January 11, 2025 • 50 mins
Army Combat Veteran Vee Morgan's journey from military service to civilian advocacy is both inspiring and insightful. During this episode, she discusses her military experiences, the reality of combat, her transition struggles, and the mission behind the Home of Record Project, which aims to support veterans in need.
• Vee shares her motivations for enrolling in the Army right after 9/11
• Reflecting on the disparity between media coverage and the realities of combat
• Insights on leadership and resilience drawn from her military service
• Discussion of the Home of Record Project's role in assisting veterans
• Emphasis on fitness as a vital part of mental and physical health
• Morgan’s personal anecdote about overcoming challenges in the Grand Canyon
• The importance of community support for veterans transitioning to civilian life
• Encouragement to reach out for assistance if struggling post-service
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Warriors fall in, it's time for formation.
So today I have a treat for you.
I have a veteran advocate whois a board member for the Home
of Record organization.
We're going to talk to herabout that.
But also too, she has a shortstint in reality TV show and
she's also big into fitness.
And it just so happens thatover the span of our I guess,
(00:25):
our military careers, our pathssort of crossed, I guess all the
way out in Hawaii, schofieldBarracks.
Around the same time she is acombat veteran for Operation
Enduring Freedom.
Today I'd like to introduce youto V Morgan V.
Thank you so much for being onthe Morning.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Formation, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
The honor is all mine and you know when I started
digging into, like, who you are,what are some of the things
that you've done, just in yourlife and between the military
and civilian, there's just somuch.
There so much to go on.
So I just want to kick thingsoff and talk about your time in
the military and would you mindsharing your journey into the
(01:07):
Army and what motivated you toserve during such a pivotal time
in our history, during two warsIraq and Afghanistan.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
It was a mixture of a couple things.
I wanted to kind of serve mycountry after 9-11.
I feel like a lot of peoplewere kind of uh, going into the
military for the same reason.
Um, obviously, the benefits ofcollege and I I just wanted to
get out of arizona and trysomething different.
(01:36):
I feel like all my friends weredoing the same thing and I
wanted to get out and travel andjust get out of Arizona
basically.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah.
So you kind of saw it as a wayout.
Why not college?
Why not the typical traditional, modern route that most people
go?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, it was funny because I graduated high school
a semester early, so I was ableto kind of experience college
and I had an essay that I wassupposed to write and in that
essay we had to talk about ourlife and I felt like I didn't
have a lot of to talk about.
So I wanted to gain my ownexperience and have something
(02:15):
you know fruitful to talk about,versus just the regular old I
work at IHOP or whatever.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Right, right.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
You want to set yourself apart.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So was there anybody else in your family that was
part of the military?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
No, my dad had a completely different path.
I chose to go in.
I had a friend that was goinginto the Navy and I, initially,
was going to join the Navy andas I was walking out of my car,
an army recruiter came out andsaid hey, why don't you come
check us out?
And I remember walking in theoffice and I saw the posters and
(02:51):
I'm like I don't, girls coulddo this.
Like I was so naive to believethat, you know.
He's like yeah, we have a lotof women in the military.
So for me it was kind of, youknow, it was kind of like
intimidating but exciting to tryto do that.
And I remember telling my dad Ithink I was, I had just turned
18.
And I said I joined the armytoday.
(03:12):
And he's like you what?
He's like yeah, I just I signedup to join the army.
And he's like don't you need mysignature?
I'm like, no, I don't.
So it was kind of a shocker tomy whole family.
I don't.
So it was.
It was kind of a shocker to mywhole family.
Like it was just very casualhow I did that.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Sometimes that's the best way to go is just to jump,
just to jump off the divingboard, you know Right, and just
sign up and go at it, versuslike thinking about it, because
you can kind of psych yourselfout.
Exactly, and that's kind of howI do a lot of things in my life.
I'm sure they were reallyscared when, uh cause, during
that time you know, like I said,you had two wars going on you
had Iraq and you had Afghanistan, and during freedom and
(03:49):
operation, iraqi freedom.
So you ended up gettingstationed with 25th in Hawaii.
Um, and next thing you know,you're um downrange, you're
supporting operation duringfreedom.
How did that shape yourperspective on leadership and
resiliency, going through basictraining, ait, and then now
you're in combat.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I think for me.
I kind of really didn't thinkit would actually happen.
Like I had people tell me, youknow, women aren't in the
military, women don't getdeployed, you know, and when we
got to our unit it hadn't beenactivated in 40 years.
So I thought, oh, you know,this is going to be nice.
And within three months it gotreactivated and we were in
(04:35):
Afghanistan and it definitelytaught me how to adapt and
overcome a lot of things,because you know a lot of things
in your life you just don'thave control over and people you
think you do, but you don't.
You end up in these situationsand, you know, I feel like it
can be a good thing and a badthing.
Like I have this fear of notknowing what's going to happen
(05:00):
next, or kind of like not havingcontrol of what's what's going
to happen next, and sometimes itkind of freaks me out.
But I mean, you know, when Iended up in Afghanistan, I you
know you hear all these thingson the news and and then you get
there and it's so differentfrom what you're seeing on the
news and and it kind of makesyou realize a lot of what your
(05:24):
government is feeding you andthe news and stuff like that.
I don't know if we can get toodeep into that, but I kind of
just lost a lot of trust in, andcertain things you know no, I I
I think a lot of veterans feelthe same way, because it was the
same for me too.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I remember standing the.
This was.
Most people can't even fathomwhat it was like without cell
phones, like when you and I wentdownrange.
There were no cell phones,there was no.
Facebook no, looking up at thesatellite television watching
(06:07):
the news and they were talkingabout the area of iraq that I
was getting ready to go into andthey were talking about this
terrible like battle that wasensuing and going on and and I
went there that night and therewas nothing right, I was like
yeah, what what is going on?
right, yeah, where is this newscoming from?
Like this isn't you know, it's,it's and they act like's, it's
like live and happening rightnow.
Um so, and I guess, let's,let's talk about that.
(06:31):
So, what was different aboutwhat you thought it was going to
be versus what it was?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So before I left, um, we were like prepped, with
different you know news stations, we saw different videos.
And then, you know, people werelike, oh, with different you
know news stations, we sawdifferent videos.
And then you know, people werelike, oh, they're beheading
people.
And I think, you know, youmentally start to prepare
yourself like, wow, I really didget myself into something, you
know, and I got there.
(06:59):
I first landed at Bagram AirBase and, like you, we got off
the aircraft and it was likenothing was happening there, you
know.
But further into my deploymentwe ended up in Asadabad,
afghanistan, and it started toget, you know, a lot more.
You know, we got a lot ofrocket time.
I worked in the medical stationthere, so I would see, you know
(07:20):
, the locals coming in.
And before I got there, youhear all this stuff about the
Afghan people and things likethat.
And then, when you get there,you start to realize like these
are real people, these arepeople that have to live here
(07:40):
and go through this all the time, you know, and you start to
kind of.
You know some people, maybe notall, but you start to feel a
little empathetic towards theirsituation, you know.
And uh, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, so the day I landed in Mosul was the day that
we had the Mosul Chauhalbombing um, which a lot of
people don't realize how complexthat really was.
It wasn't just a bombing andthen, and then quietness.
Afterwards it was a lot ofrockets, a lot of mortars um a
lot of running outside under theconcrete bunkers.
In my underwear, in my um, inin the middle of the night, like
(08:16):
right, yeah, you're just always.
You're just always on edge, likeyou just never know when you
could end up, you know, going inthe bunkers or going under
attack, or you know, the wildthing about it was, you know, I,
I deployed so fast that, like Iwas still a second lieutenant,
like I was still, you couldstill smell the freshness of my
(08:37):
uniforms and I was gone thatquick because, like you, yeah,
yeah, I didn't.
I knew I was probably going todeploy at some point, but I
never imagined that would beless than a year after
commissioning.
I didn't know.
I graduated college, got mybachelor's degree, got my butter
bar pinned on, went to my OBCwhich it's not what it is my
officer basic course, which it'schanged a lot now.
(08:59):
But next thing, you know, I'mgetting stationed in Hawaii and
then 45 days later'm I'm in iraq, like right and it's like so
fast right after fallujah, like.
So the hornet's nest has beenstirred up.
There's insurgents all over thefreaking country now.
Um, so when I landed, that wasmy introduction to my year in
(09:22):
iraq was the chow hall bombing,which you know.
A lot of folks died that day,um, and you know, like you
mentioned the rockets and themortars and stuff that followed.
That, I mean, it was, it waspretty scary.
And then, you know, when Ifound out that I was going to be
a platoon leader for atransportation company, I was
going to be outside the wirealmost every single night.
I thought the same thing.
I said what the hell?
(09:42):
What the hell did I did?
I did I sign up for?
What the hell did I get into,you know?
And I learned a lot.
I grew up and became a man, Ithink in that, in that one year,
right Um.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
So I think about people that I know now that are
18, 19 years old, and to thinkthat I was that age when I was
there is just crazy to me, youknow.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I was so young, you were 18 or 19 you said yeah, wow
see, I was older, I was like 24, but still I mean, yeah, 24 to
like deal with uh, literally,when you're, you know you're a
convoy commander, patrolcommander, whatever it's like.
You're in charge of otherpeople's lives.
Like your planning andpreparation matter, and it's at
a young age, 18 to 24 years old.
(10:29):
That's a huge weight to carryand I think about the same thing
too, Like the young adults thatI know today.
Like would they be able tocarry that burden?
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, exactly, it's definitely something to think
about with this new generation.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So what would you say ?
V that some of your lessonsthat you learned from your
deployment, your time in themilitary service.
What are some of those lessonsthat continue to guide you in
your current endeavors?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I think that I've really learned to appreciate my
family.
