All In. Always. by Nada Bystander

Thinking about joining the military? What actually happens between meeting a recruiter and shipping off to boot camp? In Episode 2 of Find Your Bearing , a series from All In. Always. , we're walking through the military enlistment process from start to finish. After 24 years in the U.S. Navy, I know how confusing the process can seem when you're just getting started. Between the ASVAB, MEPS, choo...

Thinking about joining the military? Before you choose a branch, pick a job, or sign a contract, there are some questions worth asking yourself first. In the first episode of Find Your Bearing , a new series from All In. Always. , I draw on 24 years of Navy service to help prospective service members think through one of the biggest decisions they may ever make. This isn't a recruiting pitch—and i...

There was a time when calling an ambulance didn't mean medical care was coming to you. It meant transportation was coming to take you to medical care. In this episode of All In. Always. , we trace the evolution of EMS from early casualty evacuation and ambulance transportation to the modern EMTs and paramedics who bring emergency medicine directly to the patient. We follow the lessons learned on t...

Before patrol cars, radios, 911, body cameras, and modern police departments, keeping the peace looked very different in America. In this episode of All In. Always. , we trace the evolution of American law enforcement—from colonial constables and night watches to the rise of municipal police departments, the political and reform eras, professionalization, radio-equipped patrol cars, specialized un...

What happens when the uniform that defined your life finally comes off? In this episode of All In. Always. , I talk about something every service member and first responder will eventually face: life after the job . After 24 years in the Navy, I learned that leaving the uniform behind isn't just about retirement or changing careers. It's about identity, purpose, camaraderie, and figuring out who y...

Before fire engines, SCBA, thermal cameras, and 911, fighting a fire meant buckets, hand pumps, and communities racing against the flames. So how did we get from bucket brigades to the modern firefighters who run toward emergencies today? In this episode of All In. Always. , we trace the evolution of firefighting—from the earliest organized fire companies and horse-drawn engines to the disasters t...

What’s it really like to be the voice on the other end of a 911 call? In this episode of All In. Always. , I sit down with a former 911 dispatcher to talk about life behind the headset—from the technology and training to handling frantic callers, long shifts, difficult calls, and what happens when the headset finally comes off. This is the side of 911 most of us never get to see.

From rotary phones and switchboards to GPS, CAD systems, and modern emergency communications centers, 911 has transformed dramatically over the last several decades. But behind every advancement in technology has always been a person answering the call. In this episode of All In. Always. , we look at the history of America’s 911 system—what emergency communication looked like before there was a un...

Some of the most important missions of my Navy career are the ones I still can’t fully talk about. In this episode of All In. Always. , I continue my 24-year Navy story with my assignment to Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay , where I joined VPU-2 — Special Projects . It was a completely different operational world: specialized P-3 aircraft, emerging technology, 23-person crews, and missions...

Episode 5 — Transforming Civilians Into Sailors | My Time as a Navy RDC What does it really take to transform a civilian into a United States Sailor? In Episode 5 of All In. Always. , I continue my Navy journey with one of the most demanding—and rewarding—assignments of my 24-year career: serving as a Chief Petty Officer and Recruit Division Commander at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Illin...

2005–2011. Six years. Countless missions. One path. Some chapters of a military career are defined by a single deployment. Others are defined by everything that happens in between. In this episode of All In. Always. , I fast-forward through one of the busiest periods of my 24-year Navy career—a six-year stretch that took me across three continents, through multiple deployments, into the classroom...

What was it really like to deploy in the early days of the Global War on Terror? In Episode 3 of All In. Always. , I take you back to one of the most defining deployments of my 24-year Navy career—a six-month mission that took me across 13 countries , from the frozen flight line of Keflavik, Iceland , to the deserts of Iraq , the Mediterranean , the Strait of Gibraltar , and eventually the Caribbe...

Most of us never truly understand the raw sacrifice, the relentless chaos, and the profound transformation that happens when duty calls on the darkest, most uncertain days. This is my story — I thought I was heading out on a routine deployment as a Navy flight crewman, only to find myself in the eye of history’s fiercest storm. What I witnessed, what I endured, and how it changed me forever will h...

In the first episode of All In. Always. , Chris Garcia shares the story of how a plan for college money became a lifelong commitment to service. Beginning with Navy boot camp in November 1997, Chris reflects on becoming a Flight Engineer aboard the P-3 Orion, building a family, experiencing the military before and after 9/11, and the moment he realized service was no longer temporary—it had become...

Most people only see the badge—what’s on the surface, the heroics, the headlines. But behind every call, there’s a story they never tell: the weight, the sacrifice, the unseen scars. This episode shatters the misconception, peeling back the layers of what it truly means to serve as a first responder or military veteran. After spending 24 years in the Navy, I have witnessed the pride and the darkne...