Oscar Mike Radio

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023, a Veteran in Shelbyville, Tennessee will receive a mortgage-free home. If that isn’t special, I don’t know what is.

 

Tom Kilgannon, President of Freedom Alliance, came on to talk with me about the story of the Veteran and how this all came together.

 

Freedom Alliance was made aware of a Veteran in need and went into action. They worked with Ole South Properties to build the home and U.S. Bank through ...

I was in the VA system before I could watch movies and sports on my phone. Doing anything with the VA, even with a computer, could be daunting at best and frustrating at worst. I was excited when I was told the VA was developing and fully functional app that could be used on my phone. I had such a great experience after I downloaded VA App that I asked to talk to someone involved with developing this app for Veterans.

Imagine my su...

Gail McAuliffe is a U.S. Army Veteran. She is the lead for rolling out the Behavioral Health Help Line for Massachusetts. After leaving the military she worked for different organizations before working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services. After working for the VA she went into the private sector and is now with Beacon Health Options working to roll out the Mass Help Line.

Massachusetts Behavioral ...

I enjoy talking to civilians on Oscar Mike Radio. It reminds me why I served and that there are people who love America. I got to talk with Andy Ross and his for America clear as the sky over his farm in Tennessee.

In some ways, Andy reminds me of a lot of us Veterans. He has reinvented himself several times.  From starting out doing hunting shows on TV, music production, and his company, American Rebel, Andy has a can-do spir...

PFC Denisha Montgomery Smith died on August 8th, 2022, while deployed in Germany. The U.S. Army has maintained that Denisha’s death is a suicide, but her family and other people feel that is not the case.

As I learned more about what happened and talked to several people about the case, I realized that I didn’t really know Denisha. When Lindsey Knapp of Combat Sexual Assault and Amy Franck asked me to talk with Denisha’s aunt, Tome...

Colonel Martin came on Oscar Mike Radio in December 2022 to talk with me about PFC Denisha Montgomery Smith. I learned a lot about leadership, military criminal investigations, and how one person can make a difference.

I was keen to have Colonel Martin back on to talk with me because of the article I read on his site about Buffalo Soldiers. He had done a lot of research on their service and there are lessons we can apply today from...

Jenna Carlton and I met through “The Coalition”. It is a group of Veteran Podcasters and we support each other. She had me on her show, “The Millennial Veteran” and I was happy to return the honor.

Serving in the U.S. Navy, Jenna did Weather Service as her Military Occupational Specialty. She got out and started life as a wife and mother but felt disconnected from the kind of life she had in the Navy.

The Millennial Veteran is her ...

I connected with Tony through a LinkedIn Marine Corps group. We started talking and he told me about this home security system he and his son developed.

Tony served in the Marine Corps as a General Administrator. He was stationed at MCAS Yuma and Quantico. We had some good laughs talking about Yuma.

After the Marine Corps, Tony got into business and loved it. He has multiple ventures but he is most proud of the work he has done wit...

I remember reading Ghosts of the Valley almost two years ago. For never having gone to Afghanistan, Sean made me feel as if I was there with him every step of the way.

Sean grew up in L.A. and went into the Army as a Military Police Officer. He has deployed several times and been wounded in combat. Now he is a First Sergeant in a training battalion working with the next generation of the Army.

Ghosts of the Valley was written as a ...

I got connected to Joe Hernandez through Spencer Emch. Spencer talked with me about how they met in Romania as American expats. Spencer made the introduction, and we started talking.

Joe grew up on the south side of Chicago. He wrote a book, “Nothing is Louder than Silence”. He told me it would help me understand him and where he is at in life. As I read his story, it became clear that this would be a different kind of conversation...

As I was talking with Spencer Emch for number 325, I became interested in Tactical 16 Publishing which published, “Time of Flight”. I reached out to Chris Schafer, who is the CEO of Tactical 16 Publishing and we started talking. I liked how the power of writing helped Chris through his journey after transitioning out of the military.

Chris Schafer spent over 25 years in the Army and saw a lot during his service that he worked to de...

I opened the cover to “Time of Flight” and began to read with great interest. I like helicopters and Spencer Emch’s experience of being in the U.S. Army as an Apache pilot captivated me.

Spencer’s story isn’t a traditional military book sense in many respects. After reading it through the second time, I liked that Spencer took a different approach to tell his story about the relationship with his fellow pilots and the AH-64 Apache.

...

Tom Kilgannon was on Oscar Mike Radio for Number 273 (https://oscarmikeradio.com/273-thomas-kilgannon-freedom-alliance/) almost a year ago. He came back to update me on programs, services, and scholarships for children of deceased Veterans. As you will hear, a lot can happen in a year, and it is an exciting time at Freedom Alliance.

Freedom Alliance has partnered with War Heroes on Water to provide deep-sea fishing experience for C...

Tom Kilgannon was on Oscar Mike Radio for Number 273 (https://oscarmikeradio.com/273-thomas-kilgannon-freedom-alliance/) almost a year ago. He came back to update me on programs, services, and scholarships for children of deceased Veterans. As you will hear, a lot can happen in a year, and it is an exciting time at Freedom Alliance. Freedom Alliance has partnered with War Heroes on Water to provide deep-sea fishing experience for ...

Tina McCollough joined the Marine Corps in the early 1970s. It was a different time for women in the Marine Corps, but Tina had a great experience in the Marine Corps. Her transition out of the Marine Corps was challenging because the GI Bill was cut off on June 15th, 1977. Tina believes that more should be done to reduce or eliminate the cost of college education, and she talks at length about how change could benefit Veterans.

Er...

Tina McCollough joined the Marine Corps in the early 1970s. It was a different time for women in the Marine Corps, but Tina had a great experience in the Marine Corps. Her transition out of the Marine Corps was challenging because the GI Bill was cut off on June 15th, 1977. Tina believes that more should be done to reduce or eliminate the cost of college education, and she talks at length about how change could benefit Veterans. ...

This show is about Denisha Montgomery Smith from a larger viewpoint. I have been struggling with questions about why these kinds of situations are tolerated in the military. Especially when a recruiter will tell someone and their family that the military will “take care of them”. Only to experience the worst kind of betrayal when a soldier like Denisha Montgomery Smith dies in a manner that is suspect at best.

Colonel Wesley Martin...

This podcast is about Denisha Montgomery Smith from a larger viewpoint. I have been struggling with questions about why these kinds of situations are tolerated in the military. Especially when a recruiter will tell someone and their family that the military will “take care of them”. Only to experience the worst kind of betrayal when a soldier like Denisha Montgomery Smith dies in a manner that is suspect at best. Colonel Wesley M...

I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Hansen in March of 2021 (YouTube Link - https://youtu.be/DBjAYEPeukE).

According to Dr. Hansen, The University of Applied Research & Development is a Veterans Affairs-funded institute of higher learning, allowing active service personnel, veterans, and their families to gain bachelor's and master’s degrees.

This conversation focused on the Bachelor’s and Master’s Programs for Emergency Res...