Restored: Stories of Conflict, Healing, & Peace

Based on the book, Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here:

The Military Culture Shift Limited Series Leadership Podcast launches Feb 15, 2024! Interviews with experts and leaders, (many of them mentioned in the book) will bring the book to life in a multi-sensory way, and breathe life into your home and leadership, and especially validate your story. Episodes will start on Feb 15th and roll out weekly so make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss them and have picked up the book if you haven’t. (Order the book from Amazon here) Also, I’m encouraging you ahead of time to listen all the way to the end of each episode for powerful songs written and performed by veterans, military spouses, and even Gen Z military teens. I’ve so enjoyed lifting up our community and I hope you will feel lifted as well. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here.  

Corie sits down with her husband Matthew to talk about the process of writing Military Culture Shift, behind the scenes of being an author, and Matt's thoughts on what it means to be a "ground-level" leader. Matthew, an active duty service member and Corie, a mental health clinician, coach, and consultant, share some of the shifts they have seen over the years. This podcast is based on the book, Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here. Sponsored by New Rez Home Mortgages: Newrez believes the lending business shouldn't just be about home loans - it should be about homeowners.  Ending Credits Song is "Love Like There's No Tomorrow" written and performed by Army veteran Micheal Trotter Jr and his Wife Tanya as War & Treaty.  

Corie sits down with military historian Dr. Edward A. Gutiérrez who studied the Doughboys from WW1. Dr. Gutiérrez specifically researched how a sense of honor and duty were engrained in the everyday culture of Americans prior to WW1 propelling many of them to enlist in the war. In this talk, Dr Gutiérrez suggests that as a culture moves away from embracing suffering, and even war and death, we lose cohesiveness, our humanity, and resilience as a society. He also shares how key motivations of honor and duty represented something different than it does today.   Dr. Edward A. Gutiérrez | Director, Center for Military History and Grand Strategy Read: Doughboys on the Great War: How American Soldiers Viewed Their Military Experience (Modern War Studies), by Dr. Edward A. Gutiérrez This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here. Sponsored by New Rez Home Mortgages: Newrez believes the lending business shouldn't just be about home loans - it should be about homeowners.  Closing song is Regrets by Moda Spira   

The Defense Budget is not likely part of your dinner table conversations. Yet, the budget impacts the lives of everyday military families in the groceries they have access to, the condition of their housing, and of course their paycheck. I wanted to make the very confusing topic of Congress and Defense Budgets as simple as possible, so who better to invite than Heba Abdelaal, a Millennial military spouse, former congressional staffer, and incredible human to the podcast.  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here. Sponsored by New Rez Home Mortgages: Newrez believes the lending business shouldn't just be about home loans - it should be about homeowners.   

In the Army, there is an old saying that the commander is responsible for everything the unit does or fails to do. When morale begins to fail in the institution, the culture looks to the top. When the Afghanistan exit began to unravel, veterans and even some active duty looked to top military leadership, mainly the Joint Chiefs of the branches as well as the Chairman for responsibility and accountability. Some were even angry that stars were not put on the table in the name of protecting and serving the people in the fight. The more I dug into the frustration felt by those boots on the ground and leveraged curiosity for those carrying the weight of hard decisions at the top, the more messy accountability became. I found that most people, regardless of role, rank, or responsibility were genuinely doing the best they could in the circumstances they found themselves in. It turns out, the messy part is choosing to believe it. I knew it would be helpful to hear from one of those Joint Chiefs from that season, to not only get his lessons on leadership but more importantly, to share what it is really like to make tough decisions at the top that will impact an entire branch.  So I invited retired General Norton Shwartz, or Norty as he likes to be called, and his wife Suzie to share some of their story. He became the 19th Joint Chief of Staff of the Air Force in 2008 after his predecessor was fired for misplacing nuclear weapons. They served in that role until 2012 as sequestration and exhaustion rippled throughout the military culture. Both Boomers, they have continued to invest in their community since then.  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Final Credit song is "I Just Don't Get It", written, produced, and performed by veteran James Corbin (Spotify: James Corbin, "I Just Don't Get It")   Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here Sponsored by New Rez Home Mortgages: Newrez believes the lending business shouldn't just be about home loans - it should be about homeowners. 

