This content does not reflect the DOD.
Episode 14:
Happy birthday, Air Force!
And to celebrate the Air Force birthday, we have a new interview with Air Force Crew Chief, Donna Falk. She served from 1986-1991 and maintained the C-141 and C-5 air frames. Listen as she recounts her experience stationed in Spain at the start of the Gulf War.
https://spotify.link/SVoXy1UhcDbhttps://spotify.link/SVoXy1UhcDb
Episode 12: Jackie’s experience as a hemodialysis nurse in the Vietnam War
Welcome to our season finale!! This is the 12th episode. I am planning to take some time off to get some more interviews done and enjoy a little bit of the summer. Stay tuned for the next season in the fall.
Jaclyn Rautbort Tropp recounts her experience as a hemodialysis nurse in Saigon, Vietnam in the 629th Medical Detachment at the 3rd Field Hospital. As a young Lieutenant, she is placed as the Officer in Charge of the Hemodialysis Unit. An area of medicine she had little to no experience beforehand. Joining the Army greatly helped her achieve her dreams of being a nurse and there is no doubt that the training she received aided her in her career after returning from the war. Jackie also recalls the advice she received from her mother, a former WW2 Army nurse, before joining the Army. This wisdom aided her through many potentially negative situations.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2sSmZhUkpoxAIMCcbD21Ew?si=daPl3AQQQM-1d3YyQhEHzg
Episode 11: The military changed the trajectory of her life
In this episode, we will meet retired Air National Guard Major, Jennifer Bean. Jennifer recalls her experiences of enlisting as a personnelist initially to help with her school tuition. This was a decision which altered the course of her life and ultimately allowed her to complete her career as a Medical Readiness Officer. Her experiences gave her a focus to develop a career in the human resources industry eventually lead her to create an HR program for Maryville University as well as provide human resource support for Tides, a national nonprofit company which provides philanthropic support for other organizations advocating for social justice.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3VX22NSIcHNTxpLAnvQA9z?si=9478c50aae92491b
Episode 10: Michelle’s Tech School Experience as a medic
In this week’s episode, we hear part 2 of Michelle Mondia’s as she talks about her experience in Air Force medic tech school at Shepard AFB, TX.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2JTikHWxitqglC5Fy5THEQ?si=_wuESl5KSwS3Wa5iMyi0ww
Episode 9: A deep dive into basic training stories with Michelle Mondia
Michelle Mondia is a veteran of the Air National Guard from 1996-2017. Listen to the first of a series of episodes of Michelle’s career with this first one detailing her basic training experience at Lackland Air Force Base.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3suvGphCmBkftH7XuVjdv2?si=c626fa44712348ea
Episode 8: “Bunny” Kingery: Air Force Trailblazer
This week, hear the story of “Bunny” Kingery. She is one of the first women to serve in the Air Force from 1950-1953 and she tells her story of how it was serving at that time. Bunny is 90 years old at the time of this recording as she shares the wit and wisdom she has gathered over the years. She married her husband who was serving in the Army whom she met while performing in a traveling show to entertain troops at remote installations in Europe. When she became pregnant with her first of 6 children, she was discharged. At that time, you could not serve as a woman with children. Bunny is extremely proud of being a veteran, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
Welcome home alliance for veterans. https://www.whafv.org/
Freedom Sings USA. https://www.freedomsingsusa.org/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DFD5oqQBaEnbj60vHaMB9?si=95a8a6854af34f95
Episode 7: Cecily’s story: From Air Force Reserves to Air Force Guard
Cecily Roland is a 22 year retiree from the Air Force Reserves and Air national Guard. She discusses her career as a surgical tech and medic while relocating bases through BRAC (Base Realignment and Closing). Although she is retired from the Air Force Guard as well as her civilian career, she continues to spend time in many veteran activities. She describes several different organizations in the Chicagoland area which offer free activities for veterans. These activities and opportunities help her stay active and allow her to meet new people and make friends.
AllenForce https://allenforce.org/m/
A Call To Shoulders https://www.acalltoshoulders.com/
RevelationGolf https://www.revelationgolf.org/
Chicago Park District
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/programs-memberships/programs-services-veterans
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5z0WnO03Pwlb31pvuq3B3v?si=95f2229842644602
Episode 6: Tina’s Story: Cold War Combat Medic
Tina Datallo recounts her decision to enter the Army with over a decade of service during the Cold War Era. Tina went from rural Michigan to Fort Carson, Colorado, Germany and Fort Knox. She describes a scary moment in boot camp at the shooting range and her experiences at the Nuremberg Stadium in Germany where Hitler gave his speeches. She also describes working in military health care during the AIDS epidemic. Tina went on to become a Registered Nurse and worked in many roles.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aIktYhgU86iJcBlcDY2Im?si=23728d63160a4827
Episode 5: The adventure of a lifetime
This content does not reflect the DoD. Meet Captain Angela Smith Kenny as she recalls the details of her career from 2000-2023. Angela recounts her career in the US Air Force Active Duty, Reserves and Air National Guard. From Texas to Japan, Korea, Germany, Indiana, New Jersey and Illinois, Angela’s career crosses the globe. She also deployed to Qatar in support of a security detail. She began her career as a Public Health Technician and later became a Public Health Officer. Currently, she is working for the County Health Department in her community.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tH75f2dec9Ubb5IPrFZTr?si=39ee4101d5b241bb
Episode 4: Finding Her Voice
This week, we meet Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Szalkowski as she recalls her career from Air Force Brat to Navy Physician to Air National Guard Physician and soon to be Air Force Flight Surgeon. As an Air National Guardsman, Dr. Szalkowski describes how she balances her civilian career with her service to the guard. She is currently serving in the Air National Guard. She is on her way to being a fully qualified flight surgeon and she explains the various training requirements for that role. One of the greatest things she learned in Officer Indoctrination School in the US Navy was to “find her voice” in the process of going from physician with a focus solely on her patient to being a leader and mentor in the military.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0qPwQnsV19hFXILSIflH9E?si=96acf4426a5e4b17
Episode 3: Always advocate for yourself
In this week’s episode we meet, Staci Boyer. A navy veteran and Corpsman. After Staci entered the Navy, her career took her to Bethesda, Oakland and the USNS Comfort during the Persian Gulf War. She recalls the many career opportunities and skills the Navy afforded her and discusses what life was like on a Naval Hospital ship. She completed her career as an Instructor at the Corpsman School at Great Lakes Navy Base as an HM2 and was a role model for many enlisted trainees. Now, Staci is a fitness and wellness coach, author and motivational speaker. She continues to serve in the veteran community as VFW Post #3873 Junior Vice Commander and Post #43 American Legion member as well as other veteran causes.
Listen here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hrS4pAKdy38HH5rco4Y7J?si=9328246cdb0c40eb
Episode 2: Never Take No For An Answer!
This week we will meet Nadia Baran. She is a Marine Veteran who continues to serve with many veteran organizations to include: the Post 43 American Legion as the current Commander, the Women Marines Association as well as organizing the local Marine Corps Ball. Nadia is a force to be reckoned with. She had to fight to enlist due to her height. She fought to ensure her citizenship paperwork was submitted properly and fought to try to get to DI school despite a knee injury which ultimately shortened her career.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5lk7h50Ds3po02V5jrOKqi?si=4843ce3f24fc4ff8
First Podcast Episode:
This is my why. Click below to hear the trailer for my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/65KRiWAivs5cJW2NLcTRVU?si=bbd4de2008eb45ec
Save It For The Drive 