Behind The Mission Duane K. L. France

Show Summary
On today’s episode, we continue the LGBTQIA+ Veteran Public Health Awareness series with a conversation about myths and misconceptions about members of the LGBTQIA+ community with veteran Ale Hernandez
About Today’s Guest
Alejandra Hernandez served in the United States Marine Corps for four years a Food Service Specialist with Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Headquarters and Marine Support Squadron 272 Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC. She deployed once in 2007 to Kuwait, Camp Al Asad, and Camp Al Taqqaddum Air Base. After her unit returned home from Iraq, she spent her remaining time in the service as an Assistant Chief Cook.
After her time in service, Alejandra attended Waubonsee Community College while working in the auto parts industry. She then went on to get her bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago and studied Sociology at UIC.  She worked as a community health worker prior to coming to the Road Home Program in April of 2022. She is a member of Post #939 and American Legion Post #973 Tattler Post.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Community Clinics and Resources for LGTBTQIA+
American Veterans for Equal Rights
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the previous two episodes in this series, episode 166 with Erika Hoover and Andrea Norton on the goals of this public health awareness campaign, and episode 169 with MaCherie Dunbar and Ashley Carothers on LGBTQIA+ Veteran Healthcare. 
 
You can see find the episodes here:  
 
Episode 166 with Erika Hoover and Andrea Norton
Episode 168 with MaCharie Dunbar and Ashley Carothers
 
This Episode Partner:
 
This episode is brought to you by partners that believe that education changes lives. The partner this week is the Michigan Governor’s Challenge, working to prevent suicide among Service Members, Veterans and their Families. 
 
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media 
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Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com  

Show Summary
On today’s episode, we have a conversation with Gold Star family member Lupe Urdaneta, surviving spouse of Sergeant First Class Dennis Urdaneta, and her journey with wear blue: run to remember, an organization that honors the service and sacrifice of the American military through active remembrance and programs to support all those who have lost a loved one while in the military.
About Today’s Guest
Guadalupe Urdaneta is the surviving spouse of Sergeant First Class Dennis Urdaneta. After his passing in 2019, she connected with wear blue: run to remember to support her in her grief and to engage their two sons in active engagement and to honor the loss of their father. 
Lupe’s story has been featured on numerous news outlets, including Good Morning America. 
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Gold Star Youth Mentorship Spotlight: Urdaneta Family
wear blue: run to remember on GMA
wear blue: run to remember web site
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the wear blue: run to remember podcast episode from 2023 that shares stories of active remembrance from wear blue participants across the country. 
 
You can see find the episodes here:  
 
https://psycharmor.org/podcast/enduring-remembrance-with-wear-blue-run-to-remember
 
This Episode Partner:
 
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.
 
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media 
Email PsychArmor
PsychArmor on Twitter
PsychArmor on Facebook
PsychArmor on YouTube
PsychArmor on LinkedIn
PsychArmor on Instagram
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com  

Show Summary
On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with military spouse and family member Ellen Gustafson, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of We the Veterans and Military Families, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that empowers the veteran and military family community to strengthen democracy. We’re going to talk about their work supporting education around information integrity and civic involvement in the military affiliated population.  
About Today’s Guest
Ellen Gustafson is a proud Navy Spouse and Navy and Coast Guard Granddaughter. She is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of We the Veterans, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that empowers the veteran and military family community to strengthen democracy. She is also the Co-Founder of the Military Family Building Coalition, the first non-profit supporting active duty military in building their families. She previously co-founded FEED, Food Tank and co-directed the Summit Institute. 
 
Ellen is the author of "We the Eaters: If We Change Dinner, We Can Change the World," has been a Fortune Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur and given four TEDxTalks. She lives with her husband and three young children in Virginia Beach, VA.
 
Ellen is a member of the Board of We the Veterans Society for American Democracy and is the Executive Director and Board member of We the Veterans Foundation. As Executive Director, Ellen is the chief executive officer of We the Veterans, overseeing all general management and operations.
 
Links Mentioned In This Episode
We the Veterans and Military Families Website
Vet The Vote Website

PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is Episode 48 of the Behind the Mission Podcast, a conversation with Bill Braniff. In that episode, we have an initial conversation about how We the Veterans is addressing the growing trend of misinformation and disinformation targeting service members and veterans in an attempt to radicalize them and use them to engage in violent extremism and domestic terrorism.
 
