Tango Alpha Lima Podcast

Jeff shares a story of 101st Airborne officers gone wild at a strip club in Poland, sending CV into fits of glee. Ashley gets excited about some reader feedback and love for Team Tango. CV talks about a movement to gaining steam to honor Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French of Foreman, Ark., with the Medal of Honor. French became a national hero after he towed wounded shipmates through s...

Mike Erwin, founder and executive director of Team Red, White and Blue, joins Team Tango to share the origin story for Team RWB, and the many ways in which the organization helps enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity. Erwin touches on the importance of being part of a team, partnerships with IVMF and the George W. Bush Cen...

Ashley shares some stats that show 40% of U.S. Marines have declined the COVID-19 vaccine. Jeff drops some history knowledge with a story the life of Legion founder Maj. G. Edward “Ned” Buxton Jr. of Rhode Island. Hilarity ensues when CV shares a story of a Navy officer who penned a strongly worded message to complain about his noisy enlisted neighbors, who he called 'perverts' and 'de...

Team Tango visits with U.S. Army veteran and 2015 Ms. Veteran America Kerri Jeter, about Freedom Sisters Media and her passion for storytelling and celebrating women veterans. Special Guest: Kerri Jeter. Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTube Send us your feedback! The American Legion 100 Miles For Hope Freedom Sisters - Women Veterans, Media Freedom Sisters Podcast Join The American Legion...

Jeff pops a few buttons with pride over two new American Legion initiatives: the newly unveiled MyLegion.org membership platform and 100 Miles of Hope fundraising and fitness challenge. Ashley shares updates on the progress of a Global War on Terror Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. after a bipartisan panel of 25 veterans in Congress penned a letter asking President Biden to publicl...

Team Tango visits with Melissa Washington, Navy veteran and founder of the Women Veterans Alliance. She talks about her military and civilian career, how she started her organization and grew it to a national resource for women veterans and their families. She highlights the importance of increasing awareness about women veterans as well as bringing awareness about to the benefits to all veterans...

Ashley takes the helm and leads Team Tango through a series of stories of women who made history serving in the U.S. military. CV celebrates a trio of young female sailors who serve as master helmsmen, qualified to take the wheel of the $4.5 billion aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt . Jeff makes plan to virually visit The Color of Freedom: Honoring the Diversity of America's Service Wome...

Team Tango learns some American Legion lore during a visit with American Legion Media & Communications Division Director and 100th Anniversary Observance Committee staff co-chairman Jeff Stoffer. In celebration of the Legion's 102nd Birthday, the team takes a look back at key historic moments, monumental social impact and a few tales of rowdy conventions. They discuss the ways in which the...

Ashley shares a report of “highly inadequate" food given to National Guardsmen still protecting the Capitol. Jeff gets pumped up for the 2021 American Legion 100 Miles for Hope Challenge. CV shares news of a 60 Minutes report that revealed new details about how Iran tried to use commercially available satellite imagery to monitor Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq as it prepared to launch more than...

CV, Ashley and Jeff get moving with Dr. Theresa Larson, a Marine Corp. veteran and and former professional athlete who now helps adaptive athletes and others with physical therapy. Together they talk about adaptive sports for veterans, movement as therapy and setting new and realistic goals when tackling the "COVID 25." Special Guest: Dr. Theresa Larson. Links: Watch video of this episod...

In honor of Black History Month, Team Tango has collected a group of stories about Black members of the military. Ashley shares the story of Retired Adm. Cecil Haney, who was one of the first Black four-star admirals in Navy history, serving as the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the U.S. Strategic Command, where he oversaw nuclear weapons before retiring in 2017. Jeff shares a historical...

Marine and Navy veteran and psychologist David Fisher joins the Team Tango to discuss Moral Injury. Fisher, who founded and runs the Moral Injury Institute, defines moral injury as “witnessing whether in person, through reporting, or some other means something that causes a crisis of conscience due to a violation of one’s deeply held moral, religious, or ethical beliefs such that one psychically s...

Ashley questions the wisdom of a group of soldiers on a field exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, who thought they'd sneak a round of drinks, but instead ended up hospitalized after ingesting antifreeze. Jeff gets passionate about writing resolutions. CV shares the saga of the U.S. Navy band's cover of a Taylor Swift song remade a sea shanty, the Twitter backlash, and the band member's rede...

