2023 MF MAY

TEENS NAMED

MILITARY CHILD

OF THE YEAR

National Honor Society. 4.25 GPA. Team captain. Teen advocate. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Eagle Scout. AP Scholar Award. These are just a fraction of the accomplishments that grace the resumes of Operation Homefront’s 2023 Military Child of the Year recipients.

Representing each of the service branches, Mackenzie, Hayley, Haydn, Hannah, Jemma, Louis and Jackson demonstrate the qualities of a role model before even surpassing their teen years. Military kids are often described as resilient, and that attribute is on full display as these awardees contribute to their communities while navigating the challenging landscape of having a parent — or parents — serving.

In this month’s issue, we meet these incredible third culture kids who offer advice on being the new kid on the block, tips for finding a volunteer activity to match your passion, ways to stay connected to a geographically separated parent and more. Their words are not only fitting for others who have a mom or dad in uniform, but we adults can learn from their adaptability to make the most of their circumstances.

We also highlight others in May who embraced their situations, like Air National Guard 1st Lt. Logan Lathrop, an information technology specialist for the 152nd Airlift Wing, who utilized lesser-known programs to work toward his degree during a deployment (pg. 12). Or Megan Buriak, Gold Star wife of Naval Aircrewman James “Jimmy” Buriak, who turned grief into action (pg. 18). Her strength in the wake of unimaginable loss will help others avoid additional hardships during tragedy.

As May comes to a close, the Buriak family serves as a reminder of the immense sacrifices made in support of this nation — and that pausing to learn those stories is a yearlong obligation that exceeds Memorial Day. But I hope you will find your own way to pay tribute on May 29, whether that be through becoming a living memorial, participating in a remembrance event or sharing names of the fallen with your children.

May we never forget the price of remaining free,

Bianca Strzalkowski

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Kari Williams

Emily Solberg

Alexa Harmon

Nikki Davidson

Elena Ferrarin

Sierra Leone Starks

Taneika Duhaney

Crystal Kupper

Jessica Manfre

Chris Adams

Meredith Flory

‘We’re calling ourselves the MCOY family’

Military Child of the Year recipients celebrated

by Bianca M. Strzalkowski

by Nikki Davidson

by Taneika Duhaney

by Crystal Kupper

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requests can be made at https://militaryfamilies.com/subscribe-free/. Information and advertisements in this publication do not constitute endorsement by any branch of the military or the Department of Defense. No part of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of the publisher. AmeriForce Media, LLC, the publishers, and publisher’s agents make no endorsement of any advertised services or products and none should be inferred.

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) held a memorial ceremony on April 13 to honor nine soldiers from Charlie Company who were killed in March in a helicopter accident.

STAFF SGT. JOSHUA C. GORE 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina

CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2 RUSTEN SMITH 32, of Rolla, Missouri

CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2 ZACHARY ESPARZA 36, of Jackson, Missouri

WARRANT OFFICER 1 AARON HEALY 32, of Cape Coral, Florida

SGT. DAVID SOLINAS JR 23, of Oradell, New Jersey

STAFF SGT. TAYLOR MITCHELL 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama

WARRANT OFFICER 1 JEFFERY BARNES 33, of Milton, Florida

SGT. ISAACJOHN GAYO 27, of Los Angeles, California

CPL. EMILIE MARIE EVE BOLANOS 23, of Austin, Texas

New app seeks to connect

MILLIONS OF SPOUSES

BY EMILY SOLBERG, ARMY RESERVIST AND MARINE SPOUSE

A new community platform is giving military spouses a secure way to connect with their peers.

Instant Teams, the international talent marketplace for military spouses and employers, recently announced the launch of the Twelve Million Plus app for those married to active-duty members, reservists, retirees and veterans. It builds on the company’s mission, according to a press release, and is being rolled out at bases around the country.

“Twelve Million Plus is an extension of our commitment to support the force behind the force,” said Kate Williams, community initiative program manager and Army veteran spouse. “The life of a military spouse takes on many ages and stages, making it critical to have a community-led, real-time ‘go-to’ when you have a question, need a place to bounce around an idea, share a reason to celebrate, or reach out if you need extra support and encouragement.”

The company created 12M+ to address three primary, quality-of-life improvements for military spouses:

Democratize access to each other as a global community while fostering local connections;

Centralize resources to make them easier to find and tap into when needed;

Advocate for spouses by working with partners and organizations that can facilitate employment, professional development and financial wellness opportunities.

“These focal points came from months of community surveying and feedback on what was missing from the community and how we could help innovate solutions to solve those concerns,” Williams said.

How does the app work?

Once a new member joins and is verified by ID.me — a secure, digital-identity network — they will have access to a daily feed, courses, events, content and the ability to meet and connect with members.

Williams said spouses will be able to select which areas they want to engage with and curate their own experience.

“Every day, community members will find a diverse group of peers, experts, resources and curated content,” she said. “It’s a place to check in daily to discover what’s new, ask questions, share ideas and connect in whatever way a spouse feels comfortable and however it best serves them.”

Spouses will also be able to engage with vetted, spouse-friendly companies directly within the app. For example, they can shop

and support military- and veteran-owned businesses through Spouse-ly, access PCS support through MILLIE and take advantage of a partnership with Grow with Google to expand their skills at no cost to them.

Why choose 12M+ over other online groups?

“Not every spouse is on Facebook,” Williams said.

“The growing population of younger spouse generations are not using Facebook, and many spouses are not on social media for personal and/or military-connected reasons. So we have to think about providing innovative solutions for the community that are inclusive, safe and accessible to all. This is our goal.”

Williams added that social media driven groups can be “bulky” and a challenge to navigate, and often spouses have to look in multiple places to find the information that’s important to them.

“12M+ will bring the heart of the community right into the palms of their hands — in one place,” she said.

The 12M+ app is free for military spouses to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store

The mixed feelings of being stationed overseas

BY ALEXA HARMON, AIR FORCE SPOUSE

I have a love-hate relationship with overseas living. As rewarding as it is, it is emotionally and mentally hard as hell.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had, memories I’ve made, and friends I’ve met for anything; I absolutely love where I’m at. But at the same time, I hate it and I want to go “home.”

