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In this special presentation, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind '91, USAFA's 22nd superintendent, shares an inside look into cadet development and answers graduate questions. Hosted by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99, this episode dives into the Academy's mission and how it is preparing our nation's future warfighters.   FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest:  Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind '91  |  Host:  Lt. Col. (Ret.)Navire Walkewicz '99   Naviere Walkewicz This special edition of the Air Force Gradcast is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network, presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation. I'm your host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. We're honored to feature the superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, Class of '91. In this presentation, Gen. Bauernfeind will share important updates on current initiatives and developments at our Air Force Academy. Following his remarks, he and I will sit down for a conversation, during which he'll respond to questions submitted by graduates in our alumni community. So now, without further ado, Gen. Bauernfeind. Thank you for being here, sir.   Gen. Bauernfeind Well, Naviere, thank you so much for allowing us to come and share our story of our wonderful Air Force Academy. And thank you as well to the Association of Graduates and the Foundation for all of the incredible support that we receive to develop our future leaders into the warrior leaders that we need on Day 1 in our Air Force and Space Force.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, we are grateful you're here, and we can't wait to hear what you're able to share with us today, sir, so we can jump ahead if you're ready.   Gen. Bauernfeind Wonderful. So I would like to share with you an updated mission brief of where we are going at the United States Air Force Academy. And during this time, I'd like to share not only our leadership team that's taking on the transformation that has been mandated, but also to update our alumni on our mission, our vision, our priorities and our mission sets, as well as talk about how we are creating warfighters, leaders of character and quality, and critical thinkers, and provide an update of how we are transforming this amazing institution to develop those warrior leaders that we need to keep our adversaries at bay. So as always, I'd like to start all briefings with a little video that highlights what our cadets are doing and our incredible public affairs team and video team put together the following video that shows what our cadets have been doing over the last six months... ...So you can see that our cadets have been absolutely busy over the last few months, and I can attest that this summer is they brought the problems up even more and are bringing even more energy to their training, their education, their development. But let me first talk about the amazing team at the senior leadership levels at the United States Air Force Academy, because we cannot do what we're doing without this incredible team. So first, we're welcoming reader Gen. Nicholas Evans as our new vice superintendent, coming out as the 18th Wing commander at Kadena Air Base, bringing a wonderful operational experience to bear, as well as academic bona fides to be our vice superintendent. Our command chief remains Command Chief John Alsvig and our commandant remains to be Brig. Gen. Marks and Col. Steve Hasstedt is our acting dean as we work to bring a new dean into bear. Ms. Gail Colvin is our stalwart chief of staff, with her wisdom from the Class of '80 that keeps us moving forward. Ms. Jen Block is our executive athletic director. Mr. Nate Pine is our director of athletics, and our brand new wing commander, the 10th Air Base Wing, Col. Ahave Brown. And we all know that nothing happens at USAFA without the 10th Air Base wing providing the foundational support. But also Col. Taylor from the 306 Flying Training Wing, and Col. Silva is our space detachment commander, and it's important that we have all those leaders that are helping us transform USAFA. And to that transformation, we talk about our updated mission statement that was approved last fall. And that updated mission statement is that “USAFA's mission is to forge leaders of character motivated to a lifetime of service and developed to lead our Air Force and Space Force as we fight and win our nation's wars.” And for the alumni, as we went through this mission statement development, we realized that there are many activities we take on at the United States Air Force Academy. There's education, there's training, there's motivation, inspiration, development. And we realized that we are taking the most amazing women and men from all four corners of this United States, and we're bringing them here as raw materials, and we are taking them through high-stress military, academic and athletic programs to forge them into something stronger than what they were when they showed up. And those are the leaders of character. We also wanted to make sure that we highlighted that it's about delivering a lifetime of service to our nation. It doesn't mean that every graduate needs to do 34-plus years in active duty like I'm currently doing, but continue to give back, whether that's in active duty, the Guard the Reserve, to your community in the defense industry, as an elected official or as a key supporter in our alumni networks — keep serving our nation. And then finally, an acknowledgement that we, alongside our teammates at West Point and Annapolis, have a very special mandate that we are developing those warrior leaders that will fight and win our nation's wars. While we hope that we will achieve peace through strength and deter our adversaries, we must always be ready when the nation calls and we will go forward and deliver victory for our nation. So it's important in our mission, but a mission will only take us so far. And the next step is acknowledging that we must have a vision. What is our North Star? And our North Star is we will remain and continue to be the nation's premier service academy. That we're bringing in rigorous, adversary-focused military training, military training that achieves a standard, that achieves a requirement, and not just training for training sake. But also maintain our level as a nationally recognized academic program with highly competitive athletics, and acknowledging that for us to deliver on those four, we must continue to sustain a world-class installation. But more importantly, continue to bring in professional and dedicated permanent party into our faculty. Our coaches, our headquarters, our installation support requires our outstanding permanent party. And so our vision moves us forward. And from our mission and our vision, we have established three key priorities, and those priorities will guide our decision making. But let me take your attention to the bottom first. The bottom is our foundational aspect, that we build all of our aspects upon our service core values of our Air Force and our Space Force of integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do, courage, character, connection and commitment. And those we build upon further foundationally to acknowledge that we are in the military and all aspects of military operations activities require a strict adherence to standard. What is the task that we are executing? What are the conditions on which we will execute those tasks? And what standards do we expect, especially in high end warfare, where our standards are so tight. We also acknowledge that what is special about us is our Honor Code. It is foundational to our character, and we'll talk more about that as we build upon this. But realizing that the Class of '59 that established our Honor Code. It has been foundational to the development of our leaders of character and quality as a board, and then adding into the fact that leaders who built lethal warfighting teams — they do it from a position of respect and teamwork, that they take their team and they support them, they hold them accountable, but they push them to rise above what they could think they could personally achieve. And how do we build those future leaders that are going to take teammates from all four corners of this United States and make sure every single teammate is seen, heard and valued and can give everything possible to the mission at hand? And that leads us to our priorities. That our priorities are we are here to forge warfighters to win, to inspire leaders of character and quality, and finally, to motivate critical thinkers to adapt, because all three are important. And that takes us to our mission sets, because those three priorities span across everything we do in a cadet's journey at the United States Air Force Academy. And the first is acknowledging the military training aspect. That military training goes beyond just learning how to put a uniform on, just how to march correctly, but also understanding how to operate inside of Air Force and Space Force norms and take on those military training activities that our Air Force and Space Force are taking on right now with Ready Airmen Training and the ability to execute agile combat deployment. And that's activities like being able to shoot, move, communicate, medicate and automate, but also acknowledging that we also must have that world-class academic program that challenges our future leaders not what to think, but how to think, and to do that from a warfighting-focused curriculum that is very STEM focused, but also leans in hard to how we can leverage the incredible intellect that these cadets are bringing in today and unleash them on some of the hardest Air Force and Space Force problems through our research programs as we lean into it. And then finally, as we talk about our competitive athletics, that athletics is a key aspect of the cadet's journey, whether it be through our 30 incredible intercollegiate sports teams, our intramural programs, our physical education programs, or finally our physical fitness tests that demonstrate the warrior ethos that is being expected of a military service academy, and it's important that we look across those. But let me talk about a little further of our priorities from those three lenses. The first is the aspect of warfighters win, of how we're bringing in training such as shoot, move, communicate, medicate and automate. And I've heard some teammates are going, “Why are we doing this ground focused training?” And at the end of the day, it's not ground focused training, it's joint force training. This is where our Air Force is going. That we still need to be able to succeed in the air, space, cyber domains, but we must also deliver excellence in these domains. With shoot, I requested that all of our cadets now become qualified in their long gun, the M4, and their sidearm, the M18, every single year. So now they'll have the confidence of their weapons when they have to go forward into harm's way. The same with move and communicate. Can they understand the aspects of mission command, especially in future fights where we may not have the best connectivity with our highest headquarters? Will they understand commander's intent and still be able to generate the combat power we need to keep our adversaries on their heels? Finally, to medicate. Over the last few decades, we have benefited from the golden hour, where we had such dominance that when we had a teammate isolated or injured, we would have medical care a rescue capability to them inside the hour. Future battlefields will likely not give us that luxury. So we must teach our future leaders those advanced medical capabilities to take care of their injured teammates while they're continuing to generate combat power. And finally, as we have seen from the Iranian wars and the Ukrainian wars, automation is here and part of modern warfare. And so how are we going to bring automation capabilities to our future leaders so they can develop the new TTPs that we are working through. And again, thank you to the Association of Graduates and Foundation, because you all provided the seed funding for our first automation efforts this summer. So thank you so much. And let me dig in a little further on why warfighters win. And from our president and our secretary of defense, it has been very clear that they want us to establish peace through strength, that we must develop our ways in three areas: to restore the warrior ethos, to rebuild our military and to reestablish deterrence. And we have gotten that guidance very clear from our leadership, and we will prepare our future leaders in that mind. And we have added that over the last year by bringing in year round warfighting training. So not only during the summer periods, but also through the academic year, are we asking our future warrior leaders to take on the military mission, the academic mission and the athletic mission as we move forward. And as discussed, it is directly aligned to our Air Force with Ready Airman Training and our agile combat employment. And over the last year, we took our baby steps. We're not where we need to be, but I can tell you I'm proud of how far we've come, because we moved forward with energy and violence through the fall and spring culminating exercises. I'm proud of how far we've come, but now for this year, we're gonna enter into the walk phase, because we have more to go. And with that in mind, there's been conversations of recognition and promotion, and that is tied not only to our leadership development, but also to our warfighting training. And it's an acknowledgement that for every year you at the Air Force Academy, we are purposely developing you and increasing your capabilities. And so we are going to provide the expectations for your year, whether you're four-degree, three-degree, two-degree or first-degree — a firstie — and you must meet those training standards, and if you do not meet the training standards, then we are not going to recognize you for your past work, but if you meet our standards, then we are going to recognize you for the good work and promote you to the next grade. But the ultimate promotion being a Second Lieutenant in our Air Force and Space Force as it goes forward. Over the last year, there are teeth of this. We did have 153 cadets that were not recognized due to not meeting the standards, but we are now providing them the options over the summer and this fall to now meet the standards as we move forward. Also this year, focusing on warfighting, is acknowledging that we must arm the cadets to be the instructors. Last year, we did it very quickly. Now we're going to take advantage of our incredible cadets, just like our cadets do exceptional things — teaching each other how to fly, teaching other each other how to jump during our freefall program — but now we are working through the cadet warfighter instructor course, a beta course, where we will teach cadets to be those instructors inside of our squadrons in the academic year, to take on how to teach, how to shoot, to move, to communicate, automate and medicate. And we are one more week left in our inaugural cadet warfighter instructor course. I know we will learn much from this beta iteration, but I'm excited to see what we learned from this as we go into the academic year and unleash these cadets and train ourselves. We're also very appreciative from the Foundation for the establishment of the Institute for Future Conflict. And the Institute for Future Conflict has been around for a couple of years and has already forced us to focus and think differently. And I would offer to you the reason behind that is because they are focused on our adversaries. So I like to call them our adversary focused disruptors. They are going to bring ideas to bear that force us to change the way we develop our cadets for the future, because they're looking at what our adversaries are doing. And as such, we made the decision to elevate them into Headquarters USAFA, so they can have a wider impact, not only within the dean of faculty, but also within the Cadet Wing and the Athletic Department, so we can ensure that we are bringing those disruptive thoughts and putting them into in place so we prepare our leaders for a very uncertain world, to include bringing realism into the training that our cadets are taking on. We're also acknowledging academically, there's more that we have to do with our intellect. And over the last year, we have added three additional warfighting minors, one on quantum, one on aerospace materials, and we're in the final stages of establishing a warfighting minor on future conflict. Hopefully that we will be able to start providing that to our cadets over the next year, as we went into that so very excited to the growth in our academic options. And then finally, athletically, we're updating our PT standards, and we're adding additional PE courses for our future leaders. Our future leaders — we will increase water survival, especially when we look to the future and the regions where we expect to potentially have conflict, increased water survival is important — as well as increased combatives, and we're still in the final stages of planning of how we can bring a team focused final warfighting capstone physical education course that brings all of that physical education together for a team-focused event for our firsties, but still in the planning stages of that. And as discussed, updating our PT standards to align with our Air Force and our Space Force, with an acknowledgement that simply what we were doing is adding minimums to each of the caveats to ensure that you must pass each individual event while also meeting a score-based event as we move forward. Again, aligning with our Air Force and Space Force. Now, as we transform, it's not just about warfighters to win. It's also about leaders of character and quality. As I like to say, it's developing leaders who do the right thing the right way, even if it's unpopular, because we must have leaders that are willing to stand up and do the right thing for the formation. And we focused on that. We have focused on reinforcing standards and accountability. While initially it was permanent party coming in fairly strong to establish the standards and accountability, what we quickly saw from our amazing future generation was cadets going, “We've got this. We will establish it. We will uphold our standards. We will uphold our accountability.” And to me, that's very important to see that our next generation is taking ownership of that key leadership aspect, to even