S.O.S. (Stories of Service) - Ordinary people who do extraordinary work
This channel confronts power, exposes institutional failure, and gives a platform to people willing to tell the truth when silence is easier and safer. We cover the stories the military, media, and influencers would rather bury, because reform does not happen without friction.
Episodes
273 episodes
Power, Propaganda, and the Consequences of American Empire | S.O.S. #265
Calling yourself patriotic is easy. Living like a patriot is harder, especially when the facts feel messy and the incentives in politics push us toward slogans instead of responsibility. We sit down with Michael T. Lester, a U.S. Naval Academy ...
Healing ❤️🩹 the hidden wounds | The Restored Heart Collective - S.O.S. #264
The biggest military homecoming videos end with hugs and banners, but a lot of families know the harder chapter starts after the uniforms are folded and the photos stop. We sit down with Cathy Turner and Jackie Voytak, founders of the Restored ...
Command in Crisis: Thomas B. Modly | S.O.S. #263
A single bad week can define a leader, especially when the whole country is watching and the information is incomplete. Former acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly joins us for a candid, detailed conversation about what it’s like to make c...
Inside the VA: Former Secretary Dr. David Shulkin on Leadership, Politics, and Fighting for Veterans | S.O.S. #262
The VA is more than a healthcare system—it’s a lifelong promise to veterans, from the day they leave uniform through medical care, benefits decisions, and ultimately a dignified burial. I sat down with former VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin t...
From Trauma to Power: How an Infantry Officer Rebuilt Her Mind and Body | Riley A. Gruppo S.O.S. #261
The loudest arguments about women in combat usually skip the only thing that matters: what it looks like on the ground when you are the one carrying the ruck, enforcing standards, and trying to stay safe inside a broken system. I’m joined by Ri...
From Battlefield to Ballot Box | Dr. Trei McMullen S.O.S. #260
A combat veteran can plan operations under pressure and still feel completely unprepared for the moment the uniform comes off. That tension sits at the center of my conversation with Trey McMullen, a U.S. Army combat veteran, former counterinte...
My Son Said No! | Grieving Army Dad Speaks Out - S.O.S. #259
A 24-year Army veteran races 28 hours to his soldier son’s bedside and steps into a maze of tests, policies, and a life-or-death decision he never agreed to. Eddie Peoples recounts the night an apnea test was called “inconclusive,” the promised...
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Benefit or Betrayal | Jane Babcock S.O.S. #258
Are veterans gaming the system, or are we trapped in a shallow debate that ignores the law, the medicine, and the lived reality of service? We dig into the difference between media narratives and VA standards with guest Jane Babcock—Army and Ar...
War, Media and a 25 Million Lawsuit | Anti-Hero Broadcast Founder Tyler Hoover S.O.S. #257
What happens when a combat paratrooper-turned-cop builds a media platform, challenges a celebrated story, and gets hit with a $25 million lawsuit? We sit down with Tyler Hoover, founder of the Anti-Hero Broadcast and Counterculture Inc., to unp...
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What If The Real Fight Isn’t Left Vs Right But Us Vs Division | S.O.S. #256
What happens when a new VA rule could reshape how disability is rated, and the loudest voices online push us toward outrage instead of answers? We dig into the Federal Register proposal that factors medication into disability evaluations, expla...
VA Malpractice and Finding A Voice | Brian Tally - S.O.S. #255
A routine VA visit turned into a life-or-death spiral—and a blueprint for change. Marine Corps Sergeant Brian Talley woke up in 2016 with sudden, ferocious back pain. The VA labeled it a “low back sprain,” refused bloodwork and imaging, and sen...
The Day Due Process Died in the Military with Clarence Anderson III | S.O.S. #254
A decorated Air Force logistics officer. A collapsing marriage. A system that prized appearances over proof. We sit down with Major Clarence Anderson to trace his path from special operations success to a 42‑month sentence—despite no civilian c...