Nobody can prepare you for all the feels you get once you’ve settled into your new home abroad. On bad days, I yearn for familiarity and the comfort zone official orders forced me out of. On good days, I’m planning coffee or a girls’ trip to some European country with my new “village.”

Living overseas is such a hot and cold topic for so many spouses for several reasons. You can love it and plan to retire in whatever country the military shipped you to, you can flat out hate it and be counting the days until your next PCS, or you can love it and hate it all at the same.

I know at least one spouse hoping to stay, but I’ve witnessed another packing up her kids and moving back home to finalize a divorce. And then, there are the friends who could honestly go either way — stay or go.

Plus, I feel like it’s a bit glamorized – like it’s this incredible and unique opportunity. While it is not lost on me how blessed I am, it’s still a difficult stage of military life.

We currently live in the United Kingdom, our second overseas assignment in 10 years of military life. Our first was to Okinawa, Japan. While I look back on it and feel so grateful for those three years, it was one of the scariest and most challenging things I’ve ever had to do.

Fast forward to our current station, and I feel the same exact way. You’d think it would get easier — and I suppose the day-to-day does — but the reality of it is still the same.

We are tested in every way. It’s not simply moving from base to base stateside, as most

of us are accustomed to; it’s moving out of the country. It’s leaving behind family and friends, throwing everything familiar out the window, and being shoved into different cultures.

Simultaneously, our service member is deploying or working long hours and if we want to at least tread water (and not drown), we have to build a life of our own. We are forced to find and create a new village and develop a routine and normalcy.

Meeting new people and making lifelong friends are among the most significant rewards of living overseas. Putting yourself out there, again and again — and I kid you not, there are so many spouses who put out

ads for friends. It’s simply a must. I’ve met the very best people who I will know and love for the rest of my days.

One of the other benefits is the travel opportunities. Imagine walking down Harajuku Street in Tokyo, playing with elephants on a beach in Phuket, waking up with a view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and riding a gondola down the canals in Venice.

Living overseas is part of this rollercoaster life we live, and though it’s not easy, it’s most definitely worth it.

Follow Alexa for more of her military life journey at www.instagram. com/authenticallyalexa/

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‘Best-kept secret’ helps deployed airman gain accessible education at Harvard Law School

BY NIKKI DAVIDSON, COAST GUARD SPOUSE

Air National Guard 1st Lt. Logan

Lathrop wasn’t exactly a star student growing up. In his own words, he “barely graduated high school.” But an educational tool he stumbled upon while serving overseas spurred an unlikely journey to Harvard Law School.

He believes other service members could use what he calls the “best-kept secret” to fast-track their education, even while deployed.

When Lathrop graduated high school, he joined the Air National Guard to avoid student debt and enrolled in community college. But when the information technology specialist for the 152nd Airlift Wing deployed to Kuwait, he was anxious about falling behind his peers.

He’d heard about the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), which features 90- to 120-minute exams that allow students to test out of introductory courses. The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) program offers the tests free of cost to service members and eligible dependents.

Currently, more than 2,000 traditional colleges and universities offer credit to students who pass CLEP tests, according to the College Board. And nearly 50,000 military service members, plus eligible spouses and civil service employees, take the exams each year.

But passing a CLEP exam can be difficult. According to 2022 data, the passing rate for

DANTES-funded exams is just 41% for chemistry. In 2017, 74% of civilians’ CLEP exams earned passing scores, significantly more than the 54% of passing scores from the DANTES program.

Lathrop knew he’d need help to pass the CLEP exams. While browsing the internet, he came across information about Modern States. The organization offers an online learning platform with free lectures, quizzes, tests and e-textbooks to help students pass a CLEP exam.

During his downtime inside the dark tent on his deployment, he logged onto Modern States and completed several courses. He ultimately finished a semester-and-a-half of credits in three months.

“I was passing the first time, every time,” Lathrop said. “Every time, I felt like the classes were actually interesting. One of the hardest parts about deployment was it felt like you were kind of leaving everything behind for six months. Doing this, it felt like even though I was deployed, my life didn’t come to a complete standstill. I was still progressing in school and furthering my life outside the military.”

Lathrop also said Modern States’ free coursework allowed the flexibility that studying in a combat zone requires.

“Sometimes internet connectivity is up in the air, a toss-up,” he said. “You’ll have a week or two where you have almost no free time, and then some weeks where you have a little bit more free time. But that’s what kind of helped a lot with Modern States. I was able to self-pace.”

Once Lathrop returned from deployment, he used the 21 college credits he received through CLEP exams to transfer to the University of Nevada, Reno. He passed the LSAT and was accepted into Harvard Law School.

Lathrop’s success with Modern States isn’t unique. The site has more than 400,000 users, and the group has sponsored more than 150,000 CLEP exam fees. According to Modern States, the passing rate for its students is 75%.

Steve Klinsky, founder of Modern States, said the problem with CLEP has been how students learn the material to pass the exam.

“There never was a good way to do that, and now we have a free way to do that,” Klinsky said. “It can be a life-changing event for people trying to get a two-year or four-year degree.”

Klinsky, a philanthropist and CEO of New Mountain Capital — a $37 billion private

equity firm – is the primary funder for Modern States. His vision is to make college education as accessible as checking out a book at a public library.

“It’s a really good confidence booster for some people just to see they can pass these courses,” Klinsky said. “And, if you don’t like it, there’s no cost. It’s painless to experiment, and you may be surprised at how well you do.”

Lathrop said he is now dreaming of a career

in cyber law. While he initially joined the military for the education benefits, he believes it might have been the missing piece in his academic success.

“It honestly changed me in a ton of ways,” Lathrop said. “I think maturity was the biggest part of it. Joining the Air National Guard was the best decision of my life.”

