The Strategic Veteran

What happens when the fight never ends — not on the battlefield, but inside your own head? Carla Hutcherson and Brandy Mock, the women behind Mental Perk, have spent years walking alongside people at rock bottom. Carla’s a licensed therapist who’s seen every side of the system — courtrooms, hospitals, and private practice. Brandy’s a straight-talking entrepreneur who’s lived the civilian toll of m...

What happens when the science of psychiatry collides with the future of AI and the timeless wisdom of healing? Dr. Bhargav Patel is a physician, psychiatrist, wellness entrepreneur, and CEO of My Peak. He’s also a leader in AI healthcare solutions through Sully AI and the author of Trauma Transformed. In this conversation, we explore the full arc of healing—from childhood adversity and PTSD, to pl...

What happens when the mission you’ve given your whole life to suddenly ends? When the uniform comes off and all that intensity has nowhere to go? Brett Baker knows that moment well. After thirteen years and nine combat deployments as an Army Ranger, his body gave out before his will ever did. What followed was a storm of loss, faith, rebuilding, and the fight to create a new mission outside the wi...

This week on The Strategic Veteran, Adam Peters sits down with David Maulsby, Executive Director of the PTSD Foundation of America, and Anthony Muro, Afghanistan war veteran and graduate of the Camp Hope program. David shares how his calling as a minister led him to walk the streets of Houston in 2009, supporting homeless veterans long before there was a program to back him. That leap of faith gre...

What if the thing you think you want—a “dream franchise”—is the very thing that will eat your nights, your weekends, and your sanity? What if the right fit is the one that feels boring on paper but quietly prints freedom? Kim Woods has spent two decades in the trenches of franchising, turning ambition into action for people who don’t want a boss anymore. Navy veteran, relationship builder, and fra...

What if the thing the system won’t give you is the one thing that could actually save you? Tim Wofford built a career launching global giants like Sam’s Club and Staples across twenty countries — but now he’s on a mission closer to home. As the founder of SmartBody Medical, Tim is bringing affordable hyperbaric oxygen therapy and next-generation wellness to neighborhoods where veterans, first resp...

What if the thing you spent years running from turns out to be exactly where your freedom starts? Andy Dittrich didn’t deploy. He didn’t stack up ribbons or chase firefights. He did administrative work, learned about computers, partied under the neon lights of SoCal, and walked away from the Marine Corps with no plan. From crashing on couches to building a solid IT career, Andy’s story proves you...

What if the thing breaking you down isn’t the system but the belief you can’t fight back against it? Alex Muddiman spent nearly a decade in the Air Force chasing a dream of flying, only to have a hidden medical condition ground him for good. He pivoted to cyber, battled misdiagnosis, fought for the proper care, and stayed on mission even when leadership didn’t have his back. Alex’s story is every...

What if the thing that nearly broke you is the same thing that can set you free if you learn to love yourself again? Marla Ballard isn’t a veteran in uniform, but she’s lived the sacrifice. When her husband, an Army major, was wounded in Iraq, Marla lost the life she knew and built something better in its place. Today she’s the CEO of You Too Shine and director of Unconquerable Me, helping veteran...

What if the real fight isn’t keeping people safe, it’s teaching them they can protect themselves long after you’re gone? Marc Fitzwater spent two decades as a Green Beret, leading elite teams through Afghanistan, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. He carried the weight of loss, the lessons of mentorship, and the quiet mission to bring warriors home better than he found them. Now he runs I-Sixty-Ei...

What if the real threat to your mission isn’t outside, it’s the sleep you keep sacrificing to stay in the fight? Dr. Leah Kaylor spent five years as the FBI’s trusted sleep expert, helping elite agents, first responders, and veterans overcome burnout, trauma, and mental fog by addressing the issues that arise when the lights go out. She’s not just theory — she’s run VA sleep clinics, teaches the s...

What if the thing that almost ruined you is the same thing that makes you unstoppable now? Logan Spiewak went from juvenile delinquent and near prison time to Marine infantryman, then crashed headfirst into the isolation so many vets face on the way out. With no plan and no clue, he almost lost himself again until a stranger at the gym changed everything. Now, Logan runs the Boots to Health Founda...

