Today we’re talking about the bright future of Navy veteran Jason Stucky, thanks to his decision to pursue business ownership and open a Color Me Mine pottery painting franchise in the suburbs of Chicago.

We begin with the story of his time in the Navy. As an “AZ” Aircraft Maintenance Administration Specialist aboard the carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), Jason was responsible for the readiness of combat aircraft and the lives of the pilots.

He was on a path to a stellar future, until it was ended by the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy during the Clinton Administration, which ultimately ruined promising careers for many talented, gay Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

Jason went on to have a successful career transition (for a time he worked in PetCo's corporate office) but after taking some out to focus on home life, opportunity came knocking. He describes how painting with his kids led him to a "Color Me Mine" pottery painting studio and it re-ignited his passion for pottery. (Something he was initially introduced to while on a military base.)

Jason describes his trajectory from working in the pottery studio, to making the decision to purchase it from the corporate owner. He also shares how they were able to use a ROBS (Roll over as Business Start Up) to convert their existing 401K into the capital needed to purchase the business.

Jason offers encouragement for veterans considering opening their own franchise business and shares how he has no regrets.

For more on Jason Stucky and Color Me Mine pottery painting studios:

https://www.colormemine.com/

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Phil Briggs, Host, CBS Eye on Veterans

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Today we’re hearing from two combat veterans and Purple Heart recipients about how the Purple Heart Foundation stepped up and helped them with financial assistance when they needed it most.

After deployments to Kosovo and Iraq, Army veteran Michael Lipari was wounded in Afghanistan. He offers a vivid look at life during combat, how our military mishandled PTSD, and how the Purple Heart Foundation helped him through the storms he faced long after his service.

Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. John Nash was wounded in Beirut Lebanon in 1983 during the time period when the US embassy was attacked by terrorists, and many of his fellow Marines were killed. He describes that deployment and how decades later, it was the Purple Heart Foundation that came to his rescue with financial assistance.

PHF, CEO, Steven Ruckman ends with an overview of the veteran services they offer and how they deliver when the government does not.

Find out more about Purple Heart Foundation programs or make your donation here:

https://purpleheartfoundation.org/

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Phil Briggs, CBS Eye on Veterans Host and Navy veteran

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As we enter the Dog Days of Summer, it’s only appropriate that we highlight a veteran support organization that connects veterans and children with autism with amazing service dogs. Brandon Butler, CEO of Retrieving Freedom describes their service dog training and placement program.

To demonstrate the huge impact these amazing dogs make, Air Force veteran and Chaplain, (Ret.) Lt. Colonel Patrick Genseal, shares his emotional story of the trauma he experienced while deployed in Iraq. He offers a detailed account of what it's like to minister to troops during the hell of combat, and the emotional scars he carried during the years that followed.

However his invisible wounds were eventually healed by his beloved service dog, "June" and Col. Genseal shares the miraculous abilities she has.

Brandon Butler, Retrieving Freedom CEO, expands on how their elite service dogs are fully accredited and shares the ripple effect that occurs helping both the veteran owner and their extended family. He also describes how their specialized training make them ideal for children with autism.

Learn more or donate to Retrieving Freedom's here:

https://www.retrievingfreedom.org/

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CBS Eye on Veterans, Host and Navy veteran, Phil Briggs

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Air Force veteran and successful entrepreneur Jessie Tait founded "Enspra" a national company specializing in environmental testing, commercial cleaning auditing and consumer pet product testing. Her inspiration to develop more effective cleaning methods for large public spaces came after she contracted a bacterial infection from her seat, during a flight to Florida.

Shortly afterward, the country locked down due to the global pandemic. Tait began experimenting with Ozone generators to kill contaminants in the air and on surfaces. She describes how she initially did her research work for free, testing new methods on police and fire departments vehicles and a fleet of city buses in Pittsburgh, PA.

After her experiments proved effective, Enspra was born and soon experienced rapid growth. Tait describes how she eventually pivoted her focus to ensuring major public spaces like airports and commercial buildings were cleaned well enough to prevent major public health problems.

