Airmen Helping Airmen

The Impact of Fitness on Veterans’ Physical and Mental Well-Being with Sean Molino, Founder of Veteran Awards CIC

Sean Molino, Founder of Veteran Awards CIC, joins the Airmen Helping Airmen Podcast with John Farrell to discuss the fitness role in maintaining and improving veterans' physical and mental health, how Veterans Awards CIC inspires future service leaders, and shares military skills that help veterans succeed after the transition.

Leveraging Military Skills to Secure Employment After Service with Christopher Perkins, Co-Founder of Veterans in Digital Assets and Veterans On Wall Street

Christopher Perkins, Co-Founder of Veterans in Digital Assets and Veterans On Wall Street, joins the Airmen Helping Airmen Podcast with John Farrell to share business and career opportunities for veterans in the digital and crypto spaces, tips for transitioning from military to civilian life, mental health resources for veterans, and the value of veterans in the workforce.

Supporting Veteran Transitioning and Employment with Jerry Young, Veteran Engagement Manager at INvets

* Jerry is very passionate and a dedicated servant of military veterans, having been one himself. He focuses on transitioning and assisting folks when they leave the military. * INvets partners with the state of Indiana and is working with veterans and their families, helping them identify the right career and community. Besides service members, Jerry and INvets help military spouses with jobs and careers as well. * One of the primary things Jerry has to deal with regarding veteran employment is managing expectations. Most veterans believe they should work in the police or at random factories. So Jerry starts by helping them identify what they truly want and figuring out good-fitted jobs or industries for them. * After understanding what they want, Jerry supports veterans to start looking at different companies and ensuring their cultures fit them well. * Jerry believes that transitioning service members should know the importance of building a valuable network on LinkedIn to find career opportunities. Before ending your military service, set up your LinkedIn profile, start growing your network, and inform yourself of various job options. * Some of the best resources Jerry recommends for veterans are USO Pathfinder, the Army COOL program, the US Army Career Skills Program, and the Fort Campbell training programs.

Education, Training, and Technology for Veterans with Mark Casper, President and CEO of Tech For Troops

* Tech For Troops is a donation-based organization that provides veterans with equipment and empowers them with skills, and IT workforce training by providing veterans and children of veterans with free, refurbished computers and training and networking experiences. * For Mark, success for transitioning military folks is being able to support themselves and their families without falling into or becoming impoverished. To achieve that, you have to prepare yourself a year plus before you end your time in the service by learning and getting the required skills for a specific career. * In the transitioning process, search for an internship or apprenticeship on SkillBridge to help you get a good job when you finish your military service. * Having a computer is essential to apply for a job today. So Mark and his team provide free computers to veterans, which they can take home and learn to use. Tech For Troops also helps veterans with computer training skills. * Tech For Troops training starts with basic computer literacy skills. Then comes the intermediate level, which includes financial management and Microsoft tools. The last one is the advanced or expert level, where you can learn Python coding, for example. * Besides computer training, Mark and Tech For Troops help veterans with resumes and advisory and mentoring programs.

Empowering Veterans to Lead Successful Civilian Lives with Mia Garcia, Executive Director of the Texas Veterans Network at Combined Arms

* Some veterans have a hard time separating their military identities during their transition back into civilian life. They feel like going from hero to zero in the eyes of the civilian population. * Some rose to the ranks of military leadership, and transitioning to civilian life would mean building their way up from scratch. * Mia and Combined Arms are on a mission to encourage transitioning service members to connect with the communities they're returning to and build a plan for their transition. * To help veterans overcome transition challenges you can start by communicating possible career opportunities, helping them get started, and connecting them with mentors from the industry. * Combined Arms' services include career support, networking, interviewing skills, resumes, direct placement, fitness activities, mental health, family counseling, access to food, financial assistance, and more. * Make sure every single thing is documented in your medical history before you transition. Trying to get people to write a testimony for you after the fact doesn't play as well. * When it comes to Making Texas the First Interconnected State for Veterans, Combined Arms aims to break down the silos of veteran-serving organizations and government entities that are serving veterans to work together to share the veteran and ensure they have access to all the resources they need. * Combined Arms launched the Texas Veterans Network, which has been able to help 30,000 unique veteran clients so far who have been connected to more than 60,000 resources. They have grown the network from seventy organizations to 256 organizations that now offer 1032 unique resources.