For more information or to begin taking Modern States courses, visit https://modernstates.org/

Veteran credits Dog Tag program for helping him open independent bookstore

BY ELENA FERRARIN

Dave Pedersen, a third-generation Army veteran, never imagined he’d open an independent bookstore in downtown Rockford, Illinois, where he grew up.

But with the help of his wife, Pedersen opened Maze Books in June 2022. One year later, the bookstore continues to evolve, and Pedersen continues to be happy about his decision.

“There is always stress, but the big difference with stress when you work for yourself is that there is a payoff,” he said. “There’s no middleman to intercept my hard work. It’s all me — and that goes the same for failures.”

Maze Books carries up to 2,000 titles with a weekly rotation – out of a total inventory of

more than 10,000 books – including 10% in new books. Best sellers include used and new books in the “banned and challenged” category, such as “1984,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Color Purple.”

His is the only independent store in Rockford to carry new titles, Pedersen said, adding that his goal is to reach 20% in new inventory. The name “Maze Books” derives from the notion of meandering through stacks in search of knowledge, said Pedersen, who’s been an avid reader since he was a little boy.

Pedersen credits his participation in Dog Tag’s five-month fellowship program with allowing him to take the plunge and open the bookstore.

“It was absolutely one of the most beneficial things that could happen (to me),” he said. “There are so many things you don’t think about when you’re starting a business.”

Following four years of service in the Army, the path that led 41-year-old Pedersen to become a small business owner was meandering and, at times, difficult.

Pedersen enlisted at 19 years old in 2001 and was stationed in South Korea with the 552nd Military Police Company, then in Germany with the Army criminal investigation division drug suppression team. His last role was as a public affairs operations noncommissioned officer. He’d sustained a debilitating knee injury while performing riot control in South Korea.

When surgery didn’t help, he was medically discharged, he said.

For years after that, Pedersen said, he struggled to find his path.

“I definitely felt lost,” he said. “I had a handful of miserable jobs, especially after the 2008 recession. There was a period in my life when I didn’t own a car. Work was so scarce. At one point my G.I. Bill was so backed up, I couldn’t afford rent or food.”

He worked as a cab driver, customer service rep and process server. He walked two hours each way to a job inspecting car seats. He even worked as site technician for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), in charge of raising pheasants in Wilmington, Illinois. Meeting his wife in 2012 prompted him to start working toward stability, said Pedersen, who at the time lived in Kankakee, Illinois.

“Having a partner who wants to really push you to do your best, instead of just being by yourself, I think that was the big difference,” he said.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 and now is a student in Northwestern University’s master of fine arts program.

After earning his degree, he worked in administration at IDNR and then for the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs as director of volunteers at a veterans’ home. The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll, so he quit in 2021 to take classes at Northwestern while substitute teaching.

Eventually, Pedersen and his wife, who works in marketing for a local college, decided to move to his native city to be near family and friends. That’s when they came up with the idea of a bookstore, he said.

Based in Washington D.C., Dog Tag “equips veterans with service-connected disabilities, military spouses and caregivers with the education and tools needed to find renewed purpose and community outside of the military,” its website states.

That can mean opening a business, starting a nonprofit or even becoming engaged in volunteering, Dog Tag CEO Meghan Ogilvie said.

“Success is defined by the individual,” she said. “Dog Tag is there to meet them where they are and support them through it.”

Pedersen attended Dog Tag’s fellowship program in early 2022, when it expanded to Chicago in collaboration with Loyola University Chicago’s Executive and Professional Education Center.

The program delved into things like forming an LLC, hiring an accountant, getting business insurance, and dealing with inventory, sales, transportation, competition and more, Pedersen said. There was plenty of sound advice, he said, like how it’s best to focus on a tight business plan, rather than a grander plan to open a coffee shop and bookstore at the same time.

The fellowship program has a rigorous appli-

cation process with three rounds of interviews, and Pedersen stood out, Ogilvie said.

“He was very serious in a lot of ways,” she said. “He was trying to feel us out. He was like, ‘Is this real?’ I value someone being open enough to ask questions versus just trusting in a program.”

Pedersen also had a vision, Ogilvie said.

“Obviously he’s very passionate about books,” Ogilvie said. “But it was very much like, ‘How can I make sure this is for the community?”

Every neighborhood needs an independent bookstore, said Pedersen, currently the sole employee.

“My wife helps when she can and she’s been crucial to my success,” he said.

“The great thing about owning your own business is that every day, when you’re closing shop and you’re looking at the receipts, you know that was all you. You’re going to have days that aren’t the best, but some days, you’re going to have days that make up for it threefold.”

Pedersen hopes to expand the bookstore, and eventually buy a building in downtown Rockford and live there with his wife, above their business.

Visit

Dog Tag’s programs.

MAJOR INVESTMENT IN CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MAKES

BY SIERRA LEONE STARKS, ARMY SPOUSE

The San Antonio City Council announced a new partnership to help military spouses, like Robyn Hawkins, find meaningful employment.

Unemployment rates among military spouses continue to be higher than the national average, according to a press release, leading advocates to work with local employers to see the range of skillsets this demographic brings to the workforce.

Hawkins, who lives in San Antonio, is married to a recently retired airman. She learned firsthand about the perception hiring managers have of military spouses.

“[One employer] essentially told me, in so many words, that they just weren’t going to hire me because I was a military spouse, and they knew I wasn’t going to be there for that long,” Hawkins said. “They didn’t say that verbatim, but that’s the vibe I got from their response.”

Through its partnership, San Antonio is working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes Foundation to pair spouses with local companies for 12-week fellowships like paid internships, and there is no cost incurred by host organizations.

“We really want to put our money where our mouth is, and that’s a tangible investment in the military,” said retired Maj. Gen. Juan G. Ayala, who serves as director of the Military

and Veteran Affairs Department at the City of San Antonio. “And military spouses are one of the most important components of retention.”

A unique subset of the population, military spouses bring value to any position, Ayala said. Not only does their experience traveling from location to location mean they are not afraid of new situations, but it also means they’re accustomed to working with diverse groups of people.

