May 7, 2025 • 34 mins
For the Love of Freedom - An Insightful Chat with Veteran Advocate Mark Lucas
This episode of 'For the Love of Freedom' features a riveting conversation with Mark Lucas, a dedicated veteran and influential advocate in the political and grassroots arena. Host dives into Mark's military background, his motivations sparked by 9/11, and his journey from infantry officer to a commanding advocate for veterans' rights in Washington, D.C. Mark shares his insights on the military industrial complex, the deeply rooted issues within the VA, and his new organization, Veteran Action, aimed at holding politicians accountable and pushing for meaningful policy changes. Tune in for a deep dive into war, politics, and the unwavering fight for veteran advocacy.
SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY:
ACTION & INFO FROM TODAY'S EPISODE:
- Visit Veteran Action to learn more & to support the policy change that veterans deserve: www.veteranaction.org.
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KEY POINTS:
00:00 Introduction to For the Love of Freedom
00:59 Meet Mark Lucas: A Fighter for Freedom
03:39 Mark's Military Journey: From 9/11 to Afghanistan
06:08 Reflections on War and Politics
16:56 Challenges of Reentry and Advocacy for Veterans
24:38 Veteran Action: A New Mission
26:37 Pete Buttigieg and Woke Policies
30:40 Supporting Matt Lomeyer for Air Force Undersecretary
33:34 Conclusion and Final Though
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to For the Love of Freedom.
For those of you who are new to the show, it's a new show.
And I started this new show because I wanted to have coffee table style conversations thatpeel the curtain back on the person and the life stories behind our guest's mission to
bring freedom to the world.
And my guest today is someone who is one heck of a fighter.
(00:24):
Mark Lucas has become a friend and an ally in the Infowar that we're living through.
Mark has a tremendous background in grassroots advocacy.
Most recently, he was executive vice president of the Article Three project, which underhis leadership and that of founder Mike Davis has become an extraordinary heavyweight for
the Voice of Liberty in Washington, D.C.
(00:46):
And for those of you who are regular viewers or listeners to the State of Freedom, you'llrecognize Mark from our interviews with him there.
In large part, those interviews were surrounding the hotly contested confirmation hearingsfor President Trump's cabinet, most notably our now Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, FBI
Director Cash Battelle, DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and HHS Secretary RFK Jr.
(01:10):
And prior to his time at the Article III project, he was the executive director of ConcernVeterans for America and a senior vice president at Americans for Prosperity.
Before his time in grassroots advocacy, Mark was an infantry officer in the Iowa ArmyNational Guard and a graduate of the U.S.
(01:31):
Army Ranger School.
Mark was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and Bronze Star Medal in Afghanistan during thedeadliest year of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He also deployed to South Korea during the height of tensions with North Korea and justvery recently launched out on his own and established a new fighting force.
(01:51):
an advocacy group called Veteran Action.
Mark, welcome to the show.
Thank you for taking some time with me today.
How are you doing?
Doing great, thank you for having me on.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, Mark, the scripture I wanted to set the tone of the show with today is Psalm 74 23.
And it says, Never forget what your adversaries are saying for their rage and uproar risecontinually against you.
(02:16):
It's time to stand up to them.
Now this verse is part of a prayer to the Lord in the Psalms to rescue the oppressed andthe downtrodden from the arrogant, wicked elites of his day.
And it feels very appropriate for this conversation because Mark, you and I, along withmillions of Americans and people around the world have been praying prayers like this for
(02:39):
the past five years or more.
But this, to me, also struck me as something of a revelry call to advocacy for thewarriors out there who want to take back their country and restore it to the land of
liberty it was intended to be and was fought for by our founders.
Before we get into your new organization, I'd like to start, if we could, by you giving ussome insight in your history as a war fighter.
(03:04):
When did you join the military?
What was the catalyst for you to join?
Well, 9-11 was the catalyst for my military service.
And before that morning, I had never really given much consideration to joining themilitary.
I had some military recruiters come to some of my football games and track meets and wouldtry to talk to me and actually also my sister about joining the military.
(03:27):
But I never took it that serious.
I grew up in the 90s and era of prosperity and I was really big into tech.
So I thought I was going to go into to be more of a technology executive.
I was actually working at my local telephone company and an internet service provider onthe morning of 9-11.
And I remember the planes flying into the towers vividly.
(03:50):
I remember going through the range of emotions of just shock and utter disbelief tosadness of just uh the atrocity that happened, then quickly shifted to anger.
And I wanted to get into the war fight.
And so I joined the military, the Iowa Army National Guard as an infantry private.
went to Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of the infantry and joined the University of IowaROTC and was really focusing my life on preparing for combat.
(04:20):
And I'd missed a deployment to Afghanistan when I was in infantry basic training.
I missed a deployment to Iraq when I was contracted in the ROTC.
And I was starting to wonder, am I ever going to be able to get into this fight?
And then in 2000, uh
10 and 11 I was able to deploy as an infantry platoon leader.
(04:42):
you know, God has a great plan for us, even though if we don't understand it at themoment, I was able to be trained up as an infantry private.
So I learned what it meant to be an enlisted soldier.
was able to go through ROTC and then really learn how to be an infantry platoon leader bygoing to the U.S.
Army Ranger School.
I was able to go to reconnaissance and surveillance leaders course and mortar leader andsniper employment leaders course.
(05:08):
When I went to Afghanistan, I was very well trained as being a platoon leader and wasblessed to have incredible non-commissioned officers who always helped me along the way.
That's amazing.
And when you deployed, as you said, as a member of the infantry and as a platoon leader,that put you on the front lines.
(05:28):
You were the literal tip of the spear when it came to war-related decisions being made inWashington.
Would you talk a little bit maybe about how being in that position might have evolved yourmindset on war and politics and why we were there in the first place?
I wanted to be a war fighter.
I wanted to be on the front line and I was blessed to be able to serve along theAfghan-Pakistani border in a very heavily contested area.
(05:56):
We'd say it was a kinetic environment, so there was a lot of contact with the enemy and itwas a dream come true.
I I wanted to exact vengeance on the people that took innocent lives in New York City, inPennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.
So it was...
a very good environment for a young infantry platoon leader that wanted to take the fightto the enemy.
(06:19):
And it was during the most deadly period of the war.
So in 2010 and 2011, we took more KIAs at that point in Afghanistan, any other point ofthe war.