Because you're away from themso much, I definitely feel like
I live life as if it's going tobe over tomorrow.
I'm always trying to dosomething and live my life to
the fullest, you know.
I try to do a lot of differentthings.
(11:19):
I like adventure, I like tryingnew things.
That's why my name's ExploringV, because I definitely like to
explore and try new things.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
But you know, life is short and you got to treat it
as a valuable thing as far asbeing empathetic towards the
folks that you met when you weredownrange, because it's the
(11:50):
same thing with me, like whenthe Afghanistan pullout happened
.
I'm sure that was verydifficult for a lot of our
Operation Enduring Freedomveterans, but for me, my
difficult time was a few yearsprior to that, when I was
watching ISIS battle it out inMosul and just to think to
myself that, like, my unit waspart of the units that actually
(12:12):
owned that territory and we ranthat territory.
It hurt, you know, it hurt alittle bit to know that a piece
of my life, a piece of my timewas spent over there and here we
just completely lost it again.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Um, that's kind of how you feel, like you like it
was a like a waste of time andthat's yeah yeah, totally.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Um.
So let's talk about yourcommunity outreach.
So since you left the military,you find yourself here back at
the table and you're doingnon-profit uh assistance and
you're currently serving as aboard of director for community
outreach for the Home of RecordProject.
Would you mind talking aboutthe mission of that organization
(12:53):
and how the members of thatorganization are seeking to
achieve that mission?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
We help veterans with transitional housing, financial
assistance, our financialstability grants and social
services.
So if a veteran comes to us andthey're struggling with housing
or possible eviction or they'rehaving a hard time paying their
bills, they can submit acontact form on our website and
(13:21):
we will basically approve andmake sure, obviously confirm
that they're a veteran, becausewe can sometimes have people
come through multiple times andthen from there we will either
try to work with their landlordand see if we can negotiate
something with them and then, ifnot either way, we will try to
assist them through the processto see how we can either get
(13:44):
their utilities reduced I'msorry, yeah, utilities reduced
or the rent reduced, or if wecan financially help them with
their rent, or mortgage.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
You know that's really interesting and it's a
very important subject and I'mvery thankful that we have
nonprofits out there seeking tohelp out our veteran community,
especially with finding a homeand keeping that home.
But what challenges so far inyour experiences, what
challenges do you see in thereintegration of our veterans
(14:23):
into the communities and howdoes the organization
specifically address thoseissues?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think that a lot of veterans are, you know,
military.
Before they get out they'retold all these things like, oh,
you're going to get any job,that.
But I don't think you know,because a lot of veterans go in
(14:57):
so young they don't realize howto, you know, get into housing
and how to do their taxes andhow to do this, because the
military helps you with a lot ofthat, you know.
So we, you know, we try toguide them in that process.
What we do is we havetransitional housing.
(15:18):
We'll take them in, let themrelax a little bit and then
guide them through the process.
Regular grants and stuff likethat, because a lot of them have
like a two-year minimumrequirement that you have to be
(15:41):
a non-profit in order to getfinancial grants.
So a lot of our grants andfinancial assistance that we get
is from donors, from regulardonors, not necessarily
government grants.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Yeah, and so how long has this nonprofit been up?
It's been about a year, yetAbout a year.
So you helped set it up andeverything, along with another
team.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
I didn't.
Our CEO, gary Schell, is theone that started it.
And then we have Joe Warholthey're both veterans and then
Whitney Hale, who's also aveteran.
And then we have Joe Warholthey're both veterans and then
Whitney Hale, who's also aveteran, and then we have Alexis
, who is also she's.
She's not a veteran, but she isan attorney, so she helps us
with a lot of stuff that we needto get organized Sounds like a
(16:27):
great team.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
So you help veterans out nationally, right right, we
hope to get there eventually.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
That's our goal.
But obviously you need to startlocally to grow out.
Alexis is in California.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
So you basically serve California and Arizona.
California, arizona.
Okay, what inspired you to takeon a leadership role with this
nonprofit and what impact do youhope to make by being a
community outreach director?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
So my father actually has another nonprofit and I was
his assistant for four years.
I, you know, I grew up aroundhis nonprofit.
They help homeless addicts andthey help them rebuild their
lives, and I felt like it was avery similar mission that we had
with the Home of Record project.
(17:17):
So I saw the stuff that Garywas doing on LinkedIn and I was
like, wow, this is pretty muchwhat I wanted to do.
I wanted to work with veterans,so I reached out to him and
asked him if he would take anyvolunteers and he said, yeah,
you know, let's talk about it.
So I worked with them for abouta month to see if it was a good
fit, and then they asked me tobecome a board member, and I've
(17:39):
just absolutely love it.
I feel so fulfilled there and Ireally like working with the
other board members.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Right.
So is that?
Is that, except for Alexis, therest of the team is there in
Arizona?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yes, and they're all Marines.
So it's me and then the threeMarines.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Bunch of craniators.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Yeah, you heard that I'll tell you what you know,
what actually you know, when itcomes to the, to the branches, I
gained a lot of respect for theMarines, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
When I was working down range, and I think they
gained a lot of respect for thearmy as well, cause at the end
of the day we were, we were bothtaking on a lot, uh, right
there on the front lines, and sothat is a whole different level
of respect when you go intocombat and you work with these
other branches um is what Igained with that.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I definitely have gained a lot of respect working
with them.
I've never worked with Marines.
They're a lot more organized, Ifeel like, than I have
experienced with other branches,but I mean, it's been really,
really awesome to be a part ofit.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, and so far, what does the outreach look like
?
How many folks approximatelyhave you been able to help out
with the nonprofit?
Speaker 2 (18:56):
have you been able to help out with the nonprofit?
Um, that is a good question.
I don't know off the top of myhead, um, I would say, oh man, I
want to say like 80 this year.
Uh, we, we've helped veteransgo from living in their car to
getting their own house, whichhas been really amazing.
Um, that's happened a couple oftimes, but, yeah, I'd have to
honestly go back and look at thenumbers on that one.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Yeah, I think that you know everyone starts from
somewhere, but I think the heartis in the right place to even
get something like this off theground.
It is because I hear a lot offolks.
I hear a lot of folks that arelike, oh, I really care.
And the way I care is I donate$50 to someone's GoFundMe and
I'm like try setting up anonprofit and running a
(19:39):
nonprofit hard work it takes toget a nonprofit going and we all
have been really working harddoing outreach, making
(20:02):
connections.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
We're all volunteer board.
Ninety three percent of ourfunding goes directly to the
cause.
The rest is just, you know, forflyers and pay the bills and
things like that.
So we are really dedicated tomaking this work and I'm just
really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
It sounds like a great nonprofit and I'm
interested in maybe gettingsomebody else from the board on
the show as well to talk, andI'm all about helping spread
awareness and helping thesegreat nonprofits grow as well,
because, like I said, the heartis in the right place when you
go through all that work um andset up, set up something like
this.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
but yeah, I truly think.
I truly think that when you dothings with the right intention
and the right energy, that it'llwork out really good.
So I'm I think it'll um, Ithink it'll be great even with
this podcast.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I you know over the last three years that I've been
doing this.
Almost three years I've I usedto just take on anybody that
would contact me, anybody.
They would just message me.
I'm like sure I'll get you on.
I'll get you on, get all thislong list of people yeah but I
think over the years I've I'vegotten better at being specific
(21:11):
about who I want to talk to andwho I want to get to know better
.
Um, and it's all based off theauthenticity that I can feel
through their content.
You know who they are and thenI do a little more research and
then I figure out oh, thisperson is a part of this, it's,
they're a part of that.
Uh, that's some real stuff, um,you know, and the reason I say
(21:31):
that is because recently I had a, a fellow colleague of mine,
who was, who was, I guess he wasinvited to a podcast and they
invited him, but then theyrequired him to pay and I was
like well, sam, what kind ofshit is that?
But anyways, I was just like youknow, so I, I, I love that, I
love that, uh, the nonprofitthat you're a part of, and even
(21:54):
yourself, you know, come from agreat place.
But there's so many sides toyou, V, when I started looking
into who you are, and anotherside to you is that you were
involved in a reality show withyour husband, right?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
on a few episodes, but I believe he was on 70
episodes.
It was for gold prospecting andbasically they had the, you
know, the big equipment andthings like that which is really
cool to see in person.
I didn't realize how big it wasin person, like the tires were.
I couldn't even go up halfwayon some of these tires.
It was pretty amazing.
But yeah, it was.
It was very intense.
In any time, you know, theywould come to our house or
(22:39):
anything like that, and theywere.
They would be here all day longand I didn't realize how
exhausting it was and I felt badbecause I was always
complaining about God, you needto hurry up and get home and
blah, blah, blah.
And then when I saw that he washaving to work plus also
getting filmed doing this, I waslike man, I am so sorry because
it's emotionally and physicallyexhausting.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah, you realize that there's.
There's a lot more to it thanjust the showing up, right.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Right, exactly it looks like.
It looks like rainbows andbutterflies, until you get
behind scenes.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
It always does, it always does um, and that's how.
That's just how it is, evenwith the podcasting world for me
, like I do the editing, I dothe finding people, I do the
interviewing, I do everythingI'm.
I'm playing the instruments,I'm taking tickets at the front
uh, front entrance, and I'msinging on stages all this stuff
right, and it's, just it alwayslooks like, like you said,
(23:33):
butterflies and stuff editing,editing is a whole nother, yeah,
and so that's why.
I try to be a little morepointed with with who I with who
I interview.
But talk to me about yourexperience on the reality TV
series.
Your husband did like 70 shows.
How the hell did he get intothat to begin with?
Was he already doing like goldprospecting um?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
prospecting, yeah.
Inspecting, yeah, if we.
So we first started, um, wewould just go out and, you know,
dig around, and we enjoyed it alot.
