American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode16

VOLITION AMERICA – JOHN SAPIENTE
Volition is a powerful concept first introduced to John Sapiente by Air Force pilot Dan Rooney.  Rooney advocates; “It’s the most empowering force in the world. Volition is the POWER of choice. Every day we wake up we have a choice; we can be positive, we can be negative. We can choose to love, we can choose to hate. We can choose to pursue our dreams and our passions in life. But understand, our choices will culminate to write the legacy of our lives.”
As a busy manufacturing executive responsible for two companies, John Sapiente never really thought about or appreciated the sacrifices that military families make to protect our freedoms. An avid golfer, he purchased an opportunity to play with PGA legend Craig Stadler at a Folds of Honor tournament. It was there that John says Dan Rooney gave him a  “Patriotic Awakening”.
Dan proposed the concept of starting a business called Volition America that would allow people to choose America and raise funds for Folds of Honor. John leveraged his decades of business experience and the help of fellow entrepreneurs to make the concept a reality.  A minimum of thirteen percent of Volition’s revenue is returned to Folds of Honor. (There are 13 folds in the American flag.)
Volition America first partnered with Puma in 2017, then added Wilson Sports and Revo Sunglasses.  They just signed an agreement with Luminox Watches.  They are selective in their collaborators, only talking with premium product lines and like minded people. John would also like add special events that bring audiences and brands together. “We don’t want this to be just a holiday brand. We want it to be a 365 days a year brand.”
TAKEAWAY: “Every one of us benefits from what these people do. How are we ALL not rallying around this? I feel like it was my job to help get the word out.”

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode15

DECLAN JAMES WATCH COMPANY – BRIAN DOUGHERTY
Declan James Watch Company founder Brian Dougherty is applying the attitude and mental toughness he was taught as a Navy SEAL to help with his career as an entrepreneur.
Excerpts from the SEAL’s creed give credence to his belief. Examples include; “We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me – my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete.”
Brian thinks he may have been just as happy in the Army Special Forces but as a young man he began applying SEAL exercise techniques and built a particular fascination with the Navy teams.  At the age of 28 he was lacking motivation and a supervisor suggested that maybe he should join the SEALs before he regretted not doing so. He made two deployments with SEAL Team 7 as an intelligence specialist and served one tour as a BUDS instructor.
He founded the company with the idea that a fine watch is rooted in legacy and tradition. He wanted Declan James Watch to teach his sons the keys to success in entrepreneurship. The company is named after his first son. “Running a business is very much like looking to the guy the right and left of me at BUDS. Rolex started out as a small company too.”
Brian was referred to American Warrior by successful Veteran authors Andrews & Wilson. They practice a collaborative philosophy of doing whatever they can to lift up other Veteran entrepreneurs.
”When I left active duty it was the second time I fell in love with America. The Veteran community has opened their arms to me and offered to help me in so many ways. This represents the core values of what America and the military are all about.” The SEAL Future Foundation has also been a phenomenal help to Brian.
TAKEAWAY: “I want YOUR child to call MY son up someday and ask him about the watch he received from his father.”

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode14

Old Guys and Their Airplanes Founder John Mollison started drawing at a young age. His father built model airplanes and John’s mother would encourage him to draw the scenes depicted on the boxes. He has created thousands of works of art that are on display in fourteen countries. What makes his images extra special is that he also interviews the pilots who flew the aircraft he depicts.
This “aha” moment came when John had already achieved success in his restaurant career but felt he was lacking skills in leading his teams. Triple World War II ace Bud Anderson agreed to mentor John and suggested he tape their conversations about leadership. One day Bud suggested “If you want to interview other older guys I will open up my rolodex.”
This show broadcasts from the 390th Memorial Museum in conjunction with a special ceremony presented by the Distinguished Flying Cross Society to honor Col. Richard Bushong. Col. Bushong is a B-17 pilot that was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bringing his crew and badly damaged aircraft safely home after a particularly dangerous bombing mission to Berlin. We give John the microphone to practice his craft by interviewing Col. Bushong.
John is committed to his Old Guys and Their Airplanes project because he believes that “history is nutritious”. Learning history also teaches us the virtues of faith and hope. He also believes that by introducing these heroes in a way that defines them as normal people it creates a touchstone that average civilians can understand.
John created a special drawing of Colonel Bushong’s aircraft for this event. Thirty numbered copies autographed by John and Col. Bushong are available as a fundraiser for the 390th Memorial Museum and may be purchased at their online store.
TAKEAWAY:  Both John &  I feel compelled to record as many of these stories as possible because “When an old man dies, a library burns.”

