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A decorated OSI agent who helped capture Taliban fighters and aided disaster survivors should be building a life in his forties. Instead, Robert Condon has spent 12 years behind bars, sentenced to 30, while his mother—retired Toledo police officer Holly Yeager—keeps fighting a case she believes was built on pressure, politics, and broken process. We open the file and follow the twists: a drug ring investigation that put Robert at odds with command priorities, a single accuser whose SANE exam reportedly found no injuries consistent with her extreme account, and two more “victims” cultivated through interviews that steered words toward charges and dangled immunity for unrelated misconduct.

Holly walks us through the evidence gaps that still haunt the record: a second phone noted but never collected, weeks of exculpatory messages lost when Robert’s device was destroyed after chain-of-custody issues, and discovery that surfaced a concealed felony history too late to test at trial. We talk Article 32 anomalies, special victims counsel influence, and a panel of superiors deciding guilt under the shadow of congressional pressure. Non‑unanimous verdicts, repeated speedy‑trial slippage, and unsworn statements shaped a path to a 30‑year sentence far above average. On appeal, mismatched and sealed record-of-trial pages made it harder for judges to validate citations or see context, dimming the chance for dissent and relief.

Beyond the legal maze lies a family’s cost: a son who lost his thirties, a 92‑year‑old grandfather running out of road trips, and a parole process that hinges on treatment requiring admissions he won’t make. Holly’s message is blunt and humane: protect real survivors and protect due process. Stop manufacturing narratives to save weak cases. Build independent evidence integrity, require unanimous verdicts, insulate panels from command, and hold investigators to the same standards we demand in civilian courts.

Listen, share, and weigh in with your perspective on military justice reform. If this story moved you, subscribe, leave a review, and send the episode to someone who cares about truth over optics.

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A single afternoon changed everything. Lisa Regina—actor, filmmaker, and founder of A Right to Heal—was assaulted by her fiancé, then thrust into a tabloid cyclone that made recovery even harder. What followed wasn’t a rebrand; it was a rebuilding. With a legal pad and a pen, she wrote her way out of shock, turned fragments into a monologue, and found a voice that could lift others who felt alone.

We dive into Lisa’s creative roots, the grind of early set life, and the quiet lessons she learned watching James Gandolfini transform before a take. Then we sit with the hard part: the violence, the ER, the media’s appetite for “the shot,” and the slow, stubborn work of healing. From that crucible came a mission—to use storytelling and film as a path back to agency—and an unexpected bridge to veterans. When Retired Army Captain Leslie Nicole Smith stepped onto Lisa’s set, the room felt like a platoon: clear roles, mutual trust, mission focus. That shared DNA led to a bigger idea.

Enter drones. As a Part 107 pilot, Lisa saw how flight taps veterans’ strengths—systems, calm, precision—and created the Veterans Drone Training Program to deliver real credentials, not platitudes. We talk candidly about funding wins and gaps, why aerial skills open doors in film, real estate, inspection, agriculture, and search and rescue, and how disabled veterans can pilot from a chair and still build a business. You’ll hear stories of lives nudged back on course: an Air Force amputee trading Uber shifts for commercial flights, a Marine captain capturing stunning yacht footage to grow his brand.

All of this momentum feeds Heroic Episodes, Lisa’s scripted series executive produced by Joe Mantegna. Framed around a multigenerational military family’s neighborhood bar, the show adapts true veteran stories with heart and honesty, weaving in resource links and spotlighting veteran‑owned businesses. We discuss why independence matters—crowdfunding five dollars at a time to ensure veterans are hired on set and the storytelling stays authentic.

Listen for the practical takeaways on PTS language and support, for the blueprint that connects art to employment, and for the reminder that community is built one skill, one story, one person at a time.

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Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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Headlines rarely match the ground truth. We sit down with retired Lt Col Lenore Hakinos to unpack what it took to stand up Camp Delphi in Donna, Texas during the 2021 surge of unaccompanied minors. As a joint planner with deep logistics and emergency management experience, Lenore helped build an expeditionary base camp—dorms, medical intake, process flow—all under HHS leadership with ORR and FEMA in support. What she found was a system designed for care but strained by scale: no biometrics at intake, thin sponsor vetting, rotating leaders, and case managers overwhelmed by tens of thousands of children needing placement.

We walk through how federal roles actually worked on the ground, why intake relied on paper notes and consulate calls, and the risks that come with speed without verification. From “recycled” identities to a transitory school built for kids who were supposed to stay mere weeks, the picture is complex and deeply human. Lenore’s team imposed order where they could—stop‑movement censuses, daily reconciliations—but the bigger tension remained: how to balance humanitarian urgency with anti‑trafficking safeguards and accountability that follows a child beyond the tent line.

The conversation doesn’t stop at the border. After retiring, Lenore channeled that same mission mindset into the American Legion, reviving a local post, supporting veterans’ services, creating scholarships, and rebuilding community traditions in a rapidly growing Texas county. It’s a reminder that while national policy can feel distant, local service is always within reach. Listen for a candid, expert look at HHS, ORR, FEMA coordination, migrant child placement, logistics under pressure, and what it means to serve when duty meets doubt—and stay for practical hope about building strong communities.

If this resonated, subscribe, leave a review, and share with someone who cares about border policy, child safety, and real‑world public service.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76