Marine Mary Ann Merritt talks about the upcoming Women Marines Association (WMA) convention in Frankenmuth Michigan in September 2026. WMA has 78 chapters and has been around since 1978. Mary Ann talks about her time in the Marines (active and reserves) back in the 1970s with host Jim Fausone.

Join host Jim Fausone on today's Veterans Radio.

Our first guest is Landon Longrear

Landon Longrear, a Marine out of Texas, shares his firsthand experience in the Battle for Sangin—one of the most intense fights in Afghanistan. He talks openly about what he went through and how his deeply rooted Christian faith shaped the way he faced it all. It’s honest, raw, and pulled straight from his story told in US Marines at the Battle for Sangin.

Our next guest is Jeremy Stalnecker

Jeremy Stalnecker, a Marine from California, takes us through a different kind of journey. Growing up as a pastor’s son, serving in the military, drifting away, and eventually finding his way back to faith—now as a pastor himself. He also talks about starting the Mighty Oaks Foundation and the work they’re doing to help veterans and their families dealing with PTSD.

Mark Salloum, a documentary film maker, took up the project to tell stories of WWII veterans and Metro Detroit's effort in the war effort before the generation passed. "A Salute to our WWII Generation - Let Us Not Forget" tells a great story wrapped in education for the current high school generation. Mark explains to host Jim Fausone the eight year effort to bring this film to fruition and its distribution by PBS and how to purchase the film.

This is one of our favorite and most inspirational programs first heard on 23 October 2010

Tear In The Desert

A Journey into the Heart of the Iraq War with Navy Chaplain Father Ron Moses Camarda

You don’t want to miss this story of Fr. Ron Moses Camarda’s tour of duty in late 2004 as the Chaplain at the Surgical Hospital in Fallujah, Iraq, including the Battle of Fallujah, ministering to over 1500 casualties and 81 KIA including 12 in front of him.

His story of faith is an inspiration to all of us. Father Ron ministered to everyone he came in contact with. Friend or foe, it made no difference to this amazing man of God.

Tune in to hear Fr. Camarda’s stories about the men and women he met and ministered to during his tour in Iraq.

Keep listening after Father Carmada plays Taps for an additional reading from Tear in the Desert and two songs by W.Keith Moore.

US Army Reserve officer Shelly Rood talks about leadership training and coaching in the private sector with her team at Mission Ambition. Shelly talks about her podcast "Hard Core and At Ease" with host Jim Fausone.

Dr. Rebecca Grant & Operation Epic Fury

Dr. Rebecca Grant is a national security analyst based in Washington, DC specializing in defense and aerospace research and national security consulting. She has over 20 years experience working with the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and top aerospace clients. In addition, Dr. Grant has often appeared on television as an expert on national security for Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, and MSNBC and as a series regular on The Smithsonian’s Air Warriors.

Learn more about Dr. Rebecca Grant.

Trinidad Aguirre & VetsForever

Trinidad Aguirre is a U.S. Navy veteran and Co-Founder/CEO of VetsForever, a law group focused on helping veterans secure VA benefits and discharge upgrades. Driven by his own challenges as a 100% P&T disabled veteran, he is dedicated to bringing clarity and support to fellow service members navigating the system. With 20 years of leadership experience across major companies and nonprofits, he is also a member of the 2026 IVMF CEOcircle cohort for veteran entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Trinidad Aguirre & VetsForever.

Elliott Rattner did 10 yrs in the Navy as an enlisted with a focus on linguistics. He went to law school at night and graduated 2022 before being commissioned into the Navy JAG Corps. Elliott transitioned to a man during law school and became the first Navy JAG officer trans-man. He talks to host Jim Fausone about leaving the Navy he loved because of the policies of Trump/Hegseth designed to force transmen and trans women out of military service.

Erin Dunn: “When the World Won’t Calm Down: Leading From Your Center”

You can’t eliminate the chaos. But you can stop letting it run you. What if the real leadership skill isn’t handling pressure — it’s building something inside you that pressure can’t reach?

Every ambitious leader knows what it feels like when everything hits at once. The demands stack, the environment is loud, and you’re expected to perform anyway. Most leaders white-knuckle it — they power through, suppress the signal, and wonder why they feel scattered three days later. This episode is for the leader who is ready to stop surviving the chaos and start operating from above it.

Erin Dunn spent 10 years in the Air Force — six in public affairs and four as a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. She went on to serve as a geopolitical planner and foreign policy advisor with the joint staff, earned her law degree while deployed as a government civilian to Iraq as a single mom, and retired from federal service. She is now focused full-time on veteran advocacy. What she learned — through post-traumatic stress, through grief, through a VA system that largely failed her — is a masterclass in Tactical Center. The chaos outside you does not have to mean chaos inside you.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL DISCOVER: – ✓ Why controlling your environment — not eliminating chaos — is the skill that sustains high performance – ✓ The difference between post-traumatic recovery and post-traumatic growth – ✓ Practical grounding tools for any high-stimulus environment – ✓ Why suppressing negative emotions doesn’t protect performance — it erodes it

10-year Air Force veteran | Air Force Office of Special Investigations | Geopolitical planner and foreign policy advisor, joint staff | Federal civilian retiree | Veteran advocate

Enjoy the full interview on Hardcore and At Ease – powered by Others Over Self®

Erin holds a law degree and has spent a decade helping veterans access the benefits they have earned. She is available for public speaking — to book her, contact info@missionambition.org.