AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast

Military spouses learn quickly that the road to professional credentials and employment is never a straight line. Today we speak to Dr. Belinda Hernandez and learn about the many sacrifices made on her journey towards her PhD. In addition, Dr. Hernandez shares insights from preliminary findings on a study she is conducting for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation which examines the impact on children that live in a home where a caregiver parent cares for a wounded, ill, or injured servicemember. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Guest: Dr. Belinda Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
 
Host: Patty Barron, AUSA’s Director of Family Readiness
 
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives.
 
Resources:
 
Dr. Belinda Hernandez, UTHealth
Email: UTMCHS@uth.tmc.edu
Twitter: @DrBelHernandez
 
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @UTexasSPH
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/ut-school-of-public-health
Web: https://sph.uth.edu/
 
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Facebook/Instagram: @MyUTHealth
Twitter: @UTHealth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uthouston/
Web: https://www.uth.edu/

Co-hosts Nzinga Curry, AUSA’s Director of Education & Programs, and LTC Eugene Irby, AUSA’s Army Fellow, interview individuals representing the Total Army to highlight the array of different positions and people that make up our Total Force. This includes representatives from the Active and Reserve Components, National Guard, Department of the Army (DA) Civilians and Family Members.
 
Active Component: LTC Eugene Irby, U.S. Army Fellow, Association of the United States Army
DA Civilian/National Guard: Ms. Erin Thede, CSA Senior Fellow, Institute for Defense Analyses; served in a civilian capacity with the Army National Guard (former U.S. Marine)
Reserve Component: CSM Robert “Todd” Priest, (former U.S. Marine) later enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve
Family Member: Mrs. Josie Beets, Army spouse & lawyer
 
Army Real Talk, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to help AUSA and the Army better connect with the younger generation. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources:
U.S. Army Civilian Expeditionary Workforce
Call: 1-83-DEPLOY-ME (1-833-375-6963)
 
CSM Robert Priest
Facebook: @CSMPriest @108thTrainingCommand @95thTrainingDivision @98thTrainingDivision @104thDivision @108thDSRecruiting
Instagram: @108_tc @98th_Training_Division
 
Mrs. Josie Beets
Website: missionlicense.com
Twitter: @JosieBeets @MissionLicense
Facebook: @missionlicense

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinston discusses hot topics with host Sergeant Major of the Army (Retired) Daniel A. Dailey, AUSA’s Vice President for NCO and Soldier Programs. They cover the “This is My Squad” initiative, quality of life in the barracks, encouraging Soldiers to take the ACFT and the rollout of the new Army Greens uniform.
 
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources:
Sergeant Major of the Army: https://www.army.mil/leaders/sma/
Twitter (Grinston): @16thSMA
 
AUSA’s NCO & Soldier Programs website: https://www.ausa.org/programs/nco-and-soldiers
Twitter (Dailey): @15thSMA

Host Joe Craig, Director of AUSA’s Book Program, speaks with authors James McLeroy and Gregory Sanders about their book Bait: The Battle of Kham Duc. The authors combine their experience as Vietnam veterans with their work as military historians to provide a personal perspective to one of the least known and most misunderstood battles of the Vietnam conflict. As part of the Mini-Tet of May 1968, two regiments of the North Vietnamese Army attacked the US Army Special Forces camp at Kham Duc near the Laos border. The NVA were looking for a major propaganda coup on the eve of the Paris peace talks, but instead they suffered massive casualties.
 
Web: https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/MR-Book-Reviews/July-2019/Book-Review-004/
 
Thought Leaders, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, brings in-depth conversations with authors of military books and senior leaders. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

Lieutenant General (Retired) Raymond V. Mason, Director of Army Emergency Relief (AER) joins AUSA hosts Patty Barron, Director, Family Readiness, and Nzinga Curry, Director, Education & Programs, to discuss AER programs. Since 1942, AER has distributed $2 billion to nearly three million Soldiers and their families. The organization is helping improve readiness within the Army by making sure Soldiers' families are taken care of financially, and today LTG(R) Mason announces a new category of assistance which will help active duty soldiers, retired soldiers, and spouses with child care costs. In 2017, LTG(R) Mason became the ninth director at AER, following a 35-year career in the United States Army and a subsequent position as the Chief Operating Officer of VT Systems in Alexandria, VA.
 
