ResilienceMN

Human nature is not a mystery. Violence and disrespect in our society is a symptom of our lack of knowledge about the art of living: conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, understanding trauma, human psychological needs, and awareness of disrespectful, ineffective ways to influence others. Paul K. Chappell is a West Point graduate, Iraq War veteran, and former army captain who serves as Peace Leadership Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Part African-American, part Asian, and part Caucasian, Chappell grew up in a violent household in Alabama with a father who fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Chappell’s most recent books in his seven book Road to Peace series are The Art of Waging Peace and The Cosmic Ocean.

"It shocked me because I thought ptsd was a military thing. I didn't think a firefighter could get it. I didn't think anyone else could get it. In fact I didn't even believe in ptsd. I thought it was a cop-out. " Scott Geiselhart Frazee Fire Department Rescue Unit/Extraction Team Scott is a firefighter from Frazee, MN with lots of experience working on a rescue team, using the "Jaws of Life" to extricate people from vehicle accidents. Listen to his amazing story. Things You'll Learn: - How Scott's work on an extraction rescue unit in the fire department left him in crisis - How post-traumatic stress emerges after years of "stuffing that stuff from the accidents away". - Why Scott began using meth-amphetamines - How many crisis phone numbers Scott had to call to get someone who could actually help. - What the "Share the Load" program is - How EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) saved his life - What doing EMDR was like Links to Things Discussed: American Addiction Center (Fire Services) http://americanaddictioncenters.org/fire-services/ 1-888-731-FIRE Share the Load Program http://www.nvfc.org/programs/share-the-load-program/ The Village: Mental Health Services in Fargo, ND https://www.thevillagefamily.org/ You can email Scott at st.auto@live.com Please share this episode with friends and family who serve, whether it is military, first responders, or law enforcement. "Like" our page on Facebook to stay up to date on new episodes and resources. www.facebook.com/resilienceMN/ Forever grateful, Paul Riedner Executive Director | Veteran Resilience Project www.ResilienceMN.org podcast@resilienceMN.org

If you want to understand what it's like to be a woman in the military and some of the challenges of being a woman veteran, this episode will help. It was an eye opener for me. This episode is with Jill Troutner. Jill grew up on White Earth Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota and received a nomination to attend West Point to be an Army officer. Jill works with the Women Veterans Initiative as an advocate and admin. In this episode you will learn about: - How her small town prepared Jill for West Point - The challenges of being a young officer in the military - What a "Slam Book" is and how Jill found out that every woman on her installation was being secretly monitored, bet on, and targeted - Why chaplains were her most important resource - How to make a pop can land mine - Why the Women Veterans Initiative exists - Kinds of discrimination and disrespect facing many women veterans Links to topics discussed: - Women Veterans Initiative www.womenveteransinitiative.com - Women veteran license plate http://womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=233&ArticleID=4702 Podcast theme music provided by Anthony Davis of Atmosphere, care of Rhymesayers Entertainment Interludes provided by Rumble Music Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. Each one find one. We do that and we will succeed. Paul Riedner Executive Director | Veteran Resilience Project ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org

Javier Matos is a fantastic blues musician who served in the army first as a helicopter repairman and then as a public affairs specialist. The episode concludes with the song Wartime by Javier & the Innocent Sons album Born to Ramble, which was awarded the best self produced blues album for 2015 in Minneapolis. This conversation covers these topics: - A publication Javier wrote called Geronimo that the soldiers loved but the NCOIC hated - Javier's reflection on soldier's guilt - How Javier recorded a hit album that earned him a mentor named Bill Bateman of the Blasters and an Article 15 LINKS TO TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE Javier's website www.javiermatosmusic.com Bill Bateman of the Blasters http://www.theblasters.com/ Playing the Turf Club in St. Paul on June 7th, 2016 Podcast theme music provided by Anthony Davis of Atmosphere, care of Rhymesayers Entertainment www.rhymesayers.com Interludes provided by Rumble Music www.rumble1.com Please add your email to our newsletter form at www.resilienceMN.org to join the growing list of over 200 community stakeholders who had a hand in creating this project. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. Each one find one. We do that and we will succeed. Paul Riedner Executive Director | Veteran Resilience Project ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org

This week I sit down with former marine Tom McKenna. Tom has been working with homeless vets with his own organization Help-A-Vet and with Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Things You'll Learn: - How EMDR worked for him - How Tom thinks about PTSD vs Moral Injury based on his squad's first casualty. - A discussion regarding the system of large VSO's and why they have mission drift Links to Topics Discussed: MN Veterans 4 Veterans Trust Fund http://mnv4v.org/ American Legion http://www.legion.org/ Disabled American Veterans https://www.dav.org/ Military Order of the Purple Heart http://www.purpleheart.org/ Veterans of Foreign Wars http://www.vfw.org/ Big Island Veterans Camp http://ow.ly/jmH0300n4Ki Send feedback and nominations for show guests/interviewees to podcast@resiliencemn.org Call 612-88-VRP-38 or 612-888-7738 to leave a voice message to be considered for future broadcast on the show. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. Each one find one. We do that and we will succeed. Paul Riedner ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org

