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A Marine officer who helped open Pakistan’s gateway to Afghanistan, coordinated CSAR basing, and carried the keys to a shuttered Kabul embassy steps into the studio to talk about combat, command, and the price of telling the truth. We walk through the early days after 9/11—commercial flights into Rawalpindi with a rucksack full of radios, late-night negotiations for overflight and basing, and the scramble to build humane, lawful processes as refugees surged and detainee operations strained capacity. Then we move to the mountains, where a lean battalion landing team rewrote SOPs, trained NCOs from scratch, welded armor onto Humvees, and led local militias with a blend of trust and hard boundaries. The outcomes were stark: historic enemy losses, zero fratricide, and a unit that fought for months on grit and discipline.

What makes this story different isn’t just the firefights—it’s the candor about strategy and culture. We question whether invasion was the only path to bin Laden, explore how local networks and precise incentives could have achieved ends without buying the whole country, and detail the cost of confusing occupation with victory. We also pull back the curtain on headquarters-versus-field dynamics: pressure to bomb without positive ID, awards gaming, and media optics that overshadowed months of deprivation and risk. When investigations arrived over “harsh language,” the larger lesson became impossible to ignore: institutions often reward silence and punish truth, even when results in the field are undeniable.

The conversation is a field manual for moral courage. We talk practical leadership—how to train under time pressure, protect your people when gear is lacking, verify local intel, and hold a diverse, uneasy coalition together under ROE. And we talk accountability—why double standards around fratricide and promotions corrode trust, and how honest after-action reviews save lives. If you care about Afghanistan war lessons, military leadership accountability, civil-military trust, and the ethics of command, this is a rare, unfiltered look from someone who was there, who kept receipts, and who still believes we can get better.

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The national fight about guns gets loud, tribal, and stuck—and meanwhile, the leading cause of firearm death in America happens quietly every day. We sit down with industry veteran and Walk The Talk America founder Michael Sodini to explore a different path: building trust between gun owners and clinicians, reducing stigma, and putting practical tools in people’s hands before crisis hits. No litmus tests. No lectures. Just programs that meet communities where they are.

Michael shares how a simple idea—free, anonymous mental health screenings placed inside gun boxes—opened doors that politics kept closed. We dig into why privacy matters for help-seeking, how cultural misunderstandings push gun owners away from care, and the clinician training WTTA built to bridge that gap. You’ll hear how a CEU-backed course in firearms cultural competence equips therapists to engage without judgment, and how a growing directory of pro–Second Amendment providers signals safety for clients on the fence about reaching out.

We also get specific about policy. Red flag laws might sound decisive, but they can create fear that keeps people from asking for help. Michael argues for targeted incentives that drive real behavior change: insurance breaks for shops that display prevention materials, legal protections for temporary offsite storage, and partnerships that make safe holds easy when life gets unstable. Plus, we spotlight Kids of Kings, a mentorship program that treats firearms like a martial art, links range time to grades and behavior, and introduces inner-city youth to engineering, competition, and leadership pathways.

If you’re tired of blame and hungry for solutions that save lives without sacrificing rights, this conversation offers a blueprint. Subscribe, share with a friend who cares about mental health or the Second Amendment, and leave a review with one idea you think we should scale next.

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

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Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
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A simple question opens a complicated story: what happens when you say no to a powerful directive that feels wrong? Rick joins us with 43 years of experience spanning infantry, war-zone logistics, and Pentagon program oversight to recount how refusing an alleged extortion scheme set off a cascade of retaliation, reassignment, and legal battles. The stakes are not just personal—this is about how procurement ethics, whistleblower protection, and culture shape national security and public trust.

We walk through his time in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where he says he pushed back on inflated costs, substandard equipment, and pressure to rubber-stamp paperwork. Then we move to the Pentagon, where Rick describes a supervisor’s alleged attempt to steer work from one contractor to a competitor to prompt a payoff hidden as a cost overrun. He asked for the order in writing; it never came. Instead, he says doors closed, friendships and office politics complicated oversight, and a familiar pattern emerged: small write-ups, nitpicks about tone and attendance, and a transfer that led to new allegations of harassment and denied accommodations.

