With the 2024 elections fast approaching, were focusing this episode on the people who are working hard to make sure America continues to have the safest, most secure, and most accurate elections on the planet. To begin, Matt Reisinger (1:40), the Director of Elections & General Registrar for Warren County Virginia joins us to talk about how local elections are run, why early voting is important, and why it’s important for citizens to volunteer to help run elections. Next, the chair and vice chair of the Election Assistance Commission Chairman Ben Hoveland and Commissioner Donald Palmer - a Navy veteran- join Ellen and Joe to discuss the challenges facing state and local election officials this year and what the federal government is doing to help – to include voter education and countering foreign malign influence. Lastly, our own Loren Westerfield, deputy director of Vet the Vote, joins us to update our listeners on the latest numbers (we recruited more than 140,000 poll workers!), the latest partners (NASCAR joined the coalition!), and what’s coming down the pike in terms of local events. For more, check out www.VetThe.Vote.

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We're sure it comes as no surprise that this world is filled with people who want to manipulate you - to shape your thoughts and feelings so they can influence your behaviors. This episode is all about how humans construct our realities with our five senses and the information we gather beyond our senses. And this is a garbage-in garbage-out process - when we consume bogus information, we tend to make decisions that aren't aligned with the interests of ourselves, our families, and our nation. Joining us in this episode is Zach Fryer-Biggs (1:33), the managing editor of Military.com - one of the military and veteran community's "hometown newspapers." Zach talks about why our system of self government requires a free, fair, independent, and inquisitive press. Next, we speak with Sasha Havilcek (18:05), the CEO of ISD Global who is an expert on extremism, polarization, and disinformation to help us uncover who is trying to influence you during our elections and why. Lastly, Joe brings former USMC intelligence officer Andrew Borene (1:00:54) aboard to talk about the dirty tricks propagandists use to fool us and how we can detect their attempts and thwart them. Nobody messes with M'erica! Andrew now serves as an open source intelligence expert, and we urge veterans and their family members to treat their news and social media consumption in the same way we'd gather intelligence - confirm the source, verify the information, cross check with other sources, and analyze for motive before deciding. It's up to us to seek good information upon which to make decisions about the future of this country. Now you're armed to do just that.

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This episode is all about the many contributions women have made to our national defense and how the military services are changing to better leverage the full talents of the American people. Leading off today's conversation, Joe speaks with U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopter pilot and combat veteran, Katey van Dam (1:33). Katey deployed in support of combat operations in Afghanistan and counter-piracy operations in the Horn of Africa/Gulf of Aden. She also co-founded No Exceptions, a non-partisan initiative that led the effort to get the Department of Defense to allow women to compete for jobs in the infantry, artillery, tanks, combat engineers and other previously closed military occupational specialties (MOSs). Next up, Ellen has a chat with Army veteran Phyllis Wilson (14:05) who served 37 years in the Army as a Military Intelligence (MI) Voice Intercept Operator. Phyllis has served around the globe – visiting more than 35 countries and had been mobilized numerous times to shoulder the duties of defense of the nation and has deployed to Iraq several times as an Intelligence Analyst with Special Operations. She now leads the efforts of the Womens Military Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery - whose mission is to capture and tell the stories of the many women who have defended our country. Lastly, Lindsay Knight (43:15) of Blue Star Families joins us for a discussion on what her organization is doing to strengthen the military community.

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America's founders knew that if our experiment in democracy was to survive, and people were to effectively govern themselves, the citizenry needed access to good information. While freedom of the press was enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, public libraries were equally important to the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. In this episode, Ellen and Joe speak with Dr. Shawn Healy (01:07) of iCivics on the rule of law and why it is important. Next up is Lisa Varga (06:00), the executive director of the Virginia Library Association and spouse of a Navy veteran to discuss how libraries serve our communities far beyond the collecting and issuing of books. And lastly, we speak with Kelsey Lawrence (50:30), a citizen, patriot, and mom living in rural Virginia who led an effort to fight off attempts to censor what library patrons could read. As our second President, John Adams said, "Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak and write!" Onward!

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In this episode, Ellen and Joe speak with Dr. Shawn Healy (01:57) of iCivics about what the Electoral College is, why the Founders created it, and why it's so dang confusing to many Americans. Next, we have a very interesting conversation with Gregory Miller (07:51), the COO and co-founder of the Open Source Election Technology Institute - a non-partisan non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation headquartered in Silicon Valley. Gregory’s passion for defending democracy is rooted in a rich history as a 1st generation American, with a family journey escaping Nazi-Germany, immigrating to the U.S., becoming citizens, with family members serving the U.S. Military (Navy, Marines) in both NGO and enlisted capacities through the end of the Vietnam war. Greg talks about the strengths of our system of elections and how emerging technologies can make our elections even more safe and secure. Lastly, we speak with Marine Corps veteran Cole Lyle, who serves as the executive director of Mission Roll Call - a nonpartisan movement providing veterans with a powerful, unified voice that is heard by our nation’s leaders and communities.

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What would happen if you didn't register for the Selective Service, aka "the draft?" In this episode, Dr. Mike O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution joins Ellen and Joe for a quick civics lesson on why it's important to have civilian control of the military. Next, Navy veteran Joel C. Spangenberg, the acting director of the Selective Service System, discusses how his agency contributes to our national defense. Lastly, Marine Corps Combat veteran and executive director of The Mission Continues, Marybeth Bruggeman, discusses how veterans and their families can serve their communities in meaningful ways.

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In this episode, Dr. Shawn Healy of iCivics joins Ellen and Joe for a conversation about what the Founders intent was with Congress and why they designed the legislative process to be deliberately slow. Next, long-time Capitol Hill staffer Mike Johnson joins us to discuss his new book Fixing Congress: Restoring Power to the People where he details out what the current challenges between the political parties and how everyday Americans can demand a better, more effective system. Lastly, for veterans who are interested in starting careers on Capitol Hill, Navy veteran Justin Brown joins us to talk about the mission of Hill Vets.

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Episode 12 asks the question: how do immigrants contribute to our national security. America is a country of immigrants, and this episode explores how the best teams are built from people with different backgrounds, skill sets, and cultures. We kick things off (00:47) with U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and current Deputy Chief of Citizenship and Applicant Information Services at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Al Eskalis who answers the question, "Why does America need immigration?" (3:12). Then,U.S. Army veterans and authors Adam Gamal and Kelly S. Kennedy join us to discuss their new book, The Unit: my life fighting terrorists as one of America's most secret military operatives. Adam discusses his journey from being a child in Alexandria, Egypt to joining a Tier 1 Special Operations Command unit so secretive that the Department of Defense prohibited him from publishing the unit's name. This is the first and only book to ever be written by a member of America's most secret military unit. This is the unit whose members go in BEFORE the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta or Naval Special Warfare Development Group (AKA Seal Team Six) hit the target. They are the people largely responsible for finding and fixing the target so other Tier 1 teams can finish them. Highly-trained in warfare, self-defense, infiltration, and deep surveillance, "the Unit," as the Department of Defense has asked us to refer to it, has been responsible for preventing dozens of terrorist attacks in the Western world. Never before has a member of this unit shared their story — until now. From Adam Gamal, one of the only Muslim Arab Americans to serve inside “the Unit," comes an incisive firsthand account of our nation’s most secretive military group. To protect his identity, Adam will also be using a voice scrambler for today’s interview - so please bear with us and understand this is for his and his family’s protection. And finally, U.S. Navy veteran and executive director of Minority Veterans of America, Lindsay Church joins us (1:03:29) to discuss how her organization helps minority veterans successfully make the transition from active duty to the civilian world.

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