Starting in 2008, cell phones and social media quickly escalated into our daily lives. Millennials filled the lower ranks of the force while op-tempos reached exhausting levels and sequestration tainted the beginning of a second decade of war as it forced us to dangerously downsize. The “halo effect” left many Gen X and older Millennials, confused- trying to reconcile their positive expectations of the military with reality. Technology provided a megaphone to an eager and fearless generation that had a lot to say, and access to influential leaders who, they felt, needed to hear it.    In Chapter 6, I shared the story of Amy, a millennial, a journalist for Military.com, and a military spouse who gave voice to the betrayal she and other families felt as service members were handed pink slips instead of promotions. Amy was just one of many examples of how Millennials aimed to bring about change. Amy later became an editor for Military.com and is known as one of the most competent voices on a lot of military issues, including understanding the Tricare system. I asked Amy to come on the podcast to share what she remembers from that decade, but also the shifts she saw in the culture as she covered it over the years.  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  The final credits song is "Bang" by Moda Spira. Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here. Sponsored by New Rez Home Mortgages: Newrez believes the lending business shouldn't just be about home loans - it should be about homeowners.   

As a Gen X, I wish I could say that it was my generation that was the Hero generation. However, Millennials swung away from independence and invited our multi-generational nation into a giant family meeting. With their signature question “why”, they have challenged us to talk about the many elephants in the room, making all of us a little (or a lot) uncomfortable. As conversations became public around diversity, mold in housing, and food insecurity many millennials found ways to advocate for government response.  Shannon Razsadin, a millennial military spouse helped found Military Family Advisory Network, a non-profit that provides research on these topics. MFAN helped expose the model crisis in 2019 and are currently tackling food insecurity.  I wanted to bring Shannon on the podcast to share more about her motivations before and during those years as well as her own first impressions of the military community when she came in.  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers. This podcast offers leaders an opportunity to understand the growing shifts happening within the military culture as an immersive supplement to the book. Based on 15 years of research, counseling, and teaching the military culture across all branches. Gain insights on changing perspectives within the culture, generational shifts in authority, the impact of Department of Defense budget decisions, emerging social trends within the military community, and the cumulative effect of two decades of the War on Terror on military family wellness. Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Final Credit song is "Still" written, produced, and performed by active duty service member Tyler Smith (Spotify: Tyler Smith "Still")   Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here Sponsored by New Rez Home Mortgages: Newrez believes the lending business shouldn't just be about home loans - it should be about homeowners. 

Can an institution as large as our Department of Defense change? What is it about our relationship with the DOD that makes it difficult to ask for healthy accountability and transparency? I sat down with Ryan Sweazy, Director of Walk the Talk Foundation, a non-profit that protects military whistleblowers, to help us understand the power dynamics many feel every day.  Walk the Talk Foundation: https://walkthetalkfoundation.org/ Mission: To give military members a voice when and where they don’t have one, guiding them through the treacherous journey of the Whistleblower. Ending Credits Song "Bitterness" Performed, Written, and Produced by son of active duty service member Bailey Hamrick.   This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift here.  Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast here Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie here:

While the military culture is a subculture of America, the military spouse community is a subculture of the military. Similar to our military kids, these subcultures experience a unique perspective separate from what service members and government employees experience. While they are not employees and (mostly) aren’t regulated by the institution, their relationship with the Department of Defense has a history of confusion, expectations, entanglement, and deeply personal experiences. It is unfortunately too easy to make their voice secondary, secondary to the mission, and secondary to our priorities and interests. And yet, we are told we are the backbone of force readiness. To skip over the spouse chapters in the book as well as this episode only enforces that narrative. So I’m inviting you to lean in. The best way to discuss the spouse chapters of the book was to bring in a multi-generational spouses roundtable with various experiences. Ending Credits song is "Cool" by active duty Army service member Tyler Smith. This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com