include honor. As many know, we had a pretty significant honor violation last year. The bad news is that occurred. The good news is it was the cadets themselves who came forward and said, “This happened, and this is our way forward.” As in all situations, though, anytime you point a finger at somebody, three fingers pointing back at yourself, we realized that institutionally, we had probably lowered the standards too far. We didn't expect enough, and we had parsed the Honor Code. And we made the decision to return to our roots and say, “No, the Honor Code is holistic. It will not be parsed.” But we do acknowledge that these amazing men and women that come from all four corners are coming to us in different stages of their character development, and so the sanctions that come from an honor violation for somebody with us for a few weeks or a couple months may be far different than the sanctions of somebody that are weeks or months out from commissioning and graduation. So ensuring that we have a tiered sanction system to deal with our honor violations. I'm very proud of the ownership that our cadets took with our honor system, and we are reinforcing their efforts as we move forward. We've also pivoted strongly to a four-class system. My observation was is through time at the Air Force Academy, we've ebbed and flowed from a four-class leadership development system to a fourth-class leadership development system. I would offer that we had gone to the point where the majority of training and focus was on the four-degrees, when we are blessed to have these our future leaders for 47 months, and we should be developing them the entire 47 months. And so we have developed the fourth-class leadership system, where for their four-degree year, we will focus them on being good teammates and followers. For the three-degree year, we will focus on them being good frontline engaged supervisors, two-degrees as team leaders and firsties as unit leaders, representing those roles in our Air Force from cadet squadron commander to DO, to executive officer, to A1 through A6 staff positions and flight commander and taking on those responsibilities. And again, just like we talked about work by training, there's assessment mechanisms for each of these that they must meet leadership assessments that will go into whether or not they are recognized and promoted to the next grade, as it moves forward. We executed the first year. Last year, I would offer that it was successful, but we've learned much from the process, and as we go into the second year, I think we're going to be able to go even further with our four-class leadership and development. We've also doubled down on discipline, that standards and accountability are important, and if you fail to meet our standards, then you must be held accountable, not only with punitive aspects, but also with rehabilitative aspects. It's a two-edged pincer movement as we went forward, and from my time at the Academy, I will offer to you, while I may not have enjoyed it at the time, I benefited greatly from both, because it forced me to reflect upon what got me in that situation and how I can take ownership of my own development as we move forward. So that is one of the aspects we return to. And then finally, for our National Character and Leadership Symposium: Let's focus on those character elements that we find through warfighting. And so last fall's was focused on, how are we going to develop warfighters to win? And then for next year, we're going to focus on the courage required to overcome adversity in a warfighting environment. And so I'm very excited as we get the speakers identified for both the fall, a shorter fall iteration, and the normal spring iteration, sharing those speakers with the wider alumni environment. And then finally, talking about those critical thinkers to adapt. I jokingly tell our cadets that, since I was in the '90s, we got to solve all the easy problems, and all that is left are all the wicked hard problems, but we need those critical thinkers to adapt, because they are going to bring the ingenuity, they're going to bring the innovation, and what I've challenged them is they also have to bring the courage to challenge the status quo. Too many times in our military, when we ask why we do something, if the answer is, “We've always done it that way,” then maybe we need to rethink and understand, are there better ways to do it? And I can tell you, our cadets bring that to bear. And so for this year, we're really focused on cadet empowerment and responsibility. Last year with the mandate, we moved very quickly, and we were more directive in nature. And what we heard loud and clear is that cadets hurdled over our expectations. What we heard loud and clear from them was, “We want to control the way forward.” And so how do we empower them more? And how do we make it clear that they are responsible not only for their mission, but their people? And adding to that of spending more time with them with these changes of why are we doing this change, and making sure that they understand the rest of the story. You may not always like the why, but if you have an appreciation of the why, its foundation will be able to execute mission command, because you now understand commander's intent, and you now can go, “I know the why. We can keep moving forward, because we can move forward with that.” We're also focusing on operationalizing all of the United States Air Force Academy, bringing that operational mindset to bear, from whether it would be establishing an A2 directorate in the headquarters and the cadet wing and in all cadet squadrons, and the DA2 director being our intelligence directorate, so that we can start to bring in classified intelligence briefings and give them not only to a permanent party, but to our future leaders. And we started that last January to great success, so that our future leaders can start to understand not only our and our allies capabilities, but our adversary capabilities and how we will conduct our joint warfighting aspects as we move forward. And it's important that we continue to bring in those operational matters so we prepare the cadets of today for the second lieutenants of tomorrow that can seamlessly nest in to how our Air Force and our Space Force operates. And that's a nicer way of saying is some of the USAFA unique things we've done— we probably need to think about how we're doing that in our Air Force and Space Force. We're also doubling down that cadet squadrons are the unit of action, just like it is in our Air Force, that the squadron is the unit of action. And it's tough at USAFA where you may prioritize your IC team, or your major, or your club, but at the end of the day, it's going to be the squadron that succeeds together as a team. And so we are focusing on making sure that we are reinforcing what the cadet squadrons are doing. They are going to go through their military training together. They're going to go through their culminating exercises together, same as recognition and promotion. And that's important as we focus on the four-class system of those teammates, followers, frontline engaged supervisors, team leaders, unit leaders, but also acknowledging that we must empower cadet leaders to own the responsibility of their units. And I recently sat down with cadet squadron commanders and their special staffs and said, “Congratulations, you're the cadet commanders. You are responsible for two things: your mission and your people. It's not just about marching at the front of a formation. It's about executing the mission you've been given, whether that mission be military, academics or athletics, and taking care of your people.” And as such, we have established special staffs inside of each cadet squadron, every wing in the Air Force, most groups and many squadrons have special staff to both support the unit, but more importantly, advise the commander, because the commander is the one who's ultimately responsible for their people. And so we are bringing cadet special staff — which they may not be the subject matter experts in equal opportunity, integrated prevention response, spiritual matters or medical matters. They are there to support the squadron, advise the commander and have that connectivity to our subject matter experts, whether it be our chaplaincy, whether that be our amazing medical group and cadet clinic, our amazing SAPR team and all the helping agencies across USAFA to make sure that we can support all of our cadets going through a high-demand developmental program at the United States Air Force Academy. And the twist on that is again, saying, “Commanders, you are the ones who are responsible.” And now let's give you the tools to be successful as the permanent party are there to advise and oversight, empower our cadets even more. And then the final one is a return to decorum training. We conducted a beta test last year to success, and now we're looking to see how we can bring forward that decorum training for the entirety of the Cadet Wing. I am not this is not a return to the days of wine pairings, you know, but it is an acknowledgement that as an officer in our Air Force and Space Force, when you go to events, you're not only representing yourself, you're representing your team, you're representing your unit. And what are those decorum skills you need to have at events so that you can develop networks with teammates that might be outside your normal operational circle, or how do you ensure how you engage with other teammates so you can learn more about the world you're in? And so it's important that we establish that decorum focus and looking forward to how we can squeeze that in into the complicated lives of all of our cadets as we move forward. And then, just to reinforce on the critical thinking, I've already talked about the three minors we added, but I'm proud to say that we're in close coordination right now with Gen. Tullos at Air University and about to sign the memorandum of understanding where we will start a beta test for offering master's degree classes at the United States Air Force Academy, with the long-term intent of offering master's degrees at United States Air Force Academy under the Air Force Institute of Technology certification. So we have much to learn, but the doorway is open, and I can tell you from looking at so many of our cadets that come in with 20, 30, 40 college credit hours already, I think we have cadets that are ready to take on that journey, and I look forward to giving an update on that after we get through some of our initial how does this work process. So just to summarize: Our mission, our vision, our priorities are delivering what we need. And it's those warrior leaders that are ready on Day 1 in our Air Force and Space Force. And thanks to our amazing team, whether it be in the senior leader team, but more importantly, those incredible permanent party that are working long hours, whether it's in Fairchild Hall, Sijan Hall, Vandenberg Hall, in the tunnels, in the heat plant, in the Child Development Center, down at Clune Arena, out in Jacks Valley — our permanent party are crushing it, and it's important because our nation deserves the best leaders that we can give the 330,000 airmen and guardians that are standing watch for our nation. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you for sharing the mission brief. I think many of us as graduates think we know what happens at the Academy, but you actually sharing what you accomplished in just a year is a bit mind blowing, sir.   Gen. Bauernfeind Thank you. And I, at times, am concerned at how fast we are moving, but I also know that we must move this fast. The adversaries are watching us, and they are choosing when is the right time to test our nation. And so in order to achieve peace through strength, we must display that deterrence, that warfighting ethos, that warfighting capability. So we keep our adversaries waking up every single morning going, “Today is not today to test the United States.”   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, that is right on point. Yes, sir. Well, I would like to thank you in advance for taking on additional questions from our alumni and our graduate community. So if we might start, general, with some of the information across various channels that cuts about to our academics and the Department of Faculty, what would you be willing to share about the civilian workforce reductions and any next to the Academy's academic faculty?   Gen. Bauernfeind First and foremost, the reduction of civilians is not just civilian faculty. It's through all civilians at the United States Air Force Academy, and as we're tracking, throughout the entire Department of Defense. What makes it a little more challenging at the United States Air Force Academy is we have so many different civilian teammates, from firefighters to childcare workers to coaches to headquarters staff, personnel and faculty. And as we lean into the aspect, the conversations about all of our civilian teammates. The first challenge that we faced is historically, the United States Air Force Academy has been over our civilian paid budget, and we've received great support from the Department of Air Force to address our over execution. This year is a little different, and so that has to be a baseline consideration as we understand that— that we have to hire and maintain civilian teammates within the budget that the American public has given us as a lean forward. And to that point, thank you to the Association of Graduates and the Foundation, as well as other Academy-focused foundations that have provided volunteer and funded volunteer support to give us that additional margin of excellence that helps us mitigate this matter. With respect to fiscal year '25, our Air Force is going through a reduction of civilian personnel to the tune of 5,000 billets. Of those 5,000 billets, the portion of the United States Air Force Academy was a part of was a 140 billets. And as we have moved through that reduction of 140 billets, we identified 104 billets as we went through our prioritization that were unencumbered or empty, but lower priority. Unfortunately, there are 36 billets that were encumbered, so someone inside of that billet as we move forward. And the goal with that is to continually work over the coming months of how we can move teammates laterally into open billets, either at the United States Air Force Academy or other locations. So we keep their expertise inside of the greater Air Force, Space Force enterprise, and our A1 team continues to work that aspect. But it's also making sure that we're being very clear with our teammates that when those billets become unfunded, at some point without funding, we're having to pay for that billet via other means. And so it's important for us to have frank conversations with our teammates, to say, “Update your resume. Start looking. At some point this will move forward.” With respect to our faculty members, 16 took advantage of the government's deferred resignation program, which was a well-funded early retirement program which allowed them to leave in the spring under and basically on admin leave and retain their pay to later in the fall/winter timeframe as that moves forward. We also had three that already had planned retirements, so they were moving forward. Unfortunately, we see a hiring freeze so no backfill. But also three whose terms are many of our senior faculty, our term employees, at the end of their term came. And so we have backfilled them with active-duty and Reserve military faculty to keep our academic progress going forward. And thanks to our dean and their team, they are, you know, quickly adjusting, but they are making the changes they need to ensure that we continue to offer the majors that we promised through the Class of '26 and continue to offer the courses as we move forward. For the fall semester, in addition to the three minors we've added, we've also added four additional classes, and there are 10 classes of the 753 in our course of instruction, there are 10 that we will not offer in the fall semester, but we will continue to still move forward.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, thank you for that. You talked about backfills. Can you talk about some of the most important competencies for those instructors, as they were backfilling these positions right?   Gen. Bauernfeind As I testified to the Senate earlier this spring, the two most important things to me inside of our classroom is: One is subject matter expertise, and we value the subject matter expertise brought to us by our professors, associate professors, our assistant professors, our permanent professors, our senior military faculty, and the depth they provide, initially with a master's degree, but more importantly, those Ph.D.s that were an extreme depth of that subject matter expertise. But also as a military service academy— that operationally relevant experience, how do they apply what they're learning in the classroom into their futures in the Air Force and Space Force, whether that be in labs on operational units and future battlefields, and how they can connect that to the future. And we have many of our civilian faculty are also veterans, who are able to bring that strong connection to bear as it moves forward.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, you mentioned you were adding a couple a few minors. Have there been any majors that have been removed from the program, and has this affected our accreditation in any way?   Gen. Bauernfeind No, ma'am, no majors have been impacted during this time. Every single year, we go through a curriculum review, and we have a curriculum review committee where we will adjust as we move forward based upon guidance we receive from the Air Force and Space Force, but also what demand signals we're seeing from our cadets. You know what they're signing up for. But that is just an annual aspect to make sure that we have the right instructor core to support the curriculum we need to develop and educate our future leaders what the Air Force and Space Force is expecting. But zero majors have been eliminated from the United States Air Force Academy.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you, sir for clearing that up.   Gen. Bauernfeind Oh, and accreditation. We're in a good spot with accreditation. We maintain continual conversation with our accrediting bodies, whether it be the Higher Learning Commission or several of the engineering- or STEM-focused accrediting bodies such as ABET, we're still in a good spot. In fact, this year, we just approved our quality initiative, which is a key aspect to sustaining not only our accreditation, but showing that we're continuing to improve ourselves, and that quality initiative will focus strongly on data science, throughout all of our curriculum.