Project Vanguard Podcast

When Marine Corps Osprey pilot Tim Sabean left the cockpit, he didn’t just switch careers. He stepped into one of the most ambitious energy projects in U.S. history, Bechtel’s Thacker Pass lithium mine . Lithium may not sound as glamorous as flight ops, but this project could redefine America’s energy security. It’s the largest known lithium deposit in the country, powering everything from EV batt...

“I had seven seconds to decide.” That’s how Commander Kirk Lippold described the moment a terrorist bomb tore a 40-foot hole in the USS Cole, killing 17 of his sailors and nearly sinking the ship. As the commanding officer, he didn’t flinch. He got to work. Damage control. Sailor safety. Power restoration. In the chaos, the mission was simple: save the ship. And they did. Today, Captain Lippold is...

When veterans leave the military, they don’t stop serving, they just find new battlefields. For Rob Anders , that battlefield is the American power grid. After two deployments as an Army infantry officer, Rob now develops utility-scale clean energy projects and teaches at the U.S. Army War College. He’s lived both sides of the national security equation, and in this episode, he lays out exactly wh...

Welcome to Project Vanguard, where veterans and mission-driven leaders share what it takes to build America’s energy future. I’m your host, Kevin Doffing. Today’s guest is Larry Perry, an Army veteran, HR leader, and a quiet powerhouse helping shape the clean energy workforce. After turning down the opportunity to enroll at West Point, enlisting in secret, and spending more time in the field than...

Bryan Reed discusses his transition from the Navy to the renewables sector and his strong belief in the importance of clean energy. He emphasizes that clean energy provides a significant sense of purpose and that his dedicated work in this field is driven by the hope that his sons will not have to serve to protect foreign oil, as he did. Reed, who was in the Navy until 2008 before moving into rene...

"I wanted to do something new. I believed in clean energy. So I jumped." That’s how Barrett Thomas describes his leap from Army battalion commander to renewable energy developer. After two decades in uniform, including command at Fort Cavazos, Barrett and his family made the call: they were getting out of the military and planting roots in Austin, Texas. Barrett didn’t want to chase defense contra...

Kyle served as a U.S. Navy submariner, operating nuclear reactors in the tightest, highest-pressure environments imaginable. But when he left the military, he faced the same wall many veterans hit: a résumé no one knew what to do with . Here’s why Kyle’s story matters in under 60 seconds: The nuclear sector was shrinking. He didn’t have a college degree. And his transition program didn’t exactly s...

“We’re so lucky to have safe, running water and a secure grid. I didn’t realize how much we take that for granted until I lived without it.” That’s exactly what Michelle Nicholson is working to prevent, bringing the lessons she learned running a military broadcast station in blackout-prone Baghdad to the front lines of America’s energy future. Michelle didn’t just serve overseas. She helped manage...

Some guys leave the military and struggle to find their next chapter. Brian Chen found about five. He started out as a behavioral health specialist. Then deployed to Afghanistan as a saw gunner with an airborne infantry unit. Later, he tried to break into oil and gas sales during a downturn. That didn’t work, so he moved into recruitment. Then renewables. Then data centers. It wasn’t linear. It wa...

“We didn’t have a backup plan. We just made it work.” That’s how DJ Husted describes his transition from the military to the energy world. And if you've ever worked a job where the margin for error was razor-thin, you’ll get it. DJ served in the Marine Corps, but it was in the chaos of post-service life where things got real. He entered the oil and gas sector during the downturn, bouncing between...