So it was very contested.
And by God's grace, I did not lose a single man.
We were very aggressive.
I told my men that we were going to be the dominant predator.
(06:42):
that we're going to take the fight to the enemy every single day.
And we did.
And one of my men was wounded, but he survived and I had to pull him out of the fight.
ah He got a Bronze Star with valor and it was pretty interesting to appear to be inAfghanistan.
And that really shaped my opinion of that war because I could tell early on that we hadlost sight of the mission.
(07:07):
Nobody talked about winning in Afghanistan.
Why got there in 2010?
And now as a 43 year old husband and father, I look back at that time and I can tell youit was all about a recurring revenue stream for the military industrial complex.
Even though the American people we supported going in and we really wanted to have ourrevenge on what happened on the morning of 9-11, our military commanders, our political
(07:35):
leaders back in Washington, they really lost sight of the mission.
they have lost sight of the mission and I'm not sure there was a mission in the firstplace.
You look back at 9-11 now and there's a lot of questions surrounding the veracity of thestory we were told, that the media has told.
Have you dug into that at all and how does that kind of play into your coloring of your,you know, the way that you made decisions at that time?
(08:04):
Yeah, if you look at the initial invasion of Afghanistan and then the quick rapidsuccession of the Iraq war, there's a lot of questions.
As a young man, I was ready to go wherever my country needed me.
If anybody looked at the United States the wrong way in the early 2000s, I wanted to goafter them.
So even though Iraq was a bit of a stretch, I remember being like, you know, I'm not sureI quite understand this.
(08:29):
I know Saddam Hussein is a bad guy, but if President Bush says we need to go, we'll go.
looking back on it, that was a big mistake.
The Iraq war was definitely predicated on false intelligence.
And even if you stood by the Afghanistan war early on, being there for over a decade andthe way that we would drew our forces just in complete disarray and a complete
(08:54):
embarrassment to our country, I we can look back and say those forever wars were amistake.
And we as the war fighters who are very proud of our service.
We can go back to the American people and say we made a mistake, we're proud of ourservice, but we have to be more vigilant in how we authenticate intelligence.
And if we ever dedicate forces overseas, those young men and women have to understand themission.
(09:18):
If we can't explain the mission to an 18 year old private, then we should not be going.
If we can't explain the mission to a mother and to a father of why we're sending your kidsto combat, then we should not dedicate forces.
Yeah, so well said, so absolutely well said.
it's just an absolute disgrace that we have sent young men and women over there um to fuelthe machine, the money making machine.
(09:48):
After 9-11, I read this book probably, I don't know, it would have probably been aroundthe time that you were in Afghanistan.
It was called, I'm trying to pull it up, I think it was called First In, and it was aboutthe first CIA officer that went into Afghanistan, and it's like a ghost in Afghanistan or
a ghost in Kabul or something like that.
(10:09):
And I look back on that, I loved that book.
It was so riveting to me.
It was huge, thick book.
about this man's story and how he got so sick um from trying to eat the local food and nothaving, you know, not being acclimatized to it and stuff.
And now you think about the way the CIA is being portrayed as literally being um in themedia.
(10:31):
The CIA is being really the enemy of the people at every step.
And I just have to wonder, I mean, it's not a question to you, but I just have to wonderif this is...
you know, that was all part of the propaganda machine or even a lot of people may not evenrecognize the fact that they're being used by the bigger machine in Washington and beyond.
(10:55):
it's just remarkable the place that we find ourselves and the uncovering of what's been umall the lies that have been told to us and all the lies that um put us in action.
mean, part of my story is that I wanted to solve the Israeli
Palestinian crisis.
So I studied Middle East politics and moved to Washington and tried to work in that space.
(11:21):
you just think about, wow, if that wouldn't have been pushed out as such a big umconversation point by the media, if war and um conflict weren't such big uh money makers,
you and I might be sitting in very different seats right now.
(11:42):
Well, they say that capitalism and war don't mix.
I think we've learned that lesson because what I saw with the military industrial complex,they don't want to win.
They don't care about winning.
And actually the longer and the bloodier and the bigger the quagmire, the better it is forbusiness.
But the American people, expect warfighters like myself to win our nation's wars.
(12:04):
So there's this true tension between the business interests of these large militaryindustrial companies.
versus the interest of the American people and especially the war fighter.
Like we want to win decisively.
And I never heard about how we were going to win in Afghanistan.
I actually thought as a young man, I'm like, man, I wish I could stay longer.
(12:24):
I wish I could stay here in this country, have a longer vision than just 12 months andreally try to make a change.
But as I've gotten older, I realized that that would have been a fool's errand becausewinning was never a part of the strategy.
Yeah, and do you have any thoughts?
mean, you've spent plenty of time thinking about this topic.
What is an answer?
Is there a solution to this tension between the business interest of war and the need towin war?
(12:50):
I think we need more just civilian oversight and we need more people, more grassrootspeople involved in how we get immersed in these wars.
mean, there's a big problem when these politicians are so disconnected from the warfighter, from the poor middle-class families who are losing their lives versus the people
(13:13):
in the State Department, people in Washington are making these decisions.
We need to have more grassroots impact.
on how we're dedicated to our forces.
And we really need to be just realigned on the mission of America.
We have to defend what's most important.
And right now that's our southern border.
Like we need to get back to the fundamentals of national security.
And it starts with our border.
(13:34):
I don't believe that the border is a political issue.
I don't believe it's an immigration issue.
I believe in having strong borders as a part of our national security.
If you talk to a young 18, 19 year old private in theater, they'll tell you,
Establishing 360 security is the first priority.
And in our country, we don't have a strong 360 degree perimeter around our nation.
(13:59):
We need to fix that.
And the American people, they want to solve the immigration crisis.
They want to solve this crime problem.
I think we need to get back to the fundamentals.
Do you think there's a role, and I haven't thought about this until you were just talkingabout it, but do you think there's a role for maybe, if you want to serve in our
government as a bureaucrat, you need to go to basic training and you need to understandwhat it might be to be a war fighter so that you, if you're making decisions for anything
(14:29):
related to war, especially contracting, you need to...
oh, sorry, I think we need a balance.
I think you need war fighters and diplomats and people with business experience.
I want a Pentagon that staff with the best and the brightest, people who understand thecost of war, but also civilians who bring a unique and different perspective.
