Mission Oriented

LIVE: Jerry & Tracy Flanagan, Founders, JDog Brands, New Reality Show "Operation Hidden Treasures" Jerry and Tracy Flanagan join Bob Louthan LIVE to chat about the debut of Operation Hidden Treasures . Jerry and Tracy are the founders of JDog Brands, the largest veteran franchise in the nation. Learn the beginnings of the reality show and the details of where to watch. Imagine American Pickers mee...

Charlie Moyer - Coast Guard Veteran, Founder & CEO of Badass Beard Care Charlie Moyer went into the Coast Guard straight out of high school. It was an experience that ultimately helped him become an entrepreneur. He learned discipline and how to adapt to whatever job was put before him. This set the groundwork for, Badass Beard Care, founded in 2014 after being medically discharged from the Coast...

Matt "Griff" Griffin was a 2001 West Point graduate. Like many, his life quickly transformed after September 11th of that year. Little did he know it was that day that would give him the opportunity to later co-found Combat Flip Flops. Griff became an Army Ranger and spent four deployments in the Middle East. His time in Afghanistan really shaped his world-view. Eventually he wanted to take his le...

Gretchen Pace - Former Army Intelligence Officer & Founder of Goose & Willow Gretchen Pace graduated from the University of Virginia and knew she wanted to serve. She joined the Army as an intelligence officer. She shares "The military changed the trajectory of my life. It was the most incredible thing I've ever done. I'm so glad that it just occurred to me that I needed to serve and, and pursue t...

Jason Williscroft - Navy Veteran, Founder of Tribify & RingKnocker Jason Williscroft enlisted in the Marine Corps, but eventually attended the Naval Academy and served in the Navy for five years. His love of engineering developed over that time and set the trajectory for his career. Jason successfully began developing software for data management for global financial institutions. He used these sk...

Eli Crane - Navy Seal Veteran, Bottle Breacher CEO & Congressional Candidate Eli has five war time deployments, three of them to the Middle East with SEAL Team 3 and served our country for 13 years. Many of the lessons he learned in the service set him up for success in the entrepreneurial world. It all started when he decided to make a bottle opener out of a 50-caliber shell. As it gained popular...

Jay Collins - Army Special Forces Combat Veteran & Congressional Candidate Jay Collins would say he's an average guy that wants to make a difference. He has made that difference, spending more than 20 years of his life serving this nation. He is a highly decorated, purple heart recipient, Army Special Forces combat veteran. Even following the amputation of his leg, he continued to serve on active...

Brian Castner - Former EOD Officer, Author and War Crimes Investigator Brian Castner wanted to be an astronaut in the Air Force but landed himself in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community. He said he would't trade it for the world. His experience during his multiple deployments shaped him as the writer he is today. He has written two military books, one about his own combat experience in...

Pete Fretwell & Taylor Kiland - Co-Authors of "Lessons from the Hanoi Hotel" Pete was doing a some work for his graduate class when he read Good to Great a business management book by James Collins. The book referenced Admiral James Stockdale and his imprisonment as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton. It wasn't until 2005 that Pete saw a discussion panel on C-SPAN that included several POW's and Taylor, a...

Kim Mitchell - Navy Veteran & Nationally Recognized Veteran Advocate Kim would tell you it was her past that has defined her purpose in life. Rescued as a baby from an orphanage in Vietnam by a US Air Force Sergeant, she grew up in Wisconsin. This upbringing shaped Kim's approach to life. She attended the Naval Academy and served 17 years as a Surface Warfare Officer. But her service didn't stop t...

Valerie Lavin - Retired Army First Sergeant & CEO of Luminary Global An epiphany while watching Private Benjamin originally led Valerie to enlist in the Army.   Little did she know it would turn into a 21 year career. Retiring as a first sergeant, the Army taught her many life lessons and helped her become the entrepreneur she is today. Upon leaving the Army the transition was hard, it was through...

Don Bentley - From Apache Helicopter Pilot to NY Times Best Selling Author Don Bentley has loved writing since he was a little kid. He started working on his first book in 3rd grade. In high school, his English teacher told him he had talent, but he wasn't quite ready to pursue writing full-time. Instead he landed himself at Ohio State working on an Electrical Engineering degree. Winning an Army R...