Military Stories You Are Not Told | Jennifer Barnhill - S.O.S. #253
Who decides which military stories get told—and which ones never make it past the draft? We sit down with journalist and Navy spouse Jennifer Barnhill to uncover how narratives about service, sacrifice, and family support are shaped, sanitized,...
Betrayal of Command | Asad Khan - S.O.S. #252
A Marine officer who helped open Pakistan’s gateway to Afghanistan, coordinated CSAR basing, and carried the keys to a shuttered Kabul embassy steps into the studio to talk about combat, command, and the price of telling the truth. We walk thro...
Guns and Mental Heath | Walk the Talk America - S.O.S. #251
The national fight about guns gets loud, tribal, and stuck—and meanwhile, the leading cause of firearm death in America happens quietly every day. We sit down with industry veteran and Walk The Talk America founder Michael Sodini to explore a d...
DEI Controversy Meets Pentagon Whistleblowing Rick Lamberth | S.O.S. #250
A simple question opens a complicated story: what happens when you say no to a powerful directive that feels wrong? Rick joins us with 43 years of experience spanning infantry, war-zone logistics, and Pentagon program oversight to recount how r...
The Military Failed my Son | Heather Baker - S.O.S. #249
A young paratrooper with a near-perfect PT score, big plans and a bigger heart grew dangerously ill at Fort Bragg. He was sent back to the barracks, where missed formations, unanswered calls and a holiday weekend combined into six silent days. ...
He Advised the Pentagon and They ignored him with Donald Vandergriff | S.O.S. #248
What if the way we select and promote military leaders is wired to produce the very failures we say we want to avoid? That’s the challenge we take on with Don Vandergriff, a retired Marine and Army officer, defense analyst, and one of the most ...
The Cost of False Allegations with Marine Col. (ret) Dan Wilson | S.O.S. #247
The story opens at a dinner party and ends with a near-unheard-of legal result: dismissal with prejudice. In between is retired Colonel Dan Wilson’s toughest battle—how a decorated Marine became the target of a false allegation, why the c...
Are Disability Benefits Backfiring with Army Lt. Col (ret) Daniel Gade | S.O.S. #246
A hard conversation worth having: we sit down with retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gade to examine how the VA disability system, built with noble intent, can trap veterans in dependency and distort how America sees its warriors. Drawing ...
The Military History USMA Never Taught… and Tried to Bury | S.O.S. #245
A forgotten reformer changed how we think about military education, then got written out of the story. We dig into Alden Partridge’s bold vision for the citizen-soldier, why his mastery-based model threatened entrenched interests, and how his p...
Killing Busywork and Reclaiming Your Brainpower | Juliet Funt - S.O.S. #244
Imagine trading a wall of meetings for a calendar with white stripes where thinking, planning, and decisive action actually happen. That’s the shift we explore with Juliet Funt—keynote speaker, author, and founder of the Juliet Funt Group—whose...
From Kicked Out to Cleared of 19 Federal Charges with Forrest Mize | S.O.S. #243
What does it really cost to lead with integrity when the system leans the other way? We sit down with Forrest, a former naval flight officer and mission commander, whose career bends from high school dropout to strike planner for Kosovo—and lat...
Inside the Army’s SHARP Meltdown with Jeff Gorres | S.O.S. #242
Power reveals character, and nowhere is that more visible than inside military sexual assault response. We sit down with Jeff Goris—career aviator, senior SHARP advocate at Fort Hood, and later a Department of the Army civilian—to unpack how a ...
62 Miles of Grit: Honoring a Navy SEAL Through the Ultimate Adventure Race - S.O.S. #241
A 62-mile race that lets you sleep at night and still pushes you to your edge? We’re bringing a new kind of endurance event to the Colorado backcountry to honor Navy SEAL Ryan Larkin and fund life-changing sleep recovery through 62 Romeo. Over ...