In 2023, Gallup reported that America’s confidence in major institutions such as banking, education, religion, and government was historically the lowest it has ever been. Like a see-saw, trust has been declining for decades but there was always enough trust in the older or youngest generations to keep the see-saw somewhat balanced and institutions funded and functional. As confidence has steadily declined, some have said that the see-saw is finally tipping with more generations distrusting than ever. It isn’t helping that Gen Z has been watching evidence of institutions mismanagement in real time online and in social media.  With so much speculation around Gen Z, I wanted to bring on Matthew Weiss, a Marine Corps Intelligence officer, Gen Z, and author of the book “We Don’t Want You Uncle Sam” to help us understand what Gen Z is really asking. Through the lens of his motivations for personal service, as well as connections to peers and his previous experience with a cutting-edge defense technology company, his book has sparked conversations on the highest levels.  Final Credit song is "I'll See You Someday", written, produced, and performed by military teen Harlan Adams.   This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com  

This week, we are going to the source. Elise, or "Elle", shared in the book the powerful impact of leaders who made her feel seen and valued. In this interview, I ask tough questions about social media, Gen Z's expectation for diversity, her thoughts on sexual harassment, and more. Every leader should listen to this interview. This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com Final Credit song is "19", written, produced, and performed by military teen Bailey Hamrick.    

Breaking from regularly scheduled programming, I'm sharing some of the topics and trends surfacing since publishing Military Culture Shift.  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com The closing credits song is “Rise Above the Storm” written and performed by Afghanistan veteran Maxine Reyes.  

A quick update on what's coming up next on the Military Culture Shift Podcast. Please consider leaving a review on Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/military-culture-shift-podcast/id1704769860\   Please consider leaving a review of the book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/8Ltu9ry

As our military valiantly scrambled to leave Kabul airport, the explosion at Abbey Gate killed 13 of our service members. All but one were Gen Z. For much of the older generation, war was all we knew but Gen Z  had only been coming in for a few years, the oldest of them only four when 9/11 happened. Losing them this way, for this reason, at the end of our very long and painful chapter, yet at the beginning of theirs seemed even more wrong.  With all this talk about Gen Z motivations and the recruiting crisis, I wondered about the Gen Z that entered the force before the end of those two decades of war. What motivated them to come in and how did the Afghanistan exit impact their very fresh perspectives on this career and lifestyle?  I invited Aidan Gunderson, a Gen Z Marine deployed to Afghanistan during the withdrawal to share his deeply personal story of what happened at Abbey Gate as well as how it has affected his view of service.  Find out more about Operation Allies Refuge: https://www.operationalliesrefugefoundation.org/about  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com Final Credit song is "Hey America", written, produced, and performed by veteran James Corbin.  

Shortly after I recorded the Spouse’s Roundtable, Jessica- the millennial spouse whose husband Andrew served on the ground during the Afghanistan exit, reached out to me to say that Andrew was ready to share his story. Still serving, Andrew felt limited in what he could say as well as whether he was ready to share. None of us could forget the powerful images of the chaos at the Kabul airport in August 2021. It is seared into our minds, much like the stories from the fall of Saigon in 1975, and what many compared it to. Stories like these are nothing short of remarkable. Similar stories from Afghanistan, like the one you are about to hear, are still surfacing. They reveal the incredible training of our US and allied partners but also the wounding of moral and ethical decisions that are difficult to make sense of and challenging to heal from.  Rather than being a voyeur as you listen, I hope these episodes invite you to think about how you might bring purpose from your own story and how they can inspire you to be a leader others want to follow. This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com Final Credits song is "Time To Be Me" by veterans Sally Griffiths & Will Kimbrough with Songwriting with Soldiers. SW​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​S October 2023, Crawford, TX by SongwritingWith:Soldiers Watch the clip "Fall of Saigon: 40 years later": https://youtu.be/vHLKFSWzImk?si=aBiJpGf-AKeA582I  