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. I think that's wonderful. I know a lot of graduates were, you know, maybe didn't have all the information, so I think that's wonderful that you just shared that. Something interesting you talked about your brief was some master's, a beta testing for a master's program, working with AFIT. Can you expand a bit more about that? And then do you see the Academy becoming a five-year institution, or we will stay four years, 47 months?   Gen. Bauernfeind Right now, I believe that we will still stay a 47-month program because our academic program is 47 months; our athletic program is 47 months, and most importantly, our leadership development and military program is 47 months. For the AFIT program, the vision is — these amazing young Americans come in with so much academic credit. Many of them now are part of the Martinson Scholar Program. And thanks to Mr. Martinson's great support, we have a program that can focus on them going even further. What we can offer them now, the majority are taking multiple majors and multiple minors. What if, in the future, you didn't want to do multiple majors or minors, but you want to go and start on your master's degree, which many other institutes of higher learning are offering in a parallel aspect? And so in conversation with Gen. Tullos, how can we start allowing cadets as early as their junior year start taking master's programs and achieve what would be required? Initial assessment is we will have some that can probably achieve it in 47 months, but probably the greater group will need to stay the Academy for maybe six or 12 more months as a second lieutenant to finish up their AFIT courseware. So they would stop their 47-month USAFA program, but continue with their master's program in the classroom in Fairchild and finish out their master's here. Is the vision— and we're working through this. I want to be very clear that this is beta. We have a lot to learn in this. And from my perspective, as I work with the Air Force to get greater support for this, this is going to be a strong cost saver for the Air Force. When our Air Force officers go to get master's degree, as a general rule, they are out of their operational career field for two years as they go to execute their 18-month AFIT program, plus two associated PCSs. Now we show not only a time saving, but a cost savings. And now these second lieutenants are entering, a portion of them, are entering their air force or Space Force with a master's degree. And it is not uncommon for many of our second lieutenants right now to even start their initial training, depending on what training is available until the spring of the next year after they graduate. So I see a strong promise, but we've got a lot of work to do to make it a reality.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, that's creative and innovative thinking right there. I think that we're very excited to hear more about that, especially as the beta testing moves forward. Sir, maybe we can move into the warfighting realm. Graduates have been very interested in the renewed focus on warfighting that you've taken over the past year. What recent programs or military training taking place at USAFA right now are really supporting this development of the warfighter. Ready to lead on Day 1?   Gen. Bauernfeind So I believe we've always had a strong foundation of warfighting training, whether it be our airmanship programs, our powered flight programs, our jump programs, our special warfare programs and basic cadet training and cadet survival. But we're building upon that, and we're adding to those as great examples. As discussed earlier, if we can fight for the ammunition, we will have every single cadet qualify on both weapons every single year. The Class of '29 for the M18, the pistol, they qualified at a rate at about 65%. For the M4, the long gun, at a rate of 93%. I'm very proud of those numbers, because many of those young men and women— that was the first time they touched a weapon in their lives. And now, if they do it three more times before they graduate, those qualification rates are going to skyrocket, and they're going to have the confidence, when they deploy into harm's way, of their weapons. Additionally, thanks to the great work by the Cadet Wing, we have received 4,000 sets of chemical gear. And so not only in basic training, are they learning how to establish a forward operating base, defend it, but we're going past the days of where we walked into a tent, took our mask off and then dealt with the wonderful fluids that came out of our bodies. But now, going forward, to how are you going to conduct ATSO operations, or the ability to survive and operate in deployed locations with chemical gear on? And we're very proud to partake in some of that training with the basic cadets, and they are really taking to understanding what is required. And then the final aspect is, as discussed, the cadet warfighter instructor course, is acknowledging that to be really good at those items, we need some subject matter expertise. But the subject matter expertise required to lead, train and certify 4,000 cadets every year, we have to rely on cadet leaders, and as discussed, they're in the field as we speak in the inaugural cadet warfighter instructor course. And I look forward to seeing the feedback of how they will come back and do the squadrons. And tying that back to the cadets wanting more ownership of their training — the intent is 12 cadets inside of each cadet squadron that will now take on the responsibility through the academic year of that warfighter training that we will assess in the fall CULEX, and the ultimate assessment in the spring CULEX.   Naviere Walkewicz Sir, it really shows how you're building that expertise within the squadron to support the squadron commander so they really are taking care of their people. I think that's outstanding.   Gen. Bauernfeind And very excited about it.  And I just want to say thank you again, because it was due to the generosity of the Foundation that got us the seed to start the automation, with 29 Group 2, the smaller UAVs, as we see automation and all monitor warfighting, unleashing the cadets on how they're going to use those UAVs to defend their forward operating bases, to understand what's across the ridgeline as they move forward. And very excited to see where the cadets will take us in this, because I'm sure they're gonna be far more innovative than my generation.   Naviere Walkewicz Our generation, sir, yes, sir. Well, you talked about the four-class system and I think that was really relevant for our graduates to hear. How are cadets feeling motivated through this process? And have you seen them evolve over the past year since you started implementing that?   Gen. Bauernfeind I think the first aspect was— it took them time to truly understand what we were laying out as it went forward. And every year we do this, we will get a little more advanced at the end of the day. I think our four-degrees understood it. That was good. It was that they understood what it meant to be a teammate. What it meant to be a teammate, follower, and that was an easier aspect to develop them through. The team leaders at the senior NCO level for the two-degrees and the firsties as unit leaders, they started understanding that. The biggest challenge we saw was with the three-degrees. What does it mean to be a frontline, engaged supervisor? And we have to troop lead them through, “This is what it means to be a frontline, engaged supervisor.” That they are your subordinate. But to take best care of your people, you should know where they're from. You should know about their parents. You should know their dog's name. You should know where their birthday is. You should know when their next chemistry test is, when their next PT test is. And while you may not be able to tutor them on chemistry, you can gather and motivate them for, “Hey, if the PT test is three weeks out, let's go run together. Let's go get on the pull up bar together. Let's, you know, be engaged.” And the more you know your teammates, what I offer to you, whether it be in morning formation, noon meal formation, at the tables at Mitchell Hall, in the halls of your squadron, inside of 30 seconds you're gonna see your teammates, your subordinate, and you're gonna know if they're gonna have a good day or bad day, because you're close enough to know, just quickly, OK, they're gonna have a great day or something's going on. “Let's go take a walk. Let's figure out what's driving you down. And how can I, as a frontline engaged supervisor, start taking barriers out of your way?”   Naviere Walkewicz I mean, I can only imagine that giving them more pride, even now that they understand, “This is how I can be a frontline supervisor,” when you give us very specific examples. Well, if we might shift gears a little bit to admissions and graduation. Since we just had a class join us, and we had a class recently graduate, maybe you can tell us how the Class of '29 how they're faring so far.   Gen. Bauernfeind The Class of '29 are doing great. I am impressed by their professionalism. I'm impressed by their energy. And as you saw, as we just did the recent march back, they were loud and proud. That was really good as it went forward. And for the Class of '29, I'm proud to report that they are faring very well. Just so everybody knows, we had over 9,000 completed applications. We offered 1,411 offers of admission, and 1,112 took the oath on I-Day as it moved forward. We had cadets from every single state and territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 international cadets that joined us. Of those, 117 from Prep School came up the Hill. And then 76 are, you know, part of a prior Long Blue Line as it's coming forward as it goes. Of the Class of '29, 55% were in the top 10% of their class, and 96 were all invited on varsity sports. Right now we are, as coming out of basic training, of 1,095 and during that time, they're still going strong. We did have some teammates that didn't have a full appreciation of what military life was, or may not have been as impassioned about the Academy as their parents, and so we've parted ways with a few small numbers. But during basic training, I can proudly say— we talked about the qualifications on the weapons, but also say they took their very first PFT test, and looking back over the last five years, they, on average, scored 15 points higher than the last five years. And that's a testament to two teams, I would offer to you, well, not only the cadets themselves, who had to do it, but all of our admissions team that's out there saying, “Hey, congratulations, you've been admitted. Start preparing now.” But also our athletic director, athletic department team that was out there giving them good, focused training to prepare them for those physical fitness tests. And they just took PFT No. 2 a couple days ago, and we're accessing the data but all indications are it's trending up.   Naviere Walkewicz No, yes, sir. Those are outstanding numbers. As a country, we're seeing admission rates and the challenge of getting the best of the best into the door, the fact that we had such wonderful numbers coming in, and we're attriting very low, I think it's something we should be proud of.   Gen. Bauernfeind I'm very proud of it, but acknowledge it's a tough— it's a knife fight to get the best of the brightest, and so thanks to Air Education and Training Command and Accessions Command, we are going to try a new marketing contract this year to further make sure that the amazing young Americans throughout all four corners truly understand the opportunity in front of them with the Air Force Academy, and make sure they're aware of it. So I'm excited to see how that marketing campaign goes to even up our numbers, even a little bit more.   Naviere Walkewicz Awesome. Yes, sir. Well, sir, in the realm of athletics, last year, you shared an emphasis for cadet support and participation at more of our athletic events. What have you seen come from that? And what can you share about athletics, intramurals most currently?   Gen. Bauernfeind It's one of our three mission sets: athletics. And it's not just for our IC athletes. I jokingly tell some of the teammates to say, “Tell me about a cadets life.” It's like, well, they have three full time jobs, a military job, an academic job and an athletic job, and they really get a bachelor of science in time management. And that's as we go forward. But I've asked the athletic department, you know, during COVID, our intramural program atrophied, and now we have to see, how can we really enhance our intramurals as it goes forward. But I'm especially also proud of our intercollegiate athletes, 30 intercollegiate programs. When we talk about the blood, sweat, tears, the hard work that our IC athletes representing 25% of the Cadet Wing — they are really jumping in hard. And my expectations as the superintendent is all 30 of those programs earn home field advantage. And so we've recently published an operation order to the team as we look into the fall sports. And the basic synthesis of it is, protect this house. We will come strong to all home events, and we're working through that aspect. And so as a whole, not only will we figure out how to be strong at all of our home events, whether it be, you know, this fall with women's soccer, men's soccer, cross country, water polo, volleyball and, importantly, football. And proud to report here at our AOG that the entire Cadet Wing will be marching onto the football field and protecting this house and our amazing stadium at home games.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, thank you for that. That's fantastic. Sir, you know, you can't come out of this Air Force Academy, this 18,000 acres of amazing Academy, without seeing some of the changes, whether it's facilities or capabilities. You know, of course, there are two questions we hear often about the chapel in the box. When will the chapel be done? And then also, you know, what about the visitor center? When can we actually get into it?   Gen. Bauernfeind No, those are two great questions, Naviere. First of all, I think that the box has become so routine there that we received a formal request from cadet. So how can we have a — no kidding — drive in movie theater screen? And the request came in at $300,000 so we thought the prudent action was, let's get the chapel done so we can take the box down instead of putting up a new theater. But right now, for our chapel, again, it is an amazing piece of architecture, and to maintain the historical relevance and the hard work that went behind it, it's going to take time. Right now, we're on schedule for 2028 and we are focused on making sure all the involved teams take every single day out and we can find out as soon as possible when we have any sort of deviation, so we can swarm it. And so as such, we hold monthly meetings with IMSC — the Installation Management Sustainment Command — Air Force Civil Engineering Command, the Corps of Engineers, to go through all of our military construction projects so that if something comes up, we are aware of it within days of the issue, and we swarm it together instead of letting issues boil for a long period of time. And so excited to get the chapel back open as such a spiritual icon of the United States Air Force Academy. And spirituality is so important to the holistic leader's readiness— not just physical, mental, social, family, but also spiritual. And I think it will be important for that development. And then to the visitor center. We're on track to open up in May of '26 before the graduation, and excited to finally open that visitor center and share with a much wider audience what all of our alumni and we know of the amazing story behind the Air Force Academy, all the amazing exemplars who have come from our Academy. And I will share with you, I'm excited to get a whole ton of young Americans inside the visitor center so they can start getting excited about being part of the Class of 2032, 2038 and beyond.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, they say things are worth the wait, good things are worth the wait, and I think the interactive displays that are gonna come with this are really gonna help people understand truly what our cadets go through.     Gen. Bauernfeind Absolutely. And thank you again to the AOG and Foundation. As money got tight, the Foundation came forward and we now have that beautiful glider, you know, in position that shows what all of our cadets are working through.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, our sole existence is to support the Academy, serve our grads and prserve the heritage. Well, sir, I'm cognizant of your time. We're so grateful you're here today. Mind if I ask you one final question?   Gen. Bauernfeind Please do.   Naviere Walkewicz What's on your mind that you want to leave with our graduates to be thinking about when you think about our Academy and your vision and mission. What can you leave us with?   Gen. Bauernfeind I just want to thank the Long Blue Line. We are 55,000-plus strong. There have been so many of our alumni, every single one of us that have gone through this journey. And we're proud of this institution. And I just say, continue to support this amazing institution. Spread the good word of what our Air Force Academy is, because we want amazing young women, amazing young men that are in your communities, in your churches, at your work centers, to say, “Hey, have you heard about the Air Force Academy? That's the place for you, because our nation deserves the best.” And just a final thanks to the alumni, and as a superintendent, I'm proud to be in this position with my amazing teammates. And any alumni that wants to ask me, “What's the rest of the story?” I am always available. Please hit me up in the hallways, on the Terrazzo, on the field, and I look forward to your conversations.   Naviere Walkewicz This has been a special edition of the Air Force Gradcast. On behalf of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation, thank you for joining us. It's been a privilege to hear directly from Lt. Gen. Bauernfeind and to share updates and perspectives relevant to graduates across our Academy community. Thank you for your continued connection, commitment and support of our United States Air Force Academy. I'm Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. Until next time.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation  