What if the thing you thought was holding you back turns out to be your secret advantage? Pete Tiliakos joined the Marines to blow things up and see the world — instead, he got assigned to admin and payroll. That detour launched him into a twenty-five-year career as one of the most astute minds in global HR and payroll technology. Now Pete runs PayrollInfluences.com, hosts the HR and Payroll 2.0 P...

What if you’re not falling behind, you’re just not asking the right questions yet? John Tansill spent twenty years in the Marine Corps, split between active duty and the reserves, leading Marines in combat and learning humility from the best NCOs in the Corps. He transitioned from the rigors of Wall Street to the mission of helping veterans and military spouses enter the tech industry. Today, as D...

What if you’re not stuck because you don’t have a plan, but because you’re terrified to trust yourself again? Justin Boyum traded a commission as an Army logistics officer for three unfulfilling jobs in four years before finally backing himself instead of a company. Now he helps veterans and leaders launch high-value consulting businesses that actually pay the bills without stealing their soul. Hi...

What if the fear of losing it all is the very thing keeping you stuck where you are? Brent Bowers spent eight years in the Army, grinding through deployments and chasing promotion. But the moment he realized he’d missed most of his first kid’s life, he knew something had to break. From maxed-out rentals to buying land for 285 dollars and flipping it for five grand, Brent built The Landsharks to sh...

What if the hardest part isn’t leaving the uniform behind but figuring out who you were meant to be all along? Jackie Frederick spent over twenty years as an Air Force air battle manager, rising fast, earning respect, and outpacing almost every man she served with. When the COVID vaccine mandate collided with her convictions, she walked away one step shy of O-6, trading the flight suit for homesch...

What if retiring from something is exactly why you’ll never feel free? Chad Hufford built Veritas Wealth Management from his garage in Alaska to a firm trusted with half a billion dollars. He’s not just a numbers guy. He’s a disciple of discipline, resilience, and ruthless simplicity. For Chad, money is just the tool. Your character is the blueprint. The ash storm that forced him to toughen up at...

What if the story you’re clinging to is the prison you’re begging to escape? Devon Kerns never wore a uniform, but he’s the man warriors call when the war inside won’t end. For twenty-five years he’s helped CEOs, combat vets, and changemakers strip away everything false — through businesses, boardrooms, and a hundred journeys into the dark with plant medicine. The basement where he learned work et...

What happens when the Navy closes the door on you overnight—but the storms in your head keep raging? Can you turn the weight of those memories into muscle strong enough to pull others out of the dark? Rob Wheeler went from bullied, “undes” deck-swabber to combat-tested Navy cop, then straight into the medical-discharge abyss. He clawed back with a barbell in one hand and a microphone in the other—...

What do you do when the Army salutes you one day and erases you the next? How do you fight back when the enemy is a four-month wait for a DD-214—and your own mind? A retired Lieutenant Colonel, Bronze Star recipient and former brigade G-3, Adrian Massey spent 45 months in combat, capped his career as Arlington National Cemetery’s chief network-ops officer, and is now grinding through an MSW to kee...

What’s scarier—getting yanked into a flooded pipeline for twelve bucks an hour or signing away 75 percent of your life’s work to a publisher? Geoff Hopf has survived both and turned the panic into profit. A Maryland farm kid who became a Marine infantry sergeant, Geoff carried Desert Storm grit into commercial diving, executive protection and—after a near-death wake-up call—forty post-apocalyptic...

The war outside ended, but the firefight between your ears rages on. What if pain is the fastest way to freedom? Nathan Mechikoff served nine years in the Army and National Guard as a Signal Corps IT specialist. Today he runs Forge Forward Coaching, turning chronic stress and transition struggles into unshakable purpose for veterans and high performers. He woke up mid air certain it was the end Th...

Rich looks loud. Real wealth whispers. If your paycheck died tomorrow, would your life survive? Monica Kaufman is a straight‑talking wealth strategist and founder of Harmony Wealth Academy. Daughter and granddaughter of soldiers—and mom to a U.S. Army officer—she turns tangled budgets into freedom plans for veterans and their families. The night her husband's layoff cracked their "perfect" budget...

What if the machine you just crashed is the key to the life you actually want? When failure falls from the sky, do you run—or hit throttle again? Damon Darnell—The Drone Boss—logged 15,000 hours before most of us knew drones existed. He’s broken records, advised NASA on unmanned traffic, and turned cockpit obsession into a seven-figure training network that helps vets own the sky. The first flight...