Beyond The Frontline

Back from a much-needed break, Donna and Jay are ready to roll. Join us as we talk about what has been going on in our lives while on break and all the new exciting topics and guests for the new season.  Jay and Donna also talk about the trials and errors of stepping into entrepreneurship and making sure to find that balance between your business and time for yourself.  Thank you, listeners, for s...

When a Veteran starts a non-profit for other Veterans there is always a big reason. Meet Justin "BoFlex" Bohanan. Army Airborne turned recruiter and now Veteran, trainer, and Founder/Executive Director of Make a Vet Sweat. Justin sits down with Donna and Jay to talk about the journey from high adrenaline military career to a downward spiral into extreme activities, drugs, alcohol, and contemplatin...

Donna and Jay do a wrap-up discussion on the Veteran Treatment Court series. They discuss what they learned during the series and why connection and trust are an important part of a successful transition.  Find out who lost a toe, who is getting a suite at a baseball game, what word Donna hates, what energizes Jay, and what is happening at the close of this series. Tune into our CHW Streaming Radi...

In this episode Donna and Jay talk to Carla about her service, MST, being incarcerated and finding purpose in her life. Due to her life experiences and personal knowledge of the judicial system, Carla brings an entirely different level of credibility to the conversation. Her mission to help others who are struggling both inside the prison walls and out is transparent and genuine. Carla talks about...

What good is a program unless it is effective? After interviewing the team members of the Veteran Treatment Court, it only seems appropriate to interview someone that has been through the program. Jay and Donna were honored to have a chat with US Army Veteran, George Wolf. After slipping into the service at age 16, he thoroughly enjoyed his job as a 13E (part of a field artillery unit). He left th...

Most everyone is familiar with a probation officer. Hopefully, most people know them on a personal or peer level versus a “professional” level. However, if you are going to need a probation officer, you would be lucky to have someone like Yenaiv.  Donna and Jay chat with Yenaiv Lopez regarding her role at the Veteran Treatment Court’s probation officer, the challenges she faces as a younger probat...

Normally when you think of a courtroom, a judge and lawyer are what comes to mind, but it takes an entire team to keep everything running smoothly. The Veteran Treatment Court is a special program for Veterans with misdemeanor offenses.  As Jay and Donna continue on their Veteran Treatment Court series, they talk with Laura Balo, Court Coordinator for Comal County’s Veteran Treatment Court. Laura...

As Donna and Jay continue their series on Veteran Treatment Court, they look at the resources within the Veteran Treatment Court. One of the important aspects of helping our Veterans to move forward is to have a strong peer mentoring program.  Mike Fogerty is the Peer Service Coordinator for the Military Veteran Peer Network (MVPN). He works to recruit, educate and match mentors with Veterans in t...

As Veterans, we are all aware of the difficulties transition poses. Sometimes, Veterans are coming out with unhealed trauma so severe it is leading them to make decisions that result in legal issues. Fortunately, the civilian legal system saw that these Veterans were struggling from military trauma and decided to offer them a second chance. In 2013, the Veteran Treatment Court was established. Sin...

We never know how resilient we are until we meet challenges in our life. Donna and Jay catch up and discuss the various ways people show resilience. They reflect on the previous episodes and talk about the amazing people they had the honor to sit down and talk with.  Listen all the way through as Donna talks about growing up with a very unusual pet and Jay’s reason on why men are so dramatic when...

"Your life does not have to be defined by the things you go through, but really what defines you is what you grow through."~ Tami Resiliency is not developed during calm times. Resiliency occurs when you are in the midst of the storm and have no other option but to get through it. It is only when you reflect, you see how much you have grown. Tami Imlay has definitely grown through many things. The...

On 27 Nov 2006, Ginger Gilbert Ravella had the run pulled out from under her and her world came crashing down. Her husband, Major Troy Gilbert, was an F16 pilot from the 309th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB, Arizona. He was deployed to Balad and during a close air-support mission to a special operations forces about 40 miles north his plane crashed. Insurgents took the body as a war trophy and it would be...