"Don't give up! Make your story something intelligible. And I swear to you that you will have a life that you never dreamed possible. I went from trying to kill myself twice, thinking that I was all alone to literally living a dream. Sometimes I think this can't be real, but it is and everyone can have it. Don't give up. " Daniel Egbert - Director of Project 22 | Served in Iraq & Afghanistan with the Marine Corps Infantry. "We've gone to war and experienced things that nobody else in the country will, unless they've gone too, but everybody else in the country is going to vote on the next time we do it. They only place they're going to hear an accurate version of what's going on is from a veteran in the right mental state. I think we owe it to our community to get sharp mentally, physically...to come back and think about war and what we went thru and share it in a way that people can understand." Doc King - Creative Director of Project 22 | Served in Iraq as an Army Scout Medic. Veterans Daniel Egbert and Doc King are the founders of Medicinal Missions. Their first project is a documentary called Project 22, which follows them on a cross country motorcycle ride to find out if they were alone in their struggles with post traumatic stress. This conversation covers these topics: - How and when to reach out to veterans - Mistrust that accompanies many veterans after war - The necessity of opening up to loved ones - Why making your story understandable is so important - Helping is Healing - Why their next project is focused on ancient rituals for returning warriors and a focus on spirit and soul - The importance of finding a practice to center yourself - The ongoing journey of self awareness to catch yourself taking steps backward and correct it - Why the community needs healthy veterans who can bear witness to the truth of war and the lessons and wisdom that only they have - Remember your warrior spirit to overcome "You can't smoke a rock drill sergeant!" Links to things discussed in this episode Medicinal Missions website https://medicinalmissions.com/ Project 22 Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Project22vets/ Helmets to Hardhats organization that helped Daniel get work in New York https://www.helmetstohardhats.org/ Bio for Dr Roger Brooke at Duquesne University that taught them about how ancient cultures deal with the soul of returning warriors as a community http://www.duq.edu/academics/faculty/roger-brooke Example of a Sweat Lodge that Doc spoke of in Oregon being utilized by the VA there. http://www.vasweatlodge.org/ Send feedback and nominations for show guests/interviewees to podcast@resiliencemn.org Call 612-88-VRP-38 or 612-888-7738 to leave a voice message to be considered for future broadcast on the show. Please help us reach the widest possible audience by sharing the show with your loved ones. Also, rate and review the show on iTunes to help it get greater visibility on the iTunes store. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. Each one find one. We do that and we will succeed. Paul Riedner ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org

Have your pencil and paper at the ready for this episode. I sit down with an inspiring, thriving, resilient retired first sergeant air borne ranger with plenty to share and teach. Hector shares his transformation from air borne ranger to veteran, veteran to community leader, Post Traumatic Stress to Post Traumatic Growth, EMDR client to EMDR therapist, & addresses a number of important topics regarding: the trauma mind, the compensation & pension system at the VA, the Us vs Them crutch, a nation under trauma, moral injury, Father Michael Lapsley, and the community (not veterans) who came to his aid. "Suffering continues to exist when we avoid. It's interesting, because as a warrior culture, we don't avoid a fight. We don't avoid conflict. We're fearless because it helps others and so I'm willing to put myself out there. And then when we are in suffering, we begin to think that we are the sacrifice and this is how I represent myself as a sacrifice. But I'm going to ask people to get off the cross because we need the wood. It's already done. Enter the crucible. As warriors, we're not afraid of the fight, so enter the crucible. Get the gloves back on, enter the ring. You're going to take some lumps, but then start dishing the lumps out. And the enemy is avoidance." Hector Matascastillo