So we created a facebook groupon it's called arizona gold
prospectors and treasure hunters.
Now it has over 12 000followers, but at the time it
was, you know, a couple hundred.
(24:15):
And we started posting ourfinds.
And then pretty soon somecharacters from the Discovery
Channel noticed that and theywanted to come check it out.
And then then they invited himon.
(24:43):
Know, they would threaten us.
We would have the craziestthings happen.
You know we have people followus to different spots in the
middle of nowhere and then theywould message us and say I saw
you in this area and it startedto get a little scary.
So we kind of backed off fromdoing certain things that we
used to do, like before.
(25:03):
It was just, oh, we're going togo out in the mountains and
explore.
And then, after we had my son,we started realizing like we
probably need to be a little bitquieter of like where we're
going and what we're doing andstuff.
Because it started to be alittle bit quieter of like where
we're going and you know where,what we're doing and stuff,
because it started to get alittle scary, but it was a
really cool experience.
I think that it's like a oncein a lifetime experience that a
(25:25):
lot of people don't get to do.
And we it was crazy because wewere watching these people on
the show all the time and thenwe were working with them and it
was kind of surreal toexperience that, you know.
But when you see what'shappening behind, uh, the
cameras and behind closed doors,you you start to kind of kind
of, your favorite show isn'tyour favorite show anymore and
(25:50):
it's interesting because I'mthinking to how does that tie in
to what you mentioned earlierabout the media?
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah so you're talking about reality show and
the media and it's funny becauseI had this conversation
recently with my fiance aboutthis and I was talking about
Instagram and I personally knowpeople who do Instagram and
there's a difference betweenwhat you see and what is really
(26:19):
happening Two different thingsthere.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Right, and I've been guilty of that too.
You know like I'm not going topost all the negative stuff
that's happening in my life,because I just don't really care
what other people say about it.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Right.
But at the same time, like you,want to try to be as authentic
and real as possible right, andI I think the challenge is is
when you are consuming it andyou're looking at it.
You have to remind yourselflike this person isn't posting
like you mentioned earlier.
They're only posting thebutterflies, right?
(26:52):
They're?
Only posting those thingsthey're not posting all the
other stuff you know.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
So if I did, I'm sure I would lose a lot of followers
I mean, it's just it, just.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
It can be mentally like draining.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah, because people you're comparing yourself to
others highlight real and that'snot real life.
Like people, everybody hasissues, everyone has stuff going
on.
That's not not, you know notbroadcasted, I guess.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Amen to that.
Like a lot of us do have ourissues, we do have our you know
our things that we're dealingwith.
And, um, that sounds reallyinteresting, though, to have
been on a reality show and, uh,talk to me real quick about how
you got on the reality show,Cause you weren't the main
character, but somehow youbecame the main character right
on the reality show because youweren't the main character, but
somehow you became the maincharacter, right?
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Well, so my husband, the last season I went on a hike
to the Grand Canyon and it'sfunny, because I love hiking, I
go hiking all the time I was inthe military.
Obviously I should know somesurvival skills.
The night before we went onthis hike, my sister-in-law
asked me to go for my brotherbecause he wanted to go on this
(27:57):
hike by himself and it was 17miles.
So I said, yeah, I'll go,because I was worried about my
brother.
Obviously them Long story short, I try to hike out of there as
(28:18):
fast as possible.
I ended up running out ofsunlight, I got off track a
little bit and I didn't make itout till the next morning.
I had no.
I had water, obviously, andsome snacks and pickle juice for
cramping and stuff like that.
But my brother, they didn'tfind him for two more days and
my husband gets his phone callno-transcript and I only had a
(29:06):
gallon of water.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So what lesson did you learn from that?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
That your body needs electrolytes, that definitely
drink more water and prepareobviously Prepare better.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mother
Nature, and you know this frombeing in Hawaii.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
A lot of people go on vacation to places like Hawaii
and then they just lose theirminds and, being from Hawaii
originally, I'm accustomed tothe ocean.
I grew up in Hawaii and then,later on in my life, I grew up
in the middle of Ohio, but Iused to surf.
Yeah but I used to surf, yeah,and I remember the first time I
(29:56):
ever caught a six-foot wave itsounded like a train and it it
was so fast and I guess thatkind of equates to mother nature
in a sense of your height,because I've known people before
that have done that wherethey've gone out for a simple
little hike or something theythought they could, they could
do, and then next thing, youknow, mother nature comes into
play and and you cramp up andthe oh shit factor happens,
right.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
So do you think that any of your military experience
kicked in during that time andoh, definitely yeah, maybe your
resiliency or your and I and Igrew up in a small town um, it
was a little desert town and mymom used to always say, if you
ever end up in the desert,always eat cactus and prickly
pears.
And when I was out there I wassucking on, I had no energy at
(30:37):
all, like I was in and out ofconsciousness.
And I found these prickly pearsand they helped me regain
energy and I was able to hikebecause I literally it felt like
I had cotton balls in my mouth.
So it helped like revive my youknow thirst a little bit and
then my energy, because it hadsugar in it.
It's just little things likethat.
(30:59):
I remember this is probably TMI,but I ended up taking my
clothes off because, you know, Iwas sweating and I knew it was
going to get colder at night, soI took them off to dry them out
and then put them back on so Iwasn't more cold at night.
I didn't want to gethypothermia or anything.
And then the water never drinkstanding water, so I just put my
(31:23):
camelback under this littlespring.
It took a while to fill up butit helped me, I think.
Thankfully didn't get anybacteria or anything that would
make me more sick, but thoselittle tricks, I feel like,
helped me a lot to just you know.
And it's crazy because after I,after that episode, I had a lot
(31:43):
of people reaching out to me andsaying you know, I have hiked
my whole life and I hiked thegrand canyon and I almost died,
you know, and people that werewell trained end up in the worst
situations are drinking thewrong water, you know, hurting
yourself, getting bit by a snakeor something you don't know.
You know you never know, uh, ifyou'll ever end up in that
(32:07):
situation, no matter how hard.
You know how long you've beenhiking, you know.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
so I definitely think that a lot of folks have a
false sense of confidence.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I did, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Oh, I mean, I mean even the pros.
Even the pros, do you know?
And it's you, you have tohumble yourself, uh, and realize
that, uh, there are things outthere that are bigger than you
and stronger than you, andmother nature is definitely one
of them.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It's funny now when I go hike with my friends.
I have a GPS tracker, I haveelectrolytes for everyone that
comes with me, I have a lifestraw and everyone laughs at me
like, yeah, you're prepared now.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
That's all it takes.
Is that one time and that onetime?
And to get you know, you know,punched in the mouth and next
thing you know now you're liketaking lessons, right?
Speaker 2 (33:06):
So, yeah, I would never do that again.
Well, I prepare this time.
The one thing that helped youout, I'd say, would probably be
your your physical fitness,because I noticed on your
Instagram that's was an avidhiker before I would take my son
on my back and hike all thetime, but I truly think that
lifting weights really helped me, because you're so sore out
there.
You have to have the strengthto hike 26 miles.
Have you ever read DavidGoggins or heard about David
(33:33):
Goggins?
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I have yes.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Yeah.
So he has this book and I readhis book right before I left and
I truly think it helped me getto the next level, because he
has this quote in his book andit says find your why.
And that's all I can thinkabout was thinking about my son,
you know, thinking about likesomeone having to tell him that
(33:57):
I didn't make it out, and in myhead I'm like, did I really try
all I truly had to get to thetop, you know?
And so I just kept pushingalong and my heart, I could feel
my heart racing really heavilyand I was like, well, if I, if I
die, you know, trying myhardest, at least I tried my
hardest, but I made, I made itout.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
So it definitely pushed you to some higher limits
, that's for sure.
It sounds like, yeah,definitely so, overall, like
fitness wise, would you mindsharing some of your fitness
philosophies or your routine?
You know I earlier youmentioned that you were all into
cardio, cardio, cardio cardio.
And then you found like thiswhole new thing, this passion in
(34:40):
lifting uh can you talk to usabout that and um, how, how you
come up with a balance or aroutine to stay motivated.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
I just I, recently.
I've been working out with thistrainer for a few years and you
know people will say, oh, youdon't need a trainer this, this
and that.
But I feel like you truly haveto find what works for you.
And you know, if somebody likesyoga, if they like you know
Pilates, if they like CrossFit,you know, then if that's what is
(35:13):
getting you to your bestfitness, then do it.
But for me, I really do likethe family environment of the
gym that I go to MyWayFitnessand so I.
You know they're really biginto lifting weights.
I do do cardio, I'll walk andstuff like that, but it's not my
only focus.
(35:33):
I noticed that when I did startlifting heavy, I started
noticing my body compositionchange drastically and I felt I
just felt like I was in a bettermood.
I just felt like I had moreenergy in all aspects of my life
.
So I really enjoy it in allaspects of my life.
So I really enjoy it, whereascardio I felt like I was a
little bit more, I didn't haveas much energy.
(35:54):
I mean, it's probably differentfor everyone, but for me it was
.
I just feel like weightliftingchanged my life in all aspects.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Yeah, it's definitely a journey, right, I mean, it's
not just a one way.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
There's no instruction manual on this is
what fitness is and this is whatexercise is it's different for
everybody right and you justhave to find what works for you.
Like some people, you know, Ilearned how to count macros with
my coach and I actually tookcourses on it and stuff and I
felt like that was the best forme, because I was eating out all
(36:27):
the time and I wasn't really,you know, I felt like I wasn't
able to enjoy myself a littlebit, whereas with macros I was
able to enjoy myself and trydifferent foods and I love food
because I was in culinary school.
I mean, everyone loves food,but I went to culinary school
and I learned how to cook andstuff.
