S.O.S. (Stories of Service) - Ordinary people who do extraordinary work

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A knock at the door is the moment many military families replay for the rest of their lives, and the person on the porch often had far less preparation than you’d expect. We sit down with retired U.S. Marine Christopher Murphy to talk about casualty notification and what it really means to serve as a casualty assistance officer when...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A warship is built for uncertainty, but COVID demanded a different kind of readiness. We’re joined by retired Captain John York, the senior medical officer aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the 2020 outbreak, to tell the story from inside the crisis: what the medical team saw, what leaders heard, and why the public narrative...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A C-section goes wrong, the truth stays buried, and a young soldier spends seven years fighting for the words that should have come on day one: we made a mistake, and we’re going to take care of you. We sit down again with Lauren Paladini, whose delivery at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg ended with a severed vessel connect...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! Orders are supposed to be clear, lawful, and tied to mission. So what happens when a policy feels wrong in your gut, looks shaky in the paperwork, and gets enforced with threats, segregation, and career-ending consequences? I’m joined by Scott Lauderer, a retired Air Force reservist with 25 years of service across multiple branches,...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! Social media can make you feel surrounded and alone at the same time, and veterans often get hit hardest by that whiplash. I sit down with Jenna Carlton, a former U.S. Navy aerographer’s mate and the creator behind The Millennial Veteran, to talk about the double-edged reality of online community: it can save you on your worst day,...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A wildfire can look sudden on the evening news, but the real story often starts days or decades earlier. We sit down with CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti to talk about his book Torch and what he learned reporting from evacuation zones, burned communities, and alongside first responders during some of the worst fires in the...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A service member shouldn’t have to gamble their career to get mental health care, but that’s exactly the fear too many people carry into a toxic command climate. We talk with Patrick Caserta, a retired US Navy senior chief and combat veteran, about the life and death of his son, AE3 Brandon Caserta, and why Brandon’s story became th...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A Navy helicopter pilot who has landed on aircraft carriers in the middle of the night is now trying to land something even harder: real accountability in Washington. I sit down with Rebecca Bennett, a veteran leader who served more than 15 years, moved through corporate healthcare and health tech startups, and is now running for Co...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! Calling yourself patriotic is easy. Living like a patriot is harder, especially when the facts feel messy and the incentives in politics push us toward slogans instead of responsibility. We sit down with Michael T. Lester, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Desert Storm veteran, and cybersecurity leader, to talk about why he titled his...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! The biggest military homecoming videos end with hugs and banners, but a lot of families know the harder chapter starts after the uniforms are folded and the photos stop. We sit down with Cathy Turner and Jackie Voytak, founders of the Restored Heart Collective, to talk about what reintegration really looks like when the spouse is qu...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A single bad week can define a leader, especially when the whole country is watching and the information is incomplete. Former acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly joins us for a candid, detailed conversation about what it’s like to make consequential decisions at the highest levels of Navy leadership and the Department of Defe...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! The VA is more than a healthcare system—it’s a lifelong promise to veterans, from the day they leave uniform through medical care, benefits decisions, and ultimately a dignified burial. I sat down with former VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin to talk about what it means to lead that mission at scale, often under intense public and p...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! The loudest arguments about women in combat usually skip the only thing that matters: what it looks like on the ground when you are the one carrying the ruck, enforcing standards, and trying to stay safe inside a broken system. I’m joined by Riley Grupo, an Army officer who served in an infantry role and isn’t afraid to answer the q...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A combat veteran can plan operations under pressure and still feel completely unprepared for the moment the uniform comes off. That tension sits at the center of my conversation with Trey McMullen, a U.S. Army combat veteran, former counterintelligence agent with 7th Special Forces Group support elements, entrepreneur, and candidate...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A 24-year Army veteran races 28 hours to his soldier son’s bedside and steps into a maze of tests, policies, and a life-or-death decision he never agreed to. Eddie Peoples recounts the night an apnea test was called “inconclusive,” the promised blood-flow study was dropped, and a brain death declaration arrived anyway—followed by a...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! Are veterans gaming the system, or are we trapped in a shallow debate that ignores the law, the medicine, and the lived reality of service? We dig into the difference between media narratives and VA standards with guest Jane Babcock—Army and Army Reserve retiree, former accredited county veteran service officer, and a relentless adv...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! What happens when a combat paratrooper-turned-cop builds a media platform, challenges a celebrated story, and gets hit with a $25 million lawsuit? We sit down with Tyler Hoover, founder of the Anti-Hero Broadcast and Counterculture Inc., to unpack the messy collision of free speech, celebrity culture, and the legal machine designed...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! What happens when a new VA rule could reshape how disability is rated, and the loudest voices online push us toward outrage instead of answers? We dig into the Federal Register proposal that factors medication into disability evaluations, explain why some veterans fear lower ratings, and share how to navigate the public comment proc...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A routine VA visit turned into a life-or-death spiral—and a blueprint for change. Marine Corps Sergeant Brian Talley woke up in 2016 with sudden, ferocious back pain. The VA labeled it a “low back sprain,” refused bloodwork and imaging, and sent him home with escalating opioids. Months later, an outside MRI led to surgery that uncov...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A decorated Air Force logistics officer. A collapsing marriage. A system that prized appearances over proof. We sit down with Major Clarence Anderson to trace his path from special operations success to a 42‑month sentence—despite no civilian charges and a later-recorded admission of a $100,000 payment tied to perjury and motive. Th...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! Who decides which military stories get told—and which ones never make it past the draft? We sit down with journalist and Navy spouse Jennifer Barnhill to uncover how narratives about service, sacrifice, and family support are shaped, sanitized, and sometimes silenced. Her new book challenges the usual focus on weapons and missions b...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A Marine officer who helped open Pakistan’s gateway to Afghanistan, coordinated CSAR basing, and carried the keys to a shuttered Kabul embassy steps into the studio to talk about combat, command, and the price of telling the truth. We walk through the early days after 9/11—commercial flights into Rawalpindi with a rucksack full of r...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! The national fight about guns gets loud, tribal, and stuck—and meanwhile, the leading cause of firearm death in America happens quietly every day. We sit down with industry veteran and Walk The Talk America founder Michael Sodini to explore a different path: building trust between gun owners and clinicians, reducing stigma, and putt...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A simple question opens a complicated story: what happens when you say no to a powerful directive that feels wrong? Rick joins us with 43 years of experience spanning infantry, war-zone logistics, and Pentagon program oversight to recount how refusing an alleged extortion scheme set off a cascade of retaliation, reassignment, and le...

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better! A young paratrooper with a near-perfect PT score, big plans and a bigger heart grew dangerously ill at Fort Bragg. He was sent back to the barracks, where missed formations, unanswered calls and a holiday weekend combined into six silent days. By the time anyone knocked, it was too late. His mother, Heather Baker, walks us through t...