(14:51):
But we can all agree that peace should be the priority.
War should never be the default course of action.
I feel like in the 2000s,
It just seemed like we were going to more and more war and starting more of these forevertype of war scenarios.
And we need to get back to promoting peace and diplomacy and making deals that are goodfor everybody around the world, but especially America first.
(15:13):
Like our number one priority has to be America.
We've had too many people in Washington that prioritize other people's ah security,whether it's NATO, whether it's Ukraine.
ah We have to look at really getting back to this America first foreign policy.
Yeah, and other people's uh commercial success, you know, as we're looking at the tariffs.
(15:35):
It's remarkable to see the politicians that want to stand up and cry for other countrieswhenever they don't even look at the people in their own communities that are struggling.
I'm hoping we'll see a lot of changes at the midterms.
One thing I was thinking about as I was getting ready for this conversation, was, youknow, we've interviewed on the State of Freedom a lot of veterans.
(15:59):
And one thing that consistently comes up is that soldiers uh often have uh a significantlydifficult reentry uh back to civilian life from deployment.
And I've heard from a number of veterans that we've interviewed that their personal faith,after their personal faith and their family, the number one thing that helps them stay
(16:22):
grounded and connected was being in...
conversation and relationship with other veterans.
Was that an experience that you shared?
Absolutely.
You know, coming back home with my friends who served in the military unit with me wasvery critical.
And I was in the Iowa Army National Guard.
(16:42):
So we were able to see each other, you know, at least once a month, ah as we continuedservice and talking to people with the shared experience, because they understood what we
went through was so critical.
And that's why I think it's more imperative that you have those strong relationships withpeople in your unit or people that deployed with you.
or other people that just understand the combat experience I think is very vital to thatreentry, along with having very strong faith, strong family network, and people that you
(17:13):
can go to just to talk through some of these issues.
Yeah, even as you were talking from the beginning of this conversation, it's clear that,you know, there's not a bitterness necessarily toward the government for a line because
you know that God uses all things for good.
And obviously, he's using the experiences and the training that you've had to put you inposition to do some other kind of fighting.
(17:37):
And now you're fighting after you left the National Guard, you took that fight toWashington.
in a way, in a big way.
How did the two compare?
And I'm sure you found some of your skills to be pretty transferable.
Well, I had the privilege of leading concerned veterans for America.
(17:57):
And that's why I moved to Washington, DC for five years.
I joke it was the worst five years of my life because I was living inside the swamp, but Ihad a very important mission.
And that was to work with President Trump and Congress to pass two of the most historicreforms in VA healthcare history.
And that was the Mission Act, which provided choice in veteran healthcare and also the VAAccountability and Whistleblower Protection Act.
(18:23):
which would allow us to fire bad VA employees and provide protection for whistleblowers,those employees who wanted to do the right thing to come forward and tell the truth.
So that was a huge mission.
had 36 different states under Concerned Veterans for America.
We were able to connect grassroots volunteers, whether they're veterans or friends andfamily of veterans to their lawmakers, to tell them to put veterans first.
(18:49):
It was a great, great accomplishment.
In Washington,
is a place that's out of touch with reality.
I don't think I'm breaking news there.
And they need to constantly be reminded by grassroots people of what their priorities are.
And we're able to deliver President Trump one of his signature victories in his firstterm.
Incredible.
(19:10):
President Trump took the VA forward, um and I know you were a big part of that.
Obviously, the last four years were an abomination beyond words.
So it took us many steps backwards, maybe even decades backwards in terms of service tothe veterans specifically.
What's it going to take to turn that ship around?
(19:31):
I mean, there's probably not a button that a person can press to fix this overnight.
The VA unfortunately has a major ideological problem.
There's a lot of people in the VA headquarters that want to protect the bureaucracy.
They want to protect union jobs versus the mission that mostly American people support,which is provide very good healthcare to our veterans.
(19:57):
And what we've seen is the VA has grown enormously with their budget, with their staffing,with their buildings.
We've seen the veteran population decrease and
we still see care going down.
Like we throw all this money, all this staffing at the VA and they continue to do a badjob.
There's just a story recently of a Navy veteran who went to the Audie Murphy VA hospital.
(20:22):
He couldn't be seen.
They wouldn't listen to him.
They just want to give him more pills.
And he shot himself in the head in the front of the VA hospital.
That's a cry for help.
And that's sending a message.
We've heard these stories of countless suicides occurring on VA grounds.
veterans aren't being served.
And so my philosophy is that veterans should have a choice in their healthcare.
(20:44):
If you're not happy with your VA hospital, you should be able to go across the street to aprivate healthcare clinic.
And Democrats and the Biden administration, instead of serving vets, they wanted toprotect the bureaucracy of the VA.
Is there a place for veteran hospitals anymore or should the whole thing just move to theprivate industry?
(21:07):
I think the VA plays a very important role in rural America.
I believe that if they can specialize in post-traumatic stress and TBI and Agent Orangeand burn pit type of problems.
right?
The key word being if.
If I mean the whole philosophy should be that the VA should be hyper focused on servingveterans specific issues.
(21:33):
But they've grown into this monstrosity where a lot of Democrats view the VA as a provingground from uh government run healthcare.
When I just want it to be focused on serving the veterans.
So it gets back to choice.
And I believe that the veteran earned the right by putting on that uniform, by goingoverseas, by willing.
(21:54):
by being willing to die for this country, they should be able to pick their healthcare.
I want to put the choice in the veterans' hands, not in bureaucrats in Washington.
Yeah, do you have any insider information on when Elon and his team are going to behitting the VA?
I think they already are and they've identified waste, fraud and abuse.
And I think they outlined the ability to reduce the staffing there and to really refocusit on healthcare.
(22:22):
Well, that will be a miracle.
I'm just really hopeful that we see a turnaround there because veterans deserve it andbecause, I mean, it is...
Veterans should be the crown jewel of our country, right?
I mean, these are the men and women who have put themselves in harm's way at great cost tothemselves and their families.
(22:44):
And we can't even make sure that they are taken care of when they get home.
It's an absolute disgrace.
I think it's a black mark on the country.
And I know that President Trump's committed to turning that around, but I hope we startseeing some meaningful change um at the clinical level.
Yeah.
(23:04):
Yeah.
