I was the keynote speaker for the 4th Annual Women's Brunch at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial last week and a number of people came up to me after the event telling me how impactful my talk was. And while I didn't record it so the words are not exactly the same I did use my notes to try and re-create my talk to share it all with you. I really hope you enjoy this bonus episode. And don't forget your story matters.

The final episode is advice from those who shared their story on the Women of the Military podcast from the second half of 2024. I hope that you enjoy learning what advice veterans shared about joining the military. Thanks for all the support!

I'm excited to welcome back Ashley Gorbulja back to the podcast. She shared her story in episode 28 and shared her expertise in as part of the Girls Guide to the Military series as an education expert. This week she is taking a turn in the interviewer seat and asking me to look back at the six years of Women of the Military podcast as I close out this chapter of Women of the Military podcast. It has been an amazing experience and I am honored to have shared a piece of the story of military women.

I'm excited to welcome JoAnne Bass on Woman of the Military podcast. She recently retired from the Air Force and was the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force. She is the first woman to hold the position and has worked to improve the lives of Airmen. In this interview we will discuss her time in the Air Force how her career field set her up for success, balancing military and family life, and advice for the next generation.

JT Blatty is sharing military stories through photos and writing. She recently published her memoir: Snapshots Sent Home: From Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine. In this interview we highlighted her time in the Army. She attended West Point and graduated in 2000. Going from peace time to war was unexpected experience but it led her to where she is today. She deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and then after leaving the service had the opportunity to head to Ukraine and found a human connection with the soldiers she met there.

Rich Sherman is the author of Never Home: Remembering the Military Heroes Who Never Returned. In this week's interview he shared about his experience in the Navy. Joining in 1989 and leaving for Desert Shield shortly after arriving at his first assignment. After serving in the military he left for the business world. And through a series of events became a photographer and embarked on a journey to share the stories of those who never came home from World War I and World War II. He shares how the book came to be and a little about the experience of visiting all the national cemeteries outside of the US.

Chef Robert Irvine took his service experience in the Royal Navy and is giving back after service. Robert Irvine joined the Royal Navy at 15 and served as a chef. His passion for food has continued through out his life and he has had many accomplishments including being a star on Food Network. Today, he is giving back to the military community through the Robert Irvine Foundation hosting events around the world and supporting both the veteran community and first responders. 

Dr. Sue Subocz shares how using the education benefits from the military enhanced her life and gave her opportunities after her career in the military ended. Sue served in the Coast Guard for 13 years and then served in the Coast Guard Reserve for another 13 years. She worked as a Civil Engineer on active duty and highlighted the different projects from her career. She transitioned into filling different careers in the Reserve including being a liaison. Today, Dr. Subocz has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, and has served in several leadership roles with Walden University since 2014.

Alex is the second half of Hello Home Books. I had Kim on two episodes ago in episode 300 to share her story of military service and a little about Hello Home Books. This week I get to share Alex's story of service. Alex also worked in Human Resources (S1) career field like Kim and they met at Fort Stewart when they both worked in an S1 shop. She also served in Kuwait and Germany before coming back to the states for her last assignment. After leaving the military she went to school to become a dietician and is coming up on graduation.

Beth H. Macy talked about how the military opens doors to the future. This was what she experienced. It may not have been open doors in the work translated to a career she was going to pursue. But her mindset shifted after her service in the Navy leading to a full career. She worked in High Tech, as a therapist, fitness instructor trainer and today she is the author the Moscow Night series that currently has three books with more on the way.

Kimberly is working with her friend Alex to create books for military kids. There are a lot of books for military kids but how Kimberly and Alex's books are different is that they focus on getting kids excited about the location they will be moving to. Kimberly serve in the Army as a Human Resource officer. She had the opportunity to serve overseas in Korea twice and shared about some of the challenges and positive aspects of military service.

Darlene joined the military looking for community but she learned how to be a leader in the military. After her parents died she was on her own and so she looked at the military for community. She ended up joining the Air Force. At Basic Training she was selected to lead the platoon and it allowed her to see the potential she had to be a leader. She is an award winning author, relationship coach, reverend and more. I'm excited to share her inspiring story this week on the Women of the Military podcast.

Naomi Connnelly's story of paving the way for women serving as the first woman in Field Artillery as a Fire Finder Radar Operator and Maintainer in not only the Army National Guard, but the Army. Field Artillery is part of combat arms and didn't open to women until 2015. But before 2015 there were some jobs that started to open un within combat arms. She was able to serve in one these roles in the Field Artillery in 2012. She is still serving in the Army National Guard in New Hampshire. In this episode she shares her experience in the Army National Guard and some insight along the way.

Jen Sardam wanted to serve in the Public Affairs career field, but initially began her career in Radio Communications. She served in both the Army and the Army National Guard. She bounced between the National Guard and active duty and move to a number of different assignments. She began her career in the Radio Communications field but was able to switch over to Public Affairs after leaving the Army. She shared about her experience doing multiple jobs in the PA career field and deploying twice. She also discussed the challenge of leaving the National Guard and the emotions that came along with leaving. She is working to find a way to help others through offering support to women veterans.

This week we will be talking about the road to women serving in combat roles. This includes my story and I'm excited to share all I have learned these past six years by interviewing military women. In March, I did a four week series focused on the history of military women. This is part 4 of the four week series. You can see the whole series here: https://www.airmantomom.com/2024/03/military-women-history-series/

As the Women's Army Corps was ending Lori's career in the military was starting. She joined the U.S. Army weeks before the Women's Army Corps disbanded. This led her to switch to the regular Army and while many things didn't change there was even more resentment towards her through out her career. She served as a truck driver and then switched to Army aviation after attending Air Traffic Control school. She shares her story in her memoir Two Week WAC written with her pename of Bea Ann Amark.

With no official war happening between 1972 and 1991 there is often a tendency to overlook this period of history. But when you dive into the stories of women who served in the military during this time you learn the military not only was doing a lot but they also made a lot of changes, changes specifically for women that had a huge impact for women going forward. We are going to look at some of those changes and see how they impacted future generations. In March, I did a four week series focused on the history of military women. This is part 3 of the four week series. You can see the whole series here: https://www.airmantomom.com/2024/03/military-women-history-series/

Les Carroll is the author of This Troubled Ground. He shares his experience in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard on the podcast while also highlighting his book. This Troubled Ground is a novel but is based on many experiences from his own military career with fictional characters added to the story. It is a great book that highlights unique experiences military members experience while also highlighting the stories of Gold Star family members who must continue on after their loved died overseas. I'm excited to share part of Les's story and talk about his amazing book this week on the Women of the Military podcast.

Many of the doors that were opened to allow women to serve in the military came through the brave actions and sacrifices made by military nurses. After finishing The Women by Kristin Hannah that highlights the stories of military nurses during Vietnam, last month I wanted to dive deeper into the history and role military nurses played during our military’s history.

Crystal is giving back to her community by helping others transitioning out of the military as a speaker and coach at Crystal She Speaks. She spent over 15 years in the military working in both the medical career field and as a recruiter. She shared about her time in the Army, how she ended up in recruiting, gaining her commission through a direct commission, and her unexpected end to her military career. Taking the lessons she learned from transition she is working to help others.