The business community is responding to our call for action. I talk with VRP's first partner Sean Barnard, of the Alive & Social Network, a startup in Minneapolis. I also meet the founder of Rumble, Jess Ford, who has contributed use of their music library for production of the podcast. Progress report: - DAV Commander Remus endorsed VRP's grant application for funding from Veteran for Veterans. - Invitation from the Catalyst Initiative, a wing of the George Family Foundation, to apply for seed funding. Thanks Suzanne Koepplinger and the folks over there. - www.resilienceMN.org can accept online donations now. Thanks Anita Riedner for the masterful coding, Vicky Gonzalez of TruStone Financial, and Tom Leifur at First Data. - VRP participated in a Veteran Benefits Fair at the American Legion Post #444 in Middle River, MN Telling Stories of Strong Women Landmark Center celebrates World Storytelling Day, March 22 SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Feb. 1, 2016)–Seven women will each tell the story of a strong woman in history, in honor of World Storytelling Day. “Strong Women Telling Stories of Strong Women” is March 22 at 7 p.m. in Landmark Center’s F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium. Every year, since 2003, World Storytelling Day events take place on or around March 20 in more than 25 countries around the world. Each year a global theme complements the principal concept behind WSD, "If I can hear your story, it's harder for me to hate you.” “This year’s global theme is ‘Strong Women and Heroines,’” said Larry Johnson, storyteller, WSD coordinator, and medic during the War in Vietnam. “This year, we especially like that World Storytelling Day is in March, as the March 22nd event will also commemorate Women's History Month.” Storytelling is often thought of as fairytales, fables, and oral history, but it is also commonly used to foster peace and understanding, community building, healing, and in advocacy work. A collection of peacemaking, veterans’, and women’s groups—Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, Women Veterans Initiative, Veteran Resilience Project, ERA Movement, Women's Congress for Future Generation and Future First MN, and Coming Home Collaborative—will be sharing their work at Landmark Center’s WSD event with information tables at 6 p.m. Storytellers: Peggy Flanagan - Director of Children's Defense Fund; State Rep District 46A Catrina Huynh-Weiss - Writer/Producer/Performing Artist; Immigrant after 1975 Fall of Saigon Rose McGee - Storyteller/Author/Social Justice Activist; Creator of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie Initiative Renee Weeks-Wynne - Storyteller/Augsburg student; Kawase Fellow at 2015 Hiroshima Peace Inst. Judy Brooks - Landmark Center Director of Community Programming Elaine Wynne - Storyteller/Therapist/Activist; Veteran Resilience Project Founder Chante Wolf - Persian Gulf Veteran for Peace; Writer/Artist/Activist with Women Veterans Initiative In addition to the seven storytellers, the program will recognize the three high school winners of the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers’ Peace Essay contest, each one a “strong” young woman in her own right. “Strong Women Telling Stories of Strong Women” is co-presented by Landmark Center, Veteran Resilience Project, Women Veterans Initiative, Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, ERA Minnesota, and Women's Congress for Future Generation and Future First MN. A suggested donation of $10 supports Veteran Resilience Project, a nonprofit, founded by storyteller Elaine Wynne, that brings EMDR trauma therapy to Minnesota veterans, but larger donations are encouraged. Please RSVP for tickets to Larry Johnson, 612-747-3904, or larryjvfp@gmail.com. Visit www.resilienceMN.org for more information about how the Veteran Resilience Project is preparing to reach every veteran in Minnesota that could use a powerful resilience training therapy to transform past memories into future growth. Send feedback and nominations for show guests/interviewees to podcast@resiliencemn.org Call 612-88-VRP-38 or 612-888-7738 to leave a voice message to be considered for future broadcast on the show. Please help us reach the widest possible audience by sharing the show with your loved ones. Also, rate and review the show on iTunes to help it get greater visibility on the iTunes store. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. Each one find one. We do that and we will succeed. Paul Riedner ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org

