birthed his new retractor system to the behind-the-scenes look at transforming a concept into a globally utilized device, the narrative is as engaging as it is instructive. Dr. Cestero's insights into balancing the demands of a full-time surgical career with medical entrepreneurship are a candid reflection on the challenges and triumphs of innovation.      As we round out the discussion, Dr. Cestero doesn't just rest on his laurels; he casts a strategic eye toward the future of trauma surgery. With a nod to the lessons of past conflicts, we discuss the dynamic nature of military medicine and the implications for surgeons in rapidly evolving combat environments. We get into the Navy's shifting strategies, the importance of adaptable surgical teams, and the next wave of advancements set to revolutionize trauma care. It's a riveting exploration of how technologies like Dr. Cestero's retractor, along with advancements in operating room efficiency and training, stand to elevate patient care in both military operations and civilian trauma centers. Prepare to be inspired by the potential that lies ahead, as we uncover the innovations set to revolutionize the experience of patients and surgeons alike. Chapters: (00:04) Military Trauma Surgeon's Innovative Approach (08:07) Innovating Surgical Retractors (13:51) From Idea to Global Commercialization (19:06) Innovative Surgical Retractor System Design (31:10) Future Innovations in Trauma Surgery   Chapter Summaries: (00:04) Military Trauma Surgeon's Innovative Approach This chapter features retired Navy Commander and Trauma Surgeon Dr. Ramon Cestero, who shares insights from his multiple global deployments, emphasizing the importance of proper equipment, speed, and adaptability in trauma surgery under austere conditions. I discuss with him how these experiences led to his development of a battlefield-optimized surgical retractor and the challenges of bringing such innovations to widespread use. Dr. Cestero also reflects on the unique aspects of serving as a trauma surgeon in the Navy Reserves, highlighting the balance between maintaining military connection and civilian practice, and offers suggestions for enhancing reserve surgeons' team experience and training. We explore the current gaps in trauma surgery research and what future innovations Dr. Cestero envisions. (08:07) Innovating Surgical Retractors This chapter uncovers the pressing need for innovation in surgical equipment, specifically retractors, through a surgeon's experiences working in both austere military settings and a Level 1 trauma center. I discuss the challenges faced during surgeries without adequate resources, such as the absence of platelets and the struggle for exposure in critical procedures, which can lead to life-threatening delays. The narrative is anchored by a poignant case of a young soldier with severe injuries, whose outcome might have been different with better surgical tools. We explore the history of surgical retractors, from their evolution in the Renaissance to modern table-mounted systems, and the inspirations behind famous designs like the Balfour and Bookwalter retractors. (13:51) From Idea to Global Commercialization This chapter unfolds the journey of developing a new surgical retractor system, from the spark of innovation to international commercialization. Dr. Cestero shares his story of collaborating with a tech transfer office and co-inventing with a biomedical engineer to create a prototype, which we tested successfully on a cadaver. He highlights the challenges of balancing a full-time surgery career with entrepreneurship, leading to a gradual transition to dedicating myself fully to the company. Ramon also touches on the process of patenting, fundraising, and gathering feedback from various medical professionals to refine the prototype. (19:06) Innovative Surgical Retractor System Design This chapter, we explore the design and functionality of a revolutionary surgical retractor system that addresses common frustrations surgeons face with traditional retractors. We examine how its one-way assembly prevents incorrect setup, the satisfying ratchet sound that signals secure placement, and its adaptability to different incision sizes. The system's lightweight nature at only two pounds and compatibility with Bookwalter components are highlighted, along with its efficiency in providing exposure of the abdominal wall and retroperitoneum. A personal story reveals the retractor's surprising lightness and convenience in a combat environment, emphasizing its practicality for both the operating room and field surgery. Additionally, we discuss how the retractor can be adapted for upward lift, enhancing visibility in deep pelvic or upper abdominal procedures. (31:10) Future Innovations in Trauma Surgery This chapter focuses on the anticipated changes in military medical operations, drawing parallels with historical conflicts such as World War II and emphasizing the necessity for adaptability in modern warfare environments. We discuss the likelihood of increased casualties, the need for prolonged field care, and the possibility of surgeons re-operating on patients due to limited evacuation options. Additionally, we cover the Navy's evolving role and the potential shift toward more mobile surgical teams at sea. In terms of trauma surgery advancements, we touch on the ongoing efforts to improve blood product availability and the challenges faced by trainees with the transition from open to minimally invasive surgery. The conversation also highlights the importance of enhancing operating room efficiency, particularly through innovations in surgical retractors, lighting, and integration of suction to improve patient outcomes and the overall surgical experience. **This Episode was supported in part by a generous educational grant from Advanced Surgical Retractor Systems, INC.