Tango Alpha Lima Podcast

Within two weeks of deploying to Iraq in 2007, Dr. Josh McConkey’s life changed. Eight helicopters were shot down and a fellow flight surgeon was killed. This week, the combat flight surgeon, Air Force Reserve colonel and emergency physician joins Tango Alpha Lima to talk about adapting under fire, the difficult transition to the civilian ER, and why he wrote the leadership book “Be the Weight Beh...

Air Force veteran Dan Roby spent decades leading airmen and retired as a Chief Master Sergeant. It took him 12 schools and 27 years to finish his bachelor’s degree. Today, as Vice President of Military Affairs at American Military University, he’s making sure service members don’t face the same obstacles. Roby talks about growing up in New York, his first visits to an American Legion post and the...

Adrienne Borghoff left a small town in southern Illinois to see the world, following her family into the Air Force as a broadcast journalist. Fourteen years later, she had served in Korea, Iceland and Italy and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a combat photographer, becoming the only member of her family to serve in a war zone. Now an actor, storyteller and creator in New York City, Borghoff is...

On Sept. 11, 2001, Air Force 1st Lt. Heather "Lucky" Penney launched from Andrews Air Force Base in an unarmed F-16 with orders to stop United Flight 93 by ramming it, if that's what it took. Twenty-five years later, on the eve of the 25th 9/11 anniversary, the retired Air Force major joins Tango Alpha Lima to tell the full story: the plan she and her flight lead worked out in a brie...

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Waldo Waldman — aka “The Wingman” — flew 65 combat missions over Iraq and Serbia as an F-16 pilot before becoming a Hall of Fame leadership speaker and best-selling author of “Never Fly Solo.” In this episode, Waldman joins host Joe Worley (flying solo himself this week) to talk about overcoming a fear of heights, surviving a near-death scuba diving accident, and buildin...

Heather French Henry was crowned Miss America in 2000 but her commitment to veterans took root decades earlier, shaped by her father's struggles after the Vietnam War and her uncle's experience with homelessness. In this episode, Henry talks about growing up in small-town Kentucky, using her national platform to bring veteran issues into Congress and the White House, and building a career advocati...

Retired Gen. Matt Smith spent more than 30 years in the Army and National Guard, commanding at every level from company to brigade and serving in strategic roles at the Pentagon. Now, as executive director of Veteran Initiatives at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, he's on a mission to help transitioning servicemembers translate their military leadership into civilian career suc...

What if the best therapy for a veteran wasn’t in a clinic but in the ground? Stephen Humphreys is a former Air Force officer, PhD archaeologist, and co-founder of American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR) — the only organization in the United States using professional battlefield archaeology to build long-term careers for veterans. AVAR crews have worked Saratoga, Fort Ticonderoga, the Batt...

Jon Macaskill spent 24 years as a Navy SEAL Commander, leading special operations from 16-man teams to formations of 2,500. He was in the Joint Operations Center the night Operation Red Wings claimed 19 American lives in Afghanistan — men he called his own. What followed was a decade of self-medication and darkness. Then a Navy psychologist suggested mindfulness and meditation. Macaskill laughed a...

The Take Care of America's Veterans Act (TCAVA) may be the most consequential piece of veterans legislation in years. But what does it actually do, and how will it affect you? In this special episode of Tango Alpha Lima, host Stacy Pearsall — a combat-wounded, medically retired Air Force veteran whose own benefits could be affected by this bill — sits down with American Legion Legislative Dire...

Army veteran Cory Brown watched 17 people from his cavalry troop die by suicide after returning from Iraq. The loss of his closest battle buddy became a turning point. His response was "Eat Your Feelings," a YouTube cooking and storytelling show that uses food to lower the walls around grief, identity, and veteran mental health — without ever calling it therapy. Cory joins co-host Sam Nathews, a  ...

To celebrate Father’s Day, retired Army Colonel Mike “Sully” Sullivan and his daughter, Olympic bronze medalist and Army Captain Sammy Sullivan, talk about five generations of military service, accidental trailblazing, a Green Beret’s surprisingly tender parenting philosophy, developing grit and more. Sully, the executive director of Team Red, White & Blue, also discusses the organization’s mi...

