Vegas Veteran Voices

Behind the Beat - 2K Kenny Made Love Songs Underway

2K Kenny didn't go viral in a studio. He's Petty and Second Class. He went viral on a Navy ship, after writing a love song during sweepers, recording the melody on Snapchat before he forgot it, and sneaking into the barbershop to lay it down because it was the only quiet room on the boat. The next day his LPO walked in singing it. That's when he knew. In this episode, Kenny breaks down what it actually looks like to build a music career while active duty, hiding it from his command, performing at a ship talent show in Rota Spain, getting a show booked in Bahrain in 10 minutes flat through Navy networking, and why being a Retail Specialist (the most hated rate in the fleet) gave him more time to grind than any other sailor on the ship. He's still in. Just made E5. Headed to Hawaii. And he's not stopping. If you're in the military and think you have to choose between service and your dream, this one's for you. Find 2K Kenny: @2kkenny on Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music ️ Real Conversations drops every week. Vegas Veteran Voices | Veteran-Led. Veteran-Built. #VegasVeteranVoices #NavyVeteran #MilitaryMusic #ActiveDuty #VeteranPodcast #2KKenny #NavyLife #MilitaryArtist #RealConversations #FloatingWithEmotions

Two Brothers, One Came Home. Now He Fights For Others Still In The Dark.

Two brothers. Same darkness. Only one walked away. Iraq combat veteran Raivadus Gill came home from war running at 110mph while the world had slowed to 15. He thought he was good. Then one afternoon, alone in a house, a heaviness hit him that he still can't fully explain, and he walked to his brother's room and picked up a gun. A flyer on a table is the only reason he's sitting in this chair. A year later, that same weapon took his brothers life. Raivadus has carried that question ever since, what made him pull it when I didn't? That question became two organizations. Operation Battle Cry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit connecting veterans to the benefits, housing, and mental health resources they've earned. And Trigger Happiness, a movement redefining mental health as mental medicine. Something you practice daily. Something you keep close so when the tunnel comes, the lights are already flickering. STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW? Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, Press 1 Text: 838255 Chat: veteranscrisisline.net This episode is for anyone who's felt that heaviness and couldn't name it. Anyone who's lost someone and is still asking why. And anyone watching at 2am who needs to hear that the flicker in the dark is enough. CONNECT WITH RAIVADUS GILL Operation Battle Cry: https://obattlecry.org Trigger Happiness: @gotriggerhappiness OBC: @operationbattlecry

Addiction and Rebuilding From Rock Bottom

Army veteran Steve Ulman shares one of the most raw and powerful veteran interviews we have filmed on Vegas Veteran Voices. In this episode, Steve opens up about his suicide attempt, addiction, recovery, ayahuasca, acting, trauma, off grid living, entrepreneurship, and how he rebuilt his life from rock bottom. He talks about putting a gun to his head, moving the pistol at the last second, and realizing he had to stop living halfway. From there, this conversation goes deep into meth addiction, getting clean, finding joy for the first time, healing through acting, and building an off grid solar business in the Arizona desert. Steve also breaks down self sustainability, freedom, off grid solar, veteran transition, mental health, and why addicts can become unstoppable when that same drive gets redirected toward purpose. If you are interested in veteran mental health, addiction recovery, Army veteran stories, off grid living, off grid solar, entrepreneurship, acting, trauma recovery, or powerful long form podcast conversations, this episode hits all of it. Steve is an Army veteran, actor, entrepreneur, founder of Arizona Off Grid Solutions, and creator connected to The Off Grid Veteran, The Wolves Den Ranch, Mission Entrepreneurship, and The Gray Area. Subscribe, comment, and help us keep telling real veteran stories with honesty, depth, and integrity.

Most Military Couples Fall Apart. Here's Why They Didn't.

If you've ever come home from a deployment and felt like a stranger in your own house — this episode is for you. Jamie and Cole Waterberry are an Air Force couple with 16 years of marriage, 9 moves, and 6 deployments between them. Stories they're only now comfortable telling out loud — like the time Cole casually drove through IED Alley and described it as "nothing to worry about." Or the rocket that landed two trailers down while Jamie had no idea where the bunkers were. But beyond the war stories, this conversation gets into what actually makes or breaks a military marriage. What it means when you come home and the furniture moved. Why their first five years of marriage were really years five through ten. What happens when one person gets out while the other stays in. Jamie also opens up about her work in corporate philanthropy — why AI is quietly killing nonprofit grant applications, why Las Vegas runs on relationships before résumés, and how she talked her way into an internship that didn't exist. No fluff. Just two veterans being honest about what that life actually looks like. ️ Vegas Veteran Voices | Filmed at Outbox Studio, Las Vegas Subscribe to keep these stories coming — and drop a comment. We read them all. Military marriage · Deployment · Veteran transition · Mill-to-mill relationships · GI Bill · Corporate philanthropy · Nonprofit grant writing · Las Vegas veterans

Aboard a Submarine: What No One Tells You About Life After Service

On this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, we step aboard the historic USS Pampanito in San Francisco for a powerful conversation inside the submarine's mission control room about something a lot of veterans know too well but do not always talk about enough: life after service. LT. Emilio Mackie opens up about his time in the U.S. Navy, serving as a surface warfare officer, being stationed in Japan, and ultimately making the decision to leave military service. But this episode goes far beyond Navy stories. This is an honest conversation about military transition, veteran identity, therapy, PTSD, decompression after service, finding purpose after the military, and the mental shift that happens when the structure of military life suddenly disappears. We talk about what it really feels like to get out of the military, the loss of identity many veterans face, why so many service members jump straight into stress instead of slowing down, and how therapy, reflection, travel, and community can help rebuild a life outside the uniform. LT. Mackie shares why he intentionally took a break after separating from the Navy, how Military OneSource helped connect him with a therapist trained in transitioning service members, and why he believes veterans need to train their minds for civilian life just like they trained their bodies for service. This episode also dives into veteran mental health, isolation after service, work ethic after the military, burnout, anger, healing, and the pressure veterans put on themselves when they no longer have a chain of command telling them what to do next. We also get into Navy culture, dark humor, life aboard ship, type two fun, sea stories, transition advice for veterans, and why community matters so much when you are trying to move forward after military service. Being able to have this conversation aboard USS Pampanito made it hit even harder. USS Pampanito is a World War II Balao class fleet submarine built in 1943. She completed six war patrols in the Pacific during World War II and is especially remembered for helping rescue 73 British and Australian prisoners of war after the sinking of a Japanese prison ship in September 1944. Today, she is preserved as a museum submarine and memorial at Pier 45 in San Francisco. Special thank you to Dwight Naset, Emilio Mackie, and the rest of the team at USS Pampanito for making this happen and for helping preserve a piece of history that still has the power to teach, connect, and inspire. If this conversation hits home, share it with a veteran who might need it. Sometimes the hardest part is not the service itself. It is what comes after. Vegas Veteran Voices is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using honest veteran storytelling to fight isolation, restore identity, and build community through real conversations that matter. USS Pampanito official site: https://maritime.org/uss-pampanito/ Tickets and visitor info: https://maritime.org/uss-pampanito/pampanito-tickets/ San Francisco Maritime National Park Association: https://maritime.org/ Volunteer info: https://maritime.org/pampvol.php Donate / support preservation: https://maritime.org/support-us/donate/ National Park Service overview: https://www.nps.gov/places/uss-pampanito.htm