Plus, holding down a household during a service member’s deployment means they can operate independently, and their work ethic is unmatched, he added.

Nationally, the Military Spouse Fellowship Program boasts a 91% job-placement rate, and Hawkins is one of its most recent success stories.

When her husband retired from the Air Force in 2022, they settled on San Antonio as their next move because of its welcoming disposition toward veterans and their families. She found out about the fellowship because her husband was going through a similar program for transitioning service members.

Hawkins stopped working in 2012 to take care of the couple’s newborn son. In a military marriage, she said, the decision around who will be the primary caretaker will always fall to the spouse. In these instances, the service member’s career continues while their partner may opt to take a break from full-time employment.

“But that doesn’t mean [military spouses] don’t have goals for themselves or that they’re not driven,” she said. “It just means for that specific amount of time, they had to make a choice for their family, for their spouse, and that’s the choice that was made.”

In Hawkins’ case, she used those six years away from the workforce to complete her bachelor’s degree and earn her master’s degree. When she began applying for fulltime positions again, she admits she did have concerns that hiring managers would see that gap in employment and immediately count her out.

But those concerns melted away with the Military Spouse Fellowship Program, she said. Incoming fellows are paired with a local Hiring Our Heroes program manager who walks them through resume revamps and connects them with networking opportunities.

Hawkins’ work experience in human resources transferred easily to a fellowship with the City of San Antonio’s HR department. She went from fellow to full-time HR analyst for the city in just a few months.

The Military Spouse Fellowship Program is available to applicants residing in all 50 states, with remote and on-site opportunities available. Visit https://www. hiringourheroes.org/career-services/fellowships/internships/msfp/ for program locations and contacts.

GOLD STAR wife

EDUCATES OTHERS ON PRE-MISHAP MATTERS

BY TANEIKA DUHANEY, NAVY VETERAN

Nearly two years ago, Megan Buriak lost her husband, Naval Aircrewman 2nd Class James “Jimmy” Buriak, in a helicopter mishap off the coast of San Diego. Following Jimmy’s death, Megan experienced gaps in financial support that she expects were not unique to her.

Megan said that when a service member dies, their paycheck stops when the death is reported.

“Every situation is different, [however] during that time, there’s a period where you don’t get a check until the line of duty death verification is released,” she said.

As part of the Navy’s Casualty Assistance Calls Program (CACP), calls officers, as official representatives of the Secretary of the Navy, provide information and resources to next of kin. They also discuss benefits and entitlements due with the service member’s survivors.

“It can span anywhere from a couple of days to [as many as] 45 days following the mishap or the death of the service member,” Megan said.

With Jimmy in the aviation community, Megan and her family secured a commercial life insurance policy just in case something catastrophic happened. Her worry was not without cause. According to Naval Safety Command data, the number of “class A mishaps” – aircraft crashes that happen in-flight and result in permanent total disability or a loss of life - continues to increase across the Navy and Marine Corps.

Jimmy’s commercial life insurance policy, which was separate from the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, had an aviator clause. The aviator clause stipulated that the policy is null and void if a service member dies during a ‘non-airfare paying crash,’ such as a military flight required for military duties.

“It happened to my family,” Megan said. “I was denied two commercial life insurance policies. I have spoken to other widows of mishaps, and it has happened to them as well.”

To fill these gaps, Megan created The AWS1 James Buriak

Foundation

A 501(3)(c) nonprofit, the organization aims to honor Jimmy’s memory by providing support, education and funding to families that lost a service member of the aviation community.

“My mission is to make sure that people know that, one, [death] can happen. Two, if you have a [commercial life insurance] policy, make sure that if you fly or there’s ever a chance that you may fly, you know that [an

Read

aviator] clause exists,” Megan said. “And three, how do I prepare families to ensure that commands, squadrons and service members know that, if anything ever happens, they’ve done everything they possibly can to prepare.”

The Foundation offers three outreach programs: The Pre-Mishap program, which aims to educate and prepare families to understand life insurance coverage, bank policies, procedures and loans.

Post-Mishap, which covers the financial aspects of child care. Families in need

get access to a 14-day supply of groceries and a 30-day supply of baby food, formula, diapers and wipes.

90-Day RoadMap, which helps families to navigate greater needs. Resources might include referrals to organizations like The Wingman Foundation, Fleet and Family, Tunnel To Tower and TAPS.

WAR HIPPIES

combine talents to debut country music single

BY CRYSTAL KUPPER, AIR FORCE SPOUSE

Marine veteran-turned musician Scooter Brown was giving a magazine interview when the journalist asked him to describe himself.

After thinking a minute, he replied, “I guess I’m kind of a war hippie. I’m a combat veteran, but now I’m long-haired and into natural remedies and meditation and live on a six-acre plot in the country and do my own thing. I want peace and love and kindness for everybody. But if you try to take that from me, I’ll stick an axe in your face.”

Fast forward to January 2021, when Brown officially formed a country rock duo with former soldier-turned musician Donnie Reis. Their name? War Hippies, of course.

“Donnie and I have such an eclectic taste in music, so we listen to everything under the sun,” Brown said. “We just love and appreciate music and the individual art that comes out of it.”

That love and appreciation — alongside years of hard work — has brought War Hippies to tours with country superstars and a debut single music video that reached No. 1 on The Country Network’s Top 40 chart. So far, it seems, the only direction their duo is heading is up.

“I like everything from Michael Jackson to Trisha Yearwood and just about everything in between,” said Reis, an elite violinist who served in a combat engineer battalion. “I’ve probably listened to 50,000 hours of music.”

It shows. Both Reis and Brown sing on each track, taking turns with melody and harmony, while playing guitar and violin between the two of them. Reis also plays the piano, and a drummer joins in for a full band sound when needed. The video for their song “Killin’ It” has been featured as a top video for CMT.com. Combined, the friends have 25 years of touring experience and more than 20 million streams.