What does it take to reach tens of millions of people a month while still on active duty? For Army Sgt. First Class Johnny Vargas — better known as Viva La Vargas — it started with a car fire, a recruiting station and a promise to himself to show up every single day. In this episode, Johnny chats about his journey from aspiring recording artist in Los Angeles to one of the military community's mos...

On Aug. 26, 2021, Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, age 20, was among 13 servicemembers killed at the Abbey Gate in Kabul during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He had wanted to be a Marine since he was 8. In the weeks after Jared's death, condolence checks from strangers filled more than a foot of mail. His father, Mark, couldn't bring himself to spend a single dollar of it. So h...

In 2003, Marine infantryman Ryan Roberts helped recover the remains of 18 comrades killed in the battle of Nasiriyah, many by friendly fire. The next day, his fire team stopped a vehicle at a checkpoint. When he opened the back door, he found two children aged four and six. He had joined the military to protect the innocent. In doing the right thing, he violated that core value. And no one — not i...

Shannon Book grew up in the Kentucky hills, joined the Navy in the mid-1990s and spent 17 years as a Fleet Marine Force corpsman, including two tours in Iraq. He survived Fallujah running on coffee grounds and sheer grit. What nearly broke him came after.  When he was medically retired in 2010, the brothers he counted on had moved on, his marriage dissolved, and a years-long battle with alcohol an...

Before she was War Hamster — the Air Force veteran and military influencer known for irreverent humor, insider satire and candid commentary on service life — she was picking up loose change to buy gas for her car. Two years of military rejections. Craigslist living. Multiple jobs. Finally the Air Force finally said yes. War Hamster shares her honest, funny and deeply relatable life story and what...

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith shares the compelling story of her 35-year military career, including 25 years serving under Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) while hiding her identity. As one of the first openly gay generals in U.S. military history, Smith discusses the psychological toll of living authentically in secret, the 2011 repeal of DADT, military-to-civilian transition, and moral i...

Three-time national wrestling champion and Army Special Operations veteran Sally Roberts shares her powerful journey from delinquent youth to elite athlete and military leader. Roberts, founder of Wrestle Like a Girl, discusses how wrestling saved her life, built her winning mindset, and prepared her for success in Special Operations and deployment to Afghanistan. Learn about overcoming adversity,...

Navy veteran Lonnie Bedwell lost his sight in a hunting accident in 1997. He was 30 years old, blind, and raising three daughters alone. What he did next is the kind of story that makes you rethink every excuse you've ever made. In episode 303 of Tango Alpha Lima, Bedwell shares his extraordinary journey — from talking his way onto a construction crew as a blind man, to kayaking 226 miles through...

Retired Air Force physician Dr. Mary Ann Kiel reveals how lifestyle medicine transformed her health and revolutionized her approach to treating servicemembers and military families. As a board-certified pediatrician and lifestyle medicine physician, Dr. Kiel explains the six pillars of wellness: whole food plant-based nutrition, regular exercise, quality sleep, stress management, social connection...

Sleep isn't a luxury — it's a mission-critical function. And for veterans, the stakes are even higher. Dr. Sara Alger, Sleep Research Scientist with the Psychological Health Branch at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, unpacks what chronic sleep deprivation is actually doing to your brain and body — and what you can do about it. Alger explains why the military culture of "I&#...

Navy veteran Kelley Gilberry shares his inspiring transformation story from obesity and heart disease to optimal health. Before age 40, Gilberry battled cardiovascular disease, high blood sugar and a 70-pound weight problem fueled by fast food. Discover how he reversed heart disease naturally through plant-based eating and lifestyle changes, and became a certified health coach and nutritionist. Le...

From childhood trauma to military service, from a career-ending brain injury as a paramedic to Paralympic glory — Shawn Cheshire's story is one of extraordinary resilience. In this powerful episode, the former US Army helicopter mechanic and 13-time US para-cycling national champion shares how she rebuilt her life after losing her sight at age 36. The Army veteran opens up about her journey fr...

Discover proven strategies for improving heart health and living longer with interventional cardiologist Dr. Columbus Batiste. In this encore episode of The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast, Dr. Batiste shares expert guidance on cardiovascular diseaseprevention, plant-based nutrition, and cardiac rehabilitation specifically for veterans and military families. Learn about Healthy Heart Nati...