Veterans Radio

US Army veteran Kevin Kidder retires after 20 years and finds transitioning hard. He explains his process including loss of identity, job searching, divorce, dating and coming out better for all of it with host Jim Fausone. Kidder offers up suggestions to other veterans about transition and tools they may employ.

Jessica Meuse joins Veterans Radio to talk about what happens when your ambitions don’t fit together cleanly. A recording artist who competed on American Idol and played the Grammys, she’s now an officer candidate turned logistics officer in one of the most remote duty stations in the country — and still chasing a second degree in medicine.
This conversation covers building boundaries under a microscope, why she stopped eating in high school and how that shaped her relationship with fitness and nutrition today, walking away from a manager who tried to take her music, and what she’s learned about worth that has nothing to do with how you look. She also gets into mentoring senior enlisted from an O-1 billet, and what “you just can’t win” actually means when you stop waiting for the friction to disappear.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL DISCOVER
✓ How Jessica turned down officer packet into an OCS acceptance two weeks before boot camp ✓ Why she calls Hollywood the most superficial place she’s ever lived ✓ How she mentors senior enlisted from a junior officer’s chair ✓ Her honest answer on what it costs to hold three ambitions at once.
Jessica Meuse
US Coast Guard Logistics Officer
Jessica Meuse, widely known as Jess Meuse, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and U.S. Coast Guard officer currently stationed in Juneau, Alaska while pursuing a second degree toward a career in medicine. She originally shot to fame as a top finalist on American Idol. Notably, she was the first contestant in the series’ history to perform an original song during the live finals.

Shelly Rood
Veterans Radio Host - Hardcore & At Ease
Shelly C. Rood served across 16 years as a U.S. Army Reserves Intelligence Officer — Captain, Company Commander, and S2 — leading covert briefings overseas and overseeing security programs for nearly 4,000 soldiers. A Distinguished Military Graduate of Western Michigan University and a third-generation Detroit business owner, she brought that same standard of leadership into the private sector. She is the founder of a training and leadership development company, Mission Ambition, LLC, creator of the Others Over Self® leadership mindset, and the architect of Be At Ease, Woman Veteran™, a peer support program serving military women since 2019. She is host of Hardcore and At Ease, and author of Mission Wildflower 🌻. Today she leads a team of veterans who continue to serv

Jim Lynch served in the US Army for 31 years. A West Point grad who went to medical school and became a special ops physician after 10 years of service. Now out of service, he is a pioneer in the world of PTSD treatment using Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB). He explains the treatment and its impact to host Jim Fausone.

From a controversial new military health initiative to the long-overdue recognition of extraordinary courage in Vietnam, this week’s Veterans Radio explores two very different issues affecting America’s military community. Host Jim Fausone speaks with Dr. Robert Kelsch about proposed testosterone testing and hormone therapy for service members, then Medal of Honor recipient Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson shares the remarkable story of the actions that saved dozens of fellow soldiers in 1968—and the recognition that finally came nearly six decades later.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL DISCOVER
✓ What testosterone does in the body and what service members should understand about Low-T ✓ The medical questions and potential concerns surrounding widespread testosterone testing and hormone therapy in the military ✓ How Terry Richardson’s actions on Hill 222 helped save the lives of fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War ✓ What it was like to receive the Medal of Honor nearly 58 years after the actions that earned it.
Dr. Robert Kelsch
Physician & Hormone Therapy Expert
Physician and hormone therapy expert who joins Veterans Radio to explain testosterone’s role in men’s health and examine the potential benefits, limitations, and medical concerns surrounding testosterone testing and hormone therapy for military personnel.
Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson
U.S. Army - Medal of Honor Recipient
U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, Michigan National Guard veteran, and Medal of Honor recipient. As a 20-year-old soldier in September 1968, Richardson distinguished himself through extraordinary acts of courage on Hill 222, helping protect his fellow soldiers during intense combat. His Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in March 2026, nearly 58 years later. Richardson joins Veterans Radio to reflect on his service, the Medal of Honor, his White House ceremony, and what it means to represent the communities that have shaped his life.

Pete Hegseth is mandating testosterone testing for soldiers 30 years and older. He wants them to consider hormone therapy to eliminate Low-T in the troops. Dr. Robert Kelsch, an expert in the field of hormone therapy, discusses with host Jim Fausone what testosterone does and the problems associated with this Low-T plan.