Project Vanguard Podcast

Kevin Doffing

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A podcast about leadership, energy, and service — told by the veterans shaping America’s Energy Dominance. Project Vanguard brings raw, mission-first conversations with those who’ve led in the military and continue to serve their country, building our energy future. Real stories. Clear insight. Focused on an All of the Above energy strategy where Energy Security is National Security. media.projectvanguard.com

3D AGO

How a Marine Lands in Energy Policy

Most service members start thinking seriously about life after the uniform six months out. Jim Purekal started two years out. He networked, he sat down with people who had nothing in common with his career, and he treated the whole thing like a mission with a deadline. That discipline is how a retired Marine Corps major with twenty years in aviation ended up running Virginia legislative work for Advanced Energy United, a national trade association. It is also why this episode is useful for anyone who is actually thinking about energy as a second career. Jim spent his last active duty stretch on Capitol Hill as a congressional fellow in Senator Perdue’s office, then retired out of the Pentagon. He used SkillBridge to land at SunPower for twelve weeks during the pandemic, learning the industry from the inside on a DOD paycheck. His take on that program is direct: if a service member is six months from getting out and their command does not have a plan for them, that is a leadership gap. The conversation gets into the work itself. Most days, Jim is in Richmond during the General Assembly session, working bills, educating lawmakers, meeting with member companies. Virginia sits inside PJM, the regional grid operator covering thirteen states and DC. Demand is climbing fast. Data centers, building electrification, transportation. The decisions that shape how the grid actually gets built happen in state capitals, not on cable news. Jim and Kevin also dig into the harder question for transitioning veterans. What soft skills actually transfer. What the learning curve looks like. Why sales, policy, and project development are real landing spots, not just the technical trades. And what Jim wishes he had known when he was the one buttoning up his resume and asking strangers for a conversation. The Solar Ready Vets program that helped Jim get placed has since been cut. That makes the question of where veterans find their next foothold in this industry less abstract, and more pressing. Project Vanguard Podcast is produced by ClarityForge Studios. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Jim Purekal * 01:10 - Inside Advanced Energy United * 04:42 - The Virginia Legislative Beat * 05:51 - What’s Driving Virginia’s Demand * 07:27 - The Day-to-Day Policy Work * 11:27 - Why He Joined the Marines * 15:25 - SkillBridge and Landing at SunPower * 18:30 - Choosing Energy Over a Defense Contractor * 23:04 - The Congressional Fellowship * 25:43 - Preparing the Transition Early * 29:28 - Advice for Veterans Getting Out * 33:49 - What Energy Security Means to Him Resources People & Organizations * Jim Purekal (LinkedIn) * Advanced Energy United (Website - LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) * Other orgs mentioned * DoD SkillBridge (Website) * Solar Ready Vets Network — IREC (Website) Company & Industry News * Virginia’s 2026 Legislative Session Delivered Major Clean Energy Wins — by Jim Purekal * Virginia lawmakers seek to balance energy affordability, reliability in 2026 — VPM News Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * The Network After Service with Ken Webre * Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

41 min
MAY 6

Don't Play Small with Marcus Barnes

About seven percent of Americans have served in the military. The number who actually make it from a uniform into a career that fits is smaller than it should be, and the people who fall through the cracks most often are not the officers with MBAs. They’re the junior enlisted. That’s the gap Marcus Barnes works in every day. Marcus is a Marine Corps veteran and the Energy Program Manager at NextOp Vets, the Houston-based nonprofit Kevin has long called one of the best junior enlisted placement organizations in the sector. NextOp focuses on the E3 to E7 sweet spot, the rank range where transition is hardest and the industry’s recruiting machinery is weakest. Marcus’s specific job is to take that pipeline of talent and connect it to oil and gas, utilities, and renewables. The conversation gets practical fast. Kevin and Marcus walk through how NextOp actually works, how employers plug in without paying to play, and where Project Vanguard’s swim lane ends and NextOp’s begins. PV builds the peer network. NextOp does the placement. The handoff matters, and most veterans don’t know either piece exists. The other half of the episode is the human side. Marcus gets out of the Marines after six and a half years, walks into a staffing agency, and gets told his job is called HR. He didn’t know what HR was. He’s open about how often transitioning vets assume free resources are for somebody else, not them, and how much that single mindset costs people. His parting advice is simple: Don’t play small. If you know a transitioning service member, especially a junior enlisted one staring at a graduation date with no plan, this is the episode to send them. And if you’re an employer in energy who keeps saying you want to hire more veterans but can’t find the pipeline, the pipeline is in here. Timestamps * 00:00 - Cold Open & Introducing Marcus Barnes * 01:56 - Where NextOp Stands Today * 05:03 - Why Veterans Fit Energy & Finding NextOp * 06:56 - Networking and Telling the Right Story * 11:40 - Reaching Bases & Transitioning Service Members * 14:26 - Project Vanguard and NextOp Swim Lanes * 17:31 - Sponsorship, Donations, and Funding * 19:10 - How Marcus Ended Up a Marine * 25:54 - What Transition Looks Like for Junior Enlisted Now * 28:30 - How to Support NextOp * 31:37 - Energy Security and Storm Response * 34:15 - Don’t Play Small & Wrap-Up Resoures People & Organizations * Marcus Barnes (LinkedIn) * NextOp Vets (Website - LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) Company & Industry News * Veterans are ready to power America’s energy future, if we give them the chance * Energy Workforce Fast Facts * Kiggans, Houlahan Introduce Bipartisan VET Act * How NextOp Helps Veterans Get Careers in Skilled Trades Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Training the Energy Workforce with Nick Martocci * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It * Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Combined Arms of Energy * Make Energy Boring Again Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