But before Nashville, their commonalities started with military service. In 2003, Brown left the Marines after serving in a light armored reconnaissance battalion. Reis, meanwhile, turned down a college music scholarship to enlist in the Army after 9/11, eventually leaving in 2009. Both saw time in Iraq.

“When you face your own mortality and are living on borrowed time, you think about things differently,” said Reis. “You can hear a lot of reflection about combat in some of our music.”

Brown agrees.

“That’s the biggest thing I walked away from the military with,” said the married father of four. “To be thankful for the time that I have

to try to pursue something I love, because I saw how fast life can be taken away.”

Brown and Reis both returned home and began successful music careers. Brown debuted at the Grand Ole Opry, recorded with Charlie Daniels, toured with Travis Tritt and was named to Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know.” Reis became the owner of a recording studio, launched a violin line and achieved 26 Billboard Top 10s and four songs on the Billboard 200 chart.

Their friendship began at a 2019 video shoot in Nashville, followed by some social media chatting.

“Hey, I’m a combat vet, too, and I have a studio,” Reis wrote to Brown. “You should come over and visit.”

The two hit it off immediately. A musical collaboration simply made sense. They released their debut single and album in 2022, with big plans for the future — both on and off-stage.

Besides making quality music, Brown and Reis love giving back to their military brothers and sisters. Brown is a co-founder of Base Camp 40, an outdoor adventure nonprofit for veterans. Reis volunteers with the Nashville Task Force for the Special Operators Transition Foundation.

Brown, a lifelong outdoorsman, noticed military members returning from combat with intact bodies but broken souls. Base Camp 40 became a way to “just get people around a campfire to open up and tell some stories, to let go of some things they had bottled up.” Reis, on the other hand, wanted to focus on educating civilians on the value that former special ops can offer their companies.

Grateful veterans line up at War Hippies’ gigs — Brown and Reis estimate they’ll play at least 100 in 2023, in addition to filming a television show — to share their stories with two men who understand.

“I think it’s really cool that Donnie and I are able to use what we do as a platform to take any light that shines on us and hopefully reflect it onto the veterans community,” Brown said. “We always go to the merchandise booth afterward and sometimes stay two or three hours to shake the hands of every one of them in line.”

Sometimes, a fellow service member will even gift a War Hippie their dog tags.

“It’s that family that’s always there,” Brown said.

For future War Hippies shows, visit www.warhippies.com/tour

Holistic approach to addiction aims to get men sober for good

BY JESSICA MANFRE, COAST GUARD SPOUSE

A rehab program for men is using a “truly holistic” approach to address the complexities of addiction.

Tree House Recovery takes an adaptive approach, focusing on the mind, body and social aspects of addiction, according to its website. Founder and CEO Justin McMillen said he understands what those who have addictions are going through.

“I went through my own personal struggles that led me to serious addiction and near death,” he said. “The only reason that I’m sitting here today is because of a 74-year-old Vietnam War veteran. He didn’t give up on me when everyone else did.”

After navigating a year of sobriety, McMillen said he found himself longing to show others recovery was possible.

“I was living in an abandoned house which was going into foreclosure and started pulling homeless people off the street to stay with me to get sober,” he said. “It grew to the point that police started dropping people off to take care of.”

A local real estate agent saw what was happening and offered to help him purchase the home.

“This was the second miracle for me,” McMillen said. “My brother turned around and bought a second house not long after that.”

At the time, it was simply a safe and sober space for people to get clean. Skeptical about traditional treatment that he had seen fail time and time again, McMillen decided to build his own. One focused on a “bio-psych-social” connection through holistic methods while applying a “brotherhood,” or team approach, and a heavy fitness focus. Many of their staff members were veterans themselves and much of the plan began to model what special forces operators train for.

Ryan Bain, a former All-American, Division-1 athlete in football and wrestling, is the developer of ESM (Exercitium Semita Medela, roughly translated to exercise as a pathway for healing

in Latin) Fitness Therapy, which was designed to rebuild the biological and neurological damage drug abuse causes. He has his own story of recovery after a career-ending injury and its misdiagnosis led to a long road.

“I lost my self-identity completely,” he said. “Though I was eventually coaching at the collegiate level, I couldn’t get off painkillers, which progressed over time. Eventually, I knew I had to do something drastic to make a change, so I moved out to California to start over. That’s where I met Justin and ended up helping myself so I could help other people.”

Tree House Recovery is a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) Licensed and Certified Chemical Dependency Treatment Program located in Orange County, California. Word of the work they were doing spread to military circles and a relationship developed with the special forces community.

They’ve recently opened locations in Wilmington, North Carolina; Denver, Colorado; and Nashville, Tennessee. It’s run by a retired Marine sergeant who credits the program with saving his life.

Brandon Fender was passionate about sports growing up in North Carolina. But he also liked partying, too.

“I got my first DUI in my mom’s minivan when I was 16 years old,” he said. “I didn’t apply myself the best in school, but my goal was to at least go to community college and play soccer. Then, 9/11 happened.”

Finding himself filled with anger and a drive for retribution, he enlisted in 2003, after graduating from high school. The next year, he was in Fallujah, Iraq.

“I had to grow up pretty quick and compartmentalize a lot of things. Two of my buddies were shot and killed by a sniper and it had been videotaped for propaganda,” Fender said. “When I got back from that deployment, I found myself watching the video over and

over again. There was a lot of survivor’s guilt.”

It wasn’t his last combat tour. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and again in 2010 as part of the Battle of Marjah. An IED caused catastrophic injuries leading to numerous surgeries and an opioid addiction. Though he went through VA addiction programs, none of them worked.

Fender said he started attending group therapy sessions with other veterans. It was after one of these gatherings that he asked fellow attendees if they had pain pills, but was offered heroin instead.

“The first time I put a needle in my arm I felt at peace because all the pain and mental stuff I was dealing with just melted away. At this point, I still had my house and truck. I didn’t associate myself with the typical heroin addict. This went on for years,” Fender said. “When I took my uniform off, it wasn’t on my terms. I lost my sense of purpose and brotherhood. I finally got to the place where I had nothing left to give. A friend of mine had gone through Tree House Recovery and told me about the program.”