So I like to enjoy differenttypes of food, like to enjoy
(36:52):
different types of food.
Um, but some people like thecarnivore diet and some people,
like you know, vegan diet, andyou just got to find what works
for you you know what?
Speaker 1 (36:57):
the underlining thing all that you mentioned is
discipline, right yeah,discipline definitely and I
think that's lacking fromtoday's uh, younger generation
to be honest with you andphysical fitness is no longer a
thing.
I'm 44 years old and I'm proudto say that I can do good
pull-ups.
I can still do.
I can still get on the floorand do good 50 push-ups good
(37:20):
ones, not the, not the littlebullcrap ones, but not the
marine push-ups.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
The marine was oh no, those are more like the Air
Force was, aren't they?
Oh?
Okay, no but so I mean overall,like would you say that fitness
has been fitness has been partof your journey.
But how do you encourage otherveterans or individuals to
embrace fitness as a tool formental and physical well-being?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
no-transcript, and I really want to encourage any
veterans struggling with that totry to you know, change your
diet first and try to liftweights and see how you feel
about you know after that yeah,no doubt I mean physical fitness
(38:56):
.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Uh, at least when I was in the military same for you
it was it was foundational,like it was like the most
important thing that you had todo every single morning, right I
?
Speaker 2 (39:05):
don't know if it's changed or not?
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I've heard that it has, but, um, I think that it
has a lot to, I think, the themental and the physical aspect
of that connection with oneanother and exactly like you
said recently I've been gettinginto, uh, breath work and
hypnosis and things like thatjust to kind of, because your
brain is so strong.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
you and I think people don't realize that, they
don't realize how strong yourthoughts are, how strong you're.
You have to change your outlookon things because that could
definitely affect every aspectof your life.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Yeah, and the one thing that I was talking to
someone earlier about this isbreathing, about this is
breathing, like a lot of timesfolks don't realize whether
you're doing yoga or you'reshooting, or you're in a combat
situation and you're shootingreal rounds downrange uh, or
you're at a tournament doingbrazilian jiu-jitsu or you're
lifting weights.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
They all involve focusing on breathing running,
hell running is too.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Exactly, yeah, A lot of times people can't run
properly because they don't knowhow to breathe In your nose,
out your mouth.
In your nose, out your mouth.
It's a meditative thing almost,and so that's.
I think that has a lot to dowith helping us veterans kind of
cope with our demons and thenalso to like cope with the
reality of.
I always say, the hardest partfor me was not necessarily what
(40:33):
happened down there, it wascoming back here.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Exactly yeah.
And so physical fitness is hugein that aspect classes recently
and I've realized, like youknow, your breathing is so
important, like you were saying,it really does.
Um, it's really part ofeverything you do.
You know you want steadybreathing for anything you're
(40:58):
doing, so I w I would love tolike take a course on that, on
breath work.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
Yeah, it's definitely something that I think people
underestimate quite a bit.
Now it sounds like you'reyou're transition out of the
military.
You know you're still on thatjourney, sort of transitioning
out.
We all are right, we're alwaystransitioning, we're always like
learning something new each andevery year, but what was your
transition from the military tocivilian life like?
(41:25):
There's three things on thispodcast that I have been
focusing on recently, and it'sresiliency, adaptability and
survivability.
And so we talked about yoursurvivability when we were
talking about your experience ofum, your hike in the Canyon, um
, but your adaptability.
So what was it like for you totransition out, and what advice
(41:46):
do you have for other veterans,um, that would face a similar
transition, such as yours?
Speaker 2 (41:55):
When I got out.
I think the important thing isto find out what you truly want
to do.
I think the first thing for mewas I went straight into
culinary school and I lovecooking, but you want to find
something that's going tosustain you for the long term.
I, you know, take your time tofigure out what that is.
Maybe go find a small job andthen, if you want to go to
(42:18):
school, kind of take your timeon that and spend your time
figuring out what you want touse your GI Bill on, instead of
just picking the first thingthat comes to your mind.
And that's one thing I wish Iwould have done differently.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Yeah, and I always tell folks that are in the
service if you manage yourcareer properly meaning on
Fridays and Saturday nights youdon't just hit the clubs and the
pubs and the bars but youactually take your ass to the
education center and spend atleast one of those nights over
there knocking out gen eds ordoing something that is the best
thing to do.
And I always, I always felt likeas a commissioned officer, even
(42:55):
especially as a platoon leader,that it was my job to kind of
intercept the young 18, 19 yearold kids that would come in with
the aspirations to get theircollege done.
It was my job to kind of pushthem in that direction to,
because I think I've always feltlike my biggest enemy was my
lack of maturity.
I always felt like you know, andI, I think, I think for the
(43:17):
most part, I never reallyrespected the wise man or the
wise woman, but now that I'molder I respect that, that
concept, a lot more than I usedto yes, definitely, definitely
try to listen.
Speaker 2 (43:31):
I wish I would have invested more in real estate
because I feel like that hasbeen really profitable.
Um, and I, and I think a lot ofyounger uh, veterans should
consider looking into that andfiguring out how they could take
advantage of their, their valoan.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
Yeah, that's interesting.
You say that my last guest wasRobert Tolan and he actually
talked about.
He specifically helps veteranswith VA home loans.
Wow and V.
Back in the day, when you and Iwere in the military, we didn't
have the internet, wasn't whatit is today.
No Today there's no excusesright.
(44:10):
Yeah, you can make money fromyour computer yeah, and you can
find people that can help you umwith just about anything out
there.
So, like you want to connectwith someone that is authentic,
well then, just see what they'reabout on their social media,
talk to folks and then connectwith them.
Um, but back in the day, hell,you would have to personally
know someone and just hope andpray that you're at the right
(44:31):
place at the right time and youcan meet that person live, go to
the library Right, go libraryright, pull out that damn drawer
and go through the cards right.
Speaker 2 (44:43):
I feel like I'm old now, so V.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
just to wrap things up, who would you say has
inspired you the most throughoutyour journey, and how have they
shaped your path?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
I would say my dad probably.
He spent and it sounds crazy,but he spent 15 years in prison.
He was homeless and now he's amultimillionaire.
But he did it just fromperseverance.
You know, like he had so manypeople telling him that you
can't do that and it was at 55years old when he decided to
(45:20):
change his life around.
So if he could do it, anybodycould do it.
You know, everybody has anexcuse of their background.
Oh, I can't do this because Ihave a.
You know I have a past or not.
You know I can't do thisbecause I'm too old.
I can't do this because ofwhatever, but it's an excuse,
you know.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
It really is.
If you truly want something,you'll go for it, and you just
got to be persistent.
Speaker 1 (45:45):
That definitely sounds like an inspirational
story and is maybe someone Imight be interested in speaking
to as well.
You are surrounded by a lot ofinteresting people V.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
I know my life is crazy.
I'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
I mean even your husband, having done like what?
70 episodes, Mm-hmm yeah, andhe's also a veteran too, right?
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yes, he is, my father isn't, but my husband is.
Yeah, my husband was in theNational Guard.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
Wow, Absolutely amazing.
V.
Was there anything on this showthat I didn't cover that you'd
like to talk about before wewrap things up?
Anything that I didn't mentionor talk about that I might've
missed?
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Nothing I couldn't think about right off the bat.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Nope, but maybe Is there any message?
Is there any, but maybe Isthere any message.
Is there any message out there?
Is there any message that you'dlike to put out there for our
veteran community or any currentservice members that are that
might be listening?
Speaker 2 (46:41):
Of course I want to drop our home of record project.
Home of Record Project.
If anybody is struggling withtransitional, or, you know, if
they're struggling withtransition out of the military,
if they would, if they'restruggling with eviction or
anything like that, reach out tothe homeofrecordprojectorg and
we will be able to assist youwith that.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
And I want to make sure that I'll post this on
YouTube and I'll put this on thepodcast as well, but I want to
make sure I post your link soI'm connected to you on
Instagram.
You are on LinkedIn too.
It sounds like right.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
And you are on TikTok .
You added me to TikTok recently.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Yeah, I do have a large following on TikTok, but
those are kind of silly videos.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
But that's you know what.
That's awesome because you'veunlocked something like that's
like, that's not easy to do.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Well, it's great, but now they're talking about
shutting it down.
Speaker 1 (47:34):
So yeah, that's true, that's true.
But at least you're, at leastyou're multi-platform, so you're
you're across differentplatforms, but make I'll make
sure that I put a home ofrecordorg on there as well.
So, folks out there, make sureyou help spread the awareness
for that nonprofit.
And then also, too, maybe I canfind you on YouTube with that
(47:55):
episode.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Yes, that one's a little bit harder to find, but
I'll send it to you.
Speaker 1 (48:01):
Yeah, if you do, that'd be great.
I'd love to put that on thereas well, because folks out there
listening you know my wholepoint of interviewing you.
I found your content veryinteresting.
Uh, everything from your TikTokto your Instagram is I wanted
to get kind of behind the scenesand get to know who you are and
what you're about.
And as I started digging and Isaw the uh, the involvement with
the nonprofit which I'm alsoinvolved in a nonprofit with,
(48:22):
act now education Um, it becamea little bit more like hey, this
, this, this woman is verymultifaceted uh and very
professional so no, the honor isall mine.
I appreciate you giving me theopportunity to interview you, um
, before we round things out,anything else that you'd like to
put out there?
Speaker 2 (48:40):
nope, that's it.
You can follow me on instagramexploring v and on tiktok as
long as it's still up, right,they're saying like january or
something like that, yeah, let'shope it is Exploring V on all
platforms, or V Morgan VeronicaMorgan on LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
Awesome.
Well, V, I'll definitely dosome soundbites off of this.
Thank you so much for your timeand the awesome story the
backstory behind you.