** Take Home Messages: Military trauma surgery experiences have significantly contributed to the development and innovation of surgical technology, particularly in the design of surgical retractors optimized for battlefield conditions. The evolution of surgical retractors has been influenced by the necessity to operate efficiently under resource-limited conditions, with historical designs like the Balfour and Bookwalter retractors laying the foundation for modern advancements. A surgeon's ability to adapt and operate quickly in austere environments can have life-saving implications, underscoring the importance of equipment that is both effective and transportable. Bringing a new medical device from concept to global commercialization involves collaboration with engineers, navigating the patenting process, fundraising, and obtaining feedback from medical professionals to refine the design. The design of the discussed innovative surgical retractor system aims to address common frustrations, such as incorrect assembly, while providing rapid and secure placement, adaptability to different incision sizes, and compatibility with existing surgical components. Future innovations in trauma surgery are anticipated to include improved blood product availability, more efficient operating room technologies, and training adjustments to accommodate the transition from open to minimally invasive surgery. Military medical operations are likely to face changes with increased casualty numbers, necessitating adaptable and mobile surgical teams capable of prolonged field care and re-operation on patients. Enhancements in surgical tools can lead to better patient outcomes by improving exposure and efficiency in the operating room, even under combat or emergency conditions. Surgeons must balance maintaining traditional techniques with embracing new, potentially life-saving technologies, and training is essential for the successful adoption of innovative surgical devices. Operating room efficiency is critical not only in civilian trauma centers but also in military operations, with technological advancements being crucial to adapting to future combat environments and potentially high-casualty scenarios.   Episode Keywords: Military Trauma Surgery, Surgical Retractors, Innovation, Battlefield, Austere Conditions, Surgical Technology, Resilience, Resourcefulness, Operating Room Efficiency, Medical Entrepreneurship, Trauma Care, Navy, Surgical Teams, Blood Product Availability, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Operating Room Integration, Suction, Patient Outcomes   Hashtags: #wardocs #military #medicine #podcast #MilMed #MedEd #TraumaSurgery, #SurgicalInnovation, #MilitaryMedicine, #CombatSurgeon, #MedicalBreakthroughs, #OperatingRoomTech, #SurgicalRetractor, #MedicalEntrepreneurship, #TraumaCare, #MilitaryHealthcare   Honoring the Legacy and Preserving the History of Military Medicine The WarDocs Mission is to honor the legacy, preserve the oral history, and showcase career opportunities, unique expeditionary experiences, and achievements of Military Medicine. We foster patriotism and pride in Who we are, What we do, and, most importantly, How we serve Our Patients, the DoD, and Our Nation.   Find out more and join Team WarDocs at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/ Check our list of previous guest episodes at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/episodes Listen to the “What We Are For” Episode 47. https://bit.ly/3r87Afm   WarDocs- The Military Medicine Podcast is a Non-Profit, Tax-exempt-501(c)(3) Veteran Run Organization run by volunteers. All donations are tax-deductible and go to honoring and preserving the history, experiences, successes, and lessons learned in Military Medicine. A tax receipt will be sent to you. WARDOCS documents the experiences, contributions, and innovations of all military medicine Services, ranks, and Corps who are affectionately called "Docs" as a sign of respect, trust, and confidence on and off the battlefield, demonstrating dedication to the medical care of fellow comrades in arms.     Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @wardocspodcast Facebook: WarDocs Podcast Instagram: @wardocspodcast LinkedIn: WarDocs-The Military Medicine Podcast YouTube Channel: WarDocs-The Military Medicine Podcast

In this episode of one of the best podcasts for those preparing for military transition, we get into the life and career of Lt. Commander Amy Forsythe, a former enlisted Marine who transitioned to being an Officer in the Navy Reserves. Whose career has spanned roles as a combat correspondent, reporter, author, and a beacon for military veterans navigating their post-service lives. Amy's journey is not just a story of personal achievement but a roadmap for military transition, offering invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie beyond the uniform. Amy's narrative begins in the heart of Northern California, where her early life set the stage for a distinguished career in the Marine Corps and the Navy. Her service as a combat correspondent took her to the front lines, with 2 deployments to Iraq, 3 to Afghanistan, as well as Niger, Poland, Germany, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, where she honed her skills in storytelling, capturing the essence of military life and the spirit of those who serve. Her transition from the Marine Corps to active Reserve and a civilian career and then a commission in the Navy Reserves is a testament to her resilience, adaptability, and the unwavering spirit of a veteran determined to continue serving her community through her work and the "Heroes Live Here" book she authored and published. Throughout the conversation, Amy touches on pivotal moments of her military career, her passion for storytelling, and her commitment to helping fellow veterans navigate the often-daunting path of reintegration into civilian life. Her experiences as a Marine, Navy officer, and combat correspondent are not just career highlights but chapters of a larger story that resonates with many in the military and first responder communities. Amy Forsythe's episode is a beacon for those in the midst of their military transition, offering guidance, inspiration, and a reminder of the vast opportunities that await beyond service. ALL LINKS FOR THE PODCAST https://linktr.ee/TransitionDrillPodcast SUBSCRIBE AND WATCH EPISODE ON YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TransitionDrillPodcast?sub_confirm=1 CONNECT WITH AMY: Web: https://www.heroeslivehere.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyforsythe/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/amyforsythe760/

