Return to Base | A VeteranLife Podcast

Welcome back to another episode of Return to Base! Today’s special guest is Josh Duntz, a former Navy EOD tech and current Sales Manager at Shift.org. If you don’t know, Shift.org is a company that helps veterans get introduced to the tech world and the opportunities within. Tech companies need veterans as much as they need engineers, they just don’t know it yet. Shift.org helps companies understand the value that vets bring to work everyday and helps vets tell their story in a way that the private sector understands. Josh and I talk about his career in the Navy and what led him to transition after 10 years. We also dive into how a pandemic can really put the breaks on a newly transitioned veteran’s career goals. If you would like to connect with Josh, his LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaduntz/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaduntz/] . You can also find out more about Shift by visiting http://shift.org [http://shift.org] . Enjoy the Podcast. This episode was made possible in part by the good AMERICANS at Black Rifle Coffee Company.

After a short break, we’re back with another episode of Return to Base! This time, we’re talking to former Army Cav Officer and novelist Brett Allen. After graduating college and being commissioned through ROTC, Brett went on to serve in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY. Luckily, having grown up in Michigan he was used to the ridiculously cold winters and snow. Then the army saw fit to send him to another ridiculously cold location half-way around the world - the mountains of Southern Afghanistan. There’s something about the military; soldiers are plucked from their lives and inserted into a delegation of characters from every corner of the country and world. What better to do than take note and turn them into characters in your satirical novel? That’s exactly what Brett did in his novel Kilroy Was Here, a semi-autobiographical take on his time in Afghanistan. We talk about how 9/11 played a part in his decision to serve, how being plucked from the Army’s best job, Platoon Leader, is like being “sodomized,” and how if you shove 20-something peeps into your mouth you will be laughed at, and may me yelled at. You can pick up a copy of Kilroy Was Here at Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Kilroy-Was-Here-Brett-Allen/dp/1970155132/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Kilroy+Was+Here&qid=1653403583&sr=8-1] and wherever you buy your books. This episode was made possible in part by the good AMERICANS at Black Rifle Coffee Company.

On this installment of Return to Base, I welcome Dave Duffy. Dave is a retired Special Forces officer who now, in addition to doing business development in the defense contractor industry, is the proud owner/operator of two Tropical Smoothie franchises in Columbia, SC. Dave and I dig into his service, to include his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he played football before moving onto rugby. We discuss how his career in Special Forces helped him build a network that continues to do right by him even 14 years after leaving the service. It really is “who you know;” his network and experience helped him land several jobs contracting for the U.S. Military. Eventually, Dave and his wife found an investment opportunity with a business they frequently patronized - the Tropical Smoothie. Dave walks us through what being a franchise owner is like, the day to day, the annoying, and the rewards. As a fellow veteran, I’ve received way too many calls asking me if I was interested in becoming a franchise owner. Why? Well, as it turns out, veterans are great business owners and franchise partners. Franchises understand that and see veteran ownership as a risk mitigation strategy. So sit back. Relax. Blend some fruit. And welcome Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Dave Duffy. If you are interested in connecting with Dave to ask him about defense contracting or franchise ownership, his LinkedIn is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-duffy/ This episode was made possible in part by the good AMERICANS at Black Rifle Coffee Company.

On this episode of Return to Base, we talk to the CEO of the Purpose Built Families Foundation, Seth Eisenberg. Seth and company have been offering reparative services through the Operation Sacred Trust (OST) Supportive Services for Veteran Families program serving homeless and low-income Veterans in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS) classes offered nationwide under the "PAIRS Essentials" and "Warrior to Soul Mate" brands helping couples overcome marital instability. Purpose Built Families Foundation is a nationally accredited nonprofit that evolved from PAIRS Foundation, tackling underlying causes of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, addiction and suicide. We talk about three relationship skills veterans can use to heal and grow; plus we talk about how Will Smith's reaction to Chris Rock's jokes was an example of "leakage" You can find out more at https://www.purposebuiltfamilies.com/ and https://www.411veterans.com/. On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThePAIRSFoundation and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/pairsusa.

On this episode of Return to Base, we meet up with Cliff Walker, a Veteran of the United States Navy and Air Force and a retired firefighter. Cliff is also the founder and CEO of the USS Battle Series [http://www.ussbattleseries.com], which is a functional fitness competition that brings a new level of awareness in terms of health, fitness, and mental wellbeing for our United States Armed Forces, First Responders, and those in our local communities who support our brave men and women. The cool twist? They do these events on the decks of some of our nation’s most iconic navy warships! How awesome is that? Be sure to keep up with USS Battle Series on their socials on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/uss_battle_series/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/USSBattleSeries/], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkin7VRAs7PObR5whjnOL5A]! This episode was made possible in part by the good AMERICANS at Black Rifle Coffee Company.