You're a fascinating person aswell as you're surrounded by
fascinating people, but let'sdefinitely stay in touch.
Yeah, Behind you.
You're a fascinating person aswell as you're surrounded by
fascinating people.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Let's definitely stay in touch.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
Yeah, I appreciate it , thank you.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
All right For everyone else out there.
As always, I want you to staytuned, stay focused and I want
you to stay motivated.
Warriors fall out.
Warriors fall in, it's time for formation.
So today I have a treat for you.
I have a veteran advocate whois a board member for the Home
of Record organization.
We're going to talk to herabout that.
But also too, she has a shortstint in reality TV show and
she's also big into fitness.
And it just so happens thatover the span of our I guess,
(00:25):
our military careers, our pathssort of crossed, I guess all the
way out in Hawaii, schofieldBarracks.
Around the same time she is acombat veteran for Operation
Enduring Freedom.
Today I'd like to introduce youto V Morgan V.
Thank you so much for being onthe Morning.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Formation, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
The honor is all mine and you know when I started
digging into, like, who you are,what are some of the things
that you've done, just in yourlife and between the military
and civilian, there's just somuch.
There so much to go on.
So I just want to kick thingsoff and talk about your time in
the military and would you mindsharing your journey into the
(01:07):
Army and what motivated you toserve during such a pivotal time
in our history, during two warsIraq and Afghanistan.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
It was a mixture of a couple things.
I wanted to kind of serve mycountry after 9-11.
I feel like a lot of peoplewere kind of uh, going into the
military for the same reason.
Um, obviously, the benefits ofcollege and I I just wanted to
get out of arizona and trysomething different.
(01:36):
I feel like all my friends weredoing the same thing and I
wanted to get out and travel andjust get out of Arizona
basically.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah.
So you kind of saw it as a wayout.
Why not college?
Why not the typical traditional, modern route that most people
go?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, it was funny because I graduated high school
a semester early, so I was ableto kind of experience college
and I had an essay that I wassupposed to write and in that
essay we had to talk about ourlife and I felt like I didn't
have a lot of to talk about.
So I wanted to gain my ownexperience and have something
(02:15):
you know fruitful to talk about,versus just the regular old I
work at IHOP or whatever.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Right, right.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
You want to set yourself apart.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So was there anybody else in your family that was
part of the military?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
No, my dad had a completely different path.
I chose to go in.
I had a friend that was goinginto the Navy and I, initially,
was going to join the Navy andas I was walking out of my car,
an army recruiter came out andsaid hey, why don't you come
check us out?
And I remember walking in theoffice and I saw the posters and
(02:51):
I'm like I don't, girls coulddo this.
Like I was so naive to believethat, you know.
He's like yeah, we have a lotof women in the military.
So for me it was kind of, youknow, it was kind of like
intimidating but exciting to tryto do that.
And I remember telling my dad Ithink I was, I had just turned
18.
And I said I joined the armytoday.
(03:12):
And he's like you what?
He's like yeah, I just I signedup to join the army.
And he's like don't you need mysignature?
I'm like, no, I don't.
So it was kind of a shocker tomy whole family.
I don't.
So it was.
It was kind of a shocker to mywhole family.
Like it was just very casualhow I did that.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Sometimes that's the best way to go is just to jump,
just to jump off the divingboard, you know Right, and just
sign up and go at it, versuslike thinking about it, because
you can kind of psych yourselfout.
Exactly, and that's kind of howI do a lot of things in my life.
I'm sure they were reallyscared when, uh cause, during
that time you know, like I said,you had two wars going on you
had Iraq and you had Afghanistan, and during freedom and
(03:49):
operation, iraqi freedom.
So you ended up gettingstationed with 25th in Hawaii.
Um, and next thing you know,you're um downrange, you're
supporting operation duringfreedom.
How did that shape yourperspective on leadership and
resiliency, going through basictraining, ait, and then now
you're in combat.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I think for me.
I kind of really didn't thinkit would actually happen.
Like I had people tell me, youknow, women aren't in the
military, women don't getdeployed, you know, and when we
got to our unit it hadn't beenactivated in 40 years.
So I thought, oh, you know,this is going to be nice.
And within three months it gotreactivated and we were in
(04:35):
Afghanistan and it definitelytaught me how to adapt and
overcome a lot of things,because you know a lot of things
in your life you just don'thave control over and people you
think you do, but you don't.
You end up in these situationsand, you know, I feel like it
can be a good thing and a badthing.
Like I have this fear of notknowing what's going to happen
(05:00):
next, or kind of like not havingcontrol of what's what's going
to happen next, and sometimes itkind of freaks me out.
But I mean, you know, when Iended up in Afghanistan, I you
know you hear all these thingson the news and and then you get
there and it's so differentfrom what you're seeing on the
news and and it kind of makesyou realize a lot of what your
(05:24):
government is feeding you andthe news and stuff like that.
I don't know if we can get toodeep into that, but I kind of
just lost a lot of trust in, andcertain things you know no, I I
I think a lot of veterans feelthe same way, because it was the
same for me too.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I remember standing the.
This was.
Most people can't even fathomwhat it was like without cell
phones, like when you and I wentdownrange.
There were no cell phones,there was no.
Facebook no, looking up at thesatellite television watching
(06:07):
the news and they were talkingabout the area of iraq that I
was getting ready to go into andthey were talking about this
terrible like battle that wasensuing and going on and and I
went there that night and therewas nothing right, I was like
yeah, what what is going on?
right, yeah, where is this newscoming from?
Like this isn't you know, it's,it's and they act like's, it's
like live and happening rightnow.
Um so, and I guess, let's,let's talk about that.
(06:31):
So, what was different aboutwhat you thought it was going to
be versus what it was?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So before I left, um, we were like prepped, with
different you know news stations, we saw different videos.
And then, you know, people werelike, oh, with different you
know news stations, we sawdifferent videos.
And then you know, people werelike, oh, they're beheading
people.
And I think, you know, youmentally start to prepare
yourself like, wow, I really didget myself into something, you
know, and I got there.
(06:59):
I first landed at Bagram AirBase and, like you, we got off
the aircraft and it was likenothing was happening there, you
know.
But further into my deploymentwe ended up in Asadabad,
afghanistan, and it started toget, you know, a lot more.
You know, we got a lot ofrocket time.
I worked in the medical stationthere, so I would see, you know
(07:20):
, the locals coming in.
And before I got there, youhear all this stuff about the
Afghan people and things likethat.
And then, when you get there,you start to realize like these
are real people, these arepeople that have to live here
(07:40):
and go through this all the time, you know, and you start to
kind of.
You know some people, maybe notall, but you start to feel a
little empathetic towards theirsituation, you know.
And uh, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, so the day I landed in Mosul was the day that
we had the Mosul Chauhalbombing um, which a lot of
people don't realize how complexthat really was.
It wasn't just a bombing andthen, and then quietness.
Afterwards it was a lot ofrockets, a lot of mortars um a
lot of running outside under theconcrete bunkers.
In my underwear, in my um, inin the middle of the night, like
(08:16):
right, yeah, you're just always.
You're just always on edge, likeyou just never know when you
could end up, you know, going inthe bunkers or going under
attack, or you know, the wildthing about it was, you know, I,
I deployed so fast that, like Iwas still a second lieutenant,
like I was still, you couldstill smell the freshness of my
(08:37):
uniforms and I was gone thatquick because, like you, yeah,
yeah, I didn't.
I knew I was probably going todeploy at some point, but I
never imagined that would beless than a year after
commissioning.
I didn't know.
I graduated college, got mybachelor's degree, got my butter
bar pinned on, went to my OBCwhich it's not what it is my
officer basic course, which it'schanged a lot now.
(08:59):
But next thing, you know, I'mgetting stationed in Hawaii and
then 45 days later'm I'm in iraq, like right and it's like so
fast right after fallujah, like.
So the hornet's nest has beenstirred up.
There's insurgents all over thefreaking country now.
Um, so when I landed, that wasmy introduction to my year in
(09:22):
iraq was the chow hall bombing,which you know.
A lot of folks died that day,um, and you know, like you
mentioned the rockets and themortars and stuff that followed.
That, I mean, it was, it waspretty scary.
And then, you know, when Ifound out that I was going to be
a platoon leader for atransportation company, I was
going to be outside the wirealmost every single night.
I thought the same thing.
I said what the hell?
(09:42):
What the hell did I did?
I did I sign up for?
What the hell did I get into,you know?
And I learned a lot.
I grew up and became a man, Ithink in that, in that one year,
right Um.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
So I think about people that I know now that are
18, 19 years old, and to thinkthat I was that age when I was
there is just crazy to me, youknow.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I was so young, you were 18 or 19 you said yeah, wow
see, I was older, I was like 24, but still I mean, yeah, 24 to
like deal with uh, literally,when you're, you know you're a
convoy commander, patrolcommander, whatever it's like.
You're in charge of otherpeople's lives.
Like your planning andpreparation matter, and it's at
a young age, 18 to 24 years old.
(10:29):
That's a huge weight to carryand I think about the same thing
too, Like the young adults thatI know today.
Like would they be able tocarry that burden?
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, exactly, it's definitely something to think
about with this new generation.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So what would you say ?
V that some of your lessonsthat you learned from your
deployment, your time in themilitary service.
What are some of those lessonsthat continue to guide you in
your current endeavors?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I think that I've really learned to appreciate my
family.
Because you're away from themso much, I definitely feel like
I live life as if it's going tobe over tomorrow.
I'm always trying to dosomething and live my life to
the fullest, you know.
I try to do a lot of differentthings.
(11:19):
I like adventure, I like tryingnew things.
That's why my name's ExploringV, because I definitely like to
explore and try new things.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
But you know, life is short and you got to treat it
as a valuable thing as far asbeing empathetic towards the
folks that you met when you weredownrange, because it's the
(11:50):
same thing with me, like whenthe Afghanistan pullout happened
.
