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Borne the Battle

Hosted by Tanner Iskra, Borne the Battle recognizes each battle, challenge, and sacrifice our Veterans endure during and after their service, as well as spotlighting important resources, offices, and benefits VA offers our Veterans.
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Now displaying: April, 2019
Apr 24, 2019

FBI, CIA, AFT…USPIS? It’s not an alphabet agency that is often brought up in conversation around DC Beltway. However, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service was founded almost 100 years prior to the FBI and almost 150 years before the CIA. Their mission is to “support and protect the U.S. Postal Service, its employees, infrastructure, and customers by enforcing the laws that defend the nation's mail system from illegal or dangerous use.”

Today’s guest is a current U.S. Postal Inspector and Marine Veteran Carroll Harris. He is the first guest to reach out to ask to be on the show, so he can get information out to Veterans. Operation Protect Veterans is an effort by the Postal Inspection Service to prevent crimes and scams within the mail system that are targeting the Veteran population.

In addition, Carroll is a historian in the Marine Corps Reserve. He is attached to the Marine Corps History Division and is tasked with going on deployments to record Marine Corps history in times of conflict. In the episode, he covers how he was “drafted” into the history division in Kuwait, right before the Marine Corps crossed the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border during 2003’s Operation Enduring Freedom.

Additional Links to This Episode:

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/radDocs/OPV.html

https://bit.ly/2DucCtZ

https://bit.ly/2W3Rkum

https://bit.ly/2VlZelB

Mission Act Links:

https://bit.ly/2D8czDE

https://bit.ly/2IDLZXH

https://bit.ly/2Zw2uKw

#BtBattle Veteran of the Week: Army Veteran Ellen Ainsworth

https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/58675/veteranoftheday-ellen-ainsworth/

Apr 22, 2019

Bonus episode! This episode is an experiment of a sorts. I attended a Veteran/ military spouse networking event called BourBiz. It was held this last Thursday by The Veteran Success Resource Group at the MGM, National Harbor, Maryland.

I was told about this event by future guests, Brett D’Allesandro and Alexa Modero the founders of the non profit, Backpacks For Life. They were part of a veteran-owned-business pitch competition that was going to be held at the event. Placing 2nd, they were awarded $15,000. 

Again, this was last Thursday and I didn’t know about it until the day prior. Within 24 hours I was hooked up with a booth. So with little time to plan, I brought my gear and figured to catch something. I set up, did two interviews -  and I didn’t think I captured anything. It was loud and they were having a live auction right next to me. So, I shut down my operation and just took the whole thing in. However, when I went home, I learned that the quality wasn’t too bad. So, what you're going to hear is what I was able to capture. If you would like to hear more episodes like this (with more content) please reach out to me at podcast@va.gov.

Enjoy.

Additional Links:

bourbiz.com

https://www.roa.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army-soldier-for-life/

 

Apr 17, 2019

Danny Chung is an positive example of a Veteran that found a way to give back to the transitioning active-duty community. 

Danny’s team is trying to do is fill a gap in the civilian workforce. At any given time, there are over 500,000 open jobs in the computer industry. The current education system is producing only 49,000 computer science majors a year. Danny’s goal is to fill the gap with a portion of the 250,000 service-members that leave active duty every year.

One solution is the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA). It is an 18-week course that active duty can take on base towards the end of their service. They offer training in high demand fields like cloud development, cloud administration, cybersecurity, databases and business intelligence administration. In addition, graduates are guaranteed an interview with Microsoft or an industry partner. There are currently 15 military bases that offer the MSSA.

Currently, Danny’s biggest drive is to help military spouses find gainful employment in the technology industry. The Military Spouse Technology Academy is an effort by Danny’s team to combat the military spouse 18% unemployment and 53% underemployment rates.

In addition, we talk about his service, difficulties transitioning during the Great Recession, and his feelings on artificial intelligence taking over the planet.

Enjoy.

#BTBattle Veteran of the Week:

Army Air Corps Veteran Dick Cole

https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/37196/veteranoftheday-army-air-corps-veteran-richard-dick-cole/

ADDITIONAL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

military.microsoft.com

https://www.hiringourheroes.org/

https://www.troops2transport.com/

https://worldwide.erau.edu/microsoft-software-systems-academy/

https://www.stmartin.edu/academics/programs-schools/hal-and-inge-marcus-school-engineering/areas-of-study/microsoft-software-and-systems-academy

Apr 10, 2019

Navy Veteran Jennifer Marshall joins us on the show. Since transitioning from active duty, she’s been hustling out in Hollywood.

She’s a veteran of some movies and shows you may have seen:

Stranger Things”

Hawaii Five-O”

A Dog’s Way Home”

Timeless”

Game Shakers”

Most notably, she’s an actress, but she also hosts red carpets, hosts shows, models and volunteers for various causes in and around the area.

Jennifer talks about why she joined the Navy and why she had to exit earlier than she anticipated. She also talks about her husband’s transition and trying to bridge the military-civilian divide. She also shared how the military community in Hollywood helped her gain her sea-legs as she started on this new journey.

Finally, we discussed how a military mindset can help you achieve your goals, the misadventures of motion capture for her first (and probably last) video game, and current volunteer projects that she is passionate about. Enjoy.

Additional Links For This Episode:

https://www.hollywoodpost43.org/

https://vmeconnect.org/

https://www.pinupsforvets.com/

https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/fgib/VetTec.asp

#BtBattle Veteran of the Week is Air Force Veteran William Andrews:

 https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/58577/veteranoftheday-air-force-veteran-william-francis-andrews/

 

Apr 3, 2019

There are many veteran entrepreneurs in the coffee industry. Today we focus on a local roaster in the Northern Virginia area that is making waves in the coffee industry. 

In this episode, Sean talks about his unique military career. Starting out as a merchant marine and as a reservist, Sean explains how he switched between a couple of different occupational specialties before coming onto active duty as a Naval Intelligence Officer.

We also break down Sean’s transition from the Navy, and how he started a business on active duty and turned it into a $500,000 revenue-generating business within six years.  

Enjoy

#BtBattle Veteran of the Week

Marine Corps’ Veteran and soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer Brian James is this week’s Veteran of the Week.

Additional Links for this Episode:

http://www.campvaloroutdoors.org/

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