Ever since Patrick Kelly can remember, he has always had the mindset to do better. He attributes a lot of this mindset to being brought up in a life of scarcity, and a grandfather that planted a seed of resiliency.  It was his words that carried him through numerous difficult situations with grace and honor. Those words that still carry him through every trying situation he encounters. In 2017, he...

Oh how life can change direction in an instant.  In today's episode Donna and Jay are joined by Jeff Caroon, a veteran with 32 years as a dual status member with the Air National Guard. Jeff maintained his love for service and being a maintenance specialist and flight engineer, however, an unfortunate chain of events led Jeff on a 5+ year journey of medical twists and turns.  Tune in as Jeff talks...

Who is your favorite superhero? Superman? Spiderman? Batman? After you listen to this podcast, it will probably be Matt Cable.  After battling Leukemia, which included systemic organ failure, relapse, a battle with a brain fungus, and enough rounds of chemo to kill off a small horse, there is not much that gets Matt down. Especially, when he beat the odds that told him he should not even exist tod...

We’ve all heard the saying “Life is about choices.” Although it is tempting to point a finger to negative experiences, bad people, or peer pressure, it is still up to us to pick the path to move forward on their journey. James Eastland is a Marine, Veteran, ultramarathoner, and entrepreneur. However, he really should be a statistic. His biological father was sent to jail when he was 11 and release...

Donna and Jay come back together for a little one on one catch up. They reflect on the last 10 months, how Beyond the Frontline was born, and wrapping up the Entrepreneurship series. They review the guests they brought on, discuss the various aspects of entrepreneurship - franchises, start-ups, non-profits, and tips for success. They discuss their own journey and the lessons they have learned alon...

In 2003, American Airline attendant, Janis Roznowski, started flying Soldiers and Marines in and out of Kuwait City. During this time she was deeply impacted watching them come home injured and ill. Feeling the need to give back, Janie started visiting wounded service members at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and later Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio. In 2004, she started t...

What could be better than fun in the sun?! Having fun in the sun while supporting Veterans, is what! In 2005, two friends, Wes Garnett and Seth Warnick, watched the first troops come home from Afghanistan and Iraq, and were motivated to help. What started as taking a few wounded service members out on a boat, has turned into Operation Float a Soldier, an all volunteer 501(c)3 dedicated to giving r...

There is a saying, entrepreneurs would give up a 40 hour job to work 80 hours for themselves. Starting up a new business can easily take many more hours than a cushy 9-5 job. But entrepreneurs would happily put in the extra hours to be in full control of their lives. What about the entrepreneur that owns multiple businesses? How do they keep up? In this episode, Donna and Jay talk to Mike Johnson...

Do you have an entrepreneurial itch? Do you see a gap in the market that you feel you can fill? Are you just tired of having a boss or grinding out the 9-5? Are you staying at home to raise your children and thinking about ways to bring in a little extra income? Starting a business from the ground up is no easy feat. We often hear people throw out the statistic that the average business start-up l...

Did you know the DoD has a program that allows any service member, with commander’s approval, to do an internship if they are within 6 months of separation? The Skillbridge Program was developed in 2009 to help connect service members with industry to get real world civilian experience and skills. Theron Van Meter is a 21 yr retired Air Force Red Horse civil engineer. After 6 duty assignments and...

Did you know the DoD has a program that allows any service member, with commander’s approval, to do an internship if they are within 6 months of separation? The Skillbridge Program was developed in 2009 to help connect service members with industry to get real world civilian experience and skills. Jose Ontiveros had no idea he was going to be an integral part in the development of the Skillbridge...

Have you been considering getting into the franchise business, but not sure if it is for you? Do you ever wonder how to go about owning a franchise business? Is it affordable? How long does it take to start making money? Last episode we talked with franchise recruiter, Gary Chernow, on how the franchise business in general works; and how his role as a recruiter is instrumental in ensuring an optim...

As Donna and Jay continue their entrepreneur series, they explore the world of franchises. In 2021 there were over 750,000 franchises in the US and it is expected to grow to close to 800,000 by the end of 2022! That equates to almost $800 billion in revenue and giving 8 million people jobs. When we think of franchises, we may immediately think of the food industry - McDonalds, Chik-a-fila, Taco Be...