VET S.O.S. Podcast

Your military transition shouldn't depend on luck. One free mentor could change your career, business, and future.
What happens when a military spouse with nearly two decades of experience helping others transition finally experiences that transition herself? Leslie from American Corporate Partners (ACP) shares the unexpected isolation her family faced, the challenges her children experienced adjusting to civilian schools, and the freedom that came with finally having her service member home.
Recorded live at MIC 2026 in Tampa, this conversation with Shawn Welsh and Eric goes beyond traditional career advice. Leslie explains how ACP connects veterans and military spouses with experienced professionals through free, personalized, yearlong mentorships. From preventing devastating entrepreneurial mistakes to helping unemployed veterans find meaningful careers, ACP is proving that the right connection can change everything.
In This Episode, You'll Discover:
• Access free, personalized career mentorship through ACP's network of 27,000 mentors representing more than 2,250 companies, regardless of military rank, education, or professional experience.
• Avoid costly entrepreneurial mistakes through ACP Ventures, a program inspired by a veteran business owner who leveraged $100,000 against his home while struggling to keep his business afloat.
• Recognize the hidden challenges of military family transition as Leslie shares how her children struggled to integrate into a civilian school and how isolation affected her personally, even after years of supporting transitioning families.
• Build career connections that open doors through the remarkable story of an unemployed speech pathologist who secured an internship within six weeks and eventually advanced into a leadership role with United Through Reading.
• Explore expanding opportunities in skilled trades as ACP recruits mentors in construction, maritime shipbuilding, and other industries while strengthening its partnership with the USO to support military families before separation.
About Leslie
Leslie is a military spouse with nearly two decades of experience in the military transition space and works with American Corporate Partners, a national nonprofit providing free, individualized career mentorship to veterans and military spouses. Her firsthand experience navigating her own family's transition brings a personal perspective to her professional mission of helping military families find meaningful careers, financial stability, and community.
Connect With American Corporate Partners
Website: https://www.acp-usa.org
ACP offers free mentorship for eligible veterans and military spouses. Professionals interested in volunteering as mentors can also apply, with a commitment of approximately one hour per month.
Support VET S.O.S.
If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. Open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap "Write a Review." It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.
Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network:
• VET S.O.S. — Flagship Show
• VET S.O.S. Presents: Operation Startup
• VET S.O.S. Presents: Learning Lifeline
• VET S.O.S. Presents: The Scoop
• VET S.O.S. Presents: Testimony Strong
Connect With VET S.O.S.:
Website: https://vetsospodcast.com
X: https://x.com/vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vetsospodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vetsospodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vetsospodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast
Support Our Mission: https://givebutter.com/vetsos
Don't drown in the sea of transition — grab the lifeline.
#VETSOS #VeteranPodcast #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP #MilitaryTransition #VeteranEntrepreneur #MilitarySpouse #VeteranMentorship #VeteranCommunity

Your VA disability claim could be in trouble before you even leave active duty. Here's what a former VA rater wants you to know.
What if the biggest mistake in your VA disability claim isn't what you submit, but what you failed to document while still serving?
Dewayne Kimble, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and former VA rating specialist who adjudicated more than 15,000 disability claims, reveals what veterans consistently get wrong about the VA claims process. From going 12 years without understanding his own VA benefits to reviewing thousands of poorly prepared claims, Dewayne brings an insider's perspective that every transitioning service member needs to hear.
In This Episode, You'll Discover:
• Prepare your VA disability claim before separation. Learn why Dewayne recommends starting 36 months before leaving active duty, organizing your evidence 12 months out, and preparing for the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) filing window.
• Recognize the documentation mistakes that complicate VA claims. Discover why Dewayne believes approximately 75% of the claims he adjudicated showed signs that veterans didn't understand the process, and why going to sick call matters.
• Take ownership of your disability claim. Understand why relying entirely on a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to review your medical records can leave you unprepared, and how to identify the evidence needed to support your claim.
• Avoid the knowledge gap that cost Dewayne 12 years. Hear how a veteran who eventually became a VA rating specialist spent more than a decade after military service without understanding VA disability compensation—and why he's determined to keep others from making the same mistake.
Dewayne also explains how his VA Benefits Navigator software helps veterans develop individualized lay statements, why generic AI-generated statements may miss critical details, and how free education can help veterans become better advocates for themselves.
About Dewayne Kimble
Dewayne Kimble is a decorated U.S. Army veteran, Soldier's Medal recipient, retired VA rating specialist, Amazon bestselling author, and founder of KMD 89 VA Claims Consulting. After adjudicating more than 15,000 VA disability claims, he now uses that experience to educate veterans about VA regulations, medical evidence, disability ratings, and the claims process. His educational platform includes more than 1,000 YouTube videos, books, webinars, and a community of more than 166,000 subscribers.
His message: "Don't be frustrated, get educated."
Connect With Dewayne Kimble
KMD 89 VA Claims Consulting: https://www.kmd89.com
VA Benefits Navigator: https://vabenefitsnavigator.com
YouTube: KMD 89 VA Claims Consulting
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction: The VA Claims Process
02:00 - Meet Dewayne Kimble: Former VA Rating Specialist
04:43 - An Unexpected Transition Out of the Army
10:02 - From Corporate America to the Department of Veterans Affairs
14:47 - Going 12 Years Without Understanding VA Compensation
17:21 - Why Veterans Struggle With VA Disability Claims
19:57 - Turning VA Claims Education Into Generational Knowledge
21:53 - Free VA Claims Education, Books, and Webinars
26:24 - BDD Claims, Medical Documentation, and Preparing Before Separation
29:38 - VA Benefits Navigator and Personalized Lay Statements
31:35 - Closing & Resources
Connect with VET S.O.S.
Website: https://vetsospodcast.com
Twitter/X: https://x.com/vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vetsospodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vetsospodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vetsospodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast
Support the Mission: https://givebutter.com/vetsos
Don't drown in the sea of transition — grab the lifeline.
#VETSOS #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP #MilitaryTransition #VADisability #Veterans #MilitaryLife