And one of the reasons that veteran action supports president Trump wholeheartedly isbecause we saw his record for defending veterans in his first term.
Those two signature policy victories we talked about the VA accountability act and themission act.
saw what he did in his first term and he is truly dedicated to our nation's heroes.
(23:25):
And that's why veteran action supports him and his veteran agenda, which will really giveveterans more choice in their healthcare and give them the care that they deserve.
Yeah, they do deserve it.
So Mark, tell us a little bit about your new organization.
You mentioned to me offline that this is not something you were ever looking to start, buthere you are.
(23:46):
So tell us what it's about and what you're doing.
Veteran Action is a smash-mouth grassroots organization that will defend veterans andPresident Trump's America First foreign policy.
I saw a gap for an America First type of veteran organization that can pass good policy inWashington, but also understands the politics.
(24:09):
And we will hold politicians accountable.
If they want veterans in their campaign ads, if they want to talk about what they do forvets, they need to deliver.
and veteran action will be purely focused on passing good policy and holding politiciansaccountable.
I say that we're not building homes for homeless vets.
We're not giving away wheelchairs to veterans, which are important things.
(24:32):
We're going to be that smash-mouth political organization that passes policy change.
Well, speaking of Smash Mouth, I heard there's someone, a very special guest coming toyour state who I may enjoy smashing in the mouth.
It's not very kind to say that, but Pete Buttigieg coming to Iowa, what's he doing overthere?
(24:56):
Pete Buttigieg is coming to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a veteran town hall.
And veteran action is spreading the word about Pete Buttigieg's woke policies for the VA.
He wanted to just name a female to the VA.
He wanted to name a female to the secretary of defense position.
(25:16):
He's wanted to promote these woke policies instead of having a merit-based uh focus forthese positions.
oh
And so Pete Buttigieg also wanted to have taxpayer funded gender surgery at the VA.
He wanted to change the motto of the VA that Abraham Lincoln instituted to make it moregender specific.
(25:40):
So Pete Buttigieg just wants to bring these woke policies and it's obvious that he'srunning for president.
He's coming to Iowa early.
He's going to talk about his veteran record, even though he has been against presidentTrump's reforms at the VA.
And so Pete Buttigieg is being put on notice and I'll ensure that veteran action holds himaccountable when he goes to Iowa, New Hampshire, all these other states to let people know
(26:04):
what his real record is on the VA and on the Department of Defense.
Well, forgive me for being dense here, but what in the world does he have to do with anyveteran anything?
Am I missing something?
He was, he was secretary of transportation and did a pretty horrible garbage job of that.
I do remember those videos of seeing the secret service pulling his bicycle out of theback of his armored car and letting him ride his bike one block to the department so he
(26:33):
could have his little Instagram photo op.
But what, I mean, has he done
anything related to veterans?
he in he was in the military?
Okay.
Afghanistan.
So he's done a lot of these veteran type of town halls.
And this is just the first one in Iowa early on for his, what we expect to be apresidential election.
(26:55):
You know, in Iowa in 2020, he won the Iowa caucus.
He also, I believe narrowly won or lost in New Hampshire.
So he was a significant candidate in a Democrat party before they all aligned around JoeBiden.
So.
He's going to be talking about what President Trump's doing at the VA.
We're seeing these just false, like these false accusations that we're just trying toslash the VA and take away jobs that will reduce veteran healthcare.
(27:22):
No, we're trying to streamline and refocus the VA.
So it's a sign of things that come for Pete Buttigieg as he will probably emerge as one ofthe leading candidates in 2028.
Which is one of the most ridiculous things I could possibly think.
I mean, all I can think of, and I don't know if it was a meme mark or if it was reality,but was he trying to breastfeed his child after when he was on paternity leave?
(27:47):
Okay, well, the meme, I think the meme speaks volumes and it goes to all of this transagenda, all of this uh woke anti-gender agenda.
Anyway, it's.
And he wanted to bring this.
Yeah.
Pete Buttigieg, he wanted to bring this DEI woke type of politics to the Department ofVeterans Affairs, to the Department of Defense.
(28:13):
He wanted to rescind the transgender ban in the military.
He wanted to remove racism and white nationalism from the military.
These were all outlined in his Pete for America campaign website.
He talked about all this openly.
So.
We're going to make sure that the American people oh know what Pete Buttigieg's wokeagenda is for the military and for veterans.
(28:38):
Well, great.
Great.
What else do you have up your sleeve?
Well, veteran action is also supporting Matt Lohmeyer, who has been nominated to be theundersecretary of the air force.
Matt Lohmeyer was an incredible air force F-15 pilot.
He was also a commander of space force.
He lost his command in space force for uh speaking out against the DEI agenda.
(29:01):
Matt Lohmeyer will be an incredible member of the team at DOD for president Trump and forPete Hegsat.
So we're supporting his confirmation and
You can go to veteranaction.org and click on the take action button and you can contactyour United States senators to tell them to vote yes to confirm Matt Lohmeyer for the Air
Force.
(29:22):
Beautiful and folks might be like me and remember he spoke up at a rally I believe he wasuh on a panel at a rally and asked President Trump a question about about uh reinstatement
and and moving the the moving the Department of Defense forward after the the extrememishandling of the kovat uh forced vaccines and uh
(29:49):
President Trump said something like, he's straight out of central casting and he's theright guy for a job and he would hire him on the spot basically.
That's correct.
It was a rally, I believe outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
And Mr.
Lohmeyer talked about his record in the Air Force, in the Space Force, talked about DEIand President Trump said, I'll hire you right on the spot.
(30:12):
And they went backstage and President Trump said, yes, I'm serious.
I know my men when I see them.
I want you to part of this team.
And uh another campaign promise from President Trump that he's upheld and he nominatedhim.
Matt Lohmeyer went through his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Armed ServicesCommittee.
So I'll come up for a vote soon and it'll go to the floor of the Senate.
(30:33):
So again, you can support Matt Lohmeyer who is not only just an incredible militaryofficer, he graduated from the Air Force Academy.
Again, I he was a great F-15 pilot.
I looked at some of his officer evaluation reports.
He consistently was at the top of his class.
He's a very good officer.
(30:54):
but also he was brave enough to stand forward and to call out this woke as he lost his jobfor it.
So I believe he'll go in and do an incredible job at the Air Force to help root out thesewoke policies and really return our military back to the core fundamentals.