When Fender arrived at Tree House, he could barely walk and was contemplating having his leg amputated because he was in so much pain. He finished his treatment, but ended up in the hospital with a bone infection from a loose screw and going through his 23rd surgery.

“I just remember sitting there thinking, ‘No matter what obstacles are thrown in my life, no matter what I have to go through, nothing’s gonna stop me from being successful and being healthy.’ I got so deep into that mindset,” he said.

A year after his last surgery, he ran a marathon. These days, Fender is not only three years sober, but runs the new Nashville location and counsels those in recovery.

McMillen reinforced the organization’s commitment to serving those who serve.

“While we don’t only serve just the military,

we’re aiming to be a bridge in between those worlds. In one bunk you may find a retired lieutenant colonel and in the other, a firefighter or a mechanic. We’re all in this together,” he said. “While we do serve and target veterans the goal now is to reach the active-duty military and start saving not only careers but families.”

Bain echoed that sentiment.

“I’m big on strength-based psychology, and I think the people who walk through our doors are strong as hell,” he said. “It takes so much to acknowledge that whatever they’re doing isn’t working and they need to be put into a challenging environment, find a way to connect to people and ultimately, find purpose again.”

Fender said he wants others to know they don’t have to go through it alone.

“We’re taught to pick ourselves up, get back in the fight. But when it comes to this [addiction] we have to understand that this is life or death,” he said. “We don’t have to suffer in silence. Nothing is going to be handed to you and you’ll have to work for it. But it’ll be worth it.”

Rehab Warriors give veterans hope in tough economy

BY CHRIS ADAMS

An organization that specializes in residential development is using its workforce training program to prepare veterans for transition into a challenging economy.

Rehab Warriors, the nation’s first and only certified and accredited workforce development model specializing in residential development, according to a press release, provides veterans with post-service education, career readiness, and civic leadership. The company also addresses veteran transition, affordable housing, and community revitalization. Its founder says its model addresses veteran employment and the current housing crisis.

“I wanted a for-profit model for purpose and wanted to make sure that there was unrestricted pathways to the veterans to get into what I believe is the best way to transition, which is going back home, taking one property at a time, and restoring it,” said Andy Williams, a Marine veteran and founder of Rehab Warriors. “And then being a part of a bigger solution, which is America needs housing.”

Williams’ company is a national vertically integrated real estate enterprise, undertaking full-scale community revitalization projects that target social impact. It also offers veterans a viable career path.

He said programs designed to transition service members from the military to civilian self-sufficiency often fall short or are incomplete.

“Well, despite all the outreach and hiring initiatives, veterans need two things: They need purpose after service, and they need profitability and pathways,” Williams said.

Rehab Warriors has performed more than 100 house rehabilitations and 100 home builds with veterans, who are provided unrestricted pathways to partner with a city and facilitate community development.

“We’ve done that a hundred times, and we’re going to do it 10,000 times as we rebuild this community right across America,” Williams said.

Williams used real estate as a re-acclimatization bridge after serving four years in the Marines and six years with the international security firm Blackwater. The Texas native eventually became the host of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop Fort Worth,” which aired for one season (2018). Williams soon realized that flipping homes wasn’t his mission.

“HGTV is not really who I am, or HGTV was lucky to have us,” he said. “We have a good relationship with them.”

The genesis of Rehab Warriors began after the HGTV program, when Williams invested $1 million in a research initiative to study veterans. He wanted to figure out what was limiting them.

“We met good people, we met bad people,” he said. “Not everybody that says they want to help veterans wants to help veterans. Not everybody that says they want to empower veterans, they want to empower veterans. And transitioning [for] veterans is really hard. It’s not easy because veterans are putting their guns down, and they’re taking their uniforms off and they’re having to find identity.”

Williams said he placed some at-risk capital into the situation, bet on the community, garnered some market share and enabled veterans to break through the limitations.

The Rehab Warriors program includes a sixweek career school, an apprenticeship and/ or self-employment option.

Marine veteran Jerry Tello had become accustomed to a fast-paced career within the military, constantly deploying or training for deployment. His responsibility was to build solid teams and oversee them.

“And so, once I realized I could do that, I could do that with anything,” the 26-yearold Tello said. “I decided to make the transition out.”

But his transition wasn’t so easy. He moved from California to Texas, tried to buy a home and was searching for an identity.

“I was having a rough time transitioning because as you’re transitioning out, obviously, you don’t have that stability anymore,” Tello said. “I was trying to do all everything at once, basically, and then that didn’t bode well.”

Then Tello met Williams, and things changed. A path was set for him.

“So Jerry came in, went through the six weeks training, shadowed under a couple projects, launched works. Now Jerry is doing projects, deal analysis, and he’s gotten cross-trained as an agent.”

Tello’s goal isn’t to rehab homes or build them. It’s to develop land containing vast swaths of dwellings. He credits Rehab Warriors for furnishing a direction with purpose and unlimited potential.

“And because of that, JT Works was born,” Tello said. “And now I’m doing anything I can to help support this mission and spread the word that Rehab Warriors can change lives and better yet, communities.”

Rehab Warriors is about the veteran, Williams said. It only works because of the veteran.

“And so, Rehab Warriors was designed to be self-sufficient or self-sustained or self-sabotaging. If veterans don’t sign up and get trained to rebuild communities, it won’t survive. Because I don’t want it to survive if they don’t want to do that. But if they do, it will thrive.”

“Well, despite all the outreach and hiring initiatives, veterans need two things: They need purpose after service, and they need profitability and pathways,”

- Andy Williams

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RELOCATION

Alternative options for military families seeking pet companionship

BY MEREDITH FLORY

While pets can provide comfort and companionship to the uncertainty of military life, they’re not for everyone.

Preparation can prevent a situation where families might be separated from their furry companion, but fostering and volunteering can allow service members and their loved ones to spend time with animals without the long-term commitment.

Preventing animal surrender

While some military pets travel and PCS as a permanent member of the family, others are surrendered to shelters or in need of new homes.