This conversation goes beyond headlines to examine how DEI can be misused when identity becomes a shield against scrutiny, why fewer veterans in key roles changes decision-making, and where contracting oversight often cracks under pressure. We dig into the alphabet soup—MSPB, OSC, EEOC, ADA—and how slow, costly processes can deter even the most committed public servants. The message is clear: real inclusion requires merit, transparency, and the courage to investigate quickly, document directives, and protect those who speak up. If you care about defense acquisition, government accountability, and protecting taxpayer dollars, this is a story you need to hear.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with your take: how should agencies strengthen oversight and safeguard whistleblowers without politics?

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessaril

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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A young paratrooper with a near-perfect PT score, big plans and a bigger heart grew dangerously ill at Fort Bragg. He was sent back to the barracks, where missed formations, unanswered calls and a holiday weekend combined into six silent days. By the time anyone knocked, it was too late. His mother, Heather Baker, walks us through the painful timeline—ER turnaways, worsening vitals, redacted pages, and a claims process twisted by contractor loopholes—and the moment the Army Secretary acknowledged what leadership would not: no one checked on her son.

We dig into the hard parts many avoid: how the Ferris doctrine shields the Department of Defense from lawsuits, why contractor status can derail malpractice claims, and what it takes to pry medical records and accountability from a system built to protect itself. Heather shares the congressional steps that forced contractor disclosure into the NDAA, the medical review that proved malpractice, and the uneven landscape other families still face. Then we shift to solutions. The SMIDI check turns “welfare check” into what it should be—face-to-face verification when a soldier stops responding—backed by training, documentation and escalation so “left behind” never becomes a cause of death.

This is also a story of resilience. Heather rebuilt herself as a competitive shooter and professional dog trainer, finding discipline, trust and purpose in the same traits Caleb embodied. Her message is clear: a text isn’t a check-in, a creed is empty without action, and leadership begins with a knock on the door. If you care about military medical care, unit accountability, and real-world reforms that save lives, you’ll find both answers and urgency here.

If this conversation moved you, follow the show, share this episode with a friend in uniform, and leave a review so more people hear the truth—and demand better.

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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What if the way we select and promote military leaders is wired to produce the very failures we say we want to avoid? That’s the challenge we take on with Don Vandergriff, a retired Marine and Army officer, defense analyst, and one of the most persistent voices for personnel reform in the U.S. military. Don pulls back the curtain on a system shaped by industrial-age thinking—zero-defects culture, inflated evaluations, and top-heavy headquarters—that rewards process and optics over performance and character.

We trace hard lessons from the National Training Center, where free-play exercises exposed how “fast-track” leaders falter under stress, and we connect those insights to Afghanistan, where statistical goals often replaced ground truth. Don contrasts that with historical models from Helmuth von Moltke’s Prussia, where outcomes-based training and rigorous war games forged decision-makers capable of acting under uncertainty. Along the way, we unpack why centralized boards miss nuance, how faint-praise evaluations can silently derail promising careers, and why due process failures erode trust.

Then we get practical. Don outlines three fixes with real bite: shift from up-or-out to up-or-perform so mastery is rewarded, slim a bloated officer corps that pulls attention inward, and rebuild professional military education around outcomes—free-play war games, honest after-action reviews, and mission command that pushes authority down. We also map where veterans still hold leverage: mentoring, writing, podcasts, and thoughtful public debate that prioritizes receipts over rhetoric. If culture eats strategy for breakfast, incentives set the menu—and changing them is how we get better leaders.

Subscribe, share this episode with a teammate who cares about real reform, and leave a review with the one change you’d make to fix promotions. Your voice helps push outcomes over optics.