And it'll be so great to see secretaries of the different branches really be strong, Imean, strong with experience in the actual branch that they're serving and strong
(31:24):
intellectuals with a moral compass.
It's going to be a beautiful thing whenever we see the full thing come and blossom.
But I know Trump is working hard to make that happen.
Well Mark, thank you so much for taking some time with me.
I know you've got a lot going on and this is just one of the hats that you're wearingthese days, but I really appreciate you giving us some insight into the man behind the
(31:49):
mission and if we can be helpful in any way to get your message out on behalf of veteransor in conjunction with veterans, you just let us know.
Thank you so much for having me on.
We'll see you soon, Mark.
Welcome to For the Love of Freedom.
For those of you who are new to the show, it's a new show.
And I started this new show because I wanted to have coffee table style conversations thatpeel the curtain back on the person and the life stories behind our guest's mission to
bring freedom to the world.
And my guest today is someone who is one heck of a fighter.
(00:24):
Mark Lucas has become a friend and an ally in the Infowar that we're living through.
Mark has a tremendous background in grassroots advocacy.
Most recently, he was executive vice president of the Article Three project, which underhis leadership and that of founder Mike Davis has become an extraordinary heavyweight for
the Voice of Liberty in Washington, D.C.
(00:46):
And for those of you who are regular viewers or listeners to the State of Freedom, you'llrecognize Mark from our interviews with him there.
In large part, those interviews were surrounding the hotly contested confirmation hearingsfor President Trump's cabinet, most notably our now Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, FBI
Director Cash Battelle, DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and HHS Secretary RFK Jr.
(01:10):
And prior to his time at the Article III project, he was the executive director of ConcernVeterans for America and a senior vice president at Americans for Prosperity.
Before his time in grassroots advocacy, Mark was an infantry officer in the Iowa ArmyNational Guard and a graduate of the U.S.
(01:31):
Army Ranger School.
Mark was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and Bronze Star Medal in Afghanistan during thedeadliest year of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He also deployed to South Korea during the height of tensions with North Korea and justvery recently launched out on his own and established a new fighting force.
(01:51):
an advocacy group called Veteran Action.
Mark, welcome to the show.
Thank you for taking some time with me today.
How are you doing?
Doing great, thank you for having me on.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, Mark, the scripture I wanted to set the tone of the show with today is Psalm 74 23.
And it says, Never forget what your adversaries are saying for their rage and uproar risecontinually against you.
(02:16):
It's time to stand up to them.
Now this verse is part of a prayer to the Lord in the Psalms to rescue the oppressed andthe downtrodden from the arrogant, wicked elites of his day.
And it feels very appropriate for this conversation because Mark, you and I, along withmillions of Americans and people around the world have been praying prayers like this for
(02:39):
the past five years or more.
But this, to me, also struck me as something of a revelry call to advocacy for thewarriors out there who want to take back their country and restore it to the land of
liberty it was intended to be and was fought for by our founders.
Before we get into your new organization, I'd like to start, if we could, by you giving ussome insight in your history as a war fighter.
(03:04):
When did you join the military?
What was the catalyst for you to join?
Well, 9-11 was the catalyst for my military service.
And before that morning, I had never really given much consideration to joining themilitary.
I had some military recruiters come to some of my football games and track meets and wouldtry to talk to me and actually also my sister about joining the military.
(03:27):
But I never took it that serious.
I grew up in the 90s and era of prosperity and I was really big into tech.
So I thought I was going to go into to be more of a technology executive.
I was actually working at my local telephone company and an internet service provider onthe morning of 9-11.
And I remember the planes flying into the towers vividly.
(03:50):
I remember going through the range of emotions of just shock and utter disbelief tosadness of just uh the atrocity that happened, then quickly shifted to anger.
And I wanted to get into the war fight.
And so I joined the military, the Iowa Army National Guard as an infantry private.
went to Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of the infantry and joined the University of IowaROTC and was really focusing my life on preparing for combat.
(04:20):
And I'd missed a deployment to Afghanistan when I was in infantry basic training.
I missed a deployment to Iraq when I was contracted in the ROTC.
And I was starting to wonder, am I ever going to be able to get into this fight?
And then in 2000, uh
10 and 11 I was able to deploy as an infantry platoon leader.
(04:42):
you know, God has a great plan for us, even though if we don't understand it at themoment, I was able to be trained up as an infantry private.
So I learned what it meant to be an enlisted soldier.
was able to go through ROTC and then really learn how to be an infantry platoon leader bygoing to the U.S.
Army Ranger School.
I was able to go to reconnaissance and surveillance leaders course and mortar leader andsniper employment leaders course.
(05:08):
When I went to Afghanistan, I was very well trained as being a platoon leader and wasblessed to have incredible non-commissioned officers who always helped me along the way.
That's amazing.
And when you deployed, as you said, as a member of the infantry and as a platoon leader,that put you on the front lines.
(05:28):
You were the literal tip of the spear when it came to war-related decisions being made inWashington.
Would you talk a little bit maybe about how being in that position might have evolved yourmindset on war and politics and why we were there in the first place?
I wanted to be a war fighter.
I wanted to be on the front line and I was blessed to be able to serve along theAfghan-Pakistani border in a very heavily contested area.
(05:56):
We'd say it was a kinetic environment, so there was a lot of contact with the enemy and itwas a dream come true.
I I wanted to exact vengeance on the people that took innocent lives in New York City, inPennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.
So it was...
a very good environment for a young infantry platoon leader that wanted to take the fightto the enemy.
(06:19):
And it was during the most deadly period of the war.
So in 2010 and 2011, we took more KIAs at that point in Afghanistan, any other point ofthe war.
So it was very contested.
And by God's grace, I did not lose a single man.
We were very aggressive.
I told my men that we were going to be the dominant predator.
(06:42):
that we're going to take the fight to the enemy every single day.
And we did.
And one of my men was wounded, but he survived and I had to pull him out of the fight.
ah He got a Bronze Star with valor and it was pretty interesting to appear to be inAfghanistan.
And that really shaped my opinion of that war because I could tell early on that we hadlost sight of the mission.
(07:07):
Nobody talked about winning in Afghanistan.
Why got there in 2010?
And now as a 43 year old husband and father, I look back at that time and I can tell youit was all about a recurring revenue stream for the military industrial complex.