You can hear the episode here:  https://psycharmor.org/podcast/bill-braniff
 
Episode Partner:
 
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.
 
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media 
Email PsychArmor
PsychArmor on Twitter
PsychArmor on Facebook
PsychArmor on YouTube
PsychArmor on LinkedIn
PsychArmor on Instagram
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com  

Show Summary
On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran and Gold Star Family Member Jennifer Ballou, Chief of Staff of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, an organization that is guiding the development of a national memorial that honors the service and sacrifice of all who have contributed to global counterterrorism efforts since September 11th, 2001.  
About Today’s Guest
Jennifer R. Ballou is originally from Mentor, Ohio. In June of 1994, three weeks after her high school graduation, she enlisted in the United States Army as a Dental Assistant. Jennifer served for almost 21 years, retiring in May 2015. She held numerous leadership positions throughout her Army career, culminating as the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the United States Army Resilience Directorate, Army G1, Pentagon. She also served as First Sergeant, 257th Dental Company (Area Support), 44th Medical Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was during this assignment, while deployed to Afghanistan, that her husband, SSG Edwardo Loredo, was Killed in Action.
 
Some of Jennifer’s awards and decorations include the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award and the Legion of Merit. She is currently enrolled at Maryland University of Integrative Health, pursuing a Master’s Degree in Yoga Therapy. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and is an alumnus of the 2022 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program through the President George W. Bush Presidential Center.
 
Jennifer initially joined the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation as the Gold Star Fellow. She was previously the Deputy Chief of Staff for the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, she is a Certified Professional Life Coach, and a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, specializing in trauma-sensitive, therapeutic, and adaptive yoga.
 
Jennifer is the wife of Omari Ballou, Command Sergeant Major, US Army Retired, and is the proud mother of Alexis, Eddie, and Sophia.

Links Mentioned In This Episode
Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation

PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the blog post, The Silent Plea of Monuments. This blog article is a reflection on the words of the Gettysburg Address, which includes some additional thoughts on why memorials and monuments are important, not only for remembrance, but for reminding us of our responsibilities to the memories of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. 
 
You can see find the article here:  https://veteranmentalhealth.com/monuments/
 
Episode Partner:
 
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.
 
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media 
Email PsychArmor
PsychArmor on Twitter
PsychArmor on Facebook
PsychArmor on YouTube
PsychArmor on LinkedIn
PsychArmor on Instagram
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com  

Show Summary
On today’s episode, we feature Kate DeBartolo, a senior director for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the leader for the conversation project. IHI has public engagement initiative to help people share their wishes for care through the end of their life
About Today’s Guest
Kate DeBartolo is a Senior Director at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and leads The Conversation Project, IHI’s public engagement initiative to help people share their wishes for care through the end of life. The Conversation Project was founded in 2010, on the belief that these discussions should begin at the kitchen table—not in the intensive care unit. The Conversation Project offers free tools, guidance, and resources to begin talking with those who matter most about your and their wishes. 
 
Kate joined IHI in 2007, with earlier work designing and executing the national field operations for IHI’s hospital-based programs. Prior to joining IHI, Kate worked as a grant analyst at The California Endowment. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and currently lives in Washington DC with her husband and son.
 
Links Mentioned In This Episode
The Conversation Project Website
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the PsychArmor course Caring for Veterans through End of Life: Caregivers and Loved Ones. In this course, you will learn how to support and care for Veterans as they near the end of their lives.
 
We will explore the impact of the final journey on caregivers and loved ones, and the importance of planning and respite care. We will discuss how a Veteran's service in different eras may impact their care and the unique challenges faced by caregivers and loved ones in the grieving process.
 
By the end of this course, you will have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide compassionate care and support to Veterans and their families during this important time.
 
 
You can see find the course here:  https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/caring-for-veterans-through-the-end-of-life-caregivers-and-loved-ones
 
This Episode Sponsored By:
 
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor. PsychArmor is the premier education and learning ecosystems specializing in military culture content PsychArmor offers an. Online e-learning laboratory that is free to individual learners as well as custom training options for organizations.
 
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media 
Email PsychArmor
PsychArmor on Twitter
PsychArmor on Facebook
PsychArmor on YouTube
PsychArmor on LinkedIn
PsychArmor on Instagram
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com