Alexandria White is a dedicated individual with a diverse background and a passion for making a difference. As a US Army Medic veteran, Alexandria has served in Kuwait and various military bases including Ft. Hood, Ft. Sam Houston, and completed her basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood. Her military service has instilled in her a strong sense of discipline, resilience, and a commitment to serving others. As a survivor of military sexual trauma (MST), she has emerged from that experience as a beacon of strength and advocacy. Her personal journey has fueled her determination to raise awareness about MST and support fellow survivors in their healing process.

In her present civilian life, Alexandria has pursued a career in real estate in Florida, leveraging her excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and dedication to client satisfaction. As a realtor, she assists veterans and their families in finding their dream homes and navigating the complexities of the real estate market. In addition to her work in real estate, Alexandria serves as an Associate Director at The Long Walk Home, an organization committed to providing support and resources to veterans transitioning into civilian life. In this role, she plays an instrumental part in developing and implementing programs that empower veterans to reclaim their lives and find healing after serving.

With her unwavering determination and compassionate nature, Alexandria continues to make a positive impact in her community and beyond. She strives to be a voice for those who have endured trauma, offering support, empowerment, and hope to individuals on their journey towards healing and growth.

#honor #freedom #veteranwisdom #transitioningveterans #honoringveteranwisdom #straightouttacombatradio

For more information about The Long Walk Home VISIT: www.thelongwalkhome.org

United States Marine Veteran Ron Zaleski is the Founder, President, and Executive Director of The Long Walk Home, a non-profit organization dedicated to healing and improving the lives of transitioning veterans.

Ron served in the United states Marine Corps from 1970-1972. after his military service, he owned and operated a gym and scuba shop in the Hamptons in New York for 28 years.

After 9/11, Ron realized that he had to help transitioning veterans not to experience what his generation of veterans went through coming home from Vietnam, which was having little or no guidance at all. That lack of support was unacceptable to him. In 2006-7, Ron walked the Appalachian Trail barefoot to create awareness for transitioning and struggling veterans.

In 2010-11, Ron walked barefoot across the Country carrying a petition which he brought to Washington D.C. His goal was to get mandatory counseling for all military personnel prior to their discharge from military.

In 2014-16, Ron operated had a homeless shelter for veterans in the Florida Keys. Currently, The Long Walk Home organization has a veteran's mentorship program which started in 2020 and has been more effective in helping more people across the entire United States.

Ron maintains a strong presence within the organization spending most of his I’m involved in every aspect of the organization and spend most of my time doing events and mentoring.

#honor #freedom #veteranwisdom #transitioningveterans #honoringveteranwisdom #straightouttacombatradio

For more information about The Long Walk Home VISIT: www.thelongwalkhome.org

Terry Ford was born September 1980 on an Air Force Base in North Carolina. His dad was a parachute rigger in the US Navy and shortly after Terry was born received orders to Puerto Rico where the Ford family lived for the next 3 years. After that Terry's father took orders to NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, VA where they would remain for the next 27 years, a feat almost unheard of in the Navy. That fact made Terry one of those rare Navy brats that got to live in the same house for essentially his whole life growing up. The only moving around they did was from an apartment that they moved into when they relocated from Puerto Rico to Virginia Beach.

Terry didn’t quite know what he wanted to do with his life but ultimately decided to enlist in the Navy in March of 2003 as a Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance). He went to basic training in Great Lakes, IL followed by “A” school at Cory Station in Pensacola, FL. From there he received orders to Naval Security Group Detachment Potomac at the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC. That tour ended when the command was decommissioned in 2005. At that time, Terry chose to screen for an assignment to Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) and was subsequently selected.

After 4 ½ years of service with DEVGRU, Terry chose not to re-enlist and jumped over to the contracting world and he has worked in various roles in IT. He presently works as a contactor for Illuminate in a position for the Defense Intelligence Agency. Terry's family resides in Tampa, FL with his wife and twin daughters.

#honor #freedom #veteranwisdom #transitioningveterans #honoringveteranwisdom #straightouttacombatradio

Kenneth Bender (In His Own Words):

U.S. Army Air Corps -World War Two

Senior Fire Control NCO, B-29 'Superfortress'

I was born 95 years ago on September 7, 1925 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. located on the Mississippi river about halfway between St. Louis and Memphis. I have lived here all my life except for time I spent in the service during WWII.

My father was a banker and when I was eight years old in 1933, in the heart of the great depression, the bank in which he worked became bankrupt. Except for odd jobs, such as working in the collector’s office during tax season or helping out in another bank during vacations, he was unemployed for about three years. We were poor, but so were most of my friends, and I really did not realize what my parents were going through to provide for my three older siblings, me and themselves. When I was nine I got a job selling magazines on Tuesdays after school, making about twenty cents each week. It was spending money for a kid. When I was 11, I got a job delivering papers after school making sixty cents a week. After several months, the new social security law came into effect and you had to be at least twelve years old to get a social security card. I was laid off until my twelfth birthday. I got a better route and in time I finally worked up to $2.70 a week. I kept this job until I was in high school when I got a job setting pins in a bowling alley. This was in the day before automatic pin setters. On an average night working from about 6:00 pm to 9:00 or 10:00 pm I would make anywhere from sixty cents to a $1.20. I was rich. Somewhere about my junior or senior year I got a job working in a hardware store after school and on Saturday making thirty-five cents an hour.