On this week's Industrial Talk we're onsite at Xcelerate 23 in Orlando, FL and talking to Lee McClish, Director, Maintenance and Reliability, NTT Global Data Centers about "Ensuring Data Center Reliability to Deliver Optimal Performance".  Summary of our conversation: Securing operational technology with zero trust. 0:00 Palo Alto Networks offers zero trust security for operational technology, simplifying management and providing comprehensive visibility and protection. Industrial maintenance and reliability with a Navy veteran. 1:16 Lee McClish, Director of Maintenance and Reliability at NTT Global Data Centers, discusses his role and journey in the industry. Scott MacKenzie, host of Industrial Talk, highlights the importance of maintenance and reliability in the industry and the benefits of Accelerate 23. Jack Nichols retired from the Navy Reserves with 30 years of service and worked in various industries, including a corrugated box plant and a chemical company, before becoming a reliability engineer. Reliability and maintenance programs for critical infrastructure. 5:03 Raging Wire's Lee explains his mechanical engineering background to Scott MacKenzie. Lee categorizes critical assets into electrical, mechanical, building, fire, and life safety categories. Implementing a CMMS system and improving maintenance processes. 8:25 Lee discussed the importance of predictive maintenance and using IR scanning to identify deficiencies in manufacturing assets, highlighting the need to justify the cost of such efforts. Lee also shared their experience with implementing a CMMS system to improve maintenance management, but encountered challenges with cluttered screens and inadequate remedy codes. Lee spent their first year in a new role building foundations, including FMEA and PM optimization, and bouncing ideas off industry experts. Lee years, Speaker 3 was promoted and given maintenance coordinators, allowing them to evolve the CMMS and set standards for their team. Data center maintenance and reliability. 13:46 Lee discussed the benefits of documenting and analyzing failed cause remedy codes, as well as the challenges of managing and securing data in the cloud. Lee's company is building more data centers to accommodate the growing number of devices and using predictive analytics to capture and trend data, while also addressing cybersecurity concerns. Lee discusses NTT global data center and the importance of asset management and reliability at Fluke accelerate event in Orlando. Finally, get your exclusive free access to the Industrial Academy and a series on “Why You Need To Podcast” for Greater Success in 2023. All links designed for keeping you current in this rapidly changing Industrial Market. Learn! Grow!...

Jesse Iwuji is a Navy Reserves officer and former college football player who currently competes part time driving the No. 34 Chevrolet Camaro for Jesse Iwuji Motorsports on NASCAR's Xfinity Series.  Iin college, Jesse played free safety for the United States Naval Academy and is currently serving as an officer in the Navy Reserves. In August 2020, Jesse made his NASCAR Xfinity series debut and a year later, partnered with Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith to start an Xfinity Series team - Jesse Iwuji Motorsports.  Today on the podcast, we talk to Jesse about being the only driver currently in all of NASCAR that is also serving his country as a US Military member. We also dive deep into Jesse's faith and why the Bible applies to all of us and the prayer book that his mom had when he was a kid.  Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15 http://SportsSpectrum.com/magazine 

Richard 'Dick' Stroud joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 during World War II, and he continued his service through the Korean War. Richard served as a U.S. Naval Aviator with seven years active duty plus ten years of service in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He was selected to be a member of the U.S. Blue Angels – the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron — in 1951 after the Korean War but was released to inactive duty in August of 1951 because the Navy temporarily canceled the Blue Angels due to budget cuts by the U.S. Department of Defense. Richard began his career at the then-Lockheed Georgia Company in 1952 and retired at age 88 years young in 2015 (62 years and 4 months). At Richard's retirement party, Shan Cooper (then the Marietta site vice president and general manager) said she was willing to tear up his resignation letter because of Richard's commitment to excellence, honor, and respect – all of which had been shown and proven over and over throughout his years of service with the company. Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases...You Know The Deal! (Paid Link) Help grow the show! Spread the word, tell a friend!! Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts! Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com) Photo Credit: Richard Stroud