Veterans Are Their Mission. Gaming Is Their Passion

On todays show we talk to guest Drew Stamp, Chief of Operations for the Donovan and Bank Foundation. As the COO, Drew manages and handles the daily business operations of the foundation, working closely with foundation staff and partners to support the day-to-day activities and all of our programs. The Donovan & Bank Foundation is a North Carolina based 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to helping United States Special Operators bring closure to their warrior story and transition to a life of peace, contentment and balance. The Foundation accomplishes its mission through a variety of transition assistance services delivered through four interrelated, mutually supporting programs. They have a unique level of credibility and access with their constituents that allows them to reach veterans in a way others cannot. They do focus on Army Special Forces (Green Berets), but they have developed a culture and reputation to help any and all SOF. www.donovanbank.org

We chat with Anthony Price today, Executive Director of the Gold Star Ride Foundation. In 2016, The Gold Star Ride Foundation began with a simple idea: Remember the families of the fallen. The Gold Star Ride Foundation actively supports, comforts and provides education benefits to Gold Star Families throughout the United States and provides these things directly with personal visits via motorcycle; and they support those other organizations that work to assist in these same activities. The Gold Star Ride Foundation averages 10 Gold Star Families a month, every month. They have honored families made Gold Star by every conflict since WWII. We encourage you to check out their book Yours, Very Sincerely And Respectfully: The True Story of the Gold Star Ride Foundation's 2018 Journey Across, Around and Through America, Honoring Gold Star Families. By Anthony Price and Keith Carey. All proceeds go to the foundation. www.goldstarride.org

On todays show we have actress of Little Women LA, Christy McGinity. She is currently working as a Recovery Coach, bringing strength and hope to others. Being 12 years sober herself, she knows the trials and tribulations of someone on the path of recovery. You wont want to miss the chance to laugh with the three of us on this light hearted episode of Diapers & Deployments.

Today we give you another organization helping veterans and first responders with PTS through equine therapy. We have on the show Patrick Benson, Co-Founder and Director of War Horses For Veterans. Through exceptional horsemanship, War Horses for Veterans provides combat veterans and first responders the tools for growth personally and professionally. The combat veterans come from all over the country. The new First Responders division serves the local Kansas City departments. The goal at WHFV is to help veterans and first responders who experienced life-disrupting trauma to recover from their limitations, to repurpose their talents and abilities to a successful life, and to reintegrate into their families, workplaces, and communities. Through working with horses, their tailored coaching approach provides tools and techniques that translate personally and professionally. No horsemanship experience needed! You'll learn how to interact and engage with horses from foundational sills to advanced riding. You work side by side with the team and see how every day chores can renew ones purpose and calm the mind. You will practice self care, focusing on the mind-body connection through culinary wellness, meditation and physical mobility work. www.warhorsesforveterans.org

On this podcast episode of Diapers & Deployments, Michael and Serena talk to Vincent Soto, Founder and Director of Operations of Navigating Solutions. Navigating Solutions was founded by veterans for our nation's veterans & our nation's workforce. Navigating Solutions' goal is to positively impact and create workforce opportunities by building resiliency in our communities through education and training programs, vital career resource venues, and providing critical job placement skills. www.navigatingsolutions.org

On todays show, we talk with Vince Morales, Social Services Project Manager and Co-Founder of Veterans Community Project. VCP Village, located at 89th and Troost in Kansas City, Missouri, is an innovative community of 49 tiny houses for Veterans experiencing homelessness. The homes range in size from 240 to 320 square feet, meet all local city code requirements, and connect to city utility services. Approximately 70% of the Village construction was performed by community volunteers. Many Veterans arrive at VCP Village with little more than the pain, uncertainty, and loneliness of life on the streets. A tiny house provides everything he or she needs to live with dignity and safety; new furniture, appliances, housewares, bedding, food, and utilities, free of charge. More importantly, VCP Village provides sanctuary and the emotional space needed for the Veteran and VCP's Veteran Support Services team to thoroughly address the underlying causes of his or her homelessness. Together, the Veteran and VCP's specially-trained case managers work to achieve incremental, lasting results in the areas of health and wellness, education, employment, financial literacy, and the development of a personal support network. www.veteranscommunityproject.org

On todays show we speak to Executive Coach at Tribe + Purpose and Auther of Enable Your Team's Success: Succeed in Life and Business with a Strong Team, Otis W. McGregor III, CPD, CPC. Enable Your Team's Success walks the reader through the foundations it takes to be a successful leader and build and run a successful team. It starts with how you define your success as a person and a leader and moves to how to build your team and lead them. Otis explains the concepts in easy to understand terms and then shows the reader how he applied those fundamentals in business, Special Forces and on the rugby pitch. LTC, Special Forces, US Army, Retired Otis McGregor leads Tribe and Purpose with his son Camden as the principal leadership and success coach. With over 40 years of experience as a leader, coach, and team member, Otis embodies the values and principles of Tribes and Purposes. Otis is driven both by these values and the idea that better leaders and tribes create better organizations, building better communities leading to a better world. Brought to the civilian world after retirement, Otis walks the walk and talks the talk. Spend five minutes with him, and he will inspire your heart and mind. www.tribe-purpose.com

Mike and Serena have the honor of speaking to Gold Star wife Michelle Black, Author of Sacrifice: A Gold Star Widow's Fight For the Truth. What is Sacrifice about? The shocking and affecting memoir from a gold-star widow searching for the truth behind her Green Beret husband’s death, this book bears witness to the true sacrifices made by military families. When Green Beret Bryan Black was killed in an ambush in Niger in 2017, his wife Michelle saw her worst nightmare become a reality. She was left alone with her grief and with two young sons to raise. But what followed Bryan’s death was an even more difficult journey for the young widow. After receiving very few details about the attack that took her husband’s life, it was up to Michelle to find answers. It became her mission to learn the truth about that day in Niger–and Sacrifice is the result of that mission.In this heartbreaking and revelatory memoir, Michelle uses exclusive interviews with the survivors of her husband’s unit, research into the military leadership and accountability, and her own unique vantage point as a gold-star widow to tell a previously unknown story. Sacrifice is both an honest, emotional look inside a military marriage and a searing investigation of the people and decisions at the heart of the US military. https://michelleblacksacrifice.com/

On todays show Michael and Serena talk to guest Army Veteran Stephen Machuga, Founder and Executive Director at Stack Up. Stack Up brings both veterans and civilian supporters together through a shared love of video gaming using our primary programs: The Stacks, Supply Crates, Air Assaults, and the Stack Up Overwatch Program [StOP]. "Active duty military personnel face extraordinary pressure in the line of duty. However, after their service is over, we understand another challenge begins for many. It is okay to want to be healthy and seek help, whether facing troubling times, feeling a lack of purpose, or having lost the will to persevere. At Stack Up, we aim to break down the stigmas associated with these issues through the use of gaming." www.stackup.org

On this episode of Diapers and Deployments Michael and Serena talk to guest Actor Michael Gier, Director and Producer of Documentary "Wounded Heroes." The story of his journey to find alternative treatments and programs is inspiring and includes stories of the many Veterans and 1st Responders he interviewed that overcame what seemed to be impossible. His story is a message of Hope that anyone can live the life of their dreams no matter the obstacles or circumstances they're currently facing. Many battling Post-Traumatic Stress believe that it's a "life sentence" but as the film shows, that's not true. Wounded Heroes features Veterans that had lost hope but now have their lives back because their PTS is gone. They went from contemplating suicide to living happy fulfilling lives. https://www.woundedheroesdocumentary.com/