I'm sure that was verydifficult for a lot of our
Operation Enduring Freedomveterans, but for me, my
difficult time was a few yearsprior to that, when I was
watching ISIS battle it out inMosul and just to think to
myself that, like, my unit waspart of the units that actually
(12:12):
owned that territory and we ranthat territory.
It hurt, you know, it hurt alittle bit to know that a piece
of my life, a piece of my timewas spent over there and here we
just completely lost it again.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Um, that's kind of how you feel, like you like it
was a like a waste of time andthat's yeah yeah, totally.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Um.
So let's talk about yourcommunity outreach.
So since you left the military,you find yourself here back at
the table and you're doingnon-profit uh assistance and
you're currently serving as aboard of director for community
outreach for the Home of RecordProject.
Would you mind talking aboutthe mission of that organization
(12:53):
and how the members of thatorganization are seeking to
achieve that mission?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
We help veterans with transitional housing, financial
assistance, our financialstability grants and social
services.
So if a veteran comes to us andthey're struggling with housing
or possible eviction or they'rehaving a hard time paying their
bills, they can submit acontact form on our website and
(13:21):
we will basically approve andmake sure, obviously confirm
that they're a veteran, becausewe can sometimes have people
come through multiple times andthen from there we will either
try to work with their landlordand see if we can negotiate
something with them and then, ifnot either way, we will try to
assist them through the processto see how we can either get
(13:44):
their utilities reduced I'msorry, yeah, utilities reduced
or the rent reduced, or if wecan financially help them with
their rent, or mortgage.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
You know that's really interesting and it's a
very important subject and I'mvery thankful that we have
nonprofits out there seeking tohelp out our veteran community,
especially with finding a homeand keeping that home.
But what challenges so far inyour experiences, what
challenges do you see in thereintegration of our veterans
(14:23):
into the communities and howdoes the organization
specifically address thoseissues?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think that a lot of veterans are, you know,
military.
Before they get out they'retold all these things like, oh,
you're going to get any job,that.
But I don't think you know,because a lot of veterans go in
(14:57):
so young they don't realize howto, you know, get into housing
and how to do their taxes andhow to do this, because the
military helps you with a lot ofthat, you know.
So we, you know, we try toguide them in that process.
What we do is we havetransitional housing.
(15:18):
We'll take them in, let themrelax a little bit and then
guide them through the process.
Regular grants and stuff likethat, because a lot of them have
like a two-year minimumrequirement that you have to be
(15:41):
a non-profit in order to getfinancial grants.
So a lot of our grants andfinancial assistance that we get
is from donors, from regulardonors, not necessarily
government grants.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Yeah, and so how long has this nonprofit been up?
It's been about a year, yetAbout a year.
So you helped set it up andeverything, along with another
team.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
I didn't.
Our CEO, gary Schell, is theone that started it.
And then we have Joe Warholthey're both veterans and then
Whitney Hale, who's also aveteran.
And then we have Joe Warholthey're both veterans and then
Whitney Hale, who's also aveteran, and then we have Alexis
, who is also she's.
She's not a veteran, but she isan attorney, so she helps us
with a lot of stuff that we needto get organized Sounds like a
(16:27):
great team.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
So you help veterans out nationally, right right, we
hope to get there eventually.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
That's our goal.
But obviously you need to startlocally to grow out.
Alexis is in California.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
So you basically serve California and Arizona.
California, arizona.
Okay, what inspired you to takeon a leadership role with this
nonprofit and what impact do youhope to make by being a
community outreach director?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
So my father actually has another nonprofit and I was
his assistant for four years.
I, you know, I grew up aroundhis nonprofit.
They help homeless addicts andthey help them rebuild their
lives, and I felt like it was avery similar mission that we had
with the Home of Record project.
(17:17):
So I saw the stuff that Garywas doing on LinkedIn and I was
like, wow, this is pretty muchwhat I wanted to do.
I wanted to work with veterans,so I reached out to him and
asked him if he would take anyvolunteers and he said, yeah,
you know, let's talk about it.
So I worked with them for abouta month to see if it was a good
fit, and then they asked me tobecome a board member, and I've
(17:39):
just absolutely love it.
I feel so fulfilled there and Ireally like working with the
other board members.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Right.
So is that?
Is that, except for Alexis, therest of the team is there in
Arizona?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yes, and they're all Marines.
So it's me and then the threeMarines.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Bunch of craniators.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Yeah, you heard that I'll tell you what you know,
what actually you know, when itcomes to the, to the branches, I
gained a lot of respect for theMarines, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
When I was working down range, and I think they
gained a lot of respect for thearmy as well, cause at the end
of the day we were, we were bothtaking on a lot, uh, right
there on the front lines, and sothat is a whole different level
of respect when you go intocombat and you work with these
other branches um is what Igained with that.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I definitely have gained a lot of respect working
with them.
I've never worked with Marines.
They're a lot more organized, Ifeel like, than I have
experienced with other branches,but I mean, it's been really,
really awesome to be a part ofit.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, and so far, what does the outreach look like
?
How many folks approximatelyhave you been able to help out
with the nonprofit?
Speaker 2 (18:56):
have you been able to help out with the nonprofit?
Um, that is a good question.
I don't know off the top of myhead, um, I would say, oh man, I
want to say like 80 this year.
Uh, we, we've helped veteransgo from living in their car to
getting their own house, whichhas been really amazing.
Um, that's happened a couple oftimes, but, yeah, I'd have to
honestly go back and look at thenumbers on that one.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Yeah, I think that you know everyone starts from
somewhere, but I think the heartis in the right place to even
get something like this off theground.
It is because I hear a lot offolks.
I hear a lot of folks that arelike, oh, I really care.
And the way I care is I donate$50 to someone's GoFundMe and
I'm like try setting up anonprofit and running a
(19:39):
nonprofit hard work it takes toget a nonprofit going and we all
have been really working harddoing outreach, making
(20:02):
connections.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
We're all volunteer board.
Ninety three percent of ourfunding goes directly to the
cause.
The rest is just, you know, forflyers and pay the bills and
things like that.
So we are really dedicated tomaking this work and I'm just
really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
It sounds like a great nonprofit and I'm
interested in maybe gettingsomebody else from the board on
the show as well to talk, andI'm all about helping spread
awareness and helping thesegreat nonprofits grow as well,
because, like I said, the heartis in the right place when you
go through all that work um andset up, set up something like
this.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
but yeah, I truly think.
I truly think that when you dothings with the right intention
and the right energy, that it'llwork out really good.
So I'm I think it'll um, Ithink it'll be great even with
this podcast.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I you know over the last three years that I've been
doing this.
Almost three years I've I usedto just take on anybody that
would contact me, anybody.
They would just message me.
I'm like sure I'll get you on.
I'll get you on, get all thislong list of people yeah but I
think over the years I've I'vegotten better at being specific
(21:11):
about who I want to talk to andwho I want to get to know better
.
Um, and it's all based off theauthenticity that I can feel
through their content.
You know who they are and thenI do a little more research and
then I figure out oh, thisperson is a part of this, it's,
they're a part of that.
Uh, that's some real stuff, um,you know, and the reason I say
(21:31):
that is because recently I had a, a fellow colleague of mine,
who was, who was, I guess he wasinvited to a podcast and they
invited him, but then theyrequired him to pay and I was
like well, sam, what kind ofshit is that?
But anyways, I was just like youknow, so I, I, I love that, I
love that, uh, the nonprofitthat you're a part of, and even
(21:54):
yourself, you know, come from agreat place.
But there's so many sides toyou, V, when I started looking
into who you are, and anotherside to you is that you were
involved in a reality show withyour husband, right?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
on a few episodes, but I believe he was on 70
episodes.
It was for gold prospecting andbasically they had the, you
know, the big equipment andthings like that which is really
cool to see in person.
I didn't realize how big it wasin person, like the tires were.
I couldn't even go up halfwayon some of these tires.
It was pretty amazing.
But yeah, it was.
It was very intense.
In any time, you know, theywould come to our house or
(22:39):
anything like that, and theywere.
They would be here all day longand I didn't realize how
exhausting it was and I felt badbecause I was always
complaining about God, you needto hurry up and get home and
blah, blah, blah.
And then when I saw that he washaving to work plus also
getting filmed doing this, I waslike man, I am so sorry because
it's emotionally and physicallyexhausting.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah, you realize that there's.
There's a lot more to it thanjust the showing up, right.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Right, exactly it looks like.
It looks like rainbows andbutterflies, until you get
behind scenes.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
It always does, it always does um, and that's how.
That's just how it is, evenwith the podcasting world for me
, like I do the editing, I dothe finding people, I do the
interviewing, I do everythingI'm.
I'm playing the instruments,I'm taking tickets at the front
uh, front entrance, and I'msinging on stages all this stuff
right, and it's, just it alwayslooks like, like you said,
(23:33):
butterflies and stuff editing,editing is a whole nother, yeah,
and so that's why.
I try to be a little morepointed with with who I with who
I interview.
But talk to me about yourexperience on the reality TV
series.
Your husband did like 70 shows.
How the hell did he get intothat to begin with?
Was he already doing like goldprospecting um?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
prospecting, yeah.
Inspecting, yeah, if we.
So we first started, um, wewould just go out and, you know,
dig around, and we enjoyed it alot.
So we created a facebook groupon it's called arizona gold
prospectors and treasure hunters.
Now it has over 12 000followers, but at the time it
was, you know, a couple hundred.
(24:15):
And we started posting ourfinds.
And then pretty soon somecharacters from the Discovery
Channel noticed that and theywanted to come check it out.
And then then they invited himon.
