Retired Gen. Matt Smith spent more than 30 years in the Army and National Guard, commanding at every level from company to brigade and serving in strategic roles at the Pentagon. Now, as executive director of Veteran Initiatives at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, he's on a mission to help transitioning servicemembers translate their military leadership into civilian career success.

On episode 313 of Tango Alpha Lima, Smith talks about his "Leave It to Beaver" childhood, his path into the Army, and how he now leads Emory's Master of Business for Veterans program. The one-year accredited degree is designed for servicemembers with 20-plus years of service. He breaks down why NCOs are "the ultimate salespeople," how he's educating civilian employers on the value veterans bring to the workforce, and what makes veteran students different from the rest of higher ed.

Also in this episode, podcast hosts Stacy Pearsall, Adam Marr and Joe Worley discuss:

• How the USS Skate made the impossible possible at the North Pole in 1958
• America’s oldest military decoration that dates back to the Revolutionary War.
• Why yelling “Geronimo!" became a military tradition thanks to a U.S. Army paratrooper in 1940 at Fort Benning, Ga.

, Recruit Miliary and Hiring our Heroes

Enter our sweepstakes to win a Humvee

Emory University Goizueta Business School

Gen. Matt Smith on LinkedIn

Tell us Why You Love Your Service Animal

What if the best therapy for a veteran wasn’t in a clinic but in the ground?

Stephen Humphreys is a former Air Force officer, PhD archaeologist, and co-founder of American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR) — the only organization in the United States using professional battlefield archaeology to build long-term careers for veterans. AVAR crews have worked Saratoga, Fort Ticonderoga, the Battle of Camden, and are headed to Bunker Hill. Through a partnership with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, they have helped bring home the remains of three WWII service members lost for eight decades.

Humphreys talks about why veterans belong on these sites, what archaeology gives them that most programs can’t, and why purpose — not sympathy — is what actually changes lives.

Also in this episode: a myth-or-fact battlefield archaeology edition that covers what’s still left to find at Revolutionary War sites and whether WWII remains can still come home after 80 years. Plus, a Navy sailor opens a Monster Energy drink and finds something that was definitely not on the label.

Your stories. Your service. Your community. This is Tango Alpha Lima.

SHOW NOTES

• Learn more about the birth of NASA
• Ad Break: S.O.A.R.
• Learn more about Veterans Curation Program
• Dig deeper into Stephen's work with AVAR
• Enter the Drive for Freedom Sweepstakes for a chance to win a Humvee!
• Join The American Legion

Jon Macaskill spent 24 years as a Navy SEAL Commander, leading special operations from 16-man teams to formations of 2,500. He was in the Joint Operations Center the night Operation Red Wings claimed 19 American lives in Afghanistan — men he called his own. What followed was a decade of self-medication and darkness. Then a Navy psychologist suggested mindfulness and meditation. Macaskill laughed at first but then tried it. And it changed everything.

Now a leadership coach, speaker, and co-host of the Men Talking Mindfulness podcast, Macaskill joins Tango Alpha Lima hosts Adam Marr and Joe Worley to talk about survivor's guilt, why he started blocking off mental health days in red on his calendar where his sailors could see them, and why hypervigilance and mindfulness are more alike than most veterans think.

Also in this episode: the DOJ takes action against a towing company targeting service members, the 80-year history of American Legion Boys Nation, and a myth-or-fact breakdown on meditation and the military.

SHOW NOTES

Learn more about American Legion Boys Nation

Enter The American Legion Drive for Freedom Sweepstakes

Learn more about Jon Macaskill

Check out the Men Talking Mindfulness podcast

The American Legion National Oratorical Contest

Read full article: Feds sue towing company for allegedly illegally auctioning off troops’ cars

Military Myth or Fact? — Mindfulness Edition