Blaine Zimmerman

Episode 25: Hotel Tango: Spirits Distilled With Discipline

June 11th, 2020  |  38 mins 2 secs

artisan distillery, disabled veteran, ginger barnes, hotel tango, indianapolis, kelsey strohmeyer, travis barnes, veteran-owned

Veteran Travis Barnes, his wife Hilary, and some friends started Hotel Tango in 2014. To honor Travis’ military service, they named their distillery based on the NATO phonetic alphabet - Hotel for Hilary, Tango for Travis. Surrounding themselves with exceptional people at every level, they focus on crafting equally exceptional spirits. Spirits that reflect Travis’s exacting standards. Spirits that are fit to serve and made to share.

Episode 21: SSGT Joe Biggs Discusses His PTSD Journey

November 21st, 2018  |  44 mins 18 secs

joe biggs, post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, rambo biggs, thanksgiving, va, veteran, veterans administration

Joe Biggs is a combat veteran of the United States Army, twice awarded a Purple Heart while serving several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Post-retirement, SSGT Biggs is a political investigative reporter who has a huge following online. Today, we're discussing his journey with PTSD.

Episode 17: Marine for Life Network

May 20th, 2018  |  38 mins 23 secs

m4l, marine, marine corps, marine for life, marine for life network, usmc, veterans

Marine For Life Network (M4L) connects transitioning Marines and their family members to education resources, employment opportunities, and other Veterans services that aid in their career and life goals outside of military service.

Episode 16: Project Healing Waters: Rehabilitation of Disabled Veterans With Fly Fishing Outings

May 11th, 2018  |  39 mins 27 secs

501c3, charity, disabled veterans, fishing, fly fishing, veterans

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.™ is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and disabled veterans through fly fishing and associated activities including education and outings.

Episode 15: Purple Heart 3 (PH3): Veteran Owned, Veteran Employed, and Veteran First Security Company

April 17th, 2018  |  52 mins 18 secs

army, entrepreneur, indianapolis, purple heart 3, security, us army, veteran, veteran-owned business

Michael Fickert is the Senior Project Manager of Purple Heart 3 LLC (PH3). They are a Service Disabled, Veteran Owned, & Veteran employed security company out of Indianapolis, IN.

Michael joins Veteran Cast to talk about his background in the Army, and then trying to find his purpose again after transitioning into the civilian world. Purple Heart 3 helped Michael find that purpose, and his passion for the organization & their mission is prevalent when he talks.

PH3’s main mission is to ensure that the suicide rate among returning combat veterans is reduced.

More information about Purple Heart 3, as well as the resources to apply for a position can be found at www.ph3llc.com. If you would like to reach out to Michael directly, his email address is m.fickert@ph3llc.com

Episode 14: Indy Custom Cornhole and Its Founder, US Marine Scott Melby

March 30th, 2018  |  45 mins 30 secs

cornhole, games, indy custom cornhole, marine corps, midwest, scott melby, us marines

Scott is a US Marine who founded Indy Custom Cornhole. Indy Custom Cornhole is the first and largest cornhole business in Indiana, starting in 2003, Scott has run over 1400 tournaments, sold thousands of boards and bags and now focus more on the rental sets and monthly competetive cornhole tournaments which feed into a national rankings of over 7000 players that qualify to compete at World Championships every summer.

Episode 13: Team Rubicon: Disasters are their Business, Veterans are their Passion.

March 20th, 2018  |  34 mins 49 secs

disaster relief, disasters, rubicon, team rubicon

Team Rubicon is a nonprofit that utilizes the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. Founded in 2010, Team Rubicon has deployed across the United States and around the world to provide immediate relief to those impacted by disasters and humanitarian crises.

Episode 12: The Mission Continues: Empowering Veterans To Keep Serving and Succeeding

March 13th, 2018  |  34 mins 7 secs

indianapolis, indy, mission continues, the mission continues

The Mission Continues empowers veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact. We deploy veterans on new missions in their communities, so that their actions will inspire future generations to serve.

Episode 11: Vetforce: Salesforce Career Accelerator for Military Service Members, Veterans, and Spouses

March 7th, 2018  |  36 mins 27 secs

crm, military members, military spouses, salesforce, technology, transition, veterans, vetforce

Salesforce created the Vetforce program to build connections between our ecosystem and the military community.

Episode 10: Operation: Job Ready Veterans™ (OJRV)

February 26th, 2018  |  36 mins 46 secs

career learing, job ready veterans, job ready vets, ojrv, operation job ready veterans, veteran career, veteran employment, veteran employment center, veteran transition

Operation: Job Ready Veterans™ (OJRV) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing veterans, service members, military spouses and caregivers for successful employment by connecting them with employers that seek top quality, well-trained employees.

Episode 9: Eleven Fifty Coding Academy: Veterans and GI Bill Welcome!

February 7th, 2018  |  48 mins 26 secs

coding, coding academy, development, education, eleven fifty, gi bill, indiana, learning, transition

An overview of Eleven Fifty Academy, an immersive coding academy located in Central Indiana. They were recently approved for the GI Bill and are excited to begin educating Veterans in a new coding career.

Episode 8: Transitioning with Post-Traumatic Stress... and News on the YMCA's Support!

January 30th, 2018  |  51 mins 22 secs

air force, chief, explosive ordinance disposal, fighter pilot, navy, pts, scott taylor, ted taylor

The Taylor brothers both served in combat - Scott as an F-15 Fighter Pilot in the Air Force and Ted as an EOD Chief in the Navy. The experiences and transition for these two warriors were starkly different. We discuss their journeys here and encourage others to get the assistance they need.

Episode 7: Run Ranger Run: Support for Transition from Active Military Service to Civilian Life.

January 25th, 2018  |  39 mins 18 secs

565 miles, columbus, cory smith, gallantfew, indianapolis, ranger, run ranger run

3rd Ranger Battalion combat veteran Cory Smith ran from Columbus, GA to Indianapolis, IN – 565 miles - to his daughter. His example is now a national movement called Run Ranger Run where individuals and teams from around the country raise funds and awareness to assist in the transition from active military to civilian life.

Episode 6: Travis Manion Foundation: Strengthening America's National Character with Veterans Leading the Way

January 18th, 2018  |  36 mins 49 secs

character, leadership, military, travis manion, travis manion foundation, veterans

TMF is strengthening America’s national character. In an increasingly divisive cultural climate, they unite and strengthen communities.

Episode 5: INVets: Connecting Veterans From Across the World with Indiana Careers

December 11th, 2017  |  42 mins 15 secs

hoosier, indiana, indiana veterans, invets, veterans, vets

Employers across our state are struggling to find enough veteran talent. INvets is a team effort to connect these employers with veterans around the country and make sure the transition process goes as smooth as possible.

Episode 4: What is Team Red, White, & Blue?

December 6th, 2017  |  40 mins 8 secs

Team RWB’s mission is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.