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode13

An Exclusive Independence Day Tribute Show Featuring a snap shot of Many guests over the past year w/ Ben Buehler-Garcia
Thanks to:

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode12

SACRIFICE – GOLD STAR WIDOW MICHELLE BLACK
“Sacrifice: A Gold Star Widow’s Fight for the Truth” by Michelle Black is a powerful read.  News that her Green Beret husband had been killed in action was just the beginning of a nightmare for Michelle and her family. Sacrifice is not a “grief” but rather emphasizes why it is important for our military families to be told the complete truth.
Staff Sergeant Bryan Black was a Green Beret medical specialist killed October 4th, 2017 in Niger.  Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright and Sergeant La David Johnson also lost their lives. Michelle recounts that Bryan was truly a Renaissance man and quite brilliant. He became a national chess champion at a young age, spoke four languages (two of them self- taught) and even built a stock trading algorithm.
Michelle and the families of the other soldiers killed on that day received briefings from Army officials that began with few details and evolved into a series of “squishy” narratives.  Michelle herself had very little exposure to the military but with the help of her retired Marine father-in-law she began to identify several inconsistencies in the story they were being told. The ultimate insult came when Bryan and his team were accused of “going rogue” and Bryan’s team “was not indicative of what special operators do.”
As part of her quest for the truth, Michelle interviewed all the survivors of the action and Sacrifice includes a VERY detailed account of transpired that day.  Readers will rapidly become aware the death of Bryan and his colleagues had been avoidable and the mistakes made went beyond the typical fog of war.
Michelle also shares how her perspective about Memorial Day has shifted since Bryan was killed.
TAKEAWAY: Michelle emphasizes that her experience was a campaign against injustice and has not turned her against the military. She would still support her sons if they chose to join. 

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode 11

Darden Smith has been called one of the most respected American musicians working today. As a songwriter, he has spent most of his life thinking “There’s a song here somewhere.” His motto is “Write Songs. Tell Stories. Move People.”
As a typical civilian, Darden Smith had a lot of misperceptions about what it meant to serve in the military. That was before he was booked to perform at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for a group of service members just returned from Iraq. He says the concert didn’t go very well but it changed his life. It was there he met a guitar playing Marine who shared some wisdom; “We ALL wear uniforms. YOU look like a musician and I could judge you based on that. But beneath every uniform is a human being.”
Darden had previously done collaborative song writing with various groups. He wondered what it would happen if he, as a civilian, sat down and collaborated with Veterans. While visiting with the Texas Air National Guard in his hometown he first heard the term Angel Flight and immediately knew THAT was a song title. When he asked a pilot why he did it, the response became the first verse of a new song. While visiting his friend Radney Foster, Darden was experiencing writers block. He and Radney sat down and finished “Angel Flight” in thirty minutes.
He was asked to do a collaborative writing workshop with some soldiers in Colorado Springs and “it blew his mind.” That experience led him to work with Mary Judd to create “Songwriting With Soldiers”.
TAKEAWAY: “Go..go..just go. Sometimes your dream isn’t how you make a living. If it makes you happy do it because life is finite, time is finite. Do your thing because the world actually needs what you have.”
Interesting factoid - one of the featured show guests, songwriter Darden Smith who is co-founder of Songwriting With Soldiers, did his first collaborative songwriting even there in Colorado Springs - which inspired him to create the organization.