Jeremy Wendt sits down with Angie Knight who is the HR Director for the Putnam County School System. They talk all about open job positions for the area, her history, how she became the HR director, and more! Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast today. News Talk 94.1

It's that time of year...PCS season.  Military families move on average every 2-3 years, and this constant moving can be very stressful.  Listen as Amy Shick, a seasoned military spouse, discusses how her family has navigated multiple moves and gives tips on making them a little easier.  This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Mountain Post Spouses' Club. To learn more, visit  https://www.mpsc.us/  Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.  Show Notes:  Resources:  Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC)  https://www.militarychild.org/    MIC3  https://mic3.net/    Military Student Consultants (MSCs)  https://www.militarychild.org/programs-and-initiatives/military-student-consultants/    Military OneSource  https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/search?program-service=12/view-by=ALL  https://www.militaryonesource.mil/moving-pcs/moving-personal-property/    Bio:  Amy Shick has been a military spouse for 29 years and mother to three children ages 22, 20, and 16. She loves this crazy Army life and has embraced many volunteer roles, PCSs (13) and deployments (6).  

Randi Sokol. MD, MPH, MMedEd, joins us to outline how passionate family medicine practitioners can provide evidence-based care that meets the needs of patients affected by opioid use disorder. Dr Sokol shares that practitioners do not need to know everything about addiction medicine to offer comprehensive, compassionate care, and she offers resources to help those seeking training or mentorship. Our host and guest emphasize the importance of quality training for the next generation of family docs coming through residency programs, and share additional resources for those working with residents. Hosted by Saria Saccocio, MD, MHA, FAAFPCopyright © Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, 2024Resources:STFM Addiction Medicine Curriculum Providers Clinical Support System (PCCS) Homepage Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) AAFP New Training Requirement for Controlled Substance Rx: Answers to Common QuestionsAAFP New DEA Training Requirement: Who has to do it, and how to get it doneGuest Bio:Randi Sokol, MD, MPH, MMedEd, is an Assistant Professor at the Tufts Family Medicine Residency Program and Instructor at Harvard Medical School.  She is Board Certified in both Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine.  She earned her B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania, her Medical Degree and Masters in Public Health from Tulane University, completed Family Medicine Residency at UC-Davis, and earned a Masters in Medical Education through the University of Dundee.At the Tufts Family Medicine Residency Program, Dr. Sokol is involved in clinical work, teaching, research, and advocacy, specifically around vulnerable populations that struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues.  She is the Program Director for the Tufts Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Cambridge Health Alliance. She serves as the Director of the pain and addiction curriculum for residents, runs the Addiction Elective for Tufts medical students, and has developed a National Addiction Curriculum for Family Medicine Residency Programs across the country. Dr. Sokol has special interest in providing group visits as venue for treating patients with opioid use disorder (known as “GBOT”): She started group visits at her clinic that have now been running for 9 years, has published numerous research articles on this topic helping coin the “GBOT” term in the medical literature, and she mentors other clinical sites in implementing this model of care. She previously served as a PCSS-certified to trains providers to become Buprenorphine waivered (before the X waiver requirement was removed). She also runs a consultation service that supports primary care providers in caring for patients with pain and addiction.  Additionally, she has particular expertise around medical education, has served on a national committee for Graduate Medical Education, she is the Director of Faculty Development at her residency program and has published numerous research articles related to how people learn. In her free time, Dr. Sokol is an avid exerciser, enjoys spending time with her geriatric rescue dog, and is a “Big Sister” in the “Big/Little Sister” program.Link:stfm.org/stfmpodcast032024 

Ever wondered about the unique challenges and experiences of belonging to the Zennial/Xennial generation, wedged between the millennial and Gen X generations? Join Dan and I as we navigate our generational identity and discuss the importance of staying abreast with technology in our fast-paced world. Our insightful chat with Dan Kephart introduces you to the complexities of motivating airmen in a tech school setting. Unravel the significance of KPIs, talent development within the air force and how it all ties back to unit leaders. A little bit later, we delve into the hurdles faced by those who haven't had many PCSs or TDYs and the value of supervisor experience. We also touch upon the necessity of honest feedback to our team, fostering growth and avoiding stagnation. Lastly, we open up about our personal experiences transitioning out of the Air Force, the accompanying regrets and internal struggles tied to the values held by the Air Force. As we reflect on the significance of upholding the oath of enlistment, we also ponder the possible decline of patriotism and the impact social media may have on the younger generations. From internal struggles related to our values and patriotism to the physiological impacts of caffeine consumption on our wellbeing, join us for this journey filled with personal experiences, honest feedback, and in-depth discussions about technology.Be a ⭐️ of the

