Episode 10: Kayla Hodges

Born and raised in Delaware, Sam is a 26 year old family man with a wife and daughter at home with 2 dogs. While in high school Sam volunteered at his local fire house riding on both the fire truck and ambulance. Graduated High School in 2016 and Enlisted into the Marine Corp Reserve as a Bulk Fuel Specialist. When not attending drill he was developing his civilian trade as a welder. Sam has been welding for 7 years, is currently a certified pipe welder, and was a welding instructor for a short time as well. While in the Marine Corp, Sam was a rifle/pistol coach, a company training NCO, a dedicated funeral honors marine, a fireteam leader, and a squad leader. At the end of his first enlistment Sam decided to reenlist in the Air Force as a Flight Medic and is currently still serving in that mos in the Air National Guard today. He experienced the loss of a friend to suicide once in the marine corp and once in the blue collar community. These two experiences pushed him to start reaching out even more to his friends far and wide that are part of these communities. He created The Middleman Initiative where he acts as the median between people seeking help and the resources they need to get that help. Whether its the military, the fire department, or the blue collar field, sam is a part of many different and large communities where suicide is unfortunately not uncommon. His stated intent is to reach individuals who are struggling in an effort to prevent depression, isolation, and suicide. Special focus on The Veteran, The Military Service Member, The First Responder, and The Blue Collar Worker. Sam is focused on being a friend to anyone that will reach out to him and helping whoever he can through their mental health journey.

Sam can be reached at themiddlemaninitiative@gmail.com

@themiddlemaninitiative on both instagram and facebook

https://www.instagram.com/themiddlemaninitiative?igsh=MTV2ZmprM2k4Nm85Zg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

James Hutton is the former Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army. In his nearly 27 years as an Army officer, he served throughout the U.S., Germany, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo and three tours of duty in Iraq. Throughout this episode James and I discuss politics, the upcoming 2024 election, and the War in Ukraine. A truly fascinating and indepth discussion of modern politics and governmental policy. 

MAJ Kevin M. Eisel is an Army finance officer with 26 years in the military including 13 active-duty enlisted years, 11 Army Reserve (TPU) commissioned years, and 2 Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) commissioned years and counting. He has earned 6 MOSs and 2 ASIs. He has attended leadership schools from PLDC to ILE phase 1. He has held enlisted leadership positions from team leader to rear-detachment BN CSM and as a commissioned officer several positions including company commander and senior auditor. He has served in the 4th Infantry Division, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 2nd Infantry Division, 10th Mountain Division, and several Army Reserve units. He deployed to Iraq during OIF with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). In addition to serving as a military member, he has served as a DA Civilian since 2017 in various positions. He graduated from Thomas Edison State University and attended 8 other schools including two seminaries. He is married to the most beautiful woman he knew from high school. He is father of five children and grandfather of seven grandchildren. He currently resides in Northwest Indiana.