John Payne - Retired Army, Vietnam Veteran & Mystery Author John Payne was originally set to go to medical school, but decided to commission into the Army Medical Corps. His 20 year career took him all over the world, including serving in Vietnam. He has done many things, including teaching as an adjunct professor in business at several universities, working in the field of health care administrat...

George Wallace - Retired Navy Commander & National Best-Selling Author George Wallace served 22 years in the Navy as an officer on nuclear submarines. It was his time in the service that led him to become a National best-selling author, taking his knowledge and experience to craft submarine stories. During his time in the Navy he commanded the Los Angeles class attack submarine, the USS Houston, w...

Chris Anthony - Army Veteran, Founder & CEO TeamWorx Security Chris Anthony grew up in Texas. He started out as a successful business executive but knew he wanted something different. At the age of 23 he decided to enlist in the Army and attend Ranger School. After 12 years as a communicator and later an analyst in the Army he was medically retired. He started working for the Department of Defense...

Jeff Schloesser -Retired Army Major General, Author of "Marathon War" Jeff Schloesser is a retired Army Major General. Born into an Army family he didn't know if enlisting in the Army would become a career, but it did after serving thirty-four years.   His career has taken him across the globe with his wife and two children. He commanded the 101st Airborne Division for thirty-three months. It was...

Sherman Williams & Emily McMahan - Academy Investor Network, Helping Service Academy Graduates Invest in Venture-backed Startups Sherman Williams is a Naval Academy graduate. After serving as a Naval Intelligence Officer, he headed to Chicago's Booth School to study finance and landed himself in investment banking. While in banking he started investing and advising startups. This was a perfect seg...

Jose Suarez - Navy Veteran, CEO of JS Consulting, Provides Insight on Electric Cars Jose Suarez graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a civil engineering degree. Upon graduation he commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. He served seven years before starting his civilian career that varied from engineering and construction to the mining industry.  JS Consulting It was his e...

Travis Wilson - Retired Green Beret, Founder & CEO of Alpha Elite Performance Travis Wilson served in the Army for 21 years. He spent time as a Green Beret and in the Special Forces. He has always had an interest in health and fitness, but a parachuting accident pushed him to take that a step further.   As he healed from his injury Travis created a muscle performance product that started his entre...

Sharee Ashford - Army Reserve Veteran, Mosquito Squad Franchisee in East Atlanta Sharee Ashford was born with an entrepreneurial spirit. Even in her youth, she was always looking for ways to earn extra money, from selling on E-bay to being the candy girl at school. So it's not surprising that after serving in the Army Reserves she is now an owner of a Mosquito Squad franchise in East Atlanta. Her...

Tim Doelger- Navy Veteran, Founder and CEO of TruFishing Tim Doelger is a Navy Veteran, serving for over 7 years as a submariner. He would tell you he's no stranger to entrepreneurship. At a young age he had paper route and was always looking for creative ideas to earn extra money.   His love for technology and fishing coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit eventually led to the founding of TruFi...

Julie Cane & Rick Rikoski -  Promoting Democracy Through Impact Investing Rick Rikoski and Julie Cane are partners of Democracy Investments. Julie began her career as a U.S. Naval Aviator flying the SH-3 Sea King helicopter. She has over 20 years of experience in financial services. As a Captain in the California State Guard, Julie continues to serve. She does this in addition to being the CEO of...

Sean Matson is a former Navy SEAL. He spent almost 10 years serving before becoming an entrepreneur. His time in the military has helped him build his team, create a positive work culture and given him the foundation to keep pushing when challenges arise. He is currently the CEO of Matbock and the Co-Founder of Cardomax. As he continues on this entrepreneurial path, he wants to build an empire of...

Wayne Phelps - Retired USMC LtCol & Author of "On Killing Remotely" Wayne Phelps is a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel. He spent his time in the service with a variety of deployments and assignments, but it was his last one that laid the groundwork for becoming an author. His last assignment was as the Commanding Officer of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron Three (VMU-3) in Kaneohe Ba...

John Schwartz - Retired FBI Agent, Army Veteran on a Mission to Combat Elder Financial Abuse John graduated from West Point in 1986 and served in the Army until 1995. He continued his service to his country of over three decades as a a Special Agent in the FBI. Upon retiring he had a desire to start combating elder financial abuse. It was a collaboration with his wife's uncle Jim's Gallagher in 20...