Join Kosta and his guest: Corby King, Director of Schools for Putnam County School System.Currently the 13th largest public school district in Tennessee with 22 schools, including a virtual learning school, VITAL, and an adult high school, PCSS serves over 12,000 students providing a wide range of programs and opportunities with standards-based, solid instruction and a personalized learning approach that develops the whole child socially and emotionally.Find out more about Putnam County School System:https://www.pcsstn.com/Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is recorded in Cookeville, TN.This episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is made possible by our partners at Volunteer State Community College (Cookeville Campus).  Find out more about Volunteer State Community College:https://www.volstate.edu/

Spencer Reese from Military Money Manual and his co-host Jamie chat with their friend Paul, an Air Force officer and real estate investor. Paul has built up a small real estate empire in his 12+ years in the Air Force. He focused on long term rentals when he PCSs and short term rentals near military training bases, also known as military crash pads. Paul shares some of his tactics, techniques, hacks, and tips for succesful real estate investing. If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast or just need some extra guidance and help with your military money, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email podcast@militarymoneymanual.com. If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon at or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com. I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

[Epic Fantasy Jedyny Pierścień / One Ring] Czas na wielki finał pierwszego sezonu Jedynego Pierścienia w Karczmie! Drużyna musi się ponownie połączyć i stawić czoła swoim obawom, czy te scalą ich jako całość, czy wręcz przeciwnie? Pierwsza sesja przy stole w Karczmie, prosto z PCSS! Oby nam się!

There's been an awakening and awareness to the things that input into holistic wellness. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor is joined by Aaron Williams. Aaron works as the integrated care consultant and senior advisor for the National Council of Mental Wellbeing. Aaron has more than 18 years of experience providing training and technical assistance and behavioral health services with an emphasis on substance use treatment and prevention, workforce development, and the implementation of evidence-based practices and clinical settings. Together Graham and Aaron discuss the National Council and its focus, services, and goals. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing is an advocacy organization that provides advocacy on Capitol Hill, public education, technical assistance in integration of mental health and primary care, programs for ethnic and racial equity in healthcare, and commitment to providing resources to help implement programs and training for the improvement of the nation's mental wellness. National Council is assisting providers who are doing significant work to make sure that people have the potential and the ability to really engage with the world.   For more information about the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, please visit: https://www.thenationalcouncil.org For more information about NatCon22, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing's annual conference, please visit: https://eventscribe.net/2022/NatCon22/ For more information about the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Technology Transfers Center, please visit: https://www.samhsa.gov/technology-transfer-centers-ttc-program For more information about PCSS and providing opioid use disorder services or medications for addiction, please visit: https://pcssnow.org For more information about the Opioid Response Network (ORN), please visit: https://opioidresponsenetwork.org

How to Successfully Navigate the Mil Spouse Life – Alison WoehrmanThere is so much more to someone's identity than what a podcast title suggests. Meet Alison Woehrman, who is not only a 20-year mil spouse, but also a mother, strength and conditioning coach, and podcast host.After college, Alison spent almost 10 years as a dolphin and sea lion animal trainer with the Navy Marine Mammal Program. After several PCSs, and due to the fast-pace of her husband's Navy career, Alison and her husband made the decision that she would stay at home with their two children. Alison and I talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the military spouse life. It can be fun and exciting while also being lonely and isolating. While the military member has their identity connected to their military branch, a mil spouse is often forced to recreate themselves and their lives with every move.  With 8 cross-country moves in 20 years, Alison has become a pro at this! From building a career and community within the health and fitness space to launching her own podcast, Alison has become an expert out of necessity. We talk about all of this and more in this episode! Alison is married with two children and currently lives in Denver, CO with her husband, a 20-year Navy veteran. Alison just launched her own podcast, The Unspoken Life of the Military Wife. To connect with Alison:The Unspoken Life of the Military Wife podcast: https://podbay.fm/p/the-unspoken-life-of-the-military-wifeInstagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/alisonsfitfamily/ To connect with Erin:Life After the Uniform Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lifeaftertheuniformLife After the Uniform Facebook Podcast Page:https://www.facebook.com/ErinSilverPodcastInstagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/erinsilverpodcast/Moving help resource mentioned in this episode:https://www.hireahelper.com/

Most of us already know the story behind the herbivore man not wanting sex or relationships with women in Japan. But we also know that human beings have sexual needs that we can't simply walk away from. So pornography in Japan caters to almost any and all sexual fantasies from normal to depraved. And I was shocked to hear that only yesterday Japan banned the possession of photographic images of child pornography. And this was due to international pressure to do something about that problem. And I'm putting a link in the description below for you to read on the subject. But in this video I want to explain how sex crimes and pornography are related to each other because in Japan the availability of pornography from the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies on-wards might have actually reduced the amount of sex crimes in that society. Critics will say women are reporting sex crimes less because it reduces their chances of finding a husband. But as marriage rates have continued to fall the idea that women in Japan are hiding their abuse because it can effect their future prospects is kind of silly. With the rise in industrialization in Japan in the late nineteenth century Japan started imposing Western ideals governing the pornography. The government of the Meiji era started the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and started imposing restrictions on human sexuality. As a result communal male and female nude bathing were forbidden in the Japanese bath houses. The Japanese went Victorian with their attitude towards sexuality. Sexuality and the human body became something to be ashamed of instead of enjoyed. As the body became taboo the birth rate in Japan began to rise. If you make the body and sexuality forbidden people will crave it more then ever and the way I see it they will start having more sex and not less. As a result people will start getting married more because they need an outlet for their pent up sexual desires. With the birth rate rapidly declining in Japan it was only a time before they started taking more radical actions against pornography or any other personal liberty that threatens the state. Pornography is a liberty that deprives the government of future citizens because current citizens choose not to have children. It takes about twenty to thirty years for the consequences to become apparent. In Japan print pornography started expanding rapidly in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties. Anime porn was everywhere as a result. Women getting penetrated by giant squid like monsters without their permission. Japan Finally Bans Child Pornographyhttp://time.com/2892728/japan-finally...Why Japan Has Low Rape Rate Recordshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUD4s...Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japanhttp://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/art...Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mgtow/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Show Notes | June 1, 2021 | Episode 105 Have you ever been caught in the experience paradox? It's when you can't get the required experience from not having enough years of experience in the first place. Frustrating! That's where milspouse Ellen Harrison found herself after staying home for 7 years to raise her small children. Same for Army wife Kimberly Grant-Holliday, who had gaps in her resume from frequent PCSs, all while homeschooling her 3 children. After discovering VirtForce, Ellen and Kimberly underwent online training, became certified, and ultimately got #hired at QuickBooks Live and TurboTax.  Last year, Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint, partnered with VirtForce in an effort to hire more military spouses like Ellen and Kimberly. Since then, Intuit received a lot of feedback about how milspouses would love to be a bookkeeper with QuickBooks Live, but they can’t fulfill the 1 year of experience requirement. So, Intuit decided to take action and do something about it.  Intuit is putting an end to the experience paradox by CANCELING the 1 year of bookkeeping experience requirement for its remote QuickBooks Live bookkeeping roles. Intuit has heard military spouses' struggles with resume gaps, so they are partnering with Coursera to offer a FREE 80-hour, self-paced bookkeeping course that will replace the 1 year of experience requirement for the military community.  Tune in to hear more about how this major player is listening to the challenges of military life and setting a new standard for the bookkeeping industry. If you are a new listener to VirtForce podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please email podcast@virtforce.us and let us know how we can help you today. Links and Resources VirtForce Job Board Kimber Hill LinkedIn Intuit LinkedIn Register for the Bookkeeping Certification Course - http://bit.ly/VFBKCERT Register for the Intuit Talent Community - http://bit.ly/VFINT QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor Certification Instructions Enrolled Agent (EA) Credential Assistance Program  In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: Resume Boot CampFreemium Course (Episodes 47-60): https://bit.ly/RBCEp47Premium: http://bit.ly/vf-bc Remote Virtual Assistant Certificate Program 18. Intuit® Partnership Reveal98. How to Get Your Next Career Cert Paid For103. Bookkeeping Side Hustle Certs Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.   VirtForce on Facebook VirtForce on LinkedIn VirtForce on Instagram Check Out Recent Podcast Episodes: VirtForce Podcast on Apple Podcasts  VirtForce Podcast on Spotify VirtForce Linktree About Our Sponsor Stay At Home Profit provides education, consulting, scholarships and career opportunities for military spouses and veterans in remote work through virtual assisting & digital marketing in an authentic and transparent environment. Stay At Home Profit spent 4 years developing and perfecting multiple certification programs that enhance military spouse's and veterans' skill sets and experience to get hired remotely in the digital workforce. Join the Stay At Home Profit family today and check out our 5-week RVAC Remote Virtual Assistant Certificate program at bit.ly/vf-profit.

The Military Money Manual podcast is all about achieving financial freedom while you serve in the military. Spencer is an active duty Air Force officer and founder of militarymoneymanual.com, the most popular military travel hacking and military financial independence blog on the Internet. He is the author of The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom the new personal finance and investing book specifically for military cadets, midshipmen, officers, and enlisted.  Jamie is also an active duty officer and passionate about helping people pay down debt,  Together the duo have over 25 years of active duty experience, 8 PCSs, and 6 deployments. Join us every Monday as we have a conversation about travel hacking, TSP investing, 

Gość - dr inż. Cezary Mazurek - Pełnomocnik Dyrektora IChB PAN ds. Poznańskiego Centrum Superkomputerowo-Sieciowego Prowadzącym jest Piotr Szulc - dziennikarz, konferansjer oraz organizator wydarzeń. O czym rozmawiamy: - Firmy takie jak Google czy Facebook mają ogromną wiedzę na nasz temat? Czy mamy się czego obawiać? Co jeśli te dane wpadną w niepowołane ręce? - Co po pandemii? Czy będziemy jeszcze bardziej zależni od technologii? - Jakie plany ma PCSS? - Jakich zmian technologicznych potrzebuję Poznań, żeby być bardziej przyjaznym miastem?

