Waypoints podcast

In our 2nd 50th Anniversary podcast, Kate and Jeannette get to hear stories from mother-daughter duo Sharon Hanley Disher '80 and Alison Disher Orr '10 - and they are only two of the five (!) Disher family members who are USNA grads. Yes, all five are Navy grads! If you haven't read Sharon's 1998 book,  First Class: Women Join the Ranks at the Naval Academy , you should... but you should also list...

SOMB is excited to launch our Season 4 -- where we focus our podcast on the upcoming 50th anniversary of women at the military service acadmies. To kick things off, Jeannette and Jenn sit down with the amazing Janice Buxbaum, USNA '80. From Janice and her stories, we learn about how hard women had to fight to be admitted, how to hold a mutiny, and what happened during a certain uniform race. (We a...

For our second episode of 2025, SOMB sought to hear from alumnae from across the Academies. For this episode, we posed two questions to our fellow sisters:  First, how are you being impacted by current events? And second, what does your experience teach you and what can it teach us? How have you handled challenging situations or hostile leaders in the past? We asked for volunteers to join the podc...

After a brief break as the team grappled with life, we're baaaaack... to grapple with the topic of meritocracy in the military. Meritocracy has been in the news recently, with shout-outs on the main DoD website and in the new SecDef's most recent book. When a recently-published short journal artice on meritocracy caught our eyes, we decided to read it and focus an episode on our thoughts on what a...

After an unintended break (life happens), we finally had the tremendous opportunity to meet and talk with Paula Neira, USNA '85, and one of the most remarkable leaders we've been fortunate to learn from on this podcast. Please join us and listen to Paula's story -- it's one of significant professional and personal growth, leadership, and advocacy. From a SWO... to a nurse and nurse educator... to...

Please join Kate and Jeannette as we talk with and learn from LtGen Lori Reynolds, USMC (Ret), class of 1986. One of only two women from '86 to commission into the Marine Corps at graduation, LtGen Reynolds was one of the (very) few, proud...eventually retiring as a three-star. Join us as we learn from her about what it was like to join the Corps in 1986...to play basketball at USNA under Coach Da...

Please join us as we talk (aka stammer and trip over our words as we try to hide our glee and awe) with Wendy Lawrence, USNA '81, CAPT (ret), pilot, astronaut, DGA winner, and all-round amazing woman and grad. Wendy generously gave us her time, energy, and significant wisdom, Jeannette's audio miraculously didn't malfunction, and Carrie got to learn about that bow ball that the crew team sent into...

Please join SOMB as we speak with the brilliant Rear Admiral (Ret.) Peg Klein, USNA '81, and 2022 USNA Distinguished Graduate Award recipient. We discuss education, learning, pink hair, checking in on others, and being the Commandant of Midshipmen at USNA. We wish we'd had more time to talk... but we hope you enjoy the time that we did have! Thank you to Rear Admiral Klein for her energy and gener...

So for some weird tech reason, the great write-up that we had for our discussion with Postie recently disappeared! We won't be able to do it justice, but please join us anyway to meet and learn from the fantastic Linda "Postie" Postenrieder, USNA '82, and current President of the USNA Women's Shared Interest Group! Postie has the energy and vision of a million of us -- and her story... from SWO......

After our long hiatus, we are BACK! On Season 3 Episode 2, we talk with Ms. Janie Mines '80 - you may have heard of her. She is not only the first African American woman to gradudate from USNA, but she's the author of No Coincidences - Reflections of the First Black Female Graduate of the United States Naval Academy , and she was selected as a USNA Distinguished Graduate in 2022. We were honored a...

Hello long-suffering Waypoints listeners! Inspired by our 25th reunion this past weekend, we are releasing - FINALLY (after 6 weeks of verrry sloooow editing by our wonderful Chief Editor) - Season 3! (We actually started Season 2 earlier and just misnumbered).  Season 3 starts with Episode 1, where Kate, Jenn, and Jeannette discuss the 21-month hiatus that Waypoints took. TL; DR: life smacked us...

Ten years ago last month, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was repealed. But what did that policy represent for servicemembers? What was it like to serve before the policy existed as well as during it - and how can we each become more empathic leaders who seek to make our own organizations more inclusive and supporting? This month, CDR (Ret) Zoe Dunning, class of 1985, joined us to generously shar...

