Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans

One story can expose a whole system’s blind spots. When Dr. Paulette Hubbert, retired Marine Corps veteran and licensed clinician, met a woman veteran referred for “anxiety,” the session quickly revealed something far deeper: decades of silence after rape by a supervisor, carried through marriage, motherhood, and an entire second career. That kind of hidden pain is why women veterans face unique risks, including a suicide rate far higher than that of civilian women, and why “military sexual trauma” and moral injury still echo long after discharge.

We talk with Dr. Hubbert about the realities women face in un...

A lot of veterans know the feeling of being handed yet another medication plan for PTS symptoms and thinking, “There has to be a better way.” That’s why we sat down with Dr. Jason McKeown, an MD and the CEO of Neurovalens, to discuss a noninvasive, drug-free neurostimulation headset that recently earned FDA approval to help veterans with PTS. It’s worn at home for 30 minutes a day and targets nerves just behind the ears to influence deep brain systems tied to stress response, anxiety, sleep, and circadian rhythm.

We walk through the story behind the technolo...

A lot of veterans swear they “don’t have a story,” and then, the moment someone who gets it starts asking the right questions, the real memories show up. That’s why we brought on Dan and Roger from Tracer Burnout, a veteran-run YouTube channel and podcast built around honest conversations with people who served across every branch and every kind of job. We get into where they came from, how they joined, and the duty stations that left the biggest marks, from Fort Drum cold to Fort Bragg’s nonstop pace, with a few laughs along the way. 

We...

Only a small slice of eligible veterans ever use a VA home loan, and that number should bother all of us. We sit down with Eric Bernstein, founder of LendFriend Mortgage, to get brutally clear about what’s actually stopping veterans and active duty families from using one of the most powerful mortgage benefits in the United States.

We talk through the real reasons the VA loan gets misunderstood: the myth that you need a down payment, the belief you can only use the benefit once, and the confusion around entitlement and restoring eligibility. Eric explains how a...

A PCS can look routine on paper and feel like an earthquake at home. We sit down with Dr. Michelle Bubnik-Harrison, a licensed psychologist leading work with military families through Kennedy Krieger Institute, to talk about what military-connected kids actually carry when they change schools, lose hard-won friendships, and rebuild their lives over and over again. Yes, military kids are resilient, but she makes a sharp point: resilience has limits, and a single tough move can tip stress into anxiety, worry, sleep problems, or blowups that confuse parents who are used to their child “handling it.” 

We get s...

A nurse’s kindness can change a life, and sometimes it can change a career. I sit down with retired Army Colonel Ed Yackel, RN, to trace how childhood surgeries and long hospital stays became the first spark for a lifetime in the Army Nurse Corps. From commissioning as an officer to learning the rhythms of real clinical work, Ed shares the moments that shaped him as a nurse and as a leader.

We also get honest about what military nursing looks like when the stakes are high. Ed explains how care works inside a combat support ho...

Suicide doesn’t just take one life. It can leave an entire family, unit, and friend group trying to function while carrying grief, trauma, and a thousand urgent decisions they never asked for. We sit down with Dr. Carla Stomf Patton, Director of Suicide Postvention at TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), to talk about what actually helps after a suicide death and why the right response can reduce risk for everyone left behind.

We get clear on a term many people mishear: postvention. It’s the care and coordinated support that happens after a suicide attempt or s...

Some stories from Iraq and Afghanistan still get told like footnotes, even when they changed how missions worked on the ground. We sit down with Heidi Rippy, Vice President of Development for the Special Operations Association of America (SOAA), to talk about what it meant to serve as one of the small number of women selected for Cultural Support Team work alongside special operations and civil affairs. Heidi walks us through enlisting at 17, choosing the Army airborne path, and what selection and training can look like at Camp Mackall, from language training and cultural studies to negotiation skills and...

You can spot a military kid in a crowd, not because of a uniform, but because they learned to adapt before they learned to drive. Chef Larry welcomes Lisa and Rose, the sisters behind the Punk Brats YouTube channel, for a sharp, funny, and honest talk about what it’s really like growing up as military brats across continents.

We trace their story from Seoul and Fort Hood to Camp Zama, and then Germany, where living off base brought a level of independence that still surprises people today. They unpack the hidden stressors civilians rarely see: curfews, la...

Leaving the military can feel like stepping out of a unit and into a world without a map. I talk with Marine Officer and Veteran Ryan Murray, Managing Director at Greencastle Consulting, about the moments that force a real pivot: choosing the infantry mindset, hitting the eight-to-ten-year decision window, managing injuries, and trying to make smart calls for your family while the transition clock is still running. We also get honest about VA disability ratings and why they often slide down the priority list when life gets busy.

Ryan shares how he found Greencastle after an unexpected...