In the middle of all this on December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This was a Sunday and in the early afternoon our family was getting ready to take a short drive around town. My Mother would not let me go along because I had not written a paper for school that was due the next day.

As they were getting ready to leave my uncle called and told my dad to turn on the radio. THE JAPANESE HAD BOMBED OUR NAVAL BASE AT PEARL HARBOR IN HWAII. We were all glued to the radio for the rest of the day. The next day, Monday, at school our principal brought his big floor model radio from home. He set it on a table in the cafeteria and let anyone who had a drop hour come in and listen to President Roosevelt address a joint session of congress asking them to declare that a state of war had existed since the bombing began the day before. I was lucky enough to be in the room and hear this historic address.

When I was seventeen years old and a senior in high school I knew that when I was eighteen I would be eligible for the draft, so a buddy of mine and I (with the principal’s approval) skipped a day of school and drove to the town of Sikeston, Mo. Which was about 30 miles away and had a small army air corps training base. We spent all day taking tests and when we were told that we had passed we were sworn in to the Army Air Corps Reserves under a program in which we would not be called to active duty until after we were 18 years old. We had chosen our branch of service and felt good about it.

A few months after my 18th birthday I was called to active duty and after a period of schooling I became as Central Fire Control gunner on a B-29 Superfortress. The largest and longest- range aero plane that had entered the war. I was sent from Lowery Field in Denver, (a great place to be assigned) to the air base at the tiny dusty town of Clovis, New Mexico. In a large gymnasium, men were assembled in groups according to their job. All pilots in one bunch, navigators in another, CFC gunners, etc. A pilots name was called and he stepped to the center of the room, a co-pilot, a navigator, etc. until a crew of 11 men (boys mostly) had been assembled. We introduced ourselves to each other and the next day began flying together. We started in a B-17 because there were not enough B-29s available. Our pilot had been trained on a B-17 and flew it well. After a few weeks we got to move up to a B-29 which was a whole new world for our pilot and co-pilot.

Bill Quiqley is a former Army Psychological Operations 1SG who transitioned out of the service after 20+ years in the Special Operations community. He is currently the City Leader for Bunker Labs in Tampa, where he encourages Veterans and Military spouses to realize their dreams of financial independence through entrepreneurship. He is also the co-founder of Gorilla Gurus, a design and ad agency specializing in Gorilla Marketing.

Throughout his career as a Special Operations professional, Bill was the beneficiary of innovation that enabled him to deploy to remote locations and accomplish the missions assigned to him. He had the opportunity to travel professionally to over 15 countries, sharing his knowledge of information dissemination strategies with partner nations. Being able to identify new and creative ways to message select audiences that resulted in positive and long-lasting change was vital to his success while in uniform. Bill served two combat deployments in Iraq in addition to tours in Bosnia, Nigeria, Niger, and Qatar. It is because of those experiences that he is passionate about telling the story of Innovation and the Veteran Community.

Marvin Gonzalez “Gonzo”

Born and raised in Long Island, NY. Family came from El Salvador escaping the civil war. Graduated from West Hempstead High School and following the attacks on the WTC 9/11.

Enlisted in the U.S. Navy. October 27, 2004 attended Navy Recruit Training in Great Lakes, Illinois. Graduated Gunners Mate “A” School in June 2005 and assigned to amphibious assault ship USS OGDEN LPD-5 from March 2005 to March 2007. During this timeframe deployed to the Arabian Gulf with Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. After a successful WESPAC deployment and decommissioning of USS OGDEN LPD-5. Transferred to Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL Training Class 265 Coronado, California, from March 2007 to October 2007.

Successfully completed training and moved on to SEAL Qualification Training (SQT). Graduated SQT Class 270.Upon completion of SEAL Qualification Training, transferred to SEAL Team EIGHT in April 2009. Completed 1 deployment to Yemen (Mar-Sept 2010), as well as 1 JCET deployment to Colombia (Nov 2010), and 1 deployment to Africa (Feb – July 2011). On June 15, 2012, was Honorably Discharged from active duty service. Worked in Private Sector for various security projects and conducted underwater construction projects in NY Tri-state area. In Nov 2018, hired by the Department of State as a Method of Entry MOE Instructor. Charged with providing training to foreign law enforcement agents in the Middle East and Africa. Currently President and owner of OP5 Tactical.

Personal awards include Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Battle E Ribbon, Navy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Ribbon, , Expert Rifle Marksmanship Medal, Expert Pistol Marksmanship Medal, Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist Device, Military Freefall Parachutist

Currently holds a Commercial Deep Sea Diver Diploma, and is working towards completing a bachelor’s degree in Security Management through Bellevue University.

He is currently married to Joanna and has 3 children: Gabriella (4), Joseph (2), Jeremy (4 months)

Our veteran guest for this episode of Straight Outta Combat (Radio-Medicine by GreenZone Hero) is Army veteran Kirby Ingles. Kirby is a 23-year veteran who now lives in Central Missouri with his wife and four children.

Currently, Kirby is a leadership and transformation coach working with young professionals, transitioning veterans, and emerging leaders. Kirby’s passion is helping fatherless men live a more fulfilled life and to become pillars of their communities. His focus to bring positive light to the strengths of the men he works with so that they can become leaders who change the world.