37 min
APR 22

Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner

Laura Gardner enlisted in the Army Reserves at 17. She was one of 11 kids, seven of whom served. She didn’t have a grand plan. She needed one. Her parents kept sending recruiters to her job at a pool supply store until she finally said yes. She started in postal operations, then switched her MOS to chemical warfare when she moved to Houston. After the military, she went into oil and gas, managing subsea drilling systems and complex field operations at TechnipFMC. Today she’s the CTO of Nova Source Power Services, leading technology for solar and battery storage. That path matters here because Kevin and Laura both came up through oil and gas, and they get into why that background is an actual advantage in newer energy sectors. The operational discipline and the project management instincts carry forward. Laura also gets into what she’s seeing on the technology side: companies want the AI solution before they’ve fixed the process or the data underneath it. As she puts it, everyone skips the boring stuff, and that’s where things break. But the thread running through this whole episode is Laura’s message to veterans considering the energy industry: you already know how to do this. You’ve moved from base to base, changed jobs on short notice, and figured it out every time. The structure is the same. The values are the same. It’s just a different boss. Laura recently joined the Project Vanguard advisory board. In this episode she sits down with Kevin to talk about what she tells transitioning service members at career events, why leaving your comfort zone gets easier after the first time, and what the energy industry needs from people who’ve served. Project Vanguard Podcast is produced by ClarityForge Studios. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Laura Gardner * 01:38 - Meeting at CERAWeek & Oil and Gas Roots * 04:01 - Digital Twins and Technology Adoption * 08:22 - Moving from Oil and Gas to Solar * 12:38 - AI Adoption and Skipping the Boring Stuff * 15:15 - Joining the Military at 17 * 17:07 - From Postal Operations to Chemical Warfare * 21:21 - Deciding to Get Out * 26:00 - Veterans Transitioning into Energy * 28:32 - Advisory Board & Community Leaders * 29:35 - Take a Risk on Yourself * 33:28 - Advice for Getting into the Energy Industry * 38:57 - Rapid Fire & Closing Resources People & Organizations * Laura Gardner, CTO, NovaSource Power Services (LinkedIn) * NovaSource Power Services (LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) Company & Industry News * NovaSource Launches NovaVision AI-Enabled Platform for Asset Optimization * NovaSource Selected as Long-Term O&M Partner for Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub * NovaSource Partners with Doral Renewables for Mammoth Solar Project Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It * From Sea Daddy to Mrs. Virginia with Lourdes Spurlock * The Network After Service with Ken Webre Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Your Next Mission: America’s Energy Future * Veterans in Energy & Infrastructure Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