The “standards were lowered” talking point spreads fast, but it falls apart the moment you look at how elite military training and real-world performance are actually measured. I sit down with Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate from the first class to include women and the founder of the Women in the Service Coalition (WISC), to get specific about what changed, what didn’t, and why the truth matters for force readiness.

We dig into women in combat roles, Ranger School standards, and why the idea of a “free pass” doesn’t survive contact with the facts. Sue walks th...

Every two to three years, military orders can flip a family’s life upside down. New home, new friends, new routines, and too often, a school reset that leaves kids paying the price. We talk with Natalie Mack, founder and CEO of the Military Homeschoolers Association, about why so many military families choose homeschooling as the one lever they can control: stability, continuity, and a learning environment that survives PCS moves, deployments, and the long grind of workups.

Natalie shares how the organization formed from real-life leadership on installations, not from a polished master plan. We get in...

A leadership lesson can come from a classroom, a coach, or a job. Sometimes it comes from a handwritten letter and a story that still hurts to tell. I’m Larry Zilliox, Director of Culinary Services at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, and I’m joined by Debbie Borza, a special advisor to The 9:57 Project Student Leadership Challenge, our summer leadership camp for high school students.

Debbie brings a perspective shaped by United Flight 93. She shares the story of her daughter, Diora, who was 20 years old when she died on September 11, 2001. Because Diora was so close in a...

She arrived at Walter Reed recovering from life-changing injuries, then kept moving forward one step at a time: wheelchair to walker to cane. Retired Army Captain Theresa Reer joins us to share what that journey really feels like, how her career as an occupational therapist shaped her recovery mindset, and why moments of community matter as much as medical milestones.

We talk about her connection to the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, including the kind of support that sticks with you for years and the memory-lane details that make healing feel human again. Theresa also opens up...

You can fly a perfect approach and still be miles from help if the “runway” is a strip carved out of jungle. That’s why I wanted to sit down with Fran DeRocher, an old friend from our Guam days, to talk about the kind of aviation most people never see: Mission Aviation Fellowship’s real-world humanitarian airlift across remote parts of Africa, where the airplane is the only road in or out. 

We start with the memories that shaped us, from brutal no-AC barracks to scuba dives on Guam’s stunning reefs, then follow Fran’s winding path...

The hidden bill in healthcare is often the drive, the flight, or the miles you rack up while you are already exhausted. We sit down with Melissa Brian, lead transportation coordinator for Mercy Medical Angels, to talk about what happens when a patient or veteran can get an appointment but cannot get there and how a practical ride can be the difference between starting treatment and falling behind.

We break down the full menu of medical transportation assistance Mercy Medical Angels coordinates: gas cards for recurring appointments, Amtrak and Greyhound tickets when driving is not an option...

Farming can look like a simple escape plan until you run the numbers and realize the real enemy is the order of operations. Land is expensive, fences cost money, equipment breaks, and a “quick” farm dream can turn into years of stress if you start out of sequence. I sit down with Kate Bowen, program director of the American VetFarm Network (a program of At Ease Orchard), to talk about what it actually takes to help veterans become farmers and stay healthy in the process.

We get into the practical questions veteran farmers ask most: how to acce...

Scholarship hunting shouldn’t feel like a second job, especially for military families already juggling PCS moves, shifting school rules, and tight timelines. We sit down with Kristen Ferullo, founder of Partners in Purpose, to discuss a free, searchable scholarship database designed specifically for military children, dependents, spouses, veterans, and ROTC students. If you’ve ever clicked through endless lists only to learn you don’t qualify, this conversation gives you a smarter path.

We walk through how the database works, including practical filters like relationship to the service member, state-based options, and application open and close dates...

You can have the best product in the world and still lose if nobody knows you exist. That’s the tension we dig into with Austin Holmes, a Navy EOD veteran who now leads the Nashville-based PR firm Publicity for Good. We talk candidly about the mindset shift veteran entrepreneurs have to make when they leave a high-opsec culture and step into a marketplace that rewards clear, consistent communication. If you’ve ever built the LLC, opened the bank account, and then wondered why growth feels slow, this conversation is for you.

We get practical about branding and...

Fewer people personally know someone who served, and that quiet shift changes how communities understand sacrifice, leadership, and even citizenship. We sit down with Scott English, president of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to discuss how a modern military history museum can close that gap by telling authentic, relatable stories about the citizen soldier and the families who serve alongside them.

Scott shares how the museum evolved from a book collector’s library into a full-scale museum and archive, why Kenosha has embraced the move from Chicago, and what it looks like to bu...