Kimberly Lambert, animal care supervisor at the Humane Society of El Paso (HSEP), said that when animal surrender happens, “they’re not giving them up because they don’t love their animal; circumstances haven’t allowed them to keep that animal and so it’s heartbreaking.”

Lambert said common reasons people might not be able to keep their animals are breed restrictions, budgeting issues, last-minute moving situations and family changes like divorce. Many surrendered animals have a difficult time with the change and Lambert said that “as hard as our staff works to make it a comfortable place, it’s not home.”

Roughly 6.3 million “companion animals” enter U.S. shelters annually, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and “pet problems” are the most common reason for owner surrenders.

“We have to be financially stable when we’re ready to take on that animal because that animal is depending on us for that care,” Lambert said, noting costs like vet bills and boarding, as well as surrender fees if the animal is brought back to the shelter.

She recommended researching pet and breed behavior.

“Don’t stick with animals just because they’re aesthetically pleasing,” Lambert said. “Find one that’s going to fit your lifestyle.”

Staff can help potential adopters choose an animal and locate community resources. In difficult moving or deployment situations, options include boarding, PCS pet grants or rehoming with a friend or acquaintance.

Fostering as an alternative

Julie Bogen, a Navy spouse stationed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, began fostering cats because her husband traveled for medical school rotations.

“It gave us the space to snuggle and spoil something without putting us in a position of having to deal with the logistics of moving with an animal or finding boarding every time we were going to be out of state,” she said.

They fostered a variety of kittens and cats, some who needed more care like bottle feeding, and one who was lost and reunited with their family.

Abby Ammons, an Army spouse stationed at Fort Bragg who volunteers for It Takes a Village Rescue in North Carolina, started fostering in 2020 when shelters were navigating COVID-19 pandemic safety.

“I wasn’t sure how I could help the larger problems of the world, but I knew I could open my

home to an animal in need,” Ammons said.

The rescue organization covers the cost of food and vet bills, according to Ammons.

“Your main donation is only time and attention,” Ammons said. “Fostering can last weeks or months, depending on the health of the animal, availability for vet check-ups and vaccines, and finding the best applicants for a dog’s new family.”

The first time Ammons volunteered to take a dog in need of a foster was intimidating.

“I raced to the shelter where the staff brought out a young female, dirty and scared, of myriad breeds, and in heat. She was unsure but gentle,” Ammons said. “They asked if I wanted her. I was afraid I had bitten off more than I could chew, but what was the alternative? She melted into me that night. Relaxed and safe, she fell asleep and snored, finally trusting us enough to let her guard down.”

The Ammons family ultimately adopted her and has since fostered other dogs.

Katharina Ingle, a military spouse who volunteered and fostered at HSEP, said it was important that she introduce her youngest child to each dog before bringing it into their home.

“It helped my children and me to fill the void of not having a dog of our own, without the big commitment,” Ingle said.

They adopted their foster Sadie before moving to their next duty station. For military families considering adopting she recommended waiting until the next duty station is known.

Adopting, fostering, or volunteering are ways to spend time with animals, but finding the right fit so families aren’t faced with rehoming an animal is necessary. Lambert said that despite the joy pets bring, “sometimes we’re not ready for that, and sometimes we’re not prepared for it.”

For more information on adopting, fostering or volunteering, contact your local animal shelter.

Green Beret-led nonprofit encourages America to truly honor the fallen

BY JESSICA MANFRE, COAST GUARD SPOUSE

Oct. 23, 2007, might have been just another Tuesday for most Americans but for Carmin Rougle, it was the day all future moments with her father were stolen. She was just 3 years old.

Army Staff Sgt. Larry Rougle, of West Jordan, Utah, was killed at Sawtalo Sar Mountain, Kunar Province, Afghanistan, when he was engaged by enemy small arms fire. At just 25 years old, he left behind a young daughter with cloudy memories of her father and loved ones buried in grief.

Losses like Larry’s inspired Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Gomolka to create Project 33 Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to annually honoring one Special Operations soldier on Memorial Day who has died since 9/11.

“I have almost 23 years in service, which if you do the math, brings you to pre 9/11. At this point I’ve served multiple combat tours overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and everywhere else you can imagine,” Gomolka said. “I lost a few buddies of mine along the way, and anyone who’s been through any kind of environment like that knows that there’s challenges and grieving that is done on an individual basis. It was so hard to manage, but by 2005, I had almost become numb to it.”

Thinking the war would soon be over, Gomolka left the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment for the “Q” course. He became a Green Beret attached to the 19th Special Forces Group through the Army National Guard. But the war continued and he was in the thick of it – over and over again.

After a rough Afghanistan deployment in 2016, Gomolka wanted to do something about what he had witnessed.

“I was watching 16 years of America fighting this war, and it felt like no one knew who these men were,” he said. “When someone dies, the support is immediate for the first few months and then fast forward 10 years and it’s nonexistent. I wanted people to know them, to

remember their names. A year later, I turned to my wife Samantha and told her I was going to run.”

Knowing this mission was bigger than just one man, his wife gathered the troops and the rest as they say, is history. The organization is now in its sixth year running 6.8 miles for the fallen and is preparing to honor Rougle, who Gomolka served with as a Ranger.

Though Larry was divorced from his wife, Jackie Taylor, at the time he was killed, the two remained close. The couple began dating, and Taylor said that despite his intellect, Larry was often in trouble with the law.

“He was in and out of juvenile detention and then he was turning 18 soon,” Taylor said. “The judge told him he could either enlist in the military or he was sending him to prison.”

A 2018 analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations found that the majority of the modern enlisted warriors come from low or middle-class socioeconomic status.

According to Taylor, Larry blew through basic training, leaving as an honor grad in March 2000. From there, he trained to become a Ranger. During the process, he cut his finger badly, almost losing it. He refused to be recycled and instead finished the course with stitches and tape holding it together.

They had been married before he went in and were eventually assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, when the 9/11 terrorist attack occurred.