"Your first 6 months in the service you're basically learning to forget who you are. Which makes it that much harder when you come back, when you've seen some bad stuff and you don't know what to do about it and the you don't even have yourself anymore. You're something else. So, that's where dealing with PTSD is so crucial, because it opens a door to get yourself back." Gary Melom Gary Melom is a retired Hennepin County social worker/case manager and chemical dependency counselor. He is a Vietnam veteran and the vice president of the Veteran Resilience Project board of directors. Gary is known for his ability to generate trusted relationships with his clients by listening to them, not categorizing them, and letting the facts of their life be the impetus for healing. Carl Sandberg - The People, Yes Telling Stories of Strong Women Landmark Center celebrates World Storytelling Day, March 22 SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Feb. 1, 2016)–Seven women will each tell the story of a strong woman in history, in honor of World Storytelling Day. “Strong Women Telling Stories of Strong Women” is March 22 at 7 p.m. in Landmark Center’s F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium. Every year, since 2003, World Storytelling Day events take place on or around March 20 in more than 25 countries around the world. Each year a global theme complements the principal concept behind WSD, "If I can hear your story, it's harder for me to hate you.” “This year’s global theme is ‘Strong Women and Heroines,’” said Larry Johnson, storyteller, WSD coordinator, and medic during the War in Vietnam. “This year, we especially like that World Storytelling Day is in March, as the March 22nd event will also commemorate Women's History Month.” Storytelling is often thought of as fairytales, fables, and oral history, but it is also commonly used to foster peace and understanding, community building, healing, and in advocacy work. A collection of peacemaking, veterans’, and women’s groups—Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, Women Veterans Initiative, Veteran Resilience Project, ERA Movement, Women's Congress for Future Generation and Future First MN, and Coming Home Collaborative—will be sharing their work at Landmark Center’s WSD event with information tables at 6 p.m. Storytellers: Peggy Flanagan - Director of Children's Defense Fund; State Rep District 46A Catrina Huynh-Weiss - Writer/Producer/Performing Artist; Immigrant after 1975 Fall of Saigon Rose McGee - Storyteller/Author/Social Justice Activist; Creator of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie Initiative Renee Weeks-Wynne - Storyteller/Augsburg student; Kawase Fellow at 2015 Hiroshima Peace Inst. Judy Brooks - Landmark Center Director of Community Programming Elaine Wynne - Storyteller/Therapist/Activist; Veteran Resilience Project Founder Chante Wolf - Persian Gulf Veteran for Peace; Writer/Artist/Activist with Women Veterans Initiative In addition to the seven storytellers, the program will recognize the three high school winners of the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers’ Peace Essay contest, each one a “strong” young woman in her own right. “Strong Women Telling Stories of Strong Women” is co-presented by Landmark Center, Veteran Resilience Project, Women Veterans Initiative, Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, ERA Minnesota, and Women's Congress for Future Generation and Future First MN. A suggested donation of $10 supports Veteran Resilience Project, a nonprofit, founded by storyteller Elaine Wynne, that brings EMDR trauma therapy to Minnesota veterans, women and men. Please RSVP for tickets to Larry Johnson, 612-747-3904, or larryjvfp@gmail.com. Visit www.resilienceMN.org for more information about how the Veteran Resilience Project is preparing to reach every veteran in Minnesota that could use a powerful resilience training therapy to transform past memories into future growth. Send feedback and nominations for show guests/interviewees to podcast@resiliencemn.org Call 612-88-VRP-38 or 612-888-7738 to leave a voice message to be considered for future broadcast on the show. Please help us reach the widest possible audience by sharing the show with your loved ones. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. Each one find one. We do that and we will succeed. Paul Riedner ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org

Moral injury - evidence of VA restricting veteran access to PTSD treatments - interview with Mark Brunswick of the Star Tribune newspaper - conversation with VRP Founder Elaine Wynne

The MN National Guard has the highest suicide rate in the country. After a decade plus of continuous war, thousands of our neighbors suffer from hidden wounds of war: PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma, and Moral Injury. This audio series is documenting the effort of the Veteran Resilience Project to raise the funds necessary to deliver a powerful trauma therapy that has already saved the lives of over 2,000,000 people worldwide and needs to be made available to our vets...NOW. This is truly an urgent mission. Every day 22 veterans commit suicide because the community has failed to take responsibility for sending these brave young citizens to war. Join host Paul Riedner, formerly an Army deep sea diver, interview resilient, thriving Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam veterans. These are stories from the heart of the veteran experience: stories from boot camp, war, deployment, leaders they admired, struggles of reintegration. Some will bust your gut laughing and others will leave you in tears, but every one tells the larger story of how thousands of men and women found themselves in war and what they found when they returned. * MN National Guard has the highest suicide rate in the country. City Pages article * Every day 22 veterans commit suicide * Host Paul Riedner * For more background info on Paul Riedner here is his personal website * For more information about his research and innovation firm Shadow Culture * LinkedIN profile * Twitter profile * Facebook profile * Minnesota Military Radio Hour estimates over 370,000 vets in MN * Nearly 20,000 active National Guard and Reserve troops * Shame * Dr. Brené Brown (@BreneBrown) is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. * Interview on The Tim Ferriss Podcast Visit www.resilienceMN.org for more information about how the Veteran Resilience Project is preparing to reach every veteran in Minnesota that could use a powerful resilience training therapy to transform past memories into future growth. Send feedback and nominations for show guests/interviewees to podcast@resiliencemn.org Call 612-88-VRP-38 or 612-888-7738 to leave a voice message to be considered for future broadcast on the show. Please help us reach the widest possible audience by sharing the show with your loved ones. Also, rate and review the show on iTunes to help it get greater visibility on the iTunes store. Your help is appreciated greatly. Thank you for helping us to fulfill our promise to those we send to fight wars on our behalf. This community gets stronger and more resilient with every veteran that we reach. One at a time is the idea. If we each did that, we will succeed. Paul Riedner ResilienceMN Host/Producer podcast@resilienceMN.org www.resilienceMN.org