Eagle Ops: The Rally Point Podcast

Military Families Carry the Weight Too | Jessica Shepherd’s Story

44 min · 19. Mai 2026
Episode Military Families Carry the Weight Too | Jessica Shepherd’s Story Cover

Beschreibung

In this episode of the Rally Point Podcast, Eagle Ops co-founder Jessica Shepherd shares the deeply personal story behind Eagle Ops and the realities many veterans and military families face after service. Jessica opens up about watching her husband transition out of the Marine Corps, the loss of military brotherhood, and the emotional impact of helping her Vietnam veteran father navigate the VA system after decades of silence. This episode is about connection, healing, purpose, and why no veteran should walk the journey home alone. Topics include: * Military transition * Veteran isolation * VA disability claims * Vietnam veterans * Family support * Building community after service * The origin story of Eagle Ops Learn more at: https://eagleops.org [https://eagleops.org]

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Alle Folgen

9 Folgen

Episode From Iwo Jima to Williams Tower: The Story That Built Eagle Ops Cover

From Iwo Jima to Williams Tower: The Story That Built Eagle Ops

Williams CEO Chad Zamrin joins Shep on the Eagle Ops Rally Point Podcast to talk veteran workforce investment, mental health stigma in construction and the military, and why supporting organizations like Eagle Ops is one of the highest-ROI decisions a business leader can make. Chad opens up about his 10 months as CEO of Williams — an $8B company forecasting 10% annual growth — and what the company's WWII legacy taught him about servant leadership, problem-solving, and community. Topics covered: * Williams' role in building the WWII War Emergency Pipelines * John Williams surviving Iwo Jima and becoming the company's longest-serving CEO * Veteran suicide rates in construction — and what companies can actually do * Eagle Ops' Freedom Shoots and the veteran whose life it turned around * How to reach 285,000 Oklahoma veterans at scale * What Chad tells other CEOs about investing in veteran nonprofits Eagle Ops Mission: Connecting relationships to resources to bring our heroes home. eagleops.org [http://eagleops.org]

23. Juni 202653 min
Episode Part 2 with Ryan "Bacon" Nelson: From Lost to Purpose-Driven Mission Coordinator : An Eagle Ops Story Cover

Part 2 with Ryan "Bacon" Nelson: From Lost to Purpose-Driven Mission Coordinator : An Eagle Ops Story

PART TWO with Ryan "Bacon" Nelson was a Marine Corps veteran, NBC specialist, combat deployment survivor, and by his own admission.... a guy who had no business walking into a veteran organization in his mid-30s. Then a fellow Marine dragged him to a backyard fire pit in Tulsa. He broke a chiminea within the first ten minutes. And he never really left. In this conversation with Eagle Ops founder Shep, Ryan walks through his full journey from joining the Marine Corps to change himself before 9/11 flipped everything upside down, to coming home without a clear direction, to finding his purpose through a mission that asks one simple question before every decision: Will it help veterans? He talks about the stat that doesn't get enough airtime that over 6,000 veterans die by suicide every year in the U.S., more than 100 times the combat losses from 20 years of war. And why upstream community is the answer that organizations like Eagle Ops are quietly building, one Rally Point at a time. This episode is about what real service looks like, what real leadership looks like, and what happens when a guy who thought nonprofits were just PR vehicles finds out he was built for exactly this. Eagle Ops is a veteran-focused nonprofit connecting Oklahoma veterans through community, events, and shared mission. Learn more at eagleops.org [http://eagleops.org]. Free top 5 Vet resources Guide; https://resources.eagleops.org/eagle-ops--veteran-resource-guide-funnel [https://resources.eagleops.org/eagle-ops--veteran-resource-guide-funnel]

16. Juni 202624 min
Episode Ryan "Bacon" Nelson: From Lost to Purpose-Driven Mission Coordinator : An Eagle Ops Story Cover

Ryan "Bacon" Nelson: From Lost to Purpose-Driven Mission Coordinator : An Eagle Ops Story

Ryan "Bacon" Nelson was a Marine Corps veteran, NBC specialist, combat deployment survivor, and by his own admission.... a guy who had no business walking into a veteran organization in his mid-30s. Then a fellow Marine dragged him to a backyard fire pit in Tulsa. He broke a chiminea within the first ten minutes. And he never really left. In this conversation with Eagle Ops founder Shep, Ryan walks through his full journey from joining the Marine Corps to change himself before 9/11 flipped everything upside down, to coming home without a clear direction, to finding his purpose through a mission that asks one simple question before every decision: Will it help veterans? He talks about the stat that doesn't get enough airtime that over 6,000 veterans die by suicide every year in the U.S., more than 100 times the combat losses from 20 years of war. And why upstream community is the answer that organizations like Eagle Ops are quietly building, one Rally Point at a time. This episode is about what real service looks like, what real leadership looks like, and what happens when a guy who thought nonprofits were just PR vehicles finds out he was built for exactly this. Eagle Ops is a veteran-focused nonprofit connecting Oklahoma veterans through community, events, and shared mission. Learn more at eagleops.org [http://eagleops.org]. Free top 5 Vet resources Guide; https://resources.eagleops.org/eagle-ops--veteran-resource-guide-funnel [https://resources.eagleops.org/eagle-ops--veteran-resource-guide-funnel]

9. Juni 202642 min
Episode Rally Points, Loneliness & Why Presence Is the Best Medicine | Dr. Carter Check PT1 Cover

Rally Points, Loneliness & Why Presence Is the Best Medicine | Dr. Carter Check PT1

What separates PTSD from moral injury? VA clinical chaplain and suicide prevention specialist Dr. Carter Check joins Shep on the Eagle Ops Rally Point Podcast to answer that question and a lot more. Drawing from his own military story, decades of work with veterans at the Eastern Oklahoma VA, and a doctoral dissertation from Vanderbilt, Carter breaks down why the deepest wounds veterans carry don't show up on MRIs, why "treating" veterans may actually work against healing, and how Eagle Ops Rally Points are scientifically interrupting the loneliness and isolation that drive veteran suicide. Real, raw, and deeply human. This is Part 1 of 2. Learn more about Healing in the Wild and Dr. Check here: www.drcartercheck.com [http://www.drcartercheck.com] visit www.Eagleops.org [http://Eagleops.org] for resources and more info

2. Juni 202648 min