(24:43):
Know, they would threaten us.
We would have the craziestthings happen.
You know we have people followus to different spots in the
middle of nowhere and then theywould message us and say I saw
you in this area and it startedto get a little scary.
So we kind of backed off fromdoing certain things that we
used to do, like before.
(25:03):
It was just, oh, we're going togo out in the mountains and
explore.
And then, after we had my son,we started realizing like we
probably need to be a little bitquieter of like where we're
going and what we're doing andstuff.
Because it started to be alittle bit quieter of like where
we're going and you know where,what we're doing and stuff,
because it started to get alittle scary, but it was a
really cool experience.
I think that it's like a oncein a lifetime experience that a
(25:25):
lot of people don't get to do.
And we it was crazy because wewere watching these people on
the show all the time and thenwe were working with them and it
was kind of surreal toexperience that, you know.
But when you see what'shappening behind, uh, the
cameras and behind closed doors,you you start to kind of kind
of, your favorite show isn'tyour favorite show anymore and
(25:50):
it's interesting because I'mthinking to how does that tie in
to what you mentioned earlierabout the media?
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah so you're talking about reality show and
the media and it's funny becauseI had this conversation
recently with my fiance aboutthis and I was talking about
Instagram and I personally knowpeople who do Instagram and
there's a difference betweenwhat you see and what is really
(26:19):
happening Two different thingsthere.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Right, and I've been guilty of that too.
You know like I'm not going topost all the negative stuff
that's happening in my life,because I just don't really care
what other people say about it.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Right.
But at the same time, like you,want to try to be as authentic
and real as possible right, andI I think the challenge is is
when you are consuming it andyou're looking at it.
You have to remind yourselflike this person isn't posting
like you mentioned earlier.
They're only posting thebutterflies, right?
(26:52):
They're?
Only posting those thingsthey're not posting all the
other stuff you know.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
So if I did, I'm sure I would lose a lot of followers
I mean, it's just it, just.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
It can be mentally like draining.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah, because people you're comparing yourself to
others highlight real and that'snot real life.
Like people, everybody hasissues, everyone has stuff going
on.
That's not not, you know notbroadcasted, I guess.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Amen to that.
Like a lot of us do have ourissues, we do have our you know
our things that we're dealingwith.
And, um, that sounds reallyinteresting, though, to have
been on a reality show and, uh,talk to me real quick about how
you got on the reality show,Cause you weren't the main
character, but somehow youbecame the main character right
on the reality show because youweren't the main character, but
somehow you became the maincharacter, right?
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Well, so my husband, the last season I went on a hike
to the Grand Canyon and it'sfunny, because I love hiking, I
go hiking all the time I was inthe military.
Obviously I should know somesurvival skills.
The night before we went onthis hike, my sister-in-law
asked me to go for my brotherbecause he wanted to go on this
(27:57):
hike by himself and it was 17miles.
So I said, yeah, I'll go,because I was worried about my
brother.
Obviously them Long story short, I try to hike out of there as
(28:18):
fast as possible.
I ended up running out ofsunlight, I got off track a
little bit and I didn't make itout till the next morning.
I had no.
I had water, obviously, andsome snacks and pickle juice for
cramping and stuff like that.
But my brother, they didn'tfind him for two more days and
my husband gets his phone callno-transcript and I only had a
(29:06):
gallon of water.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So what lesson did you learn from that?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
That your body needs electrolytes, that definitely
drink more water and prepareobviously Prepare better.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mother
Nature, and you know this frombeing in Hawaii.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
A lot of people go on vacation to places like Hawaii
and then they just lose theirminds and, being from Hawaii
originally, I'm accustomed tothe ocean.
I grew up in Hawaii and then,later on in my life, I grew up
in the middle of Ohio, but Iused to surf.
Yeah but I used to surf, yeah,and I remember the first time I
(29:56):
ever caught a six-foot wave itsounded like a train and it it
was so fast and I guess thatkind of equates to mother nature
in a sense of your height,because I've known people before
that have done that wherethey've gone out for a simple
little hike or something theythought they could, they could
do, and then next thing, youknow, mother nature comes into
play and and you cramp up andthe oh shit factor happens,
right.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
So do you think that any of your military experience
kicked in during that time andoh, definitely yeah, maybe your
resiliency or your and I and Igrew up in a small town um, it
was a little desert town and mymom used to always say, if you
ever end up in the desert,always eat cactus and prickly
pears.
And when I was out there I wassucking on, I had no energy at
(30:37):
all, like I was in and out ofconsciousness.
And I found these prickly pearsand they helped me regain
energy and I was able to hikebecause I literally it felt like
I had cotton balls in my mouth.
So it helped like revive my youknow thirst a little bit and
then my energy, because it hadsugar in it.
It's just little things likethat.
(30:59):
I remember this is probably TMI,but I ended up taking my
clothes off because, you know, Iwas sweating and I knew it was
going to get colder at night, soI took them off to dry them out
and then put them back on so Iwasn't more cold at night.
I didn't want to gethypothermia or anything.
And then the water never drinkstanding water, so I just put my
(31:23):
camelback under this littlespring.
It took a while to fill up butit helped me, I think.
Thankfully didn't get anybacteria or anything that would
make me more sick, but thoselittle tricks, I feel like,
helped me a lot to just you know.
And it's crazy because after I,after that episode, I had a lot
(31:43):
of people reaching out to me andsaying you know, I have hiked
my whole life and I hiked thegrand canyon and I almost died,
you know, and people that werewell trained end up in the worst
situations are drinking thewrong water, you know, hurting
yourself, getting bit by a snakeor something you don't know.
You know you never know, uh, ifyou'll ever end up in that
(32:07):
situation, no matter how hard.
You know how long you've beenhiking, you know.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
so I definitely think that a lot of folks have a
false sense of confidence.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I did, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Oh, I mean, I mean even the pros.
Even the pros, do you know?
And it's you, you have tohumble yourself, uh, and realize
that, uh, there are things outthere that are bigger than you
and stronger than you, andmother nature is definitely one
of them.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It's funny now when I go hike with my friends.
I have a GPS tracker, I haveelectrolytes for everyone that
comes with me, I have a lifestraw and everyone laughs at me
like, yeah, you're prepared now.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
That's all it takes.
Is that one time and that onetime?
And to get you know, you know,punched in the mouth and next
thing you know now you're liketaking lessons, right?
Speaker 2 (33:06):
So, yeah, I would never do that again.
Well, I prepare this time.
The one thing that helped youout, I'd say, would probably be
your your physical fitness,because I noticed on your
Instagram that's was an avidhiker before I would take my son
on my back and hike all thetime, but I truly think that
lifting weights really helped me, because you're so sore out
there.
You have to have the strengthto hike 26 miles.
Have you ever read DavidGoggins or heard about David
(33:33):
Goggins?
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I have yes.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Yeah.
So he has this book and I readhis book right before I left and
I truly think it helped me getto the next level, because he
has this quote in his book andit says find your why.
And that's all I can thinkabout was thinking about my son,
you know, thinking about likesomeone having to tell him that
(33:57):
I didn't make it out, and in myhead I'm like, did I really try
all I truly had to get to thetop, you know?
And so I just kept pushingalong and my heart, I could feel
my heart racing really heavilyand I was like, well, if I, if I
die, you know, trying myhardest, at least I tried my
hardest, but I made, I made itout.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
So it definitely pushed you to some higher limits
, that's for sure.
It sounds like, yeah,definitely so, overall, like
fitness wise, would you mindsharing some of your fitness
philosophies or your routine?
You know I earlier youmentioned that you were all into
cardio, cardio, cardio cardio.
And then you found like thiswhole new thing, this passion in
(34:40):
lifting uh can you talk to usabout that and um, how, how you
come up with a balance or aroutine to stay motivated.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
I just I, recently.
I've been working out with thistrainer for a few years and you
know people will say, oh, youdon't need a trainer this, this
and that.
But I feel like you truly haveto find what works for you.
And you know, if somebody likesyoga, if they like you know
Pilates, if they like CrossFit,you know, then if that's what is
(35:13):
getting you to your bestfitness, then do it.
But for me, I really do likethe family environment of the
gym that I go to MyWayFitnessand so I.
You know they're really biginto lifting weights.
I do do cardio, I'll walk andstuff like that, but it's not my
only focus.
(35:33):
I noticed that when I did startlifting heavy, I started
noticing my body compositionchange drastically and I felt I
just felt like I was in a bettermood.
I just felt like I had moreenergy in all aspects of my life
.
So I really enjoy it in allaspects of my life.
So I really enjoy it, whereascardio I felt like I was a
little bit more, I didn't haveas much energy.
(35:54):
I mean, it's probably differentfor everyone, but for me it was
.
I just feel like weightliftingchanged my life in all aspects.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Yeah, it's definitely a journey, right, I mean, it's
not just a one way.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
There's no instruction manual on this is
what fitness is and this is whatexercise is it's different for
everybody right and you justhave to find what works for you.
Like some people, you know, Ilearned how to count macros with
my coach and I actually tookcourses on it and stuff and I
felt like that was the best forme, because I was eating out all
(36:27):
the time and I wasn't really,you know, I felt like I wasn't
able to enjoy myself a littlebit, whereas with macros I was
able to enjoy myself and trydifferent foods and I love food
because I was in culinary school.
I mean, everyone loves food,but I went to culinary school
and I learned how to cook andstuff.
So I like to enjoy differenttypes of food, like to enjoy
(36:52):
different types of food.
Um, but some people like thecarnivore diet and some people,
like you know, vegan diet, andyou just got to find what works
for you you know what?
Speaker 1 (36:57):
the underlining thing all that you mentioned is
discipline, right yeah,discipline definitely and I
think that's lacking fromtoday's uh, younger generation
to be honest with you andphysical fitness is no longer a
thing.
