Episode 8: Michael "Rod" Rodriguez

Episode 10: Austin von Letkemann "Mandatory Fun Day"

Survey: https://forms.gle/FiHzbY8LLnfnMHvL8 Your answers will help us continue the Check Your Six Pack Podcast. Thank you. Austin von Letkemann, the host of Check Your Six Pack Podcast from Episodes 1-9, is a US Army Military Intelligence Officer with 12 years of service and a dynamic social media content creator, MandatoryFunDay. Known for his uplifting and humorous content, Austin reaches 20 million viewers monthly across various platforms. His work centers on leadership, military life, and being a dad. Since starting his content creation journey in 2022, Austin’s goal has been to inject positivity and laughter into the lives of the military community. He is married with four daughters who keep his life full of activity and sparkles. Austin also enjoys weightlifting and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Follow Austin here: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MandatoryFunDay * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandatoryfunday * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mandatoryfunday * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mandatoryfunday -- Let’s Talk About Your Guns How can we have open-minded talks about gun safety? It’s vital considering 40% of Americans have a gun at home. This series unpacks real-life scenarios around guns and suicide, dementia, children, health care workers, and more. Through stories and interviews, we offer practical and non-judgmental ways to talk about gun safety in tough situations. With the right tools, you can have conversations that meet people where they are. This isn’t a show about taking sides — it’s about saving lives. Tune in here: * Website: https://www.cstsonline.org/suicide-prevention-program/podcasts/lets-talk-about-your-guns * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-talk-about-your-guns/id1652635499 * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oUi15xZtRe9uIgQQGX2Jz -- The Check Your Six Pack Podcast is sponsored by Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Uniformed Services University, and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress.

Episode 9: Mary Dague

Survey: https://forms.gle/FNRPHPWxSaBwR5R9A. Your answers will help us continue the Check Your Six Pack Podcast. Thank you. Mary Dague is a retired Army Sergeant and former Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician who lost both arms when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated. Mary covered the IED with her own body to protect her team and nearby civilians, an act of extraordinary heroism that saved lives but cost her both limbs, her hearing, and left her with severe facial injuries. Mary battled through recovery, surgeries, depression, and body dysmorphia while maintaining a positive outlook to help other wounded troops and ease her family's pain. Mary is known for her incredible sense of humor, as evidenced by her nickname, “Wonder Nubs”. Mary now dedicates herself to veteran outreach and advocacy, helping others face their own struggles while living a full life with her husband James Cribbett, also a former EOD tech. Follow Mary here: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wondernubs/ * Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/wondernubs __ We would like to discuss the important, but sensitive, topic of brain donation. As we know, the brain health of our service members (warfighters) is a complicated subject, influenced by many factors including traumatic brain injuries from both impacts and blast overpressure, toxic exposures, psychological well-being, cognitive function, and many other important and unique factors.  To address gaps in knowledge toward improving the health of our Warfighters, the Department of War (DoW) and the Uniformed Services University (USU) have established a facility to study the brain after a service member passes away. Many conditions, such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), can only be diagnosed postmortem, and many disease processes have yet to be completely understood. Therefore, the importance of donation is more critical now than ever. Through continued research, we hope to advance our understanding of the effects of a military career on brain health, and thus to foster improvements in diagnostics, therapeutics, and mitigation efforts. For more information you can reach the team at 855-366-8824 or visit our website at https://researchbraininjury.org — The Check Your Six Pack Podcast is sponsored by Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Uniformed Services University, and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress.

Episode 8: Michael "Rod" Rodriguez

Survey: https://forms.gle/Mao9ARwghwmp3e11A. Your answers will help us continue the Check Your Six Pack Podcast. Thank you. Michael “Rod” Rodríguez is the President and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. Rod joined the U.S. Army in 1992 and attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection course to become a Green Beret in 1997. In 2013, he was medically retired due to numerous combat injuries. His last assignment as a Green Beret came as a Sniper Instructor assigned to the JFK Special Warfare Center (Range 37) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has deployed ten times in service to our nation.  Rod is a New Mexico native who comes from a family with a strong tradition of military service. His father is a Vietnam veteran, both his grandfathers, and several other family members served during World War II. The mother of his children served for 21 years and deployed six times, their eldest son is stationed at Ft. Bragg and has deployed 4 times, one of which was to the same regions of Afghanistan as Rod and his mother. Rod has been an outspoken advocate for veterans and their families and often speaks publicly on the need to increase understanding of life experiences between the civilian and military communities. Follow Michael “Rod” Rodriguez here:  * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.rodriguez.77398/ [https://www.facebook.com/michael.rodriguez.77398/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monsterzdad [https://www.instagram.com/monsterzdad] — We would like to discuss the important, but sensitive, topic of brain donation. As we know, the brain health of our service members (warfighters) is a complicated subject, influenced by many factors including traumatic brain injuries from both impacts and blast overpressure, toxic exposures, psychological well-being, cognitive function, and many other important and unique factors.  To address gaps in knowledge toward improving the health of our Warfighters, the Department of War (DoW) and the Uniformed Services University (USU) have established a facility to study the brain after a service member passes away. Many conditions, such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), can only be diagnosed postmortem, and many disease processes have yet to be completely understood. Therefore, the importance of donation is more critical now than ever. Through continued research, we hope to advance our understanding of the effects of a military career on brain health, and thus to foster improvements in diagnostics, therapeutics, and mitigation efforts. For more information you can reach the team at 855-366-8824 or visit our website at https://researchbraininjury.org — The Check Your Six Pack Podcast is sponsored by Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Uniformed Services University, and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress.