She also shared her expansion into pet product testing, after shopping for a high-tech litter box for her cats.

See more about Enspra here:

https://www.enspra.com/

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We talk with former Army Master Sergeant Paul Holt about going from military intelligence to owning an incredibly successful home inspection franchise, Pillar to Post. He shares how his approach to a new career resulted in exceeding revenue goals for the past six years!

Our conversation begins with his fascinating background as a satellite imagery analyst and how he worked with Task Force ODIN, a covert and crucial team which the US military employed to eliminate insurgents and IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We also dive deep into his decision to make a radical change. Rather than continue down a path full of careers within DoD intelligence, he chose the entrepreneur path so he could stay close to home and reclaim life with his family.

Holt details his transition, how he discovered his inherent skills (outside of the military) and explains why he chose to take the leap into the home inspection industry with a Pillar to Post franchise in Fayetteville, NC.

He also shares the exact steps he took, and the support the franchise model offered, in order to build a highly profitable business.

Check out Army veteran Paul Holt, and The Holt Group, Pillar to Post Home Inspections here:

https://holtgroup.pillartopost.com/

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Former Green Beret Officer Matt Bowman talks about the innovative new app Autobiographer. After the loss of a friend he wanted to share their incredible memories and preserve them forever. After going from the military to Facebook, he worked with other co-founders to bring this incredible technology to life.

Autobiographer allows users to simply speak about their life, and an AI powered interviewer helps convert these spoken memories into incredible content which can be converted into letters for loved ones, a full autobiography and stored forever. We begin our conversation with his service as a Special Forces Officer.

Bowman unpacks how generative AI works, how we interact with an AI interviewer and the powerful content it can create. Bowman also explains how using this AI powered app is safe, and users have full control over their content.

We also examine how users can dive deeper into their own lived experiences through AI, and how the process of documenting the most powerful moments in our life and can help users discover gratitude, joy and a deeper understanding of their own lived experiences … and all from conversations with AI on your phone.

Discover, Preserve and Share your life story with the autobiographer app here:

https://www.autobiographer.com/

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As Israel continues to be locked in war with terrorist organizations, there are predictions of a severe escalation with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. Special Operations veteran Bryan Stern, hostage rescue expert, and founder of the veteran-led organization Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, discusses the situation, and why his team is already staged in Beirut.

Plus, Stern also shares;

• How this rescue op is even more complex than those he conducted in Afghanistan
• Why he believes another 9/11 event is not just plausible, but imminent- based on current intelligence threat assessments.
• And why he believes Ukraine may not be able to continue their fight against Russia.

For Rescue Assistance or to support Grey Bull Rescue Foundation:

https://greybullrescue.org/

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Today we’ll meet world-renowned yoga master Daniel Hickman … but what I initially found interesting is that he’s not a Buddhist monk, or a ninja Sensei from Japan. He's a dude I grew up with in suburban Maryland, and we actually went to high school together in the 80s.

Dan’s journey began with studying martial arts and then working in professional theater. He later became an expert rock climber, but eventually pursued even deeper enlightenment by studying with monks to become an accomplished expert in yoga and meditation.

However his karma was ultimately an invitation to work with traumatically injured troops at Walter Reed NMMC, where he served for over a decade.

The relationships he forged with our wounded warfighters are truly inspiring and demonstrate how effective yoga and meditation can be. They also demonstrate the incredible power of human connection between a gifted yoga master and the soldiers who miraculously survived IED explosions and enemy attacks. His vivid stories reveal the fluid, and often untapped bond between our mind and body.

Hickman also shares some basic yoga poses and meditation techniques that can help alleviate the anxiety, stress and depression that we all experience from time to time.

For more on multi-disciplinary yoga and meditation with Daniel Hickman, check out:

https://danielofthesun.com/

Go Walter Johnson Wildcats and WJHS Class of 89! (and proud legacy of the Spartans!)

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/wjhs/

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