In the pilot episode of DoD’s BeThere Podcast, we introduce the podcast, its intent and general information about the DoD Peer Support Call and Outreach Center. We interview call center manager and Army veteran, Donny Moncrief, about his experience with post-traumatic stress, or PTS. He discusses how he recognized his PTS symptoms, what it took to ask for help, and what coping strategies worked for him.

DSPO Podcast: Coping With Post-Traumatic Stress w/ Donny Moncrief

The Department of Defense knows how valuable military spouses are. So, when it comes to supporting your career goals within your mobile military life, the DoD has your back. In this episode of the DoD BeThere Podcast, we interview C. Eddy Mentzer, program manager for the Department of Defense’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program. He explains the intent behind a recent presidential executive order and shares some invaluable resources made just for you. You’ll wish you knew about these sooner!

Military Spouse Career Building Resources

In part two of this two-part series of the DoD BeThere Podcast, we continue our conversation on building meaningful connections in your military community. This time, we meet Brittany, an Army Foreign Area Officer’s wife of nine years and a mom of two young boys (with one more on the way). Brittany reflects on her years as a military spouse, how she’s turned challenges into opportunities, and shares with us some of the ways she’s kept herself grounded with family and friends both old and new.

Building Connections in Your Military Community — Part 2

In this episode of the DoD BeThere Podcast, we interview Marine Corps spouse Kristi, a mom of two young kids, who decided to go back to school. Kristi shares with us how she overcame the time and money hurdles to get back to school as well as her experiences as an adult student.

Back to College: Military Spouse Style

In this episode of the DoD BeThere Podcast, we follow up with Shay, a retired Air Force Intelligence Analyst and current BeThere Call Center Peer Specialist, who took our challenge to give up her smartphone, her computer, AND her TV for five days. The results of her “digital detox” show just how much we’ve come to rely on our devices and how sometimes they might actually be getting in our way! Join us as we discuss how this former 20-year Active-Duty Airman, wife and mom braved a break from her digital reliance and came out on top. Spoiler: She said she’d do it again.

She Volunteered to Do What? Surviving a “Digital Detox” With Shay

In this episode of the DoD BeThere Podcast, we interview former Navy psychologist, Dr. Chaffee about what it means to be “addicted.” Addictions come in many forms such as smart phone use, shopping, eating, drinking, gambling and exercising, to name a few. Join us as we discuss addictions, getting help and how to support friends, family members and ourselves in replacing the unwanted behaviors with healthier habits.

Are You Addicted? Your Questions Answered - With Dr. Blake Chaffee

In this episode, we discuss exposure therapy with Dr. Skip Rizzo. Dr. Rizzo is the Director of the Medical Virtual Reality research group at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies — an Army University Affiliated Research Center supported by the Army Research Lab. Through this virtual reality therapy, Service members and veterans are able to confront their trauma and work to lower their heightened response to those traumatic events. Prolonged exposure therapy is available at most military treatment facilities, and virtual reality is currently found at over 60 sites, including VA hospitals, military installations and university centers.

DSPO Podcast: Treating Post-Traumatic Stress with Virtual Reality

Making meaningful connections with people can be challenging for anyone. Add in the unique qualities of a military life, like PCSing every 18 months to three years, deployments and duty, and we understand the energy this takes, and the resilience needed to thrive. In part one of this two-part series of the DoD BeThere Podcast, we meet Kelli, a wife of a retired Marine, mom of six and a former military brat herself. Kelli shares her experience and teaches us the importance of finding and building community while in the military and how to make the best of it when connections aren’t so easy to find.

The Bowen Group