One customer, noticing an early arrival and a military haircut, kicked off a brand that’s now helping veterans become business owners. We sit down with Tracy Flanagan, co-founder of JDog Brands, to unpack how a junk removal and hauling side hustle grew into a veteran-owned franchise network with roughly 91 locations across 25-plus states and about 90% veteran ownership. Along the way, we get specific about what makes a franchise model work for military transition: structure, accountability, and a path to leadership that still feels familiar after service.

We also talk money and operations without the hype. Tracy sh...

Paying retail for prescription eyeglasses is frustrating enough. Finding out you may have qualified for VA glasses the whole time is worse. We sit down with Sean Loosen, CEO of PDS Optical and a West Point graduate with an infantry background, to explain how VA vision benefits actually work and why awareness remains the biggest barrier to better eye care for veterans.

We break down the real-world basics: VA health care enrollment, what “service-connected disability” can mean for eligibility, and why even a 10% rating may open the door to prescription eyeglasses through the VA system. We also disc...

A former Navy SEAL with 10 trips to Afghanistan should have had an easy off-ramp into high-paying contractor work, but Todd Peters chose a different mission. After years of watching suicides stack up across his community, he founded Stronghold Alliance, a faith-based restoration nonprofit built to tackle veteran suicide prevention with urgency, humility, and real-world tools that veterans and first responders will actually use.

We talk through what many people miss about PTS and traumatic brain injury (TBI): these “invisible wounds” can hijack sleep, mood, focus, and family life, and they can make healing feel impossible even when you’...

A triple agent looks a young soldier in the eye and says the North Gate is about to be hit. Minutes later, the blast proves it. That moment is one of the turning points Sean Martin shares with us, and it’s also part of the story behind why his band, The Quarantined, doesn’t exist just to entertain.

Sean is a prior-service Army airborne infantry veteran who deployed to Iraq and ran hundreds of combat missions. He opens up about what pulled him toward the most “consequential” path, how a required talk with an Army psychologist shattere...

Many veteran-owned businesses don’t struggle because their founders lack discipline. They struggle because growth demands a new kind of support system: peers who’ve been there, mentors who tell the truth, and a clearer plan for capital, technology, and scale. That’s exactly where our conversation with Alex McKindra goes, drawing a straight line from military service to building stronger outcomes for veterans and military spouses in business and beyond.

Alex is a Managing Director in Global Corporate Banking and Co-Head of Global Banking Veteran Initiatives at JPMorgan. He shares his own path from the Air Force i...

Your spouse raises a right hand, and suddenly, your whole life has a new rulebook. Larry Zilliox, Director of Culinary Services at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, sits down with Kayla LaFond, military spouse liaison for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS), for an honest talk about what the transition into military spouse life really looks like, from the first duty station shock to the long stretches where you feel like you are rebuilding from scratch.

Kayla shares her own path as part of a Navy family, including how a PCS move can crush momentum...

A great car can stop you in your tracks, but a great car show can do more than that. We’re joined by Chuck Berge, board member at Willing Warriors and the team lead behind Vettes For Willing Warriors, to lay out exactly what happens when hundreds of vehicles roll onto the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run and the community shows up in force.

We talk real numbers and real details: 240 cars and about 865 visitors last year, with expectations of 1,000+ spectators this time. You’ll hear how judging actually works from someone who’s spent decades around Corvet...

The fastest way to lose your footing after the military is to lose your people and then pretend you’re fine. Host Larry Zilliox sits down with Navy Veteran Jordyn Jureczki, CEO of Frontline Healing Foundation, to talk about what happens when transition feels isolating, anger lingers, and the path to care is blocked by money, red tape, or geography. 

Jordyn shares how her own post-service road led her into law enforcement, a personal struggle with alcohol, and an unexpected turning point through jiu jitsu that introduced her to Warrior’s Heart. From there, we unpack how the n...

A locked Marine recruiter door turned into an Army career, and an IED in Afghanistan turned that career into a fight to rebuild a life. I’m joined by Jason Smith, a retired Army infantryman, double amputee, and ambassador for Catch A Lift Fund, and he tells the story with zero polish and a lot of truth: the terror of transition, the identity shift after catastrophic injury, and the small decisions that make recovery possible.

We dig into what happens after the evacuation flights and the hospital stays when PTS triggers show up in ordinary sounds and tr...

A lot of veteran suicide prevention talk gets complicated fast. This conversation stays refreshingly direct: isolation kills, connection protects, and a well-run event can be the difference between shutting down and showing up. I’m Larry Zilliox, and I’m joined by Kimberly Jewell Pond, Operational Support Coordinator and Lead Coordinator for the Washington, DC chapter of Irreverent Warriors, to break down how a “simple hike” becomes something much bigger for veteran mental health.

Kimberly shares her path from 17 years in the Alaska Air National Guard to the hard reality of civilian transition, where the bonds you rely on...