41 min
APR 15

Power Is Not Political with Frank Macchiarola

Energy has a messenger problem. Not a technology problem, not a cost problem, not even a policy problem at its core. The people doing the work and building the projects are winning. The people telling the story are struggling. Frank Macchiarola has spent 20 years on the advocacy side of energy, first at the American Petroleum Institute and now as Chief Advocacy Officer at American Clean Power. He has worked both sides of the fuel spectrum and both chambers of Congress. When he says the divisions in energy used to be geographic, not partisan, he is speaking from direct experience. And when he says that shift is now the single biggest obstacle to building what the country needs, it carries weight that cable news commentary never will. Frank is also the first non-veteran to sit down on this podcast. That was intentional. The advocacy and external affairs lane in energy is one veterans should know about, and Frank’s perspective on what actually moves policymakers connects directly to the grassroots work Project Vanguard is building. One of the sharpest moments in the conversation is Frank’s case that renewables and oil & gas are not actually in market competition right now. Demand growth from AI, data centers, and domestic manufacturing is so large that every resource is needed. The political war between fuels does not match the reality on the ground. Frank lived that reality at API. He is living it now at ACP. A former boss of his used to share an anecdote from a senator: “I always vote with my favorite lobbyist until I hear from my constituent.” That line sits underneath the entire conversation. Who shows up matters more than who has access. Veterans, landowners, frontline workers, local business owners. Those are the voices that stop a legislator in their tracks. Frank explains why, and what ACP’s Power Votes program is doing to put that principle into practice at scale. We also get into what the external affairs career pathway looks like for veterans and why Frank’s best piece of career advice cuts against most of the guidance people hear during transition. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Frank Macchiarola * 01:41 - ACP’s Role in Clean Energy Advocacy * 03:31 - How Energy Became a Political Football * 06:59 - Energy Security as National Security * 10:30 - Renewables and Oil & Gas Are Not in Conflict * 13:35 - Why the Messaging Still Gets Mired * 17:56 - Power Votes and Grassroots Advocacy * 23:16 - Constituents as the Real Messengers * 29:19 - Authentic Voices on the Ground * 33:38 - Showing Up with Facts and Data * 36:04 - Clean Energy’s Competitive Position * 38:54 - External Affairs as a Career for Veterans * 43:33 - Closing Resources People & Organizations * Frank Macchiarola (LinkedIn) * American Clean Power Association (Website - LinkedIn) * Power Votes * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) Organizations Discussed * American Petroleum Institute * Farm to Power * Conservative Energy Network Company & Industry News * Clean Power Adds Record 50 GW in 2025 as Surging Electricity Demand Accelerates * ACP Clean Power on the Hill * Clean Energy’s Ground Game: ACP Grassroots Strategy Session Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It * Veterans, Policy, and the Hidden Energy Battlefield with Michael Dunn * The Cost of Energy Chaos with Joshua Bice Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Make Energy Boring Again * Veterans at ACP CLEANPOWER 2025 Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

44 min
APR 8

From Sea Daddy to Mrs. Virginia with Lourdes Spurlock

Lourdes Spurlock spent six years in the Navy running nuclear reactors. She was one of a handful of women on board, trained by male mentors who held her to the same standard as everyone else, and she came out the other side with thick skin, dark humor, and zero idea how to have a normal conversation with civilian women. So she entered a pageant. Not because she wanted a crown. Because she needed to relearn how to exist outside the military. How to dress for an interview. How to talk to people who didn’t get the joke. How to stop being the person nobody invites out a second time. Pageants became etiquette training, community access, and eventually a platform. She’s now Mrs. Virginia International 2026, and her platform is renewable energy, STEM, and veteran support. That alone would be a good story. But this conversation goes further. Lourdes talks about what it actually feels like to leave a world where your coworkers check on you over the weekend and enter one where nobody asks how your three-day went. She talks about choosing a smaller pond on purpose, spending nine years at Newport News Shipyard building nuclear carriers before jumping into wind energy. And she makes the case that veterans don’t need more certifications to lead in this industry. They need to know what they bring and be willing to say it out loud in 30 seconds or less. There’s a moment where Kevin asks what she wants to see happen with Project Vanguard’s fellowship over the next year. Her answer is direct: more women. Not as a talking point. Because she knows what it’s like to be the only one in the room and have nobody who gets it. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Lourdes Spurlock * 01:30 - Legislative Days in Virginia & Oklahoma * 03:47 - Social Media & LinkedIn for Veterans * 05:25 - Getting a Screening Call, Not a Job * 07:48 - Building a Network Through Community * 09:13 - Mrs. Virginia International 2026 * 10:28 - From Navy Nuke to Pageant Stage * 13:37 - Finding Mentors by Asking Why * 15:38 - Sea Daddies & Navy Mentorship Culture * 16:56 - Joining the Military & Newport News * 18:54 - Find the Small Pond First * 22:53 - More Women in the Fellowship * 27:28 - Your Story Is the Product * 29:28 - Advice for Veterans Entering Energy * 33:21 - Don’t Be Scared to Be the Only Woman Resources People & Organizations Mentioned * Lourdes Spurlock (LinkedIn) * Apex Clean Energy (Website - LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) * American Clean Power Association (Website) Company & Industry News * Apex Clean Energy Closes $2.79 Billion in Financing for Three Renewable Energy Projects * Virginia’s First Onshore Wind Farm Under Construction in Botetourt County * Valley of Valor: Lourdes Spurlock Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It * The Network After Service with Ken Webre * Building Energy From Experience with Jon Powers Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Veterans in Energy & Infrastructure * Your Next Mission: America’s Energy Future Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