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Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
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The story opens at a dinner party and ends with a near-unheard-of legal result: dismissal with prejudice. In between is retired Colonel Dan Wilson’s toughest battle—how a decorated Marine became the target of a false allegation, why the case grew despite exculpatory DNA, and what happens when command climate, politics, and process collide.

We trace Dan’s life from childhood in Africa through four decades of Marine command, the accusation, and months under a gag order as headlines spread. He recounts being sent to the brig, choosing general population, and finding purpose there, then explains a military justice system civilians rarely see—small panels, nonunanimous verdicts, command influence, and pressure that drives overcharging.

Even after an appellate court dismissed the key conviction with prejudice, the fight continued through administrative penalties and retirement disputes. Dan lays out needed reforms—ending command influence, requiring unanimous verdicts, opening voir dire, raising evidence standards, and providing real post-exoneration relief—while sharing how faith, sobriety, routine, and writing rebuilt his life.

If you care about military justice, due process, and the gap between headlines and truth, this conversation doesn’t pull punches. Listen, share, tell us which reform you’d start with—and if it hits home, subscribe, review, and pass it on.

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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A hard conversation worth having: we sit down with retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gade to examine how the VA disability system, built with noble intent, can trap veterans in dependency and distort how America sees its warriors. Drawing on his combat wounds, hospital experience, academic work, and policy roles, Daniel makes a clear distinction between having a condition and becoming that condition—and shows how incentives, ratings, and advocacy ecosystems can push veterans toward the latter.

We trace why claimed conditions increased across generations even as sustained direct combat remained limited for most. Daniel explains the politics behind expanding the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities and why ratings like sleep apnea at 50% undermine public trust when compared to losing an eye or a below-knee amputation. He challenges the emotional “1% served” shield, arguing that service is a voluntary civic duty already compensated with pay and benefits, not a lifetime blank check on taxpayers.

Most importantly, we focus on fixes. Daniel proposes linking mental health compensation to active treatment so care drives recovery rather than pay driving identity. He urges redefining disability to align with activities of daily living and high standards like SSDI, while shifting resources from marginal payouts to high-impact transition: SkillBridge access without command vetoes, employer pipelines, reskilling, and entrepreneurship. We discuss how work sustains identity, how Individual Unemployability can backfire, and why every dubious claim delays care for those with amputations, TBI, sexual assault trauma, and acute PTSD.

If you care about veterans’ dignity, purpose, and long-term outcomes, this conversation offers a roadmap that prioritizes treatment, transition, and true service-connected disability. Listen, share it with someone who needs to hear it, and leave a review with the reform you’d implement first.

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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A forgotten reformer changed how we think about military education, then got written out of the story. We dig into Alden Partridge’s bold vision for the citizen-soldier, why his mastery-based model threatened entrenched interests, and how his practical ideas—shorter paths for proven mastery, rigorous field training, and decentralized leadership—can still fix what’s broken in today’s force.

Franklin Annis walks us through Partridge’s rise at West Point during the War of 1812, the political crossfire that led to his court-martial, and his pivot to building militia-focused academies that influenced Norwich and VMI. We connect the dots to modern pain points: time-in-seat schooling that bores high performers, career assembly lines that miss real talent, and a headquarters culture that mistakes long hours for results. You’ll hear how competency-based progression, pretesting, and mission command can restore merit, accelerate excellence, and respect the only irreplaceable resource—time.

We also ground the conversation in philosophy and practice. Stoicism offers a leader’s toolkit for fair discipline, self-accountability, and resilience under pressure. A constitutional view of defense argues for a lean active force backed by a trained, capable militia—an approach that can lower costs and improve readiness by leveraging real-world civilian skills found across the Guard and Reserve. And we wrestle candidly with standards and inclusion: equal dignity, equal rules, transparent consequences, and selection by performance.

If you care about military education, talent management, or building better leaders faster, this conversation gives you a roadmap rooted in history and tested by experience. Subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review with the one change you’d make first—what would you accelerate, and what would you cut?

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76