I'm 44 years old and I'm proudto say that I can do good
pull-ups.
I can still do.
I can still get on the floorand do good 50 push-ups good
(37:20):
ones, not the, not the littlebullcrap ones, but not the
marine push-ups.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
The marine was oh no, those are more like the Air
Force was, aren't they?
Oh?
Okay, no but so I mean overall,like would you say that fitness
has been fitness has been partof your journey.
But how do you encourage otherveterans or individuals to
embrace fitness as a tool formental and physical well-being?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
no-transcript, and I really want to encourage any
veterans struggling with that totry to you know, change your
diet first and try to liftweights and see how you feel
about you know after that yeah,no doubt I mean physical fitness
(38:56):
.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Uh, at least when I was in the military same for you
it was it was foundational,like it was like the most
important thing that you had todo every single morning, right I
?
Speaker 2 (39:05):
don't know if it's changed or not?
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I've heard that it has, but, um, I think that it
has a lot to, I think, the themental and the physical aspect
of that connection with oneanother and exactly like you
said recently I've been gettinginto, uh, breath work and
hypnosis and things like thatjust to kind of, because your
brain is so strong.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
you and I think people don't realize that, they
don't realize how strong yourthoughts are, how strong you're.
You have to change your outlookon things because that could
definitely affect every aspectof your life.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Yeah, and the one thing that I was talking to
someone earlier about this isbreathing, about this is
breathing, like a lot of timesfolks don't realize whether
you're doing yoga or you'reshooting, or you're in a combat
situation and you're shootingreal rounds downrange uh, or
you're at a tournament doingbrazilian jiu-jitsu or you're
lifting weights.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
They all involve focusing on breathing running,
hell running is too.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Exactly, yeah, A lot of times people can't run
properly because they don't knowhow to breathe In your nose,
out your mouth.
In your nose, out your mouth.
It's a meditative thing almost,and so that's.
I think that has a lot to dowith helping us veterans kind of
cope with our demons and thenalso to like cope with the
reality of.
I always say, the hardest partfor me was not necessarily what
(40:33):
happened down there, it wascoming back here.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Exactly yeah.
And so physical fitness is hugein that aspect classes recently
and I've realized, like youknow, your breathing is so
important, like you were saying,it really does.
Um, it's really part ofeverything you do.
You know you want steadybreathing for anything you're
(40:58):
doing, so I w I would love tolike take a course on that, on
breath work.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
Yeah, it's definitely something that I think people
underestimate quite a bit.
Now it sounds like you'reyou're transition out of the
military.
You know you're still on thatjourney, sort of transitioning
out.
We all are right, we're alwaystransitioning, we're always like
learning something new each andevery year, but what was your
transition from the military tocivilian life like?
(41:25):
There's three things on thispodcast that I have been
focusing on recently, and it'sresiliency, adaptability and
survivability.
And so we talked about yoursurvivability when we were
talking about your experience ofum, your hike in the Canyon, um
, but your adaptability.
So what was it like for you totransition out, and what advice
(41:46):
do you have for other veterans,um, that would face a similar
transition, such as yours?
Speaker 2 (41:55):
When I got out.
I think the important thing isto find out what you truly want
to do.
I think the first thing for mewas I went straight into
culinary school and I lovecooking, but you want to find
something that's going tosustain you for the long term.
I, you know, take your time tofigure out what that is.
Maybe go find a small job andthen, if you want to go to
(42:18):
school, kind of take your timeon that and spend your time
figuring out what you want touse your GI Bill on, instead of
just picking the first thingthat comes to your mind.
And that's one thing I wish Iwould have done differently.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Yeah, and I always tell folks that are in the
service if you manage yourcareer properly meaning on
Fridays and Saturday nights youdon't just hit the clubs and the
pubs and the bars but youactually take your ass to the
education center and spend atleast one of those nights over
there knocking out gen eds ordoing something that is the best
thing to do.
And I always, I always felt likeas a commissioned officer, even
(42:55):
especially as a platoon leader,that it was my job to kind of
intercept the young 18, 19 yearold kids that would come in with
the aspirations to get theircollege done.
It was my job to kind of pushthem in that direction to,
because I think I've always feltlike my biggest enemy was my
lack of maturity.
I always felt like you know, andI, I think, I think for the
(43:17):
most part, I never reallyrespected the wise man or the
wise woman, but now that I'molder I respect that, that
concept, a lot more than I usedto yes, definitely, definitely
try to listen.
Speaker 2 (43:31):
I wish I would have invested more in real estate
because I feel like that hasbeen really profitable.
Um, and I, and I think a lot ofyounger uh, veterans should
consider looking into that andfiguring out how they could take
advantage of their, their valoan.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
Yeah, that's interesting.
You say that my last guest wasRobert Tolan and he actually
talked about.
He specifically helps veteranswith VA home loans.
Wow and V.
Back in the day, when you and Iwere in the military, we didn't
have the internet, wasn't whatit is today.
No Today there's no excusesright.
(44:10):
Yeah, you can make money fromyour computer yeah, and you can
find people that can help you umwith just about anything out
there.
So, like you want to connectwith someone that is authentic,
well then, just see what they'reabout on their social media,
talk to folks and then connectwith them.
Um, but back in the day, hell,you would have to personally
know someone and just hope andpray that you're at the right
(44:31):
place at the right time and youcan meet that person live, go to
the library Right, go libraryright, pull out that damn drawer
and go through the cards right.
Speaker 2 (44:43):
I feel like I'm old now, so V.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
just to wrap things up, who would you say has
inspired you the most throughoutyour journey, and how have they
shaped your path?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
I would say my dad probably.
He spent and it sounds crazy,but he spent 15 years in prison.
He was homeless and now he's amultimillionaire.
But he did it just fromperseverance.
You know, like he had so manypeople telling him that you
can't do that and it was at 55years old when he decided to
(45:20):
change his life around.
So if he could do it, anybodycould do it.
You know, everybody has anexcuse of their background.
Oh, I can't do this because Ihave a.
You know I have a past or not.
You know I can't do thisbecause I'm too old.
I can't do this because ofwhatever, but it's an excuse,
you know.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
It really is.
If you truly want something,you'll go for it, and you just
got to be persistent.
Speaker 1 (45:45):
That definitely sounds like an inspirational
story and is maybe someone Imight be interested in speaking
to as well.
You are surrounded by a lot ofinteresting people V.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
I know my life is crazy.
I'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
I mean even your husband, having done like what?
70 episodes, Mm-hmm yeah, andhe's also a veteran too, right?
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yes, he is, my father isn't, but my husband is.
Yeah, my husband was in theNational Guard.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
Wow, Absolutely amazing.
V.
Was there anything on this showthat I didn't cover that you'd
like to talk about before wewrap things up?
Anything that I didn't mentionor talk about that I might've
missed?
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Nothing I couldn't think about right off the bat.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Nope, but maybe Is there any message?
Is there any, but maybe Isthere any message.
Is there any message out there?
Is there any message that you'dlike to put out there for our
veteran community or any currentservice members that are that
might be listening?
Speaker 2 (46:41):
Of course I want to drop our home of record project.
Home of Record Project.
If anybody is struggling withtransitional, or, you know, if
they're struggling withtransition out of the military,
if they would, if they'restruggling with eviction or
anything like that, reach out tothe homeofrecordprojectorg and
we will be able to assist youwith that.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
And I want to make sure that I'll post this on
YouTube and I'll put this on thepodcast as well, but I want to
make sure I post your link soI'm connected to you on
Instagram.
You are on LinkedIn too.
It sounds like right.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
And you are on TikTok .
You added me to TikTok recently.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Yeah, I do have a large following on TikTok, but
those are kind of silly videos.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
But that's you know what.
That's awesome because you'veunlocked something like that's
like, that's not easy to do.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Well, it's great, but now they're talking about
shutting it down.
Speaker 1 (47:34):
So yeah, that's true, that's true.
But at least you're, at leastyou're multi-platform, so you're
you're across differentplatforms, but make I'll make
sure that I put a home ofrecordorg on there as well.
So, folks out there, make sureyou help spread the awareness
for that nonprofit.
And then also, too, maybe I canfind you on YouTube with that
(47:55):
episode.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Yes, that one's a little bit harder to find, but
I'll send it to you.
Speaker 1 (48:01):
Yeah, if you do, that'd be great.
I'd love to put that on thereas well, because folks out there
listening you know my wholepoint of interviewing you.
I found your content veryinteresting.
Uh, everything from your TikTokto your Instagram is I wanted
to get kind of behind the scenesand get to know who you are and
what you're about.
And as I started digging and Isaw the uh, the involvement with
the nonprofit which I'm alsoinvolved in a nonprofit with,
(48:22):
act now education Um, it becamea little bit more like hey, this
, this, this woman is verymultifaceted uh and very
professional so no, the honor isall mine.
I appreciate you giving me theopportunity to interview you, um
, before we round things out,anything else that you'd like to
put out there?
Speaker 2 (48:40):
nope, that's it.
You can follow me on instagramexploring v and on tiktok as
long as it's still up, right,they're saying like january or
something like that, yeah, let'shope it is Exploring V on all
platforms, or V Morgan VeronicaMorgan on LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
Awesome.
Well, V, I'll definitely dosome soundbites off of this.
Thank you so much for your timeand the awesome story the
backstory behind you.
You're a fascinating person aswell as you're surrounded by
fascinating people, but let'sdefinitely stay in touch.
Yeah, Behind you.
You're a fascinating person aswell as you're surrounded by
fascinating people.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Let's definitely stay in touch.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
Yeah, I appreciate it , thank you.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
All right For everyone else out there.
As always, I want you to staytuned, stay focused and I want
you to stay motivated.
Warriors fall out.
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