Y'all - it's been a while. Let's just say that the chaos of 2020/2021 caught up with us a bit. But we're baaaaack! And who better to kick things off than another great '98er - Coreyanne (Rickwalt) Armstrong, prior SWO, bagpiper extraordinaire, mother of 8, and the energy behind a story that we found incredibly inspiring and eye-opening. Join us for a listen (and thank you to Corey for her patience...

Roll with us on this one. Chris Haynie and CB Johnson, both '98, joined forces for a long talk about.,.well, we're not really sure because SOMB haven't listened to it yet. But we've been told it's interesting - and knowing both CB and Chris, we bet it is. Both men, classmates, friends, and Marine Corps infantry officers, talk about life... the Corps... and the transformation that can happen when y...

In this episode of Waypoints, the Sisterhood discusses our personal experience with eating disorders and the prevalence of ED in the uniformed services.  Is it our type-A perfectionism that draws us both to uniform and to disordered eating?  How can the military better address this serious issue? 

This week, Shannon and Jeannette bring Sandy Coward, CAPT (Ret) USN, onto the show. CAPT C, USNA '64, knows his way around a sea story... and he was head of the USNA admissions board in the early 90s, spearheading some of the changes that brought more women to Annapolis and recruiting women to join the amazing class of '98 and the also-amazing class of '98-1. Given the tribulations of 2020 so far,...

As summer 2020 commenced in this never-ending year from hell, the Sisterhood of Mother B wanted to discuss racism together on Waypoints. Our group is white - and the burden is on all of us to use our voices, perspectives, and this platform for change. This podcast is awkward and it's humbling, but without forcing ourselves out of our comfort zones, real change won't happen. So join us as we get un...

Please join Shannon and Jeannette as they talk with Trishette (Hall) Neville, USNA '97, about racism, gender, and leadership at USNA and in the military. About the hanging of Confederate flags in Bancroft Hall. About isolation. About how complex and deep racism is, and how the fight against it can be subordinated to other causes. About loneliness and resilience. And, a little bit, about how drill...

In episode 24, amidst the turmoil that is 2020, '98er and track star extraordinaire Regina Ware Dixon joins Jenn and Jeannette to talk about USNA, race, the Navy, roommates, and gender... and what, how, and where we can learn if we want to make changes to our world. Also, the Kearsarge was problematic in summer 1996. And we need to check our assumptions. Join us...

In episode 23, Kate and Jeannette interview Phoebe Kotlikoff and Will Harris, both members of USNA Class of 98+15, both submarine officers, and married to each other. Please join us as we talk about breaking submarines (don't ask Kate and Jeannette to explain that part), dual-mil challenges and rewards, allyship and advocacy, and the work we still have to do. And join Kate and Jeannette in celebra...

In this episode, Jenn and Jeannette get to talk with Midshipman 1/c Taylor Sparks, USNA '20, about leadership and resilience in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The Sisterhood of Mother B salutes the Class of 2020 as they embark upon their careers in a new normal - and without the kind of sendoff that the rest of us had. And because we are amateurs, Jeannette accidentally hit a button that made he...

COVID-19 occupies our every thought these days. The Sisterhood is considering how to best use our platform during this crisis, and how to support, connect, and engage as we all pivot to this new reality. While we regroup and chart out our path, we wanted to share Part II from our dual-military episode. We recorded it just before the virus became a reality inside the U.S.. Hopefully giving Jeannett...

In episode 20, Kate and Jeannette read stories and comments from our listeners about what it's like to be dual-military... and because we can't keep our opinions to ourselves, we grind some axes as well. Come join us as we complain, vent, laugh, and in general agree that the pain is worth it...

In Episode 19, classmates Misty, Jenn, and Jeannette explore the wonders of Surf and Turf in King Hall, flying frigates, roommate Bingo, the Mystery of the French Fries, and - on a more serious note - discuss the heart-wrenching duties that redefine our lives as leaders. Please join us!

For this episode, Jenn and Jeannette - who were TBS and flight school roommates - interview another set of roommates, Christine Bath-Zachery and Lynne Smith Driscoll, both class of 1990. Chris was Jenn's sponsor mom, and graduates from the late 90s might remember Lynne, who played an integral role in the USNA admissions process for those classes. Chris and Lynne finish each other's sentences, disc...