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode10

SONS OF VALOR – ANDREWS & WILSON
Sons of Valor is the latest release from internationally best-selling Navy Veteran authors Jeffrey Wilson and Brian Andrews. Jeffrey served as a combat surgeon operating with SEAL teams and a Joint Special Operations Task Force. Brian served as an officer on fast attack submarines. They both join us to shed some insights into their new book. We also discuss how the military concepts of teamwork and mission before self have been transferred over to their writing and promotional models.
Sons of Valor releases to the public June 8th and raises to prominence a minor, but very popular character in some of their previous books.  The co-authors begin the process of writing each book with a “what if?” proposition. In the case of Sons of Valor, this involves a terrorist organization that gains access to technologies that eliminate the asymmetric nature of battle.
We spend a great deal of time talking about transitions following military service and both Jeffrey & Brian share their thoughts and challenges they personally faced. Both guests emphasize that Veterans should realize they are not alone. There is a whole community their fellows who have successfully made the transition and are willing to provide mentoring or other support.
Their team philosophy extends to their promotional strategies as well. They believe that Veterans can lift each other up. Some examples of this creative cross promotion include using Bottle Breacher products on their merchandise page and a Bone Frog Coffee line specifically named after their new series. They also often review books written by fellow Veteran authors like Jack Carr.
TAKEAWAY: “Regardless of what business you want to go into, if you are going to be cowed at the first roadblock that’s a shame. This is how the world works – there are a lot of gatekeepers whose job is to slam the door in your face and see what you do.”

American Warrior Radio Presented by Medicare Mentors - Episode 9

“Freedom” is the latest release from multiple New York Times bestselling author Sebastian Junger.  He has also produced several documentaries including the Academy Award nominated documentary “Restrepo”.  In my opinion, Sebastian is one of the most insightful translators of the nature of the human condition I have ever read.
Photo Credit: Peter Foley
He chose the topic because “Freedom is one of the few things that people are willing to die for. It’s a core human value.”  “Freedom” is a short but powerful read. Sebastian says that in today’s world people are busy so he wanted to communicate the core of his message as efficiently as possible.
Freedom is organized into three basic chapters. He chose the three elements that have historically allowed people to retain autonomy in the face of a greater power; Run, Fight & Think. Each chapter examines the concept of freedom through a diverse set of examples ranging from historical peoples to certain animal groups. A particularly fascinating point he makes involves the Gini Coefficient, a measure of the income gap in a country. Empires who have really dominated human history have moderate Gini Coefficients.
Sebastian is co-founder of the Vets Town Hall. The special events allow Veterans of all eras to stand before their communities and speak. Dozens of these town hall events have been held across the country.

American Warrior Radio with Ben Buehler-Garcia Presented by Medicare Mentors

American Warrior Radio salutes our Veterans and Service Members with a heartfelt and fitting tribute to those who have fought and died for our country on this special Memorial Day re-broadcast.  Sponsored by Medicare Mentors.
American Warrior Radio with Ben Buehler-Garcia is presented by Medicare Mentors.  You don't have to navigate the Medicare system alone and Medicare Mentors doesn't charge to get you the right coverage.  Learn More Here!

American Warrior Radio with Ben Buehler Garcia Presented by Medicatre Mentors

Mike Vining MAY be the only Special Operator with his own meme. This ORIGINAL member of DELTA Force shares a few stories about some of his "sportier" missions with our listeners. Listen to the podcast and please share! https://americanwarriorradio.com/.../delta-force.../
Aired 5.22.2021
American Warrior Radio with Ben Buehler-Garcia is presented by Medicare Mentors.  You don't have to navigate the Medicare system alone and Medicare Mentors doesn't charge to get you the right coverage.  Learn More Here!