36 min
APR 1

Training the Energy Workforce with Nick Martocci

A lot of talk about energy stays stuck in the clouds. This conversation stays closer to the ground. I sit down with Nick Martocci, a Marine turned Army National Guard pilot turned renewable energy trainer, to talk about the part of the industry people often miss: the actual workforce behind it. Not the slogans. Not the social media food fight. The work. What comes through in this episode is how naturally veterans can fit into energy when the path is made visible. Nick lays out why the field feels familiar to so many former service members. Small teams. Safety. Mission execution. Logistics. Reliability. Taking care of the person to your left and right. That matters because this is not just about helping veterans land jobs. It is about building a workforce that can keep critical infrastructure running, adapt to new technologies, and strengthen the systems the country depends on. Project Vanguard has been clear that veterans are trusted messengers and practical builders in this space, especially when the conversation stays focused on people, projects, and policies instead of political theater. A few things make this episode worth your time: * Nick explains why energy work, especially in wind and storage, can be a real long-term fit for veterans * He gets specific about training, apprenticeships, and what companies actually need * He makes the case that energy security is not just about generation, but about workforce readiness and protection of the grid One of the strongest threads here is that veterans do not need vague encouragement. They need clear pathways, real standards, and people willing to lower the ladder once they’ve climbed it. That sits right in the middle of Project Vanguard’s broader mission to connect veteran credibility with workforce opportunity and American energy strength. This episode is useful for veterans looking for their next move, for employers thinking harder about talent pipelines, and for anyone who says they care about energy security but has not spent much time thinking about who actually does the work. Resources People & Organizations: * Nick Martocci (LinkedIn) * Technical Training Academy (Website - LinkedIn) * Infinite Fidelis Consulting (Website - LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) Company & Industry News * Tower Training Academy’s Renewable Apprenticeships Books & Articles Discussed * Global Wind Organisation - Wind Training Standards * Global Wind Organisation - Basic Technical Training Standard * Online CAPM® and PMP® Certification Prep Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * The Next Tour of Duty Begins with DJ Husted * From Baghdad to the Boardroom with Michelle Nicholson Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Energy Security: A Strategic Imperative in Uncertain Times * Your Next Mission: America’s Energy Future * Veterans at ACP CLEANPOWER 2025 Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

38 min
MAR 25

The Cost of Energy Chaos with Joshua Bice

The problem is not that America lacks energy resources. The problem is that we keep treating a long-horizon infrastructure challenge like a short-term political argument. In this conversation, Joshua Bice helps put a finer point on something Project Vanguard keeps coming back to: energy security is national security. Not as a bumper sticker. As a practical reality. When Josh talks about the projects being built right now, he is not describing some clean-vs-conventional fantasy debate. He is describing large, real-world resiliency plays where natural gas, storage, renewables, interconnection, regulation, and industrial load growth are all colliding at once. That is especially true as AI drives bigger and more power-hungry facilities into the system. The sharpest turn in the episode comes when the conversation moves from engineering to investment. Josh’s point is simple: scared money does not invest. If policy swings every election cycle, capital gets cautious, timelines stretch, and the country loses ground on the very infrastructure it says it wants to build. That is not just a market problem. It is a national strength problem. That is also where the veteran piece matters. Kevin and Josh get at something bigger than workforce stats. Veterans tend to understand operational discipline, mission focus, risk mitigation, and long-term responsibility. In an industry that runs on reliability and trust, that matters. Project Vanguard’s broader case is that veterans are not just a hiring pool. They are credible messengers for a more grounded energy conversation. A few threads run through this one: * energy abundance without purity politics * policy consistency as a condition for serious investment * veteran credibility as an asset in public persuasion The unresolved question hanging over the episode is the right one: can the country build a stable framework before politics keeps chasing capital off the field? Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction * 01:37 - Project Vanguard Growth * 07:52 - Energy Underground in Houston * 12:50 - What Energy Security Means * 14:08 - Why Veterans Fit Energy * 17:27 - Partisanship and Policy Risk * 18:38 - Veterans as Trusted Voices * 19:39 - Josh’s Enlistment Story * 23:05 - Getting Out and Finding Direction * 23:52 - Breaking Into Energy in Latin America * 31:11 - Follow-Through, Trust, and Reputation * 32:39 - Advice for Veterans Entering Energy * 37:05 - Final Thoughts and Outro Resources People & Organizations * Josh Bice * rPlus Energies (Website - LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) * Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Website) * North American Electric Reliability Corporation (Website) Company & Industry News * rPlus Energies Acquires 900 MW of Solar and Storage Projects in Ada County, Idaho * rPlus Energies Secures Approximately $100 Million in Tax Equity Financing with Truist Bank for Pleasant Valley Solar 2 * US AI boom faces electric shock * US utilities scale up grid-boosting tech to meet surging demand Books & Articles Discussed * Electric Reliability * NERC Standards Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

