Former Army medic Chris Swift has shared several podcasts with us. You will find his experiences leading up to this Friday August 12 episode on the podcast episode page of our webpage. Today we continue Chris’ transition experiences after his 55 month deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan serving as a combat medic. After years of punishing and unexpected reactions resulting in alcoholism, legal problems and other issues Chris acknowledged and sought out help for these reactions. Now participating in several veteran projects as a veteran or peer mentor Chris has found his life purpose as an offici ..read more

  Veteran Brian Eisch of Luxemburg, WI, spent 20 years in the Army. He was wounded during an ambush in Afghanistan, which resulted in the amputation of one of his legs. Eisch is the subject of a documentary movie, “Father Soldier Son,” which was filmed over a 10-year period. While he laments the loss of his leg, he tells people that his leg is nowhere near the greatest loss in his life — a reality that has him on a mission to help others understand perspective and to be kind ..read more

Mary Haupt is a readjustment counseling therapist at the La Crosse Vet Center in Wisconsin. She works with service members and veterans who have experienced trauma and other adverse experiences while serving in the military, including those who have experienced military sexual trauma. Extensively trained in trauma-informed therapy, she is also an EMDR therapist. Mary is the daughter of a Korean War veteran who served in the US Air Force. Because she did not serve in the military, is very grateful to be able to serve veterans in her capacity as a counselor. Her father, Norbert Siolka, is still ..read more

Mike Gemignani is a U.S. Army veteran who spent two tours in Iraq as a 13F forward obse3rver with the 1-502 Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He completed a short stint in college before his enlistment in 2004 and, after exiting the military, returned to school to pursue a career in biomedical electronics. He works as a biomedical IT specialist at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Along the way, he’s grappled with moral injury that has resulted in anger and depression ..read more

Wisconsin Rapids-area veteran Cory Poast joined the U.S. Army when he was 34 years old. He served in Hawaii, and then deployed to Mosul, Iraq, in 2008, and served a year in-country. He works to find personal peace through humor, music, nature and sarcasm — working to keep toxicity out of his life. He notes, “IGY6 ..read more

Sarah Blum has experienced first-hand the traumas of war, having served as a surgical nurse in the Vietnam War. She also has experienced another form of trauma faced by many veterans: military sexual trauma. Sarah wrote about MST in her book, Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military, and continues to travel the nation advocating for MST survivors and for changes to stop MST ..read more

Veteran Jim Osterman set out to make a difference in as many lives as he could. He embarked on a journey to do what he could to help prevent veteran suicide. He found an answer in the peace he knows beneath parachutes’ canopies and, as a result, founded the nonprofit Veterans Skydive 4 Life. He and others on the organization’s board have organized skydives for veterans throughout the nation ..read more

Ashley Spangberg, a veteran from Strum, Wisconsin, found that making art has been important in her transition from military life, which for her included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. She sells her art through the Patriot Beads and Brass business that she developed. Besides making her own art, she often does art workshops for veterans’ groups ..read more

Charlotte Ayers wore the uniforms of three different services during her 89 years, and recalls the challenges of her U.S. Marine Corps husband’s emotional healing after he returned from Vietnam. The healing has prompted Charlotte to urge veterans of all ages to seek help when it’s needed. She was raised in Neillsville, WI, and lives in Beaufort, S.C. Charlotte occasionally makes her way back to Wisconsin for visits with her family, and enjoys visits to The Highground Veterans Memorial park near Neillsville ..read more

Dawn Strobel grew up in Milwaukee and Cedarburg, WI. Her parents divorced when she was young. Dawns father is a Vietnam veteran who never spoke of his military experience and who Dawn did not have much interaction with while growing up. She would come to know him later in life. Dawn’s mother remarried and yet she and her mother did not have a close mother daughter relationship. With the normal expectations of honor and a place to fit in Dawn enlisted in the United States Army knowing she would have to hide that she was gay. No amount of written English can describe the profound devastation, d ..read more