“I was watching it at work in disbelief when I heard my office phone ringing,” she said. “It was him telling me he wasn’t coming [home]

that night and didn’t know when he would.”

Though he did make it home a few days later, his unit was deployed to Afghanistan within months. It was the first of three combat deployments to the region and two more of which he served alongside Gomolka in Iraq. In the midst of war, the couple got pregnant in 2003 and Larry was sent home from deployment early to await the baby’s arrival. On April 4, 2004 – Carmin was born.

“From the moment she was here Larry was inseparable from her,” Taylor said. “I’d drop the baby at day care and get a call an hour later that he’d picked her up.”

When Larry was stateside, he stayed with them – soaking in the stolen moments. When Carmin was 2, the marriage dissolved, but the couple remained committed to coparenting. An enemy ambush would cut those plans short.

“I don’t know if he died instantly, but I pray he did,” Taylor said. “Larry took so many bullets all over his body. At first I didn’t want Carmin to see him in the casket, but she begged. All she said was it looked like he was sleeping.”

His last moments were captured and shown in “Restrepo,” a 2019 documentary about the Afghanistan War.

Gomolka had just earned his Green Beret when he saw Larry’s name pop up on the KIA board.

“It was horrible. He was such an incredible guy and exactly what the war needed. He gave everything to it,” he said. “We’ve had some people comment that when he was killed he was with the 1/73 and not Ranger regiment, so he wasn’t special operations. Just because you leave doesn’t mean you ever lose that. He’s our Airborne Ranger in the sky now.”

Eventually, Taylor had to help Carmin remember her dad as the memories faded.

“He loved his country and wanted his daughter to grow up in a place she would always have the opportunities freedom offers,” Taylor said. “Larry wanted to make a difference.”

Carmin said it has been weird “grieving something you never had.”

“Every year my school would ask me to share my story for Memorial Day, and it was hard,” Carmin said. “Eventually I got to a place where I didn’t want to talk about him.

Growing up I’d watch Disney movies or see daddy-daughter dances and cry. There’s been so many big moments in my life that he’s

missed and future ones he’ll never be part of.”

As Americans prepare to spend Memorial Day over barbeques and fireworks, for Carmin and her mother, the day brings all the emotions.

“The American flag isn’t just something beautiful to look at. The red stands for the blood shed for it,” Taylor said. “I would encourage people to look into the true meaning.”

Gomolka echoed her sentiment with a challenge of his own.

“Search your own city and pick one person who died in service every year and learn about them,” he said.

“Who they were and their contributions to this world before you start bringing out the beers and burgers. Teach your kids about the true meaning behind Memorial Day. That’s all I want. Remember them, please.”

To join the memorial in person or virtually #RUNFORLARRY, visit www.p33memorialfoundation.org

Where did your fitness journey begin?

I spent my youth frequently sick, overweight and being told I wasn’t built to be a runner. This inspired me to study health, fitness, nutrition and performance. Today, I’m a healthy mom, resilient Army spouse, and a strong runner who helps others learn simple ways to work with their body to unlock their best.

How did you grow your interest in health and fitness into a career?

Knowing I wanted to impact others’ holistic well-being, I started my first company providing health coaching, exercise and sport massage services to NFL players and individuals in Cleveland, Ohio. Life quickly pivoted when I became a military spouse in 2009. It was a hard journey as we relocated nine times in 14 years, but I’m grateful for the diverse work experience and personal growth that came as a result.

What is the most prevalent fitness and/or dieting myth you see?

Today I specialize in coaching women who feel stuck with their health, fitness, hormones or running. The biggest myth I see is that feeling, looking and performing our best needs to be complicated, requiring quick-fix diets, endless supplements and trends. Health, fitness and aging do not have to be overwhelming when we understand simple ways to work with our body’s needs.

Q&A WITH LOUISE VALENTINE

HEALTH & FITNESS EXPERT

What are the biggest mistakes you see your clients make on their fitness journey and how can those mistakes be corrected?

I see many active women 35+ frustrated with fatigue, loss of fitness, injuries and perimenopause symptoms, which are preventable. The solution is to learn simple health, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle strategies to work with our female body’s needs. Since there is so much misinformation out there, I started BreakingThroughWellness.com and a coaching program to help women 35+ understand simple ways to work with their changing hormones to age powerfully and unlock unstoppable health, fitness or running.

Your masters research fellowship with the Army Public Health Center focused on ways to improve the health and fitness of the military community. What was your biggest takeaway from that research and how can members of the military community apply it?

My biggest takeaway was when service members and their families prioritize mindbody health and fitness they can thrive in this lifestyle, instead of simply survive. Military life is challenging and unpredictable. We must expect obstacles to be a part of our journey and courageously address our biggest pain points head on. Whether we need to seek mental health support

when it gets hard, learn best ways to sustain injury-free fitness or find realistic ways for our family to eat well, we need quick and effective skills to support our mind-body resilience.

What advantages does living a military lifestyle give you as an entrepreneur in the health and fitness industry?

Military life taught me to be flexible, innovative and resilient, which are skills I need to be an entrepreneur. As we’ve relocated, I’ve coached hundreds of diverse individuals and worked across the health care, fitness and wellness industry. I now have a rare skillset to support my client’s holistic health, nutrition, fitness and performance. As a result, I was named the top Certified Health Education Specialist in the U.S. and most recently American College of Sports Medicine Certified Professional of the Year. Being a military spouse has allowed me to unlock my full potential to grow into the successful entrepreneur and practitioner I am today.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

To any military spouse who’s ever been told to give up on your career, know that does not have to be your story. Know no matter how challenging this lifestyle gets, it’s always in your control to rewrite your story at any point in time. In fact, be prepared to proudly rewrite your story over and over again.

Louise Valentine is a 13-year Army spouse who found a passion for fitness that has turned into a fulfilling career as CEO of BreakingThroughWellness.com. The American College of Sports Medicine named her as one of the top three health and fitness practitioners in the world. She shares her own journey and how she uses it to help others.

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