Anthony Gantt and the birth of At Ease Rentals:  Anthony is a smart Marine Corps officer  who saw an opportunity and jumped on it. He was changing duty stations (in military terms, “PCS” or permanent change of station) and when he turned in his reimbursement request, it was denied.  Why? He had stayed in an Airbnb instead of a hotel.  Anthony had made several PCSs before and never had a reimbursement be denied, and this really burned him up.  So he began the process of getting the rules changed.  We hope you will find this interview along with interviews with   Kevin Rhea and CL Reed to be educational.  He began the paperbound process of changing government regulations and had a breakthrough.  After a surprising meeting with some government travel officials, he notified the military that he was going to work on a platform that would be an OTA (online travel agency, like Airbnb) for the military.  This platform would be one that meets all the various rules for military and civilian government travel.  It would allow federal travelers to stay in short term rentals if they so choose.  And the other side of the platform works by inviting vacation rental managers and individual STR hosts to list on the platform.  The result is his platform At Ease Rentals. Debi asked him about new hosts on his platform, and about safe travel.  Anthony says that bookings are difficult for travelers of color.  Hosts would often reply that the dates were not available. Frustrating. And looking out of place in a given neighborhood, for example.  But of all the cities he’s traveled to, he finds Orlando to be the model for a good vacation rental experience.  He feels that it’s not so much about safe travel as just having to deal with prejudicial bias. Debi asked if Anthony knows about Airbnb’s changes such as not showing the picture until the reservation is made. She also made the point that it seems like no other OTAs besides Airbnb seem to address the issues of discrimination and bias, and while Airbnb hasn’t cracked the code altogether, they at least make earnest attempts to solve the problem.   Anthony spoke about his four daughters, teaching them to be proud and that the only thing that can bring us down is divisiveness.  Anthony made the point that diversity just adds higher returns on the investments. From his standpoint, Anthony sees us as Americans first, like I’m American, African descent. American, Italian descent etc.  He doesn’t really like the term like Black American.  American first. What can I do to be a contributing member of society? We need to be the beacon and the role model for the rest of the world.   Debi asked, how can we make guests feel more comfortable?  Anthony's response:  You can’t fix stupid. If I told you no green eyed person could stay in this house on the lake, you’d be upset.  It’s like that. Everyone wants the same thing and be able to book a place without worrying about anything. Debi  brought up Krhea’s comment that it’s weird when people say they “don’t see color”.  Anthony said it would be like “I don’t see women.  I see everyone as a man”.  We just want to go to a booking platform and book.   Debi mentioned her picture on her listing websites that says “all are welcome here, no matter your…..”  Anthony recommends to look at stock photo site PEXEL. Stock photos of everyone. His point is, use these pix of diverse people with your listing, which is a GREAT idea.  Anthony  just got goosebumps.  Wanting to reach different travelers, he went to groups on Instagram - black people travel a lot. Anthony talks about spouses of military being 95% women; he looked at their Pinterest and came to a realization of how to market: PINTERIST! Anthony talks about how hard he’s working on the company, and said he’s acting like it's one of the 20 hour deployments he knew of from previous military assignments, to work on At Ease while he's a full time marine. Deb asked about the meaning of “walking when black”. His answer was that you have different concerns depending on the situation, like if you're in a mall, high end store, there are eyes that automatically come to you about shoplifting. Traveling while black, you can’t wear sweatshirt and hoodie, and at work while black, is it ok to let hair naturally grow out or is is non professional or not serious.  He went to a golf thing, one of the guys had an NBA mask, but none of them are basketball athletes, one of the ladies asked if they were from the NBA, even though most were not exactly athletic anymore... Talking to his kids:  Anthony  tells them to be aware of what's going on.  If it’s negative, figure out how to get out of the situation.  The one thing that can protect you is education. You have to be aware of the situations you’re in.  Strive to be an American first, who happens to look like that. LINKS: https://www.facebook.com/ATEASERentals/ At Ease Rentals

Quick Notes  A whistle-stop tour through the history of psychological and medical approaches to sex and gender in the 20th century. This episode gives background and context to the formation of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) and today's “affirmative model of care” for gender issues.  Extended Notes A little bit of history about gender transitions over the decades. The medical and psychological theories behind gender transition have always been controversial. Why would someone struggle with their gender? Which gender roles should you raise your children in? Sasha shares a case that happened with twin boys, and one transitioned into a girl in 1965. The outcome was not great. People played God on a child. In 1965, only 3% of surgeons took sex change requests seriously. However, by the 70s, these surgeries were commonplace. People pushed for experimental interventions too soon without having long-term data. Instead of saying “should we do this?” doctors said, “can we do this?” No one knows why a trans person exists. A psychologist would be asking questions to figure out this key piece. It wasn't until the 2010s that you'd see a huge uptick in gender dysphoria. Both Stella and Sasha break down why they like Dr. Zucker and the research he's conducted on child gender issues. There are so many variables. It's hard to know or pinpoint what makes a child want to transition. Objectively, it may be better to have people come to terms with their biology vs. going through a very risky medical path. There is a heavy medical burden when you try to transition. It is not an easy thing to do. Even certain trans people admit that, if you can avoid it, you would be better. Sasha shares a gender study that used hormone blockers on children for two years and the reports they found. What is the psychological impact of puberty blockers? The criteria to see if you have gender dysphoria in the DSM, 5 out of 8 of them use outdated and stereotypical gender roles. Like if the boy or girl likes playing with the opposite sex toys. There is such a thing as a placebo effect. Sasha shares another study where 4.5% of males ended up dying from the gender intervention. What's crazy is a lot of these studies are deemed to be successful. Someone dying is not a success. It's a tragedy. From a medical and psychological perspective, there is a big difference between how you treat gay or lesbian people vs. how you treat a trans person. The treatment for a trans person is to take drugs till the day you die. The treatment for being gay is to live your life. How young is too young to get a child to transition? How do you talk to young people about their gender? It can be quite troubling the different doctors' approaches on the matter. There doesn't seem to be any studies showcasing why intervening early is going to be good for the long term wellbeing of a gender dysphoric child. You're halting the development of a young person, we should take that seriously. Feeling distressed about your body? There might be something else going on and it might not just be strictly gender, to begin with. Links  About John Money & David Reimer  http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/1961to1999/1997-sex-reassignment.html (http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/1961to1999/1997-sex-reassignment.html)   https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/david-reimer-and-john-money-gender-reassignment-controversy-johnjoan-case (https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/david-reimer-and-john-money-gender-reassignment-controversy-johnjoan-case)     Books  Harry Benjamin: The Transsexual Phenomenon, Human Outreach & Achievement Institute, (1966)  Robert Stoller: Sex and Gender: On the Development of Masculinity and Femininity, Science House, (1968)  Juno Dawson: The Gender Games, p.5, Hachette (2017)  ... Support this podcast

This week our host Cindy Putman is joined by members of the Putnam County Schools (TN) School System who have worked diligently to provide daily lessons as part of the Tennessee Department of Education block of Teach Tennessee.Meet Jill Ramsey, Sam Brooks, Alli Ledford, Sarah Vaughn, Lindsey Spain and Autumn Clark who rallied to make this project successful. Listen as they share more about their experience teaching to a camera instead of to their usual audience--faces of little learners.

This is a reading from the 2020 NEC of Article 705 Interconnected Power Production Sources, which features 705.11 Supply-Side Source Connections, 705.12 Load-Side Source Connections and the new in 2020 705.13 Power Control Systems (PCS). 705.13 is new and will be very useful for making interconnections, so that we are not limited by the options in 705.11 and 705.12. When we have very smart electronics coordinating the currents, such as with smart load centers, CTs and smart inverters, PCSs can make sure our busbars do not melt. Artificial Intelligence anyone? For someone who is just learning about PV or energy storage and has no idea about the NEC, this might be overwhelming, or at least a way to get familiar with the terminology while falling to sleep. For those of you that are familiar with the NEC, dive into island mode! For more information about Sean White, Solar and Energy Storage, such as online classes or hiring Sean to teach at your company for NABCEP credit, go to solarsean.com.

The evolution of news is one of the defining characteristics of our time. With up to the minute notifications available nearly everywhere you go how do TV news programs stay in the game? Tune-in to this week’s episode of PCSS and learn all about how the news cycle has transformed and the influences it has had on popular culture.    Rate. Review. Subscribe. SHARE!  

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens! We know you’ve been Netflix bingeing and we need to talk….Did Carole kill her husband? Why did Joe own an EMT jacket? Are we really gonna ignore Doc’s sex cult? Like the rest of you, Tiger King left us with some big big questions and we are here to share our reactions, some facts the docuseries didn’t cover, and of course, some hot memes in today’s episode of PCSS. Enjoy! Rate. Review Subscribe. Share. Repeat.

If you didn't know, issa Leap Year! Which means, ladies, you can ask your man to marry you (in Ireland and Finland). And if he says no, he has to get you a fur coat - it's the law!! In this week's episode of PCSS, Becca and Tessa dive into the 2010 film Leap Year starring Amy Adams and a hot guy who isn't Irish, but pretty hot in an angry barman way. Take a listen and learn all about this real Irish tradition in an Irish-American Rom-Com! Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share. Repeat.

Show Notes | January 9, 2020 | Episode 015 Flexible, PCS Friendly #JobOpp with Tiny Troops Soccer Have you struggled since joining this crazy #milspouse life to find flexible employment that you enjoy? Your VirtForce fam has all been there, including Tiny Troops Soccer founder and coach Amy Schweizer. Her desire to find flexible work that could fit into her military lifestyle is what inspired her to create TTS. She chats with VirtForce podcast host Kimber all about flexible work, why Tiny Troops Soccer is such an amazing opportunity for both milspouses and military kiddos, and why you should apply. If you are a new listener to VirtForce Podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today! Links and Resources VirtForce Podcast  Kimber Hill LinkedIn Tiny Troops Facebook Explore these Resources In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: Tiny Troops Application Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.   VirtForce on Facebook VirtForce on LinkedIn Check Out More VirtForce Programming TCDI, A Path for Milspouses into Legal and Cyber Services Let’s Talk Military Taxes with Brandyn Cox You are what you speak – with Mark England Instantly create a profile with Kara of Instant Teams Blog Post Have you struggled since joining this crazy #milspouse life to find flexible employment that you enjoy?  Your VirtForce fam has all been there, including Tiny Troops Soccer founder and coach Amy Schweizer. Her desire to find flexible work that could fit into her military lifestyle is what inspired her to create TTS. Tiny Troops Soccer is a year-round, developmental soccer program that focuses on teaching the fundamentals of the game as well as developing gross motor and social skills, body and spatial awareness, and the ability to thrive within a group setting. This is accomplished through fun games and activities that are specifically designed to support proper early childhood development. TTS is inspired by military families, with the goal of not only providing flexible employment opportunities for military spouses, but also providing flexible sports for military kiddos. In this episode, Amy shares with Kimber how she went from a position working for the Jacksonville Jaguars to moving across the country and coming up with the idea for Tiny Troops Soccer. Like many of us, Amy knew that she needed flexible opportunities while she balanced frequent PCSs, being mother to three boys, and the general craziness of military spouse life. So who is Tiny Troops Soccer looking for? Unfortunately for some of us, they do require that you have some soccer experience. They have what Amy calls, “Soccer Integrity,” and want to make sure that their coaches have at least a basic understanding of the game so they can best support and coach their troop. However, it’s okay if you haven’t played in awhile!  Most importantly, they are looking for coaches who are fun, silly, and willing to put themselves out there. If you think this describes you, it’s very likely that you have a place on Soccer Island. Time commitment can vary per week, anywhere from 3-8 hours. You are able to set your schedule but you need to be able to have a consistent schedule for the first three weeks of the month. Tiny Troops Soccer is currently hiring at bases nationwide, and is preparing to launch programs overseas. If you don’t see your base listed, Amy encourages you to still apply. They are always open to launching programs at new bases.  For tips and tricks for applying, as well as an insider tip to prepare for an interview, make sure to listen and subscribe to our podcast.

