AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast

Did you know that Elmo’s parents are in the National Guard? For the last fifteen years Sesame Street have been running a program for Military Families giving over 750,000 military children videos and resources they can use to understand their world. Sabrina Huda of Sesame Workshop chats with Family Voices host, Thea Green, to discuss her own unconventional journey to Sesame Street, what resources Sesame Street for Military Families (SS4MF) provides, and what Elmo, Rosita, and Big Bird are like in real life. To learn more please check out their website linked in the resource section below. 
 
 Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Guest: Sabrina Huda, Project Director, Sesame Workshop
 
Host: Thea Green, AUSA’s Deputy Director for Family Readiness
 
Resources: 
Sesame Street for Military Families (SS4MF) 
Website: https://sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org/
Sesame Street in Communities
Website: https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/
 
Social Media Handles:
Sesame Street for Military Families
Facebook: @SesameStreetForMilitaryFamilies
Sesame Street in Communities
Facebook: @SesameStreetInCommunities
Twitter: @SesameCommunity
Music Credits:
Sesame Street for Military Families, “Coming Back| Temporary Duty,”22 September 2021, video, 3:10, https://youtu.be/9MQTswkpaPg.  

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the envy of governments and militaries around the world, a group in which officers and civilian engineers work hand-in-hand. Major General Diana Holland, the Commanding General of the Corps’ Mississippi Valley Division, shares with host Colonel Scott Halstead leadership skills learned from her time with the Corps, insights she received from students at West Point and lessons from a legendary college basketball coach.
Guest: MG Diana M. Holland, Commanding General, Mississippi Valley Division, United States Army Corps of Engineers (bio)
Host: COL (Ret) Scott Halstead, Director of AUSA’s Center for Leadership
 
Resources:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Mississippi Valley DivisionWeb: https://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

Have you heard about the new Enterprise Exceptional Family Member Program System? LTG Evans joins us to share the program details and Army's Quality of Life initiatives updates. Learn about Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs; Child, Youth and School Services; and the new Enterprise Exceptional Family Member Program (E-EFMP) system, which automates enrollment in the program and allows Soldiers and Families to track enrollment their entire career. For more information, check out the resource section below.
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org. 
 
Guest: LTG Jason Evans, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9 Installations
 
Hosts: 
Holly Dailey, AUSA’s Director for Family Readiness
SMA (Ret) Daniel Dailey, AUSA’s Vice President for NCO and Soldier Programs 
  
Resources: 
 
G-9 Installations
Web: https://dcsg9.army.mil
 
 
Social Media Handles:
Twitter: @dcs_g9
Twitter: @USArmyHousingFacebook: @USArmyHousing
Facebook: @soldierandfamilyreadiness 
  

How difficult is it to transition from the Army to entrepreneurship? Former Army Command Sergeants Major Marissa and Thomas Capel found an opportunity in baked goods and have subsequently seen their prospects rise. They share their story, insights into the pros-and-cons of owning a franchise, and lessons they learned from their years of service. This is the first of a Soldier Today summer series on veteran entrepreneurs led by Sergeant Major of the Army (retired) Dan Dailey.
Guests:
CSM (Ret) Marissa Capel, Franchise Co-Owner, Nothing Bundt Cakes
CSM (Ret) Thomas Capel, Franchise Co-Owner, Nothing Bundt Cakes
Hosts:
SMA (Ret) Daniel Dailey, AUSA’s Vice President for NCO and Soldier Programs
CSM (Ret) Troy Welch, AUSA’s Director for NCO and Soldier Programs
Resources:
AUSA’s NCO & Soldier ProgramsWeb: https://www.ausa.org/programs/nco-and-soldiersTwitter (Dailey): @15thSMA
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

Are codes the key to victory on the battlefield? In the build-up to World War I Colonel Parker Hitt recognized the Army’s non-existent cryptology methods could lead to countless deaths and created an entirely new system, laying a foundation that exists to this day. Host Joe Craig chats with Betsy Rohaly Smoot, the author of the new biography Parker Hitt: The Father of American Cryptology, to unlock the secrets of the man and his methods.
Guest: Betsy Rohaly Smoot, Author, Parker Hitt: The Father of American Military Cryptology
Host: Joe Craig, AUSA’s Book Program Director
Resources:
University Press of Kentucky:Parker Hitt: The Father of American Military Cryptology
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

"...If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints." - Betty White. Hear how 3 Army spouses are leaving their footprints through their passion for music. Heidi Ackerman and Deidra Lee Stubbs, members of the American Military Spouses Choir share how music has connected military families and brought healing and happiness through their choral performances. Victoria McAdoo wraps up the episode sharing her experience writing Lima Oscar Victor Echo with Operation Song and her inspiration behind the song. To learn more please check out their websites linked in the resource section below. 
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org. 
 