Military spouses are told to be resilient. But what happens when resilience becomes an excuse to ignore their struggles?
After nearly 20 years navigating military life, author and advocate Allison Burton has had enough of the silence surrounding military spouse challenges. Her book, Silent Ranks, Loud Burdens: Invisible, Indispensable, Ignored, exposes the realities of deployments, childcare shortages, discrimination, career sacrifices, and the invisible responsibilities military families carry.
In this candid conversation with VET S.O.S. hosts Shawn Welsh and Keith Cassant, Allison challenges the military community to stop celebrating resilience while overlooking the policies and systems that leave spouses struggling. From her husband's unexpected deployment just 72 hours after arriving in Germany to her ongoing fight for childcare access, Allison explains why military spouses deserve more than recognition. They deserve a voice in decisions affecting their families.
In This Episode, You'll Discover:
• Recognize the hidden costs of military life: Understand why constant relocations, deployment uncertainty, inadequate housing, and limited childcare create challenges that resilience alone cannot solve.
• Advocate for military family childcare: Learn why Allison identifies childcare as her top priority and how she's challenging her installation to provide respite care outlined in Army policy.
• Navigate deployment and reintegration: Hear how Allison's family received unexpected deployment orders within 72 hours of arriving in Germany and why returning service members and spouses both need time to readjust.
• Translate military spouse experience into career opportunities: Discover why Allison believes military spouses are experienced project managers whose leadership, logistics, fundraising, and community-building skills deserve recognition by civilian employers.
• Challenge discrimination within the spouse community: Explore the exclusion experienced by foreign-born military spouses and why Allison believes every spouse deserves respect, regardless of background or military status.
About Allison Burton
Allison Burton is a military spouse, author, speaker, and advocate who has spent nearly two decades navigating Army family life alongside her active-duty husband. She is the author of Silent Ranks, Loud Burdens: Invisible, Indispensable, Ignored, which examines the challenges military spouses are often expected to endure quietly.
Through writing, speaking, and consulting, Allison advocates for stronger military family support, improved childcare access, and recognition of military spouses' professional capabilities.
Connect with Allison: https://allisonburton.co
Support the Mission
If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap "Write a Review." It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.
Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network
▶ VET S.O.S. — Flagship Show
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Operation Startup
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Learning Lifeline
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: The Scoop
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Testimony Strong
Connect with VET S.O.S.
Website: https://vetsospodcast.com
X: https://x.com/vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vetsospodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vetsospodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vetsospodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast
Support Our Mission: https://givebutter.com/vetsos
Don't drown in the sea of transition — grab the lifeline.
#VETSOS #MilitarySpouse #MilitaryLife #MilitaryTransition #VeteranPodcast #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP

Most veterans are taught how to serve—not how to become someone new afterward. Music can help rebuild what comes next.
Taylor Ullom discovered that recovery requires more than a short-term program. After receiving her own PTSD diagnosis, the Air Force veteran recognized that she had spent years trying to “outserve” her own struggles by helping others. That realization eventually helped shape Heroes Encore: a nine-month journey using music to rebuild purpose, identity, confidence, and belonging.
In This Episode, You'll Discover:
• Understand why transition can become an identity problem, especially after years spent in a military system that taught you what to do, how to think, and where you belonged.
• Explore Heroes Encore's three-stage approach using guitar and bass instruction, songwriting, vocal lessons, and live performance to move participants from “peer to performer.”
• Challenge the belief that you have to be musical to belong. Taylor explains why everyone can have a role—from playing an instrument to running sound, setting lights, maintaining equipment, or simply finding another way to contribute.
• Hear what happens when people begin showing up again. Taylor shares how participants who once struggled to speak, make eye contact, or enter public spaces have gone on to volunteer for performances and even release their own music.
About Taylor Ullom
Taylor Ullom is a U.S. Air Force veteran, singer-songwriter, mental health advocate, and founder and executive director of Heroes Encore. After 10 years of Air Force service and more than a decade working in veteran programming, nonprofit leadership, advocacy, and community building, she founded Heroes Encore in 2025 to help veterans, active-duty service members, and first responders rediscover identity, purpose, and belonging through music.
Follow & Review
If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap “Write a Review.” It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.
Episode Chapters
00:00 — Introduction: Music, Purpose & Healing
01:07 — Meet Taylor Ullom
02:51 — 10 Years in the Air Force
09:12 — Losing Connection After Military Service
10:15 — PTSD, Recovery & Trying to “Outserve” Your Struggles
12:00 — Why Heroes Encore Became a Nine-Month Program
13:00 — Who Teaches Veterans How to “Detransition”?
14:00 — Stage One: Learning Guitar & Understanding Stress
16:00 — Stage Two: Songwriting, Creativity & Identity
17:00 — Stage Three: Vocal Training & Live Performance
20:49 — “There's a Place for You to Belong”
21:59 — Creativity, Neuroplasticity & Recovery
27:44 — How to Join or Support Heroes Encore
29:54 — Closing & Resources
Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network
▶ VET S.O.S. — Flagship Show
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Operation Startup
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Learning Lifeline
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: The Scoop
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Testimony Strong
Connect with VET S.O.S.
Website: vetsospodcast.com
Twitter: @vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
YouTube: youtube.com/@vetsospodcast
Facebook: facebook.com/vetsospodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/vetsospodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast
#VETSOS #VeteranPodcast #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP #HeroesEncore #VeteranTransition #VeteranMentalHealth #MusicForHealing #PurposeAfterService #Veterans #MilitaryLife #MilitaryCommunity #FirstResponders #Podcast

Veteran homelessness rarely starts with losing a home. It starts when the support system underneath someone disappears.
Veteran homelessness is more complicated than housing—and Bruce Buckley has spent more than two decades learning what it takes to create lasting stability.
In this conversation, Bruce explains how Soldier On evolved from transitional housing into a comprehensive support system serving thousands of veterans. From furnished permanent housing and mobile SSVF teams to peer support, healthcare navigation, financial literacy, and landlords willing to work alongside veterans, this episode shows what can happen when the goal isn't simply getting someone off the street—it's helping them stay there.
In this episode, you'll discover:
• Recognize why homelessness often develops over years, as broken relationships, financial struggles, health challenges, pride, and the loss of a reliable support system begin stacking up.
• Understand why housing alone isn't enough and how Soldier On combines affordable housing with case management, meals, transportation, healthcare coordination, and ongoing support.
• See how mobile SSVF teams reach veterans where they are, including emergency hotel placement, landlord navigation, healthcare assistance, and peer support instead of requiring veterans to find their way through the system alone.
• Learn why Soldier On believes recovery may require multiple attempts, including Bruce's story of a veteran who has experienced repeated alcohol relapses but has retained his housing while continuing to receive treatment and support.
About Bruce Buckley:
Bruce Buckley is President and CEO of Soldier On, a nonprofit dedicated to ending veteran homelessness. Bruce is not a veteran; he is a CPA by training who became involved with Soldier On in 2002, when the organization had only a handful of employees, and eventually developed a deeply personal commitment to the veterans it serves.
Under his leadership, Soldier On has expanded its housing and support programs across Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Bruce also serves as Treasurer of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
🎙️ If this episode helped you, please follow the show and leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts — open the app, search VET S.O.S., scroll down, and tap "Write a Review." It takes 30 seconds and puts this show in front of a veteran who needs it right now.
⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introduction: The Fight to End Veteran Homelessness
02:23 — How Bruce Buckley Found His Mission at Soldier On
04:54 — Homelessness and the Missing Support System
06:54 — Why Veterans Can Become Vulnerable Years After Service
09:49 — How Soldier On's Housing Model Works
13:00 — From Transitional Housing to Permanent Supportive Housing
17:00 — Meals, Case Management, Transportation & Healthcare
20:42 — Who Qualifies for Soldier On Housing?
23:08 — Responding When a Veteran Needs Housing Now
23:13 — SSVF: Taking Services Directly to Veterans
27:20 — “Serve the Veteran”: The Culture Behind Soldier On
30:06 — Why Hope and Human Connection Matter
31:45 — How Veterans Can Get Help & Additional Resources
34:01 — Closing & Resources
🎧 Explore the Full VET S.O.S. Network:
▶ VET S.O.S. — Flagship Show
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Operation Startup
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Learning Lifeline
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: The Scoop
▶ VET S.O.S. Presents: Testimony Strong
🔗 Connect with VET S.O.S.:
Website: vetsospodcast.com
Twitter: @vetsospodcast
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcast
YouTube: youtube.com/@vetsospodcast
Facebook: facebook.com/vetsospodcast
Instagram: instagram.com/vetsospodcast
TikTok: tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast

#VETSOS #VeteranPodcast #GrabTheLifeline #HeroesMediaGRP #VeteranHomelessness #VeteranHousing #VeteranSupport #SoldierOn #MilitaryTransition #Veterans #MilitaryLife #VeteranResources #Podcast