Even though the American people we supported going in and we really wanted to have ourrevenge on what happened on the morning of 9-11, our military commanders, our political
(07:35):
leaders back in Washington, they really lost sight of the mission.
they have lost sight of the mission and I'm not sure there was a mission in the firstplace.
You look back at 9-11 now and there's a lot of questions surrounding the veracity of thestory we were told, that the media has told.
Have you dug into that at all and how does that kind of play into your coloring of your,you know, the way that you made decisions at that time?
(08:04):
Yeah, if you look at the initial invasion of Afghanistan and then the quick rapidsuccession of the Iraq war, there's a lot of questions.
As a young man, I was ready to go wherever my country needed me.
If anybody looked at the United States the wrong way in the early 2000s, I wanted to goafter them.
So even though Iraq was a bit of a stretch, I remember being like, you know, I'm not sureI quite understand this.
(08:29):
I know Saddam Hussein is a bad guy, but if President Bush says we need to go, we'll go.
looking back on it, that was a big mistake.
The Iraq war was definitely predicated on false intelligence.
And even if you stood by the Afghanistan war early on, being there for over a decade andthe way that we would drew our forces just in complete disarray and a complete
(08:54):
embarrassment to our country, I we can look back and say those forever wars were amistake.
And we as the war fighters who are very proud of our service.
We can go back to the American people and say we made a mistake, we're proud of ourservice, but we have to be more vigilant in how we authenticate intelligence.
And if we ever dedicate forces overseas, those young men and women have to understand themission.
(09:18):
If we can't explain the mission to an 18 year old private, then we should not be going.
If we can't explain the mission to a mother and to a father of why we're sending your kidsto combat, then we should not dedicate forces.
Yeah, so well said, so absolutely well said.
it's just an absolute disgrace that we have sent young men and women over there um to fuelthe machine, the money making machine.
(09:48):
After 9-11, I read this book probably, I don't know, it would have probably been aroundthe time that you were in Afghanistan.
It was called, I'm trying to pull it up, I think it was called First In, and it was aboutthe first CIA officer that went into Afghanistan, and it's like a ghost in Afghanistan or
a ghost in Kabul or something like that.
(10:09):
And I look back on that, I loved that book.
It was so riveting to me.
It was huge, thick book.
about this man's story and how he got so sick um from trying to eat the local food and nothaving, you know, not being acclimatized to it and stuff.
And now you think about the way the CIA is being portrayed as literally being um in themedia.
(10:31):
The CIA is being really the enemy of the people at every step.
And I just have to wonder, I mean, it's not a question to you, but I just have to wonderif this is...
you know, that was all part of the propaganda machine or even a lot of people may not evenrecognize the fact that they're being used by the bigger machine in Washington and beyond.
(10:55):
it's just remarkable the place that we find ourselves and the uncovering of what's been umall the lies that have been told to us and all the lies that um put us in action.
mean, part of my story is that I wanted to solve the Israeli
Palestinian crisis.
So I studied Middle East politics and moved to Washington and tried to work in that space.
(11:21):
you just think about, wow, if that wouldn't have been pushed out as such a big umconversation point by the media, if war and um conflict weren't such big uh money makers,
you and I might be sitting in very different seats right now.
(11:42):
Well, they say that capitalism and war don't mix.
I think we've learned that lesson because what I saw with the military industrial complex,they don't want to win.
They don't care about winning.
And actually the longer and the bloodier and the bigger the quagmire, the better it is forbusiness.
But the American people, expect warfighters like myself to win our nation's wars.
(12:04):
So there's this true tension between the business interests of these large militaryindustrial companies.
versus the interest of the American people and especially the war fighter.
Like we want to win decisively.
And I never heard about how we were going to win in Afghanistan.
I actually thought as a young man, I'm like, man, I wish I could stay longer.
(12:24):
I wish I could stay here in this country, have a longer vision than just 12 months andreally try to make a change.
But as I've gotten older, I realized that that would have been a fool's errand becausewinning was never a part of the strategy.
Yeah, and do you have any thoughts?
mean, you've spent plenty of time thinking about this topic.
What is an answer?
Is there a solution to this tension between the business interest of war and the need towin war?
(12:50):
I think we need more just civilian oversight and we need more people, more grassrootspeople involved in how we get immersed in these wars.
mean, there's a big problem when these politicians are so disconnected from the warfighter, from the poor middle-class families who are losing their lives versus the people
(13:13):
in the State Department, people in Washington are making these decisions.
We need to have more grassroots impact.
on how we're dedicated to our forces.
And we really need to be just realigned on the mission of America.
We have to defend what's most important.
And right now that's our southern border.
Like we need to get back to the fundamentals of national security.
And it starts with our border.
(13:34):
I don't believe that the border is a political issue.
I don't believe it's an immigration issue.
I believe in having strong borders as a part of our national security.
If you talk to a young 18, 19 year old private in theater, they'll tell you,
Establishing 360 security is the first priority.
And in our country, we don't have a strong 360 degree perimeter around our nation.
(13:59):
We need to fix that.
And the American people, they want to solve the immigration crisis.
They want to solve this crime problem.
I think we need to get back to the fundamentals.
Do you think there's a role, and I haven't thought about this until you were just talkingabout it, but do you think there's a role for maybe, if you want to serve in our
government as a bureaucrat, you need to go to basic training and you need to understandwhat it might be to be a war fighter so that you, if you're making decisions for anything
(14:29):
related to war, especially contracting, you need to...
oh, sorry, I think we need a balance.
I think you need war fighters and diplomats and people with business experience.
I want a Pentagon that staff with the best and the brightest, people who understand thecost of war, but also civilians who bring a unique and different perspective.
(14:51):
But we can all agree that peace should be the priority.
War should never be the default course of action.
I feel like in the 2000s,
It just seemed like we were going to more and more war and starting more of these forevertype of war scenarios.
And we need to get back to promoting peace and diplomacy and making deals that are goodfor everybody around the world, but especially America first.
(15:13):
Like our number one priority has to be America.
We've had too many people in Washington that prioritize other people's ah security,whether it's NATO, whether it's Ukraine.
ah We have to look at really getting back to this America first foreign policy.
Yeah, and other people's uh commercial success, you know, as we're looking at the tariffs.