38 min
MAR 18

The Network After Service with Ken Webre

A lot of veterans do not struggle because they lack discipline, grit, or work ethic. They struggle because the structure disappears, the signal gets noisy, and nobody gives them a clear map for what comes next. That is the real center of this conversation with Ken Webre, the Director of Business Development for W-Industries. Ken has spent decades in the electrical and power world, but what makes this episode worth your time is not just his industry background. It is the way he talks about transition without dressing it up. When he came out of the Navy, there was no giant network waiting for him. No clear translation from military experience to civilian work. No obvious playbook. He leaned on family, figured it out, and built a long career in electrical leadership from there. What makes that story matter now is that the problem has changed shape, but not substance. Today’s veterans have more information than ever. They can search anything, join anything, take any course, chase any credential. But that can become its own trap. More options do not automatically create more clarity. Sometimes they just make it easier to get lost. That is where this conversation lands squarely in Project Vanguard territory: * trusted guidance matters more than generic advice * curiosity beats posturing * careers in energy become real when someone helps connect the dots One of the strongest threads in the episode is Ken’s point that veterans should not lose themselves trying to fit somebody else’s mold. Show up. Be honest. Stay curious. Treat the work like it matters. That sounds simple, but it cuts against a lot of the bad advice people get when they are trying to build a second life after service. This is also why Project Vanguard matters. Not as a slogan, and not as a feel-good veteran brand, but as a place where people can get real direction from others who have already made the jump. That fits the broader mission: veteran credibility, workforce opportunity, and practical leadership in an industry that actually builds things. That framing is consistent with Project Vanguard’s stated focus on veterans as trusted messengers and on connecting service members to energy careers. The bigger question sitting underneath this episode is simple: how many veterans are still making major life decisions with too little signal and not enough trusted people in the room? Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Ken Webre * 02:19 - Ken’s Role at W-Industries * 03:41 - Energy Infrastructure, Not Ideology * 07:23 - Listening, Sales & Learning the Business * 10:22 - Louisiana Projects & Community Leadership * 13:06 - Batteries, Transmission & Grid Resilience * 17:36 - Joining the Navy & Early Service * 24:38 - Transitioning Out & Finding Electrical Work * 27:15 - Leadership, Motivation & Feeling Lost * 29:57 - Project Vanguard, Curiosity & Trusted Guidance * 32:37 - Honesty, Ownership & Why Veterans Succeed * 34:02 - Louisiana Event, Slack Community & Wrap-Up Resources People & Organizations: * Ken Webre (LinkedIn) * W-Industries (Website - LinkedIn) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn) * Project Vanguard (Website - LinkedIn - Facebook - YouTube) Company & Industry News * W-Industries launches OASIS for Onshore Automation Solutions for Intelligent Systems * W-Industries expands Houston footprint at Champions Park Business Center * POWERGEN 2026 Conference Program Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Reality Always Collects the Bill with John Broschak * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It * From QRF to the Grid: Why Veterans Belong in America’s Energy Mission Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Your Next Mission: America’s Energy Future * Veterans in Energy & Infrastructure * Coalition Sign-On Letter: Veterans for Energy Dominance Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe

37 min

5

out of 5

3 Ratings

A podcast about leadership, energy, and service — told by the veterans shaping America’s Energy Dominance. Project Vanguard brings raw, mission-first conversations with those who’ve led in the military and continue to serve their country, building our energy future. Real stories. Clear insight. Focused on an All of the Above energy strategy where Energy Security is National Security. media.projectvanguard.com

Creator

Kevin Doffing
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

34
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Kevin Doffing
Show Website

Project Vanguard Podcast