Stop Loss. That single policy changed thousands of military timelines overnight, and it changed Jonathan Tennis, too. Jonathan is a prior-service Army intelligence specialist who served through the post-9/11 shift, and he joins us at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run to talk honestly about what comes next when the uniform comes off and the mission feels unclear.

We get into why military transition can be so hard, even when you have strong qualifications, plus the parts people don’t say out loud: the loss of tribe, belonging, and purpose. Jonathan shares how he found his way to...

What does it take to turn a veteran’s story into law that actually changes lives? We sit down with Jess  Finucan, a retired Air Force Senior Master Sergeant and now the Director of Policy and advocacy at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, to pull back the curtain on how evidence, testimony, and relentless follow-through move Congress on veterans’ issues. Jess shares her rapid transition from uniform to policy, her first VA appointment that made civilian life feel real, and why documenting toxic exposure—from burn pits to Hawaii’s Red Hill contamination—can’t wait until symptoms appear.
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Burn pits and jet fuel aren’t just headlines; they’re lived experiences that can follow veterans for years. We sit down with Dr. Maheen Adamson (Research Director) and Dr. Jennifer Jennings (Clinical Director), two VA physicians leading the Women’s Operational Military Exposure Network Center of Excellence, to explain what we’re learning about military environmental exposure and why women veterans have been missing from the data for far too long.

We walk through the center’s mission and the real-world hazards under study, including airborne toxins, chemical exposures, burn pits, and fuels like JP4 and JP8. Then...

A single word on a headstone—Unknown—sent author Jeff Gottesfeld on a path to write children’s books that carry the weight of service with grace. Today, we sit down with Jeff to trace that path from 21 Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to his new large-format book, Honor Flight: Celebrating America’s Veterans, and a forthcoming project that centers on the kids who also serve.

We dig into how a writer chooses the right voice for young readers without softening the truth. Jeff shares why his early draft didn’t land, how a first-pers...

When a cutter launches into a storm or a helicopter hovers over a capsized hull, the story we don’t see is the family at home watching the radar, praying for their service member going into harm's way, or the kid who just switched schools again. This episode pulls back the curtain on the Coast Guard Foundation—the nonprofit lifeline that helps Coast Guard members and their families stay ready, resilient, and focused when it counts most.

We sit down with Ron LaBrec, a 29-year Coast Guard veteran and the Foundation’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, to exp...

What if recovery felt less like appointments and more like belonging? We sit down with Donna Meltzer, CEO of Brain Injury Services in Fairfax, to unpack why “brain injury is a journey” and how a purpose-built clubhouse helps survivors—veterans and civilians alike—reclaim identity, skills, and community. From the first welcome to setting personal goals, the model flips the script: members choose to participate, practice real-life tasks, and build confidence where it matters most—at home, at work, and in relationships.

Walk through the Adapt Clubhouse’s core units that make progress tangible. In the culinary space, membe...

The most powerful sentence in today’s conversation is also the simplest: “Actually, she’s the veteran.” We sit down with Brooke Jackson Kahn—Army combat medic, neurosurgery PA, and founder of She’s the Veteran—to explore what service, transition, and healing look like when the world still assumes the veteran is a man. Brooke brings clear, lived insight into how women experience PTS differently, why so many never seek help, and how community can change a life when therapy hours end.

We walk through the rough edges of coming home—from culture shock to isolation—and why early VA c...

The quiet work after the mission often decides whether a family bends or breaks. We sit down with Marine Raider Foundation CEO Jessica McAndrews to open the door on a community that rarely seeks the spotlight and yet carries a heavy load long after the headlines fade. From emergency travel and uncovered medical devices to childcare during recovery, Jessica explains how a focused nonprofit moves fast to cover real gaps for Marine Raiders, their families, and Gold Star loved ones.

We walk through what makes the Raider community unique within U.S. Special Operations, why the Foundation...

Too many women who served are still asked to fight for basic recognition before they can access care. We sit down with Virginia Giordano, CEO and founder of the Barbara Giordano Foundation, to explore a different path: small, trauma‑informed retreats and holistic wellness programs designed by listening to women veterans first. From equine therapy and EFT tapping to reflexology and targeted workshops on issues like clutter, the approach centers on safety, trust, and practical tools that help women rebuild daily life.

Virginia walks us through the foundation’s evolution from a broad women’s mission to a lase...

Ten years in, the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run stands on stories that still move us—volunteers who swung the first hammers, families who found rest here, and a community that showed up in sunshine and storms. We take that history and turn it into fuel for a packed 2026, staying true to our core promise of five-night, no-cost respite for wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families while growing programs that answer urgent needs we see every week.

We dig into the heart-work behind a moral injury initiative shaped by conversations with chaplains and hospital le...