Host: Holly Dailey, AUSA’s Director of Family Readiness
 
Guests: 
Maria McConville, Spouse of the Chief of Staff of the Army
Alexandra Grinston, Spouse of the Sergeant Major of the Army
Heidi Ackerman, American Military Spouses Choir Director
Deidra Lee Stubbs, American Military Spouses Choir Member
Victoria McAdoo, Lima Oscar Victor Echo Songwriter 
 
Resources: 
 
Center for American Military Music and Opportunities (CAMMO)
Website: https://www.cammomusic.org/
 
Operation Song
Website: https://www.operationsong.org/
 
 
Social Media Platforms:
 
Center for American Military Music and Opportunities (CAMMO)
Twitter: @cammo_music 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cammomusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cammomusic
 
American Military Spouse Choir (AMSC)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americanmilitaryspouseschoir/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanMilitarySpousesChoir
 
Operation Song
Twitter: @operationsong
Instagram: @operationsong
Facebook: @OperationSong
 
 
Music Credits:
 
American Military Spouses Choir, “Fleet Week Follies: Digital Edition,” Bitta Mostofi, Anna Chlumsky, Waterwell Productions, Inc., 23 May 2020, New York City, video, 7:29, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkCGUKx0N8s.
 
Dell Ramsdell, vocalist, Victoria Vanderberg and Cindy Morgan, writers, “Lima Oscar Victor Echo (LOVE),” Operation Song, 2020, music video, 3:08, https://subsplash.com/operationsong/media/mi/+ssrhdz4.

“I landed and just heard my leg go pop.” – 1LT Maggie Gleason describing her painful landing after jumping from an airplane during Army Ranger training. She joins AUSA’s Scott Halstead to talk about her leadership journey, including her story of perseverance in earning her Ranger tab despite being injured.
Guest: 1LT Maggie Gleason, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, United States Army
Host: COL (Ret) Scott Halstead, Director of AUSA’s Center for Leadership
Resources:
2nd Cavalry Regiment, United States ArmyWeb: https://www.2cr.army.mil/
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

What’s new with the SMA? Today, SMA(R) Dailey interviews SMA Grinston about the things he is doing to implement our Army senior leaders’ vision, shape the culture of the Army and give us an overall update on how our Army is doing.
Guest: SMA Michael Grinston, 16th SMA
Host: SMA (Ret) Daniel Dailey, AUSA’s Vice President for NCO and Soldier Programs
 
Resources:
Pentagon, HQDATwitter (Grinston): @16thSMASuicide Prevention Lifeline: https://t.co/limoaNq8HT
AUSA’s NCO & Soldier ProgramsWeb: https://www.ausa.org/programs/nco-and-soldiersTwitter (Dailey): @15thSMA
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

Over one million African Americans served in World War II. Not one was awarded the Medal of Honor until the Army revisited the issue almost fifty years later. Robert Child, author of Immortal Valor, joins AUSA's Joe Craig to share stories of the seven men who were finally recognized with the nation’s highest military award.
Guest:  Robert Child, author of Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II
Host: Joe Craig, AUSA Book Program Director
Resources:
Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II

What is the Piestewa Challenge? Lisa Hallett, executive director and co-founder of wear blue: run to remember, tells us how you can join this challenge and honor women in combat. Learn how wear blue: run to remember has evolved into a community that honors all service members and helps others heal from the challenges of war. For more information on the Piestewa Challenge check out the resource section below.
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org. 
 
Guest: 
Lisa Hallett, Executive Director and Co-Founder of wear blue: run to remember
 
Host: 
Holly Dailey, AUSA’s Director of Family Readiness 
    
Resource: 
 
wear blue: run to remember
Website: www.wearblueruntoremember.org/piestewa-challenge
 
Social Media Platforms
Instagram: @wearblue
Twitter: @wearblue
Facebook: @wearblue