(15:35):
It's remarkable to see the politicians that want to stand up and cry for other countrieswhenever they don't even look at the people in their own communities that are struggling.
I'm hoping we'll see a lot of changes at the midterms.
One thing I was thinking about as I was getting ready for this conversation, was, youknow, we've interviewed on the State of Freedom a lot of veterans.
(15:59):
And one thing that consistently comes up is that soldiers uh often have uh a significantlydifficult reentry uh back to civilian life from deployment.
And I've heard from a number of veterans that we've interviewed that their personal faith,after their personal faith and their family, the number one thing that helps them stay
(16:22):
grounded and connected was being in...
conversation and relationship with other veterans.
Was that an experience that you shared?
Absolutely.
You know, coming back home with my friends who served in the military unit with me wasvery critical.
And I was in the Iowa Army National Guard.
(16:42):
So we were able to see each other, you know, at least once a month, ah as we continuedservice and talking to people with the shared experience, because they understood what we
went through was so critical.
And that's why I think it's more imperative that you have those strong relationships withpeople in your unit or people that deployed with you.
or other people that just understand the combat experience I think is very vital to thatreentry, along with having very strong faith, strong family network, and people that you
(17:13):
can go to just to talk through some of these issues.
Yeah, even as you were talking from the beginning of this conversation, it's clear that,you know, there's not a bitterness necessarily toward the government for a line because
you know that God uses all things for good.
And obviously, he's using the experiences and the training that you've had to put you inposition to do some other kind of fighting.
(17:37):
And now you're fighting after you left the National Guard, you took that fight toWashington.
in a way, in a big way.
How did the two compare?
And I'm sure you found some of your skills to be pretty transferable.
Well, I had the privilege of leading concerned veterans for America.
(17:57):
And that's why I moved to Washington, DC for five years.
I joke it was the worst five years of my life because I was living inside the swamp, but Ihad a very important mission.
And that was to work with President Trump and Congress to pass two of the most historicreforms in VA healthcare history.
And that was the Mission Act, which provided choice in veteran healthcare and also the VAAccountability and Whistleblower Protection Act.
(18:23):
which would allow us to fire bad VA employees and provide protection for whistleblowers,those employees who wanted to do the right thing to come forward and tell the truth.
So that was a huge mission.
had 36 different states under Concerned Veterans for America.
We were able to connect grassroots volunteers, whether they're veterans or friends andfamily of veterans to their lawmakers, to tell them to put veterans first.
(18:49):
It was a great, great accomplishment.
In Washington,
is a place that's out of touch with reality.
I don't think I'm breaking news there.
And they need to constantly be reminded by grassroots people of what their priorities are.
And we're able to deliver President Trump one of his signature victories in his firstterm.
Incredible.
(19:10):
President Trump took the VA forward, um and I know you were a big part of that.
Obviously, the last four years were an abomination beyond words.
So it took us many steps backwards, maybe even decades backwards in terms of service tothe veterans specifically.
What's it going to take to turn that ship around?
(19:31):
I mean, there's probably not a button that a person can press to fix this overnight.
The VA unfortunately has a major ideological problem.
There's a lot of people in the VA headquarters that want to protect the bureaucracy.
They want to protect union jobs versus the mission that mostly American people support,which is provide very good healthcare to our veterans.
(19:57):
And what we've seen is the VA has grown enormously with their budget, with their staffing,with their buildings.
We've seen the veteran population decrease and
we still see care going down.
Like we throw all this money, all this staffing at the VA and they continue to do a badjob.
There's just a story recently of a Navy veteran who went to the Audie Murphy VA hospital.
(20:22):
He couldn't be seen.
They wouldn't listen to him.
They just want to give him more pills.
And he shot himself in the head in the front of the VA hospital.
That's a cry for help.
And that's sending a message.
We've heard these stories of countless suicides occurring on VA grounds.
veterans aren't being served.
And so my philosophy is that veterans should have a choice in their healthcare.
(20:44):
If you're not happy with your VA hospital, you should be able to go across the street to aprivate healthcare clinic.
And Democrats and the Biden administration, instead of serving vets, they wanted toprotect the bureaucracy of the VA.
Is there a place for veteran hospitals anymore or should the whole thing just move to theprivate industry?
(21:07):
I think the VA plays a very important role in rural America.
I believe that if they can specialize in post-traumatic stress and TBI and Agent Orangeand burn pit type of problems.
right?
The key word being if.
If I mean the whole philosophy should be that the VA should be hyper focused on servingveterans specific issues.
(21:33):
But they've grown into this monstrosity where a lot of Democrats view the VA as a provingground from uh government run healthcare.
When I just want it to be focused on serving the veterans.
So it gets back to choice.
And I believe that the veteran earned the right by putting on that uniform, by goingoverseas, by willing.
(21:54):
by being willing to die for this country, they should be able to pick their healthcare.
I want to put the choice in the veterans' hands, not in bureaucrats in Washington.
Yeah, do you have any insider information on when Elon and his team are going to behitting the VA?
I think they already are and they've identified waste, fraud and abuse.
And I think they outlined the ability to reduce the staffing there and to really refocusit on healthcare.
(22:22):
Well, that will be a miracle.
I'm just really hopeful that we see a turnaround there because veterans deserve it andbecause, I mean, it is...
Veterans should be the crown jewel of our country, right?
I mean, these are the men and women who have put themselves in harm's way at great cost tothemselves and their families.
(22:44):
And we can't even make sure that they are taken care of when they get home.
It's an absolute disgrace.
I think it's a black mark on the country.
And I know that President Trump's committed to turning that around, but I hope we startseeing some meaningful change um at the clinical level.
Yeah.
(23:04):
Yeah.
And one of the reasons that veteran action supports president Trump wholeheartedly isbecause we saw his record for defending veterans in his first term.
Those two signature policy victories we talked about the VA accountability act and themission act.
saw what he did in his first term and he is truly dedicated to our nation's heroes.
(23:25):
And that's why veteran action supports him and his veteran agenda, which will really giveveterans more choice in their healthcare and give them the care that they deserve.
Yeah, they do deserve it.
So Mark, tell us a little bit about your new organization.
You mentioned to me offline that this is not something you were ever looking to start, buthere you are.
(23:46):
So tell us what it's about and what you're doing.
Veteran Action is a smash-mouth grassroots organization that will defend veterans andPresident Trump's America First foreign policy.