Show Notes | January 9, 2020 | Episode 013 Flexible, PCS Friendly #JobOpp with Tiny Troops Soccer Have you struggled since joining this crazy #milspouse life to find flexible employment that you enjoy? Your VirtForce fam has all been there, including Tiny Troops Soccer founder and coach Amy Schweizer. Her desire to find flexible work that could fit into her military lifestyle is what inspired her to create TTS. She chats with VirtForce podcast host Kimber all about flexible work, why Tiny Troops Soccer is such an amazing opportunity for both milspouses and military kiddos, and why you should apply. If you are a new listener to VirtForce Podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today! Links and Resources VirtForce Podcast  Kimber Hill LinkedIn Tiny Troops Facebook Explore these Resources In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: Tiny Troops Application Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.   VirtForce on Facebook VirtForce on LinkedIn Check Out More VirtForce Programming TCDI, A Path for Milspouses into Legal and Cyber Services Let’s Talk Military Taxes with Brandyn Cox You are what you speak – with Mark England Instantly create a profile with Kara of Instant Teams Blog Post Have you struggled since joining this crazy #milspouse life to find flexible employment that you enjoy?  Your VirtForce fam has all been there, including Tiny Troops Soccer founder and coach Amy Schweizer. Her desire to find flexible work that could fit into her military lifestyle is what inspired her to create TTS. Tiny Troops Soccer is a year-round, developmental soccer program that focuses on teaching the fundamentals of the game as well as developing gross motor and social skills, body and spatial awareness, and the ability to thrive within a group setting. This is accomplished through fun games and activities that are specifically designed to support proper early childhood development. TTS is inspired by military families, with the goal of not only providing flexible employment opportunities for military spouses, but also providing flexible sports for military kiddos. In this episode, Amy shares with Kimber how she went from a position working for the Jacksonville Jaguars to moving across the country and coming up with the idea for Tiny Troops Soccer. Like many of us, Amy knew that she needed flexible opportunities while she balanced frequent PCSs, being mother to three boys, and the general craziness of military spouse life. So who is Tiny Troops Soccer looking for? Unfortunately for some of us, they do require that you have some soccer experience. They have what Amy calls, “Soccer Integrity,” and want to make sure that their coaches have at least a basic understanding of the game so they can best support and coach their troop. However, it’s okay if you haven’t played in awhile!  Most importantly, they are looking for coaches who are fun, silly, and willing to put themselves out there. If you think this describes you, it’s very likely that you have a place on Soccer Island. Time commitment can vary per week, anywhere from 3-8 hours. You are able to set your schedule but you need to be able to have a consistent schedule for the first three weeks of the month. Tiny Troops Soccer is currently hiring at bases nationwide, and is preparing to launch programs overseas. If you don’t see your base listed, Amy encourages you to still apply. They are always open to launching programs at new bases.  For tips and tricks for applying, as well as an insider tip to prepare for an interview, make sure to listen and subscribe to our podcast.

Lauren is a military spouse, as well as a successful product business owner. Lauren dealt with 7 PCSs and each one made it harder for her to pick up her career again, so she decided to start her own craft business. Lauren joins us to give tips to military spouses looking to create their own businesses, as well as those looking to find their military spouse community when the PCS. Lauren credits her success with finding her tribe, and provides suggestions to help you find yours. Connect with Lauren: https://www.hopedesignltd.com/ | https://www.etsy.com/shop/HopeDesignLimited | https://www.facebook.com/HopeDesignLimited/ Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

Show Notes | November 7, 2019 | Episode 007 Finding Your Purpose & Unlocking Financial Wellness Kimber sits down with US VetLife founder Scott Tucker to cover everything from strategizing financial solutions for your family to overcoming depression and finding your purpose. USVetLife is an amazing company that is innovating both the financial and employment spaces for military families. This episode focuses on personal development and finding ways to align your passions to income. As an added bonus, Scott and Kimber come up with a pretty fantastic reading list. If you're interested in applying to work with USVL (as mentioned in the Podcast Episode) Click Here. If you are a new listener to VirtForce Podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today! Links and Resources VirtForce Podcast  Kimber Hill LinkedIn Scott Tucker LinkedIn Explore these Resources In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: US VetLife (Contact: info@usvetlife.com) The Transition Savings Plan The Rosie Network VetForce FourBlock The Veteran's Guide to Life, Liberty, and Purpose by Scott Tucker Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz Tribe by Sebastian Junger Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.   VirtForce on Facebook VirtForce on LinkedIn Check Out More VirtForce Programming Live Q&A With Career Coach, Kristen Earp How MilSpouses Can Take A Step into Remote Work Launching a Career in IT When You Do Not Have A Degree How VetForce Can Help Military Spouses Launch A Career in Tech Blog Post Purpose. It’s something we all want, but how many of us have actually found it? And if we’ve been lucky enough to find it, have we found a way to make a career out of it? US VetLife founder and Army veteran Scott Tucker has not only found his passion and purpose but he is out there every day sharing it with the world. USVetLife is an amazing company that is innovating both the financial and employment spaces for military families. Scott is all about financial wellness. There is a shocking statistic out there that the average military family gets out of the service with only $5,000 to their name. We are so used to benefits taking care of us and, honestly, our financial education isn’t working. Here is the goal: learn how to use our money. We should be positioning ourselves financially for the eventual transition out of the military. There has never been a time like this in the history of the world, where so much information and access is available to us. But here is the catch - you have to want to go out and find the information and opportunities. Then, once you find it, you have to ask. Ask for help, ask for explanations. So how do we tackle this? Scott suggests a modern, proactive approach. “Do we want to leave it to the government? Are we happy with the efficiency of our PCSs or do we want to take control of it our own selves?” I think we all know the answer to this. In regards to finding and following your purpose, Scott says the key is to find a sustainable interest. Once you have that, think about how you can monetize it and make it a career. The more you can customize and find your niche, the more likely you are to align your passion to income. This is truly one of the most exciting conversations yet on the podcast. We cover everything from strategizing financial solutions for your family to overcoming depression and finding your purpose. This episode is all about personal development and finding ways to align your passions to income. As an added bonus, Scott and I come up with a pretty fantastic reading list.

Show Notes | November 7, 2019 | Episode 006 Finding Your Purpose & Unlocking Financial Wellness Kimber sits down with US VetLife founder Scott Tucker to cover everything from strategizing financial solutions for your family to overcoming depression and finding your purpose. USVetLife is an amazing company that is innovating both the financial and employment spaces for military families. This episode focuses on personal development and finding ways to align your passions to income. As an added bonus, Scott and Kimber come up with a pretty fantastic reading list. If you're interested in applying to work with USVL (as mentioned in the Podcast Episode) Click Here. If you are a new listener to VirtForce Podcast, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today! Links and Resources VirtForce Podcast  Kimber Hill LinkedIn Scott Tucker LinkedIn Explore these Resources In this episode, we mentioned the following resources: US VetLife (Contact: info@usvetlife.com) The Transition Savings Plan The Rosie Network VetForce FourBlock The Veteran's Guide to Life, Liberty, and Purpose by Scott Tucker Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz Tribe by Sebastian Junger Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.   VirtForce on Facebook VirtForce on LinkedIn Check Out More VirtForce Programming Live Q&A With Career Coach, Kristen Earp How MilSpouses Can Take A Step into Remote Work Launching a Career in IT When You Do Not Have A Degree How VetForce Can Help Military Spouses Launch A Career in Tech Blog Post Purpose. It’s something we all want, but how many of us have actually found it? And if we’ve been lucky enough to find it, have we found a way to make a career out of it? US VetLife founder and Army veteran Scott Tucker has not only found his passion and purpose but he is out there every day sharing it with the world. USVetLife is an amazing company that is innovating both the financial and employment spaces for military families. Scott is all about financial wellness. There is a shocking statistic out there that the average military family gets out of the service with only $5,000 to their name. We are so used to benefits taking care of us and, honestly, our financial education isn’t working. Here is the goal: learn how to use our money. We should be positioning ourselves financially for the eventual transition out of the military. There has never been a time like this in the history of the world, where so much information and access is available to us. But here is the catch - you have to want to go out and find the information and opportunities. Then, once you find it, you have to ask. Ask for help, ask for explanations. So how do we tackle this? Scott suggests a modern, proactive approach. “Do we want to leave it to the government? Are we happy with the efficiency of our PCSs or do we want to take control of it our own selves?” I think we all know the answer to this. In regards to finding and following your purpose, Scott says the key is to find a sustainable interest. Once you have that, think about how you can monetize it and make it a career. The more you can customize and find your niche, the more likely you are to align your passion to income. This is truly one of the most exciting conversations yet on the podcast. We cover everything from strategizing financial solutions for your family to overcoming depression and finding your purpose. This episode is all about personal development and finding ways to align your passions to income. As an added bonus, Scott and I come up with a pretty fantastic reading list.

Ashley is a military spouse, as well as mom. She knows about what it is like to have a spouse in the military, and the struggle to find good childcare, especially with multiple PCSs and trying to have your own career as a spouse. Ashley joins us to talk about her personal experiences as a spouse with a career, and sharing her tips for the best way to find quality childcare and connect with your military community when you move to a new place. Connect with Ashley: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawaiiMilitarySpouseNetwork/ | https://www.facebook.com/groups/thingsPCS/ Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T4vH_qCxnVQ

Spooky season - or spoopy, as Becca likes to say - is finally here and nothing gives us the frights like a good old fashioned ghost story! Turns out we aren’t the only ones that love them. Ghost stories go way way back to the OG 1st century AD. Travel through time with us as we explore centuries of spooks on this week’s episode of PCSS! ALSO - you'll hear a legit wild TRUE LIFE ghost story from our very own Tessa Betz.  Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share. Repeat. 

Episode 73: Remote Work with Moni Jefferson Moni is a military spouse, and entrepreneur at Moni Jefferson PR. She’s been through multiple PCSs, and military changes and wanted to have a business that could move with her. She is a social media and PR expert, and helps businesses get their message out on social media. Moni built a PCS proof business, and discusses the benefits to having a remote job, how to create your own remote business, where to network and so much more. Connect with Moni: https://www.monijeffersonpr.com/ https://www.facebook.com/monijeffersonbrands/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/moni-jefferson https://www.instagram.com/monijefferson/ Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

Elizabeth Jamison joins us today to share what she is doing to help military spouses overcome the challenges of PCSs and job licensing. Elizabeth has been a military spouse over 14 years, and through 6 PCSs, she knows the challenge of moving and trying to continue your career. Elizabeth shares her tips and advice for spouses who need to have a license for their career, and the best way to continue to keep your license current where you are living. Connect with Elizabeth: https://www.missionlicense.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/missionlicense/ Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

Corie Weathers knows about PCSing. She’s had 8 PCSs in 7 years of being a military spouse, and when she shares the importance of having a passion as a military spouse, it comes from first hand knowledge. Corie is not only a military spouse, she’s also a licensed professional counselor (LPC), is a sought-after speaker, author and podcast host. Corie joins us today to discuss the importance of having both a career and a passion as a military spouse, and how to avoid making your whole life about what it is you do. We discuss how to be of service to others, how to get connected in your community, and how to find your personal strengths in order to figure out your purpose. Connect with Corie: Life-giver.org | www.corieweathers.com Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

Episode 68: How Life Flies By in the Military and How to Deal with Nicole Schmidt Nicole is a military spouse of ten years, and has gone through eight different PCSs, and joins us today to discuss how to survive the breakneck pace of military life, and how to thrive in a career no matter what changes come your way. As a wife and mother, Nicole discusses the importance of remote work, as well as the skills and experience you can gain by volunteering and seeking out mentors. Connect with Nicole: https://www.theparadigmswitch.org | https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikoleschmidt/ Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

What does it look like to buy real estate during your military career? Stephanie Rivera interviews Meredith Stowers on her journey of buying real estate over 13 PCSs in 15 years, on both shore tours and sea tours.