Former FBI double agent and Navy Intelligence Officer Naveed Jamali joins Team Tango to share stories of his time spent as a Russian double-agent, his transition into the military, mentorship and Hooters. Special Guest: Naveed Jamali. Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTube Send us your feedback! Naveed Jamali How to Catch a Russian Spy: The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Double A...

Jeff celebrates the end to the long-decried law known as the Widow's Tax and Ashley gives props to American Legion Department Service Officers who secured nearly $3.7 billion in benefits for the nation’s veterans during fiscal year 2020. CV opens discussion on the furor over National Guard troops sleeping on the floor of the U.S. Capitol. Rapid Fire: Soldier plots to blow up NYC 9/11 memorial,...

American Legion Legislative Director Lawrence Montreuil joins Team Tango to discuss American Legion legislative priorities for 2021, as well as how veteran-related legislation will be impacted by a new Congress and new administration. Special Guest: Lawrence Montreuil. Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTube Send us your feedback! The American Legion Veterans & Children Foundation The Am...

Jeff recounts the 9-week ordeal of a suicidal sailor who was punished by the Navy after seeking mental health treatment. Ashley highlights an American Legion Boys Nation Alumni who has earned a spot on NASA's Artemis lunar mission team. CV poses the question: Is the military paying troops too much? Rapid Fire: Army grooming regulation changes, DoD tackling obesity and fewer veterans in Congres...

President and CEO of Student Veterans of America Jared Lyon joins Team Tango and paints a portrait of the contemporary student veteran, the challenges they face, the changes they are experiencing due to the Coronavirus pandemic, how they use GI Bill, and ways in which organizations like The American Legion and Student Veterans of America can support them. Special Guest: Jared Lyon. Links: Watch vi...

In our final episode for 2020, Team Tango is joined by Neal Schrodetzki and Ethan Morse, the duo behind Time to Kill Productions. The pair talks about how they met while serving together in the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Regiment – what it was like serving in the Old Guard, how they started their production company, and the two documentary projects they've produced together. Special Guests: Ethan...

Team Tango is joined by Backpacks For Life founders Brett Dalessandro and Alexa Modero. An encounter with a homeless veteran in 2014 inspired Army veteran and Weehawken American Legion Post 18 member Brett Dalessandro and his wife, Alexa Modero, to start Backpacks for Life. Their oganization designed and distributes The Bowery Pack, a backpack engineered specifically to meet the needs of homeless...

CV celebrates a Coastie who buys dinner for a stranger in a random act of kindness and ends up fostering international relations with Greenland. Ashley shares Military Times' brilliant review of Ralph Lauren's newest outerwear offerings - many of which look suspiciously familiar to standard military issue items. Jeff gets revved up over The American Legion's new initiative with Chip Ga...

Team Tango welcomes Joanne Steen, Gold Star widow and founder of Grief Solutions, a company that provides practical training and resources on grief to professional assistance providers who work with the bereaved. Special Guest: Joanne Steen. Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTube Send us your feedback! Play Tango Bingo Grief Solutions | Practical Training on Grief, Loss & Resilience We...

Ashley shares the news that 2020 Wreaths Across America is back on the calendar. CV talks about troop reductions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jeff gets fired up over Texas thieves who targeted trucks with disabled veteran license at a Marine Corps ball in Houston. Rapid Fire Nerf grenades, a chaplain in cuffs, outsourcing Comp and Pen exams and Space Marines Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTu...

Navy veteran Kermit Jones joins Team Tango to talk about beating the coronavirus and an inspiring Medal of Honor recipient from his hometown. Special Guest: Dr. Kermit Jones. Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTube Send us your feedback! Play Tango Bingo Medal of Honor Story: James C. McCloughan | The American Legion Photo Gallery: Medal of Honor recipient dedicates Michigan memorial | The A...

Jeff gets started with a lesson on how the Armistice that ended WWI evolved to what we now recognize as Veterans Day. CV shares how events following the Armistice led to the founding of The American Legion. Ashley talks about what Veterans Day looks like in 2020 and what American Legion posts around the country are doing to mark the day. Links: Watch video of this episode on YouTube Send us your f...