I saw a gap for an America First type of veteran organization that can pass good policy inWashington, but also understands the politics.
(24:09):
And we will hold politicians accountable.
If they want veterans in their campaign ads, if they want to talk about what they do forvets, they need to deliver.
and veteran action will be purely focused on passing good policy and holding politiciansaccountable.
I say that we're not building homes for homeless vets.
We're not giving away wheelchairs to veterans, which are important things.
(24:32):
We're going to be that smash-mouth political organization that passes policy change.
Well, speaking of Smash Mouth, I heard there's someone, a very special guest coming toyour state who I may enjoy smashing in the mouth.
It's not very kind to say that, but Pete Buttigieg coming to Iowa, what's he doing overthere?
(24:56):
Pete Buttigieg is coming to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a veteran town hall.
And veteran action is spreading the word about Pete Buttigieg's woke policies for the VA.
He wanted to just name a female to the VA.
He wanted to name a female to the secretary of defense position.
(25:16):
He's wanted to promote these woke policies instead of having a merit-based uh focus forthese positions.
oh
And so Pete Buttigieg also wanted to have taxpayer funded gender surgery at the VA.
He wanted to change the motto of the VA that Abraham Lincoln instituted to make it moregender specific.
(25:40):
So Pete Buttigieg just wants to bring these woke policies and it's obvious that he'srunning for president.
He's coming to Iowa early.
He's going to talk about his veteran record, even though he has been against presidentTrump's reforms at the VA.
And so Pete Buttigieg is being put on notice and I'll ensure that veteran action holds himaccountable when he goes to Iowa, New Hampshire, all these other states to let people know
(26:04):
what his real record is on the VA and on the Department of Defense.
Well, forgive me for being dense here, but what in the world does he have to do with anyveteran anything?
Am I missing something?
He was, he was secretary of transportation and did a pretty horrible garbage job of that.
I do remember those videos of seeing the secret service pulling his bicycle out of theback of his armored car and letting him ride his bike one block to the department so he
(26:33):
could have his little Instagram photo op.
But what, I mean, has he done
anything related to veterans?
he in he was in the military?
Okay.
Afghanistan.
So he's done a lot of these veteran type of town halls.
And this is just the first one in Iowa early on for his, what we expect to be apresidential election.
(26:55):
You know, in Iowa in 2020, he won the Iowa caucus.
He also, I believe narrowly won or lost in New Hampshire.
So he was a significant candidate in a Democrat party before they all aligned around JoeBiden.
So.
He's going to be talking about what President Trump's doing at the VA.
We're seeing these just false, like these false accusations that we're just trying toslash the VA and take away jobs that will reduce veteran healthcare.
(27:22):
No, we're trying to streamline and refocus the VA.
So it's a sign of things that come for Pete Buttigieg as he will probably emerge as one ofthe leading candidates in 2028.
Which is one of the most ridiculous things I could possibly think.
I mean, all I can think of, and I don't know if it was a meme mark or if it was reality,but was he trying to breastfeed his child after when he was on paternity leave?
(27:47):
Okay, well, the meme, I think the meme speaks volumes and it goes to all of this transagenda, all of this uh woke anti-gender agenda.
Anyway, it's.
And he wanted to bring this.
Yeah.
Pete Buttigieg, he wanted to bring this DEI woke type of politics to the Department ofVeterans Affairs, to the Department of Defense.
(28:13):
He wanted to rescind the transgender ban in the military.
He wanted to remove racism and white nationalism from the military.
These were all outlined in his Pete for America campaign website.
He talked about all this openly.
So.
We're going to make sure that the American people oh know what Pete Buttigieg's wokeagenda is for the military and for veterans.
(28:38):
Well, great.
Great.
What else do you have up your sleeve?
Well, veteran action is also supporting Matt Lohmeyer, who has been nominated to be theundersecretary of the air force.
Matt Lohmeyer was an incredible air force F-15 pilot.
He was also a commander of space force.
He lost his command in space force for uh speaking out against the DEI agenda.
(29:01):
Matt Lohmeyer will be an incredible member of the team at DOD for president Trump and forPete Hegsat.
So we're supporting his confirmation and
You can go to veteranaction.org and click on the take action button and you can contactyour United States senators to tell them to vote yes to confirm Matt Lohmeyer for the Air
Force.
(29:22):
Beautiful and folks might be like me and remember he spoke up at a rally I believe he wasuh on a panel at a rally and asked President Trump a question about about uh reinstatement
and and moving the the moving the Department of Defense forward after the the extrememishandling of the kovat uh forced vaccines and uh
(29:49):
President Trump said something like, he's straight out of central casting and he's theright guy for a job and he would hire him on the spot basically.
That's correct.
It was a rally, I believe outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
And Mr.
Lohmeyer talked about his record in the Air Force, in the Space Force, talked about DEIand President Trump said, I'll hire you right on the spot.
(30:12):
And they went backstage and President Trump said, yes, I'm serious.
I know my men when I see them.
I want you to part of this team.
And uh another campaign promise from President Trump that he's upheld and he nominatedhim.
Matt Lohmeyer went through his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Armed ServicesCommittee.
So I'll come up for a vote soon and it'll go to the floor of the Senate.
(30:33):
So again, you can support Matt Lohmeyer who is not only just an incredible militaryofficer, he graduated from the Air Force Academy.
Again, I he was a great F-15 pilot.
I looked at some of his officer evaluation reports.
He consistently was at the top of his class.
He's a very good officer.
(30:54):
but also he was brave enough to stand forward and to call out this woke as he lost his jobfor it.
So I believe he'll go in and do an incredible job at the Air Force to help root out thesewoke policies and really return our military back to the core fundamentals.
And it'll be so great to see secretaries of the different branches really be strong, Imean, strong with experience in the actual branch that they're serving and strong
(31:24):
intellectuals with a moral compass.
It's going to be a beautiful thing whenever we see the full thing come and blossom.
But I know Trump is working hard to make that happen.
Well Mark, thank you so much for taking some time with me.
I know you've got a lot going on and this is just one of the hats that you're wearingthese days, but I really appreciate you giving us some insight into the man behind the
(31:49):
mission and if we can be helpful in any way to get your message out on behalf of veteransor in conjunction with veterans, you just let us know.
Thank you so much for having me on.
We'll see you soon, Mark.
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Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com