Amanda Dodson is a military spouse, as well as an entrepreneur. Amanda has been a military spouse for 21 years now, and through over 7 PCSs. Amanda is a birth doula and child birth educator. She has seen what military birth was like, having two children overseas, and now strives to help other military females have a supportive birthing experience even if they don’t have their spouses with them. We discuss what a doula is, how they can help military spouses, and how Amanda found her passion. We discuss how we can help military spouses improve the birth process while stationed in the U.S or overseas. Connect with Amanda: www.oceansidehypnobirthing.com | www.militarybirthresourcenetwork.org | https://www.facebook.com/MilitaryBirthResourceNetwork/ Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

It's that time of year again - the air is warm and sticky and full of potential love interests! In this episode of PCSS, the ladies talk about ~*summer*~ love. Why is it a thing?! How is it different from cuffing season?! Is Tinder better than Bumble?! We also share some spicy tips for making the most of your summer fling! Swipe right on this episode and take a listen while you find your next tall glass of water ;)    Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share.

Vaccination scares are nothing new but the celebrity involvement in the issue is a more recent phenomenon. Join Tessa and Becca as they take you through the history of vaccinations and the various movements surrounding them that have shaped our modern day challenges. Buckle up for this multi-century roller coaster on this episode of PCSS! Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share.

Colleen is a retired Military Spouse, who had 3 different PCSs, and she had many great experiences from being an army spouse. Today, we discuss the issues that face military spouses in today’s society. Colleen is passionate about helping other military spouses and veterans find careers opportunities. We discuss underemployment and the challenges of trying to find a job while moving every 3 or 4 years, and how American Corporate Partners works to help these spouses and veterans find their perfect employment. American Corporate Partners offers free mentorship for military spouses, in order to make sure someone is in your corner to help you. Connect with Colleen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenmdeere | https://www.acp-usa.org/ | Listen on iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/MilHousingPodcast

Baba Yaga. Boogeyman. Highly trained assassin. You may or may not know him, but your girl Becca loves him - he's John Wick. On this week's episode of PCSS, the ladies discuss the John Wick action movie franchise. They dive deep into the wild world of assassins, fan theories, and if Keanu Reeves is hot (or not). You don't want to miss it!  Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share. 

Here comes the bride(zilla), here comes the bride(zilla)! This week on PCSS, Tessa and Becca are talking about some of their favorite wedding reality shows - Say Yes to the Dress, Bridezilla, and Four Weddings. You'll hear how Bridezilla came to be, the scoop on the honeymoons they win in Four Weddings and a bit of a detour into the weddings and rings of Becca's and Tessa's dreams.    Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share. 

Young love is in the air - and also the tragedy of young love cut short! This week the ladies of PCSS dive deep into the waters of "sick lit" - that genre about sick teenagers who fall in love and more often than not, the girl dies. Come on a journey with us as we try to figure out the draw of this genre!  Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share.

Spring Break is over kids and you know what that means - the ladies of PCSS are back! And they are coming in hot to discuss the XY chromosome of the Disney princess equation - the Disney Princes! *Insert Airhorn Sound* That's right - we're talking about the animated characters that maybe started your sexual awakening (get it boo). We categorize them and we do NOT agree on who belongs where! Listen now! P.S. It was Lily James in Cinderella, not Lili Reinhart. Our b.  Rate. Review. Share. Subscribe.

The flowers are blooming, the pollen is attacking, and the weather is warming up. That's right - it's spring! Becca has created a (not at all) nuanced quiz to determine "What Kind of Spring Breaker are You?" From there, the ladies offer all kinds of tips and tricks for how to survive Spring Break. You'll also hear the PCSS gals offer their solution to the "condom problem," a tasty vodka watermelon recipe, and how to perfect your jello shots. Spring Break foreva!  Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share. Repeat.

Yas queen! On this week's episode of PCSS, the ladies discuss the 2004 Bravo series "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and the 2018 Netflix reboot "Queer Eye." Topics of conversation include the evolution of gay representation on TV and in the broader culture, the power of vulnerability, and which Fab Five guy is the eye candy of each series. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll grow - it's the Queer Eye episode you've been waiting for! Note: you will probably only cry from laughter.   Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share. Repeat. Thanks!

In this week's episode of PCSS, Becca and Tessa dive deep into the waters of TLC's hit show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant." That show you watched in high school where after watching a few episodes, the next time you missed your period you thought, "but could I be pregnant and not know it?!?!?!?" even when you might have never had sex. Just us? We'll cover it all and more: missed periods, infertility, and poops of a lifetime. We can't guarantee you'll still want kids after this, but we hope you'll be in awe of the strength and resiliency of women. Rate. Review. Subscribe.

Have you ever wondered how celebs stay so GORGEOUS and DEWY as they age? Is it the insane amounts of money they have? Could it be that they are all in a wild cult committed to human sacrifice in the name of good skin? HOW do they do it? On this week's episode of PCSS, you are going to find out. Becca and Tessa chat all the most beautiful celebrities named Jennifer (and more) and how in the hell they keep their skin so damn youthful.  Rate. Review. Subscribe.

Hey, good-looking, whatcha got cookin'? Well, whatever it is, you better film it overhead! That's right - this week the ladies of PCSS take a deep dive into the world of Tasty videos. You know, the ones that your Aunt Susan tags you in all the time. We'll chat about how Buzzfeed is taking over the world, the power of advertising and even throw in references to some of our fave old shows - Cougar Town, Community, and Happy Endings. You won't want to miss us dish on Tasty!    Rate. Review. Subscribe. Share! 

When asked if the documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" would continue to air amidst threats of legal action, Lifetime’s response was clear: "Lifetime has always been a brand that champions women’s stories. The documentary will air as scheduled, starting tonight at 9 pm ET/PT." In this episode, the women of PCSS honor the bravery of the survivors that shared their stories and applaud Lifetime for standing by them. We hope this episode inspires you to join the movement to #muterkelly and helps to elevate the important and challenging topic of abuse. Thank you for listening!

New Year, Same (but admittedly slightly more tidy) Us! That’s right - the ladies of PCSS are hopping aboard the KonMari train - choo choo b**ch! We talk about folding your underwear and whether an ice scraper from your boyfriend counts as a gift or an errand. We’ll let you be the judge of that. Now go find something that doesn’t spark joy and THROW IT OUTCHA LIFE! YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK, UNDERWEAR WITH HOLES, THE END PIECES OF BREAD - THROW. IT. OUT. Rate. Review. Subscribe. KonMari.

Cozy fires, buckets of hot cocoa, and a Hallmark-style Christmas movie - is there anything better? Not for Becca or Tessa! And certainly not for special guest Kirsten Ballard, a Hallmark Christmas Movie connoisseur! The ladies of PCSS dive DEEP into the written (and unwritten) rules of the Christmas Hallmark movie and how Netflix and ABC Family break those rules and are coming for Hallmark's empire. Other topics include drunkenly leaving birthday parties early and over-dicking around. It's Christmas-time, y'all - let's get this (ginger)bread!  Rate. Review. Subscribe. Or Santa won't bring you presents and you won't get a Hallmark-style happy ending.

Before Pandora and Spotify, we had Now and Kidz Bop to bring together all our fav top 40 tunes. Learn all about the music compilations that kept us going and ponder their relevance today in this week’s episode of PCSS. Explore life’s deep questions like - who gets the residual payments on compilation CDs? Is it okay to sterilize music for the kids? What number of Now are we on and holy shit is it still a thing?! Don’t worry y’all. We got you! Rate. Review. Subscribe. Don't make Britney Spears go all 2007 again.

What do floor tiles, 2008 Obama supporters, and Lisa Frank all have in common? Becca and Tessa have dressed as them all for Halloween! Get the scoop on their major hits and misses as you plan for your night of trick-or-treating. Not sure what to wear? Look no further! The ladies of PCSS got you covered with all the felt tricks you never knew (or maybe did) that will turn your last minute idea into a showstopper! Rate. Review. Subscribe. Or teenagers might egg your house.

In a very special episode of Pop Culture Sh*tshow, Tessa and Becca sit down with amateur film enthusiast Christian Fair to discuss the most recent installment of The Purge franchise, The First Purge. The conversation takes a turn when Christian asks the hard-hitting question: who would you be in the Purge?!  You'll never guess the roles Becca and Tessa have called for themselves. (HINT: one of them doesn’t make it!) What role would you play in the Purge? Drop us a line at popcultureshowpod@gmail.com! You can also connect with us on Instagram @popcultureshowpod or tweet us at @pcss_pod. To get the ultimate PCSS experience check us out on the web at popcultureshowpod.com.  RATE. REVIEW. SUBSCRIBE! But if you hate us, don't rate us, capeesh?

PCSS II Podcast 01/19/2017

The Day of the Exam

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Run-DMC (Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, and Jason "Jam Master Jay," Mizell) was more than just a hip-hop group. They were a force of nature that transformed music, fashion, and history. Their deceptively simple, endlessly catchy lyrics and energetic live performances made them stars, and their use of rock and roll samples helped to break down the barriers between the two genres.In this special bonus Hip-Hop 50 episode of The Story Behind the Song, Peter Csathy talks to McDaniels himself about the group's history, their impact on popular culture, what it means to be a hip-hop legend. Of course, they also go into the story behind what is often cited as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time, "It's Tricky." Also, the two discuss Darryl's upcoming appearance at the Park City Song Summit where Darryl will be on a panel with Public Enemy's Chuck D to discuss hip-hop's 50th anniversary.This episode is co-presented by the Park City Song Summit. You don't want to miss out on this powerful, important music and wellness experience, so enter to win one of two sets of VIP Park City Song Summit tickets here, or get 20% all of PCSS' ticketed events by using the code SUMMIT here.Listen to the full conversation with Run-DMC's Darryl "DMC" McDaniels about “It's Tricky," Park City Song Summit, and more in this episode. Then, make sure to like, review, and subscribe to TSBTS wherever you get podcasts for updates on all our new episodes.You can keep an eye on the Consequence Podcast Network for updates on all our series, and follow host Peter Csathy on X/Twitter @pcsathy and Deep Cuts Media.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy