The Strategic Veteran

In this episode, Rand Timmerman, a Vietnam War Marine, former mustang officer, JAG attorney, and lifelong alcoholic in recovery, shares one of the most honest stories ever told on this show. From rural poverty and combat in Vietnam to decades of buried trauma, night terrors, and alcohol-fueled survival, Rand walks us through what happens when the past finally demands to be faced. At nearly seventy years old, sober and grieving deep loss, Rand made a radical choice. He walked the Appalachian Trail alongside his brother. Twenty-two hundred miles. One step at a time. Not to escape his demons, but to meet them head-on. This conversation is about war, grief, faith, addiction, brotherhood, and the truth that it is never too late to change course. Subscribe for real transition stories that don’t pull punches: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS • Growing up in rural poverty and enlisting during Vietnam • Infantry combat, helicopters, bayonets, and survivor’s guilt • Alcohol as a lifelong coping mechanism • Becoming a mustang officer and Marine JAG • Night terrors, PTSD, and a psych ward at 65 • Sobriety and faith later in life • Walking the Appalachian Trail at nearly 70 • Why healing is one hard mile at a time GUEST BIO Rand Timmerman is a Vietnam War Marine veteran, former mustang officer, retired attorney, author, and recovery advocate. After decades of buried trauma and alcoholism, Rand found sobriety and healing later in life. He is the author of A Spiritual Passage, documenting his 2,200-mile journey on the Appalachian Trail and the inner work that came with it. LINKS • Rand Timmerman Website: https://randtimmerman.com • Book: A Spiritual Passage (Amazon) • Email Rand: rand.timmerman@gmail.com • The Strategic Veteran Podcast: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategic-veteran/id1743039436

In this episode, Cory Brown opens up about losing a brother-in-arms to suicide and how that loss forced him to confront everything the uniform never prepared him for. After 16 years in the Army and National Guard, Cory experienced the familiar spiral of identity loss, broken tribe, and silence that follows so many veterans after service. That pain became fuel for Eat Your Feelings, a project built around normalizing hard conversations about mental health through food, storytelling, and shared experience. This is a raw conversation about grief, suicide prevention, transition, why “we should do something” is meaningless without action, and how sitting at a table together might save lives. Subscribe for real transition stories and human conversations that actually help: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS • Losing a close friend to suicide • The real damage that happens after deployments end • Identity, purpose, and tribe after the Army • Why veteran suicide conversations stall out • How Eat Your Feelings was born • Food as a bridge to mental health conversations • Taking action instead of posting condolences GUEST BIO Cory Brown is an Army and National Guard veteran, mental health advocate, and co-creator of Eat Your Feelings. After losing multiple friends to suicide, Cory committed to creating spaces where veterans and civilians can have honest conversations about grief, identity, and healing without stigma. LINKS • Eat Your Feelings Website: https://eatyourfeelingshow.com • Eat Your Feelings Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatyourfeelingshow • Eat Your Feelings TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eatyourfeelingsshow • The Strategic Veteran Podcast: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategic-veteran/id1743039436

In this episode, Tommy Kilpatrick shares how he deliberately burned his life to the ground. After decades of marriage, running medical clinics, and building financial stability, Tommy chose homelessness, took a vow of poverty, and walked away from everything he owned. What followed was a radical experiment in faith, healing, fasting, alternative health, and service. From working with Marines suffering from severe PTSD to teaching self-managed health clinics, farming, and bamboo housing in the Philippines, this is a conversation about letting go of money, titles, comfort, and control in order to reclaim purpose. This is not a feel-good story. It is a confrontation with attachment, identity, and what it actually costs to live on your own terms. Subscribe for real transition stories and unconventional frameworks: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS • Choosing homelessness and a vow of poverty • Running alternative medical clinics for PTSD and trauma • Why fasting, grounding, and discipline change the nervous system • Working with Marines at Camp Pendleton • Detaching from money, status, and control • Building a new life centered on service and simplicity GUEST BIO Tommy Kilpatrick is a former medical clinic operator, author, and lifelong experimenter in alternative health and intentional living. After walking away from wealth and comfort, Tommy now focuses on teaching self-managed health practices, fasting, farming, and community-based healing, currently working with farmers and communities in the Philippines. ⸻ LINKS • Tommy Kilpatrick Facebook: https://www.facebook.com • The Strategic Veteran Podcast: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategic-veteran/id1743039436

In this episode, Robert Novotny shares how he went from a Marine navigating loss, NJP, and suicide inside the ranks to building a life of purpose through financial planning and veteran advocacy. We dig into the reality of the veteran transition from military to civilian life, including grief, identity loss, money mistakes, and what actually creates stability after service. This conversation covers suicide prevention, leadership failures, entrepreneurship, and why real wealth is about legacy, not status. Subscribe for real transition stories and frameworks that work: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd ⸻ EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS • Losing a close friend to suicide on his birthday • Leadership lessons learned the hard way • Why TAP fails most veterans • Transitioning from the Marine Corps to civilian life • Building wealth with intention, not hype • Veteran entrepreneurship and legacy building ⸻ GUEST BIO Robert Novotny is a former United States Marine, financial planner, and founder of Vets Lives Matter. He works primarily with veteran-owned businesses, helping them build long-term financial stability, generational wealth, and purpose after service. ⸻ LINKS • Robert Novotny LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com • Vets Lives Matter: https://www.instagram.com/vetslivesmatter • Strategic Planning Associates: https://strategicplanningassociates.nm.com • The Strategic Veteran Podcast: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategic-veteran/id1743039436

After eighteen years in Air Force intelligence, Rex Enriquez faced the hardest mission of his life — rebuilding after the military. From divorce to a near-death heart attack, his story isn’t about struggle; it’s about resurrection. In this conversation with Adam Peters, Rex breaks down what real self-mastery looks like, how to overcome destructive patterns, and why most so-called “coaches” don’t know what coaching actually means. Key Takeaways: • Self-mastery starts when you stop lying to yourself • Healing requires facing your own origin story • Coaching isn’t advice — it’s accountability and truth Links: • Guest: https://www.instagram.com/badcoachrex • Amakaya Retreat: https://amakaya.org • Heroes Media Group: https://www.heroesmediagroup.com • Ramshorn Coffee: https://ramshorncoffee.com Code THESTRATEGICVET • The Strategic Veteran: https://thestrategicveteran.com • Megaphone: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/the-strategic-veteran • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategic-veteran/id1743039436 • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thestrategicveteran

COL-select David Zallo spent 27 years serving across Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and JRTC before stepping into one of the hardest missions he’s ever faced: rebuilding his identity outside the uniform. In this episode, he breaks down what the Army gave him, what it took from him, and why financial wellness became his new way of serving veterans. We cover deployments, leadership, burnout, the collapse of Afghanistan, and the quiet fear every senior leader carries when it’s time to walk away. David explains why money and mental health are more connected than people realize and how he plans to help veterans avoid the traps he saw destroy families and lives over the last two decades. • Transition hits harder than anyone prepares you for. • Money problems fuel mental health problems more than we admit. • Reinvention requires honesty, discomfort, and showing up. • Amakaya Retreat: https://amakaya.org • Heroes Media Group: https://www.heroesmediagroup.com • Ramshorn Coffee: https://ramshorncoffee.com • The Strategic Veteran: https://thestrategicveteran.com • Megaphone: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/the-strategic-veteran • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3U8FOupOu070V00PXR4DSd • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategic-veteran/id1743039436 • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thestrategicveteran Subscribe for raw, unfiltered conversations about transition, purpose, and rebuilding your life after service.

What do you do when the one job that made you feel useful gets wiped out overnight? Marsha Cleff spent seven and a half years as a TAP counselor, helping high-ranking military folks find their footing in civilian life. Then one day, she was told it was over. No backup plan. No warning. Just “reallocation of funds.” Instead of folding, she built Six Star Resume Strategy from the ground up, channeling everything she knows about identity, purpose, and making the invisible visible on paper. The moment she realized the transition system failed her, too Why “you’re a veteran, you’ll be fine” is one of the biggest lies we tell The new-girl sickness that hit her at a job fair What happens when your resume makes you feel small How her husband’s joke became the name of her company Why a six-figure salary isn’t worth your soul https://6starresume.com https://linkedin.com/in/marshacleff marshacleff@6starresume.com

What happens when the moment that broke you becomes the reason you lead? How do you rebuild when the war follows you home? Rich Brown was a Marine infantry assaultman. His story started with a teenage-triggered explosion in Haditha — and it could’ve ended there. But instead, he turned trauma into a mission: building men, community, and purpose after the uniform. Rich co-founded Honor Bound Fit, runs executive protection operations, and leads the Guidon-22 ruck, where veterans carry 22 pounds for 22 miles to honor those we’ve lost — and prove no one walks alone. The fight wasn’t just overseas. It was learning to become useful again. The moment he realized “I’m not okay” and why that saved him Losing his identity when the Marine Corps closed the door How a barracks-room hustle grew into a million-dollar business Why the best therapy comes under a ruck, not in a room The truth about purpose after service — no one’s coming, you lead Website – https://honorboundfit.com Instagram – https://instagram.com/honorboundfit Podcast – https://spotify.com/show/thestrategicveteran Newsletter – https://thestrategicveteran.com YouTube – https://youtube.com/@TheStrategicVeteran 🔗 Guest Links🎧 My Links