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources:
Army Emergency Relief: https://www.aerhq.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aerhq
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AERHQ/
@AERHQ

LTC Robin Johnson from Soldier for Life teams up with Nzinga A. Curry, AUSA’s Director of Education & Programs, and 1SG (Retired) Steve Canonico, AUSA’s Assistant Director for Retired Soldiers, Veterans and DA Civilians Affairs, to discuss how both organizations support our Soldiers. Robin is also a host of The U.S. Army Soldier For Life Podcast which shares information about education, employment and health & wellness resources available to Soldiers, Veterans, and their families. Subscribe to their podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and find their other content using the links in the show notes below.
Army Real Talk, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to help AUSA and the Army better connect with the younger generation. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Resources:
Soldier For Life on the web: https://soldierforlife.army.mil/Soldier/
Soldier For Life Podcast: http://usarmysoldierforlife.libsyn.com/
Facebook: @csasoldierforlife
Twitter/Instagram: @csasoldier4life
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army-soldier-for-life/

There are changes ahead for AUSA’s NCO & Soldier Programs as we welcome incoming Vice President, 15th Sergeant Major of the Army (Retired) Daniel A. Dailey, to the helm. He interviews outgoing Vice President, 13th Sergeant Major of the Army (Retired) Kenneth O. Preston, in this episode reflecting on his accomplishments with the Army and AUSA, thoughts on leadership, and future plans. SMA(R) Preston will continue to serve as an AUSA Senior Fellow.
 
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources:
AUSA’s NCO & Soldier Programs website: https://www.ausa.org/programs/nco-and-soldiers
Twitter: @15thSMA @SMAPrestonAUSA
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast has had a great first year! Hosts from our four segments, Soldier Today, Army Real Talk, Family Voices and Thought Leaders, get together to talk about 2019 highlights and what to expect in 2020. We will keep bringing you relevant discussions to help you know more about your Army. This episode features Troy Welch, Director of NCO & Soldier Programs, Nzinga Curry, Director of Education & Programs, Patty Barron, Director of Family Readiness, and Joe Craig, Director of the Book Program.
 
Recommendations for future special editions of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Joe Craig, Director of AUSA’s Book Program, speaks with author David L. Roll about his new book George Marshall: Defender of the Republic. The biography fully explores George Catlett Marshall’s career to restore his legacy as “America’s most distinguished soldier–statesman since George Washington.”
 
David L. Roll is the author of The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler (Oxford) and the coauthor of Louis Johnson and the Arming of America (Indiana University Press), a biography of Harry Truman’s defense secretary. He is Senior Counsel at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, a Washington DC-based international law firm, Nonresident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and founder of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, a public interest organization that provides pro bono legal services to social entrepreneurs around the world.
 
Thought Leaders, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, brings in-depth conversations with authors of military books and senior leaders. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Web: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/533722/george-marshall-by-david-l-roll/
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Patty Barron, Director for AUSA’s Family Readiness, interviews 1LT Michael St. Germain, Marketing Manager, Grow with Google – Veterans, and Platoon Leader and Pilot, UH-60A/L, in the U. S. Army Reserve. Grow With Google provides free training, tools and resources to help individuals grow their skills, career or business, and Michael works specifically with Veterans and Military Families making the transition to civilian life. Grow With Google offers military-specific services including the ability to match a military occupation code to similar civilian jobs, search work from home job opportunities, and receive assistance with resume updates. They have also partnered with organizations that can provide capital and mentorship to help the Veteran community succeed in startups.
 
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Grow With Google-Veterans and Military Families: https://grow.google/programs/veterans-commitment
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/