Stand at Ease

It’s estimated that there are 67,000 service members and veterans in the United States who are living with spinal injuries. In the United States, the number is upwards of 1.2 million people, and worldwide the number is just staggering. What was once seen as a life-changing event is now, with the proper medical care, more of a lifestyle change. Jim “Jimmy” McCormack, a walking quadriplegic and director of Operation Regeneration, joins us today to discuss some of the changes that have occurred in just the past decade.

Within each of us there lies a talent, a creative spark, that when unleashed can make a difference. Marine Lt. Col. Mike Corrado has just such a spark, and over the past 20 years, he’s unleashed a musical can of whoop ass on all sorts of topics ranging from the responsibility and honor of standing the watch to protect our great nation to recovering from the physical, spiritual, and psychological wounds warriors suffer.

Hollywood (and all of the other movie centers in the world) has a nut for military stories. From movies such as All Quiet on the Western Front and Hell’s Angels to the new crop like The Green Zone and The Hurt Locker, we often see interpretations of what the men and women in the military go through when they are down-range. There are also movies like First Blood and Coming Home that show what may occur when these individuals return. But, how do these interpretations hold up to reality?

“Out of my 21 years in the Marines, I only “worked” for one year. The rest of the time, I followed my passion.” Gunnery Sergeant (ret.) Charles Wolff, “Gunny Wolf” to his fans, of SemperToons joins us in a free-wheeling conversation to discuss of the funny side of the Marinesand the Military.

Agree with it or not, but this past week saw the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. This law effectively caused an estimated 10% of our troops to live a double life, one where they need to hide a major aspect of what identifies them as a man or woman – they’re sexuality. Since before the law was enacted, Denny Meyer was fighting for equal rights for all service members. Denny is the national spokesman for American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) and joins us in this podcast.

Where were you on 9/11? Jim was at a BMW dealership, Gar was in Morocco, David was on his way to work, and our guest Richard Rozzi, a Vietnam era Navy vet, was in divorce court. We all have our memories of that morning that in its way was the impetus for Stand At Ease. In this special podcast, we look at what happened that day and where it is leading our nation and the world.

From D. Bjorn and read during the show:

Networking isn’t just one of those buzz words that gets tossed around in the business world – it’s something that benefits veterans as they leave the service. In this podcast, Afghani vet Lisa Ghylin of the Metropolitan State Veterans Network joins us to discuss how student veterans at a Minnesota college came together to help each other get the most out of their student experience as well as give support to their brothers and sisters in arms.

It’s amazing the trips our conversations take when we’re having them, and this show is one that went places we never expected – and we’re extremely happy that they did. We welcome Andrea Sandoval of the Graffiti of War project for a show that goes places we didn’t ask but aren’t afraid to tell. Andrea also has the honor of being our first female veteran – she was a Sergeant First Class in the Army after a 13 year hitch. A very powerful show if we say so ourselves.

It’s been a year – 16 shows completed and 23,000 plus visitors to the website.  Today, we take a look back at the shows we’ve done and discuss the highlights of the year.  We also chatted about some of our plans for the next year – and we have some interesting ones at that! 

The guys at Stand at Ease are also extending an invitation to our listeners to become more active in our group.  Submit topics and ideas of how we can improve and how we can more people.  Also, if you’d like to become a participant, let us know.  We want to grow!

A constant question the Stand At Ease group asks is what does “Support the Troops” mean?  Is it that faded yellow made in China magnet you paid $1.99 at Wal Mart that makes you feel good about yourself, or is it something more?  In today’s discussion, Sita Helms, found member and executive director of Helping Hands Worldwide (http://thehelpinghandworldwide.org) shows us what it means to do just that and more.  Our o