Episode 7: JJ Howland

Survey: https://forms.gle/jdGKaMnND8EX3pew8. Your answers will help us continue the Check Your Six Pack Podcast. Thank you. JJ Howland is a USMC veteran, wrestling coach, and online fitness/business coach. He is the Owner of Legacy Wrestling and a coach at American Top Team-Team Lima, based in Atlanta, Georgia. JJ helps clients transform their mindset and fitness journeys. He runs a free online community called Legacy Wrestling with over 1,300 members featuring wrestling tutorials, drills, and training content. His focus is to help men and women over 30 rebuild purpose. Follow JJ here:  * Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/jacob.howland.372/ [https://www.facebook.com/jacob.howland.372/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjhowland/ [https://www.instagram.com/jjhowland/] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jdhowla [https://www.youtube.com/user/jdhowla] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jjhowland [https://www.tiktok.com/@jjhowland] __ Brain Hijack podcast series aims to increase awareness and support a culture shift amongst the general public around the topic of suicide prevention. We encourage support-seeking behaviors and connectedness through expert interviews, debunking myths, and normalizing topics in mental health. Emerging public health research on media communication channels indicates podcasting as a promising tool to reach communities at large or those uniquely at risk. This podcast intends to bridge the gap between science and practice by translating expert recommendations in suicide prevention and its upstream drivers into a discussions understood by all.  Tune in here: https://www.cstsonline.org/suicide-prevention-program/podcasts/brain-hijack [https://www.cstsonline.org/suicide-prevention-program/podcasts/brain-hijack] — The Check Your Six Pack Podcast is sponsored by Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Uniformed Services University, and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress.

Episode 6: Vincent "Rocco" Vargas

Survey: https://forms.gle/uMt6vsfMUxcjrdfy8. Your answers will help us continue the Check Your Six Pack Podcast. Thank you. Vincent “Rocco” Vargas was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. After several years of college baseball, Vincent enlisted in the US Army and went on to serve 3 combat deployments with 2nd Battalion of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. After 4 years of active duty service to his country, he joined the U.S. Army Reserves and continues his service until retirement. In 2009 he became a Federal Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, and was a Medic with the Special Operations Group. Vincent is currently an entrepreneur, actor, writer, author and producer. Previous film credits include: Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020-Actor and Co-Executive Producer), Not a War Story (2017-Self and Executive Producer), and Dads in Parks (2016-Self and Writer). Most recently, Vincent was a writer on season 5 and played ‘Gilly’ on the #1 cable television series “Mayans MC” for FX. When time allows, he also is a motivational speaker that focuses on Veteran advocacy, Leadership, Military transition and motivating youth audiences. Vincent is married with 8 kids. Follow Vince here: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vincentroccovargas [https://www.facebook.com/vincentroccovargas] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincent.rocco.vargas/ [https://www.instagram.com/vincent.rocco.vargas/] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VincentRoccoVargas275 [https://www.youtube.com/c/VincentRoccoVargas275] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vincentroccovargas [https://www.tiktok.com/@vincentroccovargas] -- Warrior Mindset: Gaining a Tactical Advantage [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8206WNyBQkI] When you and your unit are stressed to the max, mental skills can make the difference.  Learn about quick, practical methods for staying sharp and maintaining a tactical advantage in high-stakes situations. Methods like WIN, Self-talk, And Grounding. Coach yourself and your team through the chaos.  Click the link below and Watch Warrior Mindset: Gaining a Tactical Advantage from Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, on YouTube.  Learn the mental skills that give you the edge when it counts most. -- The Check Your Six Pack Podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc⁠⁠., ⁠⁠Uniformed Services University⁠⁠, and the ⁠⁠Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress.