by Sarah Scheerger April is the Month of the Military Child. It is a month to highlight the stories of military children and recognize why they matter. During April, many communities are now celebrating Purple Up! Day. This is a day during which community members can wear the color purple to show their support, and honor military children for their contribution. The color purple is chosen as a representation of a mixture of all the colors of the different military branches. Many of the celebrations of Purple Up! Day can be found within communities and schools, at the local level. Many national ..read more

Laura went from military child to military member. She joined the Navy through the Naval Academy and served 31 years retiring at the rank of Captain. Highlights of her career include serving as the first Ship’s Intelligence Officer and receiving personal recognition from President Bush (41) for her efforts as the Commissioning Coordinator for the USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) in 2009. She also served as Commanding Officer, Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command in Dam neck, VA in 2011. In 2013 she was recognized as the Hampton Roads Blue and Gold Officer of the Year for her devotion to helpin ..read more

Janet Hudson joined the U.S. Air Force in 1986 and deployed as a nurse during Desert Storm. She shared about her experience of joining the Air Force, deploying for Desert Storm and then becoming a nurse anesthetist for her last few years in the Air Force. After around 12 years of service she left the military so she could continue her career as a nurse and provide stability for her family. She retired from nursing in January after a 42 year career. Today, she is helping others through Lifewave patches along with volunteering to help veterans find community in her local community. Serving as a ..read more

I really enjoyed celebrating Women’s History Month by creating a four week series focused on history of military women. I thought I knew a lot about history of military women but as I learned there is still a lot more to learn and more stories to uncover. If you would like to catch up on the series you can watch it here. It will be added to YouTube this summer. Military Women History Series Week 1: Amazing Military Women from History  I’m excited to highlight the stories of military women during Women’s History Month. This week I want to share the stories of 10 remarkable women I have le ..read more

This article was created in partnership with Veterans for Financial Freedom The #1 Networking Event for Veterans looking to grow their net worth with no money down! You don’t need money. You need KNOWLEDGE, NETWORK, and ACTION. Veterans For Financial Freedom (VFF) Events are the number one place to be for our nation’s heroes seeking Financial Freedom.VFF is focused on helping veterans, first responders, fire fighters, law enforcement and their families through their full day conferences. Each conference offers a full day of speakers and activities focused on increasing your financial literacy ..read more

This episode was created in partnership with Veterans for Financial Freedom Veterans For Financial Freedom (VFF) Events is all about community. They are also the number one place to be for our nation’s heroes seeking Financial Freedom. VFF is focused on helping veterans, first responders, fire fighters, law enforcement and their families through their full day conferences. Each conference offers a full day of speakers and activities focused on increasing your financial literacy, creating goals, and a blueprint to achieve all of your financial goals. Today’s episode is with Erin Helle, Kimberly ..read more

This week on the podcast I’m excited to be talking to Monica Mohindra. She is the Director of the Veterans History Project (VHP) of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. In this episode, we focus on VHP. VHP is highlighting the importance of collecting veterans stories. We also discussed how the information collected by the VHP. And finally we discuss how the informaiton is used and how you can get involved. Because it is Women’s History Month we also highlighted the stories of the 6668th Central Post Directory Battalion and a few other amazing women from history. If yo ..read more

Angela and her family needed something new. The military opened the door to her families future. Angela was a single mom and couldn’t find a way to provide for her family. She and her husband were trying to figure out what was next and the military became an option. Initially, he was going to join but she was able to convince him that she should be the one to join. She served in the Air Force as an operations resource manager. Serving on active duty for seven years and deploying multiple times to support different operations happening both before and after September 11th. She is passionate in ..read more

Kimberly is finding healing and hope through her Warrior’s Path to Healing journal series. She has channeled her experiences in the military to develop a self-help tool for other survivors. We met at the Women Veteran Alliance Unconference in October where she was a finalist for the Melissa A. Washington Small Business Award. Kimberly started a social change consulting agency, The GOLD Beacon, PLLC. “GOLD” stands for Grant Management, Organization, Learning, and Development – key elements in capacity building and agency development. She is a Navy veteran and served as a Signals Intelligence An ..read more

Watching her eyes grow wide in terror stopped me mid sentence. Had what I said been really terrifying? I had just recommended she reach out to Cohen Veterans Network to get mental health help and utilize their free counseling services for post 9/11 veterans and their family. And even though I can’t put into words what I knew, I knew the terror she was feeling in that moment. Believing that lie that I have things under control as long as I don’t touch that box. I can poke around it, but as long as I don’t open it I will be okay. My life is fine. But here is the thing about trauma. Even if you h ..read more