I will never forget the feeling that rushed over me when I heard about the Pineapple Express during August 2021. Scott Mann, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and former U.S. Army Green Beret joined with other veterans who resolved to fulfill their promises to the Aghan allies for protection. The efforts of Scott and other veterans through the Pineapple Express and other civilian-led efforts were nothing short of heroic. But their commitment to find and fund their own way back to Afghanistan illuminated a whole other level of integrity, leadership, and “What right looks like”. Against the backdrop of what Gen Milley has since called a “Strategic failure”, the Pineapple Express shook me and many others in the country awake, revealing the startling breakdown of the institution’s hierarchy, a shift in the future of humanitarian aid, and the power of human kindness.  For more information on Scott Mann:  Website and "Last Out": https://scottmann.com/ Rooftop Leadership: https://rooftopleadership.com/ This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com Final Credits song is "Rules of Engagement" by Anthony Wheeler / Maia Sharp with Songwriting with Soldiers. (https://songwritingwithsoldiers.bandcamp.com/track/rules-of-engagement) Scott's Full testimony before Congress:

Over the course of writing Military Culture Shift and especially present in the last three episodes, the phrase “moral injury” has come up again and again. Brought into mainstream awareness by Jonathan Shay in the 90s and early 2000s, his first book Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character introduced moral injury as a distinct second syndrome from PTSD.  As progress continues to evolve on the individualized treatment modalities for PTSD and moral injury, the Afghanistan exit, and its eerily similar characteristics with Vietnam, brings up the question of "How does an entire culture heal when it feels betrayed and morally injured?" Surely the Afghanistan veterans and families that came out of two decades of war are not destined to carry similar burdens as our recent Vietnam veterans have. I asked our good friend and mentor, Dr. Timothy Mallard, Chaplain, and Assistant Professor and Director of Ethical Development at The United States Army War College, and subject matter expert on moral injury to sit down with me just 60 days out from his own retirement. Still on his own journey of healing from his response to the 9/11 attack at the Pentagon, he has been a pillar of strength, wisdom, and comfort for many over the last several decades. Final Credits Song: "There Is Always Hope" by Human Is Alive, Kieldfal, Silent Travelers Arch Bishop Tutu Forgiveness Project: https://youtu.be/-M8wrQXIZmQ?si=od2rKrmquYXoJbZj Recommended resources from Dr. Mallard:  Veteran's Association: https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn17/moralinjury.asp Jonathan Shay: Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character: https://a.co/d/e9eOpf3 The (Twin) Wounds of War, by Timothy Mallard: https://providencemag.com/2017/02/twin-wounds-war-spiritual-injury-moral-injury/ The Moral Injury of the Cross, by Timothy Mallard: https://providencemag.com/2024/03/the-moral-injury-of-the-cross/  

In the final chapter of Military Culture Shift, I reference a theory of reconstitution written by Stoney Portis, after he commanded the 3-61 CAV troops that survived the now historic Battle of COP Keating and needed to somehow become mission-ready again. Reading his reflection on what it took to wholistically serve the battle-weary troops who had earned every right to hang up the one tattered uniform they had left, I knew it was a case study on what it would take to reconstitute an entire culture as well. So I invited now LT COL Stoney Portis to join Matt and me in a discussion about their shared sacred space in hopes it could validate the sacred spaces in your own life, but also inspire the healing of us all. Read Stoney's Paper on Reconstitution: https://www.corieweathers.com/wp-content/uploads/Stoneys-Paper.-full-1.pdf Read about the Battle of Cop Keating here Watch the movie "The Outpost": https://www.netflix.com/title/81276140?source=35 This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com Final Credits song is "The Hard Way" by Moda Spira https://modaspira.bandcamp.com/track/the-hard-way  

There were several ways I could have ended this series and many interviews I could have done, however, when Matt mentioned that I should end it with him interviewing me, it felt right. So... here I am. Here we are. We share my reflections on the project, where things go from here, and most importantly, the power of championing others- especially your spouse.  Special thank you to SO MANY PEOPLE who have supported me throughout the years, too many to mention here. I hope you enjoyed the series and will share it with others.  The Final credits song is "Thank You" by veteran and friend James Corbin.  This podcast is based on the book Military Culture Shift by clinical consultant and SME on military family culture, Corie Weathers.  Order your copy of Military Culture Shift https://militaryfamilybooks.com/products/military-culture-shift-by-corie-weathers Listen to Corie's Lifegiver Podcast https://corieweathers.podbean.